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A/N: Some of the warnings for this won't apply until later in the story. Any feedback is appreciated. Please let me know if this first chapter needs work so I can fix things! It doesn't feel like it's quite finished to me.

Full Summary: After the Earth is attacked by an unknown enemy, Vegeta wakes up under the care of the Kais only to find out that Goku is dead. As he heals, he begins to discover there may be a way for him to stop those horrible events and save his own time and Goku. But will Vegeta be able to formulate a plan without the Kais knowing before it's too late?

~~~

Vegeta crawled out from underneath the rubble, throwing aside a long, thick piece of metal that had fallen across his legs and lower back. Sweat dripped down his forehead, neck, and chest, soaking the tattered remains of his shirt. He attempted to use his arms to pull himself out of the dent he made in the earth when he fell back down, twisting his leg. The intensity of the pain stopped his struggling.

Looking around, he tried to get his bearings and failed. His head throbbed, and his heart pounded in his chest. Vegeta hadn’t anticipated a fight of that magnitude—not now, not after he and Kakarot had worked so hard to make sure Earth stayed a peaceful home for their families. He used what the little strength he had left in his arms to lift himself up and settle on the ground. The back of his head hit the ground hard and made his eyes tear up.

Large chunks of earth had been removed from the ground, and where the forest behind his home once stood, there now was nothing but a huge crater. Most of the trees and plants were gone, and what remained was charred remnants of a once lush forest.

Vegeta turned his head and saw Kakarot trying to stand. Each movement seemed like a struggle and ended just like his had a moment ago. Kakarot’s body looked broken, his left arm twisted and contorted at an odd angle. Vegeta was certain he saw a bit of bone sticking out from the tattered ends of Kakarot’s shirt sleeve. A broken arm no doubt. There was also a lot of blood. Too much. For once Vegeta wished he had a senzu bean to toss Kakarot’s way.

After a few moments, he collapsed in a heap a few feet away from Vegeta.

That wasn’t a good sign. Vegeta had thought if anyone would come out of the fight able to walk, it would be Kakarot. Then again, he spent the past few minutes unconscious—anything could have happened in those few minutes. The world could have been destroyed in only a few minutes. Instead, he woke up in time to see its end.

The ground shook and more cracks in the Earth’s surface formed. Vegeta heard an explosion in front of him and saw flames engulf his Capsule Corp motorcycle. Everything seemed to be falling apart right in front of him, and he didn’t have the strength to do anything about it.

They both miscalculated their own strength and abilities, forgetting they had been dead for too long. Training in Other World made them stronger, sure, but Vegeta knew it paled in comparison. The Crucified annihilated everything in their path; the Earth lay in ruins.  And he blamed himself more than anything. He had been the one who pushed them to fight head-on instead of looking to the Dragon Balls for help. He found that while life on Earth had satisfied him in many ways, his life as a warrior had ended.

He had wanted one last big fight at the very least, something that would make him feel alive again, feel like his life wasn’t wasting away into slavishness. And he got that big fight. Now it seemed like his wish had over-reached his expectations. They miscalculated their own fallibility. Both of them had gotten so strong from training and fighting each other that it had become had to imagine there was an enemy out there they couldn’t defeat.

In the end they had both fallen.

Heat from the fire grew hotter and closer, spreading fast in the dry air. An odd sound started buzzing in his ears. Louder and louder until Vegeta let out a roar. His hands tried to reach up and cover them, but they wouldn’t move. It sounded like Kakarot was calling out to him, but Vegeta couldn’t understand what he said. Too much noise and interference blocked any chance of coherency. Moving his hands to cover his ears, Vegeta let out a roar of pain.

The last thing he saw was a flash of white blinding light and then nothing. 

~~~~

Vegeta, wake up…

The soft comforting whisper brought Vegeta to his senses. The voice sounded familiar, something he hadn’t heard for a long time. Bulma. But she died years ago of a heart attack. Perhaps he was in other world. Or probably stuck in a dream. He’d open his eyes and he’d be lying next to Kakarot, both of them bloodied and bruised but alive. And somehow, against all odds, the Earth would be safe.

Open your eyes, Vegeta.

Vegeta slowly tried to open his eyes—each time shutting them and opening his eyelids a little more to adjust to the blinding white light overhead. The first thing he immediately noticed he wasn’t on the battlefield. His head hurt, but he couldn’t feel the rest of his body much at all.

A bright white light shined down on him. Squinting his eyes, he swallowed, trying to get rid of the feeling that he had a lump in his throat. A rustling noise caught his attention, and Vegeta turned his head towards the sound. A female stood next the middle of the bed, looking over a thin stack of papers that were bound by black string at the top.

The female was a Kai. He could tell by her pointed ears, black eyes, and bluish-purplish skin. The Kais must have sent someone to get save Kakarot and him from the explosion. He wondered where they had put Kakarot. Vegeta moved his arm and again noticed he didn’t feel much of anything. The sensation disturbed him. A good majority of his life had been filled with pain from fighting or training, and even when it wasn’t, he could feel old pains and past broken bones that ached.

“What are you giving me?” Vegeta demanded, figuring she had probably pumped him full of painkillers. But he wanted an answer, to know for sure.

“Something to take away the pain.” She pulled out a syringe and pulled to top cap off. “You’re due for another dose.”

“I am a warrior. I don’t need… pain medication.” Vegeta distastefully spat out the last part. “I can do without.”

The Kai looked up at him with a look of disbelief on her face. “That is not an option. The pain would be too much for you.”

“How dare you…” Vegeta tried to lean his head up. When he tried his body, it didn’t budge. And he realized he had no idea where he even was. “Where am I exactly?”

She barely glanced his way, more concerned with patching up a wound on his right side. “You are in Ancestor Kai’s home. We felt this would be the best place to restore your health.”

“How long will I have to stay here?” While Vegeta appreciated the Kais for helping him, he didn’t feel it was necessary for them to confine him to bed.

“You were badly injured from battle.” The Kai’s fingers smoothed out the bandage on his arm. “We had to get you out of there as quickly as possible before the Earth exploded. It will take some time for you to heal.”

“And Kakarot?” Vegeta had figured that Kakarot would at least be allowed out of bed. “How come I don’t hear him yapping at me?”

“Sorry, he didn’t make it out alive.” The woman answered. “We were only able to save one of you.”

Her response stunned him. Vegeta felt sick to his stomach. He had always known that the day would come when one of them died, but he had always assumed he’d be the first to go. Not only because Kakarot was younger than him but because he was stronger.  Kakarot had saved the universe so many times—he should have been the one rescued. Instead, his life, which seemed worth so little in comparison, had been spared. What had he done that deserved another chance?

“Why me, then? Why not choose Kakarot?” He could feel his anger building up inside him. “He’s the one who saved the Kais so many times before. He’s the one who should have been saved.”

“We chose you because he asked us to.” The woman turned away from him and began pushing buttons on a machine next to him. It was clear the conversation was over. “It was our gift to him.”

He sat up and tried to move his legs off the table only to discover he couldn’t move them. “What the hell?” He tried to move again with the same results. He turned and looked at the woman. “Why can’t I move my legs?”

“You can’t move them because they’re both broken,” she bluntly stated. “I’ve finished wrapping and cleaning all your wounds. You should try to rest, Vegeta.”

The sound of her heels clicking against the floor lulled him to sleep while the pain medication kicked in.