Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend Of the Bond ❯ A part of you... ( Chapter 14 )

Bulma fidgeted in her lab chair for the umpteenth time that morning, unable to get comfortable. Ever since she woke up that morning, she had been doing her best to concentrate on her projects, but her troubled emotions wouldn’t let her be. It had been a couple of weeks since Vegeta had left and there had been no word of him since. His parting words to her kept running through her mind... somehow, she didn’t really want to believe that he’d never return, that she’d never see him again, but now she was starting to.   As the days passed, she had begun to feel somewhat withered and hollow, like a plant whose owner had neglected to water it. And that awful feeling was growing into a dry incompleteness, causing her to ache so badly inside she couldn’t sleep. The other scientists milling about the room were only a blur to her and the work sitting in front of her wasn’t engaging her full attention as before. She understood her work; she knew what she needed to do and did so, but lately she had been going through her daily motions in a zombie-like state.   Her real thoughts keep jumping to Vegeta. She had agreed to work for him his rebellion in secret and she wondered why. Did she really want to leave? Did she really want to associate herself with the person who destroyed Chikyuu? That argument in her mind only seemed half-hearted now. Freeza was the real destroyer. Once she had extra time on her hands, she did research on the crazed warlord and found under all the glorified words a monster that had his claws around Vegeta’s neck. Bulma still could not forgive Vegeta for what he did and she couldn’t see herself bowing to his lust. No matter if he loved her, his love was probably only skin-deep. But she did find herself accepting a part of him. She understood a little more about Vegeta now. She had been on the end of Chili’s leash for six long years, just like he was on the end of Freeza’s even now. At first she agreed because she wanted to leave her planetary prison, now she wanted to help Vegeta rid himself of that leash and collar like he had helped her to get rid of hers. Once he was free, perhaps she could finally be liberated from her confused emotions and leave this planet with no regrets.

At night she had begun her training again in her chambers. She never got far though. Her thoughts would always drift again, to Vegeta and the nights they shared out in the garden. His touch, his glare, his smell, his smirk…just him, came back to her at night, especially when she trained. Why had he told her to keep training? Because he cared? Or did he know the memories of their time together under the stars would torment her? When all seemed lost and hopeless, she would wrap herself in that cape he gave her when he first showed her the secret lab, which was now full of different inventions for Vegeta, ones that he vaguely told her to create. Would he return so she could give him some of the smaller, completed devices? The cape had meant to keep her warm, now it proved to be an item for her comfort, one she needed desperately when she felt the blood run cold in her veins. How many times did she feel like she was bleeding to death when there was no blood? So many questions and no answers.   Bulma’s only solution to all of her unanswered questions was to immerse herself into her work. She shifted again; she was still very uneasy in her chair, though she was still getting her work done as best as she could. So engrossed was she in her work and her thoughts, she hardly noticed when her workstation became a lunch table and her computer screen had been replaced by food.   Sitting across from her in the mess hall, her lunch date noticed her inability to pay attention to his presence or the fact she hadn’t heard a word he said. Bulma was just staring dully at her food, letting some of her blue locks fall down the side of her face. He felt sorry for the girl and waved a hand in front of her gaze, desperately trying to get her attention.

“Bulma? Bulma, are you okay? Does the food taste bad?”

Bulma looked up at the concerned Saiya-jin in front of her. His normally cheery face was frowning and worry ran across his wide brow. Bulma sighed. “I’m sorry, Goku, I just have a lot on my mind. I know I must be boring company, but…” she paused, knowing she had to ask. “Can I ask you something?”

“Okay, I’ll answer if I can.”

“Has there been any word about…Prince…Vegeta?”

Kakarotto looked at her curiously. This was odd. Bulma had always told him that she hated the prince, and now she was concerned for him and he didn’t understand it. He shrugged it off and answered her as best he could. “No, he left a while ago and I heard he purged Godan, but then nothing, like he just…disappeared. Rumor has it that Freeza must be having him work on something really important to keep him hidden, though I also heard that the king is now nervous that Freeza might’ve killed the prince for displeasing him.”

“K-kill him? For what?” Bulma’s blue eyebrows tilted upward with worry. She couldn’t accept his death! Not now, when she had finally accepted a piece of Vegeta.

“Hmm, I don’t know, but I’m not worried,” asserted Goku with simple confidence. “I doubt Vegeta’s dead; he’s really strong.”

“I hope so, too,” she quickly agreed, wanting to believe him. “I mean, he is a prince. Why would Freeza want to kill royalty?”

“Freeza doesn’t see Prince Vegeta like that. Freeza only thinks his family deserves to be thought of as royalty.”

“I just hope that Vege…I mean Prince Vegeta can survive against Freeza’s anger, if the warlord is mad at him.”

“Don’t worry about it. Prince Vegeta is really strong and he is used to the beatings Freeza gives him.”

Bulma blinked and grew stiff, apprehensive with the thoughts that were coming to her mind. Vegeta had been beaten as well? She remembered the humiliation that Chili’s beatings caused her and how the pain must be tenfold for Vegeta. The feeling of mutual circumstances made her feel once again connected to the prince. And that feeling, unknown to Bulma, somewhere in her thoughts, opened the way for Vegeta. He was just like her…or was she just like him? “Freeza beats the prince?” she said, stunned.

Kakarotto glanced at the others around their table that were looking at them oddly from time to time. “Um, maybe this isn’t the best place to talk about this,” he cautioned.

Bulma put her hand to her mouth then slowly placed her hands on her lap. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

Kakarotto looked at Bulma, who now seemed to have withdrawn back into her thoughts. He felt sorry for her; obviously something was troubling her. He knew it would be best to cheer her up, but to do that might make him uncomfortable. The only way he knew how to cheer her up was to give her good news. And the only good news he could give her had to do with his secret. So leaning over and slightly whispering, he told her, “Bulma, I got married.”

Immediately she looked at him, eyes wide with surprise. Her mouth bloomed into a bright smile which held a hint of amusement. “I knew it! So, is she pretty? Is she strong? When did you get married? Hey, why haven‘t you told me before?”

With the bombardment of questions, Kakakrotto became confused, unable to decide which of them to answer first and then he became unable to remember the questions at all. Scratching his head and giving her a goofy grin, he decided to just give her one answer. Softly, he said, “She’s Chikyuu-jin.”

Bulma’s smile faded and the uneasy feeling returned, coupled by the nervousness of hearing about another Chikyuu-jin. The last time she saw one of her race was seven years ago, right before she blacked out and awoke to a six-year nightmare. Bulma hadn’t thought of Chi-chi in a long time, she wondered if the raven-haired fighter was still alive. Picturing Goku with a girl from her planet oddly reminded her of Vegeta. A running image came to her then of a Saiya-jin groom and a Chikyuu-jin bride, but that would never be her and that would never be Vegeta. Another thought came to Bulma then and her curiosity got the better of her. “But, what about the decree?”   “That’s why it’s a secret! Please, don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Sure.” Bulma nodded slightly, the small smile coming back to her face.

“And, also…well, she is going to have a baby.”

Excitement and delight came back into Bulma’s face, partly from the knowledge that Goku’s child would be half-Saiya-jin. That could mean…Bulma abruptly cut off her thoughts. She couldn‘t think of that; she wouldn‘t let herself think of that. “Congratulations! Is she okay, how far along is she?”

“Oh, yeah, she’s fine. The baby has been in her belly for only a couple months.” Kakarotto then folded his arms across his chest, unexpectedly becoming deep in thought and troubled by the thought of his wife and lately, her consistent complaints. “But Chi-chi keeps yelling at me to get her different food stuff that taste nasty together, I don’t get it at all.”

“Chi-chi? Your wife is named Chi-chi?!” Bulma was in a state of shock. Once she heard Kakarotto speak the name of her long-lost friend, the world was spinning. She was becoming unsure if her day so far was just really a dream.

“Yep, her name is Chi-chi, but because I don’t let her out, she has been very cranky lately. She keeps telling me if I don’t let her out soon she is going to turn our kid into a scholar…whatever that is…”

A soft smile then came creeping back onto Bulma’s face and tears started to form in her eyes. Her friend had made it! They both had kept their promise to each other. “Oh? I see…I hope she has a healthy baby.”

Kakarotto tilted his head to the side, unsure of her reaction to his complaining about his wife, especially about the tears he saw in her eyes. Unsure of what to do, he sat there as he watched his friend giggling uncontrollably with tears streaking her down her slightly pale face. He knew telling her about Chi-chi would make him uncomfortable, but that didn’t really matter; he was more worried about his friend. He hoped she was okay

Giddy at the thought of Chi-chi surviving and finding her own happiness and peace, Bulma couldn’t help but allow some of her tears of sorrow to mix in with tears of joy. Even with all her gladness in that moment, she could only think of the last time she heard those whispers. One word came to her, very strong and very clear a little over two weeks after Vegeta had left:   …Bulma…   She didn’t understand why that whispery voice sounded so much like Vegeta’s or why it said her name.

**********

Dr. Gero was an old man consumed with old ambitions. He had worked for the Red Ribbon Army since he was a teenager and had been swept away by their desires to rule the world. He was young man when that yearning for world-wide conquest seeped into his soul and took over him. Back then, all he wanted to do was dominate and rule over Chikyuu. It was something upon which he had worked endlessly as a scientist for Red Ribbon and he loved every minute of it. His dreams and ambitions, his life and the things he created bubbled up in him then. When he and the leaders of the Red Ribbon Army had discovered about the existence of the wish-granting Dragon Balls, his dreams seemed so close to realization that he had for weeks, indulged in women and killing. Shortly after that though, his life fell apart.   One week before those Saiya-jins came, or more precisely, before the unholy Prince Vegeta came to Chikyuu, one of his new space-scanning machines had alerted him to the presence of their fast-approaching alien ship. Gero didn’t know what would happen when the aliens arrived, but he didn’t want to take any chances. He then quickly and feverishly created a makeshift spacecraft. He didn’t want to tell anyone else about his plans either. Gero was afraid if anyone found out what he knew they might steal his ship and ruin his chances of survival.   Two days before the destined time came, he decided to escape Chikyuu with his spaceship and watch from far away, instead of sticking around and waiting to see what the occupants of the alien ship would do once it arrived in Chikyuu’s orbit. He would hide near the sun, but not so near as to be pulled in by the massive gravity of the flaming star. As he outlined his plans, a feeling of finality came over him, as though that night might be the last time to enjoy the spoils of his rank.   With a hungry, aching heart, he went to the nearest town with his androids in tow. He ordered his creations to rape, murder, and desecrate as much as they could. Of course he joined in the festivities. While wandering the town, he came to a sweet home, modest in its beauty, with a very beautiful family within. They could have been called the ideal family, living the life of a dream. The wife was otherworldly, beautiful, with pearls adorning her neck, the husband seemed strong and the two eleven-year-old twins, one little girl and one little boy, seemed like perfect children. Gero couldn’t resist killing the husband with one of his androids, while the horrified family looked on. Then Gero took the wife, brutally ravaging her before the children’s crying, shell-shocked eyes. When he was finished with the pretty little wife and while he was still inside her, he strangled her to death, laughing as she gasped for breath, fighting for her life.   Once she died he turned to the children and looked upon the small angels. Suddenly, he was struck by an inspiration: he would open them up and re-form them into gods, ones that would only serve him. As the town burned to ashes, Gero departed, his androids covered in soot and gore, following behind him, carrying his new toys, both of whom had become catatonic from the trauma they had just been through. Gero smiled as he inhaled the scent of burning flesh from the smoke emanating from the town. The night had gone well and no one had even tried to stop him.   Later that same night, he loaded the twins into his spacecraft and shot into space. It wasn’t long before he could see from his space-bound vantage point that the Saiya-jins had landed as anticipated. At first he wondered if they would be peaceful, and then he thought about their technology and how he would love to get his hands on it to further his plans to rule Chikyuu. But his plans came crashing down, when from space, he witnessed the planet Chikyuu being blown out of existence, its land masses and oceans blasted into billions of bits in every direction. Even though he thought that he was far enough away, the blast wave that destroyed Chikyuu, reached his ship within a few minutes, crippling its propulsion systems. Panicked, he surely believed they would all die. And with Chikyuu gone, his ambition for world domination was also gone, ripped away from him by those damned Saiya-jins. He lost it then.   At first, he was content with alternately raping the children, then beating them, then loving them and giving them extra foodstuffs they actually needed to preserve. Not long after, a new obsession began to consume him as he worked on creating different androids, based on the twins’ youthful physiognomies.   The thought of a goal once again drove him to work hard and endlessly. Unfortunately he came upon wall after wall that he couldn’t get around. To re-make the twins into gods, he would need power to do so, but what little power his ship contained would never be enough as it drifted aimlessly in space. It was holding him and his ambitions prisoner, this little, impotent ship of his. Again, he lost faith and again he turned his cruel attentions upon the twins.  When at last he thought to end it all, to give up and just destroy the ship along with all of his toys, fate stepped in and handed him a card with which he could once again play on life’s equal terms.   His little ship crashed landed on a planet filled with peaceful people rich with technology. They had taken him in along with the twins. It had been two years since Chikyuu had been destroyed. On the planet he learned about many things, that the planet on which he stood had been purged and the people currently inhabiting it had been the highest bidder in a interplanetary auction. They also told him that Freeza, Emperor of the Ice-jins, ruled almost everything within the immediate galaxy and the one who was ordered to destroy Chikyuu was the prince of a savage warrior race: the Saiya-jins. The word simply spoken out loud around him caused his blood to boil. Dr. Gero hated all Saiya-jins…especially Prince Vegeta. They all had taken away his dreams of ruling Chikyuu.   Using the planet’s vast data banks and technologies, he secretively and remotely tapped into the power levels of the strongest beings in the universe. Six years later, he had accrued sufficient power reserves, so he returned his energies to transforming the twins, now teenagers, into all-powerful androids that would serve him alone. Thus, Juunanago and Juuhachigo were “born” nearly six years after the fall of Chikyuu. But, even after that, Gero wasn’t content with his twisted accomplishments.   After destroying the planet that took him in, he used its stolen technologies to search for Freeza, wanting to attain whatever resources the lizard possessed to create the ultimate god, one that would be under his sole control. Gero’s warped vision had now expanded into two: conquering the whole universe by force and making the prince of that monkey race destroy his own planet. When the monkey finally lost everything that he held dear, then Gero would be merciful and kill him.

On this night, Dr. Gero smiled as he worked, alone in the dimly-lit laboratory on Freeza’s ship. He was getting everything and more than he ever dreamed of; not just one, small world, but the universe would be his and soon. The tortured screams of the monkey prince could be heard coming from the other room, and it was music to his ears. Then he frowned a bit. He told the twins not to kill him; they had better obey his orders, or else.

**********   “Juunanago! Gero ordered us not to kill him!” Juuhachigo half-yelled to her brother, as he lifted the prince up by his neck, slowly strangling him. The prince was more than just bloodied, both arms were dislocated and one leg was broken. His once-glorious armor was in bits and tatters and his flame-like strands of hair a tangled mess, mixed with clotted blood. His skin was covered in his own blood. His limbs were dangling in the air and the only sign that he was alive was the soft, gurgling sounds coming from his mouth; his teeth were grinding together in his effort to stay alive. Juunanago looked at his sister, disappointment clear on his young face.

“He is so weak, Juuhachi. Look at him! He’s worthless. We should kill him now.”

“Gero wants him for something else, you know that.”

“Fuck that old man! I want to kill him now.”

“Juunanago, think of the fun we could have if Gero really does make him destroy Vegeta-sei?”

“Tch, I could care less.” His hold around the prince’s neck grew tighter, causing Vegeta to gasp.

“Juunanago!”

After hearing his sister’s reprimanding tone, he loosened his grip and let the prince go.  Vegeta fell to the floor in a motionless heap. He was hardly breathing. Juunanago then walked towards his sister, ignoring the unmoving body on the floor. Casually, he stood in front of his sister. His frown was only so deep.

“Juuhachigo, when will you stop listening to that old fart?”

“I’m not listening to him; I just want to see Vegeta destroy his own home world. I think that would be a fun sight to see.”

“It’s boring,” Juunanago muttered sulkily. “I think we should just kill him now and destroy that planet ourselves.”

“Why have us do the dirty work? Besides it’s much more painful for the prince to kill his own people.” Juuhachigo looked at the prince calmly, then back to her brother. “Thanks to you, he might bleed to death before that happens.”

“I just can’t believe a weakling like him destroyed our planet.” Juunanago sighed. “Fine, I won’t kill him now, but after we finally do kill him, I’m getting rid of Gero.”

“Fine by me,” she said with a bored shrug. “The old bastard’s getting too controlling for my tastes anyway.”


The twins made to depart, leaving Vegeta in a pool of his own blood. The doors opened, briefly shining light into the dark room, but once the two stepped through the doors, the light disappeared with them.   It had been five weeks since Vegeta had left Vegeta-sei. For three weeks since he was given over to those oddly strong, ki-less Chikyuu-jins, he had been subjected to their hate every day. His had been placed in a dark room, not even a cell, somewhere on Freeza’s ship. The twins came to him, there in his ruthlessly dark prison, and beat him senseless, though they seemed bored every time. After they were done with him, Vegeta would lay, unable to move, barely alive, lying in his own blood. Eventually, the blood would finally dry on his skin and the floor. With what little strength remained to him, he would pull his stiff and discolored cape to him so that he could lie upon it, the only thing separating his battered body from the cold floor.   His hearing had become muffled by the blood that had found a way into his ears, but not to the point that he couldn’t make out parts of their conversations. They were keeping him alive for reasons he couldn’t understand. Vegeta could only speculate that they needed him for something, which was probably not going to be so pleasant.   His time, when spent alone, still unable to move, still too injured to even fight back or simply raise his ki, was spent in reflection, thinking of Bulma. His rebellion, his people, his strength, and revenge went out the door; those things didn’t matter.   Bulma’s will to survive had crept into his soul and his need to see her again kept him from giving up. He would find a way to escape and once he was free, he could resume his training to become stronger and finish off those two siblings and Freeza. And he could be with Bulma again. It was his time, alone like this that made him realize that, once she did leave Vegeta-sei, his life would become similar to this without her. If he saw her again, even if she still hated him, he would stay by her side as much as possible. He wouldn’t give up on her; she was his bonded after all.   For years before he meet Bulma, he cursed his bond and the woman who was forced upon him, and he had desperately wanted to rid himself of that bond. These days, in between beatings and wracked with pain, he had nothing but time to look back and realize that he had been imprudent to have felt that way, because now that silly bond was keeping him alive. Even now, he could faintly feel her and her oblivious concern for him was something he was going to hold onto. He wanted to sleep, but he forced himself to stay awake, to not succumb, but to fight for his future; a hopeful one with Bulma by his side.  

**********

Freeza sat on the bridge of his ship, calmly enjoying the view with a pleased smirk on his face, while assessing his current situation. Things were finally going his way. His father was off-ship, taking his pleasures on the latest planet they had just purged, a planet fit for indulging oneself in luxurious perversions and satisfying every kind of appetite. Dr. Gero and his monsters were finally leaving him be, thus allowing him to continue his campaign. Freeza’s other warriors weren’t as fast or proficient as Saiya-jins in purging, but they would have to do for now, since Freeza was slowly cutting back on using the monkeys. They would all be dead soon, anyway, and so he needed to stop relying on them for his purging assignments. As things were now, the members of the Ginyu Force had become too arrogant to do simple purging missions and Dodoria and Zardon were busy with other tasks.   It didn’t matter. Very soon he would rid himself of all those stinking monkeys and their ugly planet and watch as the pompous Prince Vegeta was killed, while sitting back and enjoying the fireworks. Thoughts of his future, paved with limitless riches and the bodies of dead weaklings brought a most satisfied smile to his face. But at that moment, his musings were disrupted by a messenger, who came running into the bridge out of breath. The boy kneeled before the warlord emperor, fearful of the half-metal, half-Ice-jin warrior.

“Lord Freeza, I bring news of a most urgent matter.”

Freeza didn’t turn to face him nor did his expression change when he replied, “Oh, and what is this important matter that brings you here to disturb my meditation?”

“It’s from Vegeta-sei, my Lord. We’ve received an update regarding their Science and Technology Division. It appears that this particular division, which had remained unchanged in regard to its productivity and quality of output, has experienced an unprecedented surge in both. In both factors, they are nearly on par with our own Science and Technology Division and it is predicted that the Vegeta-sei division could possibly surpass it.”

Freeza still didn’t turn to look at the messenger, but his formerly pleased expression had contorted into a frightful mask of hate and disgust.   Just when his goals were within reach, the monkeys manage to come up with something of value, something that would keep him from destroying them yet again. If this division on Vegeta-sei could grow this fast, then in no time at all it could pass his own group of scientists? That was something he could not forgive or tolerate.   Was one person behind this unprecedented surge or was it the result of a group effort? If it was just one person, then Freeza could easily take him away from Vegeta-sei and have that person work for him. But if a whole team was involved then it could be troublesome. Freeza clenched his fist angrily as small curls of electricity began to loop and swirl over him.   In order to understand fully what was happening on Vegeta-sei, he would need a monkey, which meant that he would need Vegeta one last time. And to have Vegeta, he would have to plead with that irksome Gero, who probably wouldn’t want to give up Prince Vegeta so easily. Freeza gritted his teeth in frustration as more electricity danced around him. He hated bowing before that Chikyuu-jin, but realized it had to be done. Once again, His glorious path to unparalleled universal domination had run into a wall. And now, he would have to think of a way to bargain with Gero that would ensure the monkey prince’s release back into his hands.

The messenger bowed and took his leave quickly, understanding all to well his lord’s displeasure.
**********

A half-furious, half-fearful Freeza walked through the doors into Gero’s lab. The twin monsters were there, leaning against one wall, wearing their perpetually bored expressions. They hardly acknowledged the fact that he had entered the room and that made him even more furious, though he could do nothing about it. He really hated those two; they had nearly destroyed his body and almost destroyed his pride as well as in his long-standing belief that he was the strongest being in the universe.   He stood there for a few minutes before anyone noticed him. Even then, they didn’t even look at him. It was something he would pay them back for as soon as he could. Gero’s raspy voice broke into the tense silence, making Freeza flinch.

“What do you want, Freeza?”

“I need Prince Vegeta. It seems his planet is proving to be useful once again to my empire.”

The old man cocked a bushy eyebrow and asked, “Why do you need him? I am going to destroy them all; it would be useless to use him as a tool for your empire.”

“I will return him to you as soon as I ascertain the reasons for the sudden change in Vegeta-sei’s usefulness. Of course, I do not ask for him freely, for I do believe I have something you might desire.”

Gero’s looked at Freeza from the corner of his eye. There were only a few things he could want from the metal lizard. “Oh, and what is that?”

“My father’s DNA strand.”   “Heh, you do make a tempting offer, Freeza…but I want more than just that.”

“Would new technologies interest you? That is one reason I need to send Vegeta back to his planet temporarily, so that he can oversee their science division and report their new advances back to me. Besides, only monkeys can watch over other monkeys.”

Gero took a minute to think about this newest development. “More…” he rasped. “I will give you to him for a year if you give me one more thing.”

Freeza seethed inwardly, clenching his jaw to keep his anger under wraps. Gero seemed impossible to please. “Name it then.”

Gero smirked. “You and Zarbon…you two make such a pretty pair,” he cackled. “Entertain me, and yes, I’ll let you have the prince for a year.”   In truth, it didn’t matter to Gero how long Freeza had Prince Vegeta. In a year, he’ll have finished his new god and then he would get what he always wanted. Although he really wanted to exact his revenge on the Saiya-jins first, right now he had to focus on perfecting his little creation.

In his own mind, Freeza was speculating anew. Perhaps, with what lay in wait on Vegeta-sei, these new technologies might just be the means with which he could rid himself of this nightmare. New inventions and updates, new medicines and control systems; if he was the first to obtain those things that had been newly created by Vegeta-sei‘s Science and Technology Division and customize them to fit his needs then he could make these three pay sooner then he hoped for. But before that could be realized, Freeza needed to determine what was really happening over on Vegeta-sei – and for that he needed Prince Vegeta. “I guess we have a deal then. I’ll send for Zarbon this afternoon.”

“I’d like you two to wait for me in my sleeping chambers, Freeza, because I want to record the entertainment for later use.”

“So be it, Gero.” It was then that Freeza noticed the appalled looks on the twin monsters’ faces. For once, he understood what they felt for he was feeling it, too. Nevertheless, he hated them for their silent acquiescence of what was going to take place in the old pervert’s chambers. When the time came, he was going to savor killing these bastard Chikyuu-jins, especially Dr. Gero.

**********

The floor beneath him was metal-cold, but Vegeta couldn’t feel it nor could he feel his arms or legs. All he knew was that he was being dragged somewhere. The lights were blinding his unaccustomed eyes and his head felt as heavy as lead. When two of Freeza’s men had come into the room, an idea had somehow gotten into his head that they, and not the twins, would finally kill him. He tried to fight but he could hardly stand. Instead of killing him, they picked him up and hauled him out of the room by his useless arms, his tail dragging behind, also broken and matted with dried blood.   Vegeta didn’t want these to be his last moments alive; he still had so many things he wanted to do, so many things he needed to accomplish. Last night, he had dreamt of Bulma giving him a son to train and to teach. An heir who would be smart, like his mother and who would be strong like him; a fine ruler who would bring his people glory. Vegeta had dreamed of becoming Legendary, fulfilling his destiny and showing his people who was really the strongest. He didn’t want to die here. He wanted to live, to hold onto his dreams so that he could reach his potential, so that he could return to his reluctant bonded, his other half.   When they entered a vaguely familiar room and finally stopped, Vegeta began to believe that perhaps fate was having him head down a different path. The two that had been dragging him, now held him up so that he was on his knees. He barely made out the fuzzy image of Freeza standing in the middle of the room. Vegeta raised his head to look around. He couldn’t see the Chikyuu-jin pair and for once he was grateful for Freeza’s presence. Wondering what was to become of him now, he watched the Ice-jin warlord walk towards him.
“So, we meet again, monkey. I thought our last meeting would have been truly our last, but it seems that won’t be so.” Vegeta really couldn’t hear him clearly because his blood was still dry in his ears, so he just stared blankly at the ugly metal lizard.

“Freeza…” Vegeta croaked through dry and swollen lips.

“What? Does the monkey wish to talk to me about his betrayal? Save it. I am your lord and you will do I say,” Freeza said. “I have decided to allow you to temporarily return to your planet to oversee your precious Science and Technology Division and provide me with an assessment of its progress. Once you have collected all of the updated data, and I will specify which data I want, once you reach your filthy red planet. When you have finished gathering the information I need, you will return to me.” Freeza paused to lean his sneering face down, within inches of Vegeta’s battered face. “I don’t think it’ll be wise to run from me,” he warned darkly. “My reach extends all over the universe. You will return or I will come and get you. And after I have torn every limb from your body then I will give you back to those two monsters for their plaything.”   Looking down at the broken body of Prince Vegeta caused Freeza to be repelled by the sight of it. He quickly straightened and turned to the officers who were holding the weaken Saiya-jin. “Get him out of my sight and ship him back to Vegeta-sei!”

With his hearing so severely blocked, Vegeta had no idea what Freeza had said, but he only just made out something about his returning to Vegeta-sei. When the two henchmen began to drag him out of the room and away from Freeza, Vegeta could honestly say he was surprised and happy about this change in circumstance. His hopeful mind began to look forward again to all the possibilities that had unexpectedly been made available to him once more. Upon his return to Vegeta-sei, the first thing he was going to do was to make things right with Bulma. As soon as that was accomplished then he would be free to finally set off to his rebellion and begin his journey to rid the universe of Freeza and anyone else that had damaged his pride and threatened his planet. Thinking back on his decision to install Bulma as the lead for the Engineering and Development section of the new technology lab, he was glad he had made the right choice. He had done so because, at the time, he strongly felt that she had the potential to do the impossible. Inside, he felt that this reassignment, which was going to give him a second chance to change his destiny, undoubtedly stemmed from that single, insightful decision.   And if Bulma truly lived up to what he believed was in her, and if he finally realized his dream to become the Legendary, then he would show the universe just how truly evil this Saiya-jin prince could be.

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