Author's Note: I'm back! Since I have no life at all, I've been able to do a lot of writing. All my stories are doing really well, which I'm very happy about and proud of! Thanks to everyone that's read and reviewed! I really appreciate it. It keeps me going. I hope everyone enjoys this new chapter and lets me know what they thought about it!

Special thanks to:

KarineD, Ebony-Rose, RnB Diva Gurl, Luctretia Decoy, Zicke, Daisy31, RenaisanceGirl, DBZ-fan-JESS, Star-brella, Jadasb19, Dark Hope Assassin, Vampiress-06, Aly, Chibibruna, XxXxNsaiXxXx, Amelia, Sorceress Fujin, Lenk, Himitsu no kage, Luna-Divine, Meomy, Tin797, and PrEtTyStUpIdGuRl.

I luv ya'll very much for sticking with me and being patient! Thank you, thank you, thank you! ;-)

Chapter 21: Uncharacteristic

Turlis watched Vegeta pace back and forth and sighed. "Still no word from Arthos?"

They were still orbiting Ulliasei, and Vegeta was pissed that Freeza's ship had managed to slip past his fleet. He stopped and glared out the window at the planet below. "He's still down there."

Nor and Radditz were leaning against a nearby wall, both frowning. "Should we go back?" Nor asked. "Perhaps Akira hasn't made it off the planet yet. We could stop her before she runs off and does something stupid."

"She's vulnerable without her powers," Radditz cut in.

"She's gone," Vegeta told them.

"Then we should send out ships to track her down," Turlis countered. He wanted his sister back.

"Perhaps we should let her go," Bulma spoke up from the corner of the room, where she'd been quietly listening to them. They all turned toward her. "There's obviously something of great importance that she feels she needs to do. I've only know her for a few months, but even I know that once she's set her mind to something, there's no stopping her."

Bardock nodded thoughtfully. "Lady Bulma is correct. I'm almost positive that my daughter is no longer on Ulliasei."

Vegeta turned his back to them all and leaned forward, placing his hands on the counter. He wasn't used to feeling guilty. It was a horrible gnawing sensation in his gut, and he despised it. "Land the ship. I'm going back down," he told them all.

He didn't care who carried out his orders, just so long as they were completed. Everyone in the room scrambled out to do his bidding, except Bulma. She sat, staring intently at the floor. Vegeta turned and watched her for a moment. She looked sad.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Why would she leave like that? I mean, it doesn't make sense to me."

"Akira often does things that don't make sense at the time," he replied. "But whatever it is, it'll work out in the end."

Bulma finally raised her deep blue eyes to meet him. "You're not worried about her? Without her powers, what chance does she stand out there? What if Freeza kidnapped her?" She went on frantically. Suddenly, she stood up and began pacing back and forth. "And my sister! What the fuck was she thinking!"

Vegeta blinked slowly. Did he just hear her say fuck? He kept experiencing these little moments lately. It seemed that now that everyone knew who she was, Bulma could let down her guards and be herself. He liked this side of her. It was real and unpredictable.

"How could she do this to me? No, not just me!" She stopped and glared out the window. "You and Trunks, too! What an unbelievable bitch!" She picked up the glass she had been drinking from and flung it at the wall, watching it shatter with a sense of satisfaction. "Oh, when I get my hands on her," she growled.

Vegeta chuckled. "At least you're reaction to Marron's treachery was less dramatic than mine," he told her.

Bulma let out a ragged breath and tried to calm her nerves. "What exactly happened? I've never really heard the truth. Did she really sleep with Freeza?" The thought made her sick to her stomach. What had Marron possibly seen in him!

"To spite me, I'm sure," he responded, taking a seat. "I attacked Freeza for daring to touch my wife and was imprisoned. If it hadn't been for Akira, he would have killed me than and there."

"How'd he convince everyone you were dead, though?" She wondered aloud.

A pained, angry expression came over Vegeta's face. "The ultimate dishonor for any Saiyan warrior," he growled. "He ripped my tail off and sent it to my father stating that was all that was left of me."

Bulma gasped. In all honesty, she hadn't even realized he had no tail. She assumed that he kept it hidden around his waist like all the other Saiyans, and she certainly hadn't been looking for it when they had slept together! "Goddess," she whispered. "I always sensed that Freeza was a cruel bastard, but I've never heard anything like that before."

"It doesn't matter now. Soon, the universe will be rid of that lizard and his entire family."

She frowned. "Why? What have you got planned, Vegeta?"

"Revenge."

(Change scene)

Freeza glared at the end of the hall is it rapidly came into view. As usual, Zarbon and Dodoria were surrounding him trying to figure out what they could do to make him feel better about the situation.

"Do you really wish to leave Yamcha unharmed?" Zarbon asked. "It's no trouble for me to go back and kill him, my lord."

Dodoria nodded. "Yes. He deserves to die for his stupidity. Look at what he's cost you."

Zarbon shot his comrade a dirty look over Freeza's head and gave him a look that said 'you're not helping matters!'

Freeza narrowed his eyes. "I have a feeling that space trash will get what's coming to him soon enough. Now, shut your traps. I want to get off this rock!"

"Yessir!" They both responded quickly.

(Change scene)

Marron groaned as she stared out the main viewport of the ship. "I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered, closing her eyes. The vastness of space had always made her nauseous.

Next to her in the pilot's seat, Akira rolled her eyes. "Go in the back, then. I don't feel like cleaning up any messes, and it's not like you can help us up here."

The blue haired woman jumped up. "You don't have to tell me twice."

Ansolus shook his head and took the now vacant seat. "Are you sure you really want to take her with us?" He asked, strapping himself in tightly. He sighed. "Hell! What are we even doing? Don't you want to go back to Vegetasei?"

"There's a couple things I must do before I go back there," she told him, punching in the coordinates for the capital world.

Her old bodyguard glanced over at the navigational computer and gave it a confused look. "What's on Briefsei?"

Akira stood up from her seat and started toward the back of the ship. "The beginning of a long, hard journey," she told him.

"Hold on!" Ansolus yelled after her, making her stop in her tracks. "You've got to fill me in a bit, Akira. I'm running blind here. I need more than that to go on," he demanded.

"I have to visit the temple, and there's someone I need to find. Is that good enough for you?"

He sighed heavily. "I suppose it'll have to be from the look on your face."

She simply nodded and continued back toward her room. She had to try and sleep. 'Goddess, it's been so long since I could,' she thought, fighting back tears. She couldn't remember falling asleep once in the entire week she had spent in that horrible room. She fell onto her bed gratefully and just lay there for a long time. It seemed she couldn't escape what had happened and what she had to do.

"Why are we going to Briefsei?" Marron spoke up from the doorway.

Akira cast her dark eyes in the other woman's direction. "Don't worry about it."

Marron raised a delicate brow. "How unlike you to be so mysterious," she said. "I remember you being much more straightforward in the past."

The Saiyan woman sprung off the bed and clamped her fingers around Marron's slim neck, pushing her back against the wall. Akira glared dangerously at her. "I'm only going to warn you once more," she whispered calmly. "I can still kill you, bitch, so you better walk on eggshells from now on. Understand?"

"Eehc," Marron tried to respond, but she couldn't form any words. Akira's hand was wrapped too tightly around her neck, restricting her air passages. She quickly nodded her head as much as she could, and Akira dropped her to the floor in a heap.

"Good. Now get the hell out of my room."

(Change scene)

Freeza let him live! Yamcha couldn't believe it. Why? He'd failed to keep the Saiyan brats for him, so why? The dark haired pirate looked around the deserted room and frowned. Akira had escaped, too, and it was all Ansolus' fault. He should have fired him ages ago. Sighing, he walked over and glanced at the bed. He'd had her, and now, she was gone, taken from him again! Behind him the doors opened and closed quietly. He assumed it was one of his men.

"Have you prepped my backup shuttle yet?" He demanded. He knew his time was running out. He had to leave this planet before Vegeta came back and finished the job Freeza left undone.

"You kept her in here, didn't you?"

Yamcha had assumed wrong—very wrong! He knew that voice, and it sent a shiver down his spine with its deadly tone. He turned slowly meeting the other man's intense gaze with a terrified look.

"You locked her up in this room and came to rape her every night." The man pushed off the closed doors slowly and stalked toward Yamcha, and the air in the room started to swirl angrily around him.

"She gave in to me," Yamcha lied, backing away from the other man and trying desperately to get out of this. "She knew there was no point in fighting me any longer," he went on frantically.

"And now you're about to feel pain unlike anything you've ever felt in your whole life for what you've done." The man's eyes began to glow an eerie shade of green as they fixated on the tousled bed. "You're going to beg for death."

The pirate looked around frantically. There was no way out of this room. He knew there wasn't, after all he'd had it designed that way. The man before him was blocking the only exit. Yamcha was doomed. There was nothing he could do to stop what was about to happen. 'So, this is why Freeza left me alive,' he thought ironically.

(Change scene)

Trunks sighed and rolled onto his side. He shared a room with his two uncles, Arro and Cass, but they were still in the regeneration tanks. He'd only had to spend a couple hours in one. He'd been surprised when he came out that his mother wasn't there. He figured she would have been the first one to greet him. Instead, he was surprised to see Thealda, the priestess who had raised both his mothers and his aunt June. She had smiled at him kindly and told him that Bulma had gone with Vegeta to find Arthos and Yamcha.

The young boy was shaken from his daze when the door opened. Arro walked in looking irritated. "Have you seen my brother?" He demanded.

Trunks shook his head. "Father went to search through the mansion. As far as I know, he's still out there."

Arro pulled a neatly folded bundle of papers from under his arm and sighed. Akira must have slipped them into his clothes before she had knocked him out. Closing his eyes, he closed his fingers around them, crinkling them. Why had she done that to him?

"Want to go look for him with me?" Trunks asked. He wanted to get out of the ship.

"Yeah. Lets go," Arro decided. He moved toward the door.

"Wait a sec! How are we going to get past guards?" Trunks called out.

Arro laughed. "You're a prince, Trunks. You've got to start acting like one. The first thing you've got to learn is that these people bow to you, even if their orders come from someone else. Vegeta taught me that growing up."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Intimidation and confidence," Arro responded. "You'll get the hang of it. Really watch your father next time he gives out orders. He's a pro at it!"

Trunks smirked. He'd seen his father in action, and he definitely agreed with his uncle. Prince Vegeta was a pro at getting his way! They approached the main doors, and the two guards on duty saluted them respectfully.

"Prince Vegeta has ordered that no one leaves the ship," the one on the right informed them.

"Is that so?" Arro inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I don't see him here right now, which means that he isn't in command."

The lavender haired boy beside him caught on instantly. "You're right. Wouldn't that make one of us in command?"

Arro nodded at him. "I think you're right, Prince Trunks." He made sure to put emphasis on the title 'prince.'

"I don't have any objections to us leaving the ship, Prince Arro."

"Why, neither do I. I guess that means we can go."

The two guards glanced at each other worriedly. If they refused to let them go by, they'd get into trouble, but if they did let them go by, they'd still get into trouble. "I don't know about this," the one on the left spoke up. "Prince Vegeta was very clear with his demands."

Arro glared up at him. "Are you trying to tell me, Prince Arro, that I can't do something? Were you crowned king while I was in the regeneration tank?" The guard sputtered to get out a reply, but Arro cut him off. "I didn't think so. Now, stand aside!"

The men did as they were told, and the two boys started toward the main door.

"Where do you think you're going?" A voice called out from behind them. It was June!

Trunks turned around slowly, flashing her an all to familiar look that clearly said 'please don't hurt me!' She glared down at him. "Well? Where do you think you're going?"

"We just wanted to take a walk around the ship," he lied. He already knew she wasn't going to buy it, and now, there was no way they were getting outside!

(Change scene)

Bulma had managed to talk Vegeta into letting her go with him and his men to Yamcha's mansion, and she was still trying to figure out how she'd actually done it. 'He must really be distracted by something,' she thought as she followed him quietly down the long hallways of Yamcha's mansion. They came near the end and were confronted by three doors. Goku, and Turlis went for the door on their right, and Radditz, Nor, and Bardock went for the one on the left. Vegeta stalked cautiously toward the door in front of him, holding a hand up behind in to signal for Bulma to wait as he disappeared into the room.

The prince froze, hand still on the doorknob, as he took in the scene before him. Arthos stood up and turned angrily toward Vegeta. "What have you done?" Vegeta demanded, slowly, with wide eyes. "You're covered in blood." Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted movement on the floor. It was Yamcha, though you could hardly tell now by looking at him. His body was that mangled!

Arthos knelt back down and mercilessly snatched the dagger he'd used to torture the pirate with out of his abdomen. Blood spurted from the wound, splattering the Riessian prince across the face. He merely wiped it away from his eyes with a flick of his wrist and stood back up. Vegeta took another step into the room, but Arthos lifted his hand quickly toward him and gathered powerful blast in his palm.

"Get back, Vegeta. He's going to suffer."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "This is not like you."

"He took what was mine! He defiled her, and for that, he's going to pay."

He was desperate to get Arthos to back down. He could see the insanity gleaming in his eyes, and a part of Vegeta was terrified by it. The man before him was not the Arthos he had grown up with. It was someone else: someone dark and deeply troubled. Vegeta couldn't help but wonder guiltily if this had something to do with him and what he'd done.

"I think you've made him pay enough. There's nothing left of him. Come back to the ship. You need to rest." Normally, Vegeta wouldn't care, but this was so out of character for Arthos. He was the laid back one. This was something Vegeta could see himself doing, not his best friend!

"No! What I need is for you to stop treating me like I'm fucking beneath you, Vegeta. Open your damn eyes! I'm stronger than you, and you know it." Arthos smirked and moved forward slowly.

Vegeta eyed the brightly shining sphere of ki in his best friend's palm cautiously as he held his ground. "Really? You're stronger than me, huh?" He smirked back, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Could've fooled me."

The blast came at him, and Vegeta quickly braced himself for the impact by crossing his forearms before him and putting his head down. It wasn't until he felt his body being thrown into the door behind him that he remembered Bulma was on the other side. He growled, powering up to his fullest. He had wanted to give Arthos what he wanted—a fight. He felt as though he owed it to the other prince somehow, but that was before he remembered that there was someone close by that he needed to protect. What the hell had he been thinking allowing her to come along in the first place!

Thankfully his back didn't hit the door as hard as he was expecting it to, but he did feel it splinter behind him. Bulma shrieked and pushed her back up against the wall to avoid the debris coming toward her. She'd heard Arthos yelling, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. Considering that Vegeta was lying at her feet in a pile of splinters, Arthos must be mad. She lifted her wide blue eyes to the broken doorway just as Arthos stepped over the rubble.

"Oh my," she whispered. She wasn't very adept at sensing ki, but she didn't need to be able to. She could literally see it crackling around him. His normally golden brown eyes were glowing a dark shade of emerald. Bulma swallowed hard and scooted along the wall away from him.

Vegeta sat up quickly and glared at his friend. "You need to put this shit behind you right now."

"What? The great Saiyan Prince doesn't want to fight," Arthos taunted. "Now who's acting strange, Vegeta?"

By now, the other Saiyans were out in the hall having sensed the fight and heard the explosion. They couldn't believe their eyes. Arthos was raising a hand to Vegeta! It was something no one had ever thought would happen in a million years. Vegeta stood up and pulled Bulma away from the wall, shoving her behind him.

"Arthos, what are you doing?" Bulma spoke up from behind Vegeta.

"Stay out of this," he warned her.

She glared at him. "You really think Akira would stand for this kind of behavior from you? If she found out you tried to kill Vegeta, she would hate you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm to the point where I no longer care," he told them all.

Vegeta's senses screamed at him, and he reached behind him, grabbing Bulma's arm and pulling her flush against his back. With his other hand, he created a ki shield around them as another blast was shot at Vegeta from Arthos. Bulma gasped and buried her face against his shoulder. She was sure they were going to die, but Vegeta's shield protected them. The area surrounding them was blown to bits though. She glanced over her shoulder at the others, trying to make sure they were alright through the heavy dust and smoke filling the air.

Vegeta frowned. He couldn't sense Arthos anymore! He reluctantly lowered the ki shield and coughed as the smoke hit his lungs. He could still feel Bulma close against him. She was terrified by Arthos' behavior. Radditz stepped forward, pulling her back. It was obvious that Arthos' intentions were centered on Vegeta at the moment.

"Where the hell did he go?" Turlis called out.

"I don't know," Vegeta murmured warily. "Take Bulma back to the ship," he commanded. "I'm staying here until I find him."

Bulma shook her head. "No way! You saw him. He's snapped completely," she argued. "What if he kills you?"

Bardock took a hold of her wrist gently. "Vegeta knows what he's doing. Come on, before Arthos strikes again."

"But," Bulma paused, looking Vegeta straight in the eyes. He'd protected her, and damnit! She didn't want to see him get hurt. What could he possibly gain by staying here? Did he really think he could talk Arthos back to normal?

"I said go," Vegeta repeated firmly. "See to Trunks."

(End Chapter)

Well, well, well… Arthos and Vegeta are going to fight? Who saw that coming! Interesting development, eh? Arthos has kind of gone a bit crazy at the moment, but who wouldn't if they were in his shoes?

So, Bulma and Vegeta. The attraction's there physically of course, considering they've already slept together, but I think I made a decent step toward them moving closer emotionally, maybe not! Who knows? Let me know what you think, please!

And Akira's on a bit of a personal mission. You'll learn more along the way. I don't want to give it all away. It'll bring a nice little twist that hopefully none of you can guess at! Mu hahaha…. (coughs) so, um. Yeah. I think I'm done know.

PANDORA ;-)