Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ Frightening Visions ( Chapter 34 )

Chapter 34 - Frightening Visions

Note: I don't own DBZ and I am not profiting from writing this story.

{} means as always a characters thoughts

Special thanks to: Dark Saiyan Prince, Laurenada, mizu megami, Ronnie. A very big thank you to my biggest fans Susan and Jadedbest. Where would I be without your constant support and uplifting reviews? Thanks a million guys and thank you for being so very patient with me due to my involuntary 2 month lockout from Mediaminer. You guys are the best!!

Whew!!! My apologies to all you lemon lovers out there but I promise that there will be steamy stuff by the bowlful in the next chapter.

On with the story……………………

Vegeta watched with amusement as Bulma's small jet soared and dipped in the air, going at full speed to reach her destination, Kami's lookout. He flew at a much slower speed than Bulma, careful to remain undetected by her, eager to gain entrance to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber that Goku had spoken so freely about. Vegeta felt that Kami himself would not be able to stop him from doing whatever he wanted, but he also had an innate curiosity about what training Bulma was undertaking with the guardian of Earth, considering that he had been unable to discover the reason behind such an offer, even after attempting to wear her down the night before. He chuckled loudly as she `buzzed' Korins tower, causing the mystical white cat to shriek loudly at the early morning disturbance, waving his trademark cane wildly at the rapidly disappearing jet. Vegeta had no idea so many strange creatures dwelled on Earth, it had been enough of a surprise to see a Namek residing so comfortably among earthlings without seeing a large speaking cat yelling ineffectively at Bulma's flying skills.

Bulma slowly reduced the power of her jet, finally seeing the lookout come into view after her steep ascent past Korins tower, a grin firmly in place believing she had managed to evade Vegeta successfully. Upon reaching the lookout, Bulma could see Kami standing outside his palace speaking to Mr Popo as he watered the myriad of plants clustered around the building. Kami turned his attention to Bulma as she landed, his expression unreadable as her jet screeched to a halt a hundred metres from the palace. Bulma took a deep breath of apprehension as she disembarked, grabbing her bag nervously with white knuckled fingers, before walking slowly over to the waiting deity. She bowed respectfully in front of Kami, her nervousness unfortunately not dissipating in the slightest. Kami smiled at Bulma, speaking calmly to put her at ease. "Good morning Miss Briefs, I am pleased that you were able to make the journey here at such short notice."

Bulma rose from her bowed position and looked directly into Kami's black eyes, trying to gather some reason why he felt she was so very important to Vegeta's ambitions. "Please, just call me Bulma. Miss Briefs is so very formal." Bulma smiled despite her anxiety, and decided to get to the point as soon as possible. "I am puzzled as to why you have this belief that I would benefit from training, however I am honoured at your offer."

Kami's face crinkled in surprise at her boldness, but understood her desire to know the reasons why he asked for her specifically. "All your questions will be answered very shortly, Bulma. Please go with Mr Popo, he will show you your room for the time that you are here, and I would suspect that you have not eaten yet, so Mr Popo will prepare food for you. Then I will give you the answers you crave." Mr Popo motioned for Bulma to follow him into the inner sanctum of the palace, leaving Kami alone outside.

Bulma silently followed Mr Popo who appeared to be dressed like a genie from the Arabian nights towards her temporary abode, her stomach rumbling. The vastness of the lookout surprised her, there seemed to be an endless array of doors and corridors but Mr Popo knew exactly where everything was without hesitation. After several moments, Bulma was led into a small circular room, as white as the rest of the palace, simply outfitted with only a small bed and several large rugs on the floor.

"Please leave your things here, Miss Bulma." Intoned Mr Popo. "This room also has a small bathroom attached for your bathing requirements." He gestured to the wooden door on the left of the room to indicate where it was. "Now," He smiled broadly as Bulma deposited her bag. "I'd better get you some breakfast." Bulma looked around the room once again, wide eyed once again noting the small size of the bed, feeling the pang of being separated from Vegeta. She then followed her guide to get some food. Bulma hoped that she soon find her bearings otherwise it was going to be rather tricky just to get to her room.

Kami watched Bulma leave with Mr Popo and waited until they were well out of hearing range before speaking clearly to a patch of peace lilies in the courtyard. "Please state your business in coming here Prince Vegeta."

The plants rustled momentarily and a growl of annoyance was heard as Vegeta extracted himself. He strode proudly over to Kami until he was barely a meter away from him. "I fail to see why I should explain myself to you." He grunted, not impressed in the slightest by the guardian in front of him.

Kami smiled wolfishly, and for a bare millisecond could have almost passed as a twin for his younger Namekian counterpart, Piccolo. Prince Vegeta was everything that he expected and more. He had retained the proud bearing of royalty even after his servitude with Freeza, retaining his inner strength. If anyone could stand to be alone in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for two years it was Vegeta.

"You are right, Prince Vegeta you don't really. I already know why you are here." He walked around the arrogant prince, mentally sizing him up. "Firstly, you want to know why Miss Briefs is here. Secondly, and I'll take an educated guess at this one, you want to use the time chamber."

Vegeta looked back at Kami, without expression. "Lucky guesses, old man." He replied peevishly. "I will be using that room and you can't stop me."

Kami seemed to ignore the thinly veiled threat in Vegeta's reply and continued to look him over. Kami needed to be absolutely sure that letting Vegeta train alone in there was the right thing to do, as the z warriors never trained alone in there. To do such a thing could cause a warrior to go mad from the isolation. After a few maddening moments he finally responded to Vegeta. "Prince Vegeta. I will allow you to use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for your training purposes. However, the maximum amount of time that you can use the room for is two days, no more."

"I require more than two days!" Vegeta hotly retorted, his hands forming fists as he was now loosing his patience with the wrinkled green man.

Kami held up one hand to indicate that he had not finished his statement. "Two days is the maximum," He continued calmly, "because once the two days are expended the door to the room disappears - forever." Kami cocked his head and studied Vegeta's expression.

"You lie!" Vegeta growled back, moving forward aggressively and forcing Kami back several steps. "I will have use of the room for as long as I need it!"

Kami paled slightly but regained his composure, replying in the most calming matter he possibly could. "I cannot stop you, but consider Miss Briefs, Prince Vegeta. As she is your bonded mate would you not be condemning her to a death sentence by that course of action?"

Vegeta stopped in his tirade at the words. If what Kami said was true, then he, thus making his promise to her nothing but a lie, would no longer protect Bulma. If Freeza was to arrive and he was not there, then Bulma would most certainly perish. Now if one thing was constant in Vegeta's life up to this point, then it was an unequivocal fact that he never lied, even to save his own skin. Mutely, he bowed his head, letting his pride slip away for once. "You speak truly, old man." He hissed between gritted teeth. {How does every creature on this planet know?}

"I know everything about you Prince Vegeta. I saw in my visions that you would come to this planet and wage a furious battle with Freeza, although the outcome has not been revealed to me. Also I saw that you would bond with Miss Briefs, although I omitted that information from the other warriors the day they greeted you." Kami glanced at Vegeta, seeing that the Saiyan Prince was not overly surprised at his confession. "The training that Miss Briefs is to undertake will be very important to this battle, that I am sure. That is all I can tell you about it at this stage." He returned to the most pressing matter at hand. "Your mind is strong enough to withstand the pressure of two years alone, I realise that. Two days will be more than enough for what you wish to achieve. Do you wish to enter the chamber now?"

"Yes," growled Vegeta, still very angry at letting his guard down, revealing himself so openly. "Don't read my mind again or you will pay. My thoughts are my own, not yours to sift through for your own sick amusement." He flashed an evil glare at Kami.

"Agreed." Replied Kami stiffly. "Although if you do dispose of me, there will no longer be any dragon balls to be used and you will lose an important ally - Piccolo. He is my other half as it were. Remember that before you strike me down." Kami smiled mysteriously at Vegeta as if he knew what wish Vegeta had planned, then lifted his cane and pointed towards the door of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, unwilling to take the angry Saiyan there himself. "The chamber is over there. Everything is provided for, food, bed and bathroom. There is a clock inside to inform you how much time you have left." His expression then became grave. "Do not linger even for a second once your time is up, or you will disappear into the void - forever." {If that happens then one of our last great hopes disappears with you….}

With some trepidation, Vegeta walked over to the large gold door and opened it. His eyes were assaulted by the brightness inside and for a moment, apprehension rose within him. Taking a deep breath to regain control, he entered, disappearing from Kami's view as the door slowly closed, locking him inside for 2 years. The first area he saw was obviously the living area, simply decked out as Kami had said. His boots tapped against the marble floor as he walked past the bed and towards the blinding white void in front. The air was almost oppressive, heavy and humid. Nervously Vegeta swallowed at the view, around him was a vast plain of nothingness. Silently he hoped that he would be able to withstand the self-imposed exile and train without falling into the pit of insanity.

Only time would tell. He had plenty of that.

"Wake up, bitch!" The coarse voice commanded Lisa for the third time as a pair of strong hands roughly shook her from her coma.

Weakly, Lisa flailed her arms about, attempting to stop her attacker; feebly protesting as she did so. "Please……no……..no more……please."

The voice came again but the shaking subsided. "I'm not going to hurt you, stupid bitch! Just wake up!"

"Wha?" Replied Lisa, her voice laced with suspicion. Almost not daring to, she opened her eyes to find Zarbon standing over her, his hands firmly clutching her upper arms. Trembling from the painful rape she had previously endured, Lisa shrank back. "No Zarbon, not again. Please just let me die."

Zarbon released her arms with a grunt, satisfied that he had been able to wake her successfully and crossed his arms, looking down his nose at her still trembling form. She looked totally wrecked, her hair snarled and dull, blood spatters on her legs from his intimate assault, nothing like the sensuous attractive snake that caught most males attention. "You may just get your wish," He responded quietly. "Freeza intends to make an example of me once he catches up with this ship." Lisa's fine brows knotted in confusion as she whispered hoarsely back to Zarbon, thin needles of icy fear quickly spreading throughout her body. "What do you mean, example?"

"What that means is that I will most likely be tortured for days then left to die in my own filth. As you are with me, then I would surmise it will be your fate also." Zarbons tone was dull and lifeless, almost as if there was no fight left in him.

"Oh god……no." Lisa said, now with a clear idea of what this would mean for her also, unless she could come up with a clever plan. "Escape, we must escape." She muttered.

Zarbon allowed the slightest glimmer of a smile pass over his ruined face at Lisa's suggestion. "That is exactly what I was thinking of. However this small craft will not be able to outrun Freeza's flagship for very long, he would catch us within a standard week." He sat cross-legged on the floor, next to the bunk bed that Lisa was strapped into. "Do you have any ideas?" Zarbon was aware of Lisa's skills as a technician due to her being assigned to him when he first arrived on Station Delta and wanted to put her to good use, hence the reason he had so rudely awoken her.

Lisa frowned and chewed her lower lip in concentration, it was patently clear that Zarbon was picking her brains to save his own worthless and ruined hide. After a very long silence she finally spoke again. "I could make alterations to the ship, perhaps to increase the power and speed. Does this craft have reserve fuel?"

"Yes, but why?"

"Extra power and speed means the fuel will be consumed at a much faster rate." Lisa had very little choice in helping Zarbon evade Freeza, but it would work to her advantage, being as she was no longer going to be a personal fucktoy of every soldier in Freeza's army or be resigned to the same fate as Zarbon. "I can do it for you, but……"

Zarbon's eyes narrowed, now Lisa was obviously going to make a deal with him. He didn't like deals, that was why he normally didn't make them. However in this case, both of them would benefit by pooling their resources, he would escape Freeza's clutches forever, if it worked. "But what?" He snapped, growing irate at the pause.

"You will not touch me again, and when we reach a safe destination you allow me to go, alive and unharmed. That is all I want." Lisa looked across to Zarbon, watching his expression become stern. His face was slowly healing, but the handsome features he once had would never return to the stunning standard they once were. His newly shorn hair did not help the overall picture either, but it would grow back.

Zarbon tentatively responded to her offer, his lip curling in derision at what he had to do. Make a deal with a demoness. "Agreed. But if you should even think of betraying me in any way, your pathetic life is over, got that?" Lisa nodded mutely as Zarbon rose to his feet and began the arduous task of releasing her bonds. As they were slowly undone, Lisa flexed her arms and legs, the days of being restrained having caused her muscles to stiffen and cramp painfully. "Get cleaned up." He ordered, "Then you will start work on the ship. I will endeavour to locate a non hostile planet for us to secrete ourselves on."

Lisa unsteadily swung her legs around to place her feet on the floor, grimacing at the pain and the discomfort in her lower body. She glanced down and noted that there was still blood crusted on her thighs, causing bile to rise in her mouth. Gagging on the taste, Lisa ran clutching her hands to her mouth in an attempt to stop the vomit from being expelled there and then, reaching the safety of the small bathroom with only a second to spare before she retched almost uncontrollably over and over. Several moments later, whatever Lisa had in her stomach was now completely ejected, and she slumped next to the toilet, her energy almost completely gone. Running a shaking hand over her mouth to wipe away the vomit around her mouth, Lisa grinned. Zarbon had played into her hands as she had hoped. She would help him for the time being, then she would betray him to his former master after discovering how to contact him. Lisa, in her unbalanced mental state believed that Freeza would reward her for handing Zarbon to him on a platter. {Fool…..You honestly think that I would give up on such an opportunity for power?}

Now with her stomach fully satisfied due to Mr Popo's excellent culinary skills, Bulma made her way, guided by Mr Popo once again back out to the courtyard of the palace to commence her training with Kami.

"Thank you Mr Popo," Kami spoke softly, "I will call should we require anything further."

Mr Popo bowed and quietly walked away, back into the palace to commence his usual duties, leaving Bulma alone with Kami. Kami turned to Bulma, "Walk with me for a few moments Bulma before we start." The two strode around the courtyard, Bulma marvelling at the vast array of plants and flowers Mr Popo lovingly took care of. "I had an unexpected visitor whilst you were being shown your room. You know exactly who I am speaking of, I'm sure."

"Vegeta." Bulma hissed with displeasure. "I told him not to come here." Bulma wildly looked around, expecting Vegeta to spring out. "Where is he?"

"In the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. It appears that Goku let him know the secret of his training regime inadvertently." Kami chuckled softly. Goku was nearly always as guileless and innocent as a child, unable to keep a secret. It was undoubtedly one of his most attractive traits and was the main reason he was so very likeable. However in battle, his demeanour would change and he became a ruthless and tough opponent, unbeatable. "He also seemed to have a burning desire to discover the true nature of your training."

Bulma relaxed slightly and smiled despite the annoyance Vegeta had most certainly made himself to Kami. "How long is he going to be in there for?"

"Two days. Once he emerges from the chamber we will have made some progress with your own training." He stopped walking. "Now, shall we begin?"

Bulma took a deep breath and replied hesitantly. "Alright. I hope that I am everything that you believe I am."

"You are. Follow me, we will go into my own private training area." Kami smiled. "No one except for myself or any of the previous guardians has ever been in there. If that doesn't signify how important you are, then nothing will." And so Bulma's first day of training began.

Once Kami had ushered Bulma into the training area, he gestured for her to sit on the mat in the centre, and slowly lowered his own aching old bones sitting directly across from her. "Firstly Bulma, I am going to delve deeply into your mind. This needs to be done to ascertain what talents you have and which will be the most powerful. I will need to make skin contact for this to be effective so my hand will be placed on your forehead. Slowly lower your mental defences to allow me access."

Bulma concentrated and bit-by-bit her defences came down, she felt no apprehension or concern at what Kami was about to do, she trusted him implicitly. Kami reached out a hand as he sensed her readiness and placed it on her forehead, the coolness of his fingertips jolting her slightly. "Relax." He intoned soothingly. "You may feel nauseous at times but it will pass."

Kami's hand seemed to dissolve as he placed Bulma and himself into a trance like state and it passed through her skin and bone, diving deep within Bulma's mind, searching out her latent talents. Telepathy, and slight telekinesis were already present. Those talents would merely require further training. Kami could see the rare ability to project pain back at an attacker was also there, but Bulma was only able to use it at this stage under extreme pressure, as in the situation with Nappa. She would receive training to better control that. As his hand and mind travelled on through hers, he finally found what he suspected Bulma had hidden within herself. The power of suggestion and the talent to project images by delving into another beings sub consciousness and withdrawing images long forgotten or hidden due to some trauma.

Kami could see all of the trials in her life as he clutched at the talents, her bitter regret at Yamchas death, her terror as Nappa and then Zarbon attacked, her complete acceptance of Vegeta as her bonded mate.

Using all of his own vast mental powers, Kami slowly drew the powers from deep within her subconciousness with his ghost like hand and began to start the arduous job of depositing them in her conscious mind, which would enable her to use them at will, not involuntarily as the case would have been if she remained untrained. This was a task that would take much time to complete and dimly Kami hoped that Bulma would be strong enough to take the strain being placed on her body as little by little he advanced through her mind.

Bulma groaned uncomfortably as Kami drew them out, alternately feeling sickness and then euphoria as he drew them slowly towards his goal. Suddenly, Bulma felt the light touch of Kami's fingertips leave her skin and realised somewhat groggily that the process was complete. She felt somehow lighter, more aware. With some trepidation, Bulma opened her eyes and found that the training area was now no longer bathed in bright sunlight, rather it was now growing dim, like dusk was falling. She glanced at Kami, his breaths coming short and fast as he regained his breath and power from the exertion. "What happened? How long have I been under?" Bulma questioned, more sharply than she intended. The extended amount of time she had been in a meditative state, made her feel disorientated and snappish, not to mention her legs were painfully cramped.

"It took around 8 hours." He replied, still panting with the effort, his skin now returning to its normal bright green colouring.

"8 hours?!" Bulma nearly shrieked. "That long?"

"Yes, but I have discovered all that I need to be completely sure of your abilities. Rather impressive ones at that." Kami rose, using his cane as leverage and extended an arm to assist Bulma in rising to her feet. {Ones I have not seen in at least 2 hundred years…..}

"What did you find?" She questioned as they exited from Kami's training area, feeling incredibly drained, but eager to know all.

"Well, some you are already aware of. Your telepathy is well established already, telekinesis is weak at this stage but with training will grow stronger. The jewels of the crown in your mind are the power of suggestion and projection of images. They are going to be the key to assisting Vegeta in his ultimate goal." He paused, still feeling slightly weak. "You need to eat and rest. Your training will continue tomorrow at first light. Goodnight, Bulma."

Kami then called for Mr Popo and left. Tomorrow was going to be as large a strain on him as it was to become for Bulma and at his advanced age of 900 years he could use all the rest he could get.

During the 8 hours of Bulma's first day of training, Vegeta had endured 4 months of loneliness, fear and pain. The loneliness and pain were things he could easily overcome, he had after all spent most of his life alone and the pain was like a reminder that he was still alive and kicking, making him stronger after every injury.

But it was the fear that came back to haunt him time and again, in his sleep and in his waking hours. It was a vision always started with the same thing, an erotic dream about Bulma. In the 4 months that Vegeta had been alone, he had realised that Bulma was more or less on his mind, night and day. She would be there, in front of him naked and wanting, her hands beckoning to him, ruby lips calling out to him. The dream would make him feel great, just the very suggestion that he was about to take Bulma as roughly as he could would always arouse him.

But then it would always morph into something else, just as he was about to touch Bulma's soft sweet skin and bury himself within her body. She would fade away and Freeza would then appear, hovering before him, his taunts falling on Vegeta's ears in time with the heavy blows from his tail, striking Vegeta squarely on the back, tearing his skin to shreds and crushing Vegeta's own tail. Vegeta could feel the bitter taste of defeat rise into his mouth with each insult and blow, and each time he was ready to give up, accepting his imminent death, seemingly unable to fight back.

Then the vision would change, and Freeza's features would grotesquely warp into his father's face, and it would be his own father taunting him, spouting forth his displeasure and shame that his only son had not attainted the legendary status and had taken an alien as his mate. His father would turn his back on him, and walk away, distancing himself from his disappointing progeny, Vegeta's pleas for forgiveness falling on deaf ears.

Finally this part of the vision would fade away, and Vegeta would always find himself surrounded by flames, the heat almost unbearable. In the distance, he would see Bulma, his bonded mate, lying broken and bleeding, calling, pleading for his help, but each time he tried to get to her, the flames would beat him back. Each time he was beaten back Bulma's voice would grow weaker and her eyes began to dim, realising that Vegeta was not going to come to her. The flames would then engulf Bulma completely, her high keening scream cutting through his head, before he plummeted into darkness, ending the visions.

Each time that this happened, Vegeta would experience a surge in power, close to the one he had felt when he had sparred with Goku in the badlands. Vegeta could feel his strength growing with each day that passed, but he seemed no closer to his goal. He incorrectly surmised that the visions were because of his irritation in not transforming, and so, as the days went by, he slowly tuned them out completely, burying the disturbing visions deep within himself, so far that he would never have to see them again, and suppressing his carnal desires for his mate.

Vegeta glanced up at the clock and watched the clock, almost grateful that the months had moved so slowly, allowing him time to train, to push his body to the absolute limit. His pride would not allow him to retreat from the room, no matter how much fear he felt. Fear was for weaklings - his own father had said that more than once. Taking a deep breath of resignation, Vegeta launched himself back into the void, hoping to keep the demons at bay once more.

Radditz had spent his day without Vegeta around wisely, sparring with Piccolo for most of the day. Piccolo had returned, and as promised taught Radditz some new moves and some of his most effective energy attacks. Radditz was by no means a slow learner, mostly due to a natural talent that Goku's family seemed to have, which Piccolo had also noticed was present in Gohan whilst he had been training him with Goku. Neither of the two warriors spoke unless it was absolutely necessary and to be honest, Piccolo liked it that way. Goku had a tendency to chatter with Piccolo when sparring, which always served as a distraction that he could well do without.

Near the end of the session, Piccolo split into three forms using the tri form technique, to further test his Saiyan student. Although his power was cut by a third of its normal strength when in this state, Piccolo was able to give Radditz a sufficient challenge. Radditz was at times a sneaky and underhanded fighter, not given to following the honour code that Piccolo and the other z warriors did and Piccolo suspected that this had been Radditz's only means of defence when unable to transform, taking his opponent off guard for a few seconds. Piccolo did not fall for the same trick twice and several times managed to force Radditz to his knees, blood flowing freely from his mouth and nose. "Stop acting like a child, Radditz. I'm not stupid enough to fall for it again." Piccolo growled, growing ever more irritated with Radditz's pathetic attempts to play at being submissive.

"Shit, Namek," retorted Radditz fresh from kissing the dirt again, "You're smarter than you look."

Piccolo chuckled despite the insult and extended an arm after absorbing his two other forms to assist Radditz back onto his feet. Radditz deftly flipped the unsuspecting Piccolo over his back to land heavily on the ground, puffs of dust rising as he landed. "But not that smart, huh?" Grunted Piccolo as he realised how he had been taken in. Radditz had bested him this time, by using the most simple of attacks, a throw. "Times up, Radditz. I'll be back tomorrow, and this time Goku will be sparring with us." He collected up his turban and cloak, donned them, then swiftly took to the skies, heading towards his favourite spot to meditate.

Radditz sat alone for a few moments to ponder on the days training before entering Bulma's house. It had been adequately stocked with food as Bulma had the foresight to order a large amount of food and have it delivered to the house, so Radditz and Vegeta would lack for nothing in the food sense. After a large and immensely satisfying meal, Radditz showered and decided to explore the rest of the now empty house. Not only did the house have three levels encompassing bedrooms, bathrooms entertaining areas, kitchens and storage areas, it also had a large extension leading off Bulma's floor.

Inside Radditz discovered the library, crammed full of books about Earth history, science, technology, romance and what were termed puzzlingly to Radditz anyway as "classics." He had never seen so many books before, the few he had seen were usually held by Saiyans older than himself by many decades and then only as a curiosity to be displayed, showing the Saiyan race had advanced beyond mere written words. Books had no purpose in Saiyan society. Their way of life was all about killing, fighting, mating and occasionally as in his father's case, science. The Saiyans liked to accumulate new knowledge to use to defeat their enemies and sometimes, knowledge was the weapon needed.

He ran a hesitant hand over the leather bound spines, but decided against picking one out. His grasp on the Universal Standard language in the spoken form was flawless, due to the implant imbedded in his head, but in the written form, he knew he would struggle. Radditz felt as if he was intruding on Bulma's personal space by being in there and so left the room, and headed back towards his own quarters. Feeling rather lethargic, Radditz lay on his bed, ignoring the fact that it was still too small to accommodate his frame.

A myriad of thoughts occurred to him. If Vegeta won the battle with Freeza, what would happen then? Would they leave this intriguing planet, so filled with beauty to take the helm of Freeza's former empire, or would Vegeta feel a need to stay as his mate was an Earthling? Privately, Radditz hoped it was the latter as he was still considered Vegeta's guard and therefore duty bound to go wherever Vegeta dictated. Would Vegeta accept that he, Radditz, was most likely going to take an Earthling as a mate? Musing on these thoughts, with an image of Amanda in his head, Radditz gradually drifted off to sleep.

Bulma felt lost and alone in her tiny room on Kami's lookout. The bed, although small, did not feel right without Vegeta at her side, curling around her body possessively, his tail stroking against her bare skin, his hot lips nibbling on the sensitive skin of her neck, making her melt. She wished fervently that she could contact him through the bond they shared, but the distance was too great, Vegeta was in another time completely.

Punching the pillow ineffectively to make it more comfortable, Bulma lay wide eyed and quite awake for at least another hour or so, finding it almost impossible physically and mentally to wind down quickly. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, her first real day of training with Kami. Everything still seemed like a huge mystery to her, nothing made any sense right now. Even after Kami had told her that he would reveal all, he had in fact revealed very little about her purpose as "the key". Bulma was scared that she would not be the key, the one to unlock Vegeta's power and disappoint both herself and Kami. That was one of the reasons she had not revealed any real reasons for the training to Vegeta, also she did not want to be the source of his pride being dented. Exhaustion slowly crept over her mind and Bulma succumbed to sleep, erotic dreams involving Vegeta springing forth, resulting in what was going to be a very restless sleep, her body writhing from the imagined physical contact with her mate.

Radditz was awoken from his dreamless slumber by a light tapping sound. He sprang into action, his body tense and ready for whatever had decided to try and attack him. At first he thought it was Bulma's parents coming back from their break. But on closer inspection after looking out of his window, Radditz could see a small figure far below in the darkness, hurling small stones at his window. Somewhat intrigued, but remaining wary, Radditz opened his window and squeezed himself out, then gently glided to the ground below. To his surprise, the small figure throwing the stones was Amanda, dressed in her usual work clothing, a very sheepish look on her face as clutched a cache of small pebbles in each of her hands.

Radditz blinked rapidly, unsure why Amanda was a: able to locate his room so accurately and b: why she would have done so at all. She had after all told him in the gentlest way possible that she would need time to think about relationship with him.

"I guess you are wondering why I'm here, right?" Amanda dropped the pebbles from her hands and looked down at her feet, almost embarrassed beyond belief at her actions. For some reason she had not noticed Radditz's rather otherworldly exit from his third floor room and he knew that soon the time would come that he would have to explain his genetics to her, but that time was not now. Radditz gently reached out and raised her chin, forcing her to look at him as she spoke. "The thought had crossed my mind." He murmured softly, allowing himself to get lost in her clear green eyes, his other hand brushing absently through her unbound blonde hair.

Amanda tried to wrench her chin from Radditz's grasp as she stumbled over her words, heat rising in her face as she blushed, her eyes firmly shut. "I can't explain why, but……..when, when you left me last night, I stayed right there, next to the pond, going over my options. Every time I came to the same conclusion."

Amanda opened her eyes, and found a pair of brown eyes holding her rapt attention. "And that conclusion was…..?" Radditz whispered softly, barely able to contain himself, lowering his head to hers and resting his tawny cheek against Amanda's own. Amanda was going to reveal all, one way or the other, he could feel it, her skin was like fire, burning with what Radditz felt could only be desire, desire for him.

Seconds passed as if they were hours, drawing out the torture for Radditz. His hope was that Amanda would agree to be with him, but he wanted to know for sure, or would he have his soul torn apart again?