Home stretch, ladies and gentlemen. We're almost there. Enjoy.
Bulma sat outside of the meeting room. She drummed her fingers on the folder she was holding, trying to listen to what was going on, inside. She wanted to be prepared for the kind of atmosphere she was entering. She hadn't been in a boardroom in years, and she was a bit out of practice.
The door swung open, and Nappa stepped out into the hallway. "Bulma, we're ready for you."
She took a deep breath. "Alright." She squared her shoulders, and walked into the meeting room. She stood in front of the council, and all eight men stared at her with intense scrutiny. The king was sitting at the end of the table, with his hands propped on the tabletop. She couldn't lose her nerve, now. She had to propose this to them.
"Gentlemen," she began. She sat her folder down on the table, and pushed it towards the center. "As I'm sure you're well aware, reconstruction is going to be a hefty task for us to take on. We won't be able to do it, alone; I can guarantee that. On Earth, when a country or city was in crisis, other nations stepped in to aid them. If we can get other planets to aid us, it would be a great asset, to us."
The king had picked up her folder, and was flipping through the contents. "So," he spoke, "you're proposing we start forming alliances, is that correct?"
She nodded. "That's exactly it, your majesty."
"No," one of the councilmen shouted. "That kind of aid is what got us into this mess, in the first place! We can look after our own!"
"Actually, we can't. I've done the logistics, and put it into the documents I've given you. If we take on the task by ourselves, it could take decades for us to recover to where we once were. We need intergalactic aid. We don't have to let them do everything, for us, but we should accept some help."
"They're not going to do it for free," said another councilman. "What will we offer in repayment?"
"How about manpower? We can easily lend our power to other nations, who need protection and aid. You'll be able to profit off of your people's natural strength and talents."
"You're suggesting we become mercs?"
"Not exactly. I'm not saying we lease out our manpower to the highest bidder. However, that manpower can be a great asset, for conducting treaties."
The papers were passed around the table. Some of the men looked to be more open-minded about it, but others were still pouting and glaring. So far, only one person had an outburst. Maybe the rest of this would go smoothly. She shuffled in place, as they quietly conversed with each other about her suggestions.
"Bulma," the king finally said, "This is all very well researched and presented. Now that we've had a moment to look over the documents and your proposal, I believe we should vote on it.
"All in favor of the proposal say aye."
Six of the councilmen raised their hands with an aye. Nappa was one of them.
"All opposed."
Two raised their hands, with a nay. They were giving her dirty looks, as they did.
"Well, we have a clear majority, here. Was there anything else you needed to say, Bulma?"
"Yes. I don't know how this works, but… I would like to volunteer myself, as an ambassador."
One of the councilmen slammed his hands on the table. "What?!" A mild chaos broke out, as they argued and yelled at each other and at Bulma. The king stood up, and hushed everyone. He looked at her, motioning for her to explain herself.
"I feel like having someone who isn't a Saiyan might benefit relations. They'll think you're willing to work with other nations, and be more inclined to join your side. I'm willing to work with both you all and any of our potential allies, to reach an agreement."
"Absolutely not! You just proposed all of this, so you can weasel your way into power, didn't you?!"
"No, of course not! I just want to get involved more, and help you move into the future!"
"What makes you think you're qualified to do this? Why does it have to be you?"
Nappa raised his hand. "She did convince the Namekians to aid us, in the rebellion."
"That's right," another councilman said. He held up a paper, in the folder. "According to this, she aided business moguls, on her home planet. If she knows how to talk to them, I think she's qualified."
The earlier councilman looked enraged. He threw his arms out, towards Bulma. "Qualified? Her?! She's barely qualified to be a concubine, let alone an 'ambassador'!"
"That's enough," the king spoke. He looked like he was teetering on controlling his temper.
"Your majesty, don't stick up for the little harlot. We all know the reason she's sticking around here – no need to defend her."
Nappa was the next one to step in. "That is completely uncalled for, and unprofessional!"
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I know we're all thinking it."
"DAMMIT, JUST SHUT UP, YOU MORON!"
The room went silent, after Bulma screamed. Her face was red, with anger, and her knuckles were turning white, from her clenched fists.
"I will not stand here and let you insult me right to my face! And I know you wouldn't be making these same comments, if I were a Saiyan. This isn't my first rodeo. I've dealt with men like you, before. You're not going to run me out of this, you hear that?!"
The councilmen glanced at each other, keeping conversations in hushed whispers. They looked incredibly shocked by her sudden outburst. Nappa was looking up at her, in pride, and even the king had a small smirk on her face. The offending councilman was seething, in his seat.
"There's my application. Take it or leave it."
She immediately turned around, and marched out of the room, not looking back.
"Wow. The little lady's got guts," one of the men said.
Bulma put her face in her hands. "How I could I have been so stupid," she screamed.
Raditz shrugged, as he sat next to her. His feet were propped up on the table, and he was eating a fruit. "Trust me: if what Nappa has said about the council is true, then they probably deserved it."
"I still feel like I blew it. They'll never take me in, now."
"Hey, if they don't – screw 'em. They won't know what they're missing. You can still go out and do things, without an official position."
"Sure. But I don't want to get any further on their bad side," she muttered.
Raditz slung his arm around her shoulder. "You still got us, on your side – I won't let them kick you out. And if they do, then they'll have to answer to Vegeta."
He was right, but she still wished that she were more accepted. Sure, Nappa and Raditz loved her, and the king had been thrilled, to have her around. And, of course, there was Vegeta. But she still wished that she felt like she belonged, here. This was her new home, but it didn't feel like one, at all.
Someone cleared their throat.
Raditz waved. "Hi, Vegeta! We were just talking about you! How are you?"
Bulma's head shot up. She smiled, awkwardly, at Vegeta. He was standing in the doorway, with an unimpressed look on his face. Raditz didn't seem phased, by it; he hadn't even moved his arm off of her.
"What brings you here?"
Vegeta glanced at Bulma, then at Raditz. When he didn't seem to get the idea based on that, he groaned. "I'd like to talk to Bulma alone."
Raditz put his hands up and set his feet down off of the table. "Alright. Cool. You should have said something, man. See you guys around." He stood up and sauntered out of the room, at a leisurely pace.
Vegeta pinched the bridge of his nose. "He didn't give you much trouble, did he?"
Bulma shook her head. "Not at all. We were talking about the meeting…"
"They'd be fools not to accept you." He sat down, next to her.
She ran her fingers through her hair. "I don't think they like me very much. One of them said I was only here to be your whore."
His fists clenched, slightly. "Who was it?"
She sighed, and closed her eyes. "That's only going to make things worse, and you know it."
He put his arms around her, and pulled her to him. "Then they'll just have to learn to deal with it. Just ignore what those idiots say."
She eventually nodded. She leaned her head on his shoulder, nestling her face into the crook of his neck. Ever since they had gotten back, he had gotten a lot more affectionate, with her. He was often the one to initiate the kisses and cuddling. Not that she didn't appreciate it, nor that she didn't understand; they just weren't taking their relationship for granted, anymore.
"Anything else new," she asked him.
He didn't respond. She looked up at him. "Vegeta?"
His eyes were glued to a spot on the floor. "We received word from the Colds – Frieza's family."
She immediately sat up. "What? Are they mad?"
He sighed. "I don't know. They only told us they are… aware of what happened. Nothing else, besides that. I'm guessing it's a warning to never anger them."
"This is why we need to have the alliances. If we can build up a network of support, even if they do attack, we'll have people to help us, along the way." She shook her head. "Luckily, that seemed to be the thing the council approved of…"
"Unless they get desperate, they won't attack directly. It would give their subservient planets the impression that we weren't a threat. That would encourage rebellion."
"I hope you're right…"
Bulma was up late that evening, tinkering with some local technology. There was a knock at the door, disrupting her work. She rubbed her eyes, and slowly stood up from her workstation, going to answer the door.
She became very awake and alert, when she saw who it was. She bowed. "Your majesty, what brings you here?"
The king shook his head, and put his hand up. "Bulma, Bulma, you know that you don't have to address me so formally."
"Oh, um, what brings you here, then?"
"I came to give you the news, from the council meeting."
Oh great. She was already dreading the answer. "Yes. What is it?"
A smirk formed on his face. "We voted in favor of your application. You will now be one of our new ambassadors, to other worlds." He handed her a piece of paper.
Her jaw dropped, as she read through the document. It was an official statement, saying that she had been accepted. "Are you serious?!"
"After some debate, there was a clear majority. Most of us thought that you were qualified, for the job. Congratulations, Miss Bulma. We've even narrowed down a few planets, for you to visit. You'll only be an ambassador to one planet, though."
She turned over the document, to read the other side. She saw many unfamiliar names, but one stood out to her. She covered her mouth. Her eyes began to water. She read over the names as many times as she could, to make sure she was reading it correctly, but the name stayed the same.
Earth.
She out a laugh and she smiled a bright smile. Unexpectedly, she pounced on the king, giving him a hug. "Thank you!" Though he did not return the embrace, his lips turned up into a genuine smile. "Thank you so much! This means the world to me!" It hadn't even registered to her that she had glomped the king. Only one thing was on her mind, as tears streamed down her cheeks.
She was finally going home.
Bulma stood on the freshly mowed lawn of Capsule Corporation. Her home. She looked up at the giant dome, as it reached all the way to the sky. She promised herself she wasn't going to get emotional, but seeing this building again hit her in the gut. Not much had changed, since she left, and she couldn't comprehend that she had managed to stay away, for this long.
She walked up to the door. Hesitantly, she pushed her finger towards the scanner next to the door, and pressed.
Several tense seconds ticked by, as she waited for a response.
"Welcome, Bulma," said a robot voice. With that, the door slid open.
Bulma stepped through the door, and closed it behind her. She looked around. Not much had changed, since she left home. The same pictures were on the living room walls. The same furniture was placed on the floor. It looked just the way it did, three years ago.
She went further into the house. She stopped, when she heard someone humming in another room. Even years later, she knew that could only be one person. She followed the noise into the kitchen.
Sure enough, her mother was standing in front of the kitchen counter, mixing drinks and swaying her hips to the song she was humming. She hadn't even aged a day, since she left. Bulma let out a noise, and covered her mouth. A few tears managed to slide down her cheeks, and she smiled.
Bulma's mother finished mixing the drinks, and grabbed a few glasses from the cupboard. When she looked at the kitchen doorway, she dropped them, and they shattered on the floor. Her eyes were still closed, but she clasped her hands together, in joy surprise. "Bulma! You're back!"
"Hi, mom."
"Look at you! You've grown up so much!" She immediately grabbed her arm, and started dragging her out of the house. "Oh, your daddy's going to be so excited to see you, again! Oh, how was your trip? I'm sure you made a lot of friends, out there!"
Bulma laughed, and looked to the side. It was odd. Her mother was acting more as if she got home from school – not as if she had been on another planet for three years. "I'll explain all that, when we see dad."
Bulma's mother led her to the atrium. "Yoohoo, sweetie! Come out and see who came to visit!"
Bulma's father was sitting by a pond, studying the wildlife. A little black cat was perched on his shoulder, hanging on for dear life. He stood up. "Ah, Bulma. Didn't know you'd be back, so soon. Great to see you, again."
She sighed. "It's great to be back, dad."
"I'll go grab some Shirley Temples, and we can all catch up!"
"Make mine a root beer, Panchy."
"Okay, sweetums!" She went towards the exit of the atrium, heading back to the kitchen.
Bulma's father sat down at a small lawn chair. "So, how was Planet Vegeta?"
She pulled up a chair, and sat adjacent to him. "It was hot. And stuffy. And dry. They practically don't have seasons."
He shrugged. "Sounds like a summer in South City. Make any friends, while you were out there?"
"That's… that's actually what I need to talk to you and mom about. It's kind of important."
The cat meowed, and jumped down onto Dr. Brief's lap, then to the ground. He walked over to Bulma, and poked her ankle with his paw.
She reached down to pick him up. "Hey there, Tama." Tama nuzzled his face against her cheek, licking her. She giggled, when it rested on her shoulder.
Dr. Brief laughed. "I think he missed you, too."
"I'm baack!" Panchy came, carrying a tray of drinks. She set them down on the table, and pulled up another chair. "Now, you have to tell us everything that happened!"
She sighed, and grabbed one of the drinks. "Well… I actually gained a position of power."
"Oh, that's wonderful! Did you woo the king, or something?" Her parents laughed, at the idea.
Bulma glanced down. She didn't expect them to get that close, to the truth. "No. I'm going to be an ambassador, for them."
Brief took a gulp of his root beer. "Ah – putting all those debate classes to good use, I see. How long have you been one?"
"Only for a month. I'm meeting with King Furry and his cabinet, tomorrow afternoon. We wanted to bridge a stronger alliance between Planet Vegeta and Earth. The Saiyans… came under a bit of a crisis, recently, and they need help rebuilding." She promised herself that they would never find out the truth about what happened.
"Well, that's good. I'm proud of you, sweetheart."
She smiled. "Thanks, daddy."
"That can't be it," Panchy interjected. "Surely, you did something, other than politics! You surely made some friends out there, didn't you?"
She scratched the back of her neck. She was dreading this part, but she knew they should know sooner than later. "You asked if I had wooed the king earlier, right?" She paused. "It was technically the prince."
Her mother gasped. "Oh my goodness! My little girl is a princess!"
Bulma put her hands up. "Hey, we're not actually married, yet."
Panchy grabbed Brief's hand. "Oh, sweetie, isn't it wonderful? Bulma's in love!"
He nodded. "After Tights said she didn't want to get married, I didn't think this would ever happen. What a bargain!"
"Oh, I can't wait to meet him! I bet he's handsome, too!"
"Stop, stop! We're not married! We've just been dating for a while. I'm not a princess." She shifted in her seat. She had come up with a story, to tell them. "My internship ended, when some scientists at the palace noticed my work, and I went to work for them. I became friends with the prince, and the relationship came from that. I'm not royalty."
Panchy lifted her hand on her cheek. "It's soooo romantic! It's just like something out of a fairytale!"
"What's the young man's name?"
"It's Vegeta."
"Well, I hope we get to meet him, soon. Tell him he's welcome here anytime."
She nodded. She was relieved that they seemed to be taking this revelation well. "I'll be sure to."
"How long will it take until I get to meet my grandchildren?"
"Mama!"