Scientific Journey: Bulma's Story:
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and the characters are property of Akira Toriyama and Funimation. This is just a non-profit making fanfiction, okay?
A.N: Yay! Kakarrot's finally back! (Cue balloons and party poppers.) I just had to include him, he's just so sweet and funny. Meanwhile, Frieza and King Vegeta are not happy..
Chapter 7: New Arrivals
Kakarrot relaxed in the control bridge of the smaller spaceship, which had been left behind on Earth for his return to Vegetasei. He'd left Jixal and Brax behind, and although they'd constantly tried to find out why he was allowed to return home, Vegeta had eventually silenced them.
'I hope I got the mission right this time,' Kakarrot thought to himself as he rested his head in his arms behind him. 'It's gonna be hard to land too without being noticed by the patrols.'
He'd set a direct course to the directions Vegeta had given him so that he could sit back and relax. Besides, piloting a spaceship wasn't something Kakarrot could do very easily, or at all infact.
'I wonder how Vegeta will react to ChiChi too?' His thoughts went to the Earthling he'd saved from Brax and he smiled warmly, something he often did which was very un-Saiyan like. 'Well if all else fails, I'll just have to say she's a mechanic or something. Yeah! That'll work for sure!'
His grin didn't last for long however when he suddenly heard banging noises coming from down the small narrow hall. He sighed and stood up, making his way over to where the commotion was. He sighed when he realised who the room belonged to, and tapped in the door code. The door slid open to reveal a woman of about 5`7" standing in the centre of the room with clenched fists on her hips. Her long mass of wavy black hair was flowing wildly around her shoulders and trailing down her back. He could see that she was once again very 'pissed off' and prepared himself for yet another verbal showdown. "Why are you making such a noise ChiChi? Is something wrong?" His eyes avoided hers and he inspected the room which was a complete mess.
"YES THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG! I WANNA GO HOME RIGHT NOW!"
"But we've already taken off, I can't turn around now." She frowned at his calmness and tapped her foot on the floor, demonstrating her agitation even further.
"Then I'll just keep banging UNTIL YOU TURN AROUND AND TAKE ME HOME!" He raised his eyebrows and gaped at her.
"But we are going home, your new home. It's much better than Earth on Vegetasei." She glared at him with her ebony dagger eyes making him step back a little. 'Why can't she just be a little more open-minded and calmer? What am I doing wrong? I've given her everything she's wanted.'
"Well that's just not good enough. I don't care how nice you THINK this Vegetasei is, but nothing compares to home!" He sighed, knowing that he was getting nowhere by being nice.
"Well I'm sorry but you're just have to deal with it." He shut the door and she screamed with frustration, throwing something at the door that made a shattering noise. 'Great,' he thought as he walked back to the bridge. 'This is gonna be a looong trip.'
-----------------------
Vegeta finally arrived back at the palace, eyeing everyone he passed cautiously and suspiciously. It seemed that he had more enemies than he thought, so he had to be extra careful from now on. He didn't even know if he could trust Nappa and Radditz anymore. Nappa had been his bodyguard since he was a child, but Radditz was another story, and Nappa could be easily influenced. He finally arrived in the throne room to be greeted by his father with a sneer. Vegeta returned the 'friendly' greeting and bowed in respect to the King. King Vegeta grinned; he loved having authority, especially over his son.
"You've been distant lately Vegeta, I haven't seen you since you came back from Earth. Not that I'm complaining."
"I've been busy father." He wanted to add, 'unlike you,' but that would've been pushing it a little too far. Right now, he needed to stay as neutral as possible. He could be a 'bad boy' later when he'd sussed the situation out.
"I see. Where's the little scientist?" Vegeta shrugged, and the King narrowed his eyes.
"I disposed of her when I discovered that she lied; she was no scientist, just a whore."
The King frowned and rubbed his chin, noticing his son's calm and casual stance. 'There's something fishy going on here. I don't believe that conniving brat for one second.'
"I see, very well then. Looks like you fucked up once again Vegeta. You always were a screw up."
'Not as much as you,' Vegeta thought to himself, but simple glared at his father. 'As long as I can keep this charade then I won't draw any suspicion.'
"Your idea was pathetic anyway. You always were too lazy to train. I, however, dedicate my life to becoming stronger." King Vegeta sniggered at his son, the brat of all brats, and the constant, irritating thorn in his foot. 'Patience, he will soon be disposed of.' He chuckled at his thoughts and sighed.
"I don't need to train, my strength has and always will surpass yours, no matter how much you train. You see, there is a difference between me and you; age and experience. I am a man. You, however, are still a boy." Vegeta narrowed his eyes, tensing up at the insult. He was only just twenty-one after all, so he was far from being a boy, and he'd matured from a very early age. His father knew nothing, and Vegeta wanted to keep it that way.
"Think what you like, but in my books, I've been a man for a long time. But you always did forget my birthday. Not like you were there at my birth anyway, and not like I care. You bore me, I'm going to make use of my time and train." Vegeta turned around to leave, hearing a deep and quiet growl in his father's throat. He'd hit a nerve, but he didn't care, he was only stating the truth. King Vegeta never could win a verbal fight with his son, and Vegeta was positive that he could never win a physical fight against him either. For now however, he had things to do. He would deal with his father when the right moment came.
Ajax walked proudly along the white corridors of the palace. So far, his mission was going to plan. 'Frieza will be very pleased with the information I have for him, very pleased indeed. Maybe he'll promote me? But I still have yet to claim my prize, if only I could find the little bitch.' He suddenly broke away from his thoughts at the sight of his nemesis, complete with scowl and flame hair. Ajax managed to remain neutral, and moved out of the Prince's way, bowing with respect. Vegeta merely 'hmphed' as he passed, eyeing Ajax suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary, Vegeta had and probably always would be suspicious of Ajax. Once the Prince had passed, Ajax exhaled in relief and continued to walk down the corridor, finally making his way into the courtyard where Frieza's large tower was located. The changeling Prince had demanded to be close to the Palace so that he could keep an eye on things. Of course, he employed spies to do the dirty work for him, and only really attended formal dinners. He was popular with the Saiyans however, whereas the King was not.
Eventually, Ajax arrived at Frieza's chambers after passing Dodoria at the door, who was eating a snack as usual. He despised the pink alien, and wondered why Frieza had bothered to employ him. However, he shrugged the thought away and found Frieza on his balcony looking out to Vegetasei, a glass of red wine in his hand, or maybe fresh blood, Ajax could never tell.
"It's been awhile Ajax, how goes the little mission I set you?" Frieza didn't even need to turn round to see who had entered the room, and Ajax saluted before speaking, even though Frieza wasn't looking.
"I have extracted information from the earthling, as requested." Frieza finally turned around to face Ajax with an intrigued face.
"Go on." Ajax cleared his throat, being in Lord Frieza's presence always did make him a little nervous.
"It seems the King and Prince ordered the woman to invent a training room for them. She was infact a scientist from Earth, working undercover as Vegeta's slave. She hasn't finished the project however. It seems she isn't as clever as they thought she was."
"Ha! Foolish monkeys: and to think that I was actually worried. Keep an eye on things though Ajax, I still think that there's more to the little Prince than what meets the eye."
"Yes Lord Frieza." He left the room, a serious expression on his face. Frieza hadn't mentioned his reward, so he knew that he hadn't been as successful as he thought he had. 'I must work harder for Lord Frieza if he is to recognise my true potential. Maybe then, he'll grant me my wish. King Vegeta, I will avenge my family, mark my word on it.'
-------------------
Bulma was bored, very bored. It had been six days since she'd left the palace, and Vegeta had told her that she could start building her invention within the next five days. Vegeta was never there to keep her company either, but he'd always return by sunset carrying equipment from the never- ending list she'd given him. But since he had no scientific knowledge, he wouldn't be able to help her construct her invention. There was nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a new invention just ready to be created, yet not enough people to help her build it. Bulma sighed, Vegeta had promised to sort things out, but so far, he'd been unreliable in that area.
'Typical men!' She thought to herself as she grabbed some bread from the kitchen and collapsed onto the sofa where she'd began to construct a mainframe using wires and a circuit board. 'Well, if I wanna get something done, then I'll just have to do it myself. Or at least try to.'
She'd only just begun to re-wire one of the sections, when she heard a loud crash outside amongst the trees. 'Great, now what?'
She put down her work and walked over to the window where a medium sized white spaceship similar to the one she'd arrived in had crash-landed not far from the log home. Several different emotions went through Bulma's head as she stared at the spaceship.
'I thought Vegeta said I was safe here! Who the hell could it be? Should I go out at check it out? No way, are you crazy? That could be anyone in there! Ugh! Vegeta where are you!?'
She gasped as the white door of the spaceship slowly opened to reveal a man with spiky black hair and a well-chiselled face. Bulma immediately noticed the Saiyan elite armour and the furry brown tail wrapped securely around his waist. However, his face looked strangely friendly, and he waved when he saw her staring at him through the window. Bulma gasped in shock and panic and immediately dropped onto her knees so that he couldn't see her. She frantically looked for somewhere to hide, but there wasn't really anywhere; he was sure to find her. She heard the front door click open and scuttled over to hide at the side of the couch. It was a spur of the moment thing; so she'd tell herself about how stupid it was later. Bulma listened as she heard heavy footsteps approach her, and then looked up to see the Saiyan smiling down at her.
"Hey there! You must be Bulma. What are you doing down there?" He chuckled to himself, and Bulma realised that this was a friend, not a foe. He took a step back to give her some room as he watched her stand up.
"I was trying to hide from you." His facial expression became confused and she couldn't help but smile as he tried to work it out.
"Why would you wanna do that?"
She giggled as he scratched his head. 'This guy is such a kid!' Bulma decided to change the subject. "The question is, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Prince Vegeta sent me. He told me to come back from Earth immediately, and not to show my face on Vegetasei unless I've brought some scientists and mechanics, which I have done. Speaking of Vegeta, where is he?"
"Oh, he's running errands. So, you've brought me some workers? Thank Kame! This is great! Now I can create my invention no probs!"
"Huh? What invention? Hey, have you got any food? I'm starving!" She giggled once again; if it was one thing she'd learnt about Saiyans, then it was their huge appetite that was never quite satisfied.
"Sure. And your name is?"
"Oh, sorry, it's Kakarrot. Should I go get all the humans I gathered?"
"Yeah thanks, that'll be great." He left and Bulma went into the medium sized kitchen, searching the cupboards for enough food for everyone. 'Hopefully Vegeta will bring some back. There's no way I'm eating raw meat again.' She shuddered as she remembered Vegeta coming home one evening with two huge wild boars slung over his shoulder. He hadn't even cooked them properly and had expected her to eat it. Of course, she'd slept on an empty stomach that night. She chuckled to herself as she took out some bread and began to scramble some eggs. 'Vegeta, the provider. I swear we'd be like a married couple back on Earth. Yuck! What am I thinking? Me! Married to Vegeta?' Her frown slowly turned upside down as she actually thought about it. 'Well, that would make me a princess, and then eventually Queen. I'd get anything and everything I wanted! Now THAT would be cool. Shame Vegeta's such an ass sometimes.'
She added some more egg into the frying pan and began to scramble it, the smell of food drifting out of the window to reach Kakarrot's nose. He was unloading the Earthlings; carrying them out of the ship and taking them into to log home. Most of them were out cold, an effect that the gravity change had on most visitors to Vegetasei. He'd brought 8 in all, that was all he could find; 3 were scientists, 4 were mechanics, and 1 was a professor of physics. Now he had the dreaded task of confronting the final human on the ship. Kakarrot sighed and opened the keypad locked door to see her lying on the floor by the door. The gravity had obviously been a strain on her too, so he took the liberty of lifting her up. No sooner than he did however, something hard collided with his head. He dropped her from the shock, and she slowly managed to get up, limping as she ran from the room.
Bulma frowned when she heard the loud bang from outside and decided to investigate. She quickly turned the stove off and walked outside, only to collide with something, or someone as it seemed.
"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GO-" Bulma froze and the two women gaped at each other in complete shock, before they both spoke at the same time.
"YOU'RE FROM EARTH!!"
"YOU'RE FROM EARTH!!"
They both burst into hysterical laughter and hugged each other, even though they had no idea who each other were. It was just comforting for them to meet another human, especially for Bulma, who hadn't seen a human in weeks. Kakarrot then emerged from the spaceship holding his head, which was throbbing where she'd hit him. With what he didn't know, and didn't really want to either. 'Oh boy, I need food and sleep so badly.' He then saw the two human women hugging and laughing uncontrollably and pulled a face of confusion.
"Did I miss something?" The black haired human immediately stopped laughing and hid behind Bulma, who was surprised with her strength to last under the different gravity, assuming she'd just come from Earth.
"You stay away from me!" Bulma looked from Kakarrot to the human, and back again.
"Why? What's going on here? What did you do to her Kakarrot!?" he stepped back from the shock of accusation and frowned for the first time in Bulma's presence which made him look like a real Saiyan.
"I haven't done anything! She's the one who just attacked me when I was only trying to help her! Now my head hurts real bad."
"LIAR! You brought me here against my wishes!"
"You really wanted to stay on Earth?" The woman went quiet and Bulma couldn't help but grin as they argued like an old married couple.
"I don't care! As long as I'm as far away from YOU and all your monkey freak friends as possible!" The look on Kakarrot's face told Bulma that she should step in before he did something he'd regret.
"Whoah! Just hold on a second here." She turned to the stranger and offered a friendly smile. "And your name is?"
"ChiChi." Bulma could tell that the gravity actually was quite a strain on her as she panted for breath after using it all up in her shouts.
"Ok ChiChi, I know what you're going through. Hell, I went through it too you know. But it really is quite nice here once you get used to it." Bulma couldn't believe she was saying what she was saying, but her voice of reasoning seemed to calm ChiChi down a little. "So calm down, take a breather, and get some rest. Tomorrow, maybe we can talk, ok?" ChiChi inhaled deeply and then exhaled in a sigh, sweat forming on her forehead from the strain.
"Fine, just as long as he stays well away from me."
"Ok, we'll sort something out. Come on, I'll help you into the lounge." Bulma struggled, but managed to support ChiChi's weight and help her into the lounge, where ChiChi collapsed onto the sofa, muttering a quiet 'thank you' before her eyes slowly shut. Kakarrot followed from a distance, a little hurt from what ChiChi had said. Since he'd kindly saved her from Brax, she'd done nothing but insult him and make his life hell. But still he remained calm and kind hearted, why he didn't know. He liked her a lot; she was just like a Saiyan, and very beautiful too. The fact that she was stronger than most humans was probably why he liked her, and she did cook really well. To him, she was his perfect match. 'If only I could see her kinder and more gentle side. I know she has one; she just hides it well. What am I doing wrong? Hmm, Bulma's a human, maybe she'll know!' He followed Bulma into the kitchen, the smell of food reminding him of his hunger as he sat down at the small wooden table.
"I hope this tastes as good as it smells!" She smiled and passed him plates filled with some leftover meat, lots of scrambled egg, and stacks of bread.
"See for yourself, and while you're filling your gut, would you mind explaining?" He shovelled some food in his mouth and smiled as he chewed, obviously enjoying it a lot.
"Mmmm this is good! Erm, explain what?"
"Well, why ChiChi was so, well, angry at you." Bulma sat down with her own portion, and tucked in while Kakarrot's expression changed from happy to slightly depressed.
"Well I was hoping you could tell me. I've done nothing but be nice to her, but she just doesn't want to know." Bulma grinned; 'so, there's more to these two than what meets the eye. Oh I just love playing matchmaker! And I can already tell these two are a match.'
"Well what have you done to make her hate or dislike you so much?" He gaped at her like she'd told him the worst news ever.
"She hates me!"
"No! No! No! I didn't mean it like that!" Kakarrot calmed down and Bulma sighed in relief. 'Phew, that was a close one.'
"But I've given her nearly everything she's wanted. The only thing I asked of her was to cook me some food now and then." Bulma smiled, realising that just talking about ChiChi had made him forget about his food. 'Oh boy, he's got it bad.'
"Leave it to me Kakarrot, I'll talk to her."
"You will!?" He couldn't believe he was getting help by a human, and Bulma couldn't believe she was meddling in someone's affairs when she'd only just met them. 'I really am bored to the point of desperation,' she told herself with a slight grin and nodded to him.
"Sure." He smiled a 'thank you' and then went back to his food, happy once again. Bulma had only just started to really enjoy her meal, but then she suddenly heard the door fling open and footsteps walk onto the wooden floor. "Oh great, this just isn't my day today. Can't I get a moments peace and quiet?" Kakarrot practically ignored her; too engrossed with his food. However, when he realised who had just arrived, he literally sprung to his feet and bowed in respect. Bulma rolled her eyes, 'Oh Kame, no wonder his head is so big.'
"Woman, I want food. Now." She sighed and continued to eat her own.
"In a minute Vegeta, lemmie just finish eating and then I'll-"
"I thought I said now? Are you deaf?" Bulma closed her eyes as she focused on controlling her anger. 'What the hell happened to the kind and caring Vegeta? Does he only appear once a month or something? Ugh!'
"Your Highness, I completed the mission you gave me."
"I know, for once you did something right Kakarrot. Just don't lumber them in my house next time. They're to stay in the spaceship, and then be sold as slaves when their purpose has been fulfilled. Woman, I'm loosing my patience." Bulma slammed her plate down and stood up, glaring at Vegeta, who simply glared back.
"Just because you had a bad day, you don't have to take it out on me you know!" he sat down in her seat, infuriating her even more.
"Well if you co-operated, then I wouldn't have to lose my temper now would I?" He grinned and closed his eyes in superiority. Kakarrot watched the two from his seat like he was watching a movie, and Bulma eventually gave in and began to cook something for Vegeta, purposely burning it of course. She ate the rest of hers standing up while listening to Kakarrot talk to Vegeta, who grumpily ate his burnt meal.
"Brax and Jixal did a good job in keeping the humans in line, but there were quite a lot of casualties along the way."
"We can afford to have casualties Kakarrot you baka. Now, I hope you didn't attract too much attention and suspicion when gathering the workers like I told you to."
"Not really. I told them that we needed smarter slaves like you told me too."
"Good, seems like you've grown a few brain cells over there. Maybe I should send you back." Vegeta chuckled at Kakarrot's expression; no matter how hard he could try to deny it, Kakarrot was probably the only 'friend' that he had right now who he could trust. "But I need a sparring partner. I 'spose you'll have to do, for now anyway. When the woman gets off her ass and works, I will be able to finally put my plans into action." He ignored her dagger glance as the cogs in his head began to think of new strategies. 'Be afraid Frieza, be very afraid. You too father; I'll be coming for you first!'
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z and the characters are property of Akira Toriyama and Funimation. This is just a non-profit making fanfiction, okay?
A.N: Yay! Kakarrot's finally back! (Cue balloons and party poppers.) I just had to include him, he's just so sweet and funny. Meanwhile, Frieza and King Vegeta are not happy..
Chapter 7: New Arrivals
Kakarrot relaxed in the control bridge of the smaller spaceship, which had been left behind on Earth for his return to Vegetasei. He'd left Jixal and Brax behind, and although they'd constantly tried to find out why he was allowed to return home, Vegeta had eventually silenced them.
'I hope I got the mission right this time,' Kakarrot thought to himself as he rested his head in his arms behind him. 'It's gonna be hard to land too without being noticed by the patrols.'
He'd set a direct course to the directions Vegeta had given him so that he could sit back and relax. Besides, piloting a spaceship wasn't something Kakarrot could do very easily, or at all infact.
'I wonder how Vegeta will react to ChiChi too?' His thoughts went to the Earthling he'd saved from Brax and he smiled warmly, something he often did which was very un-Saiyan like. 'Well if all else fails, I'll just have to say she's a mechanic or something. Yeah! That'll work for sure!'
His grin didn't last for long however when he suddenly heard banging noises coming from down the small narrow hall. He sighed and stood up, making his way over to where the commotion was. He sighed when he realised who the room belonged to, and tapped in the door code. The door slid open to reveal a woman of about 5`7" standing in the centre of the room with clenched fists on her hips. Her long mass of wavy black hair was flowing wildly around her shoulders and trailing down her back. He could see that she was once again very 'pissed off' and prepared himself for yet another verbal showdown. "Why are you making such a noise ChiChi? Is something wrong?" His eyes avoided hers and he inspected the room which was a complete mess.
"YES THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG! I WANNA GO HOME RIGHT NOW!"
"But we've already taken off, I can't turn around now." She frowned at his calmness and tapped her foot on the floor, demonstrating her agitation even further.
"Then I'll just keep banging UNTIL YOU TURN AROUND AND TAKE ME HOME!" He raised his eyebrows and gaped at her.
"But we are going home, your new home. It's much better than Earth on Vegetasei." She glared at him with her ebony dagger eyes making him step back a little. 'Why can't she just be a little more open-minded and calmer? What am I doing wrong? I've given her everything she's wanted.'
"Well that's just not good enough. I don't care how nice you THINK this Vegetasei is, but nothing compares to home!" He sighed, knowing that he was getting nowhere by being nice.
"Well I'm sorry but you're just have to deal with it." He shut the door and she screamed with frustration, throwing something at the door that made a shattering noise. 'Great,' he thought as he walked back to the bridge. 'This is gonna be a looong trip.'
-----------------------
Vegeta finally arrived back at the palace, eyeing everyone he passed cautiously and suspiciously. It seemed that he had more enemies than he thought, so he had to be extra careful from now on. He didn't even know if he could trust Nappa and Radditz anymore. Nappa had been his bodyguard since he was a child, but Radditz was another story, and Nappa could be easily influenced. He finally arrived in the throne room to be greeted by his father with a sneer. Vegeta returned the 'friendly' greeting and bowed in respect to the King. King Vegeta grinned; he loved having authority, especially over his son.
"You've been distant lately Vegeta, I haven't seen you since you came back from Earth. Not that I'm complaining."
"I've been busy father." He wanted to add, 'unlike you,' but that would've been pushing it a little too far. Right now, he needed to stay as neutral as possible. He could be a 'bad boy' later when he'd sussed the situation out.
"I see. Where's the little scientist?" Vegeta shrugged, and the King narrowed his eyes.
"I disposed of her when I discovered that she lied; she was no scientist, just a whore."
The King frowned and rubbed his chin, noticing his son's calm and casual stance. 'There's something fishy going on here. I don't believe that conniving brat for one second.'
"I see, very well then. Looks like you fucked up once again Vegeta. You always were a screw up."
'Not as much as you,' Vegeta thought to himself, but simple glared at his father. 'As long as I can keep this charade then I won't draw any suspicion.'
"Your idea was pathetic anyway. You always were too lazy to train. I, however, dedicate my life to becoming stronger." King Vegeta sniggered at his son, the brat of all brats, and the constant, irritating thorn in his foot. 'Patience, he will soon be disposed of.' He chuckled at his thoughts and sighed.
"I don't need to train, my strength has and always will surpass yours, no matter how much you train. You see, there is a difference between me and you; age and experience. I am a man. You, however, are still a boy." Vegeta narrowed his eyes, tensing up at the insult. He was only just twenty-one after all, so he was far from being a boy, and he'd matured from a very early age. His father knew nothing, and Vegeta wanted to keep it that way.
"Think what you like, but in my books, I've been a man for a long time. But you always did forget my birthday. Not like you were there at my birth anyway, and not like I care. You bore me, I'm going to make use of my time and train." Vegeta turned around to leave, hearing a deep and quiet growl in his father's throat. He'd hit a nerve, but he didn't care, he was only stating the truth. King Vegeta never could win a verbal fight with his son, and Vegeta was positive that he could never win a physical fight against him either. For now however, he had things to do. He would deal with his father when the right moment came.
Ajax walked proudly along the white corridors of the palace. So far, his mission was going to plan. 'Frieza will be very pleased with the information I have for him, very pleased indeed. Maybe he'll promote me? But I still have yet to claim my prize, if only I could find the little bitch.' He suddenly broke away from his thoughts at the sight of his nemesis, complete with scowl and flame hair. Ajax managed to remain neutral, and moved out of the Prince's way, bowing with respect. Vegeta merely 'hmphed' as he passed, eyeing Ajax suspiciously with narrowed eyes. Nothing out of the ordinary, Vegeta had and probably always would be suspicious of Ajax. Once the Prince had passed, Ajax exhaled in relief and continued to walk down the corridor, finally making his way into the courtyard where Frieza's large tower was located. The changeling Prince had demanded to be close to the Palace so that he could keep an eye on things. Of course, he employed spies to do the dirty work for him, and only really attended formal dinners. He was popular with the Saiyans however, whereas the King was not.
Eventually, Ajax arrived at Frieza's chambers after passing Dodoria at the door, who was eating a snack as usual. He despised the pink alien, and wondered why Frieza had bothered to employ him. However, he shrugged the thought away and found Frieza on his balcony looking out to Vegetasei, a glass of red wine in his hand, or maybe fresh blood, Ajax could never tell.
"It's been awhile Ajax, how goes the little mission I set you?" Frieza didn't even need to turn round to see who had entered the room, and Ajax saluted before speaking, even though Frieza wasn't looking.
"I have extracted information from the earthling, as requested." Frieza finally turned around to face Ajax with an intrigued face.
"Go on." Ajax cleared his throat, being in Lord Frieza's presence always did make him a little nervous.
"It seems the King and Prince ordered the woman to invent a training room for them. She was infact a scientist from Earth, working undercover as Vegeta's slave. She hasn't finished the project however. It seems she isn't as clever as they thought she was."
"Ha! Foolish monkeys: and to think that I was actually worried. Keep an eye on things though Ajax, I still think that there's more to the little Prince than what meets the eye."
"Yes Lord Frieza." He left the room, a serious expression on his face. Frieza hadn't mentioned his reward, so he knew that he hadn't been as successful as he thought he had. 'I must work harder for Lord Frieza if he is to recognise my true potential. Maybe then, he'll grant me my wish. King Vegeta, I will avenge my family, mark my word on it.'
-------------------
Bulma was bored, very bored. It had been six days since she'd left the palace, and Vegeta had told her that she could start building her invention within the next five days. Vegeta was never there to keep her company either, but he'd always return by sunset carrying equipment from the never- ending list she'd given him. But since he had no scientific knowledge, he wouldn't be able to help her construct her invention. There was nothing worse than being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a new invention just ready to be created, yet not enough people to help her build it. Bulma sighed, Vegeta had promised to sort things out, but so far, he'd been unreliable in that area.
'Typical men!' She thought to herself as she grabbed some bread from the kitchen and collapsed onto the sofa where she'd began to construct a mainframe using wires and a circuit board. 'Well, if I wanna get something done, then I'll just have to do it myself. Or at least try to.'
She'd only just begun to re-wire one of the sections, when she heard a loud crash outside amongst the trees. 'Great, now what?'
She put down her work and walked over to the window where a medium sized white spaceship similar to the one she'd arrived in had crash-landed not far from the log home. Several different emotions went through Bulma's head as she stared at the spaceship.
'I thought Vegeta said I was safe here! Who the hell could it be? Should I go out at check it out? No way, are you crazy? That could be anyone in there! Ugh! Vegeta where are you!?'
She gasped as the white door of the spaceship slowly opened to reveal a man with spiky black hair and a well-chiselled face. Bulma immediately noticed the Saiyan elite armour and the furry brown tail wrapped securely around his waist. However, his face looked strangely friendly, and he waved when he saw her staring at him through the window. Bulma gasped in shock and panic and immediately dropped onto her knees so that he couldn't see her. She frantically looked for somewhere to hide, but there wasn't really anywhere; he was sure to find her. She heard the front door click open and scuttled over to hide at the side of the couch. It was a spur of the moment thing; so she'd tell herself about how stupid it was later. Bulma listened as she heard heavy footsteps approach her, and then looked up to see the Saiyan smiling down at her.
"Hey there! You must be Bulma. What are you doing down there?" He chuckled to himself, and Bulma realised that this was a friend, not a foe. He took a step back to give her some room as he watched her stand up.
"I was trying to hide from you." His facial expression became confused and she couldn't help but smile as he tried to work it out.
"Why would you wanna do that?"
She giggled as he scratched his head. 'This guy is such a kid!' Bulma decided to change the subject. "The question is, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, Prince Vegeta sent me. He told me to come back from Earth immediately, and not to show my face on Vegetasei unless I've brought some scientists and mechanics, which I have done. Speaking of Vegeta, where is he?"
"Oh, he's running errands. So, you've brought me some workers? Thank Kame! This is great! Now I can create my invention no probs!"
"Huh? What invention? Hey, have you got any food? I'm starving!" She giggled once again; if it was one thing she'd learnt about Saiyans, then it was their huge appetite that was never quite satisfied.
"Sure. And your name is?"
"Oh, sorry, it's Kakarrot. Should I go get all the humans I gathered?"
"Yeah thanks, that'll be great." He left and Bulma went into the medium sized kitchen, searching the cupboards for enough food for everyone. 'Hopefully Vegeta will bring some back. There's no way I'm eating raw meat again.' She shuddered as she remembered Vegeta coming home one evening with two huge wild boars slung over his shoulder. He hadn't even cooked them properly and had expected her to eat it. Of course, she'd slept on an empty stomach that night. She chuckled to herself as she took out some bread and began to scramble some eggs. 'Vegeta, the provider. I swear we'd be like a married couple back on Earth. Yuck! What am I thinking? Me! Married to Vegeta?' Her frown slowly turned upside down as she actually thought about it. 'Well, that would make me a princess, and then eventually Queen. I'd get anything and everything I wanted! Now THAT would be cool. Shame Vegeta's such an ass sometimes.'
She added some more egg into the frying pan and began to scramble it, the smell of food drifting out of the window to reach Kakarrot's nose. He was unloading the Earthlings; carrying them out of the ship and taking them into to log home. Most of them were out cold, an effect that the gravity change had on most visitors to Vegetasei. He'd brought 8 in all, that was all he could find; 3 were scientists, 4 were mechanics, and 1 was a professor of physics. Now he had the dreaded task of confronting the final human on the ship. Kakarrot sighed and opened the keypad locked door to see her lying on the floor by the door. The gravity had obviously been a strain on her too, so he took the liberty of lifting her up. No sooner than he did however, something hard collided with his head. He dropped her from the shock, and she slowly managed to get up, limping as she ran from the room.
Bulma frowned when she heard the loud bang from outside and decided to investigate. She quickly turned the stove off and walked outside, only to collide with something, or someone as it seemed.
"HEY! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GO-" Bulma froze and the two women gaped at each other in complete shock, before they both spoke at the same time.
"YOU'RE FROM EARTH!!"
"YOU'RE FROM EARTH!!"
They both burst into hysterical laughter and hugged each other, even though they had no idea who each other were. It was just comforting for them to meet another human, especially for Bulma, who hadn't seen a human in weeks. Kakarrot then emerged from the spaceship holding his head, which was throbbing where she'd hit him. With what he didn't know, and didn't really want to either. 'Oh boy, I need food and sleep so badly.' He then saw the two human women hugging and laughing uncontrollably and pulled a face of confusion.
"Did I miss something?" The black haired human immediately stopped laughing and hid behind Bulma, who was surprised with her strength to last under the different gravity, assuming she'd just come from Earth.
"You stay away from me!" Bulma looked from Kakarrot to the human, and back again.
"Why? What's going on here? What did you do to her Kakarrot!?" he stepped back from the shock of accusation and frowned for the first time in Bulma's presence which made him look like a real Saiyan.
"I haven't done anything! She's the one who just attacked me when I was only trying to help her! Now my head hurts real bad."
"LIAR! You brought me here against my wishes!"
"You really wanted to stay on Earth?" The woman went quiet and Bulma couldn't help but grin as they argued like an old married couple.
"I don't care! As long as I'm as far away from YOU and all your monkey freak friends as possible!" The look on Kakarrot's face told Bulma that she should step in before he did something he'd regret.
"Whoah! Just hold on a second here." She turned to the stranger and offered a friendly smile. "And your name is?"
"ChiChi." Bulma could tell that the gravity actually was quite a strain on her as she panted for breath after using it all up in her shouts.
"Ok ChiChi, I know what you're going through. Hell, I went through it too you know. But it really is quite nice here once you get used to it." Bulma couldn't believe she was saying what she was saying, but her voice of reasoning seemed to calm ChiChi down a little. "So calm down, take a breather, and get some rest. Tomorrow, maybe we can talk, ok?" ChiChi inhaled deeply and then exhaled in a sigh, sweat forming on her forehead from the strain.
"Fine, just as long as he stays well away from me."
"Ok, we'll sort something out. Come on, I'll help you into the lounge." Bulma struggled, but managed to support ChiChi's weight and help her into the lounge, where ChiChi collapsed onto the sofa, muttering a quiet 'thank you' before her eyes slowly shut. Kakarrot followed from a distance, a little hurt from what ChiChi had said. Since he'd kindly saved her from Brax, she'd done nothing but insult him and make his life hell. But still he remained calm and kind hearted, why he didn't know. He liked her a lot; she was just like a Saiyan, and very beautiful too. The fact that she was stronger than most humans was probably why he liked her, and she did cook really well. To him, she was his perfect match. 'If only I could see her kinder and more gentle side. I know she has one; she just hides it well. What am I doing wrong? Hmm, Bulma's a human, maybe she'll know!' He followed Bulma into the kitchen, the smell of food reminding him of his hunger as he sat down at the small wooden table.
"I hope this tastes as good as it smells!" She smiled and passed him plates filled with some leftover meat, lots of scrambled egg, and stacks of bread.
"See for yourself, and while you're filling your gut, would you mind explaining?" He shovelled some food in his mouth and smiled as he chewed, obviously enjoying it a lot.
"Mmmm this is good! Erm, explain what?"
"Well, why ChiChi was so, well, angry at you." Bulma sat down with her own portion, and tucked in while Kakarrot's expression changed from happy to slightly depressed.
"Well I was hoping you could tell me. I've done nothing but be nice to her, but she just doesn't want to know." Bulma grinned; 'so, there's more to these two than what meets the eye. Oh I just love playing matchmaker! And I can already tell these two are a match.'
"Well what have you done to make her hate or dislike you so much?" He gaped at her like she'd told him the worst news ever.
"She hates me!"
"No! No! No! I didn't mean it like that!" Kakarrot calmed down and Bulma sighed in relief. 'Phew, that was a close one.'
"But I've given her nearly everything she's wanted. The only thing I asked of her was to cook me some food now and then." Bulma smiled, realising that just talking about ChiChi had made him forget about his food. 'Oh boy, he's got it bad.'
"Leave it to me Kakarrot, I'll talk to her."
"You will!?" He couldn't believe he was getting help by a human, and Bulma couldn't believe she was meddling in someone's affairs when she'd only just met them. 'I really am bored to the point of desperation,' she told herself with a slight grin and nodded to him.
"Sure." He smiled a 'thank you' and then went back to his food, happy once again. Bulma had only just started to really enjoy her meal, but then she suddenly heard the door fling open and footsteps walk onto the wooden floor. "Oh great, this just isn't my day today. Can't I get a moments peace and quiet?" Kakarrot practically ignored her; too engrossed with his food. However, when he realised who had just arrived, he literally sprung to his feet and bowed in respect. Bulma rolled her eyes, 'Oh Kame, no wonder his head is so big.'
"Woman, I want food. Now." She sighed and continued to eat her own.
"In a minute Vegeta, lemmie just finish eating and then I'll-"
"I thought I said now? Are you deaf?" Bulma closed her eyes as she focused on controlling her anger. 'What the hell happened to the kind and caring Vegeta? Does he only appear once a month or something? Ugh!'
"Your Highness, I completed the mission you gave me."
"I know, for once you did something right Kakarrot. Just don't lumber them in my house next time. They're to stay in the spaceship, and then be sold as slaves when their purpose has been fulfilled. Woman, I'm loosing my patience." Bulma slammed her plate down and stood up, glaring at Vegeta, who simply glared back.
"Just because you had a bad day, you don't have to take it out on me you know!" he sat down in her seat, infuriating her even more.
"Well if you co-operated, then I wouldn't have to lose my temper now would I?" He grinned and closed his eyes in superiority. Kakarrot watched the two from his seat like he was watching a movie, and Bulma eventually gave in and began to cook something for Vegeta, purposely burning it of course. She ate the rest of hers standing up while listening to Kakarrot talk to Vegeta, who grumpily ate his burnt meal.
"Brax and Jixal did a good job in keeping the humans in line, but there were quite a lot of casualties along the way."
"We can afford to have casualties Kakarrot you baka. Now, I hope you didn't attract too much attention and suspicion when gathering the workers like I told you to."
"Not really. I told them that we needed smarter slaves like you told me too."
"Good, seems like you've grown a few brain cells over there. Maybe I should send you back." Vegeta chuckled at Kakarrot's expression; no matter how hard he could try to deny it, Kakarrot was probably the only 'friend' that he had right now who he could trust. "But I need a sparring partner. I 'spose you'll have to do, for now anyway. When the woman gets off her ass and works, I will be able to finally put my plans into action." He ignored her dagger glance as the cogs in his head began to think of new strategies. 'Be afraid Frieza, be very afraid. You too father; I'll be coming for you first!'