a/n – Thank you for the reviews! I wasn't planning on updating it so soon, but I have a few pages of the story written out so I didn't see the harm in adding a second chapter. Please feel free to leave a review! Any comments are appreciated~

Enjoy

One Hell of a Trip

She traced the lipstick gently over her lips; puckering, she gazed thoughtfully at her work and deemed it suitable. Setting the lipstick down, she adjusted the slim-fitting dress with a happy glow to her cheeks.

Yes, Bulma was right, Chi-Chi thought to herself. This is what she needed; a night away from home. The dress was something she normally wouldn't wear. It was a low-cut, thin-strapped dress with a simple ribbon around her waist. The hemline fell just below her knees; she was married and had a decent set of morals, after back to admire her work, Chi-Chi was proud to find that she still was able to make herself look quite attractive.

"One last touch..." She murmured to herself as she gathered up her thick strands of hair. Twisting it around, she fastened it loosely, purposely pulling a few locks of hair to fall against the back of her neck. Satisfied with her appearance, she finished with a quick habitual adjustment of her hemline.

"Yes," She said to herself, checking the time with a sigh. "This is exactly what you-"

Just as she spoke, a loud crash sounded from the kitchen. Slightly stunned by the noise, Chi-Chi froze in her place, heart beating erratically. More crashes and thuds followed as the seconds ticked by; it sounded as if someone had broken into her house, and was now rummaging through the kitchen. You can't be serious, Chi-Chi thought angrily; a perfectly good night to the dogs because some loser had to break into her house. Well, she mused as she clenched her fists, they wouldn't be leaving as easily as they had entered.

The food was good, he thought as he shoveled it aimlessly into his mouth. It was cold and tasted like it had been sitting here for a while, but Bardock was hungry enough that he could care less. He'd been flying in search of the power source he'd located on his scouter when hunger pains had suddenly struck him quite violently. It seemed this planet had no good food, as the most he'd had to tame his appetite was measly pieces of fruit that did little but tease him. Now this, however, was real food. It just so happened that the reading he'd gotten was around this area, too. Hopefully whoever it was lived here; it would be a big relief to kill two birds with one stone and find the Saiyans on this planet already.

Chewing through a cold piece of meat, Bardock had little time to react when a hefty frying pan caught him from behind. With a resounding ringing in his ears, he lurched over and clutched his now throbbing-skull with a string of curses. Whipping around, he found the source of his attacker to be a small-built woman with a frying pan and wearing what Bardock deemed to be formal wear, or just poor battle armor.

"What are you doing in my house?!" She shrieked, her chest heaving.

"What are you doing going around hitting people with frying pans?!" He shouted back angrily, standing up from his seat.

Glaring defiantly at him, she narrowed her eyes and spat, "Oh, so I'm supposed to welcome random strangers with open arms when they break into my house?" She raised the pan up over her shoulder, easing back into a familiar fighting stance as she hissed, "Get out of my house right now before I make you regret ever coming here!"

He chuckled low, his eyes flashing at the challenge. Bending down to her face, the Saiyan murmured mockingly, "Lucky for you, you caught me in a good mood...how about you put your little pan down before you hurt yourself, huh, sweetheart?"

Just before she could slam the large pan into him again, Bardock raised his hand and deflected it easily. With a knowing smirk on his face, he grabbed it from her hands and twisted the frying pan into a lump of warped metal. Taking great delight in the look of fear on her face, he stepped close to her, a small shaft of evening light casting over his face as he chuckled, "I warned you..."

Chi-Chi wasn't sure how she could be any more confused than she was right now. The strange, and violent, man before her was the spitting image of Goku. Dark hair that seemed to defy gravity as it spiked out, equally dark eyes and a weird choice of clothing that seemed eerily similar to Vegeta's outfit.

Eyes wide, she whispered fearfully, "G-goku...? Is that...is that you?" She reached out tentatively to him, her fingers gently resting on the scar that stretched along his right cheek.

Scowling, the man flicked her fingers away and glared at her, "I don't know who-"

Chi-Chi couldn't help herself. With tears brimming in her eyes, she cupped his face and sobbed, "Oh Goku, is that you? It's been so long what...what happened?"

Was this woman blind? Or just crazy? Sickened slightly at her display of tears, Bardock flinched away with a deepening scowl. "Look, lady, I have no idea-"

A sudden image filled his mind. His son, Kakarot, being sent off to Earth in the space pod. Living on Earth, it seemed, growing up...with the humans? What had happened to him? Had his son gone soft? What...what was this? Was he with some female Earthling? The vision faded, leaving him confused and filled with disgust at what had become of his son. As his mind cleared, one thought grabbed his attention. The woman in front of him...she looked strikingly familiar to the woman in his vision...

Finally, it seemed like fate was willing to deal him a lucky hand. And what better luck than having the wife of a Saiyan standing right in front of him, who surely knew the location of the other Saiyans. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave the small woman a dark chuckle coupled with a grin of ill intent.

She took a step back from him, a slight note of fear behind her wide eyes. "Goku...?" She inquired with a note of panic in her voice.

Bardock tilted his chin up, his eyes wandering freely up and down her body, the way only a man who'd been without a woman for who knows how long could. A blush stained her cheeks as he scrutinized her, from her curved figure and down to the messy pile of her hair on top of her head.

"This Goku..." He said with a slight air of impatience as his fingers drummed against his bicep. "He's your husband, I take it?"

Chi-Chi stepped back again, her hand searching around uselessly behind her for some sort of weapon against him. Every inch of her screamed to get away from this creep; if only Goku was actually here, she mused bitterly.

"Why should that concern you?" She snapped back, a feeling of bravery washing over her.

In response, he laughed, as if she were a mere child. With his laughter dying off to a rumbling chuckle, he stepped forward and grabbed her arm in a solid grip. With her heart rate accelerating, she gazed up defiantly at him as he said, "Feisty little thing, aren't you?" Another chuckle. "As much as I want to mess around with you right now, I have a business to attend to...with some Saiyans."

He noted the recognition in her eyes, yet despite this confirmation, he still urged, "Ring a bell?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She spit at him, struggling against his grip.

Sighing, he tilted his head at her as he reprimanded her mockingly, "Are you trying to make this difficult? I'd really hate to mess up that pretty face of yours, but I have no reservations about forcing the information I want out of you."

"Why should I tell you, a stranger who breaks into my house, eats my food and threatens me?!" Chi-Chi hissed back, a violent look storming in her eyes. "I don't even know what a Saiyan is..."

"Something tells me that you do." He responded back, his eyes narrowing. Growing impatient, he grabbed her chin and lifted up her face to his and growled, "Just make this easier for the both of us and tell me what you know."

"Make me, you creep!" She yelled, her eyes wide and blazing in fury as she squirmed in his grasp.

His hand clenched her arm painfully; a violent look stormed in his eyes, yet as the anger swept over him, he snorted in disgust and shoved her into the chair behind him.

Folding his arms over his chest, he glared down at her with a shake of his head, as if he were thinking to himself. Chi-Chi fearfully glanced up at him, breathless and clenching her hands to the point she felt them shake under the pressure.

"How dare you manhandle me!" She gasped, lifting her chin defiantly.

He glanced down at her with a dark look, but said nothing. Sensing the tension, he absently flicked his tail as he sauntered around her to grab a hunk of roasted meat. Ripping a piece free, he stared down at her as he ate, his gaze never breaking hers.

"You're disgusting," She spat, her lip curling as she examined the sloppy way he devoured the food. "Were you raised in the wilderness or something?" She cried in protest.

He said nothing, wiping the side of his mouth with the back of his hand as he examined her through half-lidded eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as his hard gaze settled on her own; with remnants of food clung to his lips, Bardock swiped his thumb over his mouth and lazily commented, "Shouldn't take your husband too long to get here; with a pretty thing like you waiting for him, I imagine he'll be pitching himself a fit to get here...but for your sake, you better hope he gets here soon before I lose my patience."

His words took a dark edge; with the threat hanging silently in the air, she felt her resolve slip a bit. She had no idea how strong this man was; if he was anything like Goku, she stood no chance. Biting her lip, she glared over at his guarded expression and cursed herself for being so weak.

Oh Goku...where are you when I need you?

Bulma glanced anxiously at the clock; the time read a half an hour past 8. What could be keeping Chi-Chi? She sighed, placing her hands on her hips as her gaze slipped over to Vegeta, who lounged on the bed with a bored expression on his face.

"I wonder what's keeping her." Bulma thought aloud to herself, paying no heed to Vegeta's irritated look. The Saiyan grumbled to himself, muttering something along the lines of 'stupid earth women' as he buried his face into the pillow.

She rested her fingers absently against her chin as she glanced out the window. There was no reason for Chi-Chi to be late...Goku and the kids were gone, like always. It shouldn't still bother her, Bulma thought with a furrowed brow. But then again, dealing with Goku probably was a bit different than dealing with the indifferent Vegeta. She crossed her arms and huffed; in response, her bangs flew up and landed in a disorganized fashion against her forehead.

"Well, she could've at least called if she wasn't going to show up." Bulma said through gritted teeth.

Behind her, Vegeta glared at her as he was yet again roused from his sleep. Feeling his veins pulsate as a brewing headache formed between his temples, he angrily growled, "Will you quit talking to yourself already? I'm trying to get some sleep!"

"Oh get over yourself!" Bulma responded back tartly, throwing her hair over her shoulder in a haughty lift of her chin.

Clenching his jaw, he settled against the bed and slammed the pillow over his ears, muttering all the while.

"That's what I thought." She mumbled, absently toying with the necklace at the base of her throat. Worry set in as her thoughts continued to roam; there was no reason Chi-Chi would stand her up...especially with her family gone. Even if she had stood her up, Bulma figured she would've called in the very least. She'd think that Chi-Chi was a stickler about being polite, and she'd never imagine Chi-Chi throwing herself into disarray because her husband was gone yet again.

Sighing, Bulma swung her purse over her shoulder and smiled despite her worry. Yes, she understood what she was going through...the pain of being married to such nitwitted apes did drain on her from time to time. The least she could do was give her this moment, even if she felt a bit offended.

Straightening her shoulders, she turned on heel and strode to the door. With her hand on the doorknob, she cast a gaze to the slumbering Vegeta. His arms resolutely clutched the pillow over his head like a stubborn child; yet she could see his grip slowly draining as he fell deeper into sleep. Soft smile playing at her lips, she strode over and moved the pillow from his face.

He protested with a hard groan, his eyes fluttering open to glare at her in anger. "Leave me...alone..." He spat half-heartedly, his venom draining as his eyelids fell shut again.

Despite his insistent stubbornness, Bulma pulled the blanket over him and pecked his cheek gently. Yes, she supposed she had to love him despite how angry he made her. Breathing deep, she left the room to have what little fun she could have on this lonely night.

To Be Continued