The bolt flew.
It struck Vegeta with a glancing blow, just below his shoulder. The force of the shot threw him backwards onto his back, where he lay and groaned in obvious pain. Bulma felt a glint of hope, and crawled towards the little boy on her hands and knees. That boy...she felt her heart leap for joy, as memories with her first meeting with Goku returned to her mind. That boy...his hair...his face...even a tail to complete the picture- it had to be him.
She continued to crawl to him. "Goku!"
The boy turned around and steadily aimed the crossbow at her, with an unmistakable expression of hate and confusion. "What? How do you know my name?"
Bulma's heart sank. At that instant, she realised two things. Firstly, the Goku she had known was dead, and this boy was not him, despite the unmistakable and uncanny likeness, and the monkey tail that swung about him. And secondly, it seemed he was a vampire hunter. And as much as Bulma hated to admit it, she too was a vampire now. This boy would not save her.
She chose to keep still. Goku glared at Vegeta again. "Bowman?" he called.
Another person emerged from the trees. A man, in his forties, with dark skin, long black hair in a ponytail and gold earrings. He carried a wooden steak in one hand. "Got him, kid?"
Goku nodded. "That's the blue-haired lady I told you about."
Bowman turned and stared at her. She gasped and tried to climb to her feet as he came towards her with a predatory look in his eyes. She tried to scramble away but he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her to her feet. She cried out and felt something sharp digging into her back- the steak no doubt, ready to be driven into her heart.
"Is this your mate, Vegeta?" Bowman taunted. Bulma looked over, and saw that Vegeta was sitting on his haunches, breathing heavily, trying to slowly pull the steak from his body. He looked up and gave Bowman a heavy death glare.
"Answer me, blood-sucker!" Bowman snapped. "Is she you mate or not?" Bulma cried out in pain as the man pulled her hair and poked her roughly with the steak again.
"Quiet!" Bowman hissed at her. "Before I shove this through your heart!"
Goku turned to him. "Hold on. There's a boy over there. I'd say he was past saving. Vegeta's been feeding. But look at the woman. She's pale. She hasn't been feeding on anything." There was a confused look on his young face.
Bowman frowned.
"Let...let her go," Vegeta growled. He was climbing to his feet, still trying to pull the dreaded steak from his chest. He gave a hoarse groan and he pulled the bolt out, slick with blood.
"Let her go?" Bowman said with a bitter laugh. "Like how I asked you to let my daughter go? But you just ripped her throat open anyway. Maybe I should just steak this one and get it over with, eh?"
"No, please!" Bulma cried out. He pulled her hair again. The tears of pain rolled down her cheeks. Vegeta snarled and began to approach Bowman.
Goku made his move. He put his hand down the front of his baggy shirt and pulled out what looked like a large stink bomb. He hurled the ball and it smashed at Vegeta's feet. A white vapour rose and Vegeta doubled over, coughing and retching. Bulma's heightened vampire senses detected the smell of water tinged with garlic and something else. Bowman started to pull her away back into the trees. But the moment she hit the distance limit from which she could move away from Vegeta, she froze. Bowman pulled her anyway, and she fainted. She collapsed in his hold. With a groan, he hauled her over his shoulder and disappeared with Goku into the forest.
*** *** ***
"She's very pretty, don't you think, Pan?"
"Yes. Poor thing."
"She recognised your grandson, you know. She knew his name. Do you think that maybe...maybe she's an old friend of yours?"
"I don't recognise her at all, Raven. Hush, now, I think she's waking up."
Bulma opened her eyes. Primarily, she noticed that she was in a terrible amount of pain, as if someone had pulled out a vital organ from her body. As she managed to make sense of her surroundings, she realised that she was tied to a wooden rack, in a circle composed of crucifixes.
As her vision improved, she realised that two women were sitting on the outside of the circle, looking in at her. One was a young woman in her late twenties, with long raven black hair, pulled back by a purple headscarf, wearing a white blouse and a purple wrap-around skirt. Golden bangles on her wrists and ankles caught the low light. She looked like a gypsy.
A much older woman sat beside her, but she seemed much stronger, and she wasn't a gypsy. She wore faded men's clothes, heavy boots and had wound a red cloth around one arm. She was quite old, but she was undeniable strong. Her face gleamed with a youth that was long gone, and her large blue eyes glittered.
"She doesn't look too well to me," the older woman murmured.
"Pan, she's a vampire!" the gypsy snapped. "Vampires always look pale and sickly!"
"No, Raven, she is really sick." Pan climbed to her feet and stepped into the circle. Bulma was too weak to move away, besides, she was tied to the rack. Pan lowered one aged hand towards Bulma's face but she made no move to avoid the woman's touch. Pan's hand touched her skin and she didn't even flinch. She had no strength.
"She's sick." Pan repeated. "She's hasn't been feeding, and she's been pulled out away from her mate. She won't be able to do anything until she's back with him."
"Grandma!"
It was a boy's voice. Bulma was just able to see the little boy named Goku step into the circle. "I saw her, she wasn't feeding with Vegeta. I think she's not exactly taking to vampirism well."
Bulma turned her head towards him. Their eyes met. She knew he felt sorry for her, and that made her feel hopeful. He understood her feelings. But she knew that he was much more likely to kill then to help her. He was a vampire hunter. She knew it. After all, she herself had been one too.
Pan knelt beside Bulma, holding what looked liked a water bottle. "I really do suggest that you drink this," she said softly. "You're not going to last long otherwise." She held the bottle to Bulma's lips. The coppery taste of blood touch her tongue, and despite the yearning in her stomach, she turned her head away.
"This is rabbit blood," Pan told her. "Not a persons. Drink it."
Bulma turned back and allowed the bottle's contents to be poured steadily into her mouth. She felt her body welcome it, starved for so long. The boy Goku stood beside her, kneeling down to wipe away the blood that trickled along her chin every now and again. She felt like a grotesque baby, an infant demon being fed by unwilling parents.
After she had finished feeding, Pan backed away and put the bottle down. She looked at Bulma with a rather serious look on her face. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Bulma," she replied, her throat hoarse.
Pan tilted her head. "I am vampire hunter. The leader of a small band of vampire hunters who travel with this small gypsy band." She paused. "What were you.before Vegeta made you into a vampire? What did you do?"
"Vampire hunter," Bulma whispered, unable to say much more. Pan nodded knowingly and turned to Raven and Goku.
"That woman is denying herself as a vampire," Pan told her. "She was a vampire hunter. Her enemy was Vegeta, and he did this to her. And now, she's his mate, but because she refuses to accept it, she can't move more then about 30 yards away from him. When Bowman carried her away, he did that, and now she's ill. Maybe dying."
Raven scoffed. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Pan didn't answer. "She's in the camp. Vegeta will try to rescue her, but it's going to be dangerous for him. This maybe our one chance to destroy that evil bastard." She turned. "Bulma is our bait."
*** *** ***
Vegeta was crawling through the woods, still injured by the globe of holy water and the bolt wound the boy had given him. He leaned against a tree trunk. The gypsy camp wasn't too far away. He could feel Bulma was there...fading...no she was holding on...he had to hold on too, if he wanted to get her back...
*** *** ***
Bowman approached, from his caravan. His wife, Rowan, was standing at the back door, their daughter, Sacha, sitting on the steps at her feet. They had once had three children, two daughters and one son, Jasper. But it was just Sacha and Jasper now.
Rowan ushered the children in, and stood outside with Bowman. She looked at him. "Did you find this vampire?"
"She's on the rack."
"I see. Well, I suppose you better go speak with Pan's group. I'll take the children to the party." They often liked to have little parties, just to keep spirits up. Bowman nodded and strode away through the caravans, looking for a large black tent. He could hear the voices inside. He stepped in.
Pan and her group of Vampire Hunters sat together, five in all, including Pan. Goku was nowhere to be seen. A short young man sat next to her, with black hair tied into a ponytail. He stood up as Bowman entered. "Sit down, sir," he said. "I'm sure you're tired."
"Thank you, Krillin," Bowman said, and took the youth's seat. Pan smiled at him. "We need to set up an awning over the rack during the night; otherwise our blue-haired vampire will die at sunrise."
Bowman made a snorting noise. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Pan pretended to ignore him. She turned to the other three hunters. One was a young man with long, raven-black hair, with pricing blue eyes. That was Juunanagou, also known as Android 17, and a relative of the blonde youth Krillin. The other man was called Harry, a dark-haired man with bright green eyes. He was hunched over some large dusty books, reading by torch light. The last was another woman, with purple hair, called Star, who Bowman didn't like much. She was rather vicious.
"I actually agree with the gypsy," Star growled. She didn't like Bowman much either. "A good vampire is a dead vampire."
"Shallow," Juunangou muttered. He toyed with something, probably a wooden steak, or some other weapon, Bowman thought. He didn't trust that android much either, but he wasn't as bad as Star.
"Why exactly did you bring her back, anyway?" Krillin asked.
Pan answered. "She's Prince Vegeta's mate. She's our bait to capture him."
"You mentioned she was an unwilling mate?" Juunanagou inquired.
"Yes," Pan replied, nodding, looking towards Harry, who hadn't looked up from his books since Bowman had entered the tent. "And she doesn't seem keen on feeding either. It took some persuasion just to get her to drink out of the bag. But she was starving, she couldn't resist anymore. This is quite unusual, so I'm having Harry check the books to see if anything like this has occurred before."
Harry suddenly jumped up. "Yes! Found something!"
Pan leaned over. "Good timing. What did you find?"
"Vampire mates. They become mated, simply, when they've shared a coffin. However, our blue-haired lady hasn't exactly been willing as a vampire, let alone the mate of the vampire who made her the way she is. So she has been basically cursed to stay within a certain distance of her mate. It's sort of a plan-B, to make sure that she'll eventually fall for him. But of course, after being removed from Vegeta's presence," he looked at Bowman briefly, "she is now deteriorating. She needs to be with Vegeta to survive. If Vegeta truly loves her, he'll be making his attempt to rescue her very soon..."
"That can't happen," Bowman said. "Tonight, my band is having a small dance festival. We normally would have a large one, but because of the danger of vampires, we're only having a little party instead."
Pan shook her head. "The only ones who are in danger are the ones who attempt to stop him. If your band is far away from Bulma, then they won't get hurt. Vegeta will still be weak from the wound Goku gave him. We may well be able to kill him this time."
*** *** ***
Goku trotted along to the little party that was going on. Grandma was there, watching the dancers parading around a fire in the centre of the clearing, flipping over each other and spinning. He liked to watch the Gypsy girls dancing. They were very graceful and agile; the dance was a work of art. Almost like martial arts, it took skill and dedication.
He watched as the music ended and the two gypsy sisters who he knew as Latona and Laverna skipped towards Grandma Pan and took her by the hands. Goku laughed- they wanted her to dance with them.
"Please, girls," Pan was saying with a laugh. "I'm much too old!"
"You're just as springy as you were when you were thirty," Laverna chirped. "Come on!" Pan laughed and began to dance with them, very well despite her age, although not as well as the two sisters. They were proper dancers- Pan was a fighter.
Goku laughed and then turned away to the other end of the camp. He wormed his way past tents and caravans, and then came upon Raven sitting by Bulma's circle. It was her shift.
The vampire was asleep, still tied to sit upright, leaning on the rack. Raven looked bored, rolling stones in the dirt. He sat next to her.
"What's up?" he asked.
"The opposite of down," she muttered.
"I take it you're not in the best of moods."
Raven gave a sigh. "I just wanted to go to the little party Rowan organised."
Goku shrugged. "I'll take over for you. Dancing and stuff isn't really my thing. And let's face it- I could hold my own against a vampire better then you could. My grandma expects that Vegeta will be trying to rescue Bulma." He jerked his thumb towards the sleeping vampire.
Raven nodded. "You make an excellent point, kiddo." She stood up and smoothed her skirt. "You sure?"
"Positive. Go and have fun."
Raven skipped away, her purple skirts flying out behind her and her bangles jingling. Goku sat down and took a crucifix and a steak into his hands. He knew Vegeta was out there...it was just a matter of time...
*** *** ***
He could see her. He could feel her pain and weakness...she was dying...
Vegeta was hidden in a tree above the circle, just out side of their distance range, in which Bulma was imprisoned within. The boy who had attacked him was sitting nearby, keeping guard. He was ready for any intrusion. This was going to be very dangerous.
The trick was to be in and out, and avoid battling with the boy. And no doubt, although he heard the gypsies in their little festivities, there were plenty of other warriors hanging around, a gypsy or a hunter or two, waiting to pounce. In his condition, Vegeta could not afford to tangle with them. Just grab the onna and get out.
He tensed, ready to leap from the tree and into the circle. There would only be one way out from it- up.
He jumped.
He landed gracefully beside Bulma, who was still asleep. The boy lifted his head and stood up.
"I know it would only be a matter of time before you came," Goku said.
"You think I would leave my onna here?" Vegeta hissed, untying the ropes around Bulma's wrists. He gathered her into his arms. Goku raised his stake and stepped into the circle.
"I'm going to stop you."
"No, I will jump out of here before you can move, child. You're fast and strong, but I am faster and stronger. And you are alone."
"You think?"
Vegeta then realised his mistake. He was downwind. And he has missed the scent of the two hunters behind him. He turned. A purple haired woman and a black-haired man. He glared at them, baring his teeth threateningly.
"Let's see you get out of this one," Star said, raising her crossbow bolt.
To be continued.
It struck Vegeta with a glancing blow, just below his shoulder. The force of the shot threw him backwards onto his back, where he lay and groaned in obvious pain. Bulma felt a glint of hope, and crawled towards the little boy on her hands and knees. That boy...she felt her heart leap for joy, as memories with her first meeting with Goku returned to her mind. That boy...his hair...his face...even a tail to complete the picture- it had to be him.
She continued to crawl to him. "Goku!"
The boy turned around and steadily aimed the crossbow at her, with an unmistakable expression of hate and confusion. "What? How do you know my name?"
Bulma's heart sank. At that instant, she realised two things. Firstly, the Goku she had known was dead, and this boy was not him, despite the unmistakable and uncanny likeness, and the monkey tail that swung about him. And secondly, it seemed he was a vampire hunter. And as much as Bulma hated to admit it, she too was a vampire now. This boy would not save her.
She chose to keep still. Goku glared at Vegeta again. "Bowman?" he called.
Another person emerged from the trees. A man, in his forties, with dark skin, long black hair in a ponytail and gold earrings. He carried a wooden steak in one hand. "Got him, kid?"
Goku nodded. "That's the blue-haired lady I told you about."
Bowman turned and stared at her. She gasped and tried to climb to her feet as he came towards her with a predatory look in his eyes. She tried to scramble away but he grabbed her by her hair and pulled her to her feet. She cried out and felt something sharp digging into her back- the steak no doubt, ready to be driven into her heart.
"Is this your mate, Vegeta?" Bowman taunted. Bulma looked over, and saw that Vegeta was sitting on his haunches, breathing heavily, trying to slowly pull the steak from his body. He looked up and gave Bowman a heavy death glare.
"Answer me, blood-sucker!" Bowman snapped. "Is she you mate or not?" Bulma cried out in pain as the man pulled her hair and poked her roughly with the steak again.
"Quiet!" Bowman hissed at her. "Before I shove this through your heart!"
Goku turned to him. "Hold on. There's a boy over there. I'd say he was past saving. Vegeta's been feeding. But look at the woman. She's pale. She hasn't been feeding on anything." There was a confused look on his young face.
Bowman frowned.
"Let...let her go," Vegeta growled. He was climbing to his feet, still trying to pull the dreaded steak from his chest. He gave a hoarse groan and he pulled the bolt out, slick with blood.
"Let her go?" Bowman said with a bitter laugh. "Like how I asked you to let my daughter go? But you just ripped her throat open anyway. Maybe I should just steak this one and get it over with, eh?"
"No, please!" Bulma cried out. He pulled her hair again. The tears of pain rolled down her cheeks. Vegeta snarled and began to approach Bowman.
Goku made his move. He put his hand down the front of his baggy shirt and pulled out what looked like a large stink bomb. He hurled the ball and it smashed at Vegeta's feet. A white vapour rose and Vegeta doubled over, coughing and retching. Bulma's heightened vampire senses detected the smell of water tinged with garlic and something else. Bowman started to pull her away back into the trees. But the moment she hit the distance limit from which she could move away from Vegeta, she froze. Bowman pulled her anyway, and she fainted. She collapsed in his hold. With a groan, he hauled her over his shoulder and disappeared with Goku into the forest.
*** *** ***
"She's very pretty, don't you think, Pan?"
"Yes. Poor thing."
"She recognised your grandson, you know. She knew his name. Do you think that maybe...maybe she's an old friend of yours?"
"I don't recognise her at all, Raven. Hush, now, I think she's waking up."
Bulma opened her eyes. Primarily, she noticed that she was in a terrible amount of pain, as if someone had pulled out a vital organ from her body. As she managed to make sense of her surroundings, she realised that she was tied to a wooden rack, in a circle composed of crucifixes.
As her vision improved, she realised that two women were sitting on the outside of the circle, looking in at her. One was a young woman in her late twenties, with long raven black hair, pulled back by a purple headscarf, wearing a white blouse and a purple wrap-around skirt. Golden bangles on her wrists and ankles caught the low light. She looked like a gypsy.
A much older woman sat beside her, but she seemed much stronger, and she wasn't a gypsy. She wore faded men's clothes, heavy boots and had wound a red cloth around one arm. She was quite old, but she was undeniable strong. Her face gleamed with a youth that was long gone, and her large blue eyes glittered.
"She doesn't look too well to me," the older woman murmured.
"Pan, she's a vampire!" the gypsy snapped. "Vampires always look pale and sickly!"
"No, Raven, she is really sick." Pan climbed to her feet and stepped into the circle. Bulma was too weak to move away, besides, she was tied to the rack. Pan lowered one aged hand towards Bulma's face but she made no move to avoid the woman's touch. Pan's hand touched her skin and she didn't even flinch. She had no strength.
"She's sick." Pan repeated. "She's hasn't been feeding, and she's been pulled out away from her mate. She won't be able to do anything until she's back with him."
"Grandma!"
It was a boy's voice. Bulma was just able to see the little boy named Goku step into the circle. "I saw her, she wasn't feeding with Vegeta. I think she's not exactly taking to vampirism well."
Bulma turned her head towards him. Their eyes met. She knew he felt sorry for her, and that made her feel hopeful. He understood her feelings. But she knew that he was much more likely to kill then to help her. He was a vampire hunter. She knew it. After all, she herself had been one too.
Pan knelt beside Bulma, holding what looked liked a water bottle. "I really do suggest that you drink this," she said softly. "You're not going to last long otherwise." She held the bottle to Bulma's lips. The coppery taste of blood touch her tongue, and despite the yearning in her stomach, she turned her head away.
"This is rabbit blood," Pan told her. "Not a persons. Drink it."
Bulma turned back and allowed the bottle's contents to be poured steadily into her mouth. She felt her body welcome it, starved for so long. The boy Goku stood beside her, kneeling down to wipe away the blood that trickled along her chin every now and again. She felt like a grotesque baby, an infant demon being fed by unwilling parents.
After she had finished feeding, Pan backed away and put the bottle down. She looked at Bulma with a rather serious look on her face. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Bulma," she replied, her throat hoarse.
Pan tilted her head. "I am vampire hunter. The leader of a small band of vampire hunters who travel with this small gypsy band." She paused. "What were you.before Vegeta made you into a vampire? What did you do?"
"Vampire hunter," Bulma whispered, unable to say much more. Pan nodded knowingly and turned to Raven and Goku.
"That woman is denying herself as a vampire," Pan told her. "She was a vampire hunter. Her enemy was Vegeta, and he did this to her. And now, she's his mate, but because she refuses to accept it, she can't move more then about 30 yards away from him. When Bowman carried her away, he did that, and now she's ill. Maybe dying."
Raven scoffed. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Pan didn't answer. "She's in the camp. Vegeta will try to rescue her, but it's going to be dangerous for him. This maybe our one chance to destroy that evil bastard." She turned. "Bulma is our bait."
*** *** ***
Vegeta was crawling through the woods, still injured by the globe of holy water and the bolt wound the boy had given him. He leaned against a tree trunk. The gypsy camp wasn't too far away. He could feel Bulma was there...fading...no she was holding on...he had to hold on too, if he wanted to get her back...
*** *** ***
Bowman approached, from his caravan. His wife, Rowan, was standing at the back door, their daughter, Sacha, sitting on the steps at her feet. They had once had three children, two daughters and one son, Jasper. But it was just Sacha and Jasper now.
Rowan ushered the children in, and stood outside with Bowman. She looked at him. "Did you find this vampire?"
"She's on the rack."
"I see. Well, I suppose you better go speak with Pan's group. I'll take the children to the party." They often liked to have little parties, just to keep spirits up. Bowman nodded and strode away through the caravans, looking for a large black tent. He could hear the voices inside. He stepped in.
Pan and her group of Vampire Hunters sat together, five in all, including Pan. Goku was nowhere to be seen. A short young man sat next to her, with black hair tied into a ponytail. He stood up as Bowman entered. "Sit down, sir," he said. "I'm sure you're tired."
"Thank you, Krillin," Bowman said, and took the youth's seat. Pan smiled at him. "We need to set up an awning over the rack during the night; otherwise our blue-haired vampire will die at sunrise."
Bowman made a snorting noise. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
Pan pretended to ignore him. She turned to the other three hunters. One was a young man with long, raven-black hair, with pricing blue eyes. That was Juunanagou, also known as Android 17, and a relative of the blonde youth Krillin. The other man was called Harry, a dark-haired man with bright green eyes. He was hunched over some large dusty books, reading by torch light. The last was another woman, with purple hair, called Star, who Bowman didn't like much. She was rather vicious.
"I actually agree with the gypsy," Star growled. She didn't like Bowman much either. "A good vampire is a dead vampire."
"Shallow," Juunangou muttered. He toyed with something, probably a wooden steak, or some other weapon, Bowman thought. He didn't trust that android much either, but he wasn't as bad as Star.
"Why exactly did you bring her back, anyway?" Krillin asked.
Pan answered. "She's Prince Vegeta's mate. She's our bait to capture him."
"You mentioned she was an unwilling mate?" Juunanagou inquired.
"Yes," Pan replied, nodding, looking towards Harry, who hadn't looked up from his books since Bowman had entered the tent. "And she doesn't seem keen on feeding either. It took some persuasion just to get her to drink out of the bag. But she was starving, she couldn't resist anymore. This is quite unusual, so I'm having Harry check the books to see if anything like this has occurred before."
Harry suddenly jumped up. "Yes! Found something!"
Pan leaned over. "Good timing. What did you find?"
"Vampire mates. They become mated, simply, when they've shared a coffin. However, our blue-haired lady hasn't exactly been willing as a vampire, let alone the mate of the vampire who made her the way she is. So she has been basically cursed to stay within a certain distance of her mate. It's sort of a plan-B, to make sure that she'll eventually fall for him. But of course, after being removed from Vegeta's presence," he looked at Bowman briefly, "she is now deteriorating. She needs to be with Vegeta to survive. If Vegeta truly loves her, he'll be making his attempt to rescue her very soon..."
"That can't happen," Bowman said. "Tonight, my band is having a small dance festival. We normally would have a large one, but because of the danger of vampires, we're only having a little party instead."
Pan shook her head. "The only ones who are in danger are the ones who attempt to stop him. If your band is far away from Bulma, then they won't get hurt. Vegeta will still be weak from the wound Goku gave him. We may well be able to kill him this time."
*** *** ***
Goku trotted along to the little party that was going on. Grandma was there, watching the dancers parading around a fire in the centre of the clearing, flipping over each other and spinning. He liked to watch the Gypsy girls dancing. They were very graceful and agile; the dance was a work of art. Almost like martial arts, it took skill and dedication.
He watched as the music ended and the two gypsy sisters who he knew as Latona and Laverna skipped towards Grandma Pan and took her by the hands. Goku laughed- they wanted her to dance with them.
"Please, girls," Pan was saying with a laugh. "I'm much too old!"
"You're just as springy as you were when you were thirty," Laverna chirped. "Come on!" Pan laughed and began to dance with them, very well despite her age, although not as well as the two sisters. They were proper dancers- Pan was a fighter.
Goku laughed and then turned away to the other end of the camp. He wormed his way past tents and caravans, and then came upon Raven sitting by Bulma's circle. It was her shift.
The vampire was asleep, still tied to sit upright, leaning on the rack. Raven looked bored, rolling stones in the dirt. He sat next to her.
"What's up?" he asked.
"The opposite of down," she muttered.
"I take it you're not in the best of moods."
Raven gave a sigh. "I just wanted to go to the little party Rowan organised."
Goku shrugged. "I'll take over for you. Dancing and stuff isn't really my thing. And let's face it- I could hold my own against a vampire better then you could. My grandma expects that Vegeta will be trying to rescue Bulma." He jerked his thumb towards the sleeping vampire.
Raven nodded. "You make an excellent point, kiddo." She stood up and smoothed her skirt. "You sure?"
"Positive. Go and have fun."
Raven skipped away, her purple skirts flying out behind her and her bangles jingling. Goku sat down and took a crucifix and a steak into his hands. He knew Vegeta was out there...it was just a matter of time...
*** *** ***
He could see her. He could feel her pain and weakness...she was dying...
Vegeta was hidden in a tree above the circle, just out side of their distance range, in which Bulma was imprisoned within. The boy who had attacked him was sitting nearby, keeping guard. He was ready for any intrusion. This was going to be very dangerous.
The trick was to be in and out, and avoid battling with the boy. And no doubt, although he heard the gypsies in their little festivities, there were plenty of other warriors hanging around, a gypsy or a hunter or two, waiting to pounce. In his condition, Vegeta could not afford to tangle with them. Just grab the onna and get out.
He tensed, ready to leap from the tree and into the circle. There would only be one way out from it- up.
He jumped.
He landed gracefully beside Bulma, who was still asleep. The boy lifted his head and stood up.
"I know it would only be a matter of time before you came," Goku said.
"You think I would leave my onna here?" Vegeta hissed, untying the ropes around Bulma's wrists. He gathered her into his arms. Goku raised his stake and stepped into the circle.
"I'm going to stop you."
"No, I will jump out of here before you can move, child. You're fast and strong, but I am faster and stronger. And you are alone."
"You think?"
Vegeta then realised his mistake. He was downwind. And he has missed the scent of the two hunters behind him. He turned. A purple haired woman and a black-haired man. He glared at them, baring his teeth threateningly.
"Let's see you get out of this one," Star said, raising her crossbow bolt.
To be continued.