Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Against All Odds ❯ Precursors ( Chapter 21 )

Disclaimer: I don't own it, *sigh* it's been over 20 chapters and I am running out of quips. Oh wait, if I did own it, I would let Vegeta spank me. There I knew I had it in me.

Chapter Twenty One

Precursors

Bulma skimmed her hand over the soft white fur that was tipped in silver. The pelt was large enough to fit over her queen sized bed and still hang onto the floor. She lay amid her fluffy cocoon while absently thinking of Vegeta.

It had been months since she had last seen him on Primus and she missed him dreadfully.

All she could think about was him. Oftentimes she would find herself staring out into space, lost in her memories of their time spent together on Primus. More than once an experiment had been ruined because she sat reminiscing at the feel of his taut muscles against her skin or the sensual glide of his tongue against hers. As awful as it sounded she even missed the way he yelled at her.

For weeks she played out the scene in her bedroom before they went in front Frieza. Repeatedly, she asked herself if there was something that she could have done differently, if there was some way she could have avoided hurting him. Her whole soul ached with the knowledge that he had left on his mission hating her. His last look of fury directed towards her, before he had been dragged from the room, haunted her and the regret did not lessen with time like it should have.

She had been so worried after she found out what sort of world he had been sent too. Frieza had long since known about the planet, but because of the harsh climate it was worthless to the warlord and there had been no reason to purge it. He had merely sent Vegeta there to test his strength and his loyalty to the empire. It was a simple way to find out if Vegeta was indeed a threat to the throne.

Bulma had breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that Vegeta had chosen to blow up the world from orbit rather than go down to fight the beasts, much to Frieza's dismay at being outsmarted. She had chuckled out loud when the outrageous news of Vegeta's defiance reached her ears. Surely, he had figured out a loophole around Frieza's neat little trap, leaving the Emperor with no proof of Vegeta's true power.

She had been more than a little confused to find out that right after destroying the world he had retreated to a nearby planet, ignoring all orders to return to duty and instead drank himself into a stupor for a month straight. At least that's what the reports had said, but Bulma knew that Vegeta was incapable of such behavior. He would never display the disgusting amount of emotion that it would take to drink oneself into ruin. Rumors began to fly around the palace that Vegeta was so infatuated with her that he could not stand the fact that Frieza had stolen her away and people openly mocked the prince, much to her fury.

Those who came near her soon learned to keep their mouth shut. No one dared malign the prince within her hearing or they would have the misfortune of experiencing the razor sharp edge of her harsh tongue. More than one person had fled her presence in tears and even her co-workers began to give her a wide berth, which had served her well in the end.

Not long after that she found out that he had been reassigned to a distant base this time on a planet in the Drago Sector, she had sent him another care package via her informants. She had included the gravity cuffs that she had finally completed along with a vid chip addressed to Raditz. After careful consideration, she had forgiven Delia for her treachery and although she would never be able to trust her, Bulma felt that Raditz had a right to know what had motivated the woman to do what she had. As long as Frieza held Delia's son she was under his complete control. She had no will of her own and would obey him without question. Bulma would expect nothing less from a mother and it was a lesson that she took to heart.

She had been completely surprised when a few weeks later a capsule had arrived for her from Vegeta. Inside she had found the beautiful pelt and nothing else. He hadn't needed to include an explanation though, she understood him loud and clear. He had completed the purge on PX3 and he had become stronger for it. He had not gone on a binger like everyone assumed, but had stayed behind on the icy world and pushed himself to the limit. By sending her the pelt, he was telling her that he had not forgotten his promise to her and that he would continue to train until he could defeat Frieza. She dared to hope that he had forgiven her for her treachery back on Primus, maybe even to go as far as to understand why she had done it.

She tried to roll over onto her back, but the position was too uncomfortable and she was forced to stay on her side. Her time was nearing and she almost had everything completed. She had composed a data chip for Vegeta giving him all the information he would need, including some fascinating facts about some magical balls she had researched. She had a few last minute touches to finish up on the Saiyan pod she had recreated secretly in her lab and the only thing left was to send a message to Vegeta warning him of the impending danger.

Vegeta stood on the cusp of greatness. During her journey back to Capital World in which she had been closeted in Frieza's rooms she had been able to collect enough of the Ice-jinn's genetic material to do a power rating scan. She now knew exactly what level of power the terrible lizard possessed and she compared it with Vegeta's. He was so close to victory that it was exhilarating. All she had to do was make sure he survived long enough to defeat Frieza.

She tried to sit up but her stomach cramped viciously and she fisted her hands in the coverlet in an effort to starve of the pain. Her time had run out.

*~*

Vegeta, Raditz and Nappa touched down in the courtyard outside of the base. Every afternoon they flew off to the indigenous deserts on the other side of the world to train with Bulma's gravity cuffs. They created a field around the wearer allowing them to adjust the gravity according to their needs. Out of sight of the base residents Vegeta was able to train, while both Nappa and Raditz stood guard for any intruders that may try to spy on the prince. The cuffs didn't work nearly as well as the GR, but it was better than nothing and the only option that Vegeta had available to him.

Since returning from PX3 he had been sent on several purge missions and he used the time to train while Nappa and Raditz completed their job. Most purge teams took five days to decimate a world while in the past it had only taken Vegeta a mere twenty four hours. Now that it was necessary to train while away from the base, they stretched their missions out to the five day maximum, earning them curious looks, but not much else. It seemed that his month long "binge" had served him better than he intended. Everyone thought his lax attitude and slovenly work was due to his heartbreak at having Bulma torn away from him.

If only they knew how right they were. Outwardly he gave no sign to the internal turmoil he endured daily. As the weeks had passed his anger at her abated, leaving behind a deep longing in his heart. The weeks melted into months and his desire for her did not fade like he expected it too. Instead it grew steadily, veraciously consuming him, until he ached with need. He wanted to hold her and to touch her. He wanted to brush his lips against hers and to taste her very essence. But above and beyond that he wanted to be beside her once again, to have her smile up at him with eyes sparkling with happiness. He wanted to see that look of love that he had spied their last night together, directed at him again. All he had to do was destroy the one thing that separated him from his mate, the hateful tyrant Frieza.

Not long after he had returned, the woman had sent him the gravity cuffs and he had used them steadily ever since. There had also been a vid chip for Raditz, but Vegeta had no idea what it had said. Since Primus the usually cocky man had been sullen and withdrawn, barely speaking unless spoken too. Whatever had been on the chip hadn't improved his disposition either; in fact the man seemed even more depressed and angry. Vegeta hadn't concerned himself too deeply with the man's pain; he had his own problems to solve.

It had taken him almost two weeks to clean out the ice caves of PX3, until finally he slew the king of the beasts. A great behemoth of a creature that lived in the heart of the world, standing nearly twenty feet tall in all of its silver glory and as ferocious as a Dikainian Raptor. Vegeta had been careful not to harm its pelt when he had killed the creature and he had taken great delight in skinning it and curing the fur. He knew then that he would send it to Bulma as a reminder of his pledge, but also as a token of his affection. On his world, if you gift a female with a trophy from your kill, you are telling her that you prize her above all others. It was his promise to her that once he was ruler she would want for nothing as his queen.

He desperately tried not to think about the fact that she might reject him. Once he ruled, she would have the freedom to do as she pleased. If she chose to leave him behind and retire on her quiet planet then he had no choice but to abide by her wishes. He ruthlessly ignored the fact that she had become a craving in his blood that could not be purged. He was irrevocably linked to her and distance would not solve his problem. He was well and truly mated and the thought that she might spurn him pained him deeply, but as he had found, her wish was his command. He hated the fact that she had become such an infuriating weakness to him. That one small, simple woman could bring him to his knees with a toss of her teal hair, but he was at a loss of how to rectify the matter. So in a tried and true manner, he ignored his feelings, choosing instead to concentrate on present dilemma instead of looking to a murky future that was not even assured. Before he could have the woman, he had to kill his enemy.

The rush of power he had felt after his month long training session on PX3 had been incredible. He now knew what true strength was. He felt connected to the universe in a deep elemental way. He could hear the heart beat of the planet beneath his feet and see the flow of life in all the plants and animals. Without even trying he knew the power levels of those around him and if he unfurled the tendrils of his consciousness he could seek out the most powerful creatures of the universe as though they were pin pricks of light on the galactic map in his head. He had even cautiously felt out Frieza's power and was devastated to find that the nasty tyrant was still more powerful than him, but Vegeta was gaining ground quickly.

Instinct bade Vegeta to keep his power wound tight around himself, suppressing it so he would not call attention to himself. If he could feel out the power houses of the universe, then it stood to reason that Frieza could too. With that dawning realization, Vegeta also knew that Frieza hadn't really needed the scanner that day on Primus; he was merely playing to the crowd. He was just trying to bully them with scare tactics and mocking them with his superiority. He had only to look at Vegeta to know his power rating and if the serum hadn't leached his energy away he would have been blasted.

Soon he would be able to take his rightful place on the throne and rule the universe as the most powerful being in existence. He would don the Torque of Kingship and never again would it be ripped away. As for the woman, she would have to decide where she belonged; he could not force his will on her.

He strode down the halls of the base towards the mess hall, his ravenous stomach reminding him that he skipped breakfast. Outside of the doors, he was shocked when a lithe young woman launched herself into his arms. Her skimpy attire announced her as one of the base whores and Vegeta growled in anger. He reached around to grab her by the back of her dress to pull her off his chest when she leaned forward to whisper in his ear.

"I have a message from Bulma."

Instead of pulling her off, his fist flattened pushing her closer to him. He glanced around quickly noting that they were standing in the middle of the hall blocking the flow of traffic in and out of the cafeteria. Remembering that Bulma had told him once that the best place to share a secret was in public, he quickly dragged the woman into the dining area and chose an empty table in the middle of the room. Nappa and Raditz snarled at the warriors at the nearby tables causing them to be evacuated hastily. They each took a seat at a table on either side of Vegeta, their backs to their prince as if they were affording him privacy while he entertained himself with the whore.

Vegeta settled the woman so she straddled his hips and he could face her as they spoke. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in close as his hands slid up her thighs to rest on her bare buttocks. He slapped away the random thought that this was not nearly as pleasant with this woman as it had been with Bulma.

"Speak." He hissed confident that the curtain of her burgundy hair would shield his words from any bystanders.

"Frieza's men will be coming soon to take you back to Capital World." She rested her forehead against his and he resisted the urge to shake her off him with disgust. If Bulma sent her in person it must be important.

"Why?" Taking him back to Capital World made no sense. Frieza would want to keep Vegeta and Bulma as far apart as possible.

"I don't know. All I know is that Bulma is desperate. She begs you to play the game. Whatever that means." The woman muttered, almost missing Vegeta's flicker of distaste in his eyes, but was treated to a first hand view of his wicked sneer.

"I am tried of playing." She had been prepared for this response and had a scripted reply.

"She knows, but you are not ready yet. You must not jeopardize the plan."

"How does she know if I am ready or not?" Vegeta snarled and the woman glanced around quickly to make sure no one noticed before leaning down with a salacious smile on her red lips. She fluttered kisses over his cheek before whispering into his ear.

"I am to tell you that you aren't powerful enough and that you would know what that means." Vegeta frowned fiercely while he assimilated the information. He already knew that his power was lacking compared to Frieza's because he could sense his enemies strength, but he didn't know how the woman knew. She would have to get very close to the ugly lizard to do a scan on him or somehow collect his dna without his knowledge to do a power rating. His gut twisted as a whisper of dread was born in his mind. He pushed away his rising suspicion, concentrating on the problem at hand. He knew that any information from Bulma would be dead on accurate and he had only to trust her, but that didn't mean he had to trust this woman in front of him.

"Why didn't she send a holo chip?" Vegeta question warily, suspicion snaking through him.

"She is in lock down right now. This message had to be smuggled out of her cell by word of mouth and passed to informant to informant to reach you. That is why it is kept intentionally vague." Vegeta's fury was so great that he reared out of his chair, nearly knocking the woman to the ground. The only thing that stopped him was her locking her hands on the backrest of the chair behind him and giggling girlishly.

"Easy there big boy, no need to get so excited." She gushed loudly while sliding her body sensually up against him. He got her hint and he settled back down into his chair, letting his hands roam appreciatively up her back.

"Why is she imprisoned?" Vegeta growled harshly while trying to keep his voice low. No one mistreated his mate while he lived. His hands tightened on the woman's back and she winced in pain. She began to feel very uncomfortable sitting on the lap of the universe's deadliest predator.

"All I know is that in a few weeks time you will be brought before Frieza and asked to do something that you aren't going to want to do." The woman couldn't stop herself from squirming as the prince's cold eyes narrowed dangerously.

"What?" His voice was low and it promised dark punishments if he was not satisfied.

"I don't know." She stuttered out, fear seeding in her heart.

"What use are you? Get off." He started to push her from his lap, but her loyalty to Bulma gave her courage.

"Wait!" He paused, looking up at the wide eyed woman. "There is more." He settled back with a resigned sigh, knowing that it was in his best interest to hear everything the woman had to say.

"Bulma pleads with you to do as you are asked no matter how much it pains you. It's important for you to get back into Frieza's good graces."

"Like I care." He hissed.

"Sometimes you have to give up the little things to get what you really want. She knows you have the fortitude to complete the job." She whispered and Vegeta snorted, but he stared up at her. It sounded like something Bulma would say to him and he was sure it was a direct quote from the onna.

"I am to stress to you that this is Bulma's wish. What will happen will happen and it can not be stopped. If you refuse to do the task and allow someone else to do it, then she will never forgive you." Vegeta shifted uncomfortably at the ominous tone of the words. He didn't know what was going on, but he was pretty sure that he wasn't happy about it.