Prophecy- Thanks for the review. He was banished because they think he killed his father, though he didn't. His brother did, and framed him for it. Thanks!

DBZ-fan-JESS- The B/V will grow over time, of course. You know how I am! ;-) As for Akira's love interest. He'll come in later! Another couple chapters! It starts with an 'A', if that helps. Thanks for the review!

Vegeta's First Fan- Hey! Thanks for reviewing! Here's that next chapter!

PrettyStupid Gurl- Needy with the updates, huh! Haha Thanks for reviewing!

Dark Storm - Thank you very much! I'm still working on 'A Better Life'. I should have the next chapter out soon. It's half done. I'll list the pairings at the end of the chapter for you! Thanks again and enjoy!

Kataan- Thanks! Glad you like it so far. I love the name Indara, too! Thanks!

Zicke- Thank you so much for the review! I appreciate it a lot! Enjoy!

KarineD- Thank you for the review! Enjoy the new chapter!

Shades of Crimson- Aw! Shucks! Thanks as always! This chapter is kind of a filler. I'm still getting people into the plot, of course, so it's just some more background information (as you can see by the title) Yeah, so! Thanks! (hugs) great hearing from you! I hope you enjoy this new chapter. ;-)

Chapter 3: Background Information

Being stuck on a ship with a bunch of warriors was more boring than Bulma thought it would be. All they did was train, eat, and sleep! It was annoying. She wasn't sure when the last time she'd had a decent conversation was. She was still avoiding Akira, though she wanted desperately to make up with her only friend in the universe. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she wasn't paying the least bit of attention to her surroundings. So it wasn't surprising when she ran into a wall! Well, not a wall—a person! The young princess glanced up quickly, meeting coal black eyes head on.

"I-I'm sorry," she stuttered.

Vegeta glared down at her. "Try watching where you're going, girl," he grumbled, stepping around her and continuing on his way to his usual destination—the onboard gravity rooms! He hated having a woman on his ship, especially one so naïve. Curious and bored, Bulma decided to follow him.

"Why do you train all the time?" She inquired.

"So I don't have to put up with annoying girls like you all day," he shot back.

Bulma laughed. "Oh please! Why would women flock around an arrogant jerk like you? You're nothing special anymore. Just a drifter who's working his way from one rock to the next by taking smuggling jobs from dirty little crime bosses."

Vegeta stopped, causing her to almost collide with his back this time because she was following him so closely. He half turned to acknowledge her, and she took a step back after noticing the strangely sarcastic smirk on his face. He chuckled, leaning his back against the wall for support and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What the hell is so funny?" Bulma demanded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him.

"Is that really what you think the universe is like?" He ceased laughing, but the smirk was still gracing his handsome features. He shook his head slowly. "You've got a lot to learn, little one," he mocked.

Fire burned in her eyes. "My name is Princess Bulma, not 'little one' or 'girl'!"

"Funny. I don't see a princess anywhere." He jokingly glanced around.

"Why you," she muttered through gritting teeth and clenched her fists at her sides. She wanted to punch him in the face so badly, but that wouldn't be very ladylike. Besides, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her lose control of her temper. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself and decided to change the subject. "What exactly happened with your father and your brother?" She asked calmly.

Vegeta stared at her dumbly for a moment. Where'd that come from? He wondered. Without thinking, he started to respond. "My brother framed me for my father's murder."

Bulma could tell he wasn't lying, though a part of her was still scared of him and stuck back in that cave where he had so cruelly tormented her days ago. His sincerity made her feel bad for asking in the first place. She lowered her eyes and frowned.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine."

"That's right," he growled, suddenly, cutting her off. What had he been thinking even talking to her about it! "You can't, so don't give me any of your shit, girl, and mind your own damn business from now on!"

Bulma watched him turn on his heels sharply and stomp toward one of the empty gravity rooms. Was he always like this? She sighed and walked down the hall in the opposite direction. She was desperate for something to keep her mind off what Akira had said to her about her father. Would the Cold's really kill him? He was a foreign king. Surely, they couldn't legally get away with that, she tried to reason with herself. A loud burst of laughter came from ahead where the lounge was. She was definitely not expecting to hear that on a ship full of Saiyans. She crept toward the corner and peeked around it.

There, at a large, oval shaped table, sat the entire crew—minus Akira and Vegeta. They were laughing, smiling, yelling teasing comments at each other—all things Bulma had thought Saiyans didn't do. Everyone in the universe knew that Saiyans were ruthless and powerful. They showed no emotions. Even though Bulma had lived with Akira as her bodyguard for the past five years, it was hard to see a true Saiyan acting unlike the stereotype.

"They're great guys."

Bulma yelped and nearly jumped ten feet into the air. "Akira!"

The silver haired woman smiled and shook her head. She walked past her to join the crew in their card game, leaving Bulma by herself.

(Change scene)

"Mercessei," Turlis spoke up, jarring Vegeta out of his daze.

The ex-prince looked up at him. "Yes, I know. What about it?"

Goku gave him a serious look, but his eyes were expectant. "There was a good paying job for us there, remember?"

Vegeta was getting irritated. "I remember, Kakkarot. What the hell is your point?" He knew why they wanted to stop there.

Turlis decided to jump back in before his twin was pushed into an escape pod and deserted on the nearest planet by Vegeta. "The supplies are dwindling. If we're going to make it to Vegetasei, we need to stop and refuel at the spaceport," he reasoned. After twenty odd years, he knew that logic and reason were the best way to get through to Vegeta.

"Fine," Vegeta shot back. He turned his chair to the left and glanced up at the navigation screen in front of him. "We'll be there in two days, and don't think I don't know why you really want to go there!"

Goku grinned over at his twin and stood up. Turlis nodded to Vegeta and pushed his brother out the door. Vegeta rolled his eyes as he heard Kakkarot's cheery, excited voice echo through the room.

"Mercessei has the best food this side of the universe! I can't wait!"

(Change scene)

Brolly flew backwards and collided roughly with the training room wall. He blinked several times, letting his body slide to the floor completely and just laying there in pain. On the opposite side of the room, Nappa stumbled over to his sparing partner and slumped down into a sitting position next to him. They sat in silence for several minutes, catching their breath after a long, hard workout.

"You're getting better," Nappa commented, still panting lightly.

Brolly finally sat up into a more comfortable position. "How can you tell?" He glared at the floor. Nappa was always going to be stronger than him.

The older man rolled his eyes. "You don't fly through the air quite as quickly as you use to after I punch you in the face," he joked.

"Thanks," Brolly laughed, accepting the humor his older brother was trying to bring into the situation. He leaned back, supporting himself by planting his palms flat on the floor behind him. "Do you think it's changed a lot?"

Nappa knew without asking what his sibling was referring to—Vegetasei. He sighed. "Hard to say. Depends on who's still in the council. If Mycal is still there, then he wouldn't have let things get too bad."

"Do you think Vegeta will really be allowed back even after all this? The people think he killed his father. I don't see them forgetting that, not even temporarily."

"He's going to have a hard time convincing them," Nappa agreed. "But if anyone can, it'd be Vegeta."

"Yeah, but even with all of us voluntarily going into exile with him, it didn't sway them. We lost both our fucking parents in that ambush. Are they really that stupid to think we'd willingly abandon the empire to follow our parent's supposed killer?"

"Rall had smart allies. They made us all out to be patricidal lunatics."

Brolly stood up and dusted himself off. He hated talking about Rall. "Bah! Enough of this," he muttered. "Where's everyone else at?"

Following suit, Nappa dragged himself to his feet and yawned. "Last I saw Vegeta, he was in the cockpit with Turlis and Kakkarot, and Nor, Radditz, and Akira were down on C-deck."

"Finally fixing our hydraulics, huh?"

Nappa nodded. "Yeah. It'll be nice to land without having our brains slammed against the inside of our skulls for a change."

"What about the princess? Where's she at?"

"Probably annoying Vegeta," Nappa replied, chuckling. Brolly glanced sideways at his brother and joined in.

(Change scene)

"Hand me a wrench," Akira told Radditz, sticking her hand out from under the main engine.

Radditz dug through the toolbox with a frown on his face, making a lot of noise on purpose. "Didn't I just give it to you like a minute ago?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I'm not seeing it in here."

Akira shimmed out and glared up at him. She was covered in grease and oil and dust. Spotting the tool she needed next to her brother's foot, she grabbed it and waved it in front of his face. "Well, look here! What a surprise!"

He grinned mischievously. "I missed picking my little sister," he fake sobbed, wiping an imaginary tear from his cheek.

Akira fought the urge to throw the wrench at his head and crawled back under the engine. "Stupid ass," she muttered irritably.

Nor came in and sat down next to Radditz. "Why is she doing all the work?" He demanded. As the eldest sibling, he deemed it his responsibility to keep the peace between everyone in the family.

"She kicked me out," Radditz replied, holding up his hands in defense.

"Because he isn't doing anything but getting on my nerves!" Akira yelled.

Nor pushed Radditz over and glared at him. "Get your lazy ass under there and help her out."

"Yes, Vegeta."

"What'd you call me!" Nor shot back.

Akira chuckled. "You do kind of sound like Veg, Bro."

"I'm going to tell him that you think he's a bossy prick next time I see him," Nor warned them both.

"He'd just agree. He takes great pride in being a stubborn ass," Radditz cut in, crawling into position next to Akira. He scowled. "What the hell did you do to the hydraulics system! It's completely torn up!"

"It's torn up because whoever fixed it last time, and I'm guessing it was you, didn't have the slightest clue what the hell they were doing."

Nor pulled a panel off the side of the engine and listened to his brother and sister bicker back and forth with a smile on his face. It'd been a long time since they had seen her, and he had missed her dearly, along with the others. Indara had informed them five years ago that Akira had run away from Vegetasei. Nor was glad to know she had found employment with King Briefs and hadn't had to struggle her way across the universe like they had. She deserved a decent life considering all she had gone through. His smile instantly faded. 'Oh no. How am I going to tell her?' He wondered sadly.

As if she could read his mind, Akira asked, "So, how is everyone back on Vegetasei?"

Radditz slide out from under the engine quickly and stood up next to Nor. They exchanged worried glanced. Akira frowned and managed to crawl out once more. She looked up at them.

"What's wrong?"

Nor squatted down in front of her and looked her straight in the eye. "Mother." He looked down at the floor, catching his reflection in a pool if silvery black oil. He sighed. "She's dead."

Akira glared at him and pushed him backwards onto his butt. "No!" She stood up.

Radditz stepped toward her. "Aunt Ava found her in the temple. It looked like suicide."

"Mother would never kill herself," Akira hissed, tears falling from her eyes.

"Akira."

"I said no! She wouldn't. She still had Mali, Kali, Jayna, and Jarec to look after," she argued, referring to their youngest set of siblings still of their home world. "She wouldn't!"

Nor walked over and pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, letting her cry against his chest. Akira sobbed and grasped at the loose material of his overalls. "Shh," he whispered, resting his chin atop her head. "We know she didn't kill herself, but we can't prove our hunch."

Radditz turned away from them and glared at his clenched fists. When he got his hands on Rall, he was going to kill him slowly and painfully to make up for all the hurt the bastard had caused over the years. He would pay when they got back to Vegetasei.

(Change scene)

Akira unbuttoned her overalls down to her waist and shrugged off the top half, revealing the stained white tank top she had on beneath. She tied the long sleeves around her waist and sighed. Several excruciating hours, a headache, and one more thing to add to her 'why I wish Rall would spontaneously combust' list later, she was tiredly stumbling down the hall to her room. All she wanted to do was clean herself up and get some sleep. Good thing Bulma still wasn't talking to her so she didn't have to put up with mindless chitchat all night.

Just as she reached her door, she noticed Vegeta walking toward her. The ex-prince narrowed his eye slightly, taking in her disheveled appearance and bloodshot eyes. "Get some rest. We land on Mercessei in a few days."

She just nodded and reached for the controls to open the door, but Vegeta grabbed a hold of her wrist before she could follow through. "What's wrong with you?" He demanded.

"I just found out my mother is dead," Akira replied sadly. "I want to go bed."

Vegeta released her arm and stepped aside. "Very well."

Akira glanced over her shoulder at him as he walked down the hallway before opening the door to the room she shared with the princess. The door swooshed back in place as soon as she was in the room, and the young Saiyan woman leaned back against the door, taking in the small, dark room. After a few minutes, her eyes adjusted to the dark, and she could make out all the shapes clearly.

Walking toward the dresser, she grabbed the loose fitting black pants and fresh white tank top that she had left there earlier that day. She went into the bathroom and then emerged a little while later feeling better now that she was clean. Yawning, Akira climbed into the bottom bunk and lay down. 'What a day,' she thought, suddenly unable to sleep.

"Akira?"

The silver haired Saiyan frowned up at the underneath of the bunk above her. "What?"

"I'm sorry about your mother," Bulma whispered. "I heard you and Vegeta when you were outside in the hall."

"This eavesdropping thing is starting to get out of control, you know," Akira shot back, irritably. She really, really wasn't in the mood to talk about this right now. She just wanted some sleep! Sighing, she pinched the bridge of her nose. She still felt guilty for the things she had said to the princess the other day, though. "Look. I didn't mean to be such a bitch the other day."

Bulma stared up at the ceiling through stinging eyes. "Do you really think they'd kill my father?" She whispered fearfully.

Akira closed her eyes for a couple seconds and let out a ragged breath. "I want to lie to you and say they won't," she responded softly. "But I think it's best you know that there's a very slim chance your father is still alive."

"Why?" Bulma sobbed, clutching her pillow tightly to her chest.

"The Colds are ruthless bastards. They'll stop at nothing to get their hands on us so we can't warn Vegetasei against their attack, and because you need to figure out a way to deal with it now. I have a feeling that we've got a long journey ahead of us, and it won't do any of us any good if you continue to wonder about it. I know enough about you to know, that you'd be a wreck."

The princess shifted onto her side, curling into a fetal position. "It's all my fault, then. If I had just stayed in my room," she cried.

"Then an entire empire would be wiped out in a matter of months with no warning."

"Assuming that we even get onto the planet to warn anyone," Bulma shot back. "They're not going to let Vegeta just land."

"We have to try. You don't understand the way things are on Vegetasei. Rall is a bastard, and he doesn't deserve the throne. Vegeta's been through hell. He deserves to get his rightful place back, and this could help him."

"So you're going to allow him to use me?"

Akira rolled her eyes. "You're a princess. You should be use to the idea of being used for political gain. There's no point in fighting it. Oh, wait. You're father promised to let you marry for love," Akira stated sarcastically. "So you have no idea what I'm talking about."

"I know what you meant! I'm not an idiot, Akira, and I think that any woman in my class should have the freedom to choose."

"You're still so naïve," Akira chuckled. "You were born into the ruling class. You have a duty to fulfill to your people, and that means that you don't get to choose so freely."

"What makes you such an expert on this subject? You're just an elite class Saiyan warrior."

Akira frowned, grateful the other woman couldn't see her. "You're right, of course. That's all I am, but it doesn't mean that I don't understand the struggles involved for a woman of your stature." She laughed humorlessly. "I probably understand them better than you."

Bulma lay backed down. "How?"

"I was friends with Vegeta's sister, Princess Indara. I saw what she went through on a daily basis," she lied smoothly.

"What's she like?"

"Indy?" Akira smiled fondly, thinking of her old, dear friend. "She's a very kindhearted person, but like most of us Saiyans, she has quick temper. You'd probably like her."

"What about this Rall guy? What exactly happened there?"

"He had his father killed and his brother framed and banished for the act, all so he could sit on the throne. What else is there to say?" Akira asked, not really wanting an answer. She was getting sick on the questions, mainly because she hated talking about Rall and his foul deeds. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Bulma sighed. "Okay."

"I'm sorry."

Bulma smiled softly. "I know. Good night."

(Change scene)

Akira awoke in the middle of the night to her ward shouting and crying. She shot out of bed and turned on a light. Bulma was shifting restlessly on the top bunk. It was obvious she was in the middle of a bad dream. Akira reached up and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Bulma? Bulma, wake up!" She said, shaking the girl this time.

The blue haired girl just continued to cry and struggle in her sleep. Akira groaned. "I just wanted to get some rest tonight," she muttered, grabbing her pillow and sheet off the bottom bunk and heading for the door. "But it's just not going to happen," she told herself as she stormed out the door.

In Bulma's dream, the visions were terrifying. She stood on a barren stretch of desert, watching her planet burn around her. The flames were so high, and the smoke was so thick it felt like she was choking. The princess fell to her knees and dug her fingers into the sand.

"No!" She shouted. "It's all my fault," whispered. When she looked up, she saw two figures coming toward her, their appearances distorted by the heat cast off from the fires, but she knew who they were. Cooler and Freeza! They were almost upon her, and she felt genuine fear. Where was she going to go? There was no one left alive on Earth to save her. They were going to kill her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Just before she felt the darkness creeping around her mind, she saw someone step in front of her, but it was too late. She succumbed to the dark before she could see who it was.

(End chapter)

Yet another chapter completed! I can't wait until they get to Mercessei! It's going to be so much fun! Yeah! Oh, sorry… haha. Yeah. So! Don' forget to review! ;-)

Next time: We see a bit more of Bulma's dreams. They land on Mercesei! Yeah! Nor has a little talk with Vegeta about Bulma and Akira. Some of group gets into a little trouble with the locals, and we'll take a trip to Vegetasei again! ;-)

Pairing:

Bulma and Vegeta

Indara and Turlis

Mara and Nor

Chichi and Goku

Juuhachigou and Krillin

Tien and Launch

Akira and Arthos

There may be more later. I'm not sure yet!

PANDORA ;-)