By: Kichi
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.
Chapter 6 - Running from Nothing
He ignored the puzzled
expression on her face and turned away. He vaguely heard her say
something but it didn't register. All he could think of was what
she'd said before:
"I didn't call you..
Not out loud. I was hoping you would stop him-"
It was impossible, what that statement implied.
And besides, it was just silly. He didn't know her that well.
And besides, he'd picked up random thoughts from people all the time.
But random thoughts were
different than a direct cry for help.
Again, two more days passed
in silence. It was beginning to feel like ritual to Bulma.
Speak only once every two days, she thought with a almost gloomy smile.
Maybe she should have considered it a blessing. If she and Vegeta
would be parting soon, probably for good, what was the point of trying
to get to know him?
She could see their next
destination. Takezo Ma'Iitat. That was the name of the planet.
In what language, she wasn't sure. But it was an enormous planet,
much like earth. Green land, blue water, white clouds. One
sun, two moons, and a meteor ring surrounding the outer atmosphere.
Vegeta came upstairs after emerging from
the shower to check on their progress. Once he reached the top stair
the ship gave a great lurch and began to speed its descent.
"Onna!" Vegeta bellowed
as he was almost thrown down the stairs. "I thought you knew how
to fly this hunk of shit!"
"Were being pulled in!"
she cried punching buttons on the panel. "The engines won't respond!"
"Shit!" Vegeta hissed.
So his fears were confirmed. The planet was occupied.
Planet side…
The small military outpost
was still abuzz with life. And still firmly under Frieza's control.
Soldiers still trained with frenzy not aware that their lord and master
was fighting for his life against the Legendary Super Saiyan. They
had their orders and they filled them out with precision. Takezo
was occupied territory, but it remained unblemished. It's inhabitants
still thrived, even under Frieza's martial law. It was one of the
few places in Frieza's side of the galaxy that could be considered a "resort"
of sorts.
But only for off-duty soldiers.
Base #67
"Commander Rjyu,
we have a small unidentified craft in our tractor beam. Shall I bring
it in?"
"Yes, send a squad down.
Bring anyone aboard to me."
"What are we going to do?"
Bulma cried. "What about all our stuff?"
"We have to get out of
here now! Screw it! If we get out now they won't destroy the
ship right away and we might be able to come back for it!"
"And if not?" Bulma snapped,
stubbornly refusing to budge.
"Damn it! There's
no time for this shit! Do you want to die?" Vegeta fairly screamed.
"Of course not!
I'm still a beautiful young woman!"
"Then come on!" He snapped
and grabbed her around the waist. He opened the door, careful to
keep it from becoming damaged and firmly shut it behind them. He
took off with Bulma in his arms as fast as he could without damaging the
fragile package in his arms.
"Shit!" Vegeta hissed
and she could feel a strange electric charge envelope her. It rippled
through her body in an energizing wave. She suddenly heard explosions
and attempted to turn and see, but Vegeta's hold on her was too firm.
She screamed as a huge blast sounded right by her ear.
"Quiet onna! I can't
concentrate with you bellowing!" He snapped firing again. Immediately
a volley of explosions sounded. Over his broad shoulder she could
see several warriors charging.
"Vegeta!" she yelled
in his ear. "There's like ten right behind us!" he switched her to
his other arm and began to fire down on them. They scattered and
dodged each blast.
"Shit." They both hissed
in unison. They locked eyes and each reached the same conclusion.
"Put me down."
"I have to put you down."
They both said simultaneously. He dropped with stomach-lurching speed
and as soon as Bulma's feet touched the ground she started running.
But where the hell would she go?
There were trees everywhere,
Thank Kami, but one of the soldiers could see her run in and blast her
ass to China. She dove for cover anyway and watched the battle.
He was surrounded.
But the odds didn't bother him in the slightest.
"Vegeta! What the hell
are you doing here? Why are you attacking? Are you mad?" for
a moment he stared at the face in disbelief. Kuui? No.
Kuui was dead. This could only be one of his many siblings.
He answered with a ki
blast in the soldiers face. The others began to fire at once, but
he dodged each ki-strike with ease.
"Stupid monkey!
You'll pay for this!" Vegeta heard it, and for a moment he froze.
Stupid monkey… His vision dimmed, everything turned red.
Bulma cringed when Vegeta suddenly screamed in perfect fury. Seconds later the attachment was gone. Several more were flying to meet the same fate apparently. She shuddered in fear. Here was all the proof she needed, apparently. She'd seen him fight before, how had she forgotten her fear so quickly? Was it because he'd saved her from Dora? She wasn't sure. The warmth she'd begun to feel for him was replaced by cold fear. More and more fighters fell before him. She watched their bodies (or what was left of them) fall to the ground. She was so intent on the battle that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her.
Somehow a familiar sound
cut through the sound of blood roaring in his ears.
It was her. His
chi faded and he simply restrained his opponent in a vice-like grip while
he tried to get a fix on the onna.
There it was again.
A high-pitched shriek.
"Let me go!" she screamed
and thrashed in her captors grasp. Immediately she was flung to the
ground and a booted foot rammed into her midsection. The air rushed
from her lungs and ribs snapped.
The pain clouded everything
making land and sky all black.
They had her. He
was on the ground in a second. But it was too late. He'd seen
the soldier boot her in the stomach. He'd heard her ribs snap from
where he landed. He saw her eyes bulge in agony and seconds later
she was unconscious. A rabid growl was torn from his throat and he
flew at her attacker, tearing his head off with a well-aimed kick.
But there were still other's
around. He turned to face them and impatiently obliterated them with
a Gallic-gun. Silence fell and he could hear her ragged breathing.
Damn it.
For a long moment he could
only stare at her pain-twisted form. A horrifyingly unfamiliar feeling
surged through his body and rage nearly crippled him. Red flashed
and faded before his eyes. And he was trembling with the effort of
containing his anger.
Why was it that the sight
of the little battered female enraged him so? He knelt down next
to her and for a moment his hands hovered uncertainly. What would
he do with her? I have to do something. I need her to fly
the ship! He conveniently remembered. He felt more ki approaching.
He had to do something.
His aura flared and then
concentrated in his hands. He carefully rolled Bulma onto her back
and let his chi flow into her heart. She moaned softly and some of
the color returned to her slender face. She wasn't healed by any stretch.
But she would survive long enough for him to find a regeneration tank.
A piteous moan tore from her lips stained with blood and here eyes slowly
slid open.
Vegeta lifted her carefully,
trying to ignore the fat tears that slid down her cheeks. One of
her arms raised weakly, her fingers fluttered and came to rest on his chest-plate.
"Onna." He said, warningly.
"Don't move." A dozen more fighters landed.
"It's that Saiyan, Vegeta!"
Commander Rjyu cried.
"What?!" Kyett, Commander
in Chief of Base #67 bellowed. A cold sweat broke out over his flesh.
"He cannot attack us! Is he mad?" the building around them rocked,
iron groaned in protest. Explosions and screams could be heard clearly.
"Somebody do something!
Kill him!" Rjyu shrieked. Officers ran past, some blatantly ignoring
his commands and fleeing for their lives. Rjyu pounded on the console
bringing up communications. "Kila! Kila!" he screamed.
With the suddenness of
a thunderclap, the very woman burst through the door.
"It's Vegeta!" she cried.
"No shit! Stop him!
Do something!!" Kyett roared. Kila vanished.
She reappeared five feet
in front of the Saiyan in question and was astonished to see a pretty young
girl in his arms. Blood was steadily leaking from her pale mouth
and her ki was as fragile as her body seemed.
"Get out of my way, Kila.
Or you die." She heard a strange timber in his voice and it was then that
she noticed his strange pallor.
"I should have known you'd
find my replacement right away." she sneered. Instantly a ki blast hit
her, point blank in the abdomen. She was thrown to the ground with
concussive force. The air rushed from her lungs. She took several
heaving breaths before noticing the burns on her skin. They weren't
life-threatening, but it wasn't meant to be. It was a warning shot.
The last one she'd get.
She stared in amazement.
"It cannot be!" she breathed.
She shot back into the air after him.
"Don't be stupid, Kila."
He said as she drew near. She had to stop him! He was mere
yards from the base.
"Why Vegeta?" she snapped,
fazing in front of him. He clutched the female tighter as he came
to a stop. Sudden jealousy surged through Kila and her chi flared.
Vegeta's ki instantly shot up as well.
"Don't!" He snarled.
"Don't waste any more of my time! Get out of my way."
"Has the unthinkable happened,
my beautiful Saiyan?" Kila asked softly, her eyes pleading. Vegeta
grimaced.
"Stop this. It's
too unlike you." He growled and took off. Kila vanished and reappeared
in front of him. His ki shot up as he froze to avoid collision.
"Stop this!" he raised a glowing hand.
"WHY?!" she screamed,
her aura flaring. Vegeta's gaze grew cold, but she didn't care.
She had to know. "Who is she? What is she to you? I have a right
to know! I cared about you! I still do! Who else in Frieza's
army would claim that?" he laughed bitterly.
"Kila." He said quietly.
"Your still a fucking liar. If you have to annoy me with more petty
excuses then it will be after she is inside a tank."
"But Frieza-"
"Is dead." Vegeta cut
in.
"No."
"Yes."
"You?" at that his eyes
flashed with fury.
"I HAVE NO MORE TIME TO
WASTE ON THIS FUCKING SHIT!" he bellowed. The girl in his arms whimpered
and he swallowed whatever else he would have said. His chi flared
and he descended rapidly.
Kila followed him as he
killed everyone who had not escaped or were foolish enough to try and fight.
Using only small ki-blasts, he would strike at vital organs and walk over
the still-living victims as blood began to spew from their mouths in great
founts. They faced little resistance as they reached the medical
wing of the base and once the female was safely inside a regeneration tank,
her turned to regard her.
She thought back to the
last day they'd been "together" with embarrassment. From the frown
on Vegeta's face, she could only assume he was remembering the same.
"I'm sorry." Kila began.
"For what I did."
"Shut up." Vegeta snapped.
His face turning dull red. "I'm glad you're still stupid. Did
you honestly think I would ever forgive you?" Kila's eyes widened
and she stepped back a pace.
"It was three years ago!"
"So what? You can
still see the scars. And that wasn't even the worst part!" he said,
his voice growing in volume. "I actually cared about your pathetic
ass and you humiliated me! And I didn't do anything about it!
do you know how long I've waited for this? I hate you!!" He screamed,
his aura flared wildly and before she could react his hands were wrapped
around her throat. Her head snapped back and forth as he shook her
and suddenly her entire body went limp. Her neck snapped under the
immense strain, but Vegeta didn't notice until her head began to flop back
and forth like a rag doll's. He let her go and she collapsed, the
life leaving her lungs in a sickening rattle.
For almost an hour he
stared at her dead body. She was dead and he was glad. He hated
her. Nothing she said could have changed it. What she'd done
to him had been cruel. She could have just said she didn't like him
anymore and that would have been the end of it. But she'd gone a
step further because she'd been too cowardly to admit the truth.
He almost wished that
she'd cheated on him or something mundane. Instead she'd slapped
him in the face in front of half of Frieza's army. But instead of killing
her, Vegeta had put his fist through a thick pane of glass.
He'd been so overwhelmed with fury, pain, and embarrassment that he didn't
even notice until he realized that he had a gaping hole just above his
elbow. Blood had been steadily pouring from it but he'd not noticed
as he'd headed back to his rooms in a daze. It was the first time
in his life he'd actually cared for someone. And that someone had
ripped his heart out and pissed on
it in full view of everyone. And
what had they been fighting about? He could never remember after
that. All he knew from that point on was that he hated her and had
to make her pay.
But the next day she was
gone. He'd dreamt of her for months after ward. One dream in
particular he remembered with vivid clarity. He'd been trying to
kill her (as he usually dreamt after the incident) and nothing worked.
He'd tried beating her, stabbing her repeatedly in the back with a dull
blade. He remembered the dream particularly because he'd never dreamt
of such a realistic stabbing. Yet it was unreal at the same time.
He felt the blade pierce her chest cavity, heard the sound, but no blood
came. So he'd held her head underwater and urged Nappa to help him
kill her. Nappa refused (then he knew it was a dream) and she didn't
die.
He never got over it.
Only by humiliating her in return would he be satisfied. But now
that she lay dead before him, he felt no real satisfaction. He still
hated her. She'd died too quick. He'd wanted it to last.
To hear her scream his name and curse him until she choked on her own blood.
He sighed and kicked her
unresponsive flesh. He had expected this to happen. Or at least,
he'd anticipated the possibility. The hatred he felt for her had
robbed him of reason. He'd been amazed he'd been able to get her
to follow him, that he hadn't murdered her on sight. The warning
shot he'd fired had very nearly been a killing shot.
She's dead. Get
over it already. I've waited for this for three years. She
is dead by my hands! Isn't that enough? He shook his head.
It wasn't. The pain
she had caused, the emotions she'd made him feel. It was unforgivable.
And yet he was courting disaster again. The blue-haired female was
almost healed. Why did he bother? He could stay here if he
wanted. If she never returned home the Earth "fighters" couldn't
do shit about it.
Why had he been so… so
angry to see her hurt? No. angry wasn't the word. He'd been
infuriated. Why? It was completely inappropriate. She
was nothing but his pilot. He shook his head. He could lie
to himself, but he couldn't make himself believe it.
He incinerated Kila's
body, watching as her pale skin and fine, ebony hair burned.
TBC
Chapter 7
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