WARNING: ANGST, CHARACTERR ASHING, HEART-RENDING BREAK-UPS, CONSPIRACY. BULMA, RELANA AND OTHER FEMALE CHARACTER BASHING!
CHAPTER XCIV
A DIFFICULT DECISION
Containing her anger and eventual explosion, Bulma waited until she was safely back in Capsule Corporation before she placed a call to the one person she wanted answers from. Dialing a certain number on her cell phone and pressing send was rewarded with the sound of a ring tone, however, after ten rings, it was clear that the being she was trying to reach was not going to receive her call, so she took another direction. Bulma called that being's business partner.
"Sakegeta Towers, Adelaide Briefs speaking, how may I assist you?" a very pleasant sounding female voice answered.
Bulma was shocked into silence for the space of a minute before..."MOTHER, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ANSERING THAT PHONE?" the blue haired genius shrieked in near hysteria.
"Bulma, dear, you don't have to shout. This office has a state fo the art communications system. Besides, someone saw that I was bored just being 'the wife of the Great Doctor Briefs and mother to the Genius of the Century, they offered me a job and I took it! Now, how may I direct your call, dear?" Adelaide responded.
Bulma sat silently seething as she gathered her thoughts the asked, " Put me through to that monkey-tailed, ape shit for brains royal pain in the ass I birthed two kids for!" the female shouted.
"The party you are requesting is not available at this time," Adelaide replied.
"fine, put me through to the other half of that detestable partnership!" Bulma snarled in a veiled request for Sakyo.
The phone line clicked off for the span of one minute then, "Sakyo Tagoya, how may I assist you?" Sakyo's smooth voice spoke.
"Where is that bastard monkey partner of yours? He brought a circus where a very rare specimen was being held a few scientists of my acquaintance were looking forward to acquiring. He paid for the purchase with something that looked like a large marble. I want to know where he got such a thing from!" Bulma spat venomously.
"I thought that we gave you one? We did decide to give out packages to all of those we expelled the other day. As for where my business partner, I am not at liberty to divulge that information. The gem is in a capsule and should be in a capsule case marked 'good-bye.' Now, if there is nothing else, you have taken up enough of my time. I am a very busy man and I have no time for chit-chat. If and only if I see my business partner, I will pass on your request. Good-evening," and with that, Sakyo hung up the phone and the call was terminated.
Bulma sat in disgusted shock then put her phone away to go search through her belongings in order to find the case to which Sakyo alluded. A large smiled burst onto her face when she unearthed the package, opened the case, took out a capsule marked S. Gems, pressed the button to activate the item then tossed the capsule which popped open to reveal a brown draw-string bag. Bulma reached, picked up the bag and pulled it open. Reaching into the bag, her fingers touched an object that felt like glass. Slender, scientific fingers curled around an object then she lifted the thing out of the bag. A blinding light flashed into Bulma's eyes, then her eyes adjusted and she saw what was in her hand. Awe dropped her jaw and her mouth hung agape in surprise as she gazed at the perfect gold sphere in her hand and a larger smile broke into her face. Bulma picked up the capsule case then ran to her den where she uncapped the ten other capsules, each revealing a hidden treasure. With a glee that refused to be contained, Bulma grabbed her cell phone and began snapping pictures which she promptly posted on the Internet Greed was an awful beast and in some people, it should be vanquished before it had time to grow. Unfortunately, even though Bulma was exceedingly wealthy in her own right, one glimpse of the jewels she had been given...Well, she could not resist.
In another city, where a fairy tale palace was located, a beautiful blonde had just unearthed a bag full of sparkling gems, silken thread and beautiful fur! The blonde was elated and began ordering her staff to find someone who could integrate the new found treasure into her wardrobe.
"Oh, princess, those are gorgeous! Where could they have come from, I wonder?" a girl with straight white platinum ankle length hair and sharp pointed black eyebrows.
"They came from that tournament that we had tried to attend and were rudely turned away from. I wish there was more of this treasure! I'd pay the queen's ransom to obtain more just so that I can be the most gorgeously attired foreign minister ever! Dorothy, check the Internet and see if anyone is selling these beautiful gems!" Relena, the princess of Sanc requested of herlong itme friend who promptly undertook the task.
"Relena, love, look! Your friend, Bulma, has posted these items to that shopping site you enjoy so much!" Dorothy exclaimed.
Relena placed the gem she held in her hand on her wide desk and moved to go investigate what her personal assistant was talking about and gasped when her eyes beheld the lovely treasure the blue haired woman was willing to part with. Grabbing the receiver to the ornate gold and pink toned princess phone that sat on the desk, Relana dialed the genius's number.
"Briefs residence, Bulma speaking," Bulma's voice answered in a sullen tone.
"Are you flippin' crazy? Why the hell are you selling that fabulous treasure they gave us from Hanging Neck Island?" the young blonde princess asked in shocked tones.
"Why should you care what I do with my portion of a bribe, Relena? You want them, buy them. I don't care. The only thing I want is that bastard's head on a spike and his body incinerated! I just don't know any Saiya-jin enemies that could perform the duty," Bulma spat.
"Yes, and I want Duo Maxwell, or whatever his name is now, drawn and quartered and fed to the street rats of L2 so that I can marry Heero but that's never going to happen, either, so let's just enjoy what they gave us. Why do you hate them so strongly?" the princess asked.
Well, that came from out of nowhere. Why did she hate the Saiyan prince and his race so much...? Was it because he had left her, had money she never knew about, turned her oldest and dearest friends to his side? Honestly, that was a question the blue haired genius even avoided asking and considering herself. Why. Even the fact that they preferred to same gender mate was a moot point, in all reality, but just the thought of her sweet, innocent, naive Goku enjoying that kind of lifestyle...! That was the crux of the matter. That Goku had no need of them any longer and he was being taken away from the Earth...
"I-I guess the truth is it's because I found one as a little boy in a wooded forest. I was impressed with his inhuman strength. I 'adopted' him, so to speak and we went on several great adventures together in search for the Dragon Balls. He would fight enemies and protect 'me' and the planet. Yamcha was strong and so was Tien, but nothing like Goku...I miss my friend and I guess I'm just so mad at the Saiya-jin for taking him away from this place. He belongs to us, not them!" Bulma hissed.
"Well, I could say the same thing now that Heero has a family that seems to have sprung up out of nowhere! And to find that street rat, Maxwell, is his cousin,, of all things! That's just too much to handle! I'd like to take that little miscreant and throw him into the sun!" Relana snapped back. "Well, this is not good for either of our blood pressures, what say we go shopping? I'll pick you, Hilde, your girl friends up and bring Dorothy with me and we'll go to L-Side-25. That place is the shopping mecca of the colonies," the princess invited.
"I'll be ready in a half hour. Thank, my friend, I needed this vent," Bulma smiled into the phone then the two bade good-bye and hung up.
An hour later, a long pink Rolls-Royce limousine pulled up into the long driveway of Capsule Corporation where Bulma, Chi-chi, Bulma's three girlfriends, sister in law and nieces were ready and waiting to go shopping with the ultra wealthy princess of Sanc.
"Bulma, love,I thought about what we last discussed, and since we both have a bothersome nonentity to extract from the lives of our loves. I'm going to give you Duo's phone number, .I want you ro call that rat-faced street whore and tell him to take your friend with him. I refuse to acknowledge him as nothing but a street rat,. There is a small war brewing brewing on Colony L-30 and there are children that have been orphaned because of the skirmish. Tell that rat boy not to tell anyone and to tell your friend that because the colony is an Earth property that he cannot be coupled with that, what did you call him?" Relena asked in child like innocence.
"A monkey-tailed abomination! I like the way you think, my friend. Now, everyone hush while I do this," Bulma said as she dialed a number that Relena called off to her.
"Don't forget about my boys, Bulma. I don't care what you do with that stupid Saiyan pig, but I want my boys!" Chi-Chi snarled as Bulma placed her call.
Etienne and his sister Etienna were with the Duo form the future sharing information regarding one another's lives when a shrill sound pierced the otherwise near silence. Etienne picked up the cell phone form his pocket and answered it.
"Etienne Yuy speaking, how may I...WHAT? A war? Shouldn't you be contacting the Preventers about this? What? I can't...Whatever, I'll try. Yeah." Etienne sighed heavily. "I gotta go. I'll see ya later," he said in a hollow voice.
"Twin, what's the matter?" Etienna asked, her face reflecting he bewilderment her brother felt.
"I can't talk about it except to...I'll see ya," and with that Etienne walked away from his double images in search of one large Saiyan male he had been instructed to take with him on his 'mission.'
The young royal Saiyan couple had just returned from a bi-gendered male search and were out in the arena watching their parents and granparents battle one another when..."Kakarrot, could you please meet me in the lobby?" a voice sounded over Kakarrot's scouter. Casting a glance at his silent mate, the large Saiyan rose to stand.
Vegeta looked up at his mate in bewilderment. "What ails, my one?" the prince asked.
"I-I don't know, only that one of the Gundam pilots asked to see Gohan, Goten and me. Will you be all right?" the large Saiyan asked.
"Of, course, love, I'll be fine. Go see what is happening," the prince nodded and Kakarrot left the arena and went in search of his sons.
In the lobby, Kakarrot and his sons found the person who had called him over the scouter.
"Etienne, what is it?" Kakarrot asked the braided chestnut haired young male.
"Yeah, man, what's going on? Tregeta and I were just about to fight for dominance!" Goeten smiled fereally.
"I just got a call about a war on Colony L-30 and there are war orphans that need our help. The colony is a property of Earth's, so that's why you three can help as Earth's protectors," Etienne explained.
"Earth's protectors? But We're Saiyans and we are all only here until the end of the Tournament," Kakarrot shrugged.
"The person who called me told me that if the four of us take on this mission, that she and another would leave us alone," Etienne said. "C'mon, we gotta get outfitted for space travel."
"We've fought in space before, after all, my people don't come from this planet," Kakarrot replied.
"Well, as a Gundam pilot, I need to a flight suit. DS2 can hold five persons and L-30 should be just on the bright side of Mars. Come with me to my suite," Etienne said and led the large Saiyan and his sons to his and Hiroshi's room.
"What's this all about, anyway? Shouldn't we tell the others, especially our mates?" Gohan asked as they entered the room and Etienne went to go change for space travel.
"The person who called me said not to or there would be supreme consequences. I can't risk anyone I love like that and I'm sure it's the same for you all as well," the braided young man sighed as he buckled a black military styled weapons belt to his shoulders then set about securing a weapons chest and finally slipping into a brown bomber pilot's suit. "Let's go. I need to be far away when I release DS2 or someone might get nosy," Etienne spoke and the fouur made their way form the hotel and immediately stole into a densely forested area.
Unbeknownst to the quartet, their actions had been observed by intense violet eyes tha looked out from a tenth story window, then the observer reached into the pocket of his tailored black business suit, lifted his cell phone from the pocket.
"Armblast, how can I help you?" a voice spoke.
"This is Sakyo, my brother. I just observed your son, my nephew, Vegeta's mate and his two eldest sons head into the forest. Find Hiroshi, Etienne's twin and his future self and ask them what they know," Sakyo asked his new found half brother.. "I smell the work of two conniving females who can't take rejection well," Sakyo mused.
"Mission accepted. I don't trust those females that we ejected earlier. They're too shrewd and may try something to ever outwit us. Get your business partner and the rest of the families and we'll meet in the conference room," Armblast replied, concluded the call then proceeded to find his new found family.
Ten minutes later found a gathered crowd in a large conference room waiting for answers.
"Etienna, dear, can you tell us why your brother and Kakarrot his elder sons would leave the hotel?" Armblast asked in a straight forward manner.
"Mirai Duo and I walking with twin when his phone rang. He answered it and got puzzled looke to his face," the female mirror of Etienne replied.
"Were you able to hear the other end of the conversation?" Sakyo asked and the girl nodded her head.
"Etienne answered and the woman replied that she was calling for a friend and that she had information regarding a war that was ensuing on Colony L-30. Etty asked her why she was not reporting to the Preventers. She said that there was no time and that he needed to take someone named 'Goku' with him as well as 'Goku's' eldest sons, Gohan and Goten. The caller then told Etty that there was an orphanage that was under siege. The caller stressed the fact that none of the three could inform their mates and they had to separate from them. She said Goku and his sons needed to be reminded that they were Earth's heroes and were needed more here than anywhere else. The caller said her name was Bulma," Etienna concluded.
Tempers flared but remained contained. Vegeta wrapped his haughty royalness around him like a cloak so that he would not fall apart. Piccolo silently seethed and Tregeta was at a lost. Hiroshi could not believe what he had heard! His love was being sent away to a colony he had never heard of and forced to fight. Relena was behind this, he just knew it! She would stop at nothing to get him to return to her. Taking a deep breath, Hiroshi looked over to Vegeta.
"Why? I never knew someone could hate and despise so strongly. Etienne has been noting but loyal to that bitch and fought just as hard as the rest of us to obtain the freedom the Earth is enjoying. Why?" the younger man asked, his eyes glazed as if in a fog.
"She hates anyone she considers beneath her. I was once like her and scoffed at those of low birth, even my own younger brother and I do not refer to Kale. When I met Kakarrot, I could not stand him because he was third class, a no one in Saiya-jiin hierarchy. When he beat me soundly into the ground, I came to respect him as at the time, we were the only two full-bloods on this planet. That woman, Bulma, hates me because she perceives me as an ever present threat to her precious 'Goku', whom she found when he was five, living on his own in a forested area. She feels she is his surrogate mother and that, first, Raditz and then myself, threaten that bond. If that other hellcat from the darkest pit of the Makai, had not tricked Kakarrot into marriage, Bulma would not have hesitated to wed him. I can't make my one see that these pathetic excuses of existence are just using him for his great strength and eternal youth. Not to mention that he and the boys are male breeders. The black haired hell-cat that birthed Gohan and Goten has an unnatural deep affection for both boys, especially Gohan. Hiroshi, we must adhere to that Earth saying that if we love something, we must set it free and..."
"If it comes back, it"s meant to be. I guess to keep that blonde pink bimbo happy, I'll return to her services but on my terms," Hiroshi nodded as he moved to the nearest vid-phone.
"And I will leave the planet in the best hands it has been my pleasure to fight with. I will head the Kale delegation in U.C.A.P. Sakyo, Shuichi, Ayame, I will open a branch of our business on Kale and train those of weak chi to the nature of our enterprise. Tregeta, I know how deeply you and Goten care for one another as do you and Gohan, Piccolo, but in their best interest, I feel it best that we all separate. I'll take the Namek-Saiyan children and place them with the Kami of Kale so that that being can raise the. Sire, Bardock, would you do me the honor of adopting Kakarrot's and my entire brood? We'll never see the one K'arrot is carrying now. Maigeta, you have the choice whether you desire to live with the female or come with the Saiya-jin. Tregeta, you return to the female as it is you that she's bitter over to begin with and that is why she has turned so vile towards us. I will keep Cilvi as it was her desire to become a full blood. You all, as well as Kakarrot, will always be welcomed on Kale as Saiyan blood is too strong to remain caged for too long," the prince nodded. Taking a look around,Vegeta heaved a deep sigh.
"Vegeta, there may be another solution. We're one of the largest employers and wealthiest companies on the planet. Should we pull out, off of the planet, many economies would collapse because we'll be taking U.C.A.P with us. There is an abandoned Colony that we could move out of this galaxy and into Kale's. We turn the existing structures over to those who will be left here. The island will remain for those who are considered persona non grata by those who think they are better than most, even though their own pockets are not so deeply lined. So, in addition to you all quitting this planet, I believe Sakageta Enterprises and U.C.A.P will also quit this planet. I will call the delegates together..."
"No need, my friend. Earth is represented because of me, anyway. I can..."
'NO! Sire, please. Mirai Heero and I can be Earth's delegate in U.C.A.P. You can sign your company over to us, we'll keep all the employees, just give us the background and we'll keep it afloat," Mirai Duo suggested after he had cut off Vegeta.
"While the idea has merit, the point is to pull our wealth from this planet, take the entire population of same-sex persons and others who are being singled out by their country's unfair governments and ultra wealthy persons, leave said persons to fend for themselves in every aspect of life, including protection from
other and outer worldly attacks. However, since space is not for everyone, we can have a new colony erected just for the like of us. Everyone will be treated as equals, we can cloak these islands so that they do not appear on any holo-map, radar or satellite and continue as before. Sound like a plan?" Vegeta suggested and those in the conference room agreed.
"Here's a thought. In this room alone is represented more wealth than this planet has ever seen and could ever hope to attain. I suggest that we create an entire humanitarian service in which we employ only those who are impoverished. We provide pre-paid health care, pay them at a higher pay grade than any employer on the planet and set them up with pre-paid credit and savings accounts. Nothing makes the ultra wealthy spit venom more than someone with more money than they have, providing aid to those who are less privileged," that surprising suggestion coming from Quatre Winner and the rest of the conference agreed wholeheartedly.
Plans to strip the Earth of the wealth of the Sakageta Enterprise, the vast wealth of the Winner Sheikdom, the combined wealth of UCAP and to hire and put to work all of he Earth's underprivileged population were drawn up and set in motion.
In the vast vacuum of space, the Gundam Deathsythe and it's four occupants sailed uneventfully towards the colony of L-30 and the skirmish they were informed was erupting and could only be settled with their involvement.
"If you ask me, this whole situation smells of a set-up. I think there are four females whose egos are slighted and they want ot punish us for being who we are and who we love. I don't want to live without Tregeta nor the chimps," Goten bemoaned.
"Well, since Piccolo and I have finally gotten together, I find it hurts to be even a minute away from him and the little sprouts," Gohan echoed his brother's sorrow.
"Well, I miss Hiroshi, too, and I'm wondering what I can do with our kids, as well. I've loved Heero since we were kids in the war. Damn, I always knew that she would end up winning. Anything she wants, she gets, and what does Etienne get, shit! After this fight, I'm going to find me a planet and become a hermit. No one will hear of Etienne Yuy, a.k.a. Duo Maxwell, again," Duo sighed as he piloted the massive Gundam.
Throughout the younger boys' discourse, Kakarrot remained silent and locked into his own thoughts regarding how he felt towards Vegeta and all the children they shared, finding out that he had a family that loved him, his Earth friends and the female that had found him as a little wild boy in the woods and how they had become friends. With a nod, Kakarrot silently vowed that once this war was squelched, he would return to his former life as Earth's protector and maybe request of his first friend to be his wife.