All was dark. Then, Vegeta opened his eyes. But it didn't help. There seemed to be a sack or something over his head, though it was loose enough that he could breathe freely.
Experimentally, he tried to move his hands. They were tied together.
There was a dull ache in the back of his head. The last thing he remembered was watching television alone while everyone else had been out. He supposed that some person or persons unknown must have fooled or disabled the Capsule Corp. security systems, snuck in, whacked him in the back of his head, and kidnapped him.
Accurse this weak human body.
He could not, for the moment, escape. So while he waited for the situation to change, he mulled over who could have taken him hostage. Another member of the Red Ribbon Army that idiot Kakarot had missed? One of Freeza's thugs? The list was nearly endless...
***
"Vegeta, we're home!" Bulma cried as she entered the living area of Capsule Corp. No one answered. "Vegeta? We have guests." Goku and Oolong had decided to come visit for old times' sake; along with Yamcha and Pu'ar, who had returned from a wonderful honeymoon a couple of weeks ago, it would be a reunion of the first five members of the loosely structured group that would eventually be known as the Earth's Special Forces.
When she still didn't receive a response, she frowned.
"Vegeta not home?" Yamcha asked.
"No...and I don't see a note or anything saying where he went. Not like him."
Before the group could speculate further, one of the household robots rolled up to Bulma.
"MA'AM, YOU HAVE A CALLER UPON THE VIDEOSCREEN." Bulma's frown deepened.
"What's wrong?" Goku asked.
"The videoscreen is rather advanced technology...I can't think of a dozen people who even know about it, much less have another videoscreen they can use to call us." She followed the robot to the videoscreen room, and the other four followed her. She pressed the button marked "Receive Call," and a familiar face appeared on the screen which took up an entire wall.
"Emperor Pilaf!"
"Yes, indeed," said the diminuitive would-be world conqueror. "And...oh, such a shame. 4 out of the 5. Too bad the feline isn't here."
"No, I'm here," Pu'ar said, her voice cold.
"Oh, that's right, you can shapeshift. In that case, excellent. In any case, Mrs. Briefs, I have something you may be interested in." He nodded to something offscreen, and his two henchpeople, the woman Mai and the dog Shu walked into view, escorting a bound and blinded--
"VEGETA!"
"Exactly. I have kidnapped your husband." Bulma tried to lunge at Pilaf through the screen. He involuntarily took a step back, and Goku and Oolong had to restrain her.
"You bastard...what do you want with him?"
"To be honest, the world-conquering business isn't as cheap as it used to be. So here's the bargain: In exchange for your husband, I want either 100 million zeni, or a working Dragon Radar. The one I had got broken." As he spoke, in the background, Shu and Mai carried Vegeta back out sight and talked for a moment. Then Shu reached for a phone.
"And don't even think about a rescue attempt," continued Pilaf. "There's no way you could ever enter our totally hidden, utterly self-sufficient base--"
"Excuse me, Emperor Pilaf," Shu interrupted, "But what do you want on your pizza?"
"Pepperoni." He paused, and realized what he'd said. "*Anyway*, you'd never even be able to find us--"
"Our address is 1 Hidden Base Lane, Ginger Town," Shu said quite loudly into the phone.
"AND EVEN IF YOU DID FIND US," Pilaf said loudly, "You'd never be able to get past our security systems."
"To get through the big gate, just enter 5834 into the keypad. Then press the slightly off-color brick to disable the lasers."
For a moment, the leader hung his head, then rallied magnificently. "Still, you'll never get your husband back unless you pay one of our ransoms. Choose, Mrs. Briefs. I'll contact you with more details later." The viewscreen went black.
***
Now that he knew his captors, Vegeta relaxed. Pilaf would never be able to hurt him.
***
For a moment, there was silence. Then Yamcha spoke up.
"You know, I wonder why Pilaf and those two are still alive. I thought all the evil people were supposed to have stayed dead after Buu blew up the planet."
Goku grinned and scratched his head. "Well, to be honest, I never really thought of Pilaf and Shu and Mai as evil. It's more like three kids playing supervillain. Just kinda goofy."
Bulma begin to hiss. She clenched her teeth and fists, causing the others to step away from her.
"The hell if I pay," she said after a moment. "We're going to rescue Vegeta. Let's see...we'll need someone who can get in without being recognized..." Her eyes flickered to Pu'ar.
"Not me," she replied. "No more shape-shifting, just in case." It had, after all, been a *wonderful* honeymoon.
"Ok, I understand. Then that leaves...you."
"ME?!" cried Oolong.
"Yes, you," Bulma said harshly. "Five minutes is enough to get past the entrance and whatever surveillance they might have."
Seeing there was no hope of getting out of it, the pig relented. "Oh, all right. But I'm not going alone."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that...hmm, who can we send? Someone who knows how Pilaf operates but perhaps wouldn't be recognized..."
***
"What do you need?" asked Piccolo.
"You've worked with Emperor Pilaf, right?" Goku asked as Dende and Mr. Popo looked on curiously. Piccolo's brow furrowed.
"Pilaf? Yes, he was the one who freed me in the first place. Why?"
"Bulma wants to talk to you..."
Experimentally, he tried to move his hands. They were tied together.
There was a dull ache in the back of his head. The last thing he remembered was watching television alone while everyone else had been out. He supposed that some person or persons unknown must have fooled or disabled the Capsule Corp. security systems, snuck in, whacked him in the back of his head, and kidnapped him.
Accurse this weak human body.
He could not, for the moment, escape. So while he waited for the situation to change, he mulled over who could have taken him hostage. Another member of the Red Ribbon Army that idiot Kakarot had missed? One of Freeza's thugs? The list was nearly endless...
***
"Vegeta, we're home!" Bulma cried as she entered the living area of Capsule Corp. No one answered. "Vegeta? We have guests." Goku and Oolong had decided to come visit for old times' sake; along with Yamcha and Pu'ar, who had returned from a wonderful honeymoon a couple of weeks ago, it would be a reunion of the first five members of the loosely structured group that would eventually be known as the Earth's Special Forces.
When she still didn't receive a response, she frowned.
"Vegeta not home?" Yamcha asked.
"No...and I don't see a note or anything saying where he went. Not like him."
Before the group could speculate further, one of the household robots rolled up to Bulma.
"MA'AM, YOU HAVE A CALLER UPON THE VIDEOSCREEN." Bulma's frown deepened.
"What's wrong?" Goku asked.
"The videoscreen is rather advanced technology...I can't think of a dozen people who even know about it, much less have another videoscreen they can use to call us." She followed the robot to the videoscreen room, and the other four followed her. She pressed the button marked "Receive Call," and a familiar face appeared on the screen which took up an entire wall.
"Emperor Pilaf!"
"Yes, indeed," said the diminuitive would-be world conqueror. "And...oh, such a shame. 4 out of the 5. Too bad the feline isn't here."
"No, I'm here," Pu'ar said, her voice cold.
"Oh, that's right, you can shapeshift. In that case, excellent. In any case, Mrs. Briefs, I have something you may be interested in." He nodded to something offscreen, and his two henchpeople, the woman Mai and the dog Shu walked into view, escorting a bound and blinded--
"VEGETA!"
"Exactly. I have kidnapped your husband." Bulma tried to lunge at Pilaf through the screen. He involuntarily took a step back, and Goku and Oolong had to restrain her.
"You bastard...what do you want with him?"
"To be honest, the world-conquering business isn't as cheap as it used to be. So here's the bargain: In exchange for your husband, I want either 100 million zeni, or a working Dragon Radar. The one I had got broken." As he spoke, in the background, Shu and Mai carried Vegeta back out sight and talked for a moment. Then Shu reached for a phone.
"And don't even think about a rescue attempt," continued Pilaf. "There's no way you could ever enter our totally hidden, utterly self-sufficient base--"
"Excuse me, Emperor Pilaf," Shu interrupted, "But what do you want on your pizza?"
"Pepperoni." He paused, and realized what he'd said. "*Anyway*, you'd never even be able to find us--"
"Our address is 1 Hidden Base Lane, Ginger Town," Shu said quite loudly into the phone.
"AND EVEN IF YOU DID FIND US," Pilaf said loudly, "You'd never be able to get past our security systems."
"To get through the big gate, just enter 5834 into the keypad. Then press the slightly off-color brick to disable the lasers."
For a moment, the leader hung his head, then rallied magnificently. "Still, you'll never get your husband back unless you pay one of our ransoms. Choose, Mrs. Briefs. I'll contact you with more details later." The viewscreen went black.
***
Now that he knew his captors, Vegeta relaxed. Pilaf would never be able to hurt him.
***
For a moment, there was silence. Then Yamcha spoke up.
"You know, I wonder why Pilaf and those two are still alive. I thought all the evil people were supposed to have stayed dead after Buu blew up the planet."
Goku grinned and scratched his head. "Well, to be honest, I never really thought of Pilaf and Shu and Mai as evil. It's more like three kids playing supervillain. Just kinda goofy."
Bulma begin to hiss. She clenched her teeth and fists, causing the others to step away from her.
"The hell if I pay," she said after a moment. "We're going to rescue Vegeta. Let's see...we'll need someone who can get in without being recognized..." Her eyes flickered to Pu'ar.
"Not me," she replied. "No more shape-shifting, just in case." It had, after all, been a *wonderful* honeymoon.
"Ok, I understand. Then that leaves...you."
"ME?!" cried Oolong.
"Yes, you," Bulma said harshly. "Five minutes is enough to get past the entrance and whatever surveillance they might have."
Seeing there was no hope of getting out of it, the pig relented. "Oh, all right. But I'm not going alone."
"I wouldn't ask you to do that...hmm, who can we send? Someone who knows how Pilaf operates but perhaps wouldn't be recognized..."
***
"What do you need?" asked Piccolo.
"You've worked with Emperor Pilaf, right?" Goku asked as Dende and Mr. Popo looked on curiously. Piccolo's brow furrowed.
"Pilaf? Yes, he was the one who freed me in the first place. Why?"
"Bulma wants to talk to you..."