Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z, Akira Toriyama does and created it. My fan character Tomic, and any others not part of the series belong to me. This story means no harm to the anime or manga
Second Chances for Bardock's Sons
By Trynia Merin
Beta read by Sarah Slutz January 2008
Unaware that Bulma was rescued by a new threat, the three androids stopped to hover over the flaming wreckage that had once been Bulma's plane. However they had sensed a disturbingly huge energy that had appeared in the same vicinity, and were wondering if the two were related. Landing nearby, Captain Scarlet snarled as he whirled on androids Seven and Eight. "You IDIOTS! She's nowhere to be found!"
"Sir, we don't detect her anywhere inside the wreckage," said no. Eight sheepishly. He prodded the wreckage, unaffected by the flames licking around it. Raising his hand, he opened the nozzle to emit a stream of carbon dioxide coolant. Quenched under his extinguisher, the flames the of the wreckage soon ceased its incineration.
"Idiots, must I do everything myself?" he snorted.
"Sir, Piccolo's troops are not far behind us. Apparently they're asking if we need backup," said reported no. Seven, tapping her ear.
"Damn it, that's all I need. You go back and tell them I've got this under control. No. Eight, you go that way, and I'll go this way," the General pointed. "Trace her warmth and ki-trail."
"But I'm detecting larger kis that are off the scale," said no. Eight.
"Probably her friends trying to save her!" snorted Scarlet. "Go now!"
"But they're all at the Budokai!" protested no. Seven.
"No, apparently the ones who were eliminated have already left according to Piccolo's observations," said Scarlet impatiently.
"Why didn't you tell us?" asked no. Eight.
"Don't ask questions, just go! Violet, you take the shock troops and hunt down those large ki readings. I'll get the woman!" Scarlet declared.
"Dr. Gero will want us to rendezvous with him soon, in three hours," said no. Seven. "Do we have enough time?"
"Humph, if we don't then it's Nine and Ten," he sneered. "And you know I hate being shown up by that blithering idiot and his ape of a son!"
"White, you mean? He's just had the upgrade too, right?" inquired no. Seven, his head cocking in confusion.
"Yes, and Five. That idiot let himself get beaten by that three-eyed freak," Scarlet mumbled remembering Mercenary Tao's humiliating defeat.
Nodding to his subordinate Androids, he rocketed off after Bulma. Androids no. Seven and no. Eight rocketed off in the direction of the other powerful traces, guessing it they might be Yamcha, Tien, and the other stranger who called himself Raditz.
Prince Vegeta lightly touched down in the middle of a vast open space interrupted by tall spikes of upright rock piles. Buttes and mesas also dominated the landscape, stretching for miles. Bulma shakily clung to his arms as she saw the hulking giant striding up to them. Gold and white armor gleamed over the bald warrior's chest. Beneath his mustache and goatee, his face twisted into a Machiavellian smirk. In a harsh language, he laughed something to the Prince. Bulma yelped and buried her face in the sovereign's neck. Trembling she clung tightly to Vegeta.
"Stop terrorizing the humans Nappa. We're here for a reason. Haven't you located our two subordinates yet?" Vegeta inquired, in a language unfamiliar to Bulma's ears. However, she couldn't help thinking it sounded familiar. For the past few days she had been trying to translate the scouter's messages into a Chikyuu-jin language. Perhaps this was the speech behind the strange ciphers.
"Found yourself a female already, sire?" Nappa chortled. "You want my advice?"
"Shut up! You do remember WHY we came here?" Vegeta glared at him. He seemed to have forgotten about the female in his arms.
"Please… put me down, your Majesty," Bulma interrupted, in her language.
"Silence," Vegeta cut her off, reverting to a Chikyuu-jin tongue.
"Excuse me, thank you for saving my ASS, your Highness, but could you please put me down?" Bulma firmly stated.
"Humph, I take orders from no one," Vegeta snorted. He set her on her feet. Before Bulma could run away, his gloved hand latched around her wrist with blinding speed.
"Let me go, please!" Bulma gritted, trying to twist her wrist out of his grasp. She might as well have been fighting a steel vise, so she decided against struggling lest she break her wrist.
"Not till you tell me where the others of my kind are Woman," Vegeta said firmly. "Now face me and answer. I didn't have to save your life."
"Shall I punish her sire?" Nappa licked his lips.
"Shut up and keep looking for them. The two should be nearby," the Saiyan no Ouji ordered.
"Please Vegeta, I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just let me go," she said, swallowing hard. Vegeta saw the sincerity in her blue eyes, then released her wrist.
"Who are you, Woman. You seem to think yourself of some importance on this rock pile," Vegeta said curtly. "Well, speak."
"I already told you. My dad runs Capsule Corps, the richest company in the world, your Majesty," Bulma stated boldly, staring Vegeta right in the eyes. "And if you're any threat to this world, you should know we don't go down without a fight. And it would be worth your while to see that we might have something to offer you."
"My my, you're bold, woman," Vegeta clicked his tongue. "You presume much. Do you carry Royal blood?"
"I'm the heiress to Capsule, and I will run the company when my father retires," Bulma answered, folding her arms across her chest and glaring at the Prince.
"Humph, she acts like a princess," Nappa said in Saiyan.
"You will remain my guest, then if you represent authority on this small planet," Vegeta said. "So you can tell me what I wish to know. I might see fit not to lose my temper, so you'd better learn now that I don't like being made a fool of. I'm not here for sightseeing."
"What do you want to know first?" Bulma asked.
"Why should I spare your planet?" questioned Vegeta.
"Because whoever trains here gets awfully strong. Two of your people landed here, your Highness, and they're almost five times as strong as when they first came," she pointed out.
"Then you HAVE seen my subjects. You will tell me all you know and I'll be hospitable. Lie to me, and you will be VERY uncomfortable," Vegeta icily declared.
"If you're talking about Raditz and Tomic, they're taking place in a martial arts contest and trying to stop Piccolo from taking over this planet," Bulma informed him.
"Well now, that's interesting news. So you expect me to swallow that my warriors are embroiled in your planet's measly politics?" snickered the Saiyan no Ouji.
"Yes. Can't you tell if I'm lying, your Majesty?" Bulma smirked. Flashing lights flickering across the red lens of his scouter interrupted her staring match with the Prince. The small device at Bulma's hip bleeped simultaneously to Nappa's.
"Where did you get that scouter? Is that from my officer Tomic?" Vegeta demanded, pointing to it.
"Yes," Bulma nodded, holding it up. Vegeta made no move to take it, rather grasped her hand that held the object.
"Lose that at your peril, woman."
"Vegeta, I'm getting a whole bunch of readings coming this way. They're pathetically weak, but there are some that are the same energy levels as Saibamen," Nappa said, punching the controls to narrow the focus.
"Well now, why don't we give them the chance to introduce themselves," Vegeta said. Bulma folded the scouter and adhered it again to her belt, just beneath the blue jacket she wore. Nappa looked at the round logo on the sleeve that was comprised of two concentric circles. Perhaps it was her own royal crest.
"Oh crap," Bulma swallowed. "Look, please let me go! They're after me!"
"Don't talk so familiarly to the Prince, Woman!" Nappa snapped at her.
"Please, let me go! I was trying to get away from them! They're Piccolo's troops… they must have found out that I got away!" Bulma pleaded as Nappa blocked her escape.
"Then you'd be wise to remain here, woman," Nappa glared at her. "Vegeta? Do you want me to teach her a lesson or guard her?"
"Leave her with me while you amuse yourself. But first I want some Saibamen planted. This planet seems to have rich soil," Vegeta said. "How many do we have?"
"Ten sire," Nappa replied, reaching into his black shorts and pulling out a vial. He tossed it to Vegeta, who caught it up easily.
"Excellent. Go play, but don't be TOO destructive. We don't want to tip our hand JUST yet…" Vegeta said.
"What's he going to do?" Bulma asked.
"Don't ask questions of the Prince, woman!" Nappa snapped at her. He rocketed off in a white streak of blinding ki, knocking Bulma off balance. Bulma landed against Vegeta's booted knees at the shock wave generated from his takeoff.
"Wait a minute!" Bulma gasped. Vegeta's white gloved hand shot down and grabbed her arm, roughly yanking her up to stand beside him.
"Stand there and say nothing if you wish to remain alive, woman," he threatened.
"Don't you DARE threaten me, you asshole! You're the one who shot my plane out of the air!"
"I was the one that SAVED your ass, woman! Your life belongs to the Saiyan no Ouji so SHUT UP!" Vegeta bellowed at her. Immediately her mouth clapped shut in shock. Bulma bit her lip so intensely she felt the blood welling up. Again, his sharp tongue had canceled any tirade she could muster up. While her first impulse was to continue arguing, her instinct screamed it was foolhardy, so instead she stuck out her tongue at Vegeta. He was hardly a boy with that sour expression plastered on his face and those well defined muscles. Still holding her wrist, he scrabbled at the dirt with his other hand. One finger probed the soil while the other three still wrapped around the vial.
"Hold that," he ordered, shoving it into her hands once he straightened up. "Humph I suppose this will have to do."
"What are these things?" she asked, almost dropping the vial sloshing with liquid in its lower half. Small seeds rattled in the upper. She saw Vegeta bending over to scrabble holes in the dirt.
"Warriors conditioned to fight and die at a Saiyan's command. Ordinarily that fool Nappa would do this, but if I didn't let that idiot run around after six months of flight he'd blow something ELSE up," Vegeta mumbled. "How humiliating, a Prince planting his OWN Saibamen."
"Cranky aren't we, your Highness?" Bulma couldn't resist quipping.
"Who asked you? Give me that!" he snapped. He snatched the vial from her grasp, opening the top to pour the seeds into his hand. One by one he dropped them into the holes he had made before covering them up. Once done, he poured the liquid in the lower half of the vial over top. Casually he tossed the vial over his shoulder.
"Hey, don't throw that away! Haven't you ever heard of recycling, sheesh!" Bulma snapped, catching the vial in her hands. Vegeta saw her tumble backward to receive it with her whole body. Bulma gathered momentum in her fall and somersault down the slope of the gentle hill he had landed upon. Once she landed at the foot she rolled to her feet and took off running.
"Wait a minute, woman!" Vegeta shouted, realizing this female was going to be trouble. "Come back here, little fool! I didn't give you leave to depart!"
"Sorry but I've got places to go, your Highness!" she panted. Quickly Bulma sprinted across the desert. Her heart pounded violently in her chest. She threw down her last capsule, and in a puff of smoke an air bike popped up. Not wasting any time, Bulma leaped on and fired up the engine. Within five seconds, she rocketed away from the Prince at full tilt. Instead of frowning, Vegeta's cheeks twisted into a lopsided smirk watching the female's spirit. The more time he spent around her, the greater his respect for her grew. Such resourcefulness compensated for her puny ki level. With the proper training in how to handle sexual encounters with ki beings who could control ki, she would make an excellent concubine.
"So you want to run, do you, female? Well, I enjoy a good hunt. You're a feisty one," he snickered. Lazily, he levitated up from the hillside, eager for the amusement this chase would provide him. So the woman wanted to play predator and prey, did she? Beneath him the soil buckled and shook from the growth swelling beneath it. Claws protruded from the sandy top layer, grains dropping from the arms popping up. Six slimy heads shot out of the soil resembling new baby cabbages. Squeaks and grunts filled the air as six Saibamen clawed their way to the sunlight-burning overhead.
"Remain there!" Vegeta shouted down from above. "Await my command! You two secure the perimeter with Nappa!"
"Kreeaght!" two nearest squeaked, lifting their claws. The other four spread out in all directions to guard the space pod.
Scarlet's sharp eyes spotted dust kicking up from an air bike. Behind the handlebars a shapely female's blue hair whipped over her eyes. He snickered evilly, rocketing at full force toward her. Cupping his hands around his mouth he shouted, "Stop right there, Miss Briefs, you can't escape us!"
Bulma snapped her head up. Her eyes widened in terror. Sliding her hand along the handlebar she pressed a small button. A muzzle shot out of the headlight along with a flickering display. Seconds later, a hail of fine bullets peppered Scarlet. He snickered with ease zigzagging back and forth to escape her machine gun fire. Shaking her fist she hollered, "Eat this you tin can!"
"Two can play that game, vixen," Scarlet cackled, clenching one fist. Red ki crackled along it, then surged in a basketball-sized blast headed right at her. Bulma twisted her handlebars to evade the sphere. Another button depressed on her dashboard, replacing the machine gun with a thick smoke cloud. Scarlet waved away the smokescreen, switching to his heat sensor. He circled around, lobbing basketball sized ki balls in a ring.
Out of the heart of the smoke sizzled red rods. One of them singed his Red Ribbon sleeve. Amused he shot down, aiming another blast. Bulma's air bike shot out of the smoke quickly in a forty-five-degree arc. Gaining altitude Bulma pressed another button to engage the small heat-seeking missile out of the back cargo container. "Not so fast bud," she laughed. "No man will keep Bulma BRIEFS captive!"
"I'll be the first!" Captain Scarlet taunted, swooping out of the way of her missile. It hairpin turned to jet back toward him hairpin style. Back and forth he surged over the landscape, dodging and weaving his flight through the rock needles. Bulma peeled off in the direction of the west.
Unfortunately, a basketball-sized ki sphere slammed right into the side of her bike. Bulma narrowly twisted out of the way inches from the impact, which landed on the sand. Rocks flew everywhere around her in the shock wave. She tumbled head over heels, bike spinning out of control. Quickly, she pressed a button in her belt. Around her body shot a white sphere force field, hiding her from view. It Scarlet's attack bounced and rolled free, finally jolting to a stop. All around her rose the smoke from her exploding air bike. She peeled her way out of the safety-landing bag, shaking her dizzy head.
Two black leather boots landed inches from her face. Bending over her in his Red Ribbon uniform, Captain Scarlet leered nastily, shoving his hand into her face. Shock filled her to see the hated triangles facing each other with an R in each one. Just how many of these RR soldiers existed, Bulma wondered as she swallowed hard, "What the hell… you were working for Piccolo!"
"A necessary convenience, but we were using the green man, you irritating wench," Scarlet cackled. Bulma brought the hand behind her back quickly forward to shoot a handful of sand into his face. Angrily, he aimed a blast in the sand right near her. With a squeak she rolled over, hugging her knees while the sand sprayed hotly over her.
"Stop right there you bitch, or die. You've reached the end of the road, Bulma Briefs," said Scarlet. "Now turn over, slowly."
Bulma did so; scooting backward crab like at the fist crackling inches from her. Leaning over Scarlet scowled at her at the same time brushing he brushed sand from his eyes. "Oh crap…"
"You just had to try and escape. Well, you've caused us enough trouble. Thanks to you my whole career was ruined, you wench!" Scarlet grimaced.
"What do you want?" Bulma shrilled, hands on her hips.
"Only a few things like world domination and revenge. You see, Dr. Gero wants you all for himself, but he didn't specify what condition to bring you back in. So I get to play a little with you," Scarlet laughed.
Bulma continued to scuttle back, her chest heaving in and out. Far better would it have been to take her chances with the Saiyan no Ouji than this madman. Hands thrown before her face she yelled, "Piccolo will stop you!"
"Piccolo is a puppet. And those space monkeys will be our next Androids. Such power will let Red Ribbon be on top again," he snickered. "And you can either join us or die."
"But… but… you can't do this!"
"If Goku doesn't kill him, one of us can do the honors. And there's always the ki suppressors," he said, patting his belt.
"How did you develop those?"
"Some friends from high up. Dr. Gero's no slouch, for it seems he's found some wreckage from fifteen to twenty years ago. He managed to study the files of a certain ET who happened to have botched his mission," snickered Scarlet.
"Wait… how could you," she gasped.
"Your little friend Goku is a space alien. Those two outer space monkeys landing proved it. But they're going to be pawns in our gambit to take over this world. You can thank your Goku; he's sealed your fate," said Captain Scarlet with a leer.
"But you can't possibly know…" Bulma continued to babble, hoping she could talk her way out of this.
"You'd be surprised how persistent Gero is. It almost drove him mad deciphering that space pod's database. But we learned some VERY interesting things. And not even space monkeys can save you now," Scarlet laughed. Red lighting licked along his arm suspiciously resembling the power trace that she had seen Tomic use.
"Goku, Yamcha help!" she screamed. "ANYBODY! HELP ME!"
"There is no hero to save you, witch. I take it from your resistance you'd rather die than join us. What a pity," laughed Scarlet.
Bulma whimpered, hugging her knees as his fist encroached. All she heard was Scarlet's nasty laugh one moment then silence the next. In the blink of an eye, she was lifted up in a pair of sturdy arms, rocketing backward at great speed. Could it possibly be that someone HAD rescued her, and she should be thanking Kami for a miracle? A loud whoosh blasted air from her face followed by a loud cry of fear.
"What the HELL?" bellowed Scarlet. "Who the DEVIL are you?"
"Thank you for telling me all I needed to know, you weakling fool," chuckled a harsh yet familiar voice under Bulma's chest. She opened her eyes to see Scarlet gaping in shock with his fists raised. Powerful energy sizzled between his palms, hurtling directly at her. Bulma screamed, clinging tightly to her spiky haired rescuer in terror.
"Oh NO, I'm going to die!" she cried. However her savior stood rigid, and she watched the white-gloved hand block the basketball sized sphere lobbed toward them. Easily he deflected the blast, sending it back to its origin so Captain Scarlet dodged it.
Another series of blasts rained back at them, and Bulma could not help yelping at each of them sizzling by. Quick as lightening, her alien rescuer dodged and wove, or smashed the energy missiles with contemptuous ease. Blue energy sizzled around just before her eyes, causing her hair to stand up on end with static electricity. Incredible surges radiated from the strong arms holding her, permeating her very skin so Bulma gasped at the influx of it entering every cell.
"What the BLAZES are you!" Scarlet gasped, sending another volley of deadly attacks their way. Bulma opened her eyes to see light flickering off a red scouter lens. The owner twisted his face into a cruel smile, raising two fingers to point them at Scarlet. Angrily Scarlet hurled blast after blast. Her stomach dropped to her feet with the blurring of the world around her. Every molecule vibrated with a strange blue frequency and the tightening of the gloves on her body.
"Give me a break! You call THAT an attack! How pathetic!" snorted the Saiyan no Ouji just near her ear.
Moments later, Scarlet stood panting, his gloved hands smoking. The Prince raised his gloved fingers, wrapping a blue glow around his body. Screaming, Scarlet grabbed his neck. Red energy snaked out around him, crackling against the azure aura that constricted. Bulma's mouth rounded along with her eyes to wide circles in disbelief to see this diminutive alien levitating a hulking android with just his index and middle fingers. Never had she seen any of the Z warriors attempt such a feat, and her scientific brain whirled, trying to calculate the necessary power.
"You can't stop me alien!" he howled, arching his back.
"Oh my Kami, that's incredible," Bulma breathed, watching in admiration and faint sympathy for the pathetic Scarlet. Now she saw with her own eyes just what this Vegeta was capable of, and she thanked her lucky stars she had not pissed him off further. As long as she stayed close, nothing could hurt her, and it filled her with a sense of superiority and sadness for anything unlucky to cross the Saiyan no Ouji's path.
"Oh shut up you weakling and die like you have some dignity," Vegeta snorted. With an angered grunt, the Prince flicked his wrist. A blue beam shot out from his fingers about the breadth of Bulma's wrist. It sizzled through Scarlet's heart, and then enveloped him in a blue glow hotter then the sun. Bulma's eyes flickered shut with the blinding flash eclipsing all else. The last thing she heard from Scarlet was a loud scream fading into nothingness.
"Hmmph, weakling tin can. If that's the best this puny planet has to offer…" the Prince sniffed with a bored look.
Bulma blinked at the smoking ashes that had once been the android swirling away in the breeze. She whispered, "Holy CRAP you just killed him like he was NOTHING!"
Casually the dark eyes regarded her, and Vegeta commented, "So? He was about to kill you."
Bulma's blue eyes saw the strange glimmer in the depths of bottomless black. Impulsively she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Batting her eyelashes at him she panted, "Thank you! You're my hero!"
Almost dropping her in shock Vegeta spat, "Ugh what in the name of Great Father Oozaru was that for? Don't you DARE salivate on me!"
Holding her with only one hand, he rubbed his cheek with the other like a boy who thought he had gotten cooties on the playground. This was hardly the reaction Bulma expected. Miffed she spluttered, "That was only a kiss to thank you! I'm not going to bite you!"
His annoyance turned into wide-eyed shock at her words. At that moment Bulma saw the thin angular line of his jaw. He had no facial hair to speak of, save the crest of black hair fluttering vertically in the breeze. That confusion twisting his thick dark eyebrows resembled that of a child not knowing what would happen next. Especially when his eyes widened in near horror.
"You have no idea, woman," Vegeta gaped at her, in near horror alarmed.
"Relax, your Majesty I didn't mean to insult you. I just wanted to thank you!" Bulma quickly explained. "It's what humans do on this planet… especially FEMALE humans to thank someone who rescues them, that's all!"
"This planet has the stupidest customs," Vegeta grumbled, blinking at her. "But since that was a gesture of gratitude, I won't kill you for touching me so directly."
"How did you move so fast?" she murmured, feeling her heart thumping. He had ruthlessly blown up Scarlet without batting an eyelid, yet he had saved her without question.
"Must you ask so many blasted questions?" Vegeta grumbled.
"I'm a scientist! Asking questions is a good way to find answers, DUH!" Bulma stuck her tongue out at him.
Vegeta shook his head in utter confusion, "Are you brave or just stupid, woman? Next time don't run away, because I might choose not to save your annoying ass!"
"Oh I feel faint," she gasped, when the blood rushed to her head. Adrenaline petered out, and she shivered with the cold of shock. Mercifully, she passed out in the Prince's arms.
"Humph, humans," Vegeta snorted. Cradling the female in his arms he slowly levitated in the air to assess the scene. He had to admit with some disturbance how pleasant it felt to carry her curvaceous body. No Saiyan females, except for the half breeds with the Idsarjin, possessed hair of such a vivid blue. Part of him could hardly wait to take her back to his space pod, yet the other reprimanded him for a lack of control. First he would assess the situation, then consider what to do about sating his baser needs, and most likely with this female. Green Saibamen rocketed into view on his left and right. He barked orders in Saiyanese to them to rocket after the traces of ki on the far horizon.