Madness

Chapter Two

Midnight. That's when Goku woke up with a pounding head and Vegeta muttering unintelligibly beside him. Other than that, all Goku could hear was static in their link. Something was horribly wrong. "Vegeta! Vegeta, snap out of it!" Goku barked, and it was gone in a split second.

Silence filled the room. Vegeta was stiff, motionless and facing away from Goku. Goku wrapped an arm around his waist and drew him to his chest. "Vegeta? Are you ok? Talk to me; what happened?"

Vegeta was silent only a moment more. "I... I had a strange dream. That's all. I'm sorry I woke you."

Goku stopped breathing. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that someone else entirely was lying in his bed. The tone and words certainly did not match Vegeta. "Vegeta...?"

Vegeta suddenly jolted. "Tch! Kakarrot!?" He thrashed slightly, looking frantically over his shoulder. When he saw his mate's surprised face, he relaxed somewhat, but still seemed on edge. "Kakarrot, what happened?"

"I don't know," Goku answered honestly. "You were acting odd, then you started talking, then you woke up." He stroked Vegeta's arm. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Vegeta nodded. "I think so. I... Never mind." He closed his eyes and settled down again. Now that was the Vegeta Goku knew, but it wasn't the Vegeta he needed right now.

"Vegeta. Talk to me. Please. No one can hide anything now. Not in times like these." Goku buried his face in Vegeta's hair. "Just tell me, please."

"They were attacking me," Vegeta said softly, his voice clipped. He obviously did not want to talk about it. "I couldn't move. But they didn't actually do anything to me. They just looked at me, and got in my face, and left." His voice began to shake. "But the smell of blood was everywhere. I... Kakarrot, I started to enjoy it. The smell. I still couldn't move. Then I heard myself saying that I was becoming the real me." He exhaled. "Then I woke up."

Goku continued to breathe in Vegeta's scent. "It was just a dream, babe. It's ok. We're safe, you and me. Ok? I love you. Please don't worry." He kissed Vegeta's temple and worked his way down to his neck. Vegeta was smirking now, so he knew he was calming him. He hummed against the warm skin. Vegeta exhaled contentedly, shifting back against Goku.

When Goku decided to get more adventurous, Vegeta pushed him away. "Ok, ok, enough," he chuckled.

"Aww."

~~Timeskip~~

Goku flinched when Vegeta again lost his focus and slammed right into a closed door. The Prince looked baffled. "The...? This was open a second ago." But Goku knew that it had never been open, and even when Vegeta had looked right at it, he didn't seem to notice it was closed. He glanced over at Goku and rubbed the back of his head, a nervous habit he was beginning to pick up from Goku.

He seemed almost to be waiting for something. Goku slowly approached and questioningly opened the door. Vegeta blinked. "Oh! Uh... Th- Thanks, Kakarrot..." He left quickly. Goku frowned worriedly. What on earth was going on? He didn't seem to have whatever illness was corrupting the world. After the first symptoms, it was usually less than twenty four hours before it really descended.

Vegeta had been acting odd for four days. Four days.

"And yet, he's displaying every pre-symptom," Piccolo pondered, crossing his arms as he observed Vegeta, who seemed oblivious to their presence.

Dende nodded. "He's right, Goku. What I don't understand is why he isn't just cracking like everyone else..."

Goku refused to accept such a thought. He shook his head. "No, he's... Maybe... He's... He's been around them so much, maybe it's an empathy thing? I mean, whenever I get sick, he's almost as bad as me. His empathy has gotten pretty strong over the years."

Piccolo grunted, not convinced. "How does he fight then? No. It's not empathy. Sorry, Goku." The tall warrior turned and began to leave. "If he'd let me, I could try to get a look in his head to figure out just what's going on, but I really don't want to risk my own sanity. Thank you very much."

Goku joined his quiet mate, putting on a warm smile to conceal his worry. "Hey, babe," he said, wrapping his arms around Vegeta's shoulders. "You good?"

"Mm? Mmhm." Vegeta nodded.

Goku frowned. Vegeta wasn't a wordy person, but Goku couldn't really recall when Vegeta wouldn't at least speak a word or two. Now the smaller Saiyan was looking out the window at the clouds that drifted around the Lookout. They were pretty in the dying, red light of the setting sun. Goku smiled again and held Vegeta close, rocking slightly as if to some silent song. Together they watched the sky turn black. Vegeta was still and silent, leaning against Goku as he rocked.

Finally Goku kissed his cheek. "Hey, let's go find something to eat," he whispered. Vegeta only nodded and took his hand, signalling for Goku to lead the way.

~~Timeskip because I don't know what to write because I'm stupid lol~~

It was gradual, but Vegeta finally stopped speaking. He nodded, or shook his head, or signaled in some way, but not a sound left him.

"I'm telling you, he's sick!" Dende hissed to Goku. "I don't want this to happen either, but we have to face the facts that we're about to lose him." He rubbed his forehead. "I can try to slow it down, delay it. But this is where the road ends. It's over, Goku!" The young Namek approached Vegeta, who watched their interaction with vague, distracted interest.

Dende stood on his toes and rested his fingers against Vegeta's temples. He closed his eyes to concentrate. The green healing glow surrounded Vegeta, but it was weak. The Saiyan continued to passively watch him. Dende suddenly shuddered and yanked his hands away as if he'd been burned. "I-! He shut me out!" Dende looked at his hands, then back at Vegeta. "This isn't possible." He reached up again, but only with one hand this time. He flinched again. The Namek growled suddenly, baring his teeth.

"Dende, get back!" Goku barked, then hopped forward and yanked the trembling Namek away from his smirking mate. Dende immediately burst into tears, clinging to Goku.

"How does he stand it!?" Dende wailed. "Goku, it hurts so much! I can't make it stop!"

"Shh, shh, shh. It's ok, Dende, I'm so sorry," Goku rambled, holding the little Kami tightly. "Oh, Dende. What did you see?"

"There's blood everywhere," Dende whimpered. "All he can hear are his whispers. Goku, he's calling them- all of them. He's trying to infect everyone. He's never going to give up."

"Who?" Goku said, baffled. "Dende, you're not making sense."

"I don't know who," Dende whispered, calmer now. "But the sickness. I understand it now. Kind of. It unlocks the most base nature of every living thing. But it doesn't work. Not for long, anyway. He's trying to find the right... I don't know, the right combination? He's calling all the infected, but I guess they don't know what it means."

"Sounds like a parasite," Goku growled.

Dende shook his head. "No. No, not a parasite. It's beyond even that. It's something that... It's almost something that turns you into a walking bomb. When time's up, you lose it. Your body caves, your mind gives under the... I don't even know what to call it."

Goku looked at Vegeta. The Prince gazed almost smugly at him before turning slowly and just walking away.