Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Thirty-Four ( Chapter 34 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Thirty-Four

 

Lying in bed, Vegeta let his mind wander. Not two weeks ago he would have given anything to be here. To be the Saiya-jin no Ouji again. It was all so bizarre and surreal. He'd finally done it—he was Vegeta no Ouji turned King, his planet existed, and they were going to war. The sacrifice had been worth it, and now that Bulma was here with him… still, he couldn't overcome a sensation of guilt.

 

Light was beginning to seep, ever so slowly, through the tall curtains in his bed chamber, reminding him of what shadows the new day would cast upon Vegeta-sei.

 

Freeza…

 

The one entity that had haunted his childhood was coming to Vegeta-sei. Having to watch his home planet destroyed once had been nearly unbearable. He'd suffered a strike to his pride in a way then that no Saiya-jin child should have had to endure. But he wasn't a child in this dimension nor was he weak and defenseless. Everything was starting to make sense.

 

Freeza had sent him to Chickyuu to purge it of all sentient life forms—the most important were the humans—the one threat to the Cold family that could actually cost them their position as the most powerful empire in the universe. Having the only Saiya-jins left under his control, it must have been easy enough for him to perform some twisted form of hypnosis or other things Vegeta didn't want to think about on him and his fellow warriors. The Cold clan's technology was extensive… they could have done whatever they wanted while Vegeta was trapped in a regen tank without him even knowing it. Even erased selective parts of his memory.

 

It would have been ironic, Vegeta mused, had he succeeded on Chickyuu. The only true Saiya-jins left in the universe destroying their one hope of overcoming the monster who'd taken everything else from them. It was just the kind of sadistic thing Freeza thrived on. No wonder Freeza threw a hissy fit when he found out the Saiya-jins had been unsuccessful. If the conflict on Namek hadn't gotten in the way, Freeza surely would have directed his immediate attention to Chickyuu.

 

Imagine the shock when that idiot Kakarott went Super Saiya-jin on Namek.

 

Freeza never saw it coming. Though Kakarott's ability to become the Legendary still eluded even Vegeta. Something was missing and try as he might to wrack his scrambled brain for some trace of connection, Vegeta only succeeded in finding himself with a headache.

 

A light pressure on his shoulder and warm breath on his chest reminded Vegeta that he was not alone. Bulma lay next to him, her head cradled in the curve between his shoulder and neck.

 

The transition to this form of existence or whatever it could be called, Vegeta hadn't decided yet, had been stressful for the weak creature. Vegeta didn't understand why the device malfunctioned and they ended up here. If not for her above normal mental capacity, Vegeta was sure she would have completely collapsed under the strain of it all. Vegeta-sei was hostel even to its natives; he could only imagine how such a cultural shock would affect her. Or more alarmingly, how it would affect her view of him.

 

As royalty, Vegeta had never had to consider how his actions or the actions of his people might be seen to outsiders. The Saiya-jins were the superior race, so naturally any doubts other species had about Saiya-jin custom were thought the direct result of inability to understand Saiya-jin complexity. But Bulma was different. Her opinion determined the level of intimacy she allowed him mentally and physically. Not to mention the fate of his line.

 

He ran his free hand casually across her loose hair, subconsciously considering how soft it was. Soft and delicate the way she was.

 

Saiya-jin females were only very superficially different from Saiya-jin males, but Bulma screamed female in a way Vegeta had never known. Seasonal females couldn't even hold a candle to her. Maybe that was why the Saiya-jin population had always been so low.

 

How my father managed to waste his time away in that plague of a harem for so long disgusts me.

 

On the other side of his quarters, Vegeta's comm screen blinked to life and waited for a command code. Growling in irritation, Vegeta gently removed Bulma from his person and laid her head down on her own pillow. She was so soundly asleep that Vegeta doubted she'd even noticed his fluffy replacement.

 

“Yes?” questioned Vegeta with irritation only barely disguised by the quietness of his voice. While taking his calls was important, so was letting his mate rest.

 

“Vegeta, I apologize for the interruption,” came Zarbon's even, if slightly electronic, sounding voice. Vegeta relaxed a bit. If it had been anyone else…

 

“Well, what is it?” asked the Saiya-jin no Ou with impatience.

 

“We've retrieved some rather interesting transmissions from King Cold's sector of space that require your immediate attention.” Zarbon's voice was still passive, concealing the true meaning behind his words. As an alien on the planet, Zarbon was required to use public channels for transmissions even if they were directed toward Vegeta.

 

“I understand.” The comm screen went blank and Vegeta stared at it for sometime, momentarily captured by the traces of energy still fading from the screen.

 

I am not my father.

 

He reminded himself as he tugged on a black body suit and pinned his cape to his shoulders.

 

I am the Legendary. This time, we will win.

 

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

 

When Bulma finally woke she wasn't surprised to be in bed alone. She'd had enough surprises in the last 48 hours to meet her quota for the next several millennia and, needless to say, she'd had her fill. Rubbing her blotchy and swollen eyes, she snuggled further into her pillow. She would have preferred snuggling up next to Vegeta, but Kami knew some of his new responsibilities took priority over playing her personal body pillow.

 

Though it would be nice to wake up at least once this week with him still here.

 

She thought in mild irritation as she rolled over and covered her face with another pillow. The sliver of light piercing through the curtains seemed to know exactly where her face was.

 

“Ahem,” came a throaty voice from somewhere next to her bed.

 

Now what was I just saying about surprises? For Kami's sake, I nearly wet myself!

 

“Lady Bulma?” Radditz. It was Radditz. At least it was someone she knew.

 

“Yes?” Her voice was groggy and irritable.

 

“The King has requested an audience with you in the throne room this morning.”

 

“And?” It seemed one word sentences were her specialty at this time in the morning.

 

“You'll need to wear something formal. I think he plans to formally introduce you to the nobles.” The inclination in his voice was meant to be hidden but instead gave Bulma the impression Radditz didn't quite agree with Vegeta's decision.

 

“So what does that mean?” Bulma asked as she rolled over to face him in a relaxed manner. The only response she received was a blank stare. “Okay. What is your personal opinion on the affair? And yes, I do understand that it is not your place to question the King. I'd just like a straight answer.” She received a few more blinks in response before he finally decided to speak up.

 

“I think that if Vegeta plans to unite the Saiya-jins, bringing you out in the open will only cause further tension between the tribes and the Royal House.”

 

“What do you think he's going to do?” She was starting to feel a little nervous. If agreement between other noble houses was settled the way it was in the House of Vegeta-sei then this ceremony was going to be much more colorful than she would have liked.

 

“He's going to make them swear fealty to you, Bulma. And if he succeeds, all those sworn to you will have to fight for you and in some cases even die for you.” She wasn't quite sure why it needed to go to those extremes.

 

It probably has something to do with being mated to royalty.

 

She tried to push Vegeta's voice telling her that Freeza knew she was on Vegeta-sei out of her mind. There was no way of escaping the reality behind Vegeta's actions. She was somehow the key to the fulfillment of some ancient Saiya-jin prophecy and he needed to know that no matter what happened she would be protected.

 

`It's you. It has to have something to do with you.'

 

“Everything alright?” inquired Radditz hesitantly. She must have zoned out for a minute. Bulma met Radditz's eyes and smiled.

 

“So about this whole `formal attire' thing…”

 

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

 

“So,” began Vegeta when he finally made it to Zarbon's quarters, “what have you found?”

 

“It's only bits and pieces of transmission,” said Zarbon frankly. “And you know those technicians. If they can't get something to immediately work all they do is pound it until something does happen anyway.” Vegeta snorted. It wasn't just the technicians—it was Saiya-jins in general.

 

“Show them to me,” said Vegeta as Zarbon brought his portable computer over to where Vegeta was standing. After entering the security codes that would prevent some third class yuppy from getting more than his fill of high security transmissions, the recordings began playing.

 

“There's been a division on Vegeta-sei, Lord Freeza…” Every ten seconds or so there were bursts of static making the mechanical voice unclear. “Your reports were correct. Vegeta no Ouji has succeeded his father… taken a human mate… nobles appalled… no chance for an alliance… I wait for your orders…” The transmission ended there.

 

“That voice. Were you able to trace it?” asked the King with disgust.

 

“Unfortunately, no. While we were able to break the transmission code, the code for the voice scramble was a bit beyond our technicians' understanding.” Vegeta could tell Zarbon was as disappointed as he was. Having a traitor on the planet wasn't particularly making his homeworld seem any more hospitable.

 

“How many more of these have you traced?” he asked more evenly.

 

“It would seem that these sort of communications have been going on for years, Vegeta. Decades even. There are hundreds of communications found in hundreds of databases. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if this particular Saiya-jin traitor was someone close.” Zarbon trailed off.

 

I bet he was the one who told Freeza about the Chickyuu threat as well.

 

“Do you think something like this could have lead to the destruction of Chickyuu?” asked Zarbon in a probing voice. Sometimes Vegeta wondered if he could read his mind.

 

“No doubt. The prophecy was, after all, nothing but a legend told by word of mouth passed on since the time of the first Legendary.” He paused. “Only Saiya-jins could have known about it. No one in their right mind would purposely inform the Cold Empire of the one thing that could cost them their place as the strongest power in the universe.”

 

“Unless they'd already made a warrior's oath to Freeza,” pointed out Zarbon.

 

“We're going to have to call him out publicly for this, Zarbon,” said Vegeta after several moments of contemplation. “Whoever he is.”

 

“I was thinking the same thing,” he agreed.

 

“Put in a call for the Commander. I want him here in time for the ceremony,” the Saiya-jin no Ou ordered as he headed for the door.

 

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

 

The ceremony began roughly around noon, only after all the nobles arrived from the more distant ends of the continents. None of them looked too thrilled about being cramped together, Bulma realized, as she sat on the cold stone throne next to the larger throne belonging to Vegeta. Her seat had been vacant for years and the stone was sharp and unfriendly from its lack of wear. Fortunately, the gown she'd chosen had just enough fabric to it to pad her or at least prevent her butt from going numb during the rather bland ceremony.

 

Nobles of all shapes and sizes approached the platform where Vegeta no Ou and Bulma sat. All of them were dressed in formal battle armor and wore scouters, their formal military attire only serving to remind Bulma that no matter what rank Saiya-jins were born, first and foremost they were warriors. Bulma, on the other hand, was wearing a deep red gown with the symbol of the House of Vegeta-sei embroidered in gold thread on the fabric across her breasts. If anything, her attire made her feel more alienated than the fact that she was an alien on this strange world.

 

She tilted her head ever so slightly to acknowledge each noble as they bowed to her and swore their fealty. Some stared at her with blank expressions, their eyes the only key to how they really felt, while others approached her with more friendly, well, as friendly as Saiya-jins could be, expressions. From her seat beside the King, Bulma could tell that Vegeta was keeping a close eye on the reactions of each dignitary as they approached her. He wanted to know whom he could really trust to follow him without having to be threatened with incineration.

 

Eventually, what seemed like the never ending stream of nobles ended and Vegeta called his elite Royal Guard up one by one. Each bowed on one knee before Bulma and uttered a warrior's oath to protect her under any circumstance. Next were the chairs of all the different departments from agriculture to internal affairs.

 

How do they sit on these things for so long?

 

At this point, the ceremony had lasted nearly three hours and Bulma was beginning to wonder just how many departments there were on Vegeta-sei when Vegeta declared the official part of the ceremony was over. There was silence and the room waited. Apparently, the Saiya-jin no Ou had an announcement to make.

 

The room became silent as the majority of its occupants wondered just how scandalized they would feel after hearing another one of Vegeta's outlandish announcements. Groaning mentally, Bulma prepared herself for the colorful portion of the ceremony, the part she'd dreaded.

 

After calling on Nappa, the brutish Saiya-jin approached his King with his head held high and Bulma couldn't help but notice how the sunlight reflected off the bald dome of his head. Nappa stood at attention briefly before lowering himself to one knee in a sign of respect for the Saiya-jin no Ou.

 

“King Vegeta,” Nappa said in a punctuated military voice as he brought his right arm across his chest meeting his left shoulder with his fist.

 

That must be their equivalent to the salute.

 

She continued to stare at the bulky warrior. There was some kind of madness about him. She half heartedly wished she'd paid attention all those times when Goku had tried to teach her how to read auras. That would probably be a most intriguing skill to have on such a strange planet. Then again, she thought, as she turned her attention back to reality, sometimes it was better not to know what Saiya-jins were thinking.

 

Vegeta's face turned savage as he stood to his full height and walked the short distance between himself and his kneeling Commander. “We have all been deceived in thinking that the recent fluctuations in the Saiya-jin Empire were solely the cause of external forces.” Bulma's eyes washed over the crowd, noticing the different reactions as her mate turned to address the Commander.

 

“There is a traitor in our midst, Commander,” Vegeta scowled. “I have personally viewed numerous transmissions originating here on Vegeta-sei that were directed toward Lord Freeza.” Vegeta spat the name as if the idea of merely passing it over his lips caused him bodily harm.

 

The room was still, and judging by the looks on the nobles' faces Bulma noted that they did, in fact, look scandalized.

 

“As you have been one of my father's closest confidantes for decades I am making it your personal responsibility to track down this insult to the Saiya-jin race and bring him to me.” Nappa's face was a mask of indifference as he listened to the Saiya-jin no Ou's words. “Consider yourself lucky, Commander. This task is the only thing standing between you and an excruciating death for ever presuming to lay a hand upon my mate.” Vegeta was growling again.

 

I was wondering why Vegeta hadn't decided to fry this guy yet.

 

Nappa rose to his feet and stood in the straight-backed Saiya-jin military stance that Bulma had grown accustomed to. He towered over the King even though Vegeta was on a platform nearly six inches above the Commander.

 

“We haven't, as of yet, received a formal declaration of war from the Cold Empire,” said the King as he turned his attention back to the tribal leaders. “But make no mistake, these transmissions, more than anything, are a wake up call. Freeza is on his way.”

 

Nappa still stood at attention and Vegeta flicked his wrist in the warrior's direction to let Nappa know his presence was no longer needed.

 

“Formal declaration or not, we are going to be prepared,” stated Vegeta with resolution in his voice. “Join me in this and we shall single handedly bring the Cold Empire to its knees.” Vegeta's tone left no room for discussion and the confidence he exuded was contagious as looks of affirmation filled the room. They would be ready.

 

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

 

Black lips pulled into a smirk as the images faded from the comm screen.

 

What a clever little monkey.

 

While the scouter transmissions weren't the best of quality, they certainly served their purpose in keeping him informed of Saiya-jin happenings. Like when that mysterious and pathetic little Earth creature had been brought out into the open in Saiya-jin court. Very useful information.

 

The Ice-jin mindlessly swirled the wine in his glass. He pressed his lips together. Vegeta's ki had spiked to nearly two million before his spy's scouter had malfunctioned. Those scouters were always so temperamental. Having to set them to only specific expected ki levels rather than a larger range caused them to short circuit so frequently. He smiled. He couldn't even remember how many times he'd been the cause of scouter error.

 

Nevertheless, such an extensive jump in ki was dangerous, especially with the presence of the Earthling. She shouldn't even exist. Humans simply hadn't had the technology to send crafts into space that could preserve a living human for so long. It had been years since he'd destroyed their planet.

 

Pulling the transmission back up on the screen, Freeza selected the final portion of the King's speech. “Join me in this and we shall single handedly bring the Cold Empire to its knees.” Vegeta's face was frozen on the screen, strong and deadly. No, this time it was more than an idle threat.

 

It was a challenge; a warning.