Note: I remember reading a lot of kidnapped/ransom fics before, but they were either too gritty or too serious for my taste. Hence me writing this random af thing at three in the morning. I also need to point out that I haven't written in a very long time, so I apologize ahead of time for any typos or grammatical errors... Enjoy? :)
It occurred to her that this was probably not the worst thing to ever happen to her. Of course—who could really blame her? She had witnessed so many atrocities within the short span of her life. Had watched her friends die to protect Earth. Faced cold-blooded mercenaries and faced a planet on the brink of destruction. Those were the most overwhelming events that she could think of at the top of her head (including the time when she turned into a frog)—but as she stared into the dark, (possibly) rat infested basement, she knew this could never really compare to the latter. In fact, she wasn't fazed at all by the sudden turn of events.
It was badly executed too, she remembered. Often times, she liked to think back to how it all started. How she woke early that morning and thought about spending some quality time at the mall to buy things she didn't really need. She remembered how antsy she felt the day before, after sitting around in the house doing absolutely nothing. Funny how one thing just led to another….
Right… back to the story.
So, after making the decision to go shopping that early morning, Bulma showered—spent a good hour on herself to look the part, kissed her mother on the cheek and promised to meet her back home in a couple of hours and was out the door moments later.
It was a quiet drive to the mall, which was—odd, considering the heavy traffic in West City. (Unbeknownst to her, the highway had been blocked off due to an accident. An overturned truck, and an oil spill.)
She had barely stepped foot in when she felt a pair of arms around her midriff, and another large (very sweaty) hand wrap around her hand. And the worst part? She tasted it in her mouth, and she swore if she hadn't held her so tight, she would have gagged all over him.
Which brings us back to the present…
Bulma stared at her surroundings—a heavy, exasperated sigh falling past her lips as she thought about the consequences of her decisions. How she had such bad luck for letting herself get into this situation in particular. It was more embarrassing now that she thought about it too—they were amateurs obviously. Just from the way they spoke and how they had left and unattended shiv BEHIND her. Idiots, the pair of them. Pair, because she suspected there were two. They always worked in pairs.
"I swear to God, you say one word and I will CUT you," Tweedle Dee on the right spat (literally SPAT—she felt flecks of his spit on her cheek and she scrunched her nose in disgust).
And in that moment, all she felt was PITY. "GENIUS," she huffed under her breath, despite the imminent threat. "If you didn't want me to talk, why couldn't you just tape my mouth shut?" God—she was offering them pointers. Just how pathetic were they?
This must have stung his pride, because he grunted loudly and put on his angry eyes (because that was all she could see in the darkness. Two set of slanted eyes glaring in her direction.)
"Listen here, princess—" Tweedle Dum gripped her chin harshly and—God, it was the sweaty one again. The nausea returned like a wave and she moved against his will. "You don't speak unless you're spoken to. I make the rules! Do I make myself clear!?"
"Crystal," she spat right back before she was shoved back into the wall behind her—hard enough to knock her unconscious.
There were times when Bulma thought about her mortality. Well—not after meeting Goku, that's for sure. She never thought about it before, but… she was young after all. Her life was simple—cozy, and she didn't have much to think about except the bright future ahead of her. And then she craved adventure—seeking the unknown. Exploring uncharted territories, and uncovering century old myths that were even older than earth itself.
This time, however, she was mildly annoyed and tired. The back of her head was searing and her eyes stung from mixture of sweat and mascara dripping back into her eyelids. There was a patch of sweat on her back and right under her ass, and the rope holding her arms behind her was starting to chafe.
"Comfortable, right?" She recognized that voice—it was Tweedle Dee. She deemed them those names because they were the biggest idiots on the planet. And that was definitely saying something.
"I did have a cot lying around somewhere, but since you're so used to the luxuries back in that mansion of yours, I thought I would spare you the embarrassment." From the tone of his voice, he sounded very pleased. He was intentionally hurting her, oh no!
"Sounds you put a lot of thought into this, huh?" A grunt fell from her lips as she struggled against her ropes. She had been tied before, against her will—and she had slipped out of them. This one was easier because of the conveniently placed shiv right behind her. Of course, she would have to dislocate a couple of fingers, but it was the price to pay.
"You don't even know the half of it—" Tweedle Dee sneered at her. And yet another grunt sounded as she struggled against her ropes, and he paid no mind to it. "—how long I've been wanting to do this. To take you away for myself and wait until the cash starts flowing in." His laughter echoed loudly in the basement, masking the loud clang of the shiv that sounded after it slipped from her fingertips. "Just you watch, princess—by this time tomorrow, I'll be rich. I will drain you of your assets and you will be left with absolutely NOTHING. And that's all you'll ever be. A big, stinkin' NOTHING."
It was past midnight, and still—Bulma hadn't returned home. It was no cause for panic, since she had been gone longer than that, but she hadn't called once and her phone was shut off, completely out of range.
This concerned Ms. Brief and she looked for the person most entitled for this situation in particular. As soon as he came into plain sight, said person sensed her presence and did his absolute BEST to avoid the woman. And he FROZE on command when the distinct sound of her 'YOO-HOO!' rang loudly in his ears. Gods, that wretched woman and that loud mouth of hers!
"YOO-HOO! Vegeta!" The blonde waved quickly at the Saiyan Prince, and much to his dismay, he turned on his heel and glared daggers at her direction. Murder in his eyes, hands balled into fists at his side.
"I don't think it's necessary for you to be so lou—"
"YOO-HOO! Vegeta, dear!" She shouted once again. Sighing and dropping his head in defeat, he met her half-way there and stared hard at the ground. "What is it?"
It took her a moment to get her request into words. "Oh—it's Bulma! She's been missing for hours and I can't seem to find her!" And had it not been for her unnaturally high pitched voice, Vegeta would have guessed that she was in distress. And he simply shrugged in response. "Wouldn't it be wise to call the authorities?"
Bark-like laughter sounded loudly in his mind. To think that the local authorities were being paid to do absolutely NOTHING! To make matters worse, every single citizen was being robbed of their services from their weekly income. And yet still they did nothing to correct it. The government of this planet was nothing short of an EMBARASSMENT.
"Oh, but I did! But I was told to wait twenty-four hours before I could report a missing person."
Dark eyes rolled skyward—no wonder there were so many missing reports. A stupid waiting period that could potentially put their lives at risk.
"Will you help me find her?" She then asked of him rather sweetly. And with this, she stretched out her hand and held a fleece shirt in her hand. It smelled of the perfume she usually wore every day and he smelled it off of her when he watched her leave early that morning. "I suppose you could trace the smell if you took a sniff of her personal belongings?"
And there it was—the worst thing any person could ever do to a once villain, turned ally. It was the way she had implied that he was a dog to help her sniff out the whereabouts of her daughter. She was asking for it—asking to be killed in the most gruesome manner that he could possibly think of. But she was a tether, and he knew he couldn't put a goddamn finger on her.
So, he took it out on the shirt—tore it right out of her hand and ripped it to shreds. This of course, did nothing to phase the woman. Although—he couldn't really tell. Her eyes were always closed and she only had one expression on her face.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that— and I will look for your daughter." And with a gruff, Vegeta took off into the night sky. A gush of wind swept around Ms. Brief that nearly tossed her off her feet. Her hand raised to her lips as she uttered a small giggle. "Oh my! He's so brave!"
She had the shiv into her hands, and after she successfully turned it so that the blade rested against the ropes, she immediately began to rock it back and forth over the ropes. Sweat dropped down her forehead—her fingers cramped from the stress between the blade and the rope. She could feel it—feel it loosening, until finally it snapped and unraveled from her wrists.
"What I wouldn't give for a hot bath right about now?" Bulma huffed under her breath as she stretched out her feet and waited for the weakening numbness to dissipate before she got back onto her feet, shiv in her hand and all. Those idiots left her with an escape tool and a weapon all in one, and she wondered what they would think once they noticed that she had literally sawed her way out to freedom.
It was hard to navigate in such a dark, cramped space. Often times she reached her arms out to feel her way around to avoid bumping into something—and possibly a door that would lead her to an exit. And judging by the way things were going now, it was highly unlikely that would happen anytime soon.
"Stupid son of a—" A slew of curses fell from her lips in a low mutter as she reached out once again, until she stopped and felt around something solid and thick. Her brows lifted as she continued to run her hands over the object. It felt oddly—warm, yet solid? What was it that she was feeling right now? And why was she so entranced by it?
"Go any lower and you might just get what you're looking for," a familiar voice echoed in the enclosed area.
The second she realized whom that voice belonged to, her hands froze on impact—and slowly she pulled her hands from where they once were. Her eyes wide as saucers as she looked around for him in the darkness.
He—Vegeta of all people had come to her rescue! He surely was her knight in shining armor! Her light in such a bleak and desolate wilderness! Her lips parted to thank him for his gratitude—inhaling sharply before she spoke.
"What are you doing here?!"
That was definitely not the reaction he had expected.
He glared at her, at this woman who spoke to him so defiantly. He had sacrificed his precious time to come save her, and this was the thanks he got?! Not only that, but his mother had offended him too—they were really asking for it today!
"What do you mean, what am I doing here?!" He hissed loudly. "I came here for you!" He pointed a gloved finger at her direction, which didn't really serve a purpose because it was too dark for her to see anyway. "I saved you from those two morons and this is the thanks I get?!"
There was a long pause before she tossed the ruptured rope that had held her captive at his feet, followed by the bloody shiv in her hand, which then fell with a heavy clang.
Lip caught between her teeth, she glared into the darkness and shook her head. "Turns out I didn't need you," she sneered at him. Her gaze hardened with determination, and her bloodied hands balled into fists. Sure—this was nothing compared to the previous mishaps in her life, but she felt proud of herself. Proud that she could get herself out of it before a Saiyan would come to her rescue.
"'I'll see myself out, then!" And with a bold stride, she walked past Vegeta. Chin up, shoulders back as she navigated around in the darkness. And Vegeta simply stood there, for the very first time shocked into silence as he watched the woman walk blindly around the enclosed basement and heading in the complete opposite direction from the exit.