32
THE memory felt fresh in her mind as Bulma watched in both trepidation and horror as Prince Tarble changed right in front of her eyes. She couldn't decide if she felt sick to her stomach because of her pregnancy or the fact that she had more or less commanded the younger Saiyan Prince to look up and look at the moon, knowing full fucking well that once he did, the planet was well, fucked.
Bulma was really beginning to hate moons, especially knowing what they turned nice guys like Goku into. Savage fucking monsters. Planet destroyers, and all because they looked up at the light of the damn moon.
It's like that song, the one my dad likes to listen to, Bulma thought, awestruck. The Killing Moon. She bit her lip.
She heard Vegeta in front of her give out an audible gasp of surprise before he seemed to recover as Tarble's body length shifted, growing massive in size, wiry brown fur sprouting on his back, arms, necks, anywhere at all, before he rounded on her, his face draining of all colors.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND INSANE?!" Vegeta bellowed, lunging forward on his heels, grabbing Bulma by her shoulders and giving her a violent, harsh shake of her body, momentarily forgetting Lord Frieza, who was looking shellshocked, as though he had quite forgotten Vegeta's young brother still had his tail. "HE'LL DESTROY THE WHOLE PLANET WITH US ON IT, WOMAN, IF WE DON'T STOP HIM!" he yelled. "ARE YOU PERHAPS SHORT OF A MARBLE?!" Vegeta opened his mouth to scream something else at her, though his hoarse shout was drowned out by the sound of his newly-transformed younger brother, that damned Great Saiyan Ape, who let out a guttural roar from deep within its broad chest, turning its red beady eyes towards Frieza.
Bulma would have smirked at the sheen of sweat that started to throng along Lord Frieza's forehead, that witless worm, though laughing was the last thing she felt like doing right now.
Her fingers gave a spasm as she itched to reach into her jeans pocket for the remote detonator in her back left pocket.
Kami, she could fucking kill him now.
But thankfully (or maybe not!) Tarble's transformation would keep Frieza distracted for a few seconds for Vegeta to take whatever revenge he saw fit before she blew his ass to smithereens and let her husband have his glory during one of Vegeta's final attacks.
Vegeta moved to try to take care of Tarble, who, in his monstrous form, had managed to lunge for Frieza, though the worm was quicker than he looked, and dodged out of the way, only to reappear a half-second later a hundred feet or so above Prince Tarble's transformed head. The Great Saiyan Ape let out a roar of frustration.
When Vegeta made no move to leave Bulma's side, she felt something within herself snap and she lost it.
"GO!" Bulma shouted, at the moment Android 18 skidded to a halt in front of her, sending up a shower of earth and pebbles in front of Vegeta so hard that her Saiyan Prince had to shield his face with both his arms. "Go help Goku take care of Tarble and then kill Frieza, and you fucking come back to us both, or I'll kill you myself!"
Her jaws tightened. Albeit his abrasive personality, ornery and mean streak, and hot-headed temper that rivaled that of her own, he was no doubt an illustrious warrior-her Saiyan Prince, her hero. Bulma stepped back and reached for his hand, peeling off his glove first before bringing his bruised and cracked knuckles to her lips for a gentle but urgent kiss.
She looked at him in bitter fealty as she nodded, sensing Vegeta's hesitations between wanting to stay by her side and protect his mate and unborn child, and finally put an end to Frieza's reign of terror over his people and the rest of the universe once and for all.
"My Prince. Android 18 will look after me," she said, having to raise her voice over the sounds of Prince Tarble in his Great Saiyan Ape form, Frieza screeching something inaudible, and Goku firing one of his trademarks Kamehameha Waves at the creature, missing, and hitting a building instead that sent an explosion clear into the sky. "GOKU! YOU MORON!" Bulma shouted, her eyes widening in shock and horror as she heard Goku scream as his limp form sailed past her. "YOU MORON! HOW COULD YOU MESS UP WITH THAT? MAX OUT YOUR SUPER SAIYAN POWER AND KNOCK THAT APE FLAT ON HIS DESTROYER BUTT!" she screeched, shaking her fist at her friend, who hollered back weakly that he was working on it.
Vegeta slowly nodded, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "My fiery wife…always doubtful of me, aren't you?" Vegeta growled, resting his now-bare hand on Bulma's jaw, ambivalent against the scorn in Bulma's burning blue eyes.
She continued to hold her stony gaze as his calloused thumb traced the outline of Bulma's lips, sliding it behind her lower lip and down the curve of her chin before winding his fingers around her neck, squeezing.
"You worry the Prince of All Saiyans would lose?" he snapped, hardly daring to give his suspicion a voice, also having to raise his voice over the din of the chaos and screaming as the Yardratians and anyone else who was capable of instant transmission teleported themselves to the other (safe) side of the age-old planet.
"I worry that he might kill you, Geta," Bulma muttered. Vegeta half-smiled at her, which in it of itself was a rare sight to behold, chaos beneath his wild raging black eyes.
Pulling her close before he could second guess himself, Vegeta roughly pressed his lips against hers, stealing the very breath from her lungs before he whispered something into the shell of her ear that made her skin crawl and gooseflesh prick out along her arms.
"You should, Woman." He pulled apart from Bulma to an already charging Frieza, who flung a ki blast at him.
The beam of light turned into mere explosive shards of light as Android 18 let out a guttural high-pitched scream as she flew her arms up in front of her face and stepped in front of Bulma, digging the heels of her boots into the ground, though Frieza fired another against her unprotected abdomen. She would have dodged it, but she had Bulma Briefs to protect or 18 wasn't getting paid.
"C'mon!" Android 18 shouted when Lord Frieza turned his head upon hearing Bulma's husband let out a cry of rage that escaped his lips as he barreled straight for Frieza, giving 18 an opportunity to escape with Bulma. "We've got to head back the way we came toward the pod! Get your friend and let's get the fuck out of here!"
"Works for me!" Bulma shrieked as she swung her knapsack over her shoulder and broke into a run, thankful she'd thought to wear her hiking boots and cargo pants with a long-sleeve maroon Henley shirt to protect against all the damn dust and debris. "Hurry up!" she yelled.
Though before she could say another word, she let out a muffled yelp of surprise as she felt herself being lifted by a pair of incredibly strong yet delicate hands as Android 18's hands wound themselves tightly around her waist and the blonde bombshell took flight to the skies.
She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing herself to try to breathe slowly through her nose and not look down at all, though she was forced to look at least once as Bulma fumbled with a fistful of Krillin's ruined Kame House uniform.
Poor guy was still knocked out unconscious, but probably not for long with the wind in his face like this.
"Oh, thank fuck," Bulma breathed as she felt for Krillin's wrist. Faint but still beating. He was still alive, though the poor guy was sure to have one hell of a headache and maybe even a concussion when he woke up.
Bulma, relieved that Krillin was going to be okay and that the two of them were relatively safe with Android 18, or would be, once they made it back to the escape pod and waited for Vegeta and Goku and Tarble, focused her gaze straight ahead and tried not to look down at the sky to avoid getting sick.
Vegeta? She whispered mentally.
Bulma almost had to stifle a smile and could imagine Vegeta's face turning red as the group heard behind them the Great Saiyan Ape form of Prince Tarble let out another guttural roar and knocked over a building.
NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR THIS, WOMAN! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M A LITTLE BUSY?
Bulma cringed, biting her lip, but didn't back down, unfazed by the Saiyan Prince's snarling and growling.
I—I know this isn't the best time, but I don't want you to worry about me, she tried to communicate, without struggling to peer over her shoulder behind 18's slender form to see what the bloody fuck was going on back there.
Bulma couldn't be sure since she wasn't looking, but she almost swore she felt Vegeta's eyes burning straight through her. She swallowed as the wind whipped her short blue hair back and off of her forehead. She felt as though she needed to ensure she and their baby wouldn't be a distraction to Vegeta's safety during his fight.
She understood and respected her Prince's reasons for wanting to deal with Lord Frieza his way, but she was going to assist her husband in whatever way that she could.
I don't want you to fight this battle to protect me.
Bulma shuddered at the consequences of his attentions being drawn away from the fight could mean.
I want you to fight to keep yourself alive. For our baby if nothing else. Let your Saiyan race continue, but our baby's going to need you by their side to teach him how to fight, how to be strong, how to do things I can't… Her own seriousness chilled her blood in her veins to ice. Listen to me, Geta. If…if this is our end, then I need you to know that you've given me way more love and have made me feel more respected and cherished than anyone in my life ever has, and even if you never say it again, then I'll say it every day until you believe it. That I love you, Geta.
Bulma didn't care how it happened, but she needed Vegeta to understand that as temperamental as the Saiyan Prince was, Prince Vegeta was the love of her life.
That as much as she may have once cared for Yamcha, that she had never felt for him what she felt for Vegeta. Vegeta understood her meaning. She could feel it.
The moment Android 18 touched down on the solid ground, Bulma let her grip slacken on Krillin's uniform. She felt her knees buckle beneath her and she slumped to the ground, using the outside exterior of the escape pod as a back brace, wincing as she got Krillin situated. The poor man had a good-sized knot the size of one of the Dragon Balls on the back of his head that would hurt like hell whenever the man woke up.
If he woke up soon, that was. Another loud explosion rent the air, tearing Bulma's gaze away from Krillin and towards where the fight was going on. Again, her fingers twitched to press the button that would end fucking Lord Frieza's miserable life, but she had to wait for the right moment. She would feel it.
Please be safe, she shot a silent prayer to Kami, if the so-called Guardian of the Earth could even hear her.
This was a battle that Vegeta had to fight, mostly on his own, and right now, he was fighting against time. She could only hope her Prince would be victorious.
Just then, Bulma felt a sharp pain in her stomach, her third or fourth pain in the last three minutes or so.
With a sigh of impatience, she slipped her knapsack off her shoulder and rummaged inside her pack to get something for it. Android 18 noticed the movement and furrowed her thin blonde brows into a frown as she knelt, stooping slightly to try to peer into Bulma's blue eyes.
She wasn't able to find any medicine that she could take. No pills, no Senzu Beans, not anything at all. Damn.
"What's wrong, Briefs? Are you feeling sick at all? You're white as a sheet and your pupils are really dilated."
A low, guttural groan escaped Bulma's lips as she gritted her teeth, clutching her stomach and doubling over. A horrible wave of dizziness washed over her, and her cheeks felt clammy and hot, to say nothing of her stomach, which felt like it was lurching, twisting her insides.
"I—I thought it was just a stomach ache," she whispered faintly, "but now…" But before she could elaborate further, a sharp, shooting pain shot through her midsection. "Ouch! It's my stomach, it really hurts a lot, 18!" Bulma groaned as 18 put a hand on her shoulder.
"What do you think is causing this, Briefs?" 18 asked in a calm voice, though if Bulma wasn't mistaken, just a tiny twinge of concern could be heard in her tone.
In reply, Bulma groaned and collapsed to the ground, doubling over as black dots crept to her vision.
Vegeta. Bulma repeated her husband's name like it was her own, last seeing Android 18's concerned face before her consciousness began to ebb at the sound of boots and the scuffling of a new arrival coming to her aid.
Before Bulma could allow the pain to overtake her completely, she fumbled with shaking fingers in her jeans pocket, her hands trembling so violently she dropped the remote detonator, but she managed to press the button.
Now all they had to do was wait for like a minute.
She could hear Android 18's muffled shouts and not-so-veiled threats and choice of curse words, but whoever was speaking, she couldn't tell. But even in the embrace of her growing pitch-blackness behind closed lids, a dull aching pain began festering from her womb.
LORD Frieza's taunts rang in Vegeta's eardrums. Goku was off attempting to deal with the raging Prince Tarble, having gone full Super Saiyan mode, but Tarble, despite his size, was quicker and stronger than he looked.
"You flaunt your strength on being called the Prince of All Saiyans!" Lord Frieza sent a well-aimed blast with every word and panting, ragged gasp as he aimed to kill the Super Saiyan Prince who was royally pissing him off.
With each dodge and blow Vegeta managed to skirt away from, that insufferable smirk and chuckle taunting Frieza and ringing in his eardrums, Frieza grew angrier. Frieza felt the urge to kill pump through his veins.
"SCUM!" Frieza gave synchronous kicks and swings as he lashed out at Vegeta. "I WILL ALWAYS BE STRONGER THAN YOU, YOU DUMB MONKEY! JUST GIVE UP AND DIE, VEGETA!"
Vegeta throughout the skirmish thus far had gained multiple incisions on his arm and an elbow that burst his temple. Just a little bit more, the Saiyan Prince coaxed.
Prince Vegeta forced himself to concentrate while maintaining the role of Lord Frieza's cornered prey and Lord Frieza never paused, much less gave Vegeta the chance to recover. What became of what was left of this part of the planet Yardrat was a chaotic mess.
Frieza was a reckless fighter, disorganized, primitive, Vegeta knew. He threw and struck out wildly and erratically as the first wave of exhaustion began to numb Frieza's arms. He'd used up a lot of power in just five minutes.
Sensing this, Vegeta dodged one of Frieza's misaligned swings and yanked on Frieza's right arm when close enough…only to drive it against Frieza's left kneecap and the crunch of a broken bone or two made the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise and yet, Vegeta cherished the sound.
The Saiyan Prince, or King now, he guessed, as he knew Father was dead, and good riddance, the bastard, shoved Lord Frieza to the ground, creating a crater in the barren earth that hadn't been touched by Tarble's rampage, of which Goku was still trying to cut his tail off.
His black eyes drunk with hatred and loathing, Vegeta slowly lowered himself to the crater the size of a spaceship and circled the wrathful alien with his breaths catching in his throat and his lips curling over his teeth.
"You always were too chatty, Frieza. You should really learn to shut your fat mouth. It'll get you into trouble one of these days. Could've saved up more stamina." He kicked a fallen boulder towards Frieza with a seething command as he spat through gritted teeth. "Tch," he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Just look at you. Groveling in front of me like the coward that you are. Get up, you witless worm. Quit sniveling and fight me..."
The tinge of power that swept across Vegeta's clenched hands as cracks of lightning rent the area where he floated in midair as his blonde hair whipped off his face had even Lord Frieza cursing under his breath, frozen in tension when the now King-of-All-Saiyans pulled his lips back to reveal a bloodied, devious grin, wide like a Cheshire Cat.
"I did warn you, Lord Frieza." With one wild swing as he drew back his arm and hefted it, positioning his hands just so, Prince Vegeta sent a Gallick Gun straight towards Lord Frieza's chest, leaving a series of cracks in the ground under his boots, causing the surface of the planet beneath them to groan.
Vegeta…
Vegeta froze as Bulma's voice flitted through his mind. Something was wrong. Her voice was faint, fainter than was probably healthy.
Veg…eta…I…
The pressure in the Saiyan King's head finally exploded as a blood-curdling scream left his lips as he dove at Lord Frieza, tackling the worm to the ground and plunged his fist repeatedly into the alien's stomach with such a raging, burning fire that made his pupils shrink.
Again, Lord Frieza sneered at Vegeta's hostility.
"So. Your freakish little wife. Where is that little bitch?" he mocked. "Dead, I hope. That tea that Madame Destiny gave her ought to be killing the wretched little cunt right about now. It's poison, you know. And the little monkey brat growing inside of her is probably dead by now, Vegeta." He clucked his tongue in mock disappointment. "You know, with no more lovely wife and no heir, I wonder what will happen to your precious Saiyan race now. Die along with you, I suppose," Frieza mocked evilly.
The alien's insult and dire wish for Bulma and his heir incensed Prince Vegeta.
"HER NAME IS BULMA!" Vegeta bellowed through gritted teeth. "BULMA! SAY IT!" he ordered. "SAY HER NAME!"
Eyeing him haughtily through bloodied eyes, Lord Frieza refused, even with his throat held hostage as Vegeta's hand-wound around the column of his throat and took to the skies with him, ensuring Kakarot saw his moment of triumphant glory.
Finally, he would be the one to put an end to Frieza's antics and not Kakarot.
Frieza gasped for air as Vegeta's fingers squeezed. He squeezed until he could feel his pulse straining against his god-like strong grip. The alien's eyes almost grew red from the pressure and lack of air.
For perhaps the first time, Lord Frieza seemed afraid of Vegeta's power.
"Say it," Vegeta hissed, his entire body utterly shaking with rancor.
Frieza coughed as Vegeta released the worm just enough for the wretch who'd made his life a living hell to mutter in response…
"B-Bulma…" Frieza spluttered, rolling his eyes angrily, his tail thrashing wildly in mid-air.
Vegeta chuckled darkly as his grip tightened on his throat.
"What's that? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the sound of you choking to death on your own spit, Frieza. You're going to have to speak a little louder this time!" Vegeta shook his head and his smirk widened further. "Use her proper title," Vegeta warned his former master. "Queen Bulma Briefs of the Planet Earth and Vegeta-sei."
He didn't bother to hide the faint note of pride in his tone as he imagined his mate's angelic sweet face.
After a moment or two of murderous contempt, Frieza relented.
"Queen Bulma Briefs of your wretched fucking stupid planets Earth and Vegeta-sei," he complied hatefully, his beady eyes narrowing to slits viciously.
Satisfied, Vegeta continued, barreling back down towards the planet, maintaining a firm grip on Frieza before slamming him headfirst into the closet thing he could find, which in this case, happened to be half of a building that somehow still stood even after Tarble in his Great Ape form had stepped on it.
He couldn't hear his brother's agonized roars anymore, nor did he see him or Kakarot, so Vegeta could only assume Bardock's son had taken care of it. Or they'd both died. Though Vegeta thought he'd actually prefer it if stupid Kakarot was dead and if that were the case, it meant he'd be left alone in blessed silence.
"You can take comfort in the fact that my father will be your companion in whatever Hell he'll have with you," Vegeta snarled, his hatred for Frieza and his father both evident in his tone and his words as he watched him, positioning his hands for one last Gallick Gun that would surely end this fucking bastard's life where he stood.
Vegeta's face turned bitterly sour as he flew backward several paces to allow himself a safe distance from the blast that was sure to follow at his own hands—not hers.
"You'll never have power over me or my race again, Lord Frieza," Vegeta vowed solemnly to Frieza. "And you will never hurt my friends or my family," he spoke his declaration to the Other World, the hatred in Vegeta's stare already damning Lord Frieza to Hell in the afterlife.
With one forceful thrust as he summoned as much energy as he possibly could for one final Gallick Gun blast, he shot the bolt of energy from his hands straight through Lord Frieza's torso, past the creature's ribs, and into his lungs, no doubt frying all of his inner circuitry.
"That is for my heir and how you tried to keep it from drawing its first birth, but it's not going to work, Frieza. Because I'm going to save my wife and child, and there's nothing you can do about it because you'll be dead."
Vegeta shook with hatred as he spoke, his eyes not seeing that of his former master, only the monster who had attempted and had taken away everything from him.
The silence was just a split second. Only long enough for Vegeta to break on him in a cold terror as he could sense Bulma's energy on the other side of Yardrat fading, coupled with strong energy, something unfamiliar, the likes of which Vegeta hadn't felt before.
And then, the explosion.
The sheer force of the last would have killed a hundred men in one fell swoop, but Vegeta merely watched the fireworks unimpressed and flipped what was left of Lord Frieza the bird, a twisted, triumphant smirk on his face.
By the end of the massacre, Vegeta's entire uniform was coated in blood, mostly his own, as he'd spent his fury vented. His skin flushed with both terror and excitement as he took flight to the skies with the strength of a hundred warriors, roaring his wife's name.
"BULMA! Bulma!" he shouted, not letting himself revel in Lord Frieza's defeat.
There would be time for that later. Vegeta couldn't be sure as he flew in the opposite direction from the now-ruined city in Yardrat, but he thought he caught a flash of brown out of the corner of his peripherals.
Tarble must not have transformed back yet. Guess he's giving Kakarot one hell of a workout, Vegeta thought wildly, almost torn between the desire to go and help the fucking clown, but he quickly shook his head, growling to himself in frustration, and turned back in the direction he was heading to in the first place.
Let Kakarot handle Tarble. For now, there was only one thing that mattered.
His wife.
He could only hope he wasn't too late.