Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Attachments Detached ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: Well, here's another. I'm spewing them out. (yes, from a dream) I swear, I'm working on DoY, but it's like I'm constipated or something (heehee). Not Writer's Block, just having to be pulled out. (ouch)

AU, B/V, right now. Okay, I had the sudden urge to write a high school B/V and immediately quelled the horrible urge…. Then I wanted to do an Earth-is-purged B/V and hit that one upside the head too (it hurt). The result? A B/V that combines both…. How'd I do that?

Earth has entered a treaty with Frieza, who seems nice enough. Bulma is caught up in the action and can't help but run into a certain Saiyan Prince and his companion. What a minute? What's up with Go-Kakarott? And where's Nappa? Hello! What about Radditz? (sigh) I suppose you have to read to find out -_^

Chapter 1

The lizard smiled amiably at the wizened old man peering at him with nervousness, "With all due respect, Lord Frieza, are you certain it's absolutely necessary-"

"Dr. Briefs, I assure you that it is. When I made this treaty with Earth I was under the impression that when I asked for technology I would receive it. I'm asking for it now."

Dr. Briefs dry-washed his hands, the threat in the sentence not missed, though the tone was still friendly, "Sire, forgive me, but you must understand my own-"

"Of course I do, good sir!" Frieza again interrupted the man and smiled further when the other looked even more uncomfortable, "It is your most precious possession I am asking for, but it will only be for twelve months; a year."

Dr. Briefs nodded, "My Lord, she's quite the temperamental one. She won't be happy-"

"-To serve her lord?"

"N-no, my lord. It is not that at all. It is just that she likes her indepen-"

"She will have all that she has there, and so much more. Would you deny your child a chance to explore the world? Would you deny her a chance to stretch out her influences? Who knows how many connections Capsule Corporation will have when she is through?" Frieza sighed and glanced away from the screen, "But I suppose I could have a chat with the leader of your great pla-"

"That will not be necessary, my lord. I will talk to her."

Frieza turned back to the screen with a bright smile, "Oh will you? That would be wonderful. One of my men shall pick her up in three days time. See you then!" The lizard waggled his fingers at Dr. Briefs as the screen went black. The gesture was not only inane but harmless, yet Dr. Briefs still felt chills. He ran a wrinkled hand through gray, balding hair and sighed. Turning around, he stiffened at the sight of a very angry Bulma, hands on hips, face set in a grimace.

Bulma sighed and wiped her dirty hands on her blue jeans. That had been nine months ago. Ever since they had started a treaty with the seemingly benign lizard in the hopes of gaining much with him, he had started to sink his claws further and further into Earth's government. It wasn't too hard for him to find every decayed spot in the people that ran Earth and play it to his advantage. Threats, money, power, everything and anything he could use he did. He'd used threats against her father. Oh, she saw right through his niceties.

She suddenly banged down the wrench she had in her hand on the metal table, making the scattered parts she was trying to assemble bounce. She whirled on the purple alien standing just over her shoulder, "Kiwi, if you don't stop looking over my shoulder I'm going to ram a screwdriver up your pug-like nose!"

Kiwi winced at the human's volume but grinned all the same, "Master Frieza instructed me to watch you," his eyes trailed her form briefly before flicking back to her even more enraged eyes, "and that is what I shall do."

"He said to keep an eye on me, not ogle me as if I was one of your diseased-ridden whores!" She picked up the screwdriver she had just threatened to use and waved it under his nose, "Now, take a seat and wait in line like every other man on this ship! I swear; none of you testosterone-driven men have any control!" She poked him meaningfully on the chest.

Kiwi's face darkened and he looked as if he would ram her over the desk and into the wall with his fist. For a sixteen-year old girl, she had more guts than men twice her age.

Bulma mockingly rolled her eyes, "Please, you always give me that look! I'm under Earth's protection, not to mention Lord Frieza's."

Kiwi snorted and moved to a seat, there to sit with two other males who had been treated similarly. Kiwi had been seated with them, but the human had seemed so lost in thought, he'd gotten up to check her progress. The other two were cowards who had already faced Bulma's temper one too many times. Kiwi glared at his companions with contempt. He would have to have Master Frieza get some new men.

Bulma turned back to one of the many projects she had to complete. The mantra chanted in her head in time with her work, 3 more months, 3 more months, 3 more months.

Hours later, she set down her tools and wiped her brow on the white, now gray, cloth beside her elbow, sighing in relief.

"Done?"

She glared back at the voice, "Yes, Kiwi. I'm done now. Escort me to my rooms," she added haughtily.

Kiwi glared and motioned the men beside him to stand. They did so after glancing at Bulma, complying only after she had nodded. Kiwi scoffed at their complacency. Not only did this human act as if she owned the place, she had others treating her as if she owned the place!

Kiwi mentally shrugged as the three men flanked Bulma and he led the way back to her room. Knowing the outcome helped.

Bulma sighed with relief as she entered the room and was able to close her door to the three guards that stood outside it, Kiwi having gone to do whatever he did when he wasn't on duty watching her.

She glanced around her room and made a face at the clothes strewn around. It was a one-room dorm-type setting. A bed, dresser, small desk and chair, along with a small, circular window looking out to the black space that surrounded her were all the room had. She had to use the personal showers, as did all employees of Frieza.

Bulma snorted as she picked up her mess. Slaves were more like it. Not a one of the other races on the ship acted as if they liked serving under Frieza. Not that Bulma was close to any of them. Everyone seemed to keep to themselves. Attachments were dangerous, as she had found out soon after coming aboard Frieza's mothership.

She had come out of the pod that had been sent to pick her up to see a mother desperately holding a child, only to have it ripped out of her arms quite brutally by one of Frieza's soldiers. She had stepped forward to act in their defense when the soldier that had been sent to retrieve her held her back with a shake of his head.

The baby had been handed to another soldier with instructions to 'start him on training'. The mother had been left on the floor, weeping, until another soldier had picked her up bodily and carried her away.

She had turned to berate the green-skinned man holding her but he beat her to it by telling her in a voice with no inflection, "Do not form attachments. Lord Frieza knows all attachments and exploits them as the weaknesses they are."

Bulma knew now what that meant. The little boy was probably a hardened soldier by now, and the mother a bitter woman up to her elbows in chores. Neither would acknowledge the other. She'd seen it all happen to other people in just the eight months she had been here. 3 more months, 3 more months.

Despite Frieza's assurances that she would have all she had on Earth, she was limited on what she could do, where she could go, and whom she could see or speak to. She'd found the restrictions suffocating at first, until she found that most of the men, not being able to take out the frustrations she caused them in a sexual manner, would bend before her temper.

She had cowed the three outside and managed to find a way to sneak out whenever she wanted to. Getting the tools she'd needed after bullying them had been easy.

She finished up her cleaning only to look down and grimace at her own appearance. She shrugged. She should go shower and eat dinner, but she'd rather not have her guards floating along beside her like three silent ghosts, although why she needed three guards was beyond her.

So, grinning hugely, she gathered together the things she would need and put them atop the bed. Grunting slightly, she pushed the bed aside, revealing a nice sized hole she had cut in the metal. Picking up the clothes, she sat down on the edge and pushed herself over the edge, landing softly on the grating two feet below. She put the clothes down before her and pushed the bed back; setting the legs into the grooves she had made in the floor just for that reason.

Picking her clothes back up, she crawled on her hands and knees, going straight for some time before the crawlspace branched off into three directions; straight ahead, to her right, and to her left. She took the passage to the right and after some more crawling, found a vent right above her head.

With a triumphal chuckle, which she always gave when she got here, Bulma pushed the vent upwards and pulled herself out of the crawlspace and into one of the stalls in the showers. She had no fear of discovery. She had picked this stall for herself as soon as she had spied the grate. The stalls' doors also reached all the way to the floor. There was no way someone could get or even see into her stall. It even had a coded lock that required her key-card, not that she needed it coming in this way.

After cleaning herself of grime and sweat from a hard day's work and changing into her more-suitable-for-exploring clothing, Bulma crawled back into her little means of transportation. Yes, she should be eating, even going to bed for the early start she'd have in the morning, but she loved getting to see other parts of the ship and listening in to conversations she wasn't supposed to. That's how she'd found out about Frieza's little manipulations of Earth, after all.

She took quite a few turns and passageways she hadn't taken before she heard sounds that intrigued her enough to decide she would stop. She was about to press her ear to the metal above her when she noticed that there was a grate not far from where she was.

She'd never seen another grate like the one in the showers and imagined that maybe she would get a look and not just a listen to what was going on.

She crawled just underneath the grate to find that the sounds above were taking place right over the grate. Okay, so she'd just lie on her back and enjoy what she could see and hear from there.

At first there was nothing but grunts, groans, smacks, and crashes, along with some inventive curses from one particularly gruff voice and chuckles from another boyish one.

Finally, a white boot with a gold tip stepped on the grate. She couldn't see the leg connected to it, but she saw the other leg come up behind it, dark blue clothed, and swing forward, in what looked like, even from this position, a kick.

An orange-clad arm blocked the kick, knocking it away. A navy-clad arm retaliated with a punch, the foot on the grate shifting slightly.

Bulma's eyes were wide. She must have been above the sparring rooms. She was watching two of Frieza's soldiers fighting. She grinned evilly. This definitely might come in handy.

She continued to watch and listen as the two fought on and on for what seemed hours, sometimes coming into view, sometimes vanishing for long periods of time. From what she could see, these two were built!

Finally her ears perked up at the sound of the boyish one's voice, "Come…on…Let's take…a break."

The other voice held a hint of mockery, even though it was as out of breath as the other, "What's wrong…Kakarott? You…getting soft?"

"No…I'm just tired…. We just…purged a…planet…Vegeta. I need…rest."

The other voice took on a hint of anger, "How many times…must I tell you to call me by…my title!"

Bulma saw the blue-clad form fly forward and then saw it crash back, back hitting the grate and almost making her shriek in terror.

"Ah, come on! I wanna break!"

"Fine, Kakarott," the body above her breathed, "Five minutes, then back to it."

'Kakarott' grunted in assent.

The body above her shifted slightly, but seemed quite comfortable just lying there. She herself was not comfortable with it. Luckily the man was breathing heavily and couldn't hear her own hushed breaths, but all he had to do was turn around and he would see her.

Of course, that's exactly what he did. His eyes widened in shock at the two blue orbs that were sparkling up at him before he made an enraged noise and thrust himself and the grate up at the same time, throwing it to the side and grabbing Bulma by the neck of her shirt before she could do more than squeal.

Kakarott turned around from wiping the sweat from his brow with a white cloth to see Vegeta holding a wincing, blue-haired girl up to his face. Vegeta did not look happy.

Bulma found herself getting a look at the gruff-voiced man that was a little too close. She thought the frown in those black eyes was bad until he sneered. He turned to his companion, "Well, Kakarott, looks as if Frieza has taken to sending spies to watch us train."

Kakarott, walked toward the pair, "I don't know. Aren't spies more-spy-ey looking?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned back to the one he held. "Well? What's your name, girl? How much is Frieza giving you for this?" He looked her up and down, as if he was assessing her value to Frieza. "Warming his bed, are we?" his sneer widened.

Bulma's mouth opened in shocked indignation, "WHAT?!"

Despite himself, Vegeta winced.

"How dare you, you primitive barbarian! I wouldn't sleep with that frog even if someone told me he'd turn into the man of my dreams when I kissed him!" In spite of the fact that her feet were barely brushing the ground, she raised one hand to his face and poked him in the nose, "Let me go, you little turd! Not only are you an uncouth Neanderthal to suggest such a thing to a lady, but you stink!"

Now it was Vegeta's turn to be caught speechless. He was about to throw the girl into the wall, but whirled around at the sound of laughter.

Kakarott was vainly trying to hold in his mirth, but it all tumbled out when Vegeta looked him with something like affronted dignity. His laugh turned into a full-throated roar that had him on the floor rolling around and holding his sides.

Vegeta would have been turning two shades of red if not for his dark complexion, "Get up, you third-class idiot! How dare you mock your Prince! Do you want to die along with her?"

Kakarott slowly regained his composure, much to Vegeta's chagrin and stood, chest still heaving with laughter and tears at the corners of his eyes. He almost went back to laughing at the almost identical looks of amazement on Vegeta and Bulma's faces. "I'm sorry…. But…that was a good one…. I don't think…I've heard anything that…funny."

Vegeta finally rolled his eyes and sighed with a painful expression, muttering something about 'idiot third-classes that were only good to pummel' that Bulma clearly heard. His eyes snapped back down to her. He shook her, satisfied as her hands gripped the arm that held her, face paling. "Well, girl? Tell me your name! I want to speak it to Frieza when I throw your cold, lifeless body before him."

Kakarott acted as if he would speak up but Vegeta hushed him with a hand motion that brooked no argument.

Bulma's eyes flicked over to Kakarott, since he seemed the sanest of the pair. She saw no help there, only a shrug with concerned eyes. Her eyes went back to the hard ones of the one who held her, "I-I'm Bulma. Bulma Briefs."

Vegeta's brow creased, "Briefs." He looked back over at Kakarott. "I've heard that name somewhere."

Kakarott was practically bouncing from foot to foot, arm raised in the air, the other one resting on his head to support it. The arm waved wildly back and forth, demanding attention.

Vegeta again rolled his eyes, "What is it, Kakarott?"

"Oh, oh, oh. I know this one! She's the daughter of the president of Capsule Corporation on Earth."

Vegeta looked impressed, both eyebrows coming up, "Sometimes you do surprise me, Kakarott." He turned back to the girl in his hands, ignoring Kakarott's little victory dance, "How do I know you're who you say you are? The one you mentioned just happens to be conveniently under both Earth's treaty and Frieza's protection."

Bulma huffed, blowing air right into Vegeta's face. He looked slightly irked, no matter that it hadn't exactly been intentional. "How many other blue-haired beauties do you know who have the temper of a volcano?"

Vegeta titled his head to one side and smirked, "True." His hand suddenly released her and she fell to the floor with an undignified 'oof'. She glared up at the flame-haired man as he, ignoring her, knelt by the opening created by the grate and looked down into it.

She played with the thought of pushing the rear end sticking up into the hole but was prevented from it by the hand that suddenly thrust itself into her face. She started back in surprise and looked up into Kakarott's smiling face.

He held the other hand next to her mouth, shielding it from Vegeta, "Don't mind him. He's always this grumpy after a purge."

"I heard that, Kakarott." Vegeta rose from his position and glared at the man, who merely put the hand he had been shielding his mouth with behind his head, grinning apologetically.

Vegeta once again rolled his eye; it must have been a common motion around Kakarott, and turned to the still seated girl, "Is that how you get around? I heard you had three guards set to you. So, you managed to get away from them?"

Bulma took the hand Kakarott still had out for her and waited until she had brushed herself off, loving the way Vegeta seemed to almost growl with impatience. She met his eyes evenly, "Yes, I did. The guards weren't hard to get away from. All you have to have to do is throw a temper tantrum, which I am queen of, and they crumble.

"So, are you going to tell on me now? Wonder how much more in favor you'd get with Frieza? Perhaps get your choice of a whore?"

Kakarott's hand on her arm told her she'd said the wrong thing. From the look on Vegeta's face, she was lucky she wasn't being forcefully held against the wall. Instead Vegeta pointed at the crawlspace, "Go."

Bulma gulped audibly and looked at Kakarott, who just gave her a silent look that said not to speak and led her by the elbow to the crawlspace.

As he lowered her into the crawlspace as any gentleman would have, he leaned in to her ear, "Come back in a week. I'll have calmed him down by then."

Bulma gave the man one wide-eyed looked before the grate was put back in place, telling her she would get no more information from him that night. As she crawled back to her room, sense of direction not failing her, she thought on what exactly she'd said to make him react like that. And why she wasn't trying to dig herself out of a wall.

<~>

The week passed quickly, with Bulma getting done with the project she had been working on and starting yet another one.

Kiwi had managed to leer at her every day and ignored her every tantrum and screaming fit. He seemed impervious to them. Then again, with how many women he saw a night; he had to have a pretty big knowledge of a woman's moods. That was about the only thing he did have knowledge on too.

Bulma was at the edge of her seat, not literally of course, she wasn't sitting all the time, about seeing the two she had met again. It was mostly to see the friendlier one, Kakarott. She could care less about that jerk that had dropped her so unceremoniously onto the ground and then thrown her out; her, heiress to Capsule Corporation; when she'd offended him even though he had done the same to her.

She was intrigued enough about how he had reacted, so-violently. Almost as if he hadn't expected her to say it or was so used to hearing it he had expected it. She always had liked mysteries. This boy, he couldn't be that much older than her, was no exception. In fact, he seemed a contradiction in terms.

She couldn't wait until she saw them tonight.

A/N 2: Wow, quick with the meeting here! See what happens next week! Unless I get more than five reviews…. I might just be kind then.