Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The King and Queen Diaries ❯ Torappu ( Chapter 27 )

Author's Note: We are coming to the end! I believe a couple more chapters will suffice :)

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Chapter Twenty Seven: Torappu (Trap)

They traveled for days through the forest. It seemed like it never ended. There was no sight or sound of civilization.

It took them two days to find water. By the time they did, they were so parched and weak that they nearly had to drag themselves to the stream. Food was so scarce that their stomachs were nearly constantly growling until all they felt was sickness in their bellies.

But when they found that stream, it was as if hope was restored. Bardock jumped right into the middle of it and caught a huge fish with his bare hands as if he did it every day.

“This stream is full of fish! Someone make a fire!”

They stayed by their lifeline for the next few days, traveling along it in the hopes that eventually it would lead them to a town or village.

Bulma felt her strength grow as every day went by. She was soon able to help the men gather wood for the fire and carry more than a few sticks. Most of her time was spent with her sons however, feeding them and watching over them like a hawk. It made the three warriors laugh when she acted overprotective.

Bardock fashioned a generic pair of shoes for her feet involving two leaves so thick it was nearly impossible to cut them to the proper size. He threaded a handmade twine through three holes, tied knots, and soon Bulma could stick them through her toes and walk around much easier. Her feet were cut up and filthy, and she thanked Bardock profusely for his kindness.

Her clothes were next. Brolli used the same idea as Bardock to create twine out of long, thin vines hanging from the ancient trees. He created a toga-like robe for her that secured over her shoulders rather than under her armpits. Her incessant adjustments to her wrap had been driving them all crazy, not to mention her constant wardrobe malfunctions. By the third day they had all seen her completely naked several times. By the fifth day it was suggested by Turles that she just walk around naked to preserve their sanity. He was bashed upon the head for his efforts.

Now much more properly clothed and her feet protected, Bulma got about much easier. They slept short and fitfully, traveled, then repeated the process. They lived off the fish in the stream and whatever else they managed to find. Watch was stood by everyone, including the Queen. The first time Turles pressed his sword into her hand, she nearly caressed the hilt. All three men probably would have killed her had they known that while they were sleeping she was attempting to train her body back into shape by using their swords. Brolli had warned her repeatedly that she was rushing her body's healing process and that she might hurt herself, but secretly she felt the need to do so. The faster her body returned to its former glory, the better.

It was the thirteenth day when they stumbled upon a remote village. It was a total of five small houses with even smaller outbuildings, probably for storage, horses, and the like. When they saw smoke billowing from the chimneys, they all ran frantically, Bulma clutching Prince Vegeta and Bardock holding Prince Trunks.

Crying babes in tow, Brolli banged on the first door they reached.

“Open in the name of the Queen! We need food, water, and shelter!”

He banged a few more times, and when there was no answer, he frowned. Pounding the door harder, he yelled, “Open in the‒!”

The door was flung open. Brolli stumbled back a few steps, and the blood drained from his face.

Before Bulma could even see who was in the doorway, Brolli screamed with such terror that she acted before words left his lips. “Run! Bulma, run now!”

Tearing out of there as if her life depended on it, she ran faster than her legs had ever carried her. In her arms she carried her son, the heir to the throne, and no matter what, he had to live.

Bardock was yelling behind her to not stop no matter what happened. In the distance she heard the clash of swords and she dared a look over her shoulder. Brolli and Turles had engaged an enemy, and she paled in absolute dread as she saw that they were being chased.

It was them. They had found them.

Her foot caught on a root and she screamed as she was flung forward. By sheer miracle alone Bardock grasped her arm just in time, nearly ripping it from the socket. Holding onto her son desperately, she regained her footing only to nearly fall again.

“My ankle! Bardock, I twisted it! I cannot run‒!”

He seized her arm without hesitation and began dragging her through the underbrush. “Run, damn you! If you don't run, we are all going to die!”

Bulma felt a sob gather in her throat as she lamely tried to run after him. His grip was painful almost to the point where she feared for the bones in her limb. Both babes were crying hysterically, and she felt tears pour down her cheeks as Bardock frantically dodged through the trees, trying to outdistance the creatures chasing after them. The land was nearly completely flat, so there was literally nowhere to hide.

Bulma cried out as she stumbled again, causing Bardock to lose his grip on her arm. She managed to land on her side to cushion her fall, but the agonizing squall that Vegeta let out seized her heart until it stilled in fear that she had hurt him.

Her eyes widened when she felt rough fingers grab her and pull her up once again. The wild look on Bardock's face terrified her as he began dragging her again. “Bulma, I refuse for you to become one of those weak helpless women that cause everyone's death! You will run, and run now! Do not look back no matter what!”

He shoved Prince Trunks into her free arm and flung her forward. Tears of desperation flowed down her dirty cheeks.

“Run,” he said quietly, turning away from her and unsheathing his sword.

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She ran until she could no longer breathe. Her sons had long gone silent and the sun was beginning to set. Her chest heaving, she fell to the ground, her knees taking the impact. Laying her babes on the ground gently, she covered her face with her hands and bawled. Horrible, gut wrenching sounds ripped from her throat as she thought of the sacrifice her friends had made for her and her sons.

Her crying was inconsolable. It reminded her of when she had witnessed Vegeta's death. The absolute horror that had gripped her then had a hold of her now.

She cried until she no longer felt anything. Lying in the dirt, she gathered her sons against her as she curled up into a small, helpless ball. She had no weapon; her body was tired and weak. It was the end.

She slept. When she awoke, it was to the feeling of her sons squirming and rooting at her chest. The tears came again as she fed them both. She stroked their tiny precious heads and kissed them, giving them all the love that she possibly could.

When they were asleep once more, she got back on her feet and began walking. She had no idea where she was. It was dark and the air held a chill that was slightly damp. It clung to her skin as she stumbled over rocks and the roots of trees. No animals stirred, no birds chirped. She was alone.

She walked aimlessly until the sun brightened the sky. She kept up the routine of feeding her sons even though her stomach growled and her mouth was dry from thirst.

She was growing weaker and could tell. The sun was beginning to set once more when she sat down on the ground. She fed her sons and then gathered them against her as she fell asleep.

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Her nose twitched at the smell of smoke. Scrunching her face in confusion, she opened her eyes. It was still dark out, but she could definitely smell smoke. Sitting up, she looked around. She could see nothing but trees.

Trunks began squirming, and she smiled as both of her sons began whimpering. Cooing and talking nonsense she fed them and then stood, searching for the source of the smell.

Disbelieving, she nearly stumbled into a familiar clearing with several small buildings.

Somehow she had managed to go in a circle.

Fear crept up her spine like a silent killer. She slipped back into the forest, unsure of what to do. Huddled against a tree, she thought quickly.

What if I go look to see if maybe our enemy is still here? Can I do it? What if Turles, Bardock, and Brolli are still alive?

Her breath caught in her throat. She had to go. But looking down at the two bundles in her arms, she hesitated.

Can I leave them alone? What if...what if I never come back?

Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. She seemed to be doing a lot of crying lately...but she couldn't help it. Either way...and no matter what...she knew what she had to do.

Searching quickly, she found a tree that had an opening underneath its roots. It was big enough for her to place her sons underneath and cover them with leaves for protection. The only thing that made her feel better about the situation was the lack of animals that seemed to be in the forest.

Clutching her sons to her, she attempted to feed them both again in the hopes that they would stay asleep and full for a while. She feared their crying would draw anyone who heard them.

Kissing them both gently and telling both that she loved them, she laid them on the ground long enough for her to collect leaves small enough for a cushion to lay them on, and then several big leaves to protect them with.

Marking the tree with several sticks, she memorized the area she was in and crept to the opening in the forest once more.

It was starting to get bright outside. Only one of the huts had smoke coming from the chimney and there was no Saiya-jin or alien movement. Could it be residual smoke from a fire not put out?

She searched for anything that could help her, weapon or otherwise. The buildings were bare. Maybe one of the storage units? A rock? A stick? Anything would work at this point.

Searching, she found a rock that was round and smooth that fit her hand perfectly. Wonderful head bashing tool.

She snuck around the perimeter until she was close to the smaller building that looked like some kind of storage unit. There was no chimney or windows, so she imagined that no one would want to live in there.

Nearly crawling, she moved to the front where the door was.

It was locked.

Cursing, she looked at the rock in her hand. She couldn't risk the noise it would make if she tried breaking open the lock.

Turning around on her heels, she went back the way she came to rethink her strategy. Moving around the corner, she didn't have a chance to dodge the blow that was aimed at her head.

An odd strangled sound escaped her throat, and then everything went black.

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Bile rose in her throat the moment consciousness returned. Uncaring, she rolled over onto her side and threw up.

“Bulma.”

Jerking upright, her fist flailed out towards the sound. She connected with skin, and she heard a curse.

“Your eyes weren't even open, how is that even possible....” someone grumbled, and she opened her bleary eyes to see who her assailant was.

Gasping, she jumped into Turles' arms. Sobbing and talking at the same time, she wrapped her whole body around him. “I thought you were dead! Oh gods, it was horrible...I was lost in the woods, no food, no water, the boys‒”

Panic gripped her as she caught her surroundings and thoughts of her sons hit her. A chill she hadn't noticed before had crept deep into her limbs and she was shivering. The walls were stark gray metal and there was frost creeping down from the ceiling and up from the floors. There were even icicles hanging from a vent blowing cold air.

Surrounding her and Turles, laid a group of bodies all curled up together, quite literally. Everyone was hugging each other close, trying to conserve body heat.

Several familiar faces were staring at her as she looked around the room. Bardock and Brolli grinned at her with chattering teeth from the mass of Saiya-jin bodies. Even further beyond, Bulma's eyes widened when she saw Chichi and Kakarott, curled around their baby, Goten.

That meant only one thing.

They were on Lord Frieza's mother ship.

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Turles explained everything to her as he scooted in closer to the other Saiya-jin bodies.

They had all been captured and were all unharmed. They hadn't been fed for a couple days, but what was new?

Chichi and Kakarott were starved horribly, along with most of the other Saiya-jins, who turned out to be mostly nobility. Lords and ladies stared back at her, hopelessness in their eyes as they clutched their children.

Bulma explained with tears pouring down her cheeks that she had hidden her sons in the forest and she feared for their lives. They had no idea how much time had gone by since they had been captured. No one came to the cell and everything was eerily quiet.

The cold was unbearable. Even with so many bodies huddled together she couldn't stop shivering. Turles didn't dare detach himself from her as she curled herself into his lap. Brolli and Bardock were close to her sides, all four of them trying to lend her their body heat.

An unknown amount of time passed when there was a sudden screeching of metal grinding on metal. The noise would have made her grit her teeth in normal circumstances, but her body was so lethargic that it barely registered in her brain.

There was some mumbling, muttering, and then cries as two white aliens came in, lashing their tails out at the frozen Saiya-jins to part the crowd.

Bulma wasn't even aware that she was being separated from Turles until he snarled so viciously that it startled her brain into awareness. His hands became claws as he lashed out, uncaring of his own life, curse words flowing from his lips as he dove on the creature daring to remove his Queen from his arms. He was thrown back to the ground, only to have Brolli and Bardock leap to her defense. She fell to the ground briefly, and she barely had enough thought to remove her bare fingers from the floor before they froze to the surface. Hissing, she attempted to crawl away as other Saiya-jins began attacking their Queen's assailants.

She was picked back up again only moments later. With as weak and starved as her people were, they weren't able to put up much of a fight. Turles, Bardock, and Brolli were all snarling and growling as the other white creature held them back with one of their projectile weapons.

“Stupid monkeys,” the alien muttered as he slammed the door shut to the cell. Turles dove on the small window that had bars blocking his path.

“We will save you, my Queen! Do not‒!”

His tirade was silenced as his fingers were smashed by the other white alien. Chuckling, they both escorted her none too gently to wherever they were taking her.

Was it to her death?

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Author's Note: So what did you guys think? OMG what's going to happen next chapter? Idk yet haha. What do you guys think is going to happen? I always love to hear your input and what you think is going to happen or what you would like to see happen! Until later!