AN: Hi! So I'm back with the new chapter - told ya I would be. So… I had a plan for this one, I did, but it's been so long since I wrote I got side tracked with trivia and character building. I still think you'll enjoy it tho. Bon appetit everyone. Next time I'll definitely move into the nitty gritty of the plot.

Chapter 10 (The Clever Barracuda)

Ray Naga attempted to keep himself as motionless and unobtrusive as possible, which, as anyone witnessing his current predicament would have told him, is a wasted effort. Around him floated the Queens Council and their advisors, arranged in a semicircle in the amphitheatre that was the throne room. The Queen, it seemed to Ray was of the same mind as he, staying silent and serene as chaos reigned around her.

Ray's mind was abuzz with the sentiments and passionate emotions of the outraged merfolk around him. It seems however, that outrage was the only emotion the mers in the room had in common. What to do about the problem at hand was a point of constant and tedious contention.

'Send an army! It's the only way to assure that she be captured and returned unharmed!' Councilman Jahto shouted.

'Are you mad, man! The ink of our truce with the Eelian folk is barely set and trade relation are just now restoring, you'll incite another war.' Councilman Cairo answered.

'Jahto is right! We should spare no expense. This is our future -our long awaited Kingdom -that we are talking about' yet another Councilman chipped in. A Brief silence followed, in which each Councilman seemed to confer with their present entourage before the arguing started back up.

'There is no evidence that the princess Bulma is as you say. She is already fully fledged and mature, if she had any breeding capabilities -biologically -it would have manifested itself years ago.' This came from Councilman Manta, who up until that point had been mostly silent. He was answered by Cairo.

'I disagree, her own twin sister had testified only last week that the princess Bulma had started shedding her chest scales. Marron is a priestess -she has sworn an oath of truth-speaking. She would not lie. I do agree that Bulma's safe retrieval is of utmost importance, but there must be a more diplomatic means of achieving it.'

'If Marron is as candid as you say she is, why would she wait nearly a month to come forward with this information? The search for the missing Captain had already been going on for weeks when Marron came forward with her questionable revelation. I say leave the spoiled wretch to her decisions, if she is indeed the fulfillment of the prophecy, there will be nothing any of us can do to accomplish or circumvent it. All is in the Great Neptune's hand. ' he said, his sarcasm and skepticism clearly projected to all that was present. He did have a point, Ray conceded. As the arguing continued, Ray's thoughts turned inward.

In retrospect, Bulma did seem unusually closed up when he encountered her the day it turned out that she was fleeing the City. She said she was in the shopping district getting a coming of age gift for Princess Marina...but she was in armor. If it were anyone but Bull Shark that fed him that line he would have called it immediately, but Bulma can bluster like no one he's ever seen and he didn't see the blood in the water until it was too late. By the time it came out that she fled, she was long gone. Damn that mermaid! What he still couldn't figure out was: why? Why did she swim off? The official story was that she was swimming from her responsibilities -that she was chosen to be the next Queen and she rejected the appointment. That story wasn't very well received by the general population, by the way. The people loved Bulma. She was their champion -their Bull Shark that could do no wrong. A fierce warrior and a great leader; she would never abandon her people when they needed her leadership and when they would wholeheartedly support and encourage her coronation. For them it made no sense whatsoever and all sorts of rumors and conspiracies have since been circulating the waters of the realm. Ray's favorite of them being the one where the Council did away with her now that they no longer needed her to fight in the war because her influence intimidated them. Ray was more inclined, however reluctantly, to believe the official story. He knew the Bulma behind the reputation -the good and the bad. If it were indeed true that they would have appointed her Queen, that mermaid would swim as if the Imoogi himself was after her. She despised the corrupt and sexist system their government was based on and would never have consented to become its figurehead queen. Her blatantly seditious sentiments would have gotten her severely punished and thrown out of the military If it weren't for the fact that she was a royal, beloved by the people and damn good at what she did.

If Bulma swam because she developed breeding capabilities -an unlikely occurrence as Councilman Manta already emphasised - then there would in a sense be nowhere to hide with the new strained truce between Eel and Mammal merfolk. They would either kill her quietly or send her back as quickly as if she were diseased. And if sources put her last sighting at the Eastern Wild Gate -a Gate dedicated to controlling access into and from the eastern wilderness situated between Mammalian and Eelian territory, and he knew Bulma as well as he thinks he does, then that would put her intended destination, and he can't even believe he's thinking it... the surface. Bulma -the bloody lunatic -was following the plan the two of them and a few other co-conspirators drunkenly cooked up on the eve of battle against the Eelian army. He did not know for certain at first, had just had a hunch, but further under the sonar investigation and a few favors called in confirmed that Bulma was indeed was last heard of heading for Redemption's Pass. Whatever her true reason for swimming away was, Ray at least had a good idea of where she was heading, which landed him in his current predicament: floating before a divided Council with valuable intel and a proposition they would be fools to refuse.

When all the rooms attention finally turned to him, his mental voice rang loud and confident through the throne room. Speaking to the queen, as is custom he said:

'Your Majesty, I believe that Bulma has fled to the surface'

His statement was met with instant silence. It seemed that Councilman Manta was first to recover.

'What?' he roared.

Ray looked towards the Queen, her Serene expression was cracked, revealing the concern behind the mask. 'What evidence do you have of this?' she asked shakily.

Ray took a deep breath and launched into his explanation, starting with the night they hatched the outrageous plan. When he concluded his tale, he was met with varying sentiments. While some believed, based on the hopelessness and outrage projected into the room, the most prominent emotion seemed to be scepticism.

'So you're telling me that you believe that Princess Bulma, one of the most intelligent warriors of the realm, would completely lose her senses and attempt a journey to the surface based on an insane plan you cooked up together in an inebriated state?' Councilman Jahto asked. His tone permeated with amused cynicism.

'I'm merely pointing to the logical conclusion of the evidence that I've gathered, Sir.' he stated, reverting to military propriety in an attempt to reign in his annoyance.

'Yes… evidence. Evidence like sources seemingly located in Eelian territory? And pray tell, just who are these mysterious informants, Lieutenant?'

'My contacts would like to keep their identities hidden, Sir' he said, clenching his teeth. The merman's patronising manner was starting to get on his last nerve.

'Well then, your testimony will be considered as all just hearsay and your evidence dismissed…'

Ray was shocked, to say the least. He looked around the room, desperately hoping that someone would believe him and advocate his story. He didn't even get to the part where he proposed an extraction mission. Stony faces glared back at him, seemingly placated by Councilman Jahto's verdict. The guards had already left their post, swimming to escort him from the room. Ray was just about to revert to begging pathetically when the Queen swam from her throne to float in the center of the room"

'Wait…' she said and the guards stalled. Looking at him with piercing blue eyes so similar to Bulma's that his heart gave a little twist, the Queen asked:

'If your story is truth, we should expect to find a page missing from the Queen's Book, a book that only royalty has access to - specifically, the map to the Reef. What shall we do when if we find such an occurrence, Councilman Jahto? Prior investigation did put Bulma in the Treasury the day of her escape.' she addressed the bewildered Councilman.

'I uh… we shall have to consider the merit of Lieutenant Ray's story.' he admitted grudgingly. The rest of the merpeople bobbed restlessly in their places, uncertainty once again coloring the tone of the assembly.

'And what, Lieutenant Ray, are you then proposing to do if your testimony proves to have merit, as the Councilman so puts it?'

'I would like your permission to assemble a small task force to retrieve her.'

The Queen nodded. Then turned to the audience. Whatever her expression was, for Ray could not see it, invoked quite a bit contention, but Ray sensed grudging acquiescence as well. He smirked. It seemed like the Queen has more a spine than they gave her credit for.

'You do know that only direct descendants from Queen Aquellé the Cursed are believed to be able to transform on land.' Jahto spoke up in a halfhearted protest to his proposal.

'I am that.' he stated, his confidence returning, 'and so is the rest of my proposed team.'

'Naga… Yes, I recall now.' the Queen stated softly, 'You are the grandson of the Traitor: Former Councilman Jerome Naga. Your grandfather was the first direct male descendant of the cursed queen. One of her lesser daughters was his grandmother. He made quite quite a fuss about it too, I remember - stating he was the rightful heir to the throne. Had any of your ancestors born the characteristic trait of the Arowanian crown - the three shaded tail - he probably would have succeeded in his coup. It's all moot now anyway, since more males were later also born of the lesser lines of the Arowana.'

'A sign that the time is drawing closer for the true male heir to be born. Which is why I reiterate,' Councilman Jahto injected, 'We should spare no expense. We should retrieve Bulma at all costs. Currently, Mina is next in line to the throne - as she is your strongest fertile daughter wearing a three shaded tail, but her power pale's in comparison to Bulma's. Bulma must be found. Our very future is at stake.'

'You are sure the others you require on your mission are of this legacy?' the Queen asked Ray.

'I am, your Majesty.'

'Good. Let it be so.' the Queen agreed before further protest were made. Ray breathed out a relieved sigh. Bulma had better have followed their plan to the letter and taken that page, or they were both screwed. Whatever the assembly's outcome though, Ray swore, he would stop at nothing until that crazy mermaid's tail was firmly and deeply back in the ocean, even if he had to drag her back in chains.

"Bulma, Dear?" a blond headed woman peeked into her room, her eyes were so slanted as to seem constantly close -that and it seemed the woman had a permanent smile on her face. It was quite disturbing, yet strangely endearing as well. Bulma lifted her nose from the book it was buried in and set it aside.

"Yes?" The mermaid answered her hostess in an uncertain voice. She had been given her own room upon arriving at Capsule Corporation. When they left the island, Vegeta had offered to fly with her in his arms -a notion that Bulma found extremely romantic… it was extreme alright, but romantic is not the sentiment Bulma would attach to the actual experience. After a few seconds of hollering until her vocal cords burned (a strange sensation as she wasn't accustomed to use them all that much) and clinging for dear life as it seemed her stomach was turning itself inside out, Bulma finally managed to convince Vegeta that she would not slow him down if he should set her in the ocean. He reluctantly complied, consenting to fly low enough that she could see him and needless to say grumbling the whole way down. She smiled, thinking of his gruff demeanor hiding a considerate heart, even if it were only towards her, a smile that widened considerably when she thought of his reaction to her speed in the water. She could easily keep up. Her newly attained ki control definitely improved her swimming speed and agility -not that she wasn't fast before. Swimming in shallow water is considerably easier than swimming as deep as she was accustomed to all her life. Like she explained to Vegeta -it's like living in a high pressure environment such as that of his Gravity Trainer that was currently humming and straining outside the compound, once you're free of it you feel infinitely stronger and faster. He didn't say so, but she could sense that he was impressed and it made a bubble of warmth blossom in her chest. That was two weeks ago, before he dumped her on her bottom -for he had to eventually fly with her again once they ran out of ocean -before two flabbergasted humans: Dr. and Ms. Briefs. To them he spoke brusquely in a somewhat intelligible language before turning toward her, a frown on his brow.

'These are your hosts, Dr. and Ms Briefs. They are very influential people on this planet so treat them graciously.' His frown deepened as he seemed to consider something. He looked between Bulma and the Briefs once, then again through their link said 'You shall have to learn to speak as the humans do -I have no time, nor the desire to play mediator for you. Besides, indulging you in this manner wouldn't do anyone any favors. I have no doubt you possess the needed mental capability to accomplish such an undertaking by the end of the month. I will give you my assistance until then, but only in the evening as I will be training during the day.' He suddenly turned to walk away, but as an afterthought paused and added: 'Do not try to pry into their minds -it is not a very pleasant sensation when done against one's will and might cause mental harm to these humans. Not that I particularly care but I depend on the elder Brief's intelligence.'

To say she was unceremoniously left to her own devices was an understatement. It seemed he had reverted to the aloof and cold prince he used to be before they established their mental link. His sudden personality 180 coupled with being in a foreign environment left her confused her and she was as thoroughly dazed as a fish out of water. She did not know what to expect from these humans and that in turn caused her to panic and do exactly what Vegeta asked her not to. She attempted telepathic communication. In hindsight, she realised that she might have deliberately defied him for the thoughtless way he just plopped her down in front of strangers without so much as an as your leave.

'Excuse me,' she sent her first communication. Both humans seemed to react differently. Ms. Brief glanced around her, looking for something in the air and proceeded to wave her hand above her head as if swiping at something. Mr Brief subtly shook his head before pinning her with wizened blue eyes that narrowed in contemplation.

'Excuse me,' she tried more forcefully. Ms Briefs looked around more frantically before mumbling something to her husband and reaching to rub at her temples. Dr Briefs' eyes widened and he spoke something to Bulma. She heard the individual syllables but her mind, unaccustomed to processing language from audio, took a while to translate. She had to repeat the words he spoke to her over in her head to get the meaning of them. When she finally managed to understand them, it was like a light shining into her mind, illuminating a dark place that has seen much neglect.

"Is that you, child?" was what he asked and he seemed just as awed about the sudden communication as she did. She could do nothing but nod, mutely.

'My name is Bulma.' she projected telepathically.

"Where is that buzzing coming from? Do we have a beehive somewhere, dear?" Ms Brief's asked her husband.

"That is incredible!" Mr Briefs shouted.

It took about two heartbeats for her brain to process their words, it was like talking with a severe lag between sentences in a conversation. Mr Briefs completely ignored his wife, his focus fixed on Bulma. He seemed eager, as if he discovered a new toy. It made Bulma nervous.

"It seems my wife cannot process the telepathic signals you are sending out, but I can... Bulma, you say?" She nodded in reply to which his face lit up like a Barreleye* fish.

"Incredible!" Then more hesitantly, "Would you mind… I would like to run some test in my laboratory… on you. It won't be painful, I promise."

After processing his request, Bulma nodded once more - unable to see the harm in it. After all -if these people were untrustworthy, Bulma did not think Vegeta would have left her to their care - either that or he trusted her ability to handle anything these humans would throw at her. Well, she thought, standing to dust off her bottom, Nothing ventured nothing gained, right? Which was basically the story of her life. The doctor waited patiently for her to reach his side before he started talking again.

"Come on in," he said, "there is much we can learn from each other, Mr. Vegeta has requested that we provide the necessary resources to train you to speak and understand our language. I think it a much more prudent arrangement If I take over the task completely since it seems you're already halfway there… It's baffling -just baffling how the brain works, isn't it? ...I wonder whether I can create a receiver to receive, decode and maybe even replicate telepathic signals -after all, If I can design a device to pick up on the life energy transmitted by dragonballs, telepathic signals shouldn't be that far off.. it's just about finding the right frequency this energy is resonating at…"

Bulma stopped trying to translate after a while and continued following the doctor into the compound. Not only was it a constant struggle to try and remember and convert his words into messages she could understand, trying to make sense of that message after its translation was another can of worms altogether. He was an interesting character, she later decided. A bit intimidating in his vast knowledge and uncanny ability to understand the most abstract of concepts, but he had pure intentions and a ditsy way about him which endeared him to her -that and the black thing called Kitty that was always attached to his shoulder for some reason. If she didn't see it wonder around the house a few times during her stay she would have sworn the thing was a parasitic growth. She ended up spending her days in his laboratory with all sorts of strange devices attached to her, making strange beeping noises and showing unintelligible diagrams and squiggly lines on flat illuminated screens. All the while he would explain what test he was running to her and she would try her damndest to make sense of it all -usually failing miserably. That's when the reading started. At first it was a means to understand what was done to her, but as soon as she opened her first applied science textbook -she became addicted. Technology in the surface world followed a completely different set of rules of physics to that of the merworld and the more she learned, the more she wanted to know. Her speech came halting and stilted at first, but it was a necessary tool for communicating with everyone but Vegeta and Dr. Brief -and the doctor wasn't always present to answer the many questions he had.

Has it only been two weeks? The mermaid thought flabbergasted. Vegeta gave her four in which to learn to communicate with the humans in their language -she had done that and so much more in half the time. Granted her speech wasn't perfect, but it didn't take her three seconds to process each sentence spoken to her. It was almost instant now, not completely natural but not as much of a strain on her brain either. Bulma glanced again at the book she set down: 'Conceptual Physics Volume 3' and reluctantly closed it to give her full attention to the woman standing in her doorway. She was carrying a tray. Upon it was an assortment of what humans refer to as 'confectionaries'. Bulma's mouth watered looking at them and she gladly admitted that of the many things surface dweller did better than mers - preparing food would be high up on that list.

"I hope you were not too busy?" Ms Briefs asked in a roundabout way, a hopeful glint in her eyes. When Bulma shook her head 'no' Ms Briefs then took a relieved breath and entered the room, setting the tray on top of a low table in the middle of the floor called a coffee-table.

"Good," she stated "Honestly, these men! Always working so hard and then expecting their more delicate halves to be able to keep up with their gruelling pace." she started her usual chattering routine. "Why it's all that Vegeta's fault I say - always demanding this and that from the doctor and damned if that man doesn't enjoy making all those thingamajigs for him, but then again -a body like the one Mr Vegeta has isn't going to sculpt itself..." and like clockwork her face blushed a pretty pink and her hands flew to her cheeks in a halfhearted attempt to cover it. "Oh! What am I talking about -I'm a married woman!" she shouted and giggled shamelessly. Bulma couldn't help but chuckle along. Somehow she always ended up saying that exact same line. Bulma had long since realised that while Ms. Briefs might not be so bright as to keep up with her genius husband, she was definitely his match when it came to being scatterbrained. She could easily keep up with his hopping from one topic of conversation to the next and sometime they'd find themselves conversing about completely different things altogether and not lose a beat as if it were the most normal thing in the world -something that quite often left Bulma reeling in more than one instance. And as Dr. Brief's leadership in the science wing was uncontested, so was his wife's when it came to the domestic side of the compound. It baffled Bulma how both of them could be so ditsy yet so rigidly organised at the same time -not a detail slipped through the many holes of their thought processes. It was quite something to behold.

"Enough about my misery, dear, how have you been?" she asked, taking a tart from the tray

"Tired mostly, but I'm coping." she said. To be honest, Bulma was exhausted - although she's never made to do anything physically strenuous -she felt the passing of time with a little bit more strain each day. A long cold salt bath usually took the edge off each night, but Bulma suspected that her time away from the ocean had something to do with it.

"Poor dear, is my husband giving you a hard time? I told that man that he cannot keep you cooped up in that lab of his all day. You've been here all of two weeks and you haven't once been to the mall -it's a scandal I say. I would also be tired if I had to wear overalls every day."

As far as she knew, no one but Vegeta and Dr Briefs new about her true form. As far as it concerns anyone else -she was merely a guest of the Briefs who had volunteered her 'Psychic' abilities for his latest project. Volunteered wasn't even the right word come to think of it, Dr Briefs insisted on paying her for her services since she was technically helping him create technology that was potentially worth millions. So besides a place to stay, she now had a sizable amount of money sitting in a bank account that was created for her. Her identity and other relevant documentation has also been taken care of. When Vegeta said these people had considerable influence, he wasn't joking. He apparently had a similar arrangement with the good doctor -contributing his extraterrestrial expertise to the Air and Space R&D department of Capsule Corp. Thinking of the abominable Saiyan brought a little pang to her heart. She still saw him most evenings, but their interactions had a businesslike feel to them. He was either helping her with some of the subtleties of human speech or grilling her on her progress with her ki-control exercises. the underlying sexual tension was still present, but he seemed to completely ignore it. What the Kelp was the man waiting for? Another invitation? It was beyond frustrating - especially since she now knew more about the courtship rituals (and mechanics) of land people thanks to the wonderful invention called a television.

Bulma smiled, noting Ms Briefs' extravagant attire for the day. She was wearing a shoulderless pastel blue dress that hugged her upper body and poofed out at the waist. Bulma recognised the style as '50's housewife' from the human history programs she's been watching. Bulma had recently been contemplating taking matters into her own hands with Vegeta to escalate things a bit. A trip to the mall might be exactly what she needs -after all, looking good is the first step of attracting male attention -even where she came from, and the right attire is the key -ergo: the mall.

"The mall sound like a great idea, Ms. Briefs -I wouldn't mind accompanying you on your next excursion."

"Excursion! My goodness," she laughed, "I can hear you've been hanging around scientists. Yes -I think the mall is just what you need -tomorrow at the latest! We will go in the morning; make a day of it. Oh and for the utmost of times, Honey, call me Panchy. 'Missus Briefs' makes me feel old. "

"I'll inform the doctor of our arrangements" Bulma said smiling as she helped herself to one of the cakes on the platter.

When Bulma attempted to open her eyes the following day she was nearly blinded by the ambient light. She shut them immediately. It took her a few seconds to register the familiar voices speaking in her nearby vicinity, her mind had immediately focused on the scratchiness behind her lids and the pounding in her temples filtering out everything else until she gained lucidness. Bulma felt horrible.

"Bound to happen some or other time… all the foreign bacteria and viruses she was being exposed to in this new environment." She recognized Dr Brief's voice.

"Nonsense" the gruff voice of the Saiyan prince rang out in reply, "She's been running around in the jungle for weeks on end and hadn't picked up anything."

"If she's as resilient as you say she is, she will probably recover soon enough" Dr Briefs said again, his words followed by a cool sensation on her forehead. The throbbing in her head subsided almost immediately. She attempted to open her eyes again, blinking past the blinding white light until her ceiling swam into focus.

"Vegeta?" she called out, her voice raspy and her throat dry and burning.

"Woman, the doctor says you have fallen ill with some sort of human viral infection -one of the various strains of influenza." Vegeta replied, moving into her line of sight. He was shirtless and sweaty again. His body was far superior compared to that of the human males she had come across during her short stay and she ogled his stacked chest shamelessly. He seemed to have come from straight training. He really is a fine specimen of a male, she thought appreciatively and with no little regret, having just realised that her seduction plans would have to be put on hold… again, Bulma sighed, and then looked towards where the doctor stood at her left side. He was busy attaching a needle onto the tip of some plastic tubing. Bulma followed the tubing to a bag of clear liquid hanging from a metal pole.

"What's up doc?" she joked - TV surely was an amazing tool. The doctor's thick mustache twitched - his version of a smile.

"You seemed to be showing some symptoms of a common viral illness humans get from time to time. I've taken some of your blood for analysis to confirm this, but I believe the infection to be fairly harmless in the long term. Ms. Briefs attempted to rise you this morning but you wouldn't wake. You were thrashing about and seemed a bit delirious so she checked your temperature and called me. She told me you mentioned feeling tired yesterday. How long has this been going on?"

"About three days" she answered, recalling the first time she felt noticeably weary after a series of tests in the labs. "Usually a salt bath makes me feel better. To be honest, doc I always thought it had something to do with my staying out of the ocean."

"The ocean, hmm? That is an interesting theory. A lowered immune system is what usually causes bouts of illness in humans, yours may indeed be attributed to your abstention from ocean water… never doubt the cues your body gives you." He then swiftly, without much warning inserted the needle into her arm, the pinch of pain was sharp, but momentary. "This is just an electrolyte cocktail to keep you hydrated." He stated by way of explanation before he got up from her side and proceeded to pace for a few steps. She watched him for a few seconds before exhaustion took over and she slipped back into sleep, her last memory being of Vegeta's silhouette staying silently by her side.

AN: And there you go - hope y'all enjoyed. I'll most definitely put the next part out sooner rather than later -I'm on a roll again. Drop some reviews. All your praise, critiquing and suggestions are very much appreciated.

PS: If you don't remember Ray, revisit Chapter 3. Also, fun fact:

* The Barreleye fish is a deep sea fish with a transparent luminescent face. It looks super weird - Google it.