Quest
Sequel to Maintaining
By Pixelgoddess

Summary: Maintaining sequel. Frieza has caused some incredible issues for the Saiyans to overcome, but they are trying. What will it take for them to finally become mates? Yaoi, Yuri. Goku x Vegeta, Chichi x Rezu (OC)
Disclaimer: If I owned it, don’t you think there would have been more decent girls to write about?
Warnings: *snickers* Whaddya got? Sex. Rape and its aftermath. Violence. Death. Bad words. Gay marriage. Krillin-bashing. Dyke Chichi. Straight Gohan. Confused Dende. Smart-ass Piccolo. I think that covers it – for now.
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Chapter 45 - Return

Piccolo cursed to himself as he landed at The Lookout. He had practically limped his way here, fighting with the urge to go where the kis were rising to deadly levels. He had other responsibilities now. He told himself he would have gone – no one could ever call him coward – but he couldn’t be of much use to Vegeta in this state. How was it possible Nail’s death had affected him so much? He couldn’t have lost that much power – he had been stronger than this before fusing.

~~You aren’t weak, Piccolo. You are grieving.~~

--Don’t be ridiculous, old man,-- he snapped. --I’m better off without him nattering away at me. I’d be better off without your asinine remarks as well.—

Fortunately, Kami had let the matter drop as he tried to interpret the changes in kis on the planet.

Only his promise to Vegeta to follow the plan and make sure the Saiyan’s family was protected kept him from returning to the surface. He had to get past this foolish weakness and do his job. Bulma and Yamcha were already on their way in response to Vegeta’s signal; Gohan and the boys should be following soon with Chichi and Rezu. He was needed here, even if he was only a glorified baby-sitter.

~~Don’t be foolish, Piccolo. Vegeta trusts you – relies on you.~~

--Yeah – to baby-sit,-- he said bitterly. --A fucking Super Namek – and it means nothing.—

~~Piccolo…~~

--Leave me alone, old man. I’m not in the mood.—

When Goku’s ki had plummeted and then vanished he experienced a terrible sense of loss. As he felt Vegeta’s power rolling through the air he wondered how many more would be lost this day.

“Piccolo?” Dende asked, leaving the shelter of a covered path to join him in staring down at the planet. “Is this it? Are the Kais attacking?”

He nodded, “It looks that way. They didn’t go directly after Vegeta, though.” He glanced over to see Dende studying him strangely. “What?”

“Where’s Nail?”

Damn it. He had forgotten the kid knew the pest before they fused. Piccolo sighed and stared back down, imagining he could see the arrogant prince. “He’s…gone. Killed.”

Dende looked at him in disbelief and Piccolo scowled. There was no way he would explain the strange relationship to this child.

“Oh,” the Guardian finally said, putting his hand on Piccolo’s arm, “I’m sorry – I know he was your friend. Are you injured? Do you need healing?”

He shook his head. Nail had died and he hadn’t done a damn thing to save him. Some friend he was.

Dende looked back over the edge of The Lookout. “I hope Vegeta doesn’t blow up the Earth.”

“It’s possible. Now that Goku’s gone, there’s no one who has a chance of stopping him.” He tried not to think about losing so many friends; if Goku was dead, Vegeta would be joining him soon.

“Goku’s still alive, although I believe he is severely injured. He’s off planet…” Dende said, pointing, “That way. I think he is on the Kais’s planet.”

Piccolo cursed to himself. He was so busy feeling sorry for himself he had missed it. He should have been able to sense Goku, even that far away. Now that he knew where to look, he wondered why Goku would have IT’d there without Vegeta.

Piccolo frowned as he felt the elevated kis of Goten and Trunks rushing towards them. Why hadn’t they done what they were supposed to?

“Brats!” he demanded as soon as they came into view, “Why aren’t you with Gohan?”

“Hey Dende,” Goten said as he landed, ignoring him, “Are you okay? No one’s attacked you, have they?”

Piccolo glared at the boys as Trunks joined him, “I asked you a question.”

Trunks turned and stuck out his tongue. “Gohan’s bringing Goten’s mom, so he sent us ahead to fuse and protect Dende. He said Dad thinks the Kais might try to hurt him.”

~~The dragonballs,~~ Kami said, butting in. ~~If they still exist, the Saiyans might be wished back. We don’t know how desperate the Kais are – New Namek should be warned.~~

He scowled. The old man was right. “Dende, contact Muri and let him know to be prepared just in case.” He turned to the boys, “You two fuse now. Stay alert.”

~~They might come back after you as well…~~

--Let them try.--

He didn’t want to believe the Kais were desperate enough to be capable of murdering a planet’s guardian, but with everything that was happening he suspected it was true. They had killed Nail, believing it was Piccolo – nothing would prevent them from trying to eliminate Dende as well.

He didn’t doubt it for long, however. Just minutes later there was a massive increase in ki, almost as if a door had opened, and Cell appeared, complete with halo. The bastards were pulling monsters out of hell to help them.

“Kill him!” he shouted to Gotenks as he moved to shield Dende from the beam of ki Cell fired. Mirai had been killed by a similar attack – he couldn’t risk the kid getting hit by it. The fusion shouldn’t have a problem eliminating the monster – he was already at level three and stronger than Gohan had been years ago.

Piccolo barely got Dende out of the way in time, the deadly bolt of ki ripping over his own back, the heat igniting his cape. Fortunately, Gohan was there in an instant, putting the flames out before he could be injured any further.

“Piccolo? Dende? Are you two okay?” Gohan asked worriedly. “Sorry I took so long, but I couldn’t go as fast because of the baby.”

Piccolo looked at the strangely comforting face of Dende, whom he had trapped beneath his much larger body. He experienced a momentary flash of confused memory of Nail stretched out beneath him and growled with annoyance. That was over. Nail was dead.

He sat up, wincing, and scanned the area. Gotenks was finishing up destroying the last traces of Cell; Gohan must have told them about his ability to regenerate. “If Vegeta doesn’t kill those bastards, I swear I will,” he muttered.

“Vegeta just left Earth. I think Dad told him how to IT,” Gohan said, helping a slightly shaken Dende to his feet.

Piccolo frowned as Dende began healing him, and tried to twist away, “Leave it alone, kid. I’ll be fine. Save your energy for someone else.”

Dende’s hand clamped on his shoulder, “Don’t argue. Let me do my job,” he insisted.

Piccolo shrugged. If the kid was going to be stubborn, then let him.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Piccolo?” Gohan asked with concern. “You don’t seem like yourself somehow.”

He sighed and got to his feet as Dende quickly healed him. “Don’t worry about it, kid.” He wasn’t going to burden this boy with his troubles; besides, it was just too embarrassing to explain. This day was getting shittier by the moment.

He checked Gotenks’ progress and nodded to himself – as expected, the hyper-aggressive little bastard had managed to eliminate Cell with ease. “What happened to Goku?”

He remained alert to any new attacks as he and Dende listened to Gohan’s explanation. He was stunned. Krillin? The monk had tried to kill Goku – and may have succeeded? At least he understood why Chichi and Bulma had their arms wrapped around each other, sobbing. Yamcha was standing near the women, obviously uncomfortable, trying to comfort them both.

He wondered what had happened to change the monk – in the past, Krillin was one of very few he thought he could rely on. How could they have missed such a drastic change in his personality? Piccolo still couldn’t believe he would have tried to kill a child, no matter how insane he had become. Fortunately for Chichi they should be able to wish Rezu back with the dragonballs.

~~Perhaps Nail can be brought back as well,~~ Kami suggested.

--Don’t be stupid, old man. Even the dragonballs have a limit. He’s been dead for years – there’s no chance.--

“Vegeta’s really doing it,” Gohan said wonderingly, “He’s killing Kais.”

“Good,” he snapped. “They brought it on themselves. The bastards deserve to die.” He could feel their kis vanishing one by one and he wished he could be there to help. He couldn’t remember ever wanting to kill as much as he did now.

“Mom said Dad was in really bad shape…she doesn’t think he’s going to make it…” Gohan said softly. “If he was human he’d be dead.”

“He’s not human, kid. Vegeta won’t let him go without a fight.”

Gohan tried to smile, but failed. “You should have seen Vegeta, Piccolo. He looks terrifying. He covered himself in Dad’s blood and he’s radiating ki like you wouldn’t believe. Even reached Level 4 – long red hair and his dragon tattoo was actually larger - and moving.”

“A pissed off Super Saiyan, covered in blood…” Piccolo smirked, imagining the terror the Kais would experience. “The bastards don’t stand a chance.”

“I can’t believe this is really happening, Piccolo. It doesn’t seem possible,” Gohan said sadly.

Piccolo put his hand on the teen’s shoulder comfortingly. He hoped the boy wouldn’t lose his father again, but the longer Vegeta took, the more likely it seemed. “It’s-,” he began. “Shit!” Vegeta’s ki had just exploded in a wave so powerful he swore he could feel its effects here. He hoped the idiot wasn’t going to lose control and blow up the planet while the Saiyans were still on it.

“The Kais are gone,” Dende said quietly after a minute, “Their planet is starting to break up.”

Piccolo breathed an inner sigh of relief. Gotenks’ fusion had just ended; without him, protecting Dende from the Kais might have been difficult.

“What about Vegeta and Goku?” Bulma demanded, arms still around a weeping Chichi. “Why aren’t they back yet?”

He scowled. He didn’t think Vegeta would give up that easily, but Goku’s ki was virtually undetectable. If he died, so would Vegeta. If they could get back in time, there was a chance Dende could save Goku. The question was – could Vegeta get them back in time? Vegeta had never had Goku’s skill in reading kis; he could believe the prince was able to follow his mate there – but how about getting back? Goku wasn’t here for him to focus on.

“They might not be able to,” he said.

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Vegeta wrapped Kakorr in his ki, wishing there was more he could do for his mate. All he could do was hold him so he wouldn’t be alone when he died. Vegeta had always expected to die alone – he was prepared for it, so it wouldn’t hurt him the same way it would hurt his mate. He wouldn’t live much longer after Kakorr’s death; the planet was already trembling beneath him.

He had tried to bring them home, focusing on Gotenks’ high ki. He was almost prepared to follow it when it had vanished; he hoped it was just because he had run out of time and not because something had happened to his sons. The other kis weren’t sharp enough or high enough for him to follow – he could sense their presence, but that was all.

Kakorr’s injury was weakening Vegeta – he had to look at himself to prove the wound wasn’t actually his, but his mate’s. He continued to speak to Kakorr both out-loud and in his mind, but he was no longer responding.

“I’m sorry, Kakorr. I’m sorry this had to happen to you.” He stroked the wild hair of his mate, purring to comfort him. He wished he could reach his family and ask them for help – give him some kind of beacon so he could save Kakorr. He didn’t believe there was a chance of being brought back to life or even of finding each other in hell, but he would do whatever he could to be with his mate. ::I promise to look for you. I’ll never give up.::

He felt an anguish that surpassed rage – why did the Kais do this? Hadn’t they seen how much he had tried to change? He had been happy – content – for the first time in his life. He had a mate and a family who knew what he had been, and still forgave and accepted him. Did they really think he would risk that to pursue them? He had willingly ignored their past attempts, hoping they would realize he wasn’t planning on fulfilling their foolish prophecy.

He didn’t try to stop the tears as he felt Kakorr drift farther away from him. He didn’t even try to ask his mate to hold on – there was nothing to hold on to anymore. The Kais had brought their destruction on themselves – they never should have gone after his mate or his family. They tried to eliminate the Saiyan race – and with Kakorr’s and his death they would succeed – but at the cost of their own lives.

He tried again to sense a ki high enough to follow home, but there were none. Maybe this was for the best, after all. He hadn’t wanted to go back to killing and purging. He brushed his red tail over his mate’s pale face, “At least we are together, Kakorr. I can’t think of a better way to die.”

And then there was a flare of kis from his family. Even this far away, it was stunning in its power. Trunks and Goten were pushing towards level two, but Gohan was already there, straining for a never reached level three. Even Tama’s energy was flaring in response to her brothers. A beacon. They were showing him the way.

“Yes,” he whispered and followed his family home.

“It worked!”

Vegeta looked around him in wonder and desperation hearing the relieved voices. Dende. Where was Dende? Kakorr’s ki was almost non-existent; if he weren’t touching his mate he doubted he would be able to feel it.

The little Namek rushed forward, practically skidding on his knees as he dropped to Kakorr’s side, green ki already radiating from his hands.

“Save him,” Vegeta pleaded with the Guardian, too distraught to do much else.

“I’m going to take some of your ki,” Dende said, boldly grabbing one of his bloody hands in his. “I’m not going to let Goku die without a fight, Vegeta.”

Vegeta looked at Dende in wonder as he felt the energy being pulled from him and poured into his mate. This wasn’t the same foolish child that would have let him die – the Namek had become a confident, mature Guardian.

“Thank you,” Vegeta said softly, watching Kakorr’s face for some reaction.

Dende didn’t answer, just nodding as he bent over Kakorr with intense concentration. Vegeta could feel Kakorr stabilizing even though the gaping wound was not closing and his mate was still deathly pale. He was relieved though – Kakorr wasn’t in danger of dying with the next breath.

Dende looked at him and nodded, still letting his healing ki flow through his injured mate. “He’s stable enough to eat a Senzu now – if you can get one into him.”

Yamcha held out a small handful of the beans, “Here Vegeta – take as many as you need. You should eat one yourself.”

He looked at the human in confusion, not certain if he should feel angry. Why didn’t he just give Kakorr one as soon as they returned?

“Goku wouldn’t have survived long enough to swallow it,” Piccolo said, as if reading his mind. “Dende bought you time.”

Vegeta nodded and took one, noticing Yamcha stayed close enough for him to get more quickly. He hesitated a moment, trying to figure out how to feed one to his wounded mate, before remembering how Kakorr said he had given him one in the past.

He put the bean in his own mouth, chewing it, feeling some of its power healing his own minor injuries. Vegeta lifted Kakorr’s head slightly, ignoring the red hair that curtained them, and pressed their mouths together. With a gentle kiss he passed some of the magical bean to his wounded mate. The small amount of Senzu worked slowly and incompletely, but after several tense moments Vegeta could sense a slight increase in his mate’s ki as some of his injuries began to heal.

“Another,” Vegeta demanded, holding out his hand to Yamcha.

He gently opened his mate’s mouth and pressed the bean inside, “Eat this, Kakorr. It’s a Senzu,” he whispered in his ear. “Come back to me.” He breathed an audible sigh of relief, not caring who heard, as Kakorr responded, the creases of pain vanishing from his forehead as his gaping wound shrunk and disappeared.

“Vegeta?” Kakorr breathed weakly, looking up at him with cloudy brown eyes.

::Kakorr,:: he said with relief, looping his red tail around Kakorr’s arm. He had been so afraid of losing him forever – too afraid even to admit it to himself for fear it would cripple him.

::What’s wrong? Why can’t I feel you?:: Kakorr asked him, his thoughts as soft as his speech. ::Are you angry with me?::

::Of course I’m not angry, Kakorr. I’m right here with you,:: he answered, experiencing a spike of panic when his mate didn’t respond to his reassurances.

“Why is he still so weak?” he asked. Senzu usually healed completely and made you feel more energized.

“He’s lost an awful lot of blood,” Piccolo said, “Even with Dende’s healing and Senzu that will take some time for him to recover from.”

He growled to himself angrily. He was covered in the evidence of Kakorr’s injury, but he never considered how it would affect their bond. All of the stories he had read as a child had said blood was a key element of mating. How could he have been so foolish to miss the obvious?

Blood. That was why Kakorr hadn’t heard his thoughts and why his own mark was desperately radiating ki, calling out to his mate. He didn’t know if the Kais had known and used that knowledge deliberately, but somehow its loss had temporarily weakened the bond for Kakorr.

He stroked the mark on his mate’s arm lovingly, purring when his dragon flooded with ki in response, making it feel like the flames were licking over his skin. As he touched the leaves of the tree on Kakorr’s arm, he was dismayed at the lack of response of his mate. His own ki was practically boiling from his mark and pouring down his skin.

Vegeta sat up, bringing his mate with him, cradling Kakorr’s head on his shoulder, encouraging him to bite. He became worried when his mate didn’t drink his blood, doing nothing but pressing closer to Vegeta for warmth. “Come on, Kakorr. You have to do this.”

Piccolo crouched down, studying them curiously. “What’s wrong, Vegeta? What are you doing?”

He didn’t hesitate to answer, not caring what the reaction would be or how ridiculous it might sound to someone else. Kakorr’s body was healed, but if he didn’t do something quickly to help him his mind could be damaged. “Blood. He has to drink my blood to heal our bond – but he’s not reacting. He should have bitten me already on instinct – my ki is calling on him to do it.”

“Maybe he can’t,” Piccolo said thoughtfully. Apparently, the idea didn’t surprise or disgust him. “Goku is still very weak, after all. Or maybe he needs to smell yours – which he can’t because you are covered in his.”

Vegeta looked past the Namek to the curious eyes of the others watching them. He realized with shock he didn’t care what they saw, and he didn’t care what they thought. All that mattered was healing his mate, no matter what it took. He curled his tail around his mate’s waist and released his transformation. Kakorr didn’t need a protecting warrior now – he needed his mate.

“Vegeta…help me…” Kakorr begged.

Vegeta gently lifted Kakorr’s unresisting head and stared into fearful brown eyes. Even though his mate couldn’t sense him, he could hear Kakorr’s fear of being alone.

“I can’t feel you... What did they do? Why can’t I feel you?” Kakorr asked in a small voice.

“You will, Kakorr,” he purred softly in his ear, “I promise.” His side of the bond was still strong – he could feel Kakorr burning through him. His mate was too weak and wounded to feel Vegeta’s corresponding claim. He tipped his head slightly and indicated a spot close to his neck, “Piccolo…cut me there. You’re right - he needs to smell my blood.”

The Namek didn’t hesitate or question him, his sharp nails slicing deeply through skin, causing blood to well up and fill the wound instantly. Vegeta moaned softly as his ki snapped and cracked around him, arcing towards Kakorr, calling his mate to join him. He brought Kakorr’s head back down, pressing his mouth against the wound, encouraging him to drink.

After a few seconds, he began to purr as he felt Kakorr’s tongue tentatively drag through his blood, tasting him. When he had licked away all that had spilled from the cut Piccolo had made, Kakorr growled and sunk his teeth in deeply, making Vegeta cry out in pleasure and relief. Vegeta held his mate close as Kakorr drank hungrily, drawing ki and blood, allowing Vegeta to flow through him, restoring their weakened bond.

::Vegeta?:: Kakorr said wonderingly, already stronger, still lapping at the blood flowing from the bite, ::Where were you?::

::I’ve never left you, Kakorr. You were just too injured to feel me.::

::Oh,:: he said, obviously embarrassed of his unspoken fear. ::I thought I was alone.::

::As long as I live you will never truly be alone, Kakorr. Rest now. You’re safe; they will never hurt you again.::

Kakorr purred contentedly as their kis swirled around them, settling into Vegeta’s protective embrace.

TBC