[Monster Inside] - Chapter 7
Bardock and the Lavender-Haired Scientist

12.1.2010

updated 7.3.11

"As you wish, my lord," Bardock bowed out, leaving his prince and his ward in the room and locking it behind him. Once outside, Bardock entered the room right next to hers and shut the door. This had been his new room since Callas's capture. He had monitors to watch her room as needed and an alarm that alerted him to anyone moving in the secluded hall she had been placed in. He rarely missed anyone coming and going, even the prince.

Bardock's room was much sparser and smaller than Callas's, though it did not bother him at all. He preferred to live this way. The walls were a dark grey and one wall was made of clear stone, much like the girl's, so that he had a view of outside. He often kept an opaque blanket over most of it to keep his room dark. He had quite a few computers and tons of wires all around on a large desk that took up most of one side of the room. The other side had his bed. There were shelves on the wall over his bed that held the few small knickknacks that meant anything to him. A closet was in the back corner of the room, full of his casual and battle gear. Nothing was out of place in his room, and he liked to keep it that way.

He settled back onto his bed after he made sure the security measures were in place for Callas and the prince, typing pass codes into his computers; they would not be disturbed tonight if it could be helped. The aged man knew Vegeta would keep her busy all night, and a smile crept over his mouth as he heard the screams start. They were always a mixture of pain and pleasure, and in the beginning he had worried about the weak woman. Now, for the most part, he knew she would be alright.

Bardock could not help but be a little envious of the prince, having such a beautiful female to himself. Such were the ways of the Saiyan world, though, and he would never do anything to jeopardize his place in the palace. It was by a stroke of luck, as most people would call it, that Bardock had ended up in such a position, being that he was only third class by blood. It was more of a curse in his memory though.

He had lived with this curse since the day he purged that planet of all life just over 25 years ago. At the time, he thought his life was in ruins. Both his sons were sent off to other planets to purge when they were able to see the moon of that system. One would live alone and never know the Saiyan ways. But something in Fate changed when his king listened to what he had to say, about what was coming. It could all have ended so easily, so fast, if King Vegeta had turned a blind eye to Bardock's rants. Everyone else thought he was crazy, but they could not see what Bardock saw... the future.

However, the future was not as certain as he had thought so many years ago. So much changed, and it all seemed to depend on tiny decisions.

Bardock had seen the red haired warrioress in a dream. At the time, he thought she would come to him. He had not been sure that she would have the means to help his race, but he knew she would come. When he saw her on Chikyuu... the surprise he felt did not outweigh the anger at Fate for sending her in such a weak vessel. Still, thanks to the curse from that Kanassan, he knew it was her, he could feel it.

The warrior could not deny the feelings he felt towards Callas in the beginning. He was, after all, still a man. But when Vegeta laid claims to her, he knew he could never have her. His dreams were only dreams. He had gotten too close to her in the room earlier. His heart skipped a beat and he hoped that the prince would not reprimand him for the proximity. He meant nothing by it but a warning. Spending months with the girl constantly had definitely given him a good idea of how she acts and reacts, and he was worried that by letting her and Kakarrot back together they would try a fruitless escape attempt. She was bold enough, but sometimes quite stupid.

The proximity of her face to his had resurfaced the feelings he had so professionally covered up and forgotten. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers hard to the temple of his head, rubbing. It could not, would not happen again. He needed some female company that was all. She was like a daughter to him now, and thinking that way about her was... well, it was wrong. He would be an animal, like she had so called them for weeks after her initial capture. He would not prove her right and act on such low-bred urges.

Bardock stood up, the sounds of the prince and his slave's tumble still going on though quieter than before still echoing in his head. He needed to satisfy his own urges for once if he was to continue his exceptional performance as a Royal Guard. He tapped a few more commands onto the heat-sensitive light board. The doors here were now only accessible to him, the King, and the Prince. Not even Callas could exit on her own accord. Nappa's request to see the Prince would just have to wait a while longer.

His casual armour was still on and he shrugged a cloak over his shoulders for further identification. Nobody would stop a Royal Guard at night in low security areas. After a quick glance over the security screens, he left his room and made his way to the royal harem. At least he had a few good perks with his job, like the pick of the whores. On his way to the harem, he passed a few guards, none that seemed too interested him him, and a few servants who groveled around him pathetically. His tail flicked with annoyance at them and they always hurried off when they were completely past him.

"Probably off to some secret love-rendezvous or to steal some food from the kitchen," he muttered to himself, rolling his eyes. As long as they were back and did their duty, who cared. Well, others might, but he did not. Only if they put the Prince, the King, or Callas in danger did he care. And Kakarrot, but he could never admit that to anyone, not unless Kakarrot truly reformed from his Chikyuuan ways and took up the way of the Saiyan Warrior.

As he rounded the corner, he heard a slight intake of breath and saw a shape flit to the side. His brows knit together and muscles became taut, ready to take decisive action if need be, and he slowed his pace, careful not to scare who or what away from their hiding place at the notch in the wall. As with most doors in the palace, the doorway recessed into the wall, so Bardock peeked around the corner to see a slender figure pressed into the corner. There was a cloak over her so he could not make out the features well, but not many males were that small and the closer he pressed he could smell her.

His arm shot forward and he snatched her cloak, pulling her towards him and using his other hand to pull the hood back. She yelped at the suddenness of it all and stared up at him with wide blue eyes. Bardock cursed under his breath as he recognized her. She was hard not to recognize with her blue eyes and lavender colored hair.

"What are you doing?" he demanded aggressively.

The fear melted from her eyes and Bulma Briefs straightened herself, staring straight back at him and shoving her jaw forward as she answered, "None of your business." It sounded like she was about to call him something, but she stopped, which was good because he was already irritated at being interrupted.

He pulled her closer, face curling into a snarl as he said in a low voice, "I found you sneaking around an area off limits to slave scientists like you. I think it is my business, woman."

Bardock watched as her resolve wavered. She glanced away before stammering an obvious lie. "I-I had to... go get a specific tool that was not in the lab. One of my servants must have misplaced it or... or not brought it back to me. I don't know."

He raised his eyebrow at her. "And you had to do this in the middle of the night? You work this late?"

"Well," she looked at him and said quite frankly, "Yes, I often do. There isn't much else for me to do around here."

"Oh," he said, releasing his iron grip on her cloak. She stumbled back a bit but otherwise caught her balance quickly. He narrowed his eyes and continued, "Still, you are lying about the tool, so I'll take you back to the labs before you get into more trouble." He watched the disappointment and anger flash across her face. Her eyes were as expressive as Callas's. Maybe it was the fact that they were sisters... or maybe it was a Chikyuuan trait. Kakarrot seemed to do it as well. "Come on," he guided her though she snapped at him not to touch her, and they walked the halls towards the lab.

Bardock watched the scientist with some curiosity. His urges had not been taken care of and he noticed that she had a delicious body for someone locked up in a lab day after day. She was even more curvaceous than Callas, taller and with larger breasts too. Her hair was quite a bit shorter, only long enough to pull into the tiny ponytail it was in now. Much of it was falling around her shoulders in disarray. She was very prideful, walking in front of him with her back straight and shoulders back, like she was strutting a victory of some sort. He chuckled and she glared back at him in response.

"What's so funny?" she demanded. Her use of the Saiyan language was very faulty. Much more so than Callas, which made Bardock strangely proud of his ward.

He ignored her question and asked instead, "Why were you sneaking around?"

She huffed and continued walking. They were at the security access door to the labs, which was supposed to be guarded but he glanced around and saw nobody near. If he had a scouter he could be sure, but he did not feel any ki the way that Callas could. He was still rusty on it and sometimes he was not sure he was really feeling ki at all, and it was just his mind making it up. If he could figure it out, he would certainly show the prince how, as it would truly give the Saiyans a leg-up in the war.

Bulma stopped at the door and looked at him hesitantly before asking if he had an access card. Bardock did, though not on him, but the look on her face made him wonder if she needed his. He shook his head and watched her face flush as she looked around. She reached down her shirt and pulled one out. He grinned at her and shook his head.

"I know now why Callas has such an ability to get into trouble," he remarked. At the mention of her sister, Bulma glanced at him hard. She grabbed his shoulder and the desperation in her eyes was evident. "Do you know where she is? Is she still alive? Nobody will tell me anything!"

Bardock shrugged her off and said, "Of course she's still alive. I am her personal guard-"

"Oh, she has one of those too? It's nice to know I'm not the only one," Bulma murmered.

"And nobody tells you anything because you are a slave scientist," he continued. "You are supposed to stay in the labs under lock down because you are a risk, and obviously they are right since you are trying to run away. I would think you intelligent types would know better."

"I wasn't trying to run," she snapped at him. A noise down the hall distracted her and Bardock took the card and ran it, pushing her inside and following quickly. He was curious and he did not want her in trouble just yet. If he had to, he would tell the the king or the prince about this. Once inside, he noticed the guard here was missing as well. He looked around, starting to worry about the security in this place.

"Where is your room?" Bardock whispered. Bulma lead the way to a room far in the back of the labs, the lock down area. Here there were a few guards, some snoozing and he could hear one in the bed of a scientist. The noises were mostly screams of pain. Apparently it was normal as the guards on duty did not stir from their sleep. The two crept by and into Bulma's room. Bardock shut the door behind them but stayed standing by it. The other guards might risk fucking a slave scientist but he would not. If they were damaged, it would be a severe punishment for the guard that did it. Technology was a necessity for the war.

"I wasn't running away," Bulma repeated after she paced a few times and finally sat on her bed, shoving her head in her hands. "It's just been months since I've seen or heard from Callas. She used to sneak up and see me when I could get out of the lab to go for parts. She doesn't even send servants with messages for me anymore. I'm just so worried."

Bardock cocked his head. "She did all that? Damn, and I didn't even know it was that common. I caught her a couple times. Didn't catch the servant thing." He smirked and Bulma's eyes widened at the fact that she just told on her sister. The warrior chuckled and said, "Don't worry. She gets away with a lot, but she has been on a tighter leash lately. That's why you haven't seen her."

The scientist looked relieved and she pinched the bridge of her nose a moment before staring back at him."Well, what else do you want? Please... don't tell anyone about this. I do my work, I just wanted to see my sister..." It seemed as if she was going to say someone else but Bardock did not press her.

"I won't tell anyone unless it become a problem. Where is your guard?"

"I don't know," she answered. "Some nights he disappears. Probably off to the harem to a woman he can actually bed. I hear we scientists are off-limits while we behave." She glanced at the wall towards the room where the bedding was actually going on. "I am not so certain sometimes." He saw a fear sift through her eyes.

She looked like Callas sometimes, Bardock thought, and a protective feeling washed over him. "Nothing will happen to you. You are bringing us new technology that the King and the Prince are truly excited about. Everyone knows not to touch you." He glanced back at the door before continuing, "I am not sure why this is allowed to happen other than it is not known about. That will not be so for long, though."

"It's nice to know you are not all animals," she said softly. He saw the tension leave her body and fought to keep himself at the door.

He lifted the card up and said, "Whose is this?"

Bulma shook her head. "I'm not sure. I conned a servant into lifting it off anyone that might not miss it for awhile and promised to have it back to them by tomorrow."

His mouth twitched. "You probably need to be under heavier watch..." Then he laughed as softly as he could, trying not to alert the sleeping guards outside. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and set the card on the table by the door. "This better be back to that guard by tomorrow. I will patrol tomorrow night and if I find you in the halls again, I will report you."

Bulma nodded quickly, obviously aiming to please him. Then she asked with a strangeness in her voice, "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Bardock shrugged and asked, "What about the guards up front?" Surely she could not do anything to them. They must be shirking their duties.

She gestured at the door. "That is them sleeping out there to keep watch for... uh, the energetic one. We only have one guard back here normally, one at the access door inside, and one on the outside."

"How often does this happen?"

"Once a week, at least."

Bardock shook his head. "Go to sleep," he told her and left, wondering himself why he had been so nice to her. Perhaps it was the fact that she was Callas's sister. Perhaps...

He left the lab thoroughly disgusted with the lack of security measures in place and continued to the harem quarters. Despite it all, or maybe because of it all, he needed to have some fun.