Vegeta stayed half a pace behind the woman to offer stability by means of righting her with a hand or a tail when she stumbled. When she slowed, uncertain of the path before her hidden by darkness, he kept her moving simply by pressing the front of his body against her back without slowing his own forward momentum. Every time they came into contact, though he was needlessly gentle, she surged ahead of him as though his touch would burn her.
He understood how sex and violence together could be used to intimidate others. Yet he'd never known sensuality could be used as a threat to force someone to comply with his wishes. Not that he had a basis of comparison…. But still, he found that the idea of it – let alone having it work so spectacularly well – was as obnoxious as it was fascinating. The utter power she thrust him by succumbing to such ridiculousness..! The entire premise was absurd to him. If the female wanted his touch, as she obviously did, then to pretend otherwise only meant she was either ashamed or afraid of her desire. Her feeble attempts to keep away from him only made it more obvious and he didn't know if he should be amused or offended. Did she truly think her display hid her desire to breed with him?
Which one of them was she trying to convince?
He scowled in annoyance. He absolutely ached to smell her, and her lack of a scent was almost painful in its absence. How infuriating to have such control over another and be unable to taste the proof. Savoring victory over another had never before been so surprisingly interesting and yet so… bland.
And yet, because it was so appallingly alien to him, he continued to taunt her just to see how deeply her aversion went, and to test what she would do in response - simply because the method with which he controlled her was so.. unexpectedly appealing. He kept his advances subtle to keep her on edge and guessing, but he was certain she was aware on an animalistic level. After all, he was speaking in a language that transcended higher thinking - even across species. Base desire. Heat and wetness… Sex. He was showing his willingness to copulate – at least, that's what she would believe on a subconscious level – and her responses were favorable, whether she was aware of them or not. So, why she acted demure baffled him. It gave her no advantage at all, and in fact, put her at a disadvantage that he was very well taking advantage of! Was she truly that clueless?
Or maybe… she knew what he was doing and was manipulating him? Was she acting the mouse on purpose to entice the predator in him to pounce on the prey?
He clenched his jaw and considered. Either way, and regardless of her level of awareness, her motive remained unchanged. She wished for him to display his virility prior to accepting his seed. Whether or not he wanted her to accept it wasn't the point. The point was…
He had to be missing something.
Admittedly, it was likely because she was distracting him. It wouldn't matter whether she was truly a mouse or simply acting the part – either way, his attention was wholly focused on her ass. As he admired it, he reminded himself that it made no difference how lovely her as was - or what he could do with it - she was still captured breaking into Frieza's most inescapable and lethal prison planet. She had even admitted that she had come for him. His name was literally written on her face.
Clearly, she wanted something from him.
Besides his dick, he thought, and frowned.
It may not be her main objective, but that didn't stop him from pressing his swollen appendage against her back when she again slowed.
The corner of his lip twisted up darkly in a grin when she gasped and jumped away, and became feral as his eyes dropped to study the flare of her swaying hips.
He may not know her motive or her purpose, but he could say at this moment, he didn't care. Did it matter? So what if she was really so callous and brilliant she could afford to blatantly dismiss any suspicion he had towards her - despite his awareness of her manipulations -and still manage to succeed in her objective.
She may even be what she seemed: fierce but fragile – as if she knew she were a mere step ahead of plunging into darkness, yet defied reason and the odds by refusing to give into despair..
Either way, she was a backsplash of color in a sea of blackness, and again he ached to smell her… to bend her over a boulder and fuck her raw from behind….
Bah!
He tore his eyes away from the curve of her neck. It did matter. If she were so vibrant and alive, why did she come looking for someone so obviously her opposite? How did he fit in?
He couldn't answer and it wasn't worth the effort trying. So instead, he fell back on his instincts. Something about her invoked his calm. His only real suspicion was the suspicious lack of malice towards her. Why wasn't he responding to her with typical distain? Mistrust? A desire to crush her skull in his palm? Rather, he felt curious, and perhaps even dazed. He found her interesting; worthy of study. And… fluttering on the edge of his animalistic urges, he couldn't deny a desire to..
He wanted…
Something.
Something beyond the painful need to satiate a stupendous lust that kept stabbing the base of his shaft, leaving his seed sack throbbing.
He lowered his gaze from the allure of her ass – when had he started staring at it again? - and watched his tail slide against her hip to curl towards the inside slope of her thigh. She stiffened but pretended not to notice when he wedged it in the soft folds between her legs. When he glided it against her center to coat his fur with her wetness, she hid a stumble by stepping to the side and swatted at his tail as if it were a pesky fly she could shoo away. She didn't say anything – as if her stubborn refusal to acknowledge his suddenly blatant act somehow made it accidental or imaginary. He rubbed his fur against her as he withdrew his tail from her heat, but flicked the tip against her most sensitive place in a quiet promise to continue at a later time.
Slowly, as if not paying attention, he snaked his tail around her waist. Though he was no longer teasing her with it, its gentle grip around her waist forced her into closer proximity with him. She seemed reluctantly content with this compromise and he smirked; he may have given up one form of torture, but he had traded it for another - he ensured she felt every hot breath he expelled from his lungs against her neck. Her skin responded in a most intriguing manner; it pebbled in a strangely enticing way…
His grin disappeared and he stopped. Unconsciously, he tightened his tail around her, forcing her to stop as well. He could smell them, dozens of them, peppered throughout the caves ahead. Taking a cue from him, she understood why he had paused and stiffened in response. Looking over her shoulder at him, she studied what little he imagined she could see of his expression in such darkness. He knew she wasn't aware of doing so, but the way she licked her lower lip sent a jolt through the tail that tethered them and flowed through his tail bone, zapping his cock with such force his legs almost gave out. Had he the ability to force his quivering muscles to move…
She had no idea how close she came in that moment to being impaled.
She raised an eyebrow at him and he hastily brought himself under control. It was much more difficult than it should have been, but slowly his thoughts started to make sense again.
He hadn't bothered with telling her his plan to use her to flush out their… his.. enemies. It made no difference whether or not she understood. So why he stood there, motionless, with his tail refusing to dislodge itself from her person..
His body was clearly rebelling – had been rebelling.
Perhaps a tactical, temporary retreat was in their – his – best interest for the moment. It was likely the tranquilizers lingering in his system were still effecting his motor skills.
She opened her mouth and spoke, and his attention was torn away from her lips in an attempt to understand her words.
She said something about fishing in her own language which absolutely made no sense, and his nictitating eyelids flicked half open in reflex. The comment had been so bizarre he had instinctually wanted to see her outside of the limitation of infrared.
He stared at her blankly as he shut the lids again, certain that even had they been in the unfiltered sunlight of a yellow star, he still wouldn't see anything that could explain her.
She cocked her head and bounced on her toes a moment, as if impatient. Was she… waiting for him to say something? What was there to say? He was hungry, true, but – going fishing? No. He must have misunderstood her. But.. he was certain she had mentioned something about utilizing bait.
His eyes flicked down her naked form. Where could she possibly be hiding bait, anyway? He clenched his fists in irritation.
And she had said… at least he thought she had said… how could the female possibly insinuate that it had been his plan all along to undertake such a pointless task?!
She made a suspiciously playful sound that he supposed was meant to sound exasperated and uncurled his tail from around her hips. He was incensed by the dismissal – it was not her decision as to when and if he should remove his tail! Grinning at him in response to a growl that should have her on her knees in fear – what had happened to the mouse? - she surged ahead of him while purposefully making as much noise as she possibly could. Baffled, he gaped at her for a moment before leaping to catch up with her.
Was this female mad? She hadn't appeared so – but madness had no set way of manifesting. Still, he followed her – rather, he followed his inane sense of traitorous curiosity.
What the fuck was she up to?
She came to a wide antre and meandered to the center before coming to a stop…. Where she proceeded to – to taunt? – all of the occupants within the cavern.
"What are you doing, you senseless female?" He hissed. "Do you not realize you are surrounded by those who would make my invitation for carnal release appear frivolous!?"
He snapped his jaw shut in surprise. He hadn't quite meant to put it that way.
After all, his advances hadn't been serious. He huffed. And if he had intended to extend a serious invitation, he would make certain his actions could never be mistaken for being frivolous.
He snorted in her direction and folded his arms across his chest. Whatever she was up to, it didn't concern him. But he'd be damned if he so much as blinked and missed a single second of it.
OoOoO
Bulma looked over her shoulder at him, not fully confident of what he said, but sure she had understood the gist.
She had just gotten over the whole…. licking thing… he had pulled in the chute. It hadn't been intimate in the least, which had made it seem bizarre and detached. How could something so blatantly sexual, well, not be sexual? He had said he couldn't smell her, so she had to believe it was his way of, um, greeting her. Sorta like dogs sniffing asses. Not that she'd be returning the greeting, thank you very much.
But the rest of it?
She suspected he had been groping her on purpose, but for some reason couldn't quite convince herself completely. He had been phenomenally good at making it seem like all he was doing was preventing her from stumbling into a wall or falling down a ravine. It was perfectly disguised as accidental – and he hadn't once indicated that he had been aware of it.
In the cell, he had seemed surprised when he found his tail thumping against the floor. She had thought that maybe his tail had a mind of its own. Plus, even though she knew his vision was much better than her own in the darkness, it was pretty damn dark and it wouldn't be a stretch to consider he hadn't seen what he was doing. But the biggest argument against it being purposefully done was that he didn't seem like the type to bother with foreplay.
More than once she had convinced herself she was moments from being thrown against a rock wall and split in half as he had his way with her. They both knew he was capable. So why bother teasing her?
And yet..
Secretly… she had hoped. The whole idea of him, well, flirting with her was thrilling. Somehow, she imagined his kind of fucking as utterly bestial and completely delicious. If you took away the whole 'strong enough to tear her in half' thing. Not that being screwed to death by an animalistic sex fiend was a bad idea…
Especially after he had bumped into her, giving her a chance to feel the size of his cock against her ass. After all, his suit really didn't do much in the way of providing much of a tactile barrier. She hadn't been certain at the time because she launched herself away before he had a chance to notice she was noticing him, but she had thought…and maybe it had just been her shameless imagination… he had felt exquisitely hard.
Her eyes popped open.
He had felt hard because he had been. Which meant…
Dear God. He did it on purpose!
Which meant it hadn't been her imagination….
Holy shit popsicles.
His tail….!
Heat bloomed in the pit of her belly.
She thrust her nuclear embarrassment and her shameful arousal aside. She was supposed to be playing bait and fishing for bad guys. Not… whatever it was she was doing.
The stupid bastard had only been fucking with her, anyway. And not the type of fucking she'd likely daydream about until she died of old age.
She sighed and forced herself to focus.
Ok, Bulma. Think worm.
She paused.
Not that kind of worm, you horny slut! You're fishing for bad guys so they attack you, not the bad man behind you whom you wouldn't mind attacking..
Ok. Worm on a hook, damsel in distress – same thing. Offer yourself as an irresistible prize and entice the biggest bullies to fight over you. Last man standing wins and from then on, everyone leaves you alone.
Except the winner, of course.
The only problem with the plan was she wasn't certain if the tailed pervert would come to her rescue or not. She somehow had no doubt that he'd be the victor - but would he bother? He hadn't lifted a finger in the cell when 'alligator shoes' attacked her – at least, not until the last minute. And that had been to snatch the guard's wrist band. Helping her had been a side effect.
Then again, he had followed her into the chute instead of out of the cell to try his luck fighting past all the guards.
Maybe – like her – he felt a weird, creepy sense of recognition. At the least, he knew there was a connection between them. How else could they speak each other's languages? Well.. sort of. She had a feeling her grammar wasn't up to snuff. The look on his face when she told him she didn't stink because she bathed was….
Well…
In that moment, she wouldn't have minded if he had pounced on and pounded to death whatever hole he found most convenient. His expression couldn't be caused by a comment about her bathing habits, so she must have said something – not about bathing.
She sighed and again tried to rally her focus. She swept her gaze around her, which didn't help at all – the place was a freaking black hole for all she could see…yet with absolute certainty, she knew she was likely one of the few with that limitation. She was literally on display.
She hummed to herself and shrugged. It wasn't as if they had many options.
Judging by sounds which came from just about every direction surrounding her, she knew she had the attention of a large number of.. whoever was down here. That was her cue.
The Saiyan was right. What the hell was she doing?
She tittered at herself nervously. Too late now!
"Hear 'ye, hear 'ye! Step right up and get yer chance to try yer luck! The one, the only – the faaaaabulously gorgeous, stupendously brilliant – Bulma Briefs!"
Oh God, when had she decided she was a side-show circus freak?
If she lived through this…. she'd die of embarrassment. Although.. it was sorta fun. In a kill-all the-witnesses kind of way. But hell. She was anonymous and allowed to be ridiculous. It's not like anyone would tell on her.
Feeling sassy, she turned to where she thought the Saiyan had been standing. Might as well give him a show. After all, she was either about to become someone's play-toy until she broke and bled to death, or he'd save her and ridicule her about it until she really did die of embarrassment. Either way, she owed him something that would never allow him to forget her. If she was going down, he was coming with, Goddamit!
She swung her hips suggestively and pranced around a stalagmite which had formed a column with a stalactite like it was a stripper's pole. Even if no one understood her words, the Saiyan had shown her without doubt, you didn't need words to speak sex.
She heard a ruckus to her left. She couldn't tell what it was, but she could guess. It sounded like a loud crack followed by a cascade of tumbling rocks. She couldn't see a thing. More sounds of scraping, growling, and an occasional rock slide followed in quick succession. Uncertain, she clung to her make shift pole. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the warmth of a body pressed against her back. When soft fur slithered around her waist, she sagged in relief, though his hands on her hips forced her to remain standing. His hot breath bathed her neck when he spoke.
His voice was lethal and seductive in her ear, but she also heard unmistakable mirth. The ass! He was enjoying this! Pssh.
She supposed it made sense. This particular movie had sex and violence. All they were missing was the popcorn.
She was pretty sure he had told her to keep it up. He had then disappeared from behind her so quickly she almost lost her balance. Well at least she knew he wasn't going to let some beastie boogie man get her.
Not that he wasn't a beastie or a boogie man.
Grinning to herself, she tossed her hair and jiggled what her mama gave her. She came to an abrupt stop seconds after she started feeling herself up, though. It appeared even the Saiyan had trouble keeping up with the sheer numbers of bodies hurtling themselves to get to her after that little display. It didn't seem to matter, though, after she was clawed on the hip; apparently the smell of fresh blood caused a frenzy that could only be compared to a bunch of chum-crazed sharks going after the same fish.
Not quite the kind of fishing she had meant…
But. It had worked.
In a startling short period of time, she felt him mold himself against her back again. He was panting heavily and shaking. When she stepped back into his warmth – it was shockingly cold down here! – he stepped away. She'd have been annoyed at his hypocrisy – he could feel her up and grope her as he chose but she couldn't even get close to get warm? – when she felt it again in the split second before he had pulled away.
Oh.
He wasn't shaking because he was cold.
It seemed the combination of fighting and her dancing had a profoundly powerful effect on him. Well wasn't that a bitch? When he was taunting her with sex, he didn't mind flaunting his arousal. She supposed now that she had been the one teasing, he was trying to keep his state hidden from her.
Or not…
Somehow she found her back pressed up against the stone pillar with her legs wrapped around his hips and her wrists locked together above her head. She felt his teeth graze her neck… and he paused. His entire body was tense and hard, and he shook as if fighting to stay in control. More than once, she felt his jaw stiffen – as if the animal inside him and the man were at a precipice. Which one would be flung over the edge of control? As he struggled, he was at an impasse, neither going forward or retreating.
Her instinct told her that if she wanted to live, she should be utterly silent and totally still. If he bit her, he'd completely lose himself and she would have no chance of survival.
His breathing slowed and gradually, his quivering muscles quieted. Suddenly, he pulled away and she dropped. Landing hard, she bit her lip to keep from groaning in pain. She heard him step away for a moment and almost panicked. What the hell! How could he literally just dump her and leave?
She heard more scraping coming towards her and shied away from it. It wasn't as though she could do much else now that she was on her own..
Something soft was flung at her and wrapped around her head and covered her face. Startled, she pulled at the.. fabric?.. until it fell away from her. She couldn't see it well, but using touch, she surmised that it was, indeed, material.
Oh. Oh!
Quickly, she untwisted the bundle of cloth and found an opening. Burying her head into it, she groped until she found the second hole and popped her head through. The sleeves seemed entirely too long, but eventually her hands escaped the unending folds. She had no idea who the garment had belonged to, but it was something to wear.
She was reminded of when Earth had first been attacked. This wasn't the first time she had worn a corpse's clothing….
She stood and the shirt – dress – fell to her mid-thigh. Well. Better than nothing.
The Saiyan barked and she jumped, surprised.
He said the word again, louder and more commanding, but still quite soft. As if he were asking a question rather than giving a command. He had told her to eat.
Eat?
She held her hands out, still unable to see. Something warm, wet, and dripping was slid into her fingers. Revolted, she had to clamp her jaw shut to prevent her gag reflex.
He was right. This was likely the only food they'd find down here. She had a choice to make. It wasn't like she was a cannibal, or anything. Whatever she held in her hands was certainly not human.
But it had been sentient.
Her mouth pressed into a hard line. Whoever it had been may have been sentient, but so was she – and that hadn't mattered to anyone a minute ago when she had been on the menu.
She drew in a quick successions of breath to pump herself up… and shoved the sticky mass in her mouth. She forced herself to tear off a chunk with her teeth before she could really think about what she was doing. Instead, she thrust all of her limited senses on the Siayan who had saved her life countless times today – from the guard, from who knew how many in this pit – and now, from starvation. Because she knew this wouldn't be the only time she would eat.
And that, she realized had been why she heard the question in his voice. He had been asking her if she would choose tainted life or uncorrupted death. She sensed his approval…. but underneath it all –
- there was regret.
It didn't make her feel better about what she was doing, but she felt better about her ally. He wasn't really the monster Saiyans were supposed to be. Sure, all the heinous, sinister acts of violence and cruelty were there in abundance. But. There was so much more…
He had given her a gift. Her life. Now he gave her a choice – one she would have to make again and again until they found a way out. What would she do with that gift? Would she give up, lay down, and die? Or would she do whatever it took?
She forced herself to take another bite.
OoOoO
Something was terribly wrong.
It was the very reason he had never fully gained mastery of his ki… the reason Frieza had allowed Radditz and Nappa to live. They had done their job as he had aged, but they were no longer with him. It had been over a year since they had reinforced the telepathic blocks.
His mind was unravelling, and with it, his control.
He stumbled away from the woman and sat hard on a rock outcropping. He could barely see her from this distance, but he was unconcerned for her safety.
A wave of agony shot through his shaft and got stuck in his gut. The pain roiled in waves between the base of his tail and his sack, growing in intensity with every throb. His body shook as he fought for control until even the air he breathed seemed like liquid fire. His senses exploded, leaving him disoriented and weak. He didn't know how much time passed after he had finally succumbed to the pain and collapsed into unconsciousness. When he woke, the echo of his anguish lingered still, but it was bearable.
His attacks were coming fore frequently and with more intensity. The longer he fought it, the worse it would be when it finally overwhelmed him completely..
But it wasn't in his nature to give in without a fight.
Nor was it, apparently, in the nature of the woman.
When he had finally understood what she had meant when she stated that she was going fishing, he had applauded how brilliantly the plan had worked. True, he had also intended on using her as.. what had she called it? Bait? But nothing quite so… reckless. He was pleased in her blind confidence in him, but in his condition, he had nearly failed more than once to destroy his – their – enemies.
He accepted that she was now his to protect. Not because he had won her or because he wanted her. It was because he didn't have a choice. He would need her soon, and he wouldn't be able to control himself. He needed her alive when that time came.
She wouldn't freeze and she would eat. He knew it disgusted her, but she had chosen to live and had taken the meat he had offered. For that, he was both relieved and dismayed – yet more proof that he was entering a vulnerable stage Radditz and Nappa had struggled over his lifetime with ferocity to suppress. He couldn't fight this battle alone, and yet now…
He was alone. He may survive it - but it was improbable at this age and at his strength. He needed other warriors in this battle against his own nature.
She was a fighter…but there was absolutely no hope for her. Even if he were miraculously able to hold back, it could never be enough.
But...
It was no coincidence that she was here, now, just when he was approaching his phase. She said she had come for him. Though the name on her chin belonged to his father, no one could know that except for Nappa or himself now that Radditz was dead. The subtle differences wouldn't be recognizable to any but those familiar with the royal house. All things Saiyan – especially references to the Prince – had been eradicated. Also, his blood had been mixed with hers. He was uncertain how it was done, but it couldn't have been easy and such a task could not be achieved with trace amounts of his DNA. His blood could have been taken at a time when he was regenerating, but it would have taken a Saiyan to know the name she now wore on her face. Or someone with knowledge of Saiyan texts.
He only knew one other with access to both.
Maybe Frieza had done it. For what purpose? Revenge, control, power… fear. Perhaps that is why Vegeta now found himself on a prison planet. Likely the female had run from the tyrant for the same reason. It made sense. If she had found a way to bring him through the phase safely, Frieza would have reason to fear because Vegeta would finally have full control of his ki.
The only missing information was their missing memories. He hadn't known Frieza had the capability to suppress or eradicate memory, yet it must be true. What better way to ensure they could not succeed with bringing him through his phase? He and the woman must be well acquainted. It would explain his behavior. The moment she had arrived, his condition had progressed at an alarming pace. Not only did he feel no malice towards her, he was uncontrollably amorous and territorial. Of course, those things could be a side effect of the phase, but his condition wouldn't explain the growing need to care for her wellbeing or have any desire to pay attention to her emotional state.
He fingered the jewelry she had risked her life to grab from the guard – something that had been chained to her wrist and was broken off when the lizard had tried to use her. She had reclaimed it, but it had been knocked from her hand when she was flung down the chute. He twisted the elongated beads and something tugged at his memory. There was something about the capsules…
He couldn't remember. Perhaps they were important, perhaps not. But the way she had dove after them… maybe these small metal tubes tugged at her memory as well. They could be nothing but decoration – but they could also be something she needed and had brought here to help him.
He breathed deeply in resignation. He couldn't prevent his condition from progressing – but by sheer will, he would delay it as long as he could. Perhaps such an effort was impossible, but he would die trying. The cost of failure was likely death, anyway, so there was nothing to lose.
She finished eating – rather – mechanically shoving chunks of carcass into her mouth with as little awareness as possible. He looked at the meat in his own hand with utter disinterest before tossing it into a corner. If he were hungry, he couldn't feel it. It wouldn't do to eat, anyway. His body would reject it.
She stumbled as she moved in the direction she believed him to be, though he had been silent. Clever girl; she somehow knew precisely where he had gone. When she reached him, he snatched her waist with eager hands and lay her down on her side before settling himself against her back. He wrapped his tail possessively around her, clutched her greedily to his chest, and thrust a knee between her thighs so his leg was sandwiched between hers. She didn't struggle, which was to her own benefit.
Somehow she understood. Any movement, any sound – any reaction at all – would trigger his inner beast.
He could admit he didn't want to kill her, and maybe that was his current condition ensuring her survival… at least, until he had no choice... but perhaps it was something more deeply seeded. But it didn't matter which it was. Whether he wanted it or not, unless she had found a way to bring him through the phase and survive it, he would lose control of himself and she - if not both of them - would die.
He frowned and his tail tightened around her protectively.
