A big thank you to everyone that reviewed! It means a lot to me that you cared enough to share your thoughts.
DBZ-fan-JESS- I think you'll like how Veggie embarrasses Bulma. It's funny. I promise! Thanks!
MANGA DEVIL- You'll find out in this chapter. It's grrrreat! ;-) Thanks for reviewing!
Vampiress-06- Thank you for reviewing. Much appreciation!
KarineD- Hey! Thanks for reviewing. I have been super busy. I don't get as much time off as I use to, but I'm trying really hard to get back into my writing because I really want to finish my stories and maybe post new ones. I hope you like the new chapter.
Fiby- Aw! Thanks so much. I really appreciate the praise. Good to know my writing has come along too. Thank you, thank you!
Anime-rules-lauren- Thanks! I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's got some good parts in it, especially with Bulma and Vegeta.
Star0307- Thank you. I'm glad you like all the characters. I hope I'm not confusing everyone, though. I know there's a lot of people to keep track of, and there's more to come! I hope you come around to Akira, too. They really are just good friends! I swear. Absolutely nothing but friends, and trust me. You'll be very surprised when it comes time for the B/V stuff to heat up a bit.
Chapter 11: How Embarrassing
Stretching her arms over her head and yawning, Akira sat up. She'd actually slept better than she'd expected to. Bulma hadn't made one peep the whole night. Slowly, she slipped from the bed and crept over to the other side of the room. She wasn't ready for what she saw, and she had to cover her mouth for a moment to keep from laughing aloud and waking the sleeping couple.
Vegeta was lying on his stomach next to Bulma, and he had one arm draped casually over her midriff, holding her against his side. The young princess was out cold and had a slight smile gracing her perfect lips. Akira almost didn't want to wake them, but it had to be done sooner or later. She knelt next to Bulma's side of the bed and poked the princess's arm firmly. Bulma frowned sleepily and opened her eyes, setting Akira with a glare.
"What?"
Akira grinned. "I guess his ego wasn't so badly wounded after all," she teased.
Bulma raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Her bodyguard glanced past her, and Bulma was suddenly, frighteningly aware of the heavy arm around her waist. Gulping, she turned her head slowly to look down at the sleeping form of Vegeta. "Ahh!" Bulma screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped from the bed to hide behind Akira, who was now laughing her ass off.
Vegeta, unfortunately, was very close to the edge of the bed, and he was so startled by Bulma's outburst, that he jumped, too, and fell onto the floor with a heavy thud. Akira winced at the sound but just couldn't keep the amusement from her expression. It seemed like forever as Bulma anxiously waited fro Vegeta to yell or curse them out.
After a moment, his hand reappeared on the nightstand, and he pulled himself up shakily. He was still recovering from the regeneration tank, and now his head was throbbing. "What the hell was that all about?" He demanded.
"You never thank me like that," Akira fake-pouted at him.
Bulma gasped, embarrassed by Akira's insinuation, and ran from the room. Vegeta just stared after her for a few seconds. "What?" He asked again, confused.
Akira rolled her eyes. "Nevermind, Veg-head. Go back to bed. You obviously need it," she told him as she walked out of the room.
He narrowed his eyes at her back. "I'm the boss around here," he mumbled, though he climbed back into his bed anyway!
(Change scene)
Brolly chuckled as him and Kakkarot walked into the cockpit to relieve Nor and Radditz. It was good to have a little time to relax. He patted Nor on the back. "Any word yet?" He asked, taking a seat in the empty co-pilot's chair.
Nor shook his head and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "Nothing, but that's not say we won't hear from them. If the Colds, indeed, have a garrison there, their communications are probably hard to send out."
Radditz got up so Kakkarot could take his seat. "They most likely have to switch their com-chip every time they send something out to avoid detection."
"I hope they're not just waiting around for someone to show up," Kakkarot responded warily.
"If they had enough intelligence to code their message the first time, I'm sure they know what they're doing," Nor reassured his younger brother. "But if we don't hear from them in five hours, speak to Vegeta about a new job."
"Let's get some shut-eye already," Radditz said, slapping his older brother on the back.
Nor nodded at him. "Yeah, yeah. We'll be in our room if anything bad happens."
(Change scene)
Turlis made a funny face as he held up a mangled piece of machinery. "Why the hell did we keep this thing? I can't even tell what it once was!"
Nappa shrugged. "Beats me. Put it in the 'garbage' pile. Hopefully, it's not important."
The two of them had spent the last couple hours cleaning out the only unoccupied room on the ship, which Vegeta had used as storage for the past four years. Having the room open, would allow everyone to have a bed to sleep on.
"Okay. I'm hungry. Let's go see if my sister finished breakfast," Turlis suggested.
"Fine. We got a lot done. I don't see Vegeta getting mad if we take a little food break."
Nappa turned toward the door and took a step, but his foot slipped on piece of sheet metal. Turlis winced as he watched the older man fall flat on his back sending spare parts and boxes everywhere.
"Nappa!" Turlis bit the inside of his top lip to keep from laughing. "Are you," he choked out while moving forward. "You okay down there?"
"Go ahead and laugh if you want to get punched in the face, brat."
"Oh, come on. It's a little funny." Turlis walked around the junk pile toward his friend. "You would have laughed at me, old man."
"I'm not old!" Nappa growled irritably.
"Whatever you say, gramps."
"That's it," Nappa started, pushing away the scraps. "I'm going to kill you."
Turlis grinned. "You'll have to catch me. I'll try to go slow."
(Change scene)
Juuhachigou stared down at the metallic tabletop with a frown marring her beautiful face. She'd been trying to think of a way to go home without her husband knowing. If he found her, he'd make sure she returned to Quatra with him, and she'd do anything to prevent that. Her brother shifted in his seat, catching her attention.
"I don't see any way for you to return home, Juu," he finally responded. "He has spies on Oodernsei. He'd find you the second you set foot on the planet."
"So what can I do? I'm not going back to that bastard," she hissed.
"I don't know. I'd run with you, but I refuse to let him have control of our planet. Our dynasty has ruled for over 700 years."
"That's all?" Vegeta inquired as he walked into the room. He spied Akira and Bulma on the other side of the room. The princess was wiping her hands on a rag with a disgusted look on her face that amused him.
Juunana glared irritably at the Saiyan. "Its longer than most dynasties," he shot back.
Vegeta smirked. "But not the longest."
Bulma, having heard all of the conversation, rolled her eyes and turned to Akira. "Are they seriously arguing over whose dynasty is bigger?"
Akira chuckled. "Sounds like it."
"So what am I going to do?" Juuhachigou demanded.
"For the love of god," Vegeta muttered. "You might as well just remain as part of my crew."
Bulma and Akira exchanged surprised looks. Had they heard right? Vegeta was letting the other princess stay under his protection? Juunana frowned. "I don't think that's wise. She should find a stable place to live out the rest of her days in peace, not running around with an ex-prince-turned-smuggler."
Vegeta eyed the plate of food that was set in front of him by Akira with a smirk. "Fine. Let her go back to her husband for all I care." He reached for his fork and was about to dig in, but Akira swatted the utensil out of his hand. He glared at her. "What?"
"Can't you wait for everyone else?"
Juuhachigou cut in. "I'll stay with Vegeta. I don't want to go back to Nevik."
"Good call," Vegeta told her, continuing to glare at Akira's back as she walked back into the small kitchen. Bulma walked over and placed a couple small trays of pastries onto the table next to him. Vegeta examined the earth princess carefully. She was keeping her eyes downcast, and if he stopped breathing and listened hard, he could hear her heart racing abnormally. 'Time for some payback,' he told himself.
When she was about to turn away from the table, he reached out and took hold her elbow, dragging her down onto his lap. Bulma's face immediately heated up, and she struggled to get up. Vegeta lifted her chin with his free hand, forcing her to look him in the eye. He smirked at her slowly, reveling in her flushed cheeks.
"Stop pretending you didn't enjoy it," he told her.
Bulma's eyes widened at his insinuation, and she pushed away from him, stumbling over her feet. "We didn't do anything," she replied angrily before storming from the room in a huff.
Vegeta chuckled but was cut short by a painful blow to the shoulder. He glanced up into Akira's angry face. "What?"
"Don't be an ass, Veggie."
(Change scene)
Panting, he dodged his way through the thick undergrowth. He'd lost his pursuers several miles back, but that didn't mean they'd give up. He was pretty sure they'd double back and collect more men, probably bring in a tracker. He'd have to initiate an evacuation as soon as he got back to the hideout. Chancing a quick look behind him, he sighed in relief. It was getting dark. That'd make it harder to follow his trail.
"Ahh!" He fell forward, tripping over a rock. All he could do was lie there in pain for a few seconds before he remembered that he couldn't afford to let all his people down. They were counting on him. He picked himself up off the ground slowly, wincing at the sharp pain that shot up his right leg. "I have to make it. Just a little farther," he told himself.
Ahead of him, he could see the old, run-down shack. He stumbled through the doorway and collapsed in exhaustion. A man stood up from a workstation and ran over to him.
"Did you get it?" The man asked, helping him sit up.
He nodded slightly, reaching into his pocket and producing a small microchip. "Y-yeah. We've got to," he started.
His friend patted him on the back. "What is it?"
"We've got to relocate again. I was followed, but I lost them."
The other man cursed under his breath. "I'll have to hurry and send that transmission. You did good, little buddy."
"Gee, thanks," he replied, laughing slightly despite the pain. He felt his friend pat him on his baldhead, and he swatted playfully at him. "Hurry up!"
(Change scene)
"God, I'm bored!"
Brolly sighed. "So am I, but there's nothing I can do about it, so stop whining."
Kakkarot sighed and continued to stare out the front viewport. "Wanna play a game?"
"Oh yeah, sure," Brolly replied sarcastically. "I spy something black."
His partner perked up slightly, but then the joke sunk in. Kakkarot gave him a disgruntled look. "You don't have to be a jerk about it."
Brolly was about to open his mouth when a low-pitched beep filled the cockpit. He leaned forward. There was a green light blinking next to com-screen. "Finally! Go get Vegeta. Tell him we got an answer."
While Kakkarot walked out of the room to search for Vegeta, Brolly began checking the link to make sure no one was listening in. Everything checked out perfectly, but he set up an encryption code Radditz had designed, just in case. Vegeta liked things to thorough.
"Is it secure?" Was the first thing out of Vegeta's mouth the second he walked into the room and sat down.
Brolly nodded. "Of course. Just type in the send code, and you're all set. They're already online."
Typing in the access code, Vegeta answered the call. "Whom am I speaking to?"
"My name is Yamcha. I'm part of a colonization--."
"A name was all I asked for," Vegeta cut him off. "What exactly will the job entail?" There was a slight pause, and Vegeta rolled his eyes. 'They must be working with old technology,' he mused.
"We just need someone to sneak in and steal food and medical supplies."
"You're under siege from the Cold Empire," Vegeta stated. "Are you aware of what that means for you?"
Another pause. "We know what awaits us, but if we can just hold out a little longer," Yamcha's voice echoed through the room. "We'll be safe."
Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at the fuzzy screen. There was no visual link, which was fine by him, but for some reason he felt the need to see this person. He shook the thought from his head. "We're still two days off."
"That's fine. We've gone months. Tow more days won't make much of a difference."
(Change scene)
The priestess walked into her private chambers and over to her vanity. In her hand was a shell. She gave it a thoughtful look as she sat down. Arro and Cass had alluded to there being something inside. She grabbed a couple scarves from the top drawer and wrapped them around the shell. Rall had guards all over the place, and she didn't want to incite his curiosity, so she had to be careful not to make any sort of noise. She got up and walked over to the rug beside her bed and dropped the bundle on the floor. Pressing her foot down over it, she felt it crack slowly and split in two.
Ava bent down and picked it up. What she found was a small, round disc, the size of a coin. She held it up to the light. It was a communications disc. 'I can't listen to this here,' she thought. 'Rall would find out somehow.' She walked over to the fireplace and reached above the mantel. There was a loose stone in the wall. She wrapped the disc back up and placed it behind the rock, hiding it from view perfectly. She just hoped that whatever was on the disc could wait until her trip to the moon colony. She'd have more freedom there.
(Change scene)
The massive form of King Cold paced back and forth anxiously as his two sons stood back and watched. "I'm sick of waiting. Our spies are far too incompetent! The Saiyans can not find out our plans," he hissed. Stopping in the middle of the room, he turned to face Cooler. "Go to Chikyusei. Destroy it." He went back to pacing. "Princess Bulma will learn one way or another that hiding from me is futile."
Cooler grinned evilly. "I shall carry out your orders with pleasure, Father."
"Show no mercy." King Cold glanced at his youngest son. "Go back to Mercessei. Someone has to know something. I refuse to believe no one saw anything."
"As you wish, Father."
(End Chapter)
A little short, I know. Sorry, but like I said. I have each chapter outlined perfectly. I got everything in this one that I needed to, and I was too lazy to go back and correct all my typing errors. Sorry! Hope there isn't any! ;-)
Next time: Vegeta and crew land on Dolinsei, and Bulma gets her first taste of the devastation the Icejins can create. To make matters worse, someone's double-crossed Vegeta, and he's none to happy about it. His actions are adamantly protested by Bulma, but what can she do about it when she's locked in a bathroom!
Review! Please!
PANDORA ;-)