I erased as much as my heart ached,
But I can't erase this love,
Even if the world freezes,
This love won't stop,
Hold my hand tightly,
Even if the world turns away from us,
I won't let go of this hand.
I erased as much as my heart ached,
But I can't erase this love,
Even if the world freezes,
This love won't stop,
Instead, I'll hurt some more,
Don't worry about me,
Though it hurts, it's love,
I'm happy,
Because you are forever, My person,
I love you.
- My Dearest (by Park Bo-gum)
Episode 13
My Dearest
"H-Help me… Please… Help me…"
A completely frightened Bulma pleaded with tearful eyes as a man behind her shoved a blade near her throat. She could feel the man's other hand resting on her left back, palm pressed over there and ready to blast her with an energy beam. She couldn't help but tremble and whine in terror, wishing for the Saiyan Crown Prince she hated the most to save her.
"Let's pretend that we do not know each other… Please forget about anything we shared together. Forget about me and pretend that I don't exist."
These heartbreaking words from her and the memories it brought flashed through Vegeta's mind as he found her being taken hostage by the traitorous bastards right in front of him. Despite biding to her wishes as he promised, he realized how difficult that wish was deep inside his heart, especially when he could see her life in great danger.
Even so, a rage he was unable to control burst forth and he instantly released his suppressed destructive powers, causing his blue aura to explode around his form in a fiery blaze.
"Let go of the woman and deal with me, you fucking cowards!" he seethed viciously, giving the intruders an intimidating, ominous crimson glare. His canines elongated into fangs as he gritted his teeth together, a terrifying beastly growl emanating from his throat and chest.
Bulma gasped as she found that feral look on his face again. She didn't know if she should be afraid of the men hostaging her or the furious prince ready to unleash his bloodlust in front of her. Even so, Vegeta's reaction only made her more terrified of her situation. What if he kills her too?
Vegeta sensed Bulma became more frightened with what he did and so he said to her through telepathy, "Trust me, woman. Don't be afraid. So long as I'm in here, you have nothing to fear about." Even so, he sounded quite animalistic and harsh as he told her that so it really didn't help much. "Close your eyes," he commanded.
Bulma wasn't sure why she was hearing his hair-raising voice on her head but she had no choice but to obey him. She slowly closed her eyes, her long eyelashes fluttering. Inside her, she was asking to her self, why is she doing this? Why is she putting her trust on him? Moreover, why is he saving her? Didn't they just had a deal to forget each other and that they will treat the other as if they don't exist? Why?
The man behind her made a snickering sound, "If I were you, I will be more careful, your highness." the man holding Bulma said with a grimace at the way he addressed the Saiyan Prince. "If you attack recklessly then this woman will get killed. I'm sure you don't want that."
The Saiyan Prince snorted, "Hmph! Don't get the wrong idea. I couldn't care less about her. Tell me, are you here to avenge your puny friends we caught yesterday? Or to save the child we arrested earlier?" and then he gave them a wide, cruel smirk. "If that's the case, we're even. Let go of the woman or all of you shall suffer my wrath, starting with that child."
"What child are you babbling on about?!" The man said, confused. Sensing the uncertainly on the man, Vegeta confirmed that Eschalotte isn't a part of them. "I have no idea what you're talking about but I think it is my turn to give the commands, Prince Vegeta."
Vegeta snorted again, finding the rebels useless now after the information he needed was answered. He dramatically raised his right index finger that began to glow as he charged his Galick Beam to finish them off.
The other, much shorter and leaner man closest to the one holding Bulma, knew what's about to happen and quickly picked something on his pocket.
Noticing this action, the Saiyan Prince quickly fired at the man's finger. A red hoi-poi capsule dropped from the man's ruptured right hand as he screamed in agony. The thing dropped on the floor with a gentle clank and exploded into a cloud of green gas.
Vegeta quickly stepped back in complete surprise, but he reacted too late. As soon as he did that, his knees collapsed on the floor. His hands instantaneously shot up towards his left chest, feeling as if something was gnawing its claws to crush his heart. His facial expression twisted into a grimace of suffering. He suddenly found it hard to breathe as well.
W-What is this?!
Just as Vegeta fell on the floor, the men moved again after his telekinetic abilities were negated by that green gas.
Vegeta gritted his teeth and let out a silent scream, he could feel his ki powers being sucked away by whatever chemical it was that came out of that strange thing. Moreover, his sense of smell was being overwhelmed by its strong scent that made his nostrils flare.
Hearing a boisterous maniacal laughter, Vegeta raised his head to see those cowardly bastards peering at him with such mocking looks. Bulma opened her eyes to see what happened to him and she started to cry out his name.
"Vegeta! Vegeta!" she whined. "What have you done to him?!" she demanded her taker but she couldn't move, knowing the man's blade is dangerously pointing at her throat.
"Not so powerful now, are you? You are as weak and useless as an insect without your ki and prided strength." chuckled the rebel who was behind Bulma, ignoring his hostage's whining.
"Why you fucking cowards…" The furious prince snarled in blazing ire and excruciating agony. Even so, he could not feel any abrupt power awakening through his anger.
"Damn it. My… My power…"
Vegeta dreadfully realized that he couldn't summon his ki power anymore. It's lost, taken away by that horrendous chemical. He cursed to himself. How could he become so careless?
The laughter of his enemies increased in volume, it mixed along the cries of a helpless girl. The scumbags delighted to watch at him this way.
"Don't feel so bad about it. We only made this fair for all of us. You were haughty just because you have such powers! We'll see what you can do without that power who were so damn proud of!"
Tch! Cowardly fools! Fucking bastards! Vegeta could only curse at them. What was their motive anyways? For sure they just wanted to kill him, that's why they resort into weakening him with some sort of poison. So why do they take Bulma a hostage if they are just after him?
"Bastards…" growled the Prince as he slowly but surely get a hold of himself from falling into weakness. "Let go of the woman… And deal with… Me."
"Tsk, tsk. Like I said, it's my turn to give the commands. Don't order me around."
"If you're only after me, why the need to take her as hostage?" he asked.
"Because she will play an important role in the game we are going to play."
Game? What game? Vegeta wondered to himself. What stupid game are these scumbags trying to pull on him?
"We will beat you up as much as we want, until you die. You are free to use whatever methods you can do to defend yourself or to fight back. However, if you do so…" Bulma's head was forced to tilt backwards as the leader of the rebel group pulled her hair backwards. She perceived the cold blade of the sword very close to her throat, making her whimper. "This woman will suffer the consequences."
Damn those bastards! That was all Vegeta could think of. No matter how much he tried to deny caring for the woman, who should be a stranger to him by now, he knows he couldn't let them hurt her. Right now, his rage was seething deep inside of him, like a beast clawing its way out but couldn't free itself from its chains. He wanted to kill them all. He knows he could easily do it despite losing his powers. His natural strength alone would be enough to murder these wretched fools but he didn't want to risk the life of the person he liked the most. He cannot become as impulsive as he could be.
Vegeta knew the reason why he was forbidden to fall in love or have such affections for another being. It would be his greatest weakness and could be used against him, to make him submit to his adversaries no matter how strong and powerful he was. These rebels saw Bulma as a tool to make him submit to their will and he cannot do anything about it.
She was his weakness.
Even so, he tried squirming his way out of it. "Why do you think that taking the woman a hostage would make me submit to your will?" Vegeta asked, grunting as he pitifully pushed himself up to stand on his two feet. Once he was able to do that, he wobbled side by side and he painfully panted. That effort took a toll on his remaining energy. That made him so frustrated with himself.
However, he cannot show these scumbags how their stupid trick affected him. He raised his head and gave them a leering look. "Don't… Don't get so cocky… J-Just because you are able to drain me… of my powers doesn't mean you can win… Don't underestimate me. My inate strength will be more than enough to eliminate scumbags like yourselves." he puffed.
"Don't act so cool now. I don't think you can defend yourself from us anymore without that power you were so proud of."
"Heh, believe what you want… On second thought, I want you to give me your best shot!" Vegeta challenged courageously with a cocky smile. "But after this… I'm going to hunt you down… along with others of your pathetic group… and rip your organs out as I laugh at your agony! Don't say I didn't warn you…"
That somehow made the mysterious leader pissed off. The arrogance of this little shit! "Wallop him!" he harshly commanded the nineteen other men who charged at the prince aggressively and started to beat him as violently as they could using several weapons like sledgehammers or iron bats. Naturally, those things won't last after one hit as Vegeta's small physique was unbelievably sturdy. Plus, that armor he was wearing was surely protecting him as well.
How is this possible?! Even without his powers, his physical endurance was unimaginable!
Vegeta let out a dark chuckle, finding the looks of shock and awe on the faces of his enemies as something hilarious. "Seriously? Is that the best you can do? I can't feel anything!" he mocked with a disparaging grin. "You think sapping my ki would make you win, huh?"
Failing to beat him with those weapons, the men resorted to attacking with their fists. It still failed as the prodigy prince's defenses is unbelievable. Vegeta was acting on instinct but he didn't dare to attack. He cannot do that, yet. Bulma is still in great danger. Not with that sword pointed near her left carotid artery and a hand prepared to rip or blast her head from behind.
Vegeta sighed after the rebels whacking him halted their assaults.
"What's the matter? Is that all?" The Saiyan mocked once more.
The man behind Bulma let out a furious snarl. This brat sure is one tough punk. No wonder why he was hailed the strongest and the most powerful among these barbaric monkeys. "Don't you mock us! Or do you want this woman to get killed?!" he furiously shouted. He turned to his comrade and nodded. It seemed like he was signalling them to do something like a secret back up plan.
All nineteen men took a vial from their pockets and gulped down its contents. They instantly changed after that. Vegeta sensed their energy abruptly spiked, rising tremendously and uncontrollably. Their muscles bulked up enormously as angry veins protrude on their paling skin due to the amount of energy being forced out on them. They all screamed and roared, like beasts going out of control.
At that moment, Vegeta knew he was in big trouble. The tables have been turned. Not if he could manage to find a way to get his powers back. Even so, he still acted as cocky and arrogant to cover up what he realized. Soon, he was getting pummeled by the enemies. Tried as he might to defend himself, their strength combined were too much against his.
Bulma watched heartrendingly at the barbarous scene occuring before her watery eyes. There was the feared Crown Prince of all Saiyans, the Legendary Destroyer of Worlds, one of the most powerful and ruthless beings the universe had ever known, getting pummeled by weaker men who supposedly had strength nowhere his. She could not understand why he was letting himself be beaten violently this way and not retaliate. He's not even defending himself. It couldn't just because he's lost his powers. She believed he could defend himself and defeat these people with just his strength alone.
"Why?" Bulma cried, asking the unknown man behind her who has not let her go. His sword still dangerously pointing at her throat. "W-Why are you doing this to him?!"
"Why do you cry for him? Aren't you one who also wished for him to suffer? After all, we shared the same fate of having our home planet destroyed by him." The man responded. "All of us in our group have the same grudge against him as you do. He was the sole reason why we suffered loss and grief. Look at him suffer, don't you feel satisfied at seeing him being punished by us?"
Bulma couldn't help herself but to somehow, understand the men's reasons for doing this violent thing. After all, she initially planned with doing the same against Vegeta if she was given the opportunity. However, seeing it happen before her very eyes felt quite different than she expected. It felt unfair to her seeing him unable to fight back. He was completely helpless. Why does she pity him when he did the same to countless of helpless innocents? Why does her heart break for him?
Why?
"He was only proud and lofty just because he has the power that could destroy anything he wanted. Without that, he is helpless and weak. Now he knows how it feels being beaten up, unable to fight back because someone important's life is on the line." Her hostage taker continued.
No…
No…
This isn't right.
A tiny voice in Bulma's head cried out. Her tears flowed endlessly like a waterfall as the prince fell into the floor, completely bloody and terribly injured. Deep crimson blood streamed from his head down to his face. His body ached and shook due to the pain of his injuries. However, despite all of those damage, Vegeta still struggled to get up. The powered up men who somehow became beast-like stepped back in awe and disbelief at the display of fortitude.
What is this guy made of?
"How do you feel now? Aren't you the strongest and the most powerful among your kind? Does it anger you being unable to fight back? Does it hurt your precious pride? Don't you want to retaliate? Don't you want to kill us?" baited the undetermined mastermind.
Normally, Vegeta would take the bait and explode in a murderous rampage at those offensive mockery of his pride. Yes, he did feel indignant at the blatant insult but he restrained himself from being aggressive. Not yet. Instead, Vegeta used the same trick against his enemies.
Panting out of pain, Vegeta glared at the leader, "Are you done?" he wheezed. He squinted momentarily as blood streamed over his right eye. "Is that the best you can do? Maybe you would like to take a turn?" he offered with a cocky smirk, hoping the guy would buy his snare. "Unless you are too cowardly and too weak to do so."
That did it.
The man went ballistic at that and he shove his hostage away to jump and strike the arrogant brat with the deadly edge of his sword, hoping to cut his head off. Bulma rolled on the floor not far away, yelping in pain.
As if it was happening in a sluggish motion, Vegeta raised his left hand to grasp at the blade.
Shhhk!
What?!
Blood gushed from Vegeta's left palm, into his forearm and dripped silently on the floor as the enemy struggled to shove his sword down in an attempt to amputate the Saiyan's arm. But despite it, the prince's strength was inconceivable. Where is he getting this?!
Vegeta's smile widened as he said, "Got you!"
It was already too late when the enemy realized his mistake, Vegeta released a powerful, high kick that broke his jaw and causing him to choke his crushed teeth. Whirling around, the prince hurled the sword into the air. It reeled upwards just as its owner dropped cold on the floor. Vegeta raised his right hand to catch the sword on its handle, and he sprang forward to charge, using the other nineteen men's shock as an advantage.
Snapping out of their surprise, a furious battle started. Bulma watched at the gory fight in utmost terror. Despite being badly injured and powerless, Vegeta was winning. His enemies' burly physiques were huge disadvantages against someone leaner and smaller. Plus, that the prince already figured out their weakness due to that abrupt and forced power up. It started to drain them in time, while the prince of the Saiyans summoned his remaining strength like an adrenaline rush throughout his body. Vegeta moved so fast as he slashed his sword against them until he was able to get his hands on his pair of katana, the same things he used in his Sword dance performance. These two swords were the finest in the entire universe, made from the hardest metal, with the sharpest and deadliest blades anyone could ever imagine. He started to whirl the three swords expertly and mercilessly at his opponents. It was graceful yet ruthless at the same time.
Blood splattered on the floor and the walls, as the nineteen men fell along with their leader in a puddle of their deep red bodily fluids. Vegeta stood at the center of the dying bodies, panting and feeling the adrenaline rush fading into fatigue. He collapsed on the ground out of exhaustion, but Bulma was able to catch him on her arms.
Vegeta stared at her in wonder, she was crying for him.
For him.
"Vegeta, are you… Are you alright?" she asked, sniffing like she was mourning for him.
"Silly woman, do I look alright to you?" he retorted in a weak voice, flinching in pain. "I lost… my powers. I think some of my ribs are broken too. But these are nothing. I will heal soon."
Bulma suddenly pushed him, "You jerk! How could you not fight back as soon as you can?! You can easily defeat them even without your powers! There are only twenty of them!"
"Heh." Vegeta snorted weakly. "That is true. I wonder why."
And then his eyes drifted to close as blackness consumed his consciousness. At that same moment, Kakarot and Raditz arrived.
They were late.
~=-o-O-o-=~
Ten minutes earlier…
"What's the matter, Kakarot?" Chichi asked in concern. She noticed that he was anxious about something. He was observing the Crown Prince's palace with a discerning look.
"Something's not right." Kakarot responded.
"What do you mean?"
He turned to face her, "I'm sorry, Chichi. But we need to get out of here." Kakarot said as he grabbed Chichi's hand to teleport them to his home.
"What? Date's done already?" Bardock mumbled at his youngest son. Kakarot ignored his father's sarcasm to look for his older brother who was already sleeping.
"Raditz, wake up!" Kakarot shouted as he burst into his older brother's room. He picked up his scouter to call Broly. "Raditz!"
"Whaaaaaat?!" Raditz complained, still half asleep.
"Broly, can you hear me?" Kakarot was saying on the scouter but he could not contact the cool headed General. He cursed to himself as he turned to his still half asleep big brother.
"Raditz, get up! Something's going on in the Crown Prince's Palace!"
That jolted Raditz out of bed. "W-What did you say?! Where's Nappa? And the palace guards?!"
"Now, now. What's going on, brat?" Bardock demanded as he came in to the door.
"I have no idea. It's suspicious that it's unusually quiet there. Someone must have slipped a sleeping gas at the guards or some kind of ki poison. We have to hurry!" Kakarot answered quickly.
When Raditz put on his battle gear and grabbed his brother's arm, Kakarot raised his two fingers on the center of his forehead and immediately realized he cannot sense someone's ki within the Royal Palace. Not even the royal family's. (This happened before Bulma was taken to Prince Vegeta as a hostage). He hissed as he realized his mistake. How could he not notice it earlier?
"What now?!" Raditz snapped.
"I can't sense anyone within the Palace. We have to fly!" Kakarot said to his brother as he walked out of Raditz's bedroom. He passed by his girlfriend and approached her. "I'm sorry, Chichi. I have to go. It's an emergency. Please stay here for a while. It's dangerous out there." he told her as he grabbed her arm and stared into her eyes. "Let's postpone our date, okay?"
"…"
"I have to hurry. I need an answer now. Is it a yes or a no?"
It took Chichi about five seconds to answer, "Y-Yes."
Kakarot smiled back at her, a childish yet hopeful grin of a naive man falling in love. "You gave me your word." he reminded her. He turned to get out of his house as he leapt into the sky, blasting off towards the palace. Raditz followed behind him.
They arrived at the palace in less than ten seconds but before they could land, several masked men appeared to block their path. They were about hundreds of them, ready to attack them anytime.
There was indeed a rebel attack in the Crown Prince's palace!
They tried to evade the men by blasting through the roof but before they could do that, the rebels tossed something that looked like a small red capsule at them which exploded into a poisonous, green smoke. As soon as that happened, they plummeted into the ground, their Saiyan powers being sapped from their grasps.
Wondering what just happened to them in horror, they stared at the mysterious men with rage filled expressions.
"I can't feel my ki!" Kakarot cried out.
"They've poisoned us!" Raditz shouted. "Those damn cowards!" he roared.
"We have to fight with our raw strength!" Kakarot suggested.
They struggled to get up and forced their powerless bodies to pose into their fighting stances, their muscles and poise as taut as possible. They were completelt surrounded by hundreds of those traitorous men with ill intent, who became powered up by some type of power potion.
Their battle took them nearly eight minutes to finish. They failed to realize it was only a ploy to distract them from rescuing the Saiyan Crown Prince. Once they were able to defeat the rebels, they immediately dashed inside the Crown Prince's palace, only to find Prince Vegeta unconscious and disturbingly wounded in the arms of a crying blue haired alien slave.
They're late.
They didn't dare to speak to Bulma as they immediately tended to Prince Vegeta and hurriedly took him to the royal medical bay for Doctor Malaka to tend to. She was ignored and left alone inside the Crown Prince's private quarters, with those dying bodies of the rebels.
Vegeta became conscious just as they were about to put him in the medical tank. He ordered Kakarot to take Bulma out of his quarters before his father or the council finds her. He commanded Raditz to tell his father that he will personally deal with the rebels who did this to him.
When the news reached the King, he was terribly displeased. What were the palace guards and the Crown Prince's Generals been doing? How could they fail to protect the heir to the throne? How did the strongest Saiyan became like that? He commanded the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice, and his men to investigate.
They found the palace workers, guards and even the Crown Prince's attendant, had been thrown into a pit not far away. They have been unconscious and enervated the entire time. They were all taken by the king's guards for interrogation.
Nappa pleaded an honorable death to the king as punishment at his failure to protect the heir to the throne. Even the other guards pleaded the same thing but the king decided to have the prince punish them with death himself, along with the rebels just as he wished.
With both the king and the Crown Prince in bad conditions, Paragus thought he could temporarily take over the throne. But King Vegeta forced himself to summon another emergency meeting that late night to investigate what just happened.
They found out about some sort of technology placed within the Crown Prince's palace that could mask energies by emitting some sort of invisible barrier, the reason why Kakarot couldn't sense anyone's ki to teleport back. The Crown Prince's Palace was cleared by the time the rebels slipped the poison to weaken the guards or anyone nearby. It was a mystery as to how no one outside the Crown Prince's quarters didn't seem to notice the attack.
Some surviving rebels who were caught in the Crown Prince's Palace were presented before the King to be interrogated. They would like to know who was behind the attack. It took them more than an hour of torturing the rebels until one of them finally admitted…
"There's one of us inside the royal palace!"
~=-o-O-o-=~
Bulma wandered around the path back to her home with Kakarot later. He was able to get her out of the scene before the guards could arrest her with the rebels as per Prince Vegeta's order. He planned to take her back to her home.
"Is he going to be alright?" she wondered with a sullen look.
"Are you worried about him?" Kakarot asked. "You don't have to. He's a tough guy, he'll survive. He had worse than that, you know."
"What took you so long to arrive?! Aren't you supposed to be his protectors?! We could have died in there!" Bulma demanded, feeling angry at their late arrival to save them.
"We're supposed to be off duty when it happened. But when we arrived, the palace was surrounded. They also slipped us some poison that affects our ki and rendered us powerless. They were tough opponents, especially when they took something that seemed to multiply their strength through the roof. It was dirty, I know. But we let our guards down. It took Raditz and I all we had to defeat them."
"They used the same trick on you?"
"Yeah." Kakarot responded, shrugging off his shoulders with a look of grimace. "What I was wondering about is how Vegeta ended up in that state. Even if he lost his ability to manipulate ki, he couldn't have been badly beaten like that. We were trained to adapt to such situations in case we are sapped of our powers, we could still defend ourselves."
Bulma's steps halted as she answered in a soft voice, "It was because of me." Kakarot also stopped from walking as he turned his head in her direction, completely startled by her words. "He restrained himself from attacking knowing that my life was in danger."
"Really?"
She nodded grimly. Kakarot could not believe the words he heard from the woman. Prince Vegeta held back to protect her? That's unbelievable! Considering how proud and arrogant the Saiyan Prince was about his immense power and ruthless reputation, he was never the type of person to restrain himself in a fight just because someone's life was on the line. Most especially when he has no problem with eliminating his adversaries. This was the first time that has ever happened.
Kakarot realized that Bulma truly became a person the prince cherished the most. He loves her so much that he was willing to throw away his pride in order to protect her. He wondered if Bulma realized it by now.
He grinned at what he just learned. Vegeta was changing because of her. For her.
"Well, that's a first time." he smiled. He couldn't help but respect Bulma for that. She is indeed an amazing woman full of surprises. Out of all people, she was able to change the Prince of all Saiyans that drastically. It's like she has him wrapped around her fingers. How could a woman like her able to do that easily?
"Yes." Bulma agreed softly.
They made it back to Bulma's home as they continued walking in silence and parted from there. After Kakarot left, Bulma went straight to her room, her heart and thoughts filled with thoughts about Vegeta after his actions tonight. She couldn't help but realized that she still cared for him. She was worried for his well-being.
She was wrong to think that she could ever forget him, because it would be very hard to do so. Their lives and their fates had been tied together by a mysterious, wonderful yet bittersweet emotion so it won't just break loose and seperate. It was their relationship and feelings for one another that made them unable to forget each other.
What was she going to do now?
~=-o-O-o-=~
Bulma was having a nightmare…
She was dreaming of what just occurred, that terrifying moment of masked men infiltrating the Crown Prince's Palace. They took her a hostage when they pulled her into the trees as she walked towards her sleeping quarters after she said her goodbye to Prince Vegeta. She remembered the sheer terror she felt during that time. They presented her before the prince. She recalled of the frightening blood shed that occurred right before her eyes as they walloped the powerless and restrained Saiyan. She saw that Vegeta was dying on her at the moment she caught him on her arms.
"Silly woman, stop crying. Are you that guilty because I'm about to die because of you?" That was what he told her.
She was weeping for him. She shook her head to deny what he's accusing of her.
"No… No… Please don't go. I don't want you to die!"
"Liar! Didn't you want me to die already after all I did to you? You told me I was a monster, you would have thought I deserved this."
"No. No, I don't!"
And then he slumped on her lap. He didn't move or speak after that. He just stared at her with the blank eyes of a dead person. She couldn't help but notice the small tint of hatred and bitterness on those dark orbs. It was directed towards her.
"Vegeta! Wake up! Don't do this to me! Don't die on me, you jerk!" she cried out as she shook him, hoping he was joking around her and just rise up.
But he didn't.
"Nooooo!"
Bulma jolted from her bed the following morning. It surprised her mother that she whirled in shock. Panting and teary eyed, Bulma looked around, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Where's Vegeta? How is he?
"Are you alright, Bulma-chan?" asked her anxious mother as she offered her a glass of water. Bulma willingly took it and then quickly rose out of bed.
"I have to go back to the palace." Bulma told her mother anxiously. She quickly took her bath towel and ran towards the shower.
Bulma recalled her dream, and her heart broke at what it might be telling her. She couldn't help her tears for she feared that Vegeta would be dying anytime. It was good that the water had wiped them away so she could think it just came from the shower but her eyes felt like stinging. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. She should stop crying. It was just a dream. Kakarot was right, Vegeta is a tough guy. He will survive.
And yet she couldn't help herself to worry for his well-being so she decided to check on him.
~=-o-O-o-=~
When she arrived in the palace, she noticed that King Vegeta just came out from the Crown Prince's quarters. She immediately put her head down in fake respect but she was surprised to perceive that the king was looking in her direction. Was he glaring daggers at her? Does he know she was the reason his son was put into that state? She thought he was being suspicious at her presence. Bulma felt queasy so long as the King stayed in there.
It felt like an entire millenium had already passed by when the King finally walked past her. When the royal man was nowhere to be seen, Bulma felt quite relieved. She slowly and quietly walked inside the Crown Prince's palace, and found Broly standing silently in the corner of the prince's bedroom with his usual neutral expression.
"Hi," she greeted when she was finally standing on his left side. Broly turned his head to her but didn't speak.
"Uhmmm…" Bulma murmured to herself, feeling uncomfortable about asking him. "…Do you have any word… How is he?"
Broly's expression changed a little. He turned melancholic and guilty. That made Bulma's heart pound faster. "Go and see for yourself." he said with a low, unemotional tone as titled his head towards the door behind the blue haired girl.
The way he answered only made her nervousness grow and she reluctantly turned towards the door he pointed at her. With shaking hands, she slid it open to find Kakarot and Raditz staring at her with eyes filled with sadness and regret.
Gasping, she slowly turned her sights towards the lavished bed where the prince lay cold. She couldn't see him because he was enshrouded in a royal blue blanket with a majestic bouquet of Diose Bejita lying over it.
That image hit her heart like a bullet of a shotgun piercing through her chest and making it explode with various yet painful emotions she was holding back for so long. Shaking with regret and loss, she gradually stepped towards the bed, her tears falling like rain.
"He gave up his pride and his life for you. Until his last breath, all he could ever think was you. He truly loved you so much and yet, you could not forgive him…" Raditz told her bitterly. "We lost our Crown Prince, the strongest of our kind and our best friend, all because of a pathetic lowly girl like yourself. You should be grateful that someone like him risked his life to save you. I hope you're happy now that he's finally dead."
Raditz rose from his seat and angrily walked out. Bulma flinched at the sound of his stomping and the loud bang of the sliding door. Kakarot only stared at her, looking like he pitied her.
Bulma turned to the bed, to stare at the dead prince under that blanket. "No…" she whimpered as she finally approached the bed. It was so big that she could only sit on the edge and mourn for the man she truly loved. "Please, please… You can't do this to me, you jerk! No… Vegeta!" she whined.
Broly entered to find Bulma whining on the bed, Raditz was glaring at her from behind him.
"I'm sorry. This wouldn't happen if only I was able to answer your call." Broly muttered in a timid tone, making a sour look.
"Come on! We all know Vegeta could defend himself! He restrained himself because of her! It's her fault, not ours!" Raditz pressed.
"Guys, it's too late for regrets now. Vegeta decided it himself not to fight back for her sake. Bulma is out of the question." Kakarot said.
"Still, if she wasn't there, he wouldn't have to control his instincts! He could have saved himself!"
It was being too noisy around there with their bickering but Bulma didn't care. She just focused her attention to her regret of losing the man she truly loved but couldn't love. She just wished they could have met in another circumstance, where there are no unforgivable sins and forbidden love, where they could freely do whatever they want.
She wept noisily as her heart broke to millions of tiny pieces, recalling memories they shared together she wished she'd rather forget. Her emotions roared through her whining like a volcano erupting after sleeping for hundreds of years.
"What are you being so noisy about?! Can't you see that I'm sleeping here?!"
…
…
…
…
…
Eh?
The room fell silent at that annoyed complain coming from under the covers. Bulma stared at it in shock, her body frozen on the edge of the bed.
A hand from under the covers pulled the blanket off his displeased and grumpy looking face. He glared back at her, glowering at her as if she was his mortal enemy for thousands of years. He really did just woke up.
"And what the fuck is that dirty looking face?! Don't you show yourself to me looking like a damn banshee or I would blast you to the next dimension without ever recognizing you!"
Vegeta just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, looking like the angriest, most bitter and most dangerous person the universe had ever seen. Bulma just stared back at him with wide, disbelieving eyes, unable to speak or move. H-he was alive?
The three Generals broke out into a fit of hilarious laughter, making fun of Bulma's reactions earlier. Finally realizing what just happened, Bulma leapt into the bed and started to choke on the newly awakened prince.
"Why you little jerk?!" she indignantly yelled at him as she shook him as violently as she could manage. "How dare you make fun of me?! Do you think you can joke around about all the things in the world?! Huh? HUH?!"
"W-What the fuck are you saying?! Let me go before I throw you away into the trash where you belong!" Vegeta snapped back at her.
"Who are you calling a trash, you garbage bag?!"
"Stop barking at me! I have no idea!"
"Stop being such an ass!"
Kakarot, Raditz and Broly were laughing at their quarrel. Vegeta pushed Bulma down into the bed so he could dominate her by being on top of her. He put her hands above her to restrain them from attacking him.
Bulma realized that she was in a dangerous situation. He was on top of her, completely dominating her with his unbelievable strength. She could see that he was shirtless, and was awed by the wonderful shape of his chiselled chest and stony abdominal muscles. She snapped herself from having erotic thoughts about his beautiful body and screamed, "What are you doing?! Let me go, you jerk!"
"I will let you go if you stop screaming like a banshee!"
"Heeeey! Excuse us, your highness but we're here!" howled Raditz teasingly.
Vegeta turned his malevolent gaze at him and the three immediately stepped back.
"What have you done now?" Vegeta demanded in an imperial tone. He sounded like he was ready to kill them all at once.
"It was only a joke, your highness. We wanted to see how she would react to your death." Raditz replied as fast as he could.
"How could you think I would die as easily as that?!" The infuriated prince roared.
"It was a joke! A joke!" Raditz defended.
"Get out of my sight before I make a joke about sending you three to the next dimension!"
"Apologies, your highness." Kakarot bowed apologetically, seeing the displease on their prince's expression. "Should we do as you commanded us earlier?"
"Go away!"
"…Yes, your highness." The three gulped in unison as they began to step out of the perilous territory.
"Enjoooooy…" Raditz winked at them, teasing them once again.
Vegeta pulled away from Bulma, ripped a part of his canopy and hurled it violently towards his best friend's head. "SHUT UP!" he roared.
"Ouch!" Raditz pouted as he rubbed at his head where that thing hit him. He found the infamous ominous death glare from those evil eyes of the Legendary Destroyer and he raised a hand, doing a peace sign. "Okay. Okay. I understand."
The door slid close, leaving the completely pissed off Saiyan Crown Prince with the woman he risked his pride to save.
Outside Vegeta's personal quarters, Kakarot and Raditz giggled quietly to themselves as Broly picked the Crown Prince's order from his pocket. They opened the letter and read about the prince's punishment for all rebels that attacked his quarters, the exact amount and description of all the hits he received from them. Below that was a word balloon and a cute, angry chibi doodle of Vegeta himself, the words on the balloon said,
"Give each of them the same punishment multiplied by 9001 times. I don't care if they can survive it or not. And about the leader of their group, leave him to me."
There was a sketch of the leader's face included, the man who took Bulma as his hostage.
The three Generals stared at the letter for a moment before the two brothers broke into a fit of laughter, amazed at their Crown Prince's childishness.
~=-o-O-o-=~
An awkward silence fell in between Vegeta and Bulma inside the prince's room. Neither talked to each other for about a minute or two. Bulma just stared at him quietly, taking note of his handsome and majestic features. It made her heart pound and her face blush going through his perfectly toned muscles.
"I know I'm attractive but could you stop staring at me like that?!" Vegeta ordered her, annoyed.
"Idiot, how am I staring at you? I'm not!" Bulma mumbled, looking away. The truth is, she couldn't take her eyes off his beautiful body. She couldn't help but to admit he was indeed a beautiful man. He's indeed muscular, even though he was lean and short in height.
Vegeta gave her an impish smirk as he responded, "… Like… You can't take your eyes off me."
Bulma rolled her eyes at such conceitedness. "Tch! Please! I'm NOT staring!" she snorted.
"Hmph!" he snorted back, not buying the pathetic excuse. "So what are you doing in here?"
She stared at him angrily, tears threatening to fall once more. Her lips quivered as she fought back her emotions but failed to do so. Vegeta saw her pain and pulled her into a back hug. His muscular, strong arms wrapped around her gently as he put his chin over her left shoulder.
"Cease your tears, stupid woman." he whispered in her ear. "Can't you see that I'm fine?"
"How could you do this to me, you jerk?! Don't you know how worried I was?! Idiot!" she yelled at him. "I was really scared. I thought you were going to die. I thought you were already dead when I came in here!"
"Tch! You're the idiotic one in here, woman! I don't die that easily. Those bastards are weaklings, after all." Vegeta remarked with a smug smirk. "I told you not to be afraid. So long as I can breathe, you don't have to fear about anything."
"Then why didn't you fight back?! There are only twenty of them! And they say you are the strongest and most powerful of your kind - "
"- Because if I did, I won't be able to save you." he cut her off with a shocking answer. Bulma pulled away from his arms and stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. Now, those words came from his own mouth. "I am the Crown Prince of all Saiyans. I could destroy entire galaxies and any world I wish to rid of and kill anyone with just one thought alone. Disposing of those bastards would be too easy for me. Even if I lost my powers, my own physical strength is more than enough for me to destroy them. You have no idea how mad I was at their trickery. I wanted to murder them in the most brutal way I could think of so badly. But I knew that once I do that, once I give in to my rage and bloodlust, I would lose control of myself. I would lose you, too. What I could do and become when I go into a berserk rage is something I tried to keep under control. So I restrained myself, held back my anger and my pride, because all I wanted to do was to protect you. I could not do anything while your life was in danger, so I played along with them. It took me a matter of time before that fool bought my taunts and let you go, that was the cue I was waiting for. Once I'm assured that you are free of him, that's when I finally unleashed my wrath. But I didn't want to finish them off so easily, it would be too boring. That is why I left them alive…"
And then his voice turned darker, as his eyes darkened with his vengeful wrath.
"I won't let them get away from what they did. They must pay dearly for it."
Bulma saw the rage and bitterness in his dark eyes as he spat those last words back. She realized the reason why everyone else feared incurring his anger so much, he was ready to unleash a gruesome punishment to those who offend him. He was especially dangerous when he becomes furious.
"I'm afraid of what you might do to them when you start punishing them." Bulma said.
"Don't concern yourself with it. They put themselves into this mess. I'll make sure to make them suffer greatly before I send them to Rushifa."
Bulma raised a hand and put it on his shoulder as if she was trying to hold him back and calm him down. His irate eyes turned to hers. Finding those warm and wonderful cerulean round eyes staring back at him soothed his boiling ire and he relaxed.
"Why did you still do it? After we agreed to part ways and forget each other, why?" Bulma asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Vegeta replied. "You told me to forget you because you can't forgive me for what I did. I let you go because I thought I could forget you easily. But then I realized I was wrong to let you go. The more you avoid me, the more I want you to be mine. I just cannot forget you. Your existence has turned into something I became so obsessed with. I tried telling myself I didn't care but when I saw you being taken by those bastards, I realized that I may still lose you if I let you go. That's when I decided… That I will not deny it any longer and stop lying to myself anymore. That I will fight back! That I will fight for you. I know I'm very selfish but you are going to be mine. I will not allow anyone or anything to take you away from me. No matter how forbidden these feelings are for me, I swear I will not lose you again, no matter what!"
You are my dearest.
"Unless, of course, if you go against me." he continued, muttering.
"Vegeta…" Bulma gave him a small, bashful smile as she looked at him warmly. Her voice soft like silk. "I know. You are a great man. A strong and powerful warrior. And yes, you really are. But you are also a very dangerous man. You are hot tempered, violent and very impatient. Usually angry and childish. Your ruthless reputation alone speaks volumes at how perilous you are. I won't deny that I hate it, because I am afraid of what you can do or of what you can become. And I hate it even more because everytime I look into your eyes, I get drawn to you even more. Please give me time to decide. I need to think about it, to get rid of the fear and hesitation."
"You are afraid of me?" he muttered in surprise.
"I don't fear you. At least, not entirely. It's your reputation I was afraid about. Not after what just happened. I needed to think if I could really become your lover. It's dangerous to be with you. Even if you say you can protect me, I'm having doubts because I feel worried and guilty about you risking your life and your pride to protect me. What I fear is what we are going to face - ."
All of a sudden, he pulled her into a kiss, which surprised her, quickly took her breath away and cut her words off. He gently ran his fingers through her short, blue hair as he deepened the kiss a little longer. Bulma closed her eyes, letting him do that. Enjoying the taste of his lips pressing into hers with such passionate and warm feelings. She raised her hand to touch his forearm, willing him to do more. His other hand went to her hips, running his palm over those slender curves covered by her dress.
He pushed her into the bed until her back was resting on the mattress, deepening the kiss further. He let go of her hips as he held her head in between his hands. His tongue playfully fought with hers inside her mouth. Bulma moaned in pleasure as she ran her fingers over the soft strands of his spiky hair. It feels so...
So good...
She wanted more...
Not long after that, Bulma snapped out of those erotic feelings, having realized how improper these actions were and she pushed herself away from him, parting their lips from that kiss. Shock was evident on her blushing face. Just what the hell was she thinking?!
"W-What are you doing?!" Bulma gasped, gazing into his mesmerizing eyes. Her cheeks blushing about what he did. She had to admit though, he was a good kisser. Plus, he looks so damn sexy right now.
Vegeta's lips crooked upwards to give her a wide mischievous smirk, "Shutting you up in a sexy way."
Bulma blushed even more at those words. Being kissed by a dangerous, shirtless man with a body to die for is indeed sexy. Or perhaps, that was an understatement.
She giggled, "You got me."
Vegeta pulled himself off of her, looking quite disappointed at the interruption. "You got away so many times with talking shit about me, thinking so many offending things about me, punching me, choking me, trying to beat me, attempting to kill me, angering me and biting me. You also put my life in grave danger. I think it is time for me to punish you."
And then he let out a cruel smile. Bulma moved back in trepidation at the way he looked at her. He leaned his face an inch away from hers to glare at her eye to eye, making Bulma bend back a little.
Just as she admitted him, Bulma gets drawn by the way his eyes gaze back at her. It felt like she was being absorbed into the black hole that swirled in his dark eyes. The gravity within it pulls her heart and soul into it against her own wish, making her completely at a loss of words whenever he does that kind of strange technique that completely bewitches her and makes her heart flutter inside her chest against her own wish.
"Fine, I'll give you time to think about it." he said after a nearly a minute of silent glare match. He pulled away and gave her an impish smirk. It made her heart melt even more. "But I just want you to know that if you put your trust on me, everything is going to be fine. Don't take too long, my dearest." He pecked another kiss on her forehead. "That's a direct order."
Bulma gazed at him in question, confused as to what he just called her. "Your what? What did you just call me?"
He just grinned back at her impishly, just like the way he did when he was Sadara. "My puppy." He winked before he got up from his bed and started hopping around like some rabbit. His tail wagging happily behind him as if he was some dog. Bulma watched at him, giggling at how his tail wiggle that way. She noticed that his injuries have been fully healed and begin to wonder.
"Hey, are you alright now? What happened to your injuries?" she asked curiously.
"I heal pretty fast. Faster than any of my kind." he explained. "I told you those injuries are nothing." he snorted as he put on his blue long sleeved shirt.
"How about your powers? Did you manage to get it back as well?"
"No, but I'm sure I'll get it back tonight."
"Huh? How?" Bulma wondered, unable to understand his answer.
He turned to face her and told her, "I forgot to tell you, don't come out tonight. Stay in your home until sunrise, do you understand?"
"Why?" she asked.
Vegeta let out a wide, evil smirk, excitement flashing in his dark eyes. "Because there will be a full moon tonight."
~=-o-O-o-=~
Once Prince Vegeta appeared in the Royal Throne Room, the royal council were surprised to find him already fine. Just like what happened after he was beaten by the Galactic Emperor's soldiers. Words spread like fire about the condition he was in when Kakarot and Raditz brought him in the medical bay and they thought it would take a matter of time for him to recover since his ki was heavily affected by the ambush.
"What's with the look on your faces? You look like you've seen a ghost." he told the Ministers with sarcasm as he took a seat on the throne. "It looks like I have a lot to take care of today. Where should I begin with? Ah! Let's do it first come, first serve.
"First, I already figured out the truth about what happened to my father." he announced. "I directly asked the rebels themselves about the child and clearly, they have no idea what I was talking about, meaning she is not directly involved with them."
"But your highness, how can you be so sure that the child really isn't a rebel or a daughter of a rebel?" Kabu questioned.
"Because I know so!" The prince huffed.
There was a deafening silence in the throne room. The members of the royal council stared at each other.
"Your highness, it is improper of you to just base things according to what you just know so." Paragus said.
"Shut up! When I say it, I know it's the right thing! Don't tell me I'm wrong because I am always correct!"
The Ministers just shrugged at that nonsense. Vegeta ignored their reactions though.
"Nappa." the Crown Prince called out.
"Yes, your highness!" his attendant howled respectfully outside.
"Bring it in here." he ordered.
"Yes, your highness!"
Nappa entered the royal throne room with a tray full of food. He carefully put the tray in front of the Crown Prince and stepped back behind the throne.
"I spoke to my father earlier and ordered my chefs to replicate the same set of meal the king has eaten yesterday in order to prove to you the innocence of the child." he said.
"According to his Majesty, the food that poisoned him is the Kurashei soup, an appetizer that must be taken first out of all the food served. Kurashei are edible shoots with a sour taste. The extracts from the shoots would produce a highly acidic substance. This substance is known as rimetrephine. Though having a highly acidic nature, it is not capable of producing poison. The problem lies with this." He gently pointed at the silver colored bowl.
"What caused the poisonous effect is the combination of remetrephine to shuogon. The King's dinnerware is entirely made of shuogon. The reason why the taster isn't affected by the poison is because she tested the soup on a different cup."
"Being a Crown Prince, my chefs prepared these food on shuogin plates, shuogin is known to distinguish poisonous substances." he took the bowl and pour half of the contains into another silver colored bowl, raised his spoon to finish the entire soup on one of the bowls and showed the empty ones to the Ministers. "Nothing has changed, right?"
He picked a coin made of pure shuogon and tossed it inside the other bowl. After a minute, he pulled out the coin that clearly changed color from dark gold to a pale gold.
"The soup inside this bowl is now tainted with poison." he poured the contents into the bowl where he ate earlier and showed the now empty ones to the Ministers. The silver color of the bowl had faded, confirming that its previous contents was indeed poisonous. "Now, let's see who among you is brave enough to try this?" The Crown Prince offered the bowl with the soup, with a smile on his face to each and everyone inside the throne room.
Abruptly, his smile melted into a deep frown as he angrily hurled the bowl into the aisle. It broke to pieces in the puddle of that poisonous soup.
"Minister of Justice! Release Eschalotte at once!" The Crown Prince commanded in an imperious tone.
"But your highness!" protested Soi but was unable to say anything as the heir growled back indignantly.
"How dare you place your own kind into this modus?! I told you to investigate this matter as soon as possible and not to wait for me until I do it myself! What have you been doing the entire night before the attack in my quarters had occurred?! Relaxing despite a direct order?! Release Eschalotte at once! I've proven her innocence myself!"
"A rebel is within the palace grounds." Soi pressed. "That's what the rebels caught in your quarters confessed, your highness. We can't let the girl escape."
"Are you defying my direct order?!" The Crown Prince yelled. "The confessions of those fools who attacked me yesterday is a different matter I would deal later. Do as I say or do you wish to be punished for defying me!"
Soi stepped back fearfully, not wanting to be punished by the merciless prince. "N-No, your highness. I will do as you commanded me." he scampered out of the throne room.
Vegeta then turned to Nappa and commanded him, "Next, bring forth all the palace guards on duty on the Crown Prince's Palace at the time the rebels attacked my quarters."
Nappa gulped fearfully at the order and bowed down to his Crown Prince before he walked into the door to tell all the palace guards the heir requested. There were eighty palace guards who entered, looking down the aisle to avoid the displeased gaze of the one they failed to protect. Nappa stood in front of the soldiers with a solemn look.
The rest of the royal council waited, knowing that the Crown Prince would obliterate his subjects due to their unacceptable failure of protecting him.
"I know I always say that I could protect myself even without your help, but it doesn't mean that you would relax and neglect your duties. If that was the case, I wouldn't need you lingering around my quarters to keep watch." he told them. All eighty-one Saiyan soldiers cried out in unison, grovelling on the Crown Prince for his mercy despite knowing its useless.
"We accept full responsibities to our failure, your highness! You may punish us the way you want it."
Vegeta frowned at such request. It's good that his Elites are honorable enough to accept their wrongdoings and the punishment it comes with. He murmured to himself as thinks of a gruesome punishment he'll bestow upon these irresponsible weaklings. He carefully analyzed through what his father told him about the investigations earlier and decided.
"Very well, then." The Crown Prince said. "Starting tomorrow, all palace guards in my palace will begin training three hours before their duty. There are three shifts a day but I will personally train all of you three times a day within this month.
"Your failure to your duty isn't neglect but your lack of experience. You were not able to sense the danger first hand, this gave the rebels the time to throw in the sleeping gas into your posts. I won't allow such failure once again, especially when all of you are in the Elite Class! I will teach you everything I know to enhance your battle senses and to improve your skills. I think you already know how harsh my training would be."
"We are graced by your mercy, your highness! It would be a great honor to be trained by you." the Elite Guards said.
"Tch! Go now before I change my mind. Nappa, stay in here."
The guards respectfully bowed down and silently stepped out while Nappa sauntered on the Crown Prince's left side.
"Now, as for the foolish rebels…" Vegeta let out a completely malevolent smile that chilled everyone's spine within the entire throne room. It was obvious that the cruel prince has something special for those who did him harm.
Especially to the man who harmed his dearest.
~=-o-O-o-=~
Finally, Eschalotte was free. The first one she saw once she was out of the cold prison was her savior, the Crown Prince. She dashed towards him and immediately dropped down on the ground on her knees as if she was praising him.
"Your highness! How could I ever thank you enough for showing me your mercy?" she cried out.
"Don't worry about it, girl." Vegeta said. "It took me a long time to prove myself right to free you. For that, I apologize for the fear you felt for your life. You are free to go now. I hope to see you again somewhere. Be a good girl. Take care of your father. I will do as you wish of me back in the lantern festival."
The girl raised her head, gasping, "You still remember that, your highness?"
The prince nodded at her and smiled. "Of course."
~=-o-O-o-=~
Bulma rolled on her bed for she doesn't know how many times already, thinking about her prince, his heart-pounding words to her and how he's saved her a lot of times. Perhaps, after what happened yesterday, her opinion of him has changed. She could not deny that she still have those feelings she had for him back when she knew nothing about his true identity, what doubted her feelings for the man was indeed his darkest side. But he showed her his better side a lot of times even after they had agreed to seperate their ways.
Just like him being Sadara, Vegeta caught her heart once again after that heroic act. He was still being playful and warm towards her, just as him disguising as Sadara. And told her that he won't lie to himself any longer. Perhaps, what he showed her was indeed his honest and sincere emotions, especially when he threw away his pride into telling her that. He told her to trust him this time, just as she did Sadara. Her hatred of what he did is beyond the past, something to let go now, perhaps. What matters most is that she'd seen him change.
Were her feelings for him returning? Can she finally accept him entirely for what he is? Can she finally love him?
Bulma rolled on her bed once again to face the other side of her room, snuggling into the pillows and smiled to herself.
Maybe it won't be bad to give him a second chance.
~=-o-O-o-=~
Vegeta paced around his quarters, looking like he was being impatient with waiting for someone. Raditz, Kakarot and Broly sat on the cushion seats not far behind him. To them, the prince was like a hungry predator impatiently waiting for something to eat.
"What's the matter, your highness?" Kakarot asked.
"Are you being impatient with waiting to get your powers back tonight when the full moon rises?" Raditz chuckled.
"We three are suffering the same fate." Kakarot muttered. "Good thing we still have Broly in here, right? You would protect us, right? Broly?"
"I have no obligation to you." Broly answered Kakarot with cold and cruel words, glaring at him.
"Aww, come on!" Kakarot laughed at such heartless response.
"Goodness! What's taking her so long to decide!" Vegeta shouted indignantly as he stomped his feet on the floor.
The three Generals looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders with a pout, knowing this is about Bulma again.
"Should I answer that question, your highness?" Raditz cleared his throat. The prince turned his head towards him, a deathly glare causing him to shrink back in fear.
"What do you know?" Vegeta asked him with a threatening gaze and voice.
~=-o-O-o-=~
Raditz laid out a doodle of a lateral image of a head and a brain on the wall. The brain is divided into three equal parts.
"And what the fuck is that?!" Vegeta demanded in a scary tone.
"It is a picture of Bulma's mind, your highness." Raditz responded.
"Tch! What an ugly picture." the royal Saiyan commented with a bitter face.
"I'm sorry for being not so artistic as you." Raditz mumbled.
"Grrrrr..!"
Raditz mechanically turned his back with a pale face at the bloodthirsty stare the tempestuous heir to the throne was giving him.
"A-Anyways, Bulma's feelings are equally divided into each of her family members. Her father who was very proud of her, her mother whom she adores for preparing her sumptuous food and her older sister who loved sharing good stories for her. Since she's been seperated from them for almost thirteen years, it is only obvious that her feelings are focused about them. She longed for them and she is trying to make up for the time they lost because of the tragedy."
"Hmm? Still such an ugly drawing." Vegeta commented. "Wait, what is that small dot over there?"
The prince noticed the very small dot below the brain.
"Oh, it's you, your highness." Raditz replied curtly and too straighforwardly.
…
…
…
Booom!
Like an eruption of a furious volcano, Vegeta's ferocious temper exploded in an abrupt manner.
"What?!" Vegeta roared in frustration. "What the fuck are you talking about?! Are you saying that I, the Crown Prince of all Saiyans, is nothing but a mere dot at the back of Bulma's mind?!"
Raditz and Kakarot flinched at the way the Crown Prince reacted while Broly sighed, feeling as if his eardrums just burst at that shout.
"At least, she still thinks about you! Not after what you did to her! After all the lies you made her believe and the sufferings you made her go through, for seperating her from her family and destroying her home planet, it won't be that easy for her to just forget what you did and forgive you! It might be in the past, but it truly affected her entire life!" Raditz explained. "Other than that, your impatience, explosive temper and childishness add to the negative image of you in her mind -."
Raditz's continuous blabbering was halted by the Crown Prince's perilous killer look.
"SHUT UP!" Vegeta yelled back as he violently hurled the study table that was in front of him towards Raditz's direction. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Get out of my sight, you useless imbecile! I don't want to see your ugly face! You think I've already forgiven you for that prank you three idiots did to make Bulma believe I was dead?!" Vegeta stomped his way to the nearest furniture he could find and effortlessly lifted an enormous, heavy-looking cabinet off the floor.
The long haired General raised his hand in surrender, seeing the prince was not done throwing furnitures at his direction. "Y-Your highness! I'm sorry! I'm just kidding! I'm sorry!"
"Shut up!" Vegeta was about to throw the cabinet but...
"Your highness, Zorn requests to speak with you."
Hearing Nappa on the door, the two bickering Saiyans muted their argument, Vegeta silently ordered Raditz to pull the drawing off the wall, the long haired General quickly crumpled the paper and put it inside his chestplate. Vegeta quietly put the cabinet down to its rightful place and silently sat back to his cushion seat.
Clearing his throat, Vegeta commanded. "Come in."
The door opened for the King's right hand man to enter. Zorn curtly bowed down before the Crown Prince while Raditz, Kakarot and Broly quietly stepped outside.
"Your highness," Zorn said. "The king has ordered for me to check on you after the assembly. He was worried that you have to deal with too many problems at once."
"Don't worry about it. I took care of the problem already. The rebels who attacked me were severely punished. They failed to give us anymore clues that would lead to their leader." the prince told him in his usual detached tone and stone cold expression. "As for the rebel in the palace, I will personally search for him and deal with him. He could be the one traitor who let these rebels in the palace grounds yesterday evening."
"Do you have any idea as to who this person is?" Zorn inquired.
"I ordered the search for him. I hope to receive some news later."
Zorn looked down, biting his lower lip. That caught Vegeta's eye and begins to get a little suspicious. He immediately sensed the King's right hand man's ki flicker.
"I heard of what happened to you. Are you sure you'll be alright tonight?" Zorn said.
"Yes." Vegeta answered, his tone dropping down a few more degrees.
"You did a good job dealing with the problem, your highness. But…"
The moment Zorn said those words, Vegeta knew he might have some idea who he was looking for.
"But what?" The heir to the throne asked, his cold, dark eyes cruelly pierced through Zorn like an icicle.
Zorn stared at the Crown Prince, noticing the chilling glare that made a shiver ran up his spine. He let out a deep breath as he said carefully, stuttering as he felt his body shiver due to terror. "W-What are you going to do if the traitor is someone very close to you?"
The prince's facial expression hardened even more, "What do you mean?" his tone even more intimidating than earlier.
"W-What if one of your Generals is the traitor you were looking for? Or perhaps, that woman named Bulma… What are you going to do?"
Vegeta's brows furrowed together at the question and started to become doubtful. Why is Zorn telling him this? Is he telling him that the rebel is amongst Raditz, Kakarot, Broly, Nappa and Bulma?
He went through the details of the clues given by the rebels once again in his mind. And then he realized that his father's right hand man might be correct after all.
