Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unexplainables ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter 5

Bulma and Yamcha touched down some way away from the front of the ship, or rather, the place where both Bulma and Vegeta had been jumped. Yamcha motioned her to stay put and Bulma's lips pressed themselves into a thin line at the sudden change in command.

Without a backward glance, Bulma crept out of the brush they had ducked behind and went right up to the ship. Yamcha, grabbing for her and missing by a mile, squeaked indignantly and followed after. Bulma rolled her eyes as she positioned the gun on her shoulder and took aim on the ship. Yamcha picked up too many habits from Puar.

She let fire the gun and a white light soundlessly collided with the ship's hull. The hull rippled, absorbed the light and suddenly seemed to fall in on itself. Yamcha moved to the fore as soon as the entrance was clear. Bulma did not like this, but Yamcha was more experienced. If he wanted to take point, she was more than willing to let him.

Yamcha divided his attention between the empty, darkened hallways before him and the blue-haired woman behind him. "Where do you think he is?" His voice was hushed, barely audible even from where Bulma was.

She shrugged, "We'll know when we get there." She mimicked Yamcha's quietness.

Yamcha sighed and was about to say something when Bulma suddenly stopped and looked down a branching corridor Yamcha had passed up, "This way."

Yamcha raised a brow, "How-?" He swore softly and rushed to catch up with Bulma, who had turned again and was standing uncertainly before a door. "Bulma?"

She glanced over at him and raised a hand to the door, "He's in here." She couldn't have told Yamcha how she knew where he was. It was like some invisible pull, although it felt more like she smelled him.

The door opened just as Bulma hands reached out to touch its surface and both she and Yamcha jerked back in surprise. Vegeta stood on the other side, half hidden in shadow from the light behind and in front of him.

"Vegeta?" Bulma started forward only to have Yamcha grab her arm, holding her back.

The growl from Vegeta was quite audible and Bulma immediately knew its cause. Yamcha's presence wasn't going to help her get anywhere with Vegeta. She shrugged quickly away from Yamcha, so sudden that Yamcha was holding empty air before he realized she had pulled away, and entered the room, the door closing behind her and shutting Yamcha out.

Yamcha leapt at the door and pounded on the metallic surface, hearing no sound from his beating. He shouted Bulma's name, but the door would not open and he could hear nothing on the other side. He thumped his head against the door. Great! Just great! Here he was supposed to look after her and he'd already lost her.

A noise behind him made him tense. Turning, he forgot all about Bulma's predicament.

' ' '

Bulma squeezed past Vegeta, turning to face him and watching anxiously as he slowly turned to face her, "Vegeta?" She was starting to feel like a broken record.

All she received in response was a guttural sound low in his throat. His eyes were like silver bullets that ran straight through her gut. She felt physically ill.

He moved toward her, all cat-like grace, but gone were the little nuances in posture and poise, gone was the smirk that should have been there, gone was Vegeta.

She put a hand to her mouth in horror and backed up a step. He followed her movement, eyes never leaving her. Another guttural sound escaped his lips and she choked on a sob. She tried to lift the gun, thinking that maybe she could at least release his soul, but she could not. Her hand would not make that critical move, the move that would free him.

He stopped as he noticed her struggle with the gun. He reached out one hand, lightening fast, and yanked the gun from her grasp, crushing it by simply tightening the fist that held it. She retreated as far she could, back to the wall, and felt as if she should be bristling. It was merely a natural reaction to being cornered.

Vegeta moved and was suddenly in front of her. She turned her face away and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what he was going to do to make her as he was. She flinched at the contact of his hand on her chest. It trailed slowly up to her collarbone and from there to her neck, where the fingers wrapped around. They did not increase their pressure, but just the feeling of them there made her tremble. She hadn't been this afraid of him since on Namek.

His face leaned in close to hers and she heard a strange snuffing sound. She opened one eye only to see him straightening back up. The hand moved from her throat and she opened both eyes and turned her face back to him, wondering what kind of game he was playing.

He stood before her, stoic and unresponsive. His hand lifted again and made its way slowly to her face. She could feel the tears coursing down and that is what the hand met, catching them. He brought his wet fingers to his face and rubbed them, as if he'd never seen the like before. The sound from his throat was more inquisitive.

He brought his hand back to her face and she flinched again, thinking that now he would 'possess her'. He hesitated as she flinched then continued his movement, slowly, as if afraid he would scare her. His voice came then, raspy, as if from being long unused, or used too long. "Who are you?"

She hesitated, wondering at the gentle contact that was caressing her jaw line. Bulma's own hand came up and repeated the motion with his face, eliciting no response, "My name is Bulma, but you always called me woman."

"I'm supposed to possess you, but I don't feel as if I should." The voice was flat, colorless.

Bulma couldn't stop the aching in her chest if she tried, "You didn't want to." She stilled her hand, just touching his face, "I'm supposed to kill you. But I can't."

The familiar face cocked its head to the side, "Kill me? Why?"

She almost choked on the sudden wave that engulfed her, "Because you aren't who you were. The voice will tell you to do something and you will do it. You will posses me and then Goku and then you'll go around and-"

Two fingers hushed her as they met her lips and the sudden cool contact made her eyes widen. The two silver mirrors could not reveal what he was thinking. Was he able to think anything?

Vegeta blinked and moved in close to her face, "Why do I feel-?" Without finishing his lips pressed onto hers. There was nothing of what she would've expected from a kiss, no feeling or emotion put into it. Yet the fact that he had done it…when he was like this….

He pulled away, eyebrows lowered down over his eyes, "What was that? I don't understand."

Bulma's hand trailed down to his chest, and she watched her hand move up and down with his breathing, "No one understands it. That's why it's unexplainable."

He cocked his head to one side. He stood there for a moment before moving away from her and toward the door.

She moved quickly to block him and he stopped, acting stunned that she had done so, "Where are you going?"

"The voice tells me to aid in the battle now. I am to possess all of the fighters. Then I am to posses you."

She put both hands on his chest, as if she could stop him, "But you don't want to possess me, Vegeta, and I don't want to be possessed. The same is true of the fighters. This voice says he wants only the best for the Hitori, but he is not getting the best and he knows it. He just wants an army, Vegeta. I know you are one of the Hitori now. This voice is not. He will destroy the Hitori. You are the only one who can stop him."

Vegeta's gaze seemed to not even be focused on her, but beyond her, "We are Hitori. We follow the voice without question."

Bulma made a sound of aggravation and Vegeta reacted, focusing on her and raising his eyebrow. She pushed slightly on his chest to emphasize her words. "You had questions before the voice changed you! You were trying to find answers to them! Don't you remember the other voice? The one that had the answers to your questions?"

Vegeta stared at her for a long while before speaking, pronouncing each word with care. "The other voice? The room with the broken threads? You were there. You were a blue one and then you were there."

He shuddered suddenly and his brow creased. "Woman, why didn't I get any answers?" He sounded confused.

Bulma blinked; hope flaring her heart like a flame against the cold. Did his eyes just flicker to black? "You remember?"

He shook his head, "I remember the room, and then the voice was here. He told me about the Hitori…." He trailed off.

Bulma barely got out his name before he thrust her aside and started out the opening door. He halted just outside at the scene before him.

Yamcha was fending off three probes and doing a good job of keeping all three from latching onto him, Kami's words echoing through his head. However, he was on the defensive, his ki blasts and attacks were doing no damage, and he was tiring. Frankly, he was a tad bit worried.

So, when the probes smashed into the wall, he was quite thankful, even if his savior was Vegeta. He did a double take at Vegeta's drastically changed appearance and took an involuntary step back when those endless eyes gazed at him. Vegeta took no notice of the human's fright though, instead turning to the recovering probes. That's when Yamcha was sure that Vegeta was not himself. He'd never miss an opportunity to taunt him.

Vegeta had turned to the probes and seemed to be in silent communion with them. Bulma came up behind Vegeta just as he turned to Yamcha. Yamcha quaked under that gaze then straightened his back. One of the probes moved toward him, but an upraised hand from Vegeta stopped it. Bulma was afraid to step in, not knowing Vegeta's motives yet.

Vegeta took a step toward Yamcha, and, although he felt like backing up, Yamcha did not. "Who are you? The probes say they are to possess you, yet you are too weak for the Hitori."

Bulma decided now would be a time to interrupt, push her point as it were, "He is weak," she ignored the indignant sound from Yamcha, "Your voice doesn't care about who becomes Hitori. He will fill the Hitori with weaklings like him. You shall crumble from the inside while the voice worries about the outside."

Vegeta's eyes considered her and her words, "Why do you care about the Hitori?"

Bulma stepped up to him, "I care because you are Hitori and I care about you. If the Hitori are destroyed, you will be too."

Vegeta searched her eyes, though it was hard to tell with that silver gaze; then nodded, "I do not understand why you care about me, but you speak the truth." He tilted his head toward the probes. He must have given them some command, for they disbursed, going back to whatever duties they were performing before they had sensed the intruders. Vegeta turned back to Bulma, "You and the weakling can leave. The Hitori will not possess you."

Yamcha looked more than ready to do as told, but Bulma had not forgotten their objective, "No. Vegeta, it's not enough to just give us your word. This voice is too powerful. He'll countermand your word and the probes and automatons will follow him. How can you say you are one when you are led this way? The Cyborgs are the only ones that can think for themselves. You are the only Cyborg. It has to be you, Vegeta."

Vegeta nodded almost absentmindedly, "The voice is getting impatient." He turned his attention back to Bulma. With a movement so quick no one outside of maybe Super Saiyan Goku would have been able to see it; much less stop it, Vegeta grabbed Bulma up, arm snaking around and locking around her throat.

Yamcha moved, horrified, only to find Bulma being used as a living shield in front of Vegeta. He tried to shout out something, perhaps a heroic quip, but Vegeta's free hand lashed out and smacked the side of his head, sending him careening into the wall of the ship to drop limply to the floor. A muffled groan told Bulma that he was unconscious, not dead.

The hold on her tightened and she momentarily gasped for air. The arm loosened so she could breath and Vegeta moved with her toward the battle.

Bulma was nothing short of shocked. She'd thought she'd reached Vegeta, but the strength of the arm holding her, the aura of coldness around him, spoke of total resolve in what he was doing. He may not have been able to change her himself, but she would be changed.

' ' '

Piccolo grimaced. Five minutes had not even passed and already they were hard pressed. While Piccolo had no problems keeping the probes and automatons back, Gohan was, and Goku was the one who had to destroy Piccolo's, Gohan's, and his own.

Piccolo gritted his teeth and charged an automaton, smacking it into the ground with an elbow. The automaton hit the earth with a crash, a billowing cloud of dirt obscuring it. This lack of sight did not keep Piccolo from being able to dodge when the automaton tried to attack him from behind, arms lashing out to catch the Namek.

Piccolo sneered at the failed attempt, a pitiful one really, and gathered a Special Beam Cannon that had the automaton's name written all over it. Before he could release it, he suddenly spun around and threw it behind him.

The sound of an impact and a cold chuckle told him he had hit his mark but done no damage. A shadow formed out of the cloud that was the remains of his blast. The cold, monotonous voice that issued from it before the form could be clearly seen elicited a response not often seen in Piccolo. Piccolo's mouth gaped open and his eyes went so wide he might as well put food on them and served them to Goku.

The voice spoke in flawless Namekian, "And what is a Namek doing here, on this backwater planet? You wish to be the first of our people initiated into our ranks?"

The cloud swirled around the form, revealing green patches of skin first before showing the glimmerings of metallic skin. Unlike Vegeta, whose whole lower body was metal, the Namek's, and it was a Namek, was splotched as if he were only halfway done.

He wore the same black collar as Vegeta, with the same symbol that was very familiar to Piccolo as it was his language. It meant 'one being'.

Piccolo's jaw tightened and he shot upwards, just avoiding the gripping arms of the automaton that had been behind him. Another cold laugh let him know he was being followed and he gamely halted to meet the other's charge. Namek or not, this was the Voice, and therefore needed to be stopped.

"Who are you? Of what clan?"

Piccolo shrugged, "I suppose that would be whatever clan I came from before I split."

The other nodded, smirking, "Ah, so you are the evil part, eh? Then you should relish the chance to become Hitori. Evil always wants power, immortality, and perfection."

Piccolo showed his fangs in a smile worthy of any predator, "Oh, I wouldn't say that." He lunged at the Voice, sidestepping at the last second to aim a sidekick at the Cyborg's ribs.

The Voice moved with a speed double that of Piccolo's, catching the kick and throwing Piccolo down. Piccolo caught himself inches from the ground only to have to fend off two probes that each tried to latch onto him.

The Voice smiled. He had only to continue this little game with the Namek and he would soon be Hitori. One could not be everywhere at once after all, but many could. Perhaps, in changing this one, his counterpart would be changed as well.

A flicker of movement from the corner of his eye had him turning away from the Namek. Vegeta was exiting the ship with someone held in an arm lock. He grinned at the sight of blue hair that whipped around with the female's struggles. So, Vegeta had gotten the blue-haired genius.

A/N: I know you don't like cliffhangers, but, like Attachments Detached, I had to end this here. Sorry. Well, was everyone's eyes wide enough to fill up with food and serve to Goku (wide as saucers…Mojo Jojo Style….) when you found out who the Voice was? Does everyone understand the Voice being Namek? No? Good. You're not supposed to yet…. Well, I thought someone would get it with the storm and the factions and the fact that the planet was destroyed and then relocated…. lol

Susan: Hmm, King Vegeta? How-Ah, Nevermind. I don't wanna know. But-the hints! Anyways, No, things didn't work out that way…. Hmm, but how do they work out…. Vegeta can be such a meanie sometimes…. But this time I don't think he can really help it…. :(

Masamune: Hmm, Vegeta not-Vegeta? No, he is always Vegeta. Brainfreezy? Like ice-cream headache? I hate those! Anyways, if you did kill someone you'd be stuck in jail and unable to read this story…. That would be sad…. Maybe I'd mail it to you? O_o Mailing Vegeta fanfiction to inmates…. What has this world come to? lol

Danieloflorien: Will do, thanks for the review!

SkittleKicks: Yes, he is in trouble I would say. Then again, when was he ever able to tell what between what needs to be done and what's best for him. Two words: Final Atonement. Ah, I see now. You're right… I'll have to break that trend now, dangit! Conspiracy Theory? Good movie. I loved the torture scenes. Inspiring.

Jadedbest: It is fun! Especially when you get to torture the bad guy who tortured Vegeta! Who are you to talk? You had him listening to N'Stink (lol) I'm so glad he hates them! I HATE boy bands. I want MEN! I want ARMS! Um, nevermind…. Cool! I'll read it!

PenDragon: My sentiments exactly!

Moonsaiyanprincess: He who does not want to be saved is unsaveable. Heehee

Mela989898: Thank you! More for you to feed your hunger on!

Not sure yet: (Hey, cool pen name!) Everyone has issues. I mean, usually if you like Vegeta, you have issues. Anyways, thank you!