. . Camouflage . .
Lady Rhapsody
. Prologue .
The sky was appropriately dark as Goku made his way home, his steps hurried and his head hung low. A storm was threatening, and it was just as well – metaphorically, the weather was coinciding perfectly with his mood. As the first raindrops began to fall, the Saiya-jin grimaced from beneath the cover of his somber hood. They were going to get wet tonight.
He had spent all day searching for even the smallest coin or means of exchange, to no avail. It seemed that the remainder of the multitude of impoverished city residents had beaten him to the chase. This would not be the first time that he and his friends went hungry; they had survived before, and they would again. Even his enormous Saiya-jin appetite had been diminished by the scarcity of resources.
Lightning flashed, and a nearby peddler caught a glimpse of Goku's obviously Saiya-jin face. The man shrunk back and immediately retreated behind his stand of goods. Though Vejita, Radditz, and Nappa were the only Saiya-jins besides himself left, their distinctly dark and rugged appearance were easily recognized by all. Goku felt a pang of shame at the thought of the evil trio – he had failed in preventing Vejita from making the wish to revive the men who were now helping him reign terror on the universe. Emphatically failed. When the wish was being made, he had been miles away, blissfully unaware. Now his son was dead and he and his remaining friends were living in constant fear.
It had been a calm winter day three years ago, on Christmas Eve in fact, when it happened. Tranquil holiday lights illuminated the city, and everyone was gathered at Capsule Corporation for the annual dinner party hosted by the Briefs family. They had been dressed in their holiday best and gathered around the magnificent Christmas tree when Vejita slipped away. No one gave his disappearance a second thought – the surly prince preferred to avoid the company of the Z senshi whenever possible. Not that anyone really minded. Despite the fact that he had been staying with the Briefs without incident for months, he still struck fear into the hearts of the group.
Without the other Saiya-jin to moniter, Goku turned his attention to the second most interesting person in the room – Bulma. He always noticed what Bulma was doing. It was strange – his eyes were, and always had been, inexplicably drawn to her. She was radiant, as she always was when entertaining. He allowed himself a small, fond smile before he turned his attention back to his family.
It wasn't until several hours later that Vejita returned. He entered the room wielding his characteristic malicious smirk like a weapon, and slipped to Bulma's side. The girl flashed him a brilliant smile and stepped away from the people she had been talking to in order to greet him.
Goku was shocked when the Saiya-jin initiated physical contact with Bulma by brushing a lock of her hair aside so that he could growl something into her ear. She initially appeared thrilled to be the object of the dark man's intimacy, and Goku had to shake his head at her persistent attraction to dangerous men. Already aware that Bulma and Vejita had likely been having some sort of liaison for quite some time now (it was almost impossible for someone who knew Bulma as well as he to miss it), Goku turned away from the pair.
Bulma and Goku were the only two to notice Vejita leave again. Goku knew this because when he felt the other Saiya-jin's ki trail away, he instinctively glanced after it. Bulma was standing where Vejita had left her, and was looking in the same direction. She was ethereal in her flowing white party dress, and had wrestled her tumbling curls into submission with twinkling pins reminiscent of stars. The look in her blue eyes, however, contrasted with her festive appearance. They were clouded with confusion and fear.
He was about to go and find out just what the prince had said that had caused the regularly unshakable heiress to look like that when her expression suddenly changed. A cheerful smile transformed her face, and her almond eyes sparkled once again. Goku, having known the girl since childhood, knew a facade when he saw one. Because she quickly slipped back into the crowd of visitors and presumably would have alerted him if there was a problem, he decided to let it slide; something that he would regret for years to come.
By the time Piccolo felt the dragon being summoned and the Z fighters sensed the emergence of two powerful, horribly familiar ki's alongside Vejita, it was too late. They didn't even make it past the front lawn before Vejita returned with Radditz and Nappa, newly revived. Vejita's power level was amazing – Goku felt his heart sink as he realized that the man had been hiding his true potential from them all along, evident by his glowing yellow hair and eyes the color of the sea. He quickly motioned for everyone but the Z senshi to return to the house, where they could maintain some semblance of safety.
The three Saiya-jins landed on the front lawn, wearing identical smirks, though Vejita's of course made the other two look friendly. Before Goku could react, Bulma pushed in front of him, eyes flashing angrily.
"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded of Vejita, hands on slender hips. "How did you get your hands on my dragon radar, you bastard?"
"You're going to let this slut speak to you like that, Vejita-sama?" Nappa growled. "Let me take care of her. I'll show her where her place is!"
Vejita ignored the bald man's outburst, appraising Bulma with a calculating expression that suddenly made Goku very wary. "I did not steal your little toy, sweetling – I replicated it. I could not risk one of your idiot employees discovering it missing and bringing suspicion down on me. My desire to make a wish has never been a private one."
It was true, Goku thought – how could they have been naive enough to believe that the haughty prince had given up on his dream of universal domination just because he had ceased bragging about it? Gone was the short, gruff demeanor that the man had adopted while living under Bulma's roof – his true personality of sarcasm and malice had emerged once again.
"Replicated it?" Bulma repeated incredulously. "How the hell did you manage to do that? You are technically inept, as you've proven countless times when you've broken the GR."
"It would have been rather obtuse of me to reveal my strengths to my opponents, yes?" Vejita appeared bored with the questioning already, and turned to Nappa and Radditz. "Destroy the complex. Kill everyone. I wish to deal with this group personally."
Bulma started to lunge at the Saiya-jin, her infamous temper rearing its head at the worst possible time. Nappa and Radditz hesitated in mid-takeoff, hovering protectively over their leader. Goku stopped her before she was able to move more than two feet and shoved her back into the others, who restrained her, kicking and screeching. Vejita looked disappointed and scowled at the other Saiya-jin.
"Well now, that wasn't very nice, was it? You really should let the girl handle her own problems," the prince said, his tone mockingly gentle. "We have some... history that perhaps you don't know about, Kakkarott." He cast a suggestive look in Bulma's direction. "I suggest you allow us to deal with it sans interference. It is, after all, of a very personal nature."
The Z senshi were shocked enough to release their hold on Bulma, who remained standing where they left her, white-faced at the reveal of her secret. Goku felt stunned himself at the confirmation of what he had suspected all along, but was quicker to recover than the others.
"I will do no such thing," he announced, moving to the side to block Vejita's view of Bulma. "This isn't about whatever happened between you and Bulma. If you mean to take over this planet, then it is all of our business!"
Vejita laughed; it was a chilling sound. "Oh, Kakkarott, your ignorance never fails to astound me! I don't want to take over this shitty planet – I want the entire universe." He motioned to Nappa and Radditz, who still hovered above him, and the men took off, flying straight through the walls of the Capsule Corporation building.
"Mom! Dad! No!" Bulma released a bloodcurdling scream as the explosions started, tears marring her makeup. This time, through sheer force of will, she was able to surge past Goku and throw herself at Vejita. "Call them away! The only humans who could possibly be a threat are standing right in front of you!" Her small fists beat against Vejita's chest and face uselessly; the prince merely stared down at her in amusement and, Goku noted with some interest, affection.
"That is not entirely accurate, woman. Your father has an intellect capable of countering my strength, and I will not be able to rest until all opposition is neutralized. Speaking of which..." He seized one of her wrists, effectively capturing her. "You are even sharper than your thick-headed sire. I think I'll keep you close..." Locking eyes with Goku, he took in the scent of Bulma's curly hair. Paralyzed with fear of his Super Saiya-jin form and the hysteria that took over after the eminent death of her parents, Bulma cried silently and did nothing to resist him as he pulled her closer. "It would be unfortunate for me to have to give up what I have been so enjoying these past months…"
Then, out of nowhere: "You let Miss Bulma go, you big bully!" The small form of Gohan soared past everyone, straight for Vejita. The Saiya-jin wasted no time; he sent a lethal blast at the valiant child, effectively incinerating him in one shot. Behind Goku, Chichi screamed and fainted.
Goku, fueled by the needless death of his only son, immediately burst into Super-Saiya-jin form. Vejita, smiling at the challenge, roughly tossed Bulma aside and took to the sky to fight Goku. Yamcha rushed to collect Bulma's shaking form and brought her within the protective circle of Z warriors that included himself, Krillen, Piccolo, Tien, and Chaotzu. Unexpectedly, Bulma, after tying the long skirt of her dress up around her knees, turned and ran into one of the smaller Capsule Corporation buildings, a laboratory where she often worked. The Z senshi watched her go without bothering to stop her. The majority of their attention was diverted to the fight that was now breaking out between the two Saiya-jins.
The battle was heartbreakingly short; within a matter of minutes, Goku was on the ground, unable to fight any more. The senshi looked on in shock, unable to process the fact that their hero had fallen. Vejita descended to stand above Goku.
Chaotzu and Tien gave each other conspiring looks, then launched themselves into the defense of their friend. Vejita killed them without even looking up from the bloody form of his opponent. The Saiya-jin Prince, in his bloodlust, failed to register the small, nearly ki-less human form that was approaching as a threat and lifted a hand to finish off his hated enemy.
"Well, Kakkarott, it appears as if this is the end," he said, flashing the first genuine smile most of the senshi had ever seen from him. "I have dreamed of this moment for longer than I can express to you."
"Did that dream include this?"
Vejita felt something hard and metallic press against the back of his head. Owing to the genius of the human likely wielding the weapon, he decided to proceed with caution. Turning slowly, he found himself face-to-face with one of Bulma's newest inventions – the ki-draining gun that he had watched the her labor over for months. The heiress was tear-streaked yet resolute, and her grip was steady. The Saiya-jin took in her smeared makeup, akin to savage war paint, and off-handedly thought that she had never been so enticing.
"Take your cronies and leave. You can have Earth, but you can't have us – not yet." Bulma cocked the gun, pushing it closer to Vejita's face with deadly intent. "You know as well as I that with one blast, I can render you just as weak as the humans you hold so much scorn for."
Goku somehow managed to prop himself up on his elbows, though every inch of his body was screaming in agony. He watched in amazement as Vejita weighed his options, regarding the brave girl with a strange intensity. Quicker than Bulma could react to and despite her well-known skill with weapons, he leaned closer, pushing the gun down against his chest, and kissed her. It was not a loving kiss – it was possessive and angry. Then, in a blast of yellow light, he was gone, followed by Radditz and Nappa, who had left death and destruction in their wake. Only Radditz hesitated, scrutinizing the human girl in apparent confusion, then took off after his fellow Saiya-jins.
Bulma tracked Vejita's exit, keeping her gun trained on him until he was out of sight. Then, she let the weapon fall to the ground. Wordlessly, she went to stand before the wreckage of her home, now unrecognizable as anything else but a mountain of rubble. No one went after her. Instead, they hovered around Goku, their fallen leader.
That was when their new life began.
At first, they had stayed on the run, never stopping for anything for more than a few hours. After much debate, it was decided that they would stay in the large capital city. This did not prove to be very difficult, since within the first year Vejita had transformed Earth into an enormous hub of trade and intergalactic travel. It became his seat of power; it became what it had never been to him before – his home. Vejita floored them all with his ability to do just what he had set out to – completely take over Earth and then the universe. From what the group of refugees had heard on the street, there were only a few systems who had yet to submit to his rule. It was terrifying… a living nightmare.
After a year of successfully avoiding the Saiya-jin Prince turned Emperor, the group deemed it safe to stay in temporary shelters for small spurts of time, looking for odd jobs and occasionally committing petty crimes in order to get money for food and necessities. It was hard on all of them, and it showed. Goku had lost his boyish enthusiasm, Piccolo, instead of being simply irritable, was eerily quiet and contemplative, Krillen was cowardly and doubting, Yamcha was bitter and accusatory, and Chichi had become even more short-tempered than she had been before. But, understandably, the person who had changed the most was Bulma.
The heiress had been a strong-willed woman before, but that was nothing compared to what she had become. After saving them all with her bold stand against Vejita, she had transformed. She was aggressive to the point of antagonistic, cold enough to make her akin to a warrior, and calculating enough to make them all think twice about conversation with her. These might have been vices before Vejita's ascension, but they were assets now. The majority of their defense, unbelievably, came from Bulma; the majority of their money was earned by Bulma, albeit by means that were not always admitted; and the majority of their ideas and plans were drawn out by Bulma. She was their leader now. Goku, as usual, had been observing her closely and taking note of all this behavior. He had been taking note of something else as well.
Her physical appearance was becoming a cause for concern amongst them all. Since a large portion of the human population had been either victim to the initial genocide or to the civil war and anarchy that followed, Bulma's distinctive lavender hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes distinguished her from the crowds. It was not merely her coloring that attracted attention – Bulma had changed from the playful, rosy-cheeked girl who had frolicked across the imagination of the hard Saiya-jin Prince to a fiercely beautiful, striking woman. She was magnetic. It was astounding that they had been able to keep her identity a secret for this long.
Goku slipped down the alley that led to their shabby living quarters, and there she was. She was perched on the roof, keeping watch; her legs, long for her petite frame, dangled over the entrance to their shelter. She was smoking an alien version of a cigarette despite the rain, the sweet scent wafting down to her Saiya-jin friend.
"No luck, I suppose?" she commented, glancing at his empty hands and pockets. "Great – if I lose any more weight I'll start to lose some rather lucrative money-making avenues." Her wry smile indicated that she was only half-joking. Such was their new life.
"You can go inside, I'll play sentry for a little while," Goku offered, painfully aware of the unhealthy dark rings beneath her slanted eyes.
"That's alright." She waved him away with her hand, concealed in a rough fingerless glove. She tossed away her soggy cigarette and brushed long ropes of wet hair out of her face. "I'm enjoying the shower." She lifted her face to the sky, letting the rain run down her neck to soak her rugged clothing, mockingly dramatic. "Besides, there's trouble on the home front tonight."
Goku nodded reluctantly and went inside, where he knew he would find some combination of Yamcha, Piccolo, Chichi, or Krillen engaged in some sort of argument. It was starting to seem like their once unbreakable friendships were going to crack under the pressure of being hunted.
It was starting to get to them all.
. Bulma .
Time goes by, and still he searches for me.
We shared what now seems like nothing: a few passionate moments, heated arguments, whispered dreams. I am not bound to him in any way. There were never any feelings of urgency or commitment, and certainly not of romantic love.
We were young; at least, I was – I had even been starting to hope that eventually, he would stop resisting the development of emotion towards me. Twenty was not old enough to understand our affair, nor what was brewing under the safety of my own roof.
Just when I start to get sick of being drenched in the disgusting, polluted rain, the weather lets up a bit. Just enough for me to light up another smoke. I roll it between my fingers, which were once nimble over the controls of my inventions, and are now wasted committing unspeakable acts for pocket change and defending myself from those men whose language does not seem to contain a translation for 'no'. Such a fucking waste.
He fooled us all. Every single one of us. Even Piccolo, who I know has telepathic abilities. I knew that Vejita was an inherently evil person – we all knew it. What we did not know was that the growth of his original plan of domination was not stunted by my hospitality nor by anything else that happened between his landing on Earth with Nappa and his ascension.
Now that I look back on it, it is all much clearer. Small snippets of conversation, subtle changes in facial expression, his cryptic way of speaking with all of us... I can see what was going on in hindsight. I might have always known - it was so like me to ignore what I did not like in order to get what I so selfishly desired.
The night that our hell began, the night of my family's last Christmas party, he practically warned me of what was to come. I thought that I knew Vejita's character well enough to assume that he would never give warning before attacking, but he, for once, proved me wrong, though I cannot fathom why.
"Tonight, little one – tonight you all shall find out what I am truly made of."
I sometimes feel as if this is all somehow my fault – as if I could have done something to prevent it. After all, during his stay at Capsule Corporation, I encouraged him to stop suppressing his emotion, to stop hiding his thoughts, to make a new life for himself. I suppose he did exactly what I counseled him to – carried out his dream.
So here we are, hiding from him and all who are under his command. This is not an easy task to accomplish – Vejita has become the single most powerful entity in the universe. It seems like there is no one who can stop him, no one who would dare resist him. We are fugitives, me especially, constantly running and glancing over our shoulders. It is a miserable life.
The only freedom we have is a pathetic illusion – we can still think freely, but we cannot express our thoughts, nor act on them. The only safe thing we can do is remember: remember our fallen friends, our dead families, our once-beautiful planet. Our memories consume us.
My memories in particular haunt us all.
They cannot forgive me for what I have done. I don't really blame them. I consorted with the enemy, slept with the serial killer, was infatuated with the Saiya-jin who committed his umpteenth genocide on my very own planet. I can see the loathing in their eyes, though they hardly ever openly show it. They can't. They need me.
When the attack came, I, in one fell swoop, saved them and doomed myself. I sealed my fate of forever running, hiding, and regretting all that I had done. There are days when I think that I would have done them a bigger favor if I had just let Vejita kill them and take me. He has destroyed everything we knew and loved. He has destroyed us. And yet...
I still dream of him. I dream of his strong hands on my body; I dream of his deep, accented voice haltingly telling me of his home planet; I dream of him finding me one day and raising me up as his consort. He has spread word throughout the cities, dropping hints of what would happen if I were to turn myself in – my wildest dreams would come to fruition. Wealth, power, countless galaxies to explore... These are dangerous dreams. Frightening dreams. They torment me. I would never tell the others.
I would never tell them, but they can see it in my eyes. They know. I can tell.
I am strong on the outside. I have to be. I am our protector, our mastermind, our fearless leader. In the past, it would have been Goku who would have assumed this role, but things are not the same. Since Gohan was killed he is not the same man. He is still more optimistic than all of us combined (which isn't saying much), but something is missing. It is hard for me to place, but Goku is a diminished man.
I watch the others – Chichi, Yamcha, Piccolo, and Krillen – and I see that they notice the change in Goku as well. They are lost without their knight in shining armor and are not always trusting of his replacement. It's understandable. Sometimes I want to leave their shrinking, cowardly asses behind and go it alone. Sticking together only makes us more conspicuous, and with their crippling fear of the Saiya-jins they are less able to think on their feet. We have been needlessly put at risk many times because of their lapses in judgment.
Would they make a mistake on purpose to give me away, to free themselves of the burden which my presence creates? If they were to ever attempt it, I don't know whether I would want to kill them or to thank them.
I can hear the others yelling through the broken, nearly nonexistent roof of the shack which we currently call home. When I first led them into the city, I was appalled at the disgusting places which made the most sense to stay at. I was, after all, born and bred a socialite. I became accustomed to these sorts of conditions soon enough. Now I consider myself lucky to be sleeping under any sort of roof at all. We've spent many a night huddled around a fire on the street, or cowering in the woods.
Night is falling. Well, the night that coincides with the sun. The metaphorical night has been hovering around us like a poisonous smog for the past three years. I lean back onto my elbows, waiting for the storm clouds to retreat and reveal the stars.
I would be all philosophical and say that the stars are the only part of my life that has not changed, but it would be a lie. Many of those stars are actually planets that Vejita controls now. For all I know, he could be visiting one of the very ones I am looking at. We haven't been past the sprawling compound which Vejita calls home in about a month, but it is very seldom that Goku feels Vejita's ki inside. The Saiya-jin is a busy man; in all probability he is off-world now, spreading evil on one of the twinkling lights far above my head.
I have not shed a tear in nearly a year now. I cried myself to sleep every night for a good couple months in the beginning – pathetic really, that I let him get to me like that. I could lie and say that I was crying for the fate of my friends and family, which was largely my fault, but there's really no point. I cried for the hope that I had lost the moment that I had been forced to aim that gun at Vejita. Not even twenty-four hours beforehand, I had been in his arms, trusting enough to fall asleep under his watch. I turn my face away from the stars abruptly before the memories start up again.
The yelling from inside stops. Reluctantly, I lower myself off of the roof. Goku will never let me hear the end of it if I do not let him keep watch for a few hours. As I enter the shelter, I am faced with Piccolo, who is exiting.
He gives me a somber look, and mumbles as he brushes past me: "Vejita has returned. It is time to lose ourselves deeper within the city."
I try not to let any sort of reaction register, but as I lift my eyes, I meet those of Goku. He is always watching.
. . .
[[ A.N.: I want to thank everyone for their patience in following this story. This, and all chapters to follow, have been edited, so remember to re-read so that you can follow the updated plot. Thank you, and please remember to review! - Lady Rhapsody ]]