Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend Of the Bond ❯ Curse Of the Bond ( Chapter 24 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Bulma picked up another computer chip, fingering it listlessly. Even though she had only worked for about a week, it felt like years to her. She was almost completely confined in her new room, wherein she was supposed to work tirelessly to make Freeza’s new body. The newer space wasn’t any bigger than her previous cell, but it did have a larger bed and its own bath, for which Bulma was thankful, but the small size made it very difficult to even think, let alone make something that was this complicated. At least Zarbon had slacked off on his visits since he dropped her off here, but the smirk he left her with continued to give her nightmares. The two alien guards were nice enough to not bother her when those nightmares made her scream in her sleep or out of frustration. Their ability to ignore her only made her wonder what would happen if she was in any real danger. They were probably just there as jailers and couldn’t care less about anything else.

Connecting the computer chip to a small panel, Bulma felt unsure what she was doing was correct. She was so tired that making mistakes were common, but mistakes were also what she wanted. Taking longer to create Freeza’s enhancements meant she might live longer and be able to come up with a better plan of escape. And that was another reason she was feeling so tired lately.

Whenever she was allowed to leave her room, for about an hour a day, mostly to get supplies and food, she picked up a few scraps of gossip about things that were going on with the crew. She happened to hear that one important crew member was about to leave for an extended stay on a planet Bulma had never heard of, but she knew that when they docked at that planet, it would be the best time to escape. With this new information firmly in mind, Bulma worked doubly hard to create an escape plan.

The last that Bulma heard about it, they would be traveling about six days’ time to reach the planet, where this so-called “important guest,” who was rumored to be even stronger than Freeza, would be dropped off. So far, she only had a day left until the six-day mark would be met, and her plan was almost complete. Putting down the components of Freeza’s new body, she grabbed a small napkin that was sitting on the corner of the desk and unwrapped it. She had mapped the layout of the ship on the napkin. Hopefully, she would soon have enough distractions made as well to aid her in her escape. She didn’t have a clue about what she would do once she got away, but for now, getting away was enough.

Bulma had to escape, no matter what. The first time she was allowed to roam, she told her guards that she needed to get medical supplies, stating that the equipment she used could be hazardous. While both were looking the other way, she inconspicuously grabbed a pregnancy test and slipped it into one of her deeper pockets. Once she was alone, she tested herself and found out she was indeed with child, Vegeta’s child. After that, something in her changed. No longer did she seem to care about her old life on Chikyuu, no longer did she wish to hate Vegeta-sei or Saiya-jins. With this child growing within her, she now truly felt a part of them. She blamed everything on Freeza, more so than she did before, when she still felt a slight grudge against the planet and people that enslaved her. She eventually accepted Vegeta and even married him, but she never felt that his people were hers. Now, Bulma felt a whole new connection with the Saiya-jins. And she had to get to the rebellion, back to Vegeta, to stand with them to defeat Freeza, and protect her child, their child of the future.

**********

Freeza’s ship touched down softly on a brownish planet that had been purged almost ten years ago before being bought by a race of mechanics, whose people promptly rose in population and riches after the sale. Gero knew this would be the right planet for the birth of his God. When he told Freeza of his wishes, he made it very clear to the false emperor that trying to blow the planet up while he was on it would be a bad idea as the twins were under his orders to “baby-sit” the doings of his crew and be closely watching his every move. The conflicting looks on Freeza’s face amused him. The lizard looked quite happy to be rid of Gero, yet extremely annoyed that the twins would be left behind on his ship. It didn’t matter to Gero what the cold lizard thought, because he, Gero, with his soon-to-be-born God, would return soon enough to kill the half-dead creature.

Gero turned away from Freeza and walked slowly from the docking bay, down the landing ramp and out onto the soil, followed by a few workers and Gero’s equipment, including a large container. Unbeknownst to all, except Gero, this container held his God. He knew Freeza was watching him, but he purposely ignored him. Soon, so very soon, after all his scheming and anticipating, his dream would be realized.

**********

Knowing that they had landed just a few moments before, Bulma anxiously snuck around a corner. She had left her room about forty minutes prior to landing and had hoped that the time difference for her daily furlough wouldn’t raise suspicion. The only thing that was causing her trouble at the moment was her map. Her only guide to the layout of the ship had been sketched out from her own roaming experiences since she wasn’t allowed access to the ship’s schematics or an actual map of the place. After she had gotten only so far, she realized she was lost. She thought she could use her abilities to be able to get back on the right track, but the further she went, the more lost she became.

Almost feeling completely out of luck, Bulma turned another corner. The corridor suddenly opened up and the docking bay was before her. And then she realized how really out of luck she was. A few feet away stood Freeza, Zarbon, and what looked to be a Chikyuu-jin. Bulma couldn’t believe that the important guest was another Chikyuu-jin! For a second, she wanted to run up and talk another one of her species, which she hadn’t seen in a long time, but something made her hold back. The older Chikyuu-jin was moving farther away, hardly paying any attention to Freeza or anyone else but the things they were unloading from the ship.

Now Bulma was curious. She wanted to know what was going on. Biting her lower lip, she slowly moved forward, hugging the wall, trying to stay hidden. She didn’t want to be seen. Slowly, she went from cluster to cluster of cargo, trying to stay well out of sight and get closer to both the Chikyuu-jin and her freedom. Bulma then glanced back towards Freeza and suddenly noticed that Zarbon was no longer standing next to his master. Hoping that was a good sign, she stepped behind a group of large crates to look around and catch her breath. When she looked down for a moment, she felt someone tap her on the shoulder and Bulma nearly jumped out of her skin. Not wanting to turn around, but knowing she had to, she hesitantly turned to face the person who was silently behind her, waiting. Goosebumps and a sickening crawly feeling spread all over her body, and her heart leapt into her throat when she saw Zarbon standing behind her, smiling.

“Good day, Lady Bulma.” His voice was sweet and soft as silk.

Bulma didn’t know what to say. True, she had been caught red-handed, but she didn’t like the way Zarbon was speaking to her. When her eyes averted to her right for a split-second, Zarbon pinned her to the crates, pressing his body against hers. He then picked her up and held her up so that he could wrap his arm around her and kiss her. At first, his kiss was soft, not rough at all, until he began biting and squeezing her. Zarbon grabbed one of her legs and wrapped it around his waist, allowing him to rub his hardened staff on her womanhood in a rather unpleasant manner. While pinning her to the crates, he took his free hand and groped her in all the wrong places.

She knew she couldn’t yell out for help unless she wanted to be on the receiving end of even more unwanted attention. Zarbon teased her by letting his hand slowly glide over her body, letting his fingers dig into her body occasionally. His hand stopped over her womanhood, cupping it gently, like he had before. He finally broke off the kiss and smirked at her. Bulma, using all of her strength, pressed her head forward to whisper into his ear, making a gamble she hoped would work.

“I swear that if you go any farther, I will either kill myself, scream, or let Freeza kill me for again refusing to make the damned stronger tin suit.” Her whisper was frantic; she almost wanted to groan from the obvious panic that had graced her voice.

Zarbon said nothing in reply, but kept his smirk firmly in place. He then groped her hard, almost as if he wanted to crush her. Bulma jerked, from both the shock and pain. Knowing the odd position they were in made it almost impossible for her to move, she couldn’t think of what to do other than endure this. Lifting her, he spread her legs, pinned her harder into the crates where she couldn’t reach the ground. No matter how much she used her arms to push him away, he was far too strong. Screaming seemed the only thing she could do but she doubted it would do her any good. Then Bulma thought of her unborn child and of Vegeta, and tears began to fall from her eyes. Clenching her fist, she opened her mouth to scream. Suddenly, her body hit the floor, released from her captor’s grasp. Zarbon silently stared down at her, smirking from ear-to-ear. Her bottom hurt, but she ignored the pain and glared hatefully up at the man who had, only a few seconds ago, been moments away from raping her.

“Bastard,” was all Bulma could say.

Zarbon kneeled down. When he was face-to-face with her, only inches away, he spoke to her in an arrogant tone. “The next time you try to escape, I assure you that I won’t bother to stop. Now, be a good girl and get back to your cell.”

Bulma was frozen by his words. It took a moment to finally snap back to her usual self. She stood straight up and held her chin high, looking him straight in the eye. After finally getting angry enough, but not wanting to tempt fate, Bulma simply “hmphed” and turned on her heel, walking past Zarbon and back towards her work room.

When Bulma was finally alone, locked up in her room, surrounded by parts of machinery and computer components, she fell onto the floor and wept. She had been scared, but had what really gotten to her was that she had failed to escape. And now, she knew that she would be watched closer, and probably allowed out of her room even less. What made it all the more disheartening was contemplating that, thanks to her failed escape attempt, she and her baby didn’t stand a chance to survive.

**********

Vegeta sat with his eyes closed in his cramped space pod. Even though he was shorter than most others, this particular pod seemed to have been built specifically to annoy him. The temperature inside the pod was set at a tolerable level, so that even within the small space, Vegeta wasn’t all that uncomfortable. He had opted to stay awake during the journey to some backwater planet on which Dodoria happened to be assigned a mission. The pink rubber ball had been infatuated with the planet since Freeza had sold it to a slug-like species that had become rich by selling the crops gathered from their specialized gardens. Only a few within Freeza’s minions knew of Dodoria’s strange “preferences,” including Vegeta. Of course, Dodoria didn’t care that Vegeta knew, as he believed that the Saiya-jin was too weak to be a real threat to him. Remembering that caused Vegeta to “humph” with displeasure, annoyed to think that such a creature, not even worth the dirt in his eyes would dare to dismiss him in that way. For two months, Vegeta had been training non-stop in the “GR” that Bulma had left him and he was confident enough to know that now he was much, much stronger than the pink blob.

The rattle caused by his pod hitting a small pocket of turbulence hadn’t bothered him, but for some reason he was compelled to open his eyes. Vegeta could see the stars racing before him and the trails of glowing lights hypnotized him. Somewhere in his soul, a sharp pain slowly crawled into his heart. Vegeta took a deep breath to try and quell it, but he couldn’t hold it. He grabbed at his chest, leaning forward and clenching his teeth. The pain wouldn’t go away. He knew this pain. It was his constant companion since he was separated from Bulma. He knew it was useless to try and calm it for this pain wasn’t from the bond; it wasn’t from some disease or battle wound. This was the pain that originated from a broken heart, from being separated from Bulma. The best he could do was not to focus on it and let the pain run its course.

A moment of stillness went by when Vegeta felt something. His mind focused on the direction of the feeling and was startled by the familiarity of it. He knew this feeling, he knew this sensation. Without hesitation, he sat back up and opened the control panel of his pod to look up the coordinates where he felt that same strange tingle that he had in the past. It was Bulma! It had to be her! He could feel her through the bond they shared; the tingle, the same sensation of the Bond growing stronger. He heard in his mind soft, inaudible whispers. With each passing minute, the whispers grew louder. Vegeta closed his eyes again, expecting to relish the moment when could feel her, his bonded, until he heard what the whispers were saying, all too clearly.

…They are going to kill me…I need to escape…for us…Vegeta…

Flinging his eyes open, Vegeta’s hand stretched out automatically to change his coordinates, but at that second, his screen turned on, and he was interrupted. Immediately, the bond and the whispers went quiet and the disquieting feelings left Vegeta, just as the person on the screen floating in front of him spoke.

“Prince Vegeta, we are almost there! I wonder if these snail people will have really good food like it’s rumored!” Kakarotto’s voice spoke with such child-like excitement that it threw Vegeta off for just a moment. He stared at Kakarotto with a perplexed look, though the expression quickly turned into a dark scowl.

“Uh, did I say something wrong, Prince Vege –” Vegeta cut off the rest of the goofy Saiya-jin’s question by shutting down the communication screen. He leaned back against his cushioned seat in his pod and sighed heavily. He only needed to press one button to change his course to her, but he couldn’t. He had a duty to the rebellion to face Dodoria. He couldn’t bail on his mission and leave that foolish Kakarotto to face Dodoria alone and possibly to his death as well. He would have to believe in his own words about Bulma; that she would escape on her own and that she would be strong enough to survive on her own. Vegeta put his head in his hand and grimaced. Perhaps he should have allowed himself to sleep for the journey.

As Vegeta’s pod raced through space, it passed by a greenish-pink planet that was only one dot, mixed among the other bright dots, in the vast darkness surrounding him. The trail of propulsion and the aerodynamic heating followed behind Vegeta’s pod, illuminating it to a soft blue color. With Kakarotto’s following close behind, the two small, rounded pods headed toward their destination with determination and purpose, and with nothing else in their way.

**********

Zarbon smiled in such a way that was both mischievous and full of contempt. It wasn’t even a smirk, but Zarbon’s fellow henchman, looking up from the screen before him, could read his facial expressions accurately. The two of them had worked closely together for far too long not to know the other well enough, but that neither would bother to hide their hate for one another. But in that shared hatred they established an odd companionship. The screen into which Zardon was speaking to Dodoria was small and tucked away in the corner of the main bridge. Freeza was standing not too far off, but well out of earshot. Zarbon didn’t care; he had nothing to hide…yet.

“You seemed to always get the easy assignments, Dodoria. If you get back and are granted a vacation, I will be too jealous of you to let you get away with it.”

“He-he,” chuckled the pink alien. “Lord Freeza trusts you more, as you handle the dirty work far more reverently than I do.” Dodoria’s deep voice held a slight tone of smugness that caused Zarbon’s mood to darken only slightly.

“Of course, you get the simple assignments as they best suit you.” Zarbon paused for a moment, thinking. “You are simple-minded after all and right now, Lord Freeza doesn’t need screw-ups like you to get in the way of his important work.”

Dodoria didn’t seem too fazed by Zarbon’s insults. “I might be simple-minded, but at least I remain loyal. I know you how you feel, blue boy.”

“I am loyal, but,” Zarbon began to say then lowered his voice, “who would want to serve a weak lord? Remember, you pink balloon, that once I find the right leader to whom I can be completely loyal, you’ll be either dead or begging me on your knees to accept you into my new lord’s ranks.”

“I think not, Zarbon, for once that girl makes Lord Freeza’s new armor there will be no one stronger.” Dodoria looked away and picked his teeth, almost as if he was bored with the direction the conversation was headed.

Knowing this, Zarbon switched topics. “Enjoying the food there?”

Dodoria smiled. “Immensely, although the females of this species could be less…slimy.”

Zarbon wanted to laugh. “I thought you liked your women wet!”

“Don’t be a complete ass, Zarbon.” Dodoria looked off-screen for a moment, then back at Zarbon. “But tell me, how are the females on the ship? Is that new one any good?”

Zarbon’s face went tight and expressionless. “I can’t touch her yet, but I will, once she comes to me.”

Dodoria knew what that meant. If Zarbon hadn’t touched her then it was only on Lord Freeza’s order, for whatever reason. However, if she sought out Zarbon, then that would be a different story. “I see, and just how do you plan to lure this one?”

“She’s tricky, but it’s only a matter of time. Once her death order has been announced, she’ll be begging me for me to step in and spare her.” Zarbon then glanced at a digital readout for the time. “Oh, have those two new soldiers arrived yet?”

Dodoria turned his head to check his console on the side of his screen, and then furrowed his ridged borrow in displeasure. “They have just arrived, so it looks like I’ll have to go back to work, unfortunately.” The screen went black before Zarbon could reply, but he allowed a small smirk to curl his lips anyway.

The thought of Bulma weighed heavily on his mind. He didn’t regret what he did earlier to her; she needed a bit of a scare put in her for trying to escape, though he knew it would only set him back in his desires. He was hoping that her death warrant would bring her to her senses and, if she was willing to share his bed, he would petition Lord Freeza to keep her alive. Zarbon rose from his seat and walked away from the console, his cape billowing behind him. He would have her; either by wooing her or by using emotional blackmail to affect an even exchange for her freedom.

**********

Dodoria was stunned at both the unexpectedness and the idiocy of what he saw before him. Somehow the information had been leaked that he needed two new soldiers on this planet, and now that information had fallen upon the wrong ears. No doubt the soldiers who were supposed to report to him here had been intercepted and killed along the way, replaced with the two before him, standing among rumble that they had just made. But Dodoria wasn’t afraid. He could best them easily.

The Saiya-jin prince looked unchanged from the last time Dodoria had seen him and the other, taller Saiya-jin seemed to be just one more piece of fodder to him. The slug-like people, caught off guard by the Saiya-jin’s violent arrival, ran past him in a hurry, scared for their lives. Dodoria didn’t pay them any mind, but soon an evil grin spread across his pudgy pink face. Neither of the Saiya-jins looked too pleased with by his smiling, but it didn’t matter to him. This was going to be fun.

“What are you smiling about, Dodoria?” Vegeta’s voice was calm and even; it held no hint of uncertainties or fears.

Dodoria chortled. “I’m laughing because I’m about to kill you, Vegeta, and thereby become insanely popular with Lord Freeza once I present your head to him.”

“What makes you so sure?” Vegeta wanted to bait him into fighting, though he knew he should let the big pink creature speak. Perhaps Dodoria’s tongue might slip on his boasts and Vegeta could get a clue as to how Bulma was faring.

“Because it’s commonly known that I’m stronger than you! Your ki is still weak! My scouter informs me that you are at the same ki level as when last I saw you.”

“Perhaps your device is defective? You might want to get it fixed.” Vegeta was taunting him now, while Kakarotto stood silently behind him, keeping a stern face towards Dodoria.

“Fixed, you say? Perhaps I should give hand it over to that pretty new scientist we have now.” Dodoria watched Vegeta’s face eagerly when he said that. He had heard some rumors circulating about the girl scientist and Vegeta. When he saw no visible reaction on Vegeta’s face, he pushed further. “After she fixes my scouter, I might enjoy her other services. I hear that she is quickly ranking up in the fleet’s harem.” Still no change. “Zarbon keeps telling me that she is the best he’s ever had.”

As soon as he uttered that last line, there was a quick and surprising change. Vegeta powered up immensely and very fast. His legs smashed into the ground, while air and pieces of rock whipped around him in a whirlwind of power. The thick vein that popped up on his forehead and red color of his skin signaled his increasing fury. Dodoria’s eyes widened with fear. His scouter’s readout was going crazy; the numbers were going up and down too quickly to read.

“I could care less about that, Dodoria!” Vegeta shouted. “Prepare to die!”

Frantic with fear, Dororia waved his hands in front of him, saying, “No wait, you can’t kill me! I have information to help you and your rebellion!”

“Oh? Too bad for you, I don’t need it.” Vegeta stretched out his hand, his palm flat, fingers pointing upward.

Kakarotto looked at Dodoria with sympathy and he moved next to his prince. “Wait, Prince Vegeta. Maybe we could spare him.”

When Kakarotto spoke to him, Vegeta’s eyes glanced to his side. Grinding his teeth in anger, Dodoria used that distraction to fire a surprise blast at Vegeta, before flying off as quickly as he could. The Saiya-jin prince looked at the escaping alien with scorn. He merely tilted his head, no longer paying Kakarotto’s soft words any more attention, and stepped to the side, easily dodging the blast. Vegeta’s sharp eyes tracked the fleeing enemy’s trail in the sky and within seconds, he released an energy blast at Dodoria.

Dodoria looked down and back in panic at the approaching ball of enerygy. He would survive that pathetic blast for surely he had only been imagining this new immense power level of Vegeta’s. But as soon as he felt the heat of the blast making contact with the bottom of his boots, he knew better and his beady eyes widened in growing horror. Now he knew he was going to die. Then he remembered about what Zarbon had said about choosing the wrong master, following the wrong lord. He had chosen wrongly. If he had just been wiser, he would have paid more attention to the fact Freeza was growing weak, or to the fact that Chikyuu-jin Gero was indeed taking over the empire. Knowing these things, perhaps he would have lived longer, had he left Freeza and sought out a better, more powerful master. As he felt his legs disintegrate, he felt a terrified scream escape from his puffy lips. The last thing that passed through Dodoria’s mind just before the blast completely engulfed him was how right Zarbon was. When the blast cleared, there was nothing left of Dodoria. Not even ash.

Vegeta’s face held onto its expression of rage and his burning anger didn’t subside. Dodoria’s words had done the things Vegeta had hoped for: angered him and let him know that Bulma was still alive like he had believed, although the sordid details of her new enslavement caused him to worry anew about her well-being, angering him more deeply than before. He didn’t know if what Dodoria had said was true or not, but if any of his words held even a fraction of truth, they would pain him too much. He felt Kakarotto’s worried eyes upon him. The Saiya-jin warrior who grew up on Bulma’s home planet was concerned for her as well.

“Let us hurry and kill the rest of Freeza’s scum, then get the hell off this planet!” Vegeta was surprised at how hard it was to speak. He quickly stepped a few feet forward, keeping his face averted from the taller Saiya-jin’s view. Vegeta didn’t want anyone to see the few small tears that had crept into his eyes. Shutting his eyes, he dried them quickly.

“But what –” Kakarotto was caught off guard by Vegeta’s leap into the sky. He shrugged his large shoulders, sighed then followed after his prince.

**********

In recent weeks, the rebellion continued to make many successful raids upon Freeza’s smaller fleets, leaving the clusters of damaged ships behind, creating floating salvage yards, ghostly in their abandoned appearances. Every time a fleet was attacked, or defeated, Freeza was the first to learn of it. Many times, he was tempted to torture Bulma for whatever information she might hold about the rebellion, but he held back his rage because he wanted the enhancements she was creating for him that much more. Instead, he let out his many furious and violet rages upon his crew, fueled by their ineptness. In his growing frustration, he killed many of the crew members.

The alliance of so many different species, coupled with Saiya-jins’ rumored strength, seemed to be giving their forces the upper hand. And every time Freeza searched for the rebellion, he was presented with failure after failure. While his own fleet did managed to capture a few rebellion ships, all of them self-destructed before he had the pleasure of extracting information from the crew or before he could blast the ships himself. All of the clues that his forces did uncover only led to dead ends.

The last straw for Freeza was when he heard of Dodoria’s death. Standing on the bridge of his flagship, he barked out orders to head straight for Vegeta-sei, where he knew the prince of that monkey planet had disloyally created a group of rebels, setting them against Freeza, right under the nose of his own people and father. As much as he wanted to just blow up Vegeta-sei for being the place where the rebellion originated, he couldn’t, because the android twins were always hovering about him, keeping a close eye on all his activities.

**********

Deep within the royal palace, Freeza strode heavily through the dark and damp corridors, while King Vegeta followed a stride or two behind. The king looked worried, but Freeza hardly paid any attention to him. The lizard was only concerned about finding the scholar’s wing of the palace. It was famous for its vast library, filled with battle strategy books, which Freeza knew that Prince Vegeta would have studied vigorously before leaving the planet. Long ago, when Freeza had heard the existence of those famous books, he never bothered to seek them out. Now he felt foolish and angry with himself for having dismissed the value of such books, which were filled with such potentially useful knowledge.

“Lord Freeza, I don’t know what I can do to deeply apologize for my son’s behavior, but I assure you that our own fleet will aid you in whatever it is that you desire.”

Uninterested, Freeza kept on walking and said, “No doubt you will, unless you want me to install a new royal line.”

King Vegeta bowed his head. “Yes, Lord Freeza. My fleet is standing by, awaiting your orders.”

“Wonderful,” Freeza said, his voice was filled with sarcasm and continued disinterest. “It just so happens that I have the perfect orders for them, orders which you will personally lead them to execute.”

The king’s face briefly dissolved into one of stern dislike for Freeza then quickly changed back into an expressionless mask like his son’s. Luckily, Freeza kept on walking and didn’t look back at the king. “I will do my best to show you true Saiya-jin strength and loyalty.”

“I had always believed that you Saiya-jins had to no loyalties, not even to you own people. Of course, if you ever had a sense of loyalty, you would have never served me so well.”

The king took the insult, but his brow twitched with anger. King Vegeta continued to follow Freeza until he arrived at the aged and crumbling scholar wing. The group, consisting of Zarbon, Freeza, and King Vegeta stood at the entrance and were met by the sole graying scholar who resided there. Trembling, he bowed before them, shakily touching his forehead to the ground and not daring to look up. The scholar recognized Freeza, and his visible tremors indicated that the old Saiya-jin knew very well who was before him and it filled him with fear.

“It is a very great honor to have you here, Lord Freeza. And Your Majesty, it is a rare pleasure that you have come to visit this humble place again.”

Freeza looked sternly at the wrinkled, elderly Saiya-jin before him. No wanting to waste more time he cut through the formalities and demanded, “Scholar, I want you to tell me about Prince’s Vegeta, in particular why he came to this wing of the palace and what books he read. And leave out not a single detail.”

The scholar became confused, though no one saw his face as it was bent downward. He remembered the prince’s wishes that no one should know of his ever being down here. His confusion about why Freeza was asking such questions caused him to hesitate in answering.

“Your life is hanging in the balance with your answer, Scholar!” Freeza’s voice was urgent and angry.

The scholar’s fear caused his skin to jump. After all, he was more loyal to himself then any other, even the royal family. His sense of self-preservation kicked in and he didn’t hesitate after that. “M-my Lord, as I remember, the prince only came here twice. It seems his tutors had properly instructed him in everything regarding battle, and the prince never sought more information.”

“Then why was he down here?” A sharp edge, filled with anger, graced Freeza’s voice.

“T-t-the first time he came into this wing was to do research…regarding the Bond.”

“The ‘Bond?’”

“Yes, Lord, the Bond of Legend. It is foretold that the when the Legendary returns, so will his bonded. She will be connected to the Legendary fully and like no other, even to the extent that, if she should die, so will the Legendary.” Now it was out for all to hear. In order to save his own skin, the scholar had revealed something to the prince's enemy that even the prince himself didn't know. The scholar shrugged. Had not Prince Vegeta been so impatient in his learning, so long ago, he might have known of this aspect of the Bond as well.

Intrigued, Freeza tilted his head, while the king looked at the scholar in astonishment, as he’d never heard about this part of the legend. “And who exactly would be this Legendary’s bonded?”

“The ancient writings do not give specific descriptions, but the two would be born within one year from each other and not be limited to race. It is not common knowledge, but the first Legendary was bonded to an alien. Most Saiya-jins have held the belief that only other Saiya-jins could bond with the Legendary, but that is a misconception. A-and if I may say, the prince acted very oddly when I told him about this.”

Freeza was paying full attention to the elderly scholar, and the king and Zarbon were listening intently as well. “And do you recall when he was down here, asking for this information?”

“About eight years ago or so, my Lord,” the scholar replied, keeping his head bowed, not wanting to risk angering any of the men standing before him.

Zarbon took a step closer to Freeza. “Sire, if you remember my report submitted to you at that time, that is when the Chikyuu-jins first arrived on this planet.”

King Vegeta had a mix of emotions darting around on his face. His thoughts were racing, but he kept them to himself and didn’t say a thing. Freeza, however, looked surprised and pleased. Zarbon merely smirked, as pleased as his master to hear this piece of news. Now they had found the perfect way to get rid of Prince Vegeta without incurring the wrath of Gero.

“And what of Prince Vegeta’s other visit to this wing?” Freeza’s asked, but his tone was carefree.

“H-he came to destroy a few books on battle strategy. I couldn’t understand why he would do such a thing, but the prince came and blasted them without bothering to first read them.”

The information about the destroyed books didn’t matter any longer to Freeza, for he had come seeking copper and would be leaving with gold. This was all the information he needed. Without another word, he left, leaving the scholar huddled on the floor, shaking but alive. The king continued to stand where he was, gazing down at the scholar, though it was obvious that his thoughts were far away, focused on other things. A light, cold sheen of sweat broke out on the king’s skin. Freeza paused for a moment to look back at the king, then smirked and walked off, leaving King Vegeta alone in the dark, earthy, scholar’s wing.

**********

An agitated Bulma scratched at her wrist. She had just burned herself in the process of trying to destroy a nearly finished piece of the armor she was making for Freeza. Her measured stalling was the only thing keeping her and her baby alive. She placed her hand on her slightly bulging stomach, worried that she had to find a way to hide the signs of her ever-growing body. Bulma sighed and took out another napkin from one of her pockets. This one held a few more notes regarding her new plans for escape. After her first failed attempt, she decided that she would need to fight her way out. In order to make this escape plan successful, she was making two small things to help her do just that.

Obviously, sabotaging anything from her closely guarded room was out of the question, because her first concern was the life growing inside her. Bulma kept faith that the rebellion would win, and so would Vegeta, but in the meanwhile, she could not waste any more time worrying about that. Slowly, she began working on a the small devices before her: a reconstruct of the ki disrupter she had made so long ago, and a jamming device that she could attach to a pod’s controls and interfere with its radars, similar to the undetectable ones she had made for the rebellion’s fleet. Uninterrupted, she could easily finish these little inventions within a week’s time, but she had to focus on Freeza’s new tin suit and stretch out as much time with that as possible. Because of that, the devices would take months to complete. It didn’t help that she was constantly tired and her mind exhausted from the stress of her situation.

Bulma yawned and she felt the slight burn on her wrist itch again. She decided to put away her devices and go to sleep. When she got up from her workbench with all intentions to go to her bed, the doors of her cell slid open and Freeza walked in. Surprised, she almost jumped as he came barging in, his expression a mix of smuggness and anger. When the doors closed behind him, Freeza stopped and whipped his tail, pounding it onto the floor behind him. Bulma couldn’t speak.

“When will my new body be ready?” Freeza demanded.

Bulma’s eyes widened, trying to figure out what to say. An instant later, she composed herself and folded her arms. “Your new body will be extremely complex and powerful,” she said. “I’m doing everything I can to make it the best piece of work I have ever done and that will take time. I’d say about four months.”

The vibrations from the next slam of Freeza’s tail nearly knocked her off her feet. “I’m afraid that’s not good enough anymore, Chikyuu-jin. Make it sooner, or I will find the time to torture you.”

Bulma’s mouth went dry and she swallowed what little moisture there was in it. “I don’t think –”

“Do not think about anything else except the fact that I am only keeping you alive so that you can fashion your trinkets for me! I want my enhancements completed sooner, do you understand? Freeza looked over at her work area, which was hardly filled with anything large enough to be his body, and clenched his fist. “Is that all you have done!?”

“What do you expect? Proper construction takes time. Why should you be in such a rush?” Bulma asked, trying to keep her temper in check. The urgency of her escape jumped to the forefront in her mind and she knew she would be getting desperate soon.

“I’m the one asking the questions here, Chikyuu-jin,” Freeza’s snarled, his frown nearly touching the button of his chin. Then he thought more about what she asked and he smirked. “However, your question is valid. Since I am going to kill you once you complete my new armor, I will want to kill you quickly.”

Bulma’s blue eyebrows drew together in worry. She didn’t really want to hear what else he had to say, but she was curious. “Why?”

“It seems you are bonded to our dear Prince Vegeta through a Legend.” Freeza watched as Bulma’s expression went uncontrolled, now filled with fear and surprise. Her dismay pleased him. “I went digging for information down in Vegeta-sei, about what our rebellious prince has been up to and learned, to my great surprise, that if I kill you, Vegeta will die too, since he was foretold to be the Legendary. Of course, that’s only a myth, so he never will become this so-called Legendary, that foolish creature; but if you do have this connection to him, I can use you to get rid of the biggest thorn in my side.”

Bulma was speechless, her mind stopped, her thoughts fazed out, and all she could do was stare at Freeza.

“Now, be a good girl and hurry and finish this, or else you won’t like how nasty I can be when I’m disappointed. You have two months to get it completed. If you succeed, I’ll promise to give you something nice – right before I kill you.” And with that, Freeza departed, leaving Bulma to her own unhappy thoughts.

Bulma stood frozen in her cell, Freeza’s evil presence still lingering inside the small space. She remembered having a especially strong connection with Vegeta, something that seemed amazing, but she had never asked about it. She had wanted to discuss this connection with him after they had married, but more important things soon arose, like preparing for the rebellion. Her curiosity about it became inconsequential by comparison, and so she shelved asking about it for another time. Bulma never imagined that this connection would be something this crucial…that their bond came from a legend, of all things. Thinking about this “bond” made her heart sink.

Was this love between her and Vegeta foretold, orchestrated by the gods? Wasn’t it real? Forcing her tears back, she shook her head. No, she loved him! It was too real for her not to believe it was so. But what about Vegeta?

Drained from her encounter with Freeza, she took a deep breath and placed hand over her abdomen, then dragged her tired feet to her bed. As soon as she laid her head down, she fell into a fitful sleep. Her dreams reflected her regrets and fears and she awoke several times during the night. Each time she awoke from her disturbed dreams, she became more sad and worried, wondering if Vegeta knew of this “bond,” and if he really loved her or was just using her for his own ends – to become the “Legendary.” Bulma cried into her pillow as these thoughts kept her from sleeping. If she had to, she could raise the child on her own; she could be without Vegeta if she had to. But she loved him so deeply and wanted to be with him, and she wanted him to truly love her. She couldn’t help wondering as she fell into her exhausted sleep: Was this legend of the bond something she should be grateful for or something she should curse?