Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Forty-Two ( Chapter 42 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Forty-Two

 

Bulma laid face down on her bed, her arms pressed against her sides. The gashes in her back were not very deep, but they stung with an irritating intensity. This was the only relatively comfortable position she could find that didn't exacerbate the pain created by her wounds. Her right cheek was still sore from where Radditz had struck her, but she was surprised that he hadn't hit her more forcefully. It didn't seem like any of her bones were fractured or broken.

 

Lying there, Bulma couldn't help but analyze the situation. She knew that she was only kept alive as a source of leverage against the Saiya-jin King. The threat of her being tortured would definitely make Vegeta vulnerable. All the plans the Saiya-jin army had been working on for the past year would now be void. A direct attack wasn't possible as Bulma and Trunks could be killed in the process. And if Bulma died, it was likely that Vegeta wouldn't survive their bond being broken.

 

Trunks was quiet in his crib. Radditz had made sure that the child wasn't as sedated, but right now Bulma was thankful that she didn't have to fuss over the needy baby. Maybe if she thought about it, she could come up with a plan to help her mate. She may not have had super-human strength, but Bulma had never been the sort of girl just to sit back and let the boys go on without her.

 

Vegeta would, without a doubt, come to the ship at Freeza's request. Not to say that the King wasn't establishing a contingency plan. Regardless, the way things were coming to pass, the Saiya-jin no Ou would have to completely defeat Freeza if he wanted to keep Bulma and Trunks alive.

 

The door to Bulma's quarters slid open and she looked up from the bed. Unfortunately, from where she was lying, she couldn't see who had entered. In all likelihood, it was Radditz.

 

“Comfortable?” asked a familiar reptilian voice.

 

Bulma turned her head so that she was facing the person who had just entered. It had been nearly a year since she met the creature, but she was still taken aback by his beauty almost every time she saw him.

 

“Not that it matters to you,” said Bulma, narrowing her eyes.

 

Zarbon gave Bulma a stern look and then smiled.

 

“Do you remember when you first came to Vegeta's pathetic little planet?” Zarbon sat down in the chair beside Bulma's bed and crossed his legs, adjusting his cape so that it lay smoothly across the back of the chair. His expression was condescending and Bulma wondered how she could have thought he might have been acting before.

 

“Of course I do,” she said indignantly.

 

Zarbon snorted—it was a very Saiya-jin gesture. Bulma was a little surprised.

 

“You couldn't even put up a proper mental shield,” said Zarbon but this time he looked her right in the eyes. His expression was hard and mocking, but his eyes were not. Bulma furrowed her brows as a strange sense of realization struck her.

 

Did Vegeta send you here?

 

She thought without changing her expression of hatred and confusion. It was unlikely Vegeta had sent him, she knew, but it was even more unlikely that Zarbon would so easily betray the Saiya-jin King.

 

“Yes, it's quite amusing. And here you are, damaged by what accounts to Lord Freeza as little more than a love tap.” Zarbon continued to look at Bulma intensely though his mannerisms and voice were disdainful. Bulma was sure that he'd heard her and answered indirectly.

 

“Why are you here?” she asked in a feeble voice.

 

Is Vegeta on his way?

 

“King Vegeta will be here in a few hours. And though I'd love to gloat, Lord Freeza sent me to check on your wounds.” Zarbon sighed and rolled his eyes. He made the task sound like it was below him.

 

Where is Radditz?

 

“Apparently your ape of a Saiya-jin escort wasn't playing the obedient baby sitter well enough.” Zarbon examined his nails for a few moments in boredom and then looked up at Bulma.

 

They're monitoring you constantly, aren't they?

 

“There's an escort outside this room waiting to take us to the medical ward. Since your body is incapable of healing itself in a timely fashion, it appears we will be assisting you.” Zarbon again let his voice become full of contempt. There was no way that he could have answered four questions consecutively simply out of coincidence. It wasn't like he'd hurt her or Trunks while he'd been here, right?

 

Thank you.

 

Bulma closed her eyes and turned her head away.

 

Vegeta must not have wanted her to know that Zarbon was spying for him. If she'd known any sooner she might have done something to give him away. She could forgive him of the things he'd said and done. If his actions led to her protection then it was worth it in the end.

 

Zarbon stood up and brushed off his clothing. He grabbed her arm to help her up, but the grip was surprisingly loose and soft. He brushed the underside of her arm reassuringly with his thumb. The angle made it so that the action would be hidden from the view of the surveillance cameras.

 

“You can either walk or be dragged,” said Zarbon indifferently. “And these men will not be as gentle as Radditz.”

 

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

 

Nappa smiled. Really, it was too perfect. Freeza would eliminate that weakling bitch Vegeta had been pining over and then they could go to war. Freeza was strong but he'd only brought the one ship, and while its size was impressive, there were only so many warriors that could fit on such a vessel. On Vegeta-sei, there were millions of Saiya-jins.

 

Besides, Vegeta was the strongest Saiya-jin King they'd had yet and though Freeza's power was great, if Vegeta ascended it would be like a child's game. He had to take action, and if the Saiya-jin King wouldn't start the fight, he would do it himself.

 

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

 

No one knew that he'd left yet—not even his advisors. With Freeza so close, all of their plans were ruined. Freeza's ultimatum had infuriated most of the nobility and it was likely that this had been Freeza's intent when he made the broadcast over the planet's public channels. If the Saiya-jin warriors were riled up, they were more likely to make a careless attack.

 

He had to act now if he wanted to prevent Vegeta-sei's destruction. The Saiya-jins were too proud for their own good. He knew. He'd lived through it before. If they faced Freeza, they would all die.

 

This is the only way.

 

The stars raced past the port hole of the tiny Saiya-jin pod. Taking such a small ship was the only way he'd managed to leave the planet undetected. He'd constructed a rather complicated jamming signal, but with the Saiya-jin military on alert, such a signal would only work for a very small vessel. He was going to have to find some other way to get Bulma and his son off of Freeza's ship. Zarbon was going to have to be responsible for that.

 

Freeza wanted Vegeta dead, but there was no way it was going to end without some sort of battle. In the other dimension, Freeza had constantly tried to goad Vegeta into striking the first blow. He'd never been successful. In this dimension, Freeza seemed to have the same plan, but since Vegeta was not directly under the Ice-jin's control, he had to resort to other means.

 

It was likely Freeza was the one responsible for all of the problems the Saiya-jins were having with their Associate Worlds. Dokar-sei was just one of dozens of planets that had rebelled. Freeza must have been threatening them for years, testing their loyalty to the Saiya-jin Empire.

 

As the small shuttle neared the Ice-jin flagship, Vegeta received a hailing signal.

 

“King Vegeta, how pleasant,” said Freeza, his voice oozing satisfaction. “I didn't expect such an expedient response.”

 

Vegeta snarled, flashing his impressive Saiya-jin canines at the screen. Freeza laughed.

 

“Oh, this is going to be fun.” The screen went blank and Vegeta stared at the space where Freeza's image had been. His heart was hammering loudly in his chest. He vaguely wondered if Bulma's mark was pulsing erratically to the same rhythm.

 

Despite the desperation he felt at being able to see his mate and child, Vegeta felt calmer than he ever had before. When he'd gone before the Ice-jin in the past, he had always been torn in different directions. The only thing that focused him was his hatred for the tyrant. He never had a plan other than to become stronger so that he could kill the man who'd destroyed his life. In all those years, he'd never been able to directly challenge the Ice-jin lord, except for on Namek, and even then it hadn't been enough.

 

Vegeta waited in his pod patiently as a group of soldiers surrounded his tiny ship. Such an escort wasn't typical of the confident Ice-jin. He'd always felt that Vegeta was more than manageable and had never bothered. The Saiya-jin King hated knowing that to Freeza, he was little more than an insect to stepped on.

 

After Vegeta exited his pod, he smirked as a few of the warriors' scouters made cracking and snapping sounds. The idiots had set the power level too low again. He was even suppressing his ki, hoping to take the Ice-jin lord by surprise. It was obvious no one had expected Vegeta's base ki to rest at such a high level even though his ki had spiked over a few million in the past. Vegeta was actually glad that Freeza underestimated him. If the lizard was complacent, he would never expect what Vegeta had planned. No one would expect what Vegeta had planned.

 

He knew the way to the bridge well. It was one of the largest rooms on the ship and Freeza was particularly fond of hosting his little shows from such a venue. With the stars exposed in every direction, Vegeta often wondered if Freeza preferred this room so much merely because it was as if the entire galaxy were witnessing his actions. He wanted everyone to know who was the most powerful. He wanted them all to know how helpless they really were.

 

“King Vegeta,” greeted the Ice-jin from his hover chair. He looked deceptively small and harmless from such a position. After seeing Freeza's transformed physique, Vegeta found the contrast almost amusing. Freeza wasn't even wearing a scouter. He really didn't care how powerful the Saiya-jin no Ou had become. Vegeta's eyes hardened.

 

“I want to see them,” he said without decorum.

 

“Of course you do, but I'm sure you understand that before I can grant you any privileges, there are certain terms we must discuss.” Vegeta frowned. He wanted to see his family at once but was willing to negotiate. There were certain terms that needed to be met if Zarbon was going to be able to get his mate and child off the ship anyway. He was sure that after Freeza was finished with him that the Ice-jin would destroy what was left of his family. The monster wasn't going to take any risks. Vegeta's son was supposed to be the child of the prophecy after all.

 

He needed to create a diversion.

 

Changing his posture, the Saiya-jin King took a deep breath.

 

Vegeta smiled before crossing his arms and smirking in the way that always set the Ice-jin on edge. Goading Freeza into a fight should be easy enough—after all, he'd been antagonizing Vegeta for years.

 

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

 

Bulma hadn't needed to spend much time in the infirmary. Much to her surprise, they hadn't even needed to put her in a regen tank. Not that her wounds had been serious enough for that anyway. The strike had been meant to scare her into submission and provoke Vegeta more than anything. Freeza had a flare for the dramatic. Perhaps he just wanted to know how her blood would look as it trickled across the mark on her back.

 

Bulma shuddered. Seeing the lizard did scare her, but now that she had something to fight for she found herself less overcome by the awesomeness of the creature's power. It also helped that Zarbon was still an ally. She was counting on him to help her safely escape with Trunks.

 

Vegeta was on the ship now too. Not that that meant that Bulma would be permitted to see him. She'd sensed him the moment he came on board through the strength of their bond. Still, Bulma was worried. Usually she could sense her mate's thoughts or emotions but he was shielding so strongly that she could only sense his nearness. A black sense of foreboding overcame her and at the same time, a sense of déjà vu.

 

This had happened before—she knew it had. How could she not remember? She'd been dreaming about this for over a year. The blood drained from Bulma's face. She'd always known that the visions she'd had were real. How could this be happening so soon? How could this be the moment she'd been anticipating for so long?

 

Her heart began to pound and her hands felt clammy. He was going to do it.

 

She walked to the porthole and forced herself to count to a hundred. She should have known. She should have prepared herself.

 

The doors to Bulma's quarters slid open but Bulma didn't move from her position near the porthole. She already knew who it was.

 

Vegeta stood in the doorway, silent. He was wearing his formal armor and his cape hung heavily from the clasps that attached it to his broad shoulders. He looked murderous, lethal, Saiya-jin.

 

Framed by the light from the hallway, Bulma could tell that he was still suppressing his emotions, but his typical façade had slipped slightly, the thoughts running through his head barely concealed. The Saiya-jin warrior, typically detached to a fault, looked feral.

 

It took him no more than five long strides to make it all the way across the room. Bulma turned to look at him more directly, but she was empty, resigned. She knew what he had planned already and it was no use trying to convince him otherwise. Her words of protest would only fall on deaf ears. She glanced over at Trunks who lay peacefully in his crib.

 

Without thought, Bulma reached out and traced the symbol of the House of Vegeta-sei that glowed dully on Vegeta's breast plate. Her visions had been astoundingly accurate—even down to such minute details.

 

Bulma looked up at the Saiya-jin King's eyes. They were glowing more brightly than they ever had and the gold illumination was so intense that it hurt her sensitive eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the room. She'd never felt such a sense of desperation from the proud Saiya-jin nor had she ever felt such determination.

 

Words were lost as Bulma stared up at the defiant Saiya-jin no Ou. She didn't need to say anything because he'd heard it all before. Her dreams had persisted for so long that both of them had already experienced the numerous reactions Bulma was capable of having in this situation.

 

Bulma felt separated from herself and from such a perspective time seemed to slow down and speed up simultaneously. She felt she had all the time in the world and yet no time at all. Still, it was impossible to ignore the overwhelming sensation of rightness. Though it pained her that Vegeta was going off to fight the greatest threat the universe had ever seen, Vegeta's confidence and strength made her feel surprisingly calm.

 

“You know what I have to do,” said Vegeta, breaking the pregnant silence.

 

Bulma turned away from him, staring blankly out at the diamond speckled expanse of space.

 

“Yes,” she replied, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible.

 

Zarbon has been given instructions. You and our son are to leave this ship as soon as possible.

 

His thoughts were punctuated and military. After spending so much time slowly breaking through Vegeta's cold exterior, the formality of the scene was particularly difficult to bare.

 

I understand.

 

She responded. She didn't know if she would survive Vegeta's death, but she would honor his decision and show him the respect he deserved in these final moments. She wouldn't say what she wanted to, she wouldn't be selfish—she wouldn't ask him not to go.

 

Vegeta reached his hand out hesitantly and brushed the hair from Bulma's face, tucking it neatly behind her right ear. His gloved hand felt cool against her bare skin and Bulma shut her eyes, trying to prevent the tears that would give her away. She had to be strong for him even if just this once.

 

“Go,” she barely managed to whisper. And without further thought, he was gone.