Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Thirty-Eight ( Chapter 38 )

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

Insert standard disclaimer here.
 
The Price You Pay: Chapter Thirty-Eight
 
He had purple hair—no, worse, it was lavender. He couldn't complain about the eyes. After being mated to Bulma, the color blue had strangely grown on him. It didn't make any sense genetically, though. Weren't Saiya-jin genes always dominant? Well, it wasn't like he had so many other cross-species mixes as a reference anyway, he supposed. At least the Heir had a proper Saiya-jin tail. Part of him was greatly relieved to see he was Saiya-jin enough for that.
 
My son.
 
Thought the Saiya-jin King as he reached his hand out to brush the hair out of Bulma's eyes. His hand was still sore from the birthing process. Just how was it that such a tiny Chikyuu-jin could squeeze so hard?
 
Our son.
 
Bulma corrected and managed to crack the faintest smile in spite of her apparent exhaustion.
 
“Onna, you look terrible,” Vegeta said aloud. The med techs had already left; satisfied that their would-be queen was stable, and the infant adequately healthy. “I was under the impression that purple was unhealthy in newborns?” questioned Vegeta with only a slight tinge of disdain.
 
“And I thought you were supposed to be intelligent. My father's hair is lavender, Vegeta, or have you forgotten already?” Vegeta smirked. If his mate was already insulting him then she couldn't be too badly injured. He would do anything to protect them, even if his son appeared more human than Saiya-jin.
 
With a base ki like that though, no one would be foolish enough to mistake this child as anyone but their King's progeny.
 
Vegeta tentatively caressed his son's lavender hair and the child stirred.
 
“Careful, Vegeta. I'm sure you recall how long it took me to coax him into sleep in the first place,” warned his mate. Did she really think that he could so easily forget the sickening gurgling noises and shrieks that the child had made before? He felt uncomfortable handling something so fragile. Though he had to admit that he'd been less than careful with his physical interaction with Bulma in the past and she was much more breakable than the child that lay peacefully on his mother's chest.
 
He has your eyes.
 
Bulma smiled up at the Saiya-jin no Ou. Commenting on something like that was practically an endearment when it came from Vegeta.
 
Yes, he does.
 
~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~
 
Zarbon stared at the text on the screen as countless images of ancient Saiya-jin text scrolled across the page. He'd been searching for months, hopelessly trying to figure out what the trigger would be to push Vegeta to the level of the Legendary.
 
The stories were typically the same regardless of which continent he gathered the information from. Strangely, there were no records of an Elite or any other high class warrior breaking the monumental energy necessary for the transformation. It didn't make any sense, but it seemed that the Legendary was not attainable simply through an unreal amount of training or being born with a strong base ki.
 
Pointing in the same direction were several similar stories that claimed the original Legendary had ascended during a vicious war between the Saiya-jins and another native tribe that inhabited the dynamic planet. The other race, while slight and possessing no apparent ki abilities, was technologically quite advanced. The Saiya-jins were strong but few in number and lacked the ability to strategically defend themselves from their enemy's ruthless attacks.
 
It was during the culminating battle between the two races that the Legendary was first mentioned, though with many descriptive holes. At first, the Saiya-jins were losing and then soon afterwards, a Saiya-jin warrior appeared immersed in a gold aura, his blue eyes shimmering in the light created by the flaming buildings that surrounded him.
 
No one was really sure what happened after that. The story lacked in epic battles or individual duals. Every single account he could find claimed that the Legendary eventually destroyed himself though no one was sure why. Many believed that such an unimaginable power was impossible to control and that regardless of the mental and physical training the warrior possessed, the energy was overpowering. Zarbon considered this for a few moments.
 
Vegeta knew that self-destruction was a possible result of ascension and the advisor found it strange that the King would choose to disregard such information—regardless of his unquenchable ego. Indeed, such a power would rival even Freeza's, but there were other methods. What was Vegeta hiding? And more importantly, did it have something to do with the strange inter-dimensional transition that Bulma had told him about when she first appeared on Vegeta-sei?
 
~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~
 
“You know what must be done,” the dulcet tones coming from the comm screen slithered their way through the room. “The child cannot be allowed to reach adulthood.”
 
There was a pregnant silence as the Saiya-jin stared at the screen, torn between loyalty to his King and the necessity of betrayal.
 
“Do you need to be reminded what is at stake, you insolent monkey?” The warrior minutely shook his head in response. “I thought not.”
 
“The child and the woman will be delivered as planned.”
 
“Undamaged. Remember, we have a bigger fish to catch.”
 
~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~
 
Bulma cooed at her child as she paced the length of the quarters she shared with Vegeta. It was amazing really, she reflected as she looked upon the face of her son. How was it that he could have lavender hair and blue eyes and still manage to look just like his father? The child grew so quickly. He'd only been away from the medical ward for a couple of weeks and his development had progressed significantly. Not that Bulma was particularly surprised—the Saiya-jin baby's appetite was ravenous, constantly waking her in the middle of the night for feedings.
 
Vegeta was gone for lengthy times during the day trying to negotiate with Dokar-sei. They were all beginning to fear that peace was not going to be a possibility and Vegeta-sei would indeed have to face war on two fronts. As far as Bulma knew, negotiations with Freeza had been relatively quiet since the Saiya-jin King's scuffle with the Ice-jin many months before. Even the eerie dreams Bulma had been having since she became mated to Vegeta had ceased. It was like the quiet before a storm and Bulma found herself fearing what the silence could mean more than the threat of the oncoming war itself.
 
But despite the Saiya-jin no Ou's other obligations, Vegeta still managed to spend time with his new family. Sometimes Bulma would walk into the room to find Vegeta standing over Trunks and whispering to him softly in his native tongue. She tried not to let on that she knew how important their son was to Vegeta—at least not that he was worth more than just an heir to the Saiya-jin King. She smiled to herself.
 
Guards were assigned to Bulma and the Saiya-jin Prince continuously now, and restrictions on entering the palace became greater in number by the day. Radditz was Bulma's near constant companion and she found herself becoming attached to the burly warrior. There was something soft and playful about him that the rest of the race seemed to lack.
 
“So, what's on the agenda for today, Radditz?” asked Bulma as she positioned Trunks more firmly against her hip.
 
“Well, as you know, Lady Bulma, you are restricted to the palace grounds for the time being,” Radditz said in an apologetic tone, but when the woman didn't respond, he continued. “I know there have been some fascinating advances down in the engineering department about some data discovered around the time of your arrival.”
 
“Really?” asked Bulma, her curiosity piqued.
 
“Yes, and I also believe they're ready to begin testing on the new armor proto-type you were working on before…” He trailed off.
 
“Yes, yes. They've been meaning to get to that for months. Earth or Vegeta-sei, nothing ever gets done without me there to hold those idiots' hands,” Bulma commented to no one.
 
“Later in the day, I believe Vegeta also plans on making some sort of public announcement and requires your presence.” Radditz raised his eyebrows in an attempt to draw information from his King's mate.
 
“Ever the curious one, aren't we?” responded Bulma with a sigh. “Only very few Saiya-jins know about Trunks, Radditz, as I'm sure you're aware. Vegeta wants to get me back into the public eye before anyone becomes suspicious. Saiya-jin pregnancies are shorter than Earth ones but after not seeing me for a few months rumors have a tendency to spread.” She sat down on the bed and gently tapped Trunks on the nose, cooing and telling him how big and strong he was going to be—just like his daddy.
 
“Isn't it dangerous to wave you about though? Both of you are still so vulnerable,” asked Radditz with genuine concern.
 
Bulma looked up from the bed with confusion in her eyes. “Vegeta would never do anything to risk either me or his son, Radditz.” Her voice was firm. “I'm almost certain Vegeta plans to make the announcement over a public communications channel. Nothing formal or to be worried about.” She was touched that the warrior cared, but there was something about his words that alarmed her.
 
“I'm sure you're right, Lady Bulma,” was Radditz's only response.
 
~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~
 
“What should I wear tonight, Vegeta?” asked Bulma through her half shut closet door.
 
“Something that shows your rank,” came the Saiya-jin no Ou's curt reply. Honestly, what sort of question was that? “Just choose something simple.”
 
Vegeta stared at the velvet box in his hands and glanced over at the crib where his son lay, thankfully, in a peaceful sleep. There was still so much to consider. He no longer just had the safety of his planet to worry about; he had his family as well. The idea of having either his mate or his son taken by Freeza terrified him in an irrational way. How would he survive if he lost them?
 
This is why it's so unwise to become mated. I never thought she'd be pulled into this too.
 
Thought the Saiya-jin King. He still wasn't sure what his feelings meant but he did know that the fact that he had any at all made him vulnerable. He'd finally gotten over his initial anger when he realized how much the frail Chikyuu-jin meant to him, but dammit, Saiya-jins simply weren't wired to handle emotional overload.
 
Bulma finally exited the closet with a crimson dress in tow. She knew her clothing was starting to run a little to the goth side, especially when it came to her color choices, but Vegeta preferred her in the colors of his family crest. Anyway, while black or blood red were never Bulma's first color choices back on Earth, she enjoyed playing the part here. Wearing Vegeta's colors was like accepting a strange sense of ownership and Bulma found herself reveling in the idea of belonging to the rugged Saiya-jin King.
 
“Something wrong?” asked Bulma after a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Vegeta grunted. She took that as a `no' and began talking about her day. “I was able to make it to the engineering ward today.” Vegeta stared at her, obviously waiting for her to continue. “Did you know that your technology department picked up some sort of quantum interference signal right around the time we ended up on Vegeta-sei?” Bulma asked as she fidgeted with her dress. Vegeta's face went hard.
 
“No, I didn't,” replied Vegeta.
 
“I just found it interesting since there was all that confusion about where I'd come from after Radditz found me,” said Bulma offhandedly as she walked into the bathroom.
 
She doesn't know.
 
“It got me thinking, though. What if what happened to us was a result of some improbable interdimensional glitch? I'm sure I could find a way to get us both back to Earth.” Vegeta could hear the water in the bathroom running and was thankful that Bulma wasn't in the same room. She'd become inconveniently good at reading his emotions since her pregnancy and he was thankful she had other things to distract her.
 
Back to Chickyuu…
 
Did he even want to go back? He'd been given everything he wanted by some freak chance. And while it was obvious that there were certain dangers to keeping the child and the onna in this dimension, the thought of leaving…
 
He couldn't think about it. There were too many other things he had to deal with. Regardless, even if the onna did find a way to send them back to Chikyuu, the formation of such a device on her own would take months or even years. Freeza would grow impatient long before then.
 
“Vegeta?” asked Bulma, nearly startling the Saiya-jin King—their bond the only thing that prevented him from being completely caught off guard by her voice. “How do I look?”
 
Vegeta stared at Bulma as she stood before him, her hair pulled back to reveal the elegant length of her neck and the porcelain of her shoulders and breasts. She wore no adornments, but the deep red of the dress contrasted with her pale skin so dramatically that her skin almost glowed. Her eyes shimmered a liquid silver and Vegeta was reminded of the night back on Chikyuu when she'd accidentally absorbed his energy. Did she have any regrets? Did she think the energy and now, the child, were the only things that held her to him? Vegeta pushed the thoughts aside. What was wrong with him? She was his mate. That was all that mattered.
 
“I can change if you don't…” Bulma trailed off, sensing something strange from Vegeta but unsure of how to interpret it.
 
“I have something for you,” said Vegeta, completely changing the subject and reaching for the velvet box he'd placed on a nearby table. He didn't want to look at her anymore. He needed just a few moments to sort out his thoughts. “It's very old, but my mother always wore it when I was a child.”
 
Bulma carefully walked over to the Saiya-jin no Ou and sat beside him on the bed. Was he giving her a gift? Hadn't he given her enough? She thought and glanced over at Trunks.
 
Vegeta opened the box and took out the ring that was comfortably snugged in the satin holder. It was a ruby set in some strange metal that had the look of unpolished silver. Several black stones were arranged around the larger stone that shined curiously in the light. The overall look was strikingly delicate and Bulma mentally chastised herself for ever thinking that the colors of the House of Vegeta-sei's crest were goth.
 
The Saiya-jin no Ou's hands felt course as he slid the ring up Bulma's finger. He hadn't had enough interactions to know what such a moment signified on Earth but Bulma couldn't help but feel herself blush as her mate stared at her intensely.
 
“Vegeta, I—“ but before Bulma could say anything Vegeta brushed his lips against hers sensually, gently rubbing his lips over her own.
 
“We must go now,” was all he said before rising from the bed, the velvet box still in his hand. “Radditz will be at the door, so the child will not be disturbed.” Vegeta offered his free hand to his mate and Bulma took the offered help tentatively, still in a daze after the confusion of their past few moments together.
 
“Come, we mustn't leave our people waiting.”