I wanted to get this up just in time for Valentine's Day, but I missed it. :)
"Gah! Can't I do ANYTHING without someone interfering?!"
Bulma had given up on trying to squirm her way out of Piccolo's hold, and had her arms folded over his chest as she limply hung from his grip. She was pouting dramatically, Piccolo's green fingers were holding her as far away from his body as possible with only one arm. He was holding her as if she were some foul piece of sludge that he didn't want getting on his clothes, and for all she knew, she was.
Piccolo was flying her home, and neither of the two were happy about it in the slightest.
"Will you just let me go? All I want is to find the 6th dragon ball - is that so hard to ask?" She was groaning now. "And why are YOU here instead of Vegeta, anyway? Where is he?!"
"This is the 3rd time someone has had to go after you in two days." Piccolo scowled. "You've been giving us nothing but trouble, and you might learn your lesson better if I'm the one to take you home this time. Vegeta suggested it, since we all know how terrified you are of me."
Cheeks turning red, Bulma had been ready for her retort, but she now clamped her mouth shut instead. It was true - she definitely did have her reservations about the man who was currently taking her home against her own will, but he didn't need to know that! Why would Vegeta tell him such a thing? 'I'm going to kill him!' She thought, furrowing her eyebrows. 'When I get back, Mister Saiyan Prince is-'
"You need to stop doing this." Piccolo suddenly snapped. "Every time you pull something, I'm the one who has to listen to Vegeta bitch and complain about it for hours in the gravity room. Not only is that beyond annoying, but it's also screwing up our training."
"That's exactly the point!" She shot back.
It had only been two days since Bulma had vowed to the saiyan prince that she would be successful in tarnishing his plan, and she had already attempted so much. Despite still being tired and suffering from random spurs of nausea, Bulma had given it her all.
She'd tried to convince Gohan to change his mind. She'd even tried to persuade him with the promise of an endless buffet. But the boy had only shrugged and said he could feed himself if he needed to.
On the first night after her vow, Bulma had announced to Vegeta that she'd never sleep with him again if he didn't stop with his plans. But he had only acted annoyed, told her to suit herself, and had gone to sleep without another word. This had been a bit of a disappointment for the Bluehead, especially since she had been wanting to have a tumble with him all day...
The following morning she had even capsulated the gravity room and tried to hide it! But Gohan, of all people, was successful in finding it tucked away in the same drawer that she kept her hairdryer in…
Feeling desperate, Bulma had even gone to the extreme measure of cutting off the gravity room's circuits, which rendered the machine useless. This had been the offense that angered Vegeta the most, and yet it still hadn't worked. After he realized that the machine wasn't going to power on, he'd gone storming into the house looking for her.
"WOMAN!" He'd barked. "WHAT did you DO to the gravity room!? IT ISN'T WORKING!"
"I'm only going to fix it AFTER we get the seventh ball!" She had yelled back. "You can't make me! I DARE you to try forcing me to turn it back on!"
"Fine, you banshee!" Vegeta had barked back. "Act smug, but know you have not won. Exaggerated gravity is useful, indeed, but we don't NEED it to effectively train! Just watch and see!"
And then, screaming obscenities and blasting a tree down in his path, Vegeta had stormed outside and retreated back into the gravity room, refusing to buckle under her sanctions.
… And that had been that.
There was no way Bulma could use physical force on anyone, and since nobody would listen to anything she said, she had decided to carry on with searching for the dragonballs on her own…
… The first time, she took off while everyone was locked away in the gravity room. She'd made it an hour before Vegeta showed up in front of her plane and ripped her out of it. He'd yelled at her about this the entire way home, which had been a predictable rant that consisted mostly of insults and shouts about how irresponsible, unsafe, and idiotic she was.
The second time Vegeta had been even more angry, and she'd only managed to be airborne for about 20 minutes before he showed up. The saiyan had been so mad that he hadn't spoken to her, hadn't even LOOKED her way for the rest of the day. This was an interesting turn of events, especially considering that the last thing he'd said to her that morning was that he was going to keep a very close eye on her.
Of course, each time Bulma tried to argue that it made sense for her to at least fetch the remaining dragon balls while they all trained, but the saiyan wouldn't hear any of that.
"Even if you didn't have a run in with the Androids, do you really think it would go without conflict?" He had snapped at one point. "You attract confrontation wherever you go, and someone needs to be there to get you out of it!"
"Yeah? Well I was doing JUST fine before I met you, and I'll be perfectly fine NOW!"
… Kami, her words had gone to deaf ears.
… Now she was being hauled back by Piccolo, who didn't seem any happier about this than she was. Each time she was forced out of her plane it only made her angrier and more determined than before, and now she was thoroughly pissed. Somehow it hurt that Vegeta had sent this green monster to retrieve her instead, especially since he knew just how uneasy it would make her. The Bluehead was already planning her next course of action, biding her time until they reached the house.
"I wish you would just stop doing this." Piccolo growled suddenly, which effectively broke the Bluehead out of her brooding. "You're so annoying, you know. I don't see why Vegeta puts up with you. He can't even handle when his footing gets backwards during a kata. How the hell does he tolerate you?"
"I'm not that bad..." Whether she wanted to be or not, Bulma was actually offended by what this guy said. Why did she even care what he thought of her, anyway? "I just want to find the dragon balls, and I don't want Gohan getting hurt. Is that too much to ask?"
"No, but clearly Vegeta won't stand for you hunting them down right now, so you might as well just stop. He throws a tantrum each time you pull something, and I'm getting tired of dealing with him. Whether you like it or not, we're doing this. He's more than sure that we'll succeed, and if somehow we do fail then I know he'll be convinced that it's time to get the damned balls."
"Yeah, but if you guys DO FAIL, then the balls might not even exist anymore!" Bulma's voice began to croak, and she had to quickly bite her lip to keep from losing her composure. Once again the worry of impending doom was kicking back up, and as soon as the words left her mouth there was a lump building in her throat. "Vegeta and Gohan might not even exist anymore, either... Why do I feel like I'm the only sane one here? I don't understand why you guys are acting like it's all so simple, when it's not..."
"He'll be fine." Piccolo cut in. "I won't let anything happen to him. If a worst-case scenario arises, I'll make sure he gets out safe."
"But..."
"Look, I wasn't planning on telling the kid, because he's even more worrisome than you. You told him about my connection to the dragon balls, though, so he and I had a talk. Nothing bad is going to happen to me, and if something does, there is another way."
This was all getting so morbid, and so quickly, too. Bulma was curious, but she didn't want to ask. It seemed that everyone was acknowledging the risks more than she'd given them credit for, but now she felt even worse. If they knew what types of horrors could ensue, and they weren't just ignoring them, then why even risk it?
Why throw themselves into a preventable situation that had such dire consequences? Especially when they knew what exactly could happen?!
"Piccolo..." Bulma sighed. "What do you mean there's another way...?"
"I have heard reputable rumors that there is another set of dragon balls. They are on my planet of origin. If the balls we have on Earth stop working, then the ones on Namek will be able to correct things. Vegeta should have no problem finding Namek, either. From what I hear, he's aware of nearly every traversed planet there is."
"Wait- he shouldn't have trouble? So he isn't even confident about this?!"
"He doesn't know."
"WHAT?!"
"If he knew about my connection, he wouldn't stand for me being present during the battle. He'd want to take the kid on his own, and it would only end up causing more of a power struggle than there already is. I may not participate in the fight between them and the Androids, but I want to at least be there in case things get disastrous. There's no way I'm leaving Gohan in only his hands."
This actually comforted the Bluehead - to an extent. It was reassuring to hear just how protective Piccolo was over Gohan, that was to be sure. "But... Vegeta still needs to know. I figured he already did, and was just being crazy. But now... if he knew..."
"Tell him if you want, it's not like I can stop you." Piccolo grunted. "But the guy is an asshole. I don't like talking to him any more than I have to."
"Really?"
"He is the least calm person I've ever met, and he loses it over any small thing. It's despicable. Just because we need to work together right now doesn't mean I have to like him. Gohan is almost as strong as Vegeta now - when he's completely powered up. His training is going well, and that's all I care about."
"Huh..." Bulma blinked, and she remained quiet for several seconds. Something just didn't add up. "...But, doesn't he know you aren't planning to fight? Isn't he curious about that?"
"He thinks it's funny." Piccolo rolled his eyes. "He thinks it's because I'm scared and want to learn something from watching... Of course he doesn't assume there could be any other reason I'd want to stand back. No - he immediately decided it had to do with his own ego. I told you - the guy is an ASSHOLE."
As much as she'd had her concerns about Piccolo, Vegeta's decision to have him go after her and to scare some sense into her had greatly backfired. Now the Bluehead felt more at ease with Gohan's situation, and there was even a new hope that she'd get them all to stop with their plans!
Once she had the chance to talk to Vegeta and inform him of Piccolo's case, the Bluehead was completely sure he would find this motivating enough to actually hunt down the rest of the balls instead of pursuing this stupid scheme!
'So, THERE,' The Bluehead thought smugly as the closed her eyes to wait out the rest of the trip. 'Take THAT, Vegeta. Soon you'll be telling me I was the smart one all along...'
.
"YOU FUCKING IDIOT!" Vegeta was barking as Piccolo landed with Bulma still in tow. "HOW MANY TIMES ARE YOU GOING TO TRY THIS WITH ME?!"
She smoothed out the fabric of her shirt before patting her hair down, and then Bulma finally looked towards Vegeta. But he was already storming away - instead of to her.
It seemed that the saiyan prince had sensed their arrival, and had taken a break from his exercising just to stalk outside and yell his way through their landing. He was now heading back for the gravity room, and Bulma jumped after.
"Vegeta, wait!"
She was running for him, but the saiyan abruptly turned on his heels to glare at her. The look on his face was so intense, his movements so swift, and it brought the Bluehead to a complete stop just a meter away from him.
He wasn't speaking - only glaring - but it became clear that he had no intentions on actually yelling anything. And so Bulma started again. "Vegeta, I need to talk to you."
She was panting, and her words only deepened his harsh look. "Listen to you, Woman. You can't even move twenty paces without being rendered breathless. You are obviously unwell, and yet you ACTUALLY think you'll be successful in fetching the dragon balls alone. How STUPID."
"But-"
"I have NOTHING to say to you!" He barked. "Now get back in the house, and DON'T attempt another runaway! Do you understand that?!"
A vein was starting to throb in his forehead, and behind them Bulma could hear Piccolo grumbling to himself about an "insufferable baby". Normally she would have been upset by the tone the saiyan prince had used towards her, but the Bluehead had expected it.
The entire point to all of this was to piss him off, wasn't it?
She wanted him to get so aggravated that he finally gave up and let her have her way, simply in not wanting to deal with it anymore…
"Okay..." She said, sending him an innocent shrug. "Fine. We'll talk later tonight. After you've waisted another full day with training. Have it your way."
Vegeta didn't reply. He simply turned around and stormed into the gravity room, slamming the door behind as he went. Bulma briskly walked past Piccolo, who was now grumbling about how "some people need to learn how to relax, man." as he followed Vegeta's lead.
She strolled into the house, threw herself on the couch, and kicked up her legs. It would have taken a lot for her to remain so calm after being told she didn't have a right to even move around on her own, but at that moment she was actually content. Once Vegeta learned about Piccolo, he wouldn't want to proceed. She knew him well enough to at least know that. He would risk his own life with his antics, but he wouldn't risk losing his one chance as receiving his wish...
"Right, Vegeta..." She sighed, deciding now was a good time to take an afternoon nap. "Vegeta will have zero points, and Bulma will have one... I knew I was going to win…"
..
A loud choking sound elicited from the Bluehead's throat as she sat upright on the couch. Something had stirred her awake, and a deep sense of horror was immediately upon her. It had been so strong that she had to desperately gasp to swallow in all the oxygen her body needed, her heart feeling as if it had been petrified from even beating.
The living room was completely dark, and Bulma quickly realized her nap had stretched into hours. She had slept the rest of the day away, and there was no telling what time it was.
Yet she sat in place, too horrified to move. Gasping and coughing, trying to overcome the shaking sense of doom that was shadowed on her. It was clear that her body was trying to alert her of something looming, and all she could do was stare into the darkness as her mind flew.
Nothing good could come from something that felt like this...
...
"You worked up a sweat today." Vegeta was saying. "Not bad, considering we don't even have a GRAVITY MACHINE." The saiyan was pulling his shirt back on as he grumped. Their training session hadn't been the most effective - they had had much better days, by far.
"Great. Don't even start again about the gravity machine being out." Piccolo was standing beside Gohan, and he was ready to retreat to his tree for the night. Each day spent locked between these walls with Vegeta seemed to feel even longer than the last, and he had been waiting for the day to end since the morning.
"Take a shower before you go to sleep, kid." Vegeta was grumbling now, nodding at Gohan as he did so. "I don't want the couches to start stinking of our training sessions."
"A shower? Now?" Gohan let out a loud groan, sounding somewhat like a confused sheep. "But I'm tired!"
"You need to learn proper hygiene at some point." The saiyan prince growled back.
"If the couches are an issue, then you could start sleeping outdoors again." Piccolo suggested. "I think the house if making you go soft, anyway."
"But I LIKE the couch!" Gohan laughed this time, shaking his head at his green mentor. "You should try it, Mr. Piccolo!"
"I don't need that." He smirked back.
Vegeta let out a gagging noise, one that he always produced when he felt that Piccolo and the kid were starting to become too sappy with one another. "Speaking of soft," He began, readying himself to shoot an insult at Piccolo for how sentimental he was with the boy, but it never left his lips.
Instead the saiyan froze, his face dampening.
Gohan and Piccolo had been looking his way, both prepared to hear some snarky comment about their weaknesses. It seemed odd when it never came, and the distracted glint that formed in Vegeta's eyes was enough to raise concern.
"What is it?" Piccolo inquired, but he didn't receive a reply.
"Mr. Vegeta?"
"Damn!" The saiyan prince suddenly barked. A wave of energy erupted around him as he abruptly powered up.
"What's wrong?" Gohan tried again.
"It's BULMA!" The saiyan took off for the door.
"What's wrong with Miss Bulma?" Gohan turned to Piccolo.
"She feels fine to me." Piccolo shrugged. "And she's not going anywhere. I don't know what his problem is."
"She's afraid, you idiots! Something's wrong!"
"Afraid?" Piccolo and Gohan both asked in unison. And then Gohan stepped forward. "How do you know? Can you sense emotions, Mr. Vegeta?!"
Of course he could! Did they mean to say that neither of them could feel the horror dripping from that woman's aura at that exact moment? Vegeta would have yelled something about how stupid they were, but there was no time for that!
In an instant he was flinging open the door to the capsule house, and he quickly threw the light switch. He looked into the living room to see Bulma, who was visibly shaking on the couch. She was holding her knees, and a look of relief fell on her face when she saw him.
"What's wrong?" He demanded, running to her side. "What happened?"
"I don't know." She replied sheepishly, and she reached her arms out to grab for him.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" He held her back, though his posture was stiff and he was obviously on edge.
"I feel like I'm being watched." She choked, so shaken that the words were having trouble leaving her lips. She was whispering, still shaking, and the Bluehead didn't even think to ask how he'd known something was wrong. Bulma swallowed down a lump, her voice even softer when she spoke again. "I feel like I'm going to die... Something terrible is about to happen."
"Watched...?" Vegeta let go of her, careful not to let her fall on the floor as he did so. Bulma curled back into the couch, watching as the saiyan made his way back to the house's front door. "Hold on." He said, listening carefully. Sure enough, in the distance he could hear a low humming sound that was piercing through the night sky. "Shit."
"What?" Bulma asked, but the saiyan ran out. "Veggie! Wait!"
He appeared right in front of her again, looking exasperated. "Now isn't the time, Woman! This isn't good!"
"In the bedroom, on the shelf by the wall." She replied. "The senzu beans-"
But the Bluehead didn't have to explain any further. In an instant Vegeta had disappeared from view, and a moment later he was back in front of her, brandishing the bag like a prized jewel. "Good thinking." He said. "Now stay here."
"Be careful!" She yelled, feeling helpless as she watched him darting away again. And that was all she was able to say before the door slammed, and she was left by herself in the quiet of the dark house…
When Vegeta returned to the outdoors, the small bag stuffed in a pocket, Piccolo and Gohan were standing alert.
"It's them." Piccolo announced when he spotted the saiyan prince, nodding towards the sky.
"Of course it is!" He barked back. "What did you THINK it was?!"
But now wasn't the time to lecture those two on their slow wits. He needed to create a diversion to steer the androids away from the house. To keep them from discovering their base. "Follow my lead!" He shouted, not even looking back to confirm they understood before he took off into the air.
"We've already been this way, Eighteen!" Seventeen was yelling over the wind that was slapping him in the face. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
"We haven't!" She scowled. "For the last time, we took off that other way when we came through this area. There might be an entire city we missed over here!"
"Well, I say there's nothing, because we've already been through here!"
"We have NOT!" Eighteen stopped in place, twirling around to look her twin brother in the eye. "I'm sick and tired of you always trying to dictate everything!"
"It's because I'm right." Seventeen, who had also come to a stop, replied calmly, despite the fact that he was clearly wrong.
"You aren't. When that guy disappeared and we went off looking for him, we headed in the opposite direction. THAT way." Eighteen pointed her finger out to the side for effect. "You're the one who's mixed up."
"Whatever." The male slicked his shoulder length black hair behind his ear, a mimic of his blonde sister's trademark move. "We're here, aren't we? Let's just go check it out, but when it turns out I'm right you'll owe me."
"You're on!" Eighteen glared competitively, but just as she was about to hold her hand out for a high five, something warm braised past her face. She watched in slow motion as something bright flew by and collided with her brother's neck, sending him shooting down into the crust of the Earth with a loud rumble as he collided into it.
It didn't even take turning around for Eighteen to decide who it was, and the voice she heard only confirmed this.
"So. Back for more, are you? I can't say I blame you, girl. I wouldn't be able to get enough of myself, either."
Eighteen didn't flinch at reaction to Vegeta's taunts. She didn't even look at him. Slowly and calmly, she tilted her head towards the Earth and called down to the hundreds of meters below. "So! You ready to admit I was right?"
As if on cue, Seventeen appeared right beside her. His clothes were considerably more tattered than they had been a moment earlier, but otherwise he looked completely untouched. "Yeah, I guess you were right." He muttered, and it was amazing that he didn't even appear to be annoyed at his patted the dust from his shoulder. Then he looked up at Vegeta, shooting the saiyan a shrug. "Hey, you got stronger."
"Of course I did!" Vegeta frowned back. "Are you some kind of idiot?"
But Seventeen didn't care to reply to that. He merely cracked his knuckles, one by one, still looking Vegeta in the eyes. And then, when he was done, he finally blinked. "Okay." He said. "It's time to have some fun."
"Good luck." The saiyan began to build distance between himself and the androids. "You'll have to catch me first, you dimwitted earwig"
"What does that even mean?" Seventeen turned to his sister, but Vegeta didn't give Eighteen time to reply. He took off, catching the attention of both of the Androids, who immediately shot after him.
"I'm not ready to do this!" Gohan was wailing as he and Piccolo flew. They were tracing Vegeta's ki as he led the Androids away. It seemed as if they were heading back to the camp that the boy and his mentor had resided at when they'd originally started training together.
"You've been saying you want to get this over with, haven't you?" Piccolo was right behind the boy as they flew.
"But not like this! I thought it would be first thing in the morning or something! We were training all day! I'm too tired now!"
"So, it was a good thing Bulma deactivated the gravity machine, after all! You haven't been exerting yourself nearly as much as you normally do. You'll be fine! Just remember to do your job!"
The boy gulped. His job, as Piccolo referred to it, was to do exactly what he was now. He was supposed to create diversions, make noise, attract the attention of the Androids. And then when they went after him, he was to lead them on a goose chase, looping them around and right back to Vegeta when they least expected it.
That was why so much stress had been put on him building up his speed. That was why he had been forced to fly countless laps under high gravity, trying to beat his own record each time.
He wasn't even expected to throw any punches at the Androids, unless it became necessary, of course. But that didn't make him any less nervous about what was uncontrollably laying ahead. Deciding it was best not to focus on that and to try and stay calm instead, Gohan gulped. He wished this flight would last for days, yet he knew it would be the shortest flight of his life…
.
"So, what we have here are a couple of fools." Vegeta had reached his destination, standing by the shore of the lake as the Androids closed in on him. He was pleased - very pleased. His speed had improved drastically since his last run-in with the blonde one a month prior. All of the time he'd spent locked away in the gravity room had really done its part! The two had actually fallen behind as he'd flown, and 10 seconds had passed before they were finally catching up to him.
And it wasn't just the Androids that were arriving - Piccolo and Gohan were closing in, too.
They were lingering, intentionally keeping their distance from the Androids, but Vegeta could sense them. It wouldn't be long now.
For a moment the saiyan weighed the idea of throwing all he had planned away. Hell, it was clear that he'd grown faster than them! Surely if he raised its ki to the limit he'd finally be able to defeat them! The saiyan prince thought this - he heavily considered it, but at the last moment he changed his mind.
As the Androids grew closer, and he got a better look at Seventeen's unscathed body, Vegeta furrowed his brows. He had knocked that boy to the Earth. The Android had fallen hundreds of meters, and he wasn't even sporting a dent in his shell.
No, he was going to have to stick to the plan. And, to be honest, he wasn't completely opposed to this. It had been a very long time since he had fought in this way, and he was going to enjoy it.
"Good, you finally stopped!" Seventeen was calling out to him. The Androids had landed on the other side of the lake. Their faces were just as monotonous as ever, but the saiyan could tell they were finding amusement in this. They had no idea what to expect, and they were anxiously waiting to see what his move would be. Like a couple of children awaiting wrapped gifts.
"Hey!" Eighteen was calling. "Are you ready, or what? I'm starting to get bored!"
Gohan and Piccolo were slowing down, but they were hovering just above the tree tops in wait. Vegeta grinned, not even bothering to respond to the Androids. He simply raised his arm to reveal a certain device he used only on special occasions, and then he pressed a button.
In an instant the device began to elicit a warmth as it worked, and a moment later something bright shot up into the sky.
"Hey... What is that?" He heard Seventeen muttering to his sister.
"Not sure." Eighteen was replying.
The saiyan prince could feel it. Even as the moon was still rising into the sky and forming over their heads, his skin was curling with anticipation. "Luckily for you idiots, I have the capability to artificially project 17 million zeno units of Blutz Waves into the sky for absorption - even in the event that there is no full moon!" He barked. His fangs were starting to unsheathe and grow as he screamed, his heart pumping with adrenaline as his skin began to stretch.
"Blutz Waves?" One of the Androids muttered, almost sounding as if they were going to laugh now.
"Watch now, I wouldn't want you to miss this!" Vegeta's voice was deepening as his snout began to form, and in that moment he lost any care to continue with his taunts. The change was taking place, the artificial moon glistening across the hairs that were actively projecting out from his skin.
He watched with manic laughter as his height grew, lifting him up over the tops of the trees. Seventeen and Eighteen were still standing at the edge of the lake, both staring up at him as his transformation came to an end. The saiyan could tell, as he laughed and peered down at them, that they hadn't been expecting this.
Why, that look in Eighteen's cold eyes - was that actually a hint of fear he could see?
'That's right,' He thought, taking a step forward that left the Earth shaking when his giant foot hit the ground. 'Just you wait, Bulma. These teenagers don't stand a chance now. You'll see that I was right all along...'
Hope you enjoyed!