Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Vow ❯ Silent No More ( Chapter 1 )

Title: Silent Vow

Author: killarri

Email: killarri@yahoo.com

Rating: R(Will be moving to NC-17 in later chapters)

Warnings: Language, violence, and major Yamcha bashing. This is a major AU! If you don't like AU's then run the other way now! hehehe

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ. Akira Toriyama, Toei, FUNimation, and a whole bunch of other people that I do not know own it. I'm borrowing the characters without consent and absolutely no money will be made from this.

AN: Ok, there are a few things I need to explain. In this fic, everyone is human. They don't know how to fly or shoot energy blasts or anything like that. That way, physically, most people are on a level playing field. It isn't as fun if you know that just because someone's a saiyan that they're pretty much going to win in any type of combat. And also, I did this so weapons would have an effect on the characters. If you have a problem with a lot of Yamcha bashing, then don't read this. And if you do ignore the blatant warning then don't yell at me about it.

Silent Vow

Chapter One: Silent No More

"Yamcha, you're drunk." Bulma Briefs began nervously, "Why don't you go home and sleep it off?" Yamcha, her boyfriend of five years, was normally a nice though slightly obsessive person, but when drunk, he was either the life of the party or the typical insanely jealous, abusive boyfriend.

"I saw you talking to him." Yamcha said accusingly, and stumbled in his drunken stupor forward a few steps closer.

Bulma blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"What do you think?" He hissed. "I went by C.C. today and I saw you practically throw yourself at some guy."

Threw herself at some guy? What the hell was he talking about? The only men at C.C. that weren't old enough to be her father were colleagues. Her only interaction with the men at work was professional. She would never "practically throw herself" at one.

"Maybe you just saw something and misread it…" Bulma offered with a slight shrug, hoping against hope that maybe he would just leave it alone. It had been a long day for the vice president of Capsule Corporation; tomorrow promised to be even longer, with back to back meetings all day already on her planner, and it was late, long after midnight.

He wouldn't drop it, instead yelling, "Don't fucking lie to me!" Staggering forward towards the visibly frightened woman, Yamcha hissed, "I saw you laughing and carrying on with him. You're fucking him aren't you?"

"No!" Bulma cried in outrage. "I'm not cheating on you! I wouldn't do that to you!" As the inebriated man stalked closer, she backed up nervously. She still might be able to talk him out of it, but things weren't looking good for the blue haired beauty as her gradual backpedaling halted when her back met the cool plaster of the wall. "Please, no." She whimpered, watching his erratic path towards her.

"Bitch, I told you not to lie to me." Yamcha growled then launched himself at the cowering woman. He grabbed her arm, hard, and she cried out in pain as she was ripped away from the wall and roughly thrown to the floor.

"Yamcha, please stop!" She cried, but was ignored and instead kicked in the ribs. Hearing a couple of them crack, Yamcha grinned evilly, and his foot lashed out again, in the same spot. Bulma screamed in agony as bile rose in her throat, and in a panic, her arms and legs thrashed about in a desperate attempt to get away from him.

She managed to get a few feet away from him, but within seconds the distance was closed once again, and Yamcha yanked her by the hair into a standing position. "I told you, Bulma." He sneered, and in one fast motion, smacked her across the face leaving a very red handprint in his wake.

Tears leaked from her cerulean eyes unnoticed, as she tried one last time to reason with him whispering, "I didn't cheat. I love you." His reply to the quiet declaration came in the form of another hit to the face, this time with a closed fist, and she cried out as her nose cracked under the pressure and blood dripped down her face. He let go of her hair then, and unable to stand, Bulma dropped to the floor immediately curling into a ball.

"Don't you fucking lie to me, you slut!" She heard him yell, and he began to mercilessly rain blows down upon her body. Bulma screamed in pain with every blow until eventually her voice cracked leaving her unable to utter a sound. He's going to kill me, she thought in terror. She was going to die, and no one would even know until the next day. When she didn't report for work, someone would surely call the police or check the residential section of C.C. for the missing woman.

She didn't want to die. Too many things were left unsaid or undone. She wanted to tell her parents how much she loved them and see great friends like Goku and Chi Chi one last time. If I live through this, she vowed, I'm breaking free of him. Whatever it took, she was going to leave Yamcha.

As if reading her thoughts, the blows intensified and Bulma could feel her consciousness beginning to wane as Yamcha growled, "You'll never be rid of me! I'll fucking kill you first!"

Bulma's last thought before completely losing consciousness was of her family and friends, people she loved with all her heart but hadn't been close to in recent years, mainly because of her jealous, obsessive boyfriend. I'm sorry you guys, she thought as darkness descended on her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chi Chi hummed a cheerful tune as she moved about the kitchen gathering the final ingredients for the large breakfast she was preparing. The raven haired woman was in a great mood. The school year had recently begun and so far, it was going wonderfully. It was only her second year of teaching and she was still a little green around the gills, so to speak, but all of the children in her second grade class were bright, well behaved kids, and she loved each every one as if they were her own.

That was another reason for her wonderful spirits. Unbeknownst to her husband, Goku, she learned only a week ago that she was pregnant with the couple's first child, after years of unsuccessful attempts. Chi Chi was waiting for the perfect moment to lay the news on the father-to-be, but so far, the moment hadn't come. The reason could be summed up in one word, the one downer in an otherwise amazing time: Vegeta.

Her husband's cousin had just moved to West City, and while looking for his own apartment, he was staying with them. Chi Chi made an effort to get along with the man, only because he was Goku's cousin, but to be perfectly honest, Vegeta got on her nerves. He was arrogant, self-centered, stubborn, egotistical, and just generally a pain in her ass. In the three weeks he had been staying in their modest three-bedroom home, Chi Chi hadn't spent five minutes alone with her husband.

Thank Kami the man finally found an apartment, conveniently only three blocks away from West City's 56th Police Precinct where both Goku and Vegeta worked. Unfortunately for Chi Chi, the place was being painted and wouldn't be ready to be occupied until Tuesday, a full five days away. She was literally counting the minutes until he moved out, anxious to finally tell her husband the exciting news.

Once done preparing a mouthwatering breakfast, she moved to the doorway that separated the kitchen and living room where the two men were, Vegeta reading the morning paper while Goku chuckled at the comics. "Breakfast is ready!" She hollered and quickly fixed her own plate; if she didn't get hers now, Goku would devour it all. The man loved to eat and could easily finish five servings in one meal. It was amazing that someone who ate as much as her Goku didn't gain a pound, and that was one of the things she'd always envied about him. In order to keep her girlish figure, she worked out for an hour at the gym three to four times a week and forced herself to maintain a fairly strict diet.

The two uniformed officers entered the kitchen moments after the call and began fixing their own plates. Once seated at the expensive wood dining room table, Goku smiled at his wife and chirped, "It looks great, honey." Across from him, Vegeta grunted in agreement.

They weren't even two minutes into the meal when the phone rang, which was not an unusual occurrence. Goku's colleagues at the precinct sometimes had him pick up donuts or various other things on his way into work, so Chi Chi didn't think anything of it rising to answer it with a cheerful, "Hello?"

"Uh, Chi Chi, is Goku around by chance?"

Chi Chi smiled at the voice, it had been far too long since she'd last heard it. "Dr. Briefs! Long time no speak."

"Yeah, it has been a while." The scientist agreed on a sigh. "I hate to be rude, Chi Chi, but I really need to get in touch with Goku. Is he in?"

Chi Chi frowned a moment picking up on the anxiety in his voice, but shrugged and said, "Yeah, he's right here." After handing the cordless phone to her husband, she once again began to eat her breakfast, cinnamon oatmeal with chunks of apple, only casually listening to the conversation between Goku and Bulma's father.

Goku stared at the phone for a moment, wondering why Dr. Briefs would be calling him, before shrugging it off. Bulma might have asked him to call for some reason. "Hello?" He chirped into the device.

"Goku? This is Dr. Briefs."

"Hey Dr. Briefs!" Goku exclaimed also picking up on the man's exhaustion through his voice. "How's Bulma doing?" He inquired.

"Actually," the Doctor wearily began, "that's why I'm calling. She's in the hospital."

"What?"

"Yeah, she's in critical condition." Goku could hear panic in the man's voice, and in the background, he could also hear a woman's hysterical sobbing, probably that of Mrs. Briefs, Bulma's mother. "They're not sure that she'll make it."

Goku went numb with shock. Bulma was his best friend; the two had been nearly inseparable from the day they met in sixth grade until high school graduation. She went to his wedding and was in the crowd when he graduated from the academy, just as he was there when she graduated from West City University. They hadn't been real close in recent years, though. Bulma's duties as Vice President of C.C. took a lot of her time, and Goku's shifts were always changing; some months he worked during the day while some he worked overnight. But she was still like a sister to him and the thought of losing her scared him.

"What happened?" He finally managed to ask after several minutes of uncomfortable silence.

Dr. Briefs sighed. "We're not sure. Marietta found her this morning, almost beaten to death, and called an ambulance. A police officer met the wife and I at the airport when our flight got in and escorted us to the hospital." A slight pause. "Is there anyway that you could come down here? I know the police are going to want to question her when she wakes up and I thought it might be easier for her to talk to you about it."

"Sure, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thanks Goku." Dr. Briefs said and though his tone still carried anxiousness in it, he sounded a bit relieved. "I'm going to try to find someone who knows something. I'll see you when you get here."

"Alright. See you, Dr. Briefs." Goku replied somberly. He pushed the off button on the phone and turned to face his visibly worried wife. Quietly, he began relating the tale, "The maid found Bulma this morning, badly beaten, and she's in the hospital. Dr. Briefs said they're not sure that she'll make it."

Chi Chi gasped sharply. Bulma was one of her closest friends. In high school, they did everything together, cheerleading, basketball, debate, and even volunteer work. Bulma was the one who set her up with Goku, during second semester of their freshman year of high school. Bulma was even the matron of honor at her wedding; though they hadn't been as close in recent months, Bulma was still the first person to learn of her pregnancy. How could something like this happen to such a wonderful person?

"Oh my God." She finally breathed out. "What happened?"

"They don't know." Goku replied. "I'm going to go down there to talk to them." He turned back to the forgotten meal in front of him, and began shoveling it in his mouth hurriedly.

Chi Chi grabbed the phone and at her husband's questioning look, she explained, "If I can get someone to sub my class, I'll go too." She got up and quietly exited the room, phone in hand, and walked briskly down the hall to the master bedroom she shared with Goku. In the drawer of the large oak desk in the corner of the room, there was a list with the home phone numbers for the area's substitute teachers. Pulling it out, Chi Chi glanced at her watch and sighed. She only had thirty minutes to find someone and could only hope that some kind soul wouldn't mind taking her class on such short notice.

In the kitchen, the two men quickly finished eating and piled the dirty dishes in the sink. Once finished with that task, Goku headed off down the hall in search of his wife. He found her in the bedroom, furiously dialing the phone, and poking his head in the doorway, he asked, "Find anyone, yet?"

Chi Chi shook her head. "Why don't you go on ahead and I'll come if I can find someone?"

"Alright." He replied walking into the room. He stopped in front of her, and tenderly gazed down at the raven haired woman who had stolen his heart years ago. She was his everything, his high school sweetheart, his greatest confidant, his staunchest defender, the light of his life. Silently, he offered a few words of thanks to God for allowing her in his life; he didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her. He didn't even want to think about it. Leaning forward at the waist, he kissed her forehead softly, and whispered, "I love you, Chi."

"I love you too." She responded quietly. As Goku turned to exit the room, she added, "Leave a message on my phone if anything changes." He nodded before leaving the room, and with a heavy sigh, Chi Chi returned to the list that, by now, was only left with ten numbers untried.

"You ready to go?" Goku asked his cousin as he returned to the kitchen. Seeing the shorter man's sharp nod, he walked briskly to the front door, pausing to retrieve his wallet and keys from a small table, and out to the silver 1995 two-door Honda Civic that sat next to Chi Chi's red 1993 Toyota Corolla.

"Who's Bulma?" Vegeta questioned quietly once they were on the main interstate highway through downtown West City. The name Briefs was important, that he knew, but he just couldn't remember where it was from. It wasn't from politics or the variety of pop culture icons, musicians, actors, and the like, and the fact that he couldn't place it was driving him mad.

"My best friend since middle school. You met her at my wedding."

"I did?" He honestly couldn't remember the name Bulma from anywhere, but then again, he wasn't exactly perfectly sober at the reception after the ceremony and could've met the Pope and forgotten.

"Yeah. She was the blue haired woman that was Chi Chi's matron of honor." Goku explained as the car veered off of the highway, and onto the crowded city streets only a few blocks away from West City Memorial Hospital.

Vegeta searched his memory but could only recall the vaguest details of his meeting with the woman; it had been over six years since then after all. He did remember being introduced to her, but they hadn't talked that much. She was beautiful, he recalled, standing about 5' 6" tall, with long aquamarine curls and large sapphire eyes. But there was still something tickling the back of his mind about the woman's last name, something that he should know. "Where have I heard the name Briefs?" He muttered, mostly to himself, but his cousin overheard.

"They own Capsule Corporation." Goku supplied from the drivers seat as he pulled into the parking garage across the street from the busy medical center.

Vegeta scowled at his own inability to come up with that information. The Briefs' were one of the richest families in the world, and that alone hinted at a motive behind the woman's brutal beating. Perhaps Bulma had walked in on a robbery in progress at her home. Perhaps it was a simple as being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Unable to find a parking spot any closer, Goku was forced to park on the eighth floor of the garage. As the two men rode the elevator to the ground floor, he shoved his worry for his best friend aside and took several deep, calming breaths. He had to approach the situation from a professional standpoint, as a police officer, and not as the victim's long-time friend. In order to find out what had happened to her, he had to remain calm and objective.

Once inside the revolving glass doors, they approached the front desk, greeted by a nice looking brunette who looked to be in her mid-twenties. "Can I help you with something, officers?"

Goku nodded. "I'm looking for a woman brought in by the name of Bulma Briefs."

She turned to the computer console next to her and began furiously tapping at the keyboard. A few moments later, she explained, "Miss Briefs has been taken into emergency surgery. If you want to wait, the waiting room is on the second floor, to the right."

Goku politely thanked the woman, and the two made their way to the aforementioned waiting room. Inside, Dr. Briefs paced up and down the length of the room hand on chin, apparently deep in thought, while his wife dabbed at her red eyes with a white silk handkerchief. Goku was surprised, however, to see 18, another one of their friends from high school, sitting quietly the chair next to Mrs. Briefs and in her EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) uniform.

"Any word yet?" He asked the blonde paramedic who shook her head. "What are you doing here anyway?"

18 sighed and stood. She led both officers to the corner of the room opposite Bulma's worried parents, and explained, "I'm the one who got the call."

Goku pulled out a small notepad, flipping it open, and a pen to take notes and asked, "Was there anything unusual about the house when you entered?"

"Not really. Most of the house was neat and orderly like it always is, but the living room was trashed. The table had been knocked over, books from the bookshelf were thrown about the room, and there were several broken beer bottles."

"Is that where Bulma was?"

18 nodded silently.

Goku scribbled in the pad using his own form of shorthand that no one else could understand. "What type of injuries did she sustain?" He asked softly; though as Bulma's friend, he didn't really want to know the gory details, the professional side needed to know. Every bit of information could prove to be a vital piece of the puzzle.

The paramedic sighed heavily; it hadn't been a pretty sight. In her short tenure in her occupation, only a year, she had never seen so much blood. And the fact that it was her friend, not some nameless face, was what made it so much more difficult to handle. "Basically, her right arm was broken as well as her left leg, several ribs were fractured; she suffered several blows to the head as well as a broken nose, and the blood…" she trailed off, "God, it was everywhere." Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself slightly and forced the rest of the story out, "Her blood pressure was low and her heartbeat was almost nonexistent when we arrived. She flat lined on the trip, but I was able to get her heart going again with the defibrillator." Once the paramedic in her had finished giving a professional analysis of the woman's injuries, the friend in her continued in a shaky voice, "I don't know if she'll make it, Goku. She lost a god-awful amount of blood."

The officer pulled his friend into a hug. "She'll be okay. Bulma's a fighter, she'll pull through." He reassured her, though he shared the paramedic's fears. From the general description of the injuries Bulma had sustained, the next few hours would be critical for her. She was literally knocking on death's door and Goku could only pray that the Grim Reaper would not be home when she came calling.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pain.

The first thing to make it to her conscious mind was unbelievable pain. Every muscle and limb throbbed, and Bulma felt as if she'd been run over by a truck. Groaning, her eyes slowly fluttered open and instinctively shut again at the bright, blinding white light. She was dead, that was the only explanation. But was there supposed to be pain after death?

Steeling herself against the light, her eyes fluttered open again, and stayed open this time. There was nothing but white light for the first few seconds, and just as she began to panic, her vision began to focus. She was in the middle of what looked like a hospital room, with various tubes and lines stuck in her body. One arm and one leg were set into white plaster casts, and from the little she could see, the rest of her body was covered in cuts and bruises.

Well, she wasn't dead.

Now, how did she get here? It had been a long day, she recalled. Around 12:30 am, she was just changing into her nightgown preparing for bed when the door bell rang. It was Yamcha.

"Yamcha." She breathed in a choked sob. He'd almost killed her this time, and if there ever were a next time, he would certainly finally end her life.

Never again, she vowed. He didn't love her; he couldn't if he could raise a hand against her. And she'd stopped loving him a long time ago. It was time to break free, to live her life the way she wanted. She was beautiful, smart, and rich, and somewhere, there was a man who would love her and protect her. That was what she deserved, not to be a punching bag.

She looked up as the door opened and her parents entered the room followed by a uniformed Goku, a doctor, and another uniformed police officer with wild, upswept ebony hair and vaguely, she recognized that she'd met him before though the details were sketchy in her mind. Her parents and Goku smiled as they approached, obviously relived to see her awake.

"Oh Bulma! We were so worried about you." Her mother cried, dabbing at her teary, red-rimmed eyes with a delicate, white silk handkerchief. She enveloped her daughter in a tight hug, careful of the IV's, before stepping back to let her husband do the same.

Bulma's eyes watered as she returned the hugs as best as she could since mobility was an issue at the moment. Thank you God for not taking me yet, she thought, happy to just be alive. "Sorry to worry you guys." She managed with a hoarse, raspy voice.

"Who did this to you, Princess?" Dr. Briefs asked, rubbing at his own bloodshot eyes.

She opened her mouth to reply as another lame excuse came immediately to mind. But for the first time in the past year, she refused to utter it, instead finally vocalizing her silent terror to the world with one word, "Yamcha."

AN: So what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Should be taken off the internet? Please, give me feedback! Positive comments, constructive criticism, and even flames are welcomed and appreciated (well, not so much flames, but I always get a good laugh out of them). I am desperately seeking a beta reader. If you would like to beta this story and the rewrite of "What Once Was Lost" please let me know in either a review or e-mail sent to the address at the beginning of the chapter.

Next time: How will Bulma's parents and friends react to the whole story? What will happen when Yamcha finds out that she's spilled the beans? More importantly, will Bulma ever be able to move on and heal the scars left on her heart?