A little pressure
A sigh escaped her lips. Forog curiously asked her what was wrong, giving her worried look.
Shrugging, Bulma admitted that her personal project wasn't going to be secret for long since Vegeta insisted she shared it with him, believing she was just leading him on to buy herself time.
'Why do you want to keep it a secret?' Forog asked, knowing all about the gravity room.
'I just want to show that obnoxious jerk that…,' Bulma struggled to find the words, 'Well, that I'm not weak or pathetic! I can walk on the same earth he can. He needs me, I don't need him!'
'Ha, you know, you are the only person who talks about him that way… and I'm pretty sure you are also the only one who does so directly to his face too!' Forog laughed nervously while wondering if his friend didn't have some sort of death wish.
'It's done, isn't it?' Forog asked curiously.
'Yeah, I want to try it out today, after work,' Bulma said excitingly, yet a little voice in her head made her wince when realizing that with this new deadline, she might not be able to do exactly as she had planned. There was no way she could train herself to get used to Vegeta's gravity in so little time.
'You think I'll be able to use it to get used to the planet's gravity within three days?' her friend asked, wording her exact thoughts into a question.
Forog sheepishly scratched his head. Kindly stating neither knew how effective this thing would be. Her entire idea in theory worked but that didn't mean anything in practice.
'Just how are you going to make that room beneficial for his majesty anyway…?' He then curiously asked.
'Well, as you know, at first I was planning on just using the machine to get used to the gravity, but I've changed it up a bit… Now I'm going to adjust it so it can go even higher than that. Meaning it can squish him like a bug!'
Forog's eyes widened in horror, thinking Bulma was actually planning on killing the new King of Saiyans, while Libelle burst out laughing in reaction.
'Just kidding!' Bulma smiled and gave him a wink.
'I'm trying it out tonight, but I don't want to be all alone. It would be dangerous to do so. Can either one of you perhaps stay?'
Envisioning a dreaded scenario that popped up inside of her head, she added,
'It's just in case I can't reach the controls inside the room, that way someone from the outside can adjust it…'
'I'll help you out tonight!' Libelle said.
'I can stick around too,' Forog said. 'Besides with Ilkm following you around, that might be the all-around safer thing to do anyway.'
'Yeah, he's aware I'm up to something…' Bulma muttered in disdain.
And just like that, the devil himself walked into their workplace. He immediately requested the reports of their current work, which was another training-bot. Bulma, Libelle and Forog stood before him while the rest of the team continued working. The bot was nothing but a diversion for Ilkm to not figure out the existence of the Gravity Room. And truthfully, none of them had put much effort in it since they had been working non-stop on the Room.
Suspiciously eying the blueprints, Ilkm sneered that the king would not be pleased.
'Briefs, your work is becoming repetitive,' he stated.
'Makes it easier for you to copy it,' Bulma sharply answered, immediately angering him.
'I'd like to see how big that mouth of yours will still be when you fail him and he finally sees you for what you really are,' Ilkm said. He then leaned in closer to her, so only she would be able to hear it.
'Unlike you, I know what Saiyans do with women such as yourself,' he took a lock of hair and placed it behind her ear while her eyes widened in shock, 'Maybe for all of my loyal years of servitude, he will reward me kindly by… Letting me appoint you to the position you truly belong to.'
A shiver ran down her spine and with catlike reflexes she slapped at his hand that dared to almost touch her cheek. Feeling her insides burn with hate and disgust, she only answered by giving him a furious look. Obviously feeling victorious by causing this type of reaction from her, he answered with his usual slimy grin.
'See you later… Bulma.'
When he disappeared out of view, Bulma punched the worktable in frustration and anger. With huff she got up and without giving her team any sort of explanation, vanished off into her private office.
Forog and Libelle gave each other a look before Libelle ran after her.
Deciding that she had waited enough and she shouldn't just follow the rules like a lapdog anyway, Bulma found that now was the best time to see if the Gravity Room was fully functional.
Libelle came walking in and before letting her even speak a word, Bulma asked the girl to lock the door behind her.
'Are you sure?'
'Why am I waiting for it to try it out? Vegeta already knows about it!'
'Yeah…' Libelle said, realizing that her secret project wasn't all that secret anymore.
'If I work hard enough, I'll be able to move around freely on planet Vegeta! No more restrictions!'
Libelle said nothing as Bulma went in the room and closed the door behind her.
The room wasn't too large, but she would be able to walk around a little while adjusting to the pressure. Turning it on, she felt very little change. Wondering if something was wrong, she put the gravity higher. And then a little higher.
'I don't…' Bulma had wanted to tell Libelle she didn't know if it was working properly until she realized her body felt quite heavy and breathing was becoming harder. High enough for now…
Libelle remained quiet on the other side, probably just patiently awaiting her return and not wanting to anger her. The girl had gotten to know that when her temper had reached its peak, it was better to leave the blue haired woman alone.
And right now, that was exactly what Bulma wanted. Some peace and quiet. She wanted—no needed to focus on getting her goal. No distraction was permitted.
She didn't know how long it had taken but she had waited until her body had adjusted itself to the new gravity. After walking around a bit, she suddenly felt completely wiped out.
It was as if she had been intensely working out for hours. Wiping the sweat of her brows, she turned the machine off and decided to stop.
When leaving the room, she found Libelle sitting in her chair reading some of her notes on the Gravity Room.
'How was it?' she curiously asked, putting the papers down.
'Draining,' Bulma said, realizing she was completely drenched in sweat.
'I can tell…' Libelle answered laconic and with a grin.
'How long was I in there?'
'About less than an hour.'
'And I can still hardly move!' Bulma cursed, realizing that getting this accomplished within three days was impossible. But she didn't want to give the Gravity Room to Vegeta just yet!
But at the same time, she reminded herself that she needed to survive the coming nineteens months in order for her life to return to normal. Oh, curse it all! Why can't things ever be easy for once?
'Don't worry, Bulma! You had your first session now, tonight your second! And tomorrow is another day! Maybe it will get easier!'
'Maybe…' Bulma muttered uncertainly. She then let out a tired sigh, 'I should probably start on that adjustment to make the gravity go much higher, so his majesty doesn't think we weren't indeed fooling him.'
'You think that it will make a huge difference in training?'
Bulma shrugged, 'He'll be stuck to the floor, getting up will be hard even for him.'
'You're not actually going to squish him like a bug, are you?'
Her childlike voice sounded worried.
'I might kick him like a dog,' Bulma dryly answered, imagining it far to vividly.
The pink alien giggled while reminding her that she too would be stuck to the ground should that happen.
'Damn it, that's true,' Bulma grumbled, eventually giving her a smile.
Deciding that taking a shower was in order now, Bulma went to her room to freshen up and later came back to make the upgrade on the Room.
It was late. Far later than she had planned. Cursing her stubbornness to first adjust the system instead of having another session in the room, she tried her best to fix the small inefficiency that had occurred when making the upgrade. Forog and Libelle were keeping her company but the young girl kept complaining about being hungry.
'Why don't we get something to eat?' Forog suggested. 'Bulma isn't using the room anyway, so there is no danger, right?'
'Yeah, sorry, guys. This is taking way longer than I expected. You guys go ahead.'
'Are you sure? You'd be all by yourself, everyone is gone…' Libelle answered overly concerned.
'Nobody knows I'm here and they most certainly won't think I'm in the stockroom of my office,' Bulma reassuringly said while nodding in approval of their idea to get some food. Turning around, she reassured them again to go ahead, 'And you don't have to bring me anything! I don't want to eat before using the GR. Go!'
Forog nodded and got up from the wall while Libelle jumped out of the office chair she had claimed as her own now that Bulma was always working on the GR.
As they made their way to exit the office they were startled by someone coming in. Bulma halted her movements to listen in.
Both froze up before paying their respect by bowing their head and humbly greeting the man before them. He paid no attention to either, his eyes scanning the room in search for the person he was looking for. When Bulma heard the abrupt silence, she took it as a bad omen and could practically guess at this point who it could be.
'Woman.' It wasn't a question; it was more of a command to appear before him. This instance.
'Well, almost nobody knows I'm here…' Bulma muttered to herself.
No! no! no! You're not supposed to know anything yet! You are ruining everything, you jerk!
Trying to avoid the obvious confrontation, Bulma quickly got up and on her feet but it was too late he was already standing in the room as she had gotten up.
Eying it suspiciously, he asked her what the hell she was doing in here.
The intimidating animosity hung in the air, pulling her faster down then a higher gravity level. It was an ironic feeling to have in this exact room.
'Cleaning up?' she lamely tried while straightening her posture.
'Don't fool me, woman,' he growled, annoyed at the pathetic attempt.
A deep sigh left her lips and she kept the mantra of nineteens months going in her head while explaining that this was actually her latest project.
'A room?'
'Not just any room!' Bulma snapped, 'It's a great invention!'
'Hm, Bulma?' Libelle tried, not sure if they could still leave or not.
'Get going!' Vegeta barked back, making them both scramble to the door and not think twice about defying his orders. Bulma rolled her eyes at his action and asked him if that was truly necessary. Though, meanwhile her heartbeat increased, and she could feel her body tense up.
'Of course, I'm the king. I give the commands, others follow them,' he arrogantly stated.
Bulma almost wanted to roll her eyes at him again but managed to keep her expression unimpressed by his words.
Not much to argue here, anyway. Hm, I guess Libelle is right, I don't really see him as royalty…
Eying him from head to toe, he was wearing a different armor since becoming king and recently started wearing a velvety cape to emphasize his royal blood. He truly looked like a king now.
But I just see him as the source of all my agony. His royal blood doesn't change a thing for me…
Noting it had gotten awkwardly quiet, Bulma tried again to avoid getting into details.
'It's not finished— 'I don't care. I want to know what you are up to and you are going to tell me, right now!'
'It's not done yet— 'Are you dense, woman? Just who do you think you are to deny me anything?' he asked, stepping towards her.
Not thinking twice or even considering her attempt was futile, she started walking backwards until she hit the wall and was once again stuck. Swallowing, she realized that she couldn't avoid explain what the GR was at this point.
'I was going to test it myself,' Bulma said, noting her voice was quieter than usual, something that happened when she let fear control her. 'And tomorrow— 'Today,' he corrected her.
Now she remained silent, uncertain if talking was wise at this point. She had managed to avoid being alone with him plenty of times but now there was no escape or an excuse to leave. A part of her was puzzled why he kept seeking her out like this. In the beginning he had shown her some strange kindness but since that threat it had completely vanished. It was almost as if he loathed her for some reason.
'You think I don't notice how you keep avoiding me? What are you up to?' His expression hardened and the words came with a menacing undertone that left her trembling.
'Nothing,' she quickly said. 'I'm doing exactly what you asked me to.'
'Is that so?'
'No more wasting time,' she added, trying to convince him she was being genuine.
Not responding, he simply crossed his arms while contemplating if he should believe her or not.
Eying him again, she noted how different he looked. Indeed, more like a king. Last time she had seen him, he had just come back from training and was wearing his usual gear. Now he had on a different armor, with a crest of his royal status, a cape and black clothing instead of the usual blue.
This meant he had bothered to seek her purposely out, instead of the quick usual run ins after his training-session.
'I know you are running out of time, whatever that means,' Bulma started, her tone a bit condescending, 'so there is no need to be so mistrusting or hostile...'
'Took you long enough,' he bit out. 'Perhaps I should've reminded you sooner of who you were dealing with. Ever since I made that clear, you've been working harder,' he then said with arrogant smirk that made her blood boil.
'There was no need for that! I was willing to help you. I made a deal with you and I never go back on my word!'
'But now we have results,' he coldly stated.
'What is your problem!?' Bulma yelled out in frustration. 'What did I ever do to you? Sure, I ran off when I got the chance, but wouldn't you have done the same if you were me? I thought…' she halted for a second, not really sure herself is she wanted to say that out loud. A memory of back on Earth flashed through her mind.
'I thought we had some sort of mutual understanding,' she finished, her voice being quiet again. She hated herself for sounding so fragile but realized that deep inside, she was just that. Fragile.
He took another step towards her, making her push her back into the wall. Her eyes widened at his actions and breathing became harder when he placed his hand next to her head, his face being so close she could feel his breath on her skin.
'You don't understand anything,' he answered on a low tone.
Bulma stared into his eyes but again couldn't find anything but the same dangerous mix of emotions of hate and viciousness.
'I'm not your enemy,' she tried, sounding almost pleadingly in order to convince him of her good intentions.
'But when you aim to kill me, your work is much more efficient,' he pointed out.
Confused by what he was saying at first, Bulma then understood he thought this machine was another invention of hers to kill him. A shameful feeling came over her for some reason. He seemed to be under the impression she was very much like everyone else he met, out to get him.
The idea had come in existence because she had wanted to proof to him, she one day would walk on his planet like he had done so freely on hers. It was quite the opposite of what he was thinking.
'I want you,' she started, which made his eyes widen, 'to win. Because I understand how it feels to be completely powerless against someone. But unlike you, I must help that exact person that makes me feel that way. I'm aware of how much more of a tyrant that Frieza is, I've heard plenty of stories,' Bulma said in one breath, though her voice wavered from time to time.
'I was on your side, Vegeta! But for some absurd reason you felt the need to make my entire life hell, after you already had torn it apart to begin with! You once said I could have a good life! And I thought for a small, absurd moment, it would be alright! But after that threat, I-I couldn't sleep for days! I'm all alone here! I don't know if I can trust anyone! A-and I can't walk around without thinking that you will—'
And then she was silenced. His mouth was on hers. Her eyes widened but his were shielded, making it impossible for her to figure out what the hell he thought he was doing.
All she felt was his warm lips forcefully on hers. The action made her shiver.
It only lasted a few seconds and then he pulled back, slowly opening his eyes to reveal a calmness in them she had never encountered before. Her heartbeat loudly in her chest while her mind couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened. The room seemed to be spinning.
'I can't afford to be weak,' he stated, his brows furrowing as if he had just caught himself doing exactly that.
'You're not,' Bulma said all too quickly, though not quite sure why she was suddenly consoling him.
Her lips burned and, unexplainably, his warmth was already missed. Her eyes tried to look for an answer, but his expression remained stoic. Her entire body craved another touch. And so, without thought she closed the gap between them again. This time it lasted longer. Closing her eyes, a small sound escaped her throat, thoroughly enjoying his kiss. He pulled back again.
'If you even tell anyone— 'shut up,' Bulma said, placing her hands on his face to bring him back to her. His arms around her waist felt naturally good, giving her a comfort, she had missed out on for quite some time now. Even before the invasion.
A hand found its way to the back of her head, keeping her firmly in place, though she had no intention of leaving or stopping. Landing with her back against the wall, she noted how every touch seemed to burn her skin. And the way his tongue tasted to the growling noises he made, as if he was in great hunger, it didn't disgust her or scare her like she had thought it would have.
In fact, it all excited her. Much like the warmth he was giving her, she was already craving and greedily taking it all in.
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this or had been touched in a way that left her feeling like she was on fire. Letting completely go, her mind went quiet.
'Stop,' he growled while kissing her neck.
'You want to stop?' Bulma asked in a daze, completely confused on why he would want that.
'No, stop making those little noises… It drives me mad, woman,' he said looking back up in her eyes. When she saw his dark eyes, she now understood what had been lingering in them all along. It made her smirk in combination with his comment about her whimpering. He smirked back at her while his eyes now wandered shamelessly over her features and body. It didn't take to long for him to continue their previous activity and she all too willingly participated along. Her mind was a complete blur. Doubt, excitement, worry, lust, fear… it was all swirling inside of her. But all in silence. Not that she would listen to any reason at this point anyway.
Placing his forehead against hers, they took a much-needed breath. He didn't say anything and simply stared at her in silence, making him even more enigmatic to her. She couldn't figure this man out.
'I…' She didn't know what she wanted to say and felt stupid for even breaking the silence, 'I…'
I never let myself view you as… someone I could touch. That's what she wanted to say.
'I think I need this,' she instead whispered while her hand went over his cheek to the back of his neck, copying his movement and wordlessly telling him to stay in place.
Coal eyes only stared deeply into hers before their mouths met once again and she forgot all about thought and reason.
Suddenly the red light of the gravity room went on, startling them. Bulma's eyes widened, realizing the machine was being turned on. 'Wait!' She shouted, pushing pass Vegeta, who was completely unaware of what was going to happen. The door shut down and before she could explain her body was on the floor, Vegeta fell next to her. His eyes wide in shock.
It felt as if a giant was stepping on her body and slowly crushing her bones. She couldn't utter a word. Because of the adjustments, the gravity was now at a much higher level than this afternoon. It still needed some finetuning! That's what she had been struggling with!
'W-woman,' Vegeta said, 'W-what is going on?'
Bulma couldn't answer. She could hardly breath. Sensing her distress, his eyes started to scan the room. Seeing her eyes go to the panel on that was luckily on his right, he tried to turn his body so he could crawl towards it. Meanwhile Bulma tried to figure out who would do such a thing, certainly not Libelle or Forog…?
Ilkm! But to harm the king? Was he insane? And how did he know she was in here? She had made sure to let his spies see that she had gone to her quarters and had waited a good hour to come back here…
Her eyes followed Vegeta's movement, who struggled to move but wasn't anywhere near her state of immobility. Even her eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. It then hit her she was losing consciousness.
'R-red,' she managed to utter out, referring to the button he had to press. Her eyes closed one more time and then she couldn't get them back open. Then she fell into obscurity, where she was free from pain, sound and emotion.
Finally! But beware, plot twists lie ahead! …Which I'm nervous about because I do hope you like how this story is going. I realize that last chapter was perhaps not the most exciting chapter, so sorry I couldn't update sooner. But I can promise you that the next is going to be quite the chapter, you better prepare for a rollercoaster of events…
But first please let me know what you thought of this chapter! (I mean it! I need to know!)
And as always thanks for reading!