1Disclaimer - Don't own.

Note- this one might be better than my other cause I've had a little practice...plus I'm going somewhat faster which I find easier. Yah! If anyone likes it, I hope you tell me. I'm a sucker for praise. If not, that's okay too. This version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds belongs to Grateful Dead, k?

Hotter Than The Sun

Chapter 1 - The Planet of No Return

The sun beat down on Videl's back, as she once again shifted in her sleep. To her, it was a well deserved rest. Being up until one that morning, arguing with the king about his decision to send her from earth had been mentally exhausting.

Worse, she was to go and negotiate peaceful terms with Planet Vegeta.

Fucking lame.

So what if she was the strongest fighter in their quadrant? That didn't give her the capabilities of an ambassador! Especially in a place where people disappearing was a common occurrence and barbaric animals constituted people. The place was ninety degrees on a cool day and when it was a full moon...Well, the memory still scared her.

Videl huffed a little and rolled out of bed in nothing more than a pair of white cotton panties. It was too hot to sleep in. Besides, in a little while she'd be boarding a stuffy shuttle for twenty-nine hours. Fuck if there wouldn't be enough time to sweat her ass off then.

"Whaaaa! Ouch!"

She glanced irritably towards the bag that tripped her and then noted several more placed around the room. Bulma Briefs, was the name that rung out in her mind. Videl recalled, with a little chuckle, how she met the scientist as a child, simply wanting some older person to follow around in blind admiration. Well, Bulma never complained and had taught her everything from molecules to motors bikes.

"Damn. She didn't have to do that! She has her own stuff to pack. Ugh, like a finger wagging older sister, 'pack your shit, or I'll pack it for you!' Pooh, suppose I'll have to thank her too."

Apparently, Planet Vegeta was a mecca in foreign technologies and Ms. Briefs had announced she would be 'thrilled' to accompany the ambassador on her mission of peace. Videl, however, talked to the genius later and found out the only reason she hadn't gone before was because of the danger. But now, with a full entourage from earth, it was quite safe for her to be nosy as all hell! The sting of betrayal cut deep and Videl could only stare in shock. Bulma was so blunt about her ambitions; forget that her friend was being forced to negotiate with monsters.

Sighing heavily, she headed toward the bathroom, stopping only to catch the time on the wall. Eight o'clock. About three hours to clean up, toss her bags into a capsule, and eat some breakfast. At least money for food wouldn't be a problem... The king had been oh so generous and granted her unlimited use of the palace's credit. An excellent gift, considering the precarious situation; most likely, she'd end up kidnaped, raped, or killed. All three if she was real lucky.

God, why in the hell was she surrounded by insensitive assholes?

"I really hate these rugs. When I get back I'm buyin' some oriental. Shower on, temp. at previous setting."

Videl watched the spray hit the porcelain and felt her bitterness slowly disappear. Despite everything, she still had phenomenally good taste. The bathtub before her, with it's bronze clawed feet and mile deep bowl, distinctly proved that. Smiling, she tugged off her underwear, and stepped under the water.

Two Hours Later

"I wonder what's being served...I could really go for a stack of flap jacks and a pile of sausages."

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT WHAT THE HEAD MECHANIC SAID! HE WORKS FOR ME AND I WANT THE NEW ALLOY TO BE USED! GET THAT STUPID DICK HEAD IN HERE AND I'LL SHOW HIM WHO THE BRAINLESS LITTLE GIRL IS! AHHHHHHH! I GET NO RESPECT, DO I!"

Videl had been trotting down the palace hallway toward one of the servant mess halls, but upon hearing the yells, ran towards the lab center instead. No one could mistake Bulma's screeching voice; it was like a cat in heat getting crunched and splattered under falling boulders. She watched in silent mirth as a boy went flying down the corridor.

"GET OUT AND MAKE SURE HE USES IT! IF HE DOESN'T, YOU TELL HIM I'LL PERSONALLY REMOVE WHAT MAKES HIM A MAN AND SHOVE IT DOWN HIS THROAT!

The oil stained kid ran off in a panic and Videl could only blink in awe of her friend's magnificent fury. Chairs were kicked over and a lot of equipment had been broken in pursuit of the mechanic's obedience. The woman in question was currently being restrained by a janitor and a technician, as the scientists were either too scared or too scrawny to try anything. One lady was clutching her arm and looked like she had been socked in the eye.

It was terrifying.

"...Hey, uh, Bulma?"

"...ahem. Yes, Videl. Just give me a second please."

Bulma ripped her arms from the brave men and slapped them both in the face. She then adjusted her lab coat and the mussed up ponytail on top of her head.

"Don't ever touch me understand? I wasn't going to hurt anyone, I was simply very upset at those chauvinistic apes down stairs. What is everyone staring at? You have a lot to do before I leave, so GET TO IT!"

All the white coats and a few interspersed blue uniforms scurried to their work. Even the black eye lady was shuffling fast towards the testing area. Bulma turned, and in that creepy way of hers, changed her scowl to a bright smile.

"You need something, dear?"

Upturning a chair, Videl sat down and glanced around for a moment. She had forgotten how huge the older woman's set up was. The lab center was an attached building of ten or twelve stories and had about four thousand working inside at one time. Their inventions included everything from high tech weaponry to automated refrigeraters that cool your water to within a tenth of the exact temperature. All this was quite amazing for a female scientist in a man's field, who had worked up from conditions about the size of an outhouse.

"...Naw, I just wanted to say thanks for packing my things this morning."

"Penance. I just realized why you were a little angrier than usual when we talked about the trip and my reasons last night."

She bent down and crossed her arms over her knees, a look of guilt on her face.

"You know my curiosity isn't the only reason I'm going, right? I tried calling in all the favors I knew of, all the people who have ties with me and my work, but still couldn't get them to stop this ridiculous 'peace treaty.' The Saiyajins are ruthless cutthroats and I said it was insane to negotiate anything with them that doesn't involve blood or death. Did you really think I'd let you walk into a den of lions all on your lonesome? Your daddy would have my head if I did that...So would your mom, God rest her. I'm sorry if you thought I was being a greedy bitch, I had to tell the king something in excuse besides, 'I can't leave Videl alone, 'cause I'm not a bastard.'

Pausing her spiel, the genius leaned forward and tugged on a dark pigtail, trying to get the younger girl's eyes away from the floor.

"So, we're okay?"

Videl felt a small weight ofanger disappear and smiled contentedly. Finally something good, Bulma her friend, not scientist was going with her so she wouldn't be alone.

"...Pah, of course we're cool, you packed up all my shit. Hard labor is always an equalizer. You wanna get some breakfast with me?"

"Ummm..." She glanced at her watch, and blushed as her stomach rumbled, "Yah, I think some food would be good after my energy expending little outburst. I haven't eaten anything since four-thirty this morning."

"...Little outburst?"

The blue haired scientist glared and pushed Videl playfully as they left the center for the mess hall.

"I can't help it, I'm always cranky when things don't go my way. It's actually very soul purging to belittle dumb morons. I can see why you like to professionally punch and kick people."

Videl didn't think it was smart to reply; there were many complicated and long-ass reasons why she chose to use her hands instead of words.

The servant's mess hall was large to accommodate everyone who was blue collar and the few white collars that wandered in on occassion. Since work shifts were always varied and on going except for holidays, it was a 24/7 kind of place to eat. There were no strict meal times; breakfast items could be ordered at dinner time and vise-versa. Videl had no idea when they cleaned, but the best she could figure was it got done when the crowds were thin or during the night.

Her and Bulma shared a plate of pancakes and some other food before they split up for a half hour of alone time.

To say their private goodbyes.

Videl knew the older woman would probably be with her boyfriend Yamcha and couldn't help the pang of envy that came with the thought. Her father was currently abroad, she had called him the night before to tell him everything, but other than that there were no loved ones or friends to say sayonara. That knowledge alone enveloped her in a thick depressing ooze. She was young and pretty, she should have loads of friends!

Always alone...

Shaking her head in irritation, Videl wandered toward the gym rooms. She needed to do something to pass the time, or this stupid self pity was going to swallow her whole. After taping up her hands and doing a little arm stretch, she started beating the crap out of the punching bags.

For some people repetitive motions were a time to reflect, but for her it was a time to be blank minded and robotic. It felt good not to think about the lack of connections in her life.

Mom used to have a lot of friends.

Yeah? Well Mom's dead.

Gritting her teeth, she forced herself not to go there. Simply, hit, hit, kick, hit, hit, kick...

"Hey, Vidi?"

Hit, hit, kick.

"Videl?"

Hit, hit, kick.

"Videl, hun, we gotta get going..."

Hit, hit, kick.

Bulma, finally freaked out by the silence, grabbed the smaller girl by the arm and spun her around.

"HEY! We need to go or they're gonna delay the launch. Sorry."

Videl bobbed her head, then quickly tugged on a T-shirt and grabbed her black duffle bag.

They both hurried from the Gym room and headed towards the back of the palace, where a private spaceship for workers and royalty was about to take off.

"Listen, Videl-"

"I'm fine. Just a little pre flight jitters, you know me and space ships have a hard past, all that puking and stuffiness."

Willing to change the subject for her friend's sake, Bulma smirked. "...Ha! Yeah I remember when you threw up all over that space attendant. Poor guy looked like he wanted to vomit too. Your such a pussy."

Videl turned her head in surprise. "Bitch! That's so mean... It was kinda funny though. So, how's Yamcha?"

Bulma's face went red with anger, but a subtle hint of sadness crossed her eyes. "...I dumped him. Fucking caught him in bed with some, some BLONDE!"

"...Oh, Bulma...I'm so sorry, I-"

"Don't Vid. I'm like, on the verge here, just...let's get to the ship then we can talk."

Nodding her head, the younger girl rubbed Bulma's arm to let her know she wasn't all alone.

They made it to the ship with about a second to spare, and since all their stuff was in capsules there was no need to load anything. Settling into their seats, Videl started to prod about the break up.

"I can't believe he did that Bulma. I thought he loved you."

She blew her nose into a tissue. "Well, (sob), obviously not that much if he cheated on me!"

"...Shhhh, s'okay. Maybe you could look at this in a good light. You're free and single now!...Isn't, isn't that good?"

The older woman could only make a face and laugh brokenly at her friend's try of optimism. It simply wasn't her strong point, but it was very sweet gesture.

"...You know, (sniff) I think it was coming on anyway. I haven't, you know, been satisfied with Yamcha for a long while now."

"...Why the heck are you cryin' then?"

"Well...I think I'm more angry he would cheat on me. I mean, I'm Bulma fucking Briefs! Damnit...It, hurt my pride a little."

Videl nodded her head in understanding. If she had been loyal to someone, she would have expected the same from them. It would've been devastating to find herself not good enough, and he had gone off to find another warm body to screw.

Shifting a little, she called the space attendant for a drink to help put Bulma to sleep.

"Oh, I don't wanta drink."

"A shot of fucking alcohol and an Advil will do you good, okay? Wait, you know what-" she fished around in her pocket, "-Here, a big fat Vicodin. It'll conk you out for a couple hours, and hopefully you'll be better equipped to face normal company then. 'Cause you look like shit."

Bulma, shocked by this news, hurriedly located a mirror in her purse and moaned at the sight. Her eyes were red, her cheeks were blotchy, and to top it all off, her mascara had run!

"...Fucking bastard! Because of him I look like death incarnate! God, how am I supposed to meet Prince Charming looking like an ugly pauper! Gah, I'm ripping that fuck holes testicles off when we get back."

Chuckling, Videl felt relief that her friend was some what back to normal. She popped on her head phones and was immediately soothed by the carnival bars of Lucy in the Sky, her eyelids dropping closed in preparation for a nap. Good thing first class was air conditioned...

"Yeah, go to sleep while I've got a make up crisis. You really suck."

The flight attendant returned with a drink, Bulma popped her pill, and soon she followed the younger girl into the arms of oblivion.

Note- Hope you liked it okay, I think the next one will be more interesting. Cross fingers!