Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lab Monkey ❯ Dark Hero ( Chapter 14 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of the lovely men from the show that prance around naked in my dreams.

Chapter Fourteen

Dark Hero

She had screamed for so long that eventually they had to force a piece of cloth between her teeth to gag her. She continued to shriek behind her gag, a raw, painful scream in the back of her throat that echoed with all the pain and fear that overflowed from her soul. Finally reason descended on her and she fell silent for fear that she would choke to death on the bile that threatened to rise.

When there was nothing left of Aleah, the monsters attacked the crate of alcohol like it was a four course meal. They upended endless bottles into the maws, joking and laughing well into the night. Bulma watched with dulled sense of horror as they reached into the flames to pull out blackened limbs to casually gnaw on, like an after dinner treat. They chewed on the flesh and cracked the bones to slurp out the marrow, while guzzling their wine in an obscene mockery of a feast, their shadows dancing like demons on parade.

Hours went by and the night seemed never ending to Bulma. Surely the sun would rise soon and put an end to this nightmare. The daylight would chase away the monsters and show her that it was all a bad dream. All evil things hated the light. Right?

Bulma was on her knees, worrying the cloth between her teeth, despair swamping her when she felt it. It was an awareness of something dark and terrible creeping in from the shadows of the night, making its way towards the light. A swell of anger hit her and she felt instantaneous relief. There was only one man she knew who could project that much rage, so much hate that it was tangible in the air. She glanced at the others, frankly surprised that they couldn't feel him in the dark, stalking them like the predator that he was, but then she had always been unnaturally aware of Vegeta.

Seconds later he appeared out of the darkness, taking one step into the light before pausing. His black eyes swept the camp, absorbing in all the details in one cold glance before his heavy gaze rested on her. She couldn't stop the joyous smile that lit up her countenance behind her gag at the sight of him, but at the slight shake of his head, she wiped it from her face.

There was a flurry of motion as the other soldiers became aware of Vegeta's presence and his attention was torn away from her and it settled commandingly on Satan.

"Prince Vegeta! What a surprise." The red skinned man covered his unease at seeing the Saiyan well, but even Bulma had seen his initial slip. Pestilence cast a nervous glance between his leader and the Prince while Vanity looked more than a little pleased to see him.

Vegeta grunted in response and Bulma noticed how Satan darted a quick glance at his scouter that lay discarded in a pile with the others. As they had settled in for the night they had taken them off, along with their outer breastplates, but they remained dressed in their boots and light under armor.

"Would you like a drink?" Satan held out his own bottle a jovial smile stretching his thin lips.

Instead of taking the bottle, Vegeta walked past him and plucked a fresh bottle from the crate before settling himself leisurely against the metal beam, right in front of the scouters. He moved with confidence and grace that instilled unease in the others and reminded Bulma of a lethal jungle cat. The two male purgers shifted uncomfortably at this subtle maneuver, but Vanity's smile only became slier.

"So I heard that Frieza is looking for you." Vegeta's eyes had drifted over to her once again, but at the man's words his gaze snapped back to his. Satan had seated himself once again, this time facing Vegeta. Pestilence had done the same, both of them unwilling to put their backs to the prince. They sat with an uneasy grace that would allow them to dart to their feet at a moments notice and defend themselves.

"What's it to you Gen-Seng?" Vegeta growled and Bulma couldn't stop the shiver of recognition that flowed through her. She couldn't believe how much she had missed his raspy voice and crude demeanor. However, she was willing to admit that at this moment she would have endured Master Roshi's petting if it meant getting out of here.

At his harsh tone the soldier tensed, but Gen-Seng kept his easy smile. "Nothing, just letting you know." Now that Bulma had a name to go along with the horned devil, she found that she didn't find him any less threatening. In fact, the sly way he was eyeballing Vegeta was making her quite nervous.

Vegeta snorted before responding, making no effort to be polite to his fellow soldiers who had welcomed him to their fire.

"Do you know where Frieza is now?" Vegeta questioned casually while popping open the bottle and taking a swig.

Gen-Seng shrugged while replying nonchalantly. "Somewhere in the Gamma quadrant. Treasure hunting I hear." Both Bulma and Vegeta stiffened at his reply. Namek was in the Gamma quadrant.

"Hunting for what?" Vegeta asked offhandedly, but his dark gaze sought hers out once again.

"Oh this, that and the other thing. An arm?" Vanity slid closer to Vegeta, the only one daring enough to come within a few feet of him. She held out a blackened limb and his gaze flickered down to the offering before glancing back up at Bulma. At his gaze she dropped her head to hide behind her hair, unable to watch him sink his teeth into the proffered meat.

Vegeta shook his head and knocked her hand away, telling himself that he had eaten well before descending onto the planet. He merely wasn't hungry. He didn't care about the delicate sensibilities of the woman he had come to fetch.

He felt the anger boil up inside of him again at the thought. His fury had known no bounds when he had discovered that she had jumped ship. Beyond pissed to be exact. That anger only multiplied when he realized that she had locked the controls so he couldn't turn the ship around right away.

By the time he had gained control of the navigation, his rage had simmered down into bubbling resentment that festered in the center of his chest. He had been determined to leave her to her fate. Let her figure out on her own how hard the universe can be. She thought she could take her weak body down to some planet and barter her way home with her good looks and questionable intelligence. Let her see how tough life really was. Maybe on the way back from Namek he would take the time to see if she had been sold into slavery. He would pay good creds to laugh in her face as she lay in some squalid brothel in a filthy bed, her body well used and discarded like refuse. Then she would see how stupid she had been.

He would have left her to her fate too. He would have, he swore to the Gods that he would have, but then he had heard some troubling news. He had been scanning the receiver stations, looking for clues to Frieza's whereabouts when he had heard the chatter on the secured purge channel. A three man team had been sent to purge the same planet Bulma had thought to escape to. Stupid bitch. It seemed to him that she couldn't do anything right, including running away.

Even now as he stood in front of the warm fire, staring down the man who could very well sic the Imperial Army on him, he still couldn't say why he turned around. He should have been thankful that someone else would take care of the job of killing off the useless woman so he wouldn't have to waste his time. Why should he care if she didn't live through the night? It wasn't his problem. He had a mission to get to and a wish in need of granting. He certainly didn't have time to turn around and fetch the obnoxious female.

But he was here and he was starting to realize something. He fucking hated women, especially this one. She always ended up making him do things that he normally would never do, the Kami-damned witch. He was completely out of character when he was around her and that was entirely too dangerous.

"Well maybe we should tell someone that you aren't lost Prince Vegeta. After all everyone has been so worried about you." Gen-Seng's softly threatening words broke Vegeta's concentration and his black eyes turned hellish.

"The Prince of All Saiyan's doesn't get lost you pansy fuck. I was merely detained. I'm on my way to see Frieza now." Vegeta sneered at the horned man and Bulma could see a flicker of fear in Gen-Seng's eyes.

"I think what he meant was that we should announce your arrival." Pestilence spoke up, his voice a quiver of uncertainty.

"I know what he meant, Nol. There is no need to announce my presence." Vegeta spat. "I have a surprise for Frieza and I will be severally displeased if someone ruins it."

The threat hung heavy in the air and there was no mistaking it. Vegeta didn't want his presence known to Frieza and anyone who defied him would find themselves six feet under in a hurry. Vegeta eyed Gen-Seng and Nol with equal intensity, hoping that he was intimidating enough to make them think twice about going for their scouters while he was on the planet's surface.

His only hope was to get off the planet and into space where he could blast them to dust before they went blabbing on their scouters to anyone who would listen. He knew that they were afraid of him. He was after all one of the most powerful warriors in Frieza's army, but what they didn't know was that he wasn't quite up to par. Bulma's little force field had done a number on him and he was still feeling the effects. Vegeta was faced with the uncomfortable uncertainty that if he was forced into a fight, he just might lose.

"Yes well. Of course no one wants to ruin your little surprise, Prince Vegeta. Why don't we turn our attention to something much more pleasurable? More wine?" Vanity slithered closer to the prince and Bulma felt a sharp spike of something she couldn't define. If it was Yamcha sitting there she would be tempted to say she was feeling jealousy, but surely that couldn't be right.

The woman let her hand trail up Vegeta's arm and he turned his head to look at her. His dark eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into a familiar sneer. "I'm not interested in your charms this evening Tamin." He shrugged her off and took another swallow from his bottle.

Bulma frowned when she realized that in the past more than likely the two had been lovers. For some reason it made Bulma unreasonably angry to think that he would sniff around such a disgusting little bitch.

"And what pray tell are you interested in?" Tamin asked with a sniff of disdain.

Vegeta eyes found their way to Bulma's blue ones. His gaze lingered long enough to attract the attention of the other soldiers. Tamin's red-tinted gaze narrowed as they focused on her and Gen-Seng's own leer grew wider.

"Ah yes. I was saving her for later, but I would be more than happy to share." Gen-Seng rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he stood up from his seat. At his movement Vegeta instantly straightened his lax stance, pinning Gen-Seng with a silent glare.

"I don't share." Vegeta gritted out the words, his entire body poised for battle.

Gen-Seng took a small step back, his hands upraised. "Of course not. I was merely implying that you should take your fill and I will be more than happy to take what's left."

Nol snorted at his supplicating comment. "Shit, he would be happy just watching."

Gen-Seng shot his companion a deadly glare, but Vegeta's growl dragged his attention back to the prince.

"You won't be watching either you sick fuck." Gen-Seng stiffened at the insult and his lips twisted like he wanted to say something equally crude back to the prince. Vegeta didn't want to push the team leader too far, but he needed to take Bulma out of their sight.

"We will go over there. You can wait until I am done." Vegeta nodded his head towards a darkened alley that was barely visible beyond the dancing firelight. Vegeta could tell that Gen-Seng wanted to protest but he gave him no choice when he turned on his heel and stalked over to Bulma.

She kept her head down when he approached, not wanting to give away her excitement at their pending escape. He reached behind her, snapping her bonds easily and lifted her to her feet with a strong grip on her arm. He strode passed the others, glaring hard at them, letting them know not to disturb them. He gave one last snide glance at the scouters, silently reminding them of his earlier threat. Vegeta knew that they wouldn't be able to leave immediately, Gen-Seng would more than likely be keeping track of their ki, but if they lingered long enough perhaps the soldiers would lose interest in what was happening beyond their line of sight.

Bulma reached up and undid her gag, using the cloth to wipe the dried blood from her face. She did her best to look dejected and broken as she walked off with Vegeta, which really wasn't all that hard.

Vegeta led her into the darkness, away from the ring of firelight. For the first time she actually felt at ease when walking into the dark instead of the tense expectation in the center of her shoulder blades. Being surrounded by shadows had always awakened the instinctual animal inside of her that feared what she couldn't see.

Worse yet, she was strolling into the dark with a murderer, but she only felt overwhelming relief. Vegeta may be the most dangerous man she ever met, but she was certain that he wouldn't eat her. Wasn't she?

He pushed her roughly against the crumbling brick wall and she easily acquiesced to his will. At this point if he told her to walk barefoot over hot coals, she would do so. After all he was her savior, her unholy, hell-sent savior, but savior just the same.

He braced his hand by her head, leaning his weight forward, pinning her against the wall. She ached to run as far away from this nightmare as she could, but her trust in Vegeta held her. He would know what to do. He would know how to save them.

She could feel the anger radiating off him, felt it before he even entered the camp. Although she feared him, her terror of the monsters that ringed the burning pyre of corpses was greater. She reached out, twisting her fingers in the material of his shirt above his heart. Normally, she dreaded being near such a lethal predator, but now she loathed to let him out of her grasp.

He leaned in closer, his black eyes flickering down to take in the death grip she had on his shirt before locking his gaze with hers. He could see the watery evidence of her terrifying trauma in her deep blue eyes that were near overflowing. If he looked close enough he could imagine seeing the reflection of the horrors she must have witnessed in the last few hours.

His cold lips twisted into a wry smile at the hope he saw in her upturned features. The little rabbit had run hard and fast to escape her wolf, but in the end she clung to him as though he was her safe harbor in a raging tempest. How quickly she changed her tune at the first hint of danger.

He slanted a brow towards the drunken soldiers who warmed themselves before their gruesome fire, feeding on the blackened flesh of their victims. Perhaps she had good reason to, he silently admitted to himself. He was sure that his little innocent had never seen such atrocities. That in itself underscored the vast, almost uncrossable chasm that separated them.

The dark demon inside of him laughed uproariously at the thought of such a pure angel experiencing even a small portion of his every day life, but the man before her was angry at the image. Unexplainably so. He seemed to have a lot of unexplainable urges and emotions when it came to her. Namely, him turning around to fetch her while he should be on his way to Namek. He narrowed his eyes, glaring down at her.

"You ran away from me." He whispered cruelly in her ear, his voice dripping with deadly menace. There was no mistaking the underlying current that flowed between them. What was she doing here? What was she thinking? How dare she run from him?

"I…" She looked away, glancing at the ring of fire. Her cheeks grew paler and her hand tightened in his shirt. She licked her dry lips and began again, never taking her eyes off the other men. "I was afraid." She paused, her breath coming in a slight panicked pant, before continuing. "I was afraid of you." Her voice was the softest of whispers and he had to strain to hear her. His heart did a funny little flip at her words and he had to moisten his own suddenly dry lips.

"Was? Not anymore?" Only his impressive self mastery prevented his voice from cracking with strain. The thought of her not fearing him anymore struck him deeply, rousing some forgotten, unnamed emotion inside of him.

"I'm terrified of you." Vegeta's stomach dropped at her words and he felt a wave a disappointment that was completely unexpected. "But…I'm afraid to be alone. To be lost and alone, without you." She shook her head slowly, her mouth pursing in a soft moue of distress. Her haunted eyes never left the macabre feast that was illuminated in the firelight. Vegeta frowned and he slipped two fingers under chin, dragging her eyes away and tipping her face up to his.

"And what has brought about this abrupt change of heart?" He asked gruffly, his face partially concealed in shadow.

Memories of what she had seen only hours before clamored insistently in her head and they were shockingly visible in her clear blue eyes. Unconsciously, she urged him closer, using him as a blanket to pull up over her head to protect her from the monsters under the bed. She felt safe under his shadow. She trusted her demon in the dark far more than the men in the light.

The visions in her mind were a whirlwind of blood and agony, of tearing claws and ripping teeth. She clenched her eyes shut and two silent tears streamed down her pallid face. Vegeta had to resist the urge to bend down and lick them from her cheeks and berating himself for the thought. Her throat worked as she tried desperately to form her terror into words, but she could only snatch one simple thought from the swirling torment of her mind.

"They ate her." Her body trembled as though wracked by a northerly wind and she leaned closer to his heart.

Vegeta couldn't stop the sneer that formed on his lips. This was what she was so terrified of. Why she was so horrified. Because a group of starving soldiers chose to feast on the dead instead of succumbing to the hunger that stalked them. He had thought that her fear had stemmed from the destruction around her, from the collapsing of buildings and the screaming of the innocent people. Or worse, her terror of those men using her body cruelly before killing her, but no, she chose to focus on this insignificant fact.

"Unlike you, some people aren't spoiled and pampered with gourmet meals three times a day. You would be surprised what you can do if you were hungry enough." He snarled, his heart chilling with the realization of her selfishness.

She looked up at him, her disgust and disbelief apparent. "I could never be so hungry that I would eat somebody." She stated slowly, clearly not understanding the concept of forced starvation.

His anger boiled inside of him and he thrust his face into hers snarling viciously. "You thought three days without food was tough, try three weeks."

"That's impossible. It's impossible to go weeks without food." Bulma's large eyes reflected in the moonlight and Vegeta felt his anger lessen towards her. It wasn't her fault that she had never felt hardship. She was a pampered princess who never had to contemplate the harsher side of life.

"No it's not. Trust me. It's not." Vegeta's words were cold and empty, ringing with dark truths that her fragile psyche was unwilling to accept. How could such tragedy exist in the universe? Such pain and suffering?

She leaned further into him, gaining strength from his warm, solid body. "This is your life." It wasn't a question, but a statement of realization. She wanted to cry until she had washed away his past in a torrent of tears. He needed to have someone cry for him. He was alone in the universe. No family, no world, no lover. Nothing. Vegeta remained silent and the only thing that could be heard was the popping of the fire in the distance and the rowdy conversation of the soldiers.

"Why?" The question slipped out before she could stop her self. She almost cringed away, but instead she tightened her grip on his shirt, determined to stay near him. She didn't expect him to answer so she was surprised when she heard his velvety voice slide over her.

"Because sometimes…because I have too." His voice was stilted and for a moment it sounded almost uncertain, but then his arrogance came back full force. "There is no choice. Frieza starves us to keep us weak and malleable. Even so, we are still stronger than most of you weaklings."

Bulma did not retreat like he expected her too, but instead she rested her other hand gently at his side. Not drawing away, but pulling him closer. She nuzzled his neck, his male scent encircling her, holding her close, enticing her.

Frieza, there was that name again. He must be the tyrant that he spoke of so long ago. The snake. Belatedly Bulma remembered the story of The Hole on Frieza's ship and she shuddered with pity and sorrow. Had Vegeta ever been subject to such torture? She burned to ask questions, but self preservation stilled her tongue. Vegeta was volatile and she sensed that this subject would send him over the edge.

"But they ate her alive." She whispered, her fingers dug into his side and dragged at his shirt front. "They just tore her apart like ravenous dogs and ate her." She whispered brokenly. "How could they do such a thing?" He finally succumbed to her beckoning and he leaned his forearm flat against the wall, shortening the gap between them by several inches.

She rested her head back against his hand that was still fisted on the wall. At the brush of her silken hair he had to resist the urge to open his tight fist and run his fingers through the strands. He had never felt something as soft as her. Her hair, her skin, her entire body.

Reclining like this was almost like he was embracing her in the curve of his arm and Bulma sighed with contentment. Vegeta couldn't stop his stomach from clenching both from her gentle exhale of breath and her words.

He had heard of such practices, even witnessed it once, but never had he participated. Some warriors claimed to feel an exhilarating rush of excitement when they tore their teeth into still living flesh and hot pumping blood.

Many times Vegeta had eaten he flesh of his enemies, but only after they were long dead and properly cooked. His sleep was disturbed enough by the screams of the dead and dying to risk adding the screams of his dinner along with it.

This was why she was so frightened. He couldn't blame her for that. Even he had felt his stomach threaten to revolt at the sight. He could only imagine how his innocent angel would have reacted.

"You shouldn't run away from me. The universe is a dangerous place." She nodded in acceptance, resting her forehead against his chest. It struck him that this was the first time in his life that he had been this close to someone without being on guard with them. Even with the various whores he had laid with over the years, he had half expected them to plunge a dagger into his back.

Once when he was young, Frieza had sent him a concubine who was seeping from her very pores with poison, having been fed as a babe the most deadly of venoms. If his Saiyan senses weren't so keen, he would have never smelled her corruption and he could have died or worse so he found. It seemed that Frieza had a bet on whether he would die or if "it" would rot off instead.

He lowered his nose to the crown of her head, inhaling deeply. He smelled no taint of corruption on her, only the scent of lost innocence and fear dried on her skin.

He brushed his lips over her hair, reveling at its silkiness. She wound her hand under his arm and laid her palm flat in the valley between his shoulder blades. He tensed expecting to feel the shrieking of his senses to warn him of danger but there was nothing but calm acceptance of her touch.

"Vegeta. Have you ever…" She paused and he fought to inhale air into his shrinking lungs. "Have you ever eaten someone?"

Vegeta turned his head, gazing out to watch the soldiers. He felt nervous energy building inside of him and he wanted to be away from this place, but Gen-Seng was still casting sly glances into the shadows where they stood. He took her hand, unclenching it from his shirt, his fingers dangerously gentle. With the loss of the barrier that separated them, she leaned fully into his chest, resting her head above his heart and her arm tightened around his waist.

His eyes momentarily drifted shut at her trusting stance and he felt a rough fist seize his heart. He finally gave into his body's urges and shifted his weight so he leaned them into the wall, his weight nestling fully against her. He opened his hand and dared to let his fingers brush the strands of her hair.

He rubbed his callused thumb of his other hand across the back of her knuckles, enjoying the combination of soft skin, silken hair and her warm body.

"I have never eaten someone while they were still alive." He didn't know why he sought to comfort her. To assure her that he wasn't a complete monster, but he was driven to do so. His body tensed slightly, sure that she would still pull away at his offhanded confession that he had in the past eaten the flesh of his enemies. Although, they were already dead, he knew that it would still be repugnant to her, an insult to her innocence.

Instead, her tongue darted out tentatively, swathing a path of heat across his neck, tasting the salty maleness of him, craving it. His body rocked slightly and he could barely suppress his shock at her forwardness. He had expected rejection not an invitation.

He brought her delicate hand to his lips and his strong teeth scraped over her knuckles, nipping gently at her. Instead of embedding fear in her heart, a sensation of anticipation danced down her arm causing her breath to catch.

"Vegeta, promise me something." Her soft breath feathered over his skin, setting him on fire with wanting. Her voice was a seduction, a plea to grant her fondest wishes. Unable to reply, he grunted subtly, giving her permission to continue.

"Promise me that you won't hurt me." Already Bulma had been through so much and they had barely begun their journey to Namek. She had been sold, nearly raped and now she had witnessed first hand the horror of a purge. She did not think she would be able to survive the onslaught of the constant fear that Vegeta would eventually murder her. She didn't want to continue on the way that they had in the past. She needed some measure of reassurance. She wanted to trust Vegeta. She wanted to give herself to him for safekeeping, but she dared not too.

Vegeta felt his stomach drop out from beneath him. He knew exactly what she wanted. A promise from him not to kill her when he was through with her. To let her live without fearing him. He was shocked that she would trust any words that he would utter to her. Didn't she know that he could easily lie to her to lull her into a false sense of security? Did she so desperately want to trust him that she was willing to believe anything? Therein lay his quandary. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe that he could be honest.

The silence dragged on between them. As he mulled over her words, almost absently his tongue slithered in between her fingers to tickle the web of her hand. Tingles of sexual awareness danced up Bulma's arm causing her to sigh with unvoiced want. Vegeta's eyes glittered in the firelight as he watched the other men slowly forget about them with every swallow they took from their bottles.

"Why would I do that?" His voice dripped with cruelty but she could hear an undertone of curiosity. He truly didn't understand why he should give up his element of power by promising her such a thing. Whether it is a lie or the truth. It would be a lie, wouldn't it?

"I don't want to be afraid of you." If he would just whisper to her the words, she would believe him. She needed desperately to trust in him. She couldn't finish the journey, knowing that only her death was waiting for her in the end. Even if he did kill her, at least she could enjoy the last couple months without that threat hanging over her head.

"You should be afraid of me. By your very words, I am a dangerous man." His voice dropped an octave, his tones washing over her in a wave of velvety heat.

"I know you are a dangerous man. I just don't want you to be a danger to me." After her terror filled night on this nightmare planet, Bulma was forced to accept certain truths. Vegeta was a monster, created by a demon to wreck havoc on the masses. There was no sugar coating it or sidestepping it. He really was what he was and she had no choice but to accept it. She just wanted some measure of assurance that he would try to be at least half way decent when dealing with her. She knew he had it in him. He just needed a chance to display it. If someone had to take the risk and have faith in him, it might as well be her.

Vegeta turned her hand over, marveling at how soft and small it was. He pressed a gentle kiss to her palm before he pulled away from her to stare down into her blue eyes. He couldn't lie to her, yet he couldn't give her what she wanted either. His innocent one was just going to have to learn that she could only rely on herself and no one else.

"Well, one can always hope." He encircled her small wrist with his larger hand and yanked her away from the wall. He could see the pain he caused her flutter across her open features and he had to harden himself against her. He could not allow her weakness to become his.

"Time to go now, Bitchess." And with that he dragged her off into the darkness.