Chapter 6
Bulma lit up another cigarette and stared up wordlessly at the female Saiyan standing in front of her. She was tall and bulky with her brown mane pulled back in a rough braid. In comparison, Bulma sitting in her chair looked ridiculously tiny. The other woman could have crushed her with a single punch.
This was certainly what the warrior was musing on as she was waiting for "her Prince's wife" to speak. Her thoughts were so obvious that Bulma couldn't help but grit her teeth.
Her relationships with Saiyans had always remained strained.
She had been able to establish a silent agreement with the males. They treated her with basic respect and in return, she avoided as much as possible to remind them that she was above them.
With the female, however, things were different. Bulma was just a weak Earthling, unable to compete with the last of them in a fight, and yet, she had taken a place that rightfully belonged to one of them by Vegeta's side. In addition to that offense, she was also entitled to give orders to the highest-ranked officers of their army and she even happened to impose her will on their Prince.
This was a bitter pill for any Saiyan female. Bulma could understand that, but she hadn't chosen to be in this situation. She had tried her best to get through to them, to tell them that she wasn't her enemy but she had never succeeded. The entire race was marked by the very same stubbornness and blind pride as Vegeta.
Over the years, Bulma had grown weary of the Saiyans' resentful attitude and she had to admit that their constant disregard could sometimes make her consider joining the rebellion – if only for a split second.
Only strength, fear and might made sense in a Saiyan's mind, and obviously, she wasn't up to that standard. Right now, she couldn't care less though. Her baby had been kidnapped and she was in no mood for diplomacy. "Something's wrong, Captain?" she eventually asked.
The Saiyan stiffened. "I am a Commander, Your Highness," she corrected with a slight frown.
Bulma smirked, her cigarette stuck between her lips. She might be unable to throw punches but she was good at hurting all the same. "Whatever. Is something wrong?"
The 'commander' clenched her jaw. "Nothing wrong. I wait for your – instructions."
"My orders, you mean?" Bulma clarified.
Her gloating was obvious and the Saiyan shifted nervously at the provocation. "Your orders. I'm listening, Your Highness," she confirmed despite her repressed annoyance.
Bulma nodded and her smile dropped as she considered that she should go straight to the point rather than playing with the Saiyan. She took a drag from her cigarette and pondered for a while. "I want you to spread the news of Videl Satan's arrest as far as possible. The rebellion has eyes in here, no doubt, but I want them to get in touch with us as soon as possible. Let everyone know that she's still alive and that the Prince will sentence her within three days."
"Shall we talk about the kidnapping of the baby?"
Bulma had a slight backlash at the question. "The baby? I remind you it's your Princess you're talking about. I would get concerned if you were to consider her otherwise. Do you regard her as a hybrid bastard maybe?" she murmured threateningly.
"Of course not. She is the daughter of our Prince," the Saiyan muttered halfheartedly. Her eyes said something else though and it rang an alarm in Bulma's mind.
For the first time, she realized that in that fighters' world, her daughter hadn't proved her value yet. If anything bad happened to her, the Saiyans wouldn't really care. Weaks die, strong survive. That was how things were supposed to work. Besides, she was just a little girl and she already had an older brother with enough potential to ensure posterity. Her loss wouldn't make a big difference for the Saiyan people. They were looking for her out of principle but the outcome of their search didn't matter to them.
Bulma had a lump in the throat at the thought. "She's not just any ordinary baby. She's your princess and that's how you'll call her from now on. Is it clear?" she resumed, forcing her voice in a commanding tone.
Bulma wasn't very keen on titles and ranks. She had long stopped demanding to be addressed as Princess of all Saiyans since Saiyans were too reluctant to name her that way. However, right now, she couldn't miss the point of reminding everyone how important her daughter was. Not only just a harmless baby but a Princess first and foremost.
"Clear enough," the Saiyan confirmed nonchalantly.
She sounded so unconcerned that Bulma felt tears fighting their way up to her eyes. She cleared her throat and went back to the initial talk. "No one outside the palace must know that the rebellion took the Princess. It matters a lot to me but it matters even more to the Prince. Understood? Now go and hurry."
The commander gave a quick bow and left the room.
As soon as she was alone, Bulma stubbed out her half-cigarette and buried her face into her hands to repress her sobs. Life with Saiyans was so tough. She longed to go back to her quiet existence at the Capsule. Among them, she was bound to constantly keep her composure and every word had to be weighed to fit in their strange code. For safety reasons, she could no longer step out of Vegeta's shadow and save in privacy, she was denied any equality in her couple. It was all necessary evils, she knew. Vegeta's aura needed to keep shining in his officers' minds. Her wild nature had a hard time playing that game nevertheless.
Maybe, the rebellion was right to claim that both races would never get along and that Earth wasn't meant to host Saiyans.
Goku's voice interrupted her bleak musing. "Bulma? Are you all right?" he asked in concern.
She lifted her head and wiped her tears away with a comforting smile. "Just a bit tired, don't worry," she murmured.
He was pained to see her like this. He had considered asking Chichi to stay by her side for support but he knew that his wife wasn't fit to relieve a mother's angst after her child's abduction. It would only pull her back to Goten's disappearance and it was too much for her fragile sanity.
"I called Yamcha. He'll be here soon," Goku resumed.
Her smile turned sad. "Just when I was thinking about the good old time at the Capsule. I wish I could go back there sometimes."
He gave her a friendly grin in return. He totally related to that feeling. "You know that we don't have the choice. I could handle Vegeta but not an entire army of Saiyans. We have to check that they stick to their promise to live in peace. Do you have any news of the rebellion by the way?"
"Not yet. Is Videl still under control?"
"She is," Goku elusively answered.
"I would like - I want to see her," Bulma blurted out nervously.
Goku shifted in unease. He had expected her request. He could perceive her constant fear for her daughter and he was quite amazed by her courage but unclosing the place where Videl was hidden was too much of a risk. Bulma could confess everything to Vegeta in a moment of despair, or even out of spite, and if she did, Gohan wouldn't stop him from laying his hand on their prisoner. This would crush their whole plan to get Goten and Bulla back. "I can't tell you where she is," he replied, looking away in embarrassment.
She stood up and walked closer to him. "Goku, you can trust me. I won't say anything," she whispered in a trembling voice.
Goku's determination teetered at her pleading tone. Visiting Videl and chatting with her would certainly be a great comfort to Bulma. She might even get some information from the girl. She looked so miserable, alone, hoping for a sign of the rebellion while counting every minute away from her baby. Vegeta was too infuriated to be of any support. It was rather the other way round as Bulma was the one trying to prevent him from losing his mind. For now, the Prince had locked himself in a training room and he seemed hell-bent on blowing it up.
Seeing Goku hesitant, Bulma took his hand. "Goku, look at me. I know what's good for Bulla and I also know what Vegeta will do if he finds out where Videl Satan is. Do you think I'm so weak that I wouldn't be able to keep the secret?" she insisted.
He sighed but his thoughts were interrupted by a peak of intense energy. A loud crash echoed from the corridor and they both stared at the door in concern. They could hear footsteps running outside the room and all of sudden the door was flung open in a startling bang.
Vegeta showed up and strode to them. "So? Any message from our favorite scumbags?" he asked in obvious exasperation.
His clothes were torn and half-burnt while he was all sweat and filth. At the sight, Bulma pictured easily that he had eventually won over the state-of-the-art training room and she rubbed her eyelids in weariness.
"No message for now but it's only been a few hours," Goku explained.
"Your plan is fucked up! They'll never negotiate. And neither do I, by the way. Let me deal with this girl," Vegeta barked.
"Vegeta, think for a minute," Bulma exclaimed. "Do you believe they don't know we caught Videl? They had all time to hide the children so that even she has no clue where they are by now and our experience with Goten taught us that the rebels are unsurpassed when it comes to hiding."
"Yet, she knows the location of many hideouts of theirs. I'll raze them all one by one and I'll find someone who knows something and Videl Satan will dearly regret to have ever challenged us. We were too weak with that bunch of snakes!" he snapped.
"She's only a kid," Goku objected forcefully.
"Three days. Give us three days, Vegeta, and you'll see that we were right. If our plan doesn't work - you'll do things your way," Bulma pleaded.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes and locked them on Goku.
Videl Satan would pay one way or another, and Kakarott was wrong to think that he could stop him. No matter how the story would end, that asshole of Hercules would never get his daughter back unharmed.
He eventually sighed though. "Three days," he growled under his breath, walking away in search of a new training room.
Goku watched him warily as he exited the room.
"So? Will you tell me where she is?" Bulma asked shyly when Vegeta was gone.
Goku turned to her in disbelief. "No way Bulma, I'm sorry," he replied before stepping out after Vegeta.
When Bulma was alone, she thoughtfully stuck a new cigarette between her lips. She would certainly not keep sitting idly in wait for a hypothetical call of the rebellion. Whatever it took, she had to find a way to discover where Videl was.
Goku had entrusted her to Gohan and there was one person on Earth that usually knew where Gohan was any minute of his life.
Chichi. It was worth a try.
As Bulma entered the apartment of the Son family after a faint knock, she came across Chichi holding a steaming teapot.
"Bulma darling, I was just about to visit you," Chichi exclaimed with a sorry face. "Did you have breakfast already? Would you like some tea?"
"Oh yes, that would be great," Bulma sighed, sitting down at the kitchen table. She was aware that Chichi had had no intention of coming to see her. She had just said she had out of politeness. Bulma didn't blame her though. Chichi was certainly the last person capable to endure the terrible wait for the return of a missing child, even if it wasn't her child.
"How do you feel?" Chichi asked as she took place beside her.
"As well as I can be. What about you? I guess you can't wait to see Goten again."
Bulma bit her lips as soon as the words came out of her mouth. In normal times, no one ever uttered Goten's name near Chichi.
Chichi's eyes darkened but she kept pouring tea unruffled. "Yes, he's eventually coming back. He's beautiful, you know. I saw him on the video. Did you see him too?"
"I did. Very handsome," Bulma lied. She had taken Goku's word for it and she hadn't even checked the video.
"He looks so much like his father, don't you think? I can't wait for this nightmare to end to have my two sons again and just now, Goku thought it smart to send Gohan away to keep him out of trouble. Can you believe it?" she huffed.
"Did he?" Bulma asked with fake astonishment. She realized that Goku hadn't bothered explaining his plan to his wife. Since Goten was gone, he always wanted to protect her and he spared her the slightest worry, but Bulma hadn't been aware that he had come to treat her so much like a child. She shivered at the thought that things could turn out that way for her too if she didn't get her daughter back. Life would fly by without anyone ever caring to share any problem with her in fear that she would break down again.
"Do you mean he didn't even tell you where Gohan was?" Bulma resumed slyly.
"Exactly, he didn't, saying it was for Gohan's safety, but as you know, when it comes to my son, no one can hide anything from me," Chichi scowled.
Bulma held her breath. Chichi had turned somewhat neurotic after the loss of Goten and one of her deepest obsessions was knowing her eldest son's comings and goings at any time. Bulma sometimes took pity on Gohan. He was now nearly 18, and still dealing meekly with his mother's whims.
"How do you know if Goku didn't tell you?" Bulma asked cautiously.
"I didn't let him leave without a video transmitter so that I could call him."
Of course.
"And I can tell you that I recognized very well Grandfather Gohan's dusty cabin last time I spoke to him. This place is so old and damp, I hope he won't catch a cold," Chichi explained further.
Bulma flinched. She couldn't help but smile. Just because she could go out of her mind, Goku tended to underestimate his wife's brain. He should have lied to her rather than leaving her in the dark about Gohan. He should have guessed that it would drive her crazy.