Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Darkness Swirling ❯ Cunning ( Chapter 3 )

Well, this is coming out later than I expected but the holidays are crazy. You know what I mean? I didn't particularly like this chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it. The next one is going to be much longer. I won't keep you waiting, please go and enjoy the chapter.

============================================================= < p class="c49">Every man wishes to be wise, and they who cannot be wise are almost always cunning. --Samuel Jackson

============================================================== < p class="c48">May 18; 2 Hundred Hours

Scarlet Solar System

Space Ship Gladys

It is a remarkable thing, these androids in the Dark Queen's employment. Beautiful and durable, they were built by the Queen herself. Every single machine holds a purpose and a job within the empire. Trustworthy, powerful, obedient, and virtually indestructible, they are the perfect specimens within the field of science.

Since they are the Queen's only source of friendly interaction with others, it is not surprising that some of them hold their own personalities within their programming. 18, the Queen's pride, is such an android. Unlike the others built, 18 is capable of learning, of adapting and forming her own opinions. In short, she is humanoid in all ways except the products that make her up. It is this free-thinking quality that gives 18 the position as the Queen's only confident and also her highest in command.

It was eerily quiet on the ship as 18 was patrolling, pondering her existence. This was not uncommon for the blond-haired android. Due to her mechanical makeup, she required no sleep, but because of her unique abilities, the stillness of night brought out the predominantly human characteristic of contemplating existence and purpose.

It was also not uncommon for a dreadful screaming to interrupt 18's meditative thinking, as was the case on this night. Resolutely, with her famed unemotional face, the android set off for the Queen's chamber. The cries had slowly transformed to soft whimpers by the time 18 shoved aside the covering around her mistress's finely carved bed.

Upon the black silk sheets, the Queen's body thrashed about, her delicate hands clenching and unclenching around the fabric. As the blue-framed face whipped into the android's view, she observed the sweat covering the well-shaped brows and the way the Queens face twisted in agony. The Queen's small pink lips opened slowly, screaming silently as her body arched upwards.

The android, long since used to such wild nights, did not even twitch. Instead, she closed the curtains to press a code into the pad beside the bed, activating the intercom. Leaning forward 18 opened her mouth against the intercom, speaking in a volume slightly above her normal. "Code 543. Janer to report to main chambers right away."

A faint scuffling was heard outside of the chambers before the large metal doors creaked open, and a small female body squeezed into the room. Not even addressing the newcomer, 18 proceeded to swipe past her and out of the room, leaving the tortured Queen in the maid's hands.

Janer is one of the few exceptions to the android rule. A Triantro, she is mute and deaf, from circumstances unknown. She is also one of the few who has knowledge of the Queen's past, her being the Queen's maid since they were small children. A petite woman, she is considered a few Earth years younger than her mistress, with a mop of frizzy red hair and blue eyes covered with a milky white film. This, however, does not alter her sight, but is a quality unique to the Triantro race that allows them to see certain colors in the dark. It just so happens that one of those colors is blue.

Moving over to the bed, the Triantro's eyes softened at the sight of the beauty upon the sheets. Her small, tanned hand trembled as she reached out to the thrashing body, smoothed the blue strands away from the sticky, sweat-covered face, then moved down to wipe the sweat off the Queen's neck, caressing it. Then, as if she had been caught, Janer jumped back from the bed, trembling.

Returning to her job, she turned to a bowl placed beside the bed, taking a white washcloth from it and wringing it out. As she placed the cold rag upon the Queen's forehead, the latter shot up, shrieking. Tears streamed down her ashen face. Desperately, the Queen grabbed the first thing in her view, which just so happened to be Janer, and clung to the maid.

Janer attempted not to shudder as she sensed the lush body pressed against hers. When the screams died down to soft whimpers, the Dark Queen pushed away the maid whom she had grabbed. Hiding her face from the Triantro's gaze, she twisted up her revealing nightgown in frustration and shame.

The Queen inhaled a large amount of air, preparing to speak. "Janer," the Queen coughed. Her voice broke, and then she continued. "I will no longer need your assistance. Please escort yourself from my presence. Inform 18 that I will expect her reports in a half an hour."

Janer scurried to collect her supplies then silently exited the dark room, leaving the Queen to wallow in her misery. The Queen slid out of her bed when she heard her long-time maid close the door behind her. Wobbly getting to her feet, she took her hand and pressed it to her temple, shivering as she took deep breaths to calm her racing heart. It was the same horrific dream that she had been inflicted with for the past six years, the same scene that haunted her thoughts daily. Unable to reflect on it, she swallowed the lump forming in her throat and pushed the scenes into the recesses of her mind.

Her silk black gown rustled as she moved towards the bathroom, outlining her sculpted body. When her finger flicked the light pad her vibrant blue eyes squinted, burning and watering at the sensation of the light. Blinking, they started to adjust to the luminosity and she frowned as she noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes. "Well, who needs sleep anyway?" she scoffed. "Its a waste of time. I have more important things to do."

Thirty minutes later, the Dark Queen stood in her waiting room, refreshed and ready to go. 18 had entered not minutes before, papers and documents in her hand. Before she even spoke the Queen raised a hand, silencing her. Raising her eyebrows, 18 nodded, waiting for her mistress to speak.

A moment of time elapsed as the Queen studied her fingertips. Clearing her throat, she voiced her thoughts bluntly. "How long?"

Without even pausing to process the cryptic statement, 18 answered. "Two hours."

Blue hair gracefully swung forward as the Queen nodded. "Prepare the docking ships and the First Quadrant. Make sure that our gift is ready for departure."

18 bowed, her observant icy eyes never leaving the face of the woman in front of her, and then left the room to do the Queen's bidding.

May 18; 3 Hundred Hours

Scarlet Solar System

Planet Vegeta

Bardock yawned as he stretched his wide arms above his head. The Royal Counsel had been up debating the upcoming war all night. Glancing around, the scientist could tell that everyone was particularly sleep-deprived and in need of showers and hot food. Nappa's head kept slipping and slamming against the conference table, Kakkorot was already drooling across the papers spread beneath him, and Raditz could barley keep his eyes open. Dr. Briefs and the King were showing signs of stress, their eyes red-rimmed and hair in a disarray. Prince Vegeta, he noticed, was suspiciously absent.

Dr. Brief's information had proved to be exceptionally valuable yet frustrating to the Saiyans. This Dark Queen fought differently than any enemy they had previously faced, with armies of indestructible androids, long-range weapons, and the technology to hack into their computer systems and cause mass destruction. Bardock had finally come to the conclusion that it would be in their best interest to try and come to peaceful terms with this woman instead of rushing into war with her. It would be futile to say that the King and Nappa were not happy with this decision.

Kakkorot, as one of the main peace negotiators, had volunteered for the mission. It was decided that Bardock would keep watch on the monitors and try to get into contact with the Dark Queen as soon as he suspected that she had entered the computer's range. From then on he would try to arrange a meeting between her and Kakkorot to discuss peace terms. From the information received from the visitors and the computer data it was estimated that she would be in range within four to five days-- plenty of time for the Saiyan Counsel to discuss war options if the Queen refused their peace offers.

The Counsel gave a sigh of approval when the King dismissed them all to get some sleep. Collecting their papers and shaking hands, they said their farewells, slowly yet gladly heading off to their chambers. It just so happened that Dr. Briefs was the last person left in the room, lost in his own thoughts.

This happened to be a perfect opportunity for the Prince to have some alone time with the Doctor. Emerging from the shadows, he stalked toward his unsuspecting prey, face contorted in thought. Untrue to Bardock's previous thoughts, Vegeta had been present during much of the conference. He shook his head, disgusted. The counselors his father employed were surely the most idiotic individuals he had ever encountered in his life. When he was named King he would make sure that they were all dismissed.

Dr. Briefs, absorbed in his own thoughts, had not noticed Prince Vegeta sneak behind him until the Prince spoke, his scratchy voice sending shivers down the Doctor's spine and causing him to drop his papers. Time seemed to stop as the old man watched, mesmerized, as the papers floated gracefully to pool at his feet.

"Good morning, Briefs."

Shaking, Dr. Briefs gulped, his hands reaching out to grasp the table. "Good morning to you, Prince Vegeta."

The Prince's eyebrow rose a quarter of an inch, his eyes assessing the man quaking in front of him. A quiver of excitement flared inside of him as the man's fear penetrated his senses. Closing his eyes, the Prince struggled to calm the blood lust that consumed him, making an effort to concentrate on the task set before him. Once he was sure that the urges were extinguished, the Prince opened his eyes and continued with his mission. "You're hiding something from me, Briefs. I know it. And I don't like it."

As if confirming his statement, the doctor's face grew pale, incoherent words fumbling forth from his lips. Vegeta proceeded to circle the man, infusing more fear into Dr. Brief's heart. "You know more than you are letting on, don't you?"

As if suddenly finding that he could speak, the shivering man denied the statement furiously. "No! No! It's not true! I told you all I know! I swear it!"

Dr. Brief's eyes grew wide and glossy as he noticed Prince Vegeta's brows snap together in anger. Vegeta's voice was deadly soft when he spoke, and the old man almost dropped to his knees. "You had better not be lying to me, you piece of filth. I'll find out the truth, and when I do, you had better pray to your gods that I decide to kill you quickly. Now get out of my sight. You're a pitiful excuse for a man."

Fumbling to pick up his papers, Dr. Briefs raced out of the room, tripping numerous times in his haste. He didn't know why, but for some reason that boy scared him witless. It was as if he could gaze into your eyes and see all your sins, all your secrets, and then proceed to dangle them in front of your eyes, laughing at the way your soul screamed in agony. Heart pounding, the doctor reached for the handle of the door, frantically yearning to get out of the Prince's presence. He could have sworn that his heart skipped two beats when the Prince's voice called out for him to wait.

The Prince was leaning against the table, examining a pen, when Dr. Briefs slowly twisted to face him. "Yes, Prince Vegeta?"

Raising his ebony eyes, the Prince gazed at him impassively before he returned to examining the pen. Agonizing minutes passed before Vegeta finally answered him. "You say this Dark Queen is your daughter?"

The doctor reached up with one hand to readjust his glasses, arms heavy with jumbled papers. "Why-why yes, Your Highness."

Placing the pen back onto the table, Vegeta looked up, raising his eyebrow once again. "Then you know her name, do you not? Her real name?"

Now extremely nervous, Dr. Briefs shifted his weight to his other foot, unable to look anywhere near the Prince. "Of…of course I do, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta glared at him, fed up with the game. "Well? What is it you little fucker?" he growled out as he removed himself from the table.

Dr. Briefs gulped, and some papers began to slip from his hands. "I-I really…Why do you need to know?"

Vegeta's eyes flashed dangerously, his face twisting up in a sneer. He reached for the doctor's throat, closing a large hand around it. The doctor began to gasp, body writhing as it was lifted into the air. The doctor's glasses and papers fell to the floor, unnoticed.

Dr. Briefs, fearful for his life, tried to claw at the hands holding him captive. His attempts only caused Prince Vegeta to tighten his grip. Suddenly the human's lips began to move, spilling forth a name in between gasps. "Bulma -Bulma…Briefs."

Deprecatory, Vegeta threw the man to the floor, brushing off his hands. "That wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Instead of answering, the doctor fled from the room, papers and glasses forgotten. Left alone, Vegeta contemplated the name.

Bulma Briefs…now where had he heard that name before? ================================================================

Once again I'm going to give big props to my beta, Lady Rhapsody. I'm just always amazed at how much better my chapters are after she polish's them off. She is a remarkable writer so go read her fics! Their great, they truly are.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! I'd appreciate it. Speaking of reviews hear is my section dedicated to them!

To my reviewers!

Spini: Lol, yes it's a B/V. I'm a devoted B/V! Thanks so much for the comments! Its great that you reviewed both chapters!

The Oujis Mate: I love your reviews! Thank you! Thank you! You're the best! I loved the screamed in pleasurable agony, lol, that was wonderful!

Venus: Well, here's more! Hope you enjoy!

=Sniff= After reading over all these I feel so inspired! Wow…(I really need to think of another word)…you reviewers are the best ever! I hope I never disappoint you! You are just so…=sniff=… wonderful!

Anyway, keep on reading my fic, and please review and tell my what you think. I appreciate it. Huggles! Until next time!