Intergalactic thankyous to my beta, Ms. Springandbysummerfall. Hope she knows how much I admire her brain. Y también un saludo a todos los cabros de Chile que leen mis hueás. Y en verdá a todos los que hablan español, que podrían estar leyendo El Quijote pero pierden el tiempo en mis pelotudeces (que escribo con mucho mucho amor). Muchas gracias.

Turles' jaw dropped at the sight of his friend knocked out on the floor, Bulma stepping on his body with one foot, like a hunter proudly towering over freshly caught prey. She glared at him fiercely when she noticed his presence, making the saiyan's body shrink involuntarily.

"You saiyans don't scare me" she said darkly, electricity dancing in her fingers.

"What the fuck?!" he hissed, taking a step back and powering up.

"Don't worry" Bulma replied with a frown, approaching Turles with the grace of an armored knight. "I didn't kill your friend, he'll just be asleep for a long while. Hope he learned to never touch a woman without her permission." She knew very well that if she let Turles sense her fear or see her weakness, she'd be screwed… specially knowing how implacable the saiyans could be. At least, she thought, she could put her knowledge about saiyan nature to good use now: all this time with Vegeta and Goku had to pay off. They weren't precisely the most reflexive creatures, so she'd have to rely on her wit to get out of this one.

The plan was to bluff. Bluff like a poker pro because her life depended on it.

Turles snapped, enraged. "Enough, bitch! Shut the fuck up." He leapt forward and grabbed Bulma by the arms tightly, immobilizing her. "You're coming with me!"

The moment Bulma saw him clenching one of his fists to punch her in the jaw, she addressed him again:

"You can't hit me. They don't like bruised offerings, remember? You said so yourself."

"I said, shut the fuck up!"

"What are you doing, Turles?" she asked, confronting him, almost like forgetting the fact she was naked and trapped under his strong grip. "What are you doing here in this old dumpster? A proud saiyan like you, alone with a fucking zebra, in a place like this... Are you working for them? For the ghosts? Collecting these 'offerings' for them?"

He gasped, startled. What the hell was going on? He had left the tiny, naked, helpless woman with his partner alone for five minutes and she had almost killed him! How? And how did she figure things out so damn quickly?

"Shit!" he growled with fury, knowing she was right. Their instructions had been clear: no bruised bodies, no broken bones. The ghosts needed organisms to infect and turn into necromorphs, or to take control of them and feel the breath of life they desperately craved. Finding good bodies got harder with every passing day and he knew he couldn't mess this one up. After all, he was just a mercenary.

Bulma had to get to him, keep him talking, buy herself some time. In order to hold back the fear, she kept repeating to herself that she had been in worse situations, and she had always been resourceful enough to survive.

If I'm not a warrior, I can still be a survivor.

"Aren't you wondering how come a young, gorgeous human female like me is alone on an abandoned moon?"

His eyes narrowed at her arrogance, but with all honesty, he was, indeed, confused – his gut told him with certainty that this had to be end quickly, the sooner the better. The saiyan grabbed her with unmeasured strength and forced her to follow him.

"That's because I'm not alone, you jackass!" she screamed, struggling to get free.

"No more talking!" Turles snarled, dragging Bulma into the dark corridors. "And whoever told you you're 'gorgeous' should be impaled. You're crippled. Besides, I like my women with more muscle mass."

Vegeta cursed the gods with tears in his emerald eyes as he punched the wall. Why had Supreme Kai brought him back, if it wasn't to save her? He couldn't stop Nappa from amputating her hand, now he couldn't even keep her safe for 5 minutes. Was this some sort of game? She was a fighter, he knew that, but he also understood during the battle with Majin Buu that he was meant to be her protector. He couldn't fail her… not again. A well-known spark of rage shook his bones.

He would not.

Fail her.

Again.

His golden aura exploded violently around him, flooding the entire room with light and wind, one purpose igniting like fire in his soul: he had to find her.

The Z-fighters had almost caught every ghost on planet Namek, and were now resting in the house of one of the villagers that had gladly let them stay there, after a well deserved feast. Even though the place was humble, it was homey enough for the group to be considerably more relaxed than in the spaceship. Even Vegeta felt too full and tired to torture anyone.

Goku stretched on his chair and sighed deeply with a satisfied smile lightening up his kind eyes.

"Oh, man. That was the best lemon tart I've had. And I've had a LOT of lemon tarts…"

"Yeah," Krillin agreed, "It was insanely good. I'm sorry to say this, my friend, but I think it was better than Chi-Chi's."

"Hey!" Goku warned, a frown on his face. "Don't say things like that again."

"But you just said-"

The saiyan's frown deepened.

"I mean it, Krilin. She might hear you. Somehow, even if we're out here in space, she might hear you, and I wouldn't want to be around if that happened."

"You're right. She sure is... something." Krillin paused with a smile on his face. "You know who makes great lemon tarts too? Turtle. I take the coconuts from the palm trees at Kame House, he grates them and spreads them on the lemon tart and then we eat it together, watching The Lord of The Rings." The human snickered at the pleasant memory, but his giggles eventually tapered off and he dropped his head, helplessly, with overdramatic despair. "Yeah, I need a girlfriend

Vegeta snorted.

"You and your pathetic little earthling lives disgust me."

"Ooh you rebel, you're so non-conformist," Yamcha suddenly spat out of nowhere with poorly contained bitterness.

The prince's eyes narrowed and growled aggressively.

"How dare-"

"Guys, cut it out," Goku intervened, trying to lighten the tension up. He was very aware that his friends didn't particularly like Vegeta and hell, he couldn't blame them. And what was going on between the prince and Yamcha went beyond pure resentment over Vegeta's evil ways, obviously. Ever since he was a little boy and Bulma barely a teenager he remembered seeing Yamcha and her together. He remembered how lonely those two felt and how badly they wanted someone to hadn't ended up the way they expected... but Goku, in his pure, wise heart, understood that maybe the prince and the scientist made more sense that she and Yamcha ever did. His thoughts drifted to Gohan and Chi Chi... he couldn't be around them as much as he'd like, but they'd understand, wouldn't they?

"So what are your plans for when we return to Earth, Yamcha?" Krillin hurried to ask, trying to avoid another argument. The bandit shifted his weight uncomfortably and huffed.

"Ehn, I don't know. Probably find someone new to date." He glared at the saiyan prince who sat, legs crossed on the floor in the corner of the room.

"Someone new?" Vegeta said with wicked amusement, "Why? Did that fucking floating cat dump you?"

"Come on, you guys" Goku insisted, "cut it-"

The saiyan's train of thought was abruptly interrupted by a flash of awareness of an impossibly powerful ki. Who could it be?! It was more powerful than anyone he'd met before... even more powerful than himself. Unprecedented, terrifying strength that seemed to have burst in an explosion of energy at once. Could this person or creature have been hiding its ki all this time? How couldn't they feel it before? His eyes widened and sh

ifted to Vegeta instinctively – he trusted his former enemy in a way that escaped reason. The prince nodded as he returned the look of concern: he had sensed the presence too.

"D-did you feel that?" Krillin's voice came out surprisingly weak.

"Yes," Goku replied ominously. "It came from Borges."

"Shit!" Yamcha said, standing up and clenching his fists tightly, "I thought that place was abandoned! Bulma is there by herself!"

"Bitch deserves it," Vegeta hissed, a rush of anger shaking him as he remembered how she rejected his company. "She'll finally find out that the universe isn't made of cupcakes and glitter."

The bandit powered up as rage deformed his handsome, scarred face.

"You bastard!"

"WILL YOU JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP?!" Goku snapped with unusual violence, making everyone go silent. He cleared his throat after his unexpected outburst and addressed Vegeta with seriousness. "This is an amount of power that we've never faced before. I'm teleporting there right now. You should come with me."

"Ha! Like I would team up with you!"

An inviting smirk curved Goku's lips.

"Wouldn't you like to fight whoever is up there? You felt that amazing power! I thought you loved a challenge."

Vegeta's left eyebrow twitched. Kakarot's appealing to his competitive nature was obviously working.

"Fine. But I get to fight first."

Turles had managed to cuff Bulma's wrists and quickly learned to keep that artificial hand away from him – especially after she grabbed his tail by surprise and tried to electrocute him, that resourceful little bitch. In some way, it was kind of fun to find someone who would be willing to fight back... after planet Vegeta was destroyed and Frieza ruled over this part of the universe, everything had turned to shit for the saiyans that were left. During Frieza's time of authority over the saiyans' home planet, they were reduced to slaves. But now, with no home, no memory, no identity left, the few of them that were left were probably struggling to survive as much as he was. He should've been a proud warrior, a true saiyan soldier, but now he was just a servant, a mercenary to a bunch of ghosts that only made him face pathetic, weak creatures who wandered lost in the universe – and who had the bad luck to end up on Borges. But now... Who was this woman? She had come through that portal right in front of their eyes, they didn't even have to search the station to find her! Had she come... past the necromorphs? Impossible!

He threw her on the cold, hard floor in an empty room -it must've been a private office once- and she shivered. The air was cold and moist and she was naked and tired. She had already lost all hope of finding Darwin -those fucking ghosts probably had it by now- but what still kept her going was the possibility that Vegeta might find her. He had to.

After he dropped her, he headed to the door.

"Where are you going?!" she asked, a sensation of fear settling in her stomach. If he left her, he'd probably return soon... and most likely, not alone. The adrenaline made her emotions unbearable: she felt unstable rushes of excessive power switching with terror and despair.

When he didn't answer, she pushed with anything she could come up with.

"I told you I was not alone, Turles! I'm with a saiyan!"

"You're lying," he growled, not stoping nor turning back to face her. "There are none of us left."

"I'm with Vegeta! Your prince!" she cried as he walked out the door.

Turles stopped, his shoulder blades tensed. He did not turn around as he spoke darkly:

"I don't know how you found out about his name, but if you had ever really met him, you'd know he wasn't big on teamwork. Whatever. I know Frieza killed him back on Namek."

With that, his figure disappeared into the darkness as the door closed heavily behind him.

"Shit, shit, shit!" she hissed as she tried unsuccessfully to unlock the cuffs. They were made of a material resistant to electricity, which basically meant she was screwed and powerless. Her arms burned with the effort and finally, after what seemed an eternity, she gave up and sat on the floor, her wrists between her legs. With a long sigh came a series of painful, recent images into her mind, from the babies she saw to the loss of her hand... then the grotesque figures of the necromorphs and finally, the weight of the zebra man against her body, the way she had almost choked when he stuck his hard erection into her mouth. Her forehead fell against her bent knees and she felt her courage cracking. Now, being alone with her thoughts, she understood the true horrors she'd witnessed.

A tear ran down her cheek and her whole body trembled as she sobbed.

What did I get myself into? She asked herself over and over. How could I be so stupid? How could I think I'd be strong enough to do this?

She had always been as privileged as could get: independent, insanely smart, gorgeous, rich, desirable... now everything seemed to be worthless. Her own struggle between confidence and arrogance had led her to this point of no return... it was sad to admit, even in the dim loneliness of this abandoned dark room, that her cockiness was only a mask for her weakness; for her insecurity. Wasn't it? Wasn't it the reason why she wanted so hard to be loved and desired? Respected by the men she new? Independent before their eyes, strong like them?

It was stupid, everything – she didn't have to prove anything to anyone, she didn't have to define her own worth by other people's standards. But why did she feel so insecure about everything? Why did she feel she needed to be aggressive and tough and bitchy just to disguise how awkward she really felt?

As her tears fell onto the ground, a new vision suddenly appeared: a tiny whirlwind revolved in front of her, a moving mass of bright shiny pixels.

"Ghosts?" she whispered, speechless.

The small dots of light gathered around each other and danced to an unheard music, reordering themselves to form a tall human form which Bulma found disturbingly familiar.

"Charles... Darwin?" she asked herself, her bright blue eyes wide open.

The figure, the beard, the ancient attire... it was just like she remembered him from that edition of The Origin of Species her dad gave her, his wise face illustrated on the back cover, now materialized in a hologram.

Reaching out her cuffed hands to touch him, the pixels moved around her skin as she passed right through the image. Darwin suddenly began walking in circles around the room, as if pondering. It suddenly stopped and faced her, accusingly.

You contradict yourself.

Yes, I contradict myself, Bulma thought as her gazed followed the hologram's steps, unaware of the frown on her brow. Big deal! People contradict themselves all the time!

The vision towered over her and the reflection of the light of the pixels lit her face.

"So what if I do!" she confronted him. "How could I not contradict myself?"

You're an unstable woman.

"Please, old man! Humanity contradicts itself. The soul contradicts itself because it is not infallible, is it? We make stupid mistakes and we learn from that, don't we? How else could we change? I am entitled to change my mind, to be flawed and still be smart, trustworthy, strong."

Can you change?

She stood up weakly. Get your shit together, she told herself. You're fucking Bulma Briefs. You've used guns since you were 11. You build armors, spaceships, for crying out loud. You fucked a goddamned saiyan prince. You found out about the dragon balls and built the radar to find them! You've been in space, you've fought armies, you fucking babysat Goku, the strongest man on Earth. You're the heir to the most important innovation company in the world... and most of all, you're a GENIUS!

"I am not a machine." She said, her artificial fingers curling involuntarily, "I am far from perfect, but I can change. Evolve. Everything is in motion. Time, the universe. Us. There is nothing unmovable about me, nothing that defines me, nothing that holds me back... I can be better."

The figure continued its endless, anxious stroll around the room in silence and Bulma watched it quietly for hours. She started to lose awareness that it was pacing there, until it became nothing more unusual that the dirt on the ground or the black stone walls. Her feet were unbearably cold, hunger had taken over her and her bones hurt, but she took shelter picturing a bubbling hot tub and a bowl of roasted chicken, which managed to distract her for short periods of times.

When the door was abruptly opened, the hologram shattered to pieces like broken glass.

The dirt on her skin, the wet, sticky hair, the glossy surface of her artificial hand, the tattoo traced along her back made her look nothing like the woman everyone was used to seeing back on Earth. For Turles, she was just an exotic prisoner with an unsettling, dangerous glow in her eyes.

She saw his figure standing on the doorway, his tail lashing violently behind him.

The saiyan approached her until the tip of his boots touched her knees and she looked up to him coldly.

"Let's go."

Bulma didn't fight back this time when he dragged her back into the dark, moist corridors.

"Won't you tell me where you're taking me?" she asked recklessly.

Turles couldn't help but roll his eyes at the insistence of this woman. He was surely curious about her -and unsettled, too- but for his sake, he knew it was better to avoid questions and interaction.

"You saiyans are all the same, just a bunch rude monkeys!" Bulma complained, blowing a strand of greasy hair out of her face.

He turned around and faced her, not letting go of the cuffs.

"The nerve! I should just kill you!"

"But you can't, can you?" The hint of disdain and defiance in her voice was a nice touch, she thought. Maybe she went a bit too far, but she knew this was the way to keep a saiyan entertained.

Turles knew the ghosts were getting weaker with every passing day. They had created zombies, visions, new necromorphs and possessed bodies for the last weeks frantically in order to fulfill their plan. But they were running short of living creatures and now, the scarcity had gotten to a critical point. If he killed the human, the ghosts wouldn't be able to use what really mattered: her life energy. If he didn't bring a living creature soon, he was next in line. And although Bulma didn't know this exactly, she could tell he needed her alive rather than dead.

"Stop playing whatever little game you're playing, you insolent bitch!" Turles snarled.

"Who's really the insolent bitch, Turles?" she replied, pulling the cuffs towards her, making the saiyan trip and bump into her. "How dare you talk like that to your princess! That's right! Your princess!". She narrowed her eyes for dramatic effect and whispered ominously: "I am Vegeta's wife."

"Enough with that! You're insane!"

A message suddenly popped up on his scouter screen.

Live intruders in sector 7G. Report immediately.

His eyes widened.

"What the fuck? Live intruders?" He said out-loud, catching Bulma's attention. "Walk faster, human! I'll drop you off and see who's the poor bastard wandering around this hellhole."

She couldn't help to smile and hope, for the sake of her life, it was Vegeta's presence Turles' scouter had sensed.

Grabbing Bulma and throwing her over his shoulder, the saiyan dashed to the end of the dark corridor. Without even time for her to complain, he entered through a supernatural portal on the wall and reappeared on the top of a mountain. He dropped her on the grass and hurried back to the portal that would take him to the space station.

As she got on her knees, she looked around trying to figure out where she was: the first thing that caught her sight was the smoking crater of a volcano only feet away from where she was, and then, the height of the mountain where she was standing, the breathtaking view of the Borges moon, its islands and oceans. The grass beneath her feet was as blue as ever, swaying with the mild wind, the gentle purring of the land by the volcano and the tall column of smoke were the only things she saw or heard.

He hadn't set her free, had he? Her eyes inspected the landscape anxiously. Of course not. The ghosts had to be there, somewhere.

As they passed by the remains of countless dismembered, burned necromorphs in the station, Goku and Vegeta exchanged puzzled looks.

"Boy, these things are ugly!" Goku commented as he pushed a head with the tip of his boot. "They must've given Bulma a very hard time."

"It seems there are none left... at least that earthling learned something from what I taught her," Vegeta remarked coldly, looking around. The sound of her name made his heart jump inexplicably, so he rushed to change the subject before his mind wandered off. "Can you still feel the ki we're looking for?"

The younger saiyan closed his eyes and focused deeply, as if trying to identify a single note out of a complex symphony. Yes, there it was... distant, but crystal clear. So powerful yet so...

"Good?" Goku asked out loud without opening his eyes.

"What are you saying?"

His eyes suddenly popped open, his face lightening with a huge smile and a glitter of joy in his black orbs. He grabbed the prince by the shoulders and squeezed him with excitement.

"It's good, Vegeta! That great ki we sensed belongs to a good soul!"

Vegeta's brow twitched.

"Aren't you excited? Can you imagine how much we can learn from this guy?! I mean, who could it be?!"

The prince pushed Goku away in disgust.

"'Learn'?" Vegeta stretched the word with a snarl.

"Let's go, quick! Maybe he can tell us where to find Bulma!"

When they entered the terminal area, the ki seemed to disappear again. It went on and off, which only made the search hard and confusing. When suddenly, another ki appeared in the picture.

They barely heard the steps behind them. A saiyan who looked disturbingly like Goku...

His shocked expression at the sight of Vegeta and Goku went far beyond the mere surprise of encountering intruders.

"Who are you?" Goku rushed to confront him, taking a defensive position. Turles opened his mouth but not a sound came out, until he managed to point at Vegeta with one trembling finger with terror.

"You..."

"Didn't expect to see you here, Turles," Vegeta grinned smugly.

Goku turned to the prince.

"Do you... know this guy?"

"Yes", Vegeta replied taking a step forward, "we served in Frieza's army for a while together until he left to pursue his own interests. He and a bunch of allies became space pirates. Worthless mercenaries."

"You were supposed to be dead!" Turles finally snapped, realizing that that woman had been telling the truth all along. If Vegeta found out what they'd done to her... A cold shiver ran down Turles' legs, making his knees weak.

"Do you have Bulma?" Goku interrupted, powering up. "Where is she?!"

"B-Bulma?"

"Young human, blue hair and eyes, artificial hand... Don't lie to us!"

"So it's true," Turles muttered, looking at Vegeta. "That human is your wife!"

The prince's eyes widened.

"Wha-"

Goku rushed to interrupt:

"So you do have her, then!"

"Oh, Prince," Turles cajoled, "Forget about her. She's history. The ghosts must've eaten her by now. But look at us! Three saiyans reunited, the only ones of our proud race left in the whole universe. We can leave this hellhole, be the unbeatable warriors we were meant to be! Together we'd be unstoppable... legendary."

Vegeta's nose wrinkled as his wolfish white fangs showed.

"I don't do teamwork."

"But think of the power, my prince! Of the opportunities! Hundreds of planets conquered by us... power, endless power!"

Vegeta growled.

"I don't like your face."

"Hey!" Goku interrupted, pouting.

The prince suddenly powered up and leapt forward towards their enemy. Goku followed quickly, blasts and explosions soon lighting the room.