A/N: Huzza, an update! I'm not dead!See? I do trykeep my word.

A New Threat

Cold, dark, dank, musty… There were many words to describe the passages around us. If it wasn't dark, we'd be wading in two to three inches of muck. If it wasn't cold, there'd be no lights until the next corner. If it wasn't musty, a chilling draft from who-knows-where would threaten to freeze off the ends of our fingers. That Freeza and his incompetent, petty soldiers… within only a few weeks, they had let the most beautiful castle ever built on Vegeta-sei go to waste. I couldn't help feeling that he had personally desecrated not only my home, but my heritage and people as well.

And that son of a bitch would pay dearly for it, too.

As I imagined the many ways I could remove Freeza's tiny balls with various sharp objects, we continued our monotonous trek through the ruined hallways of the south wing. I kept on my toes, and Bulma monitored our progress with the modified scouter; like so, it remained for the next half hour. I caught myself jumping at mere shadows more times than I could count, though the low, gloomy lighting didn't exactly help; and I noticed that my Lady stayed close by my side the entire time, sometimes even grasping my hand as if in fear. Of course, being the noble prince that I was, I would protect her from all harm, even if it meant sacrificing my own life. After all, I owed that much to her for rescuing me.

I wondered then just how a feeble Earth-jin woman like her could have penetrated Freeza's defenses undetected and, even more so, how she could possibly have gathered the courage to slaughter the sentinel who guarded my cell. She, the sheltered daughter of a corporate owner, an Earth-jin who had no fighting experience whatsoever, had single-handedly saved my life. The very idea itself was utterly ridiculous! Yet, she somehow managed to pull it off. Bulma would definitely have to explain that one after this mess was over.

Suddenly, the scouter blipped.

We both froze in our tracks, shaken by the abrupt, sharp beep echoing throughout the hallway. Bulma slowly raised her finger to the button on the scouter and pressed it to scan our surroundings. Within a matter of seconds, she knew of everyone and everything possessing a detectable ki signal in the entire castle, but the baffled look on her face worried me.

"What is it?" I whispered, hoping that she hadn't seen anything particularly threatening.

She furrowed her brow and pushed the button again, exhibiting the same reaction to what she saw. With one anxious glance in my direction, I knew something was terribly wrong.

Shakily, she whispered a reply, "The signals… the ones around that large ki, half of them have disappeared."

"What do you mean, 'disappeared'?"

"They're gone. I can't see them anymore. And that high power-level, it's… moving."

Next, it was my turn to panic. Whoever it was obviously possessed strength far beyond any Saiya-jin's to wipe out that many guards in such a short amount of time. Having that kind of power fighting against us would only worsen our already adverse situation.

"Quick, give me a number," I demanded anxiously.

"The big one?"

"Yes! Now."

Pushing the button again, she revealed the digits. "Thirteen thousand… five hundred fifty… and… Shit!"

"What? What's going on?"

"It's rising again! And another ki signal just disappeared!"

Cold fear struck through me like a knife. The mystery warrior was not only stronger than my father, but also appeared to be hunting down the guards in the castle. No wonder he'd been kept isolated. If this maniac warrior made his way to us, there was not a doubt in my mind that a major battle would ensue. Though it has been said that little can frighten the Prince of Saiya-jins, I remained aware of the cool, thin layer of sweat on my palms.

I led my Lady to the end of the corridor, where we stopped to reevaluate our situation. I peered around the corner to make sure no one was near before attempting my next move.

"What's up, Vegeta? Why did we stop?"

"I need you to do something for me before we come face-to-face with this maniac." I stood up straight and proud and insisted, "Tell me my power-level."

With the push of a button, the number was easily revealed, but Bulma merely gaped in disbelief. "Only nine thousand. Are you sure you want to face this guy?"

Masking my fear and dread, I gave her a reassuring smirk and stepped away from the wall.

"Step back. In fact, just go on to the middle of the hallway," I told her, hoping that my false pride act was working. 'The sooner I master hiding emotions from her, the better,' I thought.

She agreed without a fuss and did as I asked, though her stoic response contradicted her body language, showing me how fearful she truly was.

"If you say so, Vegeta. I just hope this new warrior doesn't have a scouter."

Concentrating my ki, I clenched my fists and let out a deafening howl, my body igniting in a blazing red energy flame, the shockwave from which literally rocked the foundation of the floor on which I stood. Feeling the energy within me soar, I focused my ki outward to the tips of my fingers, a searing glow irradiating from them like a burning candle. I felt my pulse skyrocket for the first few seconds, then level off as my ki stabilized.

"Now tell me my power-level!"

Still recovering from the shockwave, Bulma leaned against the wall for support and reached for the button once more. The instant it took seemed to drag out like minutes to me as the scouter let out several quick beeps.

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I've been a little side-tracked lately with other writing ideas, one of them being for this. I've started a prologue for WWC (which I might post sometime in the near future) that I'm considering wedging somewhere into the main story. I'm also considering writing the next chapter or two from Bulma's point-of-view, as I plan to introduce Meillon sometime in either chapter six or seven. If anyone (dis)likes the idea or has a suggestion that might better the story, please let me know via e-mail or review (preferably e-mail). After all, if others can't enjoy my work, where's the sense in posting it? Again, sorry this load of crap took so long.