A/N: Sorry this part took so long to get out. Real life got in the way and I didn't have much time for writing. Hopefully the next part will be out sooner. Enjoy!
CP
Part 11
Bardock sighed and grasped his head. He'd been having visions every night for the past two weeks. The up coming battle with Freeza had everyone on edge and he knew it was only a matter of time before the headaches took their toll on him. Vegeta had been around him for far to long now for him to be able to hide the issue. Sure, the younger warrior thought him to be mad but after some time he started to believe. The once great warrior was reduced to a life of inactivity. Bardock didn't tell all of his visions. He couldn't tell the prince that his youngest son would turn Super Sayain before him. It would seem like a fist in the gut.
Vegeta's time was for something much more noble. He knew Bulma wouldn't stay back out of the fray of battle. It was inevitable, no matter what scenario's he was presented with. The couple still continued to argue about it constantly. No matter what invention she was working on, he was bound and determined to try and keep her from the battlefield. Bardock was also nervous about the birth of his first grandchild. The feeling felt bizzare. It seemed so surreal that he would be a grandfather so soon in his life. Sure, he wasn't young by any means, however he wasn't old either. At least by Sayain standards.
"Are you almost finished, Bardock?" Bulma's voice broke him from his musings. When had she arrived in the lab? He must've been lost deep in thought.
"Almost." He grunted softly. "Are you seriously not going to consider staying behind?"
"Not you too." The blue-haired heiress groaned. "Did Vegeta put you up to this?"
"If 'convincing' means ordering me as a royal; then I'd say yes."
"I'll be back in a little bit. I've got a certain 'Prince' to royally order to kiss my ass."
Bardock laughed as she left, the doors swishing closed behind her. He was certain that if they could be slammed she would have.
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Zarbon bit his lips to hold in his scream, he wouldn't give Freeza the satisfaction. Normally, Zarbon liked this treatment. However, Freeza wasn't in a giving mood, he was on a rampage. Ever since he'd picked him up on the outer rim of the system, he'd been in a foul mood. Freeza felt that Zarbon had been trying to escape instead of finding his prized pet. Vegeta was still nowhere to be found and the longer the money evaded capture, the more brutal and distant the tyrant became.
The whip bit into his green flesh painfully, the blood oozing from every single slice. Sweat mingled with the cuts causing a biting sting. Every time he felt as if he would finally pass out, his sadistic master injected him with a serum to keep him awake. The stress was maddening.
"I still want to know where you were hiding my dear sweet merman." Freeza licked his cheek. "I doubt you were seriously looking for my dear, wonderful prince of monkey's."
"I was." Zarbon retorted before a slap connected with his jaw.
"Liar." Freeza grasped his face and pulled it forward. "If you were looking for him I wouldn't have found you in the company of whores."
Zarbon kept silent since he couldn't convince him of his actual plans.
"Do you think I enjoy making my prized pets suffer?" The tyrant asked before kicking him in the stomach. "It pains me to not use you in the correct, pleasurable fashion."
"Liar." Zarbon thought to himself, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"I will get the truth from you one way or another, Zarbon." His fingers danced across his swollen cheek. "You can count on that."
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Vegeta grumbled as he continued to review the shielding schematics of his mate. The power output was still too strong to protect her fully. Whatever power the pendant possessed was slotted ten fold when a blast was directed at the wearer. A Saiyan could handle the shield kick-back, but a human could not. Some tweaking was needed, but he didn't know the proper percentage. Too low and it would shatter before the blast could be deflected, too high and it would blow her across the room.
Before he could think on more adjustments the bay doors to their shared room opened and in came his mate on a rampage. She shoved him before blowing up in a triad about leaving the subject of her staying behind alone. He grumbled inwardly as she continued to animatedly rage at him. Why couldn't she listen like Kakarot's harpy seemed to? Sure, the female was just as loud on many occasion. Her strong will making the younger Sayian toe the line more than once, yet at least she knew when to stay out of danger.
Then there was the subject of their child. He had been born a few days ago. They named him Gohan. A human name, the name of Kakarot's old trainer while Bardock had gone missing for a few years. Apparently the old man had taken in the young cub as one of his own. Years ago he wouldn't have entertained the notion of mixing his royal genes with anyone. Now, seeing his mate, cheeks red with furry and blue hair crackling with untapped power made him wonder what their child would be like.
"Woman! Enough with your insistent screeching!" He finally yelled back to halt her triad. "Yes, I made one last attempt to make you see reason, but as you can see I figured you wouldn't listen; so I've been putting my efforts to try and make your shield device work."
Bulma looked at him, blue eyes wide with surprise.
"It needs to be a sphere, not a deflection from a single assault." He explained. "All this time we've been trying to make a single shield for one blast. What we need is a sphere so that when it's hit, it deflects the blast but keeps you on your feet. The blow will roll over the shield and it won't take the blast head-on."
Finally coming out of her stupor, she looked over the design again and factored in his own equations. "This will actually work, and there can be a dial to set the amount of ki to a reader. It can read the attack force and adjust the shield accordingly."
"How fast can you make adjustments to the prototype and test?"
"Sometime tonight I should have a working one."
"Good. Once we have a working one, we'll begin manufacture so that the non-ki based life forms can have a shield as well."
"Vegeta, that could take months that we don't have." She scratched her head. "Even with my speed and Bardocks I'm not sure if we have enough materials."
"Freeza will not care, he'll come anyway. We need to find a way to get this done before he arrives. Scanners have shown that he's still on schedule." He ran a hand through his hair and tugged in agitation. "What are you using to hold the ki in place?"
"Synthetic crystal." She sighed. "It's a mixture of elements and either Raditz or Bardock have been supplying me with the ki to hold a charge."
"From now on either Kakarot or I will supply the charges. We are both stronger than those two and we need the best weapons. I've also heard that the Namek can hold ki as well."
"Piccolo? I'd have to adjust the formula. His ki isn't the same as yours."
"Couldn't the weakling use ki as well?"
"Yes, so can Krillin and Master Roshi."
"Hmm. This will help with the shielding and weapons. Even though they'll be less powerful, it will take less materials to outfit everyone with some sort of weapon. That also keeps Raditz and Bardock in the rotation." He scratched his chin. "Send out a message to every able-bodied soldier that can use ki. We'll gather the readings and make the crystals and weapons accordingly."
"Vegeta..."
"A weak weapon is better than no weapon. The low-level soldiers Frieza has at his disposal are expendable and a low-level blast should handle them. Less materials used for them equals more materials for the higher ranking soldiers and it will give us a strategical edge."
"Alright."
He then leaned down and kissed her fiercely. "You were a good choice, mate. Do not make me regret this."
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Kakarot smiled happily, his tail wrapped around his mate as they cuddled together with their child. He never thought he'd be a father, but he was happy; yet also scared. The tyrant loomed just over the edge of their base and as every day passed he felt the oppressive energy surround him. He was thankful Chi-Chi decided to stay behind and he wished Bulma would too. Yet, trying to convince the blue-haired heiress to do anything she didn't want to do was not easy.
He was broken from his thoughts by the swoosh of the doors and Vegeta standing just inside the room. "I need to borrow you, Kakarot."
He nodded before kissing his mates forehead and walking towards the prince. "What is it?"
"We're making the crystals for the weapons and pendants. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that ki is required for the process."
"No, I've seen dad and Bulma make them a lot."
"Well, you're going to be contributing. We're starting with the higher level weapons and shields first. Not to mention, we're going to need you for tests when we try out the new design of the shields."
"I'll help as much as I can, but I don't want to leave Chi-Chi alone too long."
"You'll be back to your mate soon, but this needs to be set into motion. The faster we adjust, the quicker we can make our defenses."
Kakarot nodded once before the door to the lab swooshed open and they saw Bulma tinkering away on a setting. A small locket-sized pendant in her hand. "That should about do it."
