Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ A deal with the Devil ( Chapter 45 )

Chapter 45 -

A deal with the Devil……..

Note: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters and this story is not for profit (like I could sell it anyway - no one is dumb enough to publish this..)

Victor was unable to disguise his discomfort with facing the press; in fact his nervousness was written all over his face, and once again he cursed Jock and Bulma Briefs under his breath. Never before had he been expected to give a press conference, it had always fallen to Bulma, as she had the quick wit and personality to carry it off, not mention they were a great deal more interested in her anyway. As he squinted in the bright sunlight that was directly in his line of vision, Victor was incredulous at the sheer amount of refugees that were pouring into the Capsule Corporation compound, surrounded by a strong showing of military personnel, their job being to stop any interaction by the press with the new arrivals. The human workers from Station Delta had already been taken away to be debriefed before rejoining their family and friends, no enforced waiting period for them. Victor wrinkled his nose in distaste at some of the refugees filing past some 50 meters away from him, all of them yet to be processed, their identities confirmed and then assigned to their temporary quarters. There were so many different races, some outstandingly ugly to human eyes, yet there were others that seemed very close physically to the human race. Victor concluded somewhat pre-emptively that the latter would be easier to assimilate into human society; they would be more acceptable to prospective employers. He for one did not really want to have anything to do with any one of the refugees however, and that was because of the loss of Amanda to Radditz, and as a result of that Victor had concluded that all aliens were scum and not to be trusted.

The press with their assorted cameras and recording equipment were jockeying for the best position during the short press conference, hurriedly scribbling down the questions that they felt would have the most amount of impact and give them the scoop on not only the refugees, but the abduction and subsequent re-emergence of Bulma Briefs, heir to the Capsule Corporation fortune. Bulma had been gossip fodder since her late teens, due in most part to her long time relationship with the late Yamcha Ladro, star player with the major league baseball team the Titans, her exquisite looks and her unconventional lifestyle. In fact every couple of weeks her visage would be gracing some downmarket rag like the New York paper 'pettegolezzo'*, a down market rag despite its attempt at appearing classy with an Italian name, usually with accompanying out of focus photographs of her outstanding voluptuous body, mostly in swimwear, raising the male populations blood pressure, and other parts further down the body, along with readership of the trashy rag.

Victor gulped audibly, closed his eyes and counted to ten before moving behind the microphone, dreading the first question, as the press pack looked at him with greedy eyes, each vying to the be first to draw blood. He cleared his throat so that his voice would not come out like a garbled croak from a bullfrog, as it was apt to do when he became very nervous. Victor licked his lips, arranged the cue cards in his moist hands and then plunged into the fray, sweat already beading along his hairline as the microphones and cameras advanced almost menacingly.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the press, thank you for making the journey out here today. As you can see," Victor expansively waved his right hand at the capsule homes behind him, "Capsule Corporation has provided handsomely for our new arrivals to Earth, making their short stay with us as comfortable as possible. This area will house up to two thousand people at any one time comfortably and we expect that the new arrivals will be here only for a short time before being sponsored and assisted in finding employment within Earths many industries, along with new housing, and education for the children." The faces of the reporters were for the most part blank, but had dutifully taken notes to be used in the various newspapers and TV. Stations they were employed by, but what the reporters really wanted were snippets of gossip, innuendo, and the really big story - what had happened to Bulma Briefs. He breathed a sigh of relief; the first hurdle had been overcome; now the questions would come and they would undoubtedly be directed not towards the humanitarian effort of Capsule Corporation, but more likely regarding Bulma's recent hostage situation. "I understand that many of you are eager to ask a few questions regarding this temporary facility, so as there has been 10 minutes allotted, please go ahead." Victor smiled pleasantly, masking his desire to run like mad and lock himself in his office as the rush of questions were shouted out.

One reporter managed to catch Victors eye and blurted out her name and the newspaper she worked for before asking what she thought was a carefully worded question. "Brittany Schaffer, New York Tribune. Victor, I understand that Bulma Briefs has arrived home safely from her ordeal, what can you tell us about her abductors and whether the many law enforcement agencies around the world hope to apprehend them?" She smiled sweetly at Victor with the full force of her newly capped and whitely gleaming teeth, hoping to catch him off guard, but Victor had already clocked that she was a viper in disguise and was only there to gather information for the papers gossip column, so he snapped out a stern, "No comment," before moving onto the next question, one that was hopefully a legitimate one. He resisted the urge to wipe a hand over his face to remove the sweat that was building up and appear vulnerable to such a ravenous pack of blood thirsty hyenas, and proceeded to answer only approved questions, grateful for the light tap on his shoulder from security when it was now time to move on and get rid of the reporters, and move onto overseeing the processing of the new arrivals. The reporters and crew left reluctantly after the last question, each seething at the startling small amount of gossip or information they had gleaned from Victor Anderson, to get to the best vantage point for the advancing asteroid, now less than 8 hours away from impact. At least there would be some action to show now that there wasn't any gossip.

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______

The sharp smell of disinfectant and the cool air roused Bulma from her fainting fit and as her eyes slowly opened she could see the concerned faces of her parents and dimly hear the conversation they were having, a conversation that concerned her. She was on an examination bed in the medical centre at Capsule Corporation, as the moment she saw Zarbon on the TV screen she had blacked out, sending a mental distress signal to Vegeta, warning him of the arrival of one of his enemies. She supposed that some of the Capsule Corporation workers must have moved her into this room and informed her parents of her black out, hence the reason they were the only people in the room.

Bulma raked a hand through her hair, wincing at the slight bump on her forehead, which was the result of her fall. With bleary eyes, Bulma focussed her attention on her parents who were speaking rapidly to each other and it appeared that her father was very upset and it was obvious that she was the cause of his distress. Moving her head slightly, but still remaining in a prone position she listened carefully to the by now heated words being exchanged by her mother and father near the door. Bulma could not sense Vegeta being near, and the feelings of dread and fear deep within her began to bubble up again and Bulma knew that they would not abate unless Vegeta was there. At this moment, Bulma needed him to hold her and chase away the demons; she did not feel strong enough to do it herself, even with her inner fighting spirit. Zarbon is here, but why? What does he want?

"- and I tell you Sarah, all of this is that, that creature Vegeta's doing, it's that simple." Jock hissed quietly, assuming that Bulma was still unconscious, not wanting to wake her with raised voices and for her to hear what he had to say, although the time would come when he would no longer be able to refrain from voicing his opinions loudly to Bulma about her chosen life mate.

"Well, I don't believe that for a moment, Jock." Sarah Briefs whispered back. "I can't see any indications that Vegeta is responsible for this at all."

Jock grasped his wife by her arms, almost bruising her fair skin in his frustration as he replied angrily, his pale blue eyes flashing behind his thick glasses. "Don't be such a fool, Sarah! Bulma was perfectly happy to stay here and take up her birthright as my successor to this company, and never ever had any of these strange episodes! She would have reconciled with Yamcha, got married and had children, like a normal girl, not be joined in some unholy wedlock with an alien murderer!" Jock shook his wife violently to get his point across, and Bulma spoke up choosing that very moment to alert her father to the fact that she was now awake, her voice a little croaky, but authorative nonetheless. "Get your hands off her." She snarled, stiffly getting off the bed and advancing towards her frustrated father, intending to stop him from hurting her mother physically, her ki rising in anger, small sparks of electricity flashing around her. She could feel the fright from her mother wash over her and resisted the urge to strike out at her father, who was radiating nothing but hate, hate for Vegeta. What the hell is wrong with my father?

Jock dropped his hands from Sarah's arms, looking a little startled at the growl from his only child's throat and the power she was radiating. "Please calm down, Bulma, I wasn't trying to hurt her." He replied, ashamed of his actions, as it was not his intention to cause harm to his wife, he was just a frustrated and concerned parent. "I just wanted her to listen to what I had to say," Jock explained, trying to soothe his furious daughter by grasping her hand softly. "You need to rest."

Bulma looked at her father, and snatched back her hand, a barely concealed look of disgust flashing across her features for a second, her eyes burning with icy fire, rage taking hold of her body and mind. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! Trying to forcibly make Mom come around to your point of view?! I heard everything, father. Vegeta is not responsible for my nightmares or in fact anything else that has happened. Why can't you get that through your thick skull?!" She shrieked, pushing past her parents to get out of the room as soon as possible, ignoring the outraged expression on Jocks face. She knew that her shouting at her father did not help the situation, but Bulma just wanted to get away from them both and find Vegeta quickly, and discover how the hell Zarbon had come back from the dead and managed to secrete himself on a transport from Station Delta, making his way to Earth. There was something definitely afoot with Zarbon coming to Earth and Bulma silently prayed it had nothing to do with her.

Jock made an abortive attempt to grab hold of Bulma as she stormed out, shouting a vehement oath back at her, an oath that sent shivers down Sarah Briefs spine. It did not sound like her placid husband at all; it appeared that the situation with Vegeta being the man with whom Bulma intended to stay with was rapidly coming to a head. "I'll make you see the error of your ways yet young lady!" He thundered, and would have stormed out after Bulma if the gentle hand of Sarah had not stopped him. Jock threw her hand off his arm in disgust and left anyway, going in the opposite direction to Bulma, muttering to himself as he made his way to the settlement site to check on progress and see how Victor was handling the extra responsibility, hoping that removing himself would take the problem concerning Vegeta off his mind, ignoring the surprised glances of medical staff as he walked along, muttering curses under his breath. Damn that bastard! He is tearing my family apart, I will find a way to get rid of him…..

_______________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ________

Vegeta………he is here…..

Vegeta heard the frightened voice of Bulma drift into his mind, and for a few seconds it barely registered and he was not sure of whom Bulma was speaking of, until the flashes of Bulma's nightmare of the previous night rushed back to him. Zarbon? He replied mentally, asking the obviously rhetorical question, but getting no response from Bulma, which alarmed him slightly.

"Shit!" He cursed roundly, glaring at Goku who had stopped in his attack at the first sign of Vegeta's concentration being broken. Vegeta descended rapidly to the dusty earth below him, plumes of dust rising around him as his feet hit the ground heavily. Goku followed, unsure of what had caused Vegeta to cease sparring so abruptly, but a niggling sense told him that it was undoubtedly Bulma who was the source of the concern that briefly flashed across Vegeta's normally expressionless face, for she was the only living being that Vegeta really cared about, whether he displayed it openly or not.

"Is it Bulma?" Goku asked quietly, standing directly in front of Vegeta, his own face clouding with anxiety about his best friend, wondering what could possibly have befallen her this time.

"Fuck off Kakkarot…." Growled Vegeta, "This is none of your business.." He continued, turning his head away from Goku's gaze, his fists balled up so tightly in anger he could feel the skin on his hands split and the blood gush out, staining his white gloves bright red. Zarbon, the source of Bulma's almost irrational fears had arrived, but for what purpose? Was he scouting again for Freeza, trying to discover new information about Vegeta? Or was it due to his baser instincts, the drive to claim Bulma? Vegeta did not know. What Vegeta did know was that it meant that Freeza was getting ever closer and although now he was the legendary super saiyan and felt that he would easily defeat Freeza on the battlefield, Vegeta felt the familiar hatred of his captor for twenty years of his life bubble up, the darkness inside enveloping him and making him recall the mental torture and almost daily beatings he had been forced to endure, making him put more pressure on his already damaged hands. Vegeta's mind told him that Bulma was alright for now, but that he would have to cut his sparring session short and return to Capsule Corporation to see one of his most hated enemies in the flesh, right before he blasted him to hell, of course. But right now all he wanted was to be left alone with his thoughts to attempt calm and ready himself for battle, not to have the babbling of a man he felt was brain damaged in some way pestering him about he and his mates personal life. He did not need Goku involving himself in his affairs." Leave." He spat out over his shoulder at Goku. "Now."

Goku swallowed back the lump in his throat and was initially prepared to just leave Vegeta alone, due to the body language the Saiyan Prince was displaying, the blood dripping from Vegeta's gloves making him feel faintly queasy, but something inside told him to push the issue further and stop acting like the idiot that everyone took him for. Inside he snapped, his words coming out in a torrent of anger.

The harshly worded sentences tumbled out, Goku yelling loudly in his mistaken belief that Vegeta's hostile manner was because of his seemingly overly possessive nature in any matter regarding Bulma. "Get over yourself, Vegeta! Any fool can see that Bulma is yours and no one else's, all I want to know is what the fucking problem is!"

Vegeta spun on his heel and surged forward violently at Goku, catching the younger Saiyan unaware, latching his blood soaked hands onto Goku's throat and applying just enough pressure to actually hurt Goku, pushing them both to the ground forcefully. He lowered his face until it was just a few inches from Goku's, his teeth bared, the colour of his eyes flickering between his usual dark colour to the teal of Super Saiyan as his emotions rose to almost unbearable heights, and he spoke to Goku, his tone even and deadly. "You want to know so badly, 3rd class?" He sneered, a look of distaste on his face at being in such close contact with one who was lower on the Saiyan social scale than him. "One of Freeza's most dangerous men has just arrived on this planet. For what reason, I don't yet know. What I do know is that my mate is in danger, as this piece of shit would like nothing better than to use her against me." The fierce look stayed on Vegeta's tawny face for an another few moments before he regained his normal façade and he released his powerful hands from Goku's throat and forcibly pushed Goku away, panting, angry with himself for letting an underling see his emotions, even if it was for only a second or two. "Go and get that worthless lump of skin you call a brother and the Namek and meet me at Capsule Corporation. This way you and the Namek will have a much better idea of what sort of opposition you are up against once Freeza's forces arrive, not that you weaklings will be of much worth…" He continued, his tone now even and controlled, showing nothing of his passionate outburst, now he was back in total control of his emotions.

Vegeta then rose to his feet and regained his normally proud posture, looking away from Goku and staring at the horizon. He felt very tired and drained all of a sudden and just wanted it to be all over, to be victorious in battle against Freeza and avenge his father and his people, reclaim his birthright and to no longer have to look over his shoulder, watching for the next enemy to rise and try to take it all from him. The lust for battle would never leave him of course, but twenty years of being on edge had taken its toll. Zarbon's arrival had brought it all back to him and Vegeta cursed his name. "Be assured of this Kakkarot, when I find him, I will be the one to kill him, don't even think about being a hero."

Goku greedily breathed in lungfuls of sweet oxygen, feeling heavy bruising rise on his throat from the pressure that Vegeta had applied only moments ago. "Fine." He answered tersely, still livid that Vegeta had attacked him both physically and verbally, but his good nature dictated that it was better to let it go, and just follow Vegeta's instructions. Whatever respect Goku had managed to gain from Vegeta over the past days seemed to have disappeared in an instant, and now he was once again the 3rd class good for nothing, there only to be a punching bag for Vegeta, and it was all because he had dared to enquire about Bulma's well being. Goku sensed that Vegeta was tired mentally and knew that without a doubt that Bulma was the only thing keeping Vegeta sane.

He had been racking his brains, trying to figure out why the name was so familiar to him, and now he had the answer. Bulma. In the back of his mind, he recalled the information that the sadly deceased Lisa had given him about Bulma. She was part of the company, her father had set it up and she was his heir. He almost laughed aloud at his continuing good fortune, first being able to stowaway undetected on a transport from the doomed Station Delta, and now this little snippet of information that told him that he was basically in Bulma's own home, under her company's protection. Even if he was discovered as being an impostor, he would not be ejected from the sanctuary of Earth due to the imminent arrival of the asteroid, and he smiled, his position was secure.

Earth to his eyes was pretty, if a little quaint and technologically a backwater. Freeza would have been able to sell it for a good price if it had been purged as ordered twenty standard years ago, and Zarbon wondered what had transpired, as the Saiyan infant sent to this planet should have fulfilled his mission, as none of the inhabitants of Earth had been shown to be strong enough to withstand a fully transformed Oozaru at the time.

Zarbon had been surprised at the sheer number of people who had come to witness the landing of the refugees, the military of Earth being present in full force along with several hundred other people with what appeared to be primitive, well to his eyes anyway; recording devices, obviously intent on getting a first glimpse of creatures that they had never seen before. Fools, their pitiful lives won't last much longer once Freeza gets here…I'll be long gone by then, with Bulma.

His own scarred and bedraggled appearance excited little comment and although Zarbon was clad in the uniform of a Station Delta crewmember, many of the other refugees were similarly dressed, thus adding to his acceptance among them. Also, as his appearance had changed so much, none of the refugees who had fled from the tyranny of Freeza recognised him as Freezas right hand man and a destroyer of many races himself.

After the short uneventful journey to the settlement at Capsule Corporation, the refugees had been ushered off the large army trucks by heavily armed military personnel and moved purposefully towards a check in station of sorts, so that each refugee was assigned their own home for the duration of their stay at Capsule Corporation and their identity verified, a bump in the road that Zarbon had anticipated. With his sharp hearing Zarbon was able to listen to the questions being put to a tall blonde man by the people standing in front, as he shuffled past with the other refugees, his interest further piqued by the mention of Bulma's so called abduction and release. It did not surprise him in the least that Bulma was protecting Vegeta and Radditz in some way, and that in all likelihood both Saiyans were probably living on the compound somewhere, hidden from view. It made his job all that much easier, but his first hurdle was to find out where exactly they were and then either strike or try to ingratiate himself with them and gain the Saiyans trust, before taking what he wanted before destroying Vegeta. Of course Vegeta had almost killed him on Station Delta, but Zarbon had his ways of attaining his prime objective.

Zarbon had now almost reached the front of the line, and had watched with bored eyes at the process of verifying identities and assigning of quarters to each of the people in front, each one of them being lead away by two soldiers to their temporary home.

"Name?" Snapped the impatient man processing the in flow of people, obviously not enjoying his job very much. "Name?" He barked again, when Zarbon did not answer immediately.

"Zarbon." Zarbon replied smoothly, realising that now his illegal entry would now be discovered, but not showing any sign of being nervous about it.

The processor tapped the name in his laptop, and without looking up, requested that Zarbon extend his left arm, which was where the implant that all Station Delta refugees had been fitted with, so that he could scan it and verify his status and right to be on Earth.

Zarbon complied with a thin smile gracing his lips, knowing that this insignificant human would find nothing. The portable scanning device, which was attached to the laptop and the database, was swiftly passed up and down his arm, issuing a shrill beeping sound, warning that no implant was lodged beneath the subjects skin. At the sound, the processor looked up at Zarbon for the first time, his brown eyes registering suspicion and fright as the creature before him was not registered and therefore was an unknown quantity. With shaking fingers, he pressed a panic button on his belt, his eyes darting around to ascertain where the security forces were and whether he would be attacked, the desire to urinate becoming painful as his fright grew.

Zarbon remained completely calm and still not making a single move, even smiling in a friendly fashion at the processor, his amusement at the man's fear forcing him to hold back the cruel laugh trying to burst out. He knew that the processor had called for help and his own golden eyes looked around for the squad of heavily armed humans who would arrive and take him away. Zarbon decided that for the time being it was best to play along and not reveal his true power or intentions, even if he could kill most of them without raising a sweat.

When they arrived, Zarbon allowed them to drag him away, putting up no resistance, a smirk curling his mouth as the first part of his plan fell into place neatly.

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______

As Amanda helped Chi Chi in her daily chores, Radditz sparred with Piccolo and Gohan, furiously trying to match both the Namek and the half breed blow for blow as they both attacked him head on. Radditz was surprised at the sheer strength of his nephew at his relatively young age and concluded quite rightly that the mix of human and Saiyan blood gave the young boy his strength and speed. In a few years, with more training of course, Gohan would undoubtedly be one of the strongest beings on Earth, that was if his mother would allow it, and from all the outward signs that Radditz could see that was not going to be a possibility. He smiled as he recalled the discovery that Amanda, his own mate, was almost definitely pregnant with his first child, the thought taking his mind off the action going on in front of him, giving Piccolo the opportunity to land a combination of kicks and punches to his unguarded mid section, dropping Radditz to the earth with a loud thump.

"Keep your mind on the job - Saiyan." Came the deep booming voice of Piccolo, his tone sarcastic and derogatory. "Do you want to die in the battle ahead?"

Radditz laughed harshly, looking up at his teacher, replying equally sarcastically, "Damn it Namek, I didn't know that you cared so much."

"I don't." Retorted Piccolo, floating down to the fallen Radditz, baring his fangs as he launched another attack, sending a weak Masenko attack towards Radditz to shock him into getting up and continuing the sparring session. As the bolt of yellow energy came towards Radditz, he rolled out of the way, springing to his feet and launching himself towards Piccolo, engaging him in some hand to hand combat, chuckling as most of his combinations made contact with Piccolo's body, Gohan wisely keeping himself away from the two powerful men. "I'd have to say that I could beat you into a pulp, Namek." Radditz panted, grinning wolfishly as he gained the upper hand, knocking Piccolo backwards in the air, and he would have carried on if it had not been for the intervention of Goku arriving on the scene.

His attention diverted at the arrival of Goku, Radditz turned away from Piccolo and descended to the ground, interested to know why Goku was back so soon from his training session with Vegeta. From the look on Goku's face, it appeared that it was not good whatever had happened, although Goku bore no major injuries. Piccolo followed slowly, his ears still ringing from the last punch to his head, courtesy of Radditz. "Is there a problem, Goku?" He puffed, gingerly moving his jaw from side to side, loosening it up again.

"I'm not sure." Goku replied quietly, crouching down on the grass, looking slightly confused and angry even after his long flight from the badlands. "Vegeta told me to come and get you and Radditz and meet him at Capsule Corporation. He said something about an enemy arriving." He looked at Radditz and asked, "Do you know who it might be?"

Radditz quirked an eyebrow, his lips pursing in concentration as he thought. "Well, it can't be Freeza, otherwise we would all have felt his presence beings as his power is so strong and those arriving from the space station would not have alerted his senses."

"He's lost his mind then." Piccolo grunted, growing impatient with the lack of any real information and more than eager to leap back into training.

"No, it's not that." Goku spoke up quietly, "I think that Bulma alerted him. During our sparring, Vegeta lost concentration for a moment and then just stopped in his attack. When I asked him what it was," Goku's expression changed at his recollection of events, his ki sparking upwards in anger, "he attacked me." Goku winced as he gingerly fingered the necklace of bruises adorning his throat. "Then Vegeta said that one of Freeza's most dangerous men had arrived and that Bulma was in danger."

Radditz's face became stony as he realised who had arrived. "Zarbon." He growled, remembering the fierce battle between Vegeta and Zarbon at Station Delta and his own run ins with the slippery and powerful Zarbon. "How the fuck did that bag of pus get here?" He muttered under his breath, although the words were clearly heard by the others. His face cleared from the bad memories and he continued, rather more calm after his outburst, "Vegeta is right, Zarbon is powerful and will cause trouble for us. We should go."

"I agree" rumbled Piccolo, already picking up his cape and turban in readiness, "but only on the basis of finding out who this Zarbon creature is, not because your prince orders it so."

"Gohan!" Goku called his son over. "Tell your mother and your aunt that we are all going to Capsule Corporation for a while." Gohan looked up at his father expectantly, hoping that Goku would allow him to go with them, but his hopes were dashed. "You must stay here and keep an eye on things for me, okay?" Goku ruffled his disappointed son's unruly black spikes and then pushed him towards the house, making sure that his sometimes-rebellious young son was actually going into the house before he left with Piccolo and Radditz. Once Gohan had disappeared into the house, Goku turned back to Piccolo and Radditz, and with a curt nod of his head, signalled that it was time to go.

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______

Still very hyped up after her altercation with her father, Bulma almost tore her room apart, looking for a cigarette to calm herself down with. It was a disgusting habit of that she had no doubt, but Bulma always kept a few around for moments just like the one she had experienced a short time ago. Once she had located one, along with a lighter, Bulma lit it up and drew back on the choking smoke and felt herself begin to come down from her rage fuelled high. It did not however take away the anxiety of discovering Zarbon's presence on Earth and even worse, in her own back yard, and adding to her growing sense of fear was the fact that Vegeta had not tried to make contact yet. Throwing the French doors in her room open, Bulma peered into the bright sunlight, and stepped onto the now repair balcony, trying to see if Vegeta had just decided to come back without letting her know instead cutting to the chase as it was.

As Bulma drew back again on the fast burning cigarette and blew the smoke out, watching the tendrils of smoke rise into the humid air, she could see the thronging masses of people on the edges of the property and correctly assumed that it was the press out in force. She chuckled to herself as saw them move away, obviously the story that they had all really been at Capsule Corporation for had not presented itself. "Well, I guess they'll make up a nice but totally fictional story about me anyway." Bulma muttered to herself, recalling the vast array of rumours that were spread about her. She flicked the last of the ash from the cigarette away and squashed the butt beneath her booted foot, withdrawing into her bedroom once more to await Vegeta's return, unwilling to have another altercation with her father, one that might result in her physically hurting him, which she was more than capable of doing now, especially after her training with Kami. There seemed to be something terribly unbalanced about her father since the tense conversation in her personal library about whether or not she would take up the position she had been groomed for since her early teens. It was the only explanation for all the hostility that Jock Briefs was displaying so openly, even going as far as hurting his own wife, a course of action the normally mild mannered scientist and CEO would never have considered before.

Bulma shut her bedroom door and sat on her bed, feeling very vulnerable and very frightened, her fingers nervously plucking at the fur covering the bed.

Flashes of the recurring nightmare kept rising unbidden in her minds eye, and no matter how hard Bulma tried to block them out, the images would still come, revealing a possible future for her, one filled with pain and sorrow, one without her soul mate, her family or her friends, one she had felt up until several days ago was an impossibility, but now, now it seemed eerily prophetic, like the dream on Station Delta about her abduction by Radditz and Vegeta. Shivering, Bulma drew her knees up and hugged them with her arms, trying to keep the images at bay with calming thoughts and meditation. She only hoped that whatever the nightmares and images primary purpose was, it was not to send her mad. Vegeta………where are you…..I need you…..

_______________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________

Victor watched with barely concealed boredom as the refugees filed past to be processed, to him the whole process was tedious at best. He could not see the reason why he had to stay there in the new settlement overseeing what a junior executive could easily do, and was about to delegate the job and escape from the monotony when Jock Briefs made an unexpected appearance on the scene, driving a small golf cart.

"Damn." Victor swore quietly, his plans for a quick exit dashed. He pasted a smile on his face as he greeted his employer, gesturing for Jock to come over and watch what was or rather was not happening. It had been the single most boring day of his life to date.

"Jock! Good to see you out here. As you can see," Victor waved his hands towards the processors, "everything is going very smoothly, almost don't need me here at all," he hinted subtly.

Jock passed a distracted gaze over the scene being played out before him, his mind not really on the job. "Good, good. No problems then, excellent." He replied his voice betraying his disinterest.

"Everything alright, Jock?" Victor asked, a bit concerned.

Jock pulled Victor aside before answering, so that no other employees were privy to what was in essence a private family matter, but as Victor was almost like a son to him he let him in on the cause of the tension in the Briefs household. "It's Bulma and her guests."

Victor knotted his brows in askance; unsure of how they would have caused such rift between such a close father and daughter. "What are they doing?"

Jock took a deep breath before continuing, feeling slightly like a traitor to his daughter, his words stumbling over themselves as he forced the words out. "Bulma is, how can I say this the right way - attached romantically to one of them, Vegeta. He is an unbelievably evil man, I can just sense it. The worst thing is that Bulma is not seeing it as I can, and to top off the whole mess, Bulma will not be staying. H, her intention is to leave Earth and travel with Vegeta, leaving her family behind."

Victor's eyes widened at the intimate information given to him, and replied with a question, hoping that Jock would have some information about Radditz as well, as Victors interest was only on the bastard who had stolen his wife from him, not Bulma and her paramour. "So what do you think you will do, Jock? After all, Bulma is an adult now and can do as she pleases."

"I'm not sure, Victor but I will find a way, that you can be sure of." Jock replied aggressively, clenching his fists, his eyes moist from unshed tears.

"Let me know if I can help in anyway, Jock, I mean that. You don't deserve to be put under such pressure and I'm sure that Bulma will come to her senses." Victor responded with a concerned look on his face, placing a consoling hand on Jocks's shoulder. He really did like the older man and would do anything for him, but as he was about to continue the discussion with Jock, a breathless soldier, burbling some incoherent nonsense about an illegal entry, interrupted Victor.

Victor turned away from Jock Briefs and focussed his attention on the annoying little prat of a man who had so rudely disturbed his conversation, one that was giving him little snippets of priceless information.

"What is it?" Victor snapped irritably, crossing his arms in a show of pomposity, pleased that he topped the soldier by at least 4 inches in height, giving off the impression of authority. "Well, spit it out then man," he continued when the soldier did not answer.

"Sir!" The soldier replied, crisply saluting Victor. "Private Acton reporting, sir. We have a situation with one of the new arrivals, sir. This refugee has no implant and no file is held on him. We suspect he could be dangerous and so have him under armed guard, as we await your instructions, sir." Private Acton then stepped back, waiting for Victor's response and the one he gave was totally unexpected, by both Jock Briefs and the young soldier.

"Take me to this, intruder, Private, uh what was it?" Victor replied confidently. "I wish to deal with this personally."

"Acton, sir. Are you sure that you wish to deal with the prisoner?" Private Acton paled slightly at the death glare being given to him by Victor and carried on, trying to cover his surprise. "What I mean sir is that the prisoner may be very dangerous."

"I am aware of that, soldier," Victor snapped. In truth, he was quivering inside from top to toe, but he was damned if he was going to let either Jock Briefs or the young upstart of a soldier see that and besides it was the most interesting thing to have happened all day, aside from the brief chat he had with Jock. Victor suspected that the so-called situation was just the oxymoron 'military intelligence' at work, with soldiers and processors jumping to conclusions.

"I'll come with you Victor." Jock piped up, the scientific brain part of his brain finally kicking in. "I'd like to hear this creatures explanation on how he managed to slip through security so deftly."

"Well, alright then Jock," Victor replied with a slightly bemused look on his face. If there was one thing about Jock Briefs that was constant, it was his curiosity, and it would always override any fear that the older man had. "If anything happens though, I will use whatever force you deem necessary."

Victor then turned back to the waiting soldier. "Lead the way, Private Acton." Victor requested, following the soldiers lead, both he and Jock heading towards one of the currently unoccupied capsule homes.

He dreaded what kind of creature awaited them.

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______

Having finally calmed himself into battle readiness, Vegeta flew quickly towards his temporary home and Bulma. Her impassioned pleas for him to return had not fallen on deaf ears, but he needed to be as collected as possible to finish the job that he had started on Station Delta, several weeks ago. Zarbon had proven to be weaker than he, all of his training having paid off, but still the foul lizard had managed to evade death and rise again, to plague Bulma and to plague him. While the first dreams Bulma had experienced had been disturbing, she had been more than able to brush them off as silly fears, but now the dreams had taken on a distinctly fearsome tone, becoming more graphic and almost prophetic. Vegeta had felt everything that Bulma had during the short dream, her pain, distress and sense of loss. To have their bond broken in such a traumatic way was inconceivable, horrific. In fact, when Bulma had finally drifted back off to sleep, Vegeta had gently stroked her neck, reassuring himself that the bond was not in fact broken. He had not returned to slumber, instead staying awake and watching over Bulma like a guardian angel, holding her involuntarily trembling body close, his powerful arms wrapped around her like a security blanket, whispering words of comfort to her sleeping form.

As Vegeta spurred himself on and pushed up his speed to reach Bulma faster, Vegeta was able to now sense the ki from the refugees that had arrived and it was a large amount, only due to how many had made it to Earth, but he could not feel Zarbons specifically, which meant that he was suppressing it to avoid detection from Vegeta, which would make it harder to locate and destroy him. A brief moment of worry creased Vegeta's forehead as he thought that possibly Zarbon had already been able to find Bulma and harm her in some way, but logic dictated that Bulma would have contacted him mentally and therefore she was, for the time being anyway, safe. Or, his mind reasoned, perhaps Bulma had not seen Zarbon at all and her mind was merely playing tricks on her, making her see what was not there. Vegeta snorted at such a stupid thought, Bulma was possibly one of the most logical creatures he had ever been in contact with, and with her intelligence and mind power there was no way she would ever be fooled like that.

As he neared the compound, Vegeta felt the familiar ping in his body as he sensed that Goku and the others were close by, their respective levels of power at the lowest level possible, making their way to Capsule Corporation as well. As Vegeta had so brutally explained to Goku, the only reason he had requested their presence was to demonstrate how powerful some of Freeza's men were, and how he, the Legendary Super Saiyan would crush them one by one beneath his booted foot, and with each one he killed he would reclaim his life and his birthright, the bastards would pay for all the years of taunts and beatings.

Below him were thousands of people, moving like columns of ants, being processed then shown to their new temporary homes, and for a moment Vegeta toyed with the idea of just blasting them all, in the hope that perhaps one of them was Zarbon, hiding like the coward he was in amongst the weak. He snorted, brushing aside the sick fancy and swooped down, landing lightly on the balcony of his and Bulmas bedroom, pulling the French doors open softly so as not to alarm Bulma.

"Vegeta?" Bulma's voice came out rather more shakily than she had wanted, but it didn't really matter, Vegeta had come home and he would keep her safe. She got up from her cross-legged position on the floor, her face alight with joy as her fears subsided, restraining herself from running to Vegeta as she really wanted to.

"Who else would it be? I can't recall any other man being interested in such a silly creature as yourself." Vegeta retorted, pulling Bulma into his arms and holding her firmly, breathing in the scent of her hair, his hands rubbing against her bonding scar. Bulma pressed herself against his muscular chest and looked up at his expressionless face, seeing his anxiety as clear as day illuminated in his dark eyes as well as his blood encrusted gloves. The news that Zarbon was there on Earth had affected him more deeply than he was willing to admit, both mentally or verbally. Vegeta had as always put up a barrier in his mind to stop any intrusion from Bulma. He didn't like doing it, but it was better that way, she would not see his perceived weaknesses. "Where is he?" Vegeta growled, eager to get down to business.

Bulma frowned before replying, mostly because of where Zarbon was. If it turned into a pitched battle then many innocent lives could be lost and it would drive another wedge of contention between Bulma and her father regarding Vegeta. "He'll most likely be at the settlement, but you need to take care, there are a lot of people around there."

"If they get in the way, it's their own problem," Vegeta grunted, finally releasing Bulma from his firm but gentle grip, stripping his filthy gloves off with a wince of pain as some of his skin was torn away as well, "now show me where I need to go, "he finished with a tinge of anticipation of battle in his voice, his body had been aching for real combat and it showed.

"I'll take you there." Bulma replied after several seconds of silence, "I must face him as well, otherwise he will haunt me forever."

Vegeta snarled at Bulma's words, grasping her arms firmly and painfully and pulling her flush against his chest, muttered the words into her fine blue hair. "No woman, I can't allow that. Zarbon would undoubtedly use you against me! Are you out of your mind?!"

Bulma pushed Vegeta away from her, her eyes flashing with anger, she understood his way of saying that he cared too deeply for her to be caught up in a battle, but she was also completely correct in that if she did not face her fear then Zarbon would haunt her. "Either I show you where and I go with you, or you don't find the bastard, it's that simple!"

"Stubborn bitch…" Vegeta hissed back at Bulma, but he knew that he would not be able to wear her down. She had as big a stubborn streak as he did, it was one part of her personality that had first attracted him to her, and Bulma was right, she needed to face her fear, just as he had. "I will allow it, if only to stop your rampant stupidity, woman." The ghost of a smirk passed his lips as he continued, "Don't think you have won completely, Bulma." He turned and looked out of the window and saw that Goku and the others had arrived to see him in action; they would keep Bulma safe and out of Zarbons clutches. "I will expect some type of recompense after Zarbon is sent to another dimension."

"Prick." Bulma replied waspishly, a smile curling her full lips as well, enjoying the banter as much as Vegeta despite the obvious danger. She deftly grabbed a short cropped leather jacket and handed Vegeta a fresh pair of gloves, then led the way out of the house, not surprised in the least at seeing Goku, Radditz and Piccolo standing like an honour guard at the front entrance. She had expected them to turn up and witness first hand the capabilities of Vegeta's Super Saiyan state. "Come to see the fireworks huh?" She wittily called out. As Bulma noted the definite tension radiating from Goku, she abruptly sobered up, this was no dragon ball hunt, and this was a deadly serious situation, not one to be joked about, even if the odds were stacked in Vegeta's favour.

Vegeta came up behind Bulma and wound his arms around her trim waist, pulling both of them into the air, making sure that the others were ready to follow before shooting off. "Lead on, woman." He murmured softly into Bulma's ear, as Bulma pointed out the direction they were to go in. Her insides lurched as they shot forward, heading towards the new settlement on Capsule Corporation grounds, and it was not due to the speed they were flying at, it was having to face Zarbon in the flesh, which as Bulma well knew, would not be a pleasant experience.

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______

Zarbon was fast becoming bored with waiting around in the cramped capsule house. The 6 young soldiers who were positioned around him would have hardly been much of an effort for him to kill, but wisely Zarbon repressed the desire to defuse his feeling of boredom, otherwise it would alert less magnanimous beings like Vegeta to his presence once his ki was raised slightly. One of the soldiers had explained to Zarbon after he demanded an answer that they were unsure of what to do with him, and so one of their number had gone to seek out higher authority, that of the Vice President of the company which was overseeing the settlement.

And so they waited. Not one of the soldiers spoke again, their hands very firmly placed on their weapons, ready for action at a moments notice

20 minutes later, and very much on the edge of desire to destroy something, Zarbon was finally graced with the presence of two humans, who introduced themselves respectively as Dr Jock Briefs, CEO of Capsule Corporation and Victor Anderson, Vice President of Capsule Corporation. Zarbon turned the attention of his glittering golden eyes on Jock, the father of Bulma, his desire still running hot in his blood to have her, and he deduced that he would be easily fooled by whatever story he concocted.

Victor spoke up first, feeling rather relieved that the alien before him was not some oozing green blob of protoplasm, as he had feared and got straight to the point. "Why have you come here?" He questioned bluntly, feeling brave with 7 heavily armed soldiers around him.

Zarbon smiled at the blonde man to make him feel at ease before replying, he had not forgotten his skills in the art of subterfuge. "Why?" he echoed, walking closer to Victor, "are you quite sure you want to know?"

"Just answer the question." Jock said, uncomfortable in this strange aliens presence. It was obvious that he had been involved in some kind of accident, the scars marring what would have been an outstandingly handsome face. To Jock he exuded a kind of predatory aura, and that made him very much an unknown quantity. Jock now wished he had not been so eager to come along with Victor.

"I know your daughter, Bulma." Zarbon continued, blatantly ignoring the order and studying Jocks expression, "I had the pleasure of meeting her on Station Delta before it's soon unfortunate demise, I'm surprised that she did not mention me on her safe return home."

Jocks eyes widened at this information and his curiosity was beginning to get the better of him, despite his best attempts at hiding it. "She did not. There are a great many things that Bulma did not feel were worth mentioning on her return home."

Zarbon chuckled lightly at the older mans defensive tone, picking up on his affection for his lovely daughter.

If only you knew old man what I intend to do with her……that luscious body………when my work is done it won't matter, you'll be dead like the rest of your kind….she will be spared of course…..

"I know how she managed to get through your Earth Shield, my understanding is that she was hostage to a couple of Saiyans, Radditz and Vegeta." Zarbon paused for dramatic effect, watching, waiting for the right time to continue with his story. He did not have to wait long, both Jock and Victor had fallen for his story, hook line and sinker as the human saying went. "Of course, one of those Saiyans, Vegeta, effectively brainwashed Bulma into helping them in evading recapture, quite distressing really, considering her intellect."

"Capture from who?" Jock asked, his defences now in tatters, he wanted to know more. This could be a way of getting rid of Vegeta……

Zarbon smiled broadly, his face stretching grotesquely with the motion. "That would be the reason that I am here. My employer has paid me handsomely to apprehend those two….I am what you would call a bounty hunter." He walked around quite freely not fearing the weapons held by the soldiers, his hands behind his back in a relaxed pose. "Those two have been the scourge of many galaxies, killing and destroying entire races of people. They were in custody, but managed to escape and it appears they have involved your daughter in their rather distasteful plans, making their way to your peaceful planet in the process."

Jocks mouth gaped open, flapping uselessly as the words he was trying to say did not come out immediately. "So……you are here to capture those two?" He burbled, hardly able to contain his excitement. As for Victor, this was what he had been looking for in his plans to regain his wife's affections and dispose of Radditz.

"Exactly." Zarbon replied smoothly, now supremely confident that he had both men in the palm of his hand. "So, what do you intend to do with me then, gentlemen?" He asked, knowing that the answer would be entirely different from what might have happened had he not laid down the groundwork of his deceit so carefully.

"Private Acton." Jock called the young soldier over, making a snap decision based on the knowledge that up until now only a few people were privy to. "Take your men outside. Should I require assistance, I will alert you." He ignored the look of shock on the private's face, barking out, "Go!" He turned to Victor then, saying, "I understand totally if you wish to leave, Victor, this is after all a rather sordid business."

Victor thought for a moment before replying. "I have my reasons for staying Jock, ones that you will discover soon enough, so I will stay."

Once the soldiers had filed out and left the three men alone, Jock spoke up again, no longer fearful of the oily Zarbon. "It appears that we have more in common than you might think, Mr?"

"Just call me Zarbon." Zarbon replied. His plans were coming to fruition.

"Well Zarbon, I think we have much to discuss." Jock Briefs replied ominously, "In fact I would say we have a great deal to talk about."

And so Jock Briefs sat down and made a deal with the Devil………..

_________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ______