Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Feeding Genius ❯ RIP Bulma and Vegeta ( Chapter 29 )

Feeding Genius

Chapter Twenty-Nine

RIP Bulma and Vegeta

Disclaimer: I own plenty of things, but unfortunately DBZ will never be mine.

*******************************

The building towers over us as we pass through an open gangway and into a portion that I would not have considered to be an entrance. Vegeta knows best though, of that I am certain. He never is one to take the usual approach. The main gateway would have been my choice, but instead I put my own plan to the side and follow his self-assured stride through what looks like a hanger. It is vast, in its own way. There isn't much inside. The outside promised something more, well, flamboyant and imperial than it holds. I don't know what I expected, technology beyond my own scope perhaps, like I found on Gleya - grandeur that I would place on a warlord like Frieza, a physical show of power or instant recognition that would set it apart from the rest of the universe, but the only thing I find impressive is the sheer size, nothing else. It is nothing more than a metallic shell - a blank canvas of what it once must have been, with no point to focus on or gain any understanding by. I see no technology, no signs that it is still in use, nothing to give my mind a direction or a purpose for intruding.

I'm still not quite sure how I feel. Vegeta's accusations still sting, but I can see the rational in what at first might have appeared an irrational outburst. My Saiyan Prince has every right to question me. How hastily and ready was I to throw my friendship with Rian in his face, how quick was I to force it onto his notice when my heart was screaming for peace. He obviously doesn't trust or know Rian as I have come to, and maybe, maybe I should have been less emphatic about his involvement. If nothing else I know that Vegeta's knowledge of the universe is far beyond my own, and the working of it far more familiar. This is his territory - this is where he has spent the majority of his life - wandering distant planets, travelling through the vacuum of space, and gleaning all the wealth and knowledge it must hold. He is a tactician by nature and a very able one at that. I have to put faith in his ability and try to look on the situation as he does, with a clear mind and impartial judgement.

Besides, am I so assured in Rian's character that I can dismiss his friendship to me as wholly emotional? It is not impossible for him to have had other motives in getting closer to me. It would be folly to believe otherwise. The thought that he might actually want me dead, however, I find very hard to believe, and painful. I can't relinquish to Vegeta's theory just yet, I can't. I need stone cold evidence first. One pod with his livery on it is not concrete proof of his involvement. Every single pod that belongs to Gleya has his insignia on it. Anyone could have taken one of his ships and landed here. I will not give up on his friendship so easily. I owe it to him to explore every theory first. In my eyes he will be innocent until proven guilty.

We have reached the middle of the room and I almost walk straight into Vegeta as he stops mid-stride. He has cocked his head to the side and raised an eyebrow in the same manner he has many times before. Now he is not searching through ordinary senses. He is trying to pick up on life-energy, mentally scouring the base to assess our situation.

"We aren't the only ones here," he says simply, and begins walking again.

 It is such a fast pace that I'm running to keep up. "Whoa! Hold up." I call after him. "What do you mean, we're not the only ones here? Are we talking about one person here - two? Or is there a whole goddamn army waiting for us?"

He snorts, not breaking pace and leading me towards a small corridor at the far end of the hanger. "Would a whole army fit in a single seated spacepod?" he asks, and then shakes his head. "There is only one."

"Is it…?" I can feel my heart racing, and no small amount of fear. "Rian?"

"I am not sure," he admits. "The power is above average, but I do not know the Commander's ki patterns well enough to say that it is definitely him."

Without warning he smashes his fist through a closed door to our right, and I have to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit as he forces it from the hinges. Throwing it casually aside he glances back to me and with nothing more than an inclination of the head, he orders me to follow.

There is very little light in this new room. There are other levels below us, the black that engulfs me convinces me of this. All I can see is a row of dim bulbs imbedded in the grilled metal gantry like an airplane runway, guiding us to continue in a straight line. I follow Vegeta closely across the thin walkway and to an elevator at the other end.   

He stops for a moment, looking at a panel on the wall and then experimentally pushes it. "Hmph," he says, more to himself than me. "No power."

With a grunt he forces the doors open, and looks down and then up. "There's nothing else for it. You'll have to hold on to me."

I smile. How can a girl refuse an offer like that? With a little more enthusiasm than it warrants, I grab his shoulders and jump onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist for a piggyback. He squeaks a little in surprise, and I laugh, snuggling up against his warm body and nuzzling his neck. His body stiffens and then he growls. "If you keep squirming like that, I might just drop you, Woman," he snipes. "And don't expect me to catch you this time."

"Oh, stop being such a sourpuss, Vegeta!" I tease. "You know you like it." And just to prove my point I lay a series of light kisses up and down his neck, playfully nipping the lobe of his ear.

His growl softens into a purr, before he catches himself. "This isn't the time or the place, Bulma," he says, somewhat annoyed.

"I know," I whisper seductively into his ear. "But I just can't control myself around you."

"Whore!" The compliment - as I have to take it to be from Vegeta - is left hanging and echoing around the confined space, as he jumps from the side and levitates in the empty elevator shaft. "Don't think I won't punish you for this when we get back to the ship."

"I look forward to it."

I can't say with any certainty how many floors we pass - I can't see a damn thing anymore. All I can do is cling onto Vegeta for dare life and rely on his senses to keep me from coming to any harm. My stomach loops and convulses and my ears pop as he flies upward with phenomenal acceleration.

"Here," he says, stopping so quickly I lose my stomach. "The ki is coming from behind this door. Unless the signature is being suppressed, which I highly doubt, I should have no problem annihilating it."

"But you're not going to do that right away, are you?" I quickly interject.

"And why should I hesitate?"

"Because, a corpse can't speak, and we need all the information we can get."

He chuckles. "Very well. I like to play with my prey, anyway."

"What will you do if it's Rian?" I ask, fearful of the answer.

"I will make his death as slow and as painful as possible." 

I shiver. His words are so determined and truthful! It makes me feel sick. "Please, Vegeta. Listen to what he has to say before you do anything. I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I should have never used him against you - it was low. That being said, however, I can't give up on his friendship so easily. It's just not in my nature."

"I make no promises when it comes to that worthless piece of space trash!" he spits, as energy pools into his right hand. I can see his fingers manipulating it, forging it into a ball, and adjusting the power. "But enough of this. What is in the past is in the past. I should know that better than anyone. Now it's time to make a dramatic entrance." I can feel his body shaking as he gathers power. "I hope you're holding me securely, Woman," he adds, and giving me no other warning he brings his hand forward and fires at the closed doors.

At once I am pushed under a backwash of power. It hits, scorches, and eventually explodes through the twin metal doors and I bury my face into the back of Vegeta's neck, instinctively using his body to shelter mine. The heat burns my exposed hands and shins as I cling on with all the strength I can muster. I am holding him so tight that I can feel my nails crushing into my palm through his gi.

"Enjoying the show?" he asks derisively.

I can't answer. My grip is loosening under the continued force and I have no strength left to combat it. "Vegeta!" I scream, truly scared. "I can't hold on much longer."

At first I think he is ignoring me, but as the power fades, and the debris slips away and into oblivion below us, I can feel warmth engulfing my hand. His hand is covering mine, securing it to his chest, as the last of the power dissipates around us.

"Weakling!" I hear him accuse, as he peers fiercely through the destruction.

We touch down where the door once resided, and Vegeta shrugs me off. I am about to protest until I see the clenching of his jaw, and the rapid movements his eyes are making. He is watching, tracking a presence I can't yet see.

"There is an array to the left of us that I think you might be interested in," he says lowly, careful not to let our new opponent hear. "Don't use it yet, but go over there and stay out of sight. I cannot assure your safety should you be seen." He turns away from me, again watching the other person in the room. "On the count of three," he says. "One."

I wet my lips.

"Two."

Adrenaline and fear pour though me, making my whole body tingle.

"Three."

There is an explosion in the distance as he says this and I have no doubt that Vegeta caused it to disguise my movement. My legs feel heavy, as I run. I can't see anything more than shadows through the commotion, but some instinct, some gut feeling tells me the semi circular panel I now dive under and hide behind, is what Vegeta was referring to. 

It takes several minutes for the dust to settle and the air to clear, but I can still feel the hair on the back of my arms standing on end, telling me there is plenty of ki still hanging around, perhaps it is a harbinger of things to come. My breathing is heavy and erratic. I'm scared. I can't hide it, and I can't control it, but in the long run it doesn't matter. There's nothing in the universe that is going to stop me, shifting positions to see what is going on.

There is a chair obstructing my view, and I am wondering whether or not anyone will notice if I nudge it a little to the side. My hand stretches out to touch the base, when all of a sudden it is spun out of my grasp and I can see white booted feet cross as Vegeta surreptitiously sits down and clears my line of vision for me.

The breath catches in my throat for a minute and I am careful not to exhale it too quickly in relief. Whoever this creature is, he is definitely not Rian. Indeed the new player in this story is not even mammalian. I can hear Vegeta's cocky chuckling, muffled through the desk, as the short, scaled creature, takes several tentative steps backwards.

"L-Lord V-Vegeta!" he gasps, standing on the material of his cloak and tripping clumsily backwards.

Vegeta switches very abruptly from amusement to warning. He is growling low in the throat. "So, Koifa," he says slowly. "When was Frieza resurrected?"

"I do not understand, My Lord. Frieza has been dead for several years now. It is rumoured that you, Lord Vegeta, were the one to finish him once and for all."

The growl deepens. I almost feel sorry for the creature. If only it could see how ill-applied its officious performance really is.

"You were misinformed about my involvement, but if Frieza is dead, then why do you still call me Lord? I am no ones Lord. I am the Prince of the Saiyans and you will address me as such. I will not tolerate insolence."

"Of course, Prince Vegeta. I apologise for my disrespect."

I can see the chair rock back under Vegeta's weight as he casually leans into it. "Better," he says. "Now you will tell me everything I need to know."

"And if I refuse?" Koifa replies. I wonder how Vegeta knows his name?

"Then I will rip each of your scales individually from your body - one after the other - until you decide to cooperate. Is that clear?"

"Very clear, Prince Vegeta."

"Then we'll begin with the basics. What is a third rate warrior, like yourself, doing on this dustball?"

"Surviving - just as everyone else in the universe is trying to do now Frieza is dead."

"So you were ordered here?" Vegeta asks, and the reptilian creature nods. "You were sent here to what end?"

"My mission," Koifa stutters, and I'm sure if he weren't reptilian he would have drowned in sweat by now. "Was to eliminate you and the female."

My blood runs cold. Someone did want us dead! My god! Please don't let me hear the words!

"Let me guess. The Consortium sent you."

"Yes. The Consortium make all the orders now." There is a pause, and under Vegeta's growing thoughts, Koifa appears to glean a little courage from somewhere. "You arrived from Gelya did you not, Prince Vegeta?"

"What does that matter?" he snaps.

"Because Gleya is run by the Consortium. Every single one of Frieza's old stations is."

"So they succeeded," Vegeta mutters. "I should not have stayed away for so long, pampered on that backward planet. So many distractions that I had no idea - I should have been here where I belong. Seeing to these things my way." He stands, shaking his head as though to lose the thought. I'm glad he does. Hearing Vegeta talk so flippantly about the ties to my home hurts more than I had imagined it ever would.

"You say that Gleya is run by the Consortium?" he continues.

"Yes."

"This means that Commander Rian, works for the Consortium?"

Oh god. I think I'm going to throw up. No, no, no, no… please say no.

"That is correct. He is one of Lord Dreyon's advisors - a high-ranking member of The Consortium. It is said that he controls the scientific and academic division, his ranking as an officer is only to allow for the necessary security protocols The Consortium has in place."

"I see," Vegeta responds, but it is a hazy sound. My mind is in too much confusion to hear properly. All the little fragments of the puzzle are suddenly slotting into position and it feels like I'm falling.

Scientific.

The word repeats over and over through my mind, with all the speed and cohesion of a whirlwind. What does it mean? My mind has half an inkling, but its too damning! I can't even contemplate it as Vegeta asks a question that I don't think I want to hear the answer to.

"Why?" He says it so calmly. "Why does the Commander want us dead?"

"As far as I understand it, Commander Rian, never wanted any harm to come to your mate. He only wanted to utilize her technology, integrate it into the systems on his space station and sell the technology on. You know how they work. Power isn't so vital to them as economics is - anything to help advance their cause. None of this would have happened if your female hadn't refused to part with her more useful inventions, and decided to encrypt everything in her database."

Vegeta's sharp exhalation mirrors my own. For all this time I had attributed Trunks' kidnapping to some foul deed committed in the past of a slave to Frieza's empire, never once had I even considered that our current situation had, in fact, nothing to do with my prince's bloody history. It is all my fault! All on my own shoulders, because if I had given them what they wanted then we would be safely on Earth now, our family intact and oblivious to this whole torrid ordeal. Even the semi-comfort of knowing that Rian didn't truly want be dead, is scant consolation. My shame is great and I will forever have to carry the knowledge that my own pride and stupidity put my family in such immense danger. Oh dear god!

"Our son was taken then to distract us while they broke the encryption?"

"Yes, as was your trip here," the reptile adds. "But Rian was overruled by Lord Dreyon in this matter. Having learnt that the Commander had sent you to Mantion, and the knowledge of the technology it contained, which he had saved and manufactured in a different location since Lord Frieza's death, to save it from those who would seek to destroy it, I was sent here. It was my job to set up the robots in their original base, and use them to hunt you down and kill you both. It was nothing more than opportunism on my Lord's part. He wanted you both out of the way. I do believe that he has some plans regarding your offspring, and although I have no idea of the precise nature, I don't doubt it will be for his power. His is still young enough to be tutored to serve The Consortium… with time."

My heart sinks. Trunks! They want to manipulate my baby, using him as a pawn in their empire as Vegeta was once used in Frieza's, and it's all because of me! This can't be happening.

The chair is spun away as Vegeta stands. "Then there truly is only one thing left I want to know," he says. "How badly do you want to live?"

The creature steps back, his body pressing flush against the opposite wall. "It is all I have ever wanted. I am nothing but a slave to those who hold the true power."

"I understand. I understand completely," Vegeta says, and kicks the chair across the room, imbedding it in the wall inches away from the cowering reptile. "Bulma," he snaps. "You can come out now."

I do as he says, but keep my eyes averted, too ashamed to face him. He does nothing to reassure me either, doesn't so much as acknowledge my presence as he grabs Koifa by the lapels and throws him at the communications array. "I want you to contact your superiors," he barks, "but first of all I want you to show me where the cameras in this room are located."

"There are none, Prince Vegeta. This area was badly damaged even before you arrived. I only have limited communications."

"Good," he says firmly, only now facing me, "Then when your superiors answer you will tell them that you succeeded and that both I and my mate are dead."

I cock my head to the side, taking in the slight twisting of Vegeta's lips. I thought he would be mad, but on the contrary, he only looks highly amused. I get the feeling he is doing this solely to unnerve me. Little does he know that I actually like his unpredictability - find it endearing. "What are you conjuring up in that twisted head of yours?" I ask.

His smirk is on full display now, shining with plot, and the workings of a masterful mind. "That's for me to know and you to find out."

*******************************************

A/N - Yes, it's a little short, and I apologise for that, but to me at least, it seemed the natural end for this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. *hugs* Ember