Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ Death and the Maiden ( Chapter 46 )

Chapter 46 - Death and the Maiden.

Note: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters, this is not for profit…also, I do not own the movie which this chapter title is derived from.

Zarbon smiled enigmatically at the two humans in front of him, the afternoon sun throwing his ruined face into sharp relief as he laced his scaly fingers together in repressed glee at the fact that both of them had swallowed his fabricated story whole. His initial instincts were right about Dr Briefs, he was a man who loved his daughter almost too much and only wanted the very best for her, he did not want a ruthless Saiyan, one of the last of his race, whose occupation up until a month ago had been razing entire planets and purging them of all life forms, making them ready for sale as the man to whom his daughter had to all intents and purposes wed herself to. Of course, little did Dr Briefs or in fact Victor suspect that Zarbon was worse a thousand times over than Vegeta, his lifespan being considerably longer, his mind and soul poisoned with the constant contact with the scum of universe, like Freeza.

"So," Zarbon drawled, seating himself on one of the chairs in the capsule house, his golden eyes firmly locked on the pale blue eyes of Jock Briefs. "You say we have much to speak of. So, what is it you want to discuss?"

"Vegeta." Jock tersely replied, his pale blue eyes wide and staring, yet strangely unfocussed on Zarbon, instead seeing Bulma dishevelled and bloody on her arrival home, the tale of Vegeta and Radditz's outlaw status and the imminent danger to Earth on her lips. Trembling slightly he plucked a cigarette from his lab coat pocket and lit it with shaking hands, taking a restorative puff of the foul smoke which it produced. He could not forget her beaten down appearance and even with reassurance from Bulma, Jock still could not swallow the story, it seemed to him anyway, like she had been coached to spout forth what he now strongly believed were lies. For what end, Jock did not know, his judgement was too clouded to see the truth in every word, it had seemed feasible at the time, but now with everything that was happening, the constant disturbances in the night due to Bulma's nightmares and the so called threat from a creature with the ridiculous name of Freeza, he was almost totally convinced of some manipulation of the facts by Vegeta. Jock blinked furiously, his mind now back on the dangerous plot being hatched. "He has ingratiated himself in Bulmas affections, and has this in turn has effected her behaviour, spiralling her on a downward path to madness. As her father, this situation has made me gravely concerned for her safety." His tirade now ended, Jock turned and fixed his gaze on Victor, gesturing to the younger man that now was the time for him to give his reason for remaining as a co conspirator instead of removing himself as Jock had expected.

"Radditz." Victor spat out venomously, much to the surprise of both Jock and Zarbon, the latter raising what remained of his eyebrows to demonstrate his astonishment.

This was an unexpected bonus, having another temporary ally against the Saiyans. Of course, neither of the two humans before him had the necessary power to take either Saiyan down, but as his time on Station Delta had shown him, humans were a very wily race, very adept at artifice and trickery, more than making up for the physical weakness of most of their race and these two had access to or were able to manufacture some extremely advanced technology, not to mention that a child was unlikely to willingly defy her own father. In any other circumstance, Zarbon would have taken care of the situation himself, but as Vegeta had so violently taught him during their brief but bloody fight, he could not expect to take both of them down alone, therefore help was needed and it did not matter from where it came. All the better that it was two weak beings, ones he could easily dispose of once their usefulness came to an end.

Jock turned to Victor, just as taken aback by the viciousness of the outburst as Zarbon. "Why Radditz?" Jock asked softly, wondering why Victor was so adamant.

Victor took a deep breath and sat in a chair across from Zarbon and kept his eyes on the ground, and replied harshly, "Because he has something of mine…………..my wife."

"What do you mean?" Jock asked softly, realising with a degree of horror that Amanda had in fact been the cause of Victor's recent erratic behaviour and alcohol consumption. As Jock well knew, Amanda had been the entire world to him and even after the divorce, Victor had been on good terms with his ex wife, the possibility of reconciliation looking very certain until a recent event ordained that two Saiyans would end up on Earth, stealing away what was most precious not only to Jock, but also to Victor.

"That bastard. I was so close to fixing things up with Amanda, and then he arrives, taking advantage of her emotionally vulnerable state, turning her against me." Embarrassed at his unmanly emotions, Victor almost sobbed, but regained his control before completely loosing it altogether.

Jock stood next to the man he almost considered a son and placed a consoling hand on his shoulder, looking piercingly at the faintly amused Zarbon, an expression of hate on Jocks normally placid face. Pure unadulterated hate for both of the aliens who were at the behest of his daughter, "guests." Jocks gut instinct was telling him that he should not trust the smooth talking alien who was giving him all the right answers, but his heart, so overwhelmed by good intentions and misplaced protectiveness for Bulma overrode all, just as Zarbon had sensed. He clenched his fists, the knuckles cracking with the pressure. "I want to take care of both of them. Vegeta and Radditz. I don't care what methods you use to complete the job, or how much it costs. Just that they are both either dead or taken off planet." He hissed.

Zarbon smiled faintly at the passion in the older mans voice; he could see where Bulma inherited some of the fire within her, a fire that he hoped very much to put to good use in his bedchamber. Personally he did not care about the younger mans predicament or Jocks for that matter, but Radditz would be the extra points he would probably need to be back in Freezas good graces once more, because even though Zarbon had previously had the intention of allying against Freeza with Vegeta, he had realised that he would have no where to go anyway, not to mention that Vegeta would still have Bulma in his bed each night, not his own where he felt the blue haired beauty would be far better situated, satisfying his needs and as he well knew a Saiyan was possessive in the extreme regarding their life mates. "It would be my immense pleasure to do this for you, and no payment is necessary. I will be amply rewarded by my employer." He unlaced his fingers and placed them on his knees, leaning forward, now looking very serious, his audience of two rapt. "It will of course, take some time to accomplish this task, gentlemen. It cannot be done by brute force, as those two have the advantage." Zarbons eyes lit up with a sudden brilliant idea; so simple he had almost discarded it as too easy, but for now he would keep it very much to himself, informing Jock and Victor of only part of the plan.

He rose from his chair gracefully, smoothing out his wrinkled Station Delta uniform with a grimace as he hated being attired in a dead mans clothing, and walked around the room, the cogs of his devious mind ticking over, making sure of the viability of such a scheme.

"So, what do you propose then?" Victor demanded, his patience running thin. He wanted action here and now, as his jealousy and rage were now at an all time high, he did not like to have a plan that would take time to put in place.

Zarbon spun on his heel and glared at the seething blonde haired man, making a mental note to kill him first when his hands were firmly on the prize he was seeking, and after the humiliation of Vegeta and Radditz, placing them back in Freezas care. He moved so swiftly that Victor barely had time to blink, moving his ruined face very close to Victors own, making the Victor recoil in revulsion at the closeness of Zarbons disfigured face, adding to the air of tension between the uneasy allies. "Be patient and you will have what you ask for, human." Zarbon hissed before withdrawing and resuming his pacing around the small room, his audience now quieted down sufficiently to allow him to think clearly. Smirking broadly, he assumed a relaxed position in his seat once more lacing his fingers together in triumph. "My suggestion is this," He leaned back in the softness of the chair, closing his eyes in anticipation of what he felt would be his victory, in more ways than just one. "As both of the Saiyans are somewhat violent in nature and have a tendency to be rather possessive of what they feel is theirs and theirs alone, we or rather I, should not take them head on. For the time being, it would be best to not alert either of them or Bulma for that matter to my presence." Victors face fell at the prospect of having to wait for his revenge, but wisely kept his mouth firmly closed, having no desire to see what Zarbon was capable of. "I would hazard a guess that you have some areas of this site that no one except yourselves would have access to. It is in one of those places I will conceal myself until the right moment presents itself." His golden eyes flicked over to Jock, who was now stubbing out the scant remains of his cigarette, watching his expression, which had not altered in the slightest, which meant that the older man had no problems with his plan thus far. "Basic living conditions are all I will have need of, wherever you decide will be the best location. All that remains is how Vegeta and Radditz are to be drawn out."

Jock rubbed his bristly jaw, his forehead wrinkled as he contemplated the options of hiding Zarbon. It would be easy to keep Zarbon from view, what with all the excitement due to the asteroid approaching and the arrival of at least one thousand displaced persons now milling about on his property. One more unusual character would not arouse any suspicion amongst his workers or anyone else for that matter. The hard part was keeping it from Bulma. She had the uncanny knack of wheedling information from the most oyster like subject, although Jock did not yet know that his brilliant daughter was adept at the art of mind reading, and could easily discover what was happening without much effort or a spoken word. "Agreed. I have several places that would be suitable; the best however would be the bunker under the main house. It has not been in use since the nuclear missile crisis 20 years ago and no one has set foot in there since. It is stocked with food and basic ablutions along with beds. Would that suffice?"

Zarbon almost sprang out of his seat in unrestrained delight, the prospect of being so close to Bulma that he could almost reach out and touch her. "Excellent." He drawled, looking over at Jock and for a brief moment Zarbon felt a small pang of regret at what he intended to do once Bulma was safely in his clutches, Jock Briefs would have been a very welcome addition to Freeza's scientific staff, but he brushed aside the feeling and focussed on the job at hand. "I will of course require transportation from Earth when I have both Saiyans subdued, then our business will be concluded, and both of you will have what you want."

"Agreed." Jock intoned once again, feeling that the price of one ship was more than worth having Vegeta removed from his beloved daughters life. Life as he knew it would then return to normal, Bulma would take over the company, marry a man he approved of and have children. Jock had by this time totally ignored several key points in his haste, one being the imminent arrival of Freeza, the other how easily he had played into Zarbons hands, placing his daughter right at the feet of one of the worst people in the universe, like a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter.

Victor decided at this point to put in his two cents worth, his curiosity of the plan to draw Vegeta and Radditz into his clutches bubbling up regardless of the thinly veiled threat from Zarbon towards him only moments before. "How do you propose to draw those two animals….out? With a piece of meat?" He asked, his tone faintly sarcastic as he smoothed his hair back in a nervous gesture. All Victor could see at the moment was that Zarbon was getting a pretty sweet deal, transportation and housing free of any charge, of course he was forgetting that Zarbon had requested no payment of any kind from them, well not yet anyway. The price would of course be their lives, although neither he nor Jock yet realised it.

Yet.

Zarbon studied his fingernails with a bored expression on his face, there was a piece of meat to be used and its name was Bulma. However, to Zarbon Victor was fast becoming a monumental annoyance, but he would tolerate his lack of faith for the time being as he was a useful pawn in the game. "That is for me and me alone to know. My talents in this area are second to none, because I have after all a great deal more knowledge about them than you do, so do not presume to question my plan." He lifted his gaze and firmly fixed his eyes on Victor, watching with pleasure as the younger man swallowed nervously. "Got that?"

Victor nodded mutely, his voice of derision now silent. It really was of no consequence how Zarbon handled the two aliens; all that mattered was that Amanda would be where he felt she belonged, in his arms, under his control again. His train of thought was interrupted by Jock requesting that the soldiers who had been idly waiting outside, and wondering what exactly was transpiring in the small capsule house, to take Zarbon and himself under armed guard to the house via military transport, while Victor returned to his rather soul destroying job of overseeing the processing of refugees, completing the façade that nothing of any note had occurred and everything was completely normal. With everyone's attention on the impending asteroid, it was going to be very easy to slip by unnoticed with the illegal alien who had seemingly been the answer to both of their problems.

Jock placed a firm hand on Victors shoulder, giving him a look of reassurance. "It will work out Victor." He then turned his attention to the expressionless Zarbon. "It is imperative that you and I keep in contact. Once settled I will equip you with a small radio device to allow you to contact me or vice versa, as I would very much like to know exactly how your plans are progressing. Will that be acceptable?"

Zarbons scarred mouth twisted into a ghost of a smile as he replied with an emotionless, "Yes."

Jock Briefs rose and stuck a hand out at Zarbon, his way of sealing the deal as such. Zarbon looked at his outstretched hand with puzzlement before his mind clicked and he remembered that handshaking was something of a human oddity, used for greetings and alliances, and so he grasped Jocks hand firmly, just placing enough pressure on the fine bones to make the human remember who was in control before letting go and walking outside to the waiting soldiers, whilst Jock spoke with Victor, making sure that the younger man continued in his duties as normal, not divulging a single word of what had been discussed during the deal making with Zarbon. "Speak to no one of this Victor, otherwise it could end very badly for all concerned. I understand your situation only too well, but we need to maintain the air of normality in this case, because if anything gets out, then our plans to be rid of those two will be well and truly scuppered." Jock smiled faintly at the younger man and rose from his own seat, meeting Zarbon outside. A sudden thought occurred to him and he called back to Victor. "Any record of Zarbon entered into the database is to be erased and the processor who came into contact with him is to be ordered to withhold any information about any illegal entries to everyone but you and I." He and Zarbon then entered the truck now outside, the soldiers getting in after them, and then after a few seconds the engine fired up and made its way to the Briefs residence.

Victor waited until the truck was out of sight, then exited the house, straightened his tie, then briskly made his way back over to the processing area, his heart feeling lighter now with the possibility of reconciliation with Amanda.

It was going to be a good day after all.

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Bulma's emotions were veering from extreme fear to elation as the adrenaline rushed through her veins, giving her body the fight or flight signal and for now, the overriding instinct was to fight. She did not know whether the urge to face her fear came from her bond with Vegeta, and if it did, then Bulma was grateful for the extra help. Even so, Bulma's breath was coming in short bursts, her heart fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird, the beats rising the closer that she, Vegeta and the others came to the processing and settlement site and Vegeta could feel Bulma's full gamut of emotions, but kept his own suppressed, making sure that what he felt for Bulma did not cloud his judgement when finally joined in battle.

Inside, Bulma just knew that Zarbon wasn't far away, even if he had cleverly lowered his ki signature to such an extent that it was undetectable amongst all the refugees and human workers. With so much activity going on, it was going to prove difficult even with her skills to locate the man who had become her nightly mental tormentor, and in this endeavour Bulma did not want to fail in, no matter what. The terrors of the night which were haunting her so, seemed all too clearly to point to a bleak future for them all, especially her, she would rather be dead than to have to submit to the repugnant caresses of a vile beast like Zarbon.

When Bulma's gaze fell on the processing area, she motioned for Vegeta and the others to descend to the ground several hundred meters from the workers scanning and processing the refugees, very much aware that people flying through the air of their own volition were not the norm on Earth and she for one, did not want to attract unwanted attention from the press and the military who were close by. One by one they landed, Piccolo and Goku very much eager to see this unholy terror which Vegeta and Radditz meant to dispose of. Bulma bit her lip in concentration, trying to think of a means to search the area without arousing suspicion. In the distance she could just make out the tall form of Victor overseeing the work being done and decided that only she would approach the area for now to try and ascertain if Zarbon had come through yet, as Vegeta would just threaten anyone who did not have ready answers and Radditz, well there was the little matter of involving himself with a certain Vice Presidents ex wife to contend with, so all in all, the initial fact finding was best left to an expert. Not to mention that Piccolo was still the fearsome Demon King to many and the whole area would be in a mad panic at the very sight of him.

She turned to Vegeta who was impatiently pacing, laying a shaking hand on his heavily muscled forearm to make him cease and listen to her, her voice wavering slightly with the adrenaline surging in her blood. "Vegeta. You and the others will need to stay here while I go and speak with Victor. If anyone knows if Zarbon has passed through it will be him."

Vegeta clamped a hand on hers, and fixed his dark gaze on her, his outward appearance showing his disagreement with her plan of action. "Are you out of your mind, woman?" He snarled, ignoring her look of steely determination. "Zarbon could be anywhere around here, just waiting for the right moment to pounce!"

Bulma placed her other hand on Vegeta's proud handsome face and traced his jaw line, feeling the tension in every muscle as she replied, his eyes still focussed on her blue ones, showing that how obvious it was even to the others that Vegeta was very much on edge about this recent arrival. "This is the best way Vegeta. You will be able to see me from here and if there is any danger then you and the others will be poised to attack if necessary." Vegeta did not relax, however he could see the logic in Bulma's words, even if he did not like them.

"If you get in trouble woman, I swear I will tear him limb from limb." Vegeta growled to Bulma, his dark eyes flashing blue for a brief second, adding weight to his threat. Bulma gave him a crooked smile, feeling a tiny bit of reassurance seep into her bones as Vegetas words gave her strength. There was nothing to be said, and with a deep breath Bulma pulled herself away from Vegeta and strode purposefully towards Victor, intending to get as much information as possible from him so that her mind could be at rest, never having to wonder if the dreams of nights past were indeed going to come to pass.

"Oh shit." Victor cursed aloud as he spotted the familiar figure of Bulma, her wispy blue hair ruffled by the strong breeze, dressed for action in jeans and leather, stalk towards him and mentally he braced himself for whatever she wanted, hoping that it was just a little tete a tete about how things were progressing.

The young processor beside him looked up at Victor with a puzzled glance, wondering what the hell was happening now in a day like no other. He had assumed due to the exodus from Station Delta it would not be a normal day, but he had no idea how weird it was going to get. Firstly he discovered the presence of an unauthorised arrival and reported it, thinking quite rightly that it was the end of the matter, which it had now transpired was not indeed the end of the matter. In the middle of scanning a particularly pretty orange skinned alien woman, Victor had all but dragged him aside and informed in the most quietly threatening way possible, that any record of the alien who had arrived illegally was to be deleted and that he was under pain of dismissal not to divulge the information to anyone other than himself or to Dr Jock Briefs. His eyes followed the glassy gaze of Victor and in a second he understood why Victor had said what he had said. "Should I go, sir?" He questioned, very eager to avoid any contact with the fiery, temperamental Bulma Briefs as it was very likely that she would have a million and one questions about progress.

Victor did not answer immediately, his focal point being Bulma, who was now getting closer and he gulped involuntarily. "Sir?" The by now very nervous processors voice broke through his fixation and Victor almost tore a strip of the young man, his normally placid eyes narrowing into slits as he replied harshly, a hand painfully squeezing the younger mans shoulder, "Yes, fuck off! Take a break and remember our little chat, Joe, if your lips so much as dribble out one word of what we discussed then you are out, permanently, got that?"

Joe stuttered out a quiet, "Y, yes s,sir." Then ran for it, putting as much distance between himself and the deranged man, thinking that perhaps another career outside of Capsule Corporation looked very good right now. In fact Joe never returned to Capsule Corporation, instead taking up a position at a gas station outside of Satan city that very afternoon, not even taking the time to clear out his locker.

Bulma casually walked up to Victor, her eyes scanning the area for any sign, her senses doing likewise to try and find Zarbon, but sadly, she was disappointed. "So Victor, how is it going?" Bulma asked gently, running a surreptitious finger over the keyboard of the laptop, hoping to find some indication that Zarbon had passed through, without Victor taking too much notice of her pressing a few keys. Victor however, noticed her attempt and his slim fingers reached out and gently closed the laptop, forcing Bulma to withdraw her own fingers lest they be bruised. "Quite well." He answered smoothly, his tone betraying nothing but a professional disinterest. "Nearly every refugee has been processed in record time, thanks to the extra effort put in by staff."

Bulma arched a fine eyebrow at his carefully controlled response to her rather innocent question, sensing the underlying tension. "That's good. If it's all going so well, then you won't mind if I look at the data being collected." She replied quickly, her hands moving towards the laptop, only to find Victors hand firmly placed on top of it, thereby preventing Bulma from perusing any of the material contained within.

She frowned at his action, wondering what was causing the tension and spun on her heel, lifting her face up to look at Victors uncharacteristically tense expression. Something was definitely up with Victor, Bulma could sense it. Whether it was that he was pissed off at having to take on her duties, she did not yet know. "Oh come on Victor, I am after all part of this company, all I want to do is have a look."

Victor pulled the laptop towards him, a faint trace of anger bubbling up within as he snatched it from her grasp, and it was directed at Bulma, all his resentment towards her boiling to the surface, and it was setting the tone of the continued conversation and setting it up to become an all out insult fest, but he used his good sense to move away into the nearest capsule house so that whatever came out was only heard by the two of them, not broadcast to the general populace, and Bulma followed him, she was not about to let her possible best source of information get away from her.

Once inside Victor finally replied in a snide manner, his thin lips curled in derision. "You didn't want this part of the job remember, Bulma? You and your father thought it best to keep you from the press considering your little escapade involving a small case of blackmail to get you back to Earth." He picked up the slim black piece of electronic equipment and pressed it firmly into his chest, glaring at Bulma, almost daring her to try and snatch it from him. "You could have single handedly brought the whole company down with your irresponsible attitude."

Bulma had by this stage heard more than enough, and knew that now was the time to retaliate. "How dare you." Bulma spat, her voice low and dripping with malice. "Don't presume to know anything about me, Victor. Don't ever forget your place here, I am the heir to this company, not just by birth but by hard slog, and you are just a figurehead to be trotted out for public relations exercises."

"You are a spoiled brat." Victor retorted, his mind not full of pithy comebacks at his disposal and so he used the most pathetic one to hand.

Bulma smirked as Victor exposed how much he was floundering and in any other circumstance she would have torn him to pieces like a wild cat, but as always, Bulma was clever enough to hold back and store it all up for another day, happy to match him for now, taunt for taunt. For now she was just wasting time as everything about Victors tone of voice and the nervous rigidity of his body, told her like a loudspeaker that he was hiding something and was too inept to conceal it effectively. "Try again, Victor. I believe that particular insult has been used before." Bulma replied smoothly, crossing her arms across her chest, whilst focussing her mind, intent on breaking into the recesses of Victors conscious mind, all the while distracting him by goading him further into the verbal stoush. "Come on big man, or has the drink eaten away your last remaining grey matter?"

Victor laughed harshly at the comment in an attempt to cover up the fact that it cut him to the bone, bringing out the painful remembrance of seeing Amanda in Radditz's arms. "At least I'm not a slut of the highest order, Bulma. Didn't take you long to replace that baseball player of yours did it?" He replied, enjoying the crestfallen look on Bulma's face and carrying on, sticking the knife in further. "Of course, he was a bit of a slut himself. I heard that he was caught fucking two porn stars in a cheap hotel just before you arrived back. I guess he wanted to be caught out before you gave him the clap."

Bulma lowered her eyes, in a feigned look of defeat. The foul words that Victor had uttered did hurt, but if there was one thing Bulma was not, it was a slut and the memory of Yamcha, although still fairly fresh, did not stab at her insides, as it would have done months ago. She kept the tiny smile on her lips hidden by her downcast head as she finally broke through and stabbed at Victors mind, her training at Kami's lookout enhancing her already vast skills to the point that she no longer needed to touch a subject to read their mind. What Bulma saw in Victors mind as he gloated in his hollow victory totally unaware of the invasion of his mind repulsed and frightened her. There it all was, like a spy movie playing at the local multiplex, her own father plotting against Vegeta and Radditz with Zarbon, with Victor a willing participant to the proceedings.

Oh dear god…….he is in my house……the bunker……….father, how could you?

Her revulsion was not because of any act of aggression, but because her own father was laying the groundwork for plans to all but deliver her into Zarbons scaly arms, disposing of both Vegeta and Radditz to ensure that this would come to pass, Zarbon happily taking advantage of the fact that her own father and Victor were too blinded by rage, jealousy and fear to see his offer for what it really was.

If everything goes according to plan, the dream will come to pass, this world will burn and Vegeta, Vegeta, will die….

Bulma sobbed at the foulness of what she had seen, quite surprising Victor as he thought that he had broken her, cut her down to size, but even so, he did not stop in his insults. "Hurts when it's true, doesn't it Bulma." He jeered, quite openly enjoying his perceived triumph. What he did not expect was Bulma lifting her head up to face him once again, her eyes no longer blue but now completely white, a tear travelling slowly down her beautiful face.

"How could you?" She whispered, her voice hoarse with feeling.

Her ki abruptly fired up, the white sparks surging around her straining body, straining because she was trying to hold herself back from causing Victor any physical harm, but it was too late, and her mind stabbed mercilessly at his, the pain like burning hot coals behind his eyes, her rage pouring out like a torrent of lava, a rage that could not be contained, every little bit of anger she felt at the betrayal pumping out and being directly transferred to the disbelieving Victor. Shrieking, Victor flung his hands up at his eyes, trying in vain to relieve the pain to no avail, and then abruptly he knew nothing and blacked out, the pain overwhelming his senses, his tall form falling like a rock to the soft red carpet on the floor, his throbbing skull hitting a coffee table on the way down.

Bulma, now released from her outpouring of rage, fell heavily to her knees, her head swimming, and her body feeling very weak. "Bastard…" Bulma spat as glanced over at the prone form of Victor, disgusted that a person that she had known for so long had betrayed her, albeit unwittingly. "You have no idea what you have done Victor, you may have signed our death warrants…." As she struggled to rise again to her feet, a pair of warm strong hands encased in white gloves hooked under her arms and lifted her up and Bulma leaned into the embrace gratefully.

"Foolish woman." Vegeta chided quietly, turning her around in his arms and gently stroking her face, now damp with tears and sweat from her exertion. At the first sign of a rise in Bulma's ki, Vegeta had thrown caution to the wind, ignoring the request made by Goku to remain with them, and sped over to the capsule house, ready to do battle, even if it was with an inferior human.

To his great relief when he burst in, it was Bulma who was triumphant, her foe now unconscious and bleeding into the carpet, but still very much alive, whilst she was knelt on the floor, her eyes quickly returning to their normal blue colouring, the swirling white aura dissipating at the same time, totally unaware of Vegeta's presence until his firm grasp took hold of her. As it had on Kami's lookout, the sight unnerved Vegeta, it seemed he would never get used to Bulma appearing like a ghost. He pulled her in closer, her cheek resting against his chest as his fingers lightly rubbed at her neck and back, releasing the last little traces of tension and anger.

"I, I wasn't in any danger, Vegeta." Bulma whispered hoarsely, "Victor meant no physical harm to me, it was more mental. He has a lot of unresolved anger towards me, that's all." Her eyes closed in recollection at what she had sought to discover and what in fact had found in Victors mind and her breath hitched with emotion. "It's worse than I thought, Vegeta." Bulma opened her eyes again and looked at Vegeta's impassive face, quietly grateful that he had come. "Zarbon is here, and it appears he has managed to convince my own father and Victor to work with him. It seems you Saiyans are unpopular wherever you go." She laughed briefly at the weak attempt at a joke.

Vegeta drew in a deep breath and lifted Bulma's chin with a finger, so that her eyes met his. "Where?" He asked, his eagerness to rid the universe of Zarbon once and for all clearly visible by the glint in his eyes. It was painful to know that Bulma's own father was assisting Zarbon so readily, and it seemed plainly obvious that Jock Briefs was blinded by foolish paternal emotions.

"There's a bunker, built deep in the foundations of the house. That is where my father has suggested that Zarbon conceal himself." Bulma answered, extracting herself from Vegeta's grip and walking the few steps over to Victor, kneeling down and checking him over to make absolutely sure that he was going to be fine. Which he was. All Victor would remember later would be that he fell and now had one hell of a concussion. "The only problem is the sheer size of the area. It will take some time to find him, and added to that, Zarbon may try to use my father as a shield to achieve his ends, whatever they may be."

Vegeta glared at Victor lying face down on the floor, severely tempted to blast the worthless man into oblivion, but as Bulma had said, the situation at hand was Zarbons doing, no one else's. A few short months ago, Vegeta would have killed the man in front of him without a second thought, now he had very much more control over his deep-seated aggression. "That vile lizard has many things on his mind, it doesn't matter which one it is, this time he is dead." Vegeta seethed, still glowering at Victor.

You are lucky, human. If it weren't for her, you would be dead.

Bulma returned to Vegeta and spoke quietly; still a little shocked at her actions, such intensity he had not been witness to since her retaliatory attack on Nappa. "We should go, Vegeta. We need to stop Zarbon before he causes anymore strife or kills my father."

Vegeta grunted in agreement and walked out of the house, Bulma following close behind him and together, they slipped back to where Piccolo, Goku and Radditz were waiting.

It was time for action.

This time Zarbon would not be so lucky, this time he would not be cheating death, this time Vegeta would bathe his hands in Zarbons blood and enjoy every second of his pain.

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The short journey to the main residence of Capsule Corporation was uneventful, with not a word passing between, Jock, Zarbon or any of the accompanying soldiers, yet this did not make the trip any less tense. When the Briefs home came into view, Zarbon was surprised at the technology displayed so openly and the vastness of the structure considering it was from what he had gathered only inhabited by three people at any one time, although now there were two extras, Vegeta and Radditz. Zarbon now wished that he had been astute enough to learn the skill of ki sensing rather than relying on the cumbersome technology of a scouter, then he would have had the upper hand in this saga, rather than having to suppress his ki to a level that would not be detected so easily and slither around like one of the larger serpents that inhabited his long since destroyed planet.

The truck came to a halt abruptly outside the main gate, Jock and Zarbon both disembarking, leaving the soldiers on board, so that the least amount of attention was drawn to them entering the house. As Zarbon entered the homestead, he could see all the trappings of wealth about him, things that had been denied to him once his involvement with Freeza had come to an end. Silently, he followed the Doctor into the elevator in the main entrance, watching dispassionately as the humans shaking fingers tapped out the code to allow the elevator to descend to sub level 0, an area that no one but he knew the code to, not even Bulma had been given access due to the frightening reason it had originally been built. The air was musty, cobwebs festooned the slightly damp walls and the faint scurrying of rats could be heard as Jock and his visitor walked towards a rusting but still completely intact security door, made in the fashion of a submarine hatch, only vertical not horizontal. Jock grunted as he attempted to turn the wheel to unlock the door, but it would not budge. As he stepped back, Zarbon moved forward and almost negligently spun the wheel with two fingers, the door opening with a loud creak from the years of disuse.

At this display of sheer strength, Jock Briefs body language screamed out loud and clear that he was agitated and nervous about having to secrete Zarbon at his own home, but his mind kept telling him the means justified the end and for now, he would do anything to keep his daughter from Vegeta's clutches. As they stepped through the doorway, Zarbon could see how large the area was, and it had evidently not been designed just for one family of three, it appeared that Dr Briefs had intended to have as many of his staff and their families safe in this facility, while the battle raged outside, a battle that never came. It had everything that he would need for the time being, a place to sleep and clean himself up, not to mention a large store of unperishable foods at his disposal. His golden eyes passed over the dusty interior and he looked at Jock voicing his approval. "This will suit my purposes, Doctor. Just be sure to not to alert your "guests" or your daughter of my whereabouts, although I suspect that as Vegeta erroneously thinks that I am dead, the possibility of such queries are unlikely in the extreme." He brushed a fastidious finger over his rumpled and soiled Station Delta uniform, wrinkling his nose in disgust, it was obvious that new clothing would be in order. "I will require new clothing however, and this communication device that you spoke of." He continued, settling his tired frame onto a large dusty red sofa, small puffs of dust rising as he sat, one leg balanced on the other.

"Consider it done. I will return in an hour, with what you requested. Just don't move from this area for now." Jock checked his watch, noting that Vegeta would sometimes return to the house at this time, and did not want to take any chances on him discovering his partner in crime, not to mention that in around 3 hours the massive asteroid on a direct course to Earth would soon hit Station Delta, which was an event that he did not want to miss. He turned and departed the room, pulling the door closed and as he went, Zarbon called out to him once more saying, "Remember our agreement Doctor, not a word, to anyone."

Once Jock had left, Zarbon wandered around the vast area, finding nothing of interest. He decided to wait until the fresh clothing had arrived before cleansing himself, and so sat back down on the sofa, his mind going over the plan in his mind, a plan that no one was privy to but himself. Zarbon leaned back and laced his fingers behind his neck, a broad smile on his thin lips. It had been fortunate indeed that he had come into contact with the gullible Doctor Briefs and his assistant, and they had no idea of what Machiavellian plan he had in mind.

Jock Briefs had all but delivered his luscious daughter into his waiting arms, and the means with which to return himself to favour with Freeza.

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"Well?" Piccolo asked brusquely, his arms crossed across his chest in a semi- threatening manner, as Bulma and Vegeta returned, both thankfully unnoticed by the remaining processing staff.

"Well, what?" Vegeta snapped back at the large Namek before him, clearly annoyed by his demanding tone.

Goku pushed past the impatient Namek and answered the question for Piccolo, eager to find out if this deadly person had in fact arrived on Earth, directing his query to Bulma, rather than the scowling Vegeta. "Did you find him?"

Bulma swallowed and pursed her lips momentarily before replying. "Yes, Goku we found him." Her breath shuddered as she tried and failed to continue with the information, at which point Vegeta took over for her, sending a stare towards Goku that stopped him in his tracks as he walked over to comfort his friend, who appeared to be very distraught. "No more questions, Kakkarot. All you need to know is that Zarbon is now in the main residence, having secured by whatever means necessary a bolt hole." He cocked one eyebrow at Goku, keeping his piercing gaze mainly on the Earth Saiyan. "Don't try to be a hero, Kakkarot, Zarbon will die at my hand and no other." Vegeta moved his eyes from Goku and fixated them on Bulma, who was still shocked by the revelation, that her own father and Victor of all people had been sucked into Zarbons web of lies. His expression softened as he looked upon her, a look that was not unnoticed by Goku, Piccolo or Radditz, showing albeit very faintly the depth of feeling he had towards Bulma.

This is my pledge to you, Bulma.

Bulma raked a hand through her dishevelled locks and looked up to the sky, now beginning to darken as dusk fell. Soon it would be time for the asteroid to make its impact and every man, woman and child would be preoccupied with the ensuing fireworks, something that Bulma wished that she would be able to do, but alas, fate had made sure that disposing of a disgusting creature like Zarbon was her primary objective. When her eyes returned to earth, Bulma noticed the stares from the men gathered around her. "Best to take care of this now." She stated firmly, walking in the direction of her house, some 5 kilometres away, or she would have done had it not been for the intervention of Vegeta stretching out a hand and pulling her back towards the small group. "Stay where I can see you." He growled low enough for only Bulma to hear his command. Bulma hissed back, trying to throw off his hand, but his grip was like an iron vice, and there was no way she could break it. Vegeta could feel anger come from her every pore, and fear that her father would be caught in the middle. "I don't want him to get his hands on you, Bulma, because as you well know, Zarbon has two goals, the first is return me and possibly Radditz back into Freezas clutches, secondly to act on his attraction to you." Vegeta loosened his grip, noting that Goku had a worried look on his face and continued the discussion with Bulma mentally.

Bulma, the nightmares must end. I cannot allow him to lay one hand upon you.

But, my father, what if he is hurt?

On my honour, Zarbon is the only one who will die by my hand today.

The mental conversation ended, Vegeta returned his attention to the others. "We will go back to the house and once Bulma has obtained entrance to this underground area, Radditz, you will guard Bulma. Kakkarot, myself and the Namek will smoke Zarbon out and I, and only I will dispose of him." His dark eyes flashed with the anticipation of battle, even if it was going to prove to be short, even now he could hear the rushing of blood lust in his veins. Upon hearing no dissention from the motley group, Vegeta rose into the air, Bulma clutched firmly in his arms, the other warriors following closely behind.

When they finally reached the house, having avoided any attention from the masses of spectators and refugees alike looking skyward, waiting for the impact, it was shrouded in darkness, with only a few lights blazing fiercely in the main entrance. The house seemed too quiet to Bulma, used to hearing the whirring sounds of domestic bots and her mother pottering around. She surmised that her mother had been sucked into the so-called event of the century and was probably glued to the large television set on the first floor quarters where her mother and father lived. Stalking quietly across the marble floor towards the elevator, Bulma entered as the doors swished open with a hiss, looking over the keypad before her. As she had realised, the code for the bunker level was a secret known only to her father, but there was always a way to crack any code and this one would hopefully not take too long. Radditz remained outside the elevator, his duty not this time to accompany his Prince into battle; rather it was to protect his woman.

Bulma quickly gave up trying to crack the code, cursing softly under her breath as she discovered that there simply wasn't enough time to crack the code. Instead she withdrew a small Swiss army knife from her jeans pocket, and forced the control panel open and after carefully locating the correct wires to short out and get them to sub level 0, she touched the wires together, leaning her head back as a small series of sparks flew out. It was then that Bulma realised her folly as the elevator doors closed, and she watched as Radditz sprang forward to stop its descent, Vegeta and Goku doing likewise from inside the elevator only to find that they were much too late, and she descended into the subterranean bunker with Vegeta, moving steadily into the face of danger.

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Zarbon, even with the thick metal door between him and the corridor, could hear the faint whir of the elevator as it reached its destination, which was the level that he was currently on, and Jock Briefs was already in the musty room with him, having returned as agreed with comms equipment and clothing. His golden eyes narrowed as he heard soft footsteps in the corridor, a signal that there was more than one person out there. Jock noticed Zarbon's expression and wondered what had disturbed him. "What is it?" Jock asked in a whisper as people were always apt to do when they were unsure.

"Be silent." Zarbon growled, walking towards the thick metal door and cocking his head towards the source of the noise he had heard only seconds before, his sensitive ears straining to pick it up again. Faintly he could hear muted voices, one of them being instantly recognisable.

"Namek, guard her with your life. Kakkarot and I will carry on." Vegeta rumbled as quietly as possible, for he knew that Zarbon might have been able to detect their presence already, and he did not want Bulma in the line of fire. Piccolo sagely nodded his head and moved Bulma back into the elevator, shielding her with his tall body, which was the only place they could really go to. Taking Bulma back up in the elevator was not an option as the only way to do that was to blast a hole in the roof of the cube, which would undoubtedly alert Zarbon if they hadn't already done so.

As Goku and Vegeta made their way down the corridor, the lights flickered momentarily before being extinguished, leaving the area in total darkness, however this did not dissuade the two Saiyans from proceeding and using their ki sensing abilities to pinpoint where Zarbon was, even if he had lowered his own ki to match that of an ordinary human. As they crept closer, a few scuffling noises could be heard and Goku's outstretched hand made contact with the smooth cool metal of the door between them and Zarbon. He spun the wheel locking the door and kicked it open, but did not enter, instead he and Vegeta used the door frame as a shield of sorts and were quite wise in doing so as a bolt of red energy rushed past them and crashed into the corridor with a huge bang, shattering some of the water pipes, causing water to start rushing into the corridor, and behind him Vegeta could hear a frightened gasp from Bulma.

A malicious chuckle floated out of the darkness surrounding Vegeta and Goku, and then the familiar voice of Zarbon came through, the lights suddenly flickering back into life, revealing Zarbon holding Jock Briefs in a very sturdy headlock, something that the Doctor had not a hope in hell of breaking from. "Very clever little monkey prince." Zarbon hissed, tightening his hold on Jock and smiling as a strangled gasp wheezed from the fading human. "I see you have brought a friend this time, and by the looks of him, I would say that he is the Saiyan who failed in his mission all those years ago." Zarbon fixed his gaze directly on Goku, unnerving the younger Saiyan with his piercing gaze. "Your father Bardock, was like vermin, breeding like a virus." Zarbon continued, before looking back at Vegeta.

Goku made a rushed movement forward towards Zarbon with the express intention of freeing Bulma's father, but Zarbon tightened his grip once more and moved back, smiling all the while at the currently helpless Saiyans. "You let him go!!!" Goku shouted out, his anger starting to rise.

"Focus, Kakkarot." Vegeta spoke calmly, placing a hand on Goku's gi and holding him back. "He wants you to make a mistake to give him the upper hand." Vegeta fixated his black bottomless eyes on the still maniacally grinning Zarbon, and growled out, "Your looks have improved since I last saw you." Then his tone became more serious. "What do you want, Zarbon?"

Zarbons smile grew wider, exposing his sharply pointed teeth as he replied. "You dead and your woman warming my bed, Vegeta, its that simple."

Jock Briefs struggled vainly in Zarbons muscled arms and choked out, "Th, that was not ………the deal……."

Zarbon erupted in laughter at the gullible Doctors words, but kept his eyes on the fuming Vegeta before him. The moment was absolutely priceless to Zarbon. Here was the arrogant Saiyan Prince, helpless as a babe against him. "Well no, my dear Doctor, that was the deal you thought you made. I really don't care about your little plot of revenge against Vegeta, all I wanted was your daughter, and now, you have given me the means." Continued Zarbon almost conversationally.

"Bastard……" panted Jock between shallow breaths, "if that was the deal then I would have never helped you." Then he passed out mercifully, not being witness to what would possibly happen next.

Vegeta was torn, he could easily take Zarbon down, but that would also mean killing Bulma's father or at the very least harming him greatly, something that he had on his word of honour promised would not happen to her father. His hands clenched and unclenched, and he was looking for anyway to break the deadlock, whilst holding back the enraged Goku from making a big mistake.

Zarbon watched the Vegeta's facial muscles twitch in amusement and decided to add some spice to the already heated confrontation. "Come out Bulma, I know that you are there, I can feel you. Do you want your father to die, my dear?"

Goku whirled around and yelled back down the corridor towards Bulma, "Stay there Bulma!!!" But the damage was already done, and both Vegeta and Goku could hear her movements coming towards them, her booted feet swishing through the slowly rising water running from the busted pipes. Then her face appeared in the doorway, her expression one of pure hatred, directed at the grinning Zarbon, her body tense and unmoving, Piccolo right behind her.

His golden eyes glazed over at the sight of her, Bulma was still as beautiful as he had remembered and involuntarily he licked his thin lips in anticipation. "So nice of you to join the party, my dear." He turned his attention to Piccolo. "Yet another guest, and a Namek no less." Zarbon returned his lustful eyes to Bulma. "Here's the deal, Bulma. Come with me willingly and I will let your father live. No negotiations. That is the deal I lay before you."

Vegeta could bear it no longer and burst into golden flames, ready to make the first strike against Zarbon, but Bulma lay a gentle hand on his arm to stop him from moving forward, and when he looked into her eyes, all Vegeta could see was the nightmare now coming true, tears beginning to well up and overflow, rivulets cascading down Bulmas pale beautiful face, because she too could see her horrifyingly prophetic dream coming to fruition. "I can't allow him to hurt my father, despite his foolishness, Vegeta." Her body was racked with emotion, remembering all too well the rape and the severing of her and Vegeta's bond, the agony it caused her.

"No! I will not allow it!" Vegeta roared, his ki increasing in power again as her pain became his and he gripped her body next to his, almost crushing her as the intense emotions surged through him. "I cannot lose you!" His impassioned cry surprised even Piccolo, the Saiyan Prince was revealing once again his depth of feeling for the woman in his arms.

You are everything to me, I cannot lose you like I lost my father and mother…

Bulma loosened his arms from around her and backed away from him, her eyes holding his now blue eyes as she got ever closer to Zarbon, Goku and Piccolo powerless to make a move to stop her.

I love you Vegeta.

Zarbon stretched out his free hand and pulled Bulma roughly against him, smirking in his triumph, his warm breath caressing her bare neck as he spoke and she shivered uncontrollably, but never once took her eyes from Vegeta, who, for all his power, could do nothing. "You are all mine now, Bulma." Zarbon spun her in his hold so that her eyes now looked upon him and he breathed in her heady sweet scent with great relish. " I now have my revenge on you Vegeta," He crowed, his scaly hand travelling slowly up the length of Bulma's trembling body, resting finally on her neck where the bonding scar was, his fingers tracing the symbol almost thoughtfully. "I see you left your mark on her, you filthy monkey, I guess I will have to get rid of it later." He looked down into Bulma's eyes, seeing the fear and enjoying every second of it. "And then make sure I put my mark there." Then without warning his grip tightened on the unfortunate Doctor Briefs, and a cracking sound was heard throughout the room, as Jock's neck was broken, Zarbon letting him slump to the floor, Bulmas horrified stare boring right through him, a gasp escaping her lips. "By the way, I had no intention of letting your father live, Bulma, he was just very useful." Zarbon continued, matter of fatly, now using both of his arms to hold her tight against his body and Bulma could feel with revulsion, how aroused he was.

The tears would not stop falling from Bulmas eyes, as her father lay most likely dead on the floor, a victim of his own parental instincts, and she was trapped now, if Vegeta, Goku or even Piccolo tried to attack Zarbon, then she would probably be injured or die too, and that would break Vegeta.

Everything swirled in Bulma's mind, the nightmares, the stalking, her father, even Vegeta's childhood torture at the hands of Zarbon and abruptly, her mind finally snapped, a torrent of rage and hate and fear building up, ready to boil over, for in the recesses of her mind, she could hear the screams of a million people dieing at the same time, Vegeta's people, and the other races that Zarbon had helped to exterminate either by his own hand or by Freeza's, all coming from Vegeta's memories, memories that she and Vegeta had shared together on Station Delta. Vegeta too could feel it, the pain seemingly being sucked away from him and transferred into Bulma's mind, he would never forget those voices for as long as he lived.

Avenge us…. They cried out, avenge us…..

A bloodcurdling scream burst forth from her lips as the rage flowed through her like lava, her eyes becoming stark white, her ki flaring up as white and black sparks and Bulma just wanted to be rid of all the pain inside, pain that was going to eat her alive if it did not come out.

"Die!!!!!!!!!!!!" She shrieked, as the dark dragon which only Vegeta had seen before manifested itself behind her and surged into Zarbon's body, his face contorting with pain as he was cut into pieces from the inside, every slash causing Zarbon immeasurable pain, the blood, running like a river from his eyes, his nose, his mouth, bubbling as his last final painful breaths were drawn in and out, his golden eyes seeing nothing but a red curtain before them, then his body was torn apart, the flesh scattering about the room, Goku, Vegeta and Piccolo shielding themselves not only from the remains of Zarbon but the now dissipating power from Bulma's slight body.

An uneasy calm washed over the blood soaked room as Bulma's power subsided, the dark dragon returning to its place inside of her, and Bulma fell to the floor, next to her father, her breathing slight.

Vegeta regained his senses and rushed over to Bulma, cradling her limp body in his massive arms, muttering, "Don't you die on me, Bulma." And to his relief, she smiled, raising a hand to his face, trying to smooth away the blood spatters there and replied, "You can't get rid of me that easily," before succumbing to unconsciousness, her body and mind exhausted.