Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.
A/N: A big thank you to anyone who nominated and /or voted for this story for the Annual We're Just Saiyan Community awards – it was such a wonderful surprise to see that this had placed first for 'Best Angst' after having a few months hiatus from fandom. I'm sorry I haven't been around; I have been dealing with my family's health issues which are never fun.
I want to shout out to one of my favourite ladies in fandom, Lady Lan. I have been reading her fic Pandemic and owe her a ton of reviews because it's so freaking good. Go check it out if you haven't already!
Bulma
Year 754
She closes her eyes in the last instant, her head whipping forward as the space pod collides with the ground. Only Vegeta's arm, held tight around her middle, stops her from flying forward on impact. The dust is still settling around the pod as its door begins to open, and she stands on wobbly legs, heart beating rapidly in her chest. She winces as the same pulse burns hot around the wound on her right arm, her stitches pulling uncomfortably at her skin.
The air on Gargantuan is filled with a dry heat that leaves her feeling thirsty within seconds of drawing it into her lungs, and yet the taste of it on her tongue – so vibrant compared to the stale air of a ship – is better than she could have imagined.
She clambers out of the pod, her first steps on this alien soil clumsy in comparison to Vegeta's catlike grace. He stands beside her as she peers up at the edge of the crater, ten feet above her head, and into the night above. In this dark she can't see much, but she already knows one thing; she can't climb the steep incline before her.
She knows how painfully aware Vegeta is of her lack of strength, but she loathes drawing attention to it any more than necessary. She's seen his calculated look too many times to ignore the fact that he considers her weaknesses to be a personal liability. Standing here on this strange planet she'd never heard of before three weeks ago sends a chill running down her spine; on Frieza's ship Vegeta relied on her to get them out alive, but this here is his domain, and she is very much at his mercy.
He snorts beside her, a noise he makes when only mildly offended, and when his arms curl around her waist she leans into him, jumping only slightly as his tail winds around her knees, extra support as he lifts her into the air. It is a matter of seconds before he sets her down, feet once more on dry soil, and she looks across the arid landscape. The crescent moon does little to illuminates the ground, but she can make out the second and third craters, and the dark shapes that swoop up from these, flying towards her like demons in the night.
They land a few feet away, and she remembers that they are demons in the night. Nappa towers above them all, standing eight feet high; Raditz stands a foot smaller, still huge compared to her. Their new scouters glint in the dim moonlight, as do their canines, bared in wolfish grins. A shiver runs down her spine.
Vegeta shifts impatiently. "We need to get moving," he commands. "There's a port on the outskirts of the city. We'll take a ship from there."
She is scooped up in Vegeta's arms once more, his movements rough this time, and she hisses as he bumps her bad arm. His ki ignites around them both, her stomach lurching as her takes to the air, and she shivers, the blazing heat radiating from his body at odds with the icy air of the night sky. Her nose brushes against his bare neck as she turns her face away from the wind, and she is glad the darkness conceals the blush on her cheeks.
It's been a long time since a man held her this close.
. . .
She steps gingerly over a body and onto the ramp of their chosen ship. She should feel worse about the casualties; between them the Saiyans took out eight men to take the Eleusis, a sleek looking craft with an impressing cruise speed.
For the moment she just feels relief; and as the ramp retracts and the airlocks seal shut, she breathes out a sigh. The ship lifts, Vegeta steering at the helm as they breach the atmosphere of Gargantuan, and for a brief moment she sees freedom. They have left no traces of their visit to this planet, having set all three of their pods to self-destruct minutes after their arrival, and having killed every creature that spotted them in their escape.
It is this last thought that spoils her sense of liberty. She stands rooted to the spot, staring out at the dark of empty space, for an immeasurable amount of time, trapped under the weight of what she has just done. It is her shaking limbs that finally bring her out of her reverie, her body finally experiencing the shock of it all. Teeth chattering and arm burning in pain, the guilt of her alliance with the murderous Saiyans sinks heavy in her gut.
"The blue bitch is smart, but she reeks of fear," she hears Nappa say from somewhere in the bowels of the ship.
She laughs, and the sound is hollow in her ears.
She is afraid. She is a ghost now, real only to the three alien men that know she is here. She has escaped Frieza, but the knowledge that she must face him again one day, to claim her revenge, is both a blessing and a curse.
Until that day, she can never be seen, never be caught. Until then, she will never truly be free.