A faltering Empire

Bulma watched him sleep. Even resting he does with a frown on his face.
Never had she thought she'd be watching him, the king of the savage race that had purged her planet, sleep peacefully. Not that she was worried about him. No, of course not, that would simply offend the man. I just have to wait for him to wake up…

Letting herself fall on the bed, Bulma let out a deep sigh.

Libelle… Forog… One of them betrayed me. …Or maybe they both did.

Now that she knew Vegeta wasn't watching her, her entire body tensed up and suddenly she was overwhelmed with sadness. Her carefree days were over again. She couldn't trust anyone but the very man that had turned her world upside down. Burying her face in the pillow, she let the tears stream freely. Her body and mind felt completely out of balance.

And I don't even know if it is because of what has happened or… If it is simply because of Vegeta's presence. I feel different around him now. Excited and…

Her last memories were of them kissing and touching. And though her cheeks flushed red out of embarrassment of being caught, her body warmed up and simply longed for more. Pushing herself off the bed, she took another glance at the man that caused her so much inner turmoil.

He seemed to be always confusing her. Pushing her morals. Forcing her to view life with a different perception. Crossing boundaries, she didn't even know lived inside of her.

What's wrong with me? This man has murdered people… He killed Mr. Popo. And now I'm… lusting after him?

Her body was still tired, but her mind couldn't stand the idea of lying down any longer. Getting off the bed, she decided to go back to her own room and perhaps contact her parents. She took another glance at the king and out of nowhere the thought came if lust was all she was feeling for him. Startled by her own mind, she decided that, right now, she didn't want to think about her feelings any longer.

I'll come back later… Vegeta.

Finding some clothes that fit her beside the bed, she put them on and got out of the room, only to find herself in a hallway she had never been in before. Confused, she tried to find her way out but after entering a few rooms, including a bedroom and a kitchen, it dawned upon her she was in his personal quarters. Or something like that. Damn it, Vegeta. Where the hell am I?

'You must be the scientist everybody is talking about.'

Startled by the voice behind her, Bulma immediately turned around. She hadn't even heard a door open! When seeing who it was, her eyes widened. It was an older man who looked just like Vegeta. The same proud attitude hung in the air and his eyes shamelessly inspected her. Uncertain of how to behave, Bulma decided that remaining silent was the wisest the decision.

'My son has put quite a lot of faith into you,' he continued.

Bulma was now copying his eye movements and taking in the senior man. It was obvious he had been hurt during battle and had been severely injured. His crippled body depended on a walking stick. And no matter how elegant and bejeweled it was, it didn't hide the fact he couldn't stand straight without it. A few deep scars deformed his once handsome face. When Bulma caught his eyes, she noted them to be just as harsh and cold as Vegeta's.

However, seeing her blue eyes made him soften up and Bulma could then catch a glimpse of his tiredness.

'Your Vegeta's father,' she blurted out for no reason.

'King Vegeta,' he corrected her, though his voice was mild and slightly amused by her slip up.
'R-right,' Bulma muttered, feeling quite stupid.
'Your latest invention,' he said, not dwelling on it. 'Do you believe this is what it will take to make him stronger?'

I actually didn't invent this for your son… So, I have never put much thought into what this machine could do for him.

Now she felt guilty because of her selfishness. Seeing how this man, who had probably once been just as much of a proud warrior as his son, stand before her in this pitiful state made her understand how severe the situation was for the Saiyan race.
And suddenly it also all clicked in her mind, understanding why Vegeta had been so obsessed in his search for power.
At this point, she knew him well enough to know that the sight of his father must be hard on him.
It probably meant to him that he was caring for someone weak, which was something he did not only not know how to do, he didn't want to do either.
And she assumed they both had been forced to live in this situation because of Frieza, who was the cause of all their agony.

Perhaps she and Vegeta had more in common than she was willing to admit. After all, he too had encountered a creature far superior to his strength. And knowing his Saiyan mindset, that must've been a true hardship to endure.

'I think… I think a good schedule is all that is needed before he starts his training,' Bulma eventually answered after a long pause of silence.

'But do you believe it will make him stronger?' he asked her, his tone more demanding while his eyes lit up with a certain fierceness.

Taken back, she wavered a bit at first but then nodded. Her brain worked faster and better under pressure and before she knew it, she was answering his questions.

'If we set gravity just slightly higher than its current level, we can already feel a difference. So obviously, pushing it pass the limits of our current knowledge will lead to incredible results. We can presume a normal level of gravity will feel like nothing after an intense training in the Gravity Room.'

Satisfied with her answer, he only nodded in approval. Wanting to leave, he started walking but stumbled at first try. Bulma knew better than to ask if he needed help but he was all by himself. It was obvious he was in pain and tired of walking.

'I'm going to talk to my son,' he simply said when she dared to move a muscle in his direction.

Understanding the unsaid warning, she immediately halted.

'Make sure everything is ready for departure.'
'Departure?' Bulma echoed confused.

'Yes, my son is taking a little trip. I made him postpone it a few times now… Its best if he leaves right away. You oversee the ship…' He fell silent. Furrowing his eyebrows, he fell into what seemed to be deep thought. Awkwardly, Bulma just waited it out. Not quite sure how to behave around the man.

Unlike Vegeta, he made her feel much smaller as a person. For some weird reason, his former title of king intimidated her more than Vegeta's title of prince ever did. King Vegeta, she now corrected herself. His present title seems to make even a less of an impression…

'What is your name?'

Stunned by the question, it took her a second to recover. Stuttering a little when trying to tell him her name, she halted and scolded herself. Taking a deep breath and telling herself to stop behaving like an idiot, she managed to answer the simple question in one breath,

'Bulma Briefs.'

'Bulma,' he echoed her name, staying silent again. The deep lines on his forehead told Bulma he had a lot of worrying thoughts and curiously she wondered what could be going on inside of him. After all, as former king, wasn't he allowed to live a carefree life from now on?

'Take care of my son on your journey to Namek, Bulma.'

'I-I will… Sir.'

Namek? I never heard of that planet. And what could Vegeta want on Namek…?

'After his recovery, you will leave. No matter what happens, understood? That is an order.'
'Of course, sir,' Bulma monotonously continued to answer while trying to halt the worrying feelings creeping up inside of her.

Something is going on…

The old king passed her by and gave her some direction of how to get out of the King's personal quarters. Hearing him say that, Bulma couldn't help but blush. Realizing only now how this must've looked. Almost she wanted to squeal out that she didn't know no idea why Vegeta had decided that she should be staying here instead of the infirmary of the science department, but the man hadn't even pick up on her embarrassment and inner conflict, and had simply kept walking.

Watching his back, Bulma noted that it was an urgent manner for them to speak. And private one too.
Hence why he was all by himself. Not being able to control her worrying thoughts, her mouth spoke up before her mind could think it through.

'Is…' For a moment she wavered until the image of Vegeta flashed before her eyes and she couldn't help herself,

'Is everything alright, sir?'

He halted. His back stiffened and with a low voice he informed her,

'Just make sure you are careful. Planet Vegeta is at chaos for the moment.'

The ominous feeling that had settled in the pit of her stomach took over her entire body. With a small nod, she bid him goodbye and couldn't help but start running. She wanted her new task to be done quickly, so she could come back. Where does Vegeta want to go to at a time like this? This is seems so unlike him to just leave everything behind… He's always going on and on about his duty as the King of Saiyans. Just what the hell happened when I was out? And what about his training in the Gravity Room?

Running out of what she now understood was the palace, Bulma noticed a ship in the distance. It seemed to be the prototype of the ship Ilkm had been working on.
Her feet kept moving without thought or paying attention to the people around her. Though noticing there was indeed some kind of thrill that hung in the air. Saiyans paid too little attention to her appearance. None asked questions. It seemed they were too much drawn into their own problems to simply even notice her.

The red dust got stuck on her clothes and boots. Her feet and body felt so heavy. Am I really that out of shape? Honestly, Bulma!
It took her a split second to realize she was outside. Free. In the heavy gravity of planet Vegeta.

Abruptly halting, she looked up at the sky. It's blue. Just like home.

Taking a moment to take in the environment, Bulma looked around before closing her eyes and taking it all in. Tasting the dust on her lips, noting it was a bit salty. Twirling around in place, she embraced the wind and took a deep breath of fresh air. Her entire body had longed for so hard and so long for this moment. The air on planet Vegeta smelled different. A bit more… metallic? Either way, she liked the smell. She liked the red sticky sand. She liked the warm wind.

Letting herself enjoy a few more minutes of freedom, she took in a deep breath and gathered her thought together. She didn't know how much time had passed and how she had been able to adjust to the gravity so quickly, but she was grateful.
Feeling that there was no time to waste, she then kept going towards the ship that was luckily not too far off from the palace. A familiar face greeted her. It was a member of her personal team, Kai. He gave her a broad smile and congratulated her newest invention, that everyone seemed to know of.

'Amazing! And yet so simple! You are a genius, Dr. Briefs!'

Bulma thanked him, noticing a huge crowd of people readying the ship. Some greeted her, saying the same type of things. Hating being in the dark, she simply asked him her burning question.

'How do you know about my invention, Kai?'
'Ilkm stole your invention,' Kai whispered but then with a wicked grin said, 'But King Vegeta blasted him! He's dead! Ilkm is dead, Briefs!'
'W-what? Why? How?'

'Well, I'd like to think his majesty was onto him. I guess he knew Ilkm stole your invent— 'No, I mean how did Ilkm steal my invention? When did he get the chance to do all that?'

'You were out for like a few days, Bulma.'
'What!?'
'Yeah,' he lowered his enthusiasm when seeing her confused expression. Realizing there were quite a few imported details missing for her, Kai explained what happened.

'Some are just rumors, so I don't know if it is all true but the story goes that Forog told Ilkm about your invention and together with Libelle they made plan to steal it. Libelle promised she could provide a good diversion with the help from a couple of Saiyans. So, during that Saiyan outbreak, Ilkm made his move!'

'Saiyan outbreak?' Her heart started to race, realizing that every feeling of betrayal had been real. A small, silly part of her, had hoped that it all wasn't true. That there was still a good explanation waiting for her, proving her instincts to be wrong. Libelle, Forog…
'Some Saiyans that were causing trouble back on Earth— 'Kakarot?' Bulma asked in shock.
'Yeah, you know him?' Kai asked intrigued.
'Where is Forog and Libelle?' Feeling furious, she grabbed his collar. 'Tell me!'
'L-Libelle got heavily injured during the outbreak! And Forog is laying low for now. With the king getting hurt we decided to not mention Forog knew more— 'But Forog has betrayed me!' Bulma screamed in anger.
'If we tell the Saiyans about Forog, they will torture him to death!'
'You…' She didn't know what to say. 'I thought we were working with the Saiyans?'
'Of course we are but that doesn't mean we need to betray one another! I mean, sure Ilkm was an asshole but Forog didn't mean bad. I think he just wanted to get higher up, you know. Have his own team. And Ilkm had promised him that.'
Noticing her anger had only grown with his words, he added, 'Don't worry, we'll settle this on our own. We don't need the Saiyans their help for this. Forog won't be getting away.'

Obviously he was hoping those words were going to be soothing towards her. Having enough of this vile company that she had dared to deem as good friends or even just companions, she barked out a few orders and reminded everyone that this ship needed to be ready rather sooner than later.

'Kai, where is Libelle?'

He froze up and, with a sadden expression, told her that Libelle's condition had become very critical.
Trying her best to not let it get to her, obviously still feeling torn up inside, Bulma decided to calm down and first take a look around in the ship before going anywhere else. I should probably inspect the ship if I'm going to be using it later…

She had to admit Ilkm's ship was impressive, though it pissed her off to see the gravity room installed without her consent. However, it would serve its purpose. What are you thinking? This was an invention just for you, not for Vegeta…
Ever since waking up her mind had been spinning. Vegeta's father words kept haunting her. Again, she felt obliged to help the Saiyans, finding them suddenly to be much more humanlike then before. They too had suffered; they too had their own reasons for behaving the way they did. Without thought she started to make a list of likeliness between the Saiyan race and her own. Between herself and the Saiyan King.

Maybe Saiyans are less civil then I originally thought. Maybe they got corrupted, abused even... Or maybe they just act upon instinct much more then Earthlings do… Here I am pretending to be superior, but I follow my gut feeling most of the time too. So, what is my instinct telling me now?
Everything is happening so fast, I can hardly keep up…

'Is King Vegeta leaving?'

Startled, Bulma looked up to see a large Saiyan awaiting her as she stepped out of the ship. He seemed to be looking for a fight and even without a scouter on, she could feel his energy. It was electric and dangerous. He could destroy the ship… Warily, she approached him and tried to take control of the situation.

'I'm afraid it is unsure if his majesty will join us,' Bulma spoke up without wavering.
'Rumor is that King Vegeta is going to leave us!' the Saiyan shouted. A few other Saiyans arrived, surrounding her and the ship. Bulma felt panic overcome her for a moment but she managed to keep her cool.

'If so, I'm sure he has a good reason to do so.'
'Some find the new King to be kind of a coward,' the Saiyan said on a malicious tone. 'Maybe he really is. I mean, if he dares to leave us now…'

Bulma wanted to open her mouth and reply to his crude comments but a blast out of nowhere came and injured the Saiyan. The ground trembled slightly and Bulma put her hands before her face to avoid getting hit by the flying rubble that followed. As the red dust disappeared, the Saiyan hissed while trying to get back up.
Gritting his teeth at the man who had attacked him, Bulma then saw the largest Saiyan she had ever seen standing right behind her.

'We obey the King. You don't think, King Vegeta thinks for you, understood?'

Just by looking at him, she could tell he was a ruthless and devoted warrior. He grinned when catching her stare and he treated her on a vicious grin. His hand went over his bald head and with a bark of laughter, he asked if she liked what she was seeing.

Ignoring his comment, Bulma looked at the other Saiyans who objected to the statement, shouting out their dismay over what was going on and what had happened.

'Commander, why didn't he execute Kakarot?'
'Where is King Vegeta, Nappa?' One spat, clearly no longer holding any respect for the higher-ranking officer.
'Where is that ship going? Frieza has been spotted! He can't leave now!'
'We need our King to fight!'

Taking a few steps back, Bulma than realized that there was indeed a crisis on planet Vegeta. It seemed the outbreak had caused quite a stir. Some looked angry, others more desperate.

'Don't listen to any fool that thinks Kakarot or Bardock knows what they are doing. They left as cowards because they feared the wrath of the King!'

'People saw King Vegeta lose!' Another Saiyan yelled back.

Wait! Vegeta got hurt during a fight with Kakarot? I thought…! Well, I hadn't really given it any thought!

'That's just a rumor,' Commander Nappa gruffly answered. Having enough of their antics, he unleashed a few more Ki-blast and took control of the situation. Making every single Saiyan leave. When Bulma looked around, she noted how tense the atmosphere was. Even the sky up above did not know any rest, Saiyan soldiers flew around left to right. Fights occurred here and there.

Hastily, she went back into the ship and got into the captain cabin where she could contact her parents. But as she was dialing, she ended the call. What would she say? There is chaos on the Saiyan planet? I might not survive this, goodbye? …I think I sort of have a fling with the king?

No, it's better to not worry them. But what if it this my last chance to speak to them…? No! I can't think like that! I'm going to survive this mess. Just few more months! …But what about Vegeta?

That thought stirred more chaos inside of her than anything else that what was going on Planet Vegeta. Did she care about him now? Was she hesitating to leave?

He wouldn't care about me leaving… would he?

Jumping out of the chair again, she decided that was she now needed was some clarity on other matters before dealing with that one. The subject Vegeta wouldn't be solved anytime soon but she could ask Forog and Libelle why they did what they did. Forog's thinking she could understand.
Not that she would ever do such a thing herself, but she did know some people had no guilt towards other's when it came to their own selfish reasoning. But Libelle? …Either she had been a fantastic actress or something else happened!

After all, she was probably the reason Kakarot was able to get out. I'm sure of that!

Running towards the infirmary of the science building, Bulma could feel her legs tiring out. The high gravity was taking its toll on her body. She wasn't ready to move around so much in it. Yet a small part of her felt proud to know her little session had been a real success. After all, she wasn't getting crushed. Behind her a fight ensued between Saiyans. Hurrying up, she tried to get inside and avoid getting involved.
Noticing the gravity was lighter in the building, her body felt some sort of relief. And finally, she could breathe much more freely. Her mind started to clear up because of the intake of air. Maybe being in high gravity so much isn't such a good idea… My head was a blur just seconds ago.

Feeling calmer, Bulma asked one of the nurses where Libelle, the pink little scientist girl, was. Getting directions, the nurse added that she was just in time.
'In time?'
'Nothing can be done,' she sadly answered. 'We did our best, but her body isn't responding well.'
Pain filled her chest, despite the feeling of betrayal she had felt earlier.
Not wasting any more time dwelling on her feelings, Bulma started running again. Hurrying through the halls, she founded Libelle in a bed instead of a healing tank.
It was the same bed she had been in in the King's quarters. Realizing now it was also some sort of regenerating device, Bulma touched the glass she was being kept under. As her hand touched the cool service, the glass disappeared.

Libelle's eyes slowly opened. Her face was bruised and purple colored. She still had blood smudged on her face. A sad expression graced her face and she greeted Bulma without her usual cheeriness.
Bulma did not know how to react. She wanted to be angry, but she felt nothing but sadness inside. Pity. Hurt.

'Sorry,' she said, speaking with a lisp. Bulma noted a few of her teeth were missing. Her lip had been split in two. Talking seemed painful to her, so she hushed the young girl. But she did not obey.
'I love you,' the girl blurted out.

'Just be quiet and get better,' Bulma whispered back.
'I can't get better… I'm really tired.'

Bulma wanted to answer that she should sleep then but she couldn't. She would never wake up again. She didn't want those to be her last words to her, be quiet and sleep.
All the anger from earlier had melted and was all forgotten at this point.

'F-Forog—shh,' Bulma hushed her, placing a hand on her swollen cheeks. Grabbing her hand, Libelle shook her head, wanting to speak.
'He told me you were kissing… t-the king,' she said with a mischievous smile that lacked its usual youthfulness.
'Yeah,' Bulma answered with a snicker. 'I'll tell you all about it later, ok?'
'What was it like?' Libelle asked, ignoring her antics of keeping her quiet.

Bulma gave it a thought, not quite sure what to tell her. She eventually settled on the truth, 'Nice. Wonderful even.'

'I never kissed… He promised me a kiss when we'd meet again,' she mumbled drowsily.
'Who? Kakarot?' Bulma asked, realizing the girl was losing her consciousness. Looking around, she realized the building seemed to be empty. Perhaps everyone was in hiding until things settled on planet Vegeta. The alien nurse from earlier was standing afar, tenting the one other patient in the room.
When their eyes crossed, she gave Bulma an apologetic look in return and shook her head to her plea to come and help the girl.

Libelle only nodded in agreement, giving Bulma a half smile when seeing her tears.
'F-follow your… heart, Bulma.'
'Heart?' Bulma echoed, smiling at her juvenile words.
'Yeah, that's your instinct…'

Frowning, Bulma decided not to dwell on it but only nodded in agreement, promising her she would do that. Libelle reached out to touch her cheek but couldn't find the strength to do so. Bulma let her forehead rest on hers, hushing her to just relax. She wasn't going anywhere.

'I didn't mean to get you hurt,' Libelle whispered in her ear.
'I know that.'
'I just wanted… a kiss…'
'I know.'

Her breath tickled her cheek while her tears fell on Libelle's cheek. When her violet eyes closed, Bulma felt her heart break inside. Holding on to her friend, which she now realized she didn't know well enough. Libelle's heartache of loneliness had been unknown to her or perhaps ignored because she had been too consumed by her own problems…

Guilt overwhelmed her.

Suddenly the ground started to shake uncontrollably. Warily Bulma looked around, the nurse came rushing over, pulling her lose from her friend. 'Wait, no!' she screamed in agony.
'You have to go! Come on!' the nurse sternly answered. 'Frieza is getting closer! I think the Saiyans are losing their minds!'
'How do you know Frieza is getting closer?' Bulma asked in shock.
'I have good senses,' she simply said while guiding her to safety.
'What is going on?' Bulma asked as she unwillingly left behind Libelle. Her heart was bleeding out but there wasn't anything she could do. It seemed the building was going to collapse.
'After their encounter with Frieza, the Saiyans were never the same,' the nurse muttered, clearly pitying them while getting into an elevator and going underground.

'What happened?'
'Frieza abducted the prince when he was just a little boy…'
Bulma's blood went cold, suddenly understanding much more of the enigmatic Saiyan.
'His father tried to save him but paid a high price… Half the Saiyan army was wiped out and the King hardly survived! But everyone believed the Saiyan Prince would take revenge and one day kill the man who had brought them to their knees! However, King Vegeta isn't anywhere near Frieza's level.'

'And now Frieza is coming,' Bulma whispered, understanding the chaos outside. Their hope was crumbling. They were preparing for a battle they knew they were going to lose.

'No man can ever stop him. Lord Frieza is a god, I tell you!'
The elevator opened up and Bulma found herself in a long hallway.
'I need to go to the palace, the King's quarter more specifically. He asked me to report to him.'
It was amazing how easy she could come up with lies when it involved the Saiyan King. But the kind nurse didn't pick up on it and nodded understandingly. Quickly giving her directions on how she could use another elevator, that would go through an underground tunnel and open inside the palace. Thanking the nurse, Bulma rushed over to the elevator.

Thinking was not an option at this point, all she could do was get back to Vegeta. She didn't have anyone left but him. And she had sort of promised his father to take care of him. Her mind however did try to come up with a solution. She needed to buy the Saiyans more time, but how?

Her body felt weird, tired and nauseous but she didn't let it stop her. Feeling the higher gravity again as she came closer to the palace, Bulma readied herself for a struggle to get to the King's quarters. Once the elevator doors slid open, she was greeted by the sight of the same Saiyan of earlier, Nappa.
He grinned at the sight of her and for a moment she thought she was in trouble until he told her the King did not like waiting.

She didn't question him, not caring if he was covering for her or was under the impression she was around to do just that. With a slight nod and fierce determination, she walked through the group of Saiyans, who were either eying her suspiciously or making inappropriate noises or remarks underneath their breath. At this point she didn't know if it was gravity pulling her down or the pressure of the situation. But either way, she was relieved to find herself alone again when she finally entered the King's quarters. No one was present and when she walked into the room, Vegeta was still in the regenerating tank. His eyes closed, his expression a scowl like always.

I guess I'll have to wait a bit more…

Tired, she went to sit down on the bed again. Her hand touched something. His clothes, armor and a scouter had been placed on the bed for when he awakens. Curiously she grabbed the scouter and put it on. The Saiyan language couldn't be deciphered but knowing the scouter had a function to change languages, she tried to see if her adjustment had been put into it. Luckily for her, it had been.

Your power-level… 27 000. That is not nearly enough, Vegeta. The scouter picked up on various spiked up power-levels. A red dot kept blinking at the corner, agitated by it, and curious, Bulma tried to figure out what it was signaling. It seemed to have picked an incredible high-power level. Realizing who this was and what this mean. Bulma took off the scouter, her hands trembling uncontrollably.

Looking at Vegeta in despair, she begged him to wake up. As if hearing her silent request, he opened eyes.

I hope you liked this chapter! To be honest I feel a little uncertain about it... I also wish I could update more often but I'm always short on time lately… Thanks for reading!

Comment/review!