I know I usually take the time to personally thank everyone, but I really want to get this chapter out. Sorry! Next time. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Much luv!

Chapter 08: The Only Good Plan, is a Bad Plan

The priestess waved her guards out of the room and plopped down in from of the com screen unceremoniously. Thankfully, Rall's personal henchmen had finally decided to take a little break after trailing her all over the moon colony of Europa. Sighing, she reached forward and pressed the call button. It was surprising what came up in front of her. Ava smiled happily.

"Akira! Darling, what are you doing contacting me?"

Her niece frowned, cutting straight to the point. "Turlis felt Indara's death."

Ava sat up straight, automatically realizing what that meant. "You're with Vegeta? But I thought you were on Earth working for King Briefs."

"I am working for King Briefs. I have his daughter with me. We've just happened to cross paths with Vegeta."

"Something big is going on, I take it."

Akira nodded. "Yes. We're desperate to get back on Vegetasei and meet with the council."

"I figured as much," Ava responded, leaning back in her chair once again. "I knew Vegeta would find some way to get in touch with me, and I've been trying to think of different ways to make this work." She shifted in her seat, averting her eyes from the young woman in front of her. "I don't think anything I've come up with will, but with you in the picture, that opens a whole new door."

(Change scene)

"What exactly are you talking about?" Akira asked suspiciously.

"Is there anyone there to hold you back from destroying the com system?"

Akira laughed slightly. "What do you have planned, Aunt Ava?" She glanced sideways at Vegeta and Nor before refocusing on her aunt.

"I'm really not kidding. You're not going to like what I have to say, but it's the only thing I can think of that will work."

Vegeta moved forward so that he was standing directly behind Akira. Ava could now see him on her screen. "What's this plan of yours?"

"Akira fulfills her the marriage contract between Vegetasei and Gemisei," the priestess quickly stated, knowing things were about to explode, and they did!

The room burst into chaos. The Saiyans immediately started to voice their disapproval as loudly as possible; only Vegeta and Akira remained silent. Bulma and Chichi just sat next to each other, exchanging confused looks. They had no idea what was going on.

"I know that it's an upsetting idea," Ava called out, trying to regain some semblance of order.

"Upsetting?" Radditz growled. "That's the biggest understatement I've ever heard! It's downright ludicrous. I won't allow it."

"I'm not saying she has to actually go through with it," Ava argued.

Nor spoke up this time. "Think of something else."

Vegeta placed his hand on Akira's shoulder and immediately regretted it when he felt her flinch. "We'll find another way," he whispered to her as everyone continued debating behind them, but Ava's plan made sense. He didn't know of any other way they could do this.

Akira shook her head. "There is no other way." She stood up, causing everyone to get very quiet. "I'll go to Gemisei."

Goku shook his head. "No way, sis. Not after."

"I'm going," she cut him off. "It's final."

Everyone watched her as she walked out of the room with Bulma and Chichi close behind her.

(Change scene)

Akira sighed. Two days had passed since they contacted Ava, and Bulma was still moping around because she refused to discuss what was bothering her. The young Saiyan woman draped the strap of her small bag over her shoulder and glanced at her appearance in the mirror. Her gray shirt was ripped in several places, and the long black pants she had on were covered in dirt. She shook her head in disgust. If her mother saw her right now, she'd die all over again!

"And these are some of the least messed up items I have on me," she muttered to herself. Vegeta had given her a couple hundred worth of credits to get new clothes. She couldn't go to her 'future husband' looking like a beggar! There was a soft knock on the door, and she turned around to answer it.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly, and Chichi stepped into the room. "Goku told me you were going into one of the nearby towns. I was hoping you wouldn't mind if I tagged along. I'm getting sick of staring at these metal walls," she joked.

Akira smiled slightly. "You call him Goku."

A soft blush spread across the human woman's face. "Oh, well," she stuttered. "That's what he asked me to call him."

"He hates his real name. Goku is what our mother used to call him." Akira motioned toward the door, and they walked out down the hall together. "Has he told you why?"

Chichi shook her head. "No. He seemed a little upset about it. I didn't want to push the issue."

"He's not upset about that. He's upset about our parents' deaths." They turned right at the end of the hall. "There's a story from ancient Saiyan history about a set of twin brothers named Turlis and Kakkarot. It was a favorite story of my father's so, of course, he named the twins after it."

"Oh? Then why does he hate the name so much?"

"The character he was named after ended up killing his brother and the old man that raised them."

The black haired woman cringed. "No wonder he hates the name. That's horrible!"

"Some think so," Akira agreed, stopping outside the doors to the cargo bay. "But if you ever get a chance to study our history, you might change your mind. Kakkarot went on to become a great warrior and leader of one of the most influential tribes in that time period."

"I guess I'll just have to read about it sometime and figure it out myself."

"Sounds like a plan because I suck at retelling things." Akira reached for the button to open the door. "Let's see if the princess wants to go with us. I'm sure the prospect of a new dress might peak her interest."

(Change scene)

"There has to be a way," she muttered to herself as she paced back and forth. Her thoughts were centered on her father and Earth. That dream she kept having was really bothering her. Was it some kind of premonition? It changed slightly every time she had it. She was scared of the future. Obviously the Cold's knew who overheard their plans, so it was only a matter of time before they did something in retaliation.

'I have to find some way to contact home,' she thought frantically. She needed to know that it was safe! Bulma stopped pacing next to one of the crates and sighed, plopping down on top of it. She was so worried about her father, she couldn't think straight.

Suddenly, she felt something slam against the wooden box she was sitting on. Too shocked to do anything, Bulma just sat there until it started again. Yelping in fright, she fell forward and landed on her hands and knees. The banging continued, louder this time and more forceful. The princess rolled onto her butt and began backing away from the box until her back collided with the metal wall. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

Bulma stared at it for a minute before pulling herself up on wobbly legs. Somehow, she found herself moving toward the crate and reaching shakily toward the latches. Her fingers brushed up against the cold metal. Slowly, she managed to push the heavy lid up all the way. Inside was an oblong, metallic capsule of some kind, and it had a panel with flashing lights. She leaned forward to get a better look at it. There was catch that obviously locked the capsule from being opened, but it was dented slightly.

"What is this thing?" She whispered, reaching down and running a finger over the controls. She'd never seen anything like it before in her life! A loud beep came from it, causing her to jump and accidentally push the button her finger was closest to. Bulma's eyes grew wide as the box started rattling again.

"Oh my god," she gasped. "What'd I do!"

The top of the capsule flew open, and Bulma jumped back again, covering her mouth to hold in the scream. She kept thinking that if whatever was in the box didn't kill her, Vegeta surely would! She watched in horror as a beautiful woman with long, blond hair sat up, gasping for air and gripped the edges of the capsule until her knuckles were white. The strange woman glanced around frantically, as if trying to figure out where she was, and her icy blue eyes landed directly on Bulma. The princess felt her knees go weak as the woman stood up and glared down at her.

"Who are you?"

Bulma swallowed the lump in her throat and opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. The woman was already out of the box and stalking toward her slowly.

"I asked who you are. Answer me! Who are you!" She moved into a defensive stance.

(Change scene)

Akira frowned as she pushed the button to open the door. Something was wrong. She slowly stepped into the room and immediately spotted Bulma cowering in a corner and about to be attacked by some naked blond woman. She turned to Chichi quickly.

"Get the others," she whispered and phased across the room until she was standing safely in between Bulma and this stranger. She glared at the woman, trying to figure out what was going on. Bulma was obviously terrified. "How'd you get onto this ship?" She demanded.

The woman narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I'm the one asking questions here, and I'm still waiting for answers."

"Well, it looks like you're going to be waiting a long time because I'm not telling you anything."

Bulma finally stood up and found her voice again. "She was in one of the crates," she told Akira shakily.

"Please tell me you weren't being curious again?" Akira demanded of Bulma.

"Well, I," Bulma started.

"Enough!" The blond woman yelled. "If you won't tell me who you are, then you leave me no choice." With that said, she lunged forward to attack Akira.

(Change scene)

Radditz tossed Turlis a small dagger. "Here. It should be easy to hide up your sleeve."

"Let's just hope that Gero's men play nice," Nor cut in. "I'm really not in the mood to deal with a bunch of morons who think they can take us on and steal our cut of the money."

Kakkarot flexed his left arm, thankful that it was finally healed completely. "Let's just get this over with. I'm starving."

Everyone chuckled at his comment and continued to pick up their usual weapons. Vegeta was just equipping his favorite knife when Chichi burst into the room and almost knocked him over. She grasped at his arm, panting for air. He glared at her.

"What's your damn problem, woman?" Shaking her hand off his arm.

"Akira," she gasped out. "Cargo bay. Strange woman." She swallowed hard. "Fight!" The men all looked at her for a second and then at each other. Chichi narrowed her eyes. "What are you waiting for?"

They all rushed out of the room, leaving her behind. She leaned back against the wall and breathed heavily. "Why'd the lounge have to be so far away?" She whined, turning toward the door to follow them as quickly as she could.

When the group reached the cargo bay, they were stunned. Whoever this woman was, she was a good fighter, but Vegeta noticed that Akira was holding back. He turned to Radditz.

"Get the princess away from the fighting," he ordered.

Radditz nodded and made his way over to Bulma. He pulled her away from the wall and back over to the safety of the others. Meanwhile, Vegeta and Nor had moved forward to help Akira back the stranger into a corner. Kakkarot gave Bulma a concerned look.

"Are you alright, princess?"

She nodded. "I think so. Just shaken up," she admitted. "Akira came in before she could attack me."

"Who is she?" Brolly asked.

Bulma shook her head. "I don't know. She came out of one of the crates."

Akira blocked all of the woman's hits with her forearms as she backed her into the wall. She didn't want to hurt the woman. She just wanted to subdue her, and now that Vegeta and Nor were at her side, the woman seemed to be losing her will to fight.

The woman slumped back against the wall, giving in. She was surrounded and exhausted. She stood there and eyed the three Saiyans before her warily. Chichi came up and tossed the woman a blanket. It suddenly occurred to her that she had no clothes on, and she quickly wrapped her body up in the cover, turning a deep crimson.

"I think you better get your ass back into that thing you jumped out of," Vegeta told her.

She glanced up at him pleadingly. "No, please."

By now, everyone was standing around her. Bulma and Chichi glanced at each other. They were both thinking the same thing; something wasn't right about all this. Bulma steps forward.

"You can't possibly be thinking of finishing this job, Vegeta."

"I'll do as I see fit," he shot back.

Turlis frowned. "Why is Gero shipping a girl across the galaxy in a crate?"

Vegeta glared at him. "Who cares?"

"It's not just me," the woman chimes in. "My brother, too."

"How lovely," Vegeta replied sarcastically. "But I really don't care. Get back in that damn crate."

Akira sighed. "Vegeta, come on. There's something not right about all this."

"Yes! I know. No one is doing what I tell them to do."

Bulma stalked up to him. "Because this is wrong! How can you even think of going ahead with this?"

Nappa decided it was his turn to speak up. "Who are you?"

"I'm Queen Juuhachigou of Quatra, Princess of Oodernsei," she told them.

"What's a queen doing being shipped around in a crate?" Chichi asked.

"My husband is a horrible man. I ran away from him with the help of my brother, but his men caught us and took us back to him. He sent me to Dr. Gero." She paused, taking a deep breath. "He sent us there to be brainwashed."

"That's where I've heard that name before," Nor told them. "Gero's some kind of mad scientist. Father told me about him once. I can't believe I forgot about that."

"So, what were you supposed to be brainwashed to do?" Akira inquired slowly.

Juuhachigou's expression turned to disgust. "He wanted me to be a good, submissive wife."

"I'd say it didn't work," Vegeta mused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't know what happened," she responded. "But yes. It didn't work."

Radditz, who had been examining the capsule all this time, cut in. "It must be programmed into these capsules you were sleeping in."

Bulma perked up. "Then it probably just didn't imprint in time. I'd imagine something like that takes a long time, which is probably why you were asleep for it."

"I've got to agree with Princess Bulma," Radditz concluded.

Vegeta walked over to the other crate and stared down at it for a long time. "What was your brother programmed to do?"

"You must understand, my husband," Juuhachigou sneered. "Is a greedy man. Since my brother is the crown prince, there is no hope for him to incorporate Oodernsei into his monarchy, but if my brother were dead," she trailed off.

Bulma gasped. "Then your husband gains control."

"Yes."

Vegeta sighed irritably. "That doesn't answer my question," he growled.

"He wanted my brother to kill himself so that it couldn't be traced back to him," the queen replayed.

The ex-prince glared at the occupied crate, his anger increasing. He could feel something boiling over in his mind. 'Suicide!' He stormed over to the crate and grasped onto the wooden lid. His guilt over not being there to save his little sister temporarily sated as he felt the wood splinter beneath his fingers. He tossed the lid to the floor and slammed his fist down into the control pad. The machine beeped and hissed before it popped open.

"Get another blanket, Kakkarot," he commanded before purposely making his way through the group of people.

Nor and Radditz glanced at Vegeta's retreated back. Akira turned to Bulma. "Stay here with the others."

"Why? Where are you going?" The princess inquired, following her bodyguard toward the door.

Radditz brushed past her. "To stop Vegeta."

Nor pulled her back away from the entrance ramp of the ship. "You'll be perfectly safe here. Stay," he told her before following his brother and sister out into the woods.

Bulma sighed. "I'm really sick of being left behind like this."

"Princess Bulma, is it?"

The blue haired young woman turned around and came face to face with Queen Juuhachigou. "Yes?" She gulped slightly.

"I'd like to apologize for earlier."

Bulma smiled softly. "It wasn't your fault. I probably would have done the same." She glanced at the blanket wrapped tightly around the other woman's body and nodded toward the hall. "Let's go find you some clothes."

(Change scene)

"What does he think he doing?" Nor spoke up.

Radditz continued without breaking his stride. "Something stupid, no doubt."

"Well, what's new there?" Akira chimed in with a grin on her face.

The trio glanced ahead and noticed that Vegeta's was already approaching Gero's middlemen. Nor and Radditz ran forward to back Vegeta up. The leader of the group grinned as he spotted Vegeta walking swiftly toward him. He pushed himself upright off a tree and walked toward the Saiyan.

"You must be Vegeta," the alien called out.

He wasted no time. Vegeta brought his hand up, palm facing the hideous green alien with purple, shaggy hair, and blasted him clean through the heart. The leader dropped to his knees as Vegeta continued past him toward the others without a second glance.

"Vegeta, think about this a second," Nor cut in.

"Yeah," Radditz called out. "You're always telling us not to draw unwanted attention to ourselves."

Akira stood back from them all, watching through narrowed eyes. Something wasn't right here! She could sense it. Her brothers and Vegeta were too preoccupied to notice. She let her silver eyes scan the trees nearby, and she turned into the thick undergrowth. The greenish-blue ferns brushed against her leather boots softly as she skillfully moved. Not even her sensitive Saiyan hearing could pick up the sound.

As she moved farther and farther away from the others, the sensation became stronger. A light snap overhead made her freeze in her tracks. Someone was watching her! 'What is going on with me,' she scolded herself. She should have noticed it sooner, and now she was outnumbered. She just knew it. Retreat wasn't a word often used by a Saiyan warrior, but the urge to run was overwhelming.

Akira powered up slightly and turned back toward the others, ready to fly if she had to, but! Her eyes immediately were caught in a strange trance. She stared into the deepest brown eyes she'd ever seen. Her stalker stared back, silently in awe of the woman before him. In all his years in the royal court, he'd never seen anything like her. He lifted his fingers to her cheek and couldn't help but grin when he felt how soft her skin was.

"Intriguing," he whispered.

Just as he realized she was snapping out of it, he let his hand fall from her face to her neck, and applied just the right amount of pressure. The woman let out a soft moan as she slumped forward into his arms. He slipped one of his arms beneath her knees and picked her up to cradle her against his chest.

"I want them all taken into custody and detained for questioning," he called out, causing about thirty men to come out of hiding. As they scurried off to carry out his orders, he let his gaze drop down to the woman in his arms.

(End Chapter)

Well, there ya go! It's been a long freakin' time, I know! Sorry so very much. No excuses!

Next time: Who's this guy who knocked out Akira? We'll find out! ;-) The groups arrested, and unfortunately, Vegeta's the first to be 'interrogated', but wait a sec! Everyone's in the cells except for Akira. Where's she at? You'd be surprised, and so will she! Mu hahahahah!

PANDORA ;-)