Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Sue me, and I'll blast you into oblivion! Vegeta-style.
***
Chapter 12: Something to Fight For (Part 2)
***
Bulma Briefs awoke with a start in the most uncomfortable position imaginable. Upright, tied by her wrists to a tree branch in the middle of nowhere, shivering and starving, she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and tried to refocus them in the dark. Many hours had passed since Rakasha abducted her from her room, and she had been ready to go to sleep then. But getting knocked unconscious and tied up was not her idea of beauty rest.
"Ugh!" she cried in frustration, trying to break free of her bonds. "Get me out of here!"
"That's not going to happen."
The sinister voice came from a figure with two red slits for eyes—Rakasha, of course. She hadn't noticed him until then. In a flash, she remembered that his face was the last she'd seen before falling unconscious.
Bulma spat in his direction, though it didn't travel far enough to hit him. It was meant to serve a point, more than anything. Rakasha ignored her disgust.
"I see you're still wearing the outfit I gave you. It fits nicely, does it?" he asked. His voice was low and husky.
Bulma blanched and looked down at her body. Yep, she thought. Still in the Princess Leia costume, alright. When she had initially escaped from the harem in Rakasha's ship, she had found a lab coat to wrap herself in, which the king had since removed. The thought of his rough, scaly hands on her skin while she was unconscious made Bulma's stomach turn.
"Where are we?" Bulma asked, trying to keep Rakasha talking—she didn't want to know what he had planned otherwise, and she didn't want to give him a chance to do anything until someone came to save her.
"We are quite far from my ship now. Just far enough so that Vegeta won't find us, until it's too late. My energy is hidden, and yours is pitifully low, like most humans. The only way he will locate us is by searching this planet over." Rakasha seemed to take deep satisfaction in that.
Bulma's eyes widened. "A-aren't you worried what they're gonna do to you when they find you? They'll kill you if you do anything to me." She was seriously afraid now. The resolve on his face was the most unsettling thing of all. Rakasha was unfazed by Bulma's threat.
"They'll kill me, yes, I have accepted that. But at least I'll get a little taste of revenge first," he replied.
Bulma gulped.
"Really? Is that necessary? I mean, maybe if you just die peacefully you'll get out of Hell early on good behavior," she said jokingly. Rakasha ignored her attempt to keep the conversation going. He was slowly closing the gap between them. Bulma was glad it was too dark for her to see exactly what was going on.
"Wh-what makes you think Vegeta will come looking for me?" she said.
Rakasha scoffed. "Please stop trying to make me believe that you are not his mate. You were quicker to admit it when you thought I was that other Saiyan's woman. Good disguise, eh?" Rakasha replied. His voice grew deeper and more sinister as he approached.
Shivering endlessly from fear and cold, Bulma asked, "Are you going to kill me?"
Even in the dark she could make out Rakasha's evil smile. "No. But this is probably going to hurt… a lot."
Bulma squeezed her eyes shut, emitting a frightened squeal of anticipation and horror as she felt his slimy hand on her abdomen, and then…
Rakasha tensed suddenly and whipped his head around. Bulma forced her eyes open to see what had caused him such alarm. It was a bright blue aura in the distance—an aura enveloping the spiky-haired visage of Vegeta as he quickly approached.
"WHAT! HOW DID YOU FIND ME SO QUICKLY?" Rakasha bellowed furiously. Vegeta landed in front of the king with his arms crossed and eyes narrowed, staring daggers at his enemy.
"Oh, it wasn't hard. I just followed the stench of defeat," Vegeta said, cackling with victory. His eyes quickly darted to Bulma's, and his expression softened slightly. He surveyed her quickly to assess the damage, and looked satisfied that he had arrived—just in time.
Rakasha growled. "I WILL have my revenge!" he swore. Before Vegeta knew what was happening, Rakasha took his large hands and ripped Bulma's body from the tree, breaking the ropes that bound her instantly. A loud crack permeated the area as both of Bulma's arms snapped along with the ropes. They were bound around her wrists so tightly that when Rakasha pulled her away, the ropes showed momentary resistance—and her arms, unfortunately, got in the way. She screamed in unimaginable pain.
The pain seared through Bulma's body, numbing her to all other sensations—all she could feel were white-hot pangs ripping through her. She became overpowered by the urge to slip away, to faint, to just die, but a bright golden light brought her back to the present situation. Weakly, Bulma cracked her eyes open and used whatever breath was left within her to gasp. Where had Goku come from? It had to be him. That person ripping Rakasha's limbs off was definitely a Super Saiyan…
As the pain began to subside, though it was still the greatest pain she had ever felt, Bulma was able to focus more easily on the figure that was currently obliterating her attacker. His hair was flashing golden, his eyes flashing green, but it didn't look like Goku at all. It looked more like Vegeta.
It was Vegeta.
And in the next second, Bulma blinked, and the golden aura was gone. Vegeta was back to his normal self—raven-haired, obsidian-eyed, breathing heavily from the intensity of his attack. Rakasha was completely gone.
With a relieved smile, Bulma's head collapsed back onto the ground. Blurry-eyed, she saw a pair of white boots walking over to the place Rakasha had dropped her when Vegeta attacked.
Now I can sleep… That was the last thing Bulma Briefs thought before slipping into unconsciousness for a third time that night.
***
Vegeta kneeled down beside Bulma's unconscious body and gently rolled her onto her back. He felt her arms—both broken, as he suspected. But other than that, she had sustained no permanent damage. She had probably passed out from the intensity of the pain.
"Weakling woman," Vegeta muttered, though he said it with less disdain than usual. He wrapped his arms around her body and carefully lifted her up, so that she was curled into a fragile ball in his embrace.
Goku and Trunks chose that moment to appear, and Vegeta nearly dropped Bulma in surprise. He had not expected them to follow him.
"Oh man! Did I miss the fight?" Goku asked, pouting. Trunks was at his mother's side immediately, and Vegeta looked more than happy to hand her limp body over to him. Trunks took her, worry clearly etched into his features.
"Did he—" Trunks began, but Vegeta cut him off.
"He didn't get a chance," the prince replied. "I destroyed him."
Trunks was visibly relieved, and Vegeta raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You are overly-concerned with the woman," he said. It was more of an accusation than a statement. Trunks flushed.
"She's, erm… one of the few survivors of the Android attack in my timeline, besides my mother and Gohan, and myself, of course," Trunks replied, trying to make it less obvious that he had more than a neutral stake in the blue-haired woman in his arms. "I'm just glad she's okay."
"That's great!" said Goku. "Looks like everything worked out well! Hey, what happened to her arms, they look kinda funky…"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "They are broken, Kakkarot. One of those senzu beans you like to abuse so much should do more than enough to fix that."
"Yeah, just like they fixed your broken leg…" Goku muttered as he dug inside his pocket until he found what he was looking for and gently nudged Bulma awake, coaxing her into chewing the tiny bean. She did, slowly, and as she swallowed and digested the bean, the feeling returned to her arms. She was soon awake and alert. Trunks put her down immediately, the blush returning to his cheeks as soon as she was fully conscious.
Bulma groaned. "Oh—fuck. That hurt," she said, rising to her feet. "I hope I never break another bone." A look of realization formed on her face suddenly. "Vegeta!" she cried, turning to him. "You did it!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Did what? If you think I meant to save you, woman, you are sadly mistaken. I wanted to take care of Rakasha before Kakkarot had a chance to intervene. It was my battle."
Bulma shook her head. "No, I meant…" She trailed off. He certainly wasn't acting the way she thought he would when he became a Super Saiyan. Was it possible he had been so blinded by rage and emotion that he hadn't felt the transformation?
"Hey, let's get back to Rakasha's ship. We still have a whole army of prisoners to wake up!" Goku said, interrupting Bulma's thought process. She made a mental note to follow up on Vegeta's Super Saiyan status as soon as she got a private moment with him.
Moments later, Goku had transported them back to the site of the previous battle, and most of the knocked out warriors were awake—and out of their hypnotic states.
Rakasha's former prisoners loaded back into his ship, which was now their ship—the ship that would take them all back to their respective planets, or to new ones, if those planets had been destroyed. The Z-warriors saw them off. Only when the ship was out of eyesight did the fact that it was four in the morning hit any of them.
Yamcha, Krillen, Tien, and Chiaotzu were quick to depart. Yamcha offered to take Bulma home, an offer which she gladly accepted. I'll talk to Vegeta later… she thought as she left the former battleground with her ex-boyfriend.
Only Vegeta, Trunks, Piccolo, Chi-Chi, Goku and Gohan remained.
"Well, Tru—I mean, Trent—you did it. You stopped the worst from happening! Let's hope it works again in two years' time," Goku said.
Trunks smiled. "Yes, we can only hope." He paused. "Listen, Goku, can I speak with you privately for one moment?"
He took Goku aside. "What was that you were saying earlier, about 'speeding along the process' with my mom and dad?"
Goku laughed nervously. "Oh, that? It was just a little slip-up, I swear!"
"What kind of slip-up?" Trunks' eyes were narrowed at Goku suspiciously.
"Oh, you know—the kind where I may have accidentally said that Bulma and Vegeta were going to get together… in front of everyone… at a party."
Trunks' mouth hung open slightly as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"But don't worry!" Goku said quickly. "I fixed it! Piccolo helped, if you can believe that. Everything is back on track now. I mean, Vegeta destroyed every last molecule of Rakasha! If that doesn't say a lot about how he feels for Bulma, then I don't know what does!"
Trunks seemed satisfied by this explanation. "It's fine, Goku. Small risks are worth it to stop the Androids' wrath," he said. "Although, I wouldn't consider me not being born a small risk. But if what you say is true, that won't be happening." Trunks grew thoughtful as he continued, "It's strange how me just being here was enough to change the course of things. My mom is safe… Rakasha didn't get his way with her, like he did in my timeline. Such a drastic difference. I wonder how your experiences with the Androids will differ…"
"Well, hopefully, it'll be different 'cause we'll win," Goku said, and he now wore a determined look which made Trunks feel more hopeful than he had in a long while.
"With you, Goku, I believe anything is possible. My mother said only you can change the course of the future, and I trust her judgment. I don't know if I can say the same for her younger counterpart, but…" He trailed off, and Goku chuckled.
"Speaking of your mom, she's probably worried about you. You should get back to your timeline," Goku said.
Parting with a promise to return in two years on the day of the Androids' arrival, Trunks lifted off in his time machine and disappeared into the early morning sky.
"I wouldn't trust that boy if I were you, Kakkarot," Vegeta said as soon as Trunks was gone. "He is hiding something. He acts nothing like a true Saiyan should." He paused. "But then again, neither do you."
Goku shrugged. "You never know, maybe he was dropped on his head as a baby, too!" He mentally added, Wouldn't surprise me, with Bulma as his mother.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I am going to return to my training."
"You go on ahead. I'll drop by Capsule Corporation sometime this week to train," Goku said.
Vegeta turned his back to Goku. "I don't need it, Kakkarot. You can forget about our little sparring sessions. I train alone from now on."
"Suit yourself."
Just as Vegeta was preparing to leave, Goku spoke up again. "Hey, Vegeta," he said, and the Saiyan Prince paused to listen, though his back was still turned. Goku continued, "You remember when I said you needed something to fight for?"
Vegeta grunted.
"Well… I think you get what I mean now."
The prince said nothing. He powered up, rose swiftly into the sky, and blasted off in the direction of Capsule Corporation. Goku smiled to himself. They still had two years before the predicted arrival of the Androids, and by his calculation, that left about three months until Trunks was supposed to be conceived.
"Yep, I think my work here is done," Goku said aloud.
Piccolo scoffed, breaking his silence, and muttered, "It better be, Goku, because I don't think I can handle any more of your little slip-ups."
Goku laughed. "Oh Piccolo, don't be silly! That's why I keep you around! You've got clean-up duty."
The Namekian rolled his eyes. "You better get going. Chi-Chi is seeing red," he said.
Goku chuckled nervously. "Right. Good idea. See you tomorrow Piccolo!"
And with that, Goku transported himself and his family home, leaving Piccolo to his thoughts and meditations.
***
When Vegeta arrived at Capsule Corporation, he wasn't entirely surprised to see that Bulma was still awake, waiting for him in the kitchen. She must have known that his initial motivation upon returning would be to raid the fridge.
"Hello, Vegeta," Bulma said coolly. He took in her weathered appearance—she looked exhausted in her pajamas, holding a cup of coffee to her chest as if it were a child she felt obligated to protect.
"Woman, go to bed. You're an idiot—how many times are you going to try and get yourself killed in one day?" he said, unhappy that he was not going to be given the opportunity to eat in peace.
"Oh, hush, I'm not going to die from lack of sleep. If you think about it, I've technically been sleeping all night," Bulma replied, and an ironic smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
There was a drawn out moment of silence between the two before Vegeta broke it.
"Well, while you're awake, make yourself useful and prepare me some form of sustenance."
Bulma went to work making a simple sandwich. "Anything for the man who saved my life," she said playfully. Vegeta rolled his eyes.
"We both know he wasn't going to kill you," he said.
Bulma bit her lower lip and said, "Let's just… forget that ever happened, shall we? If I ever think about that creep again, it'll be too soon." She paused for a few seconds, trying to choose her next words very carefully.
"So, Vegeta… how did you feel when you rescued me?" she asked.
"What do you mean, woman? I felt fine. I rather enjoyed seeing you in pain, maybe that'll teach you a lesson about interfering with the affairs of men, and keeping your mouth shut, like a good little wench," he replied.
Vegeta raised his eyebrows at Bulma's reaction to his words. She looked neither angry nor hurt--just confused, and very thoughtful.
"So…" she ventured further. "You didn't feel any different when you rescued me? Nothing at all? Really?"
He growled, growing impatient with her ambiguity. "No, nothing! I didn't save you, or this forsaken planet, intentionally. That was just a byproduct of my actions. Rakasha was a threat I needed to be rid of. And I took my revenge out on him, for what he did to my people, and my father. Nothing more."
Bulma finished Vegeta's sandwich and set it down on a ceramic plate in front of him.
"If you say so, Veggie." She leaned forward and gave him a light peck on the forehead. "Thank you," she muttered, sauntering past him, trying her best to contain her laughter at his reaction to her subtle display of affection.
Vegeta watched her retreating form until she disappeared upstairs.
What is that woman up to? he thought, subconsciously touching his hand to his forehead and rubbing the area where her lips had brushed against his skin. He knew Bulma would react to him saving her like this—it was a risk he had been willing to take.
Vegeta had acted on impulse when the boy from the future said that Rakasha was going to hurt Bulma. He located her energy signal immediately and flew in that direction faster than he knew he could. The relief that overcame him when he saw that he was not too late had been overwhelming, almost to the point where if his stoic attitude were not so practiced, his manner may have betrayed the severity of the emotions flowing through him.
These were emotions Vegeta did not—could not—understand. Nor could he understand how he had been able to find Bulma so quickly, when her other friends could not. It concerned him deeply. The only people a Saiyan could feel instantly were his children or his mate, and she was obviously neither.
Vegeta scoffed at the idea of Bulma as his mate, and tried to recall what his father had told him about Saiyan mating. Vegeta had once told Bulma that is was an unspoken bond, and that was true, but he was always sure that both parties had to be aware of the bond for it to work. Perhaps that wasn't the case. Perhaps Vegeta had a greater stake in Bulma that he could possibly fathom, the depths of which he did not wish to explore any further until he got at least a small degree of sleep.
With a deep sigh, he gobbled his sandwich up in seconds and went to his room, passing by Bulma's along the way. He could sense that she was still awake, and had to fight the urge to enter her room and discuss his concerns with her. He was resolved to the idea that if he just ignored his feelings, whatever they may be, that they would just… go away.
But as stubborn as Vegeta was, even he couldn't properly convince himself of that.
***
It was rounding 6:00am, but Bulma hadn't managed to fall asleep just yet. She stayed in bed despite her restlessness, though it lingered on, keeping her alert and frustrated. Not only was she still recovering from the shock of nearly being sexually mutilated, but she was struggling with a big decision—should she tell Vegeta he had momentarily become a Super Saiyan, or let him figure it out for himself? Her conversation with him earlier suggested that he knew nothing about it. And should he know? Did Bulma owe it to him to tell him? She sighed, weighing her options. If she told him what she saw, he would do one of two things—train himself to death until he transformed again, or think she had been hallucinating. He might even think she was mocking him. She definitely didn't want him to think that.
And really, there was no telling what Vegeta would do if he became a Super Saiyan. His likeliest course of action would be to fly immediately over to Goku's house and challenge him to a battle, which truly was the last thing Bulma wanted. Then again, if he finally achieved his goal, he might tone down on the training, which would give her a chance to get closer to him…
And why do I want to get closer to him? Bulma thought, though she already knew the answer.
She sat upright in bed and hugged her knees to her chest. "Vegeta's right. You're a stupid woman," she muttered to her reflection in the vanity mirror across the room. "Falling for a homicidal maniac. You've always been a glutton for punishment. At least Mom will approve…"
Her growing feelings for Vegeta were the least of her problems, however. She still had to decide whether or not to bring up the Super Saiyan thing to the man in question.
"Ugh! This is crazy!" Bulma said, exasperated. She sighed. She knew what the right course of action was. "I'm a grown woman," she muttered. "I can deal with the consequences."
Resolved to her decision, Bulma finally began to drift away into slumber.
***
A/N: I just want to note, this story really surprises me every day. I think I have it all planned out, and then a great idea comes to mind in the midst of me writing a chapter, and it goes in a completely different direction. Now that, my friends, is innovation. Keep those reviews coming, I can't get enough of them, honestly. Thanks for reading, as always, and have a fantastic day!
P.S. I was just watching Yo! Son Goku and his Friends Return! On youtube (Japanese sub) and I realized that Piccolo's "Special Beam Cannon" is actually called the "Light of Death." Haha, oh, FUNimation… you sugarcoat everything. Also, why is Vegeta's brother (Tarble) so tiny? And why is his WIFE so tiny? It's bizarre. Watch it.
