The tears came streaming down her face, her crisp blue eyes were bloodshot and her once pristine cheeks were swollen and bruised. Her capturer and tormentor was a huge man with dark eyes and a menacing grin. He enjoyed the fear and pain he caused her. He could easily kill her but he kept her alive, muttering occasionally about how she was of use. To think this man had once been her best friend. The two had grown together, gone on countless adventures and battled endless foes. Goku or at least that was who he used to be.
She could hear Gohan pounding on a door somewhere in this ship. Poor Gohan, first he watched his father change into something else and then he watched as his father killed everyone around them, including Chichi. All with the help of some monkey tailed freak named Raditz.
She didn't know what was going on. She knew she was scared and that something had gone horribly wrong. She also knew she was thrown straight into the middle of it without so much as a reason for why. She should have died with the others, why would she be left alive? It would be better to die, all she would need to do is provoke her tormentor or beg until he finished it. But she couldn't leave poor Gohan alone with these monsters; even the one who was supposedly his Father. She would have to do only what she could: cry, cower and survive.
She felt another blow to her face; he didn't like to be ignored for whatever reason. Slamming back into the far wall, she wondered if her body would hold up to this treatment any longer. "Goku, please..." She tried to choke out the right words through an already strained throat, tired and worn from the screaming and crying.
"My name is not Goku!" rage filled his eyes as he lifted his hand up and powered a ki ball. Bulma held her breath, she heard Gohan scream louder. Did the boy know what was going on? Just as she thought that perhaps she would die another voice called out; it was Raditz's voice, urgent and firm. Goku's hand lowered, the ki ball giving a final flash of energy has it was called back to Goku's body. She lay close to the wall and watched his eyes narrow seething with hate as he reluctantly obeyed. He wasn't allowed to kill her. They could do anything they wanted to, just so long as in the end she was alive and usable.
Goku stepped out of the room to join his new found brother. Bulma slid down the metallic, cold wall and curled into a protective ball on the floor. Pain became everything. It hurt to breathe; likely a few of her ribs are broken. Her knuckles were bruised and bleeding from her trying to fend him off; her perfectly manicured nails broken. She didn't want to look anywhere else; she could guess from the feeling that the rest of her body looked the same.
Raditz laughed and congratulated Goku as they entered the control room. His younger brother had remembered his true breeding and had embraced it better than expected. "You should go easier on that girl Kakarot. The King wants her alive and functioning."
Goku let out a 'humph' and slumped into his chair. "So many years, I can't believe how...weak I was. That girl only serves to remind me! I should have just destroyed the whole damn planet!"
"Not that I would normally stop you from doing as you wish, but this is our King's orders. So keep your rage in check. I'm sure once we get home and you find yourself in a more comfortable surrounding you will forget all about it."
Goku glared at his older brother has Raditz took his chair and began to check the ship's coordinates and any incoming messages. "What about the boy?"
Raditz laughed loudly. "He is your son. He's a Saiyan and he will learn to fight and live has a Saiyan should. You, Brother, will train him whether you like it or not. We all have to deal with our mistakes." Raditz clenched his jaw. He would have to try and deal with his own mistake. His brother's Saiyan blood had awoken to a rage that was close to snapping. Perhaps his methods of bringing his brother around had not been the wisest.
"Can't we just dump him on someone far from me? I'm going to spend the next few years making up for my failures." Raditz could see the determination set unto Kakarot's face.
"No one is going to blame you for hitting your head, Kakarot. Besides, you remember everything now and you are a true Saiyan warrior. You will have plenty of uses. Best let the past be that and start living as you truly are." Goku nodded and stared down at his feet. Raditz knew he would never figure out what went on in his younger brother's head. He figured it was best to leave it alone. "I suggest you clean yourself up, we will reach our destination tomorrow and you will receive a new mission; I'm sure it will be something to help you vent your anger." Raditz tried to sound light hearted, but Goku was quick to leave the room and didn't seem interested in his brother's words. Raditz hoped that the rage in Goku would dissipate with time, preferably sooner than later. If it did not Goku would be killed.
Raditz's forehead wrinkled with worry. His brother's power had risen incredibly when he had awoken and that power had demanded blood in the most gruesome way. Raditz was accustomed to death. Like all Saiyans he lived for battle and Saiyans did a fair amount of it. Although some battles weren't battles at all, they were simple annihilations and that was fine by Raditz, but what he had seen his brother do was beyond anything he had ever witnessed.
Although the Saiyans were seen as a bloodthirsty, battle crazed race it wasn't the whole truth of the situation. They enjoyed the challenge of a fight and rose to it with vigor. They had an honor system and every battle was a test to prove a Saiyans honor and skill. Saiyans could become enraged, merciless killing machines, but they never lost control! That was the rule and Kakarot had broken it; he would be seen as a danger if he did it again.
Raditz sat at his seat watching the monitor. Command knew everything that had transpired; they had yet to send instructions concerning his brother. The orders concerning the female and the boy were clear, but only a simple reply concerning his brother appeared in the message.
Kakarot's actions will be dealt with. Take no action. Continue as planned.
Bulma had stayed curled into a tight ball on the cold floor all night. She hadn't slept; she couldn't with all the pain her body throbbed with. Her mind was jumbled with questions. Where are they taking her? What is going on? She felt like she was losing her sanity. The pain was all that was left to her in this empty room with no visible light source and she could only stare into the emptiness. How long had she been in here? Had it been a day yet? Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten in a while.
Sharp light entered into the room making Bulma flinch and cover her eyes. Someone was standing in the doorway, only studying her. She could hear a few men making harsh remarks about her
"Get her in a tank." She didn't know if that was a good thing. The voice that had said that didn't sound kind or in the least worried about her well being. The others were swift in obeying their orders. They roughly picked her up and she screamed as pain shot through her entire body. "CAREFUL! Harm her and you answer to the king personally. He wants her alive and well!" Bulma wondered what that meant for Goku. The men were a little more careful with her but not nearly enough. She gritted her teeth and did her best to get her legs to follow.
She kept her eyes closed most of the way until her eyes adjusted to the light of the halls. There was a man holding her from the left and another on her right. Another man was walking ahead of them. Hair shot straight up, defying gravity like wild fire. Little could be seen of his short form other than a blood red cape and the white of his boots. He must be important somehow, but the detail seemed unnecessary to Bulma.
She looked to the man at her left. He smiled and gave her a wink. His face was well chiseled and he had a scar across his cheek but he seemed to have a playful attitude and his face showed it without any reservations, much like how Goku's had. Bulma quickly removed the thought and switched her view above the man's face. His hair was long and spiky, allot like Raditz, but his only came a little past his shoulders. The man on her right was quite tall, with a cold set face beneath a bald head. He stared straight ahead dutifully.
They took a right and moved down a hall and stopped half way down. From the looks of it they were getting on an elevator. The man wearing the cape moved to the side and she and her 'helpers' entered the small space. The bald one's mouth curved into a small grin as he pressed his bulky form into her side, compressing her tightly between himself and the other man. She gave out a small whimper from the pain it sent through her bruised body.
The man at her left smirked and winked at her once more has he shifted his position to ease her pain. She was beginning to think that he was probably the nicest one on the ship. She looked at the third man has he entered. His back was straight. His face was set but something about his deep black eyes told Bulma he was upset about something. He quickly turned his back on her as the elevator began its descent. The elevator quickly came to a stop and they began to move again. The Bald man tightened his grip causing pain to rocket up through her arm. She clenched her jaw to stifle the cry. How much more would she have to endure?
They walked for a few feet, turned and entered a room. They told her to stand and she did the best she could. Her ribs ached. She looked around the room, it had machines lining the room on the left and right, each one had dancing lights that blinked to their own tune. The man that had been at her left, the angel among devils, started to dig into a box. He pulled out something that looked like a needle. The much shorter man sat down across the room. The bald man stayed next to her to try and keep her on her feet. "Hurry up Totos. I don't think she can stay up much longer." The bald one gruffly stated, his voice was deep and rough. He sounded like a moron and that gave Bulma a bit of cheering up.
"I'm coming." The other, nicer man Totos said as he turned around with a needle and started towards them. His voice was a little softer than the idiots, but had an edge to it that said he wasn't all halos and smiles. He patted her arm and cleaned it in the spot where he would take some blood. "I hope you're not afraid of needles." He smiled as he raised the needle.
"Where's Gohan?" She was a little shocked. She didn't think that that is what would come out of her mouth. She thought more along the lines of 'what's happening?', 'Where am I?', 'Who are you?', or even just a simple 'no'.
"Gohan?" The man looked confused. He shrugged and poked her with the needle.
The man who had sat down, the one with fire for hair, stood and walked closer his eyes showed no pity. "Gohan. I suppose you are talking about that half-breed. He has been sent off on another ship. I wouldn't worry, I'm sure he's fine, for the moment." His lip curled into a smirk and the bald man gave a sharp chuckle. Bulma didn't have the strength to ask anything else; she could only worry for the boy. Totos studied her blood as the bald man helped her into a tank like object. He placed a breathing mask over her face and shut the lid. Bulma felt her heart race as the tank filled with a goo like substance. She shut her eyes as she felt the substance rise to and above her head. She felt her body become suspended inside the substance but strangely she didn't feel much beyond that. She risked opening her eyes and to her surprise felt little discomfort against her pupils.
Totos and the short man talked for a brief moment. The short one gave a small nod then he and the bald one left the room. Totos stayed only a moment, typing something in a nearby machine then waved to her and left the room. Bulma wasn't sure what was happening, the substance had completely filled the tank. The mask gave her air and she suspected something else as she felt her eyelids grow heavy and her body submit to sleep. She didn't fight it; the blackness of sleep would be a welcomed change. She hoped that the tank was something to help her heal instead of the possibility that she had just become some aliens test subject.