The Proud Prince

   He had to right the wrongs he had made. He couldn't believe he had allowed this to happen. He had sworn he'd never be controlled again; yet he'd been taken over by Babidi. Because of that, his son was now in danger. He had to get there in time. He had to save his son. After knocking out Kakarot as a precaution, he had flown straight here. Now he stood in Majin Buu's path, blocking him from his son.

  Caught off-guard by Vegeta's arrival, it had gone well at first, but now the tide of battle had turned. Majin Buu had capitalized on an opening, and now he was somehow wrapped in a part of Majin Buu himself; receiving the beating of his life. The punches kept coming. He was going to be beaten to death. Through a haze of pain, he heard Trunk's anger-filled cry of "NOOO!!!!" Suddenly, Buu was sent flying backward, leaving Vegeta suspended by the threads that had held him. Trunks had thrown himself into the fray of battle and a well-placed kick had caught Buu off-guard. That gave them the opportunity they needed. With the help of his friend Goten, Trunks began unraveling the web, freeing his father. Now free, Vegeta stood as he realized what he had to do. But first he needed to get Trunks out of harms way. He had to do something fast though. Majin Buu was beginning to stir. Vegeta knew what he must do to finally defeat Buu, but he couldn't do that with Trunks here. He had to get him away and out of danger.

 "Trunks, listen. You need to take good care of your mother." "Take care of mom? But...you can do that too right? Why do you want me to take care of mom? Are you going somewhere?" "I want you two to leave and get far away from here. As for Buu...I'll fight him alone." "Don't do that!!" "Goten's right!! We'll fight with you. You dont wanna get killed do you? You've got ot let us help you dad!" "Stop it! It's too dangerous for you two. I will finish this myself." Trunks shook his head. "Are you in Goten?" "Yeah!" "See? We're with you!" "Come on! It'll be easier to beat him with me and Trunks!" "Yeah! We'll gang up on him! He won't know what hit him!" "Yeah, we're tough! We could even beat that big blob without your help, right Trunks?" "Yeah!" Suddenly though, both boys covered their mouths in horror and stared wide-eyed over Vegeta's shoulder.

  Spinning around, Vegeta saw that Majin Buu was stirring and realized he had to act fast.  Knowing the only way to keep Trunks safe was to get him far away from here, he made up his mind. He hated what he was about to do, but knew it was the only way to save his son's life; and so he acted on his decision. "Trunks, you're my only son and yet I haven't held you once since you were a baby, have I?" He turned towards him and reached out. "Come here son." "Dad, what's wrong?" Trunks was confused as his normally stern and distant father hugged him close. "This is embarrassing." After a few moments of standing like this, Vegeta spoke again. "You've made me proud, my son." With a swift motion, Vegeta brought his hand down against the back of his son's head, knocking him out. Before Goten could do much more than utter a shocked gasp and an angry shout of "Whyd you do that?", Vegeta swiftly knocked him out as well. Seeing this, Piccolo flew over just as Majin Buu was climbing to his feet. His angry eyes focused on Vegeta as he began to walk forward. Seeing this, Vegeta addressed Piccolo.

 "Take the two boys and get as far away from here as possible. Go now!!" "Of course." Piccolo reached down and threw Trunks over his shoulder and held Goten by the back of his shirt, before turning back to Vegeta. "You'll die. You know that." Vegeta was silent for a moment before speaking. "There is one thing I'd like to know... Tell me, will I meet that clown Kakarot in Other World?" Piccolo studied him for a moment before responding. "I'm not gonna lie to you Vegeta, although it may be difficult for you to hear." Vegeta said nothing, so Piccolo continued. "Goku devoted his life to protecting the lives of others. Because of his selflessness, when he died he was allowed to keep his body and travel to King Kai's planet. You, on the other hand, have spent your life in pursuit of your own selfish desires. You've caused too much pain. When you die, you will not receive the same reward." Vegeta wasn't surprised to hear this, but it stung nonetheless. It reminded him of how selfish he had been in letting Babidi take control of him. That only strengthened his resolve to do this. For once, he would be selfless and sacrifice himself to save someone else. Vegeta gave a bitter smile and bowed his head. "Oh well, so be it." Majin Buu was advancing on them yet again. They were out of time. "That will be all. Get out of here and hurry!!!"

  With a final nod, Piccolo flew away. Vegeta waited until he was out of sight before facing the moster yet again. Buu was only a few yards away, and his eyes bore a murderous glare. "In order to defeat you I'll have to blow you into so many pieces you can't even regenerate!!!" Vegeta began to power up. He would need all the energy he could gather. "I know I'll die doing this; and judging by what the Namekian just said I'll probably go to Hell. But Im not going by myself!!! I'm taking you with me!!!!" A dome of energy appeared around him. In his mind's eye, he saw some of the good things he'd done in his life. Pushing Gohan out of the way of Frieza's blast, helping Kakarot get to the rejuvination tank to heal, standing against Frieza with the others, standing against Cell. There were only a few good things, and now he could add this sacrifice to the list. Maybe they'd offer him a small amount of redemption. he hoped so anyway. lastly, he recalled his family, and the people he'd come to know as his friends. As images of his family came to mind, a soft smile crossed his face. He was doing this for them, and he realized he would willingly make this sacrifice any day for them. He expressed his final thoughts to the wind. "Trunks, Bulma, I do this for you." As a flash of Goku's face came to mind, he smirked. "Yes...even you, Kakarot."

   His power reaching the desired level, he spread his arms apart. A lone tear slipped down his cheek. "Goodbye..." With a mighty yell, he pushed the wave outward, focusing the blast on Majin Buu. Confused by what Vegeta had been doing, Majin Buu didn't have time to block. Engulfed in the glow; the Saiyan Prince vanished in an agonizingly brilliant flash of light. He had reclaimed his pride and his honor. His noble sacrifice had been made.