Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ

Chapter 25: Fight

Two kids ran through the dark ship looking for any place to hide. The little blond girl slipped on something wet and grease like and would have fallen but her brother was there to help her up before her face smashed into the ground.

"Come on we have to hurry or he'll find us!"

The girl nodded and followed her brother around another corner. She could barely see through the darkness and her tears. She just wanted her mother back.

"In here quick!" Her brother pushed her into a small hole that was in a wall. He got in right behind her and was met with tons of wires. He wasn't sure of what the wires were for, he just knew that they could help hide them. He pulled the wires forward and pushed him and sister behind them. It was uncomfortable and his sister whimpered but he shushed her once and then placed his hand over her mouth and tried to be as still as possible.

It seemed like they stayed like that for hours and just when his hand was starting to get cramped his whole body tensed up as he heard the nightmarish voice call out to him.

"Children? Where are you? Dr. Gero is only here to help! Your mother was an unfortunate mistake. If she just would have sold you both to me then there wouldn't have been a problem. Your mother could not have been a part of this journey. She didn't understand your importance….your future…your destiny. You will do great things and avenge our entire race. You might think I am evil but you two will help destroy the real evil in the universe…the real threat. Now I may have killed your mother…"

The little boy couldn't help but to wipe his eyes with his other hand at that. His sister was crying so furiously now that his hand was soaked with the painful tears. They were happy not too long ago. They didn't have much but they had their mother to keep them safe. Now they would probably never feel safe again.

"…but I will never bring destruction to the two of you. You have my word. Now come on out."

The little boy was so still that he didn't want to breathe. The man had been talking for so long in the same spot. Did he know they were there? Is he about to leave? How long were they going to stay there? Could they even get off the ship?

Silence.

It was so quiet the twins could have sworn they could hear each other's heartbeats.

After a while it seemed like he must have moved on to another section.

The little boy sighed and removed his hand. His sister looked up at him with worry and hope. "Do-do you think its safe?" she whispered.

The boy shrugged his shoulders. "I don't-NO!"

The little girl screamed to the top of her lungs as she saw her brother be yanked out of their hiding spot. She pushed through the wires and saw her brother kicking hard at the old man who had a syringe in his hand. "I wanted to do things the easy way. Just remember that you chose this path."

"I'LL KILL YOU! I PROMISE I'LL-"

He gave him the shot and the boy went limp in his arms and the Doctor let him fall to the ground in an unconscious heap.

His sister ran over to him crying her eyes out believing that she lost another loved one in only a few short hours and didn't even notice the syringe coming for her.

The doctor sighed in relief when both the children were knocked out. They were such a hassle. When he saw their mother working in a trading post he had no idea that he would stumble upon the key to his greatest plan he ever thought of. There he was wanting to trade some junk from his ship for essentials and there they were, playing in the background. He was so excited but knew that it would take some time. But time he had. He was going to experiment on these children for years and get things right until they became what he needed them to be.

As he picked them up he realized that he never got their names. Oh well it really didn't matter. They weren't going to have any memories left once he was going to start peeking around in their brains anyways. "Alright experiment 17 and 18, this day marks the beginning of my most glorious hour that is yet to come."

Present…

Bulma was blinking and not giving any other type of response other than the confused motions of her eyes, because surely she had heard wrong.

"I'm sorry your Majesty I thought you said that you were going to train me."

"That is what I said Bulma and I am not one to repeat myself. So take that as the first lesson."

Vegeta was shocked but he was even more suspicious than he was confused. "You hate her Mother. You have always hated her. Why would you want to train someone you hate?"

"As I said I am not for repeating myself. I have said all I needed to say. We will start in one hour so get yourself acquainted with anything scientifically you need to do with Bardock."

She said as she walked inside leaving the stunned couple alone.

Bulma felt like collapsing to the ground. "Today is the craziest, most exhausting day of my life."

"And it's only the beginning. I don't know what she's up to. My mother always has another card up her sleeve. But for now just do as she says and be the most obedient daughter you can possibly be.

"Yes your highness." Bulma said as she kissed her husband softly and quickly. "At least one good thing happened today."

"Yes indeed. Come, Bardock is waiting."

When they went into the lab there was a small audience with Bardock, all 3 of his sons, The Queen, and her mother who was failing miserably at trying to calm her father's nerves. Bulma had assumed he was in some kind of post shock but he was actually on a level of anger that she had never seen him express before.

Dr. Brief wiped his glasses for the millionth time that day and then said, "Now that we are all here I will tell you of whom we are dealing with. Gero, like I said was a brilliant scientist, but an evil one at that. He had over the years lost many financial backers due to his lack of a moral and ethical code. He had no qualm of experimenting in any kind of environment with…any kind of living being…woman or child."

Bulma and her mother gasped while the Saiyans seemed un-phased. They have heard of many atrocities in their dealings with various species in their ventures in space.

Dr. Briefs continued on, "When our planet was being purged," He said looking down, and not wanting to look in the direction of Kakarot, "Myself and other scientists were busy concentrating on the survival of our planet building safe areas and ships. He was devising a plan using weaponry that would destroy possibly the whole planet."

"What?" Kakarot said.

Dr. Brief finally looked at him. "He would have rather the planet be destroyed by an Earthling than an alien."

"That's insane!" Bulma yelled.

Bardock narrowed his eyes. "Why wouldn't he or the other scientist try to concentrate the weapon to aim it at my son instead of destroy the planet?"

Kakarot raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing.

Dr. Briefs sighed. "The kind of energy he was trying to use could not be contained or controlled in a manner that would have been effective. Even if he could have concentrated it, the weapon itself would have need to have been able to move as fast as Kakarot. And even if we would have been able to get Kakarot to remain in one spot if it would have fired at the wrong angle then the whole planet could have been lost."

Raditz spoke up and said "We?"

The Doctor cleared his throat and said, "All the greatest minds, military, strategic and scientific were brought together in a state of emergency to try and kill Kakarot. What we had was not fast nor strong enough. There was simply no time."

Vegeta crossed his arms curiously. "If you all had no time then how did Gero come up with the weapon in the first place?"

The Doctor shook with anger. "That so called scientist was already working on it."

Cellena chuckled. "So let me get this straight, he was planning on terrorizing his own planet? And now he is trying to do the same to mine? Is that what you are telling me?"

"In so many words yes. There is no doubt in my mind that if Kakarot never showed up I would be meeting with the leaders of my own world having a similar conversation of how to defeat Gero. He has been planning this for years. And I believe he is still trying to find a way to concentrate that powerful energy. But I am afraid that Kakarot gave him the key."

Kakarot looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"Like I said the weapons he created were not fast enough to contain the energy. He clearly moved to robotics and I don't believe that he is the first bio engineered experiment. You, all of you Saiyans are great and powerful weapons. I believe that Gero has come to the conclusion that the only way to carry the powerful energy that he has dreamed about is organically."

Bardock cracked his neck in frustration. "Organically….so he is bioengineering…fighters?"

"Like cyborgs?" Raditz asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly…yes he did that to himself and more than likely has already experimented on others but…this man has a god complex. He-"

Bulma's eyes widened. "You think he's creating a being? One that can be more powerful than a Saiyan?"

"Yes."

"That's absurd!" Vegeta yelled. "You're telling me that someone that makes fighting robots out of scrap metal is creating a new species that is possible more powerful than a Saiyan? That's insane!"

The Doctor was even more frustrated at that. "I am telling you to not underestimate him."

Bulma crossed her arms in worry. "Well if what you say is true and he wanted to create a being stronger than Saiyan then he would need to collect data. Samples. But you guys train so much and are in out of tanks so much that it wouldn't be hard to…The tanks! Bardock we need to find any and all logs of tanks that were used by yourself and the King. If my father's theory is correct then Gero would be trying to analyze the two of you the most. If we can find a hack or some type of download then-"

"We can trace the paths. It might take some time but I designed mine and the King's tanks. If there's something to be found I will find it."

smiled at his daughter. "Good job Bulma. I will continue to analyze the bots."

"I'll help you Dad-"

"No!" Queen Cellena said. "While your mind is sharp this is the moment to train."

"But your majesty we just had a breakthrough."

"Remember your first lesson?"

Bulma opened her mouth then closed it. She looked at her husband who only nodded in his mother's direction. Bulma sighed and said, "You don't repeat yourself. I got it."

"Good. Vegeta I trust that you and Bardocks sons can relay what was said here to your father then help the generals any way you can to get our city back in order?"

"Yes Mother." Vegeta said slightly bowing while smirking at Bulma.

Bulma only frowned and followed his mother to Bardock's personal training room. Inside there was Colleen, Bardocks' wife and her friends' mother. She was a fearsome warrior and never seemed like she cared that much for Bulma.

Cellena took off her cape and tossed it to the side. "Colleen will assist us. You are more than twice the age of when you should have begun proper advanced training if you were a Saiyan elite on the path to become Queen so therefore you will now have twice the instructors. Your second lesson…"

Bulma fell to the floor as Colleen punched her across the face.

"…is knowing how to take pain."

"I had no time to prepare!" Bulma yelled as she began to get up.

Cellena kneed Bulma in the face and she slid across the ground. "In times of battle, there is no time to prepare. You must take a hit and react. Your first reaction is to cradle your pain. You must learn to move past it."

Bulma meant to say something but she had to spit out the glob of blood that formed in her mouth. She looked at Cellena with anger and charged her. Cellena stepped to the side and elbowed her back sending her crashing to the floor. "Good. That is an improvement. Use your emotion. Do not wallow in it."

Bulma got up and swung wildly at Cellena but didn't notice that Colleen had moved behind her and kicked her in the side. "Also you need to be aware of your surroundings. You are a royal, but if one person is brave enough to attack you, than others will be as well."

Bulma was breathing heavily and stood up but fell back to the ground.

"Get up Bulma. You, not being a Saiyan, must learn how to take pain quickly."

Bulma stood up and winced. "I….will never be able to defeat a Saiyan maybe if I built a-oof!"

Bulma fell back to the ground due to Cellena punching her in the stomach and sending her doubling over in pain. "Some Saiyans are better or more enhanced at certain things than others. After my husband turned into a Super Saiyan I became a little more sensitive to sensing energy. I've gotten so good with it that I can sense even if a woman is pregnant after a single night of sex. I was able to sense that you were not. But if you were…." She said as she grasped her hands around Bulmas throat and lifting her up. "My grandchild, a possible heir to the Saiyan throne could be killed by one Saiyan's punch." She let her drop back to the ground and ignored her gasps of air. "That is not a risk I am willing to take and is one that you should not either. Now, get up."

Bulma stared at her mother in law and for a moment she thought she was crazy…but now she understood. Protecting her body wasn't just about her anymore. She one day would be carrying Vegeta's child…her child. She needed to learn how to protect her unborn babe in every way she could.

Bulma nodded and stood. "Alright, hit me again."

Colleen smirked and said, "I lost."

Bulma looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

Cellena chuckled and said, "Colleen bet me that you would run out of here crying after your first session. I told her that she didn't know my new daughter."

Bulma blinked at that. She didn't want to push what she just said, because she knew how Saiyans were about confessing sentiments. But she was not going to forget that her mother in law just called her 'daughter'…..the touching moment was gone as soon as she punched Bulma in the face again…

That night….

Vegeta eyed Bulma as she tiredly walked to her bed. It was such a chaotic day and so much needed to be done but everyone reminded them that they did get married earlier and still needed to consummate their Saiyan marriage.

Vegeta was not happy that they didn't find more humans. They were now convinced that they had some type of manufactured tunnel system on the planet. That was the only explanation and not being able to sense their energy was an even bigger issue. Then to top it all off when he finally left to seek out his wife he found her floating in a tank! His mother told him that he was overacting and that they were only a few scrapes but one does not need a tank for a few scrapes.

He knew that she was going to be trained and at first thought it amusing but he had no idea that the idea of Bulma being hit would angered him so.

"I will assign more guards to you." He said as he watched her get into the bed.

Bulma raised an eyebrow at him and then smiled. "Are you concerned for little old me?"

Vegeta's cheeks turned pink and he looked away. "Not at all…I was just thinking that you probably can be more useful in the lab than training. You're a weakling anyways. You don't even get stronger after you heal."

Bulma giggled and kissed his cheek. "Well I appreciate the concern."

"I said-"

"I heard what you said. But I will continue to train. Your mother is right. I could get attacked one day and will need to be able to defend myself."

"Bulma I-"

Bulma kissed him and then placed his hand on her stomach. "I am going to carry your child. I'll be his or hers' very own training room for about 9 months before he or she comes out. I'm just upgrading the facility."

Vegeta sighed but then narrowed his eyes. "She? Woman we will have a son. I have no need for a daughter."

Bulma scoffed at that. "Vegeta! You will love whatever gender pops out of me."

Vegeta ignored her and went own. "Vegeta will be a strong and proud warrior that will be my first born."

"Vegeta? Good grief! How many Vegetas does this planet need?"

Vegeta looked at her dangerously. "Bulma my son will be named after me."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "….or he could have a different name."

"This is not up for debate!"

"So he will be Vegeta, the son of Prince Vegeta of King Vegeta on Vegeta?"

"Yes!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Fine you can call him whatever Saiyan name you want but I am going to give him an Earthling one."

"Woman don't be ridiculous."

"What? You can name our child after your father but I can't name him after mine?"

"You are being absurd. This is royal tradition and it will not be changed."

"Fine…He can have both names."

"What?"

"We did it on Earth all the time. People have more than one name. Mine is Bulma Briefs. Some people had more than that."

"How insane. A man only needs one name. And what is your father's name that you want to call our first born so badly?"

"Trunks."

Vegeta blinked then shook his head. "Absolutely not!"

"Trunks is a great name!"

"Not in my house."

"Vegeta?"

"My name is the best given name in the universe."

"Oh please!"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "That's funny seeing how you were yelling it repeatedly the other night."

Bulma's mouth fell open then closed. "I was not yelling!" She said with her face turning red.

"I assure you were. You made it seem like it was the best name that the kingdom could hear."

"The kingdom? You jerk!" She said playfully hitting. "I'll never say it again!"

Vegeta quickly turned her over to where she was underneath him on their large bed. "Is that a challenge?"

Bulma smiled. "Perhaps…so much has gone on today but it is still our wedding night."

"Indeed it is. And we must consummate to make it official." He said as he began to kiss her neck.

Bulma smiled and then brought his face back to hers for a loving kiss. "Officially yours forever."

Vegeta gifted her with one of his rare smiles and kissed her back. "You have no idea what you're in for my future Queen."

"Oh do show me my future king."

The Next Day…

"ARE YOU CRAZY? THEY WILL KILL US!"

Krillian winced at Yamcha's screeching answer. "I know that it's a risk but if we don't do anything then they will think that we are with Gero."

18 who was the only other person invited into the conversation agreed with Krillian. "He has a point. If you stay silent then they will no doubt believe that you were involved. Especially since you have already been to the palace."

Yamcha ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He had every intention of trying to stay low and getting off the planet with the other survivors while Gero went on his crazy rampage. He knew that this was going to end bad either way but he was simply doing what he had always done, survive. "Bulma might listen but Vegeta is insane. He will probably kill us in on sight."

18 shrugged her shoulders. "I won't let that happen."

Krillian and Yamcha looked at 18 surprised. Krillian's rubbed the back of his head and said, "So um…you're going to go with me to meet the Saiyans."

Yamcha was a little hesitant. "You would leave your brother? You guys have been thick as thieves. This is the only time that I've ever seen you apart. And you were working with Gero. You have fought Saiyans and helped Gero steal whatever devices he needed. Why in the world should we believe that you will help us in communicating with them for peace?"

18 unfolded her arms and leaned away from the wall of the hidden cave they were in. "Look I do care about my brother. But I hate Gero more. My brother does too and is no doubt looking for an opportunity to take advantage of him to end him."

Yamcha wasn't buying it. "But you have been with Gero for years and you have yet to give details of how you met or even why you joined with him other than taking advantage of his 'upgrades'."

"Because I don't know!" 18 yelled. "I can't remember past 2 years. It was the last time I got an upgrade. My brother and I had to rely on everything that Gero told us about our own lives. My brother just wanted more power but I don't know how long we've been with him, or what he's done with us or too us. I am not going through it again. Gero said that my memories would be intact this time but I don't believe him."

Krillian placed his hand on her back as a small comfort. "So that is what made you not want to go back?"

"That and the fact that he seemed too desperate for me and my brother to both get upgrades at the same time. There's something off about it. I don't know what it is, but it's-"

"Freaky." Yamcha finished for her.

"Exactly."

Yamcha sighed. "Fine. You two go meet the Saiyans and I will try and stay here and keep the remaining Earthlings calm. If you two aren't back by nightfall then we are moving on and you'll be on your own."

Krillian smiled and patted Yamcha's back. "We will return. You can bet on it."

"Good luck guys. Try to say whatever you can to get Bulma to talk to you."

Krillian nodded and then he and 18 left out to head straight for the palace…

20 minutes later

With everything that happened yesterday the last place Vegeta expected to be was in the interrogation room with Bulma while starring down two Earthlings. Bulma insisted on being in there alone with the newcomer but Vegeta was not having it. There was a new person in the room and there was something about her he didn't like. Krillian was as little of threat to him as he was before and he wasn't worried about him. He was curious about where that other guy was…he would have loved to finish what he had started.

"Where is the other fool? Was he too scared to show his face?"

Krillian gulped and shakily answered, "He is with the other survivors."

"Hmm. So he sent a woman in his place instead?" Vegeta said sliding his eyes to 18 wanting to see if he could get a rise out of her.

18 shrugged her shoulders amused at the Prince's obvious anger. She scanned the small room and she smirked as her eyes landed on the double sided mirror. "And who's behind there?"

Bulma who was curious about the new Earthling woman wanted the attention on the matter at hand. "Probably other Saiyans but don't worry about them. Who are you and why are you here?"

18 smiled, "I don't know who I am."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow and Bulma tilted her head. "What do you mean you don't know?"

Krillian was starting to get nervous and blurted out. "Dr. Gero experimented on her."

Vegeta stood up and pushed/pulled Bulma behind him. "So you mean to attack us?"

18 rolled her eyes. "Is everyone on this planet always so nervous?"

"Nervous?" Vegeta said offended.

Krillian stood up and waved his hands in anxiety. "No, no, what she means is…uh actually we come here in peace! We wanted you to know that we had nothing to do with what Gero did! The Earthlings are divided. Half are with Yamcha and I and the rest are with Gero. We are not looking to fight and are only looking to help. We don't know where Gero is but we do know that he is using underground tunnels like we have. He's planning something big and we just wanted you to be aware of it."

Vegeta was ready to throw both of them in jail, but Bulma calmly placed her hand on his shoulder and said over it, "What did Gero do to you?"

18 who was the only one still seated, crossed her legs and placed her hands behind her head. "He calls them 'upgrades'. He makes me faster, stronger, than the average Earthling….and Saiyan."

"Really?" Bulma asked curiously.

Vegeta sneered at her in disgust. As far as he was concerned if it what she said was true then she was a freak of nature. Not to mention that her cocky demeanor that she held ever since she stepped into the palace walls made it seem like she wasn't afraid of anyone…including himself….and that ticked him off.

"Show me."

Bulma gasped at her husband. "Vegeta we need to get answers. Now is not the time to have a fighting session."

"I need to know if what she says is true and what kind of threat we are dealing with."

The Kings voice then boomed over the speaker. "Take her to the nearest training room."

Bulma rolled her eyes. Bardock, Raditz, Turles, her father and the King were all watching behind the mirror. Her father was probably the only one other than herself that actually wanted to talk to the girl. She could possibly have some hidden detail that could be uncovered within her memories or even body and could be leading them to Gero right now, but no, they have to fight. 'Saiyans!'

It wasn't long before the small group of people were on a balcony looking down at the prince and the new being below. Vegeta wasn't intimidated at all but found it very annoying that she wasn't. She actually looked bored.

"Are you going to fight me or stare at me all day?"

"You should feel lucky. There are those who would kill for the opportunity to fight with the Prince of all Saiyans."

18 sighed and flipped her head. "Oh joy. How I wished this day would come."

Vegeta sneered then wasted no time to deliver a swift side kick to her head. If she lied and was completely human and lost her head, then oh well. She shouldn't be liar.

18 took the blunt attack and shocked everyone when she didn't move. Vegeta's eyes widened when she grabbed his leg and spun him into the nearest wall.

"Impossible!" The saiyan King yelled.

Bulma was surprised but to say it was 'impossible' was a bit ridiculous seeing that Gero just went toe to toe with the famous Super Saiyan King just yesterday.

Dr. Breifs gripped the sides of the balcony. "There's no telling how many powerful creatures he has created by now. You Saiyans might have your hands full."

Vegeta was more than angry that this…thing just did that to him. He charged her in anger and they went at it. And she was matching his every move even when Vegeta started to levitate she matched him blow for blow, flight for flight.

Bardock growled out, "This is a problem."

Bulma had seen enough and turned to the King. "Your majesty, we need to find out what she knows and how Gero is doing this."

"Disgraceful." The King spat. "A warrior should earn their strength. Vegeta needs to end this."

Bulma's jaw dropped and then she looked at Vegeta in worry not knowing if he could. But even if he could she still needed the girl alive! "My king, please. I need to get information from her to go after the bigger threat."

"Threat? The Saiyan Empire will prevail."

Bulma wanted to bang her head against the wall. 'Saiyan pride! It would be the death of them all.

Dr. Breifs was also on Bulma's side as well seeing as all the Saiyans were into the fight. "Sire we do need her alive. There is no telling what she may know."

Bardock who was also into the fight had finally seen enough. "She moves like a Saiyan. Too much like one. I am curious as well sire." Bardock was sure that if the fight was going to continue then the girl would most assuredly lose her life if not to Vegeta then from the King out of shear pride."

"Fine." The King growled. "Vegeta! Enough. Let the scientists do what they need to do." He said as he angrily walked away.

Vegeta and 18 stopped fighting and he would have charged her again because she still had this stupid smirk on her face if Bulma wouldn't have ran down to the girl.

"Can I take you to my lab?"

18 reared back. "You are not taking me apart."

Bulma raised her hands in peace. "I just want to know what he did to you. I will never willingly hurt my own kind."

18 looked at Krillian who looked like he almost had a heart attack he was so anxious. He nodded and then she remembered how he repeatedly said that they could trust Bulma.

"Alright. Lead the way."

"Thank you." Bulma said then she left out along with her father, Krilian and Bardock.

Vegeta spat on the floor even angrier at the fact that there was blood mixed in. He couldn't believe he couldn't make not one dent, bruise, and mark, scratch…nothing! What was she made of? How are a bunch experiments more powerful than a Saiyan? At least Gero stole Saiyan energy to get an advantage…but she….it didn't make any sense!

"Raditz! Tell your brother to come here now. Kakarot and I need to fight…now!"

Raditz saw that one coming. It was a good thing they stopped the fight because it would have gotten messy…

Meanwhile in Gero's secret lab….

"Where is your sister?" Gero yelled to 17.

17 sighed. "I saw her go into the palace with Krillian. She no doubt is with the Saiyans right now."

"WHAT?"

"Do I really need to repeat myself?" He asked with a bored tone. "I told you before that she doesn't like you. I don't either. All I want are my upgrades."

Gero gripped the edge of his table so much so that he was leaving dents in the metal. "I need both of you. You both need to have them at the same time."

"Why is that?"

Gero sat back down in his chair and glared at 17. "All you need to know is that you won't get your upgrades until she gets hers. Which means that she has to be here. So I don't care what you need to do, but you need to get her…now!"

17 stared at Gero for a moment longer and then shrugged his shoulders and left out. For some reason he always felt like there was something he was supposed to remember but could never remember what it was. Something he told himself, promised….but eventually he would give up and walk away. There are more important things to do…like get stronger.

A/N: Hello all, I'm back. Sorry it took so long…but life happens. That's all I can say. I know that some might have questions as to why I made 18 just as powerful as Vegeta…well when it comes to power levels in this story, everyone and everything is different from the show because circumstances are different. But I really wanted that wounded pride and possible fear to spread in our characters. Next chapters to come will focus on the urgency of becoming Super Saiyans from Goku and Vegeta, a death of a character and a manifestation of Gero's threat. Please Review!