Special thanks to BluEydMnstr for beta-ing for me!
Chapter Three
Kakarotto floated briskly through the maze of corridors and crossways, his eyes glazed and unfocused and his tail making lazy sweeps every so often as he allowed his mind to guide him to his objective. Her time in the regeneration tank had obviously made the difference, for now Bulma's ki burned as bright as any morning sun he'd seen in his life, and he had seen quite a few indeed. But none could compare to the spirit of his woman. Still, there was something... different as well that he could not readily place. His brow creased deeply as he contemplated one of any number of possibilities for the change. Her ki was still brilliant, beautiful, and as familiar to him as his own, and yet...
Kakarotto gave his head a firm shake. It's as if it's out of place somehow... like it does not belong.
Of course, that was absurd, and he quickly let the strange idea fall to the back of his mind. Instead, he began going through his numerous theories as to how Bulma had managed to make it back to Earth in the small pod that was found with her in the old Capsule Corporation building without any of the planetary defense systems noting the approach or registering the sudden appearance of a ship in the atmosphere. Even stranger was that no one had reported seeing anything from the ground, and even though the contraption was small, it should have made a fire trail through the skies as well as a point of impact when landing considering the lack of a landing gear. Neither of those were present, adding more questions still. To the best of his knowledge, which happened to be fairly extensive in the area of inter-planetary aeronautical technology, the ship seemed to be Earth-jin in design and operation, but the roughly sketched blueprint he had examined upon her arrival was unlike anything he was aware of ever having been developed. That simple fact in itself made the entire thing quite a mystery, for nothing happened without his knowledge. Especially when it concerned the security of his planet. Kakarotto did not dismiss the possibility that the ship could contain some type of stealth technology that Bulma had been forced to create just to escape the newly conquered planet she had been stranded on. He knew better than anyone outside of her own scientific team that the woman was a genius in the field of engineering and she was well known for making miracles happen when necessity demanded it.
Still, how had she managed to create such an elaborate machine without being detected? The question bothered him immensely. She had been gone for over a year, and building such a machine would not have been a small nor an easy task, even for his blue-haired mate. Perhaps she had found an ally who assisted in her efforts? But if that was so, why not bring them with her when she returned? They would have been treated like royalty, rewarded beyond plausible conception...
A small price to pay.
Kakarotto pushed the useless speculation to the back of his mind as he closed his eyes once again, searching both outwardly and inwardly for Bulma. Her ki burned as surely as ever, but the place within his mind and soul that had belonged to her - the place that should have been overflowing with her spirit - was nothing but the raw, aching void he'd known for far too long, and he instinctively forced his consciousness away from it. Remaining close to the tattered hole was to become consumed with the emptiness, and he could not afford to die.
His lips curved ever so slightly. Not yet, anyway.
His musings were cut short by the sudden realization that she was just beyond the next doorway, and he forced his heart to remain beating at a normal rate, his feet still an inch above the floor, allowing him to approach entirely undetected. He realized that he was smiling at both the irony of her choice of location as well as Laresk's stupidity in not realizing that this would be where she would go no matter what her medical condition may be. Bulma had always preferred to work without distraction, making the secondary engineering bay her home away from home. It had been so for as long as he had known her.
He turned the corner and was surprised that the lights had not been turned on, considering the woman was extremely particular when it came to having a well-lit work area. His curiosity didn't last long, however, as he took in the image of the woman he had long ago accepted he would never see alive again. His brow creased as he watched her frantically pound on the defenseless keypad in front of her, oblivious to his presence filling the doorway just a few feet away. The strange feeling surfaced again in a rush, but this time with even greater intensity, and Kakarotto could only watch and wonder. Something was definitely... off, and yet he could not place it.
Bulma... what happened to you?
"Damn it!" Bulma cursed through clenched teeth as the blasted computer simply blinked at her. She had tried everything she could think of to start it up, but it required some type of authorization, and she had no idea as to how to bypass it when she didn't even know what it was looking for in the first place.
She glanced once again at the data sheets in front of her. She had been lucky enough to pass a large technical station during her exploration of the enormous structure, and upon discovering numerous printouts that had been compiled using data from her time machine, she had made a grab for them before the person who had left the information unguarded had returned. Then she had searched out the first unoccupied room available with the equipment she would need to decipher the complicated lines of code.
Figures I'd pick a room where the fucking computers won't work!
Even without the aid of a computer, Bulma was able to make out enough to tell her that something had gone terribly wrong. According to the information in front of her, the time grid had not been initiated, which meant that it would have been impossible to go anywhere - past, present, or future. And yet it was clear that the machine had completed a journey of some sort.
"Damn! I could have just let Vegeta blast the thing , but nooo," she went on under her breath, rubbing her palms roughly over her cheeks, "I had to do it myself. What the hell was I thinking? I swear, if I can figure out how to get back home, I'll even apologize to the arrogant bastard. Hell, I'll even admit he was right, that building the time machine to save Goku was a bad idea in the first place..." She stopped for a moment and allowed herself a bitter laugh at the picture of the ouji's smug face in her mind.
Then the room was flooded with light, and Bulma jumped as a small group of men, apparently security staff considering the uniforms, rushed into the room followed closely by two men in white lab coats and the woman she had seen when she had first woken up in the strange place. Bulma pushed herself against the console she had been hammering at only moments before, tightening her robe around her small frame and preparing to make a bolt for the opposite door if anyone got too close.
The taller of the two men in white stepped forward. "Bulma-san..."
"Get away from me!" she screamed, grabbing the first thing within her blind grasp and throwing it at the approaching man. She was rewarded with a loud 'thud' as it hit him squarely in the forehead, sending him back several steps.
Bulma smirked. Bet that's gonna leave a mark.
"Please, Bulma-san," the woman pleaded with outstretched arms, though Bulma noted with grim satisfaction that she didn't try to approach. "Let us take you back to your room, Bulma-san. You... you're injured..."
"No, I'm fine," Bulma spat back indignantly. "I was in a regeneration tank for God-only-knows-how-long, remember? I'm fit as a fucking fiddle. My problem is that no one would tell me where the hell I am or how it is that you all seem to know me so well." She regarded each individual coldly. "Does anyone want to answer that? If not, then I'm not going anywhere."
Several of the men seemed to confer softly to each other before the shorter of the two in the front sighed. "Let us take you back to your room, Bulma-san. We'll talk there after you've rested..."
"No!"
The man sighed visibly, shoulders slumping slightly. "Forgive me, then, but you've given us no choice." He motioned with a short nod, and the group of security men approached quickly to surround the frightened woman.
"Don't touch me!" Bulma didn't even look before she bolted full speed for the closest exit... and smacked headlong into a wall of cloth and flesh. She struggled for only a moment as a strong arm wrapped tightly around her body, pinning her arms to her sides in an iron grasp. Then came the voice, freezing Bulma in her tracks along with everyone else in the room.
"She said not to touch her," the voice stated tightly even as the grip loosened slightly in reaction to her sudden lack of movement.
The violet hued woman balked, her large eyes impossibly wide. "Kakarotto-sama! We... forgive us... we did not see you..."
Kakarotto?
Bulma's eyes almost popped out of her head. Kakarotto was Goku's birthname, which meant...
Bulma felt the chest she was resting against emit a soft growl before the sound actually reached her ears. "Apparently not. Did Laresk not inform you that I would take care of this?"
"H... yes, but we thought..." the woman stammered helplessly before being cut off again.
"Get out," came the command from above her. When no one seemed to move, another louder growl came. "Do not make me repeat myself," came the soft, yet undeniable warning.
Bulma took a steadying breath as the sound of retreating footsteps filled the room until all that was left was an eerie silence, save for the strong heartbeat Bulma could hear pounding within the warm body that held her. It wouldn't be true. It couldn't be... Her brain did not even begin to consider the odd fact that Vegeta was the only person that ever addressed Goku with his Saiyajin designation. It was all she could do to simply remain coherent as she forced herself to push back just enough to raise her face. The arm around her granted her silent request and fell away, moving to cross over the other arm that appeared against a strong torso.
Bulma stepped back, yet she could not make herself look up. Oh God... it can't be... it just can't... Bulma found herself taking another tentative retreating step, but this time her progress was halted by a furry brown tail that wound its way around her waist, holding her firmly in place from its resting place at the small of her back. Then one of the large hands moved forward, cupping her chin firmly. She allowed the hand to guide her face upwards until her disbelieving cerulean eyes were met in a gaze of blazing midnight.
Oh my God...
It was the last thing her brain processed before the adrenaline rush gave out, leaving her completely spent as blackness consumed her. She did not feel the pair of arms that grabbed her as she fell forward limply, nor did she hear the sorrowful sigh of the man as he positioned her carefully in his grasp before carrying the now unconscious woman out of the room.
"What the fuck is taking so long?"
Goku turned with a raised eyebrow to the Saiyajin Prince. "Chill out, Vegeta. Kaio-sama's doing everything he can right now." Goku allowed himself a small grin as the prince continued to pace like a caged lion. "You need to relax before you have the first Saiyajin aneurysm."
A thought suddenly occurred to Vegeta, and he stopped moving and regarded the younger full-blooded Saiyajin suspiciously. "I've been meaning to ask you something, Kakarotto, and I want an honest answer." Goku nodded for Vegeta to continue, leaning his large form against a tree. Vegeta waited for him to seem settled before standing opposite of him, arms folded tightly over his chest. "You've changed," the man stated as he eyed Goku carefully. "And not just in strength or skill. You appear to be more..." Vegeta stopped. What was it that seemed so different?
"Intelligent," Goku supplied, earning a minutely surprised glance from Vegeta. Then the indifferent mask fell back into place, and Goku continued. "yes, I guess you could say that. A bit wiser, at least." Goku cocked his head slightly, onyx eyes shining. "Disappointed?"
Vegeta snorted, though he couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips. "I could not care less. You will always be a low-class Fool to me. We would not be in our current situation if not for you."
Goku's eyes dropped, and his mouth fell into a grim line. "Yeah, I know."
"There you are!"
Both Saiyajins jumped up, turning towards the small figure approaching them. Goku raced forward, meeting the man halfway with hopeful eyes. "Kaio-sama! Have you found anything?"
"No, but I do have an idea," the blue being stated smugly, antennae twitching madly. "Follow me." Then he turned, lifting off the ground
Goku and Vegeta glanced at each other before Goku shrugged, taking to the air. Vegeta growled once before launching himself into the air as well and taking a place next to Goku.
"Where the hell is he taking us?" Vegeta questioned sharply, scowling at the form leading them before scanning the area around them with narrowed eyes.
"Dunno," Goku replied, "but don't worry. I'm sure wherever we're going, it'll help us find Bulma. Just have some patience."
Vegeta growled tightly. "Bastard, you forget who you are talking to."
Goku shrugged indifferently at the man beside him, not bothering to look at him directly. "yes. Must be the fool in me."
"Hn."
Her words played through his mind again and again, and the more he considered them, the more uneasy he became. Had she said anything else, he would have killed her immediately as a spy, a clone sent to infiltrate his home and confuse his mind. But that was not the case, of that he was certain. "But it is the only thing I know for certain."
I could have just let Vegeta blast the thing...
Kakarotto kicked his invisible opponent violently in jaw even as his full attention focused on his inner musings.
Vegeta.
That was a name he had not heard in a long time, let alone falling from the lips of his mate... or whatever the woman was.
He remembered his first and last meeting with the Saiyajin Prince vividly, and he snarled despite himself as the scene played itself out in his mind's eye. Another kick to the side of the head wiped the smug smirk right off the dead bastard's face. Of course he had told her about the man after the battle was over and done, but the fact remained that his Bulma never personally met Vegeta - thank God -and yet the woman in the lab had spoken as though... "She spoke as though she knew him well," he commented softly, his mind a tangled mass of uncertainty.
Perhaps his first impression had been correct after all. Perhaps she was... out of place. "But how can that be?"
I swear, if I can figure out how to get back home, I'll even apologize to the arrogant bastard...
"So where is home, Onna?" Kakarotto asked breathlessly as he worked through a series of jabs and kicks. "If it is really you..." Kakarotto stopped and wiped his large hands over his sweat-streaked features before turning to regard the small woman lying in the large canopy bed only feet away. The first thing he had done after placing her gently into their bed was to find Laresk and collect the genetic tests that had been run the moment she was brought in. As the man had claimed earlier, the tests proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was indeed Bulma. But there was one distinct difference that no test would have picked up on, and it was one he had not noticed until after Laresk was gone again and he had time to look the woman over. She was beautiful - completely smooth, completely unblemished...
Completely unmarked.
Kakarotto realized that his hand had moved to his neck, strong fingers tracing over the textured surface that bore his mate's claim on him. Even after her death, the scar had not faded. Her death...
"My mate is dead," he repeated out loud as though that simple statement would cause everything to fall into place. Instead it sent a wave of grief barreling through his soul, so strong that it almost brought the imposing figure watching the woman to his knees. He opted instead to squeeze his eyes together tightly, fisting his hands into his unruly locks. "But if you are not my mate, then who are you?"
I'll even admit he was right, that building the time machine to save Goku was a bad idea in the first place...
Kakarotto forced his mind to clear. That was the key, he knew. She mentioned a time machine... Part of his mind immediately began working through calculations as the other focused on the last piece of the puzzle.
...building the time machine to save Goku...
He took the short strides necessary to close the distance between himself and the sleeping woman. Her face was like an angel, totally at peace. The slow and rhythmic movement of her chest under the thick blanket was strangely comforting, he realized with a small smile as he seated himself as unobtrusively as possible at the edge of the bed.
...Goku...
He brought his hand to her cheek, his fingers tracing lightly along the delicate features. "Were you anyone else, I would have killed you for saying that name aloud," he chided softly, "and yet I don't know who you are at all, do I?"
A soft sigh escaped through slightly parted lips, and Kakarotto moved with lightning speed from his perch on the bed, cursing himself silently. He could not allow himself to touch the woman again. Especially if the possibility he was beginning to consider turned out to be true. If that was the case, if this Bulma really was 'misplaced' in time somehow, then she would have to be returned to her rightful place. If he made even one mistake and allowed himself to get too close to her... He knew deep within himself that he could not - would not - survive if he had to lose her again.
End Chapter Three