Tasting Bliss

An hour later, Vegeta had a possible solution. Far from West City Vegeta blazed his trail through the twilight skies. Around him flared his royal blue ki, flickering in a long trailing comet's tail behind him. Far below trees and houses streaked into a continuous blur. Vegeta knew that Goku often trained in remote areas with either Pan or his protegee Majuub. Ever since Goku stumbled on the ss4 form it had grated on Vegeta's nerves. Now he aimed to do something about that situation. Permanently.

To accomplish his mission Vegeta figured that a very small device that could fit into the palm of his hand or in his pocket would come in handy. Reaching into his pocket he fingered the item and recalled the day Bulma had called him into her lab a year ago.

With a towel hanging around his neck he had strode into the lab to see her bent over the table. Tongue poking out of the corner of her lips Bulma's slender white fingers deftly manipulated wires with miniature tools. Light gleamed off the gold and red cylinder she threaded microcomponents and glistening fiber optics through like stringing beads on a necklace.

"Aren't you the busy woman," he remembered saying.

Not looking up she murmured her greeting much in the way he used to. The clever smirk washed away with Vegeta's sudden angry frown. Any efforts into being 'cordial' seemed worthless lately. As much time she accused him of spending in his GR she was equally guilty passing countless hours in her laboratory. Sometimes he wondered if she really gave a rat's tail if he came to visit her or not. All at Bulla's insistence too he would drop in unannounced and hope to surprise her, but it went wasted on Bulma.

Anger and resentment flared till she turned and picked up the item that was the focus of his vexation. Speechless, Vegeta could only stammer and blush to see it laying on the flat of her extended hand held toward him.

"Bulma, I am so honored… that you'd give this to me," Vegeta remembered stammering.

On the edge of his memory flared a supernova of ki. Vegeta's senses bounced instantly back to the present moment where he zoomed high above the thick expansive forest. In all directions it lay as a green bedspread covering the sinusoidal mountains. Directly ahead the heart of the blinding star settled upon the high curved point of Mt. Pauzo.

Goku's mountain retreat, Vegeta nodded his head. Slowly the corner of his thin mouth twitched up into a smirk. Perfect. Clamping all the shutters on his ki the Saiyan Prince dropped his speed to a gentle silent hover overhead. Defiantly the star of Goku's ki outshone the galaxy of tiny flickers within Vegeta's perceptions. Soon it eclipsed all doubts of the path he embarked upon. There would be no turning back from this outing.

Only the tips of Vegeta's boots barely touched each blade of grass on the forest floor. Silently he glided around the huge trunks of mighty trees stretching their branches overhead. Dancing leaves blocked the shafts of sunlight fortunate enough to hit the forest floor, shifting the spots of light he glided over. His body broke the beams. In his ears the throbbing beat of his pulse drowned out the forest noises. Then a delicious smell wafted up to his nose. Vegeta flared his nostrils at the musk growing ever thicker.

He could hear the alto shrill of someone shouting "KYAY!" through the trees. Grinding to a halt Vegeta dove behind the nearest tree. If he peered around it he could look down at the lone figure's single foot still on the ground. Further up Vegeta's vision traced the tan baggy pants hiding the musculature of the leg attached to the martial arts clad foot. Clearly the other leg was slightly raised with bent knee and toe of his left foot angled down wearing the matching shoe.

Vegeta snapped his vision to the cerise tail swishing lazily back and forth, following the appendage to its base merging into a glorious backside. Diverting up the spine of the tail's owner he saw fur the same shade covering gliding muscles. Massive shoulders flared out from the tapered waist in a triangular torso heavily creased with high definition angles. If Vegeta reached out to touch the glossy coat would it feel as soft as sable?

A light puff of wind gently shifted the fall of spikes cascading to the fighter's shoulders that Vegeta realized was an ebony Saiyan mane. Just by looking at the spikes sticking up on the top of the figure's head Vegeta could tell who it was.

Again the red haze crept to the edge of Vegeta's forward view. Accompanied by the quickening of his beating heart, hunger rumbled his innards. Not for food, but for the satiation of that soul deep emptiness not even Bulma could fill.

Before him was the other last Full Blooded Saiyan. Totally alone and crackling with full sparkling fury along every particle of his red furry body. Frozen perfectly still Son Goku, Savior of Chikyuu tensed his back muscles so they slightly shifted under the glorious coat Vegeta ached to pet. Only slightly did the figure move before both spread arms and bend the solitary leg he stood upon. This left him wide open to Vegeta's realization.

A split second later, Goku shifted his weight and snapped his bent leg down. The other leg flashed up in a mighty kick felling an invisible opponent, punctuated by Goku uttering "KYAY!"

Such a sharp shrill tone echoed around the clearing and twisted Vegeta's stomach into anxious eager knots. At the same moment the musk scent filled Vegeta's nostrils to the exclusion of all other olfactory sensations.

Automatically Vegeta flew to the attack. Kakkarot with his back turned presented a golden opportunity, and the Saiyan Prince could not stop himself from tackling that muscular waist clad in a blue sash. He wrapped his thick muscular arms around Kakkarot's solid body, using the full momentum of his small muscular frame. Through his spandex costume Vegeta felt the warmth of the glorious Super Saiyan 4 body tensing and twisting.

Instead of hurling Vegeta away, Son Goku grunted with the viselike grip of the Prince's arms around his waist, and let himself fly with the Prince's momentum across the clearing. At the last moment Son Goku grabbed Vegeta's arms and twisted them easily away. Undaunted, Vegeta brought his head forwards and slammed it against Son Goku's. Two gold eyes immediately focussed for a microsecond into his dark black ones.

"Nice try, Vegeta," spoke the raspy voice causing Vegeta's heart to skip beats. "But you'll hurt yourself if you try that."

"Blast you, Kakkarot," Vegeta snapped, as Son Goku leaned back and flipped him over his head.

Quickly Vegeta twisted his body out of the flip and slipped his hand into his pocket. That brief moment of contact had done its work, and he could feel the buzzing of the blutz wave emitter through his fingers. He stopped his backward flight, whipping the small generator out and hurling it upwards.

Gold eyes followed the progress of Vegeta's throw, arcing gracefully overhead. Suddenly a blinding blue white light overwhelmed Son Goku's vision, ten times as bright as the golden sun. He hissed and clenched sharply pointed canine teeth, temporarily blinded. Dark red eyelids snapped shut and he threw one hand over his face to block out the surging radiation slamming into his body. A loud roar echoed in his ears and a tremendous wind blasted in his face. When his sight returned Son Goku's gold eyes widened in mild surprise at the huge bulk of the golden ape pounding its chest.

"A little further, Vegeta," Son Goku whispered, twitching the corners of his lips into a feral smile. At last the Prince was coming out to play. A mighty howl crescendo into a snarl simultaneously as the golden ape shrank like a deflated parade balloon. The smaller shape morphed into a scarlet furred feral whose tail swirled back and forth like his own. Deep blue eyes stared with predatory intensity in the angular face framed by longer mahogany locks.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Kakkarot," the Ascended Prince growled.

Goku frowned. Just what was the reason that his own heart skipped beats at the sight of the transformed Prince, he wondered. One of the drawbacks Goku discovered about his new form was the enhanced senses and instincts that went hand in hand with incredible power. In his many battles Son Goku realized he liked feeling the full might of his newfound SS4.

Along with that zeal for battle his Saiyan side walked the razor's edge between rationality and the desire to embrace his inner beast. That great ape within ached to take full control, and Son Goku was terrified that he would succumb full. Worse yet, Goku worried that he would not wish to return to his own self once he slid down that slippery slope. Such a descent from reason could result in a beserker rage no one could stop.

"So, here we all, both all powered up, Vegeta," Son Goku rasped. He touched his booted feet down only teen paces from where the Prince landed. Wind ruffled the glossy fur a shade or two darker then Goku's own. Vegeta's face creased into a regal scowl, though judging by the power crackling through the Prince's body he was far from unhappy.

"Accept my challenge, Kakkarot," Vegeta answered, fixing Son Goku in a sapphire stare.

Now it was Goku's turn to flare his nostrils at the rich musk scent. Something about the smell caused Son Goku's body to shiver in strange anticipation. Frowning, he wondered just why he was suddenly so eager to fight after so long?