CHAPTER 1

Bulma watched at blasts flew from the hands of her team as well as from her enemy, blowing away chunks of mountain and soil from around her. She assessed the situation as she watched the Ginyu fight mercilessly with Gohan and Krillin. They were toying with the two fighters, and were dragging out a fight that could've been over far earlier if the Ginyu felt the need. But they were pompous, arrogant, and wanted to beat these two relentlessly just because they could. Bulma feared the worst for them, and fought the internal struggle to help. Goku or Piccolo were nowhere to be found in this fight, and it wasn't usual for them to be addressing another adversary miles away. Except this time, Krillin and Gohan had their work cut out for them, and they were getting their asses handed to them by the Ginyu. As Bulma dodged and maneuvered around the chunks of flying debris she looked around for any sighting of Goku or Piccolo, hoping they would swoop in and help the struggling Z fighters. Except, no help came. She was agile and made every maneuver she could to avoid detection from the Ginyu by dodging and weaving through the debris. She knelt behind a large boulder just long enough to pull a capsule from her pocket. It was a unique red capsule numbered 4377. She looked upon her teammates fighting, losing to the Ginyu, and then back to the capsule in her hand. Silently she calculated the options…would it help…would it be futile…but her thoughts were cut short by a huge blast coming from a direction opposite the Z fighters, and directed right at the Ginyu successfully obliterating 1 of the 5 members. She turned quickly to see this change in fate, and scanned the surroundings hoping to see the bright orange gi. Her eyes strained through the dust and rubble, and there in the sky hovered the Saiyan. With a small gasp Bulma whispered to the nothingness around her…

"…Vegeta…"

Everyone stopped and stared at the Saiyan Prince as he hovered midair with his arm out, and glove hot from the blast. Krillin and Gohan were deathly still, as was Bulma, because they didn't know what side he was on. To what favor was this new dynamic going to benefit? Bulma assessed the situation from the ground…

…he killed one of the Ginyu…that's GOT to be good for us…right…?

She quietly shifted across the rubble to gather a better, and hopefully safer vantage point, still clutching the capsule #7734.

It wasn't much longer before the silence was broken by the Saiyan as he slowly assessed his surroundings, and his adversaries. Vegeta was a warrior in his own right, a battlefield genius, and not someone to ever underestimate. His battle was with the Ginyu—with Frieza—and he was dead set on making sure this battle was won.

"So I see you half-witted mouth breathers have no capacity to eliminate such a pathetic threat as the Ginyu?'

Vegeta smirked ever so caustically towards Krillin and Gohan as they remained like stone standing on the battlefield. With a large gulp Gohan looked over to Vegeta as he tried to quell his labored breathing from the battle.

"…"

Gohan had nothing. He opened his mouth yet no words were formed. What could he possibly say to Vegeta? But again, his silence was short lived as the Ginyu recouped and began to challenge Vegeta.

"So…Vegeta…Prince of all monkeys!" Jeice clapped his hands and shouted towards a stoic Vegeta. "I see you've decided to join the battle! Didn't think you'd be siding with the likes of these pieces of shit, but hey, I guess when you're a piece of shit, you'd want to be with your own kind."

Vegeta gazed at Jeice who seemed pretty pleased with himself for verbalizing such a creative description of his views on the group before him. He looked over to the small pile of dust that was once Guldo, and then to the Captain himself. "So whaddaya say Cap? Can I go first?"

Captain Ginyu stood effortlessly on the sidelines as he watched his 4 team members just stomp the shit out of Gohan and Krillin before the arrival of Vegeta. Sure, Vegeta was strong in his own right, but nothing that Ginyu thought couldn't be dealt with even only using the remaining members of his squad.

"Knock yourself out, Jeice. Recoome, Burter, stand down. If we have to fight this shit show we might as well watch and enjoy it!"

Except the fight was over before it started. Vegeta was significantly more powerful than they originally acknowledged, and his battle with Jeice was nothing short of pure obliteration. Normally, Vegeta would engage with the enemy, torture them, beat them, destroy them mentally and physically, but he was working with time constraints. He needed to get to the dragon balls before the Z fighters, and before the Ginyu…and certainly before Frieza. This hiccup in his day needed to be eradicated as he was a man with a mission.

The remaining Ginyu looked up in horror as pieces of Jeice's body parts rained down onto the ground in heaping masses. His blood was everywhere. His internal organs strewn around like someone took a bat to a life sized piñata. Vegeta could've incinerated him like he did Guldo, but he wanted to make his point. Attack, and be destroyed, by whatever death Vegeta thought was fitting for you.

…now's my chance…

Bulma darted through the field of debris and body parts to get far enough away that she could go finish what she started. There was only 1 dragon ball left for her to claim, and she knew where it was thanks to the efforts of Gohan. He was successfully able to find the remaining dragon balls that Vegeta had hidden, marked their locations, and forwarded the information to Bulma. She had already recovered the dragon balls from the inside of the destroyed ship which left only 1 more to acquire. The dragon balls she confiscated were stored safely in a capsule within a capsule, and that capsule was as hidden as it could get.

She darted out and down the rocky hill to an area with plenty of cover. Many boulders, hills, and heaps of terrain allowed her to escape unnoticed. She looked back upon Gohan, Krillin and Vegeta as they began combat with the remaining Ginyu force. She turned away once more looking forward towards her newest destination.

Just 1 more to go, Bulma…then you'll be off this dreadful rock of a planet and back home in your bed!

Bulma successfully fled the area unscathed, unharmed for the most part, and confident that with the help of the Saiyan Prince that her friends would make it to see their next fight. But she wasn't sure if that next fight was going to be with Vegeta once he was done with the Ginyu. Sure he was strong, but could he really take them all on…and win? Bulma shook her head as she continued down her path and away from the ensuing battle.

Vegeta killed 2 of the Ginyu, and now they are all battling the others. If Vegeta wanted them dead, they'd be dead, so he must have some anterior motive…but what? He can't possibly know that I know the location of his dragon ball…he's most likely ridding himself the competition for them.

Bulma slid down a pebbly hill looking back one final time. She only saw 2 Ginyu, and could still make out her friends, and Vegeta.

They're doing it…they're defeating the Ginyu…be safe guys…

Hurriedly Bulma ran as far as her legs could take her, as far as her lungs could handle, and as far as the thought of sleeping in her own bed could possibly motivate her. She could barely see the fighters now, which was good…she gained much needed ground away from the action. The whole way she created every scenario regarding Vegeta's motive to destroy the Ginyu outside of him just hating them. She was concerned for her friends, but she had a mission to complete, a duty to fulfill, just like they did. If worse came to worse and Vegeta did plan on taking out her friends, she could always use the dragon balls to bring them back…right? She shuddered at even having that thought.

Get it together Bulma…they will be fine! You made it out alive…and totally undetected. That's got to mean something!

She continued to run and run as fast as she could, now with the fight far behind her. She looked into her hand as she was still grasping the red capsule.

"Thank heavens I didn't need you today!" She tucked it away close to her chest. She looked back again and saw the fighters going at it, but now could barely discern who was who. She closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled.

"Bulma you clever girl you did it! You made it away from that mess, and you did it quiet as a mouse! Now…let's get that last dragon ball!"

Bulma ran off into one of several setting suns as happy as can be for the situation she was in. It wasn't every day that you could take the slip from such well-trained warriors, and not get caught.

At least, so she thought.