By: Kichi
DISCLAIMER: Akira Toriyama created DBZ
and I just found out that he was too shy to have romance in DBZ and he
thinks FanFic authors do better!! So NYEAH!!!!!!!
Chapter 11 - Escape
Bulma felt the blade part skin and she could feel her eyes filling with moisture. Her throat was about to be sliced, it all depended on Vegeta's next move. The two pair of clawed hands gripped her tighter and she couldn't hold back the small squeak of pain.
Vegeta let the last
soldier drop to the ground and he turned to regard the trio before him.
Bulma's eyes were wide and glimmering with tears. He saw a tiny drop
of blood trailing down her neck.
"Surrender Saiyan,
or this girl will die!" the King roared. He saw Bulma stiffen in
his grasp. Her eyes grew cold and he knew somehow that she was doing
everything in her power to not show her fear.
"Let her go and I won't
destroy this entire planet." Vegeta replied with a mocking smile.
"You wouldn't dare!"
the guard barked. Vegeta began to laugh, harsh and contemptuously.
His sardonic smile grew into a grin.
"I dare anything."
He said and in a blur he vanished. Bulma felt the blade press closer
and she wanted to scream but the blade was choking her. Then she felt the
blade slowly pull away. The hands released her and she stumbled forward
gasping for breath.
She heard a scream
cut off behind her and spun around to see the King in Vegeta's grasp.
His head snapped back and forth as Vegeta shook him in fury.
But the King was obviously no longer alive and Vegeta suddenly released
it. They locked eyes and stared for long moments. The court
yard was silent but she could hear shouts from natives in the streets.
Vegeta took a step
forward and his knees buckled. He sank to the dirt without a protest
and Bulma realized that all his strength must have been drained in the
fight.
"Shit." She hissed
as she knelt down next to him. "Are you all right?" He took several
long, deep breaths before responding.
"Yes." He said with
none of his usual bitterness or sarcasm.
"Can you walk?" Bulma
persisted. He looked the same as he had the whole time. But
that wasn't saying much. Lately his usually olive skin was a sort
of pale yellowish tone. She wished she could study the poison that
still had to been in his system. She was no doctor, but she had dabbled
in genetics for fun in her early teens when she'd had time. And she
had always been interested in Biology. Germs fascinated her,
as strange as it sounded. And with the discovery of the healing chamber
Vegeta casually referred to as "The Tank" that interest had renewed.
But she wasn't entirely
familiar with poisons. She knew that spider venom was usually meant
to paralyze its victims. But Vegeta was still moving and conscious
for the most part. Granted his speed and strength had easily been
cut in half if not more so.
Bluntly, he looked
bad. Like he was in the middle of a long illness. His sallow
skin and blood shot eyes were a dead giveaway if you somehow managed to
ignore the fact that he was barely awake.
After a long moment
Vegeta slowly rose and stumbled forward a few steps. Bulma reached
out and caught him by the elbow, wincing when a sudden pain in her shoulder
made her pause. Vegeta stiffened and turned to regard her, stumbled
a step back and froze again. It seemed to Bulma as if
it was all he could do just to remain standing. But he reached up
and pointed to her shoulder and then her elbow.
"I'm fine." Bulma snapped.
"At least, I'm better off than you are. It's a good thing I was paying
attention on our trip here while you were sleeping. We have to get
the ship and get the hell out of here before something else happens."
Vegeta nodded wearily. "But how are we going to get out of here?
We can't go the way we came. And I doubt you can fly, you can barely
stand!" Vegeta straightened a little and directed a glare at her.
"If I hadn't used what
energy I had your head would be lying in the dirt, so don't complain now."
He replied without heat.
"I'm not complaining
about that. I am grateful of course." She snapped coldly, his indifference
making her angry. "We'll have to climb over the wall. We can
see which way to go once we get up there." Vegeta said nothing
but followed her as she walked across the courtyard to the farthest wall.
It was easily twenty
feet tall and the stones were so smooth it would be impossible for her
to find a handhold. The mortar was smooth and almost perfectly even
with the outer edge of the stone. There was nothing to grip.
"Damn it." she cursed.
To the left was a stable hidden behind a large tower. She looked
to the right and saw what looked like stairs! She headed towards
it.
But as she got closer
she thought she had been mistaken. There were stairs at the top but
she saw to her dismay that the stairs started six feet off the ground.
Not only that, but the stair case was only a foot and a half wide.
"What the hell?!" Bulma
cried as they stopped at the base.
"I can get up this.
Then I'll just pull your weak ass up." Vegeta said, eyeing the strange
stair case.
"Shut up, jerk, and
get to it then!" Bulma snapped A sudden loud crash startled them
both and drew their attention to the heavy wooden gate which was suddenly
trembling. The sound of angered cries began to reach them from behind
the high walls.
"What the hell is that?"
"It sounds like a mob.
This is just what we need! Why did you have to kill everyone?
We could have escaped after the trial when you got better but now we have
to do it when we're all fucked up!"
"Trial? What
are you talking about? Why the hell would I sit through some bull
shit trial? I have no reason to defend my actions. And besides,
it's too fucking late now if you haven't noticed, we have no choice but
to get out now. I can fly out of here and probably out of town, but
after that were gonna have to walk so you better know which way to go!"
he snapped imperiously, his old anger coming back full force. His
aura flared and settled to a soft blue glow around him and before Bulma
could say a word she was in his arms and they were over the gate in seconds.
They landed near the edge of the cliff. The forest was mere feet
away. Bulma glanced around to make sure no one was out of city limits
to see them and then grabbed Vegeta, whose legs were about to give out.
His eyes were rolling back in his head.
"No, no!" she cried
slapping him hard across the face. "Vegeta, you have to stay awake
you hear me? I can't drag your carcass through the woods! We'll
be caught again!" He moaned and shook his head fiercely struggling
to stay conscious. They stumbled forward, Bulma tugging Vegeta along
when he wasn't fast enough. She could hear the thick wooden gates
that the villagers beat upon beginning to give and she tried to quicken
their pace. They passed the tree line without being seen but she
knew that they had to keep going at least until they could no longer see
the village. And that could take hours. They had not even come
close to the front gates. It was about a mile away. She cursed
bitterly as they trudged along. She tried to ignore Vegeta's pained
gasps. They had to stop soon. Vegeta was stumbling every few
steps and his skin was bleached like a bone set out in the sun.
The only thing to do
was alter their course and pray that Kami would help her find their way
out. She began to veer to their right, away from the village.
But she still headed south towards the river. If they got lost she
didn't know what they would do. They had no food or water of any
kind. They had to reach the river by nightfall which was a scant
few hours away.
'Don't panic Bulma.
You have to be strong here. Vegeta can barely walk, let alone hunt
incase we need food. Our only choice is to reach the ship tonight.'
She
thought grimly determined. She trudged ever faster almost dragging
Vegeta behind her. She gripped his hand and was almost surprised
when he weakly squeezed her hand in return. A quick glance behind
her let her know that they had walked much faster than she'd thought.
Indeed, she was out of breath and Vegeta was nearly hyperventilating.
"Let's stop." She gasped.
She couldn't see the outer wall anymore. Vegeta slumped to his knees
with a ragged sigh of relief. "Are you all right?" she murmured softly
to Vegeta. He was slumped over, his chin to his chest, his eyes closed.
His breath was coming deep and rapid. She sighed and scooted up behind
him, not caring the least that they sat in a nest of mud, rotted leaves,
and twigs. She leaned back against a fallen tree and gripped Vegeta's
shoulder, gently pulling him back until his full weight was upon her.
"Slow down." She said
softly rubbing his shoulders. "Take a deep breath or your going to
pass out." She felt him relax and his head fell back upon her chest.
His breathing grew easier and Bulma sighed in relief. Vegeta's eyes
closed instantly and she was more than tempted to sleep as well.
But she couldn't! One of them had to stay awake. They couldn't
sit there for long or someone would find them.
She refused to let her eyes close for
a second. Vegeta needed to rest but she would wake him very soon,
and lie about how long he'd slept if it would make him feel better.
She looked at the sky. They still had a few hours of light left.
"Vegeta." she murmured,
shaking him lightly. He jerked in surprise, his eyes snapping open.
"What happened?" he
mumbled sitting up, then groaning as the blood rushed to his head too quickly.
"Come on, we have to
keep going. We have to get to the river soon." He glanced around
and saw that they were in the middle of a vast forest. Bulma stood
attempting to pull him to his feet. He rose a bit unsteadily but
his eyes were clear and some of the color had returned to his face.
"Do you feel any better?" Bulma asked. He gave a quick nod and they
began to make their way towards the river.
Hours had passed.
The river was just ahead and beyond that, the cliff that their ship stood
upon. Bulma stared at the rushing water longingly. Vegeta sat
beside her panting lightly as they peered through the underbrush.
Patrols were going up and down the river bank.
"I'm dying of thirst.
What the hell are we going to do? We can follow the river only so
far before we have to cross. There is only one way up the cliff that
I know of, unless you can fly?" Bulma said, trying not to sound to hopeful.
Vegeta's gaze grew abstract for a moment and then he shook his head.
"I don't have enough
energy." He murmured tiredly.
"Damn! Where
are all my guns when I need them?" Bulma cursed. Then her eyes widened
impossibly. "Kami damn me! I'm so stupid sometimes. Don't
say anything!" she shot at Vegeta who had a surprisingly innocent expression
on his face. She pulled open a side pocket that she had forgotten
and came up empty, but the other pocket held a capsule case that she had
utterly forgotten. She was amazed that she hadn't lost it somewhere.
"I love cargo shorts!"
Bulma sighed. She looked at the labels and squeaked in triumph when
she found the right one.
"What is it?"
Vegeta whispered as a patrol passed them yards away.
"Fire power." Bulma
said with an impish grin. "But we have to do this quick. The
patrols will be drawn here by the sound the capsules make when they open.
So when I open it, grab a gun and start shooting."
"No way, onna!
I don't need a stupid gun. Flying takes up more energy and concentration
than throwing a punch. You need them more than I do."
"Fine." she snapped
and clicked the release, tossing the capsule. The loud 'boom' that
accompanied it caught the attention of several guards. Bulma leapt
from her hiding place followed by Vegeta. She grabbed two automatic
hand guns and stuffed three clips in each pocket. Vegeta dashed out
into the clearing ahead of her and dodged the pack of soldiers and charged
the mounted soldiers.
Bulma dashed into the
clearing firing madly. She hit two soldiers before the rest fled
for their lives, the sound of gunfire alone scaring them witless.
She saw Vegeta climbing on top of one of the huge furred beasts that they
had rode earlier. It stood on its hind legs roaring in challenge
as Vegeta tugged at the reins.
"Vegeta! Get off that
thing! It isn't going to listen to you! We need to get out of here!"
she cried, her guns still raised. She ran down the shoreline in search
of the path that led up the cliff. Vegeta ran up behind her as the
huge beast crashed into the forest bellowing in rage. He carried
three water skins and tossed one to Bulma. They drained all three
in seconds.
"We have to refill
these, we might need them." Bulma gasped.
"Find the path." Vegeta
said and took the skin for her and sunk them under the water watching as
bubbles rushed to the surface.
Bulma ran down the
riverbank searching for the path. It had to be large enough for the
gigantic sloth-like creatures to climb. Suddenly she felt hands grip
her shoulders and she was lifted off her feet and across the river.
Vegeta released her and landed almost tripping over his own feet.
"You have to stop doing
that." She said with a wry smile.
"What? So I can hear
you bitch about your clothes getting wet?"
"Oh please, I'm covered
in mud, it would actually be a good thing." She replied stalking over to
the cliff face and heading west. It was then that Vegeta noticed,
she really was covered in mud. Her shoes were caked in it.
Smears of muck ran up her legs and arms and her cargo shorts were brown
on her ass. He couldn't help but smile. She actually looked..
sexy that way, like an Amazon. He shook his head and followed her
as she searched for the path.
"Here it is!" she cried
half an hour later. Vegeta had begun to suspect that she had gotten
them lost, but apparently she had been paying attention on their way to
the village. A wide, zigzagging path made its way up a narrow split
in the cliff-face. "And if it isn't, who cares? It still goes up!"
she said, excitement obvious in her voice. Vegeta heaved a great
sigh. He was tired beyond belief, but wasn't about to complain.
The sooner they got to the ship, the better.
Bulma hear his tired
sigh and turned to regard him with concern. Before she could even
ask if he was all right, his eyes flashed in anger and he started up the
path without her.
"Hurry up before someone
sees you." He snapped. She followed him without a word.
After about fifteen
minutes of climbing they were forced to stop. Bulma's knees had turned
to jelly and she had suddenly fallen to her knees after tripping on a tiny
rock. Vegeta, who was in no better shape, merely slumped down beside
her with a ragged sigh. Sweat stood on his forehead and his skin
had taken on the chalky tone again. They drank from their water skins
in silence, broken only by their heaving breath.
"This is taking...
a lot longer than I thought it would.." Bulma gasped.
"We weren't walking
before... baka." Vegeta wheezed.
"I know that.. Kisama."
Bulma replied with a weak smile. Vegeta gave her a half-hearted smirk
in return. It was then that she noticed how filthy they both were.
Suddenly she began to laugh. It was a strange sound, more of a wheezing
cough, but it was laughter still. Vegeta's eyebrow rose a fraction
and he nudged her with his elbow.
"Shut up.." he murmured.
Bulma only laughed harder, smacking Vegeta's shoulder. A cloud of
dust rose from when she'd hit him and he smiled. Bulma's laughter
almost died in her throat.
"We look like shit."
She said after she had calmed.
"Speak for yourself,
onna." Vegeta murmured, smiling still. They sat for awhile in silence
and then both rose to their feet to continue up the path. They had
to move slower as the sun sank below the cliff face. The path before
them grew dark and obscure, and it was too narrow to go rushing blindly.
It was almost an hour
later when they finally reached the end of the path. The was a four
foot tall ledge they had to climb up and then they finally reached the
top of the cliff. They collapsed at the edge gasping for air.
Bulma felt her eyelids closing against her will and realized how exhausted
she was. She heard rather than saw Vegeta sit up beside her.
"Bulma, where's the
ship?"
For hours they searched for it walking up and down the side of the cliff, thinking perhaps that they had went up a different path and had somehow missed the original. Bulma was nearly weeping in frustration after an hour of searching. She was exhausted from running through the woods and climbing narrow paths. Her throat was dry as sand, her eyes continually drifted shut. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed by vertigo and as she went to sit down everything went black.
Vegeta was infuriated.
Where the hell was the ship? Those damn natives had taken it or destroyed
it! What the hell would they do? They couldn't stay there.
He refused. He hated this place and wanted nothing more than to destroy
it until it was nothing but glittering space dust. The nerve of these
people, putting them through all this. The venom was still making
his head swim every so often and he needed a few hours of uninterrupted
rest. And so did Bulma. She looked about ready to keel over
any minute. And he was really, really hungry.
He heard a faint whimper
behind him and then a thud. He turned quickly to see Bulma face first
in the dirt. His features immediately softened in concern and he
hurried back to where she lay. He rolled her over and gently slapped
her pale cheeks. Her eyelids fluttered and she moaned softly.
"Damn it." he cursed
and slid his hands under her knees and shoulders, lifting her up and pulling
her close. She didn't stir and her felt worry beginning to gnaw at
his insides. Was she just tired? Or was she getting sick?
Humans were far more susceptible to disease and illness than Saiyans.
He dismissed the thought with a rough shake of his head. What the
hell could they do? He would have to search for their ship, but he
couldn't leave Bulma and he knew he would only get lost if he tried to
find it on foot. They had to rest. It was the only way he would
be able to get enough strength back to fly. And if he couldn't fly
he wouldn't find their ship in a million years. His gaze swept across
the barren plain they stood upon. There were a few clusters of trees
decorating the vast field. He would have to find someplace to conceal
them until sunrise.
He carried Bulma to
a small circle of trees. The ground was covered with soft, dead leaves
and he lay Bulma on the ground and began to clear away fallen branches
and twigs. Bulma did not move or speak the whole time. She
was fast asleep. Vegeta eyed her with envy for a moment, before he
continued to gather leaves and moss, anything to make their 'bed' a little
softer. A chill wind blew through the trees causing several leaves
to rain down on them. Bulma shivered in the cold wind and Vegeta
dropped down next to her, pulling her close. Bulma murmured something
softly and snuggled closer, her cheek laying on Vegeta's chest. He
closed his eyes with a weary sigh, and soon fell asleep.
TBC.....
Chapter 12
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