Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Free My Soul ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

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Free My Soul

Chapter Three

Vegeta hit the ground in long, smooth strides. Small clouds of dust rose beneath his heels as he strode confidently up to the pair waiting for him. Lyedra was a powerful warrior, as beautiful as she was deadly. Her popularity with the soldiers had less to do with her feminine good looks which she wasn't above using if the situation warranted, and more to do with her command to detail. She was efficient, meticulous, and was the obvious candidate to be Vegeta's Second-In-Command. She didn't have the same level of strategic capability as Vegeta, but it could be easily learned. She was battle clever, but wasn't too intelligent, something that detracted from her overall appeal. Intelligence he found was a very attractive trait. More importantly, Vegeta didn't trust her. He didn't trust anyone, but he most especially didn't trust her. She had the most to gain should he fall from his new found seat of power. So naturally, he kept her at his right hand.

Beside her, stood a new found enemy. As Frieza's brother and responsible for the western quadrant of space, Vegeta never had much dealings with Cooler. He did know he was the more powerful of the brothers, and he flouted his strength by never decreasing his power below his third form. Rumor had it, that Cooler had a total of five transformations; something Vegeta had a hard time comprehending. Frieza had been the most powerful entity in his life for so long, that dealing with so much strength made Vegeta's head ache right behind his eyes.

Since his rise to power he had little contact with the Cold family other than a few formal niceties. Vegeta hadn't needed to inform them of Frieza's death since his uniform was linked to their main database. While they had been in mourning, Vegeta moved quickly, firmly wrestling what was left of Frieza's army under his control. Once Vegeta so efficiently completed his task, there was nothing left for King Cold to do but to confirm his position. Though King Cold and his son Cooler neither trusted nor liked Vegeta they did acknowledge his was the most powerful and capable warrior to take Frieza's place. Cold and Cooler were already spread thin and couldn't absorb Frieza's empire into their own. While the Cold's were physically more powerful than Vegeta, and could easily murder him where he stood, they had no one to take his place and Frieza's soldiers would run roughshod without a leader. The situation each man found themselves in was distasteful, but deserving of compromise. Vegeta earned the right to rule the eastern quadrant of space, and in return he had to bow and scrape to a pair of lizard masters.

“Cooler,” he greeted coldly as he came to a stop in front of him.

“Vegeta.” Cooler nodded in return. Lyedra glanced between the two, before taking a step away. She neither positioned herself closer to Vegeta or Cooler, choosing to take no side during the conversation. Vegeta noted her neutral stance, placing another check mark on his mental tally of her faults.

“Why have you come?” Vegeta asked, seeing no point in social niceties.

“Does one need a reason to visit an old friend?” Cooler asked grandly, his thin lips stretched wide.

“We aren't friends,” Vegeta replied in a clipped, hard tone, his black eyes assessing.

Cooler's lips pulled down at the corners in a mocking frown, but Vegeta could still see the smile glinting in his eyes. “Dear me. Surely I didn't mean to imply you, Vegeta. How thoughtless of me. Poor friendless child that you are.”

Vegeta's crossed arms tightened over his chest. Though Cooler wasn't as effeminate as his late brother, he was just as cruel. He enjoyed belittling those around him, by implying they were younger, smaller and less powerful than him. His favorite target over the years had been his little brother Frieza. After a visit from Cooler, Frieza would be in a rage for days, even weeks. Vegeta never had much contact with Cooler during those visits, but he could now appreciate the reason for Frieza's fury. The reptile was a total prick.

Vegeta glanced to the side, noticing Lyedra had edged slightly closer to him in an effort to avoid being indicated as Cooler's mysterious friend. Vegeta knew there was no such person. The empire was curious as to why he was spending so much time on a worthless no account planet, so obviously Cooler had been sent to check up on him. However, there was no way Vegeta was going to tell the lizard why he was there, so playing along seemed to be the best course of action.

“What friend?”

Cooler shrugged nonchalantly, his sleek white and purple body rippling. “Too many to count.” He was looking out across the flat savannah, but as he spoke his cold eyes connected with Vegeta's and a sly smile slipped across his lips. Vegeta's eyes narrowed thoughtfully, his agile mind listing all those in his command who would more than willingly volunteer information to Cooler. No one knew their true purpose on Namek, not even Lyedra. The magic of the Dragon Balls was a mystery, but it wouldn't take Cooler long to unravel it. Vegeta was close to obtaining his goal. He was only missing two balls. Hopefully, he would be making his wish to the all-powerful dragon before Cooler even realized what happened.

“So really, just people you intimidate into talking to you.” Vegeta was appalled by his own words before they even finished leaving his mouth. Both Lyedra and Cooler whipped their heads around to look at him oddly. As well they should. Intimidation was how things got done in the universe. The strong always applied pressure on the weak. Hell, it was one of the first lessons his father, King Vegeta had ever taught him. Intimidation was what he used earlier today to get the dragon ball. And it was exactly why his stomach had knotted up as he watched the houses burn.

“Are you feeling well, Milord?” Lyedra asked him softly. Vegeta glanced at her, seeing the worry in her eyes. It wasn't the same level of concern Bulma had shown only moments ago when she thought he was ill. That had been genuine. As brilliant as she was, Bulma was no liar. She could never hide her true feelings behind false pretenses. She was just too open and honest. Lyedra on the other hand had an agenda. He just wasn't sure what it was yet.

Vegeta ignored her, training his steady gaze on Cooler instead. He saw sick curiosity on Cooler's face, and Vegeta knew from past experience with Frieze that the expression was dangerous. He schooled his features to be blander than normal, curling his upper lip up in derision as he spoke.

“Do whatever you are here to do, Cooler. Just stay out of my way.” Warning issued, Vegeta spun on his heel and he stormed up the ramp into his ship. He blindly followed the main corridor ringing the outer edge of his circular ship, his rampaging thoughts disarticulated and jumbled. Cooler was going to present a problem for him. It was only a matter of time before he found out about the Dragon Balls and their magical properties. Vegeta needed to obtain the last two balls as quickly as possible.

As important as all that was, the Dragon Balls were not at the forefront of his mind. Bulma was. She was there on Namek. He never thought he would see her again. He should have never even thought of her, but he had. He couldn't stop thinking of her. After leaving her behind, he slept for hours, ate all the food he could ever need, filled his days with battle and conquering and his nights with strategy. But through it all, Bulma was a niggling thought in the back of his mind.

At times when he was alone, and it grew too quiet he would glance around the room searching for her, worry tight in his chest because it was never quiet when Bulma was in a room. But she was never there, and the silence would drown him with its weight.

Sometimes while listening to reports from his men, his mind would wander, returning to her again and again. The color of her hair, the feel of her skin, the soft little sounds she would make when he touched her. Never in his life had the memory of a woman haunted him like she had.

Now she was here, within reach, easily accessible, deliciously warm. He stood close enough to her to inhale her sunshine scent, to see into the depths of her blue eyes, to feel her heat. The tenuous control he had over his thoughts the last year broke, leaving him free to remember every little detail of his time with Bulma, and even more distractedly, to fantasize about everything he could do to her while they were here together. Everything he could do to her without his collar.

He came to a standstill beside a thick plate glass window that looked out across the flat Namekian landscape. He didn't see the bluish grass or the thin trees. All he saw was the look of fear on Bulma's face when she realized he was behind her at the water's edge. The look of panic in her eyes as she clutched her weapons. Not since the first time they meet, before he reassured her that he wouldn't force himself on her, had she ever shown him fear. Why today had she looked at him so? Anger he would have expected. Maybe even passion, but never fear.

“Milord?” Lyedra's musical voice cut into Vegeta's thoughts with the alacrity of a sharp knife. His spine stiffened at her approach, but he refused to turn around and show weakness. His keeping his back to her was a subtle reminder that although she held the illustrious position of his Second, she was still far below him in power.

Instead of taking the hint, Lyedra boldly stepped up beside him, intimately trailing the tips of her long fingernails down his spine between his shoulder blades. It took every ounce of control he had not to twitch away from her. Coolly, he glanced at her from beneath his long lashes, waiting with the imperiousness of a prince for her to explain herself. She stood close to him, the sunshine through the window making her long, blonde hair shine brightly.

“Cooler is going to be a problem for us.” Her musical voice tried to wrap its way around him, but he was impervious to its affects. He cocked a dark brow at her, wordlessly telling her that she wasn't presenting information he didn't already know.

“Us?” Vegeta commented harshly while looking out across the plain.

“Yes, us, Milord.” She braced her hands on the sill as she looked out the window with him. Her beautiful face was set in a thoughtful expression that showed signs of feline intelligence.

“There didn't seem to be an “us” earlier.” Vegeta crossed his arms, and turned his body so he could stare her down. Since she wasn't taking the subtle hint maybe she needed a more direct clue to leave him alone.

“Don't be sensitive. If I present myself as separate from you it increases the chance that Cooler will come to me to ask his questions, and I will be able to distract him from the truth.” She straightened, turning to face him so they stood together in a shaft of light.

“What truth? You don't know anything either.” Vegeta's dark eyes were harder than obsidian as he glared up at her. Her long legs and the metal soles of her boots made her a few inches taller than him, something that annoyed him to no end.

“I'm not just a pretty face Milord. I know these balls you've been collecting are important. Very important. It wasn't all that hard to figure out what they do.” With a toss of her chin, the long tail of her hair settled over one shoulder so she could twine her fingers through the silky strands. She cocked a knee settling her weight against the thin metal sill of the window until their heights were equal. Vegeta's eyes narrowed at her tactic.

“What do you mean?” he growled, low and dangerous.

“Well they just aren't simply treasure. Even if they are materially valuable, it would be nothing compared to your wealth, and hardly worth the time and resources you're expending here. This means they must have some sort of function. The only thing that's important to you, that you would spend this amount of time on, is power. So it only follows that somehow these balls grant that.”

He advanced on her, pinning her against the flat window, warmed by the sun. “You better be very careful what you say next,” he warned. She allowed herself to be pressed back, sinking even lower so she had to look up at him submissively.

She reached out, brushing her fingers down his chest, her green eyes gleaming. “All I'm saying is that very soon you are going to be very powerful. King Cold and Cooler will have no chance against you, and that's an awful lot of territory for one man to control all by himself. You are going to need someone by your side. Someone you can depend on. Someone who will take care of your every need.” Her words were seductively soft, insinuating that she could make every dirty thought he ever had into a reality.

She flattened her palm on his chest and slid it up to cup the back of his neck. With a gentle, but insistent tug she pulled him down, her pink lips curling a bit at the corners before she pressed a kiss against his closed mouth. She writhed against him with expertness of a courtesan, applying every trick she knew to get him to respond.

She was right of course. The Dragon Balls were going to grant him an incredible amount of power, making him undefeatable in battle. He had every intention of destroying the Colds and taking over their territory. It was exactly what his father would have wanted him to do. To rule as a Saiyan over all he could survey. Ruling three quadrants of space, hundreds of planets and dozens of star systems, would be overwhelming. He would need a partner. Someone by his side he could trust. Someone who would cling to his power, because they were too weak to defeat him. Loyal as long as the riches kept pouring in.

Lyedra was the perfect candidate to be his partner in all things. She would make a ruthless queen. She would help him to rule with an iron fist, and seduce those who couldn't be swayed by violence. More importantly she wanted the job. Would kill for it if she had too. She was made for it.

Bulma on the other hand, would simply turn her back on him if asked. She would never tie herself to a tyrant, regardless of the power and wealth it would bring. She had a moral standard that was far above him. She would take one look at his bloody hands and scream in horror. And if he forced her--if he made her stay with him as his queen, his wife, his whore, she would die on the inside. She would cease to be everything that he desired, and become nothing more than a living piece of meat.

Lyedra's entire body pressed against him, but all he felt was vast coldness in his soul. She didn't ignite fire inside him like Bulma did. She stirred nothing within him, not even desire. He pushed her away, noting her flushed face and how her lips parted with need. She didn't truly want him. It was his power that made her wet between the legs--all the things he could give her, if she could just get him under her spell.

Vegeta stared at her for a long while, searching for something in her green eyes. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he didn't find it. She was just as empty on the inside as he was. Wordlessly, he turned on his heel, leaving Lyedra to stand in the sunshine with only anger to keep her company.