I told you I hated cliffhangers, so I couldn't leave you waiting for long! Here's the continuation. This chapter requires another "trigger" warning - if you are here, then I assume that means you already read Chapter 20, and you should know what the warning is for. ^^ Thanks to everyone for your feedback. These chapters have been a long time in the making, so I appreciate any and all reactions! It's nice to know whether or not you were surprised or enjoying the material, so it excites me every time I see a new review! Reading your feedback also helps to cheer me up with how hard and busy things have been for me - so again, thank you!

The rough draft for the new chapter is already done, and it'll be up as soon as things settle down a bit and I have time to proof read and edit. Hopefully next week?! ^^

The situation was progressing so quickly that Bulma hardly had any time to think. She was acting on instinct, and the only drive at that moment was to get away from this crazy man and protect her child. Trunks seemed to understand the severity of the situation. He was bouncing about like mad as his mother ran, but he didn't protest at all – he clutched at her shirt and kept quiet. His own instinct was telling him that the more silent they were, the better the chance was for them to get away. And that's just what he did – his eyes clamped shut as the wind hit his face, inside all he could think about was how unfair the entire situation was!

Mommy didn't deserve this – that man was UNFAIR!

If only he could teach the man a lesson. If only he knew what to do! But he could hardly even walk – how could he stand a chance with this big bad man? Oh, if only his body were CAPABLE!

If Bulma hadn't been so out of breath from trying to outrun Rikuto she would have been whispering comforting words to her son. She could hear the man's feet racing after her. He sounded as if he were still far away, but she knew it was only a matter of time before he caught up to them. She needed to find a way to get out of his trail of sight long enough that she could pull the capsule from her bag and escape...

Her bag! She'd forgotten about her bag! It was bouncing frantically, slapping her in the back as she ran. She was sure that papers were flying out of it through her struggles, but she was so glad to realize that it was still thrown over her shoulder!

Ahead Bulma could see a turn quickly approaching. This was going to be her only chance – she had to turn around that corner and find something to hide behind before he caught up to it. At least, she hoped there would be something to hide with. For the love of Kami, please let this work! It didn't feel possible, but Bulma managed to pick up her pace. Her breath racing, the valves in her heart thudding so hard she could hear them in her ears...

Within a couple of seconds Bulma had approached the corner and turned, running blindly towards whatever was around the bend...

… She stopped in her tracks.

"No!" She breathed. 100 meters ahead was a brick wall. The side of a building, it sported a large poster that was advertising a cheap apartment. There was no object, not even a trash bin, for Bulma to try and take cover behind. It would only be a matter of seconds before the man turned the corner after her, and then she'd be done for. With only one thing left to hope for, Bulma threw her hand into her bag. So many contents had blown out while she'd been running, yet there was still so much to fish around in order to find her capsule – if it was even still there! If it hadn't fallen out during her struggle!

'Oh please.' She thought desperately. 'Please let it be in here!'

She could hear his footsteps coming closer as she frisked about the bag. She let out a frustrated groan, her fingers scratching the bottom of the parcel, and suddenly they came into contact with the capsule. She was terrified, her limbs trembling, but she was so relieved to feel that it was still there. Within a split-second had was throwing it out ahead, running for the helicopter before it had even completely formed.

Her body was shaking violently from the fear and adrenaline coursing through her veins, so much so that she had a hard time clasping the door to the vehicle. 'Get it together, damnit!' She thought, her ears ringing. It was as if she couldn't get her digits to work - they didn't want to wrap around the door handle. They couldn't!

It was then that she felt a tug at her shoulder.

"Bitch!"

Bulma could feel the spray of his saliva hitting the back of her neck as he snarled. Her eyes widened, her heart dropped, and suddenly she knew that she was completely out of options. She had been so close. So close! But she hadn't been quick enough. There was nowhere else to go, and there was no way this man would let her even attempt to open the door to the helicopter. Why would he?! She'd just managed to get her fingers to wrap around the handle. And she stood still, clasping at the door, unable to pull the knob.

So close she had been, so close to freedom. If only her hand hadn't been shaking so hard and she'd been able to properly open the door. If only it hadn't taken so long to find the capsule in her bag. If only she'd had a little more time. She'd been so close to her escape, and yet she was now utterly and completely cornered.

Trunks instantly began to scream. He wasn't crying, but he was audibly trying to warn the man away, frustrated that he didn't yet know how to form words. If only he could fight in the way that he'd seen daddy train in the ship. If only he could pay this man back! Baby Trunks had been frightened by the situation, but not as much as he had been enraged. That man was hurting his mommy. That man was a bad man... He had no right to treat mommy like that!

Bulma turned quickly, hoping her sudden movement would break Rikuto's grip on her shirt. Her back was against the door of the helicopter now, Rikuto directly in front of her. He stepped back to get a better look. "I've got you!" He let out a husky laugh. "There's nowhere left to run, you little whore."

Bulma's lip trembled. She silently hugged Trunks closer, the baby still screaming and waving his arms.

"The brat's loud!" Rikuto continued, raising his voice to be heard over the sound of Trunks' yells. "I'm gonna have to shut him up! He's worth a decent chunk of cash, but not if his crying is gonna get us found!"

It was in that instant that Bulma began to feel light headed. She quite literally had her back against the wall - there was no other possible outlet for escape. Exhausted and terrified, the Bluehead slowly began to accept her fate. Rikuto was in the process of detailing where he was going to take her to, what he was going to do to her and Trunks, and what more could even happen if she didn't oblige with his demands... She was feeling dizzy, only comprehending every other word that the man spoke... The expression on his face gave her no doubt that he was being serious... She hugged her baby close, mentally promising that she would sacrifice herself before letting this man touch her boy.

"You owe me for kicking me earlier... " Rikuto was now saying. He let out another husky laugh, and a second later the palm of his hand was coming into contact with her cheek. It stung, but the Bluehead was feeling so numb with shock that she hardly felt it, and she didn't even flinch.

In fact, she hardly noticed the blow at all, for her mind was trailing with melancholy. She felt the stranger grab at her wrist, as if to emphasize the points he was making, but she was too distracted by her own thoughts to fight him away. Resisting anymore was going to be ineffective – not when she had no means of escape. She couldn't believe that, after everything she'd encountered and seen, this was going to be her downfall. This man - this simple human man, he was the person who was going to do it. All of the horror stories she'd seen on the news throughout her years, all of the tragic cases of stolen lives, and she was going to wind up as another statistic. There was a chance that perhaps someone might come and save her after she was taken to this stranger's hideout. But when would that be? The man's plans were gruesome, yet they also seemed to change with every other word he said. There really was no telling what he was going to do, or how long he would really wait before doing it? It probably wouldn't be until at least the morning before anyone even realized she was missing, and that was more than enough time for this crazy predator to inflict a number of offenses on her and Trunks.

She could feel Trunks slamming his hand down over Rikuto's forearm in effort to get him to let go of his mommy, and she heard as the man cursed from the recoil. He yelled a few offensive words about the "brat" and grabbed Bulma's wrist once more, giving it a sharp tug as if to warn the baby not to do it again.

Oh, why did Trunks have to be unlucky enough to be with her at this time? The biggest regret she had at that moment was that she'd chosen to go out with him instead of just staying home. He didn't deserve such a thing, he'd had no choice in the matter! Bulma had failed Trunks - she was his mother! She should have told Misuki to go fuck herself instead of taking her son out to meet with the snobby planner. Bulma was his caretaker, and she'd doomed him to the same hopeless fate that she was sure to meet. All because she hadn't fulfilled her responsibility as a mother to make safe decisions for him – and now her baby was going to suffer.

...She'd failed him...

...She felt alone, so alone. And as the Bluehead reflected on how she was certain her night was going to end, she thought sadly of her recent past. She'd wasted so much time in recent months feeling anxious, depressed, bitter, and angry. And now, in retrospect, it all seemed so pointless. That was all such precious time that she had wasted focusing on the wrong things, despite how hard she'd tried not to. If only Bulma could have the chance, she'd go back and redo it all.

At that precise moment, more than anything else, she wished she could be with him.

Vegeta.

… How badly she wanted to be with him at that moment. By his side, where she always felt safe. She thought of his eyes, and of how firm his chest felt when she sank into it, and she deeply regretted all of the recent times in which she'd stubbornly been angry at him. Hell, even when she was pissed with Vegeta, by his side she always felt as if no harm could possibly be done to her. She'd wasted her time – wasted it! When she could have been appreciating his company instead.

...And now she was going to perish, never to see him or feel his arms again...

"Vegeta..." She breathed, her eyes welling as Rikuto's fingers dug into her wrist even deeper. Her skin was stinging from his nails, and it was enough to snap her out of her thoughts.

"What did you just say?" The man was asking, looking almost amused. Clearly he didn't understand that Vegeta was a name, and he most likely thought she was speaking incoherently from the tense on the situation. Bulma didn't reply - she vaguely thought she could feel some sort of heat accumulating in the distance. Perhaps she was making it up? The Bluehead blinked. She could have sworn she'd seen something out of the corner of her eye, but her mind was probably playing tricks on her. She was pretty stressed out, after all...

"Are you going to, or not?" Rikuto was spewing. Bulma had no idea what he was asking her. She hadn't been paying attention to any of the things he'd just said, and her eyes widened.

What was he wanting her to do?

Was this it?

And suddenly, it happened.

It happened so quickly, and there wasn't any time to register the following chain of events. In a moment Trunks was swatting his little fist at Rikuto again, slamming it into the man's chin. It was enough force to knock him back. Rikuto grabbed his face, backing away and fighting to keep his balance. In turn it put about a meter of distance between him and Bulma.

Whatever heat the Bluehead had felt was growing in temperature. And in that moment, with Rikuto a safe meter away from her, she saw a flash.

Her pupils constricted as a bright beam appeared right in front of her face.

Rikuto, who was still holding his face in pain, didn't have enough time to even turn his head. The beam collided with his body, pulling him off his feet and throwing him back. The sound of his yell could be heard growing distant as the blast blew him away. Bulma watched, her mouth dropped open, as the beam of energy dragged the man about 100 meters until he crashed against a brick wall.

A second later she could see him – his body rushing past her own as he flew towards Rikuto's figure. She could see the golden-spikes of his hair, hear the flare in his voice, but she was so shocked by the situation that none of it was registering in her mind. She simply stared, her mouth hanging open, as Vegeta stood over Rikuto's body and turned towards her. "Take the boy and go!" He was shouting, but Bulma didn't budge.

.

Vegeta had still been fighting with himself in the forest, ignoring the fact that night-time had fallen long ago. He was in the middle of yet another power up when he felt it – her ki. He was used to her ki flaring at random moments – she did have quite the hot head – but this was different. He'd never felt it pulsate quite like this before. And what more, the boy's was flaring too. The saiyan made no hesitation when he took off into the sky. The boy's was skyrocketing, growing stronger with each passing second. He had to admit that he was impressed by the level of his son's power, but nevertheless he was concerned.

Something was wrong.

Something was incredibly wrong.

He could feel it. Bulma's ki had initially spiked, but it was now steadily decreasing. Whatever was going happening, she was physically exerting herself, and her energy was consequently draining - and fast. They were in danger.

It only took about 10 minutes, but to Vegeta it seemed like an unacceptable eternity. Questions were trailing through his mind during the flight - Why were they in the city? Especially at this hour? He'd been zeroed in on her ki as he approached, and from kilometers away he could both feel and hear as Rikuto slapped her across the face - the nerve! He didn't even think about it – a cloud of fire erupted around him as he instantly powered into super saiyan. His speed soaring with his new strength, he flew towards the alley quicker than he thought possible. As Vegeta got nearer he could hear Rikuto detailing certain things he wanted from Bulma - vulgar things. The saiyan didn't think it was possible for his rage to grow even stronger, but it did. His initial instinct was to charge Rikuto from behind, yank him away from Bulma, and slam him against the side of the building. But before he could even act on this, closing in on the scene, he witnessed his own son punching the crook away. The boy did good – knocking him directly in the jaw and pushing him back. The consequential gap that had been made between Rikuto and Bulma was just enough that Vegeta could blast him away without risk of hurting his kin along with it, and the saiyan acted on this opportunity.

Now he was standing beside Rikuto's body, and he was yelling for his woman to flee. But she wasn't listening...

Why wasn't she listening?!

Bulma was just watching him!

She stood, her eyes round with shock, her brain still racing to register what had just occurred. She was still feeling dizzy – still overwhelmed by everything happening, and she was frozen in place. Only a second earlier she'd been grimly accepting her fate, simply wishing that there was something she could do to spare Trunks. Her wrist was still hot and stinging from where Rikuto scratched it. How could things have changed so quickly?

Was this a hallucination?

...Was that Vegeta standing in front of her? Her head was spinning now, and her vision was blurring. This was too much. This was just too much to take. She had the sensation that she was being dragged down into a tunnel – though her eyes were still wide open, they were losing to ability to sense light. Everything was fading away - everything was growing darker. 'Was she about to faint?' The Bluehead wondered lazily. Her body was losing its own capability to hold her weight, and she found that she hardly cared as her knees began to sway. 'Was this how Chi-Chi would always feel before fainting?'

Rikuto, his limbs trembling, was struggling to push himself back up to his feet. He let out an excruciating cry, thinking that his legs must surely both be broken. Vegeta watched this creature in front of him, who scratched the cold concrete that he was laying on. The saiyan was more than surprised that this pest hadn't been rendered unconscious from the impact of his beam – but then again, he had held back on purpose...

...He hadn't wanted to kill Rikuto with his blast... Rikuto couldn't die - at least, not yet. Vegeta was intending to rip him apart with his own hands, shred by shred... And how dare the fiend find the audacity to call out in pain after everything he'd been attempting to pull?! Oh, the saiyan couldn't wait to take care of this asshole. He could feel his primal instincts taking charge. But he fought to prolong this urge. He didn't want Bulma to see him lose himself to the bloodlust. He needed to hold off just long enough for her to leave.

It was a struggle that he was quickly losing – he could feel as his pupils dilated. His vision was changing - everything was turning red.

Blood.

"Idiot!" He snarled, looking back up at the woman, his biceps pulsing. "Don't just stand there!" Foam spewing from his mouth, the barrel in his voice was enough to finally snap Bulma out of her haze. She shook, the light coming back into her eyes. The blank expression on her face quickly faded away, and the glow of determination rose back up in her cheeks. Her mind working once more, her vision no longer blurred, she held Trunks tighter and locked eyes with the saiyan.

Vegeta.

That was right! It was true! Her fate had been changed, thanks to her son and the man standing in front of her!

"Get out of here!" Vegeta was bellowing as his voice cracked, and she jumped to action.

She wasn't sure how many times he'd already said this, but he wasn't going to have to repeat himself again. She turned and threw open the door to the helicopter, her hands no longer shaking. A second later she and Trunks were safe inside the vehicle, and she took no hesitation to slam her hand onto the ignition. "Go, go, go!" She was chanting. The helicopter obliged, and when Bulma heard the sound of the blade beginning to rotate she let out a choked gasp of relief. "Yes... yes!" She breathed, tears welling in her eyes. She could feel the vehicle lifting into the sky, and she could hardly believe it. They were safe. There were going home!

Trunks was still being hugged into his mother's chest, though her celebrations did little to appease his anger. All he could think of in that moment was how envious he was of daddy to have been able to jump in and save the night. He wished he could have been the one to seek revenge... He wanted to be alongside his father, making that man pay... How lucky daddy was, indeed...

.

...Down below the rising helicopter stood Vegeta, his muscles shaking as the ape that had long been dormant inside awakened. He let out a deep roar, his chest heaving as his mind began to slip. Vegeta was glad that Bulma was leaving - he hadn't wanted her to witness what was about to unfold. It wasn't that he was ashamed – he was far from it. It was the inhumanity – the utter and primitive instinct to kill, with no holding back. Once he commenced this indulgence, there would be no stopping. Perhaps it would frighten her. She'd endured enough that night – she didn't need to see this as well. But with Bulma now flying away, he was completely free to let the beast loose. Ever since his tail had been cut off, Vegeta hadn't been able to take on the physical form of the ape. Yet the spirit was still there, deep inside, and it was now animating itself – taking charge to the point the he lost all ability to think clearly. The only color he could see was red, the domesticated side of Vegeta now gone.

He hadn't done something like this in a very long time...

This was going to feel good...

He turned to Rikuto, steam flaring from his nostrils. When the saiyan opened his mouth there were no words that came out – only a primitive yell. He'd long lost the care to maintain a vocabulary. There was going to be no need for it tonight. Only one thing was on his mind, and he wasn't going to stop until the need had been satisfied. Vegeta bent down and lifted Rikuto, pulling him up to his feet so he could glare into the deviant's eyes.

"Auh!" Rikuto howled, his broken legs twisting in pain. "Pl-Pleasse! I wasn't gonna do anything! She started it!"

The saiyan didn't respond, relishing in this man's fear. He could smell it, and the odor was incredibly sweet. How pathetic the man was acting, whimpering and crying like the little coward he was.

"I was just payin' her back, and then I was gonna leave! I swear - come on, buddy!" Rikuto was now howling. "Lemme go - please! She's the one who hurt me! Sh-She... She kicked below the belt! You know how that is, man! I was just getting a little payback, man! PLEASE!"

While Vegeta normally would have found the image of Bulma punting this fiend in the crotch amusing, in that moment he didn't care. Rikuto's pleads were becoming less satisfying with each moment that passed - it was time to get to business. He lifted his arm to hold Rikuto high in the air, his body dangling as he cried. There was only one thought - one word - that was crossing the saiyan's mind.

Revenge.

Okay, I got really excited when Vegeta made his cameo. Was I the only person who was happy to see him?! He's completely losing it now, but can you really blame him?! We missed you, Veggie! ^^ Have a great weekend, and please let me know what you think!