Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Prince and the Sorceress ❯ The Gravity Chamber ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ!

 

Author's Note: My thanks to Cereza for Beta reading this chapter.

Chapter 5

Bulma placed the last crystal in the cave wall. It had taken her all day, but the chamber was finally finished. Any other sorcerer would have taken a month; Bulma smiled at her own genius. She wandered into the kitchen hoping for some dinner. She was surprised to see Mrs. Blunt sitting talking to Vegeta. It was a completely one-sided conversation with Mrs. Blunt going on about her daughter and Vegeta eating.

They both looked up as she entered. Vegeta looked across to Mrs. Blunt, who had stopped talking.

"Don't stop because of me," Bulma said, wondering about the sudden silence.

"Oh, it's okay, I was probably boring Prince Vegeta," Mrs. Blunt said, turning to her pot on the stove. "Would you like some stew, you haven't eaten much since you got up."

"Stew would be nice," Bulma said, eyeing Vegeta suspiciously. "I finished the gravity chamber."

"Good," Vegeta said quietly. "Took you long enough."

"Excuse me, I worked my butt off getting it ready," Bulma snapped.

"How hard can it be, you just wave your hands and it happens," Vegeta snapped back.

"My magic is a lot more complex than that," Bulma said, unable to stop her anger this time. "There's a lot of mind channelling and chanting. It's not just waving your hands."

"Whatever, are you going to show me this new chamber then?" Vegeta questioned.

"I will after my dinner," Bulma said, sitting down.

Vegeta grunted and returned to his meal. Bulma never caught him glancing at Mrs. Blunt and then back at her. Vegeta tried not to think about the previous conversation with Mrs. Blunt. It had taken most of the afternoon to listen to her stories. Eventually she had stopped crying, and Vegeta learned quickly to just listen and say nothing. No matter what snide or nasty remarks he made, Bulma's mother just laughed it off. He had promised her he wouldn't reveal her secret. That had been enough for the crazed woman. She believed that a murdering planet purger wouldn't reveal her petty little secret. It was amazing to discover that a woman that had taunted Vegeta with her superior magic skills couldn't identify her own mother. They did look alike, face wise; they even had the same mindless chatter programmed into them.

Bulma was now talking to Mrs. Blunt about her daughter. "She'll have to come and visit sometime."

"Oh, I don't think she will," Mrs. Blunt said. She was visibly sweating. "I haven't spoken to her as my daughter in over 20 years."

"It's terrible when families loose touch," Bulma said sadly, not catching the hint.

"She's far too stubborn," Mrs. Blunt added.

Bulma smiled, feeling sympathetic. She couldn't think of anything to say to that. It was almost too much like her own predicament except she was on the daughter's side. There was an awkward silence as Bulma struggled for something to say.

Vegeta had watched the scene in amazement and returned to his dessert. The one good thing that had come out of it was a constant supply of food. He did not want to interfere with the wonderful set up that had occurred.

Mrs. Blunt turned the conversation towards the problems of feeding Vegeta.

"I've never seen anyone eat so much," she said, smiling at the glowering saiyan. "Such a strong man, I often wish I was 10 years younger." She began giggling like a schoolgirl.

"I am not any breeding stock," Vegeta said.

Bulma tried hard not to laugh at Vegeta's face. He had that affronted aura about him.

"I'm sure Vegeta is not the marrying type," Bulma said, trying to defend him.

"I will not be talked of as if I'm not here," Vegeta spat.

"Of course you're here dear," Mrs. Blunt cooed. "You're always going to be here."

"Vegeta, I'll show you the gravity chamber," Bulma said, hoping to stop any fight. "I'll be back in just a few minutes, Mrs. Blunt."

"I'll keep your stew warm love," Mrs. Blunt said, not realising the war she might have started. "I'll see you later Vegeta sweetie."

Vegeta didn't say a word. He stared daggers at the old woman. Bulma held his arm tightly pulling him further away from her.

"I don't want to loose Mrs. Blunt to your temper," Bulma explained as she led him down the corridors. "She's been like a mother to me since I was 18."

Vegeta just grunted.

"I think I'm like her replacement daughter," Bulma said. "Seeing as her daughter has lost contact."

Vegeta grunted again. He was trying hard not to laugh at her ignorance and self-involvement. She was so wrapped up in her own mystical world that she couldn't see her mother making goofy faces at her.

He followed her down a flight of stone stairs. The air became cooler and danker the further down they went. Torches self ignited themselves as they passed near them. The flames created dancing shadows that reminded Vegeta of the Oni in Bulma's mind.

"Those things I saw in your head," Vegeta said, watching one shadow dancing suspiciously.

"The Oni?" Bulma asked.

"Yes, those shadowy things. Do they still pose a threat?" Vegeta questioned.

"The Oni are only a threat when I am in a weakened state," Bulma explained. "I can cope with them on my own. It would be a hindrance if you tried to help. You would be better served training for the androids."

"I suppose you will not actually be fighting them," Vegeta crossed his arms. "Your lack of observation is your weakness. I should imagine you wouldn't even recognise them."

"I would, that boy said they had a lack of aura," Bulma answered him. She was unsure why he was saying she was unobservant. "He seemed to have a small knowledge about magic."

"He seemed to have a small knowledge of everything," Vegeta growled, unhappy of her mentioning the impostor Saiyan. He decided to change the subject onto something that was bugging him. "Are there many magically inclined humans like you?"

"No...not really," Bulma slowly said. "I am the only high sorceress on earth. The others are dead. There are other witches and wizards but I'm the sole powerful mage of this world."

"So you're the only one," Vegeta said quietly. It reminded him of himself, the only true Saiyan left. (Goku/Kakarrot doesn't count as a Saiyan in Vegeta's mind.)

"Yeah, it's a pretty lonely life but I have my friends," Bulma smiled at him, trying to make him understand that counted him as well. *Oh my goddess, Vegeta's my friend?* She thought to herself. She stopped smiling and returned to walking down the long spiralling staircase.

Bulma stopped in front of a solid wall. "This is the chamber," she explained. Her hand passed over a glowing blue crystal. The seamless rock face cracked and opened to reveal its contents. The inside chamber was globe shaped. Crystals of varying colours embedded the walls. It was large enough for flying but still compact to restrict its use. Vegeta was impressed, but he remained silent.

"This is yours to train in," Bulma said, taking his silence as a compliment.

"I do not know any magic, moron," Vegeta growled. "How am I supposed to work the supposed gravity changes?"

"It's voice activated," Bulma said smugly. "Recognise voice: Vegeta." She waved for Vegeta to speak.

"I am Vegeta the Prince of Saiyans," He said.

"Voice recognised: Prince Vegeta," a soft female voice said in the chamber.

Vegeta looked around for a computer or speakers.

"I thought I'd make it as technically based as possible," Bulma said. "One of the crystals is enchanted to speak like a computer."

Vegeta crossed his arms and stood waiting. "Then how do I activate the gravity."

"Gravity activation, please set G-force required." The voice said.

"100g," Vegeta said.

Bulma gasped as she realised how quickly Vegeta had learned how to control the chamber. She managed to produce a shield just in time as the gravity increased.

Gravity pushed Vegeta to the ground. His muscles strained and he grunted with the challenge. Bulma watched, trying not to ogle at the straining muscles. She turned her back and concentrated in observing her work. She checked that each crystal was reacting as it should. She heard another grunt from Vegeta, but she didn't look back.

"Are you able to spar yet?" Vegeta asked her.

Bulma turned to see he had managed to stand up.

"Not yet, I still feel a little weak from the Oni," Bulma said. "I should like to spar again, maybe in another week."

Vegeta nodded, "Then you should go."

"Gravity deactivate," Bulma said to the air. The crystals' humming stopped and the normal gravity was restored. "It is always the blue crystals to open the chamber. It won't open if the gravity is on." Bulma's hand passed over a crystal identical to the crystal on the outside. The cave wall opened and Bulma walked out. She looked back to Vegeta as he turned his back to her.

“I suppose it's too much to hope for a `thank you.'” Bulma asked.

"I do not thank my enemies," he answered. Vegeta let his hand swipe over the blue gem. The doors closed like a gaping mouth. Bulma didn't have time to object. A red orb lit up to tell any outsider the gravity was on.

"You absolute pig!" Bulma yelled at the wall. "All it takes is two little words." She tried to calm herself, but her ki rose. The walls were telepathically secure. She couldn't yell into his head, it was extremely tempting to break down the door.

She stopped herself and tried to calm her emotions.

*I'll need to go and meditate again,* she thought to herself. *Why is Vegeta able to push my anger buttons?* She stormed back up the stairs and away from the thorn in her side.

She was eager to begin her meditations, to help clear her mind. Bulma wanted nothing better in the world than to pound that arrogant smirk off Vegeta's face. Which was something that she knew would lead to deeper and darker paths if she indulged in her anger.

In the flickering shadows, eyes watched the angry Sorceress. The eyes found the interactions of the two people to be interesting. They disappeared into the darkness.

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Author's Note: Yes, I know I've made Bulma ignorant of who Mrs Blunt is. Bulma is a very self-involved person and I find it hard for myself to remember what my mother looked like when I was 5. So how can Bulma remember if she ran away at that age? Plus it just gives Vegeta an excuse to call her idiot and moron more than usual. Also, there is a point to it but that will turn up later. Which I'm not telling . . . not yet anyway.