Bulma and Vegeta were reunited at last, but the reunion was bitter sweet. Can Vegeta overcome his pride or will he leave Bulma to die? Stay tuned!
A Turn of the Screw
Vegeta angrily stormed the hallways of the compound, violently punching anything that strayed too close. That wretched human, he fumed, how dare she raise a hand against me. He continued taking random turns down dark corridors and descending to unknown depths. In his rage his pride got the better of him and the queen's treachery faded into the recesses of his mind.
Suddenly Vegeta became aware of his footsteps echoing through the hallway. Glancing around he had clearly wandered far away from the bulk of the life forms in the compound, but he sensed he was not alone. Never breaking his stride he continued onward, his eyes shifting wearily from door to door. Turning the corner at the end of the hall Vegeta realized too late that he run into a dead end. Whipping around he came face to face with the dreaded King Aracono. Eyes narrowing in surprise Vegeta took a step back, mouth twitching as he snarled.
The king's blood red eyes glared down at him menacingly as a low rumble from his chest reverberated through the hallway. A muscular trunk of an arm shot out without warning and seized Vegeta by the throat. Effortless picking Vegeta off the ground the king hurled him down the remainder of the hallway.
Vegeta bounced off the floor with a sickening crunch of his ribs before slamming into the wall. Vegeta could only lay twitching as the heavy footsteps slowly approached. Once again being effortlessly plucked off the floor, the king slammed him into the wall and held him there, his enormous hand covering the entirety of Vegeta's chest.
"It seems you have robbed me of my queen and my favorite mistress" the king sneered in Vegeta's face. As the king pressed him farther into the wall Vegeta couldn't suppress the groan that escaped his throat. Around him the wall cracked and crumbled, giving way as the king pushed him further back into the wall.
Barely having room to cough up the blood now leaking from his mouth Vegeta could only smirk darkly and mutter, "your queen was quite the worthless wench."
A barely audible zap sounded from the device around Vegeta's neck and the king released Vegeta who dropped to the floor with a thud.
"How unfortunate, I cannot kill you. Your life belongs to the games. But rest assured that I will arrange a contestant for you in the arena that will grind your bones to powder and pound your organs into jelly" the king growled with a chuckle. Turning, the king abandoned Vegeta in the rubble as he disappeared down the hallway.
With a chuckle of his own Vegeta pushed himself into a sitting position, his arms quivering with effort. Disgusted he spat the blood in his mouth off to the side and let his head fall back with a soft smack against the wall.
"Stupid fucker" he hissed through clenched teeth as every breath sent tremors of pain surging through his body.
Vegeta paid no regard to the passage of time as he sat broken and bruised at the end of the hallway, and so he couldn't discern with any certainty how look it took the pair of muehvaches to appear with a stretcher. He had never seen these two before and they were neither gentle nor harsh. They laid the stretcher on the floor beside him and he collapsed onto it. Strapping him down securely they hoisted the stretcher off the ground and carried it between them through the hallway.
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On the other side of the compound Bulma continued to thrash violently in her captor's arms. It had carried her across the entire compound before it savagely tossed her in a room. Landing on her back Bulma felt herself spasm in pain. Instantly arching her back and rolling onto her stomach she took several gulps of air before she recovered. Grabbing the edge of a nearby object she hauled herself to her feet.
The creature had left, locking the door behind it and once again Bulma was alone. Taking stock of the room she found a small bed, a computer screen and a small bathroom. Looking at her reflection in the excuse of a mirror she found in the bathroom she almost became sick at the sight of her own hair. It was still matted in blood and her thrashing had worked it into a tizzy.
Submerging her head in a nearby water bucket she scrubbed her scalp. She pulled herself out long enough to take a few gulps of air before submerging her head once again, this time focusing on working the mats out of her hair. Pulling herself out of the water and flipping her hair back she furiously worked her fingers through her hair repeated until she was satisfied it could no longer be considered a crime scene.
Emerging from the bathroom seeking a towel she instead found a furry intruder. Letting out a scream she scrambled back into the bathroom and slammed the door. She braced herself against the door, preparing for an onslaught that never came. Curiosity getting the best of her she opened the door just wide enough for her to peer out into the room.
Bulma couldn't see the intruder anymore but the clattering of the bed drew her attention. Slowly opening the door Bulma crouched down, hoping to steal a glimpse under the bed. True enough, she found her intruder curled in a ball and shaking violently under the bed. That thing was afraid of her.
Lowering herself into a sitting position she decided to wait until the creature came out on it's own. Minutes ticked by but the creature had yet to cease it's violent shaking and Bulma found her self becoming increasingly agitated.
"Come on out! It's not like I'm going to hurt you," she almost shouted, saying it with far more intensity than she meant. The creature shrank as small as it possibly could beneath the bed; it's violent shaking increasing.
With a sigh Bulma realized this wasn't going to work. Hoisting herself up she strode over to the bed frame and flipped it onto its side. The creature didn't seem to notice and didn't move, so Bulma began to examine it from a distance.
Short black fur covered its whole body, including its 4 legs and 4 arms that were currently wrapped around itself. Bulma could see 6 eyes squeezed shut, 3 and each side of the face ascending diagonally upwards. Two furry fangs jutted out from above its mouth, much like those of a spider. With a gentle nudge of her foot the creature opened it's beady little blood red eyes and looked at her.
Tilting its head from side to side it slowly sat up, although it's arms didn't surrender their protective positions wrapped around its body.
"Hey there, I'm Bulma," she said softly, not wanting to give the poor thing a heart attack.
It blinked at her, as if it was trying to comprehend her words. With a sigh and a bow of her head she turned and headed back in the direction of the bathroom.
"I don't have a name. I am just called Bastard Child Aracono. I was separated from my mother, Mistress Aracono, and I have not seen her since." It said softly, closing its eyes and letting two of its arms wrap around its face.
Bulma just stood there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do. A sharp beep from a screen by the door caught her attention. Turning away from the bastard child shaking on the floor she approached the screen. It was full of writing in some alien language Bulma could not read but it gave Bulma an idea.
Grabbing the sides of the screen she roughly pried it from the wall and set it down on the floor. Following the wiring that extended from the screen back into a hollow section of the wall she cursed as she realized the computer must be somewhere else in the complex.
"If I could only get my hands on a motherboard and a hard drive" she muttered to herself as she replaced the screen.
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After a long and bumpy ride through the complex Vegeta finally arrived at the infirmary. Every fiber in Vegeta's body convulsed in pain as the muehvaches rolled him off the stretched and onto the bed. Laying there breathless another muehvache approached him; it was female but not the same female as before, this one had no emotion in it's cold black eyes.
It produced a pill from a bottle on the counter and held it over his mouth, gesturing for him to swallow it. Firmly setting his jaw Vegeta turned his head and ignored it.
The muehvache placed its hand under his chin and with two fingers found his jaw muscles and squeezed, prying his mouth open. After dropping the pill in his mouth it placed it's hand over his lips, not letting him spit it out.
Vegeta was prepared to play the long and tedious waiting game when a horrible bitterness engulfed his mouth. Nearly choking he swallowed, almost puking as it went down. The muehvache removed its hand and Vegeta took in several gulps of air. As he lay there, using every ounce of his will not to puke, the muehvache was busy restraining his limbs in the same way they had restrained Bulma when she first arrived.
Without warning Vegeta felt his muscles contract in unison as pain erupted from his chest. Letting out a furious yell, veins bulging out of his neck, Vegeta's ribs began snapping themselves painfully back into place. Tilting his chin into his neck Vegeta caught a glimpse of his ribs bulging and shifting beneath his skin, but soon enough the pain had him furiously yelling death threats and curses at anyone and anything that came to mind.
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Bulma paced the room, examining every nook and cranny looking for some sort of way out or even better, access to any sort of electronic device. She had found a switch by the door that triggered a one-way mirror along one wall, although there was red substance coating most of it on the other side. It made her shiver and the skin on her back crawl so she left the switch off.
The bastard child just sat in the corner, shaking and crying. Bulma had given up trying to comfort him, and he still gave her the heebie-jeebies. After replacing the bed to its upright position she plopped down and despite all the thoughts whirling through her mind she quickly dozed off.
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After what seemed like hours the pain finally died away, but Vegeta couldn't be sure how much time had truly passed. His breathing was still ragged and rough when the muehvache reappeared in his field of vision and a growl tore from his throat as he bared his teeth.
Ignoring him, the beast grabbed his hand, the one the mistress had bitten, and examined it. When it untied his wrist and held it up to the light Vegeta noticed for the first time that the bite was infected. Each hole in his flesh where the mistress's fangs had sunken in was leaking greenish black pus that smelled putrid. The area around the wound had turned black and the veins in his hand were black as death.
"Bitch didn't even buy me a drink," he muttered under his breath, turning his eyes away from his infected hand. The muehvache replaced his hand on the table and strapped it down. Then it turned its attention to Vegeta's face. A prodding finger reminded him he had four deep gouges on the side of his face. Bulma's slap had draw his attention to his other cheek, and he had never given the scratch a second thought.
If the wound on his face was anything like his hand he was truly a horrific sight to behold. The muehvache disappeared momentarily but was soon back with a syringe looking device. Vegeta set his jaw and tightened his muscles, he had been bitten by an arachnoid before and he knew how bad this one would hurt.
With a pinch the antidote was injected into each wound in his hand as well as the four on his face. Vegeta's muscles contracted of his own accord, knowing the pain was coming. Then, like a train you see coming at you in a dark tunnel, it hit him. A gut wrenching burning lit each wound and set fire to the blood in his veins. His vision blurred and he felt his heart beat frantically, trying to quench the fire. He felt the inferno race through every vein and capillary in his body, banishing the pain receptors in his nervous system to the deepest fiery pit of Hell.
With a scream of anguish his mind drifted into a tormented unconsciousness.
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The scream that echoed through the hallways awoke Bulma from her slumber. Bolting upright she tried to hear it again but it was gone. For the briefest moment fear clenched her heart as Vegeta crossed her mind, but an image of him atop that woman shattered her momentary concern.
Looking around she found the bastard child curled up in the corner, apparently sleeping. Then the softest click brought Bulma's attention to the door. Flinging the covers off she quickly retreated from the bed, standing next to the bastard child in the corner. Bulma watched silently as the door slowly opened, until the big soft face of Mama Moo became visible.
With a squeal of delight Bulma rushed across the room and wrapped her arms around the loveable beast. Mama Moo gently hugged her back before softly pushing Bulma away. Mama Moo handed Bulma a fresh suit of Saiyan armor and, to Bulma's surprise, some soap. With another squeal Bulma snatched up the bundle of goodies before skipping into the bathroom.
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When Vegeta opened his eyes again the room was spinning. With a grunt he left his eyes shut, his mind probing the damage done to his body. The fire in his veins had died out but they still felt singed. His ribs seemed to be back in their proper places but each breath still hurt and he knew he would be sore for a while. With a twitch of his injured cheek he assessed that the wounds were cured of the poison and seemed to be scabbing over. A similar twitch of his hand confirmed the same was true there as well.
A scuffling in the room brought his attention back to the world around him. Slowly opening his eyes he found a lizard like creature staring down at him. It's reptilian head and scaly skin was coated in what smelled like blood but was bright blue.
"It'sss too bad thisss one sssurvived. It would have made a great ssspeciman" it hissed through it's rounded jaw and pointed teeth. With a chuckle its head disappeared from view but Vegeta could feel his bonds loosening.
"Waittt" another voice hissed. And yet another reptilian head appeared in front of him. It's clawed and scaly fingers reached down to his neck and a short sequence of beeps from his collar sounded in his ear. "Continueee" the second reptile hissed, stepping away from Vegeta.
Once Vegeta felt his last bond come free he tightened his muscles and attempted to spring out of the bed. To his dismay he found he couldn't move. With a growl he tried to move his limbs but nothing other than his head would obey.
A chuckle from the second reptilian made his skin crawl and his face contort in anger. "Try to move all you want, your inhibitor his intercepting the sssignalsss from your brain as they travel along your neuronsss. You cannot moveee" it hissed with a chuckle as it's long reptilian tongue slithered through it's teeth between words.
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Now that she had thoroughly scrubbed and cleaned herself Bulma felt like a human being again. As she slipped on her clean set of saiyan armor and adjusted the chest plate she came out of the bathroom to find Mama Moo and the bastard child waiting for her. They both turned and walked out the door, Mama Moo leading the way, and Bulma could do nothing but follow.
Once again Bulma found herself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the building they were in. She followed Mama Moo closely through the maze of corridors and lifts, thankful for Mama Moo's guidance.
Finally they arrived at their destination, a large circular room with no apparent purpose. In the center a circle screen displayed more alien words with a picture of her face and that of the bastard child.
Turning to Mama Moo she found sadness in the creatures eyes. Mama Moo placed her large hands on Bulma's shoulders and touched her nose to Bulma's forehead.
Feeling the warmth of Mama Moo's breath somehow put Bulma at ease. Then the warmth was gone, and so was Mama Moo.
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Vegeta's lips twitched and he snarled as the reptiles roughly picked him up from the bed and laid him in a long, metal cage. The cage was just long enough for him to lie in, and when they closed the lid it was just wide enough for him to breath in.
Sensing the lizard reach though the bars of his cage he once again heard the sequence of beeps that had immobilized him. Finally free Vegeta began thrashing madly, filled with rage. The cage was too small and the metal too thick for him to break. He couldn't even bend his elbows all the way. The reptiles began pushed the cage, and the cart it was on, out the door and through the hallways.
With no way of breaking free and his body still weak from his trip to the infirmary, Vegeta could only lay still and mentally prepare for whatever may lie ahead.
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With Vegeta severely injured and trapped in a cage it seems it's Bulma's turn this round. How will her Earthly physique hold up against these alien warriors? Find out next time on Dragonball Z!