The Worlds Smartest
This Is The Enforcer Speaking,
Well, I've just moved back to the states from my overseas location. It took a lot to get back here and I'm still not in a permanent home but I'm trying to get these chapters churned out. Thank you to all of my readers and reviews you help me keep on keeping on. Thank you to those not signed in but who reviewed. Your reviews matter to me too. I've been given some flack about Bulma being A: too young and B: not a genius but its and AU so I do what I want. She legal and the same people offended by here and Vegeta's age difference are probably twilight fans and think a 200 year old vamp creeping on a high school girl is cool.
Now…On To The Story!
Breathe
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Blood ran down Bulmas hand and wrist as she crushed Raditz's heart in her fist. The meaty flesh gave way between her fingers with a pop. Face dripping with blood Bulma roared loud, teeth bared, her beast pounding its chest. She tasted blood that wasn't her. This was her place, right there, right then, was where she belonged.
Words weren't needed. The arena stood silent before her. One beat passed, then two, and that's when it happened. One by one they knelt. Males and females alike, children pulled down by their parents, freeman and slave, all knelt before her.
Bulma flung the blood pulp from her fist. Bits of flesh and blood littered the ground.
"Let the games continue." Bulma snarled and took to the air. The crowd broke out into riotous joy. The sound vibrated through her body. Echoed within her soul. She felt the call of destiny. Something that as of yet eluded her, the sense that she followed the path that the gods intended for her. No matter how dark and twisted a path it might be it was her path to walk.
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"You bring me pride." Vegeta spoke into the thick silence they'd been sitting in since she'd returned from her fight. Blush tinged Bulma's checks. "I did not say it earlier. But I am proud of you."
Bulma didn't know what to say. She was in too much pain to think of something witty. Pain stabbed through her body with every breath she took. Even the effort to keep the pain off her face drained her of energy. Her ribs were most definitely broken. Gods knew what else was wrong with her. She shifted uncomfortably and prayed the games would end soon.
Dried blood flaked off her skin in itchy patches and her half destroyed armor left her feeling like a complete disaster. Unfortunately for Bulma her fight inspired several more challenges stretching the day beyond its normal ending time by hours. Bulma couldn't wait for it to be over so she could hit up a regin tank. She just needed to keep up appearances for a little longer. That meant not passing out in front of thousands of Saiyans.
"Be still woman." Vegeta whispered softly. "It is nearly over."
Bulma glanced over to find him sitting with his chin resting on his closed fist. Her mate was bored. They both wanted to leave but couldn't. When she'd first tried to leave Vegeta stopped her explaining to her that now more than ever she needed to appear strong.
"It's getting harder to breath." Bulma whispered back.
Silently Vegeta reached over and gently cupped her face. Warmth flowed through her pushing back the pain. It was his ki, his life force, pouring slowly into her.
Taking a deep breath Bulma felt her lungs expand more fully. This was the second time Vegeta pushed his energy into her since her fight. The first time he did it she'd barely sat down before he was forcing the ki into her.
Her eyes drooped in relief.
"Not yet." His words snapped Bulma's eyes back open. Might make right. A future queen passing out was not a mighty queen. Straightening herself back up Bulma nodded at Vegeta. Movements subtle Vegeta withdrew his hand and they turned back to the fight.
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The deafening silence of the castle shocked Bulma after such a long loud day in the arena. Bulma walked stiffly beside Vegeta, the only thing keeping her upright being the latest infusion of ki he'd given her shortly before they left the arena. The cool air and gentle lighting of the halls soothed Bulma's overheated skin.
Intending to head to the regin tanks Bulma frowned when Vegeta pulled her in the opposite direction.
"Where are you going?" Bulma drew up short.
"To our rooms." Vegeta grumbled as he tried to lead her down to their rooms and away from the med bay. His rooms didn't have a regin tank, if he needed a tank he used the same ones everyone else did, weird but true.
Bulma stood her ground. Was he out of his mind?
"Look Vegeta I need some time in a tank. The only reason I'm on my feet is that you've kept transferring ki to me." Bulma winced as she spoke. Each breath harder to take than the last.
Vegeta tightened his grip on her arm. "You are not getting into a tank."
"Can't you feel what I'm going through?" Bulma asked. Gasping for breath between words. Had something gone wrong with their bond? He had to understand that every breath she took shot pain through her body.
"I feel it." He said. Bulma watched his eyes dart around them as he spoke. Looking for eves droppers as they were not yet into their private wing. She could feel the tension running through him as he spoke. "I felt every blow you took, every strike that bastard struck upon you. Leaving you to fight that battle alone is the singularly most difficult thing I have done in my life."
"Then let me go get healed." Bulma tried pulling away again but Vegeta's grip remained firm. Irritated Bulma wound up and yanked hard against his vice like grip.
Pain exploded inside her chest and Bulma felt a sickening pop inside of her chest. Nausea threatened. Even through the haze of pain Bulma feared what would happen if she puked and tamped down hard on the sensation.
A scream tore itself from her as her legs buckled.
Strong hands gripped her. Vegeta held her upright, kept her on her feet, as though she weighed nothing. Bulma felt tears finally brim in her eyes. She blinked through them, felt them trail down her face, off her chin. No pain she'd ever felt before could compare to whatever just happened to her. She shivered from a sudden chill. Her body felt weak and useless.
Reaching up Vegeta keyed into his Scouter and called for Bardock to meet them in his private recovery room immediately. Despite his obvious attempts at gentleness Bulma gasped in pain as he gathered her up in his arms and speed towards their private rooms. Ki poured into her warming her but doing little to fix whatever was broken. Ki couldn't fix some things. Some things needed a doctor or a miracle.
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The recovery rooms lights burned into Bulma's eyes. Vegeta stood next to her, face pale and etched with hard lines. They'd managed to get her armor off before laying her out on an examination table. Black and purple bruises covered her deformed chest. Each breath revealed a chunk of bone that had broken loos from the rest and floated free now that it was no longer held in place by the compression of her armor. Bardock moved around her with quick but sure movements. Pressing here and there, listening to her lungs with a stethoscope and examining the digital X-Rays taken by some very advanced equipment. The man had inserted IV's and ran bags of saline into her immediately. Bulma hadn't realized how skilled was at medicine.
"It's…like…breathing through…a wet…towel." Bulma panted up at Vegeta. She felt her tears run down into her ears. She shuddered at the sensation. Vegeta laid hands on her again giving her more of his energy.
"Breathe with me Bulma." He said to her as he had before. Calming her, forcing her to follow his slow steady breaths.
"You can't…keep doing that." She said, referring to the ki transfer.
"I can do as I please." He growled back.
"Sire she needs to go into a regeneration tank. It is her best option." Bardock spoke briskly. "Her lungs are filling with fluid as is the sac around her heart. Her aorta has been torn and is bleeding into her chest. It's a slow bleed but it is there, not to mention precisely all of her ribs have been broken in at least one place. The ki transfers are only a bandage for this not a cure. Honestly I'm astounded you've been sitting like this for hours Princess."
"Leave us." Vegeta snapped cutting him off from further diatribe. Blinking at Vegeta in surprise Bardock informed them he would wait outside and made his exit.
Once alone Vegeta turned to Bulma. Bulma met his eyes and waited for him to confirm her suspicions.
In the softest voice Bulma had ever heard him use Vegeta pronounced her fate.
"If you go into the tank…our son dies."
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A/N: I know. I know. This is VERY VERY short but I promise I'm working on the next chapter ASAP. Life has been incredibly hectic but I wanted to give you at least one solid update for now. It was originally going to be the first half of a single chapter but this seemed like a great place to put this on pause. All cliffhangery and stuff. Please review if you have time. Love you all!
~The Enforcer