Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Thirty-Three ( Chapter 33 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Thirty-Three

 

“What do you mean?” Her eyes were already wide.

 

“That chant. Bulma,” he looked right into her eyes, “it's part of our history. Part of an ancient prophecy that we've been trying to unravel for quite sometime. We knew that the Legendary would be of the noble blood line, we knew that he would somehow be associated with Chikyuu, but when it all would take place…?” His voice trailed off as he became hopelessly lost in his own thoughts.

 

“So the chant never specifically related to the Khon'daia na?”

 

“No. I was taught to use the words to calm me during the worst parts of the Khon'daia na but it more precisely relates to the prophecy. You must understand, I've been raised to become the Chosen One—to become the Legendary.” His look intensified and his eyes flashed.

 

Bulma watched his eyes as an infinite number of thoughts raced through them.

 

“Have you heard those words anywhere else before? A vision, anything?” probed Vegeta. “I need to know.”

 

“All the time. I've been having dreams about it ever since I heard it for the first time,” Bulma admitted.

 

What was my father thinking? And he wanted to destroy her?

 

“I must speak with my advisors,” said Vegeta with haste. “There is much to be deliberated. Not only regarding this matter,” he glanced at her uneasily, “but the one from earlier this evening as well.”

 

Bulma could tell that he was more than rattled. The scowl with which his face was usually adorned had deepened and creases had formed between his brows. Not to mention his tail lashing wildly behind him. For Vegeta, the look was one of sheer panic.

 

Vegeta stood from the bed quickly, his back stiffened—his body language giving away how immersed in thought he'd become. His facial features had always been difficult to read. Understanding the many seasons of Vegeta's scowl was an art Bulma had spent nearly a year of close contact with him developing. But as she found with many Saiya-jins, what the face wouldn't tell, the tail or the body language would.

 

“Vegeta,” started Bulma as Vegeta approached the door, “I wanted to thank you for protecting me earlier.”

 

Without turning back around to face her, Vegeta slowly nodded his head and left the room.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

His advisors hadn't been much help. Not that Vegeta really expected them to be. After all, they had been the ones that goaded his father into accepting Dokar-sei's declaration of war at such a crucial time in the first place.

 

Idiots.

 

It was useless. Even after his confrontation in the throne room with his father and his ascension to the Saiya-jin throne, Vegeta still felt like he lacked the frame of mind to deal with the Dokar-jin peacefully.

 

And what of Bulma? His new mate had created quite the uproar. News of their relationship had already spread across the planet and many of his advisors didn't even know how to approach the subject. Not that he blamed them. He had issued a death threat to anyone daring to disrespect her. Part of him couldn't understand his own actions. They hadn't even consummated their relationship for god's sake. At least not on this plane of existence.

 

“Your Highness,” came Radditz's voice from down the hall.

 

Baka, can't even guard my chamber door properly.

 

“Yes?” responded Vegeta with irritation. He moved away from the wall he was leaning against and waited for the other warrior to approach him.

 

“Sir, I—“

 

But Radditz didn't have time to finish his sentence before he found himself pinned to the wall by the fuming Saiya-jin King.

 

He's going to break my neck.

 

Thought Radditz with fear in his eyes. It wasn't like he wouldn't deserve it.

 

“So, tell me, Radditz,” started Vegeta with malice in his voice, “why shouldn't I kill you after your weakness nearly lead to the death of my mate?” Vegeta's eyes were on fire as the grip on Radditz's neck squeezed tighter.

 

“I—“ Radditz couldn't even manage more than raspy whispers as the murderous Saiya-jin no Ou's grip threatened to crush his throat. Vegeta looked him in the eyes sharply, allowing Radditz to see how enraged he truly was. His ki had flared around him and if Vegeta had possessed such a gift, his look would have been enough to disintegrate the third class warrior.

 

Vegeta released him roughly with a flick of his wrist and the larger warrior collapsed to the ground.

 

“You're useless,” said the Saiya-jin no Ou barely above a whisper before turning abruptly and disappearing down the hall.

 

Why didn't he kill me?

 

But Radditz didn't spend much time dwelling on these thoughts. He'd rather not think about how a Saiya-jin whose ki spiked suddenly to two million earlier in the throne room had almost killed him.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

“You're slippery, Zarbon. That's for sure,” said Vegeta leaning in the door way.

 

“Vegeta no Ou.” Zarbon's back stiffened as he barely controlled his shock at hearing the Saiya-jin's voice.

 

“Made a visit to my mate the other day?” asked Vegeta with a smirk. Zarbon relaxed. This wasn't the 'I'm going to beat your sorry ass into the ground' smirk that he'd feared.

 

“Hai, Vegeta,” answered Zarbon, slowly gaining back his composure.

 

“You know me well.” It was a simple statement, and to an outsider the meaning would have seemed unclear. Zarbon nodded in response. That was as close to thanks as he would ever receive from the Saiya-jin King.

 

“Was there something else? You seem… preoccupied,” asked Zarbon, carefully choosing his words.

 

Vegeta stepped further into the room and stood by the window, leaning on its reflective surface. Moonlight always seemed to cast an eerie glow over his regal features. Perhaps Zarbon had seen him go Oozaru one too many times to feel comfortable watching Vegeta bathe in the moonlight.

 

“You know, Zarbon,” he paused, “it won't be long before Freeza finds out about the girl.” Freeza already knew. He and Zarbon both knew that. It would have been impossible to assume otherwise, especially after Vegeta's death threat regarding the woman and her link to the prophecy.

 

“We'll be ready.”

 

“And Dokar-sei?” asked Vegeta absently. He had no idea how he was going to find a way out of the war with them. After his father threatened to purge their planet and 'strip the universe of the disgrace of their culture,' as he diplomatically put it, he was left without a clue. Before tonight he would have simply crushed them. No civilization declared war with the Saiya-jin Empire without expecting to be obliterated. They had to know that.

 

“That issue has become rather delicate in light of current events.” Zarbon was deep in thought.

 

“Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan.” Vegeta uttered it under his breath. The words sounded beautiful—as if they were written specifically to pass over his lips. There was an awkward silence. No, there was no way the onna could have fabricated the chant. It was the last link between the Saiya-jin no Ou and the prophecy.

 

“Prepare the troops, Zarbon. If Freeza wants a war, we'll give it to him.” His voice was full of determination but his face still looked thoughtful as he approached the door.

 

Everything was going to change.

 

~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~

 

After Vegeta left the room, Bulma found it impossible to fall back to sleep. Even if she had, it wouldn't have been peaceful. The dreams had been occurring not upon occasion now, but every time she shut her eyes, the visions returned. She was beginning to feel like they were haunting her.

 

Suddenly overcome with chills, Bulma moved away from the bed and threw Vegeta's robe over her shoulders. It was far too large for her petite frame but very warm and comforting. It felt like being wrapped in a Vegeta blanket. Deftly, she approached the large glass doors leading to the balcony and released the locks holding them shut.

 

The sky was ominous—a deep purplish red barely giving away the secret that the sun was about to rise. At this time in the early morning, the body of water below the palace was calm and very reflective. Under the current conditions, it looked like a sea of blood. Bulma shivered again as she leaned against the stone railing and sighed. It was hard to believe that the atmosphere on the planet just a few days prior had been more welcoming, rich, and beautiful. Now all she could sense was an overwhelming aura of destruction and death.

 

Her presence had caused a complete change in atmosphere. Int eh few days she'd been there, she'd been threatened by more than one member of the royal family, several guards, and even Vegeta's most trusted advisor. The contemptuous looks she was given in the throne room only supplemented her fear. She could go her whole life without ever seeing hundreds of Saiya-jins look at her that way again. It was more frightening than she'd ever admit.

 

Vegeta would do all he could to protect her. She knew better than to doubt his loyalty to her after the previous day's gory transition in politics. He was powerful and no Saiya-jin in their right mind would dare cross him. But the Saiya-jins weren't the ones she was truly afraid of. The thought of the Ice-jin still made her blood grow cold and her heart sink to her stomach. She'd overheard some of the royal guards speaking in hushed tones about Freeza and his family preparing an army.

 

A sea of blood. That's what Freeza will always leave in his wake.

 

She was scared. She was scared of the strange man with his smooth words and his decisively icy disposition. That a creature so innately evil could possess such limitless power terrified her. In the end, only Goku's purity and ascension to Super Saiya-jin were a match for the murderous creature.

 

And Freeza still managed to survive.

 

Sensing movement and an unwelcome presence, Bulma glanced down from her balcony to the rocky edge where the water met the palace.

 

Calm down, Bulma girl. You're starting to become too jumpy.

 

She thought as she quickly made her way back to the glass doors. Remembering her close call with the gravity failure a few days prior, Bulma decided to heed Zarbon's warning about Saiya-jin hostility. She sure as hell wasn't going to stand out on the balcony while some rogue Saiya-jin spied on her and thought of ways to kill her.

 

Locking the doors behind her, Bulma closed the thick curtains and made her way back to the bedroom. She longed to be back on Earth. Back to the way things were before she was transferred to this strange world that had no right to exist.

 

Why am I here? How did we even get here?

 

The door to Vegeta's room opened and Bulma jumped, turning quickly to see who was entering.

 

“It's okay, onna. It's only me,” came Vegeta's voice from the doorway. He sounded tired. It had been a few hours since he'd left and she knew that he hadn't gotten any sleep. She looked at him questioningly through the dark of the room as he moved closer and sat down on the bed.

 

“As I've said before, Freeza knows you're here and is on a war path.” Vegeta pulled off his breast plate and gloves and laid back onto the bed, resting his head on the nearest pillow. His head was throbbing.

 

“How soon will he be here?” questioned Bulma softly as she sat on the chair next to the bed.

 

“Within two or three months. None of our probes have been able to locate him quite yet,” he answered as he placed his forearm over his face. He looked stressed and worn out. Bulma sat in the chair for a few minutes, watching him. She wasn't sure what to do and her own feelings were running rampant. She missed home and more than anything she missed Vegeta holding her until she fell asleep. Being here made her feel lost. She leaned forward and covered her face with her hands. Everything was so messed up.

 

“What are you thinking about?” came Vegeta's voice out of the darkness.

 

“Home,” she replied after spending a few moments gathering her thoughts. Vegeta was silent.

 

“You've been locked up too long in my quarters. Perhaps tomorrow we can find something around here that will spark your interes,” he replied; breaking the tension in the room. Bulma smiled then, glanced awkwardly at the bed where Vegeta lay. He was still wearing his boots and body suit. Not the most comfortable attire.

 

For lack of anything else to do, Bulma walked towards the end of the bed and began to remove Vegeta's boots. He stirred at this but didn't say anything to stop her. After removing them she placed them together next to the bed and sat down beside him. His face was still hidden beneath his arm as he lay unmoving. Bulma sighed.

 

“You know, onna, when one is trying to sleep less noise and movement is preferable,” said Vegeta irritably, laying his arm back down and turning on his side to face Bulma.

 

“My apologies,” she said stiffly with the faintest hint of sarcasm. Without warning Vegeta took hold of one of her arms and pulled her down on the bed next to him. All Bulma could do was let out a small cry of protest before his arms were wrapped around her. After the initial shock faded away, Bulma found herself to be rather content just laying in her mate's arms.

 

Kami, how I missed this.

 

Vegeta's fingers found their way into Bulma's hair, massaging the back of her head. She could feel herself being pulled toward him. The feeling wasn't as strong as it had been on Earth but it was there nonetheless. She let out a soft contented moan and snuggled a little bit closer to his body. Her back was pressed against his stomach and her breathing slowed down. This was what she needed.

 

She sighed mentally.

 

The robe wrapped around her was starting to make her feel overheated and she squirmed trying to pull it off of her shoulders without moving too much. Now that she was in the presence of the real Vegeta, being wrapped in his robe seemed silly.

 

Noticing her struggles, Vegeta reached out and removed the offending article of clothing from Bulma's body and threw it onto the floor.

 

“Thank you.” Bulma snuggled herself close to Vegeta once again and reveled in the feeling of his warmth pressed against her.

 

“My pleasure,” replied Vegeta, and Bulma could tell that he must have been wearing his characteristic smirk.

 

His arms felt strong and powerful around her. How such a man could hold her gently amazed her. She wanted to touch every part of him and savor the feeling of being intimate with one of the most powerful men in the universe. It was then that Vegeta began to kiss her neck. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that while running his fingers through her hair Vegeta had been carefully brushing it to the side, revealing her shoulder. Fire shot through her whole body and she found herself tilting her head further to the side giving Vegeta further liberties with her sensitive skin. She let out a loud satisfied moan and Vegeta temporarily ceased.

 

Not willing to let the moment pass, Bulma rolled over so that she was facing Vegeta. They looked at each other for a few moments trying to read each others' thoughts. Vegeta's eyes blazed a brilliant gold. Their faces were only inches apart. Breaking the stare, Bulma glanced at Vegeta's lips and swiftly claimed them with her own. The Saiya-jin no Ou couldn't help but chuckle mentally at this action as the woman lying next to him pressed her body up against his own.

 

Just as before, visions shot through his mind. Visions of Chikyuu, Freeza, Namek, Vegeta-sei, the Z warriors, training day in and day out, and feeling so close to being the Legendary he could taste it, and somewhere was a lingering feeling of guilt. The onna's mind was completely open to him, flooding him with memories of her home. He didn't feel it was intentional, on the contrary, it almost felt natural to have so many memories coursing through his mind—as if they were his own and merely being unlocked. He could remember a dark room and the onna sitting before him. She was wearing a Saiya-jin body suit at staring at him intently, a faint blush on her cheeks. Something about these memories struck him. These weren't her memories—they were his own.

 

Realization snapped in Vegeta's mind as a bright flash of light filled the room. The two of them were back on Chikyuu, staring down at their own bodies collapsed on the floor of their Capsule Corp balcony. It was still night time and it appeared as if no time had passed at all.

 

Without warning the two were back on Vegeta-sei holding each other closely once again. A familiar aqua aura was surrounding them as the two lay there in silence, both desperately trying to rationalize what had just happened.

 

“Vegeta?” questioned Bulma in a meek and frightened voice. In all his time on Chikyuu, Vegeta never would have imagined her using such a voice in his presence. It killed him.

 

He pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms more protectively around her torso. What was going on? He could remember everything in detail about his life on Chikyuu. Namek, Freeza, Kakkarot, and even dying. The duality of his memories was astonishing.

 

“It's okay, onna. It's just me,” he whispered into her ear.

 

The woman lying in his arms started to shake slightly and Vegeta could feel faint moisture on his shoulder. Over the past few days he'd seen her tear up plenty of times but this time was different. These were tears not of fear or confusion, but tears of relief.