Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Camouflage ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

. . Bulma . .

The sensation of his body against mine feels like home; his skin is hot to the point of almost being too searing to bear, yet it is smooth as glass. He is more perfect than I remembered, even more skilled than I recalled in my dreams. Though it is painful, I am still unable to stop myself from moaning his name, giving him the reassurance that I am indeed unable to resist him. It would be degrading if I were not so blinded by passion. Kami, sex with Vejita is simultaneously the most frightening and most pleasurable act one could ever partake in.

Disgustingly, I almost feel honored to have the experience. Such is his power...

"Everything," he whispers against my hair. Even his voice has changed -- he has dropped his stony guise and reverted back to his true personality. His words are rough, menacing, yet so persuasive at the same time. He is mesmerizing, and I wonder how he concealed it for all that time. I am in awe of him. "I can give you everything... You would possess more power than anyone in the universe, you could have everything you ever dared to wish for."

I know that what he says is true. I could be his empress, bejeweled beyond my wildest fantasies, waited on hand and foot by the entire universe. I could be leader to the most elite scientific community, I could do anything I wanted, have anything I could dream up. I know that Vejita is not capable of love, but it is obvious that he is as fixated by me as I am by him; I have never been able to define what it is that we share. Could I give up my conscience and forget all that I ever held dear for him?

"I have always told you, you are different than the others... They belong in the ghettos, on the streets with common trash. You, however, you belong here..." He caresses my face, his black eyes intense. "I know that you have dreamed of it, of living in the palace, of ruling with me..."

I want to be strong, but his succulent words are toxic to my morality. Is ruling the universe alongside the Saiya-jin Prince not strong? I cannot believe how my mind has been so warped, how I have strayed so much from my determination to not give in to the man I know to be so unapologetically evil.

"Join me, and you will want for nothing."

The fragrant bathwater has grown cool, which revives me from my memories. I had been surprised upon stumbling into Vejita's bathroom -- everything I was learning about him contradicted what I had known of him back at Capsule Corp.. Even his bathtub was luxurious, made from black marble that matched the floors and complimented the rich tones of the tapestries and the gold of the fixtures. The slave who seemed to be assigned to me had mixed fragrant oils into the water and sprinkled the surface with the petals of exotic, alien flowers. Despite the terrible knowledge of my situation, I felt hard-pressed to not relax as I lounged in the most comfortable bath I have ever taken.

The slave, a silent, orange-skinned woman, noticed my unrest and began to drain the tub. I stepped out, the soggy petals clinging to my naked skin. I was tragic figure in the enormous bathroom mirror; the white petals contrast against the ugly purple of the bruises which Vejita had so graciously marked me with, and my hair hangs to the small of my back in long lavender ropes. The slave tried her best to not stare at my malnourished body as she wrapped me in a silky robe and began to drag a brush through my hair.

After my hair had been painstakingly brushed, scented, and restored to cascading curls, the slave bowed and left the room as soundlessly as she had entered it. I was left alone with only my pale robe and the gleaming collection of empty liquor bottles. Vejita had said something about a tailor; I assumed I would be outfitted with a countless number of the ornate, alien gowns that I had seen the dignitaries who roamed the planet wearing. Until the tailor arrived, I resolved to search the lush set of rooms for any clues about Vejita's nature.

I had a feeling that I would need every advantage I could get to survive the new life that had been forced upon me.

I did not know what to think of all of this. Upon waking up this morning, an overwhelming wave of despair had washed over me like a tidal wave, threatening to suck the life right out of me. As I became more aware, however, I knew that I was not ready to give up yet. Though Vejita had taken everything from me, I could not deny the strange consuming passion that he brought to my life, nor could I completely dismiss the opportunities that he had presented to me.

In this post-apocolyptic world, a person could do one of two things: give up or fight to survive. Giving up would have been easy enough -- walking through the halls of Vejita's palace as an empty shell would certainly have been simpler than struggling to construct a new life.

I do not know what drove me to take the hard road. Perhaps it was my own greed -- Vejita had, after all, offered me everything he knew I had ever wanted. I chose to believe that I selected this fate because it was the only one that presented me with a chance to save as many innocents from Vejita's black heart as I could.

I had not been able to save my friends, but perhaps I could atone by stopping Vejita from purging at least one planet, from committing genocide against just one race. The thought of what might be happening to Goku and Piccolo threatens to cripple my resolve, but I quickly empty my mind of all thoughts of them and determinedly go about my task.

Though these chambers were not nearly as spartan as his at Capsule Corp. had been, with their luxe furnishings and spacious balconies, Vejita still did not keep many useless possessions hanging around. His nightstand held nothing but star charts and alien drug paraphenilia. I curiously examined the foreign objects, somewhat surprised that the controlled Prince allowed himself to let go that much. Something told me that even when Vejita was under the influence of whatever it was that these objects prepared, his actions were carefully executed and thought out. Even after consuming an obscene amount of alcohol last night, the Saiya-jin had suffered nothing besides a smoother edge to his anger. I imagine that Vejita is very charming when he is using.

I entered the sitting room, which I had not seen yesterday, with some amount of trepidation. I don't know what I was expecting -- a room decorated with the body parts of fallen enemies, perhaps, but what I found was not anything so extraordinary. The room was tastefully decorated with the usual rich colors and dramatic tapestries. Candlebras graced the corners of the room, and a walk-out balcony overlooked an outdoor training ground. Once again I found nothing telling, but my interest was captured by the paintings which hung on the walls.

Though Vejita had never told me much of Vejitasei, I knew that this is what the paintings were of. I studied the harsh landscapes bathed in red sunlight, the palace illuminated by three eerily large moons, and the gruesome scenes of war and had the realization that though Vejitasei was gone, it was by no means forgotten, even by those who were not Saiya-jin. Vejita must have used the power behind his name and place of origin to assist in the building of his empire, an empire modeled meticulously after what he remembered of his home planet.

Suddenly feeling uneasy, I left the room and entered another. A long table was the focus of the room, and I surmised that this is where Vejita and his closest comrades plotted. In the privacy of this room, they could plan the most horrific things and no conservative, or, Kami forbid, compassionate, advisors could get in the way. The atmosphere was ominous and I had to resist the urge to flee, as something of interest had caught my eye.

Sitting on the table was a leatherbound file folder. I approached it cautiously, as if it might come alive and bite me, and took a seat to leaf through its contents. Much to my disappointment, all of the writings were in a language and alphabet that I could not decipher but recognized from the scouter that I had confiscated from Radditz so many years earlier as Saiya-jin. It figured that Vejita would not allow the language to die. I could glean, however, that these were war documents. I replaced the file on the table and wandered back towards the main chamber.

A man, humanoid save for his four arms and unusually large eyes, awaited me in the bedroom. The tailor, I realized, as he was carrying a measure and a satchel of fabric swatches. He bowed and regarded me critically. The orange-skinned slave woman from earlier had returned as well, apparently to assist the alien. She silently set about organizing the fabric swatches, turning a trained eye to me as she went through the color choices.

"Remove your robe," the tailor ordered in heavily accented Standard. Before I could protest, the slave had deftly slid the silk from my shoulders. "You will have to be restored to your regular health before we can take final measurements," he observed, regarding my visible ribs with disdain. "But we shall have to make do until then with a few garments to tide you over."

"And what sort of garments has Vejita ordered to be made for me?" I asked as the man circled my waist with his measure, thankfully not seeming to care about my nakedness.

"I have yet to receive his orders," the man replied curtly. "You would do well to remember to address the Emperor properly. He does not take well to disrespect, and we all know what becomes of those who displease Vejita-sama."

Indeed we do.

"Of course, the matter of garment that is ordered to be made for you all depends on the decisions you make," the tailor mused, grinning to himself. Kami, is every employee in this palace as warped as their Emperor? The man looked downright sadistic. "Believe me, ningen, he will not make it easy for you should you go against his wishes. Or for your friends."

"My friends?" I quickly seize the alien's wrist, hardly caring if he is stronger than me. "They live?"

Pity is unmistakable in his eyes as he refocuses them from my white knuckles to my face. "That all depends on you, my dear, but for now they must endure the punishments which Vejita-sama bestows upon them." He shoots my bruises a pointed look. "As must you."

He is gone as quickly as he arrived, leaving me alone with the orange woman. She retreats to a corner, hovering until I should require anything. I pull the robe back over my shoulders, contemplating the information that the tailor has given me.

I suppose it isn't too abstract that Vejita has kept Goku and Piccolo alive -- it would be very out of character for him to quickly dispose of them. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that they are going through unimaginable torture as I sit in the lap of luxury. And I'm sure that that fact has been sufficiently rubbed in their faces as well. Feeling a migraine coming on, I massage the bridge of my nose and lay back down on Vejita's bed.

"Will you be requiring a doctor, my lady?" the slave timidly asks.

I crack open an eye and seriously consider it. Then, remembering that Vejita had intended to send me to the med wing later, I shake my head.

I deserve the pain.


Vejita 'patiently' waited for his advisors to finish briefing him on the latest problems that he was expected to deal with, not even bothering to slow his stride as he headed to his throne room, where more important tasks awaited him. Despite the wonderful distraction that Bulma presented, there was something else on his mind that threatened to push all thoughts of mating right on out.

His irritating discovery of an alliance forming against him was all-consuming and demanded his full attention. He growled as he pondered this reality and the advisors scurried away like cockroaches, back into their dark offices. Just as they should. The harsh reality that there was more than one planet with the balls to plot against him was enough to push him to the brink of murder; his servants were fortunate that he possessed some iota of self-control.

Radditz awaited him in the throne room, wearing an expression that did not bode well for Vejita's nerves. The Saiya-jin Prince did not seat himself on his throne, where just anyone could interrupt their conversation with their annoying prattle -- he motioned for his comrade to follow him out to the balcony and to close the doors behind them.

"I spoke with the tailor not two minutes ago, Vejita-sama," Radditz started. "He said that your ningen is as belligerent as ever. Perhaps you should stifle her sharp tongue with a harsher punishment."

Vejita nodded. It was just as well that the girl had retained her fire -- she would not be nearly as amusing as a robot. "I want you to take her to the med bay when we are finished here. She is still suffering from last night's punishment."

"All of the arrangements have been made for her to assume leadership of your scientists," the guard informed him. "I'm assuming that you will want her to begin working as soon as possible."

"You assume too much," Vejita snapped. "She will need to be placated before she can begin work. It would hardly be beneficial for a vengeful ningen to purposely sabotage a project. Perhaps if you weren't such a dumbass you would have thought of that yourself."

Radditz cleared his throat, clearly nervous about the point he was about to make. "Well, Vejita-sama, I cannot picture her being too pleased about her friends rotting in your dungeons --"

"Pull your head out of your ass. There are things that can make even the most compassionate of weaklings forget about all about friendship." Vejita spat out the word 'friendship' like it left it bad taste in his mouth.

Radditz knew it was true. There were drugs so seductive that they could make a person do outlandish things -- even brush off the deaths of close friends. He couldn't even imagine what Vejita's drug of choice would do to a human. Even if Vejita did not resort to narcotics, the allure of his power and wealth might be enough to do the trick. The Saiya-jin grinned, proud to serve such a wily man.

"Scurry off and escort the human to the med wing," Vejita ordered, turning away from Radditz to survey the city streets below. "Make sure that all of her bruises are taken care of, and check that the tailor is almost finished. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Vejita waited until Radditz had bowed and taken his leave, then removed a small communicator from his pocket. He was reluctant to tell anyone of his knowledge of the resistance against him; you could never tell who was working for the enemy, and if there was one thing he had learned from working under Frieza, it was that one could never be too cautious. He pressed a button and the face of one of his many contacts appeared on the small screen.

"What news do you have for me?" the Prince demanded, not thinking for a moment that there would be nothing new. His employees were not suicidal, after all.

"The alliance grows stronger in the number of its members, but still does not pose a serious threat to your empire, sir," the alien replied. "I have sent you what documentation I could get a hold of, and you can be certain that there will be more on the way soon."

" Of course the fucking alliance is getting stronger! Have you names, planets, details? Give me something useful, baka."

"There are a few confirmed planets that I have included in the report that was sent to you. Would you like me to name them now?"

"Their names no longer matter. They will soon be purged and auctioned off like the waste of space that they are." Vejita scowled -- it was not enough to discover the identities of planets. He had to know what they were planning to use against him, how they intended to take down the largest and most powerful empire the universe had ever seen. "You know better than to come to me with such worthless information. I want the names of the major players within the week, or you will soon share their fate." He killed the connection, knowing full well that the alien was scurrying off to do his bidding before he had even shut down the link.

He could order Bulma to make weapons until her little fingers were broken, but they were just spinning their wheels until they knew exactly what they were up against. Some powerful people must be involved in the alliance, Vejita mused angrily, because they covered their tracks well. Nowadays, this universe answered to his every beck and call -- it would take great influence or gross wealth to hide from him.

With a grimace thunderous enough to strike fear into any warrior's heart, the Saiya-jin Prince activated his communicator once again and began to interoggate his contacts, one by one. He would find what he was looking for -- or someone would pay.


Piccolo was awaked from his trance by the sound of their holding room's door being slammed. He opened his weary eyes to reveal the unwelcome form of Radditz. The Namek mentally winced; although Nappa was brawnier, Radditz's brains and mean streak made his brand of torture something to be truly feared. He went for your weaknesses. Across from him, Goku watched silently -- at least that pathetic glimmer of brotherly hope was gone now.

"Its so nice to arrive and be welcomed so warmly," Radditz exclaimed sarcastically, eyeing them with a cruel grin. "I just thought I'd pay my two favorite prisoners a visit before escorting our little Empress-to-be to the med wing."

At the mention of Bulma, Goku instantly lifted his head, and it was all Piccolo could do to not roll his eyes. "Empress-to-be? And what did Vejita to do her? Why does she need to see a doctor?"

Radditz was pleased with his response. "You mean you haven't heard? Word on the street, if you choose to believe such gossip, says that Vejita's setting her up for leadership. The man didn't have two thrones installed for nothing, they say." He examined a lock of his long hair leisurely, basking in Goku's misery. "And as for Bulma's injuries -- don't fret, I hear she likes it rough anyway. She's apparently an absolute wildcat in the sack -- or at least, that's what Vejita tells me."

Goku began to struggle frantically in his restraints, causing the ki to burn his skin and hold him down even tighter. "You lie. Bulma would never sleep with him willingly, not after all that he's done to us."

"Whatever you say." Radditz shrugged. "All I know is that her screams of pleasure awakened half the palace last night."

Piccolo was not about to say it out loud, but he believed that Radditz's rendition of current events was more accurate than Goku wanted to believe. He had seen glimpses of what had occurred between Bulma and Vejita, and there was something there, something that drew her in no matter what horrible crimes Vejita committed against her. So he was silent as Goku endured the agony of reality.

"Nothing to say, Namek?" Radditz glanced at him a bit more warily. Piccolo knew that the Saiya-jins had some idea of his telepathic abilities, and he assumed that that made Radditz nervous. "It hardly matters anyway -- you'll be singing enough for Vejita-sama when the time comes. He has plans for you."

Piccolo had expected as much -- Vejita would have had to be stupid to not take advantage of someone who could see things like he could. He wondered how the Saiya-jin was going to moniter him, so that he could be sure that the information he told him was not false; nothing he could think of bode well for him. He did not respond to Radditz's goading. He just kept his eyes on the floor.

The Saiya-jin refocused his attention on Goku, who was still glaring at him like a petulant child. "Don't you worry, brother, you'll be seeing your precious ningen soon enough. If I know Vejita-sama, and I like to think that I do, he'll want to show everyone just what they are missing out on. The Emperor loves a good exhibition."

The room was dark, lit only by dark, glowing red ki that hung around the ceilings. The music pulsed in the bloodstreams of the guests, they moved to it, some hardly aware of what they were doing. It was a good party. They always were.

From where Piccolo was restrained, he could see most everything. Bulma was lounging at Vejita's feet, rocking as she gave in to the effects of whatever drink he was feeding her. She pressed dark lips to the rim of the glass and Vejita smirked as he tipped it towards her. His eyes burned into her, and Piccolo saw that her hand was between his legs.

"Bulma would never allow something like that to happen," Goku protested weakly. His naivete was almost painful.

"She does what Vejita bids her to, because she does not want to share your fate." Radditz favors Goku with a quick ki blast, small but painfully accurate. "She does his bidding because it brings him pleasure, and Vejita always rewards those who please him."

Goku was there, but Piccolo could barely see him between the throngs of people. Vejita had ensured that the Earth Saiya-jin would see everything, that he would see Bulma go to him willingly. The man's pain was like needles on the Namek's skin.

"As much as I would love to sit here and chat, I'm afraid I have other things to attend to." Radditz began to exit, but stopped as his large frame filled the doorway. "Vejita-sama will be paying you a visit soon -- you had better hope that he is in a happier mood than he was this morning."

Though he was across the room, Piccolo sensed when Bulma's eyes fell on him. He met her gaze, and saw more than just drunkeness working in her mind. She nodded almost imperceptibly, causing him to quickly look away for fear that Vejita had detected the exchange. If that were so, then it meant pain for both of them.

Bulma had a plan.

..............



[A/N]: Insert apology for the tardiness of this chapter here. Please remember to review!