Clash

Bulma stared at the prince in horror. What kind of trickery was this? Her hands tightened on the steering wheel in order to stop them from shaking so violently. She wasn't just beyond furious but perplexed that she simply couldn't escape these beasts of men. Fear was threatening to take her over completely.

'H-how is that even possible! I checked! You are on the ship!' Bulma screamed in anger and frustration at the prince.

Vegeta took off a little device that was attached to his armor and threw it away. As soon as it left him her scouter starting beeping. Her eyes widened, realizing it had been hiding his power-level.

'Clever little invention isn't it?' Vegeta said with snicker. 'Works great during invasions that require… a certain amount of caution.'

Then who have I been sensing…? Of course, the King! His father!
She felt stupid for not remembering him after Forog had told her about him being the strongest Saiyan after the prince.

'Now, start explaining yourself, woman,' he coldly said. She could tell he would show no more mercy, not after daring to escape him. As he moved towards her, Kami tensed up and Mr. Popo yelled out to Bulma to be careful. She didn't need be told but reassured the man she'd be fine.

'They didn't want to tell me but I figured I can use your weak-minded ideals against you…' Vegeta started, eying her two friends for a second, 'If one of you doesn't start talking, I'm afraid people are going to start losing limbs. And you wouldn't want that to happen after your poor father begged me to help you, hm, woman?

At that exact moment the scouter started beeping again. There were Saiyans heading their way. Fear crept up on her skin, and suddenly Bulma couldn't think clearly anymore. She had been tricked! Fooled by people she simply had deemed inferior in intellect! How stupid to think that Kakarot and Vegeta wouldn't be working together! This had all been well planned out, that was clear now! But how! How did they know? Kami would never tell. He'd rather die!

'If we may ask,' Kami suddenly said, startling Bulma and making Vegeta look away from her frighten figure to the tall green old man.

'How do you know of the power of the Dragon Balls?'

'I can sense their power,' Vegeta simply said. 'They have a small Ki-power to them. But it was your dear friend,' nudging towards Bulma, 'who gave it away. They way you hung on to it,' he now looked back at Bulma. 'I knew a pathetic little creature like yourself wouldn't go through so much trouble unless you genuinely thought it could save you from us.'

'So you are unaware of what they are capable of,' Kami muttered.

Bulma's heart sank. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kami's expression, it was still stern, but a certain look of defeat hung in his eyes. She could sense he was ready to sacrifice himself. He had told her once he was responsible for the existence of the Dragon Balls. So, should he cease to exist… So, would they.

Angered by the idea that this was over before it had even begun, Bulma jumped off her motorcycle. Not the least bit frightened anymore by the prince's appearance. If she was going to die, it would be with her head held high and her proud intact!

'We are not handing over the power of the Dragon Balls that easily!'

Vegeta quirked up an eyebrow at her sudden braveness, though seemingly not impressed by it. He let his shoulders hang, as if he regretted her behavior, and then closed his eyes in thought for a moment before squashing all her hope in a single moment. His finger pointed at her, scaring her, before it moved and a flash of light shot passed her and Kami, hitting Mr. Popo directly.

Bulma's eyes widened and when her head turned, she could see the lifeless body of Mr. Popo fall on the ground with a loud thud that echoed in her ears. The image burned onto her eyes and it would never leave her memory again. Her heart racing in her chest, she turned back to the murderer.

'H-he was innocent!' she stuttered out.

'He was useless,' Vegeta answered coldly. 'Now stop wasting my time and start explaining the power of these Dragon Balls, as you call them.'

After the initial fear, rage was now taking her over. She had just lost a friend, an innocent man!
She simply could not escape them, could she? There was no way of winning against these beings, these so-called warriors! Nevertheless, she needed Kami to know about her wish. It was the only way of stopping them…

'I know, Bulma,' Kami said before she could even say a word to him. He gave her a look of determination, understanding this was their very last chance of saving the Earth.

Getting impatient Vegeta blew up the remains of Bulma's house and screamed at her for being so incompetent and forgetting about her debt to him.

'Stop pretending to have honor,' Bulma yelled back. 'You have none! You only care about power and how to get stronger! You are nothing but selfish being! Who— 'I don't care about your feelings,' Vegeta hissed standing before her in a matter of seconds? This time he held on the chin with such a force she thought he was going break her jaw. Grabbing her wrist and twisting it, he demanded for her to summon the power they held. Bulma screamed out in pain, realizing she could not escape his iron grip.

Just then, two more Saiyans arrived. It didn't surprise Bulma who they were, Raditz and Kakarot seemed to be in on this whole thing from the very beginning. But suddenly Vegeta's grip loosened and when looking back at him, Bulma was surprised to see a shocked expression. Clearly, he had not expected them to show up. Now she was puzzled by his reaction. She looked back up at the two other Saiyans for answers.

'Kakarot,' Vegeta sternly said. 'What are you doing here?'

The tall Saiyan smirked, just like his brother, when landing in front of them. It took Bulma only a second to see that perhaps Vegeta and Kakarot were not working together. Not only by the victorious grin Kakarot's face but also because she could feel Vegeta tense up in anger at the sight of him. He let go of her chin and though his other hand held on to her wrist, he relieved the pressure on it, now simply holding her wrist instead.
Bulma's eyes stared in mild shock at him before going back to look at Kakarot, who as always seemed to be at ease. He never looked scared or angered, always having the same malicious glint in his eyes.

'That is no way of treating a lady, Prince Vegeta. Especially such a pretty one,' he said, winking at Bulma when calling her pretty.
Infuriated by his words, Bulma pulled her wrist lose from Vegeta's hand and angrily hissed she didn't want to be a part of their little game any longer.

'What are you blabbering about, woman?'

'Hm, the pretty lady is a genius, after all. Which can't be said about you, Vegeta. Though I must admit, you both took the bait quite easily,' Kakarot mockingly continued.

Now Bulma was getting confused as well. Were these two working together or not? Noting how Kakarot did not call the prince by his appropriate title, and by how he treated him, she had to guess something was going on that had little to do with her or even the Dragon Balls for that matter. This was something between Saiyans.

'What do you mean?' Vegeta growled in anger.

'Well, you see, my brother was chasing her when she was out getting one of those Dragon Balls... At first, we didn't think much of it until a little traitor told us all about its power. A little pig, I forgot his name to be honest, told us Bulma needed the Dragon Balls to be granted one wish.'

Bulma's heart sank, the image of Oolong, that moron she had encountered in her younger years, appeared before her. Probably in the hopes of not ending up dead, which she had guessed he ended up being anyway, knowing these Saiyans. The pig had always been a coward but to betray Earth so thoughtlessly… However, his image disappeared quickly and the worrying thought of what Kakarot's true intentions created havoc in her mind instead.

'I wanted to talk to Bulma,' Kakarot said, though obviously amused by the mere thought of doing so, 'but her father had already pleaded with you to save her life. So, I had to be a little bit more patient. I decided to go look for all seven of them until I found out we already had three of them. You didn't find them interesting at first, Vegeta. Not until I pleaded for you to have one for myself. Which I gave to Bulma and that caught your interest. You suddenly knew there was more to it. And she didn't do too well in hiding that fact, either.'

Bulma unwillingly took a step back, further away from the devious Saiyan, aware he was more of a menace than any other Saiyan. He wasn't just her enemy; he was her enemy's enemy. In the corner of her eyes she could see a furious Vegeta.

'You came all the way here to mock me?' he hissed, balding his fists. His dark eyes snapped from Kakarot to Bulma, 'Stay here, woman.'

The command surprised her, as if he had no intention of getting her hurt or caught up in this. He flew up, his power creating a strong wind that Bulma and Kami had to shield themselves of. Raditz eyes widened for second and Kakarot held up his hands, as if he was surrendering before the fight had even taken place.

'Calm down, Vegeta. You don't want to lose another fight again, do you?'

The way he had just said that…! Bulma's eyes widened in realization on why Kakarot behaved so arrogant, even against the prince whom everyone feared. He must've defeated him in battle once before…!

Though her mind couldn't quite comprehend what this all meant, she had the smarts to figure out that treason was taking place before her eyes and thus created the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and perhaps allow her to grant the desired wish.

A nagging little voice reminded her of the possibility to just wipe out this entire cruel race but it still went against her feelings. Though she had thought she had them figured out and felt nothing towards the short-lived comradery of the other, willing or not, enslaved scientist, she couldn't bring herself to crush their last hope, which for some reason was the Saiyans.

Pretending to obey Vegeta, Bulma ran towards Kami, who welcomed her in his arms. They held onto each other, not knowing if they could be successful in changing the fate of the Earth amid a battle between Saiyans.

'You don't have to listen to him, Bulma,' Kakarot suddenly said, eyes on her. 'He is not going to be the prince for long. I no longer plan on following his orders either.'

Vegeta started laughing. 'You sure have a lot of guts, talking like that. I'm alive and well, which can't be said about you. At least not for long anymore.'

Kakarot remained unbothered by his remarks while having that everlasting smirk on his face. 'Sure, you are entitled to the throne but what if we wish, someone else is? After all, at this point its whoever defeats Frieza, that will be the true leader of the Saiyans.'

Vegeta's amusement died when hearing those words, realizing that if these Dragon Balls could indeed grant a wish, they could ask for anything they wanted. Anything to stop him from becoming the greatest…

'We are done waiting for battle,' Raditz said. 'We are done hiding like cowards! Taking on these pathetic planets are a waste of time! At least under Frieza we had a chance of challenging ourselves!'

'You'd be dead if you were still working for Frieza, you pathetic low-class!' Vegeta screamed in anger.
'You think your brother is so great, he could take on Frieza? Destroy him even!?'

'He took nicely took care of you,' Raditz spat. 'Good thing, the royal family is protected by nothing more than myths. You're not exceptionally strong! At least not compared to Kakarot!'

'Is that what you want to do? Crown yourselves as Kings?' Vegeta asked on a low tone. His expression was cold and unreadable, but his body spoke a language of agony, hate and rage. Unfulfilling rage that could only lead to destruction, Bulma alarmingly noted.

'Your father will be handing over the throne to you soon,' Raditz said, shaking his head in disbelief.
'We just don't see a well future of the Saiyans in your hands, Vegeta,' Kakarot finished for him.

Kakarot flew up carelessly, ready to fight the prince. They stared at each other, patiently awaiting the first strike.

Bulma couldn't help but stare at the two and came aware that their races were not all that differently. Suddenly a part of her felt some sort of compassion towards Vegeta, knowing that his one desire was to become stronger… so he could protect his planet.
Flinching at that thought, she felt how emotions were tearing her apart now. The vision of Mr. Popo haunted her while her heart had allowed the strange idea to feel sympathy towards his killer. She shook the senseless thoughts out of her head, trying not to deal with the mixed emotions. This wasn't her problem anyway!

'I don't care who is in charge,' Kakarot said, looking up at the blue sky that was clouding up. 'I just want to fight,' he admitted.

Losing all self-control, Vegeta suddenly attacked. Blurry images of them appeared and disappeared, making Bulma aware her eyes simply couldn't keep up with their speed. Kami squeezed her hand, metaphorically bringing her back to Earth. Her eyes widened when she met his, reminded her they still had a chance of winning.

'Have you thought of a wish?' Kami whispered, his eyes were on Raditz who was also looking up at his brother and Vegeta fighting.
'I was going to wish that whoever lands on our planet has their power-level reduced to that of Earthlings.'
Kami's eyes widened and stared at Bulma, who immediately explained her reason behind that wish.
This way they had a fair chance of fighting! And should any other potential threatening race come; they were to experience to the same fate. After all, as a scientist she didn't want to exclude all alien life. And after meeting Libelle and Forog, she knew there were still kind beings out there too, perhaps even in search for a home in this universe.

'But now I'm starting to think we should just wipe them out like we did with the commander…'
'What is holding you back?' Kami asked, surprising her with his unusual crude tone.
'I don't know if I can do that, Kami…' Bulma admitted. 'I'd be no better than them. I remember feeling so guilty after that wish, I couldn't sleep for weeks. And what if this Frieza comes around? Then we'd be completely defenseless!'
'Who is this Frieza, you speak of?' Kami asked in confusion.
'A man, more frightening than any Saiyan. We won't be able to rely on the Dragon Balls for a full year. So, if he comes before that year passes…'
'I see,' Kami muttering in understanding.

'Bulma.'

The calling of her name startled her and with surprise she looked up to see Raditz watching her and Kami. He walked towards the two of them, obviously ready to take his revenge on her. Realizing this could jeopardize their situation, Bulma came to stand before Kami.

'He can't be killed. If he dies, the Dragon Balls disappear,' Bulma explained, her voice wavering.

She could hear Kami gasp behind her, probably wondering why she would share that information with the cruel Saiyan. But Bulma knew he wanted his to hurt her and, true to his Saiyans nature, he'd do so by killing her friend first. After Mr. Popo, she wanted to avoid any risk. Kami and the Dragon Balls were her last hope after all.

Raditz smirked grabbing her by the collar and bringer her face closer to his. Her feet left the ground and dangled aimlessly. Her small hands wrapped around his wrist but had little to no effect, he only snickered at her futile attempt to fight back.

'We have some unfinished business,' he hissed, throwing her on the ground.

She rolled around a few times until her back met a solid metal plate that had once been a part of her house. The scouter on her face, exploded because of the impact. The pain was unbearable and with a trembling body, she tried to get back up only to be kicked by Raditz and meet the ground again. He then kept his foot firmly on her back.

'Why did you do something so foolish as to shoot me?' he asked, taking off his wristband to show her the scar she had left him with. 'You have guts, I'll give you that, woman. If you were a Saiyan, I'd fight you. I'd fight you until you begged me to stop…'
'I'm not a Saiyan…' Her breath was ragged, and every part of her body was in pain.
'No, you are not…' Raditz agreed, though Bulma wasn't quite sure why he bothered talking so much if he were ought to kill her. In fact, she wished he'd do it now. And she also wished for Kami to move and grant one of the wishes she had suggested but he stayed put, eyes wide in shock.

'There for you don't understand any of our culture,' Raditz continued. 'You don't understand how attractive you are to some of us…' His eyes went up to his brother and the prince.

'Kakarot resents all rules. I bet he'd make you his if possible. Just to spite us, you know?'
'What are you saying?' Bulma asked, genuinely confused by his speech.
Raditz looked down at her with a look of sympathy. As if he pitied her for not understanding.

'Kakarot doesn't care about anything other than fighting. Even though that is a big part of the Saiyan race, all the rest is meaningless to him. But since you…' he hissed in anger, 'I think he has taken a liking into you… And I can't afford him to be influenced by the likes of you or your pathetic people!'

As if these beings didn't confuse her enough already! Bulma tried to understand but could only concluded they were far more complex than she ever ought them to be. From what she got, somehow, Raditz seemed to be worried she could manipulate his brother, who was obviously far superior in strength to him. Perhaps being a leader wasn't something Kakarot wanted and had only strived for because of Raditz. Looking up at the two Saiyans battling it out, she had to admit it surprised her how Kakarot could stand his own against Vegeta.

And unlike Vegeta, Kakarot could hide his power-level without the use of any device. He seemed cleverer, more experienced in some ways than the prince. Though none of that mattered, she wished dead upon every Saiyan at this point.
'Do what you want,' Bulma spat out. 'It's over for you too…'

'I don't think so,' Raditz said, taking his foot off her back and then grabbed her by the neck, held her up while he placed his other hand on her pained back, ready to blast her. He looked at the green man and explained that if he did not summon the Dragon right now, Bulma would die.

Meanwhile Vegeta and Kakarot kept their intense battle going, making the Earth tremble. Kakarot only seemed excited by the clash with the prince, while Vegeta could hardly control his anger.

The prince knew that whenever he fought with such rage into battle, he loses his concentration and his tactical advantages. No, I won't allow it! he said calming himself. He wanted to kill Kakarot with precision. Make him suffer. Realize the fatality of his mistake of challenging him again!

'Your training…' Kakarot said, wiping the blood from his mouth, 'has been much more effective.'
His eyes went to the woman in his older brother's hands. Vegeta, seeing how she was being held captive by his traitorous subordinate, grit his teeth at the sight.
'Who would have thought the fate of the Saiyans would lie in the hand of a blue haired woman from a weak planet called Earth?'
Kakarot spoke the words poetically, as if he could see the beautiful irony in it all.

'Are you aware you are going to lose this time?' Vegeta asked calmly, though the man before him was annoying him a great deal. Of course, he didn't want him to know that.
His mere existence had bothered him ever since he had defeated him years ago. And though the prince was no coward, he always knew he wasn't quite as powerful as this mere pretend low-class soldier before him.

There had been times he had wanted to order his death but that would disgrace his title of prince. And he wasn't the type to walk away from a battle either. No, he had always promised himself he'd personally defeat him! His power was superior to the lower Saiyan, of that he was sure!
This was a mere test to make him stronger as, after all, it was his fate as a Saiyan royalty to be the greatest!

Since the woman's training-bots, he too could feel he was stronger. Faster. Much more capable of anticipating his opponent's next movements. He smirked when thinking of the woman and her easily manipulated feelings and how perhaps this debt he always spoke of, was no longer.

Kakarot did not answer his question, perhaps aware he was indeed going to lose this time, and instead went for a surprise attack. Vegeta easily deflected it and even managed to turn it into a counterattack.
The prince smirked proudly, his fury no longer controlling him as he gained control over the situation. And even though he hated the third-class Saiyan's guts with a burning rage, he respected him as fighter. The prince too loved a challenge. And Kakarot, for some reason, dared to be the only one to question his power. Well, so did the woman. And much like the woman, he had also almost succeeded in taking his life.

But he would show them both. He would show them that the prince of all Saiyans was worthy of his title. He was going to be the strongest in the universe!

With an incredible power they clashed and the explosion that followed made the earth tremble much more severe than before.
Seeing it all happen before her eyes, Bulma felt as if she was watching gods fight.
Her feet suddenly left the ground again, and before she could grasp what was going on, Raditz wrapped his arm around her waist. In a flash, he stood next to Kami and again commanded him to summon the Dragon. Bulma noticed how nervous he sounded and how he kept looking up at the sky, where Vegeta and Kakarot were still fighting, though both on the brink of defeat now.
It was obvious Kakarot was enjoying this battle just as much as the prince was, but one was looking slightly better and more in control. And perhaps that was what frightened Raditz so much, Bulma realized. That Prince Vegeta could win and therefor Kakarot would not become the new leader of their race. Their entire plan would fail, and they would lose everything.

'Hurry up!' Raditz screamed.
Bulma tried to wiggle her way out of his arms but her weak body was no match for him. He kept his grip uncomfortable tight even as she hissed in pain and pleaded for him to let her go.
Her one arm was hanging limp, making her realize it was broken. Again, she was completely in state of complete helplessness because of him.

Kami's expression stayed unaffected by the Saiyan's outburst. Instead his focus was on her, his eyes begging her to understand.

'I cannot ask for such a wish, Bulma,' he said. 'I'm not permitted to do such evil.'

With that said, Bulma felt overwhelmed by personal defeat because she knew her death was a certainty now. Even if their races would become equal in power, her body was in no shape. Once Kami had made the wish, Raditz would kill her.

The sky darkened above them as Kami summoned the Dragon.

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