Chapter 4: The Green Surprise

I woke to the distinct smell of dirt and the lingering smoke of de-capsulation. I opened my eyes to see an array of my objects littering the landscape. Every one of my personal capsules had been opened: hover crafts, submarines, capsule homes, and refrigerators to name a few. I sat up slowly and brought a hand to my neck.

The saiyan was a brute, but I felt no lasting effects from his precise and debilitating hit on my neck. I searched the area for my captor and failed to locate him. Sighing in relief, I push away the thought of his uncanny disappearance. So the Namek village was exciting, but I was still glad to be free of the maniac. I stood up and brushed the large collection of dirt from my clothes. I looked down at my soiled black leotard. I needed a change of clothes, fast.

Spotting my chest of clothes next to the submarine, I trotted over and delved into finding a new outfit. The leotard really was the most practical, but it was hot in this relentless Namek sun. Plus I was losing serious style points every second I wore it. I dug out a pair of shorts, one of my simple shirts with "Bulma" written across the front and clean underwear. Perfect, I thought to myself.

Scanning my surroundings again, I dropped my clothes and changed in near supersonic speed. The last thing I needed was some passing alien to develop a crush on me. In my new clothes, I felt better immediately. Much more fresh and youthful than in that dreary black costume. Now all I had to do was clean up my capsules and get back to the boys.

The submarine looked especially sad out of water. I walked to my towering invention and up at the small re-capsulation button. Now if the object were in water, the buttons placement would have been completely logical but since it was land logged, I had quite a task ahead of me. How could I not have imagined that some moron would throw the capsule on dry land?

I cursed the missing Saiyan, walked back to my still open chest and grabbed a thick pillow. Huffing back to the stranded sub, I reached upwards to an indention on the side of the ship. With valiant effort I pull myself a few feet from the ground and swing my foot onto the large shelf at my eye level. For a moment, I am stuck in that awkward position. I grimace as I think of being found in this peculiar situation.

I will break down this submarine; I may need it on this water filled planet. I grunt from exertion, haul my body to be parallel with the shelf and then scoot backwards to lie on it. With a satisfied sigh, I dangle my feet off the edge and smile. Although this trip has been dangerous and tiresome, I am glad I came. I feel like I have rediscovered the adventure inside me. These weeks have been good to me.

I lean back and smack the small button. I pull the pillow below me, fisting the ends and wrapping it underneath my butt. I brace for my impact with the ground and hope the pillow will absorb the majority of the impact. It's only seven feet. How bad could it be? As my seat vanishes from existence I squeak in anticipation.

After landing hard on my butt, I lean back and stare at the small, drifting clouds above me. The pillow should have been thicker, but I am no worse for wear. The hardest re-capsulation is done; it's all downhill from here. As I bask in the glory of my success, I see the most unwelcome person enter my field of vision.

Vegeta's black hair is shifting in the breeze and a satisfied, amused look is plastered on his face. It is as if fate itself had ordained me to be on this planet for his own personal amusement. I scowled at him and pulled myself into a sitting position, "I thought you left!"

He raises an eyebrow. I roll my eyes at his predictability and raise a defiant eyebrow back at him. Ignoring my response, he waves a finger at my collection of toys and says, "Where do I get these?"

"You don't." I say matter-of-factly. "My father and I don't cater to military organizations."

"I am not an organization." He blandly replies. "I am merely a man."

I feel antagonistic and insolent. I really thought that the Vegeta chapter of my life had closed. "By God, I can't believe that you would admit to being just a man." I stand up and walk towards the submarine capsule. I wave my hand in exaggerated motions, "Not a Prince, a God, or capable of destroying entire planets at a whim." I bend down to pick up the submarine and turn back to him dramatically, "merely a man."

He hasn't responded to my tirade. I was pretty sure it would incite some kind of reaction, but he only continued to stare at me as if I had been handpicked to entertain him. "You build tech," he states rather than asks. He approaches me with calm but decided steps. "You're not merely a pilot, eh?"

I categorize his question as rhetorical and look at him blankly, but I was never good at the innocent look. Deciding that words would only increase the danger of my situation, I remain silent. I had underrepresented my role in the group, but wouldn't anyone in my situation?

He flips the capsule case to me and says, "You are proving quite useful, Woman."

I glared in retaliation and walk towards the remaining objects needing to be re-capsulated. I had thought it would be bad to have an alien see my awe inspiring body, but it was beginning to seem like one seeing my mental capabilities would be worse. I slump my shoulders in dejection and petulantly whispered to myself, "Wouldn't know how to use capsule's to your advantage anyway." I bent down and pressed the button on my hover bike. "Wasting a wish on immortality." I rolled my eyes in frustration.

"It's better than the perfect boy-thing."

I whisked around and glared at the Saiyan. I expected him to be closer than he is, but he was nearly twenty feet away. Great, so he has super hearing too. I still felt embarrassed by my teenage wish. "I was young when I wanted that wish." I slammed a foot into the ground, "And that was before I met Yamcha."

"The human I supposedly killed."

"Yes!" I yelled at him. My anger at my dead love returned with a vengeance. "What do you want, Saiyan!" I spit out the last word with detestation. But of course, he does not view his race with the same abhorrence as I do. It actually caused him to puff out his chest with pride.

"The dragonballs." His tone is bored. As if the answer to my demanding question should be completely apparent, but that my little brain was obviously incapable of such an easy task.

I glower at his unmasked condescension. "Where is our dragonball, anyway?" I felt like a lunatic, like one of those crazy people that try and make poisonous cobras dance inches from their face. Except I wasn't playing a beautiful tone to tame the beast, it was almost like I subconsciously wanted him to explode at me.

"My dragonball is safe."

My eyes narrowed. If I didn't know better, I would think Vegeta was gaining some amount of self satisfaction through my uncontrolled outbursts. I locked my jaw and turned my entire focus on re-capsulating. I could feel his eyes following me, their scorching intensity practically burning my exposed skin. I refused to allow him to notice the effect his stare had on me. I felt goose bumps rise on my skin, my arms and legs began to tingle. I placed the capsulated house in my case and continued on to the small fridge. I was beginning to hate the man for more than just taking my boyfriend away from me: I didn't like how he made me feel.

Suddenly, I felt lighter. I looked over my shoulder to my overseer. He wasn't staring at me any longer but looking up to the sky in the distance. He glanced back at me and then back to the sky. "It looks like your friends are in trouble." There is a cocky smirk on his face that I interpret as some form of battle lust. Then his words registered in my head.

My heart shuddered. I was no longer angry but scared. "What do you mean?" He didn't answer, but continued to track their energy signals with his eyes. I jogged towards him and looked to him pleadingly. "Are they okay?" I grabbed his arm just to have him shake off my loose grip. "Aren't you going to help them?" My voice was now desperate.

He flashed me a look that said my question was absolutely ludicrous. I stared at his profile, his vibrantly expressive eyes, his steely reserved face. Then down to his corded neck. I watched his pulse beat in his artery.

I knew that any trouble Krillin and Gohan could find would come from that group my friends had said were immensely strong. The one man that was so much stronger than Vegeta. He was even stronger than the Saiyan next to me who easily dwarfed my friends. Vegeta looked so sturdy, so dangerously powerful. If only I could convince him to help us. But what could turn this vicious man to my side?

I swallowed slowly and softly whispered, "Please." I was never one to plead. It turned my stomach; it flushed my cheeks in embarrassment. My fists clenched and my breath came out in a staggered breath. I closed my eyes and sucked in air slowly, then opened them again and stared into his depthless eyes. "Please, help us."

He pinned me with his eyes and questioned, "Why." He was right. What advantage would it give him to help humans? Why would he want to share his strength and wishes with us? I didn't even know if Vegeta would be enough to turn the tides. He was brutal, tactical, confident and determined. I had seen that back on Earth. He just had to help us. We would have to form an alliance against that tyrant named Frieza.

The words left me before I would think them over. "I'll give you my capsules, my mind," my voice cracked in distress. "Whatever you want, Vegeta!" I stared at his impassive profile, waiting for a reply. "I can build training equipment."

His lips curled in an expression I couldn't read and he looked at me out of the corner of his eye. I felt a shiver run up my spine. "I accept," his expression morphed to cruel mockery. "But I would have fought Zarbon either way."

With that statement, he blasted from the small island. I watched as his aura streaked through the sky and cursed his retreating form. What an arrogant bastard. I could barely make out where his colored aura ended. I picked out my hover bike capsule, tossed it on the ground, leapt on and sped off to get a better view of the upcoming battle.

I didn't want to think about the strange agreement I had just made with the Saiyan Prince. Whatever it meant, at least my friends would be safe. So, I pushed the recent events from my mind and concentrated on getting close to the Saiyan without being seen by either combatant.

Once I positioned myself behind one of the rocks that this planet seemed to have an abundance of, I looked to the two men. I had apparently backed the wrong man. This enemy named Zarbon was absolutely gorgeous. I could barely concentrate. Yeah, he had a strange greenish skin tone but that could be considered exotic. I looked at his long silky hair, his bulging muscles and his obvious sense of style. Well, to be honest, maybe there was too much style. The man looked better than me! He was supposed to be fighting on some strange planet, and he looked like he could walk on a runway.

The two men couldn't have been more different. The new guy looked elegant and gentle as opposed to Vegeta's distinguished but brutal demeanor. If I had to choose one, I would definitely take the green guy. Although I had to admit that Vegeta's intensity could give that elegant gig a run for its money.

What am I thinking! Yamcha is my one and only love. One of these wishes will be mine; I will get him back! After reaffirming my love for my dead boyfriend, I turned back to the battle.

Vegeta spoke with venomous violence, "I will no longer cower in front of Frieza like a dog." He looked enraged.

I could barely imagine the proud Saiyan cowering in front of anyone, but I still felt sympathy for the man. I reminded myself that he had spent his whole life as a battered slave. But could anyone really force another to kill? Vegeta was a murderer, and Frieza merely took advantage of that fact.

Focusing back on the battle, I saw Vegeta spouting taunts with his usual overconfidence. The man could use some humility, and the hot green guy seemed to agree with me. Suddenly the hottest guy I had seen in a long time morphed into a disgusting monster. His flawless skin became bumpy, his face widened and flattened. I rolled my eyes in exasperation and turned to lean my back against the rock. Why do all these attractive aliens transform into ugly beasts?

I stared at my feet wondering silently whether I wanted Zarbon to win anymore. I had to admit that Vegeta could learn some well deserved humility with a loss to the green man. I peaked around the rock back to the fight and immediately regretted my previous thoughts.

Vegeta was being absolutely decimated. The giant lizard was slamming his ugly, green face into Vegeta's with brutal intent. He threw the Saiyan towards the ground and then appeared beneath him. Vegeta's own force was used against him as his body careened into the thigh high covered knee of Zarbon. The once unstoppable looking prince now looked like a ragdoll, his head loosely following the momentum of his body's hits.

My hand covered my mouth in revulsion, and my stomach dropped. No one deserved this fate even if that person killed Yamcha. Well, Vegeta didn't actually kill my boyfriend I reminded myself. Yamcha really caused his own death with his unsupportable confidence. And it was more Vegeta's bald friend that indirectly caused Yamcha's death, anyway.

As I reassigned Vegeta's liability regarding my boyfriend's death, he was being absolutely destroyed by Zarbon. My pity towards the small saiyan and my horror over his predicament absorbed my thoughts. I held my breath as his body slammed into the ground creating a large crater.

Zarbon looked pleased with himself as he looked down at Vegeta's broken body and then flew away from the scene. I nearly panicked as the thought of his death entered my mind. I didn't have time to think why it would upset me to such an extent. I didn't matter that his death would give one more wish to my friends and me. That it would free me from the peculiar pact that I had formed with the dangerous saiyan.

I remembered my bike, skirted towards it in a daze and kick started the motor. I pushed the little bike to its limit, careening towards the large crater. I don't know if my eyes were watering for my new Saiyan ally or from the wind whipping against my face. It didn't matter, all that mattered was getting to him and assuring Vegeta's survival.

The crater had filled with water and my mind froze in fear. He could drown. I could not use the submarine: the crater was too small. I would have to dive in after him and hope that I could pull his body up to the air. I reached down to pull off one boot, toppling downwards from my overpowering clumsiness. Having fallen backwards, I sat on the ground and continued my mission to remove my boots.

Before I could jump into the water, a bird nearly took my head off and flew to the new body of water which hid the Saiyan. As the animal skims the water, a gloved hand shoots through the smooth surface and pulls the flying beast under. Hope lifts inside me, and I crawl on my hands and knees to the water's edge.

The heavy injured man came bursting out of the water below me and without hesitation, I grab his arm below his shoulder. He attempted to bat away my hand, but his compromised health prevented the action. He was cursing my presence and swearing vengeance on his attacker, but I ignored him through my exertion.

It took all my effort to get the bulky man to budge, but eventually I had tugged him onto the shore beside me. He was taking uneven breaths with blood leaking from multiple wounds, but he was alive. My shirt was soaked, practically transparent in the bright sun and my knees were caked in dirt, but he hadn't drowned. I lay on my side beside the now unconscious man relieved, but worried about the task before me. I may be a doctor, but I was no medical doctor!

AN: Thanks for bearing with my sporadic updating. I don't think this chapter is as humorous as the others, for some reason I couldn't find the humor. I would love to hear from you guys! Especially how you think I can improve.