- 6 -
Enigma
Bulma watched the man from the corner of her vision as the movie played. She wasn't sure what he was thinking, for his face was the emotionless wall she had grown used to seeing from him, but at least he had lost that frown with the first rather accurately depicted gory scene. The graphics were stunning. As usual. Though she wasn't one to normally like those kinds of things, this at least added to the story... it wasn't some mindless horror flick. No, it was a story with a meaning, one that made you think. She also had picked it hoping he could relate, though that could be a bad thing too, she didn't want to cross a line or anything. She knew he had been tortured, but other than that she knew nothing and this could bring up some horrible memories.
The movie in the shortest description was of a man, enslaved by horrible events in his life and fighting for revenge against the man who caused his suffering. It began simple enough with the massacre of a village by the antagonist, a man forcing his will upon the land so he could be king. The protagonist of the story was a boy in this village and watched as his whole world crashed down around him, witnessing the carnage of his family before being thrown into slavery and violence. Along the way he was sold to a clan of ninjas, from there trained to be a deadly assassin and forced to kill or be killed. All the while the world around him was withering in anguish as the evil tyrant, who was the man who killed his family, oppressed all under his power and merciless hold. The hero kept waiting, bidding his time and trading his own soul as he honed his skills, just for his revenge.
The movie also showed the life of a girl, her own life shattered by the malevolence of the tyrant. However, she sought revenge in her own way. Instead of trading her happiness for the revenge she craved and living under the shadow of the past, she would steal from the tyrant and, adding insult to injury, she would give up most of it to the poor the king had created. While she was no ninja, the girl had come from a well known family of fighters, one honor-bound to protect and serve the innocent from injustices. No one was more wanted by the tyrant than her, for her crimes against his purse and pride. But even with this hanging over her and the hardships she had seen, she was simply a free spirit living her life to the fullest.
Then came the fateful day when the girl met the hero, by then a master ninja in his own right, and he was attacked by another clan of ninjas. Ruthlessly he fought them off, killing all. However, at the end as he stood in the blood bath of twisted and severed bodies, he was overcome by his wounds he received during the battle and nearly died. The girl, having watched, took the man away and hid him, nursing him back to health. Shortly after, the duo teamed up to bring down the tyrant. At first there was a clear tension between the two heroes; the girl stood for good, honor and justice, and the man was anything but. Yet, through their journey and time spent fighting the forces of the evil king they grew close. And despite their differences the girl fell in love. She tried in every way to make the man live, to step out of the shadow of the past and not let his soul be lost forever in the darkness the resided in his heart, but he paid her beliefs little attention.
With the climax of the movie the two heroes had fought their way to the tyrant's castle, together leaving a wake of bodies. In the throne room they had the final battle with the tyrant king. Everything was going well and it seemed the heroes would win, until the king cheated and wounded the man. Sensing his victory, the tyrant went to give the final blow, but the girl stepped in the path of the sword before it could hit its mark, giving her the fatal wound instead. Enraged, the man made one last stand and managed to kill the tyrant king... However, when all was said and done... standing there with the blood of his enemy on his blade he found his victory hollow... the death of the tyrant couldn't bring back his murdered family, all the years he suffered to achieve this goal, or the soul he traded for it.
He realized then that the girl had been right. Returning to her to tell her this, he found that she had died from her wounds. Only then did he realize he loved her as she had loved him as she lay there cold and lifeless... never knowing that he had felt the same way she felt for him. Numb at his loss and overcome with the irony of it all, he absent-mindedly sat in the dead tyrant's throne looking down at her corpse, all the while those that still remained living that had served the late tyrant kneeled before him... showing allegiance to their new king.
Bulma sat there in the oversized chair as the credits rolled, trying to dry her eyes. She had told herself she would not cry at the end with the death of the girl, but nevertheless here she was sniffling. All the while wishing she could be as strong as the girl. She was too selfish to sacrifice her life for anyone else... would she ever feel that type of love for someone? Looking at her track record it looked highly unlikely. She just couldn't open herself up like that after all those times she'd been hurt.
Vegeta listened to the song playing as the white words he didn't understand rolled up the TV screen. Just like all the other music he heard today, he found that he liked it. This one more so, for it seemed harsher, darker with the grunting yells and hard rhythm. It also took his mind off the easy comparison he could make to his own life. He glanced at the woman who was trying to cover up the fact that she was crying and was failing horribly. Had that been the reason why she showed it to him?
He thought maybe he should be angry, but the girl didn't know much about him other than he had clearly been tortured for a long time. She didn't know of his rage at wanting to kill Freeza, nor what that contemptible lizard had done to him. To his people. In all likeliness she just wanted to show off what humans could do with technology... which he had to admit, was nothing he had ever seen before, at least not to this extent. It actually felt as if he had been there, that the blood and death had been real. If she hadn't told him that everything was computer graphics beforehand, he could almost believe these pathetic humans had actually killed to record this.
And though he still found humans pathetically weak, he had to give them credit. In the department of instilling emotions and contemplation they were masters. It was almost like a speech, the one giving it trying to instill a sense of moral to the harshness of the world... something he clearly didn't have. And for the first time ever he wondered if he could change... not be the monster Freeza made him to be and still achieve his own revenge. The thought was hastily shoved away with disgust. What did these humans know? Had they seen the cruelty of the universe? They lived plush lives safe and sound from all the horrors that lived in space. Their feeble morals would be crushed in a heartbeat as the universe smothered them, tainting them like it tainted everything. And as the song said, he would never bow when it came to his revenge.
I will shove the world away"
His mind promptly changed the subject, growing irritated with it. The fighting scenes hadn't been as bad as he expected. For their lack of strength, earthlings clearly made up with creativity in their weapons. But that only proved more they were weak and useless. He smirked to himself, remembering the girl flinch and cringe with the broken bones and the merciless deaths, though still surprised she sat through it all. He knew she wouldn't last a second in a real battle. Even now her crying over the girl's death was laughable. And what was with that scene with the two mating? It had been very descriptive. To the point that he felt uncomfortable watching it with the woman who seemed unfazed. He didn't even understand why it had been in there... What was this thing called love? It meant nothing to him.
Overall though, he didn't think he wasted two hours of his life... it wasn't like he could do anything better and he would rather watch earthlings try to act like they knew something than listen to the girl babble. Besides, he really liked this song. If he had to be here on Earth for a while he might as well look into this. He snorted, it was amusing how he got more out of the song that was at the end than the actual movie. It made him want to train, to concentrate on his goal: Freeza's broken, cold body at his feet. He wasn't ever going to give it up and even if he could defeat Freeza by living to these humans' morals he knew he had lost a long time ago the will to change. He loved to kill. To feel the life end at his hands. Covered in their blood.
Bulma sighed, standing. "Well, what did you think?"
He shrugged, showing indifference. "I was hardly entertained with humans' wretched view of fighting..."
She gave him a frown, finding she was more disappointed than she should be. She covered this by being sarcastic, "So you didn't like it... well sorry for wasting your time, jerk."
What had she hoped to get out of him? Huffing she walked over to the DVD player and put the disc away. She knew it had to be too good to hope for: him to get something from the movie. Her alien guest cared little for the meaning in life. Anyone could see that. So why was she so upset? Why did she found herself angry at him? She knew this anger was illogical. This knowledge only made her irritation worse. It wasn't like a lifetime of hardship would change over one little movie. But one could hope? There had been stranger things...
"My mother should be home soon to start dinner. Entertain yourself." She waved her hand, dismissively as she walked into the kitchen.
Scowling, he called back, "And what do you suggest I do, woman?"
"Sounds like a personal problem, jerk," was her swift reply as she exited the back door and the door slammed behind her.
He growled at her even though she wouldn't hear it, "Damn, woman."
What was he supposed to do now? So far if Vegeta wasn't asleep he had been around this woman and though she aggravated him (and more time than not made him want to kill her), he found himself wanting to be around her rather than stuck with his own thoughts at the moment. He didn't want to think about his nightmares... or his mother's voice... or even his current condition. They all were topics that made him reflect back on himself, or in the case of his condition, and made him feel weak. He was useless right now. If anyone had followed him, they could kill him with a flick of their finger... And what made it worse was that he couldn't do a damn thing about it. If he had been healthy and felt like this he would train and get his aggression out that way, but that was out of the question... He could hardly move around like this, let alone train.
Slowly he stood from the overly comfortable couch, his eyes taking in the room for the first time as he abandoned his thoughts. As he walked a circle around the room, his eyes found many pictures. There were pictures nearly everywhere. Most of them were hanging on the walls, more resting on a shelf built into one wall, also on end tables and a good portion of the half wall. Great cosmos, how many do they need? And most of them were of the woman, he noted. He could practically see her progression through the years, from a baby all the way until now. His gaze fell on one in particular that caught his attention: it was of a child. One he saw a few times in the other photos, but this, this one showed said child's tail. He had wondered, seeing the black hair in a style that looked oddly familiar and brown eyes so dark they looked black.
Vegeta stood there, eyes focused on this Goku. Bah, what a disgraceful name. It made him furious just thinking about it. Still, there was no denying he was a Saiyan. How was there over looking that he was Bardock's son. Vegeta wassomewhat amazed by how alike this child was to his old-mentor. How had he not seen it before?
In the picture, the Saiyan child was balancing on his tail (a hard feat indeed) next to a teenage Bulma. He focused on her, intrigued. She was sitting on a resting air bike dressed in a white tank top with multicolored green and brown pants with overly large pockets. One pant leg was tucked neatly into her yellow-black boots, but the other pant leg was (what looked to be on purpose) cut short at her thigh. Half of her blue hair was swept up in a side pony tail, while her yellow goggles hung loosely around her neck. And one yellow-black gloved hand rested on the steering, while the other held up a gun. All with a sly smile playing on her lips.
His mouth felt dry as he relaxed slightly only able to stare at her, his thoughts abnormally blank. Perhaps she wasn't as innocent as he thought. Unfolding one hand, he reached out, fingers touching the glass of the picture. The cold material jarred him and he jerked away, sneering at himself. What was getting into him? Snorting, he turned away. This woman was trouble. Already she was affecting so much of him. Where would it stop? Would it? He didn't like these trail of thought, or where it was going.
Uninterested in anything else in the room, he walked away from the ledge of pictures, passing between the couch and half wall. He came to the staircase that led up to his room (an odd feeling calling something his), and glanced down the lower staircase next to it. It was the same setup on the opposite side of the room, he noticed. Curious about where this lower staircase went, he took them. He continued walking down the hall at the bottom, founding only two doors to his left and a few more to his right. Letting himself go all the way down to the end, he opened the furthest door on the left.
The second he did a sweet scent blasted him.
Frowning, he walked into the room lighted completely by artificial light, realizing he had been following her the woman's scent this whole time. Any information on the enemy is important. Maybe I can use it against her. He told himself that was the only reason. Ignoring the voice that told him he was lying. There was just something about her smell... As the door closed behind him, he surveyed the room and found a wall of monitors and computers stirring with life to his right. Tons of other equipment was jam packed in every corner of the room where one could possibly fit it. His brows rose with interest, grasping he was in her laboratory and from the looks of it, he just found where the girl spent most of her time. Inquisitive, he walked further in. It was a mess with mountains of books stacked everywhere; blueprints for inventions and other scientific papers nearly covered all the table space available. He sneered with distaste at the disorder of it all, walking to the huge table in the center of the large rather chilly room.
Wondering how anyone could work in such an environment, his gaze went to the nearest blueprint. Once again he found he understood some of the jumbled scratching, but there were still a few calculations that went beyond his knowledge. His eyes traveled to all the other blueprints, amazed at the variability... She wasn't just in one field of technology, but seemed to have her fingers in all of them. Weapons, energy, transportation, communication... everything. He also noticed half-finished projects everywhere, signaling the woman had a short attention span -which he wasn't at all surprised by. Moving one of the blueprints, he glanced at the cover of the book beneath, wishing he knew how to read their written language. From what he could tell by the images on the front was that it was a very hefty book on mechanics. Unable to gain any more insight into the girl, he went over to the huge computer and pressed one of the keys. The dark screen sparked to life. But Vegeta understood nothing of what he saw -though it did appear the woman was neater on the computer than anywhere else.
His head jerked up towards the back door of the lab as it opened and the feeble blue-haired girl walked in not even noticing him as she concentrated solely on her notebook with a frown. He was glad, given that he didn't have his normal speed to hide, and knew she probably would be mad to find him there without her in her personal domain. He didn't move as she went around the desk to the computer, setting the notebook down as she put her foot on her chair and leaned over to type. What should he do? He wasn't all that sure as he watched her scratch her head and pause in her typing.
She muttered softly, "Something about that can't be right..."
Shaking her head, she went back to work. Vegeta stood there for a few minutes, only to decide he was bored and would rather make her angry. That she could be amusing instead -yes, he quite liked that idea. He cleared his throat abruptly, making her jump.
Eyes wide, she turned to look at him, then frowned. "What do you want?"
"The more important question, woman, is why this place looks so horrible." He gestured casually to the room. "It's beyond me how you get anything done."
She reddened slightly, glancing around her room, then gave him a glare as she crossed her arms. "I do have an order to it, jerk, you're just the moron that can't see it." Truth be told, she was still upset that her plan for him hadn't worked as she wanted it to.
He growled, "Retract that, woman, or you're going to wish-" his voice trailed off as she left her things on the desk, walking boldly to him and his voice trailed off.
Frustrated and tired, Bulma just wanted the house guest to stop with the threats and for them to find some sort of relation that didn't always end in a death threat even though he would never actually kill her. And now. Now she was starting to think she knew why. Though it was only a theory...
She took the last step towards him, poking him in the shoulder. "I'm going to wish what? You're going to kill me? Hurt me?" She turned away and started to pace back and forth, furious. "I grow weary of your egotistical opinion of yourself... have you even looked at yourself lately? You can hardly stand let alone do anything to hurt me. So before you start threatening me in my own lab, in my own house. You better make sure I don't have any pathetic earthling weapon..." Without looking her hand slid under a pile of papers and held out a gun for him to see before gesturing. "Which if you haven't noticed there are nearly hundreds under this supposed mess that has no rhyme or reason to it..." She spun the gun on her finger with her other hand on her hip, then flipped the safety off in a fluid motion before pointing it at him, clearly demonstrating that she knew guns well. "I have no doubt that this can hurt and even kill you in your weakened state..."
To make a point she jerked her arm to the side, pointing the gun at a pile of worthless scraps and without looking fired. A blue thin beam left the barrel and she didn't blink as it incinerated the pile instantly, leaving only a black smear on the tile. Bending her arm, she turned the safety back on as her eyes held his the whole time. He scowled at her, comprehending that she was right... He had not noticed the hundreds of weapons he now saw hints of, scattered throughout the lab, hidden, yet in plain sight. She was also right in the fact that it would have done some serious damage to him. A small thrill crept up on him at the prospect of being in over his head, but even in spite of all of this he was still enraged at her casual disrespect towards him.
It only added insult to injury as she waved him away with her gun. "Leave me alone now. I have work to do and it's not babysitting you."
He growled as his tail lashed back and forth behind him, wrath making him see red as she walked to her computer and proceeded to ignore him. She had set her gun down next to her and started to type, her back to him. His mind was racing, trying to figure out a way to kill the bitch... He didn't care about the consequences anymore. She had taken far too many freedoms that day and said too many insults to allow her to live with his pride still intact. With a plan formed he silently -despite the pain- walked behind her, swiftly grabbing the gun she had set down as he wrapping his arm around her and held her to him. He rested the barrel of the gun to her head, clicking the safety off.
"Never turn your back on an enemy, woman," he sneered about to pull the trigger only to find that his finger refused to obey. Disturbed by this, his gaze met her unafraid eyes staring at him in the monitor, a frown on her lips.
"You disappoint me... I had hoped we had gotten past all this killing shit."
He glared at her, still frustrated and mostly confused as to why he couldn't do it. "Why aren't you afraid, woman? You care so little about your life?"
He let her turn in his hold so she could face him, as her front pressed against his he only momentarily felt uncomfortable before she spoke, "Look, first of all, I'm not your enemy... No one is here. We don't give a shit who you are, and unless you start killing a whole bunch of people, that isn't going to change. Second, I do care if I die, but I know of roughly seven people who would kill you if you killed me and could given your current state." She gave him a wicked grin. "And lastly, while my back may have been turned I am not an idiot..." He then felt her press the round barrel of another gun into the back of his head as she pressed even more against him and he cursed himself for not keeping an eye on her arms. "I was watching you through the screen... I'm not naive... I've had people want to kill me before." Her sapphire eyes sparkled as her other hand gently moved up his chest before it settled on his shoulder "So don't insult my intelligence thinking I'd let my own guard down around someone who has warned multiple times now that he wants to kill me."
Vegeta was staggered, but hid it behind a grunt, "What about the other day, woman?"
Her grin remained as she patted his cheek and replied sweetly, "I was giving you the benefit of the doubt... Hoping I wouldn't have to hit you..." He stayed still as her hand softly moved back down his chest and paused. "Right here at this angle I could have easily lodged one of your many fractured ribs into your heart." She wrinkled her nose with disdain at the thought. "But hell, who am I kidding, I'd sooner use a couple of pressure points to render you unconscious in two seconds given the right force and velocity." Her left hand trailed up once more, touching with her pointer finger a spot on the neck lightly, all this touching was making him anxious, his gut clenching. "My family has many jealous adversaries. Don't think you're the first assassin I've had to deal with, jerk... though..." Her gaze went to her hand as her fingers caressed up his neck, to his jaw and up his cheek into his hair, leaving his skin tingling as she went. His scowl harden. "I do think you're the cutest..."
"Woman?" Vegeta was unsure what caused the sudden change in her mood. But clearly he had underestimated the woman before him. And what was she doing now? What was she getting at? His thoughts left him as he felt the barrel leave his head and heard it hit the floor before the hand that had held it held the arm holding her waist. "Woman, what are you doing?" Once again she surprised him.
"My intuition is never wrong..." She stared up at him, then grimaced briefly looking away, realizing her lie. "Well, not unless it comes to guys I date, but that's another story... I do know you won't kill me." He blinked, taken aback by the trust in her eyes. No one ever gave him 100% of their trust... not even Bardock. "And it's not because people will kill you because of it or not getting off this planet or even that you might die anytime now with your weakened heart." Seeing his surprise she swiftly added, "Yes. I know. I've been a bad little girl reading my father's notes when he wasn't looking. I've known for a while that he's been keeping something from me, never letting the damn thing out of his sight... " She shrugged. "But that's not the point... What is, is that we're here with a gun to my head and I'm not afraid."
He bent his head down, drawing closer as his eyes narrowed. "And why is that?"
She went to her toes, her lips hovering dangerously close and her seductive tone sent shivers down his spine."Because I excite you... Don't think I can't feel how your heart is beating slightly faster this close." As the mention of his heart, her right hand moved up to it. "I'm guessing those around you don't stand up to you that often -which I can't blame them cause you can be very frightening." She pulled back somewhat, not wanting to try her luck. "And while me standing up to you irritates the shit out of you, it also intrigues you, and if I know anything about Saiyans from Goku, it's that they love intriguing things. Now..." She smiled shyly, that same look he had seen from that picture. "I know I'm confusing. I confuse myself at times. I'm a hypocrite, an enigma, and oh-so more wrapped up into a tiny little package that doesn't know when to shut up and tends to let her anger get the best of her. And best of all you can't seem to figure out what I'll do next, which deep down is what's really troubling you. Isn't it?"
The corner of his lips twitched, finding she did have a point, but he fought the smirk. He couldn't figure out why she would help him... and he actually found he was amused by this turn of events. He gained a sort of respect for her. Something that was not a good thing. He looked away from her, muttering, "I think you talk too much."
He let his hand drop from her head, putting the safety back on. She was right, he couldn't kill her and it was simply because of his damn curiosity. Something he had never been able to rid himself of through the years, no Saiyan could. It was their animalistic nature. Most of the time he forgot it was even there, making him take irrational decisions just to fulfill it. Normally it wasn't a problem because it had never gone against his pride like this... Never had his inquisitiveness been about a person, especially one that insulted and infuriated him so. Sure, there had been many times his interest had been peaked in finding out how many ways he could kill or mar someone... but the inner workings of another being...
His thoughts froze when her grin turned somewhat wicked. "That may be..." Her left hand wrapped around the gun and he let her pull it from his hand, then she slid it out of reach on her desk behind her. "But since I talk so much one would think you could understand how I think, know what I'll do next."
They were still pressed close, his arm around her slim waist as her butt was pushed against the desk. Her own heart raced in her chest, the intense stare he had wasn't helping any and Bulma was torn between two very distinct options and as irrational as one of them sounded, she found herself actually liking... But either one probably wouldn't go over well. While he did tolerate her mood swings, she wasn't about to test her theory further ,which seemed as of now to be correct, all Saiyans were just like curious George. And though it kind of hurt her feelings knowing he didn't like her like that... she loved it when she was right.
Vegeta continued to study her closely, still amazed at the woman's insight. He had really underestimated her... and though he hated to admit it, she really did interest him. She had surprised him so many times that day... irritated and confused for most of it, but mostly just wanting to figure out what she would do next. Never before could he not read a person and it made him angrier at himself than at her stupid insults. One second he would think he finally figured her out only to have her do something drastically different. Two out of the three days he had been conscious he had been around this girl his whole world had been turned upside down and the colors inverted. And though he would never freely admit this to himself, he was starting to like it.
The puzzle that stood before him thrilled and mystified him like no one else had with the fact that there was someone just as intelligent as him, if not more in some areas and wasn't afraid to talk back. He could never have this relation with either Bardock or Tash... he was their superior and they had to back down at the end. But this girl held no ties to him, knew nothing of him... He wasn't really sure if he should be frustrated with himself for thinking so little of this girl or at her for being so complex.
"What are you planning now?" he asked, eyes narrowing as he thought he saw the wheels in her head turning.
"Wondering whether to deck you or kiss you..." she said smoothly, but blinked, clearly surprising herself that she had actually said that. He tensed noticeably, frowning as she continued, "But I think instead I'm going to pretend to flee this room scared shitless so you can pretend that you won and we can just forget about this little ordeal like it never happened."
Slowly she slipped from his hold, her hand dragging on his chest softly as she strutted slowly towards the door looking anything but scared. And with her glance backwards with a sly grin on her lips and a wink. He knew that had been her intention all along. He turned, folding his arms across his chest, astonished at how she managed to wiggle her way out of that one. The woman had just figured out why he wouldn't kill her before he did. He should be overcome with rage knowing she got it first... but truthfully he found himself not caring just then, instead more interested in how the little minx had done it given she was unable to read his own thoughts. He really, really had to be careful or he might actually find himself liking her. And for him that would be huge. He never liked anyone who wasn't Tash or Bardock.
She opened the door and paused, looking back. "Hey, I think Mom's back and smells like she got Chinese food."
"Hn." He grunted as he followed, not knowing what Chinese food was... but with the smell drifting in through the open door, he found himself salivating. As she sauntered through the door, he wondered, what had he gotten himself into?
.~-~.
Bulma sighed, looking at the clock on her monitor. It was late... she had been trying to hammer out the equations needed for the ship, but as of now she was cross-eyed with exhaustion and felt nowhere closer than when she first started. The problem was that she felt her equations had been perfect, but the slight doubt from her egotistical houseguest made her think she had been wrong. Of course when her father got home he had been in no mood to look at them, so she didn't bring it up. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she leaned back. At least she and her guest had finally made it to a point of understanding. She had known there was more going on underneath... and knew there still was, but didn't think she would ever know what unless he opened up to her.
Frankly she had been somewhat surprised that she had been right. It was hard to get anything off the guy... It wasn't until she recalled her first meeting with Goku and his enormous curiosity that normally got him into trouble that she thought maybe, just maybe this jerk would be affected by something like it as well. Taking such a risk had been a leap of faith with her intuition... one she was happy she had taken. Sure he didn't talk at all during dinner with her parents, or show the slightest interest, but at least there was a new ease around him. The feeling that they had just caged an animal in their house was gone and it had only taken her three days... well two... but still she was amazing.
She smiled to herself, remembering the brief glimpse of surprise in his eyes. It had been so fast and subtle she could have imagined it all, but she knew she hadn't. Not with her theory proven. She chuckled at the curious George thought again. Sure they weren't as easy going as the monkey depicted in the children's story book... well Goku was... but she knew not to be naïve to think all the other Saiyans were, but even so, the author had hit it on the head. Yawning, she stood, taking her lab coat off and leaving the room as her mind wandered to images of the handsome man in her guest room acting out scenes from the children's story. She chuckled to herself, stepping onto the main floor landing, it was cute... but oh so wrong to picture the stoic Saiyan like that.
Getting a glass of water from the sink, she leaned against it, taking a sip, her thoughts still on the topic as the sound of something caught her attention. Holding her breath she listened in the dark... Her brows creased as she realized it was her Saiyan guest. Setting the glass down, she quickly made her way up the stairs, then slowed as she neared his room. As she drew closer she could hear his voice muttering things, but she couldn't hear through the door. Seeing that the light was off, he was probably having a nightmare. Carefully she turned the handle and eased the door open. The moon shined through the huge window, lighting the room in a pale glow. The man lay on the bed, jostling in his sleep with sweat all over his body.
"No..." His voice startled her as she froze, thinking he had been awake, only for him to continue in another language, "Dimitte me... mortuus, stay dead..."Her eyes widened as he switched back, she continued going to his bed. "Occidere me... Must kill... him... kill Freeza."She noticed his clenched hands and the blood from holding them so tight. "Lizard turned me..."
Sitting on the bed, her hand went to his face. "Hey... shhh... it's okay."
He muttered a few more things before jerking awake, his eyes wild as his gaze fell on her. Ignoring the fear that threatened to bubble to the surface, she instead flicked on the lamp next to his bed, pulled out a medicated pad, and started to clean his hands. Knowing that if she said anything it would probably make whatever nightmare he had worse. Mostly she felt guilty, knowing that part of this was her fault... maybe the movie had hit more home than she ever thought and now his memories were haunting him? That hadn't been her intention. She had wanted to give him hope, not relive whatever horrible thing he had been through. Biting the tape, she ripped a small piece off and finished his left hand before going to his right, all the while feeling his gaze on her.
Vegeta studied her as she worked silently. He had been dreaming of his mother again and what she said... He didn't like. Something about how he had turned his back on his people... who he was... but could she not see he was only what he could be? But then that was a foolish thought, all of this was in his head. His mother wasn't real. Making this all the more disturbing. Was he finally going insane? Had he reached his limit? These thoughts were swiftly left forgotten as he felt the nightmare leave him, the woman's presence easing him. She said nothing of what she had to have heard. Something must have drawn her here and he could only frown at her hearing him mutter in his sleep. She must be wondering what he dreamt, but instead held back from questioning.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked finally. "What do you gain?"
Pausing as she wrapped his right hand, she glanced at him. "You're not used to someone helping you for no reason, are you?" She went back to her work, not waiting for an answer. "I don't need a reason. I decided I wanted to help you and so I am. And so far the only thing I've gained from this is headaches and frustration." She tore another piece of tape and finished.
Seeing his weary look she sighed, "Is it really so hard for you to believe someone would help you out of kindness?" He looked away, un-answering. "Right... forget I asked." She stood from the bed. "Now I hope you sleep better."
Still looking out the window he asked, "You're not going to ask me what I was dreaming about?"
Hesitating for a few seconds, which turned into a couple of long minutes, she decided to sit back down. "I won't lie. I'm curious, but it's not my place... I-" She joined his gaze out the window. "I didn't know what to say to you. Everything I thought of seemed... wrong." He looked at her again from the corner of his eye, knowing she was talking about him being tortured. "My life is perfect... and never have I had to think about..." She shook her head, not liking how she sounded, and looked down at her hands. "I just wanted you to feel safe here... know that no one will hurt you and..." She peeked up behind her eyelashes. "See that not everyone is harsh and cruel." Her hand went to his wrist in a gesture of comfort.
He jerked his wrist away, snapping at her, "I don't need your pity, woman."
She tilted her head slightly, neither angry nor hurt. He had expected either one of those reactions from her, so once again she surprised him. "I do feel for whatever you've been through, but never would I pity you..." Sighing, she stood, seeing his disbelief. "Fine, I sympathize to a degree, I can't lie... No one should have the wounds you bear, but there is nothing I can say or do to make that go away or to make it better... All I have is the present. Right here and now to make a difference, whether you accept it or not is up to you."
After a few minutes of silence she ran a hand through her hair and took a step back. "I have to go to bed, it's 2 am... Please, try to not hurt yourself again." She gave him a weak smile. "Sleep well, jerk..."
Turning, she started for the door only to stop when she heard him say something softly, "Vegeta." Glancing back, she gave him a puzzled look as he sat there, arms folded over his chest, staring downward. "My name is Vegeta."
He saw her smile grow a little as she repeated, "Sleep well, jerk." Then added, "And thanks... Vegeta."
"Hn," he grunted as she left the room, leaving her strawberry-mingled scent behind. Scowling, he lay back down, staring at the ceiling, his mind replaying all she had said and wondering why he told her his name.
.~-~.
Bardock entered Earth's atmosphere, his mind on dark thoughts, having just received Tash's recorded message. His son, Raditz, had landed on the planet they had delayed him to and proceeded in his rage to blow it up. While the battle-weary Saiyan's past was anything but pure, he had turned away from unwarranted violence and death. It was hard, having the poor, weak creature's last minutes in his head... just before you killed them. And as the momentary leader of the Saiyans he had tried to lead them away from such conflicts. But the bloodlust always lingered, mostly for the older Saiyans who remembered their glory days... Or what they believed to be the glory days under Freeza.
With the pod door opening, the early morning sun reached him and he sighed, standing, pressing the button on his scouter. Fortunate enough, he had landed in a heavily wooded area... no one would disturb his pod while he was searching for the prince... and his son. Scanning, he found minimal power levels scattered in all directions. Maybe this was going to be harder than he thought.
.~-~.
Piccolo sat on the windy mountain top, his cape fluttering wildly in the wind as he sat with legs crossed and eyes closed in meditation. Training his mind against whatever battle or challenge that lay ahead of him... A challenge he had thought would unquestionably be Goku. It had been years since the two adversaries fought and he was not going to be the one to lose this time. He was in the process of reviewing his fight for the billionth time when his eyes snapped open, mouth agape in horror at the power level he was feeling heading right towards him. A cold sweat clammed up his green skin, What power... this...? There was simply no way to describe it. Standing quickly, he looked out towards the direction it was coming from. It couldn't possibly be Goku, it was insanely strong and though it felt similar it wasn't exactly the same.
He braced himself as he saw the speck in the distance, his eyes growing wide as whoever it was got closer. Fear gripped him as he slowly made out their features... wild, spiky black hair... black eyes... his eyes widened more. Had his nemesis changed so drastically during these years? But with a shake of his head he realized quickly that, no, it was not his adversary. There was a huge scar on his left cheek and his hair had a slight brown hue to it. And the look on the man's face was never one Goku would wear... he seemed irritated and frustrated.
The Goku lookalike stopped cursing to himself in another language before growling out, "Damn, you're not him."
He was about to take off when Piccolo flew in front of him, blocking his path. "Who are you? Why are you here?"
Bardock gave the Namekian an uneasy glance, the Saiyan warrior was stronger than him, but it was best to be cautious. "Namekian, I doubt little that you know who I am looking for, so it's best for both of us that you just forget you ever saw me." He took off again.
"That's not an answer!" Arms folded across his chest he flew in front of him again, only taken aback slightly by the name he had called him.
His piercing black eyes studied him, clearly not wanting to fight. "I'm looking for two people. One who, by my estimation, crash landed here two and half weeks ago," he paused, "And another who has been here for a very long time. I must warn both of what is to come and what has followed us."
"You're not making any sense!" Piccolo glared at him angrily.
"I must be careful what I say... for now your life is in danger." His onyx eyes just stared at him. "Now, tell me. Have you ever seen someone that looks like me?"
Piccolo tilted his head slightly. "Maybe... it depends on what you will do if I have?"
"I will not beg, if that is what you want," Bardock growled in warning that sent a tremble through the green man.
Shaking his head, he quickly corrected himself, "That is not what I meant. Goku and myself are enemies. Only I get to kill him... Besides, if you're here to warn him, why should I care?"
The man who looked like Goku didn't say anything at first, "Goku? Mmm... interesting name, Kakarot." He shook his head. "It doesn't really matter who I warn about the impending attack that will come, it's only a little extra that it be this man."
"Why?" His curiosity got the best of him.
The man gave him a weary glance. "He's my son."
~~~~ .~-~. ~~~~
Song above is by Breaking Benjamin 'I will not bow' and vale (singular), valete (plural) is goodbye.
Beta'd by LPphreek
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