Hey there groovy people of the internet! So sorry this update took soooo long :( I swear I had most of it written about a week after the last chapter, but when the weekend came around I found myself sick and incapacitated. Then it was spring break! Yay right? Wrong. Guess who had to work the whole week? Me. Well anyway I tried my best to make it worth the wait and I've got big plans in store for the next chapter. Enjoy!
Ding, Round 3
There he was, back where it all began.
As Vegeta stood in the circular room he couldn't help but think of the events that had transpired since he was last here. So much had happened and yet he was never certain how much time had passed. Had they been here for days, weeks, months or even years? Here on Meuhvachidor hardly any time at all had passed by their time keeping measurements, the games were only beginning.
Exchanging his ruined saiyan armor for a fresh set he began his warm up routine, and feeling his muscles ripple beneath his skin reassured him that not all was lost. "This inhibitor may limit my kai, but my strength is endless" he sneered at the empty room. As the veins in his neck bulged outward from exertion he felt the inhibitor bite into his skin, as though it was taunting him.
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Blood was beginning to run down Bulma's chin as each turn of a corner brought on a coughing fit that left her hands soaked with the redness of her life.
Bulma had taken to looking into doors as they passed; it helped distract her from the pain. They had passed countless empty rooms like the one they had come from, but several more seemed to be infirmaries. But the contents of one room took Bulma's breath away; it was lined from wall to wall with banks of monitors and the sight of it made Bulma's eyes glimmer with hope. But the hope quickly faded as the room grew further and further away.
More out of coincidence than planning, Bulma allowed her bloody hand to scrape against the floor, leaving a dark smudge of blood in their wake. Despite the pain Bulma found herself smiling as she watched the dotted trail of blood grow with every step. Like Hansel and Gretel leaving their bread crumb trail, Bulma left a trail of her own blood behind to lead her back to her a chance of escape. She only left small smears every few feet, hoping no one would notice them against the hard stone-like floor. Every corner brought up more blood, and every cough of blood prolonged her trail.
Then they came to an abrupt halt outside a metal door, identical to all the others that lined the hallway. The king tossed her inside effortlessly, shutting the door with a loud thunk. Bulma allowed the coolness of the floor to draw the heat from her battered body as she fought to catch her breath. With each inhale her ribs bit painfully at her side, but she was growing accustomed to the pain.
A soft tap drew Bulma from her brief reprieve as her head fell to the side, looking for the source of the noise. Before her, not even a foot away, was the little red headed girl from before. Her blood red eyes stared down at Bulma, devouring her under their gaze. She was small, not bigger than a child, but she stood tall and proud like a warrior upon the field of battle. Her body face off to the side with her head turned in Bulma's direction, not unlike Vegeta when he took the field. Vegeta, the word rang in her mind.
Remembering the arcnoid boy's warning she tried to avoid meeting those blood red eyes, by she could escape their piercing gaze. Stealing a glimpse Bulma found herself frozen in place, not even her eyes obeyed her command to move or even blink. Those blood red eyes reached straight into the depths of her mind, the depths of her soul. Those blood red eyes…
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Finishing his routine he reached for a nearby towel but before he could grab hold of it the room was plunged into darkness. Hesitating he proceeded to grab the towel and wiped the sweat from his face. He forced his breathing to slow, allowing his muscles to relax, enabling his concentration to focus on interpreting the sounds that came alive around him. His sharp saiyan eyes could not make out anything in this darkness but his keen hearing painted the picture within his mind. There was a gentle hiss of an air vent in the corner but his superior sense of smell detected more CO2 in the mixture than usual. The monitors in the center of the room were humming softly, turned off but not powered off.
Then a gentle breeze from the other end of the room made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. They must have opened the door to the arena, he thought to himself. Even when pausing his breath for a few moments he detected no sound, and slowly he began to make his way toward the door. As he crossed the room he tripped over the armor he had left there earlier, cursing as he stumbled. Then from the darkness came a blinding light and Vegeta had barely staggered out of the way before a column of fire blazed past him, burning through the air above the armor he had tripped over.
The flame was a brilliant white that burned the back of Vegeta's eyes when it blazed it's way through the dark, leaving him completely blind until his eyes readjusted to the darkness. Crouching low Vegeta silently balled up the towel he still held in his hands, contemplating a plan. Vegeta allowed his signature smirk to haunt his lips as he hurled the towel toward the ceiling where it hit with a wet smack. Casting his eyes away from the column of light that sought the source of the noise he sprang forward and burst into a sprint.
He had just enough time to clear the doorway before the column of flame reached the wall he was running beside and the crunch of his boots on dirt signaled him to change his course, now running in a wide arc both away from the flame and toward it's source.
As he got closer and closer to the source he had less and less time to outrun the flame that licked at his heels. In a split second decision he planted his front foot hard on the ground in front of him, redirecting his momentum to spring backwards, up and over the flame. As his back arced over the flames he felt it's heat bite sharply at his back, but as quickly as it had come it was gone and the cool air was around him once more. As his heels cleared the flames his palms found the dirt beneath him and he shifted his body weight right, cart wheeling himself back onto his feet and back toward his target.
Before the flames had a chance to change direction he lowered his shoulder and rammed full force into the source. The source let out a huhh as Vegeta knocked the breath from her lungs, sending her sprawling on her back beneath him. Quickly pinning her down he snarled loudly in her face, as two thin columns of flames burst forth from her hands. The light from the flames granted Vegeta a vision of the fire wielders face.
A large pink burn ate away at the right side of her face and left her scared and hideous. Her right eye had been melted shut but her left eye glared at him, filled with hatred. She screamed at him and thrashed wildly beneath him but he held her firm.
Suddenly her movement ceased and her limbs fell silent beneath him. "Please" she rasped, her voice barely a whisper. "Please. I do not wish to fight. Once I may have set entire planets ablaze, reducing them to ash, but no longer. The rage that was once tainted my battered soul has been purified and my savage heart tamed by a being so beautiful and pure the universe has never seen their equal. They are half of my soul, half of my heart, half of my very being. Please. I do not want to fight; I only fight to save the only thing beautiful in my world. I must fight to save my other half, lest I wither away" By now Vegeta could almost taste the salt in the air, her tears were so plentiful.
"To find the other half of yourself is to finally find the melody to the tuneless words you have been singing your whole life. Words that are empty and hollow, missing a melody which by itself is passionate but meaningless. It is only when the words begin to fade, when you find yourself struggling to remember just how they go, that their melody appears. The words may fear rejection and the melody may fear dissection, but when they finally blend together they form music the likes of which the universe has never seen. The song is beautiful, enchanting, compelling and magnificent. I am but a hollow set of words, torn from my melody. Please, without my melody I myself might forget the words I sing and lose myself amidst a sea of broken dreams."
The pyrothian finished her long-winded plea, and resided to silently sobbing, her words leaving her. Vegeta remained motionless, his thoughts whirling. Although they now sat in silent darkness the sound of Bulma's heartfelt laugh seemed to echo in the emptiness around him as he breathed it in, her quirky excitement when she triumphed where other humans has declared the impossible bubbled in his chest, her stubborn tone when she refused to give in wrapped it's arms around him like lovers embrace, and the sound of her heartbeat worked in rhythm with his. But in a blink the sensation dissipated, leaving him alone again in the silent darkness.
Fool me once, he mused as his thoughts brought the memory of the arcnoid bitch to his mind. Vegeta knew the pyrothian's were cunning liars, weaving words in a web of emotion that ensnared their listener and bound them tightly. He would not be fooled twice. Releasing her wrists his hands wrapped around her throat, and in one fluid well practiced motion he twisted her head to the side with a loud snap. Almost instantly her body went limp beneath him, the life departing her bones like a breeze blowing through the trees.
Within moments the darkness was vanquished in a burst of light and Vegeta found himself completely blinded once again as his eyes desperately tried to readjust, the air exploding with cheers. As his eyes watered slightly he managed to glance upwards, realizing the ceiling had opened to reveal the stadium above them. Some spectators were chanting his name, others were cheering while still others were booing him. Stumbling to his feet and shielding his eyes with one hand he looked around for Bulma. From above the now retracting dome ceiling a cage descended, though his contents were not what he was expecting.
When the cage finally opened the woman inside fell to the ground in a heap, and the smell of salty tears was once again fresh in the air. She dragged her broken body along the ground, blood seeping from various wounds all over her flesh. From the other cage the arcnoid bastard fell to the ground, but once he caught sight of Vegeta he quickly scurried over unharmed and took his place at Vegeta's side. With a snort Vegeta's eyes searched for Bulma but she was nowhere to be seen.
His search was interrupted by a sudden wail of anguish, emitted from the broken woman. She had made her way to the pyrothian and she had collapsed sobbing upon the pyrothian's chest. Her shaking hand reached for the pyrothian's newly chilled cheeks as the other grasped for the pyrothian's hand clenched tight in death.
Vegeta stood in a stunned silent, the noise from the crowd a distant murmur as the scene before him unfolded like a flower before a storm.
The broken woman now held the pyrothian's head in her arms as she rocked herself back and forth, her anguished wails persisting. The tears seemed to glisten in the artificial light as they pour from her eyes and raced down her cheeks. Her hands trembled violently as her fingers grabbed desperately at the pyrothian's flesh, as if to usher forth the life that had fled the body.
As Vegeta watched silently, a different scene emerged before his eyes. Blinking he tried to clear it away, but it only grew clearer. Before him lay his own dead body with Bulma wailing over him. Her perfect face marred by the tears streaming down her cheeks, her soft red lips quivering miserably as her gentle fingers traced the hard lines of his face. Her blue eyes looked up at him, tears shining brightly in her eyes, before the apparition burst into flames.
Staggering back Vegeta realized the broken woman had donned the pyrothian's gloves – an advanced pyrotech that modified the molecular chemistry of the air surrounding the wearer, rearranging the molecules so that they formed highly flammable gases that the wearer could then ignite with a tiny spark generated by the gloves – and set them both ablaze. Her wails were now silent as her body draped over her dead lover, separated in life but now unified in death.
For a moment Vegeta was humbled by the complete and utter devotion he witnessed before him, but the feeling quickly dissipated as the inferno began to blaze out of control. It burst upwards, hungrily consuming the air around it until the spectators found themselves fleeing the stadium in fear.
Grabbing the arcnoid bastard Vegeta made a run for the anteroom and for the only escape. Just as Vegeta found shelter within the round room the door burst open and a small army of meuhvaches flowed in, seeking to quench the inferno.
In the chaos Vegeta gripped the arcnoid bastard tightly as he shoved his way through. Spilling out into the hallway Vegeta collected himself and calmly began to precede down the hallway, hoping to be ignored in the confusion.
Sure enough all the meuhvaches were more concerned with the inferno, and ignored him as they shoved past. What could he possibly do with that kai inhibitor around his neck? Where could he possibly go?
"We must find Bulma!" the bastard cried out, his hairy limbs hugging itself tightly. Yes, Vegeta thought to himself, curious that I would be rewarded with only part of my prize.
"My third prize" Vegeta said questioningly, "what was it."
"Princess Medon" the bastard said quietly, "and she has been trying to ensnare Bulma since she was freed.
Vegeta stopped in his tracks. Medon. The word echoed in his mind. Through his mind's eye he saw her again, the small babe suckling at her mothers breast. By Freeza's orders Vegeta was to capture the royal family of Bronzonian, and bring them to him at once. The mother's eyes were as black as the heart of the saiyan that stood before her, and the babe at her breast cried madly in his presence. The king had long since been killed, and the prince exiled.
Bringing the remnants of the royal family before Freeza he still remembered the lizard's sinister feminine laugh. "Hmm this fair beauty will make a most succulent slave. As for the babe, kill it" he said dismissively, waving his hand for them to leave his presence. As his cohorts carried the screaming babe from the room she paused as she took a breath, opening her blood red eyes to stare straight into Vegeta's very being. He had felt his body moving without his command, trying to retrieve the babe from harm. But Freeza's guards pinned him to the floor before any damage could be done. Breathless Vegeta found himself staring up at the ceiling but not remembering how he got there.
"Hmm interesting. Take the babe for testing" Freeza said coyly, his smile sending shivers down his minion's spines.
Vegeta would never forget those eyes, those blood red eyes…
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Will Bulma be able to resistant Medon's bewitching stare? Will Vegeta be able to save Bulma from those blood red eyes? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!