A/N – this chap isn't as long *sigh* is short and sweet – you could say. Stupid school. I wish I could just type all day, but that wouldn't be good. First, I play the piano, and that makes my wrists and fingers hurt. Second, I type - a lot. It might not seem like it, but I type up all my homework and stuff.  Third, I'm the setter in volleyball. For all you non-players out there, that position is basically meant to receive a hit (bump), through it up using your hands (wrists) towards another player who jumps over the net and hits it into the ground (spike).  Putting all these things together, my hands, fingers, and wrists hurt like hell. I even have specially 'hand exercises' I have to do. Not fun. But enough of my whining, on with the fic! Please Review!  

He sighed heavily, thinking of the past event s of those two weeks he spent on his journey through the city. His first thoughts drifted towards the ending of the tale, but he began form the beginning, from the moment he stepped outside of the Lair. Finally, he arrived at the part where he entered, the city, after he had saw the city, killed the students, and taken the girl hostage.

"She led me to an entrance to the city, a place where it was supposedly unguarded. We entered from there, and arrived in a small square. That was when we first hit into trouble. Jateal's guards, who were suspicious of my alien uniform, stopped us. The girls showed some kind of identification, I learned her name was Chic. She told them that I was a cousin visiting form the other side of the Great Forest. Later on she said it was some kind of traveling pass-"

"-All of the people in Jateal have to carry one, because of the wars going on, we don't want any people that we don't want into the city." Bulma interrupted.     

"Thanks, continuing… They took her and my pictures, and they said that we had to stay put so they could get a look up. Whatever. Anyway, after they left, we split. She seemed really nervous, and that got me worried, but soon after we were long gone from the square she calmed down. Well, we went into a shop and bought new clothes for her and me, and also she bought dye and dyed her hair brown. I began to have doubts on whether she was dependable or not. We hade many encounters after then, until we got to the actual building that we're in right now. To put it simply, we're in a giant tower, and that's about it. You and I are in the top room – maximum security. Well, by this time, we had had so many 'encounters' that the guards were growing suspicious – no, they were on to us. They had no idea what we were doing, but they knew enough that they weren't going to mess with us – they were playing big now – that's why I'm here, instead of another pic of me hanging on some wall."

"I was right on my feelings off the girl. Evidentially she was a runaway." He chuckled, "Just like you. She was a maiden or something or other. Her real name was Chichi. She told me, before they hauled her off, that she was inspired by some other runaway and wanted to get away from it all. I guess she meant you. When I told her I was looking for you, she agreed because you were that girl was her role model. She always stuck up for herself – she was braver and prettier than even me, but no one could see it. I actually spent time with her, and I know for a fact she is great."

"But, going on, we had camped on the edge of this little area right outside of the tower – and outside of the guards path. Well, while she was on watch, we were ambushed. There were to many for her – I could have gotten it, but they knocked me out before I was able to wake up completely. We were taken to a room far beneath this. That was when she told me about her 'role mode' and what had happened. The walls were of some metal – even I couldn't break them - and that says a lot." Bulma could tell his usual cocky manner had returned full throttle. "After a couple of hours – hell – it might have been days – a man entered with whip in hand. They restrained me in shackled of the same steel, and then beat Chichi up really badly. Then they took her away. I think they said something about taking her back to a sanctuary or something. AS for me, they left me in the chains, and whipped me, tortured me, stuff like that. I didn't feel it, really. It might have stung, but I've felt worse. I kept repeating that line – you know, the one your supposed to repeat if your caught by an enemy, blah, blah. Anyway, they got surprised, and went into a little huddle. Once they were done, they came back, and hit me on the back of the neck. And then I woke up here."

He could barely see tears streaming down Bulma's face. He noticed them when he mentioned the bit about Chichi. Maybe he shouldn't have? O well – past is past. He sighed again, letting her know that he was officially done with his story.

She tried to pull herself together, a thousand things flying through her head at a million miles an hour. Chichi admired her? Chichi tried to escape her blessed life as a maiden? Nappa, a firm believer in non-weaklings, came to her rescue?  She sobbed quietly, all this to over-whelming for her. Finally, she brought herself to ask a question.

"So… how long have I been in here, exactly?"

Nappa calculated in his mind, in all his utter genius, so it was a while before she got an answer. "Well… I would say about 4 months at least." Bulma stared off into space – unable to think. 4 whole months?!? She wanted to scream, once again, but as always, her voice failed her. It felt like it had been only a day, since she had tried to jump and was brought to her prison cell. She thought – if she was getting these beatings twice a day… she had had over 240… this time she did scream. It was a hoarse scream, but a scream nonetheless – and a loud one at that. This scream put all her other shouts to shame. It made Nappa – a very brave man – want to crawl into a corner and hide. Her voice slowly dwindled until it was nothing more than a whisper. Nappa could hear the pain in that final uttering, before the flame, which was her voice, was put out.

She sank back, trying to say something to explain her outburst. But when she did, all that came out of her lips was a hissing noise. She threw her hands to her throat, where she wanted to strangle herself, as she tried to utter the smallest of the simplest of words. She couldn't do it. Nappa sensed her struggle, and brought his hand over to prevent her to hurt herself in her frantic acts. She stopped after feeling his touch. She sighed, and faced him. She couldn't talk. She had lost her voice in her final burst of emotion-filled cries. Tears flooded down her face as she calmed herself.  Before she could even think of anything else besides the loss of her speech, the door opened.

Her scream evidently pierced even through the soundproof wall, Bulma thought with pride. *I won't be able to do that again. Oh well.*

Kina was standing there, looking like he was going to beat the hell out of her. And he did just that.  He had with some of those 'unbreakable metal' shackles for Nappa, and then went to Bulma. Sitting there with eyes as wide as saucers, she held still until had put her into the same type of shackles. Taking a whip in hand, he lashed out ferociously, making sure he cut deeper into her skin each time.

Maybe it was the loss of her voice, but this time it brought all the pain home. If she could she would have screamed much louder than she did all those other times. He pressed her against a wall, making her stand – or more like holding her up, as her knees where giving way – while he brought the whippings up, and down, up, and down, bringing blood and cutting into muscle. *O gawd. I'm going to die. I'm going to die a voice-less, love-less slut. O gawd.* then, without another thought, she passed out.

Lord Kinas felt her slump in his arms, but he didn't stop. He never did stop, really. He turned her around and continued, oblivious to the rising growls that came from Nappa. Until he felt the flow of blood and ripping of sinew on her front side did he cease. Then he untied her and set her down, placing a kiss on her forehead.  He stepped to the door, opened it, and with a click on a remote control he undid Nappa's bindings, but closed the door to soon for Nappa to attack.  Nappa never saw him again.

Moving to Bulma's side, he felt her wounds, because he couldn't very well see them. They were deep, and if she didn't get help soon she would die. Even if she did get help, it wouldn't help. She would be beaten again, and maybe when he wasn't around to help her. She had to get out of here. But Nappa was here now, and he had to help her now, and now he was not acting to get back to his army, but for the woman who sat slumped next to him. Tearing his uniform, he made a bandage that would hopefully stop the bleeding. Then, with nothing more that he could do, he decided to plan an escape.