Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ From the grave ( Chapter 28 )

Chapter 28 - From the grave

Note: I don't own DBZ (NC 17)

{} means characters thoughts as usual and some lemon in this chapter.

A nasty surprise may be waiting in this chapter!

Bulma barely taken one step inside the house before her parents came rushing down the stairs, enveloping her with a familial hug, nearly knocking her over in the process. From the corner of her eye Bulma could see that Vegeta was very uncomfortable with the display of affection from her parents, but remained silent, standing apart from the group next to the door. She smiled weakly as her mother and father checked her over time and again for any signs of serious injury, disbelieving that she had returned home in one piece.

Ignoring the crowd of warriors filling the expansive entrance hall of the house, Sarah led Bulma to a chair in the nearest living room, pushing her firmly into its softness. "I'm so glad my baby is alright." She sobbed, "We didn't know what to think when we were told you had been abducted."

"It's alright Mom, I'm fine as you can see, so please don't cry. I'm just glad to be home again." Bulma replied, already tiring of the attention.

"But you're not fine, Bulma." She turned to her husband, who was in the process of settling into a chair next to Bulma. "Look at that bruise and her lip, Jock. It looks like she's gone 10 rounds with a boxer." She looked at Bulma again running a cool hand over the bruise on Bulma's jaw, wincing on her behalf. "Did the person who kidnapped you do this?"

Bulma gave a deep sigh. It was obvious that she was not going to get any peace without going through the whole sorry mess with everyone who was standing around. "Not exactly Mom. Look, everyone I suggest you take a seat, this is going to be a long story."

"I'll bet." Yamcha sarcastically spoke, throwing mental daggers at the two Saiyans standing on the outskirts of the room. As far as he could see this whole situation stunk to high heaven and he would bet his baseball career that Vegeta had something to do with Bulma's injuries. There was something very weird about how close Bulma had been to him in the garden. Very fishy.

"Give it a rest Yamcha," snapped Bulma, too tired and stressed to try and placate her ex-lover. "Just sit down and keep your trap shut for a while, okay?"

The z fighters settled on whatever seating was available or just sat cross-legged on the thick carpet. Radditz and Vegeta remained standing apart from the main group, still unwilling to get too close.

Bulma took a deep breath and, clutching her fathers hand, started to relay the events of the past week, leaving out her bonding to Vegeta, which she felt was something she would discuss with her parents later, after Goku and his crew had left. She gave another introduction, letting Radditz and Vegeta know who everyone was. Vegeta ignored the curious stares of Bulma's parents, instead keeping his gaze on his mate, sensing her trepidation as she spoke shakily of her ordeal.

As she spoke, the crowd of warriors and her parents did not move or speak once, letting her finish without interruption. Occasionally a glance of curiosity was directed at Vegeta, as if the person looking at him was trying to figure him out. From time to time Bulma would squeeze her father's hand or glance at the stony face of Vegeta, trying to get some sort of support from them both. When Bulma reached the part when they had fled from Station Delta and began the great deception, Bulma could see her father's eyes narrow in barely suppressed anger. Jock glared with undisguised hatred at Vegeta and Radditz, clenching his free hand in rage. But to his credit he did not utter a single word, preferring to deal with the two Saiyans later.

"So there you have it guys. It looks like Earth has a date with another evil would be destroyer." She finished with a weak joke at the dire circumstances, looking around at the shocked faces in front of her. The journey to back to Earth and the stressful relaying of events had drained her energy almost completely, however Bulma knew that she would be expected to answer more questions after the z warriors left the compound.

Goku chuckled briefly at Bulma's pathetic attempt at humour before glancing around at everyone's stony faces. He scratched his head vigorously, as he was wont to do when nervous and rose from the floor. "So guys, it looks like we have about a month and half before Freeza gets here. I suggest that we spend that time wisely preparing."

A voice piped up. "I don't see why we should have anything to do with it Goku", snapped Yamcha, "we didn't start this fight, those two Saiyans did." He jerked his head towards Vegeta and Radditz, scowling as he did so. "I'm not afraid of a fight, I just don't see why we have to help them." Vegeta merely ignored Yamcha's outburst preferring to keep his eyes on Bulma.

"Because it involves all of us, that's why," boomed out the deep voice of Piccolo. "Regardless of their involvement, we still need to protect our planet and it's people from Freeza no matter the odds."

"I would normally agree with Yamcha," Krillen softly spoke, "But Piccolo is right. I'm going to spend as much time as I can training for this, even if I don't make much of a difference." He rubbed his hands over his baldhead, visibly anxious about the imminent arrival of Freeza.

Tien and Chao Tzu stood up and made ready to leave. "We're with you guys. We'll be ready when he arrives and meet you on the battlefield." Tien turned, as he and Chao Tzu were halfway through the door, smiling at Bulma. "It's good to see you again Bulma, take care of yourself."

One by one the other warriors departed, going to their respective homes to train until only Goku and Yamcha were left. "I'll be back tomorrow to see you Bulma and to catch up," he glanced at Radditz, "with my brother. It seems we have about twenty years of history to catch up on and some planning to do."

Bulma smiled warmly at her friend, relieved that he chose to help rather than turn his back like Yamcha had suggested. "Why don't you go and check up on Chi Chi and Gohan, I know that you will have been training like a demon waiting for these two,"she jerked her head in the direction of Vegeta and Radditz, "to arrive. I'm sure that your family would love to see you. Give them my best and tell Chi Chi I'll be over in the next couple of days to see her, okay?"

"Good idea," Goku bounded over to her and gave her a quick hug, ignoring the death glare from Vegeta. He then raced out of the house, launching himself into the air in the direction of Mt Paozu where his family were staying.

With Goku gone, Yamcha moved closer to Bulma, desperately trying to make some sense of the whole state of affairs. In the seven months she had been gone, Bulma had changed, not physically but emotionally. She had become harder, more confident, less dependent. Gone were the tear-filled gazes that she used to give him when they had first parted ways, the clinginess, the almost pathetic way she tried in every way to get him to come back to her. It wasn't as if he loved her the way she had wanted him too, it was more that he felt protective towards Bulma and did not trust the two Saiyans still in the room despite the facts she had laid bare in front of them all.

As he opened his mouth to speak, Dr Briefs interrupted him, deducing the young man wanted to have serious talk with Bulma. "Yamcha, I suggest that you go as well and let us have some time alone with Bulma. You can come back tomorrow and talk."

Yamcha huffed. "Fine. I'll be back tomorrow Bulma so we can talk." He spun on his heel and marched out of the house, almost shoulder barging Vegeta as he went. "Alone."

Jock Briefs watched the irritated Yamcha leave the house before speaking again. He too was suspicious of the story Bulma had just relayed to everyone. "Bulma, something tells me that you are hiding something from me and your mother. Now that Goku and his friends have left, I suggest that you come clean, right now." His voice was stern as he continued. "You didn't do this because you were forced to, did you?"

Bulma lowered her head in shame, realising her father was absolutely right in his assumption that all was not as it seemed.

Vegeta interjected before Bulma had a chance to reply, stepping forward and in a rather unusual move for him, due to his dislike of displaying affection publicly, placed a gloved hand on Bulma's neck, rubbing the healing bonding mark, moving her waves of blue hair aside to partially reveal it to her father.

"She is my mate, or as you Earthlings like to call it married." Vegeta put it bluntly instead of sugar coating the fact, as Bulma would have. Bulma leaned into his gentle caress, ignoring the outraged look on her fathers face.

Jock Briefs face took on all the appearance of a startled guppy fish, his mouth opening and closing several times before finding his voice again. "What do you mean married? You barely know this, this person! This will end badly I tell you now!" And you," he looked at Vegeta with disgust "have taken advantage of my daughter, forcing her into a hell bound union and, he winced at the obvious scar on her slender pale neck, disfiguring her for life!"

Bulma's temper raised dramatically, her eyes blazing with icy blue fire. "How dare you!" exploded Bulma as she released her grip on her father's hand and rose from her seat, red faced with rage. "Don't you dare presume to judge me! I am an adult not a child! It was my decision to make." And to make her point blatantly obvious to her enraged father, Bulma pressed herself closer to Vegeta

Dr Briefs was almost disgusted by the display, seeing his only child choose Vegeta over her family. "While you live in this house, you will do as I say, Bulma! If I say you cease continuing in this reckless manner then you will do it!"

Vegeta lowered his hand from Bulma's neck and strode forward, stopping barely a foot in front of Dr Briefs with his teeth bared like an wildcat ready to strike and replied to Jock, his tone low and dangerous. "Speak in that manner to my mate again, and I will dispose of you…. even if you are her father." As if to demonstrate his willingness to deal with Dr Briefs, Vegeta formed a small ball of ki in his free hand, ignoring the gasp of fear that escaped from Bulma's lips.

The two men glared at each other, neither willing to back down. Radditz moved over to stand at Vegeta's side, ready to snatch Bulma away if a fight started. He was a little puzzled by Bulma's father's reaction. After all, she had bonded with a prince not some violent beast, whose only intention was to bed her. Radditz had also been astute enough to figure out that the handsome scarred man was once her lover and that for some reason the man was for now anyway almost insanely protective, explaining the reason for his eagerness to attack Vegeta. {These Earthlings are ….strange.}

The tense standoff was broken by the soft voice of Sarah Briefs, an expression of abject horror on her face at the scene in front of her. "Jock, please calm down. Bulma is right; she is now an adult, free to make her own decisions. I can't say that I approve at this moment, but we both know Bulma is smart enough to know what she is letting herself in for." She placed a firm hand on Jocks shoulder, squeezing gently to calm the enraged man down.

She turned to her daughter, a timid smile on her face as she looked at the two lovers in front of her. "I can see now why you didn't want to reveal this with everyone else here, Bulma, especially Yamcha." She looked back at her husband, now calming down, her mouth held in a firm don't fuck with me line, a look Jock Briefs was well acquainted with. "I trust Bulma's judgement, in this matter, Jock. Let's just finish this discussion here and now."

Dr Briefs nodded mutely agreeing with his wife, knowing the penalty for not going along with her wishes. A month of steady nagging until he broke. Sometimes and in the most unexpected way his wife could become the smartest person in the room and that very fact gave him chills. Dr Briefs took a shuddering breath, obviously still emotional about the revelation that his little girl was to all intents and purposes married.

Bulma turned her face towards her father. "Please, just try to understand Dad"

"I'll try Bulma, although I can't say that I will succeed. You worried the hell out of us both and I'm able to show you the grey hairs to prove it!" He smiled broadly at his beautiful daughter, trying hard to keep the argument in a diffused state although still visibly apprehensive about her relationship with Vegeta. It would take time for him to accept his "son in law" fully. One thing he was pleased about was that Bulma had safely arrived back home. "It's just going to take some fast talking to get the military off my back, so I had better do it now. Go and get cleaned up and we can talk later." He made his way over to the nearest vid link.

"Sure Dad." Bulma replied, mentally thanking Kami for her mother's interjection. Then she remembered something that would brighten her father up even more. "Oh and Dad."

"Yes Bulma?"

"I've got some great data on technology that will be useful to Capsule Corp."

Jock twisted his head around as he punched in the request for a call, a grin curling his lips. This was the daughter he remembered, his little girl with her wonderful ideas, not the married woman in front of him. "Wonderful, just let me make this call first, okay?"

"Yeah."

Sarah Briefs clapped her hands together with delight, returning in an instant to her usual vacuous state of mind. "Great! If you'll follow me Radditz, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping. Bulma knows the way to her room I'm sure." Sarah then pulled on Radditz's hesitant body, leading him away. Radditz had a slightly panicked look on his face as the blonde woman prattled away, dragging him towards the glass elevator nestled between two massive Greek style columns gracing the entrance to the living quarters.

Vegeta absorbed the ki ball back into his body, showing no outward sign of emotion from the heated argument with Jock. Bulma tugged lightly on his arm, gesturing for him to go with her. "That was uncalled for, Vegeta. My father is a honourable man who does not deserve treated in such a way," she whispered so that her father was not able to hear.

Vegeta huffed and scowled, knowing that Bulma was quite right. "Hush, woman. It was only to show him that he is no longer in control of your life, I am."

Bulma rolled her eyes in exasperation at the masculine crap that had spouted forth from his mouth. "This time, I won't argue with you. Next time you won't be so lucky, asshole. You have a lot to learn about our culture Vegeta." Vegeta was not going to be quick study in Earth culture, as he was still ingrained so much with thinking that he would get what was required by brute force and that as a male he was supposed to be in control. There were so many things for him and Radditz to learn about living on Earth, considering that her home planet was for a short time at least going to be their home too. A smile found its way onto Bulma's face as the memory came back to her that at least in one area he had not used brute force to achieve his goals.

Vegeta snapped back at her, half angry that Bulma felt he was being intentionally ignorant. "As you do about my own, woman."

As a sort of peaceful back down Bulma changed the subject swiftly guessing that this not so playful banter could go on for hours. "I guess I should show you where we'll be sleeping then Vegeta." She licked her lips seductively, knowing full well what his response to that statement was going to be.

Vegeta wrapped his arms around Bulma's waist and nuzzled her neck. "Who said anything about sleep? If I recall, woman you owe me." Bulma jerked her neck, trying to dislodge the amorous Saiyan clinging to her. "At least let me get cleaned up first, huh? Or do you find blood and sweat a turn on?" She raised an eyebrow trying to gauge Vegeta's reaction.

"Feh, get on with it then." He grunted, irritated that once again she had gotten the last word in.

Bulma then proceeded to lead Vegeta to the living quarters via the glass lift that her mother and Radditz had taken moments earlier. Vegeta's eyes widened fractionally at the vastness of the families living quarters. Jock and Sarah had an entire floor to themselves, encompassing a bedroom, entertaining areas and his and hers bathrooms. Bulma's was a floor above with the same layout as her parents although she had two additional bedrooms for guests who wanted to stay over, usually Yamcha or Goku and his family on the odd occasion and a well-equipped kitchen. There was yet another floor for guests also, where Sarah Briefs was most likely going to place Radditz. Bulma patiently gave a tour of her floor, watching as Vegeta marvelled at the richness of her surroundings, as Bulma explained where things were, before they finally came to a halt at her bedroom. Bulma felt unfamiliar sense of shyness come over her as she led Vegeta into her room, hoping that her parents had left it as it was when she had departed Earth 7 months previously. To her great relief, nothing had been touched, no one had entered, which meant the room was a little musty from disuse.

Breaking from the grasp of Vegeta, Bulma strode to the French doors, which led to a balcony outside, and opened them, revelling in the fresh scent of flowers that wafted in from her mothers garden. Turning around, she saw that Vegeta was curiously studying the décor, the oxblood red walls which were unusual for a woman's taste. A large antique desk and chair were positioned close to the French doors, the surface of the desk festooned with a few books and the odd picture or two. Bulma's clothing was completely hidden from the eye in large inbuilt oak wardrobes, and one wall was completely covered by a bookshelf with books ranging from romantic novels to more serious subjects.

The bed was much larger than that in her living quarters on Station Delta, being almost a super king size four poster bed, draped with what looked like animal furs, rich red brown in colour, complimenting the dark carved wood of four posts which reached almost to the ceiling. Nothing in the room pointed to it being a woman's, nothing at all.

Bulma stood near the balcony, bemused at his intrigued expression. "It's not what you expected, is it?"

"No." Vegeta then gingerly sat on the bed, pulling off his gloves and absently running his hands through the soft fur, a poignant memory of his own bed when a child coming back to him. "Are they real?"

Bulma walked over to the bed herself and lay down on her back on the opposite side, interlocking her hands behind her head. "No they aren't. Just a synthetic copy of actual furs. I'm not interested in killing something just for it's skin."

She turned on her side to face Vegeta, resting her one of her hands on his, looking at his emotionless face, it was obvious that he was trying to move her towards pointless conversation, hoping that she would not ask what suddenly troubled him. This was not the reaction she had expected when she had shown him into her room. From the amorous overtones he had hinted at downstairs, Bulma had expected him to throw her bodily on the bed and ravage her there and then. Not that the thought was unpleasant. Disturbingly, Vegeta had raised his mental defences, not allowing Bulma to know what was on his mind. "Let me in," she pleaded, rubbing his hands with her own, attempting to get some reaction from him. The response was stony and flat, but failing to hide his inner turmoil. "Not now, Bulma. Later."

"Okay then. I'm patient Vegeta and I will find out what is going on in that mind of yours sooner or later." Bulma snatched her hands away from Vegeta's, a look of hurt present on her beautiful but still slightly battered face. Swiftly she strode over to her inbuilt wardrobe and selected some fresh clothing, considering what she was now wearing was little more than bloody rags. She turned back to glance at Vegeta, still deep in thought, not paying any attention to what Bulma was doing. Silently, Bulma departed her bedroom, making her way to her bathroom, eager to get wonderfully, gloriously clean.

After running a hot bath, Bulma sank gratefully into the heat and bubbles a contented sigh escaping her mouth as she rested her head on the edge of the massive circular tub. She closed her eyes and replayed the events of the day in her mind, cringing when she recalled the betrayed expression on her fathers face. It would take some time to recover from the hurt, she knew. And then there was Yamcha. Bulma wasn't so full of herself to think that he was jealous, just overly protective. For some reason Yamcha did not like Vegeta at first sight, which would make things difficult, especially as Yamcha spent a great deal of his time at Capsule Corporation. Bulma was also not looking forward to the "talk" as Yamcha put it that they would both be having tomorrow.

Holding her breath, Bulma dunked her head under the water, rinsing the conditioner from her hair, which during the escape from Station Delta had become crusted with blood. As she surfaced with her eyes closed, Bulma sensed another presence in her bathroom. Slightly flustered Bulma tried ineffectually to grab a washcloth to wipe away any suds from around her eyes. To her surprise, a cloth was gently placed in her hands. Bulma gratefully clutched it and wiped her face carelessly, then opened her eyes and discovered Vegeta looking down at her naked and soapy form, a curl of amusement on his lips. She glowered back at him, trying and failing to look fierce. It only served to amuse Vegeta even more, a quiet chuckle coming deep from within his chest. Keeping his obsidian eyes locked with hers he slowly disrobed, pleased at the flush rising on Bulma's cheeks as she watched him, unable to tear away from his gloriously naked body. He moved gracefully around the tub, stopping just behind Bulma's head and slowly eased himself into the tub behind her, his nose wrinkling imperceptibly at the scent of the bubble bath Bulma had generously poured in as she had run the bath. Feeling his heated body slide next to hers, Bulma tried to wriggle away, still hurt at his mind blocking. {Fuck off Vegeta…}.

Ignoring her mental barb, Vegeta's tail curled firmly around her waist, preventing any escape and pressing her body firmly against his own. With extreme care Vegeta brushed aside Bulma's hair as she squirmed in his embrace and studied the bonding mark, which had closed over completely leaving a faintly pink raised scar, the royal symbol of Vegetasei plainly visible. He dropped a light kiss on the mark, smirking as Bulma finally relaxed and rested her head against his chest.

They lay in each other's arms for several moments, just enjoying the contact of each other's bodies. Bulma turned in Vegeta's now loose hold to face the prince, searching his face for any sign that he was going to divulge what was weighing so heavily on his mind. "Persistent little bitch aren't you?" He murmured, eyes closed.

"Yes," she agreed, stroking her hands against his slippery chest, "I'll find out sooner or later Vegeta."

"Later," he gruffly replied, "right now I have more urgent matters to attend to. As I said you owe me." He caught Bulma by surprise, pressing his lips against her own urgently, his large hands exploring her full breasts, rubbing his fingertips gently against her nipples, revelling in the small contented noises Bulma made. She fiercely grasped his hair pulling him closer, allowing her better access to passionately kiss him back, slipping her tongue into his mouth, as if drinking in his very life essence. His response and caresses did what they always did to Bulma, making her melt internally, the warmth between her legs growing with every gentle caress and every second they kissed. Vegeta moved his hands lower under the warm water, tracing a path down her back, before cupping her pert buttocks and lifting Bulma to thrust himself gently into her, rocking slowly to prolong the pleasure.

Their lovemaking continued until the water became cool, and the lovers regretfully emerged from the tub, skin flushed from the exertion. "I haven't forgotten Vegeta, as much as you have tried to distract me." Bulma chided softly as she swathed her body in a large white towel, throwing one carelessly at Vegeta so he could dry off as well.

He ignored the towel and instead flared his ki to dry off, his hair regaining its flame like appearance in seconds.

Vegeta bluntly ignored her persistent probing and changed the subject. "We don't have much time, woman. Plans need to be made quickly."

"I'm not stupid Vegeta. I know that you have this mission to destroy Freeza and I will help you in any way that I can." She raked her hands through her hair, eyes closed in concentration, remembering that Vegeta had been strenuously training in preparation. "That experimental training facility on Station Delta could be recreated here in the compound, my father and I could build it in a matter of days for you, Radditz and Goku. What do you think?"

"Excellent. However I train alone. Kakkarot would not be a worthy training partner." He scowled at the inference that Goku would be a worthwhile partner.

Bulma opened her eyes and quirked an eyebrow at the dig at Goku's fighting ability. "You'd be surprised, Vegeta at how strong Goku really is. He hides his ki level to take his opponents unaware, so you really have no idea how powerful he could be." Bulma paused and smirked at Vegeta's annoyed expression. "Goku will be here tomorrow, so I suggest that you test yourself against him while I'm otherwise occupied." She grimaced recalling that Yamcha would be coming back as well to "interrogate" her and she was not looking forward to it.

Vegeta strode forward and grasped Bulma's arms possessively, well aware of Yamcha's intentions to return and speak with her. Her ex lover was going to prove to be a bigger pain in the arse than he had anticipated. He drew his face close to hers his eyes flashing with anger. "I will be watching, woman. I don't trust that Earthling."

Bulma broke free from his hold, angry at his reaction. "First you won't reveal what is bugging the hell out of you, then you tell me in your own strange way that you don't trust me? It works both ways Vegeta."

"I don't trust him, woman. You I would trust with my own life, as it should be."

Bulma softened, seeing the twisted logic. She didn't want to cause disharmony otherwise she would be proving her father right with her "marriage". "You will have to accept that Yamcha was once a big part of my life and I still maintain a platonic friendship with him. Nothing will come of myself and him having a talk."

"Better not" Growled Vegeta "Or I will ensure he is nothing but a blood smear on my boot."

Bulma shrugged her shoulders in semi defeat and left the bathroom, quickly donning a pair of faded jeans and a small tight t-shirt, ready to go down to her fathers lab on sub level 1. Her stomach grumbled in protest signalling it was time to eat. The project could wait until later. Bulma poked her head out of the bedroom and called out to Vegeta. "I'll find some clothes for you and then we'll eat, okay?"

"Fine." He yelled back, pleased to be left alone with his thoughts for a short while. It would only be a matter of time before Bulma managed to pierce his defences and discover his for now well-hidden anxiety. Her mental power was exceeding his and it took all of his experience to keep Bulma out. Vegeta glared at his image in the large mirror over the sink, looking for any sign that he was almost at his ultimate goal, Super Saiyan. It was not his only concern though at this time. Bulma's friends bothered him. It was obvious from the bonding of the mind how close she was to some of them, but when Vegeta saw with his own eyes how closely connected Bulma was, especially to Kakkarot and the scarred man his blood boiled. It was not just the Freeza situation; it was also a new and unfamiliar emotion that was keeping him intent on keeping his mind blocked from hers - jealousy.

Jock Briefs disconnected the vid link, satisfied that the military had been effectively fobbed off and that the hostage situation was resolved quietly. It was hard to keep such things quiet when you run the most influential company on the planet; everyone wants to know what was going on, as if they had a right to. But it was not over yet, as the sequence of events so clearly showed him. They were all in danger of being obliterated if this Freeza person proved to be as ruthless as Bulma had said. Perching his glasses on the end of his nose, Jock turned to return to his lab and continue working on his latest invention. As he did so, he unwittingly bumped into Radditz, who had been given a grand tour by Sarah and had somehow been able to evade her incessant prattling. "Hiding from the wife, I see?" Grinned the doctor, familiar with the technique.

Radditz nodded gravely, looking around to check that Sarah had not discovered his location. Jock looked up at the massive man, a faint twinge of pity rising for the unfortunate Radditz. "I'll cut a deal with you, Radditz was it?"

"What deal?" grunted Radditz, not knowing how this strange little man standing boldly in front of him could help him.

"I'll hide you by showing you around the rest of the compound and you will tell me a little more about yourself and Vegeta. Deal?" Jock stuck his hand out to Radditz to shake on it. Radditz warily eyed the outstretched hand, not familiar with the custom. Jock grasped on of the larger mans hands and shook it. Uncomfortable with the physical contact, Radditz snatched his hand back, trying to ascertain the purpose of shaking hands with another person.

Jock chuckled momentarily studying the quizzical look on Radditz's handsome face. "You have a lot to learn about Earthlings son. Come with me, we should be able to evade the wife for a while at least." He gestured for Radditz to follow him, and led him towards the scientific wing of the compound.

The scientific wing was huge, encompassing 2 subterranean levels and 3 above ground. Technicians and scientists worked feverishly on experiments and running tests on new creations from the mind of Dr Briefs. Jock patiently explained some of the experiments, some were very important, others more frivolous in nature. Radditz occasionally answered the questions directed at him by Jock revealing some of his and Goku's family history. Radditz passed an interested eye around, vaguely remembering his own father's experimentations when he was a child, just before his first purging mission. Bardock had been a part time scientist of sorts, working on many things when he had the time between purging missions. He was after all a fighter first and foremost. It was a great shame that his brother had never known his father, due to Goku being one of the last victims of a policy shipping children off planet barely days after birth. Half listening to the chattering Doctor Briefs his eyes rested on one particular technician wrestling with a large box of test tubes, trying vainly to get them to the bench without shattering them. For reasons unknown even to himself, Radditz strode forward and effortlessly took the box and set it down on the bench.

"Uh thanks." Came a hesitant voice from behind him. Spinning on his heel Radditz glanced down to see a tall blonde woman looking at him with a puzzled look on her face. The man standing directly in front of her was huge and dressed rather strangely adding to her suspicions about his intentions. She regained her composure quickly, demanding to know why he was in a restricted area not aware of Dr Brief's presence.

Jock stepped up and quickly explained that Radditz was authorised to be there. "It's alright Amanda, Radditz is just getting an overview of our facility. You'll probably see him around a fair bit for the next month or so." He chuckled inwardly knowing the reason why Radditz would lurk around the scientific wing. His wife.

"Oh Dr Briefs, I apologise for the insinuation directed at your guest." By way of apology Amanda stuck her hand out in greeting, waiting for Radditz to put his hand out. "Nice to meet you Radditz." With slight hesitation Radditz stuck his own massive hand out and grasped Amanda's slim hand in his own carefully, mindful of his strength. The contact with her skin was strange and for some unknown reason Radditz didn't want to let go. He did so reluctantly realising Amanda was trying to extract herself from his grip. "See you round, Radditz." She then returned to the problem at hand, her experiment, giving Radditz a backward glance as he and Jock walked on to the next area. Radditz momentarily curled the hand Amanda had shook into a fist, as if trying to retain the feeling of her soft skin. {You will definitely be seeing me again.} Some things on Earth were worthwhile after all.

As the two Saiyans settled somewhat peacefully into their first day on Earth, thousands of kilometres away in space, Station Delta was in uproar. Firstly a technician had been found bound and gagged in a small ship, a refugee laying in a pool of blood on the docking bay floor, horribly disfigured, one Batalhian ship stolen and the worst thing was that Bulma Briefs, one of the senior technicians was also missing. All of the crimes pointed directly at the Saiyans who were nowhere to be found. The station director had been informed as soon as possible and was now dreading making the emergency call to Earth to speak with Dr Jock Briefs. She had waited for as long as possible to make the call, hoping beyond hope that Bulma Briefs would be found quickly, but now after 6 hours there was no more putting it off. In the 3 years of operation at Station Delta nothing of this magnitude had ever happened before, therefore making it imperative that things were calmed down quickly.

The med techs arrived to take away Lisa's still comatose form, checking her vital signs hurriedly to ensure that she was in a stable and comfortable state. They lifted her light form onto a gurney and two med techs escorted her to the med wing, monitoring all the way.

The senior med tech then turned to the other person, the refugee, his motionless body lying in a large pool of his own blood, his facial features severely burnt making it impossible to see how he looked before the attack.

With a heavy sigh the med tech took out a recording device and uttered words he had never had to use during his tenure on Station Delta. He quickly rattled out the date and time. He looked again at the pathetic end this particular refugee had met, his stomach churning with the heavy smell of burnt flesh in the air. "Unidentified refugee expired before medical treatment could commence. Autopsy to be scheduled ASAP to ascertain race and identity." The body of Zarbon was then zipped into a black body bag and gently placed on a floating gurney.

Several moments later the gurney reached the morgue, unused until now and Zarbon's body was carefully placed in a freezer unit, sealed until the time came for the autopsy to be performed. The two med techs that had accompanied the body left the morgue murmuring that the way Zarbon had died was not the way they wanted to go. "Poor bastard."

The light clicked off and the room fell silent once more.

As the footsteps faded away, the door on the freezer unit was thrown open violently, breaking the seal. The very battered figure of Zarbon emerged, his horrific injuries still very present on his face and body. All he had to do now was leave Station Delta and get patched up. Small flashes of the battle with Vegeta came back to him. Slowly he ran one of his hands over his battered and burnt face, feeling the damage that had been wrought, ruining his once handsome face. It didn't matter now though. Smiling maniacally, he threw back his head and ghoulishly cackled, relieved at having cheated death and deceiving Vegeta so skilfully. "Prepare to meet your doom, monkey, this battle isn't over yet!"

~~~~~~~~~