By: Kichi
This is a definite AU. After Namek. The third wish went awry. Bulma and Vegeta are stuck on Namek as Goku and Frieza fight and the planet crumbles around them.
DISCLAIMER: Dragonball Z and all the characters belong to Akira Toriyama
Chapter 1
She knew she had moments
left to live but she could do nothing but stare in dumb surprise at the
spot her best friend's son had just been standing. One second he
was there, then next- poof. She whirled in alarm and gasped.
Piccolo was gone too.
"I'm alone!" she sobbed.
"I'm going to die all alone!" a powerful tremor rocked the ship and
she was flung against the console. She was so distraught she did
not hear loud footsteps coming up behind her.
"Human!" a voice cried
over the roaring of the wind. Strong hands grasped her upper-arms
and spun her around. For a moment she couldn't tell who it was through
her tears, but she knew it wasn't Gohan. "Stop your pathetic crying
and move this damn ship or we'll die!" he shook her roughly, tears spilled
from her eyes and splashed on her sweaty skin.
Vegeta.
It was Vegeta shaking
her, yelling at her. The faint touch of panic in his voice jolted
her out of her stunned misery and her mind went on auto.
Move it, make this
ship work!
Her fingers flew over
the keys. She never questioned, never even looked at him again until
the engines roared to life and shot them out of the evaporating atmosphere.
It wasn't until they were safely away from the dying planet, far enough
away that the imminent explosion wouldn't throw them off course, that she
looked at him.
He slept on the floor,
sprawled out and snoring softly. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"I've escaped certain
death only to be trapped in space with a murderer." Bulma said softly,
a catch in her throat. Her vision blurred again and she felt tears
sliding down her dirty face. She quickly brushed them away and set
the ships controls to auto pilot. He didn't look so scary asleep.
But she was still terrified. He'd just tried to kill her and Krillin
a week ago. And it was because of him that Yamcha was dead!
Krillin, Goku, Gohan… she thought, weeping
again. She would never see them again, either. She put her
hand to her chest as an unbearable ache swept through her. The strength
left her and she fell to her knees, choking with sobs.
"Woman." Came a rough,
half-asleep voice. "Stop your pathetic bawling." Bulma's tears stopped,
burned away by incredible fury.
"Fuck you asshole!"
she shrieked. "This is all your fault! If it wasn't for you
we would never have had to come to Namek. My friends would still
be alive! Just shut up and leave me alone!" she closed her
mouth with a snap, her face burning. Then she realized just who she
had just yelled at and her face drained of color. She glanced up
fearfully and was surprised to see Vegeta regarding her with an almost
content expression. His lack of anger confused and scared her.
From what little she had seen of him, he'd seemed to have a vicious temper.
But he didn't even look annoyed.
"You would be dead
right now." He said softly, rising to his feet quickly and gracefully.
Bulma immediately began to back away, nervous of his calm, quiet voice.
But he pinned her with his gaze. His coal black eyes seemed to stare
straight through her. "You would have sat there, crying like a weak
woman while the whole planet exploded around you." He came closer
and closer until Bulma's back was to the console and she had no way to
escape. She began to tremble with fear. "And besides-" he began
with an almost pleasant smile that quickly faded . "I didn't ask to be
wished back."
"What?" Bulma blurted
in confusion. Suddenly he took a step back, his gaze distant.
"Nothing." He snapped,
his voice no longer soft, but rough and angry. She blinked in dawning realization.
"You died?" she asked
with great daring. She hoped he wouldn't kill her if he didn't know
how to fly the ship. She was stunned to see some color fade from
his face. He said nothing but turned away and went back to sit against
the wall, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankles. "I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to upset you."
"Shut up!" he snapped,
his voice laden with disgust. She dared a glance at him and he glared
at her hatefully. She returned the glare.
"No I won't!
And I lied!" she yelled. "I'm not sorry you died! You deserved
it!" she broke off her tirade as he leapt to his feet and closed
the distance between them in the blink of an eye. She flinched as
his black eyes pierced her. She could see her death at his hands
as if he was patiently explaining how he might break every bone in her
body and watch her die of internal bleeding. She felt light-headed.
"Who the fuck do you
think you are?!" he roared. Bulma was terrified. But she could
not look away as she could clearly see burning anguish in his eyes.
"I never deserved any of this! I did everything that Frieza asked and he
beat me to death! He destroyed my whole planet when I was eight and made
me his slave! And you think I deserve it!! " his voice grew louder
and louder until he was almost screaming. He broke off and abruptly
turned away again as if attempting to control himself. She
could hear his deep gasps over her frightened panting. Was it true?
Did it matter? He was going to kill her anyway. "Just shut
up." He said softly as he trudged over to the corner.
She was amazed to find
herself feeling sympathy for him, almost as if she could understand him
a little. But it was ridiculous! If her whole planet had been
wiped out would she take her hatred out on weaker races and destroy whole
planets? She shook her head. But wouldn't she do anything necessary
to avenge her family and people? Maybe. Even if it meant killing
everyone? She wasn't so sure about that. He was cruel
and evil but why such frightening pain in his eyes? So daunting was
the intensity. She'd only caught a glimpse, but she felt as if she'd
just seen the depths of hell. She shivered as her fear increased.
What was she going to do? How was she going to make it? Would
she reach home in one piece? Or would she end up as damaged as he appeared
to be? She felt tears coming to her eyes again and she again snuck
a glance at the Saiyan Prince.
He looked unusually
somber, probably regretting that she knew so much about him already while
he knew nothing of her. He only knew that she'd been trying to use
the dragon balls to wish back his enemies. Should she say something
or leave him alone? He wasn't looking at her. His legs were
drawn up to his chest and he hugged his knees reminding her forcibly of
a small, lost child. He looked tired, and surprisingly, kind of young.
She wondered how old he was. Her age, maybe a little older.
"Who is Frieza?" she
said so softly she wasn't sure he'd heard. He glanced at her and
she was again struck by how young he looked. He opened his mouth
and closed it again, shaking his head as if debating whether to speak or
not. Eventually he spoke, softly as if he himself didn't want to
speak of it.
"King Cold's son.
The strongest fighter in the universe next to the Super Saiyan." He said
softly, his gaze abstract. "He destroyed races and sold their planets
or whatever he wished to do with them. And I was his slave." He hissed
bitterly. "I and everyone in his army. Taken from our homes
and forced to do his slaughtering for him. No one alive is as strong.
No one dared oppose him." For long moments there was silence.
Bulma was caught up in the spell his quiet voice wove. And the sadness
in his eyes. He seemed much different from the man she'd met just
last week. Something inside him had broken. And it seemed to
her that something was his heart. Even someone like him could hurt,
she marveled. "No one until me. And see what happened."
"Wh-what about Goku?"
she said, her voice dry and cracking.
"Kakarotto is the Super
Saiyan. Frieza will die." He whispered. He closed his eyes
as if weary beyond belief. He rubbed his face and tugged his thick
black spikes.
"There's a bed downstairs…
" Bulma said softly. "If your tired." He said nothing, merely
nodded and trudged downstairs.
For a long time she
sat there thinking about what he'd said. If it was true - and she
could tell it was by his discomfiture after he'd spoken about it - then
she and all the Z fighters needed to reevaluate their view of Vegeta.
For some reason she
couldn't find it in her heart to hate him anymore. Not after that
sad confession. She had clearly seen such pain in his eyes, it had
made her heart ache. She didn't know he'd only done what he'd had
to in order to survive. She hadn't known that Vegeta had been a prince
forced into slavery by his father's killer, his planet's destroyer.
No one deserved that. And at such a young age.
She tried to imagine what he must have
gone through. What would she do in his place? The answer hit
her like a slap in the face.
She'd die.
She knew in her heart
that she didn't have the strength to live through that. She'd end
up wasting away, starving herself, cutting her wrists, or slowly kill herself
with drugs. Something. She just couldn't see herself living
through that pain. Even if she could survive the pain of losing everything-
which would be hell in itself- but serving the one who took it all away?
She would rather die. And he'd only told her the condensed
version of his story, that much was obvious. But she was still afraid
of him and didn't want to ask about the rest. She wasn't even sure
she wanted to hear the rest if he was willing to speak of it.
But this was Vegeta
after all, he wouldn't say anything after this. Humans were weak
and worthless as far as she was concerned. Why did she care anyway?
Sure, she felt bad for him, but did that excuse everything he'd done?
Even if he'd never come to Earth- whole planets he'd destroyed! By
his own account! She had learned of the practice from Radditz well
over a year ago now.
She caught her breath. Was that
it? It seemed she'd been on Namek her whole life! Like some
dread purgatory she couldn't escape. And when escape had seemed possible
she only found herself in a deeper circle of hell. She was trapped
on her father's ship, an enhanced model of Son Kun's Saiyan pod.
And she was with the last Prince of the Saiyans! A killer of hundreds
of thousands! She'd seen the fight with Zarbon! He'd enjoyed
it! Why not everything else?
And he's handsome too
which makes it even worse! She thought morosely. Then she blinked
in surprise at the stray thought and sat up a little straighter.
How could she think
such a thing? She loved Yamcha! Didn't she? Of course
she did!! She'd gone all the way to NAMEK, another PLANET to find
the Dragon balls to wish him back! Would she do that if she didn't
love him? Of course not!
It was just that she'd
been alone for so long! And he was cute, in a bad ass kind of way.
And he had a sexy body, and he was so mysterious! And intense and
brooding. And those eyes of his! And that voice!
She walked over to
the far wall that was just above the 'bedroom'. The floor was metal
grating and if she got really close she could easily see through into the
bottom floor. She could while she was standing there but not details.
She knelt down and took a peek. She could hear him softly snoring
already.
He lay on the bed curled
on his side, his head pillowed on his hands. She blinked in surprise.
He looked.. different. The angry scowl was gone. She stared
in amazement, not realizing she was holding her breath until she was forced
to suck in air or pass out.
He wasn't just cute,
he was gorgeous! She was appalled at the realization, but she couldn't
control what she thought. At the moment, she didn't even care to.
He looked almost younger than her, he probably wasn't but at the moment
he looked like a different person almost. She wondered what he'd
look like with a real smile on his face. The thought suddenly obsessed
her for an instant.
"Stop this!" she snapped.
"I love Yamcha.." she repeated to herself several times. She did
love Yamcha, she really did. And she wasn't having on of those: "fall
in love with you kidnapper" kind of things. That was just stupid.
She didn't really like him, he intrigued her. So she found him attractive!
What straight girl wouldn't?
Yes, she was still
afraid of him, but powerfully fascinated as well. It was the pain
inside of him. Before she'd only known him to be full of hate and
disgust for all those considered "inferior" to him. She'd never considered
that he might even be able to feel pain, physically or emotionally.
But then she'd learned
a few things that had sparked her compassion as well as her attention.
Why hadn't he left
him? Why hadn't he run as far as he could from the tyrant?
What had held him there?
The answer was so obvious,
she wondered how she had not seen it earlier.
It was revenge plain and simple that kept
him there. That was why he'd wanted immortality so bad. It
had to be the only way Vegeta could defeat Frieza was if he couldn't be
killed. Or maybe Frieza would follow him wherever he ran.
He hadn't gotten his
wish obviously. He'd said himself: 'I didn't ask to be wished
back.' She ground her teeth in frustration. She wanted
to talk to him so badly! The thought startled her a bit, but when
Bulma Briefs was eager for information, she got it. Being left alone
on Namek had also left whole gaps in her understanding of events.
It angered her. She liked knowing what was going on at all times.
She hated being left in the dark. Maybe he was still awake.
She quickly ran downstairs.
He lay on his side on
the soft bed, but his breathing was soft and even, indicative of sleep.
But he was easily awakened when he heard her heels clicking on the iron
stairs and quickly sat up, resting on his elbows.
"What do you want,
onna?" he mumbled tiredly.
"Can I ask you something?"
she asked softly. He rolled over to stare at her for a moment
in confusion. She saw him frown but he nodded. "I missed so much
on Namek. I was all alone the whole time. What exactly happened?"
For long moments he stared at her saying nothing. Their eyes were
locked and she wondered why he was staring so hard. He didn't look
particularly angry, just tired.
"If I tell you will
you leave me alone and let me sleep?" she nodded quickly. He sighed
and began to speak. He told of everyone he killed, enjoying her look
of discomfort. She noticed how his eyes gleamed when he told her
about how he'd stolen all the balls from Frieza but the one that had been
in her possession for a short while. She saw those deep black eyes
darken when he admitted that Recoom of the Ginyu squad had beaten him after
they had taken all the dragon balls he'd captured. And he stopped
his story right before Goku healed. The standoff with Frieza.
He told her how Dende healed Krillin and Gohan from fatal wounds, but after
that he trailed off with a sigh.
She knew what happened
after that anyway. Frieza had beaten him to death.
"I'm sorry." Bulma
said. He shot her a confused glance and then his face abruptly darkened
in anger.
"I don't need you pity,
pathetic human!" he roared, jumping up from the bed. Bulma didn't
even flinch at his outburst. She gently captured his wrist in her
hand and was mildly surprised when he didn't break her grip immediately.
Instead he stared at her as if startled by her effrontery.
"No. That's not
what I meant." Her soft voice had a calming effect on the Saiyan
and he slowly resumed his seat. Still he had not broken her grip,
and still he gazed at her almost in wonder. "I am sorry that you
did not get your revenge against Frieza. I am sorry that you aren't
the one fighting him. I believe you deserve that, if nothing else.
Goku is my best friend, but he's not a Saiyan at heart. He doesn't
know what this must mean." She sighed, her voice tinged with regret.
Not for herself, but for the lost Prince before her. "How is this
happening?" she said to herself.
"What?" he said quietly.
She shook her head.
"You'll laugh at me."
She said softly. Suddenly he did laugh sharply. She glanced
at him, confused.
"So I just did, was
it so horrible?" he said, a smirk twisting his lips. She ignored him and
decided to say what was on her mind anyway.
"I should hate you,
but I don't anymore." She said abruptly. He frowned immediately,
his eyes flashing.
"Your right, you should
hate me." He said. He snatched his hand away when he realized she
was still touching him and plopped down in bed, pointedly ignoring her.
What the hell? Bulma thought. He did not speak again and Bulma
soon hear his breathing become deep and even.
What had just happened?
Why had he just become
so cold like that? They had been talking for almost a half hour without
raising their voices. Now he was asleep, he'd ignored her like she wasn't
even there, like she didn't exist!
Why was she even trying
anyway?
True, she didn't want
to be on his bad side, but by attempting friendship she'd somehow driven
him further away. She couldn't understand it. He'd been with
Nappa and Radditz for presumably awhile, didn't he miss them? Damn
him!
TBC...
So, what do you peeps think?
Chapter 2
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