Sorry for the MAJOR delay. I just started a new story, so i hope that somehow makes up for it.
Note: Ugh...I switched computers and forgot to copy a few chapters between this one and the last one. I hope this doesnt affect the story TOO much since it leaves out a few developments. So for those of you confused or thrown off by the slight gap in between, I have explained.
Anyways...
Rating: PG-13 - Language, Violence.
Disclaimer: The storyline is mine. That's about all I got when it comes to this story. Bulma and Vegeta are characters of Akira Toriyama.
'-thinking
"-speaking
Italics represent flasbacks and vocal emphasis.
Enter:Vegeta no Ouji /Location: Unknown
His head felt heavy and swollen before a striking pain shot through it. He bit back a small cry as his hands flew to his head in agony. His eyes opened. large and wide, as his chest rose drastically, his breathing harsh and heavy. It took a few minutes for his brain to rgeister where he was and what happened. The woman, the waterfalls, Ginergtown, the ship.
He knew he was alive when a stab of guilt joined the pain at the thought of the woman and what had occured with her. But he couldn't brood about it now.
Suddenly a hand fell lightly on his forehead before he could instinctively retaliate against the intruder, his alarmed eyes flew up to meet calm cerulean ones. Immediately, he loosened and her hand fell away. As her touch left him him, he realized that the shooting pain was no where to be felt.
He gazed at her with confusion and surprise as she lifted a finger to her lips, then pointed over at the destructive ship. There, with ghastly shock, he caught a fogged sight of a blac-brown creature, spikes stabbing out of its hunched back, its arms also quilled as they hung to the ground. Its legs were long and thin, a curved spike shooting out of the back of its ankles.
Of all the exotic planets he ventured and conquered, and all the creatures he had slain and slaughtered, this one was the most disturbing organism that not even his entirely expanded imagination could think up.
He had a feeling his expression voiced his opinion,"My Kami...How appaling-"
"Shhh...I'm sure it can pick up the slightest of sounds..." She inferenced.
"Then why hasn't it heard-"
"Shh!"
He rolled his eyes, making a motion as if to get up, but she softly pushed him back down, throwing him a warning glance. They sat there wathcing it as it shuffled through the wreckage in an injured state before it finally left their sight. The woman let out a long breath as she got to her feet. She held out a hand to him, and he looked at her for a second before taking it.
He glared at her as if she forced him to show dependence but she just smirked and shrugged it off before walking. He looked after her.
"Where the hell are you going?"
She stopped, her head looking up but not turning to face him.
"You haven't finished explaining to me..." His smirk was evident in his coarse voice.
"Oh, that's right," She looked back at him, the smirk still and reflecting his,"Well what do you want to know?"
His face lost the smirk,"Don't play stupid with me. You know exactly-"
"I mean, being the Prince of all Saiyans, you know everything right? So then find out for yourself."
His eyes closed, nostrils flaring as her footsteps resumed.
"WOMAN!"
She stopped again, but her head remained looking forward.
"You do realize that now we'll need the dragonballs. It's our last resort."
"And?"
"There's no way you'll be able to cope without me. You'll be eaten alive by either that thing or some other surviving wilderness."
He heard her cool laugh even from twenty feet away,"I beg to differ. But you can believe what you want."
"After all, your physical inferiority and dependency are the reasons you joined me on that ship, correct?"
"OR it could be because of your mental inferiority. I could have targeted you and then led the creature right to you, which would have taken you to your well-deserved grave. You don't know who it's after," She counterattacked.
His eyes narrowed, veins seething as he realized how the woman's intelligence could easily go against him,"Fine. Are you staying with me or not?"
There was a silence between the two, but both could clearly hear their pumping heartbeats that echoed in their questioning minds.
Enter: Bulma Briefs / Location: Unknown
The silence continued for five minutes, which felt like years. She counted in her tense mind. But it was in that same mind that she concluded that for once, she wouldn't bow down to her emotional demands. For once, she would intentionally isolate herself from it all, but without detaching herself from the situation. She was being independent, and that was one change she wasn't afraid of.
"Oh, Vegeta...You'll never stop believing that you need no one, but you would never stop to consider that some need you?"
His expression cleared, not expecting her to say that.
"Well, even if you started to believe that now, it wouldn't be true. Because the one beside you on this planet doesn't need you, and she will prove it. In fact, she barely knows you, yet she has memorized every personal flaw and fault on your conscious."
He gulped, knowing what was going to come.
"I'm not sure if you're familiar with the saying that history repeats itself, but in this case, I'll just give history a hand. We are going to play a game-"
He let out the breath that he barely took notice that he was holding.
"-Of hide and seek. This time, however, it will be a little more challenging, and we will not be finding each other. It will be a race to find the dragonballs. But if we do find sight of each other, then by all means, the death of the enemy is the finish line."
The Prince chuckled sardonically,"Woman, this is ridiculous-"
"Ahh yes. What were you just about to say? If I remember corectly..."
Vegeta's smirk faded into a displeased frown,"We are not here to play infantile games with you girl."
"Yes,yes. I was right. Time does repeat itself, doesn't it? At least soul counterparts aren't a part of it this time."
He growled,"Woman! Cut the bullshit and get on with it. What will be the prizes?"
"The prizes were already explained. The dragonballs. Duh."
"Oh, please."
She sighed,"Look. The hide and seek part is hiding from each other. The race part is getting the dragonballs. You get uour wish if you get them all without getting caught by the other, understand?"
"Hm. What if I get the dragonballs without catching you?"
"Then life goes on. I dunno. You can either leave me here...or stay here."
"But if I catch you?"
"Then you can either ignore me...or kill me."
"What! Woman, you can't be that absurd about some game!"
"This is survival, Vegeta. You of all people should know that,"Her voice was hard and stern, successfully masking the oncoming tears.
"Fine. Is this the starting line?"
"Mm-Hm."
"Alright then woman. I hope you're satisfied."
"See you in hell, Vegeta."
A smirk formed on his lips,"Beat you there, woman."
Enter: Prince Vegeta no Ouji /Location : Unknown
This wasn't at all challenging for the wandering Prince, due to most of his experience with escapades with Nappa. Not to mention the six years in absolute isolation that made quite a difference as well. He really had no idea what the woman had planned, and that the bittersweet sensation of deja'vu swept over him like a rainstorm. This was exactly like all those years back, except the stakes were higher.
He found himself in a jungle again, at least what was left of one. He shuffled through rocks and such, the putrid aroma of charcoal and burnt everything invaded his nostrils, but he just opted to breathe thought his mouth the rest of the way. But as he did so, those words from the woman echoed in his mind.
'No. That woman is asinine, I am only being resourceful.'
But try as the stubborn Prince might, those words soaked through his shell, and he exhaled perfectly through his nose again.
Enter: Bulma Briefs /Location: Unknown
Her chest rose and fell drastically as her lungs tried to catch up with every inhalation, she felt more and more trapped within something she couldn't handle. Before long, she dropped to her knees on the searing hot rubble, the pain not nearly enough to outmeasure the strain on her respiratory system.
'Breathe Bulma, C'mon! Breathe! Damned asthma!' Her mind filled with hate as her eyes started to water, and not just from the strain either, but from the tears of a woman who was about to lose more than she had already.
A strangled sob escaped her dry lips as her hand laid gently on her chest, the heartbeat pounding with desperate hope. Her eyes closed softly fluttering with oncoming tears that streamed down her cheeks. Vegeta's face flashed through her mind, followed by a sharp pang that struck her inside.
'Oh, I never wanted it to end like this. I was just so scared...Like now. My Kami, what have I done?'
Another blanket of pain clenched at her chest, lungs on fire and heart rate going through the atmosphere. She could never remember the last time she was in so much pain. Choking coughs rasped out of her mouth, following by beads of blood. Her eyes widened, praying that each breath that graced her tired throat won't be her last.
A sheet of fog blanketed her bloodshot eyes, but the gloomy shadow that headed for her was still visible. The next thing she felt was rge airy sensation of being carried. And only one name floated up to her slipping consciousness...
'Vegeta...'
Enter: Prince Vegeta no Ouji /Location: Unknown
Although he despised the woman for the earlier events of that day, he still admired how ingenius she could be at times, even if those times were rare. He cringed at the thought of her getting dislocated and then captured by the creature and then, an even more ill-tolerated thought, slaughtered. He wished he could just leave and none of it would be at his expense. But it all was. If something was to happen to the woman, it would be his fault.
'She brought this on herself, making up another ridiculous game. Plus she is the idiot who brought the thing back here. But still...She saved me the last time it attacked me, so I suppose-'
His thoughts were interrupted as a startling Ki broke into the Earth's atmosphere. His eyes wandered, darting about to locate it, but it was highly expanded. Cursing to himself, he seethed at how unopportune a time this was for an enemy to step foot here.
'Damn! Of all the times she had to be out of my sight!'
He started off, running at his maximum speed toward the Ki. He would eliminate the enemy before the enemy eliminated her.
Enter:Bulma Briefs /Location: Unknown
When she awoke, the sky was a much darker colour in contrast to when she had first fallen into slumber. Her head felt like a boulder, her lungs were like sand, and her eyes were groggy and heavy, swollen from her excessive tears frmo earlier, she guessed. Looking around in the less than transparent darkness, an alarming sense of recollection struck her.
She remember being carried...But by whom?
When his name suddenly made itself clear in her mind she was less than grateful. Her fists clenched as much as her jaws did at the thought of him saving her when she specifically said there was no saving the enemy!
'Great, just perfect Bulma! Get yourself in a heart wrenching asthma attack, and then give the ape a perfect excuse to put you in his debt again. Beautiful!'
Rolling her heavy eyes, she somehow got herself to her feet. The stars were her only guidance through the mysteriously unseen forest. A yawn escaped her mouth, stretching her jaws as she shuffled through the foliage and such. She suddenly felt a sneeze come on and she tried everything to stop it at its treacherous tracks but-
AAACHOO!
Silence. Pure, bonafide silence followed. The only thing being audible was her bold heartbeat.
And then she felt it, like a drumstick beating her soul out of her body, she felt herself falling while her feet were numbly, but surely, standing on the ground. Tight pulses, unpredictable and out of rythmn, struck her body like convulsions. Then she heard it. It was right behind her.
Her head turned, slower and slower and slower...
The corner of her eyes caught it. It was the beast, but it was strange, the feeling that empowered her about it, she felt almost...bonded toward it. For once she didn't feel scared or threatened.
She turned completely around, keeping her open and clear eyes at it. Careful to not make any sudden movements or any sudden, apparent mood swings, she breathed deeply and peacefully as it just gazed at her. That was when the guilt overrode her.
'This...This is no beast. This is only something that is trying to find warmth and acceptance. It only wants peace...inside.'
Her wistful thoughts calmed as comfort seemed to wash through her veins. Then she decided to do the unthinkable, and she approached it with wonder in her eyes, which was not just there on purpose either. She reached out an unclenched hand, its repulsive outward appearance wiped clear from her knowledge.
And she touched it.
Enter: Prince Vegeta no Ouji /Location: Unknown
All prior attention on the force that had just arrived on the Earth was erased clear from his focus when a powerful, bold Ki struck through his mind. He suddenly forgot how to breathe as he turned, his eyes darting everywhere to locate the presence of the indescribably high power. But once his breath returned, he found it difficult to catch.
His instincts turned to mush at the thought of having to fend off against such a power. Once he located it, he launched off into the dark night, unable to even begin to think of what could harbor such inifinite strength. Dark chuckles echoed in his mind at the thought of the woman being involved.
A wide smirk graced his features as he realized that it finally came to him. This was the time in his life where he would see, finally, what he had been anticipating all his life up until this very moment. A power beyond his reason, beyond his understanding, a power that his imagination couldn't even stretch enough to create. To witness it was a privilege under his deserving, to even catch sight of it through his already experienced eyes. Of course, to see such a power would surpass any sort of life-changing image he had. It would be essential to his being to see it, a reminder that it was out there, it was possible, and a reminescent of what he was to achieve.
"I don't symbolize myself as a powerful, egotistical enemy, constanting making them and chasing imaginary goals to make something out of a forgotten life."
'No! Forget what the blasted woman said. Everything she says is nonsense, and not worth my listening to...'
But he couldn't do what he told himself to do. And as personally terrible as it was for him to admit, her perspective on things really did matter to him. SHe was probably the only one who had the ability to fascinate him with her insight on even trivial things that would have taken no interest from him in the first place. There had been no other being in the galaxy who had earned his attention like the woman had. Maybe because he had incinerated everyone else's insides before they could.
But what had drawn him most was how arrogance nor ignorance fogged her mind by any means. Her mind's vision was more clear than the strange matter they called glass.
Therefore, without self-centered curses, which he was very aware of having, she was bound to make flawless calculations and many essential preventions of errors in her thinking process. That was most likely why her opinion was so refreshing because she had the ability to see things that no other could. She could also see him, and yet all the while he believed himself to be buried, hidden underneath a metal jacket of pride and emotional disconnection. But surely enough, she had brought him out of that as well.
Perhaps he even envied her, to see everything without a moment's misinterpretation. But it was when another perspective overlapped her own, that she began to crawl inside herself, especially if they are correct. If they had an insight that could rival her own, and examine her own flaws as well, that was when she became disclosed. If there was ever a possibility of someone finding a reason to abandon her...She was in hiding just as much as he was. But he would surprise her. He could see her as well.
All of these thoughts flew through his head faster than his running speed, through the dark rainforest. Rain had started to pierce his face, but his sheer determination to find the source of his obsession had made him absolutely oblivious. Mud started to scatter about onto his ankles, thorns pricked, sticks poked, but he continued on his endeavor for the power that had begun his Saiyan heritage.
Fear started to grip around his heart at the thought of it faded off before he could see it, the desperation fueling his speed. The rain had thickened, lightening illuminating the gloom of the shadowy surroundings as thunder conducted the orchestra of the nature's soundtrack to utter chaos. He could tell this was the reaction to the power. A power that could light the raining sky was a power envied by all gods.
And he was about to witness it, he was about to feel it searing onto his consciousness. But was that enough? Was it enough to only know that it was laying out there, waiting for him to achieve it? His jaws clenched at the thought of sensing it convulse through his own body, literally feeling it course through his electric veins. But if seeing it was the next best thing, than he would gladly take it.
That's when the bright white-blue cloak of light pierced his vision, stabbing into his eyes. At first, he had to shield it away with his arm, but once adjusted, he could it all clearly. An electric wave of astonishment and wonderment gripped his heart in a tense pressure that sent his conscious whirling into a wave of utter horror.
The beast...The woman...It was almost unbearable to see.
But he was right. He knew it would get to her, but he had no idea this would occur. He had no prior warning that this would happen. A repulsive creature and a human female, it was ludicrous. But he saw it there, and it wasn't any dream.
The next instant he was thrown into, the light was fading, the woman fell to the ground unconscious.
The last sensation he felt was his flesh pierced and his body thrown into the slick ground, rain pouring down on him.
He was then sentinto a hazy abyss of darkness after the light of the woman's smile faded from his mind's eye.
xD
Yay for cliffhangers.
All reviews are welcome. Just be nice.
Jckash03