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Two – Trusted Associates
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Bulma walked behind a joyful Saiyan guard named Kakarot. He hummed a little tune as they continued down the halls. She honestly wondered if he was a Saiyan at all, even if he did have the tail. Earlier, she had learned that a fighting accident erased his memory and even though his family tried to return his disposition to that of a true Saiyan, it seemed that Kakarot was happy how he was. He loved to fight, but had a deep sense of honor and didn't wish to kill.
"I hope you like this room, Bulma! Vegeta picked it out just for you." He smiled as he opened the huge red doors and she entered the vast room with a gasp.
"Considering I was either in a tank or in a space pod, anything is a step up." She looked at the bashful male and smiled. "Thank you, Kakarot."
"Of course. Use this scouter if you need either me or Vegeta for anything. It's on its own frequency and no one else knows about it."
"Okay."
"Hungry? I can have food brought up."
"I'm starving." She really was rather hungry.
"I'll be back!"
He closed the door behind him and Bulma looked around the large, spacious room. The bed was obviously the centerpiece. Deep crimson plush sheets wrapped around a black wood frame carved with molding of the great Oozauru form, it's tail wrapped around the long poles that held up the canopy. The top of the bed draped in blood red silk. The floor was a deep red marble, and even the furniture seemed to match the set reds, yet was inlayed with gold. She felt that the gilded iridescence of the room was too good for her.
Bulma sat on the soft bed, the silk caressing her skin, and she sighed. In all honesty, she was surprised the prince let her live. She knew that Saiyans, especially royalty, weren't all that trusting of outsiders.
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Vegeta growled low in his throat as he sifted through battle orders. He remembered months ago, something in the purge reports, about a special project called Blue Flame. The prince wondered if Frieza was referring to the creature he was currently housing in the royal wing. It was not uncommon for the tyrant to experiment on warriors. Zarbon and Dodoria were some of his first creations, some of the fiercest warriors on his display. Of course, after their creation the race was killed off. The two considered the perfect specimens from the planets.
Now, it seemed like he had uncovered the reason why the tyrant had switched their mating rituals to the new birthing era. He was collecting DNA and combining it with other races to create a Saiyan warrior to his standards. His perfect warrior. How long did they have before he found the perfect combination? Vegeta growled low in his throat before putting the files away and exiting the study. His father didn't need to know what was going on just yet, especially since Bulma was technically Frieza's property.
He could tell that she did not want to return to the tyrant. He could only imagine the hell she had been through and it amazed him that she was still living. His thoughts were broken by the smell of fresh food and Kakarot making their way down the hall towards their newest addition. He followed quietly and entered the room behind his guard.
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Bulma was jolted from her thoughts by a knock on the door, she could smell two people on the outside, one Kakarot, the other the prince. Food was also a part of it. She smiled and opened the door for the two males before settling back on the bed. Kakarot placed the huge trays on the table before taking a seat and Vegeta grabbed a few items before standing in the corner. Bulma wasn't sure what to eat, so she just grabbed something at random before tucking in.
"I need to know something." Vegeta's voice broke the collective silverware clanks. "Frieza created you, but what was your name that he gave you?"
She swallowed hard and trained her blue eyes on him. "He called me the Blue Flame." Her hands trembled as she looked down at the plate of food in front of her. "I despise that name so much."
"Why?"
"He only calls me that because my ki is blue, my hair is blue, my tail is blue. He wants me to be his little Saiyan champion. His collection is still incomplete. He's got Zarbon, Dodoria, and me. After the Saiyans are destroyed, there is another planet he's going to go to. Other warriors he wants to sample. I, however, am still incomplete to him just because I have yet to form the connection."
"Connection?" Kakarot asked with a mouth full of noodles.
"Yes." She sighed. "Frieza creates a psychic connection with his 'pets'. It's so he knows where they're at whenever he needs to be reassured. I keep blocking him from my mind because I feel it's none of his concern. He's tried making me sleep to do it, beating me to do it, and ..." A tear rolled down her cheek, "he even killed Doctor Briefs thinking I would let him in."
"He killed your creator. The man you call father?" Vegeta clenched his fist, the sound of the leather crinkling under the strain. "Bastard."
"He did, in front of me. Yet, I made a promise to him that I wouldn't break. He said, I was his hope. I couldn't let him down. He was the only kindness I ever knew." Bulma looked away. "The obvious last step was something he did to both Zarbon and Dodoria. Something that I have managed to avoid. It was another reason I left."
"I remember what he has done. I was there when he claimed Dodoria." Vegeta bared his teeth. "A public ceremony, a show of dominance."
"Yes. A fate worse than every beating I'd ever been subject to." She placed her plate back onto the table, apatite forgotten.
"What made the others unusable?"
"The DNA. It turns out that Ice-jin and Saiyan are incompatible. Zarbon and Dodoria each have a part of him inside them. Another reason why I'm able to fight the connection so hard. Saiyans, as you know, don't like our minds invaded by others that are not our kind."
"Indeed." He leaned forward. "I cannot keep you here at the palace. It's too risky and I won't let that tyrant recapture you. My father has been lost to that creature and is letting our people be slaughtered mindlessly. If he finds you, he'll certainly return you."
"Where will you hide me?"
"I keep a base on this planet, deep below ground, a place where my people wait for instructions on the big coup I have planned to make Frieza fall. First, I need to make sure that Frieza has not, indeed, formed a partial connection with you. I need you to open your mind to me."
She looked down at her feet before nodding. He was the better alternative, he really was. "I don't want him in there."
Vegeta placed his hand gently underneath her chin, the leather of the glove keeping the softness of her skin from being known to him. He was definitely intrigued by this creature, this creation. He looked into her blue eyes, deep as the seas, blue as distant stars, and he fell into her mind like a waterfall. He saw her 'birth'. A violent time, a scream escaping her lips as she cleared the healing tank in angry confusion and almost killed her creator. He watched her accelerated growth, the mathematical and scientific lessons.
He witnessed her first purging mission. How the creatures begged, how Frieza dangled her creator on a chain to get her to do his bidding. His red eyes glowing in delight, that wicked cackle. He felt how sick she became each time he made advances to her. Vegeta dug deeper, and deeper still. Then, at the end of a sleep cycle, there was the tiniest of sparks. A tracker, easily erasable and yet to be completely activated. Frieza must've been interrupted during the process. He gently pulled upon the part of her mind that was damaged, destroyed the influence, and sealed the scar.
After a few moments he began again just to be certain there was nothing left. He left no faucet of her mind unturned. Yet, before he was finally able to leave he felt something take hold of him. Vegeta…
He turned and saw a healthy vision of Bulma. Her blue hair cascaded down her back, her eyes bright with joy, her body nourished and youthful. She leaned forward and kissed him. Vegeta tried to back away from her but found that he was stuck. This was why he tried to avoid her essence in here. It was too late, way too late, and he found himself succumbing to her pull. This shouldn't be possible, this connection, she wasn't a pure saiyan. Yet, when she finally released him their ki took on a rose hue. The deed complete.
