A Wondrous Place
Three years of peace and prosperity have come to an end, as a new enemy has targeted the Saiyans. A new set of challenges present themselves not just for Planet Vegeta's recovering population, but also Bulma's home planet, Earth. What will this entail for our heroes? Sequel to A Thrilling Chase.
Hey, we're back! I know I said there was going to be a longer hiatus, but I've gotten much further in the writing process than I thought that I would. I think we're just about ready to start posting this thing. Of course, if you have not read A Thrilling Chase and its spinoff Somebody's Got Your Back, then go do so. Story elements and characters that were established in that story are going to play a major part in this story, as well. Yes, I seriously can't believe that an AU based on a Disney film has gotten three installments, now.
I'm so excited for some of the things I have planned, and I hope you're all excited, too. As usual, all comments and feedback are appreciated. Enjoy!
Previously in the Thrilling Chase Saga -
Unwilling to be forced into courtship, the young Saiyan prince Vegeta ran away into the city, hoping to find his own fate there. He came across an Earthling named Bulma, trapped by her own circumstances of indentured servitude, unable to go to the planet she missed so much. Instantly drawn to each other, they promised to run away together, but were stopped by a kidnapping ploy hatched by the king's tenacious adviser Frieza. Bulma was sent to a distant planet, in search of a mythical artifact called a Dragon Ball: a small orb able to grant any three wishes that one desired. She came across one of her own, meeting the wish granter trapped inside of it - a Namekian named Piccolo. Still smitten by the prince she had met, she wished to become a Saiyan princess, herself, to win him over and live happily with him.
But not all went to plan. Frieza stole the Dragon Ball from her, wishing for himself to become emperor. Bulma's disguise was reversed, and she was exiled to Planet Namek. With help from the Grand Elder and his assistant, she went back to Planet Vegeta to put a stop to Frieza's reign once and for all. Piccolo was freed from his life of slavery, and the Saiyans were liberated from the tyrant's clutches. Bulma's hardest challenge came when facing Frieza, herself. Luckily, Vegeta came in just in time to put an end to him once and for all, transforming into the legendary Super Saiyan.
Since that day, the Saiyans had worked hard to rebuild, and Bulma helped orchestrate alliances with other planets to make it happen faster. She and Vegeta only grew closer with every day, and the young couple couldn't have been happierr. Meanwhile, Piccolo returned to Earth, to find his own purpose; he befriending a man named Son Goku, and had enjoyed a quiet life with his new family.
Our heroes enjoyed three years of peace and prosperity.
Until now...
"In conclusion, gentlemen, I do believe that this alliance will prove to be plentiful for both of our peoples. Thank you very much for your time."
The man bowed in front of the council, standing with his hands behind his back. The councilmen were looking a little bored; the presentation marathon was starting to get a little stale, and many of their proposals felt the exact same.
King Vegeta shook his head, and glanced at the documents. "Thank you, Frites. We will take your proposal into consideration, at a later date. You are dismissed."
Frites nodded enthusiastically, and walked out of the room with a spring in his step. When he was out the door, everyone let out a collective sigh. They put away their papers, and leaned back in their chairs. None of them wanted to hear about another alliance for a while.
The king sighed. "I am going to take pity on all of us and call this meeting to a close. We can resume this discussion another day. All in favor?" Without hesitation, everyone said 'aye'. "Then this meeting is adjourned."
The councilmen stood from their seats and mingled with one another, before they continued with their day. The king ran a hand down his face, and rubbed his temples. "Nappa, next time I try to schedule something like this, blast me. That's an order."
Nappa let out a breathy laugh. "You don't have to ask."
The king chuckled, leaning his arm on the table. "I feel like there's something important, later today." He snapped his fingers. "What is it, what is it?"
"Aren't the prince and Bulma returning from Earth, tonight?"
"That's right! Yes, I remember that." He nodded. "With how long they've been absent, that boy better have proposed, by now."
The conversations were suddenly interrupted. A soldier ran into the room, pushing past everyone to approach the king. He bowed. "My liege, you must go to the bazaar right now!"
"Why? What's happened?"
"There's been another one, my liege!"
He looked up at the soldier, seeing his distress. His fatigue suddenly went away, and he stood up. "Take me to it now, soldier."
The street was shut off, from the public. Soldiers were standing guard, keeping the people from entering the scene. The king and a few others pushed through the crowd, to see what happened. Upon seeing their king, they briefly broke the barricade to let him in, quickly closing it afterwards before another could sneak in.
The king took a quick breath in, before exhaling and shaking his head. A Saiyan was lying face down on the pavement in a pool of his own blood. Scientists were standing above the corpse, taking samples from it and analyzing the situation. The king shut his eyes for a moment, before approaching them. The scientists turned around, and quickly bowed their heads.
The king huffed out a breath. "Anything, yet?"
"No, your majesty. Like all the others, we haven't found anything linking this to a culprit. No weapons, no fingerprints, no strand of DNA – it's incredibly clean. It has to be the same killer, though – the methods are too similar for this to be a coincidence."
"Have you identified the victim?"
One scientist ran up, when hearing that question, handing the king a folder. "It wasn't an elite, this time. Endame of Shiso: male, age 42. A troublemaker – arrested for three counts of assault and five count of assault with a deadly weapon."
"And there's nothing else connecting him to the other victims."
"Negative, your majesty."
The king cupped his chin in his hand. "Come back to the palace immediately, if you find anything new. Understand?"
"Of course, your majesty."
He left the scientists to continue their work. He saw Nappa looking over the scene, and motioned for him to join him, on the side. Nappa held his hand in his head, and sighed. "Nothing, yet?"
"Not a thing. We can't even say they're just targeting elites, anymore. We don't know who it is or why they're doing this." He put his hand on his chin, and stroked his beard with his finger.
"What do we do?"
"The only thing we can do is warn the people about what's going on."
Nappa glanced at him. "Vegeta, that might cause panic."
"Keeping everyone in the dark while this is going on will only delay the panic, and make it worse, in the long-term. This isn't random: the people deserve to know that there's a threat, and to be able to prepare for it, accordingly."
Nappa looked at him with a disbelieving look in his eyes, but nodded. "When do you want to make the decree?"
"Tonight. Wait until my son and Bulma return – they need to know this, as well."
As the vessel floated through the serenity of space, Bulma sat at a desk, fiddling around with some compounds. Her father had gotten stuck on a project, back on Earth, and was about to throw all of his research in the garbage. She swooped in just in time and took it off of his hands. He discovered this material while emptying his waste, and was immediately intrigued. It was a thick, glistening blue liquid. She could only do so much on the ship, but she was eager to return to Planet Vegeta to continue her research. Maybe this was an energy source, and making more of it would reduce environmental waste. Maybe it could be modeled into a durable metal or plastic. She only had the tiny bits of research her father had done, but her imagination was already running crazy.
Vegeta was leaning against the archway entrance with his arms crossed in front of his chest, watching her silently. He should have been a little bored by watching her messing around with the blue goo, but he truly wasn't. The way her eyes lit up as she examined it made what would have been a mundane sight worthwhile to see. He could watch it for hours and not be the slightest bit bored. He shook his head. He never thought that one person would ever have that kind of effect over him.
Eventually, she put away her supplies and compounds, safely tucking them into a capsule. She exhaled, set her arms onto the table, and laid her head down on top of them. She traced the wood of the table with her finger, mindlessly dragging it across the dark circles and spirals.
She smiled, as she felt a warm pair of arms wrap over her shoulders. Her head lulled to the side, while Vegeta nuzzled his face into her neck.
"You were staring," she teased, in a breathy voice. She was feeling completely at ease and relaxed.
"And?"
"Most girls find that creepy."
"Do you?"
She paused, and then shook her head. She giggled, as his nose brushed against a sensitive spot on her neck, and sighed. Over the past years, the young lovers had only grown closer. He had gone out of his way to make sure that she adjusted to living on Planet Vegeta. It was such a romantic idea – a man going out of his way to make sure that his woman was happy. She still thought she was insane for thinking that she could leave him.
"We're ready to land," he murmured.
She blinked, and sat up. "We are?"
"We've been ready for a half hour."
"A half hour?!" She turned around, with her eyes wide. She glared at him, when she saw the sly smirk on his face. "Jerk!" She hit his arm, and pushed herself out of her chair. "Were you planning on letting me know? Gah!"
Before she could leave for the control room, he came up behind her and grabbed her from around her waist. She squealed, as he picked her up and carried her out of the room. She kicked and playfully hit him, while she laughed. This playful side of him had come out a lot, recently. She honestly didn't think he had it in him.
Sometimes, she didn't think that it could get any better than this.
The door to the ship opened at the loading dock. Vegeta and Bulma exited the vessel and onto the runway. Bulma quickly made work of the ship, pressing a button on the side of it and quickly capsulating it.
"Hey, welcome back!" They looked down the runway. Raditz was running up from behind, waving his hand in the air. As soon as he reached them, he jumped and gave them both a big embrace. Vegeta ducked his head, not wanting to be touched, but Bulma gladly accepted it. He stepped back, when he saw Vegeta glaring at him. "So, how was the trip?"
"Oh, it was great," she said. "The treasuries approved those reduced taxes and tariffs we asked for. Some businesses have already started looking into bringing a branch to Planet Vegeta. That means more jobs and more opportunities for everyone!"
Raditz was nodding. "I have no idea what any of those words mean, but that sounds great."
She nudged Vegeta's shoulder. "You can thank this guy – he charmed the pants off of all of them."
"Is that right? I always knew you had it in you!" Raditz patted him on the shoulder, which he shrugged off, making Bulma laugh.
"Anything new to report," he asked.
"Hang on, let me thing." Raditz tapped his finger on his chin. "Oh, yeah: Nappa told me to tell you to meet with your father in his study. He said it was important."
Vegeta looked at Bulma. "We better go see him, then."
Raditz held his hands up. "He just asked just for you, Vegeta. He made sure I specify that."
"What? Why?"
He shrugged. "Dunno. Probably some important announcement. He did say that everyone else will know, soon enough."
Bulma huffed. She was hoping for a nice afternoon together, on their first day back. She was hoping they wouldn't have to get back to work so soon. She supposed she'd have to get used to it – a royal's job was never done. "I'll head back to the room, then. You can meet me there, when you get done."
By the look in his eyes, he wasn't quite happy about this, either. She shook her head and squeezed his hand, reassuringly. "You worry too much. I'll be fine. Promise."
Something akin to resignation flashed in his eyes. "I'll meet you there."
She stood on her toes and kissed him quickly, before going down the runway back into the palace.
"Get a room, you disgusting pigs," Raditz yelled towards her. It was quickly followed by a yelp, when Vegeta whacked him upside the head.
Bulma lifted her head from her book, when she heard steps coming from the hallway. She smiled, as she set it down on the table. Looking at the clock, it had been nearly three hours since she had gotten back. Debriefing conversations normally didn't last that long. She was wondering what made them go on for so long.
The door slid open, and her smile faded. Vegeta did not look happy. He walked past her, without a glance, and stood in front of the window. His arms were crossed and his shoulders were tense. In the window's reflection, she saw that his eyes were closed.
She stood up and slowly walked next to him. She didn't want to do anything to set him off, by accident. As he kept his head down, she bit her bottom lip, trying to think of something to say.
"Turn on the radio," was all that he said.
She nodded, and walked over to the small set, sitting on the wall. She pressed the on-button, hearing static. After adjusting the dial settings, she heard the murmuring of a crowd, on the other end. Trumpets blared, and the crowd hushed. She pulled out a chair and sat down – it must have been an announcement from the king.
"Saiyans," the king spoke. "We, as a people, have been through much, over our long and tumultuous history: conflict, famine, slavery, war, near-extinction. And yet, no matter what, we have always pulled through, in the end. That tenacity is what makes us the proud warriors that we all are."
Where was the king going, with this speech? He had never been one to mull-over history like this, before.
"And… it seems as though our tenacity is being put to the test, once more.
"Over the course of the recent months, we have determined that there is an organized attack targeting Saiyans across all classes, regardless of their birth. There has been a recent series of murders throughout the city, and we have reason to suspect that they are connected. We have yet to name a suspect or a motivation, but it is my duty, as your king, to alert you and caution you to take the proper steps to protect yourselves."
Bulma lifted her hand to her mouth, and her eyes widened, in horror. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Someone was murdering innocent Saiyans. How could anyone have been so cruel, as to do so?
She looked back at Vegeta. His eyes were closed tightly, and his hands were gripping his biceps hard. She didn't have to ask why he was upset, anymore.
"We ask you all to remain calm for however long this will persist: panic will do nothing to help our predicament. We also request anyone turn in any and all useful information to our armed forces. Mark my works – we will get to the bottom of this, and I promise you that we will make it through these trials just as we have before."
Vegeta lowered his hands to his sides, and marched back out of the room. Bulma got back up and ran after him. "Hey! Vegeta!" She caught up with his steps. "Vegeta, please – talk to me. Where are you going?"
"This is none of your concern. Go back to our room."
She stepped out in front of him, stopping his forward motion. "Anything that's of your concern is my concern too, Vegeta. That's how relationships are supposed to work, in case you couldn't tell. Please, just tell me what you're doing."
He looked irritated. "I mean it, Bulma: leave me be." He stepped around her, leaving her standing in the middle of an empty hallway.
She almost sprinted after him, but stopped herself. He needed some time to cool down. He'd be ready to talk to her again, in the morning. With a sigh, she walked back to the room.