Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Forty-Six ( Chapter 46 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Forty-Six

 

The shuttle craft carrying Zarbon and Vegeta's family had barely landed when they heard the sonic boom. The medical staff Zarbon had alerted of their arrival mid flight all turned simultaneously as burning pieces of metal raced through the sky like meteors. Apparently Radditz had been successful.

 

Freeza was temporarily cut off from the rest of his empire now that his only means of intergalactic travel and communication was destroyed.

 

“She needs to be put in a tank immediately!” said Zarbon as he carried Bulma's prostrate form out onto the platform. “The child is relatively uninjured.” A female tech entered the shuttle and retrieved the crying baby.

 

The rest of the med techs followed Zarbon as he headed toward the hospital ward, their diagnostic scanners beeping sporadically as they scanned the Earthling's unmoving body.

 

“Internal bleeding,” said one of the techs to Zarbon as they finally reached the medical facility. “Her spleen must have been ruptured.” For a Saiya-jin, this wound would have healed itself within a matter of days, but Bulma was no Saiya-jin, and if she didn't get placed in a regen tank soon, she would die.

 

Be strong for him, Bulma. Just hold on a little longer.

 

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

 

Vegeta stood, enveloped in his own ki, continuously radiating more power than he had in his entire life. Besides the few moments he'd achieved Ascension, his ki had plateaued at somewhere around 70,000 and try as he might, he couldn't seem to top that number.

 

“Captain Ginyuu would be pleased,” said Freeza, the amusement slowly leaking back into his voice. “Though you don't have the finesse and flair for the dramatic that he has, do you?”

 

Vegeta grunted. He'd always hated the ridiculous gyrations and poses the Ginyuu Squad had prided themselves in. They made a mockery of what martial arts and battle readiness had always represented. Freeza was just trying to distract him, lure him into a false sense of security by exchanging petty conversation.

 

“I must admit, Vegeta, I can't recall the last monarch that has had the honor of seeing me transform,” said the Ice-jin after Vegeta neglected to respond. He locked his stare on the Saiya-jin monarch, his barely concealed malice slithering just below the surface.

 

“Are we going to talk, or are we going to fight?” asked Vegeta with a confidence he didn't know he possessed.

 

“So eager to die,” said Freeza, smiling and flashing his abnormally long canines. “I'm going to enjoy this.”

 

Freeza didn't even bother phasing this time, he didn't have to. His new form gave him so much added speed that he could move even more quickly, making the ability to jump his energy from location to location superfluous.

 

He struck Vegeta with a resounding crack and Vegeta felt his ribs buckle under the pressure. It wasn't a fatal blow, but it would force him to favor his right side. The Ice-jin continued to bombard him with close contact attacks, counting on Vegeta's injury to slow him down. Vegeta tried his best to throw in a few hits of his own, but Freeza was too fast. He dealt blow after blow with stunning accuracy, crippling Vegeta and slowing him down even more.

 

I have to find a way to make him ascend again, and soon.

 

Thought the Saiya-jin no Ou as he blocked a strike to his face.

 

Freeza smiled at him cruelly, sensing his enemy's weakness. Despite the intensity of their battle, Freeza was still only toying with him. He knew he could easily destroy Vegeta, he was just drawing the torture out. He wanted the Saiya-jin King to feel completely broken before killing him. Death, to the Ice-jin overlord, was a mercy.

 

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

 

“She's hemorrhaging,” said the med tech as he continued to scan Bulma's abdomen with his hand held device.

 

“Fill the regen tank, now,” ordered Zarbon as several technicians hovered around the control panel to the nearest tank.

 

The machine monitoring Bulma's vitals began beeping erratically as Bulma's heart struggled to pump what little blood she had left to her vital organs.

 

“We're going to lose her!” said the med tech in a more urgent voice.

 

“What is the bloody problem?” asked Zarbon as he tossed one of the technicians out of his way. He examined the panel himself and realized that a list of supported species was scrolling across the view screen.

 

“There is no entry for humans, sir,” answered a nervous doctor. “They have been considered extinct for so long that we never made a suitable match for the DNA suspension.”

 

“She's been here all this time and you never took samples?” Zarbon was livid. Bulma had been living on Vegeta-sei for months. Now she was dying on Vegeta-sei because of an oversight.

 

“We did, sir. But we had trouble with some of the enzymes and with the war on the way...” he trailed off.

 

Zarbon muttered an oath under his breath and seriously considered blasting the incompetent Saiya-jin. How could they possibly have gotten caught up with other things, especially with the war on the way? Didn't they realize that the greatest threat to their King's mate would take place during the war?

 

“What are our options?” asked Zarbon, honing in his anger.

 

“The closest chromosomal match we have is Saiya-jin DNA. But her body could still reject it. The rejection process in itself would kill her.”

 

Zarbon stared at the Saiya-jin doctor as his words sank in. Given the choice of Bulma dying now or later after they'd tried everything possible, Zarbon opted for the latter.

 

“Then do it, doctor, or you will have no need for a tank when I'm through with you.”

 

The doctor turned back to the panel and typed in the appropriate commands. The tank would only take a few minutes to fill, but Zarbon wasn't sure if they even had a few minutes left.

 

Bulma was lying unconscious on the table, her face pale and translucent. Zarbon imagined he could see the creep of the life giving blood through her veins slowing down. The tech was leaning over her, some medical equipment at the ready. A defibrillator. Her heart was dying.

 

“Clear!” he said and placed the metal pads across her chest. Bulma's torso rose from the gurney, and the tech looked up at the screen indicating her heart beat. It was flat lining.

 

“Again!” said the tech and raised the dial on the small machine.

 

Zarbon turned back to the regen tank, watching the machine fill warily. The solution level was only half what it needed to be.

 

With a horrifying thud, Bulma's body landed back down on the table. The screen indicating her heart beat was still blank. Zarbon looked up at the med tech in alarm. He looked totally defeated.

 

They had lost her.

 

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

 

“No!” screamed the Saiya-jin no Ou, suddenly overcome by an acute and excruciating pain. He felt a shift in his mental barriers. The world was pain, fire, agony. Vegeta fell to his knees and pulled at his hair. He was burning, a piece of himself slowly incinerating. He was dying.

 

Bulma!

 

“Giving up already?” asked Freeza with genuine disappointment, obviously misunderstanding Vegeta's reaction.

 

Vegeta ignored the Ice-jin and continued to kneel, rocking back and forth slowly, gripping his scull so hard that blood started to drip down his face.

 

“Well, isn't this a nice little re-run,” commented the lizard as he paced around Vegeta's tormented form. “Your father looked the same way. That is, after I killed your mother.”

 

Vegeta looked up suddenly, pain filled eyes locked on the Ice-jin's gloating form.

 

“Oh yes, Vegeta. Didn't anyone ever tell you who really put that bitch of a mother of yours out of her misery?”

 

Vegeta tried to think, slowly losing track of his thoughts as the pain rendered him incapable of conscious thought. His mother had been killed on a diplomatic mission after they'd rejected Freeza's offer to become an Associate World. The other diplomats had blown up the ship, hadn't they?

 

Freeza stomped over to Vegeta and lifted the warrior up by his hair. Vegeta barely felt it through the haze of gray tunnel vision that was starting to form behind his eyes. His limbs were going numb and he couldn't sense Bulma at all. He'd been shielding so strongly that he'd completely blocked her out.

 

“That's right, Vegeta. I killed her. I almost enjoy watching you bleed as much as her blood seeping into the tiles of my throne room.” How many times had Vegeta watched his own blood drain onto the very same floor?

 

Freeza tossed the Saiya-jin roughly to the side and Vegeta tumbled bonelessly across the rough surface of the moon. He laid there, unmoving.

 

“Since we have time to talk now, let's have a history lesson, shall we?” Freeza whipped his tail back and forth behind him. The freak loved playing cat and mouse.

 

“Your father, being too narrow minded to see the wisdom of joining me, decided to plan a coup to try to overthrow my empire. Sounding familiar?” Freeza paused. “Fool that he was, the insolent monkey actually brought his whore of a queen with him. Funny how he was only too willing to bend his will to mine after her head rolled across my cold tile floor.

 

“And now here you are, the Chosen One. Pathetic. You're just as defenseless as your father. I wonder if your beloved Bulma's blood will be as satisfying to spill as your mother's?”

 

Freeza paced back and forth some more, willing Vegeta to stand and face him.

 

“I know about how she got here, Vegeta. My scientists picked up the signal only days after she arrived. Interdimensional travel. A fancy trick.” He snickered. “The Saiya-jin populace must have rejoiced when the Earth woman arrived, fulfilling your prophecy, and making you their savior.” Freeza laughed outright at that then tsked at the Saiya-jin King as if he were an insolent child.

 

“I must admit, the technology has its advantages. I'm going to use it to follow her and that disgusting half breed son of yours to their planet. Then I will travel to however many dimensions I have to and destroy Chikyuu again and again.”

 

Vegeta's eyes opened and something within him clicked.

 

“And your family? Not sure what I'll do with the boy, quite yet. Obviously he can't be allowed to reach adulthood, he is half human after all. But that delicious creature of yours, well, the men on my ship do love having a good time.”

 

Never!

 

Vegeta's eyes flashed blue as he stared at his hand and the smoke that rose from his blood drenched glove. Freeza was nowhere to be seen, the topography of the planet was decimated and a deep crevice marred the scorched earth. He was back, snapped out of the madness that was trying to overtake him.

 

Where had that come from?

 

Vegeta felt out with the psychic part of himself, trying to analyze the trigger. This had happened to him before. He still couldn't feel the onna, but there was something else in the periphery—a creature rubbing against his mental walls, a beast waiting to be unleashed, a beast from within.

 

“My tail!” screeched the Ice-jin from some unknown location. “You stupid fucking monkey! You ruined my tail!”

 

The Ice-jin's tail flopped around, its nerves still firing even though they were disconnected from Freeza's body. Vegeta made sure his own tail was wrapped tightly around his waist. The sight of it sickened him.

 

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

 

Zarbon picked up Bulma's lifeless form with the utmost care and carried her over to the regen tank. The machine was full of fluid now, and the Saiya-jin DNA in it could do little to harm her at this point. If anything, it would keep her features intact indefinitely, or at least until they could arrange for a proper funeral.

 

Bulma's lips were blue, surprisingly out of place in spite of her blue coloration. How would he tell Vegeta? Had Vegeta even survived her passing? Zarbon glanced out the window and up at the expanse of space. Somewhere out there, Vegeta was fighting for his life.

 

Zarbon looked morosely at the looming piece of technology. It was one of the most ingenious pieces of medical equipment he had ever encountered, using its occupant's own DNA to expedite the healing process. But it could not bring someone back from the dead.

 

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

 

Vegeta felt the moon shake as Freeza continued his stream of curses. Something was happening.

 

Moon rocks lifted from the surface of the planet and cracks chipped away at the rock from the crevice he'd created. With a sudden jolt, a large piece of the moon broke away. Freeza rose from amidst the rubble, his pale body illuminated by the distant reflection of the system's star.

 

Though this level of transformation gave him a slighter build than the previous, it was no less terrifying. Nearly all of Freeza's body was a milky white color, with a few purplish exceptions. His eyes glowed an even more unnatural blood red, and power radiated from his still form as he continued to rise and free himself of remaining debris.

 

His power level had to be over two million, and he'd regrown his tail.

 

The moon shook again, the celestial body warning Vegeta of the battle to come. He'd finally gotten Freeza to completely power up. The Ice-jin was done with the bullshit. Now he just wanted the Saiya-jin King to die.

 

Vegeta drew from his drained resources. His reserves were low after releasing the last ki blast. It would be several minutes before he could call on such a powerful attack again. Though he was badly wounded, it was time to do what needed to be done.

 

“I think I will take personal delight in torturing her, Vegeta,” said Freeza with evil conviction. “One way or another, your mate,” he spat the word as if it were disgusting, “will scream my name.”

 

Vegeta stared at the monster, hatred and self-loathing drifting away as his thoughts focused on his task.

 

Freeza raised his hands, threw his head back, and began to gather another ki blast in the empty space above his head. The purple orb grew slowly, fizzing and dancing with electrical current. It didn't matter how fast or large the ki blast was. Vegeta wasn't looking to escape.

 

Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan… Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan…

 

Seeing no other option, through the pain of his severed tie to Bulma, and the sure knowledge of his impending death, Vegeta began to chant the words that had always given him strength. He may not have achieved the Legendary, but this destiny was equally honorable. It was something he had chosen for himself.

 

His family and Earth would live on.

 

The Saiya-jin King, seeing Freeza reaching the end of his energy draw, began to power up once again. If he could combine their energies just precisely, and attack Freeza full on while the blast was within an appropriate radius, Freeza would die with him.

 

He chanted to himself, pulling the energy out of every available resource. He would drain himself dry before he would allow the Ice-jin to live. He only needed to leave enough of himself to launch at Freeza at the last minute.

 

The sensation was not as uncomfortable as he'd imagined it. It somehow felt liberating to let himself slip into placidity as he drained himself of the very life force that was sustaining him.

 

The Saiya-jin no Ou, the most powerful Saiya-jin since the rise of the Legendary, let himself fall into the deep abyss of some unknown emotion as he prepared to sacrifice himself. He closed his eyes.

 

And suddenly he was back on Earth. He was standing on his balcony, staring at the stars, searching for his lost planet. Bulma stood beside him, her head resting on his shoulders, her aqua hair blowing gently in the cool night air.

 

He could sense everything. The smell of the Chikyuu-jin night laced with cinnamon and the feel of the concrete beneath his bare feet. Of all the galaxies he'd conquered, of all the planets he'd visited and destroyed, not one called to him the way his mate's strange blue planet did.

 

And then he realized it. It was a self fulfilled prophecy a long time in coming. He'd just been too stubborn to admit it. He was never meant to rule Vegeta-sei. He was never meant to use the time machine he'd fabricated with Bulma's father to reclaim his lost birthright. By some sick twist of fate, it was all meant to go horribly wrong.

 

Through it all, Earth meant more to him than he ever could have imagined. It was not just a planet he had been trapped on, Earth was his home.

 

Earth was his destiny.

 

Can't you feel it...?

 

Bulma's words echoed.

 

It all fell into place as the pieces fit together with a beautiful clarity.

 

The beast within him woke, sensing his acceptance. It stretched and became something tangible. Something real.

 

Vegeta's eyes locked onto the Ice-jin as he drew the remaining life force from his dying body and was illuminated by a golden light.

 

But these eyes no longer belonged to the Saiya-jin King, they were the shimmering blue eyes of the Legendary.