Chapter 7: Awakening Part II

There had been another knock on the door, so he quietly ordered her to dress as he did the same. He opted for his official officer uniform and only opened the door when she nodded to him she was ready.

Her blue eyes locked with his, but they didn't say a word.

She looked flushed still, her hair was a mess and he knew she smelled of him…and of sex. It would be like a beacon as soon as they stepped outside, but it was time. Zarbon was closing in, and it would be best if he delivered her himself.

As soon as she stepped out on the hallway, his two men fell in line behind her, with Vegeta taking the point. The few vermin still out on the hallway quickly scurried away as the trio of saiyans strolled by, adverting their eyes as though they didn't see anything. Vegeta rounded a corner and then the next, but quickly found himself face to face with the green maniacal lizard, and his ridiculous new haircut.

He looked hideous.

Vegeta halted, the woman and his two men doing the same behind him.

Zarbon stared at Vegeta up and down, his lips curling in pure anger before his eyes adverted to the person behind him. He gave the woman a glance over and arched a brow, and Vegeta could tell he wanted to pinch his nose, as though the stench of them hurt his sense of smell. Next to Zarbon stood another Elite guard, one of the Ginyu Squad members. What was his name?

Jaice.

"Ms. Brief's, we've been deathly worried about you." He spoke finally, ignoring Vegeta as he addressed the woman standing two feet behind him.

"Let me guess…there was an elevator malfunction?" The woman quipped, and he could feel as she shifted her weight, probably to cross her arms.

"Yes, a most unfortunate one…though I am glad you're alive and well." The man next to Zarbon snickered out loud, and Vegeta wanted to plunge his fist through his throat and yank out his vocal cords, just so he couldn't do that anymore.

"I have strict orders from Freeza to bring you back safely." Zarbon was speaking to the woman, but staring at Vegeta. His green eyes boring into Vegeta's dark ones, as though challenging him to say the contrary.

"No need to bother with it. I will bring her up to her chambers." Vegeta cocked his head to the side as he spoke, and took a step forward to move past the green lizard. A hand immediately shot out, though not quite touching Vegeta's armor, but blocking his path all the same.

"I will be bringing her back." Zarbon's voice was ice thin, and Vegeta could tell he was fighting himself to stay calm. Jaice shifted slightly next to Zarbon, clearly uncomfortable with the entire scene. They were in a very cramped hallway with the only exit back the way they came from.

"Now, now….there's no need to fight. Zarbon, I'm sure you're tired from all your searching, although as you can see, I am alright. I thank you, truly, for your concern…but if you don't mind…" The woman stepped around Vegeta now, smiling up at him before winking and then turning back to the lizard.

"…Vegeta and I haven't finished yet." She smiled again, and grabbed his arm before pulling him along with her, past Zarbon and the other elite. His two men stayed behind…they weren't exactly welcomed in the upper decks. But Vegeta was. And he was wearing his official uniform.

They walked purposely through the hallways and more than once he had to correct her as she made to turn down the wrong hallway.

"You have a terrible sense of direction." He spoke in a hushed tone, as he knew that Zarbon and Jaice walked closely behind them.

"Oh, bite me." She hushed back, still pretending to be leading the way but in reality waiting for him to direct her, gently tugging her arms in the right direction.

Before long, they had crossed the common room, where she'd been taken to him earlier, and then down the last hallway towards the lifts, were Vegeta pushed for the woman to go faster. There were more elite guards waiting in front of the elevator doors and they looked obviously puzzled as Vegeta led the woman inside the lift, following closely behind her.

"Zarbon would like for you to wait for him." Vegeta spoke and nodded to the guards, and they nodded back, believing the false order. Before Zarbon could round the last corner, he keyed in the upper decks, and soon the doors closed, just in time to see Zarbon's angered face.


Bulma knew she had a death sentence hanging over her…but now she suspected Vegeta did, too. She had synched Zarbon's hair, and Vegeta the rest of his pride. Their deaths wouldn't be poetic, though, and so Bulma had to make a decision now. Would she let Vegeta in on her plans? Or simply carry out her orchestrated design of events without his consent?

No, I will not tell him. The decision was made.

After getting to the upper decks, it was her turn to guide Vegeta through the various corridors until they reached her suite, where she quickly punched in her code and the doors slid open. Before stepping inside, Bulma eyed Vegeta, looking deep into his onyx eyes before placing a finger over her lips as if to see "shhh".

"First order of the day…" By ship standard time, it was close to 0400 hours, and she made her way across the lavish apartment assigned to her, ignoring all the luxuries he clearly didn't have below. Like a private, double jet shower. Her shirt was off, her shoes and pants, her underwear…she wasted no time as she reached the bathroom.

"…we shower." She winked at him, and hoped he understood what she was trying to tell him. He arched a brow and shrugged, undoing his own armor as he followed after her.

She blasted the jets and turned on the hot water as high as she could tolerate it. They were both naked again, and the water pouring all around her was enthralling. Closing her eyes, she allowed the liquid to wash over her, in silence as Vegeta didn't say a word.

She handed him some soap and apologized for the fruity smell. He shrugged, as though he didn't care. After a couple of minutes in silence as they both concentrated on washing themselves, Vegeta finally spoke up.

"Why?" The question caught her off guard, mostly because she didn't know which 'why' he was referring to. Why was she building ki guns? Why testing the guns on the saiyans? Why was Zarbon so obsessed with her and the experiment?

"Why are you here?" She opted for this why, though, as he was probably wondering what he had to do with all of this. He nodded once.

"Because of chess." She answered simply, giving him an apologetic smile for the answer. It was complicated, to say the least, and she had already decided she wouldn't let him in on the plan. He would simply be a consequence of it… and in this way she could keep him alive to fulfill her bidding.

"Chess?" His voice was strained, and she knew he was out of patience. She stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The water was pushing down on his gravity defying hair, and he looked comical, though she didn't dare mention this. He didn't pull back, and instead brought his hands around her waist. He'd understood her; they were being watched. She knew her suite was bugged, but the shower jets would drown out their conversations.

"When we met a year ago, I knew only very little about you, mostly that you were feared. And that Freeza had a special spot in his evil heart for you." She could feel his body tense, as the mentioned of Freeza clearly brought a negative reaction from him. Like boiling anger. His grip tightened around her waist and she ran her hand down his cheek, caressing his face. It was tender, she knew, and most likely unwelcomed to him, but she didn't care.

"You see, Freeza has been playing chess for a long time. Except on his game board, there's no opposing king. He has his pawns…like the lab tech's and the general non-ki using force, the slave workers in the mines, or the cleaning crews…the expendable, if you will. Then he has his army of elites; his bishops and knights and rooks. Like you, Zarbon…the Ginyu Squad. And then, there is one piece on the board which is more powerful than the rest, than even the king himself…she is the queen. And, sometimes, to win at chess, you need to sacrifice her, usually to take out the opponent queen. But this board game only has one king, you see….and perhaps it is time to add another one." Maybe it was the weight of the previous events, down on the lower decks, or the fact she'd slept very little…or how naked they were, in her shower, the warm water pouring over them…she knew she made little sense.

But she was the queen on the universal board game, and Vegeta would be the new king.

"You are crazy." He stated before closing in on her, kissing her. The kiss was as maddening as she felt, but soon their bodies were intertwined together, with the water still pouring and the hidden cameras still watching…and so they gave the ever watching eye a show.


She was babbling on about some stupid earthling game of kings, but she was naked and if they were being watched, he wanted to make sure they kept up appearances.

He wasn't sure why he stayed, slept on her bed, shared the same covers. After their shower, they'd gone to bed, naked, and slept. He'd actually dreamt, mostly of his home planet, how the clouds and the effect of the sun made the evening sky glow red. He could recall his father, bending down so he could look him in the eye.

"One day, you will be King." His father's words echoed in his mind.

Then he was training, with Nappa, back when the older saiyan would annihilate him in practice.

"Concentrate!" He yelled, blasting him again.

"You need to see past your anger. You're a saiyan, start acting like one!"

And then he was in a sterile white room, and the woman was there with him. She was wearing a black dress, the one he'd met her in the first time, and her lips were painted ruby red.

"There's only one king in this board game." She spoke softly, and then the room opened up into space, sucking her out…

Vegeta awoke as an alarm peeped obnoxiously next to the bed. He wanted to blast it to pieces, except the woman shut it off first.

"Urgh…it's so late." She complained, throwing the covers as she almost leapt to her feet.

"We are so late!" Her voice was half panicked now, and Vegeta humorously watched as she dressed herself hurriedly, previous dreams forgotten. Once she noticed he was not sharing her panic, the woman paused, mid pant rise, and stared at him with her ridiculous blue eyes.

"You're right." She stated, and took her time in dressing.

"They can wait for us. The entire station can wait for us." She smiled, and moved away from the bedroom. Vegeta sighed before rolling off the bed and wasted no time in dressing into his uniform. The woman came back and offered him a cup of a dark liquid, which he took but did not consume.

"It's coffee." She stated, as thought that was supposed to mean something to him.

"Well….my version of it, anyways." She further explained. Vegeta didn't drink, and the woman just stared at him until finally the awkwardness was interrupted by a chime.

It was the woman's computer consol, and she quickly made her way to it. Vegeta took the opportunity as she faced away from him to sniff at the content in the mug. He winced, it smelled retched!

All thoughts of the disgusting liquid disappeared as soon as the woman turned back to him, as pale as the walls of the white sterile training room…

"He's coming. Here. To oversee the final test." There was no need for her to elaborate on who the 'he' was.

Freeza was coming on board.


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