Like a knife through butter the blast ripped through Bulma, destroying her
Capsule Corp. jacket and searing the skin beneath. She didn't even have
time to scream as the blast enveloped her burning what remained of her body
to a pile of ash and smoke.
"Perfect, perfect! This is it, the moment I've been waiting for! Look out world, cause here comes Sare.!"
The field fell deathly still. Goku, having lost his target, appeared mere feet away from where Bulma's body had once stood. Vegeta froze in mid run and stared blankly at the spot, his mind a whirl with what had just happened.
Cell clapped his hands together and grinned.
"Well that was fun. Who wants to play next?"
"O.onna." Was all Vegeta could think of to say as a tear began to trickle down his face. He didn't even realize he was crying; his body felt oddly numb for some reason. He turned his blank gaze to Cell who was still laughing at the demise of his opponent.
"Cell."
Cell turned to face the saiyan prince, whose expression hadn't changed at all in the past few minutes. His power level, however, was steadily rising. His fingers twitched and the telltale vein of stress on his forehead had begun to throb rapidly.
"You killed her." He said simply. And then without another word he leapt up and headed right for Cell.
"VEGETA, WAIT!" Goku shouted.
Vegeta didn't stop but glanced at Goku out of the corner of his eye. And then he saw it. The smoke was clearing, but that wasn't an empty crater where Cell's blast had hit Bulma.
"What.but how could she." Vegeta stammered. Cell followed his gaze and was horror-struck at what he saw.
Bulma was changed completely. While her hair was still its bright shade of blue, her eyes had changed to a blackish purple sort of color. Her body, which had once been lean and muscular, was now short and squat although it had retained its shape quite well. And as for her clothes, where there had once been jeans, a T-shirt, and a CC jacket was now a slim red swimsuit that hugged her curves quite nicely. On her feet were thigh-high white boots and on her arms was a pair of white gloves that the new Bulma was in the process of adjusting.
She finished pulling the glove up her arm and glancing over her shoulder looked at the stunned Goku and Vegeta.
"What? You didn't think I'd die THAT easily did you?"
"Bu.but how did you.there's no way you could have." Goku stammered.
"Blocked? Escaped? Please. That little flash was nothing compared to the power I'm packing now baby. That other girl- what was her name? - Bulma didn't know what she could do. I've got astral energy on my side, and a big shiny cricket isn't going to stop me.
"Wait a minute," Vegeta said cutting in. "What do you mean 'other girl'. You're not Bulma, are you?"
"Well, DUH! I thought you would've recognized me by now, princey. But then again, maybe not. You were probably still a kid when it happened; Bardock's brat over there wasn't even born yet."
"When what happened? Who are you? Tell me now or I'll destroy you!"
"Go ahead, blast away. This isn't my body you know. But it will be soon enough, and by then it will be too late for any of you bumbling idiots to stop me."
Vegeta balled up his fists and stepped forward, a growl building up low in his throat. "Look lady, I'm going to ask this once, and ONLY ONCE. What the hell have you done with Bulma?"
"Why prince? You really don't remember me then? Well now, I suppose I'll just have to refresh your memory."
Chuckling she waved a hand and time froze. Goku with his stunned expression, the others on the hill, Cell standing a few feet away from them watching the exchange.
"And now sweet prince, a little history lesson for you."
Sare cackled cruelly and with another wave of her hand Vegeta found himself reeling. A dark blue light consumed him and he sailed through the dark mist that concealed his memories, heading back to a time he'd long since forgotten or so he thought.
**********
Vegeta walked purposely through the halls of the palace, heading toward the throne room. He hated having to attend the meetings with Frieza; the alien was odd, not to mention scared him half to death.
"Vegeta! Good you're here. Your father and I were just discussing you."
Vegeta ignored the ugly Ice-jinn and plopped himself down on the smaller throne next to his father's.
"You're late boy." His father hissed quietly while nodding at something Frieza was saying.
"Fuck off old man." Vegeta muttered under his breath. His father shot him a dirty look and Vegeta winced knowing he would pay for his comment later.
"Well King Vegeta, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. I expect you will have the new planet in my- pardon me- our power by next week, yes?"
"Next week?! But that's barely enough time to get there! Our men would only have a day or two to defeat the people living there, and you know sir that this is a very strong planet."
"A week, king. That is all. Goodbye."
King Vegeta glared after the Ice-jinn as he turned and sauntered off out the door.
"Damn that lizard." King Vegeta growled as soon as Frieza was out of hearing range. "We can't go on living like this, answering to his every beck and call. Commander!"
Nappa stepped forward and bowed low. "Yes sire?"
"Arrange a medium sized team for the mission to Kurind. We'll need food, and good armor and make sure to give them the fastest ships we have. We're going to be cutting it close here, so there's no room for slipups."
"Yes sire." Nappa bowed again and left to go to the barracks.
"Bardock!"
A few minutes later a tall, muscular, saiyan stepped through the door of the room.
"You called me, sire?" He asked bowing in the same way Nappa had.
"Yes Bardock, I did. I want to know how the work on project boushi is coming along. When will I have my android?"
"Soon, sire, very soon. We've already picked out the perfect test subject for our experiment. She's a young girl that lives in a village about twenty miles from the palace. She's shown high intelligence and was naturally strong at birth, although according to her friends she shows great interest in becoming a royal guard. This little 'party' we've planned will be the perfect excuse to get her here."
"Excellent work Bradock. When will this party be taking place?"
"Soon sire. The following week after the men return from the Kurind mission."
"Good, good. I'll arrange the details, just let me know when you are ready to send out the invitations. You are dismissed Bardock."
"Thank you sire." He turned and left the hall.
"As for you, boy, we have some sparring to do. Don't think I haven't forgotten what you said earlier. Perhaps I'll show you just how 'old' I really am, yes?"
"Yes father." Vegeta growled and begrudgingly followed his father from the throne room.
************
In a little village twenty miles from the royal palace their lived a fourteen year old girl named Sare. She was a pretty child; not gorgeous but about as nice as a saiyan girl was expected to get given their lifestyles. She was only slightly curvy, her breasts budding on her chest and her thighs as pudgy and straight as they had been in her childhood. Still, she was a pretty girl, what with her long jet-black hair and mirthful black eyes. But beauty did not matter to someone like Sare. She had no interest in mating and growing up to become a dutiful housewife as most third-class girls were expected to be. No, she was going to be a royal guard for the house of Vegeta-sei; and this invitation confirmed it.
Smiling she rubbed the parchment with the royal family's symbol on it. She closed her eyes and inhaled the rich earthy scent, reciting the words she had already committed to memory.
"You have been cordially invited to attend a party being held for all the strongest women on the planet of Vegeta-sei. The party will be followed by a competition at the end of which the winner will be considered for a position in the royal household. It will be held at 7:00 on the third in the science hall. You will be expected to attend. Those who don't will be penalized."
She sank against the wall and clutched the letter to her chest overwhelmed with joy. Her, Sare, a royal guard! Her life's dream come true after so many years of work and toil. Not that she expected to automatically become a guard; she'd need to highly refine her skills before that happened. But still, the chance was there. And what kind of a saiyan would she be to pass it up.?
***********
Sare arrived at the party to find it empty. At first she thought it was just because she was early, but a glance at the clock on the wall showed she had arrived with only a minute or so to spare. Other girls should have been here by now.
She looked around the hall, still holding the letter in her hand like a security blanket. Now that she thought about it, the party room was bare. No decorations, no food, no anything. Even the lights had been turned down, the only means of seeing the dim glow of a couple of ceiling lamps that had been turned on.
"Well then, you did come! Congratulations for you! I'm sure the king will be pleased."
Sare jumped, startled by the voice. Looking behind her she saw a not-so- familiar face, followed by two complete strangers carrying briefcases.
"My name's Bardock. I'm one of the king's official scientists."
"Oh! Bardock-sama, of course! I knew I'd seen you somewhere." Curtsying politely, she smiled at him. "I'm honored."
Nodding, he extended his hand and she shook it. "I'm glad to meet you Sare. I was sent here by the king to tell you that he wants you to go meet him personally. You see, the whole party was just a trick to see how many girls actually had the nerves to go before the royal court. Seeing as how you were the only girl who showed up, it's obvious you've got a lot of guts. I will bring you before the king, and after a sparring match with one of the top guards of your class he'll decide whether or not you're fit for royal training."
"Royal. Training?!" She exclaimed, struggling not to make her voice come out a squeak. This was too easy! Her dream was going to come true!
"Wait." She said slowly.
This was too easy.
Next thing Sare knew she was pinned against the wall by Bardock, with one of the scientists, a male, coming up behind him with a raised needle.
"Quickly, administer the needle!" Bardock snapped. The man nodded and pushing back Sare's arm a bit jammed the needle into her flesh.
Sare groaned and slumped down. A sleeping potion. A strong one too. She could already feel herself drifting, her muscles turning into putty as she slowly weakened.
"I'm sorry Sare." Bardock whispered as the drug began to fully take affect. "The king's orders.I'm sorry."
"The king.the letter."
"All a ploy to get you here. We need a girl for our project.but you needn't know about that now. All will be explained in due time. Just rest now child; you've got a long road ahead of you.
"Bardock.I'm going to kill you."
He smiled sadly and shaking his head closed Sare's eyes as they rolled back in her head.
***********
Vegeta found himself in the middle of a huge white void. He stared around, confused. How did he get here? One moment he was sitting with his father in the throne room, the next he was watching Sare getting captured by Bardock and the other scientists.
"Remember me now, Prince?"
Sare walked out of the mist about thirty feet away from him. Smiling cruelly she rested a hand on her hip and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Well, what did you think of my life story? What little life I had anyway, before your father ripped it from me in the blink of an eye.
Vegeta shook his head. "I.I do remember now. I never really paid attention to the meetings.but occasionally I caught bits and pieces of conversation between Bardock and my father. They were always talking about project boushi.dead child. Bardock always mentioned how 'powerful' the child was, how much progress they were making.artificial brains and such nonsense. It was you, wasn't it? The android they made.
"Yes Prince, it was. I AM. After they captured me, they kept me in their little underground lab for years, poking and prodding, tearing me apart and putting me back together so many times that I began to doubt I ever had a body. I was awake almost the whole time, Prince. The only time I was allowed to rest was when I passed out from the pain, and even then they'd sometimes wake me up again, slapping me so they could continue with whatever perverted experiment they were doing. It was torture, and those memories are forever burned into my skull, physically and metaphorically. I escaped though. One day they let their guard down, left me for dead, lying unchained on the little metal table I'd called home for three years.
I broke the door down to their rooms, laughed in their faces when they tried to fight me. I was too powerful for them. I broke them, destroyed them. And your father was next."
Vegeta was a bit shocked to say the least. This whole story was way too weird for him. And yet this was what had gone on under his nose the whole time, in his own palace. But then again, his father had always told him he needed to listen better at the meetings.
"I headed for the palace, determined to have my revenge on the source of my misery. Bardock perused me, but I was too crafty for him. I was almost there; my goal was within reach. And then it happened." She lowered her head.
"Vegeta-sei went boom."
She continued her voice empty and hollow. She was no longer in the future, but years away floating in the shattered rubble of a home long gone.
"It killed me instantly. But my soul refused to die. I was bent on revenge against the king and Bardock; I was determined to destroy them as they had done me. My spirit floated aimlessly through the universe, gathering the energy of other tortured and abandoned souls on my journey. One day I happened upon the planet Earth, and imagine my glee when I saw you and Bardock's son on the ground, talking to some purple-haired boy. I followed you home that night prince, and watched, waiting for an opportunity to get my revenge. And then I saw it."
She walked toward Vegeta, a cruel cold smirk on her face. Pointing to the floor a hole opened up, and out floated an unconscious Bulma.
"She was confused that day on the cliff, alone and scared of things to come. All I had to do was offer her a little protection, a bit of safety in a world where nothing is guaranteed and lovers can come and go as quickly as the wind. She was all too willing to accept me, and so I just went in for the kill."
She smirked and watched as Vegeta walked cautiously over to Bulma, nudging her with her foot.
"Bulma?"
Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to look at him.
"Vegeta?"
No. No it was not Bulma. The voice was too hoarse and the eyes that should have been a shade of sky blue were dark and purple. It was her in shape alone, and even that had a bulky appearance to it.
"What did you do to her?" Vegeta said through gritted teeth.
"Relax prince. She's simply merging into me."
"What?!"
"It's not that complicated really. From the moment I entered he we've been merging into one person; I'm sure you've noticed a change in her look in attitude lately? All part of the merge."
"Well UN merge then." He hissed.
"Nothing doing princey. Just relax; when the transformation is finished your precious little Bulma will be just.a memory."
"I said stop it NOW!" He lunged at Sare, tackling her. The two rolled on the floor for a moment before Sare struck out with her feet and shoved him off of her.
"Oh no, you're not going to win THAT easy prince. Before this day is done you WILL pay for what your father had done to me, and I'll be able to die in peace."
"Die in peace? What are you talking about? You're going to kill me then kill yourself?"
"What's the point of living? The child of a dead race, surrounded on all sides by her superiors? It's not worth it. And besides, I figure I can do double the damage by killing this ugly whore than by just killing you."
Abruptly her head snapped to the side as Vegeta slapped her across her face.
"Don't you EVER say that about my wife again." He hissed at her.
"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, glare me to death?"
"No, something a bit more effective than that." He phased out of view and she put up her hands to block the coming onslaught.
They struggled for a few moments, fading away into flurries of punches and kicks.
Sare flew back and raised both her arms high above her head.
"Dark scream!" She shouted and a ray of dark blue light shot from her hands aimed at the ground beneath the prince.
He jumped as the beam struck, shattering into tiny slivers of light that began to refract toward him. He hissed as one struck his arm, leaving a deep cut.
"What the hell was that?"
"Oh, just a little something I brought with me from my past life. Do you like it?"
"Heh. Yeah, I like it. But why don't I show you one of mine? Tell me what you think."
He smirked and stretched both arms in front of him, placing the palm of his right hand on the back of his left.
"FINAL FLASH!"
She dove to the floor, howling as the light seared her back and the tender muscle of her tail. He cut off the energy flow, grinning.
Standing she clutched her badly burned tail, the scent of charred fur and flesh wafting to her nostrils. Growling she curled it gingerly around her waist and gave him a dirty look.
"Enough of this. You die now, Vegeta."
"We'll see about that!"
"Both of you STOP IT!" Sare yelled suddenly. But it wasn't her voice that was yelling.
"Hush you stupid girl, you're spoiling our battle!" Sare scolded the voice.
"Vegeta," Bulma continued, ignoring Sare. "You have to hurry and beat Sare! If you don't we'll be fused for good!" Her voice trailed off into Sare's more husky saiyan accent.
"I wouldn't listen to her if I were you Vegeta; killing me now would kill her as well. Admit it, you're too late."
He balled up his fists and glared at her. For once in his life he really had no idea what to do; Sare could be lying, perhaps the sudden voice transition had been a trick. But if it was a trick, that meant that Sare had power over Bulma and that the two really were fusing."
"Damn." He cursed.
Sare just laughed and clapped her hands. At last, my revenge will be complete! Prepare for your end, Prince!
The fight started once again, with both parties flinging energy and melee attacks at one another so quickly they moved in a blur, flashes of blue and red against the misty white of Sare's mind.
"Veggie-chan! Help!" The voice penetrated the void, a desperate plea for salvation. Both of them paused at the voice echoed and abruptly stopped. Slowly and dark grin spread across Sare's face, and she clasped her hands together.
"It is complete. We a fully fused."
Vegeta stared at Sare, dumbstruck.
"Still want to fight me, prince?"
"Perfect, perfect! This is it, the moment I've been waiting for! Look out world, cause here comes Sare.!"
The field fell deathly still. Goku, having lost his target, appeared mere feet away from where Bulma's body had once stood. Vegeta froze in mid run and stared blankly at the spot, his mind a whirl with what had just happened.
Cell clapped his hands together and grinned.
"Well that was fun. Who wants to play next?"
"O.onna." Was all Vegeta could think of to say as a tear began to trickle down his face. He didn't even realize he was crying; his body felt oddly numb for some reason. He turned his blank gaze to Cell who was still laughing at the demise of his opponent.
"Cell."
Cell turned to face the saiyan prince, whose expression hadn't changed at all in the past few minutes. His power level, however, was steadily rising. His fingers twitched and the telltale vein of stress on his forehead had begun to throb rapidly.
"You killed her." He said simply. And then without another word he leapt up and headed right for Cell.
"VEGETA, WAIT!" Goku shouted.
Vegeta didn't stop but glanced at Goku out of the corner of his eye. And then he saw it. The smoke was clearing, but that wasn't an empty crater where Cell's blast had hit Bulma.
"What.but how could she." Vegeta stammered. Cell followed his gaze and was horror-struck at what he saw.
Bulma was changed completely. While her hair was still its bright shade of blue, her eyes had changed to a blackish purple sort of color. Her body, which had once been lean and muscular, was now short and squat although it had retained its shape quite well. And as for her clothes, where there had once been jeans, a T-shirt, and a CC jacket was now a slim red swimsuit that hugged her curves quite nicely. On her feet were thigh-high white boots and on her arms was a pair of white gloves that the new Bulma was in the process of adjusting.
She finished pulling the glove up her arm and glancing over her shoulder looked at the stunned Goku and Vegeta.
"What? You didn't think I'd die THAT easily did you?"
"Bu.but how did you.there's no way you could have." Goku stammered.
"Blocked? Escaped? Please. That little flash was nothing compared to the power I'm packing now baby. That other girl- what was her name? - Bulma didn't know what she could do. I've got astral energy on my side, and a big shiny cricket isn't going to stop me.
"Wait a minute," Vegeta said cutting in. "What do you mean 'other girl'. You're not Bulma, are you?"
"Well, DUH! I thought you would've recognized me by now, princey. But then again, maybe not. You were probably still a kid when it happened; Bardock's brat over there wasn't even born yet."
"When what happened? Who are you? Tell me now or I'll destroy you!"
"Go ahead, blast away. This isn't my body you know. But it will be soon enough, and by then it will be too late for any of you bumbling idiots to stop me."
Vegeta balled up his fists and stepped forward, a growl building up low in his throat. "Look lady, I'm going to ask this once, and ONLY ONCE. What the hell have you done with Bulma?"
"Why prince? You really don't remember me then? Well now, I suppose I'll just have to refresh your memory."
Chuckling she waved a hand and time froze. Goku with his stunned expression, the others on the hill, Cell standing a few feet away from them watching the exchange.
"And now sweet prince, a little history lesson for you."
Sare cackled cruelly and with another wave of her hand Vegeta found himself reeling. A dark blue light consumed him and he sailed through the dark mist that concealed his memories, heading back to a time he'd long since forgotten or so he thought.
**********
Vegeta walked purposely through the halls of the palace, heading toward the throne room. He hated having to attend the meetings with Frieza; the alien was odd, not to mention scared him half to death.
"Vegeta! Good you're here. Your father and I were just discussing you."
Vegeta ignored the ugly Ice-jinn and plopped himself down on the smaller throne next to his father's.
"You're late boy." His father hissed quietly while nodding at something Frieza was saying.
"Fuck off old man." Vegeta muttered under his breath. His father shot him a dirty look and Vegeta winced knowing he would pay for his comment later.
"Well King Vegeta, it's been a pleasure doing business with you. I expect you will have the new planet in my- pardon me- our power by next week, yes?"
"Next week?! But that's barely enough time to get there! Our men would only have a day or two to defeat the people living there, and you know sir that this is a very strong planet."
"A week, king. That is all. Goodbye."
King Vegeta glared after the Ice-jinn as he turned and sauntered off out the door.
"Damn that lizard." King Vegeta growled as soon as Frieza was out of hearing range. "We can't go on living like this, answering to his every beck and call. Commander!"
Nappa stepped forward and bowed low. "Yes sire?"
"Arrange a medium sized team for the mission to Kurind. We'll need food, and good armor and make sure to give them the fastest ships we have. We're going to be cutting it close here, so there's no room for slipups."
"Yes sire." Nappa bowed again and left to go to the barracks.
"Bardock!"
A few minutes later a tall, muscular, saiyan stepped through the door of the room.
"You called me, sire?" He asked bowing in the same way Nappa had.
"Yes Bardock, I did. I want to know how the work on project boushi is coming along. When will I have my android?"
"Soon, sire, very soon. We've already picked out the perfect test subject for our experiment. She's a young girl that lives in a village about twenty miles from the palace. She's shown high intelligence and was naturally strong at birth, although according to her friends she shows great interest in becoming a royal guard. This little 'party' we've planned will be the perfect excuse to get her here."
"Excellent work Bradock. When will this party be taking place?"
"Soon sire. The following week after the men return from the Kurind mission."
"Good, good. I'll arrange the details, just let me know when you are ready to send out the invitations. You are dismissed Bardock."
"Thank you sire." He turned and left the hall.
"As for you, boy, we have some sparring to do. Don't think I haven't forgotten what you said earlier. Perhaps I'll show you just how 'old' I really am, yes?"
"Yes father." Vegeta growled and begrudgingly followed his father from the throne room.
************
In a little village twenty miles from the royal palace their lived a fourteen year old girl named Sare. She was a pretty child; not gorgeous but about as nice as a saiyan girl was expected to get given their lifestyles. She was only slightly curvy, her breasts budding on her chest and her thighs as pudgy and straight as they had been in her childhood. Still, she was a pretty girl, what with her long jet-black hair and mirthful black eyes. But beauty did not matter to someone like Sare. She had no interest in mating and growing up to become a dutiful housewife as most third-class girls were expected to be. No, she was going to be a royal guard for the house of Vegeta-sei; and this invitation confirmed it.
Smiling she rubbed the parchment with the royal family's symbol on it. She closed her eyes and inhaled the rich earthy scent, reciting the words she had already committed to memory.
"You have been cordially invited to attend a party being held for all the strongest women on the planet of Vegeta-sei. The party will be followed by a competition at the end of which the winner will be considered for a position in the royal household. It will be held at 7:00 on the third in the science hall. You will be expected to attend. Those who don't will be penalized."
She sank against the wall and clutched the letter to her chest overwhelmed with joy. Her, Sare, a royal guard! Her life's dream come true after so many years of work and toil. Not that she expected to automatically become a guard; she'd need to highly refine her skills before that happened. But still, the chance was there. And what kind of a saiyan would she be to pass it up.?
***********
Sare arrived at the party to find it empty. At first she thought it was just because she was early, but a glance at the clock on the wall showed she had arrived with only a minute or so to spare. Other girls should have been here by now.
She looked around the hall, still holding the letter in her hand like a security blanket. Now that she thought about it, the party room was bare. No decorations, no food, no anything. Even the lights had been turned down, the only means of seeing the dim glow of a couple of ceiling lamps that had been turned on.
"Well then, you did come! Congratulations for you! I'm sure the king will be pleased."
Sare jumped, startled by the voice. Looking behind her she saw a not-so- familiar face, followed by two complete strangers carrying briefcases.
"My name's Bardock. I'm one of the king's official scientists."
"Oh! Bardock-sama, of course! I knew I'd seen you somewhere." Curtsying politely, she smiled at him. "I'm honored."
Nodding, he extended his hand and she shook it. "I'm glad to meet you Sare. I was sent here by the king to tell you that he wants you to go meet him personally. You see, the whole party was just a trick to see how many girls actually had the nerves to go before the royal court. Seeing as how you were the only girl who showed up, it's obvious you've got a lot of guts. I will bring you before the king, and after a sparring match with one of the top guards of your class he'll decide whether or not you're fit for royal training."
"Royal. Training?!" She exclaimed, struggling not to make her voice come out a squeak. This was too easy! Her dream was going to come true!
"Wait." She said slowly.
This was too easy.
Next thing Sare knew she was pinned against the wall by Bardock, with one of the scientists, a male, coming up behind him with a raised needle.
"Quickly, administer the needle!" Bardock snapped. The man nodded and pushing back Sare's arm a bit jammed the needle into her flesh.
Sare groaned and slumped down. A sleeping potion. A strong one too. She could already feel herself drifting, her muscles turning into putty as she slowly weakened.
"I'm sorry Sare." Bardock whispered as the drug began to fully take affect. "The king's orders.I'm sorry."
"The king.the letter."
"All a ploy to get you here. We need a girl for our project.but you needn't know about that now. All will be explained in due time. Just rest now child; you've got a long road ahead of you.
"Bardock.I'm going to kill you."
He smiled sadly and shaking his head closed Sare's eyes as they rolled back in her head.
***********
Vegeta found himself in the middle of a huge white void. He stared around, confused. How did he get here? One moment he was sitting with his father in the throne room, the next he was watching Sare getting captured by Bardock and the other scientists.
"Remember me now, Prince?"
Sare walked out of the mist about thirty feet away from him. Smiling cruelly she rested a hand on her hip and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Well, what did you think of my life story? What little life I had anyway, before your father ripped it from me in the blink of an eye.
Vegeta shook his head. "I.I do remember now. I never really paid attention to the meetings.but occasionally I caught bits and pieces of conversation between Bardock and my father. They were always talking about project boushi.dead child. Bardock always mentioned how 'powerful' the child was, how much progress they were making.artificial brains and such nonsense. It was you, wasn't it? The android they made.
"Yes Prince, it was. I AM. After they captured me, they kept me in their little underground lab for years, poking and prodding, tearing me apart and putting me back together so many times that I began to doubt I ever had a body. I was awake almost the whole time, Prince. The only time I was allowed to rest was when I passed out from the pain, and even then they'd sometimes wake me up again, slapping me so they could continue with whatever perverted experiment they were doing. It was torture, and those memories are forever burned into my skull, physically and metaphorically. I escaped though. One day they let their guard down, left me for dead, lying unchained on the little metal table I'd called home for three years.
I broke the door down to their rooms, laughed in their faces when they tried to fight me. I was too powerful for them. I broke them, destroyed them. And your father was next."
Vegeta was a bit shocked to say the least. This whole story was way too weird for him. And yet this was what had gone on under his nose the whole time, in his own palace. But then again, his father had always told him he needed to listen better at the meetings.
"I headed for the palace, determined to have my revenge on the source of my misery. Bardock perused me, but I was too crafty for him. I was almost there; my goal was within reach. And then it happened." She lowered her head.
"Vegeta-sei went boom."
She continued her voice empty and hollow. She was no longer in the future, but years away floating in the shattered rubble of a home long gone.
"It killed me instantly. But my soul refused to die. I was bent on revenge against the king and Bardock; I was determined to destroy them as they had done me. My spirit floated aimlessly through the universe, gathering the energy of other tortured and abandoned souls on my journey. One day I happened upon the planet Earth, and imagine my glee when I saw you and Bardock's son on the ground, talking to some purple-haired boy. I followed you home that night prince, and watched, waiting for an opportunity to get my revenge. And then I saw it."
She walked toward Vegeta, a cruel cold smirk on her face. Pointing to the floor a hole opened up, and out floated an unconscious Bulma.
"She was confused that day on the cliff, alone and scared of things to come. All I had to do was offer her a little protection, a bit of safety in a world where nothing is guaranteed and lovers can come and go as quickly as the wind. She was all too willing to accept me, and so I just went in for the kill."
She smirked and watched as Vegeta walked cautiously over to Bulma, nudging her with her foot.
"Bulma?"
Her eyes fluttered open and she turned to look at him.
"Vegeta?"
No. No it was not Bulma. The voice was too hoarse and the eyes that should have been a shade of sky blue were dark and purple. It was her in shape alone, and even that had a bulky appearance to it.
"What did you do to her?" Vegeta said through gritted teeth.
"Relax prince. She's simply merging into me."
"What?!"
"It's not that complicated really. From the moment I entered he we've been merging into one person; I'm sure you've noticed a change in her look in attitude lately? All part of the merge."
"Well UN merge then." He hissed.
"Nothing doing princey. Just relax; when the transformation is finished your precious little Bulma will be just.a memory."
"I said stop it NOW!" He lunged at Sare, tackling her. The two rolled on the floor for a moment before Sare struck out with her feet and shoved him off of her.
"Oh no, you're not going to win THAT easy prince. Before this day is done you WILL pay for what your father had done to me, and I'll be able to die in peace."
"Die in peace? What are you talking about? You're going to kill me then kill yourself?"
"What's the point of living? The child of a dead race, surrounded on all sides by her superiors? It's not worth it. And besides, I figure I can do double the damage by killing this ugly whore than by just killing you."
Abruptly her head snapped to the side as Vegeta slapped her across her face.
"Don't you EVER say that about my wife again." He hissed at her.
"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, glare me to death?"
"No, something a bit more effective than that." He phased out of view and she put up her hands to block the coming onslaught.
They struggled for a few moments, fading away into flurries of punches and kicks.
Sare flew back and raised both her arms high above her head.
"Dark scream!" She shouted and a ray of dark blue light shot from her hands aimed at the ground beneath the prince.
He jumped as the beam struck, shattering into tiny slivers of light that began to refract toward him. He hissed as one struck his arm, leaving a deep cut.
"What the hell was that?"
"Oh, just a little something I brought with me from my past life. Do you like it?"
"Heh. Yeah, I like it. But why don't I show you one of mine? Tell me what you think."
He smirked and stretched both arms in front of him, placing the palm of his right hand on the back of his left.
"FINAL FLASH!"
She dove to the floor, howling as the light seared her back and the tender muscle of her tail. He cut off the energy flow, grinning.
Standing she clutched her badly burned tail, the scent of charred fur and flesh wafting to her nostrils. Growling she curled it gingerly around her waist and gave him a dirty look.
"Enough of this. You die now, Vegeta."
"We'll see about that!"
"Both of you STOP IT!" Sare yelled suddenly. But it wasn't her voice that was yelling.
"Hush you stupid girl, you're spoiling our battle!" Sare scolded the voice.
"Vegeta," Bulma continued, ignoring Sare. "You have to hurry and beat Sare! If you don't we'll be fused for good!" Her voice trailed off into Sare's more husky saiyan accent.
"I wouldn't listen to her if I were you Vegeta; killing me now would kill her as well. Admit it, you're too late."
He balled up his fists and glared at her. For once in his life he really had no idea what to do; Sare could be lying, perhaps the sudden voice transition had been a trick. But if it was a trick, that meant that Sare had power over Bulma and that the two really were fusing."
"Damn." He cursed.
Sare just laughed and clapped her hands. At last, my revenge will be complete! Prepare for your end, Prince!
The fight started once again, with both parties flinging energy and melee attacks at one another so quickly they moved in a blur, flashes of blue and red against the misty white of Sare's mind.
"Veggie-chan! Help!" The voice penetrated the void, a desperate plea for salvation. Both of them paused at the voice echoed and abruptly stopped. Slowly and dark grin spread across Sare's face, and she clasped her hands together.
"It is complete. We a fully fused."
Vegeta stared at Sare, dumbstruck.
"Still want to fight me, prince?"
