The Worlds Smartest

This Is The Enforcer Speaking,

Thank you to my new and constant readers. I am here. I am alive. There is much to be said for that. Lord this story has haunted me for years and I will press through with it to a finish. Bear with me in true faith and eventually I will see us through to the end.

Now…On To The Story!

Descent

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Moonlight danced off the blackness of the sea. Bulma watch the waves roll ever so gently onto the sands of the beach. Grateful for the two half moons in the sky. The view from their balcony remained her favorite in all of Vegetasai even after the last two weeks of travel. It was why she'd decided they would stay in Vegeta's quarters and not move into the royal suite. Vegeta's view was better and Bulma felt comfortable in his rooms.

Following the coronation, they'd traveled around to the major cities of Vegetasai, making appearances and hearing out local petitions. It'd been a long two weeks for the both of them. Traditionally the trip would have taken a month however, Vegeta refused to spend any more time away from training. Frieza would be on them in two months.

For her part Bulma was glad to be back in their own space and not that of various royal outposts.

Spinning the royal medallion in her fingers Bulma watched the moonlight glint off the metal. She'd yet to grow accustom to its weight even after wearing it so much but tomorrow Bulma would be seeing just how far she could push her new world with the weight of her station.

Despite allying the Saiyans fears that she would destroy their way of life Bulma would be making some pretty big changes for them.

It'd taken the last two weeks to make sure all the proclamations were properly worded and filed but, in the morning, they would be making announcements that would change the face of the Saiyan culture forever.

Focusing back out onto the water Bulma wished she could have a drink. Her nerves were shot. Vegeta was off training leaving Bulma alone with her thought. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not to be honest. Along with the continued morning sickness, the pressure of ruling, and the constant threat of Frieza's impending arrival Bulma feared her capabilities as a mother, if they all survived the upcoming battle anyway. She was too young to do any of these things. Though her own mother had been just as young Bunny always seemed pre-programed to raise a child. Bulma held no such sentiments. She wished her mom was still alive to help her. She would have adored being a grandmother.

Being distracted by her thoughts Bulma didn't sense the incoming danger until it hit her like a train. Knocking her from her balcony and driving her down into the sand below.

The wet earth exploded around her, knocking the breath from her. Bulma tried to scream but the sea flooded her nose and mouth. Bulma panicked, kicking and struggling against the hands around her throat. Whoever held her down had no intentions of fighting her, they were simply going to drown her. "Vegeta!" She cried out for him with her mind.

Vision fading Bulmas thoughts went to the unborn child in her body. They weren't just killing her, they were killing her child, Vegeta's child. Power exploded out from her. Lighting up the world around her. The explosion of ki cleared the sea from around her long enough for her to gasp in a breath of air and get a view of her attacker before the water rushed back down onto her. It was a skinny purple alien with a long reptilian head.

That was when Vegeta hit it like a bomb plowing her attacker off of her. Ki exploded around them in a whirl wind, buffeting her with power and sand. In the center of the pulsing ball of ki Vegeta held the male by the throat, one hand gripping him, holding his feet off of the ground.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screamed. "Don't kill him. We need to know who sent him." Because there was no way this creature was working on his own.

"I heard you cry out for me." Vegeta's voice growled. "Felt your fear."

His hand closed tighter around the alien. Its eyes bugged out as it scrabbled to pry Vegeta's hands free.

"Vegeta, stop." Bulma shouted as she stood up from the surf. Her stupid nightgown, something she'd put on for Vegeta more than herself, clung to her body uncomfortably. "I'm safe now and we need his information."

Bulma walked toward that burning ball of power and then through it. It should have burned her but it didn't.

Reaching out Bulma laid her hand on his arm and just like that his ki extinguished.

Dropping the alien to the ground Vegeta turned to her. Face cruel.

"You do not command me." He snarled.

Just then the elite guards began falling out of the sky, landing all around them.

"See the Queen back to our quarters. Secure the balcony. She is to go nowhere unguarded."

Before Bulma could get another word out he had the alien in hand and was gone into the sky. Blinking Bulma stood shivering, suddenly cold, as Vegeta cut her off from him completely. He never severed their tie so completely. It left her freezing inside and the cool breeze blowing on her wet barely there nightie left her cold on the outside.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Hours passed without a sign from Vegeta. Oh, she could sense his presence, his ki, Vegeta's power level was too high to ever completely hide it but it burned low, barely detectable. He was hiding from her and Bulma was done sitting around waiting on him.

She dressed quickly in her suit and armor before strapping on her swords in their new and improved holsters. A gift from a 3rd class leather worker. The swords now rested across her back at just the right angle to still draw them. The new positioning made flighted combat easier and held the swords more securely. Buckling the black straps across her chest before settling her medallion around her neck Bulma all but kicked the door open out into the hall.

Her ever present guards, Toma and Zuc stood outside the doors. Jumping slightly at her sudden appearance the two turned toward her.

"Hello boys. Care to join me on a field trip?"

They exchanged a look that clearly said they'd rather not but studiously followed after her as she tracked Vegeta's ever present energy.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bulma found herself in a previously unexplored part of the castle, facing a locked door. Glancing at the key pad Bulma sighed. Her hand print hadn't worked. Which made her Spidey senses go off. As the Queen what door should be locked to her?

"What's down there?" Bulma asked her guards.

Toma cleared his throat before speaking.

"The prison."

"And I don't have clearance why?"

"I don't know."

"Open it." She commanded. Looking uncomfortable Toma did as instructed. The door opened leading down a dark winding set of stairs. Why wouldn't it? Bulma thought.

"Stay here." Bulma began her descent down the stairs.

"We aren't supposed to leave you alone." Zuc chimed in as Bulma took a step away.

Glaring up at them Bulma stepped through the doorway. "That wasn't a request."

As they stood looking confused Bulma hit the buttons to close the door behind her. Another serious of codes manually overrode the outer lock to ensure that Bulma would be left alone to discover whatever was making her feel so much dread.

They could call it a prison all they wanted but Bulma felt like she found the dungeon after all. The torchlit stone stairway wound its way down several floors before opening up onto a long corridor with cells down both sides. The prison smelled of damp and blood.

Much to her relief the cells were empty. Though this did beg to question where was Vegeta with the purple alien?

The end of the corridor divided into two paths. Bulma took the darker path, she sensed her mate down that way. His presence grew stronger the further down the hall she went until Bulma came upon a door at the end. Overriding the keypad Bulma forced the heavy steel door to open. An even darker stairwell stood before. Swallowing past the increasing dread Bulma continued her descent.

At the bottom of the stairs Bulma froze. She could her Vegeta speaking in low tones. Then a scream rose up that raised all the hair on her body. Freezing Bulma slowly peaked her head around the corner.

The purple alien hung by its wrists from the ceiling. Vegeta stood in front of it with his fingers dug into the creature's flesh. The thick green blood ran down his hand to pool onto the floor. More blood leaked from holes in other places on the creature.

Vegeta was torturing him. Ripping chunks slowly from his body.

"Who has sent you?" Vegeta growled out the question before setting his fingers ablaze with ki and searing the creature from the inside. It screamed loud and long. Vegeta shoved his fist into the creature's body. It spit green blood down it's chest.

"Frieza!" It screamed. Her mate simply nodded and pulled his hand free.

Shaking the blood from it he spoke again. His voice as cold and dark as Bulma had ever heard it.

"Next question. Who else? Who among my men are traitors?"

"Raditz. Nappa." The alien quickly answered, tears running down its face. Vegeta shook his head and float up in the air before reaching out to graspe the creatures bound hands.

"Who else?" He asked. The alien shook his head refusing to answer. Vegeta tore one of it's fingers off. The screaming was like nothing Bulma had ever heard before.

"Who else?" He asked again. Still no answer. The Prince removed another finger. One more finger was all it took before names started falling from the aliens lips. Some names Bulma recognized. Some she didn't but none of that seemed to matter as she watched Vegeta smile, covered in blood, as he gleefully tortured her would be assassin. Her stomach turned but she refused to be sick. She need to get out of there but as she took a step backwards Vegeta's next words stopped her.

"Come out here Woman. I know you're there." Cautiously Bulma revealed herself. Stepping fully into the room. "I always know where you are." His voice ominous.

Bulma met his eyes and froze at the darkness within them. This was the Vegeta she remembered meeting on Earth.

He was covered in blood, green and red. Who else had he tortured that night? The answer became clear as Bulma got her first full view of the torture chamber. A Saiyan hung against another wall, starved, dirty and bleeding from massive wounds. It was the surviving Saiyan from Nappa's attack on her from months before.

"Why?" Bulma asked as she shuddered.

"Is this not what you want?" He stalked over to her, grasping her face with is gore covered hands and forcing her to look at the prisoners. "Answers? I have gotten them for you." He released her face roughly and stomped over to the alien. He grabbed its face and forced it to look at Bulma

"Tell her what you told me. Why were you sent to kill her?"

The alien spoke in a monotone voice.

"She is your only weakness. Killing her will kill you or at least weaken you. Take over the Saiyan race would be easy then." It spoke around mouthfuls of blood.

"My only weakness." He snarled at her. "You!"

Bulma stepped back from him as he closed in on her.

"I wish I had never gone to your cursed planet!"

His eyes wild he wrapped his hands around her arm and Bulma screamed in fear. The sound of her terror stopped whatever he was about to say. Seemed to snap him back to some reality.

Shaking Bulma felt the first tear slide down her face.

"No." He growled. More tears fell against her wishes. Vegeta released her so suddenly Bulma stumbled back, tripped and fell to the ground. Her mate made to help her stand but Bulma shied away from him. Blood slicked her uniform from the floor as she regained her footing.

"The feeling is mutual." Bulma snapped at him. Vegeta took a step toward her and Bulma drew her main blade. Pointing the tip of her sword at her own mate as he took another step in her direction with his hands raised in a gesture that she supposed was meant to be comforting she said, "Don't touch me."

Glaring at Vegeta for a moment Bulma suddenly plunged her sword through the heart of the Saiyan hanging from the wall and then the alien. Quickly, one after the other, their torture was over.

"Bulma-"

"No." Bulma cut him off. "Don't follow me."

She back away from him, ki burning, tears falling. He looked at her wildly. Lost. But in that moment Bulma only need one thing. To get away from him.

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bulma ran. Ran out of the darkness of that dungeon, ran from Vegeta and that look in his eyes, ran past her guards and out of the castle where she shot into the sky. Masking her Ki she simply wanted to disappear but had no idea where to go.

Without realizing where she was headed Bulma found herself at the Earthling burial grounds. There were new graves. Victims of the games she supposed.

Bulma stood there in the darkness unsure of why she'd come. Unsure of so much. In her heart she knew Vegeta was capable of such cruelty, but he treated her so differently, acted so differently around her that she could only admit to having forgotten that he was capable of descending into the darkness.

The nerve of the male to say he wished he'd never come to her planet. Bulma started crying again as she sank to the ground in front of the graves.

Bulma didn't know how long she sat their watering the ground with her tears, listening to the wind blow through the trees but her silent reverie broke with the sound of a voice.

"Bulma." But it wasn't Vegeta's voice.

Bulma looked up and met the eyes of Piccolo. The green man stood over her, arms crossed, his ever-present cape blew gently in the wind. She smile softly at him.

"How'd you find me?"

"Your mate told me where to look." He settled on the ground next to her. "We haven't spoken in a while but would you care to tell me your King tracked me down at this god awful our and sent me to watch over you?"

If not him then who? Bulma wondered before relaying the dungeon incident.

Piccolo sat, arms and legs crossed, through her recounting. After words he sat for moment in silence before speaking.

"I know something of the darkness." Piccolo said. "And I know how tempting it is to return to that place. The desire to stop feeling those emotions we believe make us weak. It is a dangerous place to be. The inability to choose been the light and the dark makes one weaker than simply choosing which side to take. You have changed him."

"Me?" Bulma said.

"Yes." Piccolo replied. "I don't think it is a bad thing. A man with something to fight for will fight harder and more powerfully than a man who fights only for the sake of power, but it's up to him to figure that out."

"The look in his eyes." Bulma shook her head.

"Without you that is all that would be left." Piccolo shrugged. "I mean if I had to take a guess."

"And the universe would burn." Bulma surmised. A moment of clarity coming to her. A brief vision of the universe as Frieza controlled the Saiyan race. Using them as a weapon with Vegeta at the forefront. She shuddered at the thought.

"I would suggest not letting a creature as powerful as your mate go into the darkness." Piccolo looked up at the night sky. "But what would I know."

"What can I do?" Bulma put her head in her hands.

"Stay alive and by his side. Give him a reason to stay in the light." Was Piccolos advice. "Until he either overcomes the evil within him or forsakes you for it. The sun will be up soon. I suggest you return to the castle." Piccolo stood and offered Bulma a hand up. She took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

"How do you know this stuff?" Bulma asked.

"Let's say I spent my time in the darkness."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

Bulma cleaned her sword, showered and changed into a clean uniform before bringing herself to go find Vegeta. It was near sunrise and only a very few members of the staff were out and about. After firing her inhouse guard Bulma was able to make her way down to Vegeta's private training room on her own.

Vegeta was alone in the room, the gravity was hiked up well beyond her capabilities, and he looked bad. He'd taken off his armor and suite, fighting only in his shorts, gloves, and boots. Blood and sweat dripped down his body as he fought twelve of her bots at once, taking serious damage as they struck his unprotected body.

Sighing Bulma dropped her mental shield and allowed her ki to rise to its normal levels. If he hadn't realized she was back before he surely did then. He's emotions were still a blank wall to her, she felt cut off from him and afloat.

The gravity shut off suddenly. Glancing back up at the viewing screen Bulma saw Vegeta standing by the control pad, head bowed, not looking in the camera's direction. Bulma unbuckled her swords holsters, pulled off her armor and dropped them all to the floor. The sound of the door sliding open and then shut behind her was loud in the silence of the training room.

Bulma walked up to her mate, standing close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off of his body, but didn't touch him. He smelled of blood and sweat. His wounds leaked heavily, the blood making plopping sounds as it hit the floor in a steady stream. How was even still standing?

Just as the thought occurred to her Vegeta buckled. The great warrior fell soundlessly to his knees before her. Catching himself with his arms he prevented his face from hitting the floor in the same instant his mental shields collapsed. The reconnection hit Bulma like a physical blow. His body ached, he was exhausted but wracked with fear and worry. He was terrified of something.

Bulma went to her own knees, reaching out she pulled him into her body holding him to her chest. Holding him tight Bulma buried her face in neck. Slowly his hands came up to hold her arms as she held him. His head hung loosely as they clung to each other.

"Stay with me." Vegeta gasped. "I am lost without you." His body shuddered against hers.

Bulma's heart lurched in her chest at the pure pain in his voice. Tears came to her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, Vegeta."

At that Vegeta turned in her arms and kissed her. His lips pressed hard against hers as he gathered her up into his arms crushing her to him. He sat back pulling her into his lap and as he broke away from the kiss he held her to him.

"Where's your armor? Your swords?" He asked.

"I took them off." Bulma answered.

"You still trust me?" She felt his pain at the remembrance of her drawing on him, his fear of losing her trust.

"Yes." Bulma whispered.

"Why?"

Bulma felt something in her stomach flutter and the words fell from her mouth.

"Because I love you."

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

A/N: I'm sorry to end it here but it feels right. I hope to update for you sooner rather than later. To those faithful readers you have a special place in my heart. I enjoyed writing this chapter. Though my life is ridiculously complicated this story is an escape for me and I hope that I can provide an escape for you my dear readers if only but for a moment. I enjoy taking a descent into darkness. My thoughts with Vegeta are that even without Frieza around he always houses a bit of darkness and Frieza was able to capitalize on that through trauma and torture creating the Vegeta we all met in DBZ. So even without his influence I feel that inside him would be this darkness that he valued as a strength and would fear losing.

~The Enforcer