Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Another Life ❯ Compromises ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters seen in the show, manga, movies, etc. I also do not own a soul, since I've pledged it to a certain flame-haired prince. Damn my gambling habits >.<

A/N: So…it's been a while. A lot of things have been going on, but I've finally managed to get this chapter out. Since I've found a renewed interest for this fic, I will try to keep the updates more regular. I appreciate all of the reviews and emails; it really encouraged me to get this out despite all the recent craziness in my life. Hope you enjoy; I was glad to finally be able to get a little B/V action in ^_~.

Another Life

Chapter 10- Compromises

"Dad, there's no one here." Bardock could feel the faint flicker of his eldest son's ki and hear his voice, but that was it. No light penetrated the obscuring blackness of the underground cave, and after they had split up to search the branching passageways, even the glow from Radditz's ki had disappeared from sight. They hadn't been here long, but it was quickly becoming clear that most of the low, craggy tunnels that cut their way through the surrounding stone circled back around to the larger main area where they had first entered; but they couldn't give up, not until they searched all of the tunnels.

What made things more frustrating, was the fact that ki signatures seemed to be significantly dampened within the cave. Bardock was beginning to suspect that maybe the nature of the thick, gray unidentified stone that made up the entirety of cavern was to blame for that small annoyance; it was possible that it contained an element that successfully concealed ki and allowed any occupants with low ki readings that wished to remain hidden to seek refuge behind its walls. The only problem was, they had no idea how the were supposed to find the Meru-jin scientist in such a place.

"This is where Mickal told us come," Bardock called out as he continued to scan the cracks and crevices in the wall for a possible doorway. The dark gray stone of the cave was full of shadows, grooves, and indentations, making it difficult for even his sharp Saiyan eyes to see any difference in the pattern that could mean a secret entrance. "I don't think he would have lied to us."

"Maybe we misunderstood his message," a new voice speculated loudly from the darkness to his right. Bardock cast his senses out in the direction of the voice; he could barely make out Garris' ki signature. "What were his exact words?"

"'Seek me beneath light, my friend, where the tide has disappeared and the rock has become a mere shadow of itself.' There aren't many places like that on this planet, since the rest is just desert land. It took me a week just to figure out that he meant the planet Rhodol. It's the only inhabitable planet in the seven civilized galaxies that has no surface water."

The passageway to his left lit up as his son reappeared in front of him. "And the `shadow' thing meant the heavy layer of cloudy gas on the surface, I know, I know." Radditz crossed his arms in front of him and frowned. "But why couldn't he just tell us where he was, instead of making up ridiculous riddles that we lost precious time trying to figure out?"

"He's trying to keep his position hidden, and he knows a scientist like myself would be able to figure it out with the right hints."

"Well, I don't sense any ki around here. If he was here, he's probably gone now, which means we've been wasting our time-"

"Wait a second, boys," the echo of Garris' voice cut in. "I think I found something." Both father and son moved quickly in the direction of Garris' voice, using the weak beacon of his dampened ki to locate him. When they reached him, Garris was crouched against the wall with an expression of contemplation written on his face, slowly running his hand over the rough stone. He looked up at their approaching forms, and the milky pupil of his damaged eye gave off an unholy glint in the low light. "There's some kind of tunnel here in the wall." His fingers dipped into the hole to prove it was more than just the shadow it appeared to be at first glance. "It may just be some animal's burrow, something with claws sharp enough to dig through stone. But something definitely made these gouges."

"Well," Radditz said arrogantly as he began to charge a ki ball in his palm, "are we going to just going to stare at it, or we going to find out?" Bardock and Garris turned to look at the younger man with a reproachful stare.

"Caution saves lives, boy," Garris reprimanded gruffly. "Never forget that."

Radditz stiffened at the use of the word `boy' and was in the process of readying a retort when Bardock purposefully stepped between them to examine the hole more thoroughly. He flared the ki on his hand a little brighter and peered into the dank, narrow tunnel. "This tunnel's too shallow to be an animal burrow. It might be just wide enough…" Without warning, Bardock plunged his hand in to the elbow and grunted in satisfaction as his fingers touched smooth stone at the end.

"Bardock, I just finished warning the boy, and now you-"

"Wait. There's some kind of latch here." Bardock gritted his teeth and pushed further. "…just a little twist…got it!"

Bardock yanked his arm out quickly and stood up as a low rumbling filled the cave. They all took a step back as the stone wall in front of them began to shift and grind against itself, sliding large pieces to the side and raising the heavy rock high in the wall until suddenly a doorway was formed by the rearranged stone slabs. The tunnel inside channeled downward into complete and total darkness.

"Well," Garris said almost too loudly after the shock wore off. He came up behind Bardock and rested a friendly hand on his shoulder. "I guess this is the place. So, what do you say, Renny? Do we go down?"

"Do we really have a choice? Where else can my son and I go? If we show our faces anywhere that the Empire may have influence, we'll be tracked down and killed." Bardock turned to face his friend. "This isn't your journey, Garris. We can manage from here. Thank you, for taking us this far. We wouldn't have been able to without your help."

"Don't you dare insult me, Bardock, not after the twenty years we served together in the squad." The scarred Saiyan turned away from his former squad mate and faced the gaping hole in the wall. "When I say I'm here to help, I'm with you `til the end, `til we're backed up against the wall with the odds piled up against us a thousand to one. We've gone through too much to for you to just blow me off when things start getting interesting. Now move aside, Renny. I'm going to go first and save your ass-once again." Garris threw an amused look over his shoulder and chuckled as he made his way into tunnel before Bardock could respond.

Radditz frowned, starting forward then pausing before the entrance. His eyes cut over to his father quizzically. "Renny?"

"Ah…heh….it's just an old nickname." Bardock said rubbing the back of his head in a nervous gesture. "Short for `Renegade'. My squad-mates used to call me that."

Radditz was lucky that his father was a reasonable and patient man; else Bardock really would have hit the boy as he took off down the tunnel, his son's laughter echoing off of the stone walls.

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Bulma awoke with no air in her lungs. She tried to inhale deeply, but it felt as though the weight of a heavy foot was pushing down on her chest and forcing the air out. She gasped and flailed her arms, convinced that someone was trying to suffocate her. When an iron grip pinned her arms to her sides, she cried out.

"Woman! Stop struggling! I've already turned down the gravity."

Bulma's eyes snapped open and the haze of sleep quickly left her at the sound of that low, husky voice. Her eyes met with black…black eyes, black hair, a black scowl. The grip on her arms loosened marginally as she recovered her breathing, but it immediately tightened again when she realized exactly whose chest she was pressed up against and struggled violently. "Take your hands off of me, you bastard!" The prince holding her so uncomfortably close smirked at her command and released her so suddenly she fell to the ground in a stunned heap.

"Well, at least you're up," he said with an evil chuckle. "If you had been unconscious any longer, I would have ejected you from the refuge portal." His smirk widened when Bulma jumped up and clenched her fists in outrage.

"Look, pal," she replied caustically, staring him directly in the eye. "I didn't ask to come here. You could have left me back on the ship and saved yourself the trouble." She glared angrily at him as she reached a hand up to her aching head. "And why the hell did you have to knock me out?"

"What are you babbling about, woman? As soon as we entered my ship, you passed out from the increased gravity." He paused a moment, and then she saw a look of calculated amusement cross his face. "Your race is obviously too weak to withstand a gravity level that even a Saiyan newborn could thrive in."

"Oh, is that so, you pompous, arrogant-" Bulma stopped abruptly as the dark prince took a menacing step closer to her, his voice deceptively soft for all the threat it held.

"You would be wise to watch your tongue, woman, since I am the one who will be deciding your future from now on. Whatever master you had before me must have fell short on discipline to have produced such a mouthy slave. But that will be corrected in due time. Besides," he said as he smiled cruelly and lightly ran his fingers over the exposed skin of her shoulder, "what I have in mind for you won't leave much room for chatter."

Bulma suppressed her shiver as best she could and backed away from the leering Saiyan. This was not at all what she had in mind when she'd decided to protect Kakarrot. "Stay away from me."

"I don't think you're listening. You belong to me now. Since I am sure you are somehow connected to the fugitive Kakarrot and may be purposely delaying my search, you will provide whatever compensation I require for the time I've lost."

Bulma had to keep her mouth from dropping open. Was it that obvious? Was she such a terrible liar that anyone could see through her ploy? But it didn't matter at the moment. If she admitted to knowing Kakarrot to save her own skin, the prince still probably wouldn't let her go. She was damned if she did, damned if she didn't. Her best bet was to try and keep up the charade and hope that maybe he would get frustrated. And while she was at it, she needed to somehow evade his advances.

"This is ridiculous. I have nothing to do with any of this. I have no clue who you are, and to hold me responsible for something I know nothing about is stupid. Now, why don't you just drop me back off at my ship, and we can both forget this ever happened." Bulma prayed that her nonchalant attitude would throw him off, and she even began to move towards the exit, hoping to confuse him long enough to flee anywhere there might be witnesses; but the prince's low growl halted her.

"You know where Kakarrot is, bitch," the prince sneered. "Tell me. Now."

Bulma stiffened indignantly and narrowed her eyes. All-powerful prince or not, this guy was a royal jerk. Even if she was risking her life, Bulma would enjoy knocking him down a few notches. "You know, buddy, you must deaf, blind, and stupid, because I've already told you, I don't know who this Kakarrot guy is. He was obviously not on my ship, and for the fourth time today, I don't know where he is. Why don't you go search on Terol with that hulking baboon kin of yours, Napalm or something-" Her tirade was cut short by the prince's gloved hand, which shot out and grasped her painfully behind the neck. In one swift tug, she was pressed up against him. His eyes burned into hers, but surprisingly, they were more amused than angry.

"You're an insolent little bitch, aren't you?" His voice carried a hint of teasing. The pressure on her neck lessened minutely, but only enough to tilt her head back. "How is it that a slave with such an unruly tongue survives without injury? Surely your master didn't allow you to speak this way." Why does he sound so surprised, Bulma wondered. It was probably because he wasn't used to anyone questioning his authority, or in Bulma's case, completely disregarding it. It had been a stupid move on her part, since Kakarrot's warning still rung fresh in her mind. The prince was more than capable of murdering an innocent woman, especially one that he believed was connected to his archrival. But her comment hadn't seemed to anger him much; in fact, now he seemed ready to laugh. Well, I'm glad I could amuse him so much, Bulma thought irritably.

"My master was a fool," she stated haughtily. "As you can see, I am no longer a slave, so that should obviously tell you something. But either way it goes, I'm just not slave material. The only authority I follow is my own."

The prince's mouth twitched curiously. By Kami, Bulma thought angrily, he's laughing at me. "Well, it would seem that you only need the right hand to guide you. But spirit can be useful in a concubine."

Righteous anger raged within her. "Concubine! What the hell?! I am no man's concubine." She tried to push away from him, but his grip on her neck refused to lessen.

"I'm leaving you without a choice."

"Let go of me, you bastard!"

His chest rumbled against hers as he lowered his head slowly to her ear, causing another unwanted shiver to ripple through her body at the feel of his warm breath. "You presume, wench, to tell me what to do?" His voice was low, sensual, and threatening all at once and if Bulma hadn't thought the man in front of her could blast her into oblivion with just the flick of his wrist, she probably would have melted in his arms.

"I…I'm just asking you to be…to be reasonable." She was having trouble speaking while the hand at her neck had suddenly moved down, dragging itself through her silky hair before stopping and slowly kneading her back in a soothing yet arousing manner. It was frightening and pleasurable at the same time and the confusion it was causing in her mind made coherent thoughts barely possible. "I…don't know where he is."

"Don't you?"

"I can't help you." Her voice was nothing but a whisper as his hand descended and began kneading her bottom in the same fashion. "You should…let me go…" She trailed off in a moan as his once idle hand slid up to her breast applied gentle pressure.

"Should I?" he asked softly into her ear, then pulled back to watch her reaction. Bulma's breathing quickened at the promise she heard in his voice. What's wrong with me? Bulma shouted reproachfully at herself. This man is the enemy. He wants to kill Kakarrot, and here I am letting myself be turned on by him. She suddenly pushed away from him, surprising him enough to make him loose his grip on her neck, and glared blue fire into his black eyes.

"Yes," she said assuredly, standing straight and tall, trying to keep an imperialistic expression on her face.

The prince's face darkened momentarily with what had to be something akin to anger, but then, much to her dismay, it lit with a crafty smile. "Very well, woman, if that is the way you want to play, I will make a deal with you. If I find Kakarrot on Terol as you say, then I will let you go." At the mention of those last words, Bulma visibly relaxed. "But if I find that you have lied to me…" He spoke the last words softly as he stepped closer to her and slowly stroked the side of her face with one gloved finger, "you will serve me until I tire of you."

Bulma's eyes widened in disbelief and apprehension. What sort of promise was this? The prince obviously knew she was lying about Kakarrot, but to admit that now would put her in a worse position than she had been. How could she respond to such an incredulous deal?

"That's a ridiculous offer. He could be gone by now."

"Ah, yes, he could be. But if I find him here, then I will know that you have lied." Oh Kami, Bulma thought to herself. This was a bet she knew she couldn't win, since Kakarrot was probably looking for her right now. If he ran into the prince, then all of this would be for nothing.

"Whatever," she forced herself to say dispassionately, even when her heart was racing in her chest. All she could hope was that fate was on her side, that Kakarrot would think that they had already left Dorsay and search elsewhere. It was all she had left.

The prince gave a low, promising chuckle, then suddenly, violently, yanked her forward and crushed her body to his, kissing her with possessive, bruising force. He pulled away just as sharply, chuckling again at the bewildered look on her face. "I will come for you when I've found Kakarrot. That won't be too long from now, I'm sure." He turned and walked smoothly to the exit.

"The hell you will!" she shouted after she fell out of her stupor, but by then, the door had already closed behind him and she was alone. Her sigh echoed in the lonely, furniture-less room. "Dammit, what have I gotten myself into?"

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"Get the hell away from me before I blast you to pieces!" Kakarrot snarled as he glared down at the scaly reminder of his failure to protect Bulma. Shenlong didn't seem to care that Kakarrot had raised his voice or that the Saiyan's glowing hand was pointed in his direction; he still continued to nuzzle Kakarrot's leg, seeking the affection that Bulma had so readily given before her kidnapping. Kakarrot growled and pulled back his foot, prepared to give it a swift kick in the gut for all his trouble. But his anger against the beast suddenly dissipated as he thought of Bulma's reaction to his abuse. She would have a fit if even one little scale on its hideous head were harmed. And he didn't really want to hurt it, just wanted it to leave him alone so he could brood in peace.

He glanced over at Chi-Chi's still unconscious form lying on the small cot he'd relocated her to and sighed. Chi-Chi was yet another problem he would have to deal with. Kakarrot didn't think he had the energy to go though the same ordeal he had with Bulma, and if Chi-Chi couldn't accept the fact that she was traveling with a Saiyan, he would happily drop her off on the nearest planet. Then he could focus on retrieving Bulma somehow, without tipping off the prince or his officials of his presence. But at the moment he had absolutely no clue how he was going to accomplish that.

A moan sounded beside him and his gaze flickered back over to Chi-Chi, who was slowly coming to. He watched her stretch out her limbs in a leisurely fashion, gracefully arcing her arms over her head and moaning again at the tight pull of muscle. Her eyes were still closed as she drew her knees up to her body, twisting and turning to remove the cricks from her back. Unbeknownst to the awakening girl, Kakarrot had a clear view of the exposed flesh of her long, perfectly shaped legs and thighs that had been uncovered in her stretching. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, mentally chiding himself for watching her when he should be concentrating his attentions on finding Bulma.

The girl's eyes finally opened, and she blinked absently at Kakarrot, then gave him a lazy smile.

"Good morning…" she said as she rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep from them. Kakarrot almost smiled back, but then Chi-Chi was suddenly jumping from the cot and backing away from him like a cornered animal. "Stay the hell away from me, you Saiyan dog!" Her eyes looked around frantically for an exit to escape through.

Kakarrot tiredly covered his eyes with his hands, trying to dredge up some kind of patience so he wouldn't be tempted to just knock the girl out again. "Yes, yes, I'm Saiya-jin. But we really don't have time for this. We'll be entering Kocra's atmosphere in a few minutes and I have to concentrate on the search."

"What? Where the hell are we going?"

"I've already told you. Kocra. The prince might have stopped there to refuel."

"The prince?"

"Yes, the prince. You know, the one I told you about before you passed out from shock?"

The raven-haired girl suddenly lifted her chin up haughtily, a gesture Kakarrot might have considered cute had the situation been different. "I did not pass out. I'm not some weak-minded little chit who faints at the first sign of distress. You must have knocked me out or something."

"You could have fooled me," Kakarrot said, rolling his eyes at her obvious denial of weakness. It was a very Saiyan-like quality, but it was not what they needed at the moment. "Look, I understand that you want to hate me for all that's happened when and since your planet was destroyed, but we're going to have to either call a truce or part ways very soon, because Bulma's life is at stake here."

The anger evaporated from Chi-Chi's eyes as she finally noticed Bulma's absence. "Oh, Kami," she said in a horrified whisper, her eyes widening. "What did you do to Bulma?" Kakarrot groaned defeatedly and lowered his head into his hands, praying to every Saiyan god and even the insane woman's `Kami' to somehow make this situation less tortuous. He felt an insistent, scaly head rubbing at his leg, and he just couldn't take it anymore; he snapped. He pulled his head up sharply from his hands and loomed threateningly over the tiny girl, at the same time shaking his leg free of Shenlong.

"Okay, listen up, woman, and listen good," he shouted angrily, frightening Chi-Chi back a few paces. "I haven't done anything to Bulma, nor will I ever if I don't make it to her in time. Right now she's probably being raped, murdered or worse by a man who is the epitome of Saiyan brutality, and I have absolutely no idea how to get to her. She's probably hurt and terrified and cursing my name right now for getting her into this situation, and your yelling and confusion is not helping me think. So put aside all the doubts and accusations for a moment and help me figure out a way to help her, otherwise, just shut up!"

Chi-Chi "eeped" out her surprise and stood stiffly, staring fearfully at the floor. Kakarrot glared down at her, waiting for a rebuttal; but couldn't glare at her for long, not when she was attempting to discreetly wipe away the tears that had begun sliding down her pale cheeks. "Chi-Chi," he said softly, but she didn't look up at him. He sighed and tried again. "Chi-Chi, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh with you. I'm frustrated, and I just need to think things out without any distractions. I don't even know if I'll be able to find her. I don't want Bulma to get hurt because of something from my past, a past that she has nothing to do with. She's so beautiful and strong-willed, any man would do their best to keep her safe and happy, and she's already been with the prince so long. I'm afraid-"

"She'll be alright, Kakarrot." Chi-Chi was now looking up at him, brushing the lingering tears from her eyes, her fearful gaze replaced with a softened one.

Kakarrot sank into the chair beside the cot, weariness overtaking him. "She doesn't know how cruel the prince can be. He doesn't listen to pleas for mercy. He has no problem taking what he wants from whom ever he wants."

A few seconds passed before he felt Chi-Chi's hesitant hand rest on his shoulder. "Kakarrot, from the five minutes I spent with her, I could already tell Bulma has a fighting soul. On my world, she was Bulma Briefs, the smartest, most sophisticated woman on all of Chikyuu. Every woman wanted to be her, and since I'm in my moment of weakness," she said with a small smile, "I'll even admit that I wanted to be her at one point. She's smart enough to figure her way out of trouble, just like she survived slavery and escaped all on her own. I don't doubt for a moment that she's already tricked her way out of immediate danger. But you're right, we need to hurry, just in case this prince of yours eventually sees through her plans."

Kakarrot couldn't hide his confusion and didn't try as Chi-Chi grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the navigation consol. "Now explain to me, Kakarrot. Why are we going to this Coco planet?

"Kocra," he corrected, still puzzled by Chi-Chi's sudden change in demeanor. "I thought that it might be a place for the prince to refuel, since I'm sure he didn't spare much time to while he was chasing me."

Chi-Chi was silent for a moment then spoke up. "What makes you think he left Dorsay at all? If he's looking for you, why would he leave the planet?"

Kakarrot stared at her a long minute, then frowned. "You're right. I wasn't thinking clearly. I only assumed that he would be using Bulma as bait to get me back on Vegeta-sei and immediately take her there. But he might only be using her as insurance, which that means I've lost two hours going off-planet."

"Well, then we need to turn this ship around and go back," Chi-Chi said determinedly. Kakarrot nodded and didn't waste any time punching in the coordinates for Dorsay. "Bulma will be able to hold up until then, I think. They didn't call her the `Billion Dollar Bitch' for nothing."

"Chi-Chi?" Chi-Chi turned her head towards him, her velvet-brown eyes sparkling from her recent tears and the glow of the overhead lights.

"Yes, Kakarrot?"

""Why did you suddenly…"

"Because I realized how much you care for Bulma." A small smile played at her lips as she turned and headed over to the cot, carefully lying down with her back facing him. A nearly forgotten Shenlong skittered over in her direction, and after cautiously inspecting the cot with a scaly muzzle, curled up beside it and lay down, obviously viewing Chi-Chi as a temporary surrogate for Bulma. Kakarrot watched as Chi-Chi's slim shoulders rose and fell with each breath, and finally began to turn away when a soft whisper regained his attention. "A man with a heart can't be all bad, can he?"

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Next Up: Can Bulma keep Vegeta at bay until Kakarrot saves her? Bardock and Radditz find out some interesting info from the fugitive scientist. And we discover what Chi-Chi's life was like before she escaped.

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