Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Danger in the horizon ❯ Secrets and lies...... ( Chapter 48 )

Chapter 48 - secrets and lies….

Note: I do not own DBZ or any of the characters of DBZ. This story is not for any profit.

() means characters thoughts

Goku's voice reverberated throughout the kitchen and dining area as he recounted the events of the torrid, violent and somewhat tragic evening, his tone somewhat incongruous due to the subject matter. He did all this whilst sloppily throwing in the odd piece of food between sentences, barely closing his mouth in his haste to digest the lavish portions of poached eggs and grilled bacon and not noticing the generally disgusted expressions of his breakfast companions. "I tell you guys, if I had not been there to see it I would not have believed it!! I mean, Bulma of all people, killing someone as powerful as that Zarbon guy appeared to be without help?" Goku then placed another strip of crispy grilled bacon in his mouth and chewed, a look of puzzlement clearly visible on his usually cheerful face as he regarded the group gathered around the large glass topped table. The sight of Bulma howling and expelling what appeared to be a dragon from her body, one which tore Zarbon to pieces before his very eyes, had both disturbed and intrigued him, however, Goku had enough sense not to reveal this little snippet of information, preferring to tell a little white lie and lead those around him to the conclusion that it had been sheer mind power that had killed the dastardly lizard man.

Tien leaned forward, his hands cupping a mug of coffee, his three eyes cast into the contents, looking baffled by the series of events that Goku had relayed to them all. "So, what you are saying is that Bulma has had power of some sort for a while now?" He murmured, unsure what to make of the wild story, this was not the Bulma that he knew.

Goku knotted his brow and swallowed before replying to everyone's relief. "Well, I guess so. Not what we have, more a mental thing, like Kami has, only it seems very much more destructive, less gentle." He put his fork down and took a sip of orange juice to wash down the food. "It's difficult to say exactly what capabilities Bulma actually has."

Chao Tzu piped up, a thoughtful look on his pale face as he looked up at Tien and Goku. "Do you think that Bulma would take part in the battle to come?"

There was a grunt of disapproval from further down the large glass topped table emanating from Radditz's throat and he fixed his eyes on Chao Tzu, now very nervous under the piercing gaze from Radditz at the other end of the table. "Very unlikely, little man." Radditz retorted. "Prince Vegeta would never let his mate take part in this battle, Freeza has no problem killing women, especially if he discovers that she is Vegeta's life mate. That would be an advantage we cannot afford to give to Freeza." His own grip tightened around Amanda's slender frame, bringing her closer to his powerfully muscled body, comforting not only her but also himself, the thought of not holding her again painful.

At the mention of Vegeta's name, Krillen swivelled his head around, looking for the surly Saiyan prince. "Speaking of Vegeta, where is he?" Krillen spoke up, wondering why the man who was at the centre of the events on the previous night was not telling the tale instead of Goku. Krillen also felt badly about Jock Briefs, he didn't know him as well as Goku did but still, this was Bulma's father near death, hooked up to machines to keep him alive. The worst thing about the events of the evening before was that it all could have been so easily avoided just by having a little trust. It was lack of trust that had caused a near fatal event and forced Bulma to do something that Krillen knew full well that she would not have done in any normal circumstances, that was to brutally take another beings life.

What was strange to him was that Bulma had not emerged from her bedroom after taking the package that Puar had handed to her on arrival, for normally in times of stress Bulma would immerse herself in the soothing concern of her friends, not lock herself away.

(Perhaps what happened last night has drained her…that must be it, or is it something in that package from Puar?)

When Krillen has questioned Puar on the trip to Capsule Corporation, Puar had just cryptically said was that it was from Yamcha, and that was all. What Krillen wanted to know was what exactly was contained in the small backpack that the small blue cat had guarded with her life, not letting it out of her furry paws even for a moment. It was obviously very personal, not for the general consumption of the rest of the gang at the present time. Krillen turned his attention back to the table.

"Training." Radditz finally answered, diverting his attention from Amanda for a few seconds and grabbing the last hash brown from under Goku's nose, eating it quickly and ignoring his younger siblings disappointed look. "Which is what I should be doing," he continued with a regretful tone, his dark brown eyes flicking back to Amanda, her own green eyes showing disappointment in his statement. She had not uttered more than a couple of words since being seated, her shyness and revulsion at the tale told by Goku keeping her from making anything other than polite conversation and wanted nothing more than to spend some more time with Radditz away from the crowd, because the closer the battle was, the more anxious Amanda knew that she would become, the last thing she wanted now was to lose what it had taken her so long to find - the man she had been born for. Radditz gently traced his unfurled tail down her spine unseen by anyone else, showing her in his own small way that he too was frustrated, his questing fingers promising delight when he returned.

As Amanda flushed, Radditz moved his hand away and sat back on his chair to let his food settle before jumping into the fray as such. Around him Radditz could feel the energy coming from the human warriors, and it was obvious that they would never be as strong as a Saiyan, but they would be worthy enough to take on some of Freeza's troops, giving the stronger warriors like himself the opportunity to take down the more powerful henchmen, and then Freeza himself. Even the old and wizened man across from him had some measure of power too and despite his blatantly lecherous glances at Amanda which Raddtiz was going to allow at this point in time, seemed wise and well versed in the art of battle. Radditz understood that this man was his brother's first master and to all intents and purposes had taught his younger brother well and as such should be afforded some respect even if his aged eyes rested for far too long on Amanda's lithe form.

However, he too was startled by the revelation that Bulma and not Vegeta or even Goku had disposed of Zarbon, and his lip curled in puzzlement, as Goku continued to speak with his human counterparts, filling in details about Freezas capabilities which Vegeta had explained about some days ago. It would have been intriguing to see how far her powers stretched and he pondered on the question posed by the small painted man called Chao Tzu, but Radditz ultimately shook it off. The thought that Bulma would join in battle with them against Freeza was something that Vegeta would never allow, not because of his pride, but his bond, his connection to the woman from Earth. And truth be told he felt exactly the same way, because if Amanda were in the same position he would move the very heavens above to stop her from taking part.

Tien cut through Radditz's thoughts as he rose from his seat, his chair scraping against the marble tile. "It sounds like a good idea." He concurred with Radditz's remark about training, all three of his eyes glittering with anticipation. He for one was eager to see how powerful Radditz really was and whether the large and powerful Saiyan would be able to show them all some new techniques for use in battle. "I suggest that we don't waste the day sitting around and talking. We should get some work done, after all, there isn't much time left until Freeza arrives is there?"

"True." Stated Goku firmly, finally pushing his now cleared plate away, rubbing his completely satiated stomach with his other hand. He flicked his eyes towards the door, hoping to see Chi Chi walk in, but she did not, showing that she was still comforting the distraught Sarah Briefs downstairs and he let out a puff of resignation. He could always catch up with her after he and the other warriors had finished their training for the day; in the way he liked best, tangled in bed sheets, naked and sweaty from lovemaking. Even after only one night away from Chi Chi Goku was missing her and in his mind he prayed that the outcome of the battle to come would be a positive one, so that they all would live out their lives in the way they should, without fear. Goku glanced over to Piccolo glowering in the corner, the Nameks annoyance at having to wait for them all to eat before getting on with the serious business of training clearly evident. "Badlands?" Goku asked Piccolo.

Piccolo nodded curtly in agreement then strode out of the room purposefully, his cape rippling behind him as he walked off alone, not feeling the need to wait for anyone else. "Excellent idea, Kakkarot." Radditz concurred, moving from his seat like a huge tawny cat, slipping gracefully out with Amanda, who was planning to take the time to go back to her own apartment and gather some more clothing and personal items for it looked very much like she would no longer be needing the cosy little living space any longer, she would be staying either at Capsule Corporation or at Mt Paozu from now on.

"What about Vegeta?" Tien asked hesitantly. He was eager to experience Vegeta's power in one way, but in another half way hoped that Vegeta would remain behind, as Tien still had no idea how heavy the training session would get and after what Goku had told them of the Saiyan Princes power did not really want to end up in a full body cast.

Goku pursed his lips in thought for a moment before replying. "We go without him. If he wishes to join us, he knows where we will be." He chuckled for a few seconds. "Knowing him, Vegeta would want to take on everyone at once." Tien smiled and walked out with Goku, now very pleased that Vegeta would not be joining them.

Silently the other warriors followed, wondering how much of their bodies were going to be left unscathed after what promised to be a huge session out in the desolate Badlands, but on the whole pleased to be included and eager to put in their ideas for the conflict to come.

Finally the once bustling kitchen was left with only Master Roshi, Puar and one domestic bot in the vast kitchen the two mammals finishing up what remained of the food, the bot removing soiled plates and cutlery. Roshi deftly switched on the T.V. to ensure he did not miss his favourite program, which consisted of nothing more than scantily clad women exercising vigorously, extolling the benefits of joining in with their exercise regime.

Puar rolled her eyes at Roshi's loud words of encouragement to the women on the screen, but sat next to semi dribbling old man anyway, biding her time until Bulma emerged from her bedroom. Despite her cryptic answers to Krillens questions, she had just as little knowledge about the contents of the pack, all she knew was that there was a letter, a dragon ball and one disc and in truth she was eager to discover what the letter contained. She missed Yamcha so very much.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bulma's breath hitched in her throat as she read, then re read the first two lines of the neatly written letter, lines that told her that Yamcha's death had not been an accident after all. Her eyes misted over with tears, blurring her vision so much that she was forced to drag her sleeve roughly over her eyes so that she could continue reading, her pale slender fingers gripping the fine rice paper so tightly that small tears were forming.

(This had to be a mistake….Yamcha, suicidal?)

Bulma swallowed back the lump in her throat and continued to read, each line revealing more and more about the Yamcha Bulma thought that she knew, but all the knowledge she had about him was now being shown to be nothing but a huge lie. So she sat, on the edge of her expansive bed, tears drying on her cheeks, her full lips tremulous as she sat reading what could almost be called a last confession, revealing the truth of Yamchas life after his death.

Dearest Bulma,

If you are reading this letter, then that means that I have taken that final step and finally plucked up the courage to end my pathetic existence…

Bulma, I should have had the guts to tell you everything personally, before I took such a drastic step but it seemed that you had no desire to speak with me after our confrontation in the garden, my fault, I know.

What I am about to tell you will disturb and frighten you, maybe even make you sick, but it is for the best that you know the full story about me. This will stop any confusion about things later and what I must ask you to do for me.

Bulma paused in her reading, uneasy about preceding any further. It was now evident that Yamchas death was not accidental, but what more was he about to reveal posthumously to her?

I'm not sure I want to know what this letter has in it…

Bulma's eyes went back to the page; she took a deep breath and continued.

Firstly, my name hasn't been Yamcha Ladro for at least 20 years; in fact, I have no idea what my real name is.

The reason? I am or now, as you are reading this collection of words, rather was an android.

What the hell?

Bulma re read the line, her breath now becoming erratic as her emotions started to take over. (An …………..android?)

Disgusted, yet strangely compelled by the admission, Bulma continued to read, her heart thumping against her chest almost painfully, her breathing erratic, hands quivering.

When we first met out there in the desert, all those years ago when you were travelling the world with Goku, it was not destiny as you so romantically put it at the time, it was closer to being a set up, unwittingly perpetrated by your own father, Dr Jock Briefs…….

(My father? What has my father done now?

Do I want to know more?)

Apparently, I had died as a young teenager, my body never claimed by my parents or any family, so my body was given to medical research, and I ended up in your father's lab. Your father had been working on a project so controversial that very few people knew about it, in fact only one other person was privy to the information apart from the man who had commissioned the project and that person was someone you and Goku know very well, Dr Gero.

The project was really an experiment to discover if working viable androids or synthetic humans (as your father liked to put it) could be used in a variety of different roles in society, such as military units. When I was finally completed, I still retained around a third of my human brain but very little else of my organic body and according to all the reports I worked rather well. But by the time I was fully completed, the project had been abandoned due to Dr Gero's reckless disregard for rules and his emerging desire to conquer the world by any means necessary, including using androids to achieve his ambitions, which you discovered first hand years later.

As your father was unsure of what to do with me once the project was abruptly cancelled and due to the fact that you were beginning to show an interest in his work, Jock sent me out into the desert to see how I would work out, whether the programming and work done was fine enough for me to pass as completely human and to keep you and the rest of the world from discovering his dirty little secret, meddling with nature, playing at God.

I met Puar not long after arriving in the desert and with my head full of knowledge and an order to obey and protect any member of the Briefs family, which had been implanted by your father; I stayed out there, robbing the occasional traveller to help feed us both.

I had been there for about nine or ten years, when your father declined Dr Gero's kind offer to join the Red Ribbon Army, and all hell broke loose, especially when Dr Gero tried to blackmail him with his knowledge of your father being involved in such a controversial project. You by this time had discovered the dragon balls and tried to collect them all to make your wish, meeting Goku on your journey. Then you met me. I, of course, did not know whom you were until after I had tried to steal your dragon balls (Puar made me do it - honest!!). After that, I had to stay with you every step of the way because of that subconscious order.

I say had to, because that's how it all started, I had an order and there you were. But things have a tendency to change over time and that's what happened, despite my extensive programming. Slowly, but surely the small part of my brain that had remained organic started to think for itself, and for the first time, I started to have feelings like a real human being, I fell in love with you, my protectee. It should never have happened, but nature has a funny way of fucking up the so-called natural order of things.

I fell in love with you, the first woman I remembered seeing, and the most beautiful creature on Earth. And you fell in love with me.

Bulma let out a small sob, her hands clutching at the letter fiercely as she re read the line, seeing Yamcha's feelings in black and white. It had not been a lie after all, he had loved her, of that fact there was no doubt now.

I had no idea that I was not fully human, over most of the time that we were together…..your father made sure that I was upgraded every six months or so when you came back with me in tow, ensuring that my power increased and that my appearance changed slightly, aging me so that I would not look out of place, (after all, I was by now nearing thirty - to look like a teenager for much longer would have aroused suspicion) altering some parts of my body to give the illusion of a fully grown man. To shut me down totally would have aroused so much suspicion, I was after all attached to you and very much in the media spotlight.

Did you never wonder why Jock was not too upset by your involvement with a desert bandit? I guess love makes us all blind to others around us.

Any way, the process of upgrading my body was done by your father shutting me down by a manual override unit and picking me up and upgrading in his lab. This of course would take several days and you being the woman that you were suspected the worst that I was cheating, because I did not return your phone calls or could not be found. Even Puar thought the worst of me, for when I would return from these upgrades, she would be waiting with a stern lecture a look of sheer disgust on her little feline face. Of course, I could not defend myself, I had no memory of what had happened each time and Puar put it down to binge drinking as the stench of alcohol would be in a noxious cloud around me on my return to my apartment. This of course was from the different solutions that your father used to sterilise my skin whilst operating.

And now you know that I wasn't cheating.

It was during one of these upgrades around 8 months ago, that I woke while your father was working on me, he did not realise this and continued his work, upgrading my power cells, altering some of my skin. The pain was excruciating, even to me, a synthetic human. That was the moment that I discovered that my life was a lie……but I had to keep this filthy secret, to protect you and your father - it was my cross to bear as it was.

The only way to keep it from you was to reject you. I could see the pain in your eyes when I told you that I did not love you, and it tore me to pieces inside, no words can explain how I felt at that moment, it was probably the worst pain I had ever felt in my life.

I was not human or machine. I could not give you any children and could not marry you either.

I could not give you what you wanted.

My life was completely worthless .

Bulma remembered the tumultuous disagreement on the day they had ceased being one unit, working and loving together, making plans for the future, ones that included children and travel and never being apart from each other.

Flashback…..

It was the day Bulma had been treated as little more than a willing whore, her feelings for Yamcha completely shattered. Despite the terrible things that Yamcha was saying to her, Bulma's voice had remained calm and reasonable, soothing, trying to find out what had affected the sudden change in her desert bandit lover. Yamcha's voice had been hard and edged with a glimmer of pain, something that Bulma had failed to pick up on until this very moment as she read his letter, the recollection painful.

"Why?" She had questioned, trying to close the physical distance between them as Yamcha first tried the tactic of letting her down gently. Bulma reasoned that if Yamcha would just hold her once more, his mind would be changed.

If only life was that simple. She had been so damn naïve.

Yamcha had stepped back like she was a poisonous snake, ready to strike, clearly not expecting her to try and fight the decision that he could not go back on. "Just go you stupid bitch!" He had yelled, loud enough for other apartment dwellers to hear their lovers quarrel and gather around near the door, listening furtively, some even pressing the speed dial on their cordless phones to call the press with the gossip story of the year.

The baseball player and the heiress, their lovers quarrel on display for all the world to see.

"It is over! You were fun and a good fuck, nothing more." Yamcha had growled angrily. Inside, Yamcha died when he uttered those loathsome words, but he knew that it was for the best and after all he had already convinced himself that as an android he could not love. (Remember, you can't give her what she deserves… a real man. The pain will fade…you can't love her.) Yamcha told her that he never loved her, that she was only good enough to warm his bed and give him expensive gifts, nothing else, his admissions of love just shallow lies to further his own ambitions.

So, in a fit of pure rage and painful sorrow after bursting out of Yamcha's apartment, her face burning with shame and disappointment, her dreams of a life together shattered like a delicate crystal glass stabbing at her wounded heart and soul, Bulma had immediately accepted an offer of an 18 month contract on Station Delta, to put distance between her and Yamcha and to help her forget the pain, to start her life anew, if only the truth had been known then everything could have turned out very differently.

End flashback

Bulma closed her eyes almost to shield herself from the painful truth, written so clearly for her to see on the pages clasped in her slender fingers, she was telling herself that if she did not read, then her memories of Yamcha would remain untainted, he would still be a human, he would not be dead by his own hand, they would eventually become friends once more even if she had involved herself with another. It was to no avail. Bulma opened her eyes again and took another deep breath and willed herself to read the last few paragraphs, images and memories flashing through her mind like intermittent static filled transmissions.

Then you came back, but not alone. You brought Vegeta with you.

(Vegeta……..)

He is a real flesh and blood man, I could see that he could give you what you wanted, and my jealously over this knew no bounds. I had kept you from my mind for over 6 months but seeing you with him, gave rise to those feelings once more, even after trying to immerse myself in meaningless flings with other women.

I loved you, there was no denying it, even with two thirds of a cybernetic mind.

I made the decision to end it all after our confrontation in the garden, it was plainly obvious that Vegeta now held your heart in his hands, even if you were not willing to admit it, even to yourself…he will be able to help you through this, but I still hate the bastard and wish that he had never been born, but I can see even with these eyes filled with hate, that you were born to be with him and not me.

(I was born to be with Vegeta, I can see that …….but…..there could have been some to work through it Yamcha…..my words were in haste and anger……if only you had told me….)

You will see that there is a disc I have included with this letter. It outlines the schematics for my cybernetic body as you will no doubt see and many other things that you may not wish to know, but it is important that you realise what was going to happen with me if the project had been allowed to run its course.

Now comes my request.

I want you to revive me, my darling Bulma, not with the dragon balls, but with your own clever hands…..rebuild me …….but take away any memories I had of you…….so that this pain that I feel ……will be gone……forever, make me into something useful, helpful. That way our lives can start anew and you can forget me the way that I was, as you should. I have enclosed the dragon ball with my little package because I had hoped to wish for myself to be fully human, but with that will be my memories of you and that would kill me. So I must leave myself in your delicate hands and ask that you use the dragon ball for a more worthy wish, the Earth may need it.

Now I must go, I have drunk as much alcohol as I can take, and this will allow my little deception to be more easily accepted when the time comes, I have decided to make this as public as humanly possible so that there is no doubt that I am dead. I guess your father will be the one to perform the autopsy, so that his dirty little secret can remain just that - secret. But this letter has changed all of that now.

Forgive me my love, I never meant to make you feel so much pain……..

Yamcha. XXX

Involuntarily, Bulma grazed her fingers over the spiky letters of Yamchas hastily scrawled signature on the delicate page, almost trying to connect with the now dead Yamcha by tracing the firmly indented words on the pages. Now she understood his moods, his disappearances and the most upsetting thing - why her father was not bothered in the slightest by her relationship with a former desert bandit, which was something that would have worried any father, no matter how liberal he was. The tears coursed in hot streams down Bulma's pale and drawn face, the salty droplets gently falling onto the delicate rice paper of Yamchas letter and blurring some of the words. Bulmas slender fingers gripped the paper and slowly curled into fists, crumpling the now sodden paper, ensuring the words were no longer legible.

He had kept the deep dark secret to himself for over six months, breaking off all intimate relations with her just to protect her from the inevitable fall out of such a revelation. Bulma curled into a ball, rocking herself back and forth on the bed, but found no comfort, she kept her thoughts to herself and suppressed her ki as the emotional pain increased so as not to distract Vegeta from his focus in the gravity chamber - he would know of the letters contents in due course, what he would think of course was another matter entirely.

(I can't stay here for much longer…too much has happened. My father, the man I looked up to, respected and above all loved, has manipulated my life and betrayed my trust for the last time…..)

As the minutes passed Bulma finally started to regain her senses, and she reached out with one shaking hand to steady herself as she rose from the vast bed, the fine rice paper still crumpled in her other hand, dark ink staining her pale skin with small black blossoms. With great trepidation Bulma activated her laptop computer and viewed the information on the disc, marvelling in between shuddering breaths at the clever intricate work being displayed on the screen.

There were designs for at least 4 other androids, all designed for the purpose of fighting and war. Not one of the creations were to be used for helping society, in fact they were machines of war, designed only to bring misery and death to thousands upon thousands of people. There was no mention of the projects sponsor and backer but it was very clear that he or she had every intention of dominating the world by force. The notes catalogued course the project was to take, first build, then test. After that, well, then it looked like the world would have been thrown into complete chaos all for power. The sheer magnitude of the plans made Bulma feel sick to her stomach, whoever funded this so called "research", was no better than Freeza himself. Those who opposed would die. It was like reading the plans of the Nazi party's intention to eradicate the world of undesirables, those who did not fit into Hitler's plans during the Second World War -called the "Final Solution", before the plan was put into action.

(Monsters…..why?)

That her father and Dr Gero were genius's there was no doubt of that fact. But their decision to involve themselves in such an ethically murky area was all their own and there was no defence for such egotistical and arrogant behaviour and thus Yamcha should remain dead and her father hooked up to a machine that breathed for him, neither of them to be helped to live again by her. With an animalistic growl, Bulma hurled the slim metallic laptop at the wall, the liquid crystal screen bruising, the inner workings scattering and falling to the floor, the disc itself remaining intact.

With a broken sobbing sound escaping from her lips, Bulma fell back on her bed and saw once again in her mind that her own father had proven himself unworthy of her trust, once again she was betrayed, she felt filthy, degraded, like a piece of property to be passed from one owner to the next, a pawn in a chess game, stained by family association. Her own father would have been involved in the genocide right from the very beginning, for what reason she did not know, or care to know now.

As the minutes passed, Bulma began to come down from her rage induced high and her anger towards her father began to subside, only to be replaced by a deep sense of sadness that her father had felt the need to deceive her so and let her attach herself so hopelessly to an impossible, unachievable dream. It was for protection, she knew that deep in her bones, but still the taint of dishonesty would cling to her father, Dr Jock Briefs for as long as she was alive.

Bulma did not know if she could ever look her father in the eye again, but what she did know was that it would be petty to deny others the benefit of her remarkable skills, she would not play God as her father had done.

Bulma made her decision.

Firstly, she would let the other Z warriors know of the circumstances of Yamchas death, it was important in case they tried to revive him with the dragon balls.

No one but herself and her close circle of friends would be privy to Yamcha's last coherent thoughts, before he made the rash decision to end his life, a life that he felt had been a lie.

She would then revive Yamcha, which would help in the battle and finish construction on the regen tanks, which would undoubtedly save her fathers life and those of the Z warriors should the need arise.

But once the battle was over and if she and Vegeta were still alive, she would leave Capsule Corporation and the Earth to find a new home among the stars. Rolling off the bed, Bulma purposefully walked over to her now destroyed laptop and plucked the undamaged disc from the shards of plastic, holding it securely against her heart.

"There will be no regrets." She declared to herself, head held high, tears still glittering in her blue eyes.

She would make sure of that.

Freeza's tail lashed back and forth as his red rimmed eyes impatiently surveyed the vast area of space before him. None of the bounty hunters had found any trace of his former servant Zarbon which greatly annoyed him, he had after all set his heart on torturing at least one being on this long journey towards what his sources had informed him was a technologically backward planet called Earth, where his other former servant and great prize Vegeta had most likely secreted himself. Freeza did not care overly much for Vegeta's fellow Saiyans, but he would need to rid himself of a rather large thorn in his side once he had tracked Vegeta down and slowly and torturously killed him, and that thorn was the Saiyans themselves.

For many years Freeza had been aware of the legend of the Super Saiyan even before he had even contemplated destroying their planet and at first Freeza had brushed it aside as some primitive superstition, borne from a barely civilised race of primates who were afraid of his immense strength. However, as the Saiyans power grew and reports came back that some of the lower level Saiyans had experienced large advances in their power, Freeza began to have niggling doubts about the non validity of such a belief and in turn his growing unease about his allies made the decision to wipe them from existence, to exterminate all Saiyans completely. Freeza had enjoyed the little task of destroying their planet and all its inhabitants greatly. It was rare that he dirtied his own well keep hands with such a job, but this had been an exception rather than the rule.

Freeza had always wanted to keep Vegeta as a servant or pet of sorts to show the universe his superiority over such a strong warrior race, so therefore ensured that the then 6 year old Vegeta was on board his own ship instead of down on planet Vegeta being slaughtered like the rest of his race. For a fleeting moment or two, Freeza had considered keeping King Vegeta alive, but with his little insurrection had sealed his fate, dying in a pool of blood as Freeza taunted his weakness. There had been miscalculations though, several members of the Saiyan race had escaped the genocide and returned from missions to find their planet destroyed and the only place for them to return to was his large ship, joining the Prince of their race in servitude, completely subdued and willing to follow his instructions in order to keep themselves alive. Freeza had enjoyed their looks of pure hatred towards him held so badly in check as he had informed them nonchalantly of their planets demise, almost laughing as they growled ineffectually at his rather bored tone as he lied blatantly that it was an asteroid that had decimated their planet, rather than him doing the job by using his vast amount of power.

A smile curling his blackened lips, Freeza diverted his attention to another problem at hand, the time it was taking to reach the solar system that contained Earth. Freezas impatience had started to boil inside of him, and he was eager to face off against Vegeta and kill him for his treasonous act of daring to defy him, Lord Freeza.

He fixed his icy gaze on the navigator to his right, watching with no small measure of amusement as he squirmed under his intense scrutiny. With no Zarbon, Dodoria or other subordinate to torture, the navigator would do, after all Freeza had plenty of other skilled crewmembers to take on the job. As he was about to promise the quivering wolf like creature a fate worse than death if he did not come up with a solution to the problem, his personal physician, Doctor Zodor, interrupted him.

"My Lord." Zodor hissed with great reverence, his head bowed low, hands clasped together in an effort to stop them from shaking with fear as he stood before Freeza. It never paid to disturb Freeza when he was so obviously on the brink of a violent outburst, one that would undoubtedly end with more than one smouldering body on the metal floor. "I apologise for the rude interruption, Lord Freeza, but this is an urgent matter of great importance."

Freeza snarled and lashed his tail towards Zodor, barely missing the man cowering before him as he turned his back on Zodor. Zodor blinked rapidly. Lord Freeza turning his back on you was not a good sign.

"It had better be, Zodor," Freeza finally answered, his voice raspy, his tail now tapping on the metal floor, displaying his impatience, "you know the price for wasting my time."

Zodor gulped audibly, his huge Adams apple bobbing in his leathery throat. "It is, Lord Freeza. Your seer. He has had another vision, one of great importance to you."

Freeza turned about face and moved very close to his physician, enjoying the smell of fear reach his nostrils as Zodor wriggled like a snake on a spike. Today was not a good day on which to die. "Really? Should I not be the judge of what is important, Zodor?"

Zodor reluctantly raised his shaggy head and looked right into Freeza's red-rimmed eyes, seeing the very pits of hell reflected in them. "Of course, Lord Freeza, I should not have assumed ……"

Freeza's hands whipped out and grasped the unfortunate doctor by his throat; a smile of delight on his face as the doctor in his extreme fright relieved himself right then and there, soiling his blue tunic and pants. "Absolutely right, my dear Zodor." Freeza finally answered, throwing the terribly ashamed doctor aside and stepping away, pleased at how much he had frightened Zodor and the crewmembers that were trying very hard not to notice the incident around him lest they meet death head-on. "Lead the way." He continued, his black toenails tapping against the metal deck as he walked towards his personal quarters to see his most prized possession, his seer; the one who had given him the most assistance in subduing the known universe, the one whose true identity that no one save himself and Doctor knew, a surprising and interesting specimen whose race had almost entirely been exterminated. Freeza had relied on his information and visions for many years, despite his public face of decrying the practice of soothsaying. His seer was his own secret weapon, kept for twenty years in a special holding cell, subservient to Freeza just to keep his son alive.

(So, my seer has another vision for me……)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After bidding farewell to Radditz, Amanda walked towards her car, still sitting in the Capsule Corporation parking lot, now with several days dirt and bird droppings added to its former spotless green metallic paintwork. She sighed looking over it and realised that it would need a seriously large amount of time at the local car groomers to get it back to its former glory. Flipping her blonde hair to one side, Amanda fished around in her pockets then her bag to locate the keys and with a triumphant, "Aha!" pulled them from the bag and unlocked the door, leaving it open for a few moments to let the mustiness of stale air waft out before settling into the soft leather seat. As she adjusted the mirror and put the key in the ignition, she felt a slight prickle travel the length of her spine. Shrugging off the sensation as just being a cold breeze, Amanda deftly turned the key and started up the engine, buckling herself in, then putting the car into drive and backing out of her parking space. The prickle teased Amanda's spine again, so she put the car into neutral and this time she spun her head around quickly to allay what she felt were silly fears.

She was wrong.

"Hello, sweetness…." Rasped Victor, one of his hands moving towards her ribs and pressing a revolver harshly into her flesh, making her gasp. "I've been waiting so patiently for you to come………..did you miss me?"

Amanda pulled in a deep breath in preparation to scream, but was halted by an audible click as Victor pulled the trigger. "Now my dear wife, that was your first and only warning not to try and call for help. The next time you won't be so lucky, there are five more bullets in this little beauty and I would hate to have one of them rip through your soft skin and stop your heart permanently." Victor continued conversationally. "Are we clear on that?"

Amanda, numb and mute with fear nodded her head in agreement, her mouth dry, green eyes wide and her heart racing. Victor nudged Amanda to gain her attention, seeing that her fear was making her look for any way out of the situation, ensuring that the barrel butted strongly against her ribs once more. "Now I want you to do exactly as I say, Amanda. Drive to your house, don't make any sudden moves or try to escape, otherwise your car interior will have a new colour scheme." He then chuckled harshly and the stench of alcohol reached Amanda's nose causing her to recoil slightly in sheer disgust. "When we get there then we can discuss our reconciliation and your adultery without an audience." The revolver was removed from her ribs and as Victor leaned back against the leather upholstery with the weapon now trained on her back his other hand trailed through her long blonde tresses, and he breathed in the scent of her freshly washed hair. "Drive." He ordered, the deranged smile of delight on his face clearly visible to Amanda as she glanced into the rear vision mirror. "I don't think that lover boy is going to come to the rescue anytime soon, honey. It's just you and me."

Amanda shuddered as she put the car into drive and drove towards her apartment, dreading what Victor would have in store for her once they reached their destination. (Radditz, if you can hear me……help me……).

"Bulma? Bulma are you in there?" Chi Chi enquired softly as she knocked on Bulmas bedroom door, listening for any sounds of life. Chi Chi had finally calmed Sarah Briefs down sufficiently for the older woman to see reason in taking a mild sedative provided by the family doctor and she had helped Sarah set up a bed in the room where her husband was, still breathing, barely clinging to life. Her intuition told her that Goku had left for the day and would return as always bloodied and bruised from one of his training session so she decided that it would be a good move to talk with Bulma about the events of the evening before. The house was silent apart from the whir of domestic bots going about their duties and the raucous and lewd comments from Roshi in Bulma's kitchen as he watched yet another inane exercise program featuring scantily clad women. Almost timidly Chi Chi turned the brass handle and opened the door to reveal Bulma curled up on her bed, her hands still clutching the letter from the late Yamcha. "Bulma? It's me, Chi Chi. Are you alright?" Chi Chi whispered, advancing towards the bed slowly so as not to alarm the visibly distraught woman.

Bulma lifted her head and focussed her eyes on her dark haired friend and almost ordered her from the room, but thought better of it, instead offering a weak smile to show that she was indeed okay. "Hi Chi." She answered, her voice hoarse from crying. "Excuse the mess." Chi Chi swiftly surveyed the room noting the collection of plastic shards and the slight indentation on the wall where the laptop had impacted and sat on the bed next to Bulma, concern on her face.

She brushed aside some hair clinging to Bulma's face where the tears had dried and looked her friend in the eyes, asking without words what had happened. It did not seem that Bulma was upset about the incident involving her father; no this was something else judging by the crumpled rice paper in the other womans grasp. "What is that?" Chi Chi inquired quietly, never taking her eyes from Bulma's face. "Something important?"

A small snort of derision came from Bulma as she forced herself upright and stared directly into Chi Chi's dark brown eyes, almost forcing the other woman to look away. "A letter unravelling the secrets and lies of Yamchas life, Chi, that's what."

Chi Chi frowned, unsure of what Bulma really meant by her statement. "Sorry, what was that about Yamcha?"

Bulma pushed herself off the bed and onto her unsteady feet, eyes closed as she spoke, slightly hesitant at revealing all to Chi Chi. "I can't tell you yet. I want to let everyone know what Yamcha ……." Bulma's voice cracked a little as she walked towards the French doors, seeing the now repaired balcony before her. (All I see there is blood…..his blood….or was it just synthetic, made to look like the real thing?)

She regained her composure and turned back to the bewildered Chi Chi, her eyes now open their blue depths showing her sorrow and anger. "Where is Goku?" Bulma asked, her voice almost back to normal.

Chi Chi rose from the bed also and walked towards Bulma, enveloping her in a hug meant to comfort her friend, but found that Bulma's body was unresponsive and stiff, unyielding to the comfort being offered. The look on Bulma's face was so strange and her words seemed to hint at something that promised to be very disturbing, and Chi Chi was not entirely sure that Bulma should let anyone else know whatever it was, she for one felt that perhaps she did not really want to know either. "He's gone training with the others, Vegeta stayed behind by the sound of it." This was true; Bulma could hear the faint thuds and explosions coming from the spherical training room. Chi Chi released Bulma from her grasp and looked with a worried glance at Bulma's pale face. "Are you sure that you want to let everyone know what Yamcha obviously intended to be for you only?"

Bulma closed her eyes and replied in a flat toneless voice, sending shivers down Chi Chi's spine because the sound was so eerie. It did not seem like the Bulma that Chi Chi knew so well and for a moment Chi Chi thought that perhaps the incident involving her father had seriously unhinged her, although Chi Chi had not yet been informed of the whole messy and violent altercation in the bunker far below Capsule Corporation. "Yes, Chi, this needs to be done. You should all know what Yamcha really was." She pushed past the open mouthed Chi Chi and strode from her room, picking up the disc from the remains of her laptop, the letter still clutched firmly in her other hand, telling Chi Chi where she was headed, the sound of her voice gradually dropping away as she got further and further away. "I will tell Vegeta first, then wait until Goku and the others have returned. They have a right to know everything."

Chi Chi's question, the one that had been niggling at her since she had entered Bulma's room and the disjointed conversation had started, died on her lips as she stood brow creased slightly in puzzlement, her brown eyes resting on the small dragon ball on the desk, dimly wondering why Bulma had such an article. "What was he?" She breathed out, knowing now that Bulma was too far away to hear her. (What was Yamcha?)

Freeza had not taken the most direct route to his quarters to converse with his beloved seer, this was not due to his wanting to take a scenic path as it was past the various portholes displaying the blackness of space, or even the cowering soldiers and crewmembers as he strode past, no, it was purely to increase Doctor Zodors humiliation showing all those who cared to see his infantile soiling of his clothing. As a cowering slave made the rather unfortunate mistake of colliding with Freeza on his journey, its apologies falling on deaf ears as Freeza magnanimously put the small insectoid out of its misery, the remains of the former slave a mere pile of grey ashes on the highly polished floor. These are the moments…… he thought to himself, a smirk gracing his glossy black lips. It wasn't a good day unless someone died horribly at his hand and suitably satisfied, Freeza let out a short harsh laugh, making Doctor Zodor shiver and wonder how in the known universe he had ended up working for such a tyrant and how by all the deities in the universe he, Zodor, one of the last of his race managed to stay alive each day. His fallen family would be ashamed of him.

Thankfully, the long journey to Freezas quarters came to an end and with a hiss the door opened, the sensors recognising Freezas form immediately without the normal pass codes or retinal scans of most quarters. This was due to the fact that Freeza had no reason to have such devices, his crew, slaves and soldiers were far to fearful of his wrath to dare to walk into his quarters unless of course they wanted to die painfully. The only creatures allowed in his quarters were Zodor his physician, his personal slave and of course himself. His personal slave never left the quarters, and completed his duties within the confines of the spacious and luxurious rooms that were contained within. If Freeza required the company of the female kind, then he would visit his small harem on the lower deck, although this was a relatively rare occurrence since the Saiyan Prince had turned traitor. Since that time, Freeza's precious days were filled with plans and dreams of how he was going to make Vegeta pay for his insolence and treasonous behaviour. (I am going to enjoy his screams…)

Freezas reverie was cut short as he advanced towards one particular room in his quarters, the dull silver of ki resistant metal contrasting with the rich gold tones elsewhere. Zodor waited patiently as Freeza gave the voice command to open the door, the phrase uttered in his native tongue, a language that only he, his father and his brother now knew. A language all but forgotten, very much like that of the Saiyans.

"ï•iietre." Freeza rasped out, eager to reveal the pet he prized above all others, his secret weapon against assassins and would be traitors, although he had not forseen the escape of Vegeta from his clutches. (What has my seer seen this time?)

The door slowly opened to reveal a spartan room, equipped only with the barest necessities, a bed and a bathroom, there was nothing else in the room, not even a window to see out of, nothing of comfort. To all intents and purposes it was a cell, designed to hold a prisoner of great talent. The walls were as the door, fashioned with ki resistant metal with the added bonus of the prisoner not being able to send out any distress signals by thought. Freeza stepped through and gestured for Doctor Zodor to follow him, knowing that the physician always kept a supply of tranquillisers on hand should his seer try the impossible and escape or harm himself. This method had only been used once, then Freeza had informed his seer that should he try to harm anyone or even himself then his son's life was forfeit. This had kept the man in check ever since, but still precautions had to be taken.

His seer was in his usual position, cross-legged on the floor, dressed simply in a loose tunic and pants of blue, his feet bare and the insignia of Freeza clearly emblazoned on the chest, showing his status as a slave and nothing more. His dark eyes glared at his captor, the rage in his eyes unable to be suppressed. Freeza slowly walked across the floor and stood in front, seeing with satisfaction the gauntness and weakened state of his slave. Freeza saw to it the formerly powerful man had been reduced to this, no stronger than a newborn child by restricting his food intake and ensuring that he was unable to exercise and therefore build up his strength.

"My dear Bardock," Freeza hissed, his own eyes glittering with anticipation, "What news do you have for me?"