Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ Questions? ( Chapter 33 )

Chapter 33 - Questions?

Note: I don't own DBZ

On with the chapter………………….

A golden glow settled over the horizon, settling the last few rays of sunlight on the still occupied gravity chamber. The two Saiyans within had not stopped even for a brief rest, instead electing to continue their sparring, both desperate to be the victor on this day. The gravity had been raised to a level of 100g after the first two hours, and Goku had once again surprised Vegeta by his tenacity and ability to adapt quickly to the increased gravitation pull. Both men were both currently attempting to regain their breath from the last volley of attacks on each other, panting heavily in the humid atmosphere, glaring at each other. "Let's call it a day, Vegeta." Puffed Goku, his energy spent and his stomach protesting loudly, sweat pouring down his body.

Vegeta laughed harshly at the comment, trying to disguise the fact that his energy was now so depleted that the very act of standing up was causing him trouble. "Ha! So you're admitting defeat Kakkarot?"

"Not at all. Just hungry." Goku retorted good naturedly as he slumped to the floor and lay on his back. "Don't tell me that you could keep going, Vegeta."

"Of course I can, but since you are so weak, I will agree with you, this time." Somewhat unsteadily Vegeta strode over to the controls and returned the chamber to 1 g, feeling the pressure lift immediately and taking away most of the strain. He too slumped to the floor, drenched in sweat and leaned up against the controls. Vegeta looked over at his Saiyan counterpart, wondering how a third class warrior became so damn powerful. {Could it be the fact he no longer has a tail?}

Goku regarded Vegeta from the corner of his eyes, aware that the Prince was studying him. He lifted his head from the floor and looked directly into Vegeta's obsidian eyes, his head cocked to one side. "Ask your questions, Vegeta, it's obvious that you have a few."

"As if a half wit like you could answer them, Kakkarot!" Vegeta snapped back, angry at being so obvious.

Goku ignored the taunt and continued speaking. "Let me see now. I guess one of them is how I lost my tail, right?"

Vegeta glared at Goku but relented. "Fine. Did you loose it in battle?" He replied through clenched teeth.

Goku laced his hands behind his head and lay back down on the floor. "Well, no. Kami removed it when I was still very young, about 12 or 13 years of age." He chuckled softly. "That was about the time when I met Bulma and Yamcha for the first time." His eyes shone at the memory, all of them eager to search for dragon balls and have great adventures. Goku chose to keep that memory of Yamcha, instead of the drunken dead man lying in a pool of blood.

Vegeta was outraged. "Why the hell did you let him? Your tail is part of your heritage, it is part of your ability to transform!"

Goku sighed and closed his eyes, the memory of waking up naked and exhausted in a forest coming back to him. He had no idea that the monster that people spoke of in hushed tones was actually him during his early childhood. Kami had filled in the blanks during his time at the lookout training for the arrival of Vegeta and Radditz. "That was the problem. Apparently I couldn't control the huge monkey like state and would just rampage like a wild beast without a mind, destroying everything and everyone in my path. Hence, the removal. Kami felt it was best at the time to just tell me that the tail was hindering my training." He paused for moment remembering the painful way it was removed, and winced. "Remember Vegeta, until 2 weeks ago, I had no idea that I was not an Earthling at all. That's when Kami told me the truth. Everything about my nocturnal transformations as a child." He looked out of the window towards the now darkening sky.

Vegeta frowned and twitched his own tail, pleased that he still had one thing that marked him as a Saiyan and the fact that he and Radditz could control the Oozaru state successfully. However his interest had been piqued and he kept asking questions, not caring what Goku might think. "Where the hell did you get the impression you were a native of this planet Kakkarot?"

"Cracked my head open when I was very young. Apparently, that's what triggered the change in my behaviour. You know, from a wild beast to a placid child." Goku sat up again, his muscles protesting at the effort. "Any other questions?"

Vegeta frowned for a moment before asking, ignoring the amused look on Goku's face. "Your power. When you were tested as a baby your power level was very low, that's the reason you were sent to Earth. You were rated as a third class warrior and would never amount to much more than that. So how?"

"Low power level huh. My power had increased due to intensive training. It's as simple as that."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed at the explanation. It was obvious to him that Goku was not divulging some information. "You're lying. Your power level was only estimated at 10 or 20 thousand as myself, Radditz and Nappa arrived in your solar system. No way could you get to this stage without something else."

Goku put his hands up in defeat deciding that it would do no harm to let Vegeta in on the little secret. "Okay so you got me. I trained for two days in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber on Kami's lookout. The reason it is special is because while you are inside you get a years worth of training while only one day passes outside. Clever, don't you think?"

Vegeta sat back, slightly shocked at the information. Here he had been training like a dog, and he could have gotten at least a years training in one day. "Unbelievable." He muttered.

Goku rose from the floor. "Interrogation over now, Vegeta?" He said mildly, heading for the exit, not troubled in the least at Vegeta's questions.

"Yes." Mumbled Vegeta, still in shock and no longer really caring if Goku was still there or not. His mind was filled with the limitless possibilities of such a training regime. In one day he could achieve Super Saiyan, he just knew it.

Vegeta was sorely tempted to ask one more question, and that was about the dragon balls, but instead felt that asking Bulma more about their power would be less suspicious. When this whole mess with Freeza was over, he had a wish to ask, a very big one. He remained there on the floor of the gravity room, pondering on how to find Kami's lookout and get into the room Goku had spoken so freely about. It was obvious that this Kami person had to extend an invitation. {Once I train in there, I will be the legendary. I will destroy Freeza.}

Goku smiled as he left in search of food in the house. He would need a full meal before departing for Mt Paozu due to the massive amount of energy he had expended during the day and had not brought any sensu beans this time. They were too precious a commodity to waste during normal sparring sessions and really best for use in battle situations. Vegeta continued to intrigue him, in one instant the Saiyan Prince was arrogant, then next almost respectful of his talents. Even after his talk with Vegeta, Goku was not really any closer to understanding him, and he supposed that he never would. He glanced around and noticed that Piccolo was not to be seen or sensed anywhere. "Strange…" mumbled Goku as he entered the house. He had expected Piccolo to still be lurking around, or even meditating somewhere under a tree. He shrugged and directed his attention to searching for Bulma so that he could get some food before taking off.

Radditz had been quite surprised to see Piccolo turn up at Capsule Corporation, and was even more surprised when the Namek offered to spar with him while he was in mid kata. Radditz's sense of power perception told him that the Namek could most likely mop the floor with him any day of the week, but agreed anyway. Piccolo appeared to be experienced in battle and would also probably have a good sense of strategy, which Radditz knew he himself was lacking. The Saiyan way, for lower class soldiers anyway, was to just use the ki ball technique which simulated full moon light developed by his own father and transform, rather than using skill to get the job done.

"You need to put in some major time to your training, Saiyan." He had rumbled to Radditz, discarding his cape and turban as he advanced. "Especially if you want to be of any assistance in defeating Freeza."

Radditz ceased his intricate kata's and glared at the Namek, mostly due to the fact that Piccolo had been able to pick up on his inadequacies as a fighter. "And you'll help me with my shortcomings, is that right, Namek?" He retorted sarcastically.

Piccolo did not respond, instead he attacked, not with full force, just enough to force the tall Saiyan into defending himself from the flurry of blows. One punch managed to get through his defences and Radditz found himself sprawled rather ungraciously on the grass, panting from the exertion. "Alright Namek, you made your point. Show me what you are good for then." He raised himself from the ground, and stood towering over Piccolo, who was himself a tall man. Piccolo grinned wolfishly at Radditz, pleased to have subdued him so easily. With a little polish, Radditz could become as powerful as Vegeta and Goku, thus increasing the Earths chances of survival from the imminent onslaught of Freeza. "As you wish, Saiyan. I will show you what I know," Piccolo grunted.

Their spar carried on for several hours, and Radditz was truly impressed at Piccolo's fighting skills. Over the course of the session he managed to pick up some new moves and in turn showed Piccolo some of his own. Eventually though, Piccolo had to leave, due to the fact that he had to deliver the message from Bulma to Kami. "I will return tomorrow Radditz and we will finish what has been started." He then flew off to Kami's lookout, leaving a somewhat bewildered Radditz behind to figure out why Piccolo would go to so much trouble as to instruct him. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded inside the house to clean up.

After a quick but refreshing shower, Radditz donned a different set of clothing, new earth style clothes that Bulma had ordered for him and flopped heavily on the bed. Radditz wasn't altogether too sure of how he really felt about being clothed in anything but his normal armour and bodysuit. The real reason he had showered and changed was not because of the sweat from the sparring session, it was because he wanted to see Amanda again.

He needed to get Bulma out of his system once and for all.

It would be too much to ask to accidentally bump into her again, so he decided that he would wait around until her finishing time which he had been able to figure out by observing her movements each day. With a deep sigh, Radditz hefted himself from the bed and descended to the 2nd level in search of food.

Bulma had after an extended period of time sitting alone in the disused office finally raised herself from the now uncomfortable seat, and proceeded to make her way to the Capsule Corporation's vice presidents office, the words, "the key" were still reverberating around in her mind, but that was now an issue that would have to taken care of later.

First and foremost she needed to inform the vice president of her pending extended period of absence from the company and to also let him know that her father had also left.

Victor Anderson was a trusted employee as well as a brilliant technician, and had never put a foot wrong in his 12 years with Capsule Corporation, hence his elevation 3 years ago to vice president. He had been married to one of the other employees at Capsule Corporation but the strains of his position had dealt a deathblow to the relationship more than a year ago and now he was only married to his position, even to the extent of living on the grounds in a small apartment. Bulma suppressed a small giggle as she remembered her crush on Victor when he first started working with her father when she was just 13 years old. He had been an over eager graduate from the local university, almost disbelieving of his good fortune in finding a position with Capsule Corporation. When she had discovered he was very much involved in his work and that he was 5 years older than her and not interested in a prepubescent child, the crush faded into a friendship. 5 years later he had married a fellow technician who had been working with him.

She slipped into his office as quietly as possible, knowing instinctively that he was most likely on the phone with some potential client, and stood patiently waiting until he was finished. Scanning around, Bulma noticed that he still had a picture of his ex wife on his desk, her beautiful blond hair loose and a smile of happiness firmly in place, and surmised that he still had not moved on from the painful divorce a year ago. Adding to that was the fact that his ex wife still worked in the same building did not help either.

When he finally looked up and saw Bulma his face broke into a broad grin. "Bulma! So good to see you! What's been happening?"

Bulma smiled back warmly. "Not a lot Victor. Just popped up to give you some news. Dad will be away for a few days, so the company is in your capable hands. Afraid I won't be around for support either, I'm leaving for a week myself tomorrow morning."

"I think that I'll be fine, Bulma." Victor sat back and laced his hands in his blond hair, stretching out the kinks in his back. His eyes rested on the photograph on the desk briefly before turning his attention back to Bulma. "When you get back from your holiday, I'd like to discuss your time on Station Delta with you. I hear there's some wicked technology being developed up there."

"There is. I'll fill you in on all the details when I get back." Bulma furrowed her brow as she remembered that Vegeta and Radditz would be alone while she and her parents were gone on their respective trips. "Oh, before I forget, there are going to be some other people on the property while I'm gone. They are called Vegeta and Radditz and you can't miss them. Their appearances are a little strange. Dad has given them free rein to come and go as they please, so don't call security."

"No problem, Bulma."

Bulma then moved towards the door, ready to leave but turned to Victor before exiting. Victor was still an attractive man with a great career and really needed to find someone else to fill the void left by his wife. "Victor, you know that I'm your friend, right?" Victor nodded, well aware of what she was about to say to him. "Don't be hurt by what I'm going to say." Bulma lowered her eyes in sympathy at Victors pained expression. "The hurt will go away. Amanda is moving on with her life and you need to as well. If you need an ear to bend or a shoulder to cry on, call me, okay?"

Victor forced a small smile onto his face, realising that Bulma was absolutely right. "Thanks Bulma, I might just do that. Have fun on your holiday, okay?"

Bulma then made her way to the aircraft hangar on the furthermost point of the property to do a full warrant of fitness on her small jet. It had been almost a year since she had last used it and understood that due to its disuse it would probably not fly properly and it was needed to transport her safely to Kami's lookout. Bulma sighed and grabbed a spare pair of overalls, put on the stereo she had installed years ago and started work, enjoying the feel of grease and oil on her skin once more, humming along with the music, barely noticing the hours slip by.

Upon seeing the sun slowly descend from the sky, Bulma returned to the house, a feeling of anxiety seeping into her bones as she drew ever closer. The hours spent on the jet had made her forget about talking with Vegeta. She was still unsure of how to inform Vegeta of her special training with Kami. He was not going to be pleased about an enforced separation between them, because as much as he tried to hide it, Vegeta was jealous of anyone who spent time alone with her. {If only he realised how jealous I get……}

Upon reaching her quarters, Bulma noticed Radditz munching through the food, judging by the disaster he had created around him. The cupboard and fridge doors were flung wide open, and a puzzled Radditz was trying to figure out how to open a bag of potato chips. Radditz knew that food was within the vacuum-sealed bag but had not yet discovered how to open it properly. His first few attempts had resulted in him loosing his temper and ki blasting the bags, hence the mess around him.

Unable to control her mirth at the sight of a powerful warrior reduced to such a state of confusion, Bulma laughed, tension briefly falling away from her mind. Casually, she walked over to the now embarrassed Saiyan grasped the bag from him and deftly opened it, revealing the contents. She breathed a small sigh of relief as she noticed he had not tried to consume any detergents in his mad search for food.

"Hungry, Radditz?" She questioned, one eyebrow raised, handing him the bag. She pushed him towards the table and motioned for him be seated. "I'll get something for you, okay?"

Radditz grunted back at her and began stuffing chips into his mouth, mildly surprised that they were to his liking. Being a Saiyan he would eat almost anything edible, as long as it filled his belly taste was not of any concern. A silence fell over the kitchen as Bulma set one of the domestic bots to work and sat down in the chair opposite from Radditz, head in hands, tension now back in full force and thinking about Kami's offer of training. Did it really matter? Bulma had never been included in any battles before and the very thought that something as important as Vegeta's heartfelt desire to be a Super Saiyan was possibly under her control weighed on her shoulders heavily. Not to mention the fact that she had fallen in love with the arrogant bastard, which was something entirely different. That little issue would have to resolved later.

Radditz meanwhile was having his own crisis and that was whether he should take the chance on pursuing Amanda or not. He was very tempted to ask Bulma how to approach her correctly, as his recent experiences with earthling women had not been altogether too successful. Just as he had plucked up the courage to speak, Goku picked this opportune time to enter, sweaty and dishevelled from sparring with Vegeta. He plopped himself in the seat next to Radditz and grabbed a handful of chips from under his brothers nose exclaiming loudly, "Great! Dinner time is it?"

Radditz scowled at his brother, irritated that Goku had snatched half of his snack away and interrupted him. "Haven't you got a home to go to, brother?" He snapped, giving him a very unsubtle message to leave.

"But I'm hungry and the amount of energy I used today, I'd never make it home in one piece." He turned to Bulma expectantly. "How about it Bulma?"

Bulma lifted her head up, just noticing Goku's appearance. "Why not?" She moved back over to the domestic bot and punched in a few more numbers to accommodate Goku's massive appetite before returning to her chair. "Damn Saiyans." She mumbled to herself, mentally hoping that Vegeta would make an appearance soon and take her away from the two bickering brothers. It was surprising that they had only met days ago and now acted exactly as brothers should. In many ways it was rather endearing.

After setting down the food for the two ravenous men, and instructing Radditz on how to program the domestic bots for meals, Bulma grabbed a black wool sweater and threw it on before leaving the house on her search for Vegeta, her own appetite ruined by anxiety, not to mention the manner in which Radditz and Goku consumed their food. She focused her mind and located his energy, he was still in the gravity chamber. Taking a deep breath Bulma smoothed back her hair and strode out with false confidence to the gravity chamber, ready to talk. She had to tell Vegeta what she was about to embark on tomorrow, and the sooner he knew about it, the better.

The crackle of static woke Zarbon from his sleeping state in the pilot's chair, causing him to spring upwards like a demented jack in the box. Shaking his head to throw off the muzziness he reached out and flicked the transmit/receive switch on to allow him to communicate with whomever was trying to contact him.

"Zarbon……?" The voice was unmistakeable. Zarbon repressed a shudder. No one else in the universe to Zarbon's knowledge had a voice like that or would even want to.

"Yes, Lord Freeza." He replied, confident that he had kept the fear from his own voice.

"My dear Zarbon. Have you completed your mission successfully?"

Zarbon exhaled sharply. It was as always, Freeza never failed to get to the point. "Regrettably no, Lord Freeza. Prince Vegeta managed to elude capture and has made it successfully to the planet Earth." He braced himself for the inevitable onslaught from his master. The main problem was that he had not really tried to capture Vegeta at all, instead letting his hormones do the driving and it was all his own fault.

Freeza hissed his dissatisfaction at Zarbons reply. "I don't like to be disappointed Zarbon. And I am very disappointed." There was a long uncomfortable silence before Freeza carried on. "You will pay the price for letting the most prized of all the creatures in my keep escape." His tone was almost consoling, even regretful and it made Zarbon drop his guard, revealing his fear.

"Lord Freeza, I, I did my very best to capture Prince Vegeta. He was able to overpower me, the little bastard nearly killed me!" Zarbons voice rose almost to a shriek, the fear making his insides clench.

"I don't care Zarbon. You were entrusted with this mission and you have failed." Freeza cackled horribly, enjoying the mental picture of Zarbon squirming like a rat impaled on a stick. "When you rejoin my flagship in 14 standard days, I will have come to a decision regarding your future. Most likely I will deal with you the same way I deal with all cowards and those who oppose me."

The transmission ended before Zarbon was able to respond or offer his apologies. Trembling, he reached out to turn the switch back into the off position. He slumped back into the chair, still trembling. That little message had just proved how far down the food chain he really was in Freeza's estimations, the worst thing being there was no way back. All of his many years of faithful service had been for nought.

Zarbon was patently aware of how Freeza dealt with anyone who failed him, if Freeza was in a good mood they would just be vaporised, if he was in a bad mood or some creature had particularly displeased him……..then the order of the day was days of torture at Freeza's own scaled hands before the victim was left to die in his or her own filth, no longer a person, nothing more than a mass of bloodied flesh and broken bones. The latter category was undoubtedly the fate to which he had been left. Zarbon curled into a ball, whimpering like a small child, his mind trying desperately to not accept the facts, no matter how clear they were. He was doomed.

As Zarbon remained curled up he suddenly had a moment of clarity. There were only two options open to him. Return to Freeza and meet his painful end or run for his life. He had an outside chance of eluding Freeza, a very slim one.

He decided to run for his life.

Vegeta stiffened suddenly at the intrusion as Bulma entered the gravity chamber. She stumbled in the darkness, fumbling without success for the light switch before remembering that it was voice activated.

"Leave it off." Vegeta spoke hoarsely, the strenuous activity of the day having taken a toll on his voice as well as his body. He stretched out a hand to pull Bulma down next to him, her soft body pressing against his as she settled next to him. Bulma moved her head around to rest it on his shoulder, nuzzling his neck as she did so, small contented noises coming from her throat. "Why are you sitting alone in the dark Vegeta?" She replied softly, enjoying the heat emanating from his skin counteracting the chill now in the air.

"Meditating. Or I was until you blundered in here." He snapped back at her, but secretly he was pleased that Bulma had come in. Vegeta resisted the urge to nuzzle her back, although his tail had ideas of its own and coiled itself around her thigh, the contact sending tingles up his spine.

Bulma snorted in derision at his obvious cover-up, and snuggled closer into his body, enjoying his tail rubbing against her leg. "Yeah, right Vegeta."

"What do you want, Bulma?" He replied without rancour.

"Firstly, whether you wanted any food. You've been training all day from what Goku tells me without a break. Secondly, I need to tell you that I will be leaving for a week. Piccolo came to speak with me today, on behalf of Kami." Bulma paused, and could almost see Vegeta scowl in the darkness. "Kami wants to see me on his lookout to train me."

Vegeta was scowling. "What!?" he growled, his tail tightening around Bulma's leg, causing her to wince with the pain. "What the hell for?!"

Bulma waited a few beats of her heart before continuing, carefully omitting the part of the conversation with Piccolo that involved Vegeta directly. She had decided that particular piece of information would come later, only when she was totally sure that her abilities would work, that she really was the key. "Before you go off your head, the reason is to increase my mental powers. Kami feels that I am useful to the fight with Freeza for some reason. Kami is never wrong, Vegeta, and that is why I will be leaving tomorrow."

In the darkness, Vegeta smirked, the answer to the problem of getting to the hyperbolic time chamber had been presented to him. He had also been able to detect that Bulma was hiding something from him, something very important. "I'm going with you or you are not leaving." He stated firmly, hoping to catch her out and force her to reveal the secret, which Bulma had so carefully hidden in her mind.

"Kami is not going to like it if you just turn up without invitation, Vegeta, he is the guardian of Earth, not some pleb. You and Radditz will be staying here, training until my return." She replied between gritted teeth, amazed at his presumptuousness, then realised his intent to drag more information out of her. "Surely you can look after yourself?"

Vegeta chuckled, fully aware of Bulma's outrage at his apparent lack of respect. "You can't stop me, woman."

"Oh you think so do you?" Bulma replied confidently, attempting to push away from Vegeta and failing miserably.

Vegeta pulled her arms behind her back moving forward to capture her lips in a passionate kiss before replying. "I know so, Bulma. You are far too weak to stop me from accompanying you."

The force of the kiss left Bulma feeling quite breathless. She frowned, realising what Vegeta was doing, trying to distract her and get her to reveal all. {Damn clever bastard…..how does he do that?}

She continued to struggle, letting Vegeta believe that he had the upper hand, a smile curving her lips. She would let him think he had her against the ropes for now. There was no way that Kami would accept Vegeta coming with her to his lookout, and although Bulma had so firmly stated that Kami was never wrong, she had her own doubts. She would have to slip away in the morning, well before Vegeta awoke.

It was not going to be that straightforward really as their minds were linked most of the time and the secrets were hard enough to conceal without trying to evade her bonded mate.

Taking her silence as submission to him, Vegeta's tail uncoiled from her thigh and dove under Bulma's sweater, the soft fur sending electric shocks up her spine before coming to a rest at the base of her neck, rubbing against her bonding scar. Bulma moaned involuntarily against Vegeta's questing mouth, his tongue slipping into her mouth, as if drinking her very essence. Bulma wrenched one of her hands free and began stroking lightly against his bonding scar, earning a groan from his throat.

Vegeta then released her other hand and moved his hands under her sweater to softly knead her breasts, feeling desire run rampant through his body as her nipples stiffened under his touch, making Bulma arch her back and move closer to him. She in turn reached out to massage the base of his tail, causing Vegeta to feel himself grow harder with the contact and realise that Bulma was slowly breaking his control over his lustful urges. He realised that he would have to move now or take his mate right there on the floor of the gravity chamber, where anyone would be able to walk in on them.

Gathering the remaining shreds of his self control, Vegeta stood, hauling Bulma up onto her feet. "As much as I wish to stay and continue with this line of discussion here, I suggest we retire to a more comfortable venue." He purred, kissing the back of Bulma's neck as both of them retreated to the bedroom barely able to contain their ardour. Food could wait.

With Goku finally gone after consuming what seemed like more than his body weight, Radditz decided to make his move. He slipped out of the kitchen and made his way down to the scientific wing, careful not to alert anyone to his movements. As he had hoped, Amanda was still present, although it was obvious that she was about to leave for the night, and was in the process of winding a scarf around her neck against the chill outside. Radditz noted with pleasure that she had not restrained her hair as she normally did, adding to her attractiveness. He waited quietly in the shadows, waiting for the moment that Amanda would leave the building. Radditz didn't have to wait long.

Satisfied that she had packed everything up, Amanda grabbed her handbag, pulled out her car keys, said her farewells to the workers doing overtime and strode out towards the service elevator. The day's work was still spinning around in her mind and she frowned, realising the amount of work she would need to do to complete what she was working on.

{Damn deadlines, she mentally grumped}.

Amanda was so engrossed; she did not immediately notice Radditz standing in the shadows. Her first reaction was to scream, but upon realising who it was she put a hand over her mouth to stifle the noise. "Radditz?" She hissed, "You scared the shit out of me. What are you doing hiding in the dark?"

Radditz swallowed nervously, something he had not done since he was a mere teenager. "I wanted to talk to you." He replied softly, his voice rich and deep. "You did offer, did you not?"

Amanda suppressed a giggle at his apparent nervousness. He really was a very odd man but strangely she felt comfortable, even safe around him. After her last encounter with him, Amanda had found herself thinking about him, instead of dwelling on her divorce. She had been so very young, only 19 when she married the man of her dreams, or so she thought. Amanda never saw the signs, the constant overtime, the excuses, missed anniversaries. Oh, she had tried to rekindle the flames, but it had been too late. The love she once had was now just a friendship.

She had married a man who was to all intents and purposes wedded to his job, but still had not manage to move on herself even though she herself had instigated the divorce. There had been no one since the papers had been signed, and now here she was 24 years old, feeling desperately unfulfilled.

She looked up at Radditz's handsome face, searching for any signs of intended malice there. Upon seeing none, she relaxed and whispered, "Okay, but not here. Let's go out and talk in the gardens, would that be alright?" The last thing she needed was salacious gossip being spread around Capsule Corporation about her, especially as her ex husband still worked there.

"Yes." replied Radditz, letting out the breath he had not been aware he had been holding. He followed Amanda closely as she led the way, both of them shivering against the chill in the air as she walked towards her favourite spot, right next to the pond with koi carp swimming around in it. When the weather was fine and sunny, she would often eat her lunch out there, alone, to reflect on her life. Settling herself on the bench nearby, Amanda gestured for Radditz to sit down next to her, feeling strangely at ease with his presence. "What did you want to talk about then?"

"I,I wanted to talk about," stuttered Radditz, nervous once again as he spoke, trying to keep his gaze from meeting hers. Amanda looked at him expectantly, waiting for Radditz to finish his sentence, but it never came. To her great surprise, Radditz instead locked his eyes with hers, almost hypnotising her, then leaned forward and kissed her softly, tenderly placing his hands on her face. Despite all of her instincts telling her that this was fast, that she didn't know this man well enough, Amanda leaned into the kiss, responding timidly at first, then with a ferociousness that surprised Radditz and even herself, tangling her slender hands in his unruly spiked hair.

After several moments, the two broke apart, breathless and wanting more. Radditz moved one of his hands to rest on Amanda's shoulder and drew her unresisting body closer to his, all but crushing her against his own muscular body. Amanda looked up once again at Radditz, his face flushed, his breathing a little unsteady, eyes straight ahead, gazing into the darkness. "You." He finally finished the sentence started moments ago. "I want you."

Amanda could not help but feel shocked at the admission; this was too fast for her. She needed time to ease into a new relationship, if that was indeed what Radditz was proposing. "Radditz?" She questioned, moving her hand up to his neck and stroking the bare skin, feeling peculiarly comfortable with the close physical contact. "I need time to think about this."

Radditz winced imperceptibly at Amanda's response, but understood her trepidation, also he didn't want to scare her off by spouting out his normal line of them being destined to be together. He wanted this to last; he wanted to bond with the woman next to him. In the moment they had kissed, the picture of Bulma in his mind and the burning pain he felt in his body started to fade. "Take all the time you need, Amanda. You know where I am." He raised Amanda's chin, looking deep into her jade green eyes and smiled, a genuine smile. Then as light as a feathers touch, he ran his thumb over her lips, memorising the softness before releasing Amanda from his hold and raising himself from the bench, leaving a somewhat dazed woman alone with her thoughts in the garden.

Bulma cracked open one eye and peered at Vegeta, noting his deep breaths and the soft purring sound emanating from his chest. After their little "discussion" in the gravity chamber, she and Vegeta had made love, over and over again; neither of them had been ready to be the first to wilt. It had been a battle of wills, and of the body, which was the battle that she had unfortunately lost. Several times Bulma had almost revealed all, but stubbornly held onto her secrets, despite the fact that she had become tired very quickly. Regardless of how much Vegeta had insisted that he accompany her to the lookout, and the fact that she hated to deceive him in such an underhand manner, Bulma wanted to do this on her own. She had to be sure that Kami was right, that she would unlock Vegeta's power.

Carefully, she extracted herself from his arms and padded quietly to the bathroom, closing the door. Not wanting to waste any time, Bulma entered the shower, frantically washing her hair and her body finishing in record time. She donned her most comfortable workout clothes, pulled her hair into a neat ponytail and brushed her teeth before opening the door slightly and peeking out at Vegeta, still seemingly sound asleep. Bulma grinned widely as she exited, grabbing a bag, which she hurriedly packed with clothes, underwear and her usual toiletries.

Vegeta's breath suddenly hitched and he rolled over, making Bulma freeze like a deer in a set of headlights. She held her breath as she waited for him to fall back into his rythmic breathing pattern again, then, as she realised he was still sleeping, Bulma relaxed. Resisting the temptation to go over and give him a goodbye kiss Bulma cautiously picked up the bag and a pair of nikes, and walked out of the door towards the elevator, stifling a shout of triumph putting her shoes on as she descended. There was no time for breakfast today, so Bulma decided she would have to get food at Kami's.

As she made her way in the dim early morning light to the aircraft hangar, Vegeta rose from the bed and began to get dressed. He had been awake from the moment Bulma had entered the bathroom and had feigned sleep to delude her.

Once dressed in his usual clothing sans armour, Vegeta forced open the french doors to the newly repaired balcony and rose into the sky, expertly locking his senses onto Bulma's energy. Chuckling, he saw Bulma's jet rise into the air and shoot forward towards her intended destination. Vegeta decided to give her a few minutes head start and then follow her with just enough distance for her to be unable to detect his presence, although he surmised that she would be distracted due to her belief that she had evaded him successfully. He grinned devilishly as he followed, muttering, "So, woman. You think that you have outwitted me."