Disclaimer: Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, and Dragon Ball GT (including characters) are all owned by Akira Toriyama.

Chapter 2: Landing

Nine hours later, Bulma was abruptly awoken when her body fell to the hard, tiled floor beside the bed. She landed on her back with a 'thud' and immediately yelped out in pain. Her blues eyes popped open. She sat up and winced when she felt a sharp, prickly sensation run from her bottom up the length of her spine. One hand moved to massage the sore spot. She looked around the room for any evidence of life, but it was empty.

"Sonofabitch…" She muttered under her breath.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Bulma's eyes widened and her heart clenched in her chest when she heard the sinister voice. She turned around and looked up at a pretty pissed off looking Saiyan standing in front of her. His muscular arms were folded over his bare chest, covered in plenty of scars that seemed to run the length of his arms and pectoral region. He glared down at her with cruel, black eyes.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, the young woman gathered her composure.

"How did I end up on the floor?" She asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice.

Vegeta blinked and a mischievous smirk appeared on his face.

"I pushed you out of the bed when I woke up to find you snoring beside me."

Anger instantly washed over her. She pushed herself off of the floor and stood up, planting her feet while also placing both of her hands on her hips in an effort to assert her confidence.

"You tossed me out of the bed?!"

He seemed unfazed by her change in attitude.

"Pushed. And consider that to be one of many consequences if you decide to make the mistake of sharing the same bed with the Prince of all Saiyans again."

"Oh, really? And who exactly, made you the sole owner of the only bed on this ship?" She pointed her index finger at him. "You act like you have some unique privilege to claim whatever you want!"

He glanced at her finger.

"You shouldn't be complaining. There are plenty of other places for you to sleep. You just got up from a suitable spot a moment ago."

A flicker of mocking amusement flashed in his eyes when he spoke.

"The floor is not a suitable place to sleep, let alone for someone like me!" Her face was turning a bright shade of red, and her disheveled hair accentuated the wildness in her eyes. "If you were so adamant about sharing a bed with someone, you could've at least told me!"

"When I went to bed there wasn't an idiotic Earthling woman who had snuck in beneath the covers without my knowledge or consent. Would you have expected a different reaction?"

"YES! You totally overreacted by shoving me out of the bed while I was sleeping!" the volume of her voice increased. "You could wake me up using a different approach, instead of behaving like a barbaric, pretentious jerk!"

She poked his chest with her extended finger.

Vegeta swatted her hand away from him and scowled at her.

"Watch yourself, woman." His tone was deadly and serious.

"Or else what?" Bulma returned her hand to her hip. "If memory serves me right, you said yourself that I was your responsibility. Remember your promise to Goku?" She turned to look away from him, holding her head high so that her nose was aimed toward the ceiling. Her arms folded over her chest and she closed her eyes as she smiled triumphantly.

"True. But he never said anything about returning you with a few injuries." He smirked evilly. "Like a missing arm or leg, perhaps. I'm sure that as long as you're still alive it won't matter what condition you're brought home in. Surely you're comrades would be glad to see you alive."

The woman opened her eyes and met his gaze. He merely looked back at her. An internal shudder of fear and anxiety rushed through her, but she would be damned if she let him rile her up like this.

"If you ever did do such a thing, my friends on Earth would make sure to kill you." She scoffed.

Vegeta chuckled at her statement.

"Even if I were to engage those pathetic friends of yours in combat, none of them are as strong as Kakarot, which means that their strength is nothing in comparison to mine."

"Don't be so sure of yourself!" Bulma turned around to face him completely. "My friends may not be as strong as Goku individually, but together they would certainly kick your ass!" She immediately felt bad for practically admitting to his deduction.

"Hmph, you gravely underestimate me, woman. Once I become a Super Saiyan there won't be anyone in the universe who will be able to stand in my way."

"You say that with a lot of confidence, but don't forget about Goku."

The Saiyan smirked once again.

"I might not have to worry about that third-class fool. Taking into consideration that we escaped the explosion on Namek with a few seconds to spare, it's probable to assume that he's no longer alive."

Bulma looked at him in shock.

"You mean Goku was on Namek when it exploded? How come he didn't disappear like Gohan and Piccolo?"

The subject of her friends immediately brought back feelings of worry and fear. Ever since she had witnessed Gohan, along with an unconscious Piccolo, faze into nothing before her very eyes, her curiosity and confusion had gotten the best of her. And what better way to satiate her curiosity by extracting the information from Vegeta?

He watched the woman instantly light up when he mentioned Kakarot. Apparently, she was unaware that her friends had been sent to Earth using the Dragon Balls.

"I don't know, but your friends are supposedly alive and well on Earth. There was a wish made on the Namekian Dragon Balls to send everyone there from Namek. Kakarot seemed just as confused to find out that both of us weren't sent to your home world."

Bulma sighed in relief, but it quickly diminished when Goku came to mind.

"Do…do you really think he didn't make it?"

She hadn't seen him since her little fiasco with that strange alien frog. The mere thought of losing her friend again after he already died a year ago was too much to bear, even if it were possible to bring him back to life. How would Gohan and Chi-Chi feel if they lost Goku again in such a short amount of time? It was bad enough that he almost died in his encounter with the very Saiyan standing before her.

Vegeta had his back to her and his arms were still crossed over his chest. To be honest, he hoped that Kakarot was still alive, so that he would be able to settle the score between them once and for all. But he would never openly admit to such a feeling. Shrugging his shoulders, he replied in a low, contemplative tone.

"He's probably dead."

After he spoke, he could sense the woman's immediate response of sadness in her silence.

"But he doesn't seem like the type to allow death to overcome him so easily. When I last saw him, he appeared somewhat confident that he would be able to escape in time." He added.

A faint smile came across Bulma's face. She stared down at the tiled floor and a dim reflection stared back at her.

That sounds like Goku, alright.

Another moment of silence passed between them, until a monotone feminine voice echoed throughout the ship.

"Approaching destination. Approximate time until landing sequence is initiated: 30 minutes."

Bulma noticed Vegeta walk toward the bathroom behind her. Before he closed the door, he turned his head slightly.

"I'm not to be disturbed."

Without a second of hesitation, he shut the door.

After he left, she grabbed her clothes and placed them on the bed. Luckily, there was a mirror contraption installed into one of the bedroom walls across from the bed. Pushing the side panel, Bulma watched as the reflective glass formed in front of her, allowing her to take a look at her appearance. She was shocked to find how unkempt she was. Her blue locks were a complete mess and her grey undergarments were wrinkled to the utmost capacity.

She wondered what Vegeta thought when he saw her like this. He probably assumed that she was beyond hideous. Just a weak human female without any sort of redeemable features.

Well, what did he expect? She frowned. It wasn't like she could control what she looked like after finally getting a good night's sleep!

Huffing out a rugged sigh, Bulma began to redress herself. She would have preferred to wash her clothes before arriving to their destination, but there simply just wasn't enough time. However, there could have been if not for a rude, petulant Saiyan prince taking a shower in the room behind her.

Vegeta turned on the water and made his way across the large room to a closet, which held numerous towels stacked in columns. Grabbing two, he shut the closet, and placed one on the edge of the sink at the center of the bathroom. He placed the other on the floor in front of the tub and stepped in after removing his navy colored pants.

The hot water ran over his body, relaxing his tense muscles. He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. His brow furrowed.

Now that the Dragon Balls were out of his reach, there was no way for him to obtain immortality. The only goal he had left was to surpass Kakarot, and that meant that he would have to become a Super Saiyan. However, he was faced with a huge dilemma.

There was no way for him to train.

He remembered when Kakarot had mentioned that he trained in 100 times the gravity of Earth as he made his way to Namek. But how did he do it? There had to be something on this ship that held the key to such a miraculous training method.

Perhaps the woman would be able to enlighten him on some sort of gravity manipulating device onboard the ship.

The thought of that blue-haired weakling triggered a wave of annoyance and frustration to run through him. She would be nothing but trouble for him. What was he thinking when he had agreed to the task of escorting her to her home planet? He wasn't some universal chauffer. He berated himself for making such a foolish decision, but he was once again reminded of the promise Kakarot had made to him when he was on the ground dying, and practically begging, his third-class counterpart to avenge him and the honor of the Saiyan race.

Honor.

An exchange of honor between two warriors. That was what had formed between them in those last moments. Kakarot vowed to destroy Freeza, and he, as a Saiyan, had to uphold his end of the bargain. No matter how much he inwardly protested against it, his pride would never allow him to back down from fulfilling the promise he had made.

He closed his eyes and let the water hit his face while inwardly cursing himself for making such an idiotic vow.

Five minutes before the landing sequence was set to commence, Vegeta made his way upstairs to find the woman sitting in the pilot chair. She was looking at the hologram of Pragnot with a scrutinizing eye. He walked to her side, standing a few feet away, and looked out at the giant yellow sphere ahead.

Bulma glanced from the hologram to the planet, and then him.

"The hologram looks completely different than the real thing. Are you sure this is where we were supposed to end up?" She eyed the Saiyan suspiciously. Even after all of his talk about making a promise to take her home, she still couldn't place her trust in him. He was far too unpredictable for her taste.

"The image you're looking at is what Pragnot used to be before Freeza's forces took over. That event occurred only a few months before Kakarot defeated Raditz. Now it's just some military base his forces use as a communication center."

She looked back at the hologram.

"Do you think they know about what happened on Namek?"

Vegeta sensed the deep concern hidden behind her question.

"It's a possibility."

A blue light began to flash to the left of the control panel. The holographic image disappeared and the monotonous voice spoke.

"Landing sequence will be initiated in 5…4…3…2…1."

The ship swiftly plummeted to the planet's surface. Its spherical shape shot through the atmosphere, the bottom became scolding hot as the metal turned a bright red-orange color. Bulma watched as they passed through layers of grey and yellow smoke, until the ground finally became visible. A large formation of rock appeared beneath them. The spacecraft crashed into the rocks and burrowed deep into the ground, creating a gigantic crater in the process. The voice spoke once more.

"Destination reached. Landing sequence: successful."

"Captain Kyodo!"

A military grunt wearing a small communicator in his ear turned away from his monitor to face the chief commander of the station.

"There's been a huge impact northeast of the tower. It doesn't seem to be any of Lord Freeza's envoy ships. Orders, sir?"

At the center of the dark room sat a large, muscular figure. The green scouter on the left side of his face reflected the light from the monitors lining the circumference of the room. He grinned, showing off rows of sharp, white teeth.

"Send a small squad of men to investigate it." He said in a deep, hissing voice. "Bring anyone on the ship here—by force if need be."

"Yessir!" The lackey nodded and issued the orders to the rest of the staff at the military base.

The door to the spaceship opened and slowly descended to the ground. Bulma was the first to exit. She gazed at the scenery of the planet. It was a barren wasteland. The wide expanse of dry land ran for miles into the distance. There were large pieces of ruins and rubble nearby. Her eyes narrowed as she examined their structure more closely. Was there a city here? She looked up at the sky, its grayish-yellow color repulsed her, and the air was difficult to get used to. It felt heavy and smothering, causing her skin to feel grimy.

Why would someone want to set up a base on a planet like this?

Vegeta stepped out and noticed the woman standing a few feet from the ship. Her arms were wrapped around her as she tried to become accustomed to her surroundings. She turned around and glared at him with her crystal blue eyes.

"What the hell is this place?"

When he didn't respond she turned away from him and pouted. She glared at a decrepit wall from a building of some sorts. The material looked as if it had been scorched and there were remnants of maroon colored splatters along its surface. As she stared at the wall, she heard a noise from behind it. Her eyes narrowed. A few seconds later, a hideous reptilian creature scampered out from behind the wall and into some bushes. Bulma screamed and quickly backed away from the wall. She felt a shiver run down her spine.

"Ugh! Of all the places in the universe, we had to come to this creepy planet full of disgusting monsters!"

"You complain too much, woman." He said in a grudging tone after descending the ramp.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm not particularly used to visiting places that aren't suitable for habitation." She snapped at him coldly.

The Saiyan ignored her and scrutinized the environment. There were no signs of any patrollers or henchmen in the area, and he didn't sense any ki signatures nearby. They must have landed a few miles away from the central communications tower. He cursed under his breath. In the distance, he saw a group of figures in the sky. His eyes narrowed.

Bulma followed the direction of his gaze. Three figures were closing in on their location. Curiosity quickly turned into fear when two pink blasts of energy accelerated toward her. She screamed once again and ran, scrambling away as fast as she could from the path of the blasts. They landed successively right behind her, pushing her body forward and causing her to land on the ground.

A third incoming blast sped toward Vegeta, who merely swatted it away with his left hand, creating a crater beside the ship, and making the ground beneath it quake slightly. He watched as three soldiers landed in front of him. Their armor was a replica similar to his own when he had landed on Earth. The one in the center of the group, the leader perhaps, was the first to speak.

"Well, look what we have here." He pointed a laser gun attached to his forearm at the Saiyan. "Seems that you landed on the wrong planet, Vegeta."

"Oh?" He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "By who's decree?"

The soldier frowned.

"Lord Freeza's, of course! Ever since he heard about your little secret mission to some backwater planet against his order, we've been told to detain you at any cost."

It sounds like they haven't been notified of Freeza's demise.

"Now, you and that woman you were with are coming with us." He ordered the two men on either side of him to retrieve Bulma. Meanwhile the leader kept his gun aimed at Vegeta.

"Hands up!" He barked.

"Hmph." Vegeta slowly raised his hands up. He could hear the woman struggling against the guards as they approached.

"Let go of me, you good for nothing scum bags! I am sick and tired of being manhandled by weird-looking military grunts!" She spat and squirmed as they held onto her by her wrists. He watched them bring her to the soldier with the gun, she continued to struggle.

The leader stared at her with amusement.

"What are you staring at, buddy?" Bulma seethed as she tried to escape the iron clutches of her captors. The grunt brought on hand up to the scouter on his face and spoke.

"Scouting Squad to Tower. We've located the source of the impact to the northeast."

An inaudible voice replied.

"Yes. A woman and the traitor, Veg—"

The soldier was thrown back by a blue energy blast. His body fell to the ground with a dull 'thump' and the scouter landed beside his face. Bulma turned her head and saw Vegeta standing there. He had one arm fully extended, his hand open with fingers spread apart. The guards holding her yelled at him in panic and retaliation.

His eyes moved from the corpse of the leader to them, murderous intent in his obsidian gaze. He moved his arm and his hand, engulfed in a bright blue light, sent out two more blasts. At first Bulma felt as if they were meant for her. Unable to shield herself from his attack and run away, she turned her head away and closed her eyes as tightly as she could. Behind the darkness of her eyelids, she heard the pain filled screams of the soldiers and felt their grips on her loosen and release. When their bodies hit the ground, she opened her eyes and looked up.

Vegeta stood before her, his eyes no longer bearing the overwhelming menace and cruelty exhibited before. Instead, they were emotionless. He walked toward the fallen body of the leader and looked down at the scouter beside him. Placing one boot on top of it, he used his foot crush the device. In one miniature explosion, the glass-like screen cracked into microscopic pieces of dust. He looked back at the woman, who stood in place—watching him.

He turned back and reached out his senses, searching for a concentration of ki signatures. If he could find the largest group of collective energy levels, he would be able to locate the communications tower and disable it, and hopefully keep them from relaying any messages of Freeza to other military bases in the galaxy. He closed his eyes as he focused in on a group of about one hundred or so ki signatures. Most of them were small, probably weak grunts that could be easily disposed of, but there was one power level that was exceptionally large. A smirk formed across his face and he opened his eyes. With his intrigue piqued, Vegeta welcomed the vicious thrill that enveloped him as he closed in on the ki signature of his next opponent.

After almost a YEAR, I finally managed to post this chapter! I apologize for making you wait so long for this, but I promise that Chapter 3 will be up really soon! I really mean it this time because I started working on it after I finished editing this. Anyways, I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I know that not much really happened, but the next installment is sure to have lots of excitement! Thanks again for reading. Until next time! :)