Hello everyone! Long time no write! Please note this story is a direct sequel to my one shot story, Feast of Fools. I highly recommend you read this one first before starting The Great Desertion. Here's the link!
s/9242405/1/Feast-of-Fools
On another note, kindly be advised I do not own DBZ or any of its characters.
Prologue: One year after the Great Desertion
Present
There was carnage all around; bloodied bodies lying in piles or scattered across the vast field, making it increasingly difficult to avoid stepping on dismembered appendages. There was a trail of smoke, and small patches of catching fire here and there, so it was easy to visually pinpoint where the weapons were used without having to rely on more advance methods.
There were booming explosions in the distance; some were still fighting, though it was immediately clear which side was winning.
Suddenly, there was a bright light coming from far beyond the horizon, its hue almost blinding. Simultaneously, the many scouters of fallen warriors, most still attached to their bloodied faces, began to beep louder and louder…until the sound of the many beeps synchronized and became ear piercing, deafening to those who could still hear…and then they all exploded.
Bulma awoke to the sound of a shrieking alarm. It took her several minutes before she could snap out of her dreamy state and by that time, the one-man pod was already breaking through the planet's atmosphere. The computer had initiated the automatic landing sequence, which included waking her up from hyper-sleep in time for the somewhat bumpy landing.
"I hate this part…" She muttered as she braced herself for the jolting which always accompanied landing, speaking out loud for the first time in two months.
"Are you with me, asshole?" She asked as she pushed the comm link. The response from the companion pod was immediate.
"Yes, princess. Can't get rid of me that easy." Raditz' voice was loud and clear, despite the jostling of the pod.
"We land in five, four, three, two…" Bulma braced herself as the pod finally touchdown somewhat less violently than she had expected. The hatch immediately opened and Bulma was thankful to finally breathe some fresh air. She took a moment to collect her thoughts before unbuckling and grabbing onto the handle bars so she could lift herself from the encapsulating craft and finally be rid of the extremely cramp space.
"Good morning princess, glad you made it in one piece." Raditz stuck his head into the pods only exit, completely invading her personal space with his twisted grin before offering his hand to help her off.
"Yeah, yeah…and stop calling me that!" She accepted his assistance, but once off, she elbowed him as hard as she could. Not that it could actually hurt him, but it didn't stop her from trying.
Raditz pretended to be hurt, doubling over in an exaggerated manner before chuckling softly at himself. But by now Bulma was focused on the landscape before them, and the seemingly barren land which had haunted her dreams for so long. There was no sign of mal doing and the field only housed dirt and small patches of brown grass. No dismembered bodies or fallen worriers.
"Can you check your scouter?" Bulma felt a chill run up and down her spine as she heard the beep of the eye piece from her companion as the devise scanned the field. The beep which proceeded she knew signaled a negative respond.
"Nothing." He stated somewhat unnervingly.
Bulma stayed silent for a long moment, not sure how to react to the news of no news.
Nothing.
The word resonated in her head. It just didn't make any sense!
"I mean…that's impossible. Right? Shouldn't the scouter pick up something? A large animal or some form of critter or other?" Raditz asked, staring at the field with as much perplexity as she felt.
"You might not be the brightest crayon in the box…but you have a damn good point." Her mind quickly began formulating a hypothesis for the lack of readings. The planet was inhabited, or at least it was in the past. It would be impossible that no form of life roamed the planet in some shape or form. And, despite her hazy dreams and the lack of information on the files she had been able to examine, there should be some trace of life forms. If Raditz scouter was not malfunctioning, the only other explanation would be…
"…Raditz…we need to get back to the pods."
But as they turned around, Bulma's fears were realized. Five hooded figures stood before them, and their demeanor did not suggest they were happy to see them.
"Shit." They both said simultaneously.
For the second time that day, Bulma awoke in a hazy state. This time, instead of the usual sight of the cramp one-man pod, she opened her eyes to unknown surroundings. She could tell she was behind a force field because of the yellow hue, and her head felt heavier than it should. Did someone hit her on the head? It sure felt like it…
She was lying on the floor, she realized, and just thinking about moving gave her a headache so she stayed put. Instead, without moving anything but her eyes, she scanned the room beyond the force field. There was a man standing at an arched entrance facing away from her and she noted the walls and floor seemed to be made out of dirt like material.
There was some laughter coming from beyond the archway and suddenly three new figures entered the room. To her surprise, one of them was Raditz..
"Is the princess still out?" He asked as he entered, and Bulma quickly closed her eyes, not moving a muscle, pretending to still be sleeping.
"I guess…she hasn't as much as stirred." One of the guards replied, as she tried to even her breathing as much as possible.
"Well, she's bound to be plenty angry, so let me know when she wakes…"
Bulma could hear some feet shuffling around and laughter again, this time moving away from the room and down what she could only assume to be a hallway. Carefully, she opened her eyes again and now found two guards standing near the archway, which apparently was the only way in and out of the room. Curiously, both guards were facing away from her, and Bulma was starting to get the feeling that she was not being held captive as much as being held away from something…
No longer able to lie still in her current position, she shifted as slowly as possible until she was able to sit up. Her head felt heavy as she ran a hand through her chin long hair. Still trying to get used to her new look, Bulma was happy to at least be able to run her fingers through her blue tresses as opposed to when it was completely shaved. It had taken her the entire year to get it this long.
One of the men guarding the entrance noticed her movement and quickly mumbled something inaudible into a walkie of sort. Both guards she could recognize to be capeters, a humanoid type race which only distinctive features were ridges in either side of their foreheads. They were not known for being powerful in terms of ki, but they weren't dumbest race in the Universe, either, and what they held in their hands was enough to make her fear them slightly.
They had ki guns. And not just any ki guns…
"Recognize these?" One of them spoke as he held the gun tighter to his form, his tone somewhat hostile towards her.
"Yes." She didn't say anything else. No need to elaborate.
Now she understood why she was behind the shield.
Chapter One: Reunion
Three month before the Great Desertion
"Where are my volunteers?" She asked as she handed Zarbon the pad, which he took without removing his eyes off of her. Saying she hated him would be an understatement…he was just as evil as the emperor himself, but worst yet, as he believed his 'great' looks entitled him to anything he wanted, including her. Even after her blatant refusals and her rather indiscrete encounter with a certain saiyan absolutely loathed by Zarbon, he still was not deterred. He continued his advances and quite a few times came close to simply forcing himself on her.
"Volunteers?" He asked, almost purring, and looking as though he had no idea what she was talking about. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Bulma sighted somewhat audibly before turning away from the green alien, uncaring of how powerful he was compared to her.
"I told you I needed strong warriors for this next phase. I can't test the weapons on just any third class dimwit. I specifically asked for two of the Ginyu Force members. Or would you like for me to test it on you?" Bulma framed her waist with her hands as she berated Zarbon, still unsure why His Supreme Ruler had appointed the green alien to 'assist' in the final phase of her latest creation. If anything, he simply got in her way and she was beginning to suspect he was doing it on purpose…
"If your objective here is to assist in my failure, then you are succeeding!" She couldn't help but raise her voice as she made her way across the lab, ignoring as the technicians scurried away from her in fear.
After all, if Zarbon was known for his vanity, she was as infamous for her temper.
"Relax, sweetheart. I have your volunteers. They should be arriving very soon." Once again, his speech was more of a purr, and the grin he offered sent chills down Bulma's spine. And not the good kind.
"Is it the two Ginyu members I asked for?" She asked, ignoring the disgusting pet name Zarbon favored for her. It made her sick to her stomach every time she heard him say it.
"Trust me, your volunteer will be much better." His grin grew into a full smile accompanied by a chuckle as he walked across the lab after her and only stopped until he was a mere couple of inches away.
"You will thank met for this." And with that, he exited the lab, leaving her with more questions than answers. She knew staring daggers at the back of Zarbon's head would not really accomplish anything, but oh how she wished she could vaporize him with just her stare!
The computer consol chimed behind her, calling her attention and she almost immediately forgot about the maniacal alien and her utter hatred for him.
"Shipment received in hanger 10….validation required before release?" Bulma read the instructions out loud to herself, somewhat confused. She'd never had to 'release' any shipment before, but she supposed today was as good a day as any.
Not wasting any more time, she took off her white lab coat and made sure to grab her gun before she exited the lab.
"You need clearance to board." The guard insisted, daring to place a hand on Vegeta's armored chest.
"You will remove your hand or I shall remove the arm along with it." Nappa's voice boomed next to Vegeta's ear, and he had to resist the urge to wince. Instead, he simply looked at the guard, whom immediately took a step back, holding his hand to his own chest as though it burnt.
"What do you mean we need clearance? We were summoned here, by the green lizard himself!" This time it was Raditz yelling to the sorry excuse of a guard, who now stood visibly shaking in front of the hanger door.
"We don't have to take this bullshit from this ki-less piece of shit!" Raditz seemed intent in making the guard pee on himself, and judging by Nappa's expression, he too would jump on the miserable dweeb on a moment's notice.
Instead, the light over the bay door turned from red to green, and the guard wasted no time in opening the hatch to let them through. Vegeta exited first, ignoring the cowering guard on his way out.
"Next time, I will kill you for your insolence!" Vegeta could hear as Nappa hissed behind him and a loud clunk soon after, presumably coming from Raditz.
"Let's just see what the green idiot wants and be gone, I don't want to stay on this space station for more than we have to." Vegeta finally spoke, low enough so only his two men could hear as his eyes searched around the emptied metal hallway.
First, the alien dipshit sends him and his crew on a dead end mission to the other side of the galaxy, and now he summoned him back for who knew what. It didn't sit well with Vegeta, and he was beginning to suspect the woman he'd met almost a year prior had something to do with this.
The Saiyan's's booted footsteps echoed all the way down the metal shaft until they reached another set of doors. These were not guarded by anyone and automatically opened once they neared. The room beyond the door was a sterile white, and as protocol indicated, all three men began undressing and placing their clothing articles onto the available bins in the middle of the otherwise empty room. Without sharing any words, they each stood apart from one another and held their arms up to either side. There was beeping sound and soon the sterilizing spray hosed the three Saiyan's's down. The spray dried instantly and as soon as the computer beeped again, they quickly dressed once more.
Vegeta had gone through this hundreds of times by now, but he still hated going through the decontamination process. He especially hated how he smelled right after…so…clean.
"We are going straight to the training room…" But as soon as they were cleared to roam free on board the ship and they rounded the next corner, a familiar face stood waiting for them.
"You." Vegeta said. It was all he could think to say.
Her expression suggested she felt the same way.
Surprised.
Bulma knew she took too long to mask her face, and that he had noticed her reaction. Her eyes lingered on the Saiyan's Prince for a couple of seconds before she looked to the other two men. She'd never met them, but she knew who they were.
"Prince Vegeta. Commander Nappa. Lieutenant Raditz." She mentioned all three by their names and ranks, bowing her head slightly out of respect.
Although they really didn't know her, Bulma in turn, felt she knew them intimately. She'd spent countless hours studying the saiyan's; their anatomies, anything she could find about their planet's history, and of course, their similarities to the human race. All of it was done for research purposes, and had nothing to do with an unforgettable encounter up on a balcony with a certain Prince…
The three men stared at her, with various degrees of annoyance displayed on their faces. The bigger one, Nappa, was outright frowning. Raditz seemed more puzzled than annoyed and Vegeta was glaring intently at her.
"I suppose you three are my volunteers." She stated, realizing this was what Zarbon meant earlier. "My Name is Bulma. I head the research department here on the base for His Majesty, Emperor Freeza." She paused and looked at all three men, realizing this really meant nothing to them, nor that they cared.
"Well, I supposed I should start debriefing you. This won't be easy and it will be very painful…" She started walking towards her lab, expecting the three saiyan's to follow after her. Pausing after realizing they weren't following, she turned around, placing one hand over her gun holster and the other on her hip.
"I don't have all day, gentlemen." She looked directly at Vegeta when she spoke, holding his gaze until he finally conceded and gestured for his subjects to follow after her. Bulma had to resist the urge to smirk. Although she knew the rest would be harder to pull off, so far, her plan was actually coming to realization...Zarbon had fallen for it. He'd gotten Vegeta on the same ship as Bulma…and now…now the real hard part began.
Now she had to convince the Saiyan Prince to go along with her plan.
Will this be the reunion Bulma hoped for? Will she be able to convince her of her plan...or even tell him of it? Please Read & Review!