Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Hybrid ❯ Wolf in Sheep's Clothing ( Chapter 21 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Ravenreux 
Lots of inner turmoil and a traitor caught in the act.
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 441 | Status: Completed
Lots of inner turmoil and a traitor caught in the act.
Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Romance / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 05.11.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 5.3K | Visits: 441 | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ...Akira Toriyama does...and that's not my name...so bad luck for me.
Chapter 21
Fools. They're all fools.
He flexed his fists to control the rush of anger he felt in response to the blatant disregard for protocol. Foolishness was a fault of youth, and it was up to the elders to remedy those flaring mistakes. Dark eyes narrowing, he turned his attention to the vast array of controls spread out before him. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Reaching out with his meaty paw of a hand, he expertly hacked into the computer mainframe.
He hadn't thought the commander was even capable of being led astray, but the power of the mangy half-breed was too strong a pull for his young leader to resist. He'd become a victim of his own lifestyle and the consequences were grievious. Snorting, he wormed his way into the communications server and shut off the automatic recording devices. The boy should have taken my advice and spent some quality time with the whores. A dehydrated man will drown when he's given water.
And now it's time to for him to learn from his mistake.
The internal fans whirred within the machines and the screen bloomed up in front of his face, bathing him in a sickly bright light. He dropped his eyes to discourage the momentary blindness and swiftly typed in the address of the person he was was trying to reach. The other end of the transmission was picked up immediately.
"Is this secure?"
He smirked despite himself. "Yes. It seems that my esteemed leader has become preoccupied."
"I always said he was a half-wit." The figure on the screen crossed his arms and scowled. "The half-breed?"
"Correct. I assume that Zarbon's reconnaissance was successful?"
"He confirmed what you have already told me. How long did it take for her to sink her claws into our little prince?" He held up the back of his hand and gave the impression of examining it, while the both of them knew what really had his attention.
"That ship sailed long before she ever made a physical appearance. I dumbly managed to glean information out of the Major. She is the same mongrel that shadowed him for nearly a year before you destroyed Vejitasei." His long tail twitched around his waist. In all his long years, not once had he ever imagined himself playing a simpleton in order to spy on his commander. It constantly ate at his pride when his actions earned him looks of severe pity, but if it meant blowing his pride to smithereens to spare his life, then he was willing. And they think the Saiyan no Ouji is a traitor. Treason was punishable by death in a normal Saiyan society, but the last time he'd actually seen one of those, it had been a society of rotting corpses.
The Emperor's pale skin glowed ghostly in the darkness, like a demonic apparition hell-bent on destruction. "I presumed as much." His eyes blazed like oxygen-gorged flames. "Fuck!" The expletive was snarled so viciously that his confidant took a step backward before remembering he was halfway across the universe. "I can't fucking stand loose ends!" He turned away and started to pace, his thick pale tail cracking behind him like a whip. "I should've fucking gutted that brainless shitbag and strangled him with his entrails when I had the chance!" He jerked back to the screen and pointed menacingly. "Remind me never to leave anything up to that bastard Zarbon again."
Nappa gave him a nod. He had no doubt that the Lord would follow up on his word if given the chance. "Duly noted, Milord." In his mind, the spineless son-of-a-bitch wasn't worth the air that kept his sniveling ass alive. He glanced at the small clock readout on the keyboard. "Milord, my time is waning and I have one more piece of crucial imformation to give."
Frieza's brow raised as he stilled. "And what might that be?"
He took a calming breath before dropping the bomb. "Your Scientific Advisor just happens to be that meddling wench's sire."
"Well, well." He chuckled. "What a small universe it is." He scratched his smooth chin with a single claw a moment in thought. "Tell me again why you still refuse to give me your location. I wish to know how a subordinate could possible possess the gall to refuse me."
Nappa gritted his teeth at the pointed barb, but remained calm. Raising my ki would alert my 'commander'. "Milord, I do believe that Vegeta must be lulled into a false sense of security. I think, given a month's time, that he will be overly confident with the peace and too blinded by his lust for the bitch to see the attack."
Frieza mulled this over for a moment. "He is a wiley creature, is he not?" He smirked. "Alright, I will heed to your advise, but only because I like a strong character. It's not too often I am denied what I want."
"Thank you, Milord." Nappa bowed.
"But make sure to remind your asinine self that it will the only time I will do so. Do not allow any thoughts of supremacy to enter that feeble piece of shit you call a mind." He turned his back to the screen and waved his hand dismissively. "To do such a thing would mean your excruciatingly painful end." The transmission ended.
Nappa's lip curled back as he tapped on the keys. Smug bastard. He closed the screen and started to reinstate the default functions when a rustle of cloth sounded behind him. Whipping around, he caught a movement near the doorway. Shit! Had he really been so careless as to forget whose company he was in? A bead of sweat broke out on his brow as his heavy gaze continued to stare at the steel threshold of the bridge. He quickly finished with the computer and stilled the twitch in his hands. Whoever had been there had fled when he finally caught on to their presence, and he knew without a doubt that neither Vegeta nor Raditz would have commited such an act of cowardice.
One of those bitches in heat.
Growling softly, he tred lightly to where the culprit had been standing and scented the air around him. No trace of human blood tainted the air. So, it was the pure-blood. He wasn't entirely sure how much of his clandestine conversation had been overheard, but he didn't expect much of a confrontation. The one that called herself Celipa wasn't much in the fighting department and he wasn't sure if she was aligned enough with Radtiz to tell him. So be it. If push came to shove and he was forced to do damage control, then he'd definitely have some fun doing it.
He rubbed his hands together as he strode back to his quarters, envisioning her clean Saiyan blood running down his arms.
Later in the day
Bulma put a hand up to cover her mouth as a lengthy yawn escaped it. The actual amount of time she'd spent cooped up in the lab had become irrelevant hours ago, but she did know that the planet's blue sun had just passed the horizon when she'd locked herself in. She pursed her lips and looked out the small bay window. The periwinkle blue sunshine blazed down from mid-sky, making her stay close to eight hours.
Still almost eight more hours 'til sundown and I can't stay in here forever.
The prick of cowardice twinged against her spine like a physical blow. Snapping up out of her chair, she swiped the antique fountain pen off the metallic table and jotted some notes down on the paper notebook she'd found buried in the storage closet. Her script was long and flowing as she dragged the tip against the pressed fiber of the paper. She blinked dreamily as the pentip slipped off the end of the page, jarring her out of the trance she'd lulled herself into. "Shit." She dropped the pen on the pad and rested her face in her hands, elbows propped up on the table. What was I thinking?
She sagged back into the stiff-backed chair and let her arms fall limply to drag her fingers along the cold steel floor. For a scientific genius, I'm a champion dumbass. What had started out as a comfortably peaceful night of dreamless sleep, had transformed into a morning worthy of Satan.
"It's a little late for you to be skittish now."
"Fuck you Veghead." She kicked her heel against the table leg out of spite and sent it across the lab. The notebook was thrown to the floor to lie in a mangled heap at her feet. Glaring disdainfully at it, she stood up and whirled away to stare out the window. Leave it to that monkey-brain to think my refusal for morning sex was nerves! "Ah!" She hammered both fists into the wall on either side of the circular porthole. "I. Am. Not. Skittish. Horses and deer are skittish, not Saiyan hybrid assassins." She took her bottom lip into her teeth and uncurled her fists to lay the palms flat. But I know what he would say to that.
"Still a weak female."
She, very easily, pulled his face up into her mind. Maybe he's right. She leaned her forehead against the toasty glass of the window and stared blankly into the blue-hued dunes, not really seeing them at all. Her eyes were looking back to what had happened earlier....
Flashback:
His rough hands grabbed her waist tightly, dragging her out of her deep slumber instantly. "What are you doing?" Her voice was more like a throaty croak.
"Just cashing in on a raincheck." He pulled her up against him, so she was laid out beneath him on the bed. His mouth was busy leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses on her collarbone, while he easily propped himself up on one arm and caressed the back of her thigh with the other.
Bulma's eyes rolled shut as her breathing quickened. His aroused scent perferated the air around her and she could feel him pressed hard against her hip. "Geta..." Her back arched slightly and with it came a shock of pain that clamped her mouth shut tightly. The throbbing she'd thought was her own arousal, was in fact her entire body revolting against her. He moved his mouth towards the still red bite-mark and used the hand on her thigh to push them apart. She fought for a moment as the pain flared along her nerves, but he simply out-muscled her. She grimaced slightly as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "Vegeta, stop." She felt his chuckled breath against the crook of her ear as he continued unheeded. She grabbed at his wrists and jerked away. "I said stop."
He pulled his head back and scowled. "What?"
She saw his confusion and swallowed. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just-"
"It's a little late for you to be skittish now." He smirked and reached for her, fingers brushing along her sensitive ribcage. "Onna, you won't be so inexperienced when I get done with you."
She felt herself bristle with anger and threw trying to explain herself out the proverbial window. "Well, in that case, you and your hand can get real cozy." She whirled around and slipped off the smooth bedsheets to stand on the opposite side, well out of his reach as the pain nearly shattered her raging composure.
"Onna." His whisper was deadly with it's intensity.
Blinking back tears of agony, she pulled out her best possible glare. "If you ever want to get near this 'inexperienced'-" She held up her hands and quoted in the air. "- body again, I suggest you rethink your strategy." She felt exposed under his harsh gaze, but it was dulled by the ache between her legs, the throbbing of her bruised bones, and the burning sting of her burns.
A loud knock sounded at the door and neither of them spared it a glance. She crossed her arms, blue eyes glittering dangerously as she held his glare. The knock sounded again and she lifted a brow before breaking away, striding over to open the door and taking care to disguise the limp in her stride. "Raditz."
His brow furrowed perplexed, as he blinked down into her face. He cleared his throat when he noticed what she was wearing. "..Bulma."
She dared him to comment as she strode out into the hall, chin raised stubbornly. "I plan on seeing you in the lab later."
He only nodded his head dumbly in response. "Sure."
"And another thing," She glared at the bunched muscles of Vegeta's back. "My name isn't Onna. It's Bulma!" Clenching her fists, she stalked off toward her quarters.
End Flashback
Tears slipped down her cheeks as her hands slipped away from the wall to wrap themselves around her. There was no doubt in her mind that he thought of her as skittish. I certainly gave him enough proof. She'd practically run out of there like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. "A definite killer for the strong, independent female image."
Sniffing, she held out her arms and stared at the burns and bruises that had still yet to fully heal. And weak too. She was positive that a full-blooded Saiyan female would've been able to please her mate, regardless of the beatings recieved the day previous. Even the pain of losing her virgin statis would have been irrelevent, as the normal Saiyan healing speed was nearly double her own. It just serves as another reminder of my place. She curled her tail around to stare at the brilliant teal fur, reaching out and grasping it in her hands and rubbing. She may have the strength, speed, and tail, but she would never truly fit in with her bizarre coloring and fragile build. Always a halfling.
Always an outsider.
A soft knock on the door loosened the death grip she had on her tail and she pushed away her troublesome thoughts. Bulma ignored the screaming of her thighs as she squatted and retrieved her notes before striding over and allowing Raditz to enter the lab. "Took you long enough." She didn't meet his eyes and swiped at her tears the second her back was turned.
He'd felt a strange cloud over her ki as he'd approached the door, but the feeling was gone the second he'd knocked. I wonder if this has anything to do with this morning? He stepped through the doorway and stopped. "I was...ah...detained."
Bulma snorted softly. "An apt term." She may have squirreled herself away in the lab all day, but it hadn't stopped her from keeping tabs on Vegeta. In her absence, he'd turned to Raditz to relieve the need to inflict pain. She righted the awry table and gestured toward a chair on the other side. "Come, sit. Let me have my way with you."
Her attention was trained on the book in her hand, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to catch the sarcasm in her voice. They're more alike than they know. Shaking his head, he strode over and sat in the chair. "You know I'm not here because I want to be."
"I know." She set down the notebook. "And I apologize for any unwarranted action that Vegeta took today." She wanted to scream and squirm under his heavy gaze.
Raditz rolled his eyes and snatched her wrist when she brought the strap to tie off his arm. "Stop apologizing for him. He's a grown man." He released her when she blinked her startled eyes at him. Good. At least I have your attention now.
She hesitated a moment before yanking the belt's vise-like grip on his bicep. "I know that." She clipped the buckle. "It's just that I dislike having other people fight my battles." She swiped her sideswept bangs out of her face and snapped her index and middle finger againt the slightly bulging veins at his elbow.
"Is that really what I intruded on earlier? A battle?" His eyes followed hers to the blue network of veins below the severely tight strap. She stepped away to gather the supplies and in doing so, hesistated before answering. She sighed and turned back around, twisting a needle onto a fat glass tube.
Grasping his arm, she swiped the spot with alcohol and popped the needle through his skin. "I'm not really sure I know." Her demeanor was somewhat resigned as she watched his dark red blood fill the tube. "It was just a simple misunderstanding that I allowed my anger to turn into a quarrel." She retracted the thin metal needle from his arm and pressed a thick pad of gauze over the wound. "It's a fault I've come to detest."
He took over pressing the gauze down as she traded the tube for another. "Don't be so quick to hang this all on yourself. Vegeta has always lacked-" He frowned a moment. "- a certain tact for that kind of thing."
Bulma snorted as she came back for round two. "Agreed. He assumes what he wants about things and refuses to be negated of his assumption." She almost missed the vein as she recalled his voice. "It's a little late for you to be skittish now."
"You know him better than I thought." He eyed the slight tremor of her hand.
She lifted her bent head to meet his eyes coolly. "And just what are you insinuating?"
The flat tone of her voice had him raising his free hand in defense. "Nothing. I wouldn't dare be so presumptious." He didn't like being the recipient of such an icy stare.
I'll bet. She mirrored her earlier ministrations and pressed more gauze to stem the blood flow. She knew that she could bring up the entire issue of his 'dealing' with Celipa, but that would be like hitting him below the belt and she wasn't that kind of person. Yeah. She grabbed a dressing and wrapped it around his arm. You keep telling yourself that, girl. "That's good. I wouldn't want to get ''presumptious'' about you and someone else, who I'll refrain from identifying at this time."
Raditz laughed wholeheartedly. "Touche`" He stood up and flexed his bandaged arm. "Remind me never to try and debate you."
Bulma didn't really think that qualified as a debate tactic, but her point had been made just the same. She organized and labeled the heavy tubes of blood, deciding to switch to a less-touchy subject. "Do you recall the other day when you and Vegeta spoke about my Otousan?"
"Yes." His dark brows furrowed as he leaned against the lab bench.
She smiled at his wary tone. "Relax, will ya?" She set down the tray of blood and crossed her arms under her breasts while turning to face him. "I just want to know what the deal with Chikyuu is. The transmission from my Tousan said that my crew was heading towards Chikyuu to meet up with a Captain. I just want to know what's going on." She took a breath and slowed down. "It's just that I feel totally lost and wandering around in the unknown." She shifted her all her weight to her right leg. "Do you know what that does to someone like me? I swear that I'm going to have an anxiety attack."
He smirked. "Was that humor I just heard?"
She growled halfheartedly. "Just answer my question." She didn't want to admit to having rationalized her unease.
"Alright." He sighed and went back to the chair he'd occupied. "But you may want to sit down for this."
Why does it feel like I'm not going to like this? She eyed him curiously as she dragged her stiff, metal chair and plopped herself down. "I'm sitting."
Chikyuu
He twisted the metal this way and that, judging just how much he'd have to take off. Measuring a small bit of ki, he eyed the shape once more before lasering off a slight sliver of steel that curled up and floated down onto the tabletop. The image was emerging a cut at a time, slowly coming to life in his hands. It was an ookami, but right now it only vaguely resembled those of Chikyuu. Turles cocked his head to the side and sighted down the long snout, examining it down the smallest detail. Bit by bit, the metal was being transformed into the rangy creature that had been slinking around their mountian base.
Setting it down, he scrutinized the small carving, comparing it to the vividly exact picture in his mind. The thick ruff around it's neck wasn't quite as sleek as the one collaring the real animal. He took hold of the metal and made the minute revisions, setting it back down just as the door opened behind him. "Turles."
He rubbed his hands together and swiveled around in his chair. "Well, I'll be damned." Leveling his brother with a hard stare, he pushed up out of his seat and crossed his arms. "If it isn't my esteemed leader Bardock."
"Save it. I want you up in the conference room in fifteen minutes." His lone eye was closed in an exasperated fashion, leaving only the blood red sash tied about his head to stare at his sibling. "No goofing around."
"Yes kaasan." Turles rolled his eyes, the tip of his umber tail flicking back and forth with indifference.
Bardock bit his tongue. It wouldn't do well to provoke his brother into a bitter rage, to which he was prone, and put further strain on their already shaken relationship. It was as if in coming to this planet he'd violated some unspoken tether of trust between them, and this constant air of nonchalance was a cloaking mechanism for extreme alertness. He'd only met his brother a handful of times before Frieza destroyed their home, and Turles had made quite the living as a bounty hunter. And when he wasn't collecting money, you could always hire him as an assassin. He looked over the unscarred and much younger version of himself and sighed. Turles was a born killer and even now, as seemingly relaxed as he appeared, was lethally efficient. He knew without a doubt, that despite their blood bond, that his younger sibling wouldn't hesitate to cut him down if threatened.
Bardock's prolonged silence put him on edge. "Was there something else?"
He opened his eye and gave him a smile that passed better as a frown. "I hope that this meeting will give you what you want to know." He turned to leave, murmuring over his shoulder as he did so. "I didn't intend for this to happen."
Turles could only stare at the empty doorway. If that was his attempt at a fucking apology, then I refuse to accept it. The angered thought shook him and he had to sit back down. When had he turned against his own brother? He scrubbed his calloused hands over his face and sighed. I shouldn't ask such idiotic questions. I know full well when I turned on him.
He'd been almost five standard years when his Kaasan had called him a 'bastard' in a fit of rage over innocent troublemaking. The blow had been vicious and although she'd apologized profusely afterward, the sting had never been relieved. The anger came later when he'd found out just who his sire was- a Saiyan Elite whose bonded mate had been killed in battle. Saiyan may have been a barbaric race, but they held true to their beliefs. Being the product of an unbonded coupling wasn't punishable by death, but it wasn't exactly accepted either. It was nearly impossible not to become a void of hate when 'bastard' was always being whispered behing your back. And that resevoir of hate had been ignited into a dormant rage when he'd learned of his sire's other whelp- a son born of his bonded mate. It had taken him almost a year to find him and when he had, Bardock had welcomed him warmly. All the ugly, black thoughts he'd envisioned were dampened by the unaccustomed acceptance from the scientist's apprentice. He'd stayed only a day before disappearing.
Shaking his head, Turles got up and started walking to the conference room upstairs. All my painstakingly stored hatred had been throttled down to nothing in a single day without hearing the word 'bastard'. And it had to be the one person I despised more than life itself to be the only one willing to accept me as an equal. It hadn't been long after that, that he found his niche in killing for hire. Sure, it was like selling yourself, but it fulfilled his need for blood and money. It hadn't been until he'd come upon Bardock a few years after the destruction of Vejitasei that he'd understood why he'd wanted to kill so much. He scratched his bicep as he stared blankly at the floor while he walked. I killed so I'd could rid myself of the desire to kill Bardock.
The shock of shame at that thought still made him shiver. It had been that same shame that made him stay and join his brother's band of outcasts. He smirked a little. Not that Kakarrot helped much. I just couldn't stand the thought of making him share the experience I had.....fatherless and alone. And by then even Bardock was aware of his struggle. He'd tried to explain to him once that it had been their Tousan's fault, but the small fact of being called out on his feelings had made him nearly beat Bardock to death. Afterward, he'd realized that his brother'd been right and had started the beginnings of the tenous partnership they had now. A partnership that was in jeopardy because he felt that Bardock's judgement could no longer be trusted.
"I believe the phrase is 'a penny for your thoughts', but I've never been a fan of human cliches."
Turles jerked away from the monotone voice beside him and glared at the dark-haired andriod. Where the fuck did he come from? He felt like kicking his own ass for being so ignorant to his surroundings. Growling, he turned back to stare down the hallway they were in. "You were human once."
"Yes, for about twenty years." Juunana smirked as the Saiyan scowled. "But I can no longer be classified as such. Too many bolt-on parts."
He almost tripped. Did he just make a joke? Turles glanced at him from the corner of his eye and forced himself to relax. Ok, maybe he's not that bad. "I'm going to admit that I don't think you're malfunctioning enough to believe I'd actually tell you what's on my mind." He paused at the set of doors leading to the conference room. "And I don't believe for a second that you'd actually care."
Juunana smiled. "You are much smarter than I gave you credit for, Saiyan."
Turles grunted as he pushed through the doors. "If you only knew." He ignored the android's quiet chuckle and surveyed the room. All the others were there- Bardock, Toma, Kakarrot(carrying the girl Chichi on his back), Krillin, and Juuhachi. They all stood haphazardly around the room, all facing the enormous screen at the front of the room. His dark orbs met with Bardock's and he leaned against the wall beside him. "So. What's the deal?"
Bardock's hard expression didn't change. "I know that for the past week I have been unreachable and preoccupied."
"Understatement of the year." Turles yawned.
He ignored the comment as if he hadn't spoken. "It is now time for you to learn what I have learned and what tasks have been laid out before each of you." He gestured towards the screen. "Tonight you will be meeting the other players in this game, with the exception of a select few, and what roles each of you must play in the coming fight."
"Get on with it already." His exasperation led to a few severe looks of disdain. Turles didn't care.
"It would only be fitting for you be told of these things by the one person that has 'gotten the ball rolling', as Chikyuu-jins say." He pressed a key on the small board beside him and the blank screen flashed to life. "I would like to introduce Dr. Trunks Briefs."
A/N: I know it's been awhile...and I profusely apologize. I just got a new job and have been in the financial toilet lately, so I've been a little preoccupied. That, and I had to go back and look at my plot again....there was a bit of confusion on my part. Hehe...I tend to go off on tangents...so I had to make sure I stayed on track. I really think that my chapters are getting better and better as I go.....like my characterization and dialogue are improving, as well as weaving the romance and action together without giving one more attention than the other. Also, I don't want to sound like a review whore or anything, but I get a ton more hits than I do reviews. I'd really like to know what everybody thinks.....the good, the bad, and the ugly....I don't really care, but I'd like to know your opinons.
To those of you that have reviewed.......I luv you guys!!!! Thanx so effin' much for telling me how much you like it!!! I always look forward to seeing what'cha think of my stuff!!! Thanx!!!
Chapter 21
Fools. They're all fools.
He flexed his fists to control the rush of anger he felt in response to the blatant disregard for protocol. Foolishness was a fault of youth, and it was up to the elders to remedy those flaring mistakes. Dark eyes narrowing, he turned his attention to the vast array of controls spread out before him. If you want something done, you have to do it yourself. Reaching out with his meaty paw of a hand, he expertly hacked into the computer mainframe.
He hadn't thought the commander was even capable of being led astray, but the power of the mangy half-breed was too strong a pull for his young leader to resist. He'd become a victim of his own lifestyle and the consequences were grievious. Snorting, he wormed his way into the communications server and shut off the automatic recording devices. The boy should have taken my advice and spent some quality time with the whores. A dehydrated man will drown when he's given water.
And now it's time to for him to learn from his mistake.
The internal fans whirred within the machines and the screen bloomed up in front of his face, bathing him in a sickly bright light. He dropped his eyes to discourage the momentary blindness and swiftly typed in the address of the person he was was trying to reach. The other end of the transmission was picked up immediately.
"Is this secure?"
He smirked despite himself. "Yes. It seems that my esteemed leader has become preoccupied."
"I always said he was a half-wit." The figure on the screen crossed his arms and scowled. "The half-breed?"
"Correct. I assume that Zarbon's reconnaissance was successful?"
"He confirmed what you have already told me. How long did it take for her to sink her claws into our little prince?" He held up the back of his hand and gave the impression of examining it, while the both of them knew what really had his attention.
"That ship sailed long before she ever made a physical appearance. I dumbly managed to glean information out of the Major. She is the same mongrel that shadowed him for nearly a year before you destroyed Vejitasei." His long tail twitched around his waist. In all his long years, not once had he ever imagined himself playing a simpleton in order to spy on his commander. It constantly ate at his pride when his actions earned him looks of severe pity, but if it meant blowing his pride to smithereens to spare his life, then he was willing. And they think the Saiyan no Ouji is a traitor. Treason was punishable by death in a normal Saiyan society, but the last time he'd actually seen one of those, it had been a society of rotting corpses.
The Emperor's pale skin glowed ghostly in the darkness, like a demonic apparition hell-bent on destruction. "I presumed as much." His eyes blazed like oxygen-gorged flames. "Fuck!" The expletive was snarled so viciously that his confidant took a step backward before remembering he was halfway across the universe. "I can't fucking stand loose ends!" He turned away and started to pace, his thick pale tail cracking behind him like a whip. "I should've fucking gutted that brainless shitbag and strangled him with his entrails when I had the chance!" He jerked back to the screen and pointed menacingly. "Remind me never to leave anything up to that bastard Zarbon again."
Nappa gave him a nod. He had no doubt that the Lord would follow up on his word if given the chance. "Duly noted, Milord." In his mind, the spineless son-of-a-bitch wasn't worth the air that kept his sniveling ass alive. He glanced at the small clock readout on the keyboard. "Milord, my time is waning and I have one more piece of crucial imformation to give."
Frieza's brow raised as he stilled. "And what might that be?"
He took a calming breath before dropping the bomb. "Your Scientific Advisor just happens to be that meddling wench's sire."
"Well, well." He chuckled. "What a small universe it is." He scratched his smooth chin with a single claw a moment in thought. "Tell me again why you still refuse to give me your location. I wish to know how a subordinate could possible possess the gall to refuse me."
Nappa gritted his teeth at the pointed barb, but remained calm. Raising my ki would alert my 'commander'. "Milord, I do believe that Vegeta must be lulled into a false sense of security. I think, given a month's time, that he will be overly confident with the peace and too blinded by his lust for the bitch to see the attack."
Frieza mulled this over for a moment. "He is a wiley creature, is he not?" He smirked. "Alright, I will heed to your advise, but only because I like a strong character. It's not too often I am denied what I want."
"Thank you, Milord." Nappa bowed.
"But make sure to remind your asinine self that it will the only time I will do so. Do not allow any thoughts of supremacy to enter that feeble piece of shit you call a mind." He turned his back to the screen and waved his hand dismissively. "To do such a thing would mean your excruciatingly painful end." The transmission ended.
Nappa's lip curled back as he tapped on the keys. Smug bastard. He closed the screen and started to reinstate the default functions when a rustle of cloth sounded behind him. Whipping around, he caught a movement near the doorway. Shit! Had he really been so careless as to forget whose company he was in? A bead of sweat broke out on his brow as his heavy gaze continued to stare at the steel threshold of the bridge. He quickly finished with the computer and stilled the twitch in his hands. Whoever had been there had fled when he finally caught on to their presence, and he knew without a doubt that neither Vegeta nor Raditz would have commited such an act of cowardice.
One of those bitches in heat.
Growling softly, he tred lightly to where the culprit had been standing and scented the air around him. No trace of human blood tainted the air. So, it was the pure-blood. He wasn't entirely sure how much of his clandestine conversation had been overheard, but he didn't expect much of a confrontation. The one that called herself Celipa wasn't much in the fighting department and he wasn't sure if she was aligned enough with Radtiz to tell him. So be it. If push came to shove and he was forced to do damage control, then he'd definitely have some fun doing it.
He rubbed his hands together as he strode back to his quarters, envisioning her clean Saiyan blood running down his arms.
Later in the day
Bulma put a hand up to cover her mouth as a lengthy yawn escaped it. The actual amount of time she'd spent cooped up in the lab had become irrelevant hours ago, but she did know that the planet's blue sun had just passed the horizon when she'd locked herself in. She pursed her lips and looked out the small bay window. The periwinkle blue sunshine blazed down from mid-sky, making her stay close to eight hours.
Still almost eight more hours 'til sundown and I can't stay in here forever.
The prick of cowardice twinged against her spine like a physical blow. Snapping up out of her chair, she swiped the antique fountain pen off the metallic table and jotted some notes down on the paper notebook she'd found buried in the storage closet. Her script was long and flowing as she dragged the tip against the pressed fiber of the paper. She blinked dreamily as the pentip slipped off the end of the page, jarring her out of the trance she'd lulled herself into. "Shit." She dropped the pen on the pad and rested her face in her hands, elbows propped up on the table. What was I thinking?
She sagged back into the stiff-backed chair and let her arms fall limply to drag her fingers along the cold steel floor. For a scientific genius, I'm a champion dumbass. What had started out as a comfortably peaceful night of dreamless sleep, had transformed into a morning worthy of Satan.
"It's a little late for you to be skittish now."
"Fuck you Veghead." She kicked her heel against the table leg out of spite and sent it across the lab. The notebook was thrown to the floor to lie in a mangled heap at her feet. Glaring disdainfully at it, she stood up and whirled away to stare out the window. Leave it to that monkey-brain to think my refusal for morning sex was nerves! "Ah!" She hammered both fists into the wall on either side of the circular porthole. "I. Am. Not. Skittish. Horses and deer are skittish, not Saiyan hybrid assassins." She took her bottom lip into her teeth and uncurled her fists to lay the palms flat. But I know what he would say to that.
"Still a weak female."
She, very easily, pulled his face up into her mind. Maybe he's right. She leaned her forehead against the toasty glass of the window and stared blankly into the blue-hued dunes, not really seeing them at all. Her eyes were looking back to what had happened earlier....
Flashback:
His rough hands grabbed her waist tightly, dragging her out of her deep slumber instantly. "What are you doing?" Her voice was more like a throaty croak.
"Just cashing in on a raincheck." He pulled her up against him, so she was laid out beneath him on the bed. His mouth was busy leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses on her collarbone, while he easily propped himself up on one arm and caressed the back of her thigh with the other.
Bulma's eyes rolled shut as her breathing quickened. His aroused scent perferated the air around her and she could feel him pressed hard against her hip. "Geta..." Her back arched slightly and with it came a shock of pain that clamped her mouth shut tightly. The throbbing she'd thought was her own arousal, was in fact her entire body revolting against her. He moved his mouth towards the still red bite-mark and used the hand on her thigh to push them apart. She fought for a moment as the pain flared along her nerves, but he simply out-muscled her. She grimaced slightly as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "Vegeta, stop." She felt his chuckled breath against the crook of her ear as he continued unheeded. She grabbed at his wrists and jerked away. "I said stop."
He pulled his head back and scowled. "What?"
She saw his confusion and swallowed. "It's not that I don't want to, it's just-"
"It's a little late for you to be skittish now." He smirked and reached for her, fingers brushing along her sensitive ribcage. "Onna, you won't be so inexperienced when I get done with you."
She felt herself bristle with anger and threw trying to explain herself out the proverbial window. "Well, in that case, you and your hand can get real cozy." She whirled around and slipped off the smooth bedsheets to stand on the opposite side, well out of his reach as the pain nearly shattered her raging composure.
"Onna." His whisper was deadly with it's intensity.
Blinking back tears of agony, she pulled out her best possible glare. "If you ever want to get near this 'inexperienced'-" She held up her hands and quoted in the air. "- body again, I suggest you rethink your strategy." She felt exposed under his harsh gaze, but it was dulled by the ache between her legs, the throbbing of her bruised bones, and the burning sting of her burns.
A loud knock sounded at the door and neither of them spared it a glance. She crossed her arms, blue eyes glittering dangerously as she held his glare. The knock sounded again and she lifted a brow before breaking away, striding over to open the door and taking care to disguise the limp in her stride. "Raditz."
His brow furrowed perplexed, as he blinked down into her face. He cleared his throat when he noticed what she was wearing. "..Bulma."
She dared him to comment as she strode out into the hall, chin raised stubbornly. "I plan on seeing you in the lab later."
He only nodded his head dumbly in response. "Sure."
"And another thing," She glared at the bunched muscles of Vegeta's back. "My name isn't Onna. It's Bulma!" Clenching her fists, she stalked off toward her quarters.
End Flashback
Tears slipped down her cheeks as her hands slipped away from the wall to wrap themselves around her. There was no doubt in her mind that he thought of her as skittish. I certainly gave him enough proof. She'd practically run out of there like a dog with it's tail between it's legs. "A definite killer for the strong, independent female image."
Sniffing, she held out her arms and stared at the burns and bruises that had still yet to fully heal. And weak too. She was positive that a full-blooded Saiyan female would've been able to please her mate, regardless of the beatings recieved the day previous. Even the pain of losing her virgin statis would have been irrelevent, as the normal Saiyan healing speed was nearly double her own. It just serves as another reminder of my place. She curled her tail around to stare at the brilliant teal fur, reaching out and grasping it in her hands and rubbing. She may have the strength, speed, and tail, but she would never truly fit in with her bizarre coloring and fragile build. Always a halfling.
Always an outsider.
A soft knock on the door loosened the death grip she had on her tail and she pushed away her troublesome thoughts. Bulma ignored the screaming of her thighs as she squatted and retrieved her notes before striding over and allowing Raditz to enter the lab. "Took you long enough." She didn't meet his eyes and swiped at her tears the second her back was turned.
He'd felt a strange cloud over her ki as he'd approached the door, but the feeling was gone the second he'd knocked. I wonder if this has anything to do with this morning? He stepped through the doorway and stopped. "I was...ah...detained."
Bulma snorted softly. "An apt term." She may have squirreled herself away in the lab all day, but it hadn't stopped her from keeping tabs on Vegeta. In her absence, he'd turned to Raditz to relieve the need to inflict pain. She righted the awry table and gestured toward a chair on the other side. "Come, sit. Let me have my way with you."
Her attention was trained on the book in her hand, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to catch the sarcasm in her voice. They're more alike than they know. Shaking his head, he strode over and sat in the chair. "You know I'm not here because I want to be."
"I know." She set down the notebook. "And I apologize for any unwarranted action that Vegeta took today." She wanted to scream and squirm under his heavy gaze.
Raditz rolled his eyes and snatched her wrist when she brought the strap to tie off his arm. "Stop apologizing for him. He's a grown man." He released her when she blinked her startled eyes at him. Good. At least I have your attention now.
She hesitated a moment before yanking the belt's vise-like grip on his bicep. "I know that." She clipped the buckle. "It's just that I dislike having other people fight my battles." She swiped her sideswept bangs out of her face and snapped her index and middle finger againt the slightly bulging veins at his elbow.
"Is that really what I intruded on earlier? A battle?" His eyes followed hers to the blue network of veins below the severely tight strap. She stepped away to gather the supplies and in doing so, hesistated before answering. She sighed and turned back around, twisting a needle onto a fat glass tube.
Grasping his arm, she swiped the spot with alcohol and popped the needle through his skin. "I'm not really sure I know." Her demeanor was somewhat resigned as she watched his dark red blood fill the tube. "It was just a simple misunderstanding that I allowed my anger to turn into a quarrel." She retracted the thin metal needle from his arm and pressed a thick pad of gauze over the wound. "It's a fault I've come to detest."
He took over pressing the gauze down as she traded the tube for another. "Don't be so quick to hang this all on yourself. Vegeta has always lacked-" He frowned a moment. "- a certain tact for that kind of thing."
Bulma snorted as she came back for round two. "Agreed. He assumes what he wants about things and refuses to be negated of his assumption." She almost missed the vein as she recalled his voice. "It's a little late for you to be skittish now."
"You know him better than I thought." He eyed the slight tremor of her hand.
She lifted her bent head to meet his eyes coolly. "And just what are you insinuating?"
The flat tone of her voice had him raising his free hand in defense. "Nothing. I wouldn't dare be so presumptious." He didn't like being the recipient of such an icy stare.
I'll bet. She mirrored her earlier ministrations and pressed more gauze to stem the blood flow. She knew that she could bring up the entire issue of his 'dealing' with Celipa, but that would be like hitting him below the belt and she wasn't that kind of person. Yeah. She grabbed a dressing and wrapped it around his arm. You keep telling yourself that, girl. "That's good. I wouldn't want to get ''presumptious'' about you and someone else, who I'll refrain from identifying at this time."
Raditz laughed wholeheartedly. "Touche`" He stood up and flexed his bandaged arm. "Remind me never to try and debate you."
Bulma didn't really think that qualified as a debate tactic, but her point had been made just the same. She organized and labeled the heavy tubes of blood, deciding to switch to a less-touchy subject. "Do you recall the other day when you and Vegeta spoke about my Otousan?"
"Yes." His dark brows furrowed as he leaned against the lab bench.
She smiled at his wary tone. "Relax, will ya?" She set down the tray of blood and crossed her arms under her breasts while turning to face him. "I just want to know what the deal with Chikyuu is. The transmission from my Tousan said that my crew was heading towards Chikyuu to meet up with a Captain. I just want to know what's going on." She took a breath and slowed down. "It's just that I feel totally lost and wandering around in the unknown." She shifted her all her weight to her right leg. "Do you know what that does to someone like me? I swear that I'm going to have an anxiety attack."
He smirked. "Was that humor I just heard?"
She growled halfheartedly. "Just answer my question." She didn't want to admit to having rationalized her unease.
"Alright." He sighed and went back to the chair he'd occupied. "But you may want to sit down for this."
Why does it feel like I'm not going to like this? She eyed him curiously as she dragged her stiff, metal chair and plopped herself down. "I'm sitting."
Chikyuu
He twisted the metal this way and that, judging just how much he'd have to take off. Measuring a small bit of ki, he eyed the shape once more before lasering off a slight sliver of steel that curled up and floated down onto the tabletop. The image was emerging a cut at a time, slowly coming to life in his hands. It was an ookami, but right now it only vaguely resembled those of Chikyuu. Turles cocked his head to the side and sighted down the long snout, examining it down the smallest detail. Bit by bit, the metal was being transformed into the rangy creature that had been slinking around their mountian base.
Setting it down, he scrutinized the small carving, comparing it to the vividly exact picture in his mind. The thick ruff around it's neck wasn't quite as sleek as the one collaring the real animal. He took hold of the metal and made the minute revisions, setting it back down just as the door opened behind him. "Turles."
He rubbed his hands together and swiveled around in his chair. "Well, I'll be damned." Leveling his brother with a hard stare, he pushed up out of his seat and crossed his arms. "If it isn't my esteemed leader Bardock."
"Save it. I want you up in the conference room in fifteen minutes." His lone eye was closed in an exasperated fashion, leaving only the blood red sash tied about his head to stare at his sibling. "No goofing around."
"Yes kaasan." Turles rolled his eyes, the tip of his umber tail flicking back and forth with indifference.
Bardock bit his tongue. It wouldn't do well to provoke his brother into a bitter rage, to which he was prone, and put further strain on their already shaken relationship. It was as if in coming to this planet he'd violated some unspoken tether of trust between them, and this constant air of nonchalance was a cloaking mechanism for extreme alertness. He'd only met his brother a handful of times before Frieza destroyed their home, and Turles had made quite the living as a bounty hunter. And when he wasn't collecting money, you could always hire him as an assassin. He looked over the unscarred and much younger version of himself and sighed. Turles was a born killer and even now, as seemingly relaxed as he appeared, was lethally efficient. He knew without a doubt, that despite their blood bond, that his younger sibling wouldn't hesitate to cut him down if threatened.
Bardock's prolonged silence put him on edge. "Was there something else?"
He opened his eye and gave him a smile that passed better as a frown. "I hope that this meeting will give you what you want to know." He turned to leave, murmuring over his shoulder as he did so. "I didn't intend for this to happen."
Turles could only stare at the empty doorway. If that was his attempt at a fucking apology, then I refuse to accept it. The angered thought shook him and he had to sit back down. When had he turned against his own brother? He scrubbed his calloused hands over his face and sighed. I shouldn't ask such idiotic questions. I know full well when I turned on him.
He'd been almost five standard years when his Kaasan had called him a 'bastard' in a fit of rage over innocent troublemaking. The blow had been vicious and although she'd apologized profusely afterward, the sting had never been relieved. The anger came later when he'd found out just who his sire was- a Saiyan Elite whose bonded mate had been killed in battle. Saiyan may have been a barbaric race, but they held true to their beliefs. Being the product of an unbonded coupling wasn't punishable by death, but it wasn't exactly accepted either. It was nearly impossible not to become a void of hate when 'bastard' was always being whispered behing your back. And that resevoir of hate had been ignited into a dormant rage when he'd learned of his sire's other whelp- a son born of his bonded mate. It had taken him almost a year to find him and when he had, Bardock had welcomed him warmly. All the ugly, black thoughts he'd envisioned were dampened by the unaccustomed acceptance from the scientist's apprentice. He'd stayed only a day before disappearing.
Shaking his head, Turles got up and started walking to the conference room upstairs. All my painstakingly stored hatred had been throttled down to nothing in a single day without hearing the word 'bastard'. And it had to be the one person I despised more than life itself to be the only one willing to accept me as an equal. It hadn't been long after that, that he found his niche in killing for hire. Sure, it was like selling yourself, but it fulfilled his need for blood and money. It hadn't been until he'd come upon Bardock a few years after the destruction of Vejitasei that he'd understood why he'd wanted to kill so much. He scratched his bicep as he stared blankly at the floor while he walked. I killed so I'd could rid myself of the desire to kill Bardock.
The shock of shame at that thought still made him shiver. It had been that same shame that made him stay and join his brother's band of outcasts. He smirked a little. Not that Kakarrot helped much. I just couldn't stand the thought of making him share the experience I had.....fatherless and alone. And by then even Bardock was aware of his struggle. He'd tried to explain to him once that it had been their Tousan's fault, but the small fact of being called out on his feelings had made him nearly beat Bardock to death. Afterward, he'd realized that his brother'd been right and had started the beginnings of the tenous partnership they had now. A partnership that was in jeopardy because he felt that Bardock's judgement could no longer be trusted.
"I believe the phrase is 'a penny for your thoughts', but I've never been a fan of human cliches."
Turles jerked away from the monotone voice beside him and glared at the dark-haired andriod. Where the fuck did he come from? He felt like kicking his own ass for being so ignorant to his surroundings. Growling, he turned back to stare down the hallway they were in. "You were human once."
"Yes, for about twenty years." Juunana smirked as the Saiyan scowled. "But I can no longer be classified as such. Too many bolt-on parts."
He almost tripped. Did he just make a joke? Turles glanced at him from the corner of his eye and forced himself to relax. Ok, maybe he's not that bad. "I'm going to admit that I don't think you're malfunctioning enough to believe I'd actually tell you what's on my mind." He paused at the set of doors leading to the conference room. "And I don't believe for a second that you'd actually care."
Juunana smiled. "You are much smarter than I gave you credit for, Saiyan."
Turles grunted as he pushed through the doors. "If you only knew." He ignored the android's quiet chuckle and surveyed the room. All the others were there- Bardock, Toma, Kakarrot(carrying the girl Chichi on his back), Krillin, and Juuhachi. They all stood haphazardly around the room, all facing the enormous screen at the front of the room. His dark orbs met with Bardock's and he leaned against the wall beside him. "So. What's the deal?"
Bardock's hard expression didn't change. "I know that for the past week I have been unreachable and preoccupied."
"Understatement of the year." Turles yawned.
He ignored the comment as if he hadn't spoken. "It is now time for you to learn what I have learned and what tasks have been laid out before each of you." He gestured towards the screen. "Tonight you will be meeting the other players in this game, with the exception of a select few, and what roles each of you must play in the coming fight."
"Get on with it already." His exasperation led to a few severe looks of disdain. Turles didn't care.
"It would only be fitting for you be told of these things by the one person that has 'gotten the ball rolling', as Chikyuu-jins say." He pressed a key on the small board beside him and the blank screen flashed to life. "I would like to introduce Dr. Trunks Briefs."
A/N: I know it's been awhile...and I profusely apologize. I just got a new job and have been in the financial toilet lately, so I've been a little preoccupied. That, and I had to go back and look at my plot again....there was a bit of confusion on my part. Hehe...I tend to go off on tangents...so I had to make sure I stayed on track. I really think that my chapters are getting better and better as I go.....like my characterization and dialogue are improving, as well as weaving the romance and action together without giving one more attention than the other. Also, I don't want to sound like a review whore or anything, but I get a ton more hits than I do reviews. I'd really like to know what everybody thinks.....the good, the bad, and the ugly....I don't really care, but I'd like to know your opinons.
To those of you that have reviewed.......I luv you guys!!!! Thanx so effin' much for telling me how much you like it!!! I always look forward to seeing what'cha think of my stuff!!! Thanx!!!