Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Variations of Fate ❯ Return ( Chapter 16 )

"Lord Frieza, we are approaching Vegetasei," announced the ship's navigator over the communications system. As Frieza listened he idly, impatiently, boredly drummed his fingers against his throne's arm, his lips pursing in great displeasure.

Frieza ran his tongue over his lips, making a distasteful expression, "Dodoria! Call Zarbon into my chamber. I must speak with him."

"Yes, Highness," said Dodoria before scampering off, leaving a rather bored and impatient Frieza drumming his fingers with further irritation. The sound echoed in the otherwise quiet chamber.

After a few minutes -- though, that must have seemed hours to Frieza -- Zarbon and Dodoria returned, bowing deeply before their master. Frieza looked down the bridge of his nose at his underlings, assessing them and then snorting his annoyance. "Dodoria, you are dismissed."

And once more out Dodoria scampered, his large feet pounding on the metal plating of the ship's corridors. Frieza held back a sigh of exasperation.

"Sire, you requested my presence?" Zarbon asked quietly, not daring to glance up, instead speaking down at the knee against which his hands rested.

"Hmm. Why else would you be here?" Frieza remarked snidely, not giving Zarbon the chance to comment in return before he continued. "Rise. As you well know, we are approaching Vegetasei. When we land, we will be forced to say our pleasantries with King Vegeta.

"However, we should get a good laugh at the primative creatures' welcoming parade. Monkeys lining the street. Though I am not fond of parades or crowds of any sort, the Saiyans make a mockery of the term welcoming parade. That should suffice as our entertainment for the day. Perhaps as entertainment for weeks to come. Time will tell, of course," Frieza gave a cruel chortle of his own before he redirected his hovering throne, swiveling it towards the screen displaying the Vegeta System as they approached the planet, "Pathetic planet, useful race. Through their prince I will control them."

Zarbon smirked and toying with the end of his thick braid. The only good Saiyan was a dead Saiyan, but the next best sort was a grovelling one.

A man slipped into the throne room and came to a halt at the throne, bowing deeply before his king. "Our security department has noted that Lord Frieza's ship has entered our system. Only moments ago, Lord Frieza sent word that he is quickly coming upon Vegetasei."

"And so my son returns," said King Vegeta, and yet his expression was bland and pensive, his posture one of lethargy. "The time has come."

"Yes, your Highness. Would you like me to send out word?"

"Yes, the plans are to come to fruition. Please broadcast to the planet that Prince Vegeta's return is imminent. You are dismissed," King Vegeta said, frowning beneath his moustache as the man bowed again and departed.

The king pressed a button on the information tablet next to his throne. "Lady Sukena's presence is requested in the throne room."

"Just a moment, sire. I shall have her there in a moment," came a distinctly human voice. King Vegeta vaguely noted it as the voice of the redheaded female who had assisted Bulma Briefs, the human who was also Sukena's personal assistant and servant.

"Thank you," said Vegeta and clicked off the com-unit. He stood and paced as he awaited Sukena's arrival.

Someone burst into the throne chamber in a flurry of motion. King Vegeta stopped. Sukena bowed before him. "You requested my presence, sire?"

"Yes, Lady Sukena. My son's return is imminent. Within the day, in fact."

"Today, sire?"

"Yes. Today. Lord Frieza's ship might not land until tomorrow. However, that would be unlikely. We shall, of course, have something of a welcoming parade for the Prince. Then Frieza shall depart. The following day the banquet will occur."

Glee writ itself across Sukena's features. "And so Prince Vegeta will have the welcoming he deserves..."

"Yes. I thought you should know," said King Vegeta as he stalked back towards his throne, picking up a disk from the table beside his throne. Sukena followed him, and so he merely turned on his heels and handed her the disk, "Here is the guest list. I felt you should be prepared and know who your most recent competition is. You know, of course, that I would prefer you as my daughter-in-law. HOWEVER, many of the others have reached a level competitive to yours. I know of the bruises Melopa administered."

Sukena blushed furiously, her head bowing in embarassment, "Yes, sire."

"Dismissed."

"Yes, sire," said Sukena, turning tail and stalking angrily to the doors.

King Vegeta lowered himself into his throne, his expression again going pensive.

Sukena stomped back into her chambers, the King's rebuke still hot her mind and cheeks. "AVA! Get my dresses ready! Prince Vegeta is returning, tomorrow at the latest!"

Ava came rushing into the room, garbed in her cleaning utilities, "Yes Lady Sukena!" She quickly removed gloves and apron and rushed into Sukena's bedroom; she could be heard rummaging around closets, bureaus and presses.

Sukena flopped down onto her couch, her arms crossed, and a pout formed on her lips. How dare Melopa embarass her so! It was all Melopa's fault she was given that rebuke, all Melopa's fault!

She'd be damned if she let that good-for-nothing bitch take her rightful place! Melopa would be an utter disgrace to the...

"Lady Sukena!"

"WHAT?"

"My apologies, Lady Sukena. You decided on the red dress, the black dress, and the patterned black-and-red dress, correct?"

"YES," hissed out Sukena.

"They are out, then, Lady Sukena. I'll return to my cleaning," called out Ava. The human rushed out to collect her cleaning supplies and then rushed back to the room she'd been called from to wait on Sukena's whims.

"Hmph!" exclaimed Sukena, her face drawing in a rather unpretty expression of distaste. Luckily, Ava was too far away to see or hear the pouting Saiyan Elite.

"Master Roshi?" asked Cuff tentatively as he knocked on the door of the small servant house. He could hear the old man hobble to the door.

"Oh, hello there, Cuff," said the elderly man, "What are you coming here for?"

"Well...someone mentioned you trained martial artists back on Earth. Is that true?"

"Mmm...somewhat. I'm not particularly good or useful any longer, but maybe I could teach you a little bit of something. Come in."

Cuff entered, fidgeting with his slave-issue tunic.

"Take a seat at this table."

Cuff complied.

The old man took the seat opposite of him at the table. "Why do you want to learn?"

"Well, I'm good at fighting, but my mom won't let me train with my friend Kakarot anymore. But I want to train. I really do," Cuff replied.

"Ah," intoned the old man, bowing his head, "How old are you, Cuff?"

"Nine."

"Nine..." repeated Master Roshi, trailing off thoughtfully as he rubbed at his chin, "Nine...Well, I suppose I've trained younger. And, bring your friend Kakarot along. Somehow. I'd like to train him as well. A Saiyan with a heart...a rather uncommon creature, I'd say."

"I guess so, Master Roshi."

"You'd best run along, Cuff," said Roshi, pushing up with his cane and walking over to Cuff, patting the boy on the shoulder, "Come on."

Cuff stood, thanked Master Roshi, and departed.

Rory leaned against the doorway that marked the entrance of the Briefs' quarters, a hand placed over a spot toward the side of his stomach. His gaze darted warily about, noting fellow slaves and the occasional Saiyan shoving the slaves around.

Cuff's running return didn't catch him by surprise. The boy's own surprise at Rory being there didn't surprise Rory either. "Hey Cuff."

"Hello, Rory. You're waiting for Ava?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"You always look like that when you have something important to bring her."

And now Rory was caught by surprise. The boy knew more than he let on to; Rory made note to tell Ava this discovery. "Yeah, I suppose I've got something to tell her."

"Bring her. You shouldn't look so obvious, Rory."

"No, you shouldn't," came Ava's voice from the pathway, her arms crossed as she ascended the steps. "Really, Cuff. You should have let him in if he looked suspicious. And he does. Come on now, let's get inside."

The redhead pushed past the boys and into the house. They quickly followed after her and Cuff shut the door. Ava led them to her small room and pulled out the stash of print-offs she'd boosted from Sukena's chambers, removing from under her own shirt more carefully concealed print-offs she'd confiscated that very day. Both boys gaped.

Ava glanced sheepishly up at them. "So now you know. I know you've had suspicions Cuff. But I've been curious about some of the stuff I've read in Sukena's quarters. And Rory, now you know the extent of my data collection."

Rory whistled his appreciation. "I'll say, Ava. But this collection could be dangerous, you know..."

"I know. I also don't care. Now hand over the papers, please," said Ava, holding out her hand. Rory, grumbling allthewhile, pulled the papers out from under his waistband and silently handed over the papers. Ava smiled at him, "Thanks. Anything good?"

"Oooh yeah. Lots more information, and remember what I talked with you about a week ago at lunch? I've got that information."

"Fantastic," said Ava, beaming in a conspiratory way over at Rory. Cuff, meanwhile, was simply staring at the horded information.

"Sis...this really could be dangerous...And...and...if someone found it, they might think Bulma handed it to you for safe keeping!"

Ava snorted. "As far as the Saiyans are concerned, Bulma is no longer part of our family. They've practically adopted her into their science department." The redhead picked up one of her printouts and waved it in front of the young boy's face.

"But, Salrud, Ava...He may be a prick and a bootlicker, but he's conniving and vindictive and scheming," Rory said.

Ava cringed, biting down on her lip. She sighed, "You're right. I'll have to be careful with how I store it from now on. Very careful."

"I'll help you, sis," said Cuff, smiling up at Ava.

"Thanks, Cuff. I don't need to draw you into this..."

"You've got it in the house. I'm already involved."

Ava sighed and shook her head, "I suppose you're right...I...I'll have to look over all of this information later and make more conclusions about it. What to do though? What to do?"

Rory and Cuff bowed their heads.

The terminal beeped loudly and Bulma jumped, still unaccustomed to the sounds the computers in her new premises made. What did that one mean again? The girl wracked her brain for an answer as she calmed her breathing. They notice beeps all sounded the same to her.

Bulma felt a pair of eyes on her and she glanced up at the main desk where Director Ruvari sat. Ruvari had been quick in getting the request through -- Bulma was now her assistant when not designing.

"Just a message, Bulma," said Ruvari with a good-natured chuckle, "Just a message. Nothing to be overly concerned about, although I'd check it. The message COULD be something warranting concern."

Bulma groaned but nodded, pressing her finger against the terminal in the upper righthand corner where sat the "check messages" glyphs. The message popped up. Bulma skimmed through and grimaced.

        Miss Briefs,

        Your presence is requested in the archives. You are

        to meet with Salrud. Please make haste.

        Vegetasei Archives.

Bulma sighed loudly, "Ruvari, I've got to get down to the Archives. Salrud has requested my presence."

"Ah, something about the welcoming banquet, I'm sure," Ruvari said, her eyes glittering as she waved Bulma towards the door. "It's been a bit slow around here. Go ahead and meet with Salrud. Just remember what I told you about dealing with him." And with that, Ruvari winked at her.

Bulma couldn't help but chuckle as she exited Director Ruvari's office; her mood was much better than it would have been on meeting Salrud.

She wandered -- albeit, quickly -- down the corridor to the archival department and halted jauntily at the door. She pressed her hand to the security pad beside it and entered, bowing to Salrud's assistant and then tapping on the glass as she saw someone she recognized. When Rory looked up and waved, she waved in return.

"Ahem. Miss Briefs," said the secretary, "Salrud will see you now. Just through the doors and past the terminals."

"Thanks!" said Bulma as she passed through the glass doors and past Rory, offering him a wink as she passed. She stopped at Salrud's cubicle, for the man did not have his own office as was expected in the archives. "Salrud, sir?"

"Ah, Miss Briefs," said Salrud as he looked up, looking pleased to see her though his tone spoke differently. "Your wear for the next few days as arrived. Follow me."

Salrud stood and walked stiffly to the set of double doors just past his cubicle, placing his hand against the security pad.

A monotone, mechanical voice said in standard Saiyan: "Salrud, Archival Director. Assistant to King Vegeta. Enter Passcode."

Salrud entered a ten-digit number.

"Salrud and guest may enter."

Salrud walked through first and Bulma followed after him. There was a long corridor before them and Bulma glanced around, taking in her surroundings and one of the few places in the palace she had not been.

They reached another set of double doors.

Salrud placed his palm against its security pad and then quickly typed in the security code to keep the computer from sounding off.

"Salrud and guest may enter."

Salrud motioned Bulma through and followed her in, bowing before King Vegeta and forcing Bulma to bow along with him.

"Ah, Miss Briefs. So you have arrived," said King Vegeta from a chair at the opposite end of the room. He motioned towards a group of Saiyan women standing to his left. "These women, second- and third-class Saiyans, shall complete your articles for the events. Volivya, if you please, take Miss Briefs, she looks a bit confused."

Indeed, Bulma looked utterly confused, blinking profusely and staring at the King. One of the women, Volivya apparently, snorted and stepped forward.

"Follow me, Miss Briefs," Volivya said sternly before placing a firm hand under the human female's elbow and directing her towards a set of curtains. 

"Um..."

"Simple procedure when 'distinguished' individuals do not have the correct attire for such events. We cannot allow you to meet with any of our higher officials looking like a slave, now can we?" Salrud said. His tone set Bulma's teeth on edge.

"But..."

"No protesting, woman," came King Vegeta's rather bored comment as Bulma slipped behind the curtain, the Saiyan females trailing behind her.

"Strip down," ordered Volivya.

"But..."

"Have you grown so impudent within the science department so as not to know your rightful place, human? Strip down! Including your bra!"

Bulma did as she was told, hugging her arms to her body. Two of the third-class women pulled a rack of dresses over towards Bulma. Volivya glanced through the rack and pulled off a red dress. She pulled it of its hangar and made to tug it over Bulma's head. "Hold your arms up!

Bulma did a she was told. Volivya pulled the dress over Bulma's head and then began to adjust the bodice and the halter ties at Bulma's nape. Volivya propelled Bulma to a mirror and in a much less orderly tone said, "Do you like this?"

Bulma gaped at her reflection, at the lines that contoured her every curve. "Isn't this a bit...revealing?"

Volivya snorted and then murmured into Bulma's ear, "If you want revealing, I should show you what I've designed for some of the Elite females!"

"Oh."

"This is rather modest by most standards; however, it is a stylish modest and looks most professional. I should know as I designed it."

"Oh," intoned Bulma and again considered her reflection, "I...suppose it does."

"I like this one on you. Perfect for banquets. Now, let's try something else," and Volivya undid the ties, pushing Bulma back towards the rack and then slipping the dress off of Bulma. She handed off the dress to one of the third-class women and then proceeded to find another outfit. Bulma held up her arms and Volivya pulled that outfit over Bulma's head. "This might be perfect for the welcoming parade."

Bulma held back a groan as she was once more propelled to the mirror, but she nodded as she watched her reflection. A blue and turquoise sundress, perhaps a bit gauzy for her tastes, but not revealing by any standards. "Not bad at all. I like this."

Volivya finished tying up the back, "See how you like that."

Bulma turned and glanced back. Holding the dress up was a series of crisscrossing silver, blue and turquoise ribbons that began at the small of her back, ending to make the halter straps that tied at the back of her neck. Bulma wasn't as sure about that part, of course, but she supposed it was alright for its purposes.

"Yes, this is perfect for you. Compliments your coloring well. It's wonderful to have a variation in coloring. Black hair and black eyes are somewhat boring to dress for, you understand."

"I could imagine. But...wouldn't it make your job easier?"

"Naturally. That's why I look forward to a challenge," Volivya said and yanked Bulma about, propelling her out of the curtains.  "Now, show this one to the King and Salrud."

Bulma was aware of the eyes fixed on her, but she dared not look at the men's faces. She could do without that.

"Very well, Volivya. For the welcoming parade, I assume?"

"Yes, sire."

"I'd very much like what you have in store for her for the banquet."

"Yes, sire," said Volivya and abruptly turned Bulma about, propelling her behind the curtains once more. She stripped Bulma down, grabbed the black dress, and redressed the human female. Just as quickly as that was done, she propelled Bulma out of the curtains.

This time Bulma looked at the King. He was frowning.

"A bit too modest, wouldn't you say, Salrud?"

Salrud tilted his head as he surveyed Bulma, tsking lightly. "Yes, it does seem a bit modest."

"Find something else, Volivya," said King Vegeta, his tone once more going bored.

Once more they went behind the curtains. And many more times Volivya pulled another dress over Bulma's head, showed her to King Vegeta, and was met with a frown. It was on about the sixteenth dress that King Vegeta nodded his approval.

It was very similar to the original dress, black, but of a more gauzy fabric. And of course, much more to the liking to the male mind.

Vegetasei, his birthplace; here they were, orbitting Vegetasei. This would be his homecoming. His homecoming...

..And yet, he was on edge, apprehensive. It had been years since his departure. He had not been planetside for more than a few weeks. He quickly dismissed his emotions. Weakness. Apprehension was weakness. He could not afford weakness.

Prince Vegeta shrugged into his Royal Saiyan battle armor, Vegetasei's crest displayed proudly upon his chest. He attached the navy blue cape to the armor's shoulder plates. With no emotions displayed on his features, he walked regally to the window, gazing out at the great blue orb.

"Prepare systems to enter the atmosphere," was the announcement that came over the loudspeaker.

Prince Vegeta showed no emotions.