Disclaimer: I do happen to own a bowl of salsa, and I do happen to own a kitty, but I don't happen to own DragonBall Z

Trials and Tribulations

By Salsa Kitty

The DragonBall Saga

Chapter 9: Secrets Revealed and the Fate of the Universe

Vegeta followed close behind his charge as they flew across the earthen landscape. Over the city, and though the forests, they flew with incredible speed. Vegeta could have gone faster then the speed they were at, but he could tell the Bulma was going at her maximum speed. He suddenly realized that she hadn't really improved much since when they were kids. Although they hadn't sparred, he could tell that her physical strength wasn't really any different then when she was 8. That was a little shocking to Vegeta, since he had grown it seemed 100 times stronger then when he was six, and he had kind of expected her to be stronger then when they were kids.

As they pasted the forest, there was a large grassy field. "Here, 'Geta," Vegeta heard Bulma yell through the passing wind. Bulma landed on a patch of grass, with clovers and wild flowers. Vegeta touched down after her. Bulma dropped her backpack on the ground and sat on the wild grass. Vegeta dropped his duffle bag next to her backpack and sat next to her. The mid-afternoon sun warmed the earth they sat on and beat down on their faces. "I had to find a place with no one around to listen." Bulma brought up her knees to her chin, "I have to tell you about why I brought you here Now, I know you're not going to believe me, but, please listen to what I have to say."

Vegeta sat there and looked at her intently.

She stood up and grabbed her brown leather backpack, and dug inside, looking for something. Her arm came out with a small wooden box. She opened it and revealed a sphere that was sheathed with a white, thin, cotton cloth. Her delicate hands began to uncover the ball, and what was revealed was an orange sphere, with three dark orange stars inside the center.

"This, Vegeta, is a Dragon Ball." Bulma's voice said with such significance and awe, the Vegeta knew this was what he was there for. She handed him the 'Dragon Ball' to hold. He held it in his hand; it wasn't very big, about the size of his fist, and it wasn't heavy at all, although the look of it would give you that impression.

"What is a 'Dragon Ball'?"

She smiled, "Let me tell you a story of how I first came upon it." Vegeta sat up and looked at her, and began to listen keenly. "Well, when I was 15, I had been working very hard for my father. He and I were trying to make prototype weapons to help Vejiitasei against Frieza, and I was also working on my prototype 'Bulma's 2X Cruiser', the ship that we came here with." Bulma smiled all proud like, "Anyway, there was an explosion in the lab, my dad wasn't hurt, but I was injured. I broke my leg and stuff. Well, my Dad and my Mom wouldn't let me go back to work in the lab until my leg healed. So, as you can imagine, I was bored out of my mind. My Mom asked me if I would help go through the attic of our house, so, with nothing better to do, I said yes, and I started going through boxes.

"Anyways, I came across some stuff my parents had gotten on vacations and stuff, you know, stuff like souvenirs. I came across this ball looking thing. I found out later that it was a 'Dragon Ball,' but at the time I didn't know what it was. I asked my Dad, and my mom, but they couldn't tell me what it was either, except that they bought it in some foreign place in the dessert. So, I set up a makeshift lab in my room, there, I examined to ball. I found out that it was made of some unknown materials on Earth, and I couldn't find any such materials on any record outside of Earth either. So I did some research.

"I stayed up all night sometimes, trying to find anything on the mysterious little ball, and I came up with nothing, that was, until, I read some stuff on ancient mythology. In the story I read, there was a man named Raska, who called upon an eternal dragon to grant his one wish. He wished that he be given everlasting life, so that he could help defeat an evil fiend and protect his people. He called the dragon by gathering all seven of the dragon balls. The Dragon can grant any one wish, as long as it's within the power of the dragon, this can include immortality.

"So, because the Dragon Ball was made form a kind of metal, I was able to take it and make a tracking device. I called it the 'Dragon Radar.' According to my radar, I was able to locate all six of the Dragon Balls. Once my leg was all healed up, I went searching for them. On my journey, I met Goku and Chi Chi. I met other people to, like Oolong, and Puar. And … Yamacha, and other people. Eventually, Goku and I found all of the Dragon Balls, and, under various circumstances that I won't get into here, when we called the eternal dragon, are wish was wasted on underwear. So they scattered around the planet and can't be used again until after a year." She smiled to herself, remembering her adventures with her friends.

"So, anyway, do you realize what kind of power this is? When I told my Uncle about the Dragon Balls, he didn't believe me, but I told him that I went and personally found out if the Dragon Balls were the real deal, he told me that we needed to have you here, to see if we could either make you immortal, or make you stronger, or if we could wish Frieza dead, or something. He said that because you're the strongest Saiyan alive today, and that if any one is capable of killing Frieza, that it's you… That's why you're here… Because you're the only one who can do it." She put her hands on his shoulders and looked into Vegeta's eyes. "… That's why the mission was a secret, if Frieza found out about it then…"

"…Then he would be here, looking for them, and when he found them, he would wish to be immortal… and he would take over the universe…" Vegeta looked at the Dragon Ball in his hand. He knew, by looking into Bulma's eyes that she was telling him the truth, that everything that she said was true. That… if Frieza got hold of these Dragon Balls, then the Universe would fall into his control… That Vejiitasei would be destroyed, and all the Saiyans would die, as well as many other worlds. It was like… like the fate of the universe was in his hands, in the shape of a ball. "…Bulma…"

"… But the thing is that I don't know the limit of the Eternal dragon's power… So, when we retrieve all of the Dragon Balls, we have to ask him what it is we can wish for. Like, if we wish you immortal, then would that mean that you couldn't become any stronger? You're strong, but nowhere near as strong as Frieza, so if we wished you immortal, then you would be constantly defeated again and again, and that would defeat our purpose. Or, can we wish for Frieza to die?" She took the Dragon Ball and wrapped the cloth around it, "So… that is what we're going to do, we're going to look for the Dragon Balls and find out." She put the Dragon ball back into the box and placed the box back into her backpack. "C'mon, we have to meet Son Kun and Chi Chi at the Meeting place." She got up and handed him the duffle bag. "Let's go…" Vegeta got up and put the bag other his shoulder. And with that, they flew off.

~*~*~*~*~

It was dark when they had finally landed. They landed in the middle of nowhere… or at least… it seemed like the middle of nowhere. They were in the middle of the desert. Tan colored sand, weeds, and cactus stretched out as far as the eye could see. What with the occasional lizard and such disturbing the landscape, it would have appeared as desolate as could be, that is, if you took out the lively Bar and Inn that in some what shape of form, found a place in the heart desert.

"This is the meeting place?" Vegeta said dumbfoundedly. It was and old wooden building, with a large flashing neon sign in the front with a picture of an old man wearing an oversized cowboy hat, who was trying to lick a rooster.

"Yup…" She said, "The 'Cockalickin' Penthouse Saloon: Bar and Inn.' The guy who owns it is the Ox King, Chi Chi's Dad."

"Lovely…" Vegeta muttered. Two burly Saiyan men came out of the door, revealing just how active and noisy the bar really was, chasing a prostitute who was laughing her ass off like she had never seen of heard anything so amusing in her life.

"Let's go, we have to meet Goku and Chi Chi, and tell them that we're here." She headed for the saloon, and Vegeta followed close behind.

She opened the door to a rowdy scene: People were having drinking contests, prostitutes trying to make a date, and scantily clad strippers walked along the counter with boas and high stiletto heels, TVs were blasting, and a live band was playing, except they were drunk off there ass, so they didn't sound all to good, and the lead singer was slurring his words. Never before had Vegeta come across such a place, and it was starting to hurt his poor sensitive ears. Bulma kept a hold of his a arm and lead him to the back of the establishment.

"There's a door over here, the Ox King has special rooms for us!" Bulma yelled through the noise thick air. She was about to open the door when something caught her eye. A man who Vegeta didn't know with some scars on his face, with tanned skin and black hair was sitting on a couch in the back, he also was making out with two, in Vegeta's opinion, unattractive girls. "YOU MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD, YAMACHA!!!" Bulma yelled. The man looked up and had bright red lipstick all over his face.

"BULMA!!!" He said in surprise, and the two girls proceeded to give her dirty looks. "W-what are you doing here!!!"

"You cock sucking bastard, don't you EVEN try to turn this around on me like it's my fault because I caught you… AGAIN!!! Why the fuck were you calling me in the middle of the night, telling me you loved me, and how much you missed me, and wanted me? Well, fuck you Yamacha! Fuck you! Go to fucking hell for all I fucking care! This is the last time I let you make me look like an ass!" She looked at Vegeta and gave him a hull on kiss on the lips, then she broke away, "Meet my new boyfriend now, you dickless, cocksucking, motherfucking piece of shit motherfucker!!! Not only does he have a bigger dick then you, but he's can also at least get it up, not like you, who can even get a hard on!" By this time, the entire saloon had grown quiet. Everyone was listening to what Bulma had to say about her cheating ex boyfriend. Yamacha had grown beet red, and his Ki had shot through the roof.

"H-how dare you-" Yamacha began.

"How dare you, Yamacha!" Bulma opened the door, "Go fuck your pretty hookers, I'm sure they need the money! After all, the only way your ever gonna get laid is if you pay for it!" Bulma walked through the door, Vegeta following after her, and she slammed the door shut.

It was all quiet for a second afterwards, then all of the people started laughing there heads off. They started pointing and laughing at Yamacha, laughing about how he couldn't get it up, and about how he could only pay for sex. "Shut the fuck up!" Yamacha yelled, even the women that he was with left him.

~*~*~*~*~

"And who was that?" Vegeta asked as they were behind the door.

"Yamacha, my ex boyfriend." Bulma said coldly.

"You had a boyfriend, even though you're supposed to get mated to me?" Vegeta inquired.

"Shut up Vegeta, we're not getting mated, remember? You said so when we were kids." She leaned up against the wall, "Haven't you ever had a girlfriend?"

"No… There's not that many girls on Frieza's ship." Vegeta said quietly.

"Hey, Bulma! Sup?" Goku and Chi Chi stood in the middle of the hall, and behind them was a large, and I mean large brawny man.

"I'm sorry about Yamacha," The man had said, "I was about to go down there and bust open his head, but I see that you did a fine job of taking care of it."

Bulma managed a smile. "Thanks, Vegeta, this is the Ox King."

"So you're our beloved Prince," The Ox King bowed before him, "I am your humble servant, welcome to the 'Cockalickin' Penthouse Saloon,' I got the idea for the name when I was tending to my farm back in my youth, there was an old man who like to perform oral sex on chicken's and roosters. He liked to wear oversized hats, and said he was the great Kamisama himself. Crazy bugger if you asked me."

"…………Um …There's no need to bow," Vegeta said, not really wanting to hear about the origins of the name. "If I'm to go about incognito, then I can't have people bowing before me."

"Yes, yes, of course," He stood up, "Please, let me help you to your rooms. Just down the hall here, and up the stairs, Chi Chi, you wouldn't mind showing them would you?"

"Nope, not at all," Chi Chi led the way to their rooms, "Bulma, this is your room, and my lord, Vegeta, this is your room," She pointed to the room directly across the hall. She handed them their Keys, "We'll be leaving in the morning, so you two be up early." Chi Chi left, leaving the two to be alone.

"Do you really think we'll get any sleep tonight with this racket?" Vegeta asked. It was true; the noise form the bar seeped through the walls.

"Sure," Said Bulma, "Why not? Hey come by my room later, I'm not really tired, and I know that that bastard Yamacha is going to try and come by later and try to make up with me."

Vegeta understood what she was saying, "Well… it's not like I have to unpack anything, so why not hang around now?"

She smiled, "Yeah… That's a good idea."

~*~*~*~*~

"Awwwwwww!!!! Vegeta! You broke it!"

"I didn't mean to!"

"Now how are we going to play?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know not the push so hard?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe 'cause I told you not to!" It was 11 o'clock at night, and Bulma and Vegeta decided that it would be a good idea to stay up and play 'Trouble,' the game where you pushed the plastic bubble in the center and it made the little dice flop around, and the number on the dice was how many moves you got to make. (A/N: It might be a little too old for some of you younger readers to remember, it came out around when I was about 5 of six, and I'm 18 now, so that was like 13 years ago!) Vegeta pushed too hard on the plastic bubble, and it broke.

"I'm sorry… I guess I for got my strength…" Said Vegeta, as there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Bulma… is me… Yamacha... lemme in…" Sounded Yamacha's slurred voice through the door.

"Oh Kami…" Bulma sighed to herself.

"I'll deal with it." Vegeta got up and answered the door. "What the fuck do you want?" Vegeta said in a very dangerous tone.

"I wanna speak to Bulma, you short freak!" Yamacha staggered.

"Ummm… No, I don't think Bulma wants to speak to you. Now listen, make it easy on yourself and leave and never come back, or… I can beat the holy shit out of you. Your choice." Vegeta waited.

"I choose to see Bulma!" Yamacha started at the door.

Vegeta sighed, why is it that they always choose the hard way? Vegeta picked him up by the throat and dragged him through the hall, down the stairs, and through the bar, and outside, where he hit him a couple of times, and left him out in the desert to die. He went back up to Bulma's room. "Sorry... I had to take out some garbage."

Bulma couldn't even smile, "Why… Why did he have to do that to me?" She asked, it almost looked like she was going to start crying.

"Bulma…" Vegeta went to her and held her in an embrace. "He's not worth it."

She started crying, "I know, but… I think that a part of me really loved him."

It was hard for Vegeta to see her cry, first of all, he had never been around an emotional woman before, and second, she was his best friend, and he never wanted to see her hurt. "It's okay Bulma, I'm here…" Vegeta cooed as he stroked the back of her head.

She eventually stopped crying and regained her composure. "Thank you, Vegeta." Bulma said sincerely.

"So… did you and Yamacha... did you two ever… you know…" Vegeta couldn't help but ask.

"NOOOO!!!" She laughed, "No! Never! He wanted to, he even pressured me, but no, I told him that I wanted to stay a virgin until I get Mated. I just said all that stuff just to embarrass his ass."

"Well… it's getting late, and we have to start early tomorrow. I'm guessing that we should go to bed." Vegeta yawned.

"Yeah…." Bulma yawned too.

Vegeta opened her door and looked back at her, "Good night Bulma… Sweet dreams…"

"You too, Vegeta." Bulma smiled as he shut the door.

As Vegeta walked back to his room, he realized just how much he wanted to hold her in his arms, how much he didn't want to leave her and go back to his room. And, most of all, he realized how he wanted Bulma's sweet lips on his forever. There kiss… even if it wasn't real… He still loved the way they felt on his… He wanted her…

Author's notes: Wow!!! I wrote a lot! Hehe… I don't know if you all have noticed, but I try to put a little wackiness in my chapters, like here, it was the 'Cockalickin' Penthouse Saloon: Bar and Inn.' Anyways… I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and please, Read and Review!!!!

Reviewer Responses:

Animechick: Hehe, thnks I would really appreciate it if you would. Hehe thanks ~.^

~Me~ (aka: Michelle whose 15 ^.^) Hehehe, thanks for saying my story is awesome, I appreciate it! And my salsa is home made baby, and it's the shit too! ^.~  Thanks!!

Mushi-azn: Hey!!! I don't watch that much porn… V.V  Any hoo, thanks, and I would be verey happy if you did advertise for me, (and you should update more often, your stories or good!) ^.~

Moonsaiyanprincess: Awwww thnk you, and yeah.. a part of me will probably always think it's shit, but I appricate you saying it's not. Thanks!! ^.~

Adbzfan2k03: Thanks ~.~

I need reviews to live…. Damn you! Review! Now! Click on the button that says "Click here to submit review" I'm watching you…. Click on it, damn you little bastards!!! I said review!!!!!!!!!