A/N Thanks for your reviews. Thanks Melina for beta-ing this. Girl, you're
fast! Read and review, and Merry Christmas!!
Ruthless
Chapter 2: First Meeting
"This way, please!" Bulma heard the eagerness in her father's voice as he led an unknown number of people further into the lab. Bulma felt herself becoming angry and frustrated once more, at remembering the amount of ignorance and blindness her father and his friends had displayed.
Just why couldn't they see the Saiyans were using them? What did they exactly expect to get from this treaty? They could have been fine on their own... They could have kept Frieza at a safe distance, and then they could continue on with colonizing the solar system they had chosen.
However, fear did funny things with people's minds...
Suddenly, a loud noise of something metal hitting metal echoed through the lab, followed by a string of curses.
"Damn it all! The whole place is littered with junk!! Useless junk!! What the hell are we doing here? Whoever creates such a mess could hardly be of any intelligence!"
"Shut up, Nappa!" Came a short reprimand. But it was followed by a sneer: "Although you're probably right, lets just wait and see if there's a purpose to this little excursion."
Bulma rolled her eyes at Gohan, who giggled silently. Krillin however, was looking worriedly in the direction of the approaching voices. He had a bad feeling in his stomach.
They could see the party of Saiyans and humans making its way to them. Bulma could see her father, walking next to some other members of the Senate for New Earth. Her father was the Head of the Senate, and had been since all surviving races of Earth had gathered, and decided to forget all what was in the past. They had established the Senate for New Earth, SNE for short, and every former nation's people had pushed one or two capable persons forward to join the SNE. Since her father had been the one who had made the large scale escape from Earth possible, he had been chosen as the Head.
Now the Head of the Senate for New Earth was making a fool of himself in the eyes of his daughter. Bulma couldn't say he was groveling, no, her father didn't know *how* to do such a thing, but he was acting nothing like her father. She could see his enthusiastic gestures while he talked to two nearly identical Saiyans who were walking beside him. The only differences between the two Saiyans was that one wore a goatee and was a bit larger than his companion. Father and son, Bulma knew. King and Prince Vegeta.
Krillin whistled behind her. "Wow. Some of them are... huge! I always thought Goku was something, but seeing them... damn."
"Language, Krillin." Was Bulma thoughtless reply as she continued studying the Saiyans until they disappeared behind a particular large Capsule Fighter. She turned to Krillin, who was looking very anxious at her.
"Their power levels... they're... Gods... What have we gotten ourselves into... There's no way we could win any fight with them... It's hopeless..."
A low chuckle. "You better remember that in the future." Bulma and Krillin both whirled around, coming face to face with the Saiyan Prince. How he gotten from her father's tour group to them so quickly, without her, or worse so, Krillin, hearing or noticing anything made her even more aware that these new 'allies' of there's were far out of their league.
"So," the Saiyan Prince drawled haughtily, while he was looking her up and down, "I take it you're the daughter of Dr. Briefs?"
His eyes had a condescending look in them, and Bulma suddenly realized what kind of impression she was making. Her hands were still spotted with grease, and some of it had probably made it's way to her face. She never knew how, but it just did. She wore a baggy dirt-stained overall, and her hair and forehead were hidden by the large CC-cap she wore. Very practical to keep the hair out of her face. All and all, she looked like a simple maintenance mechanic. Bulma shrugged unconsciously; she didn't care for appearance much. These were the best clothes to work in.
"Yeah," she answered curtly, and looked challengingly at him. "And you are...?" They both knew she knew exactly *who* he was, and her blatant disregard for the authority he sent out irritated him.
"I am your Prince!" He sneered at her.
"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows at him, mocking him. "Last time I checked, we lived in a republic... I think that's the best way to call it," she added as a afterthought. "So, I don't know what you are thinking but you surely aren't my Prince, or anything else for that matter."
"Is that right?" The Prince asked coldly, and fixed her with an even colder stare. Bulma felt apprehension wash over her, but didn't show anything of it on her face. She carefully changed her face into a calm composed expression, like she didn't care she was on the verge of a real vocal fight with one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
"Yup," she answered defiantly. "I could say you are my ally, but I'm not too sure if that's the truth."
"My, my, don't you think we are... trustworthy?" He smirked when he saw the clear distrust on their faces.
"That's not the right outlook on us, or on our treaty... I must say I feel hurt." His mocking tone told them he felt far from that.
"Hmm. Now, girl..." he let his eyes glide around the assembled material around him, a conceited look on his arrogant face, "your father has said that you've done quite some useful work, but when I look at this mess you call a lab... I think it was nothing more than paternal prejudice, or perhaps blindness. I can see nothing of any value lying around here."
"Maybe because the finished products are brought to the factories, so they can be produced on a large scale." Her voice was low, barely hiding the anger she felt due to his undeserved insults.
"Sure." He shrugged. "If you say so. I don't really care. After all, it appears to be that your father is happy enough to provide us with all the technology we want. Most of it comes from his hand, I heard."
Bulma opened her mouth to correct him on that, but decided against it. He probably wouldn't believe her, and if he and his people were thinking she was just about useless, they wouldn't really try to keep an eye on her, or on her work. And that suited Bulma just fine. Let them think she was just another useless female. Bulma knew the place of the Saiyan females in their society, and it wasn't much, certainly not compared to human society. A few groups aside, most men considered women to be their equal. The Prince could go bother someone else with his chauvinistic ideas.
"So... If my father has everything you need, why are you still bothering us? Why did you even go to the trouble of visiting this 'mess'?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Careful, human, do keep in mind who you're talking to. And I don't think your father would like his daughter seeking a fight with his esteemed guest and ally." He smirked at her poorly concealed anger. He looked on with a perverted pleasure as a myriad of emotions showed on her face, from rage to indignation to resignation. The short man, which he had noticed but hadn't paid any attention too, stepped towards her, to place a calming hand on her shoulder.
"How touching, you humans are. Such pathetic emotions." Disdain was plainly recognizable on his face as he looked at the scene before him. He smirked at the angered look he received from the boy at her side.
"Your Highness, there you are!" Vegeta threw a glance over his shoulder to see the remaining members of the little group heading toward him. He shared a look with his father, and rolled his eyes. His father smirked back.
"Ah, I see you've found my daughter! Well, this is Bulma, and these are her friends, Krillin and Gohan. Krillin is one of the members of the Special Forces; he's the strongest, after Son Goku, and..." Bulma hid her irritation as she listened to her father's words. He was telling them everything! What happened to the cautious, thoughtful person she knew so well? He could just as well tell them the secret launching codes of the nuclear weapons, or the coordinates of their new planet!
"You can't compare this human to that Saiyan, however fucked up in the head he is. That Saiyan is a disgrace to our race. Hit his head, ha!" A very large, bald Saiyan barked at Dr. Briefs and the other members of the Senate. Who all took a step back.
"Well," tried Dr. Briefs, rubbing his glasses, to avoid looking the Saiyan into the eyes, "I don't know if it's fair to judge him since you only met him yesterday... He is looking forward to train with you, and learn more about his heritage and..."
"Bulma?" Gohan asked softly. Bulma looked down at Gohan, who looked rather worried. "I didn't know my dad had met them... Mom will be furious when she'll hear it."
"I guess she already knows, knowing your mother. What do you say, wanna grab some food with us later? I can make a good excuse to your mother."
"Yes, please. And she'll be probably too busy yelling at dad to deal with dinner, so..." Gohan shrugged, a gesture that made Bulma sigh. Sometimes she wanted to kick their butts!
"I don't see anything of interest lying around here... I presume there are some other things more... suitable to show us, my dear Doctor?" Suddenly, the King's voice cut through the babbling of her dad, and he blinked once. Twice.
"Err, of course, but my daughter here, although she looks a bit, ah, disorganized, has quite some things to show you, or maybe she can-"
"I think we've seen enough." The Prince snapped arrogantly at him. Dr. Briefs once more took his glasses and started to rub them, a clear sign of his unease.
"There's nothing but useless pieces of junk lying around here. It's a wonder you daughter hasn't tripped over something and broken her pathetic neck."
Bulma suppressed her anger. She narrowed her eyes at the haughty Saiyans. It was much better if she saw the least of them. Otherwise, people would get hurt. And she would not be among them.
"Dad,... go. After all, who am I to contradict their... judgment? And who says they are wrong? We couldn't possibly imagine our *esteemed guests* to be wrong, now can we?" The sarcasm was thick, and she smirked at the growling Prince as she threw his words back in his face.
"Ah, but Bulma, why don't you tell us about your gravit-"
"I've already given you the details and the drawings. Already, twenty of them are finished, ready to be used. But that doesn't matter now. I guess *they* are your responsibilities now. You wanted them, not I."
Dr. Briefs knew she was referring to the Saiyans, and not to her invention, and decided to leave his daughter alone for the moment. In this mood, she was unable to talk with. Oh well, he could show them their factories, couldn't he?
"Now, gentlemen, if you just follow me, I'll show you..."
They looked as the group slowly disappeared out of their sight.
"Guys, I'm hungry, and I'm not about letting them ruin my appetite. What about you?"
"We're right behind you!" Krillin gave Bulma an encouraging smile.
"Yeah! Let's eat! And quickly, because if they eat as much as my dad..."
"You're right, Gohan!" Krillin chuckled. "Let's eat, before it's gone!"
The three of them left the spacious lab, and headed towards the mess halls, trying not to think about the encounter with their new allies.
****
That's it, for now! Merry Christmas.
Ruthless
Chapter 2: First Meeting
"This way, please!" Bulma heard the eagerness in her father's voice as he led an unknown number of people further into the lab. Bulma felt herself becoming angry and frustrated once more, at remembering the amount of ignorance and blindness her father and his friends had displayed.
Just why couldn't they see the Saiyans were using them? What did they exactly expect to get from this treaty? They could have been fine on their own... They could have kept Frieza at a safe distance, and then they could continue on with colonizing the solar system they had chosen.
However, fear did funny things with people's minds...
Suddenly, a loud noise of something metal hitting metal echoed through the lab, followed by a string of curses.
"Damn it all! The whole place is littered with junk!! Useless junk!! What the hell are we doing here? Whoever creates such a mess could hardly be of any intelligence!"
"Shut up, Nappa!" Came a short reprimand. But it was followed by a sneer: "Although you're probably right, lets just wait and see if there's a purpose to this little excursion."
Bulma rolled her eyes at Gohan, who giggled silently. Krillin however, was looking worriedly in the direction of the approaching voices. He had a bad feeling in his stomach.
They could see the party of Saiyans and humans making its way to them. Bulma could see her father, walking next to some other members of the Senate for New Earth. Her father was the Head of the Senate, and had been since all surviving races of Earth had gathered, and decided to forget all what was in the past. They had established the Senate for New Earth, SNE for short, and every former nation's people had pushed one or two capable persons forward to join the SNE. Since her father had been the one who had made the large scale escape from Earth possible, he had been chosen as the Head.
Now the Head of the Senate for New Earth was making a fool of himself in the eyes of his daughter. Bulma couldn't say he was groveling, no, her father didn't know *how* to do such a thing, but he was acting nothing like her father. She could see his enthusiastic gestures while he talked to two nearly identical Saiyans who were walking beside him. The only differences between the two Saiyans was that one wore a goatee and was a bit larger than his companion. Father and son, Bulma knew. King and Prince Vegeta.
Krillin whistled behind her. "Wow. Some of them are... huge! I always thought Goku was something, but seeing them... damn."
"Language, Krillin." Was Bulma thoughtless reply as she continued studying the Saiyans until they disappeared behind a particular large Capsule Fighter. She turned to Krillin, who was looking very anxious at her.
"Their power levels... they're... Gods... What have we gotten ourselves into... There's no way we could win any fight with them... It's hopeless..."
A low chuckle. "You better remember that in the future." Bulma and Krillin both whirled around, coming face to face with the Saiyan Prince. How he gotten from her father's tour group to them so quickly, without her, or worse so, Krillin, hearing or noticing anything made her even more aware that these new 'allies' of there's were far out of their league.
"So," the Saiyan Prince drawled haughtily, while he was looking her up and down, "I take it you're the daughter of Dr. Briefs?"
His eyes had a condescending look in them, and Bulma suddenly realized what kind of impression she was making. Her hands were still spotted with grease, and some of it had probably made it's way to her face. She never knew how, but it just did. She wore a baggy dirt-stained overall, and her hair and forehead were hidden by the large CC-cap she wore. Very practical to keep the hair out of her face. All and all, she looked like a simple maintenance mechanic. Bulma shrugged unconsciously; she didn't care for appearance much. These were the best clothes to work in.
"Yeah," she answered curtly, and looked challengingly at him. "And you are...?" They both knew she knew exactly *who* he was, and her blatant disregard for the authority he sent out irritated him.
"I am your Prince!" He sneered at her.
"Excuse me?" She raised her eyebrows at him, mocking him. "Last time I checked, we lived in a republic... I think that's the best way to call it," she added as a afterthought. "So, I don't know what you are thinking but you surely aren't my Prince, or anything else for that matter."
"Is that right?" The Prince asked coldly, and fixed her with an even colder stare. Bulma felt apprehension wash over her, but didn't show anything of it on her face. She carefully changed her face into a calm composed expression, like she didn't care she was on the verge of a real vocal fight with one of the most powerful beings in the universe.
"Yup," she answered defiantly. "I could say you are my ally, but I'm not too sure if that's the truth."
"My, my, don't you think we are... trustworthy?" He smirked when he saw the clear distrust on their faces.
"That's not the right outlook on us, or on our treaty... I must say I feel hurt." His mocking tone told them he felt far from that.
"Hmm. Now, girl..." he let his eyes glide around the assembled material around him, a conceited look on his arrogant face, "your father has said that you've done quite some useful work, but when I look at this mess you call a lab... I think it was nothing more than paternal prejudice, or perhaps blindness. I can see nothing of any value lying around here."
"Maybe because the finished products are brought to the factories, so they can be produced on a large scale." Her voice was low, barely hiding the anger she felt due to his undeserved insults.
"Sure." He shrugged. "If you say so. I don't really care. After all, it appears to be that your father is happy enough to provide us with all the technology we want. Most of it comes from his hand, I heard."
Bulma opened her mouth to correct him on that, but decided against it. He probably wouldn't believe her, and if he and his people were thinking she was just about useless, they wouldn't really try to keep an eye on her, or on her work. And that suited Bulma just fine. Let them think she was just another useless female. Bulma knew the place of the Saiyan females in their society, and it wasn't much, certainly not compared to human society. A few groups aside, most men considered women to be their equal. The Prince could go bother someone else with his chauvinistic ideas.
"So... If my father has everything you need, why are you still bothering us? Why did you even go to the trouble of visiting this 'mess'?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. "Careful, human, do keep in mind who you're talking to. And I don't think your father would like his daughter seeking a fight with his esteemed guest and ally." He smirked at her poorly concealed anger. He looked on with a perverted pleasure as a myriad of emotions showed on her face, from rage to indignation to resignation. The short man, which he had noticed but hadn't paid any attention too, stepped towards her, to place a calming hand on her shoulder.
"How touching, you humans are. Such pathetic emotions." Disdain was plainly recognizable on his face as he looked at the scene before him. He smirked at the angered look he received from the boy at her side.
"Your Highness, there you are!" Vegeta threw a glance over his shoulder to see the remaining members of the little group heading toward him. He shared a look with his father, and rolled his eyes. His father smirked back.
"Ah, I see you've found my daughter! Well, this is Bulma, and these are her friends, Krillin and Gohan. Krillin is one of the members of the Special Forces; he's the strongest, after Son Goku, and..." Bulma hid her irritation as she listened to her father's words. He was telling them everything! What happened to the cautious, thoughtful person she knew so well? He could just as well tell them the secret launching codes of the nuclear weapons, or the coordinates of their new planet!
"You can't compare this human to that Saiyan, however fucked up in the head he is. That Saiyan is a disgrace to our race. Hit his head, ha!" A very large, bald Saiyan barked at Dr. Briefs and the other members of the Senate. Who all took a step back.
"Well," tried Dr. Briefs, rubbing his glasses, to avoid looking the Saiyan into the eyes, "I don't know if it's fair to judge him since you only met him yesterday... He is looking forward to train with you, and learn more about his heritage and..."
"Bulma?" Gohan asked softly. Bulma looked down at Gohan, who looked rather worried. "I didn't know my dad had met them... Mom will be furious when she'll hear it."
"I guess she already knows, knowing your mother. What do you say, wanna grab some food with us later? I can make a good excuse to your mother."
"Yes, please. And she'll be probably too busy yelling at dad to deal with dinner, so..." Gohan shrugged, a gesture that made Bulma sigh. Sometimes she wanted to kick their butts!
"I don't see anything of interest lying around here... I presume there are some other things more... suitable to show us, my dear Doctor?" Suddenly, the King's voice cut through the babbling of her dad, and he blinked once. Twice.
"Err, of course, but my daughter here, although she looks a bit, ah, disorganized, has quite some things to show you, or maybe she can-"
"I think we've seen enough." The Prince snapped arrogantly at him. Dr. Briefs once more took his glasses and started to rub them, a clear sign of his unease.
"There's nothing but useless pieces of junk lying around here. It's a wonder you daughter hasn't tripped over something and broken her pathetic neck."
Bulma suppressed her anger. She narrowed her eyes at the haughty Saiyans. It was much better if she saw the least of them. Otherwise, people would get hurt. And she would not be among them.
"Dad,... go. After all, who am I to contradict their... judgment? And who says they are wrong? We couldn't possibly imagine our *esteemed guests* to be wrong, now can we?" The sarcasm was thick, and she smirked at the growling Prince as she threw his words back in his face.
"Ah, but Bulma, why don't you tell us about your gravit-"
"I've already given you the details and the drawings. Already, twenty of them are finished, ready to be used. But that doesn't matter now. I guess *they* are your responsibilities now. You wanted them, not I."
Dr. Briefs knew she was referring to the Saiyans, and not to her invention, and decided to leave his daughter alone for the moment. In this mood, she was unable to talk with. Oh well, he could show them their factories, couldn't he?
"Now, gentlemen, if you just follow me, I'll show you..."
They looked as the group slowly disappeared out of their sight.
"Guys, I'm hungry, and I'm not about letting them ruin my appetite. What about you?"
"We're right behind you!" Krillin gave Bulma an encouraging smile.
"Yeah! Let's eat! And quickly, because if they eat as much as my dad..."
"You're right, Gohan!" Krillin chuckled. "Let's eat, before it's gone!"
The three of them left the spacious lab, and headed towards the mess halls, trying not to think about the encounter with their new allies.
****
That's it, for now! Merry Christmas.