Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & Hurricanes ❯ Chapter 16

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 16

Chi-Chi bolted upright in her bed. It was still dark out, Goten was still asleep. She could not catch her breath as her heart rate skyrocketed to an alarming rate and she felt a horrible pain from inside, as though something was being ripped from her. She looked around her and realized that she was sitting in drenched sheets and her first thought was that it was blood and she was losing her baby.

She had dreamt of blood. Blood and limbs everywhere. She wasn't sure who they belonged to, but she remembered it vividly now and a cold, harsh weave of fear gripped the deepest depth of her soul. This was not normal.

As her senses began to come together, she realized it wasn't her stomach or abdomen that was in pain, but it was more localized to her chest and head and the feeling of dread and hopelessness began to overtake her. She crawled out of bed and turned on the light, confirming her instincts that she hadn't lost her baby, not yet anyway. Maybe this was what happened before her body rejected it?

Chi-Chi stumbled to the bathroom and splashed water on her face in an effort to cool herself down. Maybe it had just been her dreams that had her feeling so out of it. She reached out for Kakarott, wanting to be reassured that he was alright and felt but felt nothing except her pounding headache getting worse the more she tried to reach out to him. After a few more attempts of gaining absolutely nothing back from him she began to panic.

"I need help!" she cried as she fell to the floor, feeling dizzy and disoriented and in a tremendous amount of pain all through her body, she couldn't even tell where it was originating from anymore.

"What is it?" Penelope asked, running into the bathroom a few moments later, kneeling beside her. She still looked sleepy and Chi-Chi felt bad for disturbing her sleep. "Are you alright? What is wrong?" she asked urgently, taking in the girl's damp pallor.

"I don't know!" she cried, trying to stop herself from hyperventilating. "I woke up soaking wet and dizzy and in pain."

Penelope frowned and examined her as discreetly as possible. The baby's ki was somewhat distressed, but not in danger from what she could tell.

"Am I losing my baby?" she asked in panic.

"I don't think so, no," she shook her head, looking curiously at Bardock who had gotten up as well to see what the commotion was. "It is distressed, but that is because you are in distress."

"I can't feel him," she cried. "I tried, it's like he's gone!"

"Who, Kakarott?" Bardock asked.

"Yes, Kakarott! Who else?" she screeched.

Bardock and Penelope looked at each other a moment, both thinking and dreading the same thought that something had happened to not only their beloved son whom they had only just recently gotten back but their older son as well.

"Are you sure?" Penelope asked, focusing her attention back on Chi-Chi who had begun bawling almost hysterically by this point.

"Yes!" she cried. "Oh, god, it hurts so much! What am I going to do? He can't be gone, he can't!"

"Maybe he's just been severely injured and is unconscious?" Bardock offered hopefully. "Neither Raditz or Vegeta would leave him there to die if he is injured."

"What if they're dead too?" Chi-Chi sobbed hopelessly. "Kakarott told me a few hours ago that Vegeta told Bulma to go because things weren't going well."

"Did he say anything else specifically?" Penelope asked, trying to calm her down.

"Just that he didn't know yet how things were going to work out and if Bulma contacted me to leave with her that he wanted me to stay here with you guys," she sniffed. "Oh, god.. I knew he wasn't telling me how bad it really was. I knew it!"

"It's alright, it will be alright, dear," Penelope said soothingly to her, also trying to reassure herself. "I understand it's easier said than done at the moment but you need to calm down. Too much distress will endanger your baby; your stress combined with the possible loss of a mate and bond may trigger you to miscarry, we do not want that."

"I can't believe this, I can't believe this…" she kept saying, not hearing the woman's council.

Bardock stood there silently, watching the scene unfold. He hoped that she was wrong, that it was something else causing her this distress but deep down he knew that it was true. A bond didn't lie. He only hoped that she wouldn't go into a state of shock and lose her baby and her life own over this.

Without a word, he turned away from Chi-Chi and his mate, unable to address the issue at the moment. Not only was it likely that he had lost both of his son's but now they would have to help his daughter-in-law through the loss and raise two children; not that he minded. Both Bardock and Penelope adored Chi-Chi and accepted her as one of their own. However it would be difficult for them to both grieve and help her as well. Especially since the girl was much more emotional than they as Saiyans were.

"Where are you going?" Penelope asked him, leaving Chi-Chi a moment to talk with her mate.

"To the palace," he answered. "I will get her a sedative that will hopefully help keep her calm and I will see what I can find out about what has happened with Prince Vegeta's campaign. If they have fallen, I am certain the King will know by now."

"Alright," she nodded, turning back to the sobbing girl a few feet away. I really hope he is just severely injured and nothing more. I don't think I can go through this again, Bardock. And what of Raditz?

I know, he replied, having thought the same thing already. It had been difficult enough mourning Kakarott the first time. I will try and find out what I can. Hopefully not all is lost and hopefully Bulma got out of here. If Vegeta has been defeated, she will no longer be safe here.

She would not stick around, would she?

No, she wouldn't, Bardock shook his head. Vegeta made arrangements so that she may be able to escape on a moment's notice should the unthinkable happen. If anyone understands his seriousness in her safety, it would be her.

"Alright, good. Please keep me informed of anything you hear and I will try to keep her calm." Penelope said, offering him a half smile.

Bardock nodded. "I will hurry." He mumbled before leaving as quickly as he could. He needed some air and he needed his space. If the worst was indeed the case, he was not sure how he would cope with not one but two grieving females and a half-Saiyan toddler.

-0-0-0-

With their room practically bare, Bulma leashed up Aro and finally left their room cautiously. There were no guards at her door and none down the hall by Tarble's room. That has to be a good sign, she thought to herself. She quickly closed the door and sprinted to Tarble's room, letting herself in as she usually did.

"You're early today," Neesa greeted her.

"Yea, I couldn't sleep," she said nervously. "Can I leave Trunks and Aro here for a few minutes?"

"Of course," she nodded. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she nodded. "I just need to finish something at the lab quick for Bardock and then I'm taking the boys out for a little while."

"No problem, I'll be here until you get back," Neesa said, taking Trunks and placing him down with Tarble.

"Great. Thanks!" Bulma nodded. "I'll be back in just a few minutes." She said, leaving quickly and racing down the palace halls, thankful that there seemed to be no one around to see her and draw attention to herself. She hadn't been up and about this early in the palace before and wondered why there were no guards situated about.

She didn't dwell on it very long, thanking her lucky stars that the palace was mostly deserted. It would make it that much easier for her to sneak both of the boys out of the palace and take off in her own ship, which she had on her. She quickly made her way down to the science wing, hoping that Bardock would be there already. She hoped he may be able to contact Chi-Chi quickly and find out if she wanted to come too.

Bulma entered the science wing quietly, closing the door carefully behind her. "Bardock?" she whispered hoarsely, looking around. It was dark and the lights were out. "Damn it!" she cursed.

She switched on a light and decided since he wasn't there to settle on writing him a quick note letting him know that she'd taken the boys and gone to her parents; just so he wouldn't worry. She wouldn't say where just in case someone else found the note but he could always find that out from Chi-Chi.

Bulma grabbed a pen and paper and quickly began writing out a note for him. As she was deciding where to leave it where he would see it as soon as he came in, she heard the lab doors open and she froze.

Taking a deep breath, she peeked around the corner hoping it was just Bardock, after all, she had never seen anyone else here in the lab before. She moved carefully and quietly, keeping herself hidden and to her relief saw that it was none other than Bardock who had come in.

"Bardock!" she hissed, coming out of hiding and racing up to him. "Thank god I found you!"

"Bulma?" he frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I have to go," she said quickly. "Things have gone bad, Vegeta said I have to leave now with the boys. I wanted to find you first to let you know and-"

"Why are you still here then?" he asked her harshly. "I already know things have gone bad. Kakarott was killed not an hour ago."

"What?" Bulma cried, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. "Oh no, Vegeta never told me that. He just said-"

"You need to get out of here, now!" Bardock insisted. "Before his father knows that the mission was a failure and comes after you, you know your safety will no longer be guaranteed."

"I know, I just wanted to let you know where I went so you wouldn't worry," she explained, her stomach feeling nauseous at the news about Kakarott. "And I wanted you to let Chi-Chi know and find out if she wanted to stay here or come with me?"

"Just go!" he growled. "How long have you been here? If Vegeta told you to go, you should be gone! We all knew the possibility. Quit wasting time and go! Your friend will be just fine here. Penelope and I will look after her."

Bulma nodded. "I know she'll be fine with you, I just didn't want to leave and have you guys worry. Oh, god, I can't believe Kakarott-!"

"Forget grieving!" He snapped harshly at her. "Now get out of here before it's too late. If Vegeta gave you the heads up to leave, then you should have been gone the moment he told you, not wasting time here over foolish sentiments!"

She swallowed back a lump in her throat, knowing that he was entirely right. If Vegeta knew she'd wasted the last two hours getting things ready to go and trying to let Bardock and Chi-Chi know of her plans he would throttle her.

"Okay," she said, switching off her plasma pendant and stepping forward to give Bardock a quick hug. "Thanks for everything; I am so sorry about Kakarott, please tell Chi-Chi I'm sorry for ditching but Vegeta says I have to go."

Bardock awkwardly hugged her back a moment, not entirely understanding the sentiment behind the action but knew it was something both she and her friend did. "You need to go," he said, gently pushing her away. "Be safe."

"I will, thanks Bardock," she said, stepping away from him and making her way towards the doors. She needed to hurry back to her boys and get off this planet. She had just reached the doors when three Saiyan guards walked in through the doors just as she was about to leave, stopping her.

"You are under arrest by order of the King." One of them informed her, grabbing her arm.

"What?" Bulma and Bardock both exclaimed at the same time.

"On what charges?" Bardock asked, stepping forward. "What is it she has supposedly done that merits being arrested?"

"Treason, corruption, and conspiracy against the throne," one of the guards replied, reading off of a piece of paper.

"I haven't done any of those things!" Bulma objected.

"That is not for you to dispute," the guard said, taking a hold of both her arms securely, making sure she couldn't get away. "You are to come with us for questioning."

"No," she cried. This can't be happening, she told herself. She needed to think her way out this and get out of here. "This is a mistake; I haven't don't anything wrong."

"We need you to come with us for questioning," he said again, dragging her out of the lab roughly.

"Wait!" Bardock shouted after them. "There has to be some mistake. Bulma has been under my direct supervision and has not done any of these things."

"Then perhaps you need to be brought in for questioning as well for aiding her efforts in her attempt to bring down the crown?" The guard asked.

"This is ridiculous!" Bardock roared in offence. "I have been a faithful servant all my life to my king!"

"Then you will understand why she must be removed and taken in for questioning, Bardock," one of the other guards said. "Failure to comply on your part will result in your arrest for treason in aiding this slave in her attempt to over throw the king."

"And you honestly believe that?" he challenged them.

"That is not for us to decide, Bardock," the guard replied, stepping forward and placing himself between Bulma and Bardock. "Step aside or risk arrest."

"Its fine, Bardock," Bulma said to him. "This is my fault for not leaving sooner. Don't get yourself into trouble over it."

Bardock snarled, sizing up the guards. He may not be an elite, but he could handle his own. These three weren't all that strong, which was why they were chosen with the task of collecting Bulma. He powered up a ki ball and shot it towards one of them before they had a chance to react, hitting him right in the head.

Bulma screamed as she saw the body fall next to her. In the shock of the attack, the guard that had her restrained loosened his grip on her enough that she was able to break free from him.

Bardock reached for her and grabbed her arm, yanking her roughly behind him. "We need to get you out of here," he said. "Get out of my way!" he snarled at the remaining two guards who were blocking their way out of the lab.

"Are you out of your mind, Bardock?" One of the guards yelled. "What are you doing!"

"Walk away and say you could not find her," he said quietly, not wanting to cause any more of a scene than need be over this. He knew he would be in deep trouble but maybe he could collect his own family and leave the planet before anyone found out. He could meet Bulma wherever it was Vegeta had instructed her to go. "That is all you need to do. You and I know full well that this is all an excuse so that the king can be rid of her in Prince Vegeta's absence, she is not guilty of anything other than staying here longer than she should have."

"We can't do that," the guard who'd first had Bulma argued.

"Come with us," Bardock offered with a sly smirk. "Your Prince will reward you handsomely for your part in keeping his mate safe and out of harm's way."

"Our Prince has fallen at the hands of Cold by now," the guard snorted. "Everyone knows that."

"No, he hasn't," Bulma confidently corrected him. "I would know."

The guard glared at her.

"Please, just let me go. I'll never come back here," she pleaded. "Let me take my son and we will go and you will never see or hear from us ever again."

"The King offered you ample opportunity to leave," he shook his head, powering up a ki ball in his hand. "Yet you chose to remain here and conspire against him."

"I haven't conspired with anyone!" she objected. "What evidence do you have that I have supposedly been conspiring against him?"

"That information is classified," the guard replied, stepping forward threateningly towards Bardock.

"Stay back," Bardock warned, another ki ball forming in his hand. "I don't want to, but will kill you to keep her safe."

"Pity," the guard shrugged before throwing a ki ball of his own at Bardock.

Bardock defected it and fired back at both of them, all the while trying to make sure Bulma was safely kept behind him.

"Stop!" Bulma shouted at them. "I don't want anyone getting hurt!"

She wasn't sure if it was three or four more guards that showed up, ambushing Bardock. Bulma kept herself backed into a corner so as to not get in Bardock's way. She was looking around for something, anything that she could use as a weapon but there wasn't anything in the lab that would be of much use to her.

As the fight got that much more intense, she slowly began inching her way over towards the door, hoping that just maybe she could sneak out while they were all distracted. She chanced a look over at Bardock and was shocked; he seemed to have the upper hand advantage as he was pummeling the guard who had initially grabbed her. She wasn't shocked that he was winning, she was just shocked over all to see him fighting and looking so angry. He was normally so calm and gentle; truthfully until this very moment she had never pictured him in battle.

Bulma continued to slowly move closer to the door when she heard Bardock roar. She stopped and turned to look at him. Somehow, two of the guards had managed to get a hold of him and she could not tell what exactly happened but it looked like he had been mortally wounded by a ki blast. All she saw was Bardock covered in blood.

"No!" she screamed as he fell to the floor. She tried to run to him but was grabbed by one of the guards. "Help him!"

"He's done, girl," the guard said unsympathetically despite the fact that one of their own had just been killed. "He's done and it's all your fault."

"Can't you put him into a tank or something?" she cried in near hysterics, her legs giving out. "Please? I'll come with you, I will, I promise, just please help him! Do something!"

"Sorry," the guard said, dragging her out of the lab and away from Bardock's lifeless body. "Our orders were to bring you in and kill anyone who attempted to aid you. If you'd have cooperated with us in the first place, this wouldn't have happened."

The last thing she remembered was trying to wrestle her way out of his grip in an effort to go to Bardock, not that there was anything she could do for him, and she'd felt a blow to her head before everything went dark.

-0-0-0-

Bulma awoke with a start a few hours later. She looked around in panic at the cold, hard surroundings and it took her a moment to remember what had happened.

"Oh, god," she cried as she remembered everything despite the terrible, pounding headache she had. She sat herself up, bringing her knees to her chest and leaned against the cold, stone wall. She tried to reach out for Vegeta but got back no answer. The good news was he was alive, but either asleep or still blocking her. She was alright with that, for the moment; she did not want to tell him about what had happened. Not yet.

Bulma wept. She could not believe how bad things had gotten so quickly. Not twenty four hours ago she'd been working in the lab with Bardock. They had finished a tedious project and had been joking about what to start work on next. How could this have happened?

Never mind that, what about Penelope? And Chi-Chi? A fresh sob erupted from her as she thought of her friends and how all of this would affect them now. Her best friend's mate and his father had been killed within a few hours of each other. She wished she could be with the two women to offer them both some comfort for their loss despite the sickening feeling that she may find herself in the same predicament soon as well.

"I am so, so sorry, Bardock," she sobbed out loud, burying her face in her knees. "I should never-"

"You should never have done a lot of things, my dear." King Vegeta said to her as he walked up to the cell she was currently occupying.

Bulma wiped her tears quickly and stood up to face him, but kept herself pressed up against the wall and away from him. She discreetly pressed the activation switch on her ki repellent pendant, just in case she needed it.

"You should have taken my advice and gone when I told you to leave all those weeks ago," he said to her in a calm tone but she could feel the anger behind his words. "Now I have not only lost my son and the finest warriors my empire had to offer, but I am also without a mate to raise that weakling, and now only heir of mine; I have also now lost my finest, most valued worker for the lab and anything else of importance that I cannot leave for a soldier to do. All because of You."

"I refuse to take all the blame over everything!" she spat back at him. "Bardock is dead because I didn't leave hours ago when Vegeta first warned me to. I take full responsibility for that loss but I refuse to take responsibility for the rest. That is all on you!"

"This is all your fault!" He snarled at her.

"I didn't send anyone out to war!" she argued, now just as angrily. "In fact I told Vegeta it was a bad idea to go!"

"Oh, things have been your fault long before this war with Cold, my dear," he sighed.

"So please, your Highness; enlighten me on how everything is supposedly my fault." She snorted.

"You could not just leave him be and live your life," he answered.

She shook her head at him. "How could I? He is my mate! I thought that meant something to you people."

"I am not speaking of recently when I advised you to leave. I am referring back to when Frieza had destroyed that ship you and Kakarott were on. It could not have been more perfect. Vegeta had an out from his mistake and yet you somehow sucked him back in," he accused. "Had you just left him be after the explosion, everything would have been fine and worked out the way it was meant to. You should have counted yourself fortunate enough just to have survived that and moved on instead of seeking him out!"

"Are you serious?" she asked. "Like if it was your mate and you felt their sadness and shame and anxiety, you wouldn't have-"

"You had to have known what kind of position you were putting him in by letting him know about your survival, you selfish girl!" he interrupted her. "He was meant to stay here to lead and rule his people as he was born to do, take a proper Saiyan female as a mate, produce a full blooded Saiyan heir; not that joke of a half breed mongrel you've given him!"

Bulma glared at him. How dare he speak about Trunks in that way!

"You couldn't just leave him be, could you?" The king said again. "And now he will face trial and be executed all because of your selfishness."

"I'm selfish?" she said back to him fearlessly, eyes blazing. What was the point in shrinking back? She was more than likely dead anyway; she figured she may as well speak her mind once and for all. "You're the one who doesn't care anything about what he wants! You deserted him when he was a child. You don't give two shits about him! All you care about is how everything looks to everyone else. I understand that, I do. Believe it or not, I did come from a very prestigious family. My parents had very high expectations of me and I did have to mind how I conducted myself so that it wouldn't reflect poorly on my father and give his company a bad name. I understand it, I do, but my parents never interfered in my private life the way you do with your son!"

"You will mind your tongue in my presence, wench. My son may let you order him around, but I refuse to be talked down to by some lowly bed slave who has a higher opinion of herself than what she should because my son was too stupid and weak to know when to dispose of his toys!"

"You listen to me!" She shouted angrily, coming up to the bars so she could look right at him, forgetting her fear of him and dismissing his insulting remarks completely. "I don't care what your opinion is of me, I really don't, so save the insults. But believe it or not, I love your son! And I know that means absolutely nothing to a cold-hearted, insensitive son of a bitch like you, and he'd be pissed if he knew I was telling you this, but he's not here so too bad!

"You need to wake the fuck up! You should be proud of your son, not ashamed of him; you should be fighting for him, not giving up on him and betraying him! Who cares what all of your advisors and political counsellors think! Use your own discretion and make a choice for yourself for once instead of relying on everyone else and what they think is best. From what I've seen they only care about keeping their positions of power and gaining more power for themselves than for the wellbeing of this planet and its inhabitants."

"You know nothing about running an empire, Woman!" he boomed.

"You're right, I don't," she agreed, realizing she may have been overstepping her bounds a little. However at this point she was so angry and sick over what was going on she didn't care about offending him or speaking out of place. "What I do know, is that your son is a wonderful man, mate and father and he is going to be an amazing king once he gets out of this mess you've thrown him into.

"I am sorry that you don't approve of me as his mate, but it was his choice. I don't for the life of me understand why he chose me either, but he did. So live with it! I may not be able to waltz into a battle and participate in hand to hand combat, but I am a technological genius. I am not just some stupid, attractive female he picked up randomly off the street to serve him as arm candy or a pretty little bed ornament for him to blow off steam with at the end of a hard day. He recognized my usefulness and potential despite my physical shortcomings. He respects me and I respect him deeply, and somehow, despite growing up under your rotten influence and with that horrible Frieza, he grew up to be an exceptional, honorable man!"

"No matter," he shrugged, unlocking the door and stepping inside with her. "Whether Vegeta makes it out of there by some miracle or not, I will take great pleasure in breaking you. My only regret is my son won't be around to witness it first hand or pick up the pieces."

Bulma rolled her eyes at him as she took several steps back, trying to keep a calm exterior and not let him know how afraid of him she really was. She knew she was trapped with no chance of escape and no hope of rescue. Whatever it was he had in mind she hoped it would be over quickly and before Vegeta decided to contact her through their bond.

"I will, however settle with giving Cold a detailed description of my time with you and to keep him updated and well informed."

"Why don't you do us all a favor and just kill me. It will save everyone a lot of time and hassle." She sighed in a bored tone in hopes of convincing him she was not afraid of him and maybe reveal the extent of his plans for her. "I mean, that's your game plan, isn't it?"

"That would be my preference, yes."

"Great," she sighed, trying to keep her fear and despair at the thought hidden from him. She knew if he killed her now, it would be to Vegeta's detriment; but at the same time she did not want to be used as a tool to hurt him. Not only that, but if he killed her, what would happen to Trunks? She refused to dwell on it at the moment. There had to still be a way for her to think herself out of this.

"Do not worry yourself just yet, my dear," he said, relishing in giving her the news that she indeed would not be finding a way out of this predicament. "I do not plan on killing you for some time."

Bulma frowned at him in confusion a moment before she shook her head at him. So she was going to be used as a tool to hurt and destroy Vegeta. While the thought hurt her because she knew she was headed into a world of horribleness for both herself and Vegeta, it also gave her some hope. Maybe Vegeta would still be able to find a way out and come for her and Trunks; she hoped anyway. When it came to keeping them safe, she knew he would always find some way against all odds to ensure their safety. In turn, if she was still alive, she could still work out a plan of escape for herself, Trunks and Tarble if possible. She still had the ship on her in a capsule, jammed down one of her socks. As long as she still had that, there was a chance of escape. For now, all she had to do was stay alive for Vegeta and for Trunks.

"To kill you now would make it very uninteresting for me and would bring down my son much too quickly for both mine and Cold's satisfaction. I want him to know that you suffered and suffered long. You share a bond, I want him to go through it with you and wish for your demise on your behalf." He said finally reaching for her and placing a hand on her neck and squeezing.

He laughed as the plasma shield from her pendant zapped him, but didn't seem to faze him. "Clever," he said, ripping the chain and tossing the pendant to the ground easily. "An invention of yours? I have heard you are quite the little genius."

She panicked as she felt his hand tighten around her neck. Obviously, the plasma shield hadn't had time to recharge itself enough between turning it off and back on again to be of any use to her. If it had, it would have repelled him to the other side of the cell. When they had initially tested it, it had even thrown Vegeta back.

Come on, Bulma. Try and figure out a way to talk yourself out of this. If she couldn't, there was a huge part of her that was still thankful that Vegeta wasn't listening in. She hoped he was ok and that he had figured something out. She did not want him knowing what may happen here.

She pushed against him as hard as she could despite knowing that there was no way she would be able to fight him off.

He chuckled at her efforts and wrapped his tail around her waist like a vice grip, squeezing and constricting her almost like a serpent would when trying to asphyxiate its prey. She found herself floored by the strength of it. Vegeta was always able to use his tail somewhat like an additional appendage but never had it occurred to her that it could possess this much strength or cause potential damage. He could crush the life out of her right here and now within moments if he really wanted to, which at this moment seemed to be a very good chance.

"Why do you look so surprised, my dear? Did my son never demonstrate to you how strong our tails really are?" He asked in an amused tone, taking great delight in her discomfort.

"He mentioned it," she sighed as it continued to wrap its way up her torso, squeezing her so tightly, she wondered how long it would be before her ribs might crack. She needed to remain calm and think herself out of this. "Oh," she moaned uncomfortably, trying to take in as much oxygen into her lungs as she possibly could and trying to not panic.

He suddenly groped her breast gently for a moment before roughly squeezing it, making her cry out. "Don't touch me!" she shouted, balling her hand in a fist, attempting to punch him but he grabbed her hand and crushed it in his as though it were nothing more than a twig. She screamed as she felt the delicate bones of her hand crush.

He chuckled at her discomfort. "After everything you have done and the influence you have over my son, I want to know exactly what the big deal is. You must be some sort of little freak in the bedroom that he could not bring himself to walk away from you. I know myself, a woman who is amazing in bed can become like an obsession. I want to know what that is and you are going to show me."

He let her go with his tail and turned her around so that she was facing the wall and was firmly pressed up against it with her legs parted by one of his.

"Please stop," she said quietly despite the fear and anxiety coursing through her. "I get it. You're stronger than me and can overpower me without any effort. You don't need to prove that. Please don't do this, I beg you."

"Good. I like begging." He snorted, bringing a hand around her waist, and snaking it down the front of her pants to touch her.

She swallowed down the bitter taste of bile threatening to come up. She felt utterly and completely ill. This could not be happening to her. She remembered then, that once, a long time ago when she and Vegeta had first met, he had warned her to look out for and keep away from his father. That he had some sick thing about forcing himself on women and breaking them down until they were nothing more than a shell. She wondered if she shut her mind off and quit fighting him, he would get bored and decide she wasn't worth his time and either kill her quickly or leave her be to formulate some plan of escape. It wasn't a great plan, but so far that was all she had. She knew she couldn't possibly fight him off.

She should have known that one day it would come to this. She was thankful that Vegeta had not only sheltered her from this potentially happening but he had always been considerate. She supposed the last night they had spent together before he left would be the last time anyone showed her any kind of consideration.

"Cold wants you for himself as part of the deal I made with him; I told him he could have you, but on second thought maybe I will keep you for myself. You could adorn my bed for a time. Until I grow tired of you and then crush you as my son should have. Then maybe Cold can have what is left of you. Not sure what he wants with you," he said as he dipped a finger inside her experimentally. "My god you're tight," he exclaimed.

Bulma shut her eyes tightly, willing herself not to move or make even a sound. She just hoped this would be over with quickly and that Vegeta would not try to check in on her while it was happening. She did not want him to know.

He managed to tear her pants down so they fell to around her knees before ripping her shirt off completely. She yelped as the seams pulled against her skin, hurting her before they gave way.

She felt her nipples harden at the cool temperature of the cell and covered her chest up modestly, even though she was facing away from him. She hoped he would not notice and mistake her body's natural reaction to the cold as arousal; she was anything but aroused at the moment.

The king looked over her nude form appreciatively a moment before running his hands lightly down her sides, stroking her lightly and finally groping her ass painfully before reaching in front of her, moving her hands away from her chest to grab a breast, squeezing it roughly, eliciting another cry from her.

Bulma tried to squirm away from him but his other arm caught around her waist, bringing her closer to him. She gasped as she felt the massive bulge from his arousal against her bum. Thankfully he was still fully clothed but that did not console her fear and absolute disgust over what was happening to her.

"Where do you think you're going, little one?" he said into her ear, wrapping his tail tightly around her waist so that she was completely trapped and now he had both his hands free to do whatever he wanted to her. "We've only just begun. However, if you wish it, we could move our activities to the comforts of my personal living quarters. This dank, cool cell isn't exactly great for setting the mood.
However, I have had some of my more memorable and satisfying conquests happen down here. It is up to you, my dear. I can make this either very comfortable or uncomfortable for you."

"Fuck you and get on with it already." She seethed, trying so hard to not tremble in a mixture of fear and rage.

"I see, raring to go, are we?" he chuckled. "Is that what he likes about you? That you are willing?"

"You're a pig! My suggestion is for you to leave now and I will never tell him you even touched me," she said through gritted teeth. "Really, what the hell is wrong with you? I'm your son's wife! I saw what Vegeta did to Zarbon, you know, and it wasn't nice. You want to end up like him?"

He chuckled a moment as he thought about it. "I remember what was left of him, yes. Pity though, my son isn't here this time to rescue you."

"No, he isn't, but that won't stop him from destroying you once he finds out," she threatened, still trying to think her way out of this. "Which he will."

"I can hardly wait," he replied. "He isn't aware right this moment of your predicament?"

"Nope," she replied, thankful that he had stopped his fondling as he heard that.

He was quiet a moment as though pondering what to do next. "Pity, however that isn't so bad, we can get a head start getting to know each other so that when he does check in on you, you both will have plenty to catch up on."

"Fuck you! I hope to god he kills you more viciously than he killed Zarbon!"

"There we go," he said almost soothingly, ignoring her remarks as he began stroking her front. "I will attempt to make this somewhat pleasurable at least for a little while for you before I get bored and rip into you. I expect many hours of enjoyment out of you, therefore I will play nice for now." he chuckled darkly as his other reached into her hair at the nape of her neck, pulling her head back roughly so that she was forced to look at him.

Bulma only hoped her body would not betray her and give him a mixed message that she was enjoying this. She could weep for Vegeta in this moment. He had endured something so similar to this. He had been just as helpless as she was now and it still haunted him. It was that thought shredded her resolve to shut her mind off and play dead for him; she couldn't let this happen to her, and if it did, she would go through it kicking and screaming the entire time.

With that new resolve and confidence flooding through her, she elbowed him in the gut as hard as she possibly could with her elbow of her crushed hand, and with her good hand squeezed and dug her nails into his tail as deeply as she could, yanking out a good fistful of hair.

She was about to stomp on his foot but quickly found herself slammed up against the wall so quickly and so hard that the wind was knocked out of her. The arm that had elbowed him was twisted up behind her back painfully and she was sure even a degree more and her shoulder would pop out.

"So you want it rough, then?" he snarled at her. "I do like a bit of fire from my conquests."

Bulma gasped in pain as he held her arm in place and squeezed her still sore, crushed hand. She didn't answer, just winced as he yanked her arm up even higher. "I wonder how long until your arm snaps?" he asked.

Bulma almost wished that he would decide inflicting physical harm on her would be more entertaining to him than raping her. If she could choose, she'd rather he beat her senseless.

"Such perfect skin," he mused to himself as he caressed up along the left side of her back. She screamed as he dug his nails into her left shoulder, scraping down her back, breaking the skin and leaving a trail of four long, deep open wounds that spanned the length of her shoulder down to her mid back.

"That's it," he chuckled. "The smell of fear. You are even more breakable than I thought."

She choked back a sob, completely giving up on getting herself out of this predicament as she heard him loosen his armor, obviously ready to take it off and get down to business.

He gripped her shoulder, spinning her around to face him and digging her open shoulder wound into the stone wall.

He was about to remove the rest of his flight suite to get down to business when he was suddenly ripped from in front of her and launched to the other side of the cell so fast, she had no idea what was going on. She felt her knees give out on her of sheer exhaustion and shock and collapsed to the ground on the cool stone floor and she pressed herself against the wall.

She could not see who it was, but someone was beating the King to a pulp mere feet away from her and despite the relief flooding her, she was never more terrified than she was right now at the sight of these two male Saiyans brawling mere feet in front of her.

"Who do you think you are?" the king snarled. "Have you any idea who I am?"

"I know exactly who you are and I don't care," the other male growled dangerously, his back to Bulma so she could not tell who her savior was. "This is your son's mate! How could you do such a thing?"

"Who the hell are you to make inquiries and pass judgment on me?" He bellowed. "I am your King. I will have you imprisoned and worse for daring to cross me! Have you heard of Bardock and what befell him mere hours ago?"

"Oh, Bardock," Bulma moaned, grief overwhelming her again. She covered her mouth in an attempt to keep herself from getting sick.

"I did not get the opportunity to get to know him personally, but I have heard of him."

"Well he is an example of what happens to those who constantly meddle in my affairs," the king said, still trying to figure out who was behind him. "If it is this wench you are wanting for yourself, leave me for a few hours. I have a lesson to give her. If there is anything left, I will hand her over to you if that is your wish."

The other male snarled at him in disgust and turned him so that he could administer to him a blow to the jaw. He'd had enough of him and his speech.

In the midst of all the action, Bulma had to turn away from the carnage happening mere feet away from her. She kept her hand over her mouth and held her breath, trying to keep herself from getting sick at the sight of it and from the trauma of everything that had happened to her in the last few hours. Maybe this is just a horrible nightmare? She asked herself for probably the twelfth time since Vegeta had warned her to leave that morning. Maybe this is a horrible dream and I will wake up and everything will be fine. I'm still in bed with Aro and when I get up, I'll get Trunks and Tarble ready like always and go visit Chi-Chi at Bardock's later on and Vegeta will have won against Cold and everyone will be on their way home by tomorrow. Please let this be just that... She pleaded inwardly, praying to whatever god out there that would possibly hear her plea as she listened with her eyes closed to the cracking of bones and the squishing sound of blood and gore.

He meant to stop his assault, but couldn't. Once he'd brought his fist back down, all he wanted was to hit him again and again and so he did, taking out all of his rage and disgust on the man until he was dead and he was punching and making a bloody mess out of a corpse.

"Brolly?" Bulma whispered, unsure once he stopped his assault.

"Bulma," he nodded, wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand. He felt his cheeks redden as he looked at her naked form. He turned his face away awkwardly and found the remnants of her torn top on the ground and tossed it to her.

"Thank you." She said, trying to cover herself as best she could, though the garment was completely ruined.

"Are you alright?" he asked timidly.

"I am, yes," she nodded once. "Thanks to you. If you hadn't come when you had..."

"I was actually here a while," he admitted awkwardly, looking at the ground and refusing to meet her eyes. "I would have stepped in sooner; I wanted to, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to help or not. I was waiting for an opportune moment I guess and..."

"When he took off his armor that was it." She answered. While she was beyond grateful that he had rescued her, she was a little more than mortified that he had been waiting and watching as she was being violated and manhandled.

"Yes." he nodded and looked awkwardly at the dead corpse of the king.

"What were you doing down here anyway?"

"I'd heard of your arrest and I wanted to let you know that I checked in on the boys and that they are both alright."

"Trunks and Tarble are ok?" She asked hopefully, in truth she had all but forgotten about them until now.

"Yes, they are both still in the nursery with the maid," he nodded, walking towards the door of the cell. "I need to go."

"Wait! Take me with you!" she said quickly.

"I can't. I have to inform someone of what happened."

"Okay but get me out of here first."

He looked at her a moment before shaking his head. "You will be safe here. I will go and get some clothes for you and we will go."

"I can go get my own clothes, just get me out of here and I will go to my room and change. Please?" She asked in a panicked tone. "I feel dirty. I need a shower and I need to check on the boys. Please don't leave me down here."

Brolly thought about it for a moment as he considered her plea. "I will be right back, I promise. You cannot walk around the palace as you are."

Bulma sighed in disappointment. She just needed to get out of there, grab the boys and leave in the ship Vegeta had given her. She couldn't do that if he left her in here. "Please hurry."

"I will," he nodded and left as quickly as he'd shown up.

Bulma was quiet and completely still a moment before her stomach retched. She didn't even try to hold it back this time. She let her stomach empty its contents on the ground; not that it had been much. Just bile and the stress of everything making her dry heave even after she had nothing left to purge.

She sat there and just shook like a leaf. She was a mess. She was so torn between wanting so badly to reach out to Vegeta; she needed to feel him, anything, and something from him to get her through this. But not only did she not want him to know that she had waited too long to leave and had been taken into custody, she also didn't want him to know that his father had tried to harm her, and most of all, she didn't want to tell him his father was dead.

For some reason even though she was well aware that they weren't on good terms, she knew that didn't mean Vegeta wanted his father dead. She knew that deep down he wanted his father's respect and admiration. His father may be a horrible person but he was still his father. She felt guilty. Even as her body still shook with terror and her shoulders, ribs and hand began to noticeably throb in pain now that her adrenaline flow had ceased.

She felt like this was her fault. No, she had not asked for it and she had tried to convince him to leave her alone. She knew that had Brolly not been there that at this moment she would be living in a hell that she didn't want to even fathom.

Despite all of that, she still felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt plaguing her. What if Vegeta blamed her for this? If she had only left sooner, if she hadn't gone back to let Bardock know she was leaving, he'd still be alive, she would not have been taken prisoner and Vegeta's father would still be alive too. This was all her fault, she told herself as she began to hyperventilate.

She only hoped Brolly would return quickly and she could get herself and the two boys out of here and off this planet; if Brolly wanted, he could even come with them. She hoped it would be that easy and that she could just disappear without a trace; go back to her parents where she should have been to begin with. Vegeta had been so adamant that she get out of there. It had been the only thing he asked of her and she'd screwed up royally. He was going to be livid with her once he found out. The thought of that alone made her dread talking to him next, even though that was all she wanted.

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Brolly couldn't get away from the dead body of the king fast enough. He couldn't believe what he'd done. He'd killed a man; and not just any man, but his king! He was in deep trouble. There was only one person he knew who would be able to potentially help him, and that was Paragus.

He would keep his promise to Bulma and come back to her to give her some clothes and get her out of there but she would have to wait.

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