Leaving Myself Behind

Chapter 3

'How could Frieza ask me to report on my own people? Like I would tell him anything anyway! What a fool!' Bulma's thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking.

Bulma quickly threw the door open to see a servant looking to be about 10, "What do you want?" She demanded in a bored tone.

"Sorry to bother you miss, but the king wishes to speak to you. Please follow me." The small boy said in a frightened little voice. Bulma rolled her eyes, and followed.

They didn't have to walk too far, because her room was next to all of the royalty, and their destination was of course the royal throne room, where the king makes all of his decisions and meetings.

The young boy stopped in front of a pair of double doors that was guarded by two soldiers. The young boy servant spoke quickly in saiyan, "Miss Bulma is here to speak with the king, his request."

The guards nodded and opened the doors. The boy told her to go inside, and she shoved him aside to get through the doors. The room was big, with a long table, in which the king was seated at the very end, with only one other person, his personal secretary, for lack of a better term, and many empty chairs.

"Welcome, I'm afraid we haven't been properly introduced. I am King Vegeta." He held out his hand, and Bulma couldn't help but shake his. 'So this is my king.' Bulma thought.

"Lord Frieza (they both cringed) tells me that your half saiyan. Is that right?" The king asked, and Bulma simply nodded.

"Who were your parents?" He asked curiously.

"Bardock, third class, and a human named Bunny." Bulma responded.

"Oh, your Bardock's child? Are you aware of his other children?" Bulma nodded, wondering why he was making small talk.

"Do you not speak with them?" The king asked, and Bulma's face twisted into anger.

"No sire, I don't, why are you asking such questions about my personal life, did Bardock ask you to get information from me?" Bulma asked, not caring about the look of utter surprise on the king's face.

"No, no, I was just curious. Lord Frieza (the king cringed saying his name) tells me that you are to stay here to watch over us and make sure we're not up to anything-" The king was suddenly cut off.

"Listen, Frieza can kiss my ass. I'm not about to report anything on you, I hate him just as much as you. He thinks I'm his right hand man, but I'm out for revenge. When I become strong enough, I will kill him." Bulma said with her fists clenched at her sides.

The king stood, smirking proudly, "Then you really are a saiyan. I hope you will one day get your revenge, as will I." He shook her hand, and let her leave.

Bulma walked out of the throne room, feeling much better about the situation, and suddenly her feet stopped her from moving as she spotted her sister, Chi-Chi walking with a child in her arms. It's a boy. He looked just like the man Chi-Chi was walking with.

Chi-Chi stopped walking too, when she spotted Bulma, but Bulma simply walked past her not giving her a second thought.

"Chi-Chi I still think you should try talking to her again. Maybe she was just in shock from seeing all of you for the first time and-" he stopped talking, when he noticed the tears in Chi-Chi's eyes. She had been crying all night, because of her encounter with Bulma the previous day.

"Goku, I want you to try talking to her again. No matter what, we will resolve this; I want my big sister back, Goku." Chi-Chi said sniffling. The boy in her arms looked displeased with his mother's crying. "Oh its okay Gohon, mommy's just upset."

"I'll try and talk to her again, but no guarantees Chi." Goku said.

"Thanks Goku, you're the best." Chi-Chi said smiling.

Bulma decided to stop by the science department before she headed back to her room. She noticed how high tech they were, but some items weren't up to date. She started examining a piece of equipment that had been pulled apart it had a note that stated the exact problem of the item. Before she knew it, she was putting it together.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing-" The man speaking stopped dead in his tracks.

Bulma recognized that voice and knew his ki, she looked up to be greeted by Bardock.

"Bulma?" He spoke quietly and looked at what she had completed. "Still as smart as ever I see." He said softly. Bulma didn't say anything, and set down her wrench. "Bulma, I'd really like to talk to you, if that would be okay." Bulma sighed in defeat and nodded.

"Ask whatever you have to ask before I change my mind." Her tone was that of a bored tone, but her usual harshness had softened slightly.

"Well why have you been acting so cold towards us? We're your family, I thought you loved us." He asked looking at her. She cringed at the word "love."

"I have been trained to be void of any emotions such as love (cringe) and all of that other shit. Frieza (cringe) would kill me if I were to grow any sort of attachments of any kind. I am to kill or be killed, and to always stay by Frieza's side, as much as it pains me to do." Bulma explained in a hollow voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that Bulma. I really am, but you must realize that he isn't here. He's not watching you." Bardock looked on at Bulma; he could see there was an internal battle going on inside her head. She was looking down at her shaking hands. Never had he seen her like this. "Bulma are you alright."

"Yes I'm fine." She said quietly, but harshly.

"You're shaking-"He started to grab her hand to comfort her, but she pushed his hand away.

"I'm done here. I need to go." And with that she left, leaving him unable to stop her. He sat there in silence.

"Father are you alright?" Bardock looked up to see 18 standing there with a look of worry.

"I just spoke with Bulma. She, " He paused for a second, "She said that she would be killed if she had attachments."

"You mean like family." 18 said quietly. Bardock nodded. "What else did she say?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing really, but she was shaking, and I could tell she was struggling with her thoughts. I wanted to comfort her, and be the father I was to her, but she pushed me away. I tried telling her that Frieza isn't here, so how would he know, but somehow he probably would know, right? She wouldn't be the same at all." Bardock explained.

"She doesn't look the same. She doesn't have the same happiness, or glow about her. She's stronger, but she's like evil now. I feel horrible. I should have gone in her place-" 18 was cut off by Bardock.

"No, don't you dare say that! I should have gone, but he would have killed you girls too. She was strong and brave for doing what she did, and now look what it has cost her; probably a lifetime worth of pain. I taught her well. Now I want to find out what the hell went on while she was with Frieza. Luckily she was the strongest out of all of us, and she survived. I always thought about her. I know we all did. She's still my oldest daughter, no matter what happened to her, or how she treats us." Bardock said, his hands gripping the counter, causing it dent in the shape of his hands.

18 remained silent, watching her father's face twist in anger and guilt, as she left the room to tell Chi-Chi about what happened.

Bulma, who had listened to the entire conversation, felt 18's ki moving towards the door, so she quickly walked away to her room.

She slammed her door quickly and put a her hand to her chest. It was burning like never before. She felt so much pain it consumed her into crying. She hasn't cried since the time Frieza was beating her and told her that if she cried he would only punish her more, so she had stopped crying, and never cried again.

The pain she felt was too much. She collapsed onto the ground. Her father's words still playing over and over in her mind, she had treated them so badly, and yet they still cared for her, even when she tried so hard to push them out, they were always plaguing her mind. Even when she was with Frieza, she constantly worried about them, wondering how their lives were, or if they even made it to planet Vegetsie. After all that she said to them, they still loved her and it hurt her more than any flesh wound could. She couldn't be with them. She would be killed, and so would they.

She wiped her tears, and stood up, ignoring the pain that made her cringe, she walked to the training facilities to take her mind off of things and to feel a different pain, so something else could distract her.

Bulma was nearing the thousands on her sit ups and grew bored of it. She needed a challenge. She had fought some of the other saiyans, but they all got their asses kicked, and were all pissed off because they got beat by a woman who's only half saiyan.

Little did she know someone had been watching her the whole time. That person tapped her on the shoulder, "I want a challenge, so let's spar!"

TBC………………