Hey there groovy people of the internet! I've been abroad the past couple weeks so I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. But here it is so enjoy ^.^
Angels and Demons
It's strange how long a single moment can last. Time cannot be ignored, it's always moving. To try and slow it down makes it pass faster but to try and urge it forward slows it down.
But here in this moment Bulma just let time pass. She was vaguely aware of herself in the vast emptiness but she did not stir. She could almost feel the sands of time swirling around her, wrapping around her and holding the moment still. Then the winds changed and suddenly the sand was whipping around her, stinging where it touched her skin and burning her eyes. Bulma raised her arm to cover her face, not daring to open her eyes. A distant pounding sound harassed her ears, refusing to cease. In the fury she could not tell if it was her heart's frantic beats or a pounding in her head.
Then the stinging ceased, like a break in the middle of a violent rainstorm. Opening her eyes her vision blurred, the world around her coalescing into a single form. But as she blinked it became clearer. The glass before her separated its shape from the metal walls around her. The floor pulled away from the ceiling and confined her between them. As she felt a breeze on her lower extremities she realized she was naked. Shivering she groped around her, looking for a way out. As her fingers met the surface in front of her the glass retreated, opening with a hiss.
Spilling out onto the floor Bulma tried to gain her bearings but the room around her was unfamiliar and her memory was clouded.
"Bulma," a voice called out as a dark fuzzy shape appeared before her. She felt its arms touch hers and she jerked away reflexively. The blur pulled back, unsure of how to proceed.
"Bulma." A different voice spoke, sharp and precise. It was a female, a small child by the sound. As Bulma turned to face the sound a blur of flame red hair filled her vision, the small face within blurred beyond recognition to her eyes.
Screaming Bulma flung herself away, crawling desperately across the floor as her legs tried to regain themselves. The dark form appeared again but Bulma slapped at it, her nails unusually long from lack of trimming. She felt them rake across flesh and the form retreated from view. As she scrambled across the floor Bulma found herself trapped in the corner with no way out. Refusing to let the tears fall she wiped her eyes furiously, trying to rub the remaining blurriness away.
"Bulma." The female voice said again.
"Get away from me you demon!" Bulma shouted, recoiling her legs ready to kick out if anything came near.
The figure with flame red hair approached, stopping directly out of her reach.
"You are free Bulma. Medon's hold on you is broken," the voice said softly.
"I don't understand" Bulma huffed, her chest heaving with the effort of calming her breathing.
"You must calm yourself. Round 4 draws near." The girl whispered, a small hand reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.
As Bulma stared up in disbelief her vision began to clear. The face before her was not the demon that haunted her, but the similarity was eerie.
"Who are you" Bulma demanded, her breathing restored and her legs functioning.
"Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a female" the girl answered, her voice calm.
"I can see that" Bulma snapped.
"I'm not questioning your powers of observation. You may refer to me as Vie, although I don't understand human's insistence that all things must have names" she replied, her voice never wavering.
"Bulma, you've been in stasis a long time. We need to tell you everything that's happened, and quickly" the arachnoid boy said quietly, the scratch marks she left on his face were bleeding slightly and contrasted his dark fuzzy face sharply.
"Medon has done a lot of damage. You may be un-repairable but we have to try" Vie said softly, approaching Bulma. As she neared Bulma shied away but Vie gently took hold of her hand and began to examine it, her small fingers gently but firmly pulling Bulma's hand.
"What are you talking about" Bulma demanded, snatching her hand away, "I was just with that cow thing and we were escaping! He put me in a pod but I went back for Vegeta, then he...then he…." But the words choked in her throat. Then he tried to kill me.
"None of that was real" the arachnoid boy said quietly, resting his furry limb on her knee as his six beady eyes met hers.
"What are you talking about" Bulma choked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Do you remember fighting in the arena?" Vie asked, "Do you remember sitting in the infirmary with Vegeta?"
Bulma tried to think. She tried to pick out when she had been in the arena but everything was mashed together. The harder she tried to remember the more she forgot. "I can't remember" Bulma admitted quietly.
"Look into my eyes" Vie commanded, standing before Bulma but despite Bulma sitting on the floor Vie just barely met her height.
As Bulma gazed into Vie's eyes the world around her melted away into nothingness. Her muscles refused to obey and Bulma found herself paralyzed. What's going on? She cried out in her mind. Her brain whirled, trying to think, trying to regain control.
"Don't fight me Bulma. Just relax," Vie's voice called out in the void, her lips never moving.
Then suddenly they were in the arena again. Bulma was finally able to find her strength and lift herself to her feet. She could see the crowds in the stands, but despite all their open mouths they never made a sound. What's happening? Turning Bulma came face to face with the monster from before. Screaming she turned to flee but her limbs refused to move.
"Stop fighting me Bulma. Just look. Just remember"
Swallowing her fear Bulma turned to face the monster. She realized that the arachnoid boy was there too, his fangs biting into the monsters neck. Neither moved. Both seemed to be frozen in time. Even the drops of blood that were squirting from the monsters neck were frozen in place as they streamed from the monsters open wound. Lookng up she saw Vegeta in his cage, his chest frozen mid-breath. Turning Bulma saw the other cage and the girl inside. As her hair clung to her face the tears were frozen on her cheeks.
"Vie?" Bulma realized in surprise, her hand clutching her mouth as she gasped in horror.
"Yes Bulma, I watched you kill my brother."
"I had no idea! I swear. He was killing Vegeta, I couldn't-" Bulma cried out but Vie cut her off sharply.
"I am aware."
Before Bulma could continue the scene melted away. The sand seemed to flow into an unseen drain like water in a tub and a white tile floor was revealed. The walls of the arena closed in around her until they formed a small square room. As she turned the monster and the arachnoid were gone but Vegeta stood before her. In the doorway stood the evil cow, preparing to haul her away. Vegeta was mid fall and Bulma almost reached forward to catch him. As she raised her gaze she could see the arachnoid on the bed next to Vegeta, and Vie curled in a ball on the bed next to him.
Then suddenly the scene began to move. Vegeta fell to the floor and the evil cow grabbed her. As she fought to free herself she was hauled out into the hallway where a flame red fist flew toward her face and the world melted away around her. Suddenly Bulma was standing on her feet rather than being held in that creature's arms, her cheek tingling from the memory of being struck.
"What was that?" Bulma wondered aloud, her mind whirling.
"That was Medon." Vie's voice rang out, "this is where she took hold of you. When you were unconscious all she had to do was look into your eyes and relay her signal to your brain. In the back of the human eye there is a pathway straight to the brain."
"The optic nerve" Bulma replied.
"Through that pathway she can configure certain neurons to await her command. Then from anywhere she can send her signal and your brain will obey."
Reaching up to rub her forehead Bulma tried to understand. Frustrated she gave a dismissive flick of her wrist, her head already pounding. "Where's Vegeta?" Bulma demanded, her patience at its end.
"He is still deep within Medon's clutches. You must understand, Saiyans spend very little time sleeping and so they do not dream. His brain will be unable to differentiate between the world Medon has trapped him in and the world around him" Vie said solemnly, her eyes avoiding Bulma's gaze. "I fear even you may not be able to show him the light of reason."
"Well dammit I can try!" Bulma nearly shouted, slamming her fists on the ground in a sudden rage. Hauling herself to her feet she stormed to a nearby stack of saiyan armor and yanked it on. As she adjusted the chest plate she froze, her mind suddenly making a connection she did not see before. Slowly turning she caught Vie's eyes with hers and stared for a long time.
"How do you know so much about Medon," Bulma questioned, her skin tingling with goose bumps as a dark seed of suspicion sprouted in her mind.
With a sigh Vie replied, "My sire is the offspring of her sire."
"Sire…offspring…" Bulma muttered, her mind putting the pieces together. The realization hit her like a train. "Your father is Medon's brother?"
"Yes. When Vegeta and the Icejins captured her planet and kidnapped her and her parents my father, her brother as you say, was off world. He had traveled to an ally planet to seek their aid." Vie explained, her small body barely the height of Bulma's legs.
"Where is your father now?" Bulma asked, the suspicion still rooted in her mind.
"He is a king now. And he is here, determined to destroy Vegeta after Vegeta strangled my mother."
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"It isss time" the lizard hissed, his forked tongue sliding between his sharp teeth. Around him a group of meuhvache worked hastily to carry out his orders. They had taken great care to move everything into place, but the precautions had left the crowd impatient and agitated.
This will be a ssshow they won't ssssoon forget, he chuckled to himself. To his right stood the meuhvache who had helped him coordinate this particular round. The haunting look in his eyes gave no indication that he felt any remorse for what was about to befall his kin, his own brother. To his left stood Medon, the little princess remained as still as a statue as she always did. Her lifeless eyes gazes onward but he knew she saw nothing. Today dark circles traced her eyes, evidence of her effort to keep the saiyan's mind under control.
The events of previous hours had nearly drained the life from Medon, and only by putting the Saiyan and his mate in cryostasis were they able to spare Medon's life.
He's too strong she had whispered, leaving them to watch with baited breath as blood began to fall from her eyes like tears. The effort of maintaining the hold over the saiyan had caused sections of her brain to rupture, the blood pouring fourth from her eyes and ears. A quick injection had put the saiyans brain to sleep, allowing them to safely induce cryostasis. The human woman was just as much trouble, her mind constantly questioning and her reasoning tearing down the walls Medon built in her mind. Attempting to keep them both under her control at once proved to be too much for Medon, when she wrestled one into compliance the other attempted to break free. While tending to a spike in Vegeta's brain activity the human's neurons managed to convey their messages to her muscles and even though her mind still wondered Medon's maze her body walked the halls of the arena before smashing an entire tech room to pieces and killing the meuhvache that tried to detain her.
In an attempt to conserve her energy and strength Medon had built but one maze for the minds of the human and saiyan to wonder, as a scientist would put two rats in one maze. By keeping them in different parts of the maze Medon had hoped to corral them both into submission but their consciousnesses had reached out to each other, small wispy tendrils of thought that wound around each other and broke through Medon's illusions.
After careful deliberation they had decided to release the human from Medon, for the saiyan would require all of her concentration during this match.
"Everything is in position," a meuhvache reported, "We have detained the human female as well as the arachnoid and the-"
"I will wait no longer" a voice rumbled from the hallway. Closing his eyes the lizard took several deep breathes before responding.
"King Aracono, patience is a virtue. The sssaiyan has increasssed revenue tenfold, with more and more coming to obssserve as each moment passssssesss. Once the universsse growsss tired of him you may do with him what you will. But not a moment sssooner."
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For once, Bulma did not struggle against her captors. When they burst into the room she had every intention of fighting them tooth and nail but Vie stayed her hand.
They will take you to Vegeta, Vie had whispered in her mind.
As they were marched down the empty hallway Bulma vaguely wondered what would await them. Round 4, she thought to herself, when will I ever escape this hell hole?
Her thoughts were brought to an abrupt end as her captors stopped short, almost causing Bulma to walk straight into them. Without warning the hands of her captors shot out and grabbed her, two securing her arms behind her back while a third strapped something to her chest. At first Bulma refrained from struggling but a sense of dread shot through her as they attached a metallic device to her chest. She could not feel it's touch through her saiyan armor but she still felt its pressure, squeezing her chest until her heart hammered loudly in protest. Her captors proceeded to lock her arms into the device. Two cold metallic cuffs clenched around her wrists and held them firmly behind her back, pulling so sharply that her shoulders protested painfully.
As Bulma desperately pulled at her restraints her captors shoved her forward. Stumbling, Bulma fought as a surge of panic threatened to overwhelm her. Her lungs expanded and contracted sharply, making her breathes ragged and unfulfilling, leaving her light headed. Bursts of pain shot through her shoulder before exploding in her muscles, as a firework shoots through the night sky before exploding among the stars.
Sparing her no mercy her captors continued to shove her forward, grabbing her by the shoulder every so often to keep her from falling on her face. Although the remainder of the walk may have been a few meters it felt as though Bulma had walked miles. Beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead and stung her eyes as her lungs desperately tired to quench her body's need for air. The muscles in her shoulders were cramped and blood trickled down her wrists were the cold metal bit into her flesh.
Bulma was only vaguely aware of the sound of her captors throwing open a door in front of them before they grabbed her by the hair and flung her through the air. Reflexes tried to jerk her hands in front of her to break her fall but as the cuffs dug deeper into her skin as she collided with the ground, rolling a few times to lessen the impact. Dirt and dust stabbed at her eyes, invaded her nostrils and defiled her throat. As she rolled to a stop she became aware of a loud buzzing in her ears.
Blinking the dirt from her eyes Bulma gazed upwards, her sight filled with the alien races of the universe all staring down at her. Their mouths were open wide and their arms outstretched as they cheered, jeered and yelled.
With an involuntary groan she managed to sit upright, her feet stretching out before her. Before she could find the strength to stand the ground beside her erupted in a cloud of dust. Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away. After a few moments she opened her eyes again and turned to inspect the disturbance. Beside her lay the arachnoid, his numerous legs flailing as he tried to regain his composure. To her other side she heard the faint sound of footsteps and turned to watch Vie approach.
The young girl was likewise bound with a metallic device strapped across her chest with her arms secured behind her back. The front of the device was adorned with a green LED display with a series of - what Bulma presumed to be - numbers. Leaning closer and squinting her eyes against the glare Bulma watched as the number on the far right began to change. It continued to change until it reached the number it had started from at which point the number to the left of it decreased by 1.
It's a timer, Bulma relized with horror, it's counting down!
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Hey you just read this and this is crazy, but here's my story so rate it maybe?