WHERE ARE YOU

WHERE ARE YOU???

CHAPTER 5

Disclaimer: If you don't already know I don't own them, go look at the Prologue.

It was now almost a week later, and Bulma had had a pretty nice life so far. The act she and Vegeta were keeping up was a bit annoying, but as soon as Vegeta had trained enough to beat Freeza it would all be over. All was fine, as long as she was with her one and only love. Well, she did miss her friends and parents. She really missed them a lot. Oh, I hope I will get to see them again soon. I know it isn't possible now because of Freeza, but how will it be later on? Will Vegeta ever agree in going to Earth on friendly agreements? I know all my friends have been revived, that's for sure, but how am I gonna tell Vegeta? I can't let him kill them again. Jeez, this is a dilemma. I wanna see my friends and mom and dad, but how is that possible with Vegeta around? She just didn't know what to do. And she couldn't tell Vegeta. Not just yet.

In the meanwhile, Vegeta was training like mad. He was really frustrated, because he knew he had to attain a powerlevel that was his times hundred or something like that, to be even a match for Freeza. Damn! I'm never gonna beat him this way. My only hope lays in becoming a Super Saiyan. But I don't know how. I've trained so damned hard, and it still didn't work! I have to train harder. I need to be a Super Saiyan! I have to protect my mate!

So he trained and trained and trained. He did that everyday until he dropped. But today was different. He could feel it. It was… there was something wrong with Bulma! Shit! Freeza has Bulma! How could she have slipped my mind! Gotta make a run for it! And Vegeta sped off to Freeza's quarters.

Freeza sat in his chair, with his back to the door. "Let them in Dodoria." He said to his second in rank servant, a fat pink alien. "Yes, master Freeza." It lisped, and pressed the button to open the door. In came Zarbon, holding Bulma by her arm. He bowed for Freeza, as good as possible that is, because Bulma was struggling like mad. She immediately stopped when she saw Freeza. Oh Kami! He is… I dunno what he is but he is scaring the shit out of me! "Good evening my dear." Freeza said in his soft, genderless voice. "I heard you are the new slave that Vegeta has brought here from his last mission, isn't that so?" Bulma was shaking in fear now, but had the guts to speak up. "Yes my Lord. I am Bulma Briefs from planet Earth." She also bowed, a little clumsy because of her fear. "Ah…" Freeza said, and seemed to be lost in thoughts. "I heard that you invented a new system that makes our scouters more efficient? Could you tell me about that?" he asked her. "Yes my lord," Bulma said, her pride overruling her fear. "I have found a way for scouters to send messages and receive them in all possible languages. So even if some of your men cannot speak the standard language, but Namek or Saiyan for example, they can still receive messages from you, translated in their own language. I only have to find someone to program the different languages in them" She looked up at him to see if he was impressed, but his features showed nothing. "I'm amazed, Bulma Briefs. That is quite an accomplishment in six days! Bravo! I would like to use your idea, and make mass production of it." he said to her surprise. "Of course my lord. I will send you the drawings." Bulma turned around to leave, but Freeza's voice stopped her. "Oh, and one more thing. Tell your master, Vegeta, that he is expected here to pick up a new assignment for…" At that moment the door slammed open. Vegeta came flying in, with a guard close behind him. "I'm sorry master Freeza, he just came in and blasted all the – Aaaah!!!" he yelled as Vegeta blasted him to bits. Vegeta calmed down a bit when he saw that nothing was wrong with Bulma. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You should have held your temper and you should knock before you enter, Vegeta." Freeza mocked. "I was just telling your slave how much I admire her new invention. I'm going to mass-produce it. As for you, I have a new assignment for you. Your weeks rest ends tomorrow, and you will leave at ten a.m. for a week during mission to planet Splenal to purge it. You're both dismissed." He finished as he waved his hand, telling Vegeta and Bulma to go. Vegeta just stood there with his mouth hanging open, and didn't move. So Bulma grabbed his hand, and softly guided him back to their quarters.

***

"Good job Zarbon. You were right, I like her. Make sure to send a message to all the men save Vegeta, that we will leave the base at eleven a.m. tomorrow. I will take the girl with me as my personal slave from then." Freeza said, as he turned back to the window. "Right." Zarbon answered, and left to send the message to all soldiers.

***

As soon as Vegeta and Bulma had gone into the bedroom, Bulma effortlessly pushed Vegeta on the bed, what surprised her. Jeez, what could've shocked him so much? she sat next to Vegeta, and turned his face towards her, so she could look at him. "Honey? Vegeta? What's wrong?" Vegeta grabbed her, and hugged her tightly, while monotony whispering in Saiyan. "Vegeta? What are you saying? I can't speak Saiyan, you know that! Vegeta!" She said, while shaking him gently. But he kept whispering in Saiyan, while holding on to her for dear life. She hugged him back and tried to search his thoughts. She found what she sought. Freeza will take my mate from me. The way he looked at her was enough. And there is no way I can save her. I'm not strong enough yet. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? At this point Bulma broke off contact. Why would he be so worried about me? Freeza didn't seem so bad to me. But then again, from the one memory I have seen from Vegeta, I know he can be horrible. But still, he didn't look like he was going to harm me or something. So she just hugged Vegeta back, and kissed him, and rubbed his back while whispering "It will be okay honey, I promise. It will be okay."

***

Krillin sat in the control room when the scouter suddenly bleeped. He grabbed it, put it in front of his eye, and turned it on. "All soldiers report for duties. Prepare for takeoff tomorrow at 11 a.m. We will be heading for the base on planet Allowis. Coordinates: 447'81. End of transmission." He heard a metallic voice say. "Gohan! Get your but in here!" Krillin yelled, not knowing yet if he should be upset or happy. He saved the message in the memory of the scouter, placed it on Gohans head, and replayed it. "Well, what are we waiting for? Set coordinates for planet Allowis!" Gohan said, and ran to the computer, and did it himself. "And?" Krillin asked. "Is it nearer, or farther away than 34'72?" he could hardly wait. "Wait a sec! Have some patience!" Gohan answered. "Now let me see…. That's it!" he pushed one more button. "New course set for planet Allowis. Coordinates: 447'81. We will arrive there in five days." The computer said. "Yay!" Krillin yelled and jumped in the air. "Now we will be there even sooner! Flying all the way to that other base would've taken us eight days. That saves us three!" Gohan was just as exited. And then, when we have Bulma back, I will go pick up my friends and parents, and go to Mayoshi-sei to marry Ikala! he and Krillin happily danced around. Five more days, my sweet, sweet Bulma, and we will

be together again. Krillin thought happily.

***

Vegeta woke up and knew it was time for him to go. He turned around and looked at Bulma. She looked so relaxed, sleeping with a small smile on her lips. Vegeta bent over and kissed her awake. When she slowly opened her eyes, looked up at him and smiled, he felt his heart drop. When I loose her, I die. I have to protect her. Do anything to save her from Freeza. "I have to go in an hour." He said. "Yes…" she answered. "I know." They got out of the bed, had a shower and dressed. They then had breakfast, and walked to the port of the base. "Oh Vegeta, I'm really gonna miss you. I'm happy that it's only for a week." Bulma said, hugging him tightly. "Yeah…" Vegeta whispered. If she only knew… he hugged her back, kissed her, and stepped into the space ship. After he set the coordinates, the ship immediately took off. He looked out the window, and saw Bulma waving at him like mad, while crying. "BYE VEGETA!" she screamed. "TAKE CARE!"

She waved until he was out of sight. She then sighed and turned around to walk back to their rooms, which were now hers for a week. "I'm really gonna miss him… You too, huh?" she said to her tummy. Every morning when she woke up, she was happy. Happy to have Vegeta, and happy to have a baby. "I swear, I'll be a good mom for you, honey. And I'm sure Vegeta will be a great daddy." She walked back to her quarters, and set to work on the scouter. She would try to finish the project in the coming days.

About half an hour later, Zarbon came in her rooms. Without knocking, just like the time when he had taken her to… she shuddered…. Freeza. "May I help you, Zarbon?" she asked, staying friendly. "Why yes," he said. "Pack all your stuff, all that is necessary. We are leaving in half an hour." She jumped. "But… but… Does Vegeta know about this? Because when he gets back here and doesn't find me here…" she said shocked. "Of course he does." Zarbon lied. "We informed him, and he will come to the new base as soon as he has finished his assignment." This calmed Bulma a bit. "Oh. Well, okay then. I'll pack. Where do I go when I'm done?"

"I will come to pick you up in fifteen minutes. You make sure you're ready by then." He replied. "Okay! See you then! Bye!" Bulma shouted and shut the door. She started humming a song and packed all of her and Vegeta's belongings into capsules. "I'm glad I brought some spare ones." She said to herself.

When Zarbon came back fifteen minutes later, he found the whole apartment completely empty. "What have you done with all your stuff?" Bulma was about to tell him, when suddenly she remembered something Vegeta had said: "Don't tell anyone about the capsules. We might need them to hide something sometime. It is best it no one on this base knows about them." So she quickly made something up: Ï thought it was best to travel light, so I only packed three suitcases, and threw the rest of our stuff out." She told him. "Oh… right… and where exactly are those suitcases?" Zarbon asked looking around the entirely empty apartment and back to Bulma, who only had a backpack, in which her capsules were. "They're… In the bathroom!" she yelled. "Wait a sec and I'll go get them!" she ran off to the bathroom, and threw a capsule to the ground. Out came three suitcases with towels, makeup and some of Vegeta's clothes in them. She dragged the three suitcases out of the bathroom, and looked up at Zarbon. He stared back and said nothing. "Hey! You could at least give me a hand with my luggage you know!" she said to him forgetting her servant-role. "Oh! Sorry!" he said to her, and picked up all three suitcases with ease. Bulma swung her backpack over her shoulder, and followed him out of the room.

***

When she saw where they were heading, she once again became scared. They were walking towards Freeza's quarters, but, luckily for Bulma they made a left turn, and ended up on the same port from which Vegeta had left. Zarbon brought her to a huge ship, which was surrounded by all sorts of smaller ships. The whole port was full with aliens of all kinds, running around and in and out of the ships. They went into the largest ship, and walked to the very back, so it seemed. Finally they were there. Zarbon opened a door, and Bulma saw a rich furnished room. It had to be Zarbons, because she recognized some of his stuff. They walked through the rooms, until they reached a smaller, but still beautiful bedroom, with a small bathroom connected. "This will be your room during the travel, we will arrive in two days, and there you will get larger rooms. I now expect you to put on a dress, or something nice, because you will be expected for lunch at noon. I will pick you up at a quarter to twelve, and take you to Freeza's dining room. Shit! Now I'm gonna have to have lunch with Freeza! I'm scared. Oh, I only wish Vegeta was here. But Bulma nodded and Zarbon walked out. And what's the deal with me sleeping in his quarters? Is he my bodyguard or something? she sighed and undressed. At that moment the ship took off. The noise was deafening, and Bulma fell to the ground with the pressure. When things had calmed down again, she stood up, and threw a clothes capsule to the ground. Now… What to wear… Vegeta would've known. she looked at the closet for fifteen minutes, than picked a short, pink dress, and walked into the shower. When she was all set and dressed, she looked at her watch. "Hmm, it's a quarter to twelve. What time did Zarbon say again?" she wondered to herself. Just then Zarbon walked in. "Ah, your done. That's good, now we can go immediately." Zarbon said to her, and grabbed her by her arm and took her to the other side of the ship, where Freeza was. He was already drinking some wine when Zarbon and Bulma entered. "There you are, Zarbon." Freeza said softly. "I would like you to join me and Miss Briefs during our lunch." Zarbon looked surprised, but was wiser than to refuse, and therefor said. "Of course, Master Freeza, I would be honored." They all sat down, Bulma next to Zarbon. He still was less scary than Freeza. And Freeza sat down on the opposite side of the table. Lunch went pretty normal, if anything can be normal around Freeza. He asked her about her project, and told her that he was very much interested in science. And they talked about coming projects, which Bulma would like to start. Bulma started to feel less scared with the minute. This meal was really coming along. When they were done, Freeza thanked her for the companionship. "Well Bulma, I must say I enjoyed the meal. I do hope you will join me for dinner tonight too." Heck! Why not? Bulma thought, he wasn't that bad now was he? "I would be honored my Lord." She said. Freeza smiled at her. "Oh," he continued sweetly. "There's one more thing. The rule on the base is that when a man leaves, the strongest person under him gets the guidance over his slaves, unless that person is challenged. There is a fight then, and the one who wins gets the slave, until the master comes back. About you there was a fight, between Kuwi and Zarbon…" Bulma was surprised Zarbon? but listened on "… and Zarbon won. But, I liked to have guidance over you too, so I decided that Zarbon could have you these two days on the ship, and I get to guard you as soon as we're on the base." He looked at her to see her reaction. "But.. only until Veg- my master comes back right, Lord Freeza?" she asked doubting. "Yes… Yes, of course. Until Vegeta comes back…" … If he ever will! he added mentally. Bulma nodded and looked from Zarbon to Freeza. "Guess I don't have much of a saying in this right?" she asked. "Nope. You don't." Freeza said happily. "Now, you two go have fun tonight!" he waved his hand, dismissing them. Zarbon stood up, bowed and walked out, and Bulma did the same. When they were outside the room she looked at Zarbon. "I have to go supervise some work, but I'll be back in an hour, okay?" he asked. She nodded and slowly walked back to her room. Where else could she go?

***

When Bulma woke up she didn't know exactly how to feel. Last night she had already been asleep when Zarbon came in. She woke up by the noise he made when he entered his quarters. But she kept her eyes shut, pretending to sleep. Zarbon came to look at her, but luckily decided to let her sleep, and had gone to bed. Bulma thought she should feel kinda happy, because he hadn't raped her yet, but she also was a little scared, sad and mad, for being forced to be Zarbons and after that Freeza's servant. She jawned and turned around, opened her eyes and found herself staring at Zarbon, who was standing in the doorway with a towel around his waist. His hair was still dry, so she knew what he was up to. "Good morning love. I hope you had a goodnights rest. Care for a bath?" Yeah, what else. These perverted, bored, unoriginal aliens can think of no other entertainment than a stupid bath. she mentally grumbled. "Yeah, whatever." She got out of the bed, and walked straight into the bathroom to take the stupid bath.

***

The next day they arrived at the port. Bulma packed her three suitcases, and Zarbon called for a soldier to show her to her now quarters. "Just for five days right?" she asked Zarbon before he walked away. "Yeah, that's right. Just for the next five days." He lied, and walked away.

When Bulma had unpacked again, she dropped on her bed, feeling exhausted. But just that moment Freeza came walking in. "Bulma, my dear, I have dreadful news! Our connection with Vegeta's ship has suddenly been broken off! I'm sorry to say this but this is always a sign that the ship has been destroyed. And since Vegeta hadn't arrived on the planet of his mission yet… He probably died. I'm so sorry. I know you cared for your former master. I just want you to know that I will take you in my protection from now on." He nodded to her to comfort her, and walked off, smiling to himself. Bulma burst out in tears. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Vegeta! This can't be true! It can't be! But it is. He is… she couldn't bear to think of the next word. She sobbed for two more hours, and eventually cried herself to sleep.

***

Bulma didn't feel like getting out of bed. As a matter of fact, she didn't even feel like living anymore. Because where would she be without Vegeta? What would she do? Who would protect her? She started to cry again. But Freeza had determined her presence at breakfast, so she had to get up. She got up, took a shower, dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a yellow tanktop, and pulled her hair up in a ponytail. When she entered Freeza's quarters, she found that he was not there, so she just sat down and waited. After about ten minutes, he came hovering in in that weird hovercraft thingy of his. "Oh, you were already here!" he smiled. "I hope you didn't have to wait for too long." Bulma looked at him. I think I hate him after all. How can he be so cheerful after Vegeta's demise! "No, Master Freeza, it's okay." She answered flatly. "Well then, let's have some breakfast." He snapped his fingers, and breakfast was served, which they ate in silence. Well, at least Bulma did. Freeza was cheerfully chatting along. At the end of the meal he stood up, to get in his hovercraft again. "Come on, my dear, cheer up. I know your sad about the loss of your master, but you have me now, don't you?" he hovered to Bulma and put an arm around her shoulders and stroke her cheek with one of those icy cold fingers. Bulma shivered, and didn't respond to this. "I will have to excuse myself for lunch this afternoon, but I promise I'll be back for supper." He continued. Bulma nodded and walked out of the room, back to her own quarters.

***

This is about the way Bulma's life went, those first few days at the base. Acting cheerful, working on her assignments, and playing Freeza's loyal servant. How long has it been now? Only three days? It feels like three months. How boring can one's life be! It would've been different, if… Vegeta had been here… Bulma thought, while she sighed as she looked at her watch. Well, what was different today again? She wondered to herself Oh, yeah, I have been 'lent' to Zarbon, for his good services. I'd better get going. She changed into something clean and walked to Zarbons quarters. "Hello, Bulma. Today is Thursday, the day on which I have guests walking in and my rooms all the time. You will be my servant today, so I can play cool, with the most gorgeous slave on the planet." Zarbon greeted her. Bulma nodded. "Whatever." And walked in to get some drinks and appetizers ready.

***

"YAY! We're finally there!" Krillin shouted as the ship landed on planet Allowis. He and Gohan got out and looked around. "Hmm," Gohan thought aloud, "we should find another one of those port-info-centers, to see where we should go to find Vegeta." Krillin patted his back "Good Idea kid. I believe I see one of them right there." They walked to the info center, where a weird fat, green alien with four eyes sat, with a name tag on which said: 'Guldo'. He looked really pissed off. Great! How could the captain do this to me? Now I'm sitting here in this stupid info center, just because I missed two weeks of training. I just think that the "Miss Universe"-contest is far more interesting than training. He looked up from his cheeseburger and stared into Krillins face. "What do you want?" he said, grumbling. "Eh, we were just wondering… who could tell us about the whereabouts of this guy named Vegeta?" Krillin asked, his hand behind his head, trying to act cool. Guldo choked in his cheeseburger. "Vegeta!!! Like in Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans? The bad-ass?" he yelled, as soon as he could speak again. "Uhm, yeah, that would be him." Krillin said. Guldo regained posture. "I'll ask if the first in rank officer has time to see you about him." He said, and grabbed a cell phone. He talked for a minute and then turned back to Krillin. "He can see you in an hour. Here is a map, the cross indicates your spot, and that star is where you have to go in an hour. Now, move." He finished, grumpy again. "But… can you…" Krillin stammered, as the map was pushed into his hands. "No more buts. I'm a member of the Ginyu Force. I could blast you any time, so go AWAY!" Guldo yelled to him, and slammed the door shut.

Krillin was a little surprised, and stood there for almost five minutes. But then he noticed Gohan, shaking him. "Ginyu Force! That's where Ikala's brother Jeice is! Maybe we could… " "Oh no you don't." Krillin said, and pulled him away. "He is a ruthless killer now, and he doesn't even know you. You can do all this stuff with Ikala, after you're married." And they walked off together, to a cafe or something, to wait for an hour, until the officer would receive them.

***