Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Legend Of the Bond ❯ Questions, no answers ( Chapter 26 )

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

Bulma opened her eyes for the third time since her turbulent landing. She remembered climbing out of her pod and out of the crater it caused, but not much else. She then found her eyes focusing on the white, paste-like ceiling above the long, soft oval bed upon which she was lying. Slightly surprised, she sat up and began to look around the small, sparse room. There were a couple of round, purple windows on the opposite wall to her bed, and an arched door just left of the windows. Bulma also noticed she was alone and that there was a cup of water on the table next to the bed.

Bulma knew she had never seen or heard of architecture such as this in any database she had ever studied. Trying to think of where she landed, she sighed and rubbed her belly. At least whoever had brought her here was thoughtful enough to put her in a comfortable bed. The mere fact that she was still alive and intact was a good sign. If the aliens here worked for Freeza, she probably wouldn’t have woken up at all. Bulma swung her legs and let them hang over the side of the bed. Then she looked at the cup on the table. She was horribly parched with thirst, but she was also wondering if the liquid inside the cup was safe to drink.

“It’s not poisonous, if that’s what you’re thinking.” The voice that entered the room was old and kind.

Bulma jumped from the unexpected sound and looked towards the door. Standing in the entryway, she saw a short, green alien with two little antennae coming from the top of his ridged, bald forehead. On his exposed arms, there were pale-pink, columned patches on his skin, accentuating his muscles like plate armor, and his dark eyes were friendly. He was also wearing a pair of loose, white pants and a red vest topped by a poufy white collar.

“W-who are you? Where am I?” Bulma’s fear was easy to detect.

“My name is Muuri, and you crash-landed on our planet, Namek-sei.”

“Uh…you guy’s don’t eat people like me, right? And you don’t work for Freeza, I-I hope?” Bulma was still frightened, though she was calm enough to remain still, but not enough to remember where she had heard the name “Namek” before.

The Namek-jin looked at her oddly then shook his head. “No, we Namek-jins do not eat meat of any kind. We only consume water to sustain ourselves.”

Bulma sighed, slumping a little in relief.

“Are you running from Freeza?”

The question made her re-stiffen with fear. “W-w-why do you think that?”

“We don’t get much information here, but our elder has told us about an intense evil presence spreading throughout the universe, and I presumed that this Freeza you are talking about is that evil. Anyone would want to run away from that.”

When she heard that, Bulma relaxed once again. “Yes, you could say my baby and I just escaped certain death from Freeza’s clutches.”

Once again, the Namek-jin’s expression became befuddled. “Baby?”

Bulma smiled and rubbed her belly enthusiastically. “Yes, my baby in here.”

“So your species keeps the egg within you?”

This time, it was Bulma’s turn to look back at him in puzzlement. “You could say that.” She was confused enough and didn’t want to go into any further discussion about her hosts’ strange reproductive habits.

As if sensing her discomfort, Muuri just nodded and smiled in understanding. Bulma smiled back at him then took the cup of water and drank it all in one gulp. “My fellow villagers and I have discussed your situation and since you do not seem to be evil, you can stay here as long as you wish. If you’d like, you may also continue to use this dwelling.”

“Thank you kindly, although I might need to seek out something more than just water with which to sustain myself and my baby.”

“I’ll have one of our warrior-types accompany you in your search for food. We do have some lesser native creatures that you might find suitably edible.”

“Warrior-types?” Bulma was genuinely curious.

“We have two types of people here: dragon types and warrior types. I presume that it is different with your people?” The elder walked toward her then held out his hand to help her stand.

“Yeah, you could say that,” Bulma said. She placed her hand in his and let him help her up. The elder Nameki-jin then placed her hand inside the crook of his arm and led her outside. Once she looked around and saw the green sky and number of white, oval-shaped houses, she felt like she had been to this place before. Suddenly, a thought occurred and the words “Dragon Balls” came to her mind, but she had no idea why or for what reason. Muuri walked with her towards a white table that was situated in a central area within the cluster of houses. Sitting and standing around the table was a group of Namek-jins: young and old, tall and short, and all were looking at her with a gentle inquisitiveness. Most were quite friendly, though others were shy, and she did her best to put them at ease. After introductions were made, she gave the children the brightest smile she could.

Bulma couldn’t help but notice that the Namek-jins all appeared to be very masculine with no female-looking ones in the bunch. Overcome with curiosity, she finally asked about it and was told almost casually that their race did not have males and females as such and that they reproduced asexually. Although, as she continued to talk with them, the fact that they were different from all of the people she’d known or that they were virtually strangers to her, began to matter less and less. But even as she interacted with her new acquaintances, the words “Dragon Balls” kept popping into her head. Forcibly putting those nagging thoughts aside for now, she made a quick mental note to perhaps one day ask her new friends what those words could possibly mean.

**********

Vegeta leaned against the farthest wall of the briefing room. Something was up with Bulma, he knew it; he could feel it in his skin. Although he couldn’t pinpoint where she was, he could feel her closer to him than before. Just that feeling alone allowed him some reprieve from his anguish and made it clearer to him that she was alive and oddly safe. Perhaps this new sense of being meant she had escaped or had done something to make herself powerful among Freeza and his crew. This good feeling had been with him for almost two days, which made everyone else around him feel just a little safer to be on the same ship with the usually moody prince.

Vegeta didn’t want to listen in on what was being said during the meeting. In his opinion, there was far too much talking going on and not enough fighting. Though he had been on the front lines for most of the battles they had fought, those were hardly in enough to satisfy him. What was worse was that, as they were now ahead of schedule, they had met up with Chimo’s group much sooner than expected, which meant that they were closer to defeating Freeza and winning the war. But listening to the sound of Chimo’s voice wasn’t doing anything to improve his sour temper. Vegeta hated the Godan-jin now. Any remaining ounce of friendly feelings he might’ve had for Chimo had exited his system like rotten food departing a queasy stomach on a hot day.

Vegeta had also heard of the enormous masses that flocked to the rebellion’s cause, seeking to help destroy the Cold Empire. Though they had to be selective lest a spy slip into their ranks, the large increase in the number of soldiers and volunteers had lifted the non-Saiya-jins’ morale level. But Vegeta, ever wary about such things, wondered if too much confidence might leave them overly vulnerable to sabotage or an attack from within. Luckily, the Saiya-jins’ morale only depended on winning battles and becoming stronger, and so far theirs was up as well.

“We are thirteen days ahead of schedule for the attack on the Ginyu Force, now situated in the Godan system. This means we have less than two months’ time remaining before we execute this attack.” Chimo’s voice was even, like usual. He cast a glance over at Vegeta, who was still staring off into space through the port window.

“I think it might be prudent to have the prince’s fleet accompany you.” Bardock’s voice was serious. Alerted by the visions that were still coming to him day-by-day, he felt that something ominous was brewing with Freeza’s fleet.

At the sound of his title, Vegeta turned to look at the four sitting at the table in front of him. Chimo and Koan, Chimo’s captain and second-in-command, sat with Bardock and Kakarotto. “And why should I involve my fleet in such a cowardly battle?”

Chimo looked at Vegeta again, but this time with a frown on his face. Bardock nodded to his prince. “Your Highness, I can understand your hesitation, but Freeza’s spy network is effective enough to already know of this attack plan. And…I-I have a feeling.”

Vegeta eyed Bardock cautiously. “A vision?”

Bardock’s voice was low and his eyes scanned the floor. “Not quite,” he said, slowly shaking his head before looking at Vegeta with uncertainty. “But I think it would be for the best if your fleet accompanied Chimo’s.”

Chimo nodded encouragingly. “Prince Vegeta and Kakarotto could go via a smaller ship to meet with Zarbon. My sources tell me that he has been reassigned to Dodoria’s old duty station, to clean up the mess he left behind. Afterwards, the prince and Kakarotto could assist us with the disposal of the Ginyu Force at Godan.”

“If I do decide to assist you with the Ginyu, I will fight them one-on-one. I won’t be an accomplice to some remote and spineless battle tactic.” Vegeta smirked. “But that arrangement is fine with me. You can take my fleet while I head off to face Zarbon and then Freeza.”

The others in the room looked at Vegeta, surprise written all-too-well on their features. Kakarotto was the first to speak: “Y-y-you think you can take on Freeza?!”

Vegeta lifted his nose in the air and allowed his smirk to spread a little wider. “Of course! I, the Prince of all Saiya-jins, will be Legendary soon. I’m more than strong enough to take on Freeza.”

Chimo pulled his eyes away and looked down to the floor. Koan noticed his leader’s discomfort and decided to step in and end the briefing. “Then shall we all go forward with our plans and dismiss this meeting?”

“That’s perfectly fine with me.” Vegeta seem to have enjoyed Chimo’s reaction.

Bardock stood and bowed to Vegeta before leaving with Kakarotto, who was in rush as of late. Vegeta knew Kakarotto wanted to spend time with his newly expanding family. Koan whispered something to Chimo then abruptly left after nodding curtly to Vegeta. Not wanting to waste his time either, Vegeta made to leave right after Koan, but Chimo stood quickly and went behind him. If Vegeta had turned around to see the Godan-jin’s face, he might’ve noted the hesitation before Chimo spoke.

“You’re not going to become like Freeza, are you?”

Irritated by the thought of having to speak to the person responsible for separating Bulma from him, Vegeta stopped at the doorway, but did not turn around. “And what if I am? What will you do about it?”

“You said…you wanted to keep to your own planet.”

“What if I have changed my mind?”

“I–” Chimo, who was normally composed, looked nervous. “You can’t keep changing your mind.”

“Fool, I haven’t changed my mind! You should be lucky that the girl who ‘served her purpose’ met me, or I wouldn’t have held back my urge to kill you where you stand.”

Chimo looked at Vegeta intensely. That the Saiya-jin prince would even say anything like that to him came as a great shock. “Did you hear what happened to Freeza’s flagship?”

Naturally, Vegeta had already been informed that Freeza’s main ship had been in some kind of accident and that most of the vessel has suffered significant damage from the explosion. He also heard that most of the flagship’s crew was killed. “Yes, what does that have to do with anything?”

“I do not think it would be wise to continue to think of her, for she is surely dead by now. If Freeza hasn’t already killed her, it is most certain that explosion did.”

Anger began to grow at the center of Vegeta. It seemed that Chimo was yet again purposely trying to provoke him. “Or perhaps it was she who caused started the explosion! I do not think it wise for you to lecture me on this issue!”

“Vegeta, I have been your ally for years. I do not think you should allow this woman to destroy–”

His face red with anger and a vein clearly visible on his wide forehead, Vegeta grabbed Chimo by the collar and shoved him into the wall. Chimo couldn’t move, his body now painfully indented into the wall behind him and Vegeta’s firm grip holding him fast. “Destroy what? Our ‘lovely’ friendship? Godan-jin, you assume too much to believe that we ever had such a relationship. Bulma has been part of my life far longer then you ever have or ever will be. With every fiber of my being, I know that she is alive, that she caused the explosion on Freeza’s flagship, and that she has escaped and is now safe! And you need to understand that once this war is over, I will never have to see you again and deal with your pathetic little tactics. Got it?”

Chimo looked at Vegeta for a long moment, watching as the Saiya-jin’s angry aura flared about him, his dark eyes filled of intensity. Finally, Chimo understood. Without this female, if she was still alive, Vegeta would essentially be the same as Freeza: an enemy and a menace. And yet, Vegeta kept insisting she was alive. For that fact alone, Chimo should be grateful, because without her to keep Vegeta in check, the universe had no hope. “Yes, I understand, Vegeta. So be it. This is where we end.”

Vegeta let go of Chimo then spat on the floor besides the shaken Godan-jin. “Hmph, good.”

With that, Vegeta left, ignoring the Chimo’s worried look, along with the fear and disappointment on his old friend’s face. Once the door closed after Vegeta, Chimo stepped out of the hole in the wall and sat on the floor to collect himself. He had never believed that Vegeta would be strong enough to kill Freeza, but he had backed the headstrong Saiya-jin anyway. Now that the time had come and Chimo didn’t know how he should feel; but he would take this the same way as he did with everything else. He rose and calmed himself before walking away. As always, he would hope for the best, but plan for the worse. And perhaps…somewhere down the line, death would greet him. But hopefully, it would not greet the universe…

**********

The dark room was calm and comfortable. Within this room sat a large elderly, dark green Namek-jin. His eyes appeared to be closed, or simply were no longer visible for his advanced age. Looking longingly out of the simple, round window across from him stood a younger, slimmer Namek-jin. A soft, but deeply amused, chuckle suddenly filled the still air in the dark room. The younger Namek-jin turned toward the sound with a stern and expressionless face.

“Nail, I know what is in your heart,” said the older, larger Namek-jin, his deep voice filled with wisdom.

“Grand Elder, please do not concern yourself with me; I am here to protect you,” Nail answered, bowing.

“Nail, you are my child and I can sense your heart’s desire. You may go and satisfy your curiosity for I sense nothing evil approaching us," the Grand Elder said then paused and smiled to his young son. "Plus, I want you to look after her for I am curious as well...there is no one else here better suited for this quest other than you.”

“But, I–” After I split-second’s hesitation, the younger Namek-jin then stood and nodded. “Yes, Grand Elder, but I promise not to take too long.”

The elder Namek smiled again. “Take your time, I am feeling quite healthy as of late, so nothing ill will befall me or Namek-sei.”

“Yes, Grand Elder, though I can not bear to leave you defenseless for so long as my place is here with you.”

“Ever so loyal, Nail. You are indeed the best of our warriors.”

“Thank you, Grand Elder.” With that, Nail bowed and left the larger, happier Namek-jin before flying fast towards Muuri’s village, consumed with curiosity about this alien newcomer and her technology.

**********

Bulma sat on the grass near the dwelling that Muuri had given her to use while she stayed on Namek-sei. Luckily, she had packed both capsules from when she was a slave and for the prototypes of the devices she made for Vegeta’s rebellion between her bosoms. During the past week, she had pulled numerous parts from her escape pod and the things inside those capsules and began to create a personal spaceship, which she would use to finally meet up with the rebellion. Her newest creation was also kept in a capsule. The capsules were left unattended in her new home. She never had to worry about a thief since she couldn’t imagine any of the Namek-jins being dishonest enough to steal any of them.

Right now, though, Bulma wasn’t working on her ship; she was enjoying playing with Namek-jin children as she sat on the grass. Her own child was still growing inside her, the little devil being strong enough to have survived the ordeal of escaping from Freeza’s grasp. The warriors of the village had to fish rather often to feed the hungry half-Saiya-jin inside her, though they didn’t seem to mind all that much. Bulma tried to help them as much as she could, but she kept getting more and more tired. Between taking care of herself and her growing child, she worked on making her ship ready to leave Namek. She also wanted to make something that she could leave behind for the Namek-jins to use. After all of the kindness that they had shown to her, she couldn’t leave here without making something for them. And it didn’t help she kept having vivid dreams about those darned “Dragon Balls,” and the powers that they were supposedly were able to wield.

Dende, one of the Namek-jin children, had become rather smitten with her. Fascinated by her alien objects, he always wanted to be by her side, asking her all sorts of questions and helping her with everything she would do. Rather mature for his age, Bulma thought he was a sweet kid and secretly hoped her own would be just like him. While Bulma, Dende, and the other children were sitting around and playing with a simple invention Bulma had whipped up for them, the older Namek-jins suddenly rushed to the village square. The group on the grass also looked up to see what the commotion was about then saw something approach from the sky. It didn’t take long before Dende broke out in a wide grin and yelled out, “Nail!!” Dende quickly got up from where he was and joined the others.

Confused, Bulma stayed where she was on the soft, bluish-green grass. Whoever, or whatever it was, someone or something very important was approaching the village. It could be another Namek-jin, or perhaps a group of Namek-jins, or even a ship, but Bulma didn’t feel all that worried. Ever since she arrived on this planet, she felt very safe with the Namek-jins. Part of her didn’t want to leave this newly found security, but Bulma knew that she couldn’t just leave the rebellion. More importantly, she didn’t want to be without Vegeta and find out exactly what this “bond” they shared really meant to him. Using a nearby chair, Bulma carefully shifted her bulk and got up to her feet then walked over to join the others in the square.

Before long, a tall and handsome young Namek landed in the middle of the other Namek-jins. He wore a short purple vest, with a light blue sash tied around his middle and a pair of white pants. His face had a look of seriousness that wasn’t easily shaken. The moment his feet touched the ground, the other villagers rushed toward him and began to barraging him with questions about someone called the “Grand Elder.” From where she was standing, Bulma watched as he responded to them all with a slight smile and nod. She couldn’t quite hear everything he said, so she continued to walk towards the gathered group, filled with questions of her own for the newcomer. When she came closer, he tore his eyes away from his fellow Namek-jins and looked at Bulma with the deepest, most piercing gaze that no other Namek-jin had ever given her. That look unsettled her completely and she instinctively placed her hands on her abdomen in a protective gesture.

Never breaking his gaze with her, he said, “I am here because I was told to look after the newcomer, as the Grand Elder instructed me.”

Surprised, Bulma still didn’t understand what was going on. Then the Namek-sei went up to her and took her hand, keeping his eyes on her, almost as if he was studying her, gently feeling her skin on her hand. The rest of the villagers stood back and watched them. Bulma wanted to ask so many questions that burned in the back of her throat, but she didn’t. The Namek-jin’s eyes went up and down her body, making her feel again uneasy. By now, she knew they were asexual beings and had no need for love, romance, or sex; but the way this newcomer was behaving…flustered her. Bulma looked openly into his face and witnessed a realization coming into his features.

“My name is Nail. I will look after you for a short period of time. I do not think it is wise for you to be up and about with an egg dwelling inside you.”

Before Bulma could say anything in reply, Nail lifted her off her feet and held her in his arms, and began walking toward her temporary home.

“W-wait a minute, I am perfectly fine to be out and about. I am not that weak!” Bulma’s protest went unheard as Nail kept on walking.

Dende began to laugh and ran up to the two, keeping pace with Nail’s stride. “Nail, will you be staying here for a while then?”

Nail glanced down at the smaller Namek-jin and gave him a small smile. “Yes, little brother, but not for too long.”

“Everyone will be happy that you are here, but will the Grand Elder be alright?”

“The Grand Elder instructed me to come. I’m sure that he will be fine in my absence, and I plan to visit him as much as I possibly can.”

Bulma had no idea who they were talking about. “W-who’s this ‘Grand Elder’?”

Nail looked back to her and said with a stern face that held no smile, “He is the leader of Namek-sei and all of her people.”

“Oh,” was all Bulma could think of to say at the moment.

Some of the villagers stood back and watched them while some joined Nail as he carried Bulma to her home. Dende didn’t leave either of their sides, keeping a wide smile on his face. Today was a joyous day for Muuri, who smiled from a distance as he watched the scene from his farm, along with everyone else in the village.

**********

Expecting something to happen, Junnanago and Juuhachigo waited and waited until they were too bored to wait any longer. In their shared boredom, they began to fly around, searching for anything to destroy. As they flew, they began to speculate aloud with each other about what that other Chikyuu-jin had been trying to tell them right before she escaped from Freeza’s ship. It wasn’t long before the two put the pieces of her words together and filled in what had been missing...that Freeza was the one who was behind the destruction of their planet. At first, regret filled their souls. They had spent so much time in his company and could’ve had any number of opportunities to destroy him outright had they realized what he had done. Their regret soon passed, replaced by a growing anger and hate. And here they were, stuck on this planet…so what should they do now?

In their frustration they began to shoot ki blasts at anything that moved.

**********

Suppressing his ki, Vegeta emerged from the special battle pod made for just this special occasion, which was disguised to look like one of Freeza’s war fodder pods. He had just landed on one of Freeza’s main, highly-secured battle planets, filled with war-hardened warriors, warships, and war technology, but because he kept his ki down, none of their detectors or scouters would be alerted to his presence. And the main reason Vegeta had come to this planet was because it was the current location of his main prey, Zarbon, who had just arrived only hours before Vegeta. Since Dodoria’s death, the blue-skinned lackey had to pull a double-shift to get everything on the planet back into some kind of order. This time, Vegeta made sure that Kakarotto stayed behind. For what he had to do, Vegeta didn't want any interference from the conscience of the soft-hearted Saiya-jin.

The air was thick with the scent of blood and sweat from the warriors, tinged by smell of polluted air. On the docking bay, people scurried around him, but no one paid him any heed, but Vegeta could’ve cared less about that. Today would be a field day for the Saiya-jin prince, for today, he would release all that had been locked within him since the day he was torn away from the only person who made him feel complete. Lifting his arm slightly, Vegeta began to collect ki in his palm while a large, satisfied smirk spread on his face. Before the poor souls around him could realize what was going on, a large explosion went off, destroying the docking bay. Vegeta watched from the air above as the bay broke away from the main building and fell to the ground below. Letting the wind control his cape and caress his tail, he closed his eyes. His smirk grew smaller but didn’t quite altogether disappear.

“How long have you been there, Zarbon?” Vegeta said into the wind, for no one was in front of him. “Don’t tell me that you’ve been waiting for me to bring the tea?”

Zarbon’s smooth, taunting voice came from behind Vegeta. “I’ve been aware of you since you landed and I knew you would be here sooner or later. Perhaps, you could call it a new ability I’ve acquired ever since I fucked your woman.”

The smirk from Vegeta’s face vanished. He didn’t want to believe anything that lying bastard was saying. Zarbon’s words could still be a bluff. “Oh, I sincerely doubt that.”

“Do you really plan to fight me, Vegeta? Do you really have a death wish?”

Vegeta slowly turned around to face his opponent and, as soon as he could, looked his enemy straight in the eye. “We shall see who of us is stronger, Zarbon.”

“I don’t want to fight knowing it’ll mess up my appearance, Vegeta. If you decide to surrender now, I might just let you see her once more before you die.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Zarbon! Your lies stink up the whole planet!” Vegeta snarled right before he vanished then reappeared behind his enemy, so close that Zarbon could feel his breath against his back. “Soon, you can die along with this planet!”

Surprised momentarily by the rate of speed at which the Saiya-jin moved, Zarbon spun around and pushed himself away from Vegeta, who was just about to throw a heavy, but slow feint punch. Zarbon didn’t know what to do next as Vegeta charged again at him with incredible speed. Before Zarbon could do anything, he felt himself double over from an extreme punch to his gut, the first of a barrage of upper body blows, each one more powerful than the last. Trying to defend himself, Zarbon kept throwing up block after block, but to no avail. Vegeta pulled away from his beaten opponent and began to rain down a series of small ki blasts at Zarbon, all delivered with more speed than his previous blows. He hung in the air, waiting for Zarbon to rally and counter his volley of attacks.

When the dust and smoke cleared a bit, Vegeta could see Zarbon hanging in the air below him like a sitting duck: unable to move, unable to block, and unable to even blink an eye. After gathering up a much larger ki blast in his right hand, Vegeta flung it downwards. The blast went hurtling straight towards his foe, its immense force throwing him into the ground below, causing dust and debris to scatter everywhere.

Bruised and in pain, Zarbon lay on his back and stared in disbelief up into the sky. He couldn’t understand it; how did Vegeta get to be this strong? In all the time he had known the monkey prince, he had never been this powerful. Then another thought chilled him: if Vegeta was only showing a fraction of his power then there was absolutely no way he could win against him. Zarbon thoughts were racing; he had to escape and think of another way to win against this over-powered monkey. But just was his mind filled with ideas to get away, Zarbon’s thoughts suddenly went back to that old Saiya-jin legend he’d heard about. Was that legend true? If it was then Vegeta might know about Bulma’s escape from Freeza’s ship.

Zarbon knew he would have to find that blue-haired female, one way or another. She held the key to winning against Vegeta, for both himself and Freeza. Zarbon grunted, struggling to pry himself from the crater his body had made. Once his body was freed, he slowly floated up into the air until he was at the same level as Vegeta.

“I guess I underestimated you, Vegeta,” he panted, wiping the bit of blood from his mouth with the back of his hand. “You are certainly stronger than I remembered. I suppose the only thing I can do now is to show you my true strength.”

Vegeta looked unfazed by the comment. “Finally, you decide to get serious. If you don’t reveal your true strength to me, you’ll lose for sure.”

“I really don’t like to this since my transformation somewhat alters my beauty.”

“Oh? So hurry up a show us your true self.” Vegeta smirked confidently. It didn’t matter what Zarbon transformed into, because this time, Vegeta knew had the upper hand. This blue-skinned, green-haired freak was going to pay for everything he had ever done to Vegeta and Bulma…and he was going to pay for it now.

With his blurred vision and tired eyes, Zarbon looked at Vegeta in the eye once more before positioning himself for his transformation. Zarbon knew Vegeta well enough to know that the Saiya-jin would toy with him now, and that was what he wanted, because it would buy him time. Holding his clenched fists upward and his arms parallel to his sides, Zarbon concentrated his ki. Collecting every ounce of power he had left, he let it swell into each muscle, making his smooth skin expand and become tougher and scalier. Slowly, his features grew and changed, his mouth widened, his skin boiled with small bumps, and he doubled in size. With the exception of his green hair, his features no longer resembled those of the formerly vain Zarbon. But by sacrificing his looks, he was now more than three times stronger than before.

Breathing heavily, he glared his smaller opponent with hard amber eyes. Panicking, he now realized that even this new form of his wasn’t going to be enough to defeat Vegeta. How could this have happened? Zarbon’s mind screamed silently. Should he have been more loyal to Vegeta? Or was his choosing to serve under Freeza the right path? Too many unanswered questions plagued Zarbon. Right now, he needed to forget what could have been and concentrate on surviving and escaping back to Freeza…who might again have been outdone by another, more powerful being in the universe.

“You are really one ugly fuck, Zarbon,” Vegeta chuckled. “I‘m surprised you didn‘t show that hideous face more often...I‘m sure Freeza would have preferred it.”

Though Vegeta's words angered him, Zarbon could sense that his enemy was feeling overconfident, if not downright cocky. Faking an angered reaction to Vegeta’s insults, Zarbon charged at him, though he was slower and Vegeta would dodge every attack. Once Zarbon got within an inch of him, Vegeta flew backwards, keeping his confident pose. Zarbon began to fling his fists toward Vegeta, aiming for upper body blows, but Vegeta continued to fly backwards towards the buildings, his smirk intact, fueling the infuriated Zarbon’s attacks. A wide punch came towards him, but Vegeta easily sidestepped it and Zarbon felt only air. The momentum carried his body forward and Vegeta grabbed his wrist. He began to spin Zarbon faster and faster in a circle. Just as Zarbon felt like he was ready to lose his lunch, Vegeta released his grip and Zarbon went flying into the nearest wing of the buildings which were just a few kilometers away.

As luck would have it, the wing Zarbon had been thrown into was the pod holding area. Knowing his plan had only moments to work, he got up as quickly as his broken body would allow, turned around and dashed towards the open pod that was closest to him. Reaching inside, he began to hit the buttons on its control panel.

Vegeta floated slowly down to the hole in the building, ready to face Zarbon, knowing full well he would win. As soon as Zarbon was destroyed, he would head out to confront Freeza and finish this war. Once that was done, he could seek out where Bulma was and be reunited with her so that they could return home and build a new royal family together. In the midst of Vegeta’s sweet musings, a large group of pods suddenly burst from the buildings’ docking bays towards him, followed by several battalions of soldiers.

The pods came at him very fast and close together, but Vegeta easily dodged every one of them, although it seemed that after he dodged one, another would come immediately after. Wondering why all of Freeza’s soldiers decided to come after him at the same time, Vegeta stopped and scowled after the rapidly disappearing pods. Then he suddenly thought of Zarbon, and realized that he could no longer feel his ki nearby. He had been so pre-occupied by his thoughts that he had forgotten to keep his wits about him. Glancing back at the trail of pods that were growing smaller and smaller with each second into space, he grimaced and clenched his teeth, knowing full well that Zarbon had snuck into one of those pods.

Before Vegeta could react, a weak soldier attacked him, followed by another. Soon Vegeta was surrounded on all sides by lesser warrior fodder all set to die by his hand, buying Zarbon the time he needed to get far enough away so that Vegeta could not chase after him. Incredibly furious, Vegeta gathered all his ki within himself then glared at each solder, one by one. He was in no mood to waste his time playing with them. Releasing a sudden and immense yell from the bottom of his gut, Vegeta let the ki surge out of his body in a brilliant and deadly wave of power. Those who managed to escape his first release of ki didn’t survive the equally powerful ki blasts and punishing fists that followed.

Some time later, Vegeta paused for a second, just as his own pod cleared the atmosphere, and reached out with his gloved hand, sending one huge ki blast down towards the planet, blowing it into space dust.

Earlier, when he had crept into one of the pods, Zarbon had lowered his ki as much as possible, which wasn’t hard since he had been badly injured. Once he had made it far enough into space, he relaxed a bit, right before he felt Vegeta blow the planet to bits. As he drifted off, Zarbon kept fretting about what was worse: having just been defeated by Vegeta or having to report this incident to Freeza and being killed for his failure later.

**********

Bulma struggled uncomfortably with her dream as she slept. She was having a vivid dream about a life on Chikyuu and about how, after years of peace, Vegeta mercilessly killed everyone…and how not even the “Dragon Balls” could help. Then her dream transformed after that and she found herself in an endless tunnel filled with people, begging her to use the “Dragon Balls” to save them. So many emotions poured into her all at once from her subconscious that Bulma broke out into a cold sweat as she tried desperately to wake up. It was painful and horrible, seeing all those people with so many different faces and expressions; some looking like they hated her, some like they pitied her. Among all of the faces, Bulma even saw her parents, her sweet-natured mother and gentle father. And there was another. He, too, was Chikyuu-jin, with scars on his face and black spiky hair that seems to droop. His dark eyes were looking at her so intently that it felt like he could see right through her, and that he could steal her soul. Shaking her head from side-to-side, Bulma moaned, but still, she couldn’t wake.

As there was no night on Namek-sei, Nail allowed himself to sit beside her while she slept during the second phase of the lesser sun. It worried him that in the last few days her rest was so troubled. Why he was so interested in her was something he couldn’t understand either. True, the Namek-jins had knowledge about other species, but this was the first alien to actually visit them so they never had an experience like this. Perhaps it was because of what the Grand Elder had said to Nail, that another force was controlling his feelings, and that it was important to keep his presence close to her. During these last few days, he was drawn in by her, as there was something terribly different about her and her species that interested him. He felt comfortable and yet…not so…when he was close to her. At times, she was both selfish and caring, and her strange behavior tended to confuse him. That conflicting aspect about her, among others, frustrated him greatly. He wanted answers…but he felt that he would only find them if he stayed close to her.

Bulma finally woke up feeling drained. Her body was demanding more from her, and she knew she would be in bed for another day until she had the energy to get back to work…not to mention, sneak around Nail and his ever-watchful presence. Bulma suddenly felt the touch of a gentle hand on her forehead. She opened her eyes and turned her head towards the person beside her. Seeing that it was Nail, Bulma felt herself relax, surprising herself by her reaction to him.

“You feel a bit feverish. I think it would be unfortunate for you and your egg if you fell ill.” Nail’s voice was serious as usual.

“I’ll be fine, just some unpleasant dreams keeping me from resting fully.” Bulma tried to wink at him, but she was too tired and out of energy.

“I’ll go get Dende.”

As soon as Nail’s hand left her forehead, Bulma panicked. As his hand took itself further and further away from her head, her mind went blank. Struggling ungracefully, she quickly shifted her pregnant body, to lean up and forward in order to grab Nail’s arm before he could go another step further. With a grunt and a lot of effort, she grabbed hold of his retreating hand. Nail stopped and looked back at her with a mixed look of surprise and concern.

“Please…don’t go!” Bulma didn’t like how her voice sounded.

“I think it’s best if I get Dende.”

“Just stay here, I’ll be fine…we’ll be fine. And I think I can sleep better if you’re here with me.” It was true. In the past few days, Nail’s company both comforted her and left her feeling uneasy, though it allowed her to sleep better, though tonight’s dream had been the worst since she landed on Namek-sei.

Nail was silent, unsure of what to do. She wasn’t looking at him, but at the floor, and her grip was solid, though there was no question that he could easily break it, if he wanted to. Then he heard her whisper something faintly, almost too low for him to hear clearly, even with his advanced hearing. But he did hear it, and the shock of her asking that question was hard to register in his mind. "What did you say?"

This time, Bulma tilted her head up to look directly at Nail and almost pleadingly asked, “What are ‘Dragon Balls’?”

Dual expressions of shock and horror fought for control of Nail’s face when it was clear what she asked. Out of all the questions she could have asked him, why this one? How did she know? There was no way he could say anything to her, for what could he say? He would have to talk to the Grand Elder about this. For now, silence was all he could give her.

Bulma desperately needed answers…so many things were keeping her from knowing the answers. With all her intelligence, why couldn’t she have figured out some of the most important pieces of information in her life, like the “bond” and the “Dragon Balls”, and then find answers to all of those other troublesome questions? She needed to know what she should do, so that those accusing phantom faces would stop hating her so much and judging her for things that she hadn’t done – and for all of the awful things that she felt Vegeta had done. But what exactly could he have done to turn what felt like the entire universe against him?