Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Unfaithful ❯ Part Four: 24 ( Chapter 24 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

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________________________~*Part Four*~: War
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Earth looked completely different than the humdrum place that they had left behind, Bulma observed as their ship entered the atmosphere. Beside her, Yamcha also noted the changes, and grinned. It had most likely been by his orders that the chance came about anyway. Apparently, Bulma had been left out of the loop, because the other people in the control room didn't do anything-- not even bat an eye.

Everywhere around the palace and the surrounding city was crawling with soldiers. They were everywhere-- milling around the city, marching in lines, camping in the streets. The dark smoke from their fires lingered in the air above them, casting the area in a dismal shadow. The only sign of the normal citizens was the occasional woman being dragged kicking and screaming from her home, only to be ravaged by the laughing men. If she knew nothing else, this would have been enough to tell Bulma that it was going to be a very messy war.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Yamcha asked from beside her, his voice lowered so that only she could hear. "This isn't even the half of it-- just wait until I start to recruit the men and boys of the cities."

Bulma remained numb on the outside, but inside she was appalled. It was so like Yamcha to send children into war. Imagining their young, innocent faces, the queen felt tears well in her eyes. But she did not let them fall. She had shed her last tear for Yamcha already.

"I know what you're thinking," Yamcha said when she did not reply. "You think that I'm full of shit. You think that I'm trying to blow off steam, don't you?"

"No, I am not," Bulma protested as urgently as she dared. Yamcha would explode if she didn't placate him. "I was thinking that perhaps its time to remove my chains. We're about to land."

Her statement worked. Rather than grow angrier, Yamcha burst out laughing. "Remove your chains? There's a slim chance of that." His laughter quieted. "No, my dear, I have no plans to remove them. You have committed a crime, and for that I must punish you. For now, anyone who walks past will see their 'dignified' queen in chains, like some kind of fucking animal."

Bulma's stomach did flip-flops. They would see her in chains, paying for her crime... Kami, she thought with dismay. He planned to blame the war on her! All of that pointless death, placed on her shoulders for the world to see... That was almost enough to cause her to release her stifled tears.

"But never fear," Yamcha reassured her. "You will still be the most beautiful woman to walk the Earth."

"We're preparing to land, Your Majesties," a guard informed them with a bow. "Brace yourself."

"Ooh, I can hardly wait to see the look on your lady mother's face! To think, the daughter of Lady Briefs dallying with the Saiyan Prince! Priceless."

Bulma would not even allow herself to think about her mother. But what she did think about was the excuse that Yamcha would soon have to make for the war. First he would tell everyone that Vejita had raped her, to arouse pity and to berate the Saiyans, then he would tell him that she'd enjoyed it, therefore he had been forced to put her in chains for the unthinkable 'crime'. Filled with mixed emotions and a fear of their king, the people would have to believe it, and would feel proud to fight for him. It was a nearly perfect plan, but not an unbeatable one. After all, the humans may have been afraid of Yamcha, but they were even more scared of Vejita. But would she even live to see the day when her husband was brought down?

The ship landed with little turbulence, and Yamcha gave the chain around Bulma's neck a sharp tug, causing her to gasp for breath helplessly.

"Paste a smile on your face," he advised her coldly. "We've arrived at last."
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Turles knocked on Prince Vejita's doors gingerly, then, when he heard no response, glanced over his shoulder and entered. The curtains were all closed, and besides the medium-sized candle chandelier hanging over Vejita's minibar, the room seemed to be swathed in a cloak of darkness. It seemed fitting.

Just a little over an hour ago, he had received word that Vejita wanted to speak to with him in his royal chambers. And a private summons like that could have only meant one thing-- the Saiyan Prince was planning something shady, something that he did not want anyone else to know. Ever since they were children, Turles and Vejita had been the two of the group who had thought the most alike (besides Radditz and Nappa-- they were equally blockheaded). Whenever he had thought of something especially mischevious (such as the prank involving Bardock, a paintball gun, and a very expensive cloak that they had masterminded years ago), Vejita had always called upon Turles for a second opinion, even if he wasn't always ready to accept someone else's advice. But this time, Turles had a feeling that they would be planning something far more dangerous than a mere prank.

"You're late."

Turles started at the sudden appearance of Vejita as he stepped into the light. But even more startling than the entrance was the look of the prince-- dark, murderous narrowed eyes, gloved hands clasped behind his back, and a frown that could scare away even the boldest of men. All in all, he looked like a wild thing. Feral, even.

"Sorry, Vejita-sama, but I didn't want to cause suspicion."

"Bullshit. You were apprehensive."

He had been caught in a lie. "A little, but only because I know what you are capable of when you get pissed off."

Vejita's frown turned into a smirk for a split second as he crossed through the shadows over to the bar. "So I don't have to explain why you are here."

Turles shook his head.

"Good." Vejita leaned back in a chair at the minibar and watched Turles come closer, more into the light. "I have a plan."

"I thought so." He was almost to the bar now. "What is it?"

"I want Magdalene out of my way so that I can win this war. There isn't a way to play without being dirty, you understand that. Magdalene, however, doesn't." Vejita crossed his arms. "She'll impede on my progress unless something is done."

Turles was hesitant to jump on board this time. "How exactly do you want to 'get her out of your way', Vejita?"

"I don't want to kill her, you idiot!" Vejita corrected him, picking up on Turles' thoughts. "I just want her on the sidelines, do you grasp that?"

Right now, Vejita reminded Turles of a rattlesnake-- poised, ready to strike before his enemies noticed his scorn. "I don't know this time," he said carefully. "You could be charged with treason."

Vejita looked away, and Turles knew that he thought of Bulma, merciless and most likely in danger at the hands of Yamcha. He could almost smell the other man's fury. Revenge-- that's what this was about. "I don't give a damn," he finally said, looking up to face Turles. "I would rather be exiled than sit idle knowing that Yamcha is still breathing, and knowing that the woman is at his mercy.

Turles would and always had been loyal to the crown, most especially Magdalene, who was like a mother to him, but he could not refuse. The look in Vejita's tormented eyes was enough. First and foremost, a Saiyan was loyal to his friends. With a shaky smile, he held out his hand. "I'm with you to the end, Vejita-sama. Whenever that may be."

The prince took his hand and the frown changed into a crooked smile. "I knew you'd come around." Because if he hadn't, Vejita would have had to kill him on the spot.
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From her spot amongst the group of other women who had been taken from the city for the soldiers' entertainment, the woman had a clear view of the king and queen's ship as it landed near the palace.

Men swarmed around the landing area, clamoring to catch a glimpse of the king or maybe even his enchanting bride. The woman's group had also moved forward, and were lucky enough to be able to stand right in front, about one hundred and fifty feet from the ship. The crowd murmured and shouted as the exit ramp lowered. The King's personal guards made their way down first, checking for any danger. Then came a small group of less important guards and pilots.

Impatient, the woman huffed and tapped her foot in an unladylike manner. She wished that she had a cigarette to relieve her nerves-- they weren't very proper for a woman like her, but she was too far gone to stop now. It hardly mattered anymore-- all sense of what was right had vanished among the city as soon as war had been declared. One of the other females beside her shook her head.

"This isn't a show, you know," she scolded, her eyes still on the ship, contradicting her words. "The king and queen are nothing special."

Oh, but they were, the woman thought. King Yamcha was holding the planet's fate in his unsteady hands, and Queen Bulma... well, only the woman understood just how special she really was.

Then, the royal couple stepped onto the ramp and began to descend. When they spotted them, however, the crowd went still with shock.

Normally, the monarchs emerged from their ship or the palace with interlocking arms and identical fake smiles. Even though they knew better, it was much easier for the people to pretend that all was well with the famous couple that way. Never in their entire reign had the two ever acted against each other in public. But now... the woman gasped and pressed her clammy hands to her cheeks, trying to wake herself up from this nightmare.

Rather than leading her down the ramp, King Yamcha nearly dragged a disheveled Bulma out of the ship using wicked-looking chains. Never in her life had the woman ever seen such cold treatment. The royal couple struggled down the ramp, finally allowing their people to witness what was really going on behind the closed doors of the palace.

The woman inwardly seethed at Yamcha's reaction to the stunned crowd. He led Bulma like an animal he was particularly proud of, and gloated and grinned at the crowds. Seeing this sorry display now confirmed all the rumors of Yamcha's masterminding his father's death so that he could assume the throne. The woman could easily see this man doing that without a second thought.

If Yamcha made her want to scream, then Bulma almost drove her to tears. Where there had once been a lively, spirited soul was now just an empty shell of a woman. She was still achingly beautiful, of course, but her cerulean eyes were dull, and her face stuck into an expression of despair. Her Saiyan-styled wrap was torn and wrinkled, her hair tumbling out of its pins, and her eyeliner was smeared around dark circles and red eyes. Many bruises, old and new, dotted her overly-slim body, her jaw seemed to be injured, and her lip had been split open recently. All in all, she looked like the sole survivor of a natural disaster. Some of the more vulnerable women in the group cried softly at the injustice of it all. Yamcha's words might be able to fool the men, but the women all knew exactly who had done this to their queen. What was the world coming to when even the very goddess among them was beaten by her husband?

"It is certainly good to be home," Yamcha started with an oily smile. As he spoke he tugged on Bulma's chain as if in warning. "But I bring you bad news. The barbarian Prince Vejita has committed unspeakable crimes against our empire, thus the reason for war. You see?" He pulled Bulma into clearer view of the people, brushing her hair out of her face so that they could see her expression and bruises. For her part, Bulma remained as emotionless as a china doll. "He has dared to rape and ravage our queen, my wife, and then used his fists to beat her into submission. But even more shocking than that, my loyal subjects, is the fact that even through her tears, Queen Bulma enjoyed the perverse treatment. And for that, they both must pay!"

The woman knew better than to believe Yamcha's lies. She might not be able to explain exactly how Prince Vejita was involved, but somehow she knew that Yamcha was the one who had done this to Bulma. But unfortunately, the testoserone-driven soldiers believed him. They roared in compliance.

"After tonight, we shall start on our mission for the Saiyans' blood!" Yamcha shouted, lifting one of Bulma's limp, thin arms in emphasis. "I want every male citizen over age ten to fight. I shall meet with you later tonight. In the meantime, celebrate our upcoming victory as best you can."

Then he was pulling Bulma to the palace, where they disappeared, followed by their guards. It was the most bizarre event in anyone's memory, but the celebrating commenced anyway. Soon, all but the war had been promptly forgotten.

The woman followed her group back to their designated area, but she chose to hang back a little, for try as she might, she could not get Bulma's lifeless eyes out of her head. Something wasn't right here. If Bulma had simply gotten a beating from Yamcha (a common occurence indeed), then why would she look so... hopeless? Heartbroken, even.

The thought stayed with her all night. While the others partied, she sat alone, lost in thought.
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Rhapsody~*
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(A/N): Another shorter chapter, but I promise you, the next one will be twice as long, and twice as eventful. Will Vejita and Turles go through with their plans of 'disposing of' Magdalene? How will they do it? And what of Bulma? How will she survive meeting up with her mother again? Haha, I sound like that announcer guy in DBZ... pathetic, so I'll shut up now. Anyway, that chapter will be out before Monday, if nothing delays me.

The fic is coming to a close soon (only a few more chapters to this part, maybe... five??, and then another brief part of the story, then its all over! OmG!) so here's a few words on my future plans. After this fic, I'm thinking of publishing a one-shotter that I've been mulling over for the past few weeks. I'm not gonna give away any details yet, because even I'm not completely sure yet, so keep an eye out for more news on that. And then after that... I think I've mentioned that I've come up with another idea for an epic a while back, did I not? It was inspired by Kira Anne (if you're reading this, surprise! thanks for the inspiration, even if it wasn't intentional!) and its gonna be pretty good I think. B/V... for sure! ^_~

And thanks everyone for your fic suggestions! Especially Kichi, who gave me a whole list of ideas. I think I've been living under a rock or something, because I JUST stumbled upon Camaro's fic "Dark Angel", after its been so popular for so long. *Blushes* I feel like such a moron. But anyway, thats what I'm occupied with at the moment, and if you have any other suggestions, feel free to share them!

Special thanks to DevilishTrick, who's been e-mailing me on my AOL account lately. Its great to hear directly from someone for a change!

So, please remember to review, and see ya in the next chapter...


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