"Man, here I am, slaving away and for who? For friends who forgot I exist. It's a darn shame. Yep, those guys are taking me for granted."

                                                            Bulma Briefs

Chapter Five:  The Truth.

            "We have what you are looking for."

            Vegeta growled and stepped forward towards the hooded women, "Desist in your trivial babbling.  Just tell me where my woman is!!!!"

The shorter blue hooded one looked skeptically at him, and the gold ring in her eyes glinted in the light, "Why?"

            Vegeta opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent.  The other two nodded.  "Thought so." Said the green one.  Vegeta growled and stepped menacingly forward, but Goku put a hand on his shoulder, shook his head and stepped back. Vegeta frowned, but stopped.   The Green hooded one chuckled and raised her hand, beckoning to the group of fighters.

            "Come with us."

            The group followed the three women in, and were led through a maze of hallways, to come to a small inconspicuous black door.  The shortest of the three held open the black door allowing her fellow members as well as the fighters, enter before her. 

            The door shut behind them all with a loud slam.  Yamcha jumped and blushed.  Vegeta just rolled his eyes.  The others began taking note of the room around them.   The floor was glass, with what looked like water undulating below them.  Krillin visibly paled when he saw a large dark form swim beneath them.  The walls were a pale grey, with slow moving shadows moving across them.  The ceiling itself was the night sky, stars shining brightly, a comet falling every so often. 

            "Ahem."

            The group of fighters turned to face the three odd women who apparently knew the whereabouts of Bulma. The one in red briefly inclined her head.

            "I suppose that you all are wondering why you are all here.  Let's just say that a frustrated young woman asked for help, albeit silently, and we helped her."

            Goku scratched his head, "But, who ARE  you?"

            The green one unhooded herself, "I am Fingo.  The fate of the past."  In seconds the fighters saw in their minds eye, their memories. 

            The one in red did the same, "I am Rachiela.  The fate of the present."  Almost immediately the fighters saw themselves through the eyes of their comrades.

            The final one, followed suit, "I am Tetris Xienya.  The fate of the future."  No pictures came to mind, but the knowledge of greater things to come, embedded itself in their minds.  She continued, "As for why you are here.  It seems that all of you great and noble warriors, have a slight case of under-appreciation."  Fingo snorted.

            "Slight being the biggest understatement of the year."

            Taking her cue from Tetris, Rachiela continued, "You have abused this woman, not physically, but emotionally.  You have degraded her, pushed her aside, and ignored her, when she could have helped."

            Krillin was harshly reminded of his discovery in the bowels of Capsule Corporation.  He would've told the group earlier, but was interrupted by these enigmatical women.  He intended to tell them all at the most opportune moment.

            "You are here, to see the error of your ways." Rachiela said softly.

            Tetris crossed her arms defiantly and angrily spat out, "We are NOT asking you to worship her, or to be her servants or anything of the like.  Take her into consideration.  In fact.  Not ONLY her, to all of the members of the Z Fighters.   Being in the "Z Squad" does not only mean those with muscles or tails.  But we aren't going to go into that now.  What you need to do is just freakin' appreciate what Kami has given you."

            Yamcha interrupted, "But…But its BULMA.  I mean.  She is NOT the easiest person to get along with.  She's noisy, bossy, and rude to boot.  We care about her, but we don't want her butting into our battles!  It's not like she's really ever DONE anything for us."

            Fingo drew herself up to her full height, seemingly making herself bigger and more imposing, "Butting into YOUR battles?  YOUR BATTLES?  It is always the ENTIRE EARTH"S battles!  You are so arrogant in your abilities, you take no heed to anyone but yourselves!  How many times have you ignored her suggestions!"

            Yamcha clenched his fists and yelled back, "NAME ONE TIME.  JUST ONE, where we all didn't jump to do her bidding!"

            The fates grinned.  "With pleasure."

***

            "Hey!  I know how we can beat those androids WITHOUT fighting!" Bulma cheered happily. "Here's what I think we should do.  Find Dr. Gero, take him out, and destroy the androids!  Saves us from waiting three years for them to kill us all!"

            "Great Idea Bulma!" Krillin laughed, "In fact, I'm surprised I didn't think of it myself!  I mean, who wants to wait around for three years anyway."

            "By the time we FOUND the dragonballs it will be too late, you dope!" Vegeta burst in angrily.  "Leave the great ideas, to the great minds…like my own."

            Shellshocked, Bulma raged at the saiyan prince, "Get OVER YOURSELF!  YOU WOULDN'T KNOW A GREAT IDEA IF IT KNOCKED YOU IN THE HEAD, YOU BIG DUMMY!"  Tearily she turned to Goku, "Goku, You're with me….aren't you?"

            The goofy saiyan shrugged, "Actually Bulma, I kinda have to side with Vegeta.  Besides, Gero hasn't made the androids yet, so he technically hasn't done anything wrong."

            "BUT That BOY said that those androids were going to wipe us all OUT!  WHY do you want to rush out and meet them head on?!  Think about it guys…You DON"T want to fight them!" She pleaded.

            "No we don't, but it looks like we HAVE to." Tien stated.  Bulma's shoulders sagged, Were they NOT even listening?  Did they not HEAR her?  They didn't HAVE to…They were CHOOSING to…And they were signing their own death warrants.

            "We're doomed."

***

            Tetris leaned back against one of the flickering walls, "One of many times.  And you'd think you would listen.  I mean, considering that of all of you, she has lived the longest.  She survived the Saiyans, Namek, Frieza, Frieza's Second Coming, The Androids, and Cell.  You'd think she'd be on to something.  I'm not even getting into the whole time machine that she built, yet."

            Krillin looked up, "Well…I guess she could've helped.  But still, what we said was true… She really hasn't been that crucial to us throughout the years.  I mean… We'd still be where we are today, without her."  The group save for Piccolo nodded an affirmation, and Vegeta only grunted a 'yes.'

            Fingo shook her head in exasperation.  Tetris chuckled, and the group was plunged into darkness.

***

Author's Note:  How was that?  I hope you enjoyed it.  Sorry it took so long to get out and I apologize for the lack of lengthyness., I had a horrible mental block, and I was bombarded with this Killer Idea for a new story.  So, I'll test it out on you first. 

Pretty much the story is, the year is 15 AS (After the Saiyans).  The world is overrun with chaos since the saiyans had taken over.  Ruled by a warlord Prince, earth is nearing it's end.  One woman with a secret plan to save earth, against a prideful prince, intent on it's destruction.  Now it's a race to get the Dragonballs to wish for earth's salvation…..or demise. B/V

(Here is part of the first chapter, which is where the saiyans attack earth.  Bulma is about eight years old.  Vegeta is nine.  It's a sort of prologue.)

***

Daylight trickled in through the leaves of the trees above the small blanket lying out on the plush grass below.  The shadows cast down from the tree played against the soft skin of the small girl child sleeping beneath its sheltering branches. 

            She had her small hands tucked under her chin, and her knees curled up around her elbows, in a fetal position.  Her soft breathing fluttered a strand of her aquamarine locks, rhythmically with the rise and fall of her chest.  The wind blew softly against her, causing her to involuntarily shudder from its coolness.  Almost instantly her eyes opened to reveal dark blue eyes, intelligent in their youth. 

            She pushed herself up to a sitting position, her legs splayed out in front of her.  Her palms rubbed childishly against her eyes, ridding them of any sleepies that had accumulated during her nap.  She stretched and yawned, revealing her less than sophisticated attire of a long pink shirt with "BULMA!" written for all to see.  She stood up, still slightly unbalanced from sleep and gathered her things with the careful precision of a child. 

            A small beeping noise emanated from her wrist, where a small black watch lit up with the beeps.  Pressing a small blue button on the side, a small screen lit up and the face of a lavender haired man came into focus.  She grinned as happily as an eight year old could, "Daddy!"

            " G'dafternoon, pumpkin.  How's your picnic?"

            Bulma grinned and flashed a thumbs up sign, "Fine!  It's so pretty here!"

            "Well, sweetie, I think it's about time to head on home.  Your mother is beginning to worry…She's baking up a storm."

            "Okay, Daddy.  I'm comi-"

Her voice was cut off when static interrupted the transfer.  She glanced up, the sky was clear, no atmospheric changes should be disrupting the satellite signal.  Underneath the static, there were small squeaks and wails.  Bulma turned the volume up and pressed the watch closer to her ear.   She could barely manage to make out the sounds…but then recognition registered in her young ingenious mind and she threw her stuff on her Capsule motorbike and raced off towards her home.  Her heart was cold and her hands were clammy with fear.  The sounds reverberated in her head, only causing her to further press her foot against the gas.  No….This wasn't happening….

"…::static::….What the fu… …Who the hell…..you?......NO!.....Don't touch……Filthy fucking…..mals……..Get your hands offa……NO!  Not her!....Not ……my baby!......oh noooO!!!"

Her father's terrified screams tore through her mind.  She had to get to him!

"Daddy!"

***

            The motorbike crashed into a fallen lamp post.  The rider was thrown from the seat, and landed against the wall with a sickening crack.  Bruised and bloodied, the young girl braced herself against the wall, and tugged her helmet off.  

            Devastation lay around her.  What was once West Capital, was now a mass wreckage of fire and twisted metal.   The orange glow from the fires encasing her home city, lit up several craters to her left.  Deterred for a moment from her quest to get home, she deftly maneuvered around the wreckage, trying to ignore the searing pain in her left leg.    She crawled over to the nearest crater and widened her blue eyes to the sight before her. 

            Spherical objects, roughly the size of small trucks clustered in groups at the bottom of the crater.  Judging by the steam and the landing gear, Bulma judged them to be ships of some sort.  Two figures, both alike in silhouette, only differed in size.  She was momentarily reminded of Dr. Evil and Mini Me.  Behind them, a small group of men sat laughing and drinking but keeping respectful distance from the other two. 

            Bulma frowned, the girlish intuition she had always prided her young self in, was picking up on something bad from those two.  She hunkered down closer to the ground keeping her body close to the ground, trying to figure the feeling of evil out.  

Little did she know how right she really was.

***

            "Remind me again father, why we are bothering to land on this planet?"   The gruff voice of the small prince still surprised the King, even to this day.  So like his own.  Only with an added dosage of arrogance.

            "Because, brat, these humans were becoming a bit of a nuisance.  And it is a suitable planet for your first plunder."

            The young prince rolled his eyes at the King, clearly disagreeing with his decision.  But far be it for him to verbally disabuse his father of the notion.  The boy was young.   Not stupid.  He gave a melodramatic sigh, so prominent with children his age.  If he could rightly be called a child.   He was bored.   Which is the gravest sin commited by any child.   He had already killed a handful of these pitiful 'humans'…and found them to be amusing for only so long.  Cursed was he also, with the short attention span prevalent with his age. 

            He heaved yet another wearied sigh, being prince wasn't as fun as it was on other planets.  On other planets, they feared him and quaked at his name.  They nearly wet themselves at the sound of 'Vegeta'….prince or King.   On this…fucking MUDBALL, no one even batted an eyelash at his power.  Sure they pleaded and screamed for their life when he powered up, but when he just glared at them?  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing. Hmph.  Well, they would soon.  He would make sure of that. 

            With a highly bored air, the prince picked up a pebble from the burnt ground, and chucked it towards the top of the crater.   It hit an overturned truck's underside, and created a huge indention.  The prince raised an eyebrow in surprise, when a flash of blue disappeared from behind the roof, and reappeared behind a mangle of twisted metal.  Curious, and more than a little intrigued, he levitated up into the air.

            "What the hell?  Vegeta?  I swear.  One of these days that boy is going to get it.  And get it good."  The King muttered almost fondly as he watched his son investigate whatever it was that had piqued his curiousity.  He jerked his head towards Nappa and Radditz.   The two saiyans, totally opposite in appearance, Nappa being monstrously tall, and bald, and Radditz having long spiked hair, nodded and walked after the prince, Keeping a safe distance away from him.

***

            Vegeta flew over to the mangled metal and decided to catch his prey unawares, but when he crept around, the blue thing was nowhere to be seen.  He alighted lightly and picked around the metal carnage trying to find the object of his amusement.  He bent down to search under a truck, when he felt something hard crash against his skull.   Without warning he grabbed whatever had hit him and pulled his arm back to rip whoever it was's head off.  His head snapped around to deliver the final blow when his mind registered what his eyes saw. 

            No one on his planet had hair like that.  Was the first thing that came to his young [and frankly shocked] mind.  His eyes tore away from the cyan locks and traveled up the metal pipe that he had been beaned with, up the bloodied hand and wrist grasping it and upwards to the ripped clothing.   What he guessed must've been a pale red was in tatters, revealing black shorts underneath.  Strange writing was written across it, like a label of some sort.  It was a human girl, obviously.  But something was different about this one, as opposed to the couple he had killed upon his arrival.   Her eyes were glaring at him, fear swimming in their depths, but hidden within the oceans of blue.   A slow movement of red caught his eye.  Their obsidian orbs drifted down to her left leg, where a long deep gash bled freely.  His eyebrow quirked again and he turned his eyes once more to the amusing girl in front of him.

            With alarming speed he wrenched the metal pipe out of her hand and bent it into a knot, then threw it carelessly behind his back.  The girl's eyes widened but then narrowed as she put herself in what Vegeta supposed to be a fighting stance.  He nearly laughed out loud when he realized that she had absolutely no idea how to fight.  Smirking he walked over to her and lifted one intimidating finger.  Her body tensed, but she remained still.  Without further ado, he poked her in the chest.   With a cry she flopped over backwards, despite her flailing arms to keep what poor balance she had.  She plopped unceremoniously to the ground and huffed indignantly.  She crossed her right leg under her injured left one, and crossed her arms. 

            "Carre' intarraptan taibone', marra?"  The prince growled out.  The girl looked puzzled but then raised her hands in confusion.

            "I don't know what you are saying!  Speak MY LANGUAGE." She said.

            "Ponla carra mana lon bai?!" he yelled.  Didn't this human understand him?  He was a prince.  His words were always clear.  What the hell was she saying anyway?  She kept refusing to use Saiya-go.   He huffed and crossed his arms. 

            She shook her head exasperatedly.  Whoever this alien [she had deduced that much.   She was young.  She wasn't stupid.] was, he wasn't speaking her language.  And frankly, it was irritating.  She opened her arms and spread them wide, emphasizing her words, slowing them down to see if he could understand.  "Yoooooooouuu neeeeeeed  toooooo spppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeak Eeeeeeeeeennnnngggliiissshhhh.   Doooo youuuuu unnndderstttannddd?  Me no speaky wacko."

            The prince just stared at the earthling, waving her hands around emphatically.  The girl was clearly daft.   What she was trying to accomplish though, was clear.  Albeit stupid.  But clear.  Great.  She's slowed it down.  Like THAT'S gonna help.  Idiot.  And what the hell is a 'Me no speaky wacko'?  Scrunching his brow in thought, he tried to translate his first sentence into her earth language.

            "Carre' intarraptan taibone', marra…..Wat…..At wh..what.  are…yuh…you looking……What are you looking at, girl?" he bit out.  He frowned with slight embarrassment, but the look on her face was enough to assure him that it was worth it. 

            Her eyes had gotten so wide that they covered half of her face.  Her mouth hung open in complete consternation.  She regathered her composure and answered, "Your ships.  What are you?  Why do you have a tail?  Does it move on its own?  What are you doing here?  Did you do all of this?  Why is everything all destroyed?  Where are you from?  And who ARE you?"  her questions rushed out.

            The prince clapped a hand over her mouth.  "Yai tarruna, marra!  Shut up, girl!"  He rethought her questions, pre translated and spoke with careful precision. "I am a saiyan.  We are here to purge your plant.  Yes, we destroyed all of this because we were a board.  I am from the plant Vegetasei, and I am Vegeta, the crowned Prance of my plant."  His proud smirk died when the girl busted out laughing.

            "Ppp..plant?   A board?  The crowned PRANCE!"  her laughter built up and bubbled forth.  The prince could barely understand her for her chuckles, but he knew with deadly certainty, that she was laughing at him.  He grabbed her by the throat and increased pressure.  Her laughter was suddenly choked off.   She scratched at his hands trying to claw them from her throat.  Her eyes bulged and her face began to turn a dark shade of red.  The small prince held her close so that he could whisper in her ear.

            "Prarra no haila, marra….Don't ever laugh, girl." He whispered.  With that he threw her to the ground and powered up, prepared to blast her into the next dimension. 

            When she hit the ground, a box bounced out of her pocket.  Her capsules.  Her salvation against this prince.  Not caring of the consequences she tore open the box, and grabbed a random capsule.   Please oh please, Kami!  Let this be my airbike!  Please oh please oh please… I wanna get to daddy…please oh please.  She popped one capsule and a billow of dense smoke burst forth, hiding Bulma from the prince, while revealing to her a suitcase.  At the sight of her poor luck, she hunkered down and covered her face with her hands.  She waited for the oncoming blow.  None came. 

            The smoke must block me from his sight…I can get my airbike!  With that optimistic thought, she scrambled for her capsules and found the one marked AZ-41c, her trusted Airbike.  She popped it open and revved it up, speeding away from the ebony flame haired prince of the saiyans. 

***

            Vegeta rubbed his eyes from the burning smoke.  Where was she?  He was going to KILL her.  Painfully.  The smoke cleared enough for him to see a speck of blue heading off into the distance.  With an evil grin, Vegeta sped after her, unawares of his two bodyguards Nappa and Radditz…who had seen everything.

***

So there you go.  A peek into it.  I'm not going to post it until this story is done.  Review and tell me if it's good enough to make into a story, or if it's crap and I need to do away with it. 

Anyways.  Love always.

Fates