Destiny

Chapter 26: Resonance

Vegeta entered his room. When the lights turned on, he saw that Bulma was not there. Usually, she would be in his bed. He'd taken to avoiding his room at night. There was no way Bulma was going to sleep on the floor even if he was supposed to be treating her with little hospitality. Vegeta knew he would never hear the end of it. However, he did hear noises coming from the bathroom. Vegeta closed the door behind him and gave the wall a discreet look.

The prince had done a little research regarding the camera. He'd found out that the feed was indeed without sound. What he did not understand was why, though. What use would Frieza have for soundless video? Mentally shrugging, Vegeta headed towards the bathroom. If there was one thing he knew, it was that there were no cameras there.

Bulma paused in the shower when she heard the bathroom door slide open. Through the steamy glass she could see Vegeta's dark hair. She relaxed and continued washing her hair. "I didn't expect you back until much later," she said over the sound of the water.

"I figured I would take you to the mess hall early. I am not in the mood to watch those heathens gawk at you," Vegeta said in reply.

"As if the women don't ogle you? They look at me as though I'm stealing you away from away from them." She heard Vegeta snort and frowned. "How many of them have you slept with?" She flinched when the shower door slid open. The leer Vegeta was giving her made her mad for some reason.

"I've never slept with any of them," Vegeta said. He stepped in the shower behind her. "That would imply that I took them to my bed and they stayed the night."

"Oh? So you've never had sex with any of those women?" Bulma shivered as Vegeta wrapped his tail around her and pulled her back into his chest. "Vegeta..."

"Sleeping with and fucking are two different things in my book, woman. I can fuck in a custodian closet if I so chose. Hell, I don't think anyone would look twice if I bent one of those skanks over a table in the mess hall." He was prepared for the fist she threw at him when she whirled around. He caught it easily while grinning mischievously at her.

Bulma wrenched her arm away from him and continued washing the shampoo out of her hair. "Man-whore," she grumbled as she stepped out of the shower. She heard Vegeta's chuckling while she dried herself off. "Do you know anything about why Frieza has us under surveillance?"

"It's a soundless feed. I don't have any idea why he would watch us soundlessly. It doesn't make sense," Vegeta said over the water.

Bulma frowned while she ran a hand through her damp hair. Vegeta was right. It didn't make any sense why Frieza would have a soundless feed. Why would he be watching them? What was he expecting Vegeta to do? "You don't think he expects you to... uh... to..."

"To violate you, woman?" Vegeta finished for her.

"If that's the way you want to put it."

"Probably. Frieza should know that even if I was under some sort of mind control that my instincts would never permit me to do something like that." Vegeta came out of the shower. He used his ki to dry himself off. "Saiyans may have barbaric tendencies, but we don't look to highly on men who abuse women."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "You said men would do it for the woman they wanted."

"That doesn't mean it wasn't looked down upon." Vegeta walked past her and back into the room.

"You don't think he's suspicious of us, do you?" she asked.

"He might be. Of what, I wouldn't know. We haven't given him any reason to be."

"Unless he's been feeding you orders through that chip and nothing has happened."

Vegeta shook his head while pulling a shirt over his head. "The chip didn't send me orders. It just regulated my behavior. It was almost as if my free will was taken away."

Elsewhere, Frieza was watching Bulma and Vegeta interact on video. For the most part, Vegeta had seemed indifferent to her. They looked to get into a few arguments here and there, but there was nothing particularly interesting happening. This did not please him. The overlord had expected Vegeta to be more... ruthless. He'd never shown any type of care for anyone else, so why was he leaving Bulma to her own devices? The prince even let Bulma have his bed at night while he was off doing who knows what. He turned the monitor off.

Vegeta has become rather docile as of late. Perhaps the chip needs adjusting, Frieza thought. He tapped his finger on his chin as he thought of his next course of action. He would need to get in touch with Tintissi in order to adjust the chip. That needs to happen as soon as possible. But first, I have something special for Bulma...

Vegeta and Bulma were on their way back to the prince's quarters when Zarbon's voice came into Vegeta's scouter. The prince had started wearing it again just to keep up appearances. He stopped walking when Frieza's lackey started speaking. "What do you want?"

Bulma stepped up beside Vegeta. She watched his face contort from annoyance to anger. He looked up at her and she mouthed what to him. He held up a finger and continued to listen to Zarbon. When the call ended Bulma motioned for him to speak.

"Frieza wants to see you. Apparently you have work to do." He took hold of her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction. Bulma rolled her eyes at being treated roughly again.

The duo went down a few floors to one of Frieza's observation rooms. When they entered, there were a few of Frieza's scientists as well as Zarbon and Dodoria waiting. Frieza sat in his hovering chair, speaking with the red alien with mechanical hands strapped to her body. Vegeta vaguely recognized her. She had done a number of physicals on him before. She noticed him and smiled.

Bulma noticed this immediately. Did you fuck her too? She nearly laughed when she saw the glare Vegeta gave her. I was just kidding. She doesn't look your type anyway.

Quiet, woman. Vegeta released her when they stopped in front of Frieza.

"Good evening, Bulma," Frieza said cordially. Bulma did not respond, instead choosing to give him a nasty glare. Frieza shook it off and looked over at the red-skinned woman scientist beside him. "I don't think you've met Tintissi before. She's my head scientist on my more... important endeavors." He gestured to the scientist.

Tintissi turned her attention to Bulma. "I've heard so much about you, Bulma. Lord Frieza speaks quite highly of you."

"I'm sure he does," Bulma said quietly, giving the woman a once-over. Then she took her glare back over to Frieza. "What do you want? Why am I here?"

Frieza smiled at her. "I may have let you relax these past few weeks, but you still have a job to do, Bulma. Or did you forget that you work for me?" He smirked when Bulma narrowed her eyes at him. "Well, let's get started. You remember the precognitive resonance amplifier, don't you?"

For the first time, Bulma noticed the large tubular tank behind Frieza and Tintissi. It was slightly different from the one that had been at the Ark. The glass tank was smaller and would probably only allow Bulma enough room to curl into a fetal position. "I didn't know you had built another one," Bulma said quietly.

"Oh yes. I know pulling information from you is like pulling teeth. Though, Dodoria had an easy enough time with your teeth." Frieza chuckled a little at his own joke. Bulma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Tintissi here designed this one and it has just recently been completed. Perfecting this machine was almost worth you gallivanting across the cosmos for years. Don't just stare at it. We have work to do."

Bulma chanced a glance at Vegeta. He was staring straight ahead at the machine, frowning deeply. He gave her quick nod and she faced the machine again. Sighing, Bulma removed her shoes and headed towards the tank.

"Oh Bulma?" Tintissi called. Bulma turned around to look at the scientist. "You'll need to be naked for this. We need as little static as possible," she said in a friendly voice. The lavender-haired telepath bit her tongue to keep from spewing venom at her. Sighing, she started to remove her bodysuit. Tintissi walked up to her.

As Bulma was pulling the bodysuit down to her midsection, one of Tintissi's metal arms tacked an electrode onto her chest. Bulma continued shimmying out of the bodysuit. When she stood up straight, Tintissi's arms attached electrodes to her in a flurry of motion. Bulma gasped when something was stuck into her nostrils. She glared at the scientist as her metal arms retracted. Tintissi just smiled again.

"Go on." She motioned towards the tank.

Vegeta watched Bulma climb into the tank. He tried not to be aware of all the eyes that were on her. Can you control what Frieza will see?

Bulma flinched as she slid down into the tube. She had not expected Vegeta's voice to enter her mind. I don't know. It would be best if you didn't try to contact me or anything. I don't know if your thoughts will interfere, Bulma said to him.

Vegeta nodded imperceptibly and uncrossed his arms. "Do I need to be here for this?" he asked gruffly.

Frieza faced him. "You seem to doubt my judgement in keeping Bulma around. So I'll now show you why she's just as important as you are." He looked at Tintissi. "Start the machine."

Bulma looked up as the top of the tank shut above her. She heard it lock above her. Then the tank began filling with a hot purple liquid. It was nearly scalding. Bulma looked up at Frieza through the glass. What the hell is this?

"Be calm, Bulma," came Tintissi's voice. The woman had disappeared from Bulma's line of sight. "Heat relaxes your muscles an opens up your blood vessels. Blood flow will increase this way. This increased blood flow with help with keeping you relaxed enough when the resonance starts."

Tintissi's explanation did not comfort Bulma in the least. The liquid was still incredibly hot. It was nearly to her neck when she realized that it had become thicker. She realized that she also had nothing to help her with breathing as the liquid came up to her face. She took a deep breath as she was submerged. It was hard to move in the thick substance. Bulma looked outside of the glass and saw Tintissi motioning for her to breathe. Confused, Bulma tried it and found that she could. Apparently the object Tintissi had shoved into her nostrils allowed that.

"Okay. Now that we've gotten all of that out the way..." Tintissi walked towards the control panel. With her real right arm, she pressed a purple button. Bulma opened her mouth in a silent scream as shocks from the electrodes all over her body activated at once. The pain seemed to overwhelm her and her eyes rolled up as she appeared to faint.

Bulma's eyes fluttered open slowly. It was too bright. She could not make anything out. All she could tell was that she was laying on her right side. The ground was cool below her and she assumed she was on grass. It was silent all around her, except for voices she heard to her left. She slowly turned her head.

That was where the blinding light was coming from. She could not make out anything, but she could hear the muffled voices. Although she could not see, she squinted while trying to listen to the voices.

"I cannot die."

"That may be true. But," there was a long pause, "there are far worse things than death."

Bulma blinked a few times. Her vision was starting to clear. She could make out a person's silhouette. They were facing away from her. There was a bright aura surrounding them. They appeared to squat down. Bulma watched them form a small blade of ki with two gloved fingers.

"What... What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?"

Bulma sat up. She was no longer where she last remembered being. She hugged herself, feeling the clamminess of her skin, though she was cold. She touched her chest, seeing that she was wearing some sort of loose sleeveless shirt. She noticed her hair had also changed. It was slicked back but it was definitely much longer than it had been before. Where was she anyway? She turned her head to the right when she heard a door open. Bulma relaxed when she realized who it was.

"You're finally awake," Vegeta said. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

Bulma shrugged. "Using that damn machine always made me tired. How long was I out?" she asked.

"Long enough."

"What did Frieza see?"

Vegeta smirked. "He saw his wish for immortality become a reality. That seems to be what he wants with those wish balls."

Bulma nodded. "Then that means he didn't see what happens after that." She saw Vegeta perk up at this news. "I'm not sure I should tell you. I'm not entirely sure what I saw myself. But it was definitely the aftermath of something. Something was said about not being able to die. I suppose that was Frieza."

"Why wouldn't you tell me?"

"It could be advantageous to us. I don't want to influence more than I probably already have."

"I don't think anything matters now. Frieza is sure to get his wish and we can do nothing to stop it," Vegeta said angrily. He turned to leave the room again when Bulma's voice stopped him.

"... there are far worse things than death," she whispered. Vegeta faced her again. "That is what the other voice said."

Before Vegeta could inquire about the voice, his scouter started beeping. Bulma watched him fiddle with it for a moment. She chuckled softly as she watched Vegeta's facial expressions change. After a moment, he turned the scouter back off and stared at the wall.

"Well?" Bulma pried.

Vegeta glanced at her. "Frieza is sending me out on a purge."

Bulma's face fell. "So I guess that means you'll be leaving me here," she said. Vegeta shook his head and she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Frieza has requested that you accompany me."

Bulma sat on the bed dumbfounded. Why would Frieza want her to go with Vegeta on a purge? Wouldn't he be worried about me trying to escape? It did not make sense to her.

"He wants to frighten you." Vegeta smirked at Bulma nearly falling off the bed at the sound of his voice. He'd heard her thoughts even though she was not intentionally projecting them. "He's probably trying to get you to see me as a monster."

Bulma snorted. "I've already seen enough of what you do on a purge to last me a lifetime. I saw your exploits in dreams. That really has not changed how I feel about you. So Frieza is sorely mistaken if he thinks watching you kill innocent people will have any effect on me," she said. It suddenly dawned on her that Vegeta was not wearing his armor. He was just in a black bodysuit with his gloves and boots.

"There's a difference between seeing it through a lens and actually watching me as I do it, woman. It isn't... Why the hell are you staring at me like that?" Vegeta noticed her ogling him.

The telepath shook her head but continued to look Vegeta over. "Do you think there are any cameras in here?" She swung her legs over the side of the cot she was on.

Vegeta eyed her warily as she stood. "There are cameras everywhere, woman. At least, outside of most living quarters there are. I know what you're thinking right now and the answer is no." His words seemed to go through one ear and out the other. She was now approaching him.

"But it's been so long. We didn't do much when we were on Namek." Bulma stopped directly in front of him. She was as close as she could be without actually touching him. Vegeta looked down his nose at her. "I kinda like you being a little taller than me. It adds to your... appeal," Bulma said.

The prince's frown deepened. "We might've been able to do more if you hadn't let the brats sleep with us every fucking night," he replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Well you're the one who left a parting gift when we escaped the Ark," Bulma hissed back at him. Her eyes dropped from his face to his chest and she resumed ogling. "There's no law against looking, though."

Vegeta rolled his eyes and took her by the wrist. He opened the door to the room and led her out. They walked in silence back to Vegeta's quarters. They got there rather quickly but not without a few people receiving warning growls from Vegeta for looking a little too hard at Bulma. The moment Vegeta closed the door behind them, Bulma pushed him against the wall.

"Woman, what are you..."

"We both know what Frieza wants us to do; what he expects you to do," Bulma said.

"That doesn't mean I'm going to give him the satisfaction," Vegeta said. He was very curious and concerned about where this sudden aggression had come from. Bulma had never been this forceful when it came to these matters.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Then give me the satisfaction."

"No." It even sounded weak to him. The smile on Bulma's face confirmed that he had not said it with as much force as he meant to. "No, woman. It's out of the question."

Bulma stepped away from him. She pulled the ugly baggy shirt over her head and tossed it at Vegeta. It just hit him and fell to the floor. "I'm going to take a shower. I need to wash this crap out of my hair." She turned and walked away.

Vegeta heard the bathroom door open and close. He listened as Bulma started the shower. Looking down, he saw the ugly shirt she'd been clad in laying at his feet. He discreetly looked in the direction that he knew the camera to be. I guess if he can't see us then he can't watch either, he reasoned.

Bulma was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair when the shower door opened. The sudden burst of cool air shocked her enough for her to stumble backwards. Vegeta's tail closed around her waist and pulled her upright. She blinked a few times, realizing it was just him.

"You could've just knocked," she said.

Vegeta released her and shut the shower door. Bulma was doing it again. She was ogling him. She was so shameless with it as well. There was no subtlety whatsoever. "Woman, what is with the staring?"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "I can't even touch you in public without acting like I'm attacking you. Now I'm not even allowed to look at you?" She turned around to continue washing her hair. Vegeta crossed his arms and watched her. She added more shampoo in order to wash all of her hair. It was much longer than she initially thought. Vegeta heard her mumbling to herself and smacked her hands away. Bulma turned to give him a piece of her mind when she noticed he was putting shampoo in his hands.

"Turn around, woman," he said quietly. Bulma barely heard him over the running water but did as she was told. She felt the light tugging as Vegeta washed the rest of her hair. She decided to stay quiet. There was no telling when Vegeta's mood would change. He pulled her hair a little, telling her to step back under the showerhead. While he rinsed the shampoo from her hair, she felt him get close to her ear. "If you ever tell anyone about this, I will find some way to torture you."

Bulma just leaned back into him. "My lips are sealed."

Late that night, Vegeta slipped out of his room and headed for the one place he knew he could make a secret call: Zarbon's room. Zarbon usually spent his nights in one of the brothels, so Vegeta would not need to worry about him making an appearance. He could always sense Zarbon coming if the other man decided to deviate from his habits.

Vegeta began the tedious task of going through secure lines to call the resistance. Even if he could keep the call secure, there was still too much risk of giving up the location of the rest of the Saiyans. So he sent his call to Juu. The woman picked up soon.

"Blue?"

"Yes, it's me." Vegeta heard an almost relieved sigh at the other end. "I need you to tell the others that they have to get off Namek."

"And go where, might I ask?"

"That's up to you. I don't care where you send them. Just make sure it's somewhere that'll be safe for the time being."

"Is Frieza heading there already?"

"I don't know. The woman showed him a vision in that machine. He knows he eventually gets what he wants. I don't know when that will be, though. He's still on Planet Twelve."

"I see. I'll send them to an obscure base."

"It's better if I don't know where you send them." Vegeta paused for a moment. "Though I suppose it wouldn't matter."

"Why do you say that?"

"Frieza is having the woman use that machine. We can only hope she doesn't pull a vision of them up at any point."

"She cannot control what Frieza sees?"

"No. The machine pulls them from her against her will." Vegeta noticed the time on the clock. "I need to go. Remember what I said. They need to leave immediately." He did not wait for a response and ended the call.

Bulma sat against the headboard of the bed with her knees drawn up. She had found herself waking up from a dream of her children. She'd tried not to think of them too much since leaving, but now she was worried. She knew Frieza makes it to Namek at some point, just not when. Vegeta told her that he would send a message to them. Still, she missed them. They had never been apart.

With a sigh, Bulma began to get back under the covers. She paused when heard the door sliding open. "I didn't know you would be back so..." Bulma stopped talking when she noticed it was not Vegeta entering her room. "How did you get in here?"

Zarbon did not reply to her immediately. Instead, he glanced around the room. He expected it to be practically bare. Vegeta did not spend much time in it except to sleep and wash. Then he looked at Bulma. She was sitting with her back straight against the headboard, clutching the blanket up to her chest.

"Vegeta allows you to sleep in his bed? You must be using your mind tricks on him," he said, approaching the bed slowly.

Bulma frowned. "I can't make people do what I want. He's not here most of the time and I suspect he doesn't care. Now why are you here?"

Zarbon sat down on the bed. "I just came to see how Frieza's favorite was doing." He reached out for her and Bulma squirmed away. With a lunge, he took hold of her chin and held her still. "He's left you untouched."

"He says he doesn't hit women." Bulma moved out of Zarbon's grasp while he chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"Surely you didn't believe that lie."

"He doesn't attack them if they don't attack him first. I'm well aware of the things he's done. Do you think I haven't seen what's in his mind?" Bulma lowered the cover, staring into Zarbon's eyes. The man stiffened while she crawled forward. "It's far more horrible than you could imagine." Bulma put her hand on Zarbon's shoulder.

Frieza's right hand was not prepared in any way for the onslaught of images that flooded his mind. Death and destruction were all that he could see. It all seemed so real that he was sure he could smell the stench of blood. He was seeing all of this from a first person perspective. Was this what Vegeta did on his missions? For the first time, he realized why the Saiyan seemed even more feared than he did despite him being the weaker of the two.

"Oh he is far from the weaker of you two," came Bulma's disembodied voice. The scene around him changed. His eyes widened when he realized who was in front of him: Kinomi. She was different. She seemed older and her hair seemed spikier and longer. Just as she took a step forward, he was pulled back into the present.

Zarbon stood up and stumbled away from Bulma. She sat on the bed, glaring back at him. "You're a witch. Planting false images in my mind," he whispered.

Bulma shook her head. "No. They were real." She smirked at him. "It seems you long for a certain princess. Or is it fear that is on you?"

"You..." Zarbon moved faster than Bulma could react. His hand closed around her neck. "I don't give a damn what Frieza says. I will end you right here, right now." He held her down on the bed, choking her. She clawed at his hands, trying to focus but he had given her no time to think. Her grip on his arm began to loosen.

It took Zarbon a moment to realize that he was on the floor. He began to turn his head only to have a boot come down on his face. He turned his eyes and saw Vegeta staring impassively down on him with those black eyes.

"Is there a reason you're in my quarters?" Vegeta's face was the picture of indifference but his voice told a different story. It sounded strained, as though he were holding back. "Trying to frame me for the death of this woman?"

"You forget your place, Vegeta."

Vegeta'a eyes narrowed but he took his foot off of Zarbon's face. "Get the fuck out of my room," he said while Zarbon got to his feet. The other man took a cursory glance at Bulma, who was coughing while trying to get air into her lungs. Smirking, he turned and left the room.

The prince turned and looked at Bulma. He moved over to her. She was struggling to inhale. He pulled her up to a sitting position and got behind her. Slow down, woman. Deep breaths.

Bulma tried to slow down. It was harder than Vegeta made it seem. Her coughing was replaced with loud wheezing, but she started to breathe a bit better. Once she got it under some sort of control, the pain in her neck registered. Vegeta had removed his gloves and was already examining the purple bruises that adorned her neck.

"What did you do?" he whispered.

"Showed... why... fear... you," Bulma replied as best as she could. "Won't... cam... see?"

"I don't care." Vegeta buried his face in her neck, his hand now on her chest to help her breathe. "I am going to kill that asshole." He heard Bulma cough out a chuckle. "Something funny?"

"Not... you..." Bulma shook her head. "He's... not... yours."

Vegeta took that to mean that Zarbon would not meet his end at his hands. Apparently reading his mind, Bulma nodded her affirmation. Her breathing was somewhat regular now and her heart had slowed to a steady rhythm. Vegeta wondered who Bulma knew it to be, but decided he would rather be surprised.

"Get some rest, woman. We will be leaving in a few hours."

"Are you sure this is the place?" Kakarrot asked. He stood behind the pilot's chair, looking out at the giant red planet below them. They had been traveling for about 2 weeks. The planet looked very uninviting. The surface was not visible through the thick clouds that covered it. Every so often there were a few flashes of light. Clearly they were storm clouds.

Tarble nodded. "These are the coordinates Juu gave us. I'm trying to get in touch with a the colony that's on the planet," he said.

"There's a colony in that?" Kinomi asked from the seat beside him. Tarble shrugged and started searching for the signal. He found the correct signal but all that was heard was static. He tried to clear it up but there was only static. Tarble started to change the signal when Kinomi stopped him. "Wait. Listen."

Tarble raised an eyebrow and listened. He could only hear the hiss of static. Kinomi was staring out the window but her eyes were narrowed in concentration. "I don't hear anything, Kinomi. Do you hear anything, Kakarrot?" Tarble looked back at the older man. He shook his head and they both looked back at Kinomi.

Kinomi chuckled. "Finally something I know that you don't." She took control of the ship and started guiding it in another direction. She saw her twin looking confused beside her. "It isn't static and you can only hear it if you've been trained to know what to look for. Kakarrot, I'm surprised you did not pick up on it."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"I can't remember the name of it, but I know that Vegeta learned it a while back. He tried teaching me but it was tedious. I picked up enough, though. It's some sort of code from that planet that blonde woman comes from. It isn't universally known and it's discreet. Smart of them to use it. You might want to go tell the others to prepare for entry. They say these storms make for a bumpy ride," Kinomi said. Kakarrot went to find the others, leaving the twins alone.

"I'm impressed," Tarble said.

"You should be. Hold on." Kinomi directed the ship into the atmosphere.

Chichi stumbled back when the ship entered the atmosphere. She immediately turned her body so that her back would hit the wall. She leaned against it while the ship continued to shake. The feeling of the planet's gravity hit her and she suddenly felt sick. Normally it would not bother her, but her circumstances were different. She leaned up off the wall and tried to keep walking. The ship shook again and this time Chichi went flying backwards.

"Should you be out roaming the halls while we're landing?" Raditz asked. He'd saved Chichi from a messy fall. He helped her stand upright. "You'll send yourself into premature labor."

"Oh hush. I got hungry and I wanted to check up on the children. They've been too quiet for too long," Chichi said, glancing towards the door she'd been trying to get to. Raditz walked ahead of her and she grabbed on to his arm to keep steady.

"Quiet brats. Isn't that a good thing?" Raditz asked.

Chichi snorted. "Quiet for too long means they are up to no good."

They came to the room where the children were. Chichi opened the door to see Gohan and Trunks asleep in various positions around the room. Okura was staring out of the only small porthole window in the room. All that could be seen were the red clouds they were descending through and the occasional lightning strike.

Are we there yet? Okura sent to Chichi. The girl did not turn to look at her.

"Yes. We're landing now," Chichi replied. She made her way over to the little girl. Okura had stopped talking to them when Vegeta and Bulma left. She'd gone back to just communicating mentally. "We should be safe here while we wait for your parents to come back."

Okura nodded but did not say anything back. The ship shook again and Chichi stumbled. Raditz caught her again and helped her sit down. Okura finally looked at Chichi. She had been intrigued by Chichi's pregnancy. All of the men seemed to get so protective over her all of a sudden. When do you think they will come back?

Chichi sighed. This was not the first time she'd heard a question like this. Trunks asked about Vegeta and Bulma on an almost daily basis. "I don't know. We do know they're fine, though. Vegeta is the one who told us we had to leave." She hoped that would satisfy the girl enough. Luckily, Okura did seem satisfied. She went back to watching the window. Chichi followed her gaze and saw that they had broken through the clouds.

Tarble raised an eyebrow when he saw the scenery beneath the clouds. It was definitely not what he'd been expecting. He heard a crackling noise. He noticed the windows frosting up. "The temperature outside is well below freezing. I was expecting a hot desert," he said.

Kinomi snorted. "Instead we get a frozen wasteland." She saw some lights in the distance. "I think that's the colony. Let's hope our stay here doesn't end up like the Ark did."

"So that's it?"

"Yes."

The planet of Duggar was a lot smaller than Bulma had imagined it would be. It was like a blue marble. It appeared to be mostly ocean with a few large landmasses placed around it. She relaxed back in the copilot's chair. Vegeta had convinced Frieza into letting him take a ship instead of two pods. His reasoning had been so that it would be easier to keep watch over Bulma.

Vegeta took the ship off of autopilot. "I need to find somewhere hidden to land." He started a scan of the planet to find a scarcely populated area. He found a remote forest just as the ship entered the atmosphere. Their descent was smooth and the ship was hidden in a thick and lush forest. Vegeta turned the engines off and relaxed back in his chair. He could feel Bulma watching him.

The gravity of what Vegeta was about to go do was settling on Bulma. She was about to go and watch him purge the planet of sentient life. She did not know how she felt about that at the time. His expression was unreadable while he just stared out at the endless forest before them. Sighing, Bulma decided to go and put on something more appropriate.

The prince watched her go in silence. When he heard the door close, he stretched out his senses to see estimate how many people were on the planet and their general ability. The population was not high by any stretch of the imagination and neither were they strong. Tarble could handle this planet by himself. There seemed to be only four large settlements over the planet with few others scattered about. If he was smart about it, Vegeta figured he could be done in a day. He rose from his seat.

Bulma was pulling a shirt over her head when she found herself on her back on the bed she'd been sharing with Vegeta. Confused and dizzy, she lifted the shirt back off and saw Vegeta hovering over her. "What are you doing? I was almost ready," she said.

"I am in no rush, woman," he said. He lowered his head to her neck and inhaled her scent.

"Are you sure there's nothing in here that's been recording us?" she asked. She heard him snort next to her ear.

"If there is, then we've given them quite the show."

"I'm serious, Vegeta." Bulma tried to sit up. He allowed her to push him back so she could sit up. "Are you sure?"

Vegeta resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Woman, why does it suddenly matter? And if there was something in here, I would've known already. I went over this ship several times for bugs. There's nothing watching us. Now," he pushed her back down, "shut up."

Bulma grumbled but allowed Vegeta to kiss her. She halfheartedly kissed back, trying to stay mad. Unfortunately, he was extremely good with his hands and her resistance did not last long. He had her almost screaming his name when she felt a sharp twinge in her neck.

Vegeta lifted himself up as Bulma's head lolled to the side. She was out cold. Vegeta lifted her up and laid her down properly on the bed. She would be furious when she woke up but he would chew that food when he had to. After making sure she would wake up comfortably, Vegeta changed into a new bodysuit and armor. He had a job to do.

Tintissi was confused. She did not like being confused. Vegeta's chip was not responding. Frieza had told her to send Vegeta a special set of... urges. But the chip she'd implanted years ago was not responding. She had never had this problem before. Is he too far away for the signal to reach? A magnetic field obstructing it? How can this be happening? She wracked her brain trying to figure out what the problem was. Sighing, she went in search of Frieza.

The tyrant was lounging on his private observation deck. She entered without announcing herself. Frieza was about to reprimand her when he noticed the look on her face. "Is something wrong, Tintissi?"

"My lord, Vegeta's chip is not responding to my signal. Duggar is not so far away that the signal cannot reach. I do not understabd what could have happened," she said.

Frieza almost laughed at her frustration. She appeared more irritated that her contraption did not work than that it was holding up something he wanted. "Relax, Tintissi. It could just be a malfunction. Either way, Vegeta is still under our control. You'll just have to..."

"That's just it, my lord. I cannot tell if Vegeta is under our control or not. Without a response, I cannot even tell if it's still working." She watched Frieza's expression change. "I cannot know if he will return or not."

Frieza's eyes narrowed. "Monitor his ship and scouter activity. If he strays, I want to know about it. When he comes back, you will check that chip and make sure it is still functional."

Tintissi bowed her head. "Yes, my lord." She turned and left the room, leaving Frieza to stew in his thoughts.

Nothing seemed amiss with him since he's been back. He's been the same as he always has since the chip was activated. This is needless worrying, Frieza told himself. He looked out the window towards the stars. But what if Vegeta had just been playing him? What purpose would it serve to continue to serve Frieza is his mind was free? He would only be able to tell when Vegeta came back.

Bulma moaned as she opened her eyes. She sat up slowly, rubbing her neck. It took a moment for her to recognize her surroundings. Then she remembered why her neck hurt. Narrowing her eyes, she scrambled out of the bed. She quickly finished dressing and ran outside of the ship.

It was dark and silent in the forest the ship was hidden in. There was the faint smell of fire and Bulma could see the sky was a bit hazy. Bulma ran towards where she saw the smoke coming from. She ran for a long time but eventually she could see light coming from a clearing. She ran directly into it. She found herself in some sort of village. Bulma looked around, looking for any sign of life. She went into one of the burning huts.

Vegeta's ears twitched. Having accomplished his mission, he was on his way back. He'd been hoping to make it back before Bulma came to. He could sense her ki a little ways away from the ship; at the first village he'd encountered. He sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night.

Bulma walked to what she assumed was the center of the village. She closed her eyes and took down her mental blocks.

Silence.

After a few moments of trying to reach anyone, she lowered her head. "You've killed them all," she whispered. She turned around to face Vegeta. He'd landed a few feet away from her. Looking over him, he did not have a single scratch on him. He looked as though he'd done nothing at all.

"That was my mission," he said blankly. He knew she was stating a fact, not asking.

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Why did you knock me out?"

"So you wouldn't do what you're doing now."

"And what is that?"

"Act surprised like you didn't know that this is what I do."

"I'm not surprised, Vegeta. It's just..." Bulma sighed. She did not know why she felt the way she did. What had she expected? For him not to go through with his orders? That was out of the question. "It would help if you weren't always so blasé about these things."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Were you blasé when you killed Frieza's men during your escape attempts?" He watched her narrow her eyes at him.

"They weren't innocent people, Vegeta. It's not comparable to wiping an entire planet clean of civilization."

"Maybe not. But I hardly think you have the moral high ground here. Do you believe that everyone who works for Frieza works for him willingly? That we are the only ones in his service against our will?"

Bulma sighed and looked away from him. "Take me to one of the larger cities," she said after a few moments of silence. Vegeta silently scooped her up and took to the air. They flew in silence to a burning city. Bulma wasted no time getting away from him as soon as he landed. She looked around at the burning buildings. Closing her eyes, she reached out to see if anyone was still alive. There was still that eerie silence.

Vegeta crossed his arms. Why had she wanted to come here? He followed at a distance behind her while she walked through the blazing streets.

"Like you said, there's a difference between seeing what you've done through your eyes versus seeing it for myself. You're back in control so I assume this was the merciful way you go about purging," Bulma said. She was not talking loudly, but she knew Vegeta could hear her. Eventually, she stopped walking and faced him. Vegeta stopped where he was. "I had wanted to show you this back on Namek but I never found the time."

The prince raised an eyebrow. "Woman, what are you..."

"Do you remember when I left my body?"