27: Baby On Board
Bulla cheered happily, throwing a rag that stood as a makeshift toy as hard as she could across the room. Lakasei and Rasin ducked out of the way, and it smacked limply against a wall.
The small child held no qualms about the strange aliens surrounding her. Her child glee kept her happy, for the most part. She had thrown a tantrum when Turles had passed her off to Diaz, mainly because he looked rather menacing at first. Of course, she was simply a child that only wanted to play, but that didn't mean she found the aliens staring at her part of her family. She knew her mommy and daddy looked nothing like these men, but they hadn't hurt her or yell at her, so she viewed them as nice people. Bulla was raised in a welcoming environment, so she was usually content on keeping herself happy with the smallest things. Since she no longer possessed her rag, she now found joy in playing with a red scouter given to her by Amond. She shook it aggressively, then settled for chewing on the end.
Cacao analyzed the small human via his robotic functions, but the result was far from what he was expecting. "This child as a power level of 200."
"A child with that power?" Diaz asked, then snickered. "She's the daughter of Vegeta, so it's not that surprising."
"Turles really chose this...thing over the female Saiyan?" Rasin asked, wrinkling his nose. He poked her chest, making her giggle. She grabbed onto his hand and held onto it tightly, as if letting go would result in the end of the world. He shrieked and started flinging his arm around, which in turn only made Bulla laugh harder.
"She's part Saiyan, and the closest thing to that pure-blooded one." Amond said, prying the child off of Rasin. He set her down on the smooth metal floor, then walked over to the control console in the center of the room. Holed up in Frieza's ship for the time being while Turles and the Changeling talked about whatever it was they talked about, Amond set for looking for more planets they could pillage. It didn't look like they were going back to Earth for the Saiyan, so he didn't see any fault in resuming their old objective. Turles could create as many Half-Saiyans as he pleased, as far as Amond and the others cared. Their only concern was returning back to the way things were. Back to slaughtering and slaying and laying waste to those who opposed their strength.
Bulla gave a loud squeal of delight and chucked the scouter at Lakasei, bursting into laughter when he hit the floor with a loud thump.
"She's rather interesting," Diaz said, moving to join Amond at the console. "But she's young. It'll take years before Turles can breed with her."
"I am sure Turles does not care about that," Cacao said. "He now has leverage over the two Saiyans. They will not attack us for fear of injuring one of their own."
"Smart," Diaz nodded. "But I'm sure Vegeta will come back for his daughter in due time. I can't wait to strip him of his pride."
"No offense, but everything out of your mouth sounds sexual when you're talking about Vegeta." Rasin said.
Diaz glared at him. "I'm not afraid to punt you."
"No harm done." Rasin said, quickly backing away from the taller soldier.
"Let's stay focused." Amond huffed, clicking away on the console. A large holographic image popped up before him, displaying an array of planets of varying sizes and colors, most with smaller objects circling them. The static blue screen illuminated the entire room like a searchlight, and the only one truly amazed by the display was Bulla. She gasped and dropped the scouter, now covered in baby spit. She winced as she struggled to get to her stubby little feet, but once she did, she stumbled over to where the large aliens stood.
"Pwetty..." She said softly, reaching her tiny hands up to try and grasp the glowing screen.
The soldiers ignored her and began to argue over which planet to invade first. Bulla was in awe, the lights reflecting in her bright blue eyes. But, since she had the attention span of...well...a toddler, she grew tired of the screen that she couldn't reach and turned, heading towards the doors. She had seen them open for the soldiers on their own, so she figured it would open for her. Once she got closer, the doors pulled apart, the two sections sliding into the wall, revealing a long hallway lit up with blinding white lights. She looked at the soldiers behind her, then ran out of the room as fast as she could. Her feeble mind wanted to explore, so who was she to ignore its calls for adventure?
Her feet barely made a sound as she stumbled her way along the hallway, peeking into dark rooms and giggling happily to herself. So many things for a young child to explore.
Passing by another large set of doors, which opened up upon her arrival, Bulla peeked in to see the big white alien she'd seen before with what looked like Goku talking in front of a large glass window overlooking the stars and planets.
"Gowu!" Bulla cried, in an attempt to say 'Goku.' She hurried forward and threw herself on his leg, clinging tightly.
Turles growled and tried shaking his leg free, but it only made her hold on tighter.
Frieza chuckled lightly. "My, it seems you have an admirer, Turles."
"My team is supposed to be watching her." Turles grumbled, yanking her off his leg. He held her by the back of her outfit, holding her away from his body.
"It appears that task was too complicated for them." Frieza said with a shake of his head.
Turles set Bulla down onto the ground. "Don't touch me."
"Gowu, play!" Bulla said, then took a vicious hold of his tail.
Turles flinched and wrenched her hands free, quickly wrapping his tail around his waist and out of her reach. "No, I'm not playing with you."
"She thinks you're Goku." Frieza laughed.
Turles groaned and used his foot to push Bulla away, then turned back to Frieza. "As I was saying, since I already have what I need, my team and I will be leaving. Of course, you're crew's assistance was very much needed, and appreciated. But now we have no need to take up space on your ship."
Frieza smiled, his hands placed behind his back. His expression was unreadable, but evoked a rather enlightened sense of humor, as if he heard something funny and was trying not to laugh.
Turles picked up on this and crossed his arms. "What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking you're a very hilarious Saiyan." Frieza replied, then turned and headed over to his hovering chair in the center of the room.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you think you're just going to leave when all is said and done? That's funny. No. You and your crew are going to do something for me, as it was I who got the small human for you. An eye for an eye, as the humans say. I do a favor for you, you do a favor for me." He sat down in his chair, curling his tail in his lap. His red eyes traced Turles's face, waiting for him to either disagree or start an argument.
Instead, Turles gave a stiff nod. "I see. What is it you wish of me and my team to do for you?"
Frieza tapped his chin with his index finger, pretending to be in deep thought over something he had already decided upon. "I want that female Saiyan. You seem perfectly content with the child, so the female is mine. You and your men with fetch her for me. I hope that isn't too much of an assignment for you."
"No," Turles said, glancing at Bulla. "My men and I can have that arranged for you. Though it will be difficult, as Goku has her hidden."
"Cover a sheep dog in lamb clothing and the farmer will not tell the difference," Frieza said. "Goku has simply kept her out of your reach, but she is not unreachable. I'm sure you can convince her of my goodness. Make her see who the real bad guys are."
"You are implying a form of brainwash?" Turles questioned.
"Take it however you want," Frieza replied with a wave of his hand. "I want it done."
"Done it shall be," Turles gave a stiff bow, though he was anything but courteous in his mind. I do not see why Frieza can't just send his own men to get that Saiyan woman. My crew does not need to stay any longer. If Frieza having us to his dirty work to get us out of the way? What does he need with the Saiyan? Converting her to his side is clever in its own right, but she's loyal to her friends, as far as I can tell. Once we catch her and bring her back, what will he say to her to make her believe Goku and his little buddies are really the bad guys? How will he convince her? What does he expect me and my crew to do? I have no doubt that Goku and Vegeta have stowed her away on some distance planet, so some searching will be needed. But, if doing this gets my crew and I on Frieza's good side, then I will do it.
Turles left the room and started down the hallway, prepared to let his crew have it for not paying attention to the child. Bulla sat to the side of Frieza's hover chair, pouting out of sadness for Goku not wanting to play with her. Goku always played with her. She didn't understand why he didn't want to now.
Frieza cast a sideways glance at her, then sighed and unfurled his tail from his lap. It sank to the floor beside the small child, reaching out and poking her cheek. She stared at it in confusion, then her tiny brain realized that he was attempting to cheer her up by playing with her. She giggled and grabbed the tail, petting it as if she were stroking a kitten.
Frieza raised an eyebrow at her kind gesture, and flicked the tip of his tail upward, tapping the tip of her nose. She laughed loudly, her blue eyes sparkling.
So this must be why people create offspring, He thought to himself, dragging his tail along the floor as Bulla chased it. They are rather entertaining.
