Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ And We Were Angels ❯ Great Realizations ( Chapter 17 )

And We Were Angels

By: AMCM74

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Chapter 17 - Great Realizations

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It was Thursday night. Bulma sat back on her couch turning the address card over and over again in her hands. Hikari's beach house was a two and a half hour drive from West City. Although she had never been there herself, Hikari had been gracious enough in the past to host several company parties there. She had seen it in several photographs. Large and spacious, it was fit for a king. Bulma sank deeper into the cushions and tipped her head back to gaze at the ceiling. There had to be a way out of this. No situation is insurmountable if one can just clear their mind, and focus on the problem at hand.

However, it was hard to maintain a train of thought when she had so much going on in her head. First there was her father. She had given unending thanks that his operation had been a complete success, and that he would be returning home on Monday. The live-in nurse she had hired for him had sterling recommendations and had, without cohersion, signed the confidentiality papers that Bulma had drawn up.

Tea was actually growing on her. She was very good for Yamcha, kindhearted and sweet, but not so sweet so as to leave one with a sugary aftertaste as a result of speaking to her. She seemed to be adjusting well to Bulma's new relationship with Yamcha. She knew that for her there was little choice in the matter. Yamcha had made it perfectly clear to both women that despite the fact he and Bulma were no longer romantically involved, their friendship was still infinitely valuable to him.

Closing her eyes, Bulma sighed deeply. The only trouble now was Capsule Corporation. She had to get the company back into her father's capable hands and away from that sleazy Hikari, before anyone could figure out what was going on.

Vegeta had made his stance on the Hikari subject perfectly clear. He wanted her to tell Hikari to take his proposal and piss off. He desired nothing more than for her to find another way to deal with her predicament. Leave it to an angel to think things were that simple. It was hard not be lulled by his words while standing so close to his radiant warmth. His handsome features turned her brain to mush. Just being around Vegeta brought on a sense of euphoria.

Insisting that he stay away from her was for the best. The look in those dark eyes as his brows narrowed with disappointment was like a crushing blow to her heart. Damn him for being so gorgeous. Ohhh, the things she wanted to do to him. Her red lips curved up into a smile as a few wicked thoughts made their way into her wayward mind.

Snapping back to reality, she shook her head and dispelled the images. No, no, no, she did not have time for this. Tomorrow would be a long hard day at Capsule. Bulma was determined to make some headway in the lab on the Marico project before leaving for Hikari's beach house. Rising to her feet she wandered toward her room. With a yawn she prayed that some idea would come to her on how to handle the lecher before it was too late.

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"You are running out of time." Radditz whispered.

"Don't you think I already know that?" Vegeta stared at the Capsule compound, watching the lights fade from room to room, as his charge made her way to her bedroom.

Radditz moved to stand next to the sulking angel. "I can help you."

"No, thank you."

Radditz scowled. Why was Vegeta being so obstinate about this? Surely he had to realize that with one word Radditz could have Hikari wiped off the face of the planet. Then with that accomplished, nothing would stand between Vegeta and his wicked desires. The bond between Vegeta and the Divine Realm would be severed by Hikari's blood. Bulma would be the start of Vegeta's new exciting life in the darkness. The obvious strings would grant Radditz full power over Vegeta, not that he had any intention of informing the possible recruit of his devious plans.

The memories of Bulma had been firmly implanted in Vegeta's mind. The sheer force of will that the angel must possess to stave off his desire was amazing, but irritating to the Fallen One nonetheless. Waiting was something Radditz despised. An existence of getting what he wanted when he wanted it had left him completely spoiled. "There is nothing she can do to prevent Hikari from having his way with her."

Vegeta growled, but Radditz missed the warning.

"You seriously don't believe this will be the last time he puts his hands on her. Vegeta, once that man knows what you and I know, there will be nothing within your power that you can do to save her. Eventually you will have to let me"

Vegeta turned and with one swift and unsuspecting move, planted his fist on Radditz' jaw. He fell backward from the abrupt attack and grabbed his face. He was then rewarded with a high kick that rammed the heel of Vegeta's boot to his temple. The impact was enough to send Radditz sprawling into the dirt. He didn't remain there for long. Vegeta grabbed the Fallen One's shirt and hauled him to his feet. Radditz doubled over as a result of getting short but painful jabs to the stomach. Vegeta growled and inflected each word with increasingly harder punches. "Did. I. Ask. For. Your. Help?"

"Stop it!"

Vegeta froze at the sound of Goku's voice. Rolling his eyes he dropped Radditz and turned to face the taller angel. "Why do you always have to pop in and ruin things when I am actually enjoying myself?"

"You have a mission to complete, and you don't have the time to be messing around with Radditz." Goku remained at a distance. "Even though I actually love the idea of you kicking the shit out of him, it's not going to do you any good."

"And since when have you become my keeper?" Vegeta snapped back.

Goku remain silent as Radditz pulled himself off the ground. The Fallen One looked at the two, and the realization was now clear in his eyes. It was Radditz' turn to be shockingly amused. Vegeta had just said it himself. Although he was being sarcastic, he didn't catch the full impact of what he had just said. "He's right, isn't he?" Radditz asked.

Goku lifted his head. "Vegeta, go check on your charge."

"I can't. She has banned me from going anywhere near her until this ordeal with her blackmailer is over." Vegeta crossed his arms. "Not that I would go anyway. I have never been one for taking orders from you. Last time I checked I was the Chancellor of Angels. That puts me in charge of you while on this plane."

"Awwww crap!" Goku ran his hand through his ebony hair. "Don't start pulling rank on me now."

"I am only doing it because I am not in the best of moods. If you want me to be truthful, making you miserable would sincerely brighten up my day." Vegeta smirked. "Now, care to tell me exactly what Radditz is babbling about?"

Radditz watched Goku flinch and it was answer enough for him. "Oh, this is rich! Are you seriously telling me that God himself has set up an angel baby sitting program?" Loud laughter cut through the night air. "So tell me Goku, do you carry along a diaper bag for Vegeta when you're guarding him?"

"Shut up!" Goku snapped back and tilted his head to the side with irritation. The urge to pick up the beating where Vegeta had left off was tempting beyond reason.

Vegeta's eyes grew wider as he realized the implications of what was being said about him. The fact that Goku had not immediately denied Radditz's claim was like a bell going off in his head. He began to remember all of the events that took place since Goku had assigned him to Bulma Briefs. Shaking his head side to side, he directed his rage at Goku and shouted, "Damn you! Where do you get off?!"

"Now Vegeta, you have to admit that your faith was more than waning. Actions had to be taken." Goku put out his hand to pacify the fuming angel. "He is only doing what is best in your current situation."

"Then DAMN him too." Vegeta calmly replied, knowing quite well that he had just blasphemed the Lord.

"Vegeta!" Goku paled. He looked as if Vegeta had physically struck him.

Radditz clapped his hands together like a child on Christmas Day. "YES!"

Goku and Vegeta turned to Radditz at the same time and in unison shouted "SHUT UP!"

"Let me make something perfectly clear to you Goku." Vegeta locked his eyes on the Angel of Death, "I do not need you meddling in the events of my existence. I know better than a any mortal the line between right and wrong. It is well within my power to make my own decisions on what side I choose to house my allegiance. Not once have I ever given the Almighty any reason to doubt my service to him. So this smacks of something else entirely."

"Ohhhhhh." Radditz grinned and looked at Goku. "Is he telling the truth? Are you doing this of your own accord, brother?"

Goku ran a hand over his face and let out a sound of pure exasperation. "There is no way to answer that question without it backfiring somehow. I am just not going to answer."

"NOT FAIR!" Radditz shouted back. "You have always been like that! Walking along the fence, never taking any chances. I've always hated that about you. Mr. Goody Goody forever doing the right thing. It makes me sick!"

"GOOD!" Goku tossed back "I am sure it's the last thing a traitor like you would comprehend. Considering I don't want to be anything like you, I believe that was a complement."

Vegeta was shaken. He didn't like the idea of Goku watching over him. It was beyond demeaning. Yet, listening to the debate between the brothers left him cold. It was disturbing to see how much of his thinking was reflected in the words of the Fallen One. If this was true, was he really that close to losing the battle and joining the ranks of hell?

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Bulma turned the prototype's main drive on it's side and stepped back to observe its components. Readjusting her protective goggles, she mused over the Marico project. The fact that it was still not running had caused her to partially disassemble it. The whole thing was confusing. With all she knew about the dynamics it should be working. The question was, why wasn't it? There had to be some simple and easy way to get the damn thing to turn over.

She moved back to the drafting desk and removed her goggles. Leaning over the blueprints she had drawn up, she retraced the instructions with her finger. Exasperated, she shook her head and slammed her hands down on the desk.

Bulma knew she needed to completely focus on this project. Glancing at the clock, she watched the minute hand shift position and she shuddered. Every second brought her closer to Hikari. She reached out and fumbled with a set of magnets, pushing them around on the table.

The invisible barrier reminded her of Vegeta. The closer she tried to get to him, the farther he would back away. The same analogy could be used to describe herself and Hikari. All one had to do was flip the magnets. She could run as fast as she could, but he would still follow close behind. Bulma lifted the magnets and studied them for a moment. All relationships were nothing more than magnetism. One would either be attracted or repelled.

Then, her large blue eyes opened wide. "THAT'S IT!" She jumped off the chair so fast that she almost fell over. Bulma reached out, grabbed the phone and called her secretary. "This is Miss Briefs. I need you to get me some information on my desk as quickly as possible." She looked at the clock on the wall. With any luck it would not be too late.