A/N: Hey, thanks to the few people reading. : ) It feels nice to know I at least have a small audience! Please, if you have any suggestions or comments, feel free. And to those in the U.S., I trust you all had a great Memorial Day and remembered our Armed Forces who so diligently serve our country!

Chapter Two

He was sitting, leaning away from her on the edge of the cage. His chiseled back was blue where the metal bars struck his smooth skin. The mere size of his muscled back was larger and more toned than anyone she had ever seen. Protruding from his lower back was something long and fuzzy wrapped tightly around his thin waist. Bulma's eyes rose up the rough outline of his spine and the expanding and contracting of his breathing was ragged and labored from the cold. He had a small metal collar around his large neck bearing the CC label she knew so well, it seemed to have been almost frozen to his skin. His wild, onyx hair swept upward, defying gravity and all rules hair had ever been required to follow.

Bulma saw herself as a strong woman, never backing down even to the most influential people in the world. She was respected among men and women alike for her strength and determination. Never before had she felt this kind of apprehension in front of a person! She usually didn't notice much about others unless it worked to her advantage, but the darkness and death radiating from this man was unmistakable. The way he carried his frozen body screamed of royalty, or at least someone who thought very highly of themselves.

Get a hold of yourself! He might be strong, but that collar must be doing something to control him. Therefore, he is perfectly harmless. I will not be intimidated by any man, especially one my father has control over. With newfound determination, Bulma began to walk towards the man. He did not move when she stopped within a few feet on the cage. Surely he knew she was there, her breathing had become louder as the cold crept into her lungs… She took another step forward.

Before she could back away, the man turned around to face her and grabbed Bulma's large coat, slamming her frozen body against the outside of the bars. She screamed as the jolt ran through her joints, a sharp ache raging in her head. The man held her tight against the outside of the bars by her coat with one hand as the other clutched a bar in rage. Even in her restricted stage, she could not see his face because of her position against the bars. However, she could feel the animosity pulse through his grip and the hatred leak from his body.

"Release me. Now." He breathed, his sharp nose almost touching Bulma's hair as he pulled her body closer to the bars, smashing her face against a single bar. She gasped for air as he continued to tighten his pull on her body and she whispered, "Let me go."

He laughed quietly, his voice deep and dangerous, echoing off the metal walls. He released her small frame away only to slam it harder into the cage. "I will not ask again. Let me go."

Tears began to fall from the pain of the assault as Bulma's face froze to the bars. She struggled to push herself away, to catch her breath, but the man was inhumanly strong. "I can't."

"Then why are you here? I have no use for a concubine." He mused, glancing through the bars at her bare legs. His fists tightened in anger and he whispered dangerously into her ear, "Release me now or I'll kill you."

"You will do no such thing Vegeta!" Her father's voice rang out through the frozen room, loud and confident. He held a small remote and pushed a red button. Immediately the man's grip let loose and Bulma fell to the ground in a heap. The man crumpled to the ground and began to battle the sudden seizure of his body, his muscles rippling and convulsing under his tight skin. Bulma backed away as quickly as she could, pulling her body far from the cage. She watched in horror as the man's body shook with the powerful electricity coursing through his veins.

"Dad, you'll kill him!" She shouted, looking up at her father. He let the button go, and the man's body relaxed with a loud exhale. Bulma watched him in amazement as he stood shakily and limped to the corner of the cage with his back once again to her and her father, proudly straightening his stature.

That girl was lucky this damn necklace has me incarcerated. Vegeta crossed his arms and straightened his tensed back. I swear when I break free of this cage, this insufferable planet will be disposed of. I will pull that man's limbs from his body and enjoy every minute of it. He moved closer to the edge of the cage, pulling his crossed arms a bit closer to his body.

Brooding in anger of the cold, being held hostage, and being electrocuted like some unimportant slave, he suddenly recalled the girl's voice calling for her father to stop. He sent a small look backwards to see the small girl being comforted by the idiotic scientist. At first, he assumed she was upset because of his assault. Serves her right for approaching royalty so casually and for her stupid father to keep me in this holding.

On second glance, he noticed she was angry, angry at her father. Slightly confused, he turned his head forward to regroup his thoughts. Her emotions are not my concern. He sat on the tile floor, once again thinking of ways to escape this weak and pathetic planet.

Bulma rubbed her face gingerly, wiping the tears of pain from her face before they froze. Her father bent over her form, fussing over her bruised face. She winced, pushing her father away from her skin. "Dad, knock it off. I'm fine."

She stood slowly and fixed her tousled jacket. Her lowered eyes rose to meet her father's in anger. "Who is that?" she snarled, pointing to the hostage in the cage. The man chuckled quietly, muttering something about "ignorant humans." Increasing frustrated by this unknown situation and the rudeness of the captive man, she turned directly to her father. "I want answers, Dad!"

Dr. Briefs sighed and placed the remote device in his pocket of his lab coat. "I was going to slowly tell you about this whole situation, but it seems you've discovered the only tiny detail I wasn't going to divulge." He walked over to a small computer placed in the corner of the room, and Bulma quickly followed him.

Tiny detail? Vegeta laughed to himself, the deep, darkly amused sound echoed through the room. He was the only reason Earth was still a ball of matter instead of bits of nothingness. If Earth did not have him captive and did not have the Dragon Balls, the fate of the wretched human race would be already in place.

Bulma moved closer to examine the screen. "This, my dear" her father began, "is a letter from the planet of Saiyan."

"The planet of what? That's not a planet, father," she mumbled, reciting the order of planets she had learned in her elementary years. Her father sighed again, laden with displeasure and sadness.

"Yes, dear, it is. There is a lot about the universe we've discovered in the past decade, including the functioning lives of many species outside our own. Many of these species are simple organisms, but there are a few civilizations with much more power against humanity and Earth. The first letter here," he pointed to the screen at a foreign language, "is a warning that Earth has one hundred days to discover a cure for an extremely disabling disease called Dextis that is sweeping their planet. If Earth does not develop a cure by the date, it will be destroyed on the very next day."

"Dextis?" Bulma repeated, her eyebrows furrowed, "I've never heard of it."

Her father rubbed his eyes and checked his watch, shivering in the cold. "I hadn't either. Apparently it drains the supernatural power from each Saiyan, rendering them…"

Just as useless as these pathetic humans. Vegeta rolled his eyes at the story, bored with their antics. The girl's father would make them seem to be the "bad guys" in her little fairy tale life. Neither of them understood the natural process of life. If you proved yourself weak, you were killed or exploited for the benefit of those higher. That was the way every other planet knew in the universe, and it was irritating to Vegeta that Earthlings thought they were so "special" and immune to the rules of the universe. If the Dragon Balls had been located anywhere else, I would've done off with this waste of space long ago.

Bulma's eyes widened. She never had any idea that the universe supported other life forms, let alone those who would try to destroy her planet! She recalled her father's story in her mind.

"So…" she started, not sure if she wanted an answer to her question, "do we have a cure? What day is it?"

Her father looked at the caged man and then back at his daughter. "It is day twenty. As for if we have a cure…" Vegeta's keen hearing strained to hear the last part of the doctor's sentence, "I will discuss that with you at a later time."

Bulma pulled her arms over her chest and the large coat over her chin. She wasn't so sure if she was as fond of her coat anymore. Maybe Mom will want it… She sent a glance over to the crazy thing in the cage.

"So Dad, why is that thing over there," she nodded towards the cage, "… well, why is he here?"

The doctor sighed again, fumbling with his keys. "That is also another thing we will discuss later, my dear. Let's go, it's freezing in here."

Bulma shrugged, following after her father, but not before stealing another look at the back of…

"Dad, wait. What's his name again?"

"It's Vegeta."

"Prince," the man spat, snarling in irritation. His arms left his side to cross over his chest, and Bulma could see the end of his tail flicking rapidly. He straightened his stance more, if that was hardly possible.

"Prince??" Bulma asked aloud as her father pulled her through the door and closing it sharply. What in the world has my father gotten us into??