Prisoner

By: dolce-bebe

Disclaimer: Can I have Vegeta for one day please?

A/N: I am so sorry for not updating! I have these weird phases where I will be completely obsessed with a certain couple, then switch to an entirely different anime, etc. Now that I'm back to B/V, I just want to thank everyone who reviewed, and accept my apologies for the very, very long wait on chapter 3! I do have an breakdown for this story, till about chapter 20, I think? So I will try and write as much as I can and update if I get more of those encouraging reviews. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Project

Frankly, the horribly, sleep deprived, angrily stomping Prince was ticked. No, not ticked, a far worse word than one could ever comprehend. Never in all of his years had he been embarrassed beyond belief in the mere two days the woman had stepped foot on his planet. It wasn't even a form of embarrassment-He simply could not gather the words to describe how he felt towards her.

She was perhaps the most irritating being he had ever set eyes on. Not to mention that she had a disturbingly, bizarre habit of speaking or appearing when she wasn't supposed to. This was one of those times. The banquet he could let go. His men knew better. This horrid display the previous night could be swatted away by mere rumours. Either his men were complete idiots if they believed that he would take such a drastically, disgusting move in taking a mate, or he had trained them to be the perfect soldiers and keep their mouths shut. He pondered for a moment on that… Paragus was always there to do damage control anyhow.

But this…

How the hell had the woman gotten in his private chambers? He knew there was a reason as to why he blasted at the servants earlier for spiking his bathwater with tropical scents. 'It was fit for Royalty,' they had said, and as always, he had been right. He was always right. Such scents and oils were for women for hell's sake, and it had only proven his earlier notion: the scents had interfered with him smelling the wench. If he hadn't heard her terrible shrieking and the sound of the portrait frame flipping, he wouldn't have known that she had entered.

Damn her.

How exactly had she gotten in the chambers that were set foremost for his mistresses? The fact that such a pathetic, and weak being was even in foot of the royal wing was appalling. But there she sat and observing the room around her, obviously unaware that she had been trespassing.

The woman hadn't heard him, but when he emerged in alarm and swore a little too loudly, she had shrieked a terribly, painful sound and made to cover her eyes with her stringy fingers.

He hadn't cared much for his state of dress. He had just come from the bath after all when she came gallivanting into his chambers, and the first thought that entered his mind was that he had to investigate. So he sought for the first thing he could grab: his drying cloth.

He scoffed at her. The woman could blush and hide her eyes as much as she wanted, but his nose, without the ludicrous scents present in bothering him, worked perfectly now. If the blue haired wretch thought she could fool him with her embarrassment, then she was horribly mistaken. The fool wasn't even pure, and somehow she acted as if seeing him so scandalously dressed had burned her eyes.

And then she spoke, and he paled slightly at her words.

"Ack! What the hell are you doing in my room, you pervert!"

He froze, he had just been on the move to grab her and throw her dangly frame out his door when she spoke.

Her room? What in blazes was the woman talking about? Had she not pronounced herself a genius of her planet? Surely the wench could-No. No. Absolutely not. By gods, the thought was not even possible. A mere weakling of a human residing in his conjoint chambers? Who in their right mind could give such an obscure order for her to be…

Vegeta let out a threatening growl in realization and threw his head back in anger, his fists clenched by his side, causing Bulma to cease her whines, eyes wide in fear. She hadn't had the time to protest before he made a grab for his robe and stormed out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

What in Vegeta-sei's name could possibly possess his father to move the horrid woman to his chambers? The man must have gone mad. He was a Prince, not some pauper like Kakarott who followed orders. If his oaf of a father had any sense he would have realized what putting the human in his chambers could do to his reputation.

He wasn't a stranger to women. He had plenty his share when he was a boy. Hell, he could have any Saiyajin woman he wanted in his bed if he were to say the word. They had all been dying to spend the night with him even if he hadn't asked. He enjoyed their company rarely, as he was always stationed on the battlefield, but when he was home…he indulged fair enough to satisfy his stay. But that was besides the point.

Saiyajins were warriors, but it did not mean that they didn't have the same wagging tongues as any other being in the universe. The rumours and gossips proved well of that. If word got out about the blue haired wench leaving his chambers every morning and returning every night, he swore. He swore that he would obliterate her and the entertained fools who had the audacity to flaunt their lies. He would sooner die than be known as the Saiyajin Prince who had downgraded to a measly human.

Fists clenched by his side, Vegeta glowered as he stormed through the silent hallways. Already he could hear the murmur of his soldiers as they arose from their beds. His ki was extremely high and had escalated enough for even the youngest child in the southern region to feel. To hell with them all. As if he cared. Before he could reach the grand doors of the royal bed chambers of the King, they opened as if expecting him, and his father stood firm and still, wearing the same, but a larger version of his robe.

"What the fuck is the meaning of this?" Vegeta bellowed. Frankly he did not care if the entire palace awakened from his ranting. He needed an answer and he needed one now.

His father merely frowned. "What pray tell are you gallivanting about now, boy?" The tone was low, but harsh.

Vegeta pulled into a battle stance. If his father insisted on the girl to stay, then by Gods, he would fight him for the position of King no matter what the council said about his lack of judgment. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Do not dare to try and make a fool of me. Why is the wench in my bed chambers?" he demanded.

When the King didn't reply, the Prince's ki jolted, and surrounded his frame in a blue tint.

"Tell me!"

"Vegeta, you have much to learn," his father started, all with a bored look on his face. "The girl is of extreme importance to Lord Frieza."

"Do not-" Vegeta interrupted. "Do not say his name like that." He dropped his ki and crossed his arms over his chest. "Why father, I would say that you were quite taken with the poor girl. Is she that much of a treasure to that lizard that you feel the need to throw her in my presence every waking period?"

The King glowered at the disrespect, but dismissed it quickly. His son was a far superior warrior than he could ever be, and if he could tell him of their plans he would. Unfortunately the boy was either too ignorant or too stupid. His head had gotten so big the past few years that he was sure if such a secret was passed along to him, it would not last long before he acted out rashly. "The girl needs to be protected," he said sternly.

Vegeta raised a hand to brush off the demand. "Then by all means, get that idiot Kakarott to do your dirty work."

"He has been," the King replied. "Unfortunately, we've had a situation, and I thought that you, the mightiest of all us Saiyajins could be the only one strong enough to protect the girl." Vegeta raised an eyebrow to this, and the King continued. "Kakarott found something in the girl's room today."

The Prince's eye twitched in annoyance. "And what would that be exactly?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"A bug."

The King peered down at his son's reaction, not understanding. He seemed mildly irritated, which was an odd reaction, when he claimed that the girl was such a nuisance to begin with. "Kakarott found one imbedded in her chambers. I'm sure you know what this could mean."

Vegeta turned his back readying to leave.

"The girl is important, Vegeta," his father called out.

"She is important to you, and to your master," he sneered back. "Make no mistake, when I am King, I will gladly dispose of you, the woman, and that pathetic lizard."

And he walked off not bothering to hear anything else.

It took several minutes after the door had slammed, the walls still ringing at the impact, did Bulma finally blink, mortified. Her cheeks still held the slight tinge of pink upon seeing what no woman should ever see-well unless they were in her very position. If it weren't for the hairy appendage swinging back and forth, commonly known here as a tail, she could honestly have mistaken these saiyajins to be human-and now that she had seen quite enough, or far too much for her liking, she was very certain that it was something the two races had in common. The only thing, if ever.

She twisted her fingers through the folds of her night gown, and blinked at her surroundings. No. This was not her room, not that she saw much of it since she had recently moved, but she was sure that this abode held a more extravagant interior.

Was she really in Vegeta's quarters? It was the only thing he had barked out before he rushed out the doors, fuming and cursing in some alien language she had never heard of.

Bulma scanned her newest surroundings, her eyebrows knitted together, and finally settled her pretty blues on the large painting that was the exact duplicate to the one she had in her own room. Her lips twisted into a frown and she promptly got on her knees and practically waddled over to the painting. She pressed her cheek against the soft material, and felt about with her hands. The soft tips of her fingers traced the bumps of the woven material. Unsurely, she tapped on it lightly, and her brows dipped lower. The stupid thing was hallow!

She gasped in realization. They had her placed in her newest quarters so that barbarian could have easy access to her! While she slept, while she bathed-Kami, she couldn't even think of the other possibilities. Here she was, acting about in the day, getting used to their alien machinery and inventions. Happily even confiding in Kakarott as if they had grown up together. She practically thought he was the only sane being here, and this was her reward? He was just going to feed her to the dogs? It wasn't as if there was much of a difference between Vegeta and a rampaging animal anyhow.

Angry with herself, the blue haired woman scrambled to stand and bolted for the door. 'If they really think they can get away with this then-' She gave a loud squeal as the door flew open and found herself landing on her behind, her arms stretched behind her to break her fall.

"You," came a drawling voice.

Bulma glared daggers, teeth gritted together, and her fists clenched. So he had returned had he? Well she was going to show him-

"What are you still doing in here, wench?" Vegeta grumbled and walked briskly by her to sit on his bed. His tail waved back and forth angrily, but made no other move to acknowledge her. Instead he swung his legs to rest on the cushions and trapped his arms underneath his head as he laid down.

Discovering she was being dismissed, Bulma straightened herself and gathered her courage, stepping up to the foot of his bed with her hands placed firmly on her hips. When she found his eyes were closed, a frown on his face, she exhaled through her nose quite harshly to grab his attention. She waited. "Hello! Are you alive? Please tell me you aren't."

His left eye opened, and he inclined his head to her baring his canines. "What?" he asked rather harshly.

Bulma huffed. "Well," she started, "aren't you even going to explain what's happening around here?"

He turned to glare at her and took his arms from under his head to cross them over his chest instead. "What is there to explain, woman?"

"What do you mean, 'what is there to explain?'? I know about the portrait!" she half exclaimed. "What were you planning on doing with me, while I slept? Throttle or blast me to death? O-Or worse? Do you think you can have your way with me just because you hold some kind of authority around here?" she paused to see his expression. "And if you think that by sending Kakarott to win me over with his goofy, un-saiyajin-like ways will brainwash me into helping you down in your labs, well think again! I refuse to build any more weapons that can aid in anyone else's suffering!"

When she paused again to catch her breath, she finally stole a glance at him, but instead of seeing the normally seething saiyajin, he was only peering at her through bored eyes.

"Are you finished?" he asked.

Bulma struggled with her breathing, but managed to nod.

Vegeta closed his eyes briefly in irritation. Somehow he knew that if he didn't provide the woman with some type of answer, he would never hear the end of it till he lost his mind and blasted her. And another thing was he didn't need his father bellowing at him for destroying his precious scientist in the god damned morning. Damn them all. So he bit back a growl and sat up to lean against the headboard.

"To answer your obscure question, yes, I do plan to kill you," he smirked at the horrified look on her face, "but not now. You're simply too important to the old man and somehow I find that his excuses are wavering. He needs you for something and I plan on knowing what that is, but until then-you live. Unless you crave for an early death, I can gladly lend a hand to assist you." She stopped him with a glare, but he continued. "You are to stay in my conjoint chambers. As you already know the portrait provides quick access to my dorms," his eyebrow twitched as he said this. "Unfortunately for us, my father has seen to it that you stay here until they find out who is out to kill you, and since I am simply the strongest of all our warriors, he has gotten the insane idea that with me being so horribly close, the intruder won't so much as step foot around your worthless self."

"So what are you supposed to be? My bodyguard?" Bulma retorted. At his glare, her eyes widened. "Wait, someone's trying to kill me?" she nearly half squeaked.

Vegeta mentally rolled his eyes. "I don't understand it myself," he said sarcastically. If only he knew what his silly, little bug would have done, he wouldn't have gotten it in the first place. His father and Kakarott getting riled up about a bug, and getting him to protect the wench-from whom? Himself? He wanted to laugh. Now he was stuck with a whimpering female for god knows how long. Frustrated he bared his teeth at her. "Now that you know, leave me be. You can cower in in the next rooms for the rest of the night for all I care."

"Y-You expect me to sleep after that?" Bulma cried, trying her best to keep her arms from flailing about. "How am I supposed to sleep knowing that someone out there is trying to kill me? What if I'm sleeping and he easily sneaks up on me and-"

"Woman, will you shut up?" Vegeta snapped. "You are drying my patience. I can see why everyone would be out to behead you with that infernal racket that you make! Is it not enough that you invade my personal space? Do you not feel heavily guarded?" He stood and made his way to her, grasping her by the upper arms to prove a point. "You have made my life absolutely miserable since your arrival, and if you do not cease your babbles I will tie you to your bed and gag you till morning."

Bulma quivered under his hold, but kept her glare. "Fine!" she spat, and yanked her arms free. She was sure that if he wished he could have kept her in place, but he certainly didn't, because he watched her with small, beady eyes as she stomped to the portrait, banged on the cover until it turned open, and marched herself to the conjoining room.

Vegeta growled at her display, his tail behind him twitching slightly in annoyance. He clenched his right hand into a fist. What was that idiot Kakarott doing in her rooms anyhow? The fool had unknowingly sabotaged his plans in outing the human woman in her alliance with Frieza. Now, there was no telling what she could be doing behind closed doors.

Although, he paused to think, a small smirk on his lips-with the woman now residing a wall away, he would be able to watch her moves closely. He would be able to grab her scent and whether she was frustrated, scared, or overflowing with excitement-he would know. Certainly a lot better then his bug idea.

"There is no escape little one."

Eyes, red and puffy from lack of sleep, the blue haired woman groaned and roughly grabbed her pillows, stuffing them to her face in agony. Sunlight peaked through the windows, a sign of morning. Whatever morning was on this planet she guessed, and let out a frustrated cry in the softness of the cushion.

She had been up most of the night. Sometimes dozing off, but only forcing herself to stay awake to see if danger was about. Somehow, the thought of Vegeta residing a couple of feet away, wasn't all that reassuring. Even with Kakarott's newly abandonment of her and his betrayal, she'd much rather have him snoring outside her doors than depending on their prince to come bursting through her doors like a knight in shining armour.

Bulma gave a deep sigh and dragged her tiresome body out of bed. If she wasn't going to get a second of sleep, she might as well get to work in the labs. Vegeta's threats, or no threats, the King had promised her freedom, and if that meant helping out their arrogant son of a bitch prince, then it wasn't as if she had much of a choice.

Hurrying to get herself dressed, she made her way through the halls, only to find the saiyajins scampering about in haste. She lifted a delicate eyebrow at their peculiar actions, but spotted Kakarott jogging her way, his tail in frantic and waving behind him in disarray.

"Miss Bulma!" he beamed at her, waving his large hand.

Betrayal slipping her mind, Bulma gave him a confused look. "What's going on?" she asked. "Where is everyone going?"

Kakarott's lips twisted nervously. "Frieza's ship is two hours away," he said.

"Frieza?" Bulma started.

He nodded at her. "He's come to check on your new project Miss Bulma. The King sent me to find you right away. Good thing you're up." He motioned for her to follow him.

"Why would Frieza come all the way here to check up on me? I've only been here for a day! Does he expect me to build things in a couple of hours?" she asked, her anger slowly rising. "I'm not superwoman you know."

"I'm not sure who this 'superwoman' is, but I'm sure that you are ten times as smart!" Kakarott praised.

They ended at the same doors they had been the previous night, but this time, only she was allowed to enter. Bulma looked back at the cheerful saiyajin nervously, but he only gave her a wide smile, and waved as the doors closed shut behind her.

She squirmed at her spot and sighed deeply before heading down the royal trail heading straight for the throne, determination on her face.

"So Frieza has come to pet his pet."

Nappa gave a confused look at their prince's firm glare. They had been at the landing docks for quite some time, knowing that the estimated time of arrival was still two, long hours. Never the less, Vegeta seemed regal and almost calm at having the most ruthless, most powerful being landing on their planet that he was mostly focused in insulting the blue haired human rather than readying the arrival of their so called master. That was Vegeta for you though. A quick glance at Radditz and Turles, and several of the other men confirmed it all.

Vegeta's attitude towards the Ice-jin wasn't that all different from the way he treated the rest of them, and they silently wished that it was the scariest part-it wasn't though. If Frieza's warriors fought back then they would have no other choice but to fight. It would be a brutal war that could only end in their planet's destruction. Their only hope now was that Frieza's patience with the prince wouldn't die out so quickly enough for him to ascend and free them all.

The elite soldiers sighed deeply, nodding their heads in a mutual understanding as Vegeta ranted on about the silly female.

"-Coming to check up to see if she's been found out," he continued. "As if he could fool the Prince of all Saiyajins."

They nodded.

"Testing us all to see if we can endure her ranting. I will not be bested by some-"

"Sir, the ship is landing!"

Vegeta's eyes snapped in a fierce glare at the now cowering elite. "I can see that," he seethed.

They braced themselves, as the dome like ship landed smoothly on their docks. Several of the workers had given the okay signal, welcoming the arrivals of their most hated one and cowered behind the elites and their prince.

Vegeta frowned, keeping his steady glare. His scouter was doing wonders on the power levels within the ship, but he suddenly looked shocked. "What's this?"

The doors opened slowly and two figures emerged.

"Well if it isn't the Prince of all Monkeys." The larger, rounder of the two spoke. His deep, croaking voice, causing Vegeta to grit his teeth and clench his fists. "Just because Frieza isn't here doesn't mean you all shouldn't be on your hands and knees." It continued.

"Now, now. No need to be so crude to the boy, Dodoria," the other one spoke. "Monkeys only understand their own language. Can't blame him if he can't follow simple orders." The taller of the two, flung his loose braid over his shoulder to sneer at the sea of warriors.

"Maybe you're right, Zarbon," Dodoria said with a chuckle as they stepped off the ramp. "Monkey see, monkey do, isn't that right, Vegeta?"

Vegeta's fists remained at his sides, but he trembled slightly from anger, his eyes dangerously hooded and dark. The saiyajin elites gave each other nervous glances back and forth, trying to anticipate their prince's next move. But to their surprise, Vegeta simply threw his head back in mock laughter.

"Oh Dodoria," he started with a chuckle, his left eye twitching from suppressed anger. "Your idiocy never ceases to amaze me. Tell me, if you're so high and mighty, why'd you come to do Frieza's dirty work? Ah, I see how it is. I guess you're the 'monkey do.' We really do have a lot in common, don't we?" With this, he laughed again, Nappa and Turles sweating nervously beside him.

Dodoria roared, and took a step closer to the smirking prince. "Why you monkey-face-!"

"Dodoria, stop," Zarbon interrupted, and his partner halted, mid attack. "We're not here to play games. Lord Frieza wants us on Cera before the next cycle." He turned to brush past Vegeta without so much a word, and motioned for the pink alien to follow him.

Vegeta heard a few of his men sigh in relief and scoffed at their behaviour before turning down the path.

"So you're the brains behind the new upgrades on the gravity room!"

Kakarott beamed at her, his eyes like small hills as he followed the frantic scientists scrambling to tidy up their working areas. He gave Bulma a peculiar look as she stuffed a rather thin and metallic bracelet deep within the drawers, and punched in her security code. But instead of acknowledging him, she opted instead to turn towards the large, dome shaped training facility.

She nodded her head to answer his statement. "It still has a few bugs, but the original concept isn't far off from what me and my father had been working on before. It's actually really similar to my gravicr-"

"What are you two doing standing there?"

Bulma and Kakarott flinched as Radditz stepped into the room, the door beeping at his entrance. He looked to them with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Brother," he started. "Do not tell me this is where you've been spending your precious time while the rest of us have been settling in preparations for the arrival of Lord Frieza's ship." When Kakarott looked to the floors in defeat, he continued, this time addressing Bulma. "Lucky for you, woman," he said. "Frieza has decided to send his minions here instead of paying a visit himself. King Vegeta expects the gravity room to be set immediately."

Bulma rolled her eyes, but Kakarott intervened looking slightly confused. "You mean Zarbon and Dodoria are here?" he asked.

Radditz gave him a pointed look. "Of course they are. Who else would Frieza trust to do his bidding other than those two?"

"Y-You mean Frieza isn't here?" Bulma questioned. "I don't believe this! I thought I was going to be moved to planet Cold! No! I don't want to stay here-I don't want to be forced into this kind of slavery-!"

"You honestly think you're better off there than here?" Vegeta interrupted as he stepped next to Radditz. "What kind of fantasy world do you live in, woman?"

She shot him a glare, and Kakarott sensing the tension, got in between the two, waving his arms about in an attempt to distract his irritated prince. "Now, now, Vegeta, that's not very-"

"Shut up, you idiot." Vegeta walked past them observing the tall walls of the gravity room and turned to sneer at the blue haired woman who had managed to stand horribly close to his own person. His nostrils flared, noting that he couldn't scent her in any way. His scouter was only picking up the ki of Kakarott and his older brother. He raised an eyebrow. What was the woman hiding? "So you're behind this?"

"Not so useless now, huh?" Bulma retorted as she stared at her masterpiece a small smirk on her lips.

A growl was Vegeta's only response when the door beeped open. They turned to see that Zarbon, Dodoria, his father, flanked by Paragus and Bardock had stepped in. Vegeta hissed in irritation.

"Very impressive, Vegeta," Zarbon stated to the King as he observed the machinery. "And this woman has actually been able to up the gravity to one hundred times, has she?" He glanced at Bulma with his piercing, amber eyes, his lips tugging at the corners. "Impressive indeed."

"I don't think it's that great," Dodoria interrupted. "Do these monkeys really need to be training in 100gs? They're far too slow to be able to move in even 50gs!" He gave a thunderous laugh that echoed through the walls.

Vegeta snarled angrily. "Oh? And I suppose you think you can do better?"

"Vegeta that's enough," his father snapped.

"Yes, do listen to your father," Dodoria quirked. "Perhaps you'll learn something."

Bulma inched back slowly, her hands deep within the pockets of her lab coat as she observed the argument carefully with hard eyes. Apparently it wasn't all that difficult to see that they didn't get along with each other very well. She could feel the heat radiating off Vegeta's form and it made her knees quiver slightly. The other two however-Zarbon and Dodoria, was it?-Didn't seem all that threatened. They must both hold some kind of higher power than the Saiyajin Prince if they calmly thought that he was something to be brushed off. Now if that Zarbon character hadn't been…was he… was he green? Bulma's lips twisted nervously. Yes, she supposed he was, but if he weren't, or if she was so sure he wasn't so dedicated to Frieza himself, she would have thought of nothing else but to flail her arms around him, screaming for him to take her away from this monstrosity of a planet. He wasn't bad on the eyes that one. The other one however…

"Then how about we test it to see how far you've come along dodo breath," Vegeta's angry growl interrupted her thoughts, and her eyes immediately shifted back to him.

Zarbon stepped in between the two. "Vegeta, there is no need to get testy-There are more important things at hand." He turned towards Bulma again, the woman turning a pretty pink, and smirked at her reaction. "Now Earthling, we will begin. Where are the prints for this new machinery. You are to explain them to us thoroughly so that we are able to report straight to Lord Frieza of your progress."

Bulma blinked and nodded, hurrying over to her desk and getting the blue prints for the gravity room ready. She un-scrolled them, readying the first layout for the two to see.

Vegeta's eyes followed Zarbon and Dodoria carefully, his glare never faulting. From his peripheral vision he could see his father glaring disapprovingly, but ignored him none the less, keeping an eye instead to Frieza's lackeys and the blue haired woman.

He was mildly surprise at her knowledge on alien technology. For someone who had only been enslaved for a day on their planet, she sure picked up on their terms quite easily. It was horrible to listen to however. He knew that neither of the two morons had any idea of what she was referring to half the time, only nodding at her to continue when she paused. Feh. Idiots. Not only that, but the human woman didn't even have the gall to lower down her voice as she spoke. Though she did refer to herself as a genius. She sure didn't waste time in showing off.

The sound of him snorting caught her attention, and she turned to give him a quick glare before resuming her presentation, holding her head high. Vegeta only resumed his silent grumbling. They were in cahoots of some sort. He could practically feel it, or better yet see it with his own two eyes at the way she was practically drooling over that fool Zarbon. He smirked. If only she knew of his transformation. He doubted that she would be as thrilled.

"Well that was a load of information," Dodoria managed, as Bulma wrapped up her speech on the simulator. He gave a loud yawn and stretched his bulging, arms over his head.

"Yes, that was quite some detail," Zarbon replied, half as bored, then turned to Kakarott confused. "By the way, Kakarott isn't it?" The cheerful saiyajin nodded, and Zarbon smirked. "That is quite a high ki that you have," he said, causing Vegeta to freeze. "When have you gotten so strong? I don't ever remember you being sent out for a mission."

"M-Me?" Kakarott gave a nervous laugh.

Dodoria clicked his scouter. "You're right, Zarbon," he said. "8500. Not bad for a monkey," he said.

Zarbon's eyes narrowed. "How have you managed to get your ki to rise so quickly?" he asked and searched the poor, sweating boy with persistent eyes.

Vegeta didn't waste time, and instead of an explanation his fist came in contact with Kakarott's face, sending the saiyajin straight to the wall. Zarbon and Dodoria looked in shock as the saiyajin prince composed himself, his back to them.

"Looks like your scouters are acting up. Though I don't expect much from the both of you," he said.

Dodoria's eye twitched dangerously, but Zarbon tapped his scouter again. "He's right. Looks like a little glitch. 500. Honestly, Vegeta," he turned to look at the King. "I am appalled that you let these weaklings into your elite army."

His pink counterpart laughed. "8500. That sure was funny though."

Zarbon let out a throaty chuckle and turned towards the King. "Well, now that's settled, have the prints prepared for our take off."

"You mean we aren't staying?" Dodoria asked. "I'm getting hungry, you know."

"Dodoria, will you please stop thinking about your stomach for one minute," Zarbon pointed out, but was rewarded with a huff. "Fine," he said. "Looks like we're staying. Tell your monkeys to prepare something. Dodoria has quite an appetite."

"That's right, Vegeta," Dodoria chuckled. "Prepare something edible. I don't like bananas very much." The both of them laughed, and turned to the door, leaving Bulma in a room full of fuming saiyajins.

"I'm going to blast them into the next dimension!" Vegeta announced as he stepped into the circle.

"Those two go too far," Radditz followed.

Bulma bolted to help Kakarott from the floor, who rubbed his pink, swollen face, tears in his eyes.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard, Vegeta," he whimpered, and took Bulma's offered hand to help him to his feet.

"You act too foolishly, son," Bardock said, his lips in a frown. "Where is your ki suppressor?"

Radditz took to stand beside his father, both glaring disapprovingly. "That's right, brother. You could have had us all killed if it weren't for Vegeta's fast reaction."

Kakarott's face faulted, his bottom lip sticking out, and peered at Vegeta with pleading eyes, but was merely ignored.

"Be glad I had a spare on me, you fool," Vegeta grumbled and turned to follow his father and the rest of the men out the doors, leaving Bulma and the sniffling Kakarott behind.

She gave a heavy sigh, finally understanding that Vegeta had merely hit his best man to lower his ki, as well as finding the opportunity to shove a tiny, metallic device into Kakarott's hands. She didn't need to be a genius to guess that this was the supposed ki suppressor. Her lips twisted slightly and she and turned towards him with a sympathetic look on her face. "You okay?" she asked.

He nodded slowly, his head still down and his tail hanging limp between his legs. "I'm in for it now. Did you see that look on my father's face? I'm done for," he muttered. "I always do this. I always forget. I didn't even have my scouter with me."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I should probably ask of the things you were mumbling about just now, but lucky for you, I catch on pretty quick." She turned to slump on her seat, and propped her legs up on the desk to relax herself. "I'm guessing these scouter things detect your ki energy, like that wasn't entirely obvious, and you're supposed to be wearing these ki suppressors to reduce your ki," she paused wondering if he was listening, and when he nodded his head solemnly, she continued. "but-you're not supposed to let those two-Zarbon and Dodoria-know, am I right?" Another nod. "So I'm guessing that this all has to do with keeping your ki from Frieza with enough time for Vegeta to become this…super being."

At this Kakarott froze and turned to her, his eyes darting back and forth between her and the door. Now he just absolutely looked mortified. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," he managed, sweating uncontrollably, his tail twisting around behind him.

Bulma shut her mouth, nearly forgetting about her deal with the King and laughed behind her hand at her mistake. "As if that oaf could become anything. The only thing he'll become is an even bigger asshole-" She was quick to cover her tracks, and Kakarott looked satisfied, or at least very much relieved.

She felt bad for leaving him in the dark. It was as if she had this huge secret that her, the King, Bardock and Paragus only knew. Well, didn't that just make her feel special? And if she were found out, Frieza would kill her himself. Kami. She didn't know what was worse. Having to deal with Vegeta's insults while she worked hard into the night to transform him into some kind of golden, powerful monkey. Hell, she didn't even know if he would let her live after that! He didn't exactly seem like the heroic type.

Great.

By the time the two had gone from the medical room, Bulma was sure of two things. Kakarott would have easily fit in with the people of Earth better than he did on Vegeta-sei, and two, was that he was extremely frightened of needles. He only merely needed an ice pack, when he bolted after seeing a set laid out on the table. The old medic had turned, grumbling something about young pygmies.

She comforted him, rolling her eyes as they strolled towards the hall for their meal, when two saiyajins warriors flew by them, nearly scaring Bulma off her feet. "W-Watch it!" she cried.

One of the two stopped, levitating in mid air to a glare at her. Kakarott blocked his view, smiling cheerfully. "What's the rush, Kabbaj? Don't tell me they're running out of food. Oh no! I knew we shouldn't have stopped by the med room!" he groaned and held his stomach in his arms.

"No, you imbecile," Kabbaj stated. "Didn't you hear? Prince Vegeta's gotten into a fight with Dodoria in the hall!"

"What?" Kakarott exclaimed, and before Bulma could speak, she found herself hoisted over the saiyajin's shoulder as they darted through the corridors and into the hall.

Kakarott brought her down slowly and started pushing past the mob of cheering saiyajins as he made his way to the front. Bulma hesitated, but followed none the less curiosity getting the better of her. Within the mass of angry warriors, she could make out the casual, "Prince Vegeta will pulverize him into the next dimension!" or the "I'm glad that's not me in there." There was also the odd, "If Lord Frieza finds out, we'll all be done for!"

It must have been an intense fight, or at least from everyone else's point of view besides Bulma. Five minutes into the whole thing and she couldn't even see them! Were they moving that fast? Apparently so, because when she glanced at Kakarott, his eyes were darting around the room frantically following the battle.

She bit her bottom lip, chewing on it intensively as she heard blow after blow, all the while trying to follow with her unseeing eyes. When she did finally catch on, it was because Vegeta had been thrown to the ground, the horrid, pink alien hovering above.

The crowd gasped, Nappa and Turles rushing over to drag their prince from the small crater. Bulma's lip trembled, as she spotted Vegeta's bloodied body being held up by Nappa's gigantic form as they called out for the medic. There was murmuring amongst the team of elite warriors as followed with hard stares at Dodoria who landed a few feet away. He looked satisfied whereas Zarbon's glare was apparent.

"Got too carried away?" he asked his pink companion. "Lord Frieza won't be too happy to see his favourite monkey beaten."

Dodoria scoffed, turning his head to the side. "You heard what he said to me. You really think I'm going to let that go, Zarbon?" He gave a small laugh. "I just taught him a lesson. He should learn, next time he won't be so lucky."

Zarbon merely looked at him with a disapproving frown on his face, and the both turned to exit down the corridor to leave the crowd of worried saiyajins to look after their fallen leader.

Bulma barely made out King Vegeta's face as he shook his head and strode off after Frieza's two henchmen, Paragus and Bardock along his side. She hugged her arms as she thought she had lost Kakarott in the sea of angry men, but saw him quite regal, and glaring with his brother Radditz. They whispered to each other in hushed tones which Bulma tried to distinguish but failed miserably. She was very skilled in reading lips, however she didn't believe that they were exactly speaking in English or Japanese. Frankly, she hadn't seen Kakarott so serious since last night where he had squashed the tiny, little creature between his fingers. She caught on quickly that he only acted like this if the situation was serious.

"I-Is he going to be okay?" she asked almost hesitating as she approached them.

Radditz frowned at her. "What do you think?"

Bulma shrunk back.

"He'll be fine. A couple of days in the rejuvination tank should be enough time for him to heal," Kakarott answered her. His eyes remained hard, but he soon turned to face her and gave a heavy sigh, a small smile on his lips. "No need to worry, Miss Bulma. Vegeta always bounces back every time this happens."

"You mean this isn't the first time that t-thing used him as a punching bag?" she asked, surprised.

Both of them gave her a peculiar look at her comment.

"Dodoria has this way of getting under Prince Vegeta's skin, as you can tell," Radditz replied with a sneer. "At least he will be stronger after he recovers." He frowned down at her when she looked at him with interested eyes, then turned to roll his eyes at his brother before heading down the hall.

"He's such a drag, isn't he?" she mumbled, as she watched the back of Radditz' scruffy hair make its way through the crowd.

Kakarott chuckled nervously and gave her a goofy smile. "They don't like saying anything much." He leaned into her, whispering in her ear. "Remember, you're not supposed to know about all the things I told you-"

"I know, I know," Bulma started, her hands on her hips. "Or you'll get in trouble." She turned towards the mass of saiyajins spread out in the hall. "I guess no one's going to be eating any breakfast." Sighing, she slumped and walked pass Kakarott and waving her hand. "I guess I'll see you at lunch," she called.

He made to follow her when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Just where do you think you're going, brother?"

Kakarott winced at his oldest brother's tone in voice, and slowly turned to face him, giving a nervous laugh and inching away. "Hey Turles! Quite a battle, huh?" he managed.

Turles' hard glare was steady as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I heard about your little display down in the laboratories," he started. "Somehow I have a feeling that this is all your fault." When Kakarott lowered his head, he continued. "If you had your ki suppressor on then Dodoria wouldn't have had any reason to think that Prince Vegeta was hiding anything. Have some sense next time, won't you? Oh, well look-here comes father."

Kakarott gave a deep sigh, and prepared himself for the worse.

Bulma buried her head in her arms and gave a frustrated groan. It had been three days since Zarbon and Dodoria had paid them an unexpected visit, and the King had done nothing but nag her-yes, the King Vegeta was actually nagging and pushing for her to finish the modifications on their desired project. Usually, she would be thrilled at the chance at working on alien technology, but back on Earth she was the one in charge. She was the one who told the media whether or not her projects were to be released. Frankly, there was no time frame, or sweaty saiyajins breathing down her neck as she worked.

Here however, was completely different. Although with Vegeta out of commission, she didn't know whether she should have been happy without his highness' constant arrogant remarks, or utterly bored that she had been trapped in the dusty, old lab without so much as a soul to talk to. Even Kakarott had disappeared. He hadn't been around in days, and it wasn't exactly as if she could call him. She didn't even know if they've heard of cell phones. The closest thing they had to communication was their multi-coloured scouters.

Giving a loud yawn, she stretched her arms behind her head, leaning back in her chair. She had to remind herself next time to build a clock, though with being gone from Earth for nearly a week now she couldn't even recall the actual time, or if their twenty-four hour period even applied in Vegeta-sei.

She stood up from her seat, and gave a nervous glance at the rejuvination tank that held the Saiyajin Prince. After she had sorted out a few kinks in their system, she had enabled the damned thing to function with only half of the energy it normally used. Needless to say that the techs had been impressed, though they had not moved it to the medic room in time when Vegeta had his little accident.

He was silent for most of the days except for the constant bubbles around his mask that made her jump when she was in deep thought. It wasn't much, but it still irked her. Not only was she sharing a conjoined room with the barbarian, but thanks to his unconscious state, he was now invading her workspace.

Bulma huffed, stuffing the gravicron, along with all her paperwork into the drawers. She turned once more to glare at him and stuck her tongue out. "Karma really does come to bite you in the ass-" She gave a small 'eep,' as his eyes shot open.

The rejuvination tank flashed, and within seconds Bulma was thrown backwards, nearly flipping over her work desk as the machine blew, parts of metal and glass shooting in all different directions. She cowered behind her fallen chair to stare as Vegeta emerged in his under shorts, peering at her with his dark, beady eyes.

She tried to laugh at the situation, but failed miserably. "S-So all better, huh?" she managed.

He snarled at her angrily, hovering over her slumped form. "I would not talk so casually, woman," he growled. "Are you quite satisfied with the way your comrades made me a laughing stock?"

Bulma blinked her blue eyes, giving him a confused look. "What are you-"

He bared his teeth at her, grabbing her by the forearms to pull her to his level and observing her carefully. Vegeta ignored her cries as she tried to pry herself from his grasp and snapped his teeth at her in warning.

The blue haired woman froze. His hands were hot against her skin, and she resisted the urge to wince. She wasn't sure if it was simply his body heat, or the fact that his ki had risen in his anger. If he didn't let her go, unknowingly or not he would burn her to a crisp.

"Unhand me you brute!" she exclaimed, struggling against his hold.

"Silence!" he hissed.

Bulma whimpered, "P-Please-" she begged and turned her face away from him, her eyes shut. "Let me go." She heard him scoff and the next he had released her. She backed away from him in reflex and watched as he tore the room with his glare until it finally settled upon her toppled desk.

Vegeta wrenched open the drawers before she could protest, and held the metal bracelet in his palm. He turned to her, baring his teeth again in a nasty snarl. "What is this?" he grumbled. "Is this what you use to communicate with your master?"

Honestly if Bulma had been watching their little scenario on television she would have laughed at his idiocy. Unluckily for her though, she was stuck in the middle. What was the use of giving him an answer when she already knew what his response would be. Another was that she had promised the King and his council men to keep their dirty secret from their rash and arrogant prince.

"Answer me!"

Bulma clenched her fists, finding new amounts of courage. "It's a hairdryer!" she exclaimed.

He growled at her. "You dare mock me, human?"

"H-How would you know what a hairdryer looks like! You don't even know anything about human technology a-and beauty products!" she retorted in her confidence when she noticed the blue aura had gone.

His eyes darted to her, then the bracelet, then her. "Is that so?" He suddenly dropped the thing, and crushed it to shreds with his bare foot, all the while watching her shocked reaction.

"W-What did you just do!" Bulma cried and scrambled to pick up the scraps, but he blocked her way, his heaving chest in front of her face. Her eyes widened. "Stay away from me," she stammered.

"No," he started. "You stay away from me." He brushed past her, his tail swishing behind him in agitation, only to stop when he got to the door. Vegeta inclined his head. "Make no mistake, the second I find out that you're communicating with Frieza, I'll see to it that you and that damned planet of yours is blown to the next dimension."

The door beeped open revealing a blinking Kakarott. He stared at Vegeta for a few seconds before he beamed at him. "Hey Vegeta! Wow, you look as good as new!" he said.

Vegeta only grumbled, knocking shoulders with the other saiyajin as he stormed off. Kakarott gave his retreating figure a confused look before turning back to Bulma.

He found her on the floor, her eyes hidden by her bangs as she picked up the scraps of metal. "Y-You okay, Miss Bulma?" he asked.

There was a few seconds of silence as he approached her crouching form, when she suddenly burst into tears, causing the poor saiyajin to be knocked down in surprise. The bawling didn't stop, as she stomped her feet against the cold floors, hands banging like child.

Kakarott sighed at her reaction. "Well, he sure didn't waste any time, huh?" When she shot him a glare, he waved his hands in front of him in defence. "At least you know that he's better!"

And he was rewarded with another glare.

Okay, I know, I'm so sorry about the ending to this chapter. It wasn't supposed to be this long, but I figured, hey, I haven't updated in so long, might as well. The ending gave me such a hard time though. At least there was more B/V interaction, right?

Also a few things to clear up.

- Kakarott, aka. Goku, never lived on Earth so he, Vegeta or any saiyajin can't sense ki. (that's what their scouters are for)

- Vegeta refers to using his nose to smell people's reaction or certain smells as 'scenting someone.'

- Vegeta is too cautious about Bulma being a spy, because he's the protector of their people

- Yes, Dodoria and Zarbon are far stronger than Vegeta and Goku. Remember when they had the battle on Earth? Goku's ki was over '9000' when he powered up, so I am basing it on that before the whole 'Namek saga.' Vegeta is stronger (ki level: 18000) than Goku. (only because he hasn't learned Kaioken)

- Paragus here is King Vegeta's advisor, if anyone is confused, and Bardock is his military man? Something like that.

-And lastly, Kakarott (or Goku), isn't as heroic here for the following reasons: one, is because this is my story and vegeta will be the main character, two, goku grew up as nothing but a solider, thus explaining how vegeta gets to kick him around (I promise no actual kicking will be involved, unless they are training, the poor guy), and third, he may seem more 'stupid' because everyone else is so serious.

Anyhow, I hoped you enjoyed. I will try, try, try to get chapter 4 out asap. Please don't forget to review. They really do encourage me.