Chapter the seventh
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any other trademarked materials in this fanfiction.
Unusually, Zarbon did not hear the noise of Vegeta's shower, or his snoring, or the toilet . . . anything like that for the longest time. And Vegeta was hardly ever quiet like that. He usually snored very badly.
"Dodoria, I think we should go and check on Vegeta." Zarbon told his partner. "To make sure that he didn't escape somehow. I haven't heard him all night, and he usually makes a lot of noise."
"Fine, let's go get the keys from Master Freeza." Dodoria said. But, when they got there, the answer they got from Freeza was surprising.
"Leave Vegeta alone for now, stop tattling on him so much. He's not a little boy anymore; of course he's going to talk back to you. I don't care the names he called you; if there is nothing physical you might as well leave him alone." Freeza said.
"But this is not about Vegeta assaulting me." Zarbon said. "I need the key to his room, please, Lord Freeza."
Freeza shook his head. "No. First, you tell me why. Why would you need the key to Vegeta's room? The whole point of me locking him in there was so that he wouldn't get into trouble anymore. He couldn't have possibly gotten into any trouble locked up in that room." He pointed towards the doorway. "Now go away."
Zarbon was steamed. Freeza usually listened to him more than this, but he wouldn't dare talk back snide to him. He may not get beaten, but something bad would surely happen to him. "But . . . Lord Freeza . . . I think he may have escaped that room!"
For a minute, things were silent between Zarbon and Freeza, until Freeza laughed at him.
"Zarbon, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. There's no way Vegeta could escape from that room. He's a smart boy don't you know that? He'd know better than to shatter the window in order to escape." Freeza explained. "And there's no other way. I have people guarding all inside of this ship to keep him from escaping. There's people outside his door, for Christ's sake!"
"Then they're obviously not doing their job very well, Lord Freeza. Dodoria and I don't hear any noises coming from Vegeta's room. If they were good guards they'd take a peek." Zarbon argued.
Freeza rolled his eyes. "Fine, here's the key." He said, throwing it to them. "Now leave me alone. I don't want to hear anymore out of you two tonight." It was obvious that Freeza really didn't think Vegeta was gone, but he was wrong.
* * * * *
Zarbon and Dodoria walked up to Vegeta's door, where the guards were.
"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" One of the guards asked Zarbon as he shoved the key inside of the keyhole.
"That's none of your business to question me. You have no power." Zarbon said. "So shut up before I kill you."
The guard became silent.
Zarbon opened the door to Vegeta's dark room and scanned it with his eyes. "Vegeta, you ass, get out here right now if you're in there." He called.
There was no answer from the saiyan, not even the sound of raspy breathing.
"Vegeta? HELLLO . . ." He said.
Still no answer.
Zarbon and Dodoria walked farther inside. "I don't hear any shower water running . . ." Dodoria said. "And Vegeta would answer us usually. He wouldn't want to be beaten like that again."
Zarbon ran over to the cot and pulled the sheets up. The only thing present was a huge bloodstain on the white sheets. "He's not here!" He exclaimed. "But how did he—"
Zarbon glared up at the window and noticed that it was opened. "No . . ." He said. He flew up to the window. "How did he open it? The latch was from the outside, there was no way he could have opened it without breaking it in the least little bit!"
Dodoria shrugged. "Beats me. Someone must have let him out." He said. "But . . . who?"
They both exchanged glances.
"Let's check outside." Zarbon said.
* * * * *
Vegeta dragged Bulma inside of the canyon, into the place where he'd hidden his food in the first place. "This place is safe, I think." He said. "I had my food hidden here . . . at least until you ate it."
Bulma sat down. "Hm, sure is . . . homey." She said sarcastically. "By the way, sorry that I ate your food. I didn't know about your situation!"
"There's no need for apologies. Right now we just need to find someplace where we can be safe together." Vegeta said, sticking his head out a little bit to see if anyone was around. When he was satisfied, he pulled himself back inside and sighed deeply. "I'm getting so tired of this . . ." He mumbled. "Twenty years of having to look behind my back over everything . . ."
"Don't worry, Vegeta. I'll find someone to help you get out of here." Bulma reassured as she leaned over and hugged Vegeta by pressing her cheek against his chest. "Nobody will ever hurt you again."
Vegeta smirked and stroked her hair slowly. "Zarbon will be out soon. He's always up my butt." He muttered. "Unless I'm lucky and he doesn't find out that I'm gone."
Bulma lifted up and grabbed some sandwiches out of her pack. "I brought you some food, because I figured that Freeza doesn't give you very much food." She said. "I'll bring you some food every day, okay?"
Vegeta smirked. "Won't be necessary once I get out of here." He then leaned forward and looked out the mouth of the cave to make sure that nobody was out there now.
Bulma pulled him back in. "Stop doing that, stupid. Nobody will see us." She then kissed him on his cheek and gave him his food, fondly watching her lover eat.
* * * * *
As Zarbon and Dodoria made it outside the first thing that they noticed was the huge flying machine parked underneath the window.
"I've seen this before." Dodoria said plainly.
"Yes, so have I." Zarbon remarked. "It was that night that we were capturing that blue-headed girl, remember? This was her flying machine." He said. "Which means that . . . Vegeta didn't kill her."
Dodoria climbed up on top of the flying machine and to the window, the window that Bulma had opened. "This explains why is was parked under the window. So the little bimbo could open it. She used her pocket knife." He threw Zarbon the pocketknife, being sure to suppress the blade first. "But why would she want to let Vegeta out unless she knew him?"
Zarbon studied the pocketknife carefully. "I don't know . . . but then again, that night I had her prisoner and Vegeta came up . . . she asked him to save her. She said, 'Vegeta, please save me, please please please . . .' like they knew each other. I didn't pay attention to that until just now, you know?"
Dodoria nodded. "They do know each other but I would think not in a friendly way. He stole the Dragonball from her!"
"Or did she give it to him?"
They were both silent for a long time, thinking about the subject of Bulma and Vegeta.
"They couldn't be an object, could they?" Zarbon asked. "Vegeta's not the type to take humans for a lover. He's never had a lover in his life!" He then realized how stupid he sounded. "What am I saying? Vegeta's way too prideful to accept a lover. It just has to be something else!"
There was another awkward silence.
"We should go and tell Lord Freeza. Freeza will know what to do." Zarbon said, starting to walk off to get Freeza. But Dodoria grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Wait! Before we jump to conclusions, let's wait until Vegeta gets back and . . . observe him. Look and see who brings him back, and who locks the window behind him. Then, we can go into Vegeta's room and get him, lock him in the dungeon so he can't get out, then get whoever let him out." Dodoria said. "That's the sure fire way to catch the person whose been doing this."
Zarbon gulped. "I hate that brat so much . . ." He mumbled, heading back inside the ship.
* * * * *
"Vegeta, how long do you plan on staying out with me tonight?" Bulma asked her lover, scooting closer to him as if to protect him from any harm. She knew that Zarbon and Dodoria would probably be out soon looking for him and she didn't want him to be beaten again. Heck, if they found him out, it would probably be their last straw. They'd probably kill him!
Vegeta shoved the last of one of the sandwiches in his mouth. "I actually hadn't planned on it at all. I just really wanted to see you after I got beaten, so I wrote you that message on the window." He then stopped and looked at the ground, as if reflecting on something.
"What's the matter?" Bulma inquired.
Vegeta coughed into his hand then rubbed a hand through his now greasy hair. "This is dangerous." He said. "Dangerous for you. Do you know what they'd do to you if they were to find us together? I'm not worried about what they'd do to me; but I am to you. You don't want what happened to me when I was a child to happen to you. I don't want it, either. I want you to be safe."
Bulma was slowly nodding to everything that he said.
"If it gets too dangerous and they start getting on our tracks, Bulma . . . We may have to stop seeing each other." Vegeta concluded.
Tears immediately jumped to Bulma's blue eyes. *Is he crazy? I know that he loves me, and I love him, and I can understand where he's coming from . . . But stop seeing each other? * She thought. Before she could stop herself she had grabbed Vegeta by the shoulders.
"We can't stop seeing each other, Vegeta!" She exclaimed, pulling in and kissing him. After she broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against his. "Not ever. I thought we said we would fight Freeza until the end? Remember what we said? Huh?"
Vegeta grabbed her, and even though his pride told him no, he hugged her. "Bulma, I said maybe! I said if they start getting on our tracks. If they start wondering if we're an item." He pushed Bulma away from him. "It would be best for the both of us. Less dangerous."
Bulma stared at Vegeta for a second. "I don't care how dangerous things get. I vowed I'd get you help, and that's what I'll do." Bulma said in a firm tone. "I will. You won't have to live like this forever." So saying this, she grabbed him and hugged him, trying not to start bawling into his neck like a little baby. "I want to see you, I want you to be safe, I want to see you just ONCE without bruises all over your face—" She sloppily kissed his cheek. "And when this is all over, you'll live with me. You'll live with me and my parents, and you'll be safe—"
Vegeta stood up the best that he could inside the tiny little cave. "Don't think naïve thoughts, woman." He stated. "It's best not to dream in situations like this."
Bulma was at a loss of words as he poked his head out of the cave, searching around for Zarbon or Dodoria. "It'd be easier on you if you'd stop worrying so much." She whispered.
Vegeta backed up and sat back down. "I have to watch my back. I'm sure that if I get caught one more time, it's my last strike. I'll either be killed, or worse, tortured and put in the dungeon until I die."
Bulma wiped tears from her eyes. "That's horrible." She mumbled.
"It's true, though. They've done it before, but they didn't kill me. Just almost."
Bulma shook her head. *Why doesn't he ever fight back? * She thought. *He's a mighty Saiyan, the PRINCE of them all . . . how could he let himself get into a situation like this? *
"Maybe we should get you back to the ship Vegeta. I'm too scared that you'll get discovered." Bulma suggested. "We shouldn't have went out tonight. We should have waited until tomorrow to come out." She walked out of the cave and jerked him out by the hand. "Come on. We're going back."
Vegeta yanked his hand away and stepped back a couple of steps. "Foolish woman, what are you doing!? Get back into that cave before you are seen!" He ordered. "Now!"
Bulma stood there. "Last time I ran when Zarbon came . . . this time I won't. This time I'm taking it with you if we're discovered. Dying with you is better than dying without."
Vegeta looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning the opposite direction of Bulma and crossing his arms, twitching his tail in an annoyed manner. "Look, woman—You sure are stubborn." He growled.
Bulma came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Turn around, Vegeta." She demanded in a soft voice.
Vegeta did as he was told and found himself engulfed in her arms. He saw her lean forward into him and rest her cheek on his chest, hugging him around his waist as tight as she could. "You're brave." He breathed. He then put his own arms around her too, and squeezed. "And that's what I like about you." He whispered that part in her ear, in kind of a firm tone.
Bulma kissed him on the side of the face. "I don't ever want to have to let you go. I wish that you could just stay with me . . . always . . ." She said.
Vegeta smirked a little bit. *Yeah, I wish I could get away from here, too. * Vegeta thought as he gave her one last squeeze and then released her. "This is impossible. We shouldn't even speak of such things in which will never be true." He turned away from Bulma and looked at the moon. "It'll be forever until I get away from Freeza. Not even my father could get me away . . . And that's why he was a fool."
Bulma stared firmly at Vegeta as he lumbered back inside the cave and plopped down on his butt, where he sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
"We really need to get you back. You're scaring me." Bulma said.
Vegeta opened one eye.
"And . . . and tomorrow, maybe I could get Goku to come and help you." Bulma said. Her voice trembled, for she knew what Vegeta's reaction would be. She knew that he would not accept Goku's help.
"No . . . Not Kakarott. I'd rather die than . . ." He growled.
"Vegeta, you don't have much of a choice! Can't you ever think about your life above your birthrights? Huh?!" Bulma demanded.
Vegeta just stared at her with that one eye open, wondering whether coming out with this woman was really worth it. He finally closed the one eye again. *Easy for you to say, woman. * He thought.
Bulma crawled back inside the cave with Vegeta and leaned up against him, feeling his heart beat and his chest rise and fall with each breath. She felt his tail brush affectionately against her thigh, and she knew the indecent things he was thinking. She snuggled in closer to him and kissed his chest, which left the taste of blood in her mouth.
Vegeta looked down at her and frowned a little bit.
Bulma caught the frown on her lover's face and brought her hand up, rubbing at the frown lines on his brow as if trying to rub them away. "Don't be mad, and don't be worried." She whispered to him, caressing his cheek with her fingers. "Just be happy to be here right now, and happy that we haven't been caught yet."
Vegeta's frown turned into a small smirk as he leaned his head back against his arms and let Bulma hug him all up. Something in his mind kept telling him that he should get away from her before something bad was to happen, but . . . He didn't think he could live without her. Of course he'd only known her for three or four days; but he'd already grown attached to the blue-haired beauty's company. She seemed to make his pain fade away every time she came around.
They fell asleep in each other's arms that night, not noticing it get deeper and deeper into the night, and not knowing that Zarbon and Dodoria were on Vegeta's tracks already.
* * * * *
The first thing Vegeta noticed when he woke up was that it was still nighttime, and he hadn't been sleeping very long. His limbs were not as stiff as they usually got when he'd been sleeping sitting up for a long time.
He yawned, and noticed that the stale air of his cell was not present. Instead it was the warm, moist outside air, that teased his senses and made him want to dance, scream, and yell—just be happy. But being happy was way out of Vegeta's league.
He also couldn't help but notice that every time he inhaled he got a whiff of the most beautiful scent he'd ever smelled in his life; the scent of the woman. The Bulma woman. He smiled a little bit at her presence. "Wake up woman." He whispered firmly.
Bulma didn't even stir. Her huge blue eyes just stayed firmly closed; her balloony chest heaved evenly up and down.
Vegeta shook her a little bit. "You have to wake up. I have to get back to the ship and I don't want to leave you here asleep." Vegeta said. "So get up."
Bulma's huge eyes slowly fluttered open, and she found herself staring straight into the handsome prince of the Saiyan's face. She smiled at him. "Good morning . . . I mean night. I guess we didn't sleep all night, huh?"
Vegeta didn't answer. Instead he gently pushed her off and crawled out of the cave where he stood up and looked at the moon.
Bulma got up and rubbed her eyes. "What's the matter?" She asked, coming up behind him and embracing him in a huge hug. She squeezed him and snuggled her face into his rubbery saiyan armor.
Vegeta averted his pupils back toward her. "Let's go back to the ship. I can't believe that Zarbon or Dodoria haven't come looking for me yet."
Bulma looked at her watch and her eyes almost bugged right out of her head. "Oh Jesus! We've been asleep for three hours!" She said, alarmed. "And it's all because of me! I shouldn't have let you go to sleep, I'm so stupid—"
Vegeta placed a finger on her lips. "Shh. be quiet. We don't want anyone to hear us, do we?"
Bulma just stared at him as he gently removed his finger from her lips and stared up at the sky. Then, before she could even react, he had grabbed her and picked her up against him. Bulma threw an arm around his shoulders and clung on tight. "But Vegeta, I don't want this night to ever stop . . ." She whimpered. She was now close to tears. "I want to stay here, and we can go to sleep in each other's arms again!"
Vegeta started to slowly fly. "Too dangerous for that now. Stupid me, I should have never went to sleep. I can't believe this! What if they catch me?" He was talking more to himself than he was to Bulma. He could feel Bulma hugging him tight as she buried her face into his strong chest and cried. "Stop crying. It makes me feel stupid." Vegeta fibbed, when it really made him feel sad for her. But he didn't want to admit it. He wanted to stay with her too; but he knew that he couldn't.
"Oh, Vegeta . . . when can we see each other again?" She asked. "I want it to be soon!"
Vegeta smirked and bumped her beneath her chin affectionately. "It will be soon. Tomorrow night, come back to the ship and I'll try to come out in some way. Okay? Tomorrow night is not that long."
"It is to me!"
Vegeta just ignored what Bulma said as he touched down in front of the space ship, and slowly lowered her down to the ground.
* * * * *
Zarbon and Dodoria caught sight of Vegeta landing In front of the ship with the female in his arms. They were both at a complete loss of words as they watched the woman hug Vegeta around his neck, and whisper something into his ear. And it looked like she was crying.
"That little bastard . . . "Zarbon growled, making sure it was not loud enough for the Saiyan to hear. "He's . . . He's got that woman letting him out!"
He was about to get up and charge after Vegeta and Bulma, but Dodoria stopped him.
"Wait. Let's see where this goes." He demanded Zarbon. "Maybe it's nothing serious."
* * * * *
"Vegeta . . . tomorrow night at ten, okay?" Bulma whispered into Vegeta's ear with tears pouring down her face. "I'll come here tomorrow at ten and pick you up, and we'll go somewhere special."
Vegeta hugged Bulma and kissed her on the cheek. "Sure. As long as Freeza doesn't get onto me or something. If Freeza does, then I probably won't be able to come out. But look for a sign, Bulma. And if there's not a sign of my being here and alive . . ." He didn't finish the rest of his sentence.
Bulma broke away from his hug and started to back away. "Go now. I don't want them to find out." She ordered.
Vegeta smirked a little bit and then gave a meek wave. "G'bye." He said. He started to fly up toward his window, but Bulma grabbed his foot. Vegeta painfully fell to the ground.
"What is it, woman?" He asked. He tried to hide the annoyance in his tone.
"I thought I heard something!" Bulma said. "I thought I heard someone rustle in the bushes or the trees over there."
Vegeta stared back at her for a second, then started to laugh. "That's stupid woman. If anyone was watching then they already would have come out, don't you think?" He asked. "We're completely safe. Now let go of my shoe."
Bulma obeyed, and Vegeta was about to start flying again, when two unusual things happened. First he heard Bulma give out a high-pitched squeal; a squeal that was so loud it made his ears ache. He whipped his head around to stare at her but before he could get a good glance at her, there was a burst of pain as someone punched him in the stomach and grabbed him around the waist. He gagged up blood before realizing what had probably happened.
He looked up into his captor's face and recognized Zarbon.
His eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates. "N—No . . ." He stuttered.
Zarbon gave an evil smirk at Vegeta. "Yes, yes." He said. "Looks like your little plan didn't work too well now did it?"
Hearing Bulma scream again, Vegeta whipped his head over and saw that Dodoria had her grabbed around the waist as he himself was. She was screaming and bawling and thrashing her arms and legs. "EEEEKKK! VEGETA, NOOOO!" She tried to bite Dodoria in the arm. "LET HIM GO, YOU BASTARDS, LEAVE HIM ALONE AND LET HIM GO!"
Vegeta started fighting Zarbon's arm. "Z-Zarbon, I can explain . . ." He felt Zarbon punch him in the gut, and he doubled over and crumpled up around Zarbon's arms, gasping for air like a beached fish. "Let . . . her . . . go . . ." He managed to choke out.
He heard Bulma's screams and cries dwindle into shouts of rage as she fought Dodoria's arms. "Let him go!" She was screaming. Vegeta couldn't handle this; he knew that they'd kill Bulma before he could get to her.
"Run, Bulma!" He shouted.
Zarbon jerked him up. "Is BULMA her name? Well, don't worry, Vegeta, I'm sure we have a nice place in the dungeon for your little friend too." He said. "DODORIA! BRING HER INSIDE!"
Dodoria began to drag Bulma inside, who was screaming, yelling, and slapping at him the whole time. "Release me!" She ordered. "Now! I'm warning you! Release me and let him go!"
Vegeta started to struggle again. *I can't let this happen. I can't let her get taken prisoner, can't let her get taken away from her home and tortured . . . * So thinking this, he decided that he had to do something. And he had to act FAST. He started straining and trying to flip around in Zarbon's arms so that he could kick off with his feet.
Zarbon was having a lot of trouble holding on to Vegeta now. "Stop squirming or I'll kill you!" He shouted.
Vegeta heeded no warning. He turned around and implanted his feet in Zarbon's gut; sending him sprawling away and tumbling. His arms jerked free of around Vegeta. Vegeta had no time to celebrate his little bit of freedom, though. He still had Bulma to save.
"Dodoria, let her go now." He ordered firmly. He looked into Bulma's watery eyes and realized that she was very scared right now; more scared for him than she was of herself.
"LOOK OUT, VEGETA, ZARBON'S COMING BACK AT YOU—"
When Bulma said this, Vegeta whirled around and implanted a foot in Zarbon's stomach, disabling him again. "Dodoria, let her GO. I won't fight anymore if you just let her go. We have no use for her, so please." He figured that Dodoria, being the big dumb ass that he was, might actually let her go at his bluff. But it didn't work.
"That won't work on me Vegeta. We've already trusted your word with her once, and we won't make that mistake again. This time she's coming inside for good." Dodoria growled.
Vegeta crossed his arms. "I'll warn you one more time. Let her go. Now." He ordered. "Or I'll come at you." He got in a fighting stance; ready to come at Dodoria.
To Vegeta's surprise Dodoria did exactly as he had asked. "I guess you're the important one." He said, letting Bulma go and stepping towards Vegeta slowly. "You're not going to run, now, are you?"
Vegeta shot a small look of worry at Bulma, then smirked. "I'll be Okay." He mouthed.
Bulma didn't move. "NO!" She yelled, trying to dive forward and grab Vegeta. She saw Vegeta's face draw back into worry as Zarbon started to get up.
"RUN, NOW! NOW NOW NOW!" Vegeta yelled.
Bulma looked at Vegeta one more time, and burst into tears. "No, Vegeta—"
"NOW!" Vegeta shot a ki blast at Bulma to make her run. His plan worked, too. She started to run away.
"VEGETA, I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU! I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN, I WON'T!" She yelled back at him, her voice cracking and breaking with each word.
Vegeta was able to watch Bulma about two seconds more before Zarbon and Dodoria had him by the arms. But, surprisingly, Vegeta didn't fight. At least Bulma had gotten away.
End of chappy seven
In the next chapter Vegeta will get dragged inside of the ship, and gets locked up in the dungeon. Bulma can't live with herself and that night tries to get inside of the ship to save him. Please review, no major flames though!
Luv, luvssaintbernards
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any other trademarked materials in this fanfiction.
Unusually, Zarbon did not hear the noise of Vegeta's shower, or his snoring, or the toilet . . . anything like that for the longest time. And Vegeta was hardly ever quiet like that. He usually snored very badly.
"Dodoria, I think we should go and check on Vegeta." Zarbon told his partner. "To make sure that he didn't escape somehow. I haven't heard him all night, and he usually makes a lot of noise."
"Fine, let's go get the keys from Master Freeza." Dodoria said. But, when they got there, the answer they got from Freeza was surprising.
"Leave Vegeta alone for now, stop tattling on him so much. He's not a little boy anymore; of course he's going to talk back to you. I don't care the names he called you; if there is nothing physical you might as well leave him alone." Freeza said.
"But this is not about Vegeta assaulting me." Zarbon said. "I need the key to his room, please, Lord Freeza."
Freeza shook his head. "No. First, you tell me why. Why would you need the key to Vegeta's room? The whole point of me locking him in there was so that he wouldn't get into trouble anymore. He couldn't have possibly gotten into any trouble locked up in that room." He pointed towards the doorway. "Now go away."
Zarbon was steamed. Freeza usually listened to him more than this, but he wouldn't dare talk back snide to him. He may not get beaten, but something bad would surely happen to him. "But . . . Lord Freeza . . . I think he may have escaped that room!"
For a minute, things were silent between Zarbon and Freeza, until Freeza laughed at him.
"Zarbon, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. There's no way Vegeta could escape from that room. He's a smart boy don't you know that? He'd know better than to shatter the window in order to escape." Freeza explained. "And there's no other way. I have people guarding all inside of this ship to keep him from escaping. There's people outside his door, for Christ's sake!"
"Then they're obviously not doing their job very well, Lord Freeza. Dodoria and I don't hear any noises coming from Vegeta's room. If they were good guards they'd take a peek." Zarbon argued.
Freeza rolled his eyes. "Fine, here's the key." He said, throwing it to them. "Now leave me alone. I don't want to hear anymore out of you two tonight." It was obvious that Freeza really didn't think Vegeta was gone, but he was wrong.
* * * * *
Zarbon and Dodoria walked up to Vegeta's door, where the guards were.
"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" One of the guards asked Zarbon as he shoved the key inside of the keyhole.
"That's none of your business to question me. You have no power." Zarbon said. "So shut up before I kill you."
The guard became silent.
Zarbon opened the door to Vegeta's dark room and scanned it with his eyes. "Vegeta, you ass, get out here right now if you're in there." He called.
There was no answer from the saiyan, not even the sound of raspy breathing.
"Vegeta? HELLLO . . ." He said.
Still no answer.
Zarbon and Dodoria walked farther inside. "I don't hear any shower water running . . ." Dodoria said. "And Vegeta would answer us usually. He wouldn't want to be beaten like that again."
Zarbon ran over to the cot and pulled the sheets up. The only thing present was a huge bloodstain on the white sheets. "He's not here!" He exclaimed. "But how did he—"
Zarbon glared up at the window and noticed that it was opened. "No . . ." He said. He flew up to the window. "How did he open it? The latch was from the outside, there was no way he could have opened it without breaking it in the least little bit!"
Dodoria shrugged. "Beats me. Someone must have let him out." He said. "But . . . who?"
They both exchanged glances.
"Let's check outside." Zarbon said.
* * * * *
Vegeta dragged Bulma inside of the canyon, into the place where he'd hidden his food in the first place. "This place is safe, I think." He said. "I had my food hidden here . . . at least until you ate it."
Bulma sat down. "Hm, sure is . . . homey." She said sarcastically. "By the way, sorry that I ate your food. I didn't know about your situation!"
"There's no need for apologies. Right now we just need to find someplace where we can be safe together." Vegeta said, sticking his head out a little bit to see if anyone was around. When he was satisfied, he pulled himself back inside and sighed deeply. "I'm getting so tired of this . . ." He mumbled. "Twenty years of having to look behind my back over everything . . ."
"Don't worry, Vegeta. I'll find someone to help you get out of here." Bulma reassured as she leaned over and hugged Vegeta by pressing her cheek against his chest. "Nobody will ever hurt you again."
Vegeta smirked and stroked her hair slowly. "Zarbon will be out soon. He's always up my butt." He muttered. "Unless I'm lucky and he doesn't find out that I'm gone."
Bulma lifted up and grabbed some sandwiches out of her pack. "I brought you some food, because I figured that Freeza doesn't give you very much food." She said. "I'll bring you some food every day, okay?"
Vegeta smirked. "Won't be necessary once I get out of here." He then leaned forward and looked out the mouth of the cave to make sure that nobody was out there now.
Bulma pulled him back in. "Stop doing that, stupid. Nobody will see us." She then kissed him on his cheek and gave him his food, fondly watching her lover eat.
* * * * *
As Zarbon and Dodoria made it outside the first thing that they noticed was the huge flying machine parked underneath the window.
"I've seen this before." Dodoria said plainly.
"Yes, so have I." Zarbon remarked. "It was that night that we were capturing that blue-headed girl, remember? This was her flying machine." He said. "Which means that . . . Vegeta didn't kill her."
Dodoria climbed up on top of the flying machine and to the window, the window that Bulma had opened. "This explains why is was parked under the window. So the little bimbo could open it. She used her pocket knife." He threw Zarbon the pocketknife, being sure to suppress the blade first. "But why would she want to let Vegeta out unless she knew him?"
Zarbon studied the pocketknife carefully. "I don't know . . . but then again, that night I had her prisoner and Vegeta came up . . . she asked him to save her. She said, 'Vegeta, please save me, please please please . . .' like they knew each other. I didn't pay attention to that until just now, you know?"
Dodoria nodded. "They do know each other but I would think not in a friendly way. He stole the Dragonball from her!"
"Or did she give it to him?"
They were both silent for a long time, thinking about the subject of Bulma and Vegeta.
"They couldn't be an object, could they?" Zarbon asked. "Vegeta's not the type to take humans for a lover. He's never had a lover in his life!" He then realized how stupid he sounded. "What am I saying? Vegeta's way too prideful to accept a lover. It just has to be something else!"
There was another awkward silence.
"We should go and tell Lord Freeza. Freeza will know what to do." Zarbon said, starting to walk off to get Freeza. But Dodoria grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Wait! Before we jump to conclusions, let's wait until Vegeta gets back and . . . observe him. Look and see who brings him back, and who locks the window behind him. Then, we can go into Vegeta's room and get him, lock him in the dungeon so he can't get out, then get whoever let him out." Dodoria said. "That's the sure fire way to catch the person whose been doing this."
Zarbon gulped. "I hate that brat so much . . ." He mumbled, heading back inside the ship.
* * * * *
"Vegeta, how long do you plan on staying out with me tonight?" Bulma asked her lover, scooting closer to him as if to protect him from any harm. She knew that Zarbon and Dodoria would probably be out soon looking for him and she didn't want him to be beaten again. Heck, if they found him out, it would probably be their last straw. They'd probably kill him!
Vegeta shoved the last of one of the sandwiches in his mouth. "I actually hadn't planned on it at all. I just really wanted to see you after I got beaten, so I wrote you that message on the window." He then stopped and looked at the ground, as if reflecting on something.
"What's the matter?" Bulma inquired.
Vegeta coughed into his hand then rubbed a hand through his now greasy hair. "This is dangerous." He said. "Dangerous for you. Do you know what they'd do to you if they were to find us together? I'm not worried about what they'd do to me; but I am to you. You don't want what happened to me when I was a child to happen to you. I don't want it, either. I want you to be safe."
Bulma was slowly nodding to everything that he said.
"If it gets too dangerous and they start getting on our tracks, Bulma . . . We may have to stop seeing each other." Vegeta concluded.
Tears immediately jumped to Bulma's blue eyes. *Is he crazy? I know that he loves me, and I love him, and I can understand where he's coming from . . . But stop seeing each other? * She thought. Before she could stop herself she had grabbed Vegeta by the shoulders.
"We can't stop seeing each other, Vegeta!" She exclaimed, pulling in and kissing him. After she broke the kiss, she rested her forehead against his. "Not ever. I thought we said we would fight Freeza until the end? Remember what we said? Huh?"
Vegeta grabbed her, and even though his pride told him no, he hugged her. "Bulma, I said maybe! I said if they start getting on our tracks. If they start wondering if we're an item." He pushed Bulma away from him. "It would be best for the both of us. Less dangerous."
Bulma stared at Vegeta for a second. "I don't care how dangerous things get. I vowed I'd get you help, and that's what I'll do." Bulma said in a firm tone. "I will. You won't have to live like this forever." So saying this, she grabbed him and hugged him, trying not to start bawling into his neck like a little baby. "I want to see you, I want you to be safe, I want to see you just ONCE without bruises all over your face—" She sloppily kissed his cheek. "And when this is all over, you'll live with me. You'll live with me and my parents, and you'll be safe—"
Vegeta stood up the best that he could inside the tiny little cave. "Don't think naïve thoughts, woman." He stated. "It's best not to dream in situations like this."
Bulma was at a loss of words as he poked his head out of the cave, searching around for Zarbon or Dodoria. "It'd be easier on you if you'd stop worrying so much." She whispered.
Vegeta backed up and sat back down. "I have to watch my back. I'm sure that if I get caught one more time, it's my last strike. I'll either be killed, or worse, tortured and put in the dungeon until I die."
Bulma wiped tears from her eyes. "That's horrible." She mumbled.
"It's true, though. They've done it before, but they didn't kill me. Just almost."
Bulma shook her head. *Why doesn't he ever fight back? * She thought. *He's a mighty Saiyan, the PRINCE of them all . . . how could he let himself get into a situation like this? *
"Maybe we should get you back to the ship Vegeta. I'm too scared that you'll get discovered." Bulma suggested. "We shouldn't have went out tonight. We should have waited until tomorrow to come out." She walked out of the cave and jerked him out by the hand. "Come on. We're going back."
Vegeta yanked his hand away and stepped back a couple of steps. "Foolish woman, what are you doing!? Get back into that cave before you are seen!" He ordered. "Now!"
Bulma stood there. "Last time I ran when Zarbon came . . . this time I won't. This time I'm taking it with you if we're discovered. Dying with you is better than dying without."
Vegeta looked at her for a couple of seconds before turning the opposite direction of Bulma and crossing his arms, twitching his tail in an annoyed manner. "Look, woman—You sure are stubborn." He growled.
Bulma came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Turn around, Vegeta." She demanded in a soft voice.
Vegeta did as he was told and found himself engulfed in her arms. He saw her lean forward into him and rest her cheek on his chest, hugging him around his waist as tight as she could. "You're brave." He breathed. He then put his own arms around her too, and squeezed. "And that's what I like about you." He whispered that part in her ear, in kind of a firm tone.
Bulma kissed him on the side of the face. "I don't ever want to have to let you go. I wish that you could just stay with me . . . always . . ." She said.
Vegeta smirked a little bit. *Yeah, I wish I could get away from here, too. * Vegeta thought as he gave her one last squeeze and then released her. "This is impossible. We shouldn't even speak of such things in which will never be true." He turned away from Bulma and looked at the moon. "It'll be forever until I get away from Freeza. Not even my father could get me away . . . And that's why he was a fool."
Bulma stared firmly at Vegeta as he lumbered back inside the cave and plopped down on his butt, where he sighed deeply and closed his eyes.
"We really need to get you back. You're scaring me." Bulma said.
Vegeta opened one eye.
"And . . . and tomorrow, maybe I could get Goku to come and help you." Bulma said. Her voice trembled, for she knew what Vegeta's reaction would be. She knew that he would not accept Goku's help.
"No . . . Not Kakarott. I'd rather die than . . ." He growled.
"Vegeta, you don't have much of a choice! Can't you ever think about your life above your birthrights? Huh?!" Bulma demanded.
Vegeta just stared at her with that one eye open, wondering whether coming out with this woman was really worth it. He finally closed the one eye again. *Easy for you to say, woman. * He thought.
Bulma crawled back inside the cave with Vegeta and leaned up against him, feeling his heart beat and his chest rise and fall with each breath. She felt his tail brush affectionately against her thigh, and she knew the indecent things he was thinking. She snuggled in closer to him and kissed his chest, which left the taste of blood in her mouth.
Vegeta looked down at her and frowned a little bit.
Bulma caught the frown on her lover's face and brought her hand up, rubbing at the frown lines on his brow as if trying to rub them away. "Don't be mad, and don't be worried." She whispered to him, caressing his cheek with her fingers. "Just be happy to be here right now, and happy that we haven't been caught yet."
Vegeta's frown turned into a small smirk as he leaned his head back against his arms and let Bulma hug him all up. Something in his mind kept telling him that he should get away from her before something bad was to happen, but . . . He didn't think he could live without her. Of course he'd only known her for three or four days; but he'd already grown attached to the blue-haired beauty's company. She seemed to make his pain fade away every time she came around.
They fell asleep in each other's arms that night, not noticing it get deeper and deeper into the night, and not knowing that Zarbon and Dodoria were on Vegeta's tracks already.
* * * * *
The first thing Vegeta noticed when he woke up was that it was still nighttime, and he hadn't been sleeping very long. His limbs were not as stiff as they usually got when he'd been sleeping sitting up for a long time.
He yawned, and noticed that the stale air of his cell was not present. Instead it was the warm, moist outside air, that teased his senses and made him want to dance, scream, and yell—just be happy. But being happy was way out of Vegeta's league.
He also couldn't help but notice that every time he inhaled he got a whiff of the most beautiful scent he'd ever smelled in his life; the scent of the woman. The Bulma woman. He smiled a little bit at her presence. "Wake up woman." He whispered firmly.
Bulma didn't even stir. Her huge blue eyes just stayed firmly closed; her balloony chest heaved evenly up and down.
Vegeta shook her a little bit. "You have to wake up. I have to get back to the ship and I don't want to leave you here asleep." Vegeta said. "So get up."
Bulma's huge eyes slowly fluttered open, and she found herself staring straight into the handsome prince of the Saiyan's face. She smiled at him. "Good morning . . . I mean night. I guess we didn't sleep all night, huh?"
Vegeta didn't answer. Instead he gently pushed her off and crawled out of the cave where he stood up and looked at the moon.
Bulma got up and rubbed her eyes. "What's the matter?" She asked, coming up behind him and embracing him in a huge hug. She squeezed him and snuggled her face into his rubbery saiyan armor.
Vegeta averted his pupils back toward her. "Let's go back to the ship. I can't believe that Zarbon or Dodoria haven't come looking for me yet."
Bulma looked at her watch and her eyes almost bugged right out of her head. "Oh Jesus! We've been asleep for three hours!" She said, alarmed. "And it's all because of me! I shouldn't have let you go to sleep, I'm so stupid—"
Vegeta placed a finger on her lips. "Shh. be quiet. We don't want anyone to hear us, do we?"
Bulma just stared at him as he gently removed his finger from her lips and stared up at the sky. Then, before she could even react, he had grabbed her and picked her up against him. Bulma threw an arm around his shoulders and clung on tight. "But Vegeta, I don't want this night to ever stop . . ." She whimpered. She was now close to tears. "I want to stay here, and we can go to sleep in each other's arms again!"
Vegeta started to slowly fly. "Too dangerous for that now. Stupid me, I should have never went to sleep. I can't believe this! What if they catch me?" He was talking more to himself than he was to Bulma. He could feel Bulma hugging him tight as she buried her face into his strong chest and cried. "Stop crying. It makes me feel stupid." Vegeta fibbed, when it really made him feel sad for her. But he didn't want to admit it. He wanted to stay with her too; but he knew that he couldn't.
"Oh, Vegeta . . . when can we see each other again?" She asked. "I want it to be soon!"
Vegeta smirked and bumped her beneath her chin affectionately. "It will be soon. Tomorrow night, come back to the ship and I'll try to come out in some way. Okay? Tomorrow night is not that long."
"It is to me!"
Vegeta just ignored what Bulma said as he touched down in front of the space ship, and slowly lowered her down to the ground.
* * * * *
Zarbon and Dodoria caught sight of Vegeta landing In front of the ship with the female in his arms. They were both at a complete loss of words as they watched the woman hug Vegeta around his neck, and whisper something into his ear. And it looked like she was crying.
"That little bastard . . . "Zarbon growled, making sure it was not loud enough for the Saiyan to hear. "He's . . . He's got that woman letting him out!"
He was about to get up and charge after Vegeta and Bulma, but Dodoria stopped him.
"Wait. Let's see where this goes." He demanded Zarbon. "Maybe it's nothing serious."
* * * * *
"Vegeta . . . tomorrow night at ten, okay?" Bulma whispered into Vegeta's ear with tears pouring down her face. "I'll come here tomorrow at ten and pick you up, and we'll go somewhere special."
Vegeta hugged Bulma and kissed her on the cheek. "Sure. As long as Freeza doesn't get onto me or something. If Freeza does, then I probably won't be able to come out. But look for a sign, Bulma. And if there's not a sign of my being here and alive . . ." He didn't finish the rest of his sentence.
Bulma broke away from his hug and started to back away. "Go now. I don't want them to find out." She ordered.
Vegeta smirked a little bit and then gave a meek wave. "G'bye." He said. He started to fly up toward his window, but Bulma grabbed his foot. Vegeta painfully fell to the ground.
"What is it, woman?" He asked. He tried to hide the annoyance in his tone.
"I thought I heard something!" Bulma said. "I thought I heard someone rustle in the bushes or the trees over there."
Vegeta stared back at her for a second, then started to laugh. "That's stupid woman. If anyone was watching then they already would have come out, don't you think?" He asked. "We're completely safe. Now let go of my shoe."
Bulma obeyed, and Vegeta was about to start flying again, when two unusual things happened. First he heard Bulma give out a high-pitched squeal; a squeal that was so loud it made his ears ache. He whipped his head around to stare at her but before he could get a good glance at her, there was a burst of pain as someone punched him in the stomach and grabbed him around the waist. He gagged up blood before realizing what had probably happened.
He looked up into his captor's face and recognized Zarbon.
His eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates. "N—No . . ." He stuttered.
Zarbon gave an evil smirk at Vegeta. "Yes, yes." He said. "Looks like your little plan didn't work too well now did it?"
Hearing Bulma scream again, Vegeta whipped his head over and saw that Dodoria had her grabbed around the waist as he himself was. She was screaming and bawling and thrashing her arms and legs. "EEEEKKK! VEGETA, NOOOO!" She tried to bite Dodoria in the arm. "LET HIM GO, YOU BASTARDS, LEAVE HIM ALONE AND LET HIM GO!"
Vegeta started fighting Zarbon's arm. "Z-Zarbon, I can explain . . ." He felt Zarbon punch him in the gut, and he doubled over and crumpled up around Zarbon's arms, gasping for air like a beached fish. "Let . . . her . . . go . . ." He managed to choke out.
He heard Bulma's screams and cries dwindle into shouts of rage as she fought Dodoria's arms. "Let him go!" She was screaming. Vegeta couldn't handle this; he knew that they'd kill Bulma before he could get to her.
"Run, Bulma!" He shouted.
Zarbon jerked him up. "Is BULMA her name? Well, don't worry, Vegeta, I'm sure we have a nice place in the dungeon for your little friend too." He said. "DODORIA! BRING HER INSIDE!"
Dodoria began to drag Bulma inside, who was screaming, yelling, and slapping at him the whole time. "Release me!" She ordered. "Now! I'm warning you! Release me and let him go!"
Vegeta started to struggle again. *I can't let this happen. I can't let her get taken prisoner, can't let her get taken away from her home and tortured . . . * So thinking this, he decided that he had to do something. And he had to act FAST. He started straining and trying to flip around in Zarbon's arms so that he could kick off with his feet.
Zarbon was having a lot of trouble holding on to Vegeta now. "Stop squirming or I'll kill you!" He shouted.
Vegeta heeded no warning. He turned around and implanted his feet in Zarbon's gut; sending him sprawling away and tumbling. His arms jerked free of around Vegeta. Vegeta had no time to celebrate his little bit of freedom, though. He still had Bulma to save.
"Dodoria, let her go now." He ordered firmly. He looked into Bulma's watery eyes and realized that she was very scared right now; more scared for him than she was of herself.
"LOOK OUT, VEGETA, ZARBON'S COMING BACK AT YOU—"
When Bulma said this, Vegeta whirled around and implanted a foot in Zarbon's stomach, disabling him again. "Dodoria, let her GO. I won't fight anymore if you just let her go. We have no use for her, so please." He figured that Dodoria, being the big dumb ass that he was, might actually let her go at his bluff. But it didn't work.
"That won't work on me Vegeta. We've already trusted your word with her once, and we won't make that mistake again. This time she's coming inside for good." Dodoria growled.
Vegeta crossed his arms. "I'll warn you one more time. Let her go. Now." He ordered. "Or I'll come at you." He got in a fighting stance; ready to come at Dodoria.
To Vegeta's surprise Dodoria did exactly as he had asked. "I guess you're the important one." He said, letting Bulma go and stepping towards Vegeta slowly. "You're not going to run, now, are you?"
Vegeta shot a small look of worry at Bulma, then smirked. "I'll be Okay." He mouthed.
Bulma didn't move. "NO!" She yelled, trying to dive forward and grab Vegeta. She saw Vegeta's face draw back into worry as Zarbon started to get up.
"RUN, NOW! NOW NOW NOW!" Vegeta yelled.
Bulma looked at Vegeta one more time, and burst into tears. "No, Vegeta—"
"NOW!" Vegeta shot a ki blast at Bulma to make her run. His plan worked, too. She started to run away.
"VEGETA, I'LL COME BACK FOR YOU! I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN, I WON'T!" She yelled back at him, her voice cracking and breaking with each word.
Vegeta was able to watch Bulma about two seconds more before Zarbon and Dodoria had him by the arms. But, surprisingly, Vegeta didn't fight. At least Bulma had gotten away.
End of chappy seven
In the next chapter Vegeta will get dragged inside of the ship, and gets locked up in the dungeon. Bulma can't live with herself and that night tries to get inside of the ship to save him. Please review, no major flames though!
Luv, luvssaintbernards
