Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Butterflies & Hurricanes ❯ Chapter 27 ( Chapter 27 )

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

Disclaimer:  I don’t own anything.  Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I’m just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.

A GINORMOUS THANK YOU to fellow writer Dragonbabezee for beta and editing this chapter for me. If it weren’t for her, I’d still be chewing my nails trying to decide what to do with this mess I have created in this universe.

Warning: This story is M rated for adult scenarios, situations and disturbing content.. If you are too young or that isn’t your cup of tea, turn away now as this story is about to take a very dark turn.

Chapter 27

Jeyice made his way back slowly to Cold's throne room; he had been gone long enough he figured. He just hoped that Cold hadn't beaten the boys up too badly, he didn't really feel like tending to their wounds or babysitting right now.


What he really wanted was an endless amount of alcohol to consume and a decent lay to tire him out. He thought of Bulma again. Such a shame she wouldn't cooperate, he scoffed silently to himself. He was certain she would be perfect.


He paused a moment before opening the door and walked into Cold's throne room.


He saw Tarble who looked to have been completely unharmed, kneeling over Trunks who was an unconscious, bleeding, broken mess on the floor.


"You can take that one to a regeneration tank, Jeyice. I think I have made my point." Cold said to him in an almost bored tone. “Stubborn as his father, that one. He’d rather get beaten to a bloody pulp than show me what he was actually capable of.”


"They do say the apple does not fall far from the tree, my Lord. I will tend to him, but I must inform you that there are no tanks available," Jeyice reminded him. "None but for one in the science lab of Dr. Gero anyway."


"Then send him there." Cold shrugged.


"Are you sure that's such a good idea? Their mother is there."


Cold thought for a moment. "It's fine. She could do with a little bit of motivation to keep her cooperating from what I hear. Seeing them may do that."


"Alright," Jeyice nodded and turned to pick up Trunks. "Come on, you."


Tarble didn't need to be encouraged twice about leaving.


He followed behind Jeyice as they made their way down the halls to an area that he'd never been to before. "My mother is where we are going?" he asked.


"Yes," Jeyice replied. "You can visit with her while your brother is recovering; I will return for you both in a little while. You are not to leave until I return or you will find yourself in much the same condition as your brother here or worse, understand?"


“Yes, sir.” he answered quietly.


“I don't fully understand why Cold felt the need to punish him for your shortcomings, nor do I agree with it, but you had better shape up, boy and shape up fast.”


"Yes, sir, I will."


"You'd better. All you do is hold him back."


"I'm sorry,"


"Well, don't apologize to me!" Jeyice scoffed at him. "Apologize to your brother. It's your fault he got the beat down today. Cold is getting wary of both your lack of progress so you'd better start getting better before his patience runs thin and he blasts you two worthless wanks. And if that happens, Cold will most likely end me as well since it is my responsibility to train you two up. It reflects poorly on me and I do not appreciate it, not one bit."


"I will try harder, I promise." Tarble said, trying to blink back tears.

"Cut your sniveling!" Jeyice snapped at him. "Do you want me to give you something to cry over?"


"No," he croaked out.


"Save it for your mother then because you'll have no sympathy from me."


Tarble nodded and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He felt bad that Trunks had gotten the brutal beating he had. Trunks had only been trying to protect him. It didn't seem to matter what he did or how hard he worked at it, he just could not keep up with Trunks.


Trunks excelled at his training. He caught on to things quickly and the harder he trained the stronger became. Tarble on the other hand had to work at it and he felt it didn't matter how hard he worked he seemed to have plateaued and the gap between himself and his brother was so vast at this point that he feared he would never be able to catch up to him. It wasn't until they started the second day in the time chamber this month that he'd pretty much given up on even trying to catch up to Trunks, never mind keeping up. Except by doing that all he'd done was get Trunks in trouble.


Jeyice walked into the science lab where Bulma was cleaning up the mess from whatever the deranged doctor had done to Vegeta. She was on her own and looked as though she had been crying.


She stood up when she heard them come in. "I told you to get out of here and not come back!" She snarled angrily to Jeyice, not even noticing who or what he was carrying in his arms. She couldn't see Tarble because he was hiding behind Jeyice.


"Oh, well I guess I'll just take Trunks here and be on my way then. He can wait however long for a regeneration tank in the barracks and by the look of it, it could be a day or two.” Jeyice retorted snidely, shaking the limp form of Trunks in his arms.

“What?” she asked, actually looking at what the orange man was carrying and noticed the unmistakable lavender hair. It wasn’t possible, but who else had that color of hair? She noticed a young clone of Vegeta standing behind Jeyice as well and concluded that he must be Tarble. “What the hell?” she exclaimed in disbelief from both Trunks’ beaten form and the fact that both boys were far older than what they should have been. “What, what happened to Trunks?”

“Got a beating from Cold, and as you know, all the regeneration tanks in the barracks are in use,” Jeyice replied. “There, you can see them for a little while now, but that’s it.”

Bulma raced over to the second tank, getting it ready, her hands shaking as she entered the required stats for it. “Alright, put him in,” she said.

Jeyice and Tarble had stripped off his armor and flight suit, leaving him in nothing but his underwear.

“Oh my god,” Bulma breathed as she got a better look at him. He had several broken bones and many scars on his body. Just like your father, she thought sadly to herself as she watched Jeyice set his arm and shoulder.

They then put him in the tank, put on a breathing mask and waited for the liquid to fill it.

“I’ll leave, but will be back to check on him in an hour. Do not even think about leaving here or trying anything.” Jeyice warned, leaving the lab. He was badly in need of a drink and a good meal.

Bulma stood there looking at Trunks, now suspended in the water. How had he grown so much so fast?

“It’s my fault,” a small voice behind her said.

Bulma, having completely forgotten about Tarble, whirled around to face him. He was nearly the spitting image of Vegeta, only he had bangs and his hair wasn’t quite so tall and unruly. She remembered the portrait of the royal family hanging on the wall in the palace halls on Vegeta-sei; Tarble looked exactly like Vegeta had in that picture. It was almost eerie the resemblance. “Oh, Tarble, sweetie; I’m sure that’s not true.” She said soothingly once she’d caught herself.

“It is,” the young boy nodded. “He’s been covering for me.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, walking up to him.

“He’s much stronger than I am. So he hides it so I won’t get in trouble, only somehow they figured it out and so he got in trouble for it. Cold said I have to get stronger or he’ll hurt Trunks worse next time,” he said, his lower lip trembling as he tried to keep himself from crying.

“That’s not your fault, sweetie.” Bulma said, though knew it sounded hollow. She got down on her knees to look at him at his level. How could he be this big? How can he be talking this well even? She kept asking herself as she looked from him and back to Trunks’ floating form in the regeneration just a few feet away. It didn’t make sense. “Do you mind telling me how old you are now?”

“We’re eight,” he shrugged. “But technically we’re one, I think? They make us train in a chamber once a month for two days and for every day you are in there it’s like a year outside except you can’t stay in for more than two days.”

“I see,” Bulma nodded, taking that in. It didn’t make sense, but it was a better explanation than anything that came to her mind other than that she had to be going completely insane.

“You’re our mom, right?” he asked her suddenly, almost cautiously, as he studied her closely. Bulma wasn’t sure if he was unsure or suspicious of her.

“I am, yes,” she nodded.

“Hmm, I thought so,” he nodded. “Trunks remembers you and talks about you all the time but for some reason I can’t remember you.”

“Trunks remembers me?” she asked, trying to keep herself from getting emotional.

“Yea,” he replied. “I’m sorry I don’t.”

“It’s okay, sweetie, its ok.” She had no idea what to say, so she hugged him. Of course he wouldn’t remember her, she wasn’t his mother she thought guiltily. He may remember something about Asia though, wouldn’t he? “You don’t have any other memories of anyone else though? Surely you must remember something?”

“Nope, nothing,” he sighed, hugging her back stiffly, uncomfortable with such a gesture. Sensing that, Bulma let him go. “I remember a lady though who used to sing to me, I think. She had really short hair but that’s all I remember.”

That was Neesa, Bulma thought to herself sadly that he didn’t even remember his own mother. “Yea, sometimes there was a girl who would help me look after you and Trunks because it was hard caring for both of you at the same time. She really cared about both of you.”

“Oh,” he said, looking at her intently. “You’re really pretty.”

“Thanks,” she smiled awkwardly.

Tarble turned away and looked at Trunks for a moment and then walked up to Vegeta’s regeneration tank which was right next to Trunks and looked at him. “Is that my dad?” he asked in wonder.

Bulma closed her eyes, swallowed and took a deep breath. Oh, god I cannot do this today, I just can’t, she told herself. “Yes,” she finally answered.

“He’s the prince of our whole entire race, right?” He asked her excitedly and almost in awe, his fingers pressed right into the glass as he tried to get as good a look at Vegeta as possible.

“He is,” Bulma nodded. Or was, she silently added to herself.

“Wow,” he breathed looking at Vegeta as though he were in a daze. “I wish I can be like him some day.”

“I’m sure you will,”

“Why is he in here though if he’s so strong?”

“He is strong,” Bulma answered, trying to think of something to tell him that was different from what actually happened. “He, umm, he needed an operation and we put him in here to heal quickly like Trunks.”

“Oh,” he replied, still transfixed by Vegeta’s floating form. “They said he has to be in prison for the rest of his life because he was against King Cold and killed his son or something, and that you work here because you’re his wife and because you are smart.”

“Yea, it’s complicated, kiddo,” she sighed. She had no idea what to say to him. She had worried herself sick over their wellbeing and while she was relieved that they were somewhat okay, it was clear that they weren’t in a great environment. Trunk’s wounds said it all and she assumed Tarble was littered with scars as well but she couldn’t bring herself to ask him.

“Do you think he will be out soon?” Tarble asked.


“Who, Trunks?”


“No, him,” Tarble clarified, still looking at Vegeta. “Trunks won’t be long. He’s been beat up worse than that.”


Bulma took a deep breath and held it for a few moments as she leaned against the work table. Trunks looked to be in terrible condition, like he’d been run over a few times by a mac truck and Tarble shrugged it off as it not being that bad and that he’d sustained worse? This has to be a nightmare. A terrible, terrible nightmare, she kept telling herself as she squeezed her eyes shut. I’m not here, we aren’t here. I’m going to wake up at any moment because Trunks is going to wake up and he will need to be changed and fed. I’m going to wake up in Vegeta’s arms and he will make me forget about this horrible nightmare.


“Are you ok?” Tarble asked her.


Bulma opened her eyes and saw the small miniature version of Vegeta looking at her with concern. You can’t have a meltdown now! She chastised herself. “Yea, I’m fine.”

“You look upset.”


“No, no,” she insisted, shaking her head. “I’m fine. Just surprised and happy to see you and Trunks. I wasn’t expecting you to have grown this much in such a short time. You both were just little babies the last time I saw you and I’m sorry I missed out on it.”


“It’s okay,” Tarble shrugged, turning back to look at Vegeta. “They said you were too busy here.”


“Yes, they keep me very busy here,” she agreed. “But they don’t want me to see you because you need to focus on your training. That’s why I haven’t been able to see you.” she added.


“Well, I know where to find you now,” Tarble shrugged easily. “Maybe Trunks and I can come see you if you can’t come see us.”


“I would love nothing more than that,” she nodded, once again fighting to keep herself from sobbing. “But make sure you don’t get yourselves into trouble, alright? If you are going to get in trouble for coming here, I’d rather you didn’t. I can’t bear that.”


“You don’t want to see us?” he asked her with a hurt frown.


“No, I do, I want to see you every chance I can, but if King Cold and Jeyice say you can’t then you can’t. I don’t want you both to end up hurt like Trunks because you came to see me.” She tried to explain.


“Why can’t we?”


“Because your father and I are prisoners and aren’t allowed any visitors.”


“Oh,” he sighed. “Well I know Trunks will want to see you. Hopefully he will be out soon so you can see him.”


“I hope so,” she nodded. “I miss you both very much.”


“Is he going to be out soon?” Tarble asked again, looking at Vegeta.


“I don’t think so,” she sighed, walking up to the regeneration tank to read the stats. It didn’t look good; he was in a fairly bad state.


Tarble raised on his tippy toes to read the monitor as well. “He won’t be out for a few days then?”


Bulma shook her head. “Probably not, no. How do you know that?”


“That bar,” he pointed. “It’s on one out of five. Five means you can come out.”


She nodded. “He only went in a little while before you guys came, so he hasn’t been in for very long.”


“That,” Tarble said as he pointed to a stat that she couldn’t read. “That says his ki level and for some reason it thinks he has no ki so it’s low and it will take him a while to get better. How can he have no ki?”


“King Cold had the Doctor take it away from him so he couldn’t get out of this place.” She answered; she understood some of the status readings on the tanks, but not all of them.


“That sucks,” Tarble exclaimed. “I heard he was one of the strongest warriors in the whole universe,”


Bulma nodded. “He sure was.”


“Can he get his ki back?”


“I sure hope so, kiddo.”


“He has to. Then maybe we can go someplace else,” Tarble said, still trying to read the stats on the monitor.


She was about to reply but the timer on Trunks’ regeneration tank chirped loudly, indicating that he was ready to come out.


Bulma rushed over and pushed the button to begin draining the tank. Trunks was already awake and looking curiously at her.


"Trunks," she she sighed as she handed him a towel to dry off as soon as he was able to step out of the tank.

He looked at her almost in wonder as he took the towel and quickly dried himself off.

"Oh, Trunks, I'm so sorry!" She cried, wrapping her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He tensed up in shock and it took him a moment to hug her back, the action completely foreign to him yet somehow instead of feeling uncomfortable with her invading his personal space, he felt comforted by her close proximity and her scent induced an almost calming effect on him.

"Mom?" He asked. He wasn't sure how he knew it was her, but he did. His memory of her wasn't great, but he knew instinctively that it was her. He remembered her hair and her eyes, her smile and her scent now that she was close to him, it was unmistakable.

"It's me sweetie," she said, still hugging him. "I've missed you so much!"

"You did?" He asked in confusion, pulling away from her.

"Of course!" She exclaimed, getting on her knees so she could look at him at the same level. "We don't have much time before Jeyice comes back to check on you, but know that I think of you both every moment of every day and as soon as I can figure out a way out of here, we will. Just hang in there and know that your father and I love you and haven't forgotten about you; no matter what they tell you."

"Where is father?" Trunks asked. "Is he here?"

"Ya! He's in a tank, Trunks." Tarble said from behind them, standing by Vegeta's tank.

Bulma stood up and moved so Trunks could see.

Trunks walked up to the tank and looked at the man floating peacefully in the light green liquid. He touched the glass and stared at him in awe almost as though willing him to wake up.

It took Bulma great effort to blink back tears and swallow the painful lump of emotion in her throat threatening to come to the surface. She wished so badly that Vegeta would have been awake to see Trunks.

"Isn't he awesome, Trunks?" Tarble asked excitedly. "King Cold was right, he's not very big. Maybe I can still be as strong as him one day."

"If he's so strong, why is he in there?" Trunks asked, not taking his eyes off his father. He barely remembered him, but he knew it was him. Unlike his mother, whom he remembered things like her scent and the sound of her voice and a vague recollection of howshe looked, the only thing he remembered of his father was more his features. Dark hair, dark eyes. Though when he tried to actually think about what he looked like, aside from remembering the thick, dark drawn together eyebrows, the rest of his face was usually obscured by a bright aura. He remembered his hands, come to think of it, and he thought that was a strange thing to remember. Out of everything he could possibly remember about the man, why was it his hands he thought of?

"He had an operation earlier so the doctor put him in there to heal," Bulma answered.

"Why?" Trunks asked, still transfixed by his father's floating, dormant form in front of him.

"He's sick," Bulma replied, unsure of what to say.

"They said he is a prisoner," Trunks said. It was a statement, not a question. "That he murdered King Cold's son and that he is a traitor to the empire."

"Oh, boy, sweetie," Bulma sighed, completely unsure of what to say and how to answer that. She was not surprised they were filling the boy's heads with lies about Vegeta and herself and she always assumed that one day she would have to figure out what to say some time, however she never would have thought she would have to do that now. Her son wasn't evenyear old and here he was right in front of her as an eight year old! "You know, it's really complicated. I can't give you an easy answer to that except that while it may look that way to some, everything your father did was in his best effort to protect us. You and Tarble and me. He was trying to keep us safe and out of harm’s way."

Trunks snorted. "He did a great job."

Bulma clenched her jaw and took a deep breath to keep from crying. "He did. Your father kept us safe. It was me who messed up and got us here, not him.”

Trunks looked at her and frowned.

"I'm so sorry, my baby," she whispered. "One day, when we have more time, I will tell you everything; I promise. But for the moment, please understand that both your father and I love you both very, very much. No matter what they tell you."

"Awe, how sweet." Jeyice sneered as he walked in. "I see you're all better and ready to get back at it?"

"Yes, sir." Trunks nodded, standing straight and catching the new, clean flight suit Jeyice tossed at him.

"Good," Jeyice grunted. "Now hurry up! We've wasted enough time today."

"Thank you," Bulma said quietly to him.

"Do not thank me just yet, kitten. I only brought them here because there are no tanks available and we have work to do so this was the quicker option," he snorted. "I will return and expect payment at my earliest convenience."

Bulma glared at him and she felt her stomach drop unpleasantly at the suggestive way he looked at her.

"What is it, love?" he asked mockingly. "I would have thought that there would be no price too high for a chance to see your swiveling brats."

"Think of something else and I will gladly reimburse you for your troubles." She replied.

"No, I have everything I could ever want except the presence of a beautiful woman decorating and warming my bed."

"Then find another!" She snapped, trying to keep her composure in front of the two boys who were looking very confused. "I won't do that!"

"Boys, do you remember what I said about your mother not caring enough to see you?" Jeyice asked the boys with a devious smirk.

Both boys nodded and looked down at floor.

"Yet she just told you how much she supposedly cares for you both," he went on.

"Don't listen to him!" she cried, pleadingly looking at Trunks.

"Who do you think they will believe? You, whom they haven't seen in eight years, or me, the person who has for all intents and purposes raised them, hmmm?" He asked. "You see, boys, I told you your parents didn't give a shit about you. Your bitch of a mother who would rather remain here with your traitor of a father who is nothing more than a decorative fixture in here.”

"Please stop," she said to him.

"Would you like to see your mother again, Boys?" He asked them and they both nodded quickly. "That's what I thought. Now, unless your mother agrees to pay her dues like any good mother would, I cannot allow you to see her again."

“But why not?” Trunks asked boldly.

“It’s complicated but in the end, all on your mother I am afraid.” Jeyice shrugged.

It took everything within her to not go over there and strangle that man. How dare he put her in such a position and in front of the boys no less!

“You don’t want us to come see you?” Tarble asked, looking upset. Clearly he had no clue as to what Jeyice was insinuating.

“No, I do,”

“But not badly enough,” Trunks interjected looking almost accusingly at her.

“There, you see now, boys?” Jeyice asked, feigning sympathy.

“You’re a monster!” Bulma snarled at him between grit teeth, glaring daggers at him as her mind raced with trying to come up with some kind of solution to all of this.

“I’m no monster, love,” Jeyice shrugged. “I’m the one who has been raising your boys. Keep that in mind. Not to mention if you want to see them again, I have a price, you know what it is so when you are ready, look me up and you can see them almost whenever you like. I will make sure of it. You can even see them tomorrow again if you’d like, just say the word and we can arrange payment later on this evening.”

Bulma shook her head at him and didn’t even try to keep the tears from falling this time.

“Come on, mom,” Trunks said. “Either you want to see us or you don’t. I would do anything he asked just to see you and dad.”

“Exactly,” Jeyice chuckled.

“Me too,” Tarble agreed.

“Alright,” she answered quietly, feeling completely defeated. She knew the boys had no idea what they were asking of her but she didn’t want Jeyice to warp their minds further by convincing them that she and Vegeta had simply selfishly abandoned them. “Alright, I will pay him so we can see each other, alright?”

The side of Trunks mouth turned up in a half smirk so reminiscent of Vegeta it almost made the hair on the back of her neck stood up. “I knew you really wanted to see us.”

Bulma could only nod; she didn’t have it in her to disappoint him. The relief and happiness that were so evident in his blue eyes nearly broke her heart. “I do,” she whispered.

“Yaay!” Tarble happily chirped. “When do we get to see you tomorrow?”

“After training,” Jeyice replied. “Now we best get going.”

“Alright,” both boys nodded, ready to go knowing that they would be back to see their mother again tomorrow.

They both approached her and wrapped their arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. She hugged them back as tightly as she could all the while glaring at Jeyice and the smug look of triumph on his face. He had deliberately done this as a way of entrapping her into agreeing to his sick little proposal. Never in her life could she remember hating anyone as much as she hated him in this moment.

“Come along,” he barked almost impatiently at the boys. “We still have training to do, you know.”

The boys let Bulma go and followed their sensei out of the lab.

“See you tomorrow, mom,” Trunks said to her.

“See you tomorrow, boys. Be good!”

“We will.” Both boys replied at the same time before exiting the lab.

“I’ll see you later.” Jeyice said, pointing and winking at her before leaving.

Oh, god, Bulma thought to herself and raced to a sink in the back of the lab and proceeded to throw up. What the hell did I just agree to? She thought frantically. If it weren’t for the boys being present and looking at her pleadingly to agree to do whatever Jeyice wanted so that she could see them, she would have never agreed to this.

She rinsed out her mouth and splashed the cool water on her face before heading back to the room where the regeneration tank was located and looked at Vegeta who was floating peacefully and completely oblivious to her troubles. Vegeta, can you hear me? She asked, placing a hand on the glass in front of his face and trying to reach out to him through the bond. She couldn’t feel anything back from him but a haze, which she assumed was because he was very heavily medicated. Please, Vegeta. I need you right now! She tried again.

I saw Trunks, Vegeta, I saw our son. I need to know what to do! I don’t have a lot of time before Jeyice comes back and I need you to tell me what I should do or if you can forgive me if I have no other choice. Please Vegeta, if you can hear me in there, I need you!

Of course, she got no reply from him and after several more minutes trying to get a response from him, she gave up and went back to cleaning the lab. She had to come up with a way to avoid Jeyice, she just had to. Fortunately for her, she came up with her best ideas when she was cleaning or working on something. Not to mention, Gero would more than likely be back soon and have a fit if the lab wasn’t spotless by then.

-0-0-0-

Trunks, Tarble and Jeyice were almost back to the training center when Jeyice got a call on his scouter from Cold, notifying him that he needed to see him immediately. Scoffing in annoyance, Jeyice dismissed the boys to head back to their room and told them to be ready to train early the next morning.

They seemed alright with that and so once he escorted them back to their room, he made his way back to Cold’s throne room, wondering what he could possibly want with him? He hoped he wasn’t in any trouble; after all it wasn’t his fault the brats were lagging, he was doing the very best he could with them. He hoped that Cold would be brief and not take up too much of his time, he still had to go back and make good on his arrangement with Bulma.

He knew he had played dirty in order to get her to agree, but he didn’t care. He wanted her more than he could ever remember wanting another female. Not to mention he could not wait to brag to the others about how he’d had Vegeta’s woman; she was certainly the talk of the barracks. While no one had made the attempt to go and get her for themselves, he knew that the others would be envious of him. He could not wait to flaunt it.

Jeyice walked into Cold’s throne room for the fourth time that day, which was four times too many in one day for his liking. “You wanted to see me, my Lord?”

“Yes, I have an assignment for you, Jeyice,” Cold greeted him. “Come sit, have a glass of wine and we will discuss it at length.”

Jeyice nodded and took his seat after accepting a glass of wine from the servant. “How may I be of service to you, my Lord?”

“I need you to go and purge the surrounding planets of Vegeta-sei.” Cold said. “The planet was surrounded by several other small planets, each heavily armed and close together so that they could return to defend Vegeta-sei or one another within moment’s notice. It occurs to me that King Vegeta may be hiding on one of those planets, or would he not be here yet to collect his son?”

Jeyice frowned in confusion at the Ice-jin king. “I thought he was killed on Vegeta-sei when it was destroyed.”

“That is only speculation on the woman’s part; remember she was not entirely sure. She assumed he was still on planet when it was destroyed; what if he wasn’t? What if he is cleverly hiding on one of those bases biding his time and then comes here?”

“I suppose it could be a possibility, my Lord; a narrow one, but a possibility nonetheless, I suppose,” he replied. “Are you sure you are not being over paranoid?”

“I would much rather be over paranoid than under paranoid!” he huffed. “Chances are there is nothing left. However I want you to lead a mission and have those planets destroyed, I want there to be no doubt that there is nothing left of the Vegeta empire.”

“Very well, my lord,” Jeyice nodded. “That may take me a couple of months, however,”

“I do not care how long it takes, so long as it is done.”

“Very well, your highness, but what of the two younglings?” he asked. “Who will oversee their training in my absence, or will you allow them to accompany me?”

“Hmm, no, they are not yet ready to accompany you on a mission.” Cold said, shaking his head. “I will appoint someone else to train them in your absence.”

“Alright,” Jeyice agreed. Truthfully, he wasn’t opposed to it. He was getting tired of constantly hanging around the two boys. They could be so petulant at times!

“Good! You leave early tomorrow, so I suggest you get your rest.” Cold said.

“I leave first thing tomorrow?” Jeyice exclaimed; that didn’t fit into his evening plans.

“Yes, I want this taken care of as soon as possible.” Cold clarified. “Every single planet that was a part of King Vegeta’s empire is to be taken out. I want nothing left behind and I need it done immediately, and as it is, it is a three week trip.”

“Very well,” Jeyice sighed, finishing his wine and bidding King Cold a good evening. He couldn’t believe his bad luck being sent off on such a boring, pointless mission as this! He was going to head back to his room in the barracks, but then decided to still pay Bulma a quick visit before turning in for the night. She did after all owe him as part of their agreement.

“My, what a sendoff,” he chuckled out loud in the hall as he turned tail and made his way back to the science lab.

-0-0-0-

Trunks frowned in concentration as he manipulated a small ki ball. He was laying on his bed contemplating the day’s events.

He felt happy that he had seen his mother. He had been so sure that he had remembered her and now he knew that he had remembered her. It had been a topic of argument many times between him and Tarble. He swore he remembered their mother and Tarble insisted that he didn't because he himself had no recollection of her.

As he sat there thoughts of his father began to take shape. It disturbed him that not only did he only vaguely remember him, but it bothered him to see the man whom he had heard so much about, the man he secretly idolized in a regeneration tank. Anything he had heard about him was always about how strong he was. , they had told him all about how it was his treasonous actions and arrogance had been his downfall, that the only way he was able to be defeated was at the hands of artificial intelligence and strength; that without the androids, he would have been unstoppable.

It was rumored that his father was stronger than King Cold himself. That had always fascinated Trunks. He could not remember much about him, but he wanted to be just like him. He wanted to make a name for himself. He wanted to be even stronger and better than his father was. He never made it known, for fear of punishment, but he loved hearing anything about his father.

It was like he could never know enough about him and it didn't matter if it was something good or bad that someone said about him; if it pertained to Vegeta, he had to know.

"Would you stop doing that?" Tarble asked him irritably.

"What?"

"That. With your ki," Tarble clarified. "You always do it when you're upset over something and it's annoying."

"It relaxes me," Trunks replied, not stopping. "You should try it; it would help with your control you know."

"I know that but it's too hard. I'm tired." Tarble sighed. "And I just want to sleep but I can't with you doing that."

"So roll over, close your eyes and go to sleep." Trunks snorted. "And it's not hard if you work at it, which you don't."

"Because it's too hard for me to control. I don't know why you're so good at that and I'm not. Just like everything." He pouted, rolling over so his back was facing his brother.

"So work at it," Trunks sighed.

"I do."

"Ya, when we are training and you have no choice," Trunks pointed out. "Try working on things when we aren't training. That's the only thing you and I do that's different."

"But I'm so tired after training, Trunks."

"I know, I am too, but I push myself anyway. You should too so we both quit getting into trouble." Trunks said, trying not to sound resentful, still playing with his ki ball. "You know I had an idea today."

"What's your idea?" Tarble asked excitedly, turning around in his bed to face Trunks.

"Well, Jeyice said that King Cold wants us to start going on missions soon, so if you can get stronger then we get to go."

"Why is that a good idea, Trunks? I don't want to go on any missions. Didn't you see some of those guys in the barracks who just got back from that other mission?" Tarble exclaimed. "I don't want to be sent away."

"They won't send us on anything hard like that for a while. But think about it- if we are sent on a mission it means we can leave here. Don't you want to leave?"

"Well ya, but where would we go?" Tarble asked after thinking about it for a moment.

"Anywhere," Trunks shrugged. "Far from here."

"I guess," Tarble agreed. "But how would we get away?"

"Lots of ways," Trunks replied as though it were a stupid question. "We could fake our death so they leave without us, or steal a ship. I think I'm getting good enough at flying that I could manage. I think you could too if you don't freak out; you are the better pilot."

"That's right, I am," he nodded proudly.

"We could see if mom wants to come too." Trunks added. "Now that we know for sure that she's here and where to go to visit her, maybe she can come with us."

"Do you think?" Tarble asked. "I still don't remember her but she's exactly like how you said she was. What about father? Do you think he would want to come too?"

"I don't know, maybe." Trunks shrugged. He still wasn't sure what to think about their father. Sure he practically idolized him, but having seen him there in the regeneration tank like that had really disturbed him. He'd had dreams and had entertained fantasies about meeting his father.

Needless to say, seeing him for the first time ever in a regeneration tank wasn't what he'd had in mind. He'd wanted to talk to him, train, and spar and learn from him. His father was supposedly the best. Yet if he was the best, then why was he in a regeneration tank? And if he was the best then why were they here? His mother hadn't even been able to answer that.

"For now let's just focus on getting strong enough to be sent out on missions and what we get to do. Then we can decide how to leave," Trunks said after a long pause. "Maybe if they trust us, they will give us our own ship and we can escape that way."

"Ya, I guess," Tarble agreed. "What if they split us up though?"

"Don't know," Trunks shrugged. "You always have your scouter, right?"

"Ya,"

"Then we can still keep in touch."

"Ooh! Trunks! We should make up a secret code so no one knows but us what we are talking about!" Tarble said excitedly.

"That's a really good idea," Trunks agreed. "We should do that, and you need to start training when we aren't training."

"Ok, I will tomorrow." Tarble nodded. "I'll train with you after Jeyice dismisses us."

"Alright."

With that, Tarble rolled over to try and sleep but Trunks continued to stay awake and play with his small ball of ki as though he were completely transfixed by it.

As he sat there still playing absentmindedly with the ki ball, he was hit with something. He wasn't sure if it was a memory or a flashback but it gave him a strange feeling of deja vu almost.

There was a bright white aura in front of him and the outline of the blackest hair standing straight up. As always, he couldn't quite make out the face, but he knew it was his father.

As he thought on it he realized that the white aura was a ki ball not unlike the one he was currently manipulating. That was what was shielding his father's face from him. As he frowned in concentration he remembered the hard jawline and noticed how his mouth was poised in what wasn't a smile but more of a smirk.

He remembered the familiar, large hand holding the ki ball just in front of him invitingly as though encouraging him to take it. He focused and looked at that hand as it manipulated the small ball of ki so easily as though it were nothing. It bounced from finger to finger and back again.

Trunks did that now with his own small ball of ki. He remembered thinking it was so neat that someone could manipulate it like that.

It came to him then why he always associated the thought of large hands with his father; maybe he had done this exercise with him when he was younger? Was that why he always reverted to doing this when he was in deep thought? He never wondered before until this very moment. It was like the memory of it hit him like a sledge hammer right then and he had the sudden overwhelming need to go back to the science lab and look in on him.

Maybe he was out now and he could talk to him and ask him? Or maybe his mother knew? Now that he knew exactly where they were, he wanted to go and see them, know them. Jeyice couldn't be right when he told them repeatedly that they wanted nothing to do with Tarble and himself.

While it was all he'd ever been told, something about it never felt right to him. Tarble had been more accepting of that explanation for reasons Trunks never understood; the same way he didn't understand how he just knew deep down in his bones that what they had been told was a lie.

It didn’t sit well with him either how reluctant his mother had been to agree to whatever payment Jeyice wanted from her. What could he have wanted that was so bad she would rather not pay him than see him and Tarble? He had felt that she was sincerely glad to have seen them and that she really did want to see them again, until Jeyice asked for a payment of some sort.

As he lay there he came to the conclusion that he needed to find out; he needed to speak with his mother and find out what Jeyice wanted from her and get answers to some of the other questions he had.

He got out of bed and proceeded to change into his flight suit and put on his armor and gloves.

“What are you doing now, Trunks?” Tarble asked sleepily, sitting up. He had almost fallen asleep when he’d heard Trunks moving around.

“I’m going to see Mom,” he answered, standing up and looking for his gloves.

“Why?”

“Because I think something isn’t right,” he answered. “She was really upset to agree to what Jeyice wanted from her.”

“Ya, I noticed that.” Tarble agreed. “Can I come with you?”

“If you hurry up,” Trunks answered, he was all ready to go.

“I’ll hurry! I want to see her too!” he announced, jumping out of bed to get changed.

-0-0-0-

Jeyice walked into the lab quietly, hoping there wasn’t anyone else around. It was quiet and there was an Android standing guard but that was about it.

“I need to speak with the woman that works here,” Jeyice said to the Android.

It pointed to the end of the hall. “She resides in the last room on the right and is not to exit the premises under any circumstances.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t be going anywhere,” Jeyice said walking by the android. Once he made it, he knocked once before opening the door and letting himself into a small room. There was a single-person bed against the wall on the right; at the end was a small kitchenette with a countertop, stove and fridge and to the left a doorframe to where he assumed was a bathroom and shower.

She wasn’t there from what he could tell so he left, and headed back into the lab where he found her sitting on the floor next to Vegeta’s regeneration tank with her head in her hands. She looked up suddenly as she heard him walk into the room. “What the hell are you doing here?” She demanded.

"I am here to collect my payment, love," he said. "It would seem that I am going to be gone on a very long mission. Could be two months or more before I am able to return. I was hoping you would give me something of a proper send off, something for me to think on and look forward to returning to."

"Get out." She replied flatly, despite knowing that it wouldn't be that easy to get rid of him.

"Awe, come on, love," he whined. "Don't you think I deserve a reward for letting you see your brats this afternoon?"

"I thanked you," she said, standing up to face him.

"Not properly."

Bulma’s back went rigid as he came towards her. She reached into her pocket and gripped the small knife she had started carrying since she had arrived here.Vegeta had warned her during the trial to keep herself armed at all times and she had not taken his warning lightly. It was only a small hand knife she had found in the lab amongst Gero’s many tools, but it was sharp and compact enough that she could conceal it easily in anything she wore.

She turned to put some space between him and herself but he was quick to grab hold of her, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her up against him. "Come on now, play nice,” he chided as she struggled against him. “I have taken care of your boys and will continue to do so and will allow you to continue to see them on a regular basis. I feel I am more than entitled to something in return, don’t you?”

“Let me go!” She objected, trying to get herself free from his grasp. Her arms were pinned to her sides so she could not elbow him or stab at him with her knife.

Jeyice chuckled as he swung her around effortlessly into a wall, dazing her somewhat; she was still conscious, but she dropped her knife on the floor and quit fighting him. “That’s not very nice,” he said to her, kicking the knife away and into a far corner before shoving her into the table across from the regeneration tank.

Bulma braced herself against it and turned away from him but he came up behind her, placing his arms on either side of the table, trapping her there.

"It won't be that bad, love. I've been around the block. I know how to please a woman," he said into her right ear, leaning into her. "I think we'd have a great time."

Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. She couldn't do this.


"Come on," he coaxed gently, bringing a hand to the front of her waist and pressing himself into her, making his intentions felt. "I will make sure to make it worth your while, you get to see your boys, your boys in turn get to see their mother and I get off. See? It's a win win scenario for everyone involved."


"And Vegeta?" She asked.


Jeyice shrugged. "Too bad. Not my concern."


Bulma hung her head in defeat. "I can't, I can't betray him. It would destroy him."


"So what?" He scoffed cruelly, fumbling with the button on her pants. "Then don't tell him. What good is he to you now, hmm? And what do you think he would say if he knew you had an opportunity to keep in touch with your boys and didn't? I don’t think he would be too pleased to find that out."


Bulma put a hand on his to stop him from undoing her pants.


"And do you really want to disappoint your boys in that way? You agreed to my terms right in front of them. Can you imagine the looks on their faces when I tell them their own mother changed her mind?" Jeyice baited her. "How crushed do you think they'll be? I wouldn't blame them if they never wanted to see you again after I tell them you don't want to see them. Maybe I'll even tell them about how I fucked their mother as well? About how you would prefer to spend your time with me, riding my cock all night while forgetting all about them and betraying their father?"


She turned her head to look at him. “You wouldn’t.”


"You don’t think I would? I'm not leaving here until you give me what I want, love." He said determinedly. "How I get it is up to you. Just think, if you give in then you get to see your boys tomorrow. If you don't, I'm still going to have you right here and now but I won't allow you to see your boys. The choice is yours, woman."


"Don't call me that!" she snarled. That term of endearment was reserved for Vegeta and Vegeta alone.


"Okay, okay," He chuckled lightly, his lips brushing the side of her neck. "What would you like for me to call you then, Hmmm? I can call you anything you like."


Bulma's breathing became labored as anxiety and panic ripped through her as she realized that she wasn't going to be able to talk herself out of this. The way she saw it she had no choice but to give into him and let him have his way with her. If she didn't, he was going to rape her anyway and she'd be hurt and unable to see her boys; if she went along with this he may not hurt her and she could come to know Trunks and Tarble and maybe they could help her formulate some sort of plan.


"Alright," she sighed defeated, hanging her head in shame. "You can have me. I will not fight you but I have one condition."


"And what may that be?" He asked, sliding his hand down the front of her pants, cupping her between her legs.


"I get to see my boys tomorrow, right?" She asked, swallowing down a wave of nausea as he touched her.


"Uhm-hmm," he confirmed, trailing his lips down her neck seductively.


"And what about when you are gone on your mission for however long?" She asked. "I want to be able to see them every day."


"I can see what I can do," he said slipping his other hand beneath her shirt and groping her left breast underneath her bra.


"No, that's not good enough," she snapped, removing his hand from beneath her shirt. "I want a guarantee from you that I get to see my boys everyday while you are gone. You do that and I'll make tonight worth your time."


"Done deal, kitten," he said, shoving his hand back up her top and working her pants off. "It shall be arranged."


Oh god! She cried to herself. What am I doing? Vegeta, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me!


"Wait! Stop!" she cried out loud.


"What?" He grumbled, still trying to pull her pants down past her hips.


"Not here," she said, grabbing his wrist of the hand that was trying to remove her pants. "Not in front of Vegeta. And I want your guarantee about the boys first."


"Who cares about Vegeta. I think I should fuck you right here, right in front of him and hopefully he'll wake up. That'll teach him." he said coolly.


"No," she said firmly. "We can go back to my room and do this."


"Fine," he huffed, stepping away from her. "I'll make sure you see your boys while I am gone, you have my word on that- now let's get down to business, you and I."


Bulma grit her teeth together until her jaw ached. Unable to give Vegeta another glance in her guilt, she turned and exited the lab, Jeyice right on her trail.


They made it to her small room and she shut the door.


As Bulma stood there trying to figure out what to do, Jeyice pounced on her, roughly pinning her against her closed door.


She turned her face away from him, trying to avoid a kiss and his mouth connected to the side of her face and trailed urgently down her neck.


Bulma stood stock still with her eyes shut as Jeyice devoured her neck with his mouth and tongue. I'm not here, this isn't happening to me, I'm not doing this, she chanted inwardly to herself again and again as she felt his hands roaming her body. If I open my eyes, it will be Vegeta who's touching me, not Jeyice.


She opened her eyes and was hit with the most excruciating grief in the pit of her stomach when she noticed the white hair and orange skin. She covered her mouth with her hand and stifled a sob. How could she do this?


"Come on, love; I know you can do a whole lot better than that." Jeyice said, removing his armor and discarding it on the floor. "You're going to have to do a lot better than that if you want me to give you access to see your boys while I'm away. You promised me this would be worth my while. So far, I am disappointed."


Bulma nodded in agreement. She had said that; of course saying that and doing that were proving to be two completely different things. She decided the best way to make it through this would be to just pretend that he was Vegeta. With that strategy in mind, she took off her top and tossed it onto the floor before slipping out of her pants and stood in front of him trying to keep a straight face and refraining from covering herself.


"Now that's a bit better," he smirked, looking her up and down appreciatively. "I remember you from when you performedon Vegeta-sei.”

“Do you now?” she asked, trying to gather her bearings before he inevitably touched her again.

“You bet,” he nodded, taking his flight suit off. “I thought even then that you were too good to be with the likes of Vegeta. Looks like I was right.”

Bulma looked at the floor and didn’t say anything in reply.

Jeyice reached for her, placing a hand on the back of her neck, and crashed his lips against hers, forcing her to kiss him. Bulma grimaced and scrunched her face up in complete and utter revulsion for a moment as his lips connected with hers. She reminded herself that she needed to go along with this and reluctantly opened her mouth to him.

Bulma closed her eyes and placed both of her hands on his shoulders as he attacked her lips rather aggressively, forcing his tongue into her mouth. She frowned into the sloppy, demanding kiss. Pretending he was Vegeta was going to be a whole lot harder than she originally had thought.


Vegeta kissed by the book. His lips were full and soft, not thin. When Vegeta kissed her it was never sloppy, he didn't simply shove his tongue obtrusively down her throat as though he was trying to rape her mouth or make her choke on it; no, he would tease her mouth with his tongue, subtly asking for access by licking her top lip or nipping at her bottom lip playfully, and when she gave in and opened her mouth to him in acceptance, he would only tease her by flicking her tongue or roof of her mouth with just the tip of his own for a little before taking over her mouth, but in a manner that was pleasant, not domineering. He would massage her tongue with his own and then suck on her tongue, encouraging her to explore his mouth.


Kissing Vegeta left her breathless.


Kissing Vegeta was usuallythe foreplay she ever needed.


Her thoughts of Vegeta were interrupted then as Jeyice began to run his hands over her body in a rough, very un-Vegeta-like manner; he groped at her ass and backed her up against the door again, this time not leaving any space between them as he leaned into her. She could feel his erection pressing insistently into her thigh and she had to stave off the alarm coursing through her from that and the fact that his hand had slipped down the front of her underwear and he was now stroking her.

Bulma cried out in shame and grief as he inserted two of his fingers into her and he mistook that as a cry of pleasure and quickened his ministrations, grabbing a leg and encouraging her to hook it around his hip. She looked up at the ceiling as he continued to probe, paw at, kiss and lick her all the while completely oblivious that she was wishing the ground would swallow her up whole, or that lightning would miraculously strike, killing her on the spot.  

Suddenly she vaguely felt him stop what he was doing and the next thing she knew she was laying on her bed and her undergarments were now gone. She hadn’t really noticed as she had mentally checked herself out from this horrible reality that was taking place.

He pinned both her hands up above her head as he thrust himself simultaneously inside her. She squeezed her eyes shut and cried out in discomfort; she wasn’t ready for him despite his brief attempt at foreplay earlier on.  

It was over fairly quickly.

Bulma grabbed her comforter curled on her side in with her knees up to her chest the moment he heaved himself off of her to get himself dressed.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked her casually, sitting on the side of the bed, pulling on his boots. “It’ll be better next time now that we know each other, hey?”

Bulma didn’t reply.

“I’ll see you when I get back,” he said, standing up and running a finger along her covered body. “I am a man of my word, love. You will see your boys tomorrow and as much as you like while I am gone.”

She still didn’t reply; all she wanted was for him to leave. She hoped he died a horrible, excruciating death on whatever mission he was sent on so that he would never come back.

Jeyice said something else to her that she even didn’t hear as he left her room, closing the door after him. The moment he was gone, her body convulsed into gut wrenching sobs. “How could I?” she cried. While a small voice in the back of her mind told her it wasn’t her fault and that she didn’t have another choice, it didn’t make her feel any better. If she’d have fought him the whole way through she’d still be in the same position of grief with who knows what kind of injuries and no chance of seeing Trunks at all or, maybe ever.

She managed to remove herself from her bed after an unspecified amount of time and stumble to the bathroom, turning the shower on and jumping in, not even waiting for the water to warm up. She wasn’t sure how long she spent scrubbing her skin until it was red trying to wash him off of her as much as possible before she sunk down on to the tile floor and sobbed her heart out.

How could she ever face Vegeta again? She thought in shame. Of all the things to happen why this?

-0-0-0-

Please don’t hate me… *bats eyes adorably*. I didn’t make the decision to take this path lightly. In fact I agonized over it- quite literally for weeks and it even kept me up at night. All I can say is I hope I didn’t offend anyone. If you stick with me on this journey, it will be worth it. However, I must warn- it’s still going to be a ways off before things are made right, but everything will right itself and be resolved, I promise. Trust me!