*Part two of Me to You*
Goku let Bulma read the message, then told her about what happened later that night. He showed her the text as well. "I was holding his phone. There was no way that someone could have done this."
Bulma sat back in her chair, looking at the text. "Who's Varia? Have you heard that name before?"
"No. But what did he mean by I might find him too?" Goku rubbed his neck anxiously. "I'm really creeped out by this. But... I have to figure out what this means."
Bulma handed the phone back. She looked pretty freaked out as well. "I don't know what to think. It's been... Goku, it's been almost a year. We all miss him. I know it's been really hard, but I think it would be better to let this go."
"But he's obviously trying to get in contact with us-!"
"Goku, he's dead," Bulma hissed, her eyes glittering with tears. "Trust me. I know. I sat there and watched him die. I still have nightmares about it. Thank God he was sparing the details in his message. You do not want to know what he was going through, how much it hurt for him to finally die!" She wiped her eyes furiously. "He was dead a long time before his body finally just shut down. I tried so hard to get him to hold on so he could see you, but he was already gone. I..." She held her head and fell silent.
Goku couldn't stop shivering. Half of him still wanted to throw this all away and go find this Varia, but the other half had a sick curiosity for the full truth. "He... He said that he'd been sick... Bulma. What happened?"
Bulma choked back another sob. "Goku, please... Don't- Don't make me relive it."
"Bulma, I need to know." He couldn't believe how calm he sounded.
She shuddered. "That... That morning, he didn't come downstairs. I figured he was sleeping in and left him alone. Then he texted me, asking me to come upstairs. I asked if he was ok and he said that he was throwing up and didn't know why. I went up and-... It- He- There was a lot of blood everywhere. I called the hospital and they got here as fast as they could. Vegeta just- I don't know why there was so much blood, but he just kept throwing up so badly. He told me he couldn't contact you and asked me to try. I did, but you didn't answer.
"We got to the ER and they did an examination, but Vegeta started convulsing and he couldn't stop throwing up. They said that there was some kind of... parasite that was tearing him up, but it was dead and there was no way to repair the damage it had done. Vegeta kept going in and out of consciousness. Whenever he woke up he asked if you were there, because he needed to talk to you. They wouldn't let anyone in with him. It was so bad. Eventually you came and they let me in.
"He- He kept calling for you. He was in so m- much pain. He begged them to let you in, but they refused. There was nothing I could do. I think he was hallucinating because he started talking as if you were there. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he said that he loved you. He begged you to help him, to- make it stop hurting." Bulma sniffled. "He didn't even see me anymore by then. He was terrified, Goku. He called you, he used both of your names. He couldn't breathe; he kept coughing and he was inhaling his own blood. Just when they decided to put him out of his misery, he died. He kept shaking and coughing and choking, but he was gone."
Goku was forced to sit down. That was nothing like he'd imagined. He'd hoped that perhaps Vegeta had been granted an easy, peaceful death for once. But this... This was worse than his previous deaths put together. He felt ill. But something in him felt relief that he finally knew. He'd called him with both names? Why? Vegeta had always refused to resort to his "fake" name. It had ended in a wild, panicking frenzy. That was not what he wanted. "I'm sorry, Bulma," he whispered, his throat tight and his eyes burning. He'd been crying so much lately that he was out of tears to shed.
She nodded. "I don't know why, but... I almost feel better now." She looked up at him. "So... Are you still going to find this Varia?"
"I have to," Goku breathed. "I don't have a choice. If it really is something important, I have to do it. For him. I have to fix what I did. I wasn't there when he needed me the most, so I have to fix this." He stood and left. He got outside and inhaled deeply, glancing up at the evening skies. Stars glittered faintly. "Varia... What is that, Vegeta? What's Varia? I can't do this on my own."
"I won't let you do it on your own," Goku heard. "Follow me."
He looked around, and saw only a few fallen leaves brush by him. A severe chill went through him when he picked up the faintest energy. "Vegeta!" He followed the signal. It was scarcely there. He lost it several times, but a soft whistle always brought him back to the right path. "Wait for me! Where are you?" He was answered with silence, but another chill went through him. "Come on, where are-?"
Something slammed into his chest, knocking him onto his butt. He looked around wildly, but he was alone. "Vegeta?"
"Don't ask so many questions."
And the silence returned. Goku gulped and got up. Silently he followed the faint energy. He was led to Capsule's collection of starcrafts. "Uh, Vegeta? Do I have permission to do this...?"
"Hush."
"Ok," Goku whispered. He crept into the ship and yelped when it automatically turned on. "Vegeta!? Was that you!?"
The ramp closed rather forcefully and the ship began to rise without waiting for Goku to get settled. The Saiyan yelped and fell down. "Geta, hang on! I'm not ready!" He was ignored. He managed to crawl into the chair. "You little... Vegeta, that was mean."
The energy breezed past him nonchalantly. He tossed a gentle glare after it. "I missed you, you know. A lot. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I wish I had been." He listened to the roar of the ships engines for a moment. "Vegeta, will you talk to me? Please? I've missed you so much..." he whispered.
There was several seconds of silence, then Goku felt a soft, sweet breath wash over the side of his face. "I've... I've missed you too."
Goku forgot how to breathe for a moment. "I- I don't want to make you mad, but... Is this really you, Vegeta? Have you come back to me?"
More quiet. "Yes. It's me, Kakarrot. I don't know how I can do this; I am pretty dead, after all." He sounded slightly amused. "I woke up when you turned my phone on, so that means you must have gotten my message."
"I did," Goku whispered. "I can't even use words to tell you how awful I feel. I should have-"
"Been there. I know. But I was a goner anyway. Now that I look back on it, I don't want you to know how bad it was."
"Bulma talked about it. And- yeah, you know how good my imagination is." Goku pushed away the gory images he'd concocted during Bulma's recounting. "She said it was some kind of parasite. I wish I'd been there for you. I don't care how bad it was. You needed me."
The voice was quiet. "Kakarrot?"
"Yeah, Vegeta?" Goku glanced around, but he still couldn't see the other Saiyan.
He sensed a bit of anxiety in the faint ki. "I... I told you how I felt." Goku realized that the ship had stopped and was just hovering in space. "I need to know. I just need a yes or a no. Kakarrot... I love you. Do you feel... even remotely the same way?" The fear was palpable.
Goku's heart softened and he smiled slightly. "Yes," he breathed. "But I was too scared to tell you. If I'd even had a strong guess that you felt this way for me, I'd have kidnapped you in a heartbeat. I don't know how I didn't see it, or how you didn't see that I adored you, but I'm going to try to fix this. I want you back."
A wave of relief settled the ki. "I'll take you to Varia. They might be able to help."
"So what or who is this Varia?" Goku asked, sitting forward curiously. "I've been racking my brain trying to think, but you and I both know that's never been my strong suit."
The voice laughed softly. Goku's heart beat faster at the sound. "It's hard to explain. I think they're what woke me up."
"So are you a ghost or something?"
"I really don't know, Kakarrot." Goku suddenly saw a shift in the air a few feet in front of him. "I don't know anything at this point. All I know is that we need Varia to get me completely back in physical form without killing me again. I asked them about restoring me with the Dragonballs possibly, but they said something about my body repeating its demise. So, uh, no. Not doing that."
"I just saw you!" Goku chirped. "Move."
He saw that faint shimmer again. Goku stood and reached out. He felt that chill again, and Vegeta said, "Hey, don't do that."
"I felt you! So you're... here, but not here." Goku rubbed the back of his head, perplexed. "I'm so confused." He sat down again, and noticed that the ship was again in motion. "Are you controlling the ship?"
"Yes. You're asking an awful lot of questions, Kakarrot."
"I'm a curious guy," Goku replied with a shrug. He settled back and kept an eye out for any more movement. He saw none. He closed his eyes wearily and sighed.
"Everything alright, Kakarrot?"
"Yeah. Just tired. And stressed. And scared. And confused."
"Haha. Me too." Vegeta did sound really tired when Goku thought about it. He sounded weak.
"Are you ok?"
Goku heard a sigh mimicking his own. "Yeah." The shortness of his answer worried Goku. He looked out at the stars blazing past in blurs. He closed his eyes again and drifted off without realizing it.
~Timeskip~
Goku woke up shivering and nauseated, his face stained with tears. He couldn't remember what he'd been dreaming about, and something told him that he didn't want to know. The lights had been darkened, but brightened the instant Vegeta sensed that Goku was awake. "Vegeta? You're still here, right?"
"I'm here," Vegeta breathed. He was very close, so close that Goku could feel his skin tingling. "Nightmare?"
"I think so," Goku whimpered. "Don't remember. Don't want to either." He huddled down in the chair. "Wanna talk?"
"Isn't that what we're doing?" Vegeta joked. "What do you want to talk about?"
"What do you know about Varia?"
"It's several people all crammed into one body, and it call itself they because of that. They live somewhere in the Western Quadrant, I think. They're a healer. What they do sounds more like voodoo than healing, but if they can bring me back without me dying all over again, I'm willing to take a few risks." Vegeta fell quiet for a moment. "I... I don't want to do that again. Not like that. That was awful."
"I can't even imagine what it must have been like," Goku whispered. "I get sick just thinking about it, and I didn't even get the details." He saw the shimmer in the corner of his eye and looked at it fully. Vegeta halted when Goku looked at him. Goku smiled a bit and peered closer. A vague form was visible, and it sure looked like Vegeta! "I can see you. You're all see-through, but I can still see it!"
Vegeta looked down at himself. "I don't see anything."
"Try moving. It makes you more visible." Goku couldn't stop grinning as he watched the ghostly Prince wander around a little. Why was he slowly gaining his form back?
Vegeta seemed to be wondering the same thing. "I think we need to go faster. I'm not supposed to come back without Varia's help. I'll die again, the same way." Vegeta's voice sounded afraid.
Goku gripped the chair tighter when he felt the ship speeding up. "Just don't run us through an asteroid field or something. I don't wanna have to be put back together by voodoo magic or whatever."
Vegeta actually laughed.
*Sorry about this one being shorter... :P Part three coming soon! I can't think of a title though. Help???*