Behind Palace Walls Ch 25

XXXX

"Ugnuhh, where is this woman?"

Vanessa was searching the palace wildly for her blue-haired friend, needing someone to vent to after last night with Pragus. Her ki was being concealed which meant that she must have been with Vegeta but after searching all of Vegeta's hot spots, she came up with nothing but a bunch of flowers.

"What's up toots? Looking for your boyfriend?"

Vanessa slowed her stride when she heard Radditz's voice. She whirled around to glare at him. "Not in the mood you prick, leave me alone."

"You mean you don't want to be fucked into high moon like you were last night?" Vanessa stilled. She could have sworn there wasn't anyone around.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she lied and continued walking. Radditz followed her.

"Jeez you're terrible at lying. Look toots I know all about your love affair with Gussy' boy and I—"

Radditz suddenly found himself on his back, with a blade to his neck. "No, you don't know anything, now shut up!" Her tone was soft enough not to be over-heard but stern enough to be threatening.

"Holy shit!" The warrior was startled but unnerved. "When did you start packing?"

"I said shut up!"

"Look, Princess," Radditz coughed from under the blade. "I'm not here to give you up or anything, Lord knows the Son family is good at keeping the Royal family secrets..."

Vanessa let him talk. "Pragus just told me to give you this before he left this morning." He presented a paper from his pocket. "He said he was supposed to show you last night but well….you know."

Vanessa snatched the paper from his hand, now preoccupied with the note in front of her. Perhaps it was another note from Pragus.

Radditz stood up and eased his throat with his hand. "You've got a pretty strong grip there. Next time be firmer with the blade, it tells your victim you won't hesitate."

Vanessa's eyebrows knitted together when she tried to read the note but couldn't. It was in a language she couldn't understand. "What is this?" she asked.

"It's an email from Nappa to Prince Kalakai."

"Nappa? My dad's assistant?" Radditz nodded. "Well what does it say? I can't read this." She handed the paper back to Radditz.

"He's the one who told Prince Kalakai to arrive a day early and…take you for a little ride."

"What?!" Vanessa snatched the paper again, scanning it over but she couldn't read a darn thing. She wished she had paid more attention to foreign languages when she was in sessions. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"But why would he?..."she tried to compute logistics in her head. "You think my dad knows about this?"

Radditz shrugged. "Beats me. But it deserves a little recon."

Suddenly Vanessa felt guilty about throwing the elite to the ground. She looked apologetically at him. "Will you help me?"

Radditz was smug in his response. "Only if you apologize for throwing me Princess. That was very rude of you."

Vanessa shoved him. "C'mon you big lug."

XXX

"You're allowed to give command to the kitchen and wait staff, your security, and you can visit certain parts of town only when I give the say so."

"You mean I can actually leave this brick mansion and explore?!"

"Woman! Did you not hear me? Now don't go getting all riled up." It was too late; Vegeta had already unleashed the beast. "You can only go to certain parts of town nearby when I say it's ok. And you must keep yourself concealed. Especially that flaming blue ball of yours; It's a walking fucking target out in the open."

"Yeah, yeah whatever you say Vegeta, can I go today?"

"No you can't go today!" Vegeta felt a vein pulsating in his forehead. Relinquishing control was a very hard thing to do. But with a new mate on his arm as they strolled the palace, he had no other choice. She had to be treated like the royalty she now was. "I still don't prefer you going anywhere without me, let's make that clear. But," he heaved. "If you absolutely must, then there are certain parts of town that are acceptable to you with heavy armed security."

Bulma jumped up and down in excitement. "You also have access to a financial account I've set aside for you. There is enough money in there to buy whatever you desire and it will be steadily replenished, however please refrain from overspending."

"Define overspending," she elaborated.

"Buy a planet and I'll murder you"

"Got it"

"And finally…this" They reached another part of the palace which was unfamiliar to her and with a punch of a few codes, two sliding doors revealed the most beautiful thing Bulma's seen in a long time.

A lab.

It was empty, as today was a weekend, but the machines still murmured with the hum of the next day's anticipation. Bottles sat with colorful liquids possibly containing the cure to disease and there were tables with an array of paperwork next to white boards with scribbled equations and solutions. The front part of it was designated for work stations but the back, Bulma could see, had a larger more prominent area for craft and repair.

Bulma felt happy tears brim her eyes. She pressed both hands to her cheeks in beguilement. "Oh my God…omigod omigod omigod" She pinched herself to make sure this was real. "Vegeta…am I …am I dreaming? You're really going to let me come here?"

"You're going have to start making yourself useful. Can't stay holed up in our suite forever."

Bulma squealed and Vegeta winced at the sound. It hurt his ears. "OhmyGodthankyouVegetaIloveyousomuch!" she crashed herself into his torso for a brief hug before she wondered into the lab. "Oh goodness, I wonder what to do first! What are the scientists working on? Shit, I've got to learn more of the Saijin language, how else am I going to communicate with them? I—"

"Hey!" Vegeta snapped her out of her rambling and she suddenly became still. "Don't go…as your people say, "putting the cart before the horse" or whatever that means." They've only been bonded for a few hours and Vegeta's already inherited more of the human race than he'd like to.

Bulma abruptly sat down on a nearby stool. "But I thought—"

"I said you could earn your keep, I didn't say you could start making shit and blowing this place to bits."

Bulma cocked her head to the side. "Well what will I be doing?" she asked. "Don't tell me you're making me a secretary Vegeta," Irritation suddenly plagued her at the thought. "Because if that's the case I'd rather stick to being a concubine; waiting for our next breathless affair." She huffed the last part with careless sarcasm while Vegeta raised a suggestive eyebrow.

"That can be arranged." Bulma crossed her arms and pouted while Vegeta chuckled. "Come with me."

He led her to a back room that needed a little nudge and a lot of elbow grease to creak the door open. When he did and flicked on the light, he revealed a room that was piled above his height with broken junk. Weapons, computers, ship parts. Everything unwanted from the palace and the elite army found its way to this little lost room.

Bulma picked up a ship part that sprung open when she touched it. "You've got to be kidding me right?"

Vegeta leaned on the door frame. "Nope. Just because you're fucking the Prince, doesn't mean you get to surpass the rank of those who have been here for years. You need to prove your worth."

Bulma smirked at the challenge. "I can probably finish all of this in a week"

"Be my guest. Once you're done, I'll give you something else to do."

Bulma paused before responding. "This isn't the only room full of broken junk is it?"

"Hn', you really are a genius."

She smiled. If she were being honest, she would fix a hundred rooms full of broken crap. It was nice to just keep her hands busy and feel useful again. She was good at that, and it made her way happier than shopping or socializing at any royal lunch.

Cozying up to her Prince, Bulma looked up to him and smiled, and planted another kiss on him. This bond might have been the best thing that ever happened to them. It was the first time Vegeta was expressing what Bulma actually needed. "Thank you for this."

"Hn'"

She gave him another kiss. "Really, thank you. I know it's not easy for you to pull these kinds of things off for me. I appreciate it."

He leaned back, a suggestive eyebrow kissing his hairline. "Care to show me how much?"

"Vegeta!" Slapping his chest, Bulma was aghast at how insatiable his appetite was. "We've already done it today," she murmured as if the body guards outside the doors could hear them.

"I'm not a once-a-day kind of Saijin, woman," his lips were already on her neck.

"Vegeta…."Bulma scolded him and giggled at the same time. After their rendezvous in the throne room, Bulma was already on her second outfit for the day and she had only been awake for about 2 hours. And while she didn't exactly want to change again…the thought of her mouth on her new mate's cock made her panties wet.

Vegeta groaned when he caught wind of that image. He was instantly hard and he pressed his erection into Bulma's thigh. "Good idea," he said aloud, removing his lips from her neck and his spandex as well.

Bulma smirked a devilish smirk that made the Prince proud before she dropped to her knees.

XXXX

"Radditz, didn't your dad threaten to kill you for being in his lab without permission again?"

"We're not in his lab," the soldier replied as he tapped away at his father's computer. "We're in his office."

Vanessa puffed nervously and peeked out of the closed blinds. "Somehow this seems worse."

"Stop your puffin' and just keep watch woman," the eldest Son son demanded and tapped away furiously at the computer.

"What would your dad know about this anyway? You think he's in on it too?"

"No," Radditz maneuvered the mouse expertly. "If he was, he certainly would've told me about it; he tells me everything." Vanessa continued to wait for Radditz to explain himself. "He has access to the royal mainframe. If I can just figure out his damn password…Ah ha! That bastard. Using Kakkarot's birthday instead of mine; I always knew that little ingrate was the favorite."

"Good you're in, now what?" Vanessa joined his side at the computer.

"Nowwwwww, we hack in to peek into Nappa's account, and see what the troublemaker has been up to"

"Peek in? It's that easy?"

"Well yeah, the administrative codes work by rank. My father and Nappa are on the same level because they both directly service the royal family. So they can tap into the accounts of anyone below them or anyone of equal ranking."

"Well that's great," the Princess concluded.

"It's actually terrible as far as treason and betrayal are concerned but…what do I know, I'm just a solider…" he rambled.

After a few more clicks, it seemed Radditz had found what he was looking for. "Ok soo, it looks like Prince Kalakai and Nappa had quite a bit of exchange." His eyes glossed quickly over the pages of emails. "All that stuff on the main frame seemed to have come directly from him."

"That bastard! We've got to print this out to show my dad."

The soldier nodded and clicked the button to print but something wasn't adding up here. Sure he could see Nappa setting the Princess-by-night trade up, he always found Nappa to be kind of scummy, but he just couldn't figure out why. So far of what he read, there was no talk of a trade off. No money, no promises of global domination, no nothing. Just a princess for the low-low price of coming into town a day early and riding off into the sunset before anyone caught wind of it.

That seemed to be a strange thing to do if one were planning to pull off a heist this big. There had to be something in on it for Nappa. The price to pay for a crime committed against the royal family was nothing short of death by torture. And for a solider like Nappa who had a cushy job with plenty to lose, this sort of move was unexplainable.

Then as he was printing, something caught the soldier's eye. "Hold on a sec," he paused the printer. "Look, right here…right here." he pointed out. The Princess squinted but still had no idea what she was looking at. It was all in the Greybeccian language.

"Radditz, I can't read that; what's it say?"

"Nappa asked Kalakai to keep you safe until after the next full moon."

"What?" Vanessa squinted at the screen again. "Dammit!" she still couldn't translate it no matter how hard she tried. "Read me the whole thing."

"Arrive at the port, 8 hours before schedule….blah blah blah, Princess will be kept in the upstairs quarters…blah blah blah, weapons and trade…..here…as per instructed, the Princess is to be kept on planet Greybec under concealment until after the next full moon on Vegetesai. At which time, we will deliver instructions for her return or due process to be kept on planet Greybec until further notice."

"What?" Vanessa thumbed her hairline and let the weight of what she was just told sit her on the edge of the desk. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. She didn't even know how to begin making sense of this. People had spent many years deciding her fate for her, so in some sense this wasn't new but what was new was being forcibly removed from her home.

"It seems like they're trying to protect you from something," Radditz concluded. "Obviously got the wrong guy to do it." His eyebrows rose and fell at the shame that was the dead corpse of a Prince from the other night.

"Protect me from what? And why Nappa? I still don't know what he has to do with any of this."

Radditz didn't want to connect the dots for her, but he could tell she was in denial. "…he is your father's assistant."

Vanessa looked to him with a revelation she didn't want to believe. "No….no," she said aloud. "No…he wouldn't…" she was now less sure. "He couldn't….what do I need protecting from that I have to be concealed on another planet?" Her finger quotations did nothing to conceal her outrage. "And why from a full moon?"

The soldier shrugged and scratched his neck. "Maybe he knows about Pragus. Scared you two will mate or something."

"He couldn't know. Only my mom knows and…." Vanessa sighed. "Anyway if he did know, Pragus would be dead."

Radditz conceded to her thought. "Well if he's trying to protect you from someone, it has to be someone he's afraid of..someone.."

Both Princess and soldier reached the same conclusion at the same time.

Freeza.

A wave of fear instantly overcame the Princess and it was readable in her ki. She resisted the ugre to tremble but the hair stood up on the back of her arms and she suddenly felt cold.

Vanessa looked to the ground so Radditz couldn't see the hurt in her eyes. It was a funny thing being a princess. Many little girls in the kingdom looked up to her but if only they knew of the agony and malice that took place behind palace walls.

"Vanessa," Radditz hoped the Princess wasn't going to cry; he didn't do well with that.

"What…" her tone was suddenly quiet. "What's Freeza going to do to me?" Radditz had seen an abundance of fear in his day. Purging planets meant that villages of people begged for mercy at his hand and he was trained not to show an ounce of regret. But the look in Vanessa's eyes made him realize why his brother so often fought to be the hero.

"Nothing," he promised, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. It was very "Goku" of him. One might almost be able to tell they were brothers. "Because we're going to stop him before he ever gets the chance to say your name aloud."

XXX

Bulma held the sheets up to her chest, anxiously gleaming at the ceiling, and peeking at the clock once again.

Nope it still wasn't time to wake up yet.

She'd been doing this all night; like it was her first day of school all over again. As soon as her lovemaking with Vegeta was through (the 4th time for the day, might she add) she dashed into the shower and threw on her nightgown, excitedly hoping into the bed to sleep and await her first day on the job.

There was only one problem; she couldn't sleep.

Sadly, Vegeta had thought if he laid it to her good she would be down for the count but that just unfortunately wasn't the case. And even more unfortunate her eager thoughts, bouncing through her head like marbles, were keeping the Prince awake as well.

He groaned through closed eyes, eyes that had been closed for the past hour but he had been awake the whole time.

"Woman," there was a deep warning growl laced with the annoyance of yet another night of restlessness. "Go to sleep"

Bulma snapped her eyes shut. "I am asleep." She responded.

"Christ woman," the Prince opened his eyes this time so he could fully glare at the heiress. "You weren't this excited when you got access to the library; it's essentially the same damn thing!"

"I know," she conceded. "But it's not"

Vegeta groaned. Even more frustrated he was beginning to understand her backwards logic.

Bulma rolled over to look at the clock again. "It's three hours before I'm supposed to get up," she said. "What if I just get dressed now and wait in front of the doors to the lab downstairs? Security will be with me and that way I won't bother you."

"You're going to sit in front of a door and wait for it's opening for three hours?" he asked lamely.

"You say that like it's a bad thing. I once waited in line for 2 days for the opening of a makeup boutique. I had to have their new line of blush."

Vegeta waved his hand in acquiescence. If she were going to make a fool of herself, far be it from him to stop her. At least he'd get some sleep in the end.

Bulma squealed, subsequently hurting Vegeta's ears (again) and threw the sheets from her body. "Now I need to pick what to wear!"

"Arggggg!"

That was it; there would definitely be no sleep tonight.

XXXX

Bulma spent the next hour sorting through her closet one-by-one deciding on the perfect "first day" outfit to wear. She wanted to look professional; professional enough that her new coworkers would take her seriously, but not too professional as the job required quite a bit of grease and handiwork. Then of course there was the issue of covering her neck and still looking adorable all at once.

All of these factors combined required Vegeta's opinion to make sure she got it right so just as the Prince dozed off for a minute or two, Bulma was at his side, tapping him on the shoulder and whispering to him "How do you like this one?" By the fifteenth time, Vegeta had just about enough and Bulma felt that her death was near so she scurried off into the bathroom to do her make up. High-waisted trousers and a royal blue collared shirt would just have to do.

Once she exited the bathroom, there was another half hour spent arguing on why she had to miss breakfast this morning before Bulma finally left, leaving Vegeta only 30 min of sleep before he had to be up himself.

There was a pep in her step and Bulma breezed the halls, remembering expertly where the lab was even though she had only been there once. She was excited for the day to say the least, ready to get her hands dirty and confident by the end of the day she'd have a new friend made.

The wait for the lab to open went by much more quickly than last night did and before she knew it, three scientists came down the hall, dressed in white coats and sour faces. They were three men, who were tall and well built, but not as big as the soldiers were. Perhaps they could be retired like Bardock was but it wasn't uncommon for Saijins to have a muscular build. Bulma straightened up and grinned. Her smiled beamed wide to the far corners of her mouth. This was it; this was her moment to shine.

"Good morning!" she extended her arm to shake. "It's nice to finally meet you, I'm Bul—"

The three men strolled right by her as if she were invisible, unlocking the doors to the lab and walking inside.

Bulma faltered, half disappointed, half accustomed to the rudeness of the Saijin race. Her hand was still extended and she looked at it wondering how she could be so stupid. "Duh Bulma, they're probably like royalty around here. You should have bowed." She murmured to herself.

She made to follow the three men into the lab when the door suddenly closed in her face.

Now the heiress frowned.

From behind her Yarmit and Mozzar exchanged looks, knowing this was about to be a long day. "I'll get that for you Miss…" Mozzar offered.

Once the door was open, Bulma poked her head in and watched as the scientists readied their stations for the day. One began searching for yesterday's work on his desk, while another cleared the white board and the last began brewing the blue liquid equivalent to Earth coffee.

Bulma was scared to enter but found herself pushed inside…or aside rather by someone forcibly moving her from the doorway.

The heiress stumbled a few steps to the right and locked eyes with another scientist, this one female, whose strength was clearly unmatched by her knowledge. Her less than Saijin like build told Bulma that but she was still strong enough to man-handle Bulma like a piece of meat. Her eyes unkindly spat daggers at Bulma, not for being in the way but for just being. It was the kind of look smart people give other smart people when they detect a challenge.

Bulma was beginning to reach the same conclusion as her bodyguards. This was about to be a long day.

Still the heiress was undeterred. She was here to do a job dammit, and do that job she shall.

Clutching her Saijin translation book in her hand, Bulma cleared her throat to address the group. Then in her best Saijin accent she said, "Good Morning, my name is Bulma Briefs."

The four scientists looked her way, surprised for all of 4 milliseconds she had the Saijin linguistics of a two year old before they went back to their morning tasks.

"Ummm ok," Bulma flipped open her book and scanned the pages for something else to say, anything that would break the awkward tension she felt but thankfully, or maybe not so thankfully, one of the scientists spoke up.

"Please don't speak again. Anyone who butchers the Saijin language that badly should have his mouth wired shut."

Bulma's big blue orbs ticked nervously back and forth. If this were Turles or Radditz she were speaking to, she could always remind them of her big bad boyfriend who would gladly kick their assess for speaking to her that way but given her and Vegeta's current situation, she didn't know if that were appropriate so she struggled to find an answer.

"It so happens that you are the new girl around here so that's what you will be called, new girl"

"But I—"

"Don't speak!" The scientist reminded her. His voice had caught the attention of the other three and now they were all staring at her. "You may want to be here but we certainly didn't ask for you to be here so remember that new girl."

Bulma's eyes were un-wavered. Too stunned to speak she just sat there like putty and took the verbal assault.

"Back there is the room where you will be working," the scientist continued, pointing to the room Vegeta had shown her yesterday. "Tools are in the back and so are the manuals for the equipment. When you're finished with your repair, put the equipment on the table outside of the door. And keep your racket down; some of us are actually trying to work in here."

Bulma was still in a stupor, astounded her first 3 minutes on the job were this volatile when she barely said a thing. The scientist who directed her was an older man with peppered hair, probably Bardock's age if she had to guess. He looked to be the one in charge because when he spoke, the other two men stood smugly behind him as he gave his order. The lone female sat at a corner desk by herself and while part of her face gave way that she was glad someone else was there to lessen the blow of the sexist atmosphere, the other part of her looked at Bulma as if she weren't good enough to be the scum on the bottom on her shoe.

Bulma couldn't do anything, she couldn't say anything. This morning, hell this day, was already ruined so she quietly whispered an "ok" before making her way to the back to get her tools.

"Where are you going new girl?" the boss immediately demanded, stopping her in her tracks.

Bulma turned around. "To..to get the tools in the back."

"They're in the back over there" he said as a matter-of-factly and pointed to the closet of broken junk. "That's the only place you're authorized to be. So stay there."

Bulma's eyebrows rumpled into a frown and she fought with everything in her not to roll her eyes. It suddenly became important to her not to embarrass Vegeta. Deciding no answer was the best answer, Bulma made her way to the closet and fought to open it with a little help from Yarmit. When she flicked on the light, not much had changed since yesterday except now she could faintly see a little door in the back where the tools and manuals must be held.

"You have got to be kidding me…" she murmured under her breath.

From behind her, the female scientist snickered before turning around and beginning her work. Bulma glared daggers at the back of her head.

"We can help you Miss," Mozzar offered. He honestly was beginning to feel bad for her. "We'll have it cleared out in a few minutes."

"No!" Bulma abruptly cut him off before he could say a thing further. About a year ago when she was writing her dissertation for her PhD, she had a professor who was the best in his craft but unfortunately wanted nothing to do with her or her dissertation. He hated her because of her age, her gender, and how she thought, according to him, that because her father was the CEO of a mega corporation, she could come prancing into this university and demand a PhD. Bulma fought tooth and nail to earn his respect and in her eyes, this situation was no different.

So she did the only thing a girl could do. She rolled up her sleeves, kicked off her shoes, pulled her hair in a bun and got to work.

XXX

The rest of the day unfortunately went just like this for Bulma. She spent the majority of it cleaning out the room, or trying to anyway with the limited amount of space she was given. She set some things outside the room to clear a pathway but when another one of the scientists, rather dramatically, tripped and yelled at her for being in "unauthorized areas" she had to resort to piling objects on top of each other until they reached the ceiling.

Occasionally one of the scientists would call for her by yelling "new girl!" but it turns out all they really wanted was a refill of coffee or to pick up something they dropped. Bulma was not amused at being used like a slave. It took everything in her not to throw the coffee in their faces or tell them to shove their dropped markers up their asses. But she did it anyway then went back to her little closet, determined to at least get the tools and manuals before the closing of the day today.

Mozzar and Yarmit watched helplessly as she turned down their aide and wondered how much of this they should report back to the Prince. They were almost sure this was not in her job description but they stayed out of it as good body guards do and just offered her a boost when she couldn't reach the top of the pile.

When lunchtime came around, the scientists left of course without telling her and Bulma was relieved to actually have a bit of time to herself. She could work peacefully without the call of "new girl!" rattling her nerves and her patience. So the heiress worked through lunch hour not even thinking of food. Little did she know however that just as the scientists returned, a maiden would come to bring Bulma a tray of food from the royal kitchen. The scientists looked at her with disdain and Bulma had to shoo the maiden away and skip another meal in order to save the disgrace of a reputation she had left. And it was a shame too, the lunch really did smell delicious.

At some point in the afternoon, Vegeta did a telepathic check in to see how her day was going and Bulma clipped "It's great but I'm really busy. I'll talk to you later ok?" It was a terrible lie and she was sure her new mate would be able to see right through it but she had to make a pathway too this door if it were the last thing she did today.

Thankfully it was just about the last thing she did that day. She got a call from one of the scientists "New girl, five minutes before we leave you here in the dark!" To which she responded "Eureka!"

Not responding to him specifically but ecstatic she had finally made a pathway clear enough to wedge the back door open and reach inside. Bulma had been waiting for this moment; it was small victories like this that kept her going.

When she hauled open the door, the lighting in her eyes was like a kid on Christmas morning. That lighting dimmed quickly however when the door opened and more junk fell out.

"What the—" Bulma forced her body inside and peered around, top to bottom, using her foot to move some of the junk out of her way. This must have been some sort of awful prank. She didn't see tools or manuals anywhere.

"Hey genius," the feminine voice of the only other woman in the lab caught Bulma's attention and she stood at the doorway holding a stack of books and a pouch of tools.

"But how did you…" Bulma was speechless. She knew the Saijins had super speed, maybe she took it while Bulma had her backed turned.

The scientist smiled smugly. "Next time someone tells you back of the room, look around the corner first." Dropping the books and tools to the floor, the scientist turned to leave and Bulma ran out of the closet.

Her first instinct was to ask what the hell she was talking about while her second was to investigate. Since the other scientists ignored her anyway and were already packing up their things, Bulma turned the corner of the adjacent wall to find another door left ajar. When she peered inside she saw shelving filled with neatly laid tools and organized manuals.

Bulma's gritted the enamel off her teeth, while her fingernails dug half-moons into her fists.

The lights of the lab turned off. "Good night new girl"

"Mozzar?"

The two body guards were instantly at her side. "Yes Miss?"

"Take me somewhere I can scream and nobody will hear me please"

XXX

Dr. Briefs swiveled in his desk chair and took a long drag of his cigar. It was a gorgeous day out, the sunshine beaming into his office from panoramic windows, and the swaying trees enticing him to feel the cool breeze. But he barely even noticed the day, nor the night for that matter. He barely noticed when his pet cat of 11 years hoped up on his desk and curled around his arm looking for a pet.

"Not now kitty," the old man said, absent-mindedly shooing the cat away.

Dr. Briefs told himself that this would not become him, that he would not let this eat him up inside but how could he not? This was his daughter, his only daughter and she was gone; vanished into thin air.

He remembered the day she was taken vividly. He and his wife had gleefully attended her graduation and showered her with the biggest bouquet of roses. And while Bulma was a gifted child and they had been attending graduations for her since she was 6, this one was important to her because it was one she would be able to spend with friends. So naturally it became important to her parents too. Bulma spent most of her life around adults and hand minimal interaction with children her own age. Her parents couldn't pin-point exactly when she grew up because she'd always acted like an adult since she could talk. So the moment she expressed interest in attending regular high-school to make friends, they didn't bat an eye. Nor did Bunny miss the chance to throw her a party for said friends post-graduation.

So there they sat, waiting for Bulma to walk through the doors of the compound for her "surprise party," (which she of course already knew of) and the minutes ticked by, turning slowly into hours, then turning quickly into a phone call to the police.

Knowing of the Saijin purge of young girls on their planet, Dr. Briefs wasted no time utilizing the latest technology to try and find her but it was a classmate of Bulma's, bursting through the front door screaming "They took her! They took her!" that confirmed his worst suspicion.

He and Bunny were instantly shattered. Their entire world came apart in seconds.

It was then that he holed himself up in his office and began work on the prototype. An idea he had drafted months earlier as a latch ditch effort to save his planet from the awful purge but his daughter was more important.

And now here he sat. After having laid out his best hand to the royal kingdom; he sat and waited by the computer for a call that may never come. They had a day and a half left to make it; but the Saijins weren't akin to keeping timelines. And while he promised himself he'd keep busy and work, all Dr. Briefs could do was wait.

She was alive, he just knew it. Bulma was too smart, to innovative to let herself be killed. Not only was she a genius but she was resourceful and a smooth talker. She could rule the world if she wanted to so she could certainly find herself a survivor on a foreign planet.

"Dr. Briefs," his secretary's voice over the phone brought him back to today.

"Eh hem…umm, yes Janice?"

"You have a visitor Dr. Briefs. She didn't have an appointment, would you like for me to send her in?"

"Well what is her na—" his computer began flashing, along the distinct tone of a video chat coming through. Dr. Briefs nearly jumped out of his seat; this was the call he'd been waiting on; he couldn't miss it. "Take a message Janice please, I need to take this call."

He cut off communication with his secretary before looming over the green button to accept the call. His heart was pounding, knowing this would be the end of it; either they had something for him or his prototype would be destroyed and he'd have to resort to extreme measures to get his daughter back. Dr. Briefs was ready to do whatever possible to find Bulma but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Accepting the call, the old doctor put out his cigar and straightened in his seat. "Dr. Son thank you for getting back to me—" He stopped when he noticed it wasn't Dr. Son at all. Instead a man with flaming black hair and a stoned face sat in front of him, unprepared it seemed for a pleasant greeting.

The man wore what Dr. Briefs noticed to be the royal emblem which meant that he must have been the Prince or the King.

"I.." Dr. Briefs didn't mean to stumble but he had expected to see Bardock, not a member of the royal house. "Where is Dr. Son?" he asked.

"Dr. Briefs, my name is Prince Vegeta."

"Nice to meet you sir"

"Hn'" Unconcerned with pleasantries, the Prince pressed forward. "Dr. Son has been relaying the information you've presented to him about your daughter's search and rescue to me as well as the information about your training room prototype."

Dr. Brief's heart was at the top of his throat. He wanted to speak but his eyes said what his mouth could not.

"I'm here to tell you that my kingdom will not be conducting a search for your daughter." His heart then detached from his soul.

"Wha…what?" He could only whisper as the Prince pressed forward. Urgent it seemed to relay this message to the Dr. and get it over with so he could carry about his day.

"Furthermore, your prototype, nor any of your weaponry or technologies will be needed by my kingdom effective immediately. I will proceed to terminate all bonds my kingdom has with your planet."

It just kept getting worse. "No…but I—"

"As restitution to your planet and your people however, I will put an end to the Saijin presence on your planet also effective immediately. All ground soldiers and neighboring ships have been ordered to return home. My council will speak to your global council later today." He just kept talking. He was like a robot, just going and going, coldly and unapologetically, not giving the respondent a chance to breathe or speak.

"But my daughter" It was all he could utter out, pathetically at best. Tears sprung to his eyes which went unmoved by the man in front of him.

"Your daughter's whereabouts are of no concern to my Kingdom Dr. Briefs."

"No wait!"

"Good day to you sir" Then the screen went black.

"No! No wait! Dammit wait!" Dr. Briefs pounded on his computer, furiously dialing the re-call button but his call was rejected. "No!" he screamed. "No! No! No! No! No!" He threw his computer into the crystal glass of the windows and cleared his desk with one swoop of his hand. "No! Dammit no!"

He sobbed in a heap on the floor.

This was it; for months he had promised his wife he would get their daughter back. He assured her not to worry, he would take care of everything. Now that promise had gone unturned. He lost his best hand and his only resort was to travel to the planet himself. But even he knew he'd be killed before he could even step off of his ship.

"No Bulma," Dr. Briefs whined into his hands. "I'm sorry Bulma, I'm so sorry," he sobbed the way grown men sob when they truly experience pain. This hurt worse than when he lost her because he knew she was alive and he knew he had no way of getting her back.

"Dear," his wife's gentle voice poked her head into his office and tried to assess what was going on. She had heard him thrashing in his office which was rare of him and knew something had to be wrong.

"Bunny," he was on the floor, hair disheveled and glasses fogged, looking to his wife to comfort him. She was instantly at his side. "I screwed up Bunny. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I messed up."

Bunny Briefs picked her husband up off of the floor and sat him in his chair. She retrieved a handkerchief from his desk drawer and used it to clean his nose and face. "It'll be ok dear," she soothed him and brought him a class of water from the bar in his office.

"No it won't dammit!" he slammed his fist down on his desk. "Don't you understand, I lost Bunny! I lost her! We are never going to see our daughter again!"

"Dear," Bunny wasn't much for words so she decided to show her husband what she meant. She turned him around in his chair and two visitors entered his office.

A shy blonde with piercing blue eyes and a bald man three quarters of her height who stood protectively by her.

Dr. Briefs was in no mood for visitors, so just as he was about to lash out at his secretary, Bunny spoke again.

"Dear, this is Eighteen. She was one of Bulma's schoolmates. She was taken the same night as Bulma."

His entire demeanor changed. Suddenly his visitor was presented to him as if she were a rare artifact first discovered by his eyes. He was astounded that a girl of her age and beauty was captured by the Saijins and standing in front of him to tell the tale. And not only that, but she knew of Bulma.

She kept her eyes to the ground and stood close to her male counterpart, the distinct sign of a woman who'd been abused. But when she spoke, Dr. Briefs hopelessness suddenly transformed into hope.

"I know where Bulma is," Eighteen said, and she mustered up enough courage to look her friend's father in the eye.

"And hopefully," the bald man added. "We can help you get her back."

XXX

It was quiet at the dinner table and that was unusual. Usually there was the frustrated clanging of silverware on priceless china, followed by a snide remark and a retort bark, then some tears and retreating footsteps.

Valerie figured her husband's departure from the palace yesterday had something to do with the deafening silence but at the bare minimum she expected forced pleasantries and polite conversation. Her children were just sitting there; plus Bulma who was dozing off in her soup.

"So.." Valerie cleared her throat and took a courteous bite of food. "Vanessa, did you hear if Prince Eric arrived back home safely? He was a nice young man." The last part she said to herself.

Vanessa ignored her mother but it wasn't intentional. She was lost in thought while her hand involuntarily pushed food around her plate with a fork.

Valerie sighed. Maybe her son would be of better use. "Vegeta, were you able to settle the issue with council today dear?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed into slits. Just what exactly did that mean? Yeah he had a hell of an issue to resolve with his council today but he remembered keenly instructing them that it was classified information and the Queen and King would be made notified in due time.

Just as he opened his mouth to respond his mother continued, "I know they can be problematic sometimes when your father isn't around." He shut his mouth, glad his council listened for once, then opened it again when he realized what his mother said.

"I am quite capable of handling the royal council on my own in your husband's absence mother," he grouched.

Fine, if Vegeta wouldn't cooperate, then Valerie would have to count on his faithful girlfriend. Who, despite the other night, actually seemed happy to be around her son lately. Maybe she didn't have to work so hard to force them together after all.

"Bul—" Valerie paused. The blue beauty was lolling her head backward and forward, fighting to push her eyelids open and gulp down (rather ungracefully) a spoonful of soup. The Queen looked toward her son who rolled his eyes and snapped twice in front of Bulma's face.

She straightened up immediately in her chair and said the first thing that came to mind. "Thank you, the soup is delicious ma'am!"

Valerie's look wavered a little and her motherly instinct took control. "Miss Bulma, are you alright?"

Bulma looked to the Queen with half-lidded eyes. "Ummm, I don't want to be rude. May I be excused?"

"Of course"

"Thank you." The heiress stood up from her chair on wobbly feet. When she began to make her exit she stopped at Vegeta's chair, turned around, snatched a dinner roll from off the table and ripped a bite out before she finally exited the dining room.

Vegeta sighed. He'd have to work on her etiquette in all this "alone time" they had before they made their announcement.

XXX

Once Dr. Briefs had had a chance to calm down and freshen up, his office was quickly reorganized back to normal by his staff and he anxiously returned to meet with his guests. Bunny brought tea and cookies which the man (Krillen, they learned his name was) was delighted to have and Eighteen sipped slowly on chamomile and lavender, hoping to calm her rattled nerves.

"I…." Dr. Briefs was almost speechless. "Thank you so much for coming. You have no idea what this means to me." He wanted to jump up and spin the girl around and kiss her on both cheeks but she looked stoic and defeated. This must not have been an easy task for her and with due respect. He'd do anything she'd ask if he could just know that his daughter was alive.

Eighteen responded with short smile and Krillen reassured her with a rub of her back. This was going to be hard for her. When he brought her home she took weeks of therapy just to talk again. Another few weeks to get her to go to trauma counseling at his refugee facility. Then she had woken up one morning and decided she needed to go to Capsule Corporation and see Mr. and Mrs. Briefs. "Now," she said. "Before it's too late."

"Will you share your story with us?" Bunny asked. She took a seat on the armrest of her husband's chair and laced her hand with his.

A tear slid from Eighteen's eye. "It was dark," she said. "I parked in the back of the parking garage and when I was walking to my car the lights cut out. Next thing I know I'm knocked out cold. When I woke up I was in a ship. It was damp and cold, girls were crying and throwing up, and the Saijins were yelling at us to keep quiet. Bulma was there, I recognized her from school. I went up to her and we made a promise to each other that we were going to get out together and we'd survive."

Bunny squeezed her husband's hand and he rested his other hand on top of hers.

"When we got there," Eighteen let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. Then more tears came. "They dressed us up like dolls and sold us at the auction. I was sold to the King and Bulma to the Prince." Dr. Briefs released his wife's hand. "The King was..a terrible man. And I saw Bulma once at the palace. She was being dragged to the Prince's bedroom and she was covered in sand and she was wet. The palace is along a beach and I figured she must have tried to escape and the Prince caught her. She screamed when she saw me and the King beat me for looking at her. At the time I wasn't sure what the Prince did to her for screaming and I was scared for her."

Now he was restless in his seat, feeling the need to stand and pace the room. But his feet kept him planted in place; unable to take him to the cigar he desperately needed.

"I thought….I thought she was being treated like I was, that the Prince was hurting her but he wasn't." Both parents exchanged looks before turning back to Eighteen.

"How did you know dear?" Bunny asked.

"She came to see me," Eighteen said. "In the harem. She came with the Princess but she was dressed nice and she didn't have bruises like I did. She didn't look….broken..like me." The last part came out in a whisper.

"She came to see you with the Princess?" Dr. Briefs asked remarkably.

"Yes," Eighteen nodded. "She and the Princess are the ones that helped me get to Krillen's ship. They're the ones that freed me."

Both parents were aghast. They had expected a story but not one this extraordinary. And while they were proud of their daughter for her resourcefulness and compassion for others, they couldn't help but wonder what this meant now.

"Why didn't she come with you?" Bunny asked. She dabbed a tear in her eye with her husband's handkerchief that appeared on cue.

"The Princess told me that the Prince was…enamored with her." Eighteen said. She seemed confused by the response herself. In all the time she had been on the ship and returned home, she hadn't taken the time to process it. "She said that if Bulma had been on the ship that the Prince would come after her. And that could jeopardize the safety of all the other girls and Krillen's organization. She promised me she'd help Bulma find some way to get home."

There was silence in the room for a moment. That clearly hadn't happened as of late. Then suddenly Eighteen remembered something.

"I gave her a note before I left," she said. "I told her that I would come here and tell you that she was alive and I told her where there was a call box in the palace I had found. I told her to go there and use it so she could phone you and let you know that she's ok….Has she called yet?"

Mr. and Mrs. Briefs exchanged saddened looks. Hoping they had missed the call on some off chance that they were away from the compound, the idea that their daughter was alive was beginning to slip from their fingertips.

"She's alive, I just know it." Eighteen suddenly said.

"I think I have a way to check," Krillen interjected. The Briefs locked hands again, their hope flickering back like a lit match.

"A very good friend of mine lives up there on Planet Vegeta. He's a Saijin but…a very rare breed. He was raised on Earth so he's good; pure-hearted." The parents nodded eagerly hoping someone up there would have the compassion to help them. "His name is Goku... well Kakkarot actually but he prefers to be called Goku. And he's in the elite army. His family is very close to the royal family. I'm sure he'd know if Bulma was around or not."

"Goku?" Dr. Briefs asked. "I think I know that name…" he tapped his chin and searched his memory. "Tall fellow? Jet black hair that spikes in every direction?"

"That's the one."

"Yes, he was here a few years ago. He was collecting some of our technology for Planet Vegeta. Quite the chatty fellow but I was surprised when he said he was Saijin; the only way you'd know is by the tail around his waist. He was very polite and patient."

"That's Goku alright," Krillen assured. "He's a natural born hero. I know if we asked him, he'd be willing to help. At least get you some answers."

"And then where do we go from there?" Bunny asked.

Dr. Briefs twitched his moustache and turned to Eighteen. "This Prince," he asked. "Was it Prince Vegeta? The one who had Bulma?"

Eighteen looked apologetically at him and shrugged. "I..I didn't know their names, I only know what they looked like. He and his father look the same."

Although he destroyed his other computer, Dr. Briefs was quite akin to having a spare, and it took a matter of seconds before he pulled up a screen shot of his video call and showed the picture to Eighteen.

It was tough to look at, Eighteen hadn't seen an image of that monstrous race since she got home but she'd never forget that face anywhere. He was wicked; just like his father. She nodded quickly then turned away, unable to bare it anymore. "Yes, that's the one."

Dr. Briefs shut his laptop and huffed. It was unbelievable. Now he had a resounding confidence that his daughter was alive; he was just given all the evidence he needed.

In response to his wife Dr. Briefs turned to Bunny and said, "We play hardball."

XXX

Hoped you like it! Review please!