Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters
Special shout out to reviewers Shizuka23, bval1, saiyanwarrior23, and the guest reviewers Love this story and Guest.
When I initially wrote this chapter, I was inspired by the centrifuge we were using in my microbiology lab class to explain a possible way for the gravity simulator to work. If it actually would work, I have no idea. I'm a biologist, not a physicist, after all ^^
Bulma was slowly starting to adjust to Planet Vegeta. It had been half a week since her run in with the king and meeting Vegeta's mother and brother. She actually liked Queen Kalina as she reminded her of her own mother at times. Tarble spent time with her too, which Bulma hadn't minded. The young boy seemed to understand the need for secrecy about her true talents. He would ask her questions all day in the lab, but never say anything around anyone else.
"So what does this do, Bulma?" Tarble asked sweetly as he poked at a machine Bulma made out of a Saiyan ship.
"It's a gravity machine," she answered.
"What does it do?" Tarble asked, tilting his head in curiosity.
Bulma smiled. "It's a chamber that increases the gravity, which makes it more difficult to move. If someone could overcome the higher gravity, they can be faster at normal gravity."
"That's so cool!" Tarble exclaimed. "How does it work?"
"I was wondering that myself."
Bulma and Tarble turned to see Vegeta leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. The girl was still a little wary about Vegeta, despite the fact that he rescued her. He always seemed to be staring directly into her soul, and the thought terrified her. It helped, though, that Tarble seemed so laidback around his brother. If that was the case, Vegeta couldn't really be too bad a guy.
"Hi, Veggie, Bulma was just telling me about her gravity machine thingy," Tarble said excitedly.
Bulma grew slightly nervous under Vegeta's intense gaze, but she tried to push her unease to the back of her mind and chalk it up to interest.
"Well, I installed a rotator on the bottom of the ship and, depending on what the gravity level is set to, it spins fast enough to apply that force down on your body…like a centrifuge."
Vegeta didn't know what a centrifuge was, but he wasn't going to question her logic.
"How far can it go up?" Vegeta asked.
Bulma pondered the question for a minute. "Well, a centrifuge can go up to more than 10,000 times Earth's gravity was, but that's for tiny test tubes. For a ship this big and the force being applied to a living being, I estimate about 400 times the gravity of Earth for now."
Vegeta smirked. This would definitely help in his training.
"Can you feel the machine spinning?" Tarble asked.
Bulma shook her head. "I covered up the windows on the ship with an outer layer of metal," she explained, "so you wouldn't be able to see things on the outside spinning and you would feel like you're being pulled down. Only someone on the outside would be able to tell the machine is spinning."
"Where does all of the energy go?" Vegeta asked. For something to move so fast, the energy produced would have to be released somewhere.
"Well, it would be converted to heat for the most part, which is why there is a ventilation and cooling system, to protect whoever is inside and also to prevent the ship from overheating and blowing up. It will probably need a few system checks a month depending on how often it's used."
Vegeta nodded. He was thoroughly impressed with Bulma's knowledge and it made him respect her more. He quietly watched her as she showed his little brother some more projects she was thinking of and it made him smile. The coldhearted prince was slowly starting to fall for her in such short a time. This was another reason for him putting off his father's challenge for so long. He cared about Bulma and did not want to hurt her more than she had been; however, he only had two days left before his father would take her away.
"Vegeta," Kakarot said with concern when he saw his friend training so aggressively in training chambers. He walked up to the prince and put a hand on his shoulder. Vegeta looked up at him and calmed himself down, looking to his recent wounds of accidental self-mutilation. "What are you doing to yourself?"
"I can't do it, Kakarot," Vegeta sighed in defeat. "I can't bring myself to cause her more harm."
Kakarot nodded knowingly. "But if you don't, she will be worse off. We both know how your father treats women. She won't survive a few hours with him."
Vegeta shook his head. This is what he had been telling himself for the last few days but it didn't make it any easier. Every time he looked at her, she seemed to be wary, but at the same time she felt safe when he was around. If he did this to her, she would no longer trust him. He didn't want to hurt her or lose her trust. Not when he was starting to see her as something more than just a means to defeat his father.
"Why don't you just tell her?" Kakarot asked.
"Yes, Kakarot, because after everything that happened to her I'm supposed to tell her that my father wants me to rape her or he will. Are you out of your mind?"
"Well, don't say it like that," Kakarot muttered. "And why not? She knows what your dad is like. Maybe she'll be okay with it if it's just this once, if she knows you don't want this."
Vegeta sighed in frustration and shook his head. He knew there was no way that Bulma would understand this despite everything she knew of his father. Storming off, Vegeta had in mind what he had to do.
Bulma found herself missing home again. It hadn't even been much more than a week yet, but for some reason, she felt guilty for wanting to leave. She knew how important it was for Vegeta to get stronger to defeat his father, but she couldn't help but wonder about after that. Earth as she knew it was gone and she had no one left in the universe except for the Saiyans. But for some reason, she kept seeing herself leaving and never coming back. She just didn't know where she would go.
She didn't notice Vegeta enter the dark room as she laid in the bed thinking about her future and what would happen when this nightmare was over. Would she tell Vegeta about the men who attacked her home? Would she ask to stay on Planet Vegeta and make a life for herself? Too many things were on her mind.
Vegeta sat down next to her and she immediately jolted up. She still wasn't used to not being able to see. "Oh, Vegeta, it's only you. For a second I was worried it might be…someone else." Vegeta took one of his hands and gently stroked Bulma's hair. "V-V-Vegeta?" Bulma called out nervously. "W-what are you doing?"
"Bulma," he spoke out softly. "There is something I must tell you."
"What is it?" He didn't answer right away. "Vegeta, seriously, you're making me nervous."
"My father gave me a proposition five days ago," Vegeta reluctantly admitted. "He said if I didn't use you the way a concubine should be used that he would take you away and use you himself."
Bulma paled and tensed and Vegeta felt her unease. "I get it," she responded sadly. "You have to take me whether I'm willing or not."
"Bulma…"
"It's fine," she lied. "I mean, it'd be better if it were you, right?" He could tell that she was trying to be strong, but he could smell her tears making it even more difficult for him. "Let's just get this over with."
Vegeta nodded and moved on top of her. "I am not doing this to hurt you. I respect you and believe me when I say that this is the last thing I wanted to do." Bulma didn't respond. She just looked away from him towards the wall, trying to stop herself from crying.
Vegeta started to remove their clothes. While he was doing so, he felt this large surge of self-loathing overtake his senses. He now understood why his father wanted for this to happen. The bastard could tell that Vegeta cared for the girl. She was the only girl he had ever shown interest in and that was before he found out about her intelligence. Perhaps he wanted this because he knew it would be Vegeta's first time and that he'd hate himself the rest of his life. That had to be the reason his father made this sick challenge, to destroy him. Well, even if he did hate himself, Vegeta wouldn't let his father win completely. He was going to make it so that no one could touch Bulma again, and go against his father in the process.
He closed the distance between their bodies and kissed her neck. "I promise this will be over before you know it," he whispered into her ear.
Bulma didn't care about what he had said. She was somewhere far away right now, just like when Vegeta had found her. She felt nothing; she could see nothing; part of her was starting to think she was nothing. She registered that he had said something, though, and she closed her eyes, waiting for impact.
It was over. His father's sick game had a winner; however, Vegeta felt like he had lost so much in taking her. His pride, for one, took a huge blow, knowing that his father truly had control over him. His sanity was another thing entirely.
When he moved away from her, Bulma turned away from him and pretended to fall asleep. After about an hour of them both lying there, he heard her crying in hysterics asking why she had to be spared from death and why he hadn't killed her when he found her, that she would have been better off.
Hearing her talk like that was already starting to take its toll on Vegeta, but not just because he felt terrible for what he did. He knew that the only way to keep the girl safe from other Saiyans was to take her as a mate. He hadn't really thought it through, but he did it for her safety. After she had cried herself to sleep, Vegeta had gotten up and redressed himself. It was time to confront his father with the results of the evening. One thing was for certain, the fact that he took Bulma as a mate was going to be kept a secret, even from her, regardless of what it would do to him.
Vegeta did not want to enter his father's room. He had no idea what to expect upon entering. When he did finally get up the courage to open the door, he was greeted with the highly unpleasant smell of alcohol. Vegeta sneered as he pushed through and found his father with women draped over him. Disgusting, Vegeta thought bitterly before his father noticed him.
The king whispered to the women who quickly left the room so that he could talk with his son. He smirked at the prince who just glared back at him.
"So I see that you met my challenge," he said smugly. "How was it?"
"That is none of your business, father," Vegeta sneered. The king just smirked at the boy.
"Did you not enjoy yourself? Maybe I should take the girl anyhow."
"You will not touch her," Vegeta growled. "That is why I am here. I did what you asked, so she stays in my possession. You are not to go near her."
The king's prideful expression fell and he glared at his son. "She is just a sex slave, son," he retorted, "yet you act as if she is something more. You better not think about mating or procreating with her. You know what I do to the concubines who end up with child."
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't dream of taking a weakling as a mate," he lied.
"Good, then you are dismissed."
"Yeah, so you can go back to your dishonorable activities," Vegeta replied disrespectfully.
Before he could leave the room, he felt to the ground curling up inside himself in agony. That damned device again, Vegeta thought in frustration before receiving a kick in the stomach.
After coughing up some blood, Vegeta looked up at his father whose face displayed nothing but rage. "You better watch yourself, brat. You know that with the tōgoku I can bring anyone to their knees, even you. It must be incredibly painful to have your power locked inside of you without any way of release. Remember that next time you dare to disrespect me."
His father left the room, and Vegeta regained control of his power and body; however, he didn't have enough energy to stand or walk out of the room on his own. Instead he managed to roll himself over so he was on all fours and dragged himself back to his room.
When he entered his room, he managed to sit up against the wall next to his door and push it closed. The room felt heavy and Vegeta looked over to his bed. Thankfully, Bulma was still asleep. He was not ready to face her yet. The prince decided that it would be best for them both if he never really did. With that, he decided to leave his room again, this time to find another place to rest and recover, far away from his new mate. And for Saiyans, distancing themselves from their mate was never a good thing to do.
A/N: Tōgoku – means imprisonment in Japanese (got it out of an English to Japanese dictionary), so basically it causes injury because the device steals the energy of the victim and weakens them. That was my idea for it, anyway.