Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Lost and Found: Royal Line Blues ❯ Gleam of Hope ( Chapter 23 )

The ride to the spaceport was sheer torture emotionally. Bulma felt her own temperature dropping precipitously. Curling up next to her fallen Prince she struggled to share warmth with him. For the better part of an hour they'd flown in the prisoner sky sled with the others. Vegeta had barely moved, and she silently prayed what she'd heard about Saiyans was true.

Bok Choi barked commands as he climbed off the sky sled at the dock. She glimpsed ships rising and falling through the bars of the energy cage. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Bulma squeezed her eyes shut. Perhaps they would talk if she feigned sleep. As it was she was so weary it was almost true.

"Ready to board, Milord?"

"Get them on the ship. I want them taken to HQ. As part of my personal trophies. To have the mighty Prince Vegeta at my mercy…" he answered.

"Aye sir!" said the other voice she came to hate.

"Kumquat, he's your responsibility…" said Bok Choi.

"What about the monkey's bitch?" the jailer asked.

"Let her suffer seeing him die before her. If she suddenly relents let me know the instant she does so…"

"Food and water?"

"Just enough for the bitch. Saiyans have enormous appetites, but just enough for them with some water perhaps."

"All right, you two. You've got a trip ahead of you…" taunted their 'jailer' while Bulma squeezed her eyes shut and hid her face against Vegeta's neck.

"I can't wait!" Bulma mumbled sarcastically. Her stomach churned as a numb feeling settled over her. Vegeta had fallen asleep, but not into a coma thankfully. After all he'd been badly beaten up any number of times before this, but always recuperated. If only she had a damn sensu bean! Patting her pocket she hoped they wouldn't recognize the innocuous capsules for what they were.

"Shall we take her scouter and his?"

"No, leave them on. Those Saiyan devices are only good for communication, translation and energy sensation. What's this bitch going to do with it? Translate her way out?" laughed the jailer. The entire laser cage holding both of them was hoisted onto an antigravity platform and shifted into the cargo hold of a large rectangular opening. Bulma quickly glanced at the mechanisms they drifted under; discerning that it was some sort of transport.

Clanks and bangs told them the ship was being loaded with others. She struggled to fix the scouter and see if she could transmit anything. Then she stopped herself. "Maybe they WANT me to call for help… and if I drag Vegeta's friends into this… they could get killed… no girl, you're on your own. Vegeta told me he'd be okay… so I'll assume he's right. But if he isn't… I'll kill him," she sniffled.

Only when the engines hummed into life did she finally let herself cry. Yanking the scouter off her face she dropped it, and then buried her head in her hands. She lifted Vegeta's head and shoulders off her lap and checked to see how bad his injuries were. At least he'd stopped coughing and bleeding, she realized. Bulma hesitated taking any part of his armor off till she had some clue if his bones were broken. Carefully she felt each of his legs and arms. Nothing felt out of joint, but the blast that he'd been hit with had all but crushed his ribcage, if not for the armored breastplate holding.

"I guess I do good work," she groaned. "What am I doing? I don't know how to help him… if he can't… damn… think Bulma, you're supposed to be a genius! There's an answer here…" she breathed. Swallowing hard she allowed herself to cry in frustration. At least after she stopped she might have her head clear enough to think. Rest he said. Just let him rest and he'd be fine. Well, she would be little use to him hysterical and exhausted. Lifting the cloak, she curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. At least they were together. Wearily she lay down and fell fast asleep.  

Bulma blinked in the bright sunlight. Vegeta had just taken off in a huffing snort, leaving her with the others. She watched Piccolo, Goku and Gohan launch themselves and head to the West Province 439 so they could commence their own training. Krillen was busy waving goodbye as well to Tien and Chioutzu.

"Well guys, I guess this is it," Krillen said. "You coming to master Roshi's…"

"I'm half tempted to…"

"Well what are we waiting for?" Bulma asked.

"Um, well I'm not waiting around… I think you two want to be alone…" Krillen said nervously, leaping into the air. Besides, the tension between his old friends was so thick he didn't want to be within blasting range when Bulma exploded on Yamucha again.

"Hey, wait!" Yamucha said. "You can't just leave me here with…"

"Well, don't just stand there, take me back!"

"I told you, find your OWN Ride!" Yamucha snapped at her.

"You can't just LEAVE me out here!" she wailed.

Wind whipped from overhead and she found herself screaming in anger as Yamucha left her behind. "Stupid asshole!" she yelled.

"Get your own ride home!" Yamucha shouted. "Maybe you'll learn not to be so stupid… besides, it's only two miles walk to your air car where we landed! You'll be fine!!!"

"Gohan… Krillen you can't just LEAVE me here!" she wailed, waving her arms. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Angry and hurt, she trudged along the dusty landscape. Pitted and scarred it was from the legendary battle. Humiliated tears dripped from her cheeks as she cursed Yamucha, the Z fighters, and everyone else for just off and leaving her behind when she'd made a vow that such a thing wouldn't happen again. Damn them all! Now she knew how Chichi felt whenever the men left her behind in her life.

"Fine, leave me alone in the Kami forsaken desert… I'll show those bakas that you don't leave Bulma Briefs behind! They'll be SORRY!" she snorted, kicking a rock with her booted toe. It shot forwards and landed against something solid.

"What the hell?" she asked. For a moment she thought she was seeing things, and then she saw a familiar figure coming in to land just before her.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, pushing aside a tuft of lavender hair. "Don't tell me they just up and left you behind!"

"I thought you'd left!" Bulma said, rushing over to see the mysterious youth she'd called a 'mystery man'. "I saw your ship…"

"Well I didn't leave when I overheard you and that guy you called Yamucha arguing," he chuckled. "I guess they left you behind?"

"Stupid no good jerks… I don't suppose YOU could give me a ride?"

"I guess it wouldn’t hurt… just as far as it is to your air car," he said with a blush. Bulma threw her arm around his neck, and he gingerly wrapped his hand around her waist. The feel of his body and shoulders felt vaguely familiar as he lifted into the air.

"I swear we must have met somewhere," she said, shaking her head. "Thanks for helping a lady in distress… I'm glad you have more manners then the rest of the guys!"

"It's not easy being the only girl around the bunch, isn't it, Miss. Briefs?" he asked.

"Please, call me Bulma. Everyone else does! And are you SURE you don't wanna tell me your name, kid?"

"Um… I'm undercover," the youth said, with a sly smile that definitely seemed familiar.

"Oh of course… silly me," Bulma chuckled. He tried hard to suppress the blush in his cheeks as he carried her effortlessly alongside him.

"This is just weird… I could swear that I was trapped in some alien cell and now I'm here getting rescued by you… did I dream the whole thing?"

"I don't know… m… miss… it's kinda hot and the sun DOES play tricks," he said awkwardly. "Maybe if you told me more…"

"I was on a trip with Vegeta… and we were looking for something… I can't remember just WHAT… and then…"

"Vegeta and you?" he said with an even deeper blush. "Uh you don't say…"

"The stupid lunkhead actually needed my help and accepted it. Which is weird because this happened six months from now…" she trailed off. "And then… oh no… I remembered! HE was hurt and…"

"Vegeta hurt, how? When?" the youth demanded, suddenly landing with her.

"But it couldn't have happened yet because this is the day when you first showed up… I hope it was some nightmare because he could die! And then I'd be just as alone!"

"You're never alone," said the boy softly as he turned her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "I promise you'll never be…"

"What?"

"I know this makes no sense to you, but you ARE asleep and I'm a dream…" he said.

"Oh great… so it DID happen and… Vegeta… if he dies… I don't know what I'll do… but why would I dream about you?" she asked in wonder.

"I dunno it's your dream," he teased. "But don't worry. I know for a fact that you and Vegeta will get out of this mess and get back to earth to fight the androids. If you don't, I'm history…"

"You're history… say you have to be from the future because there's no way unless… say did you have a parent who was from Idsar?"

"Huh?" he blinked. "Oh no… my father is Saiyan and my mother… is human… but I can't tell you more except that you have to trust that Vegeta can help you out of this. Together you two are stronger than you'd ever imagine possible…"

"But who…" she trailed off.

"I'm sorry I have to go… but please you've got to hang in there! You're Bulma Briefs, remember! You're one of the smartest people on Earth, and you've been in worse scrapes then this! Just know that if you don't leave, you'll never have a chance of seeing me again…"

"You know a lot more than you're telling me, mystery man," Bulma said, narrowing her eyes. "You know an awful lot about Vegeta, and a lot about me… and if your mother was human and your father was Saiyan…"

"I have to go… I'm sorry, my mom is worried SICK about me…" he said quickly. Kissing her cheek he gave her a squeeze that felt like a hug a brother or father would give.

"No, come back… don't leave me alone!" she cried, grabbing his hands. His eyes widened in apology as he faded into darkness and receded from her.    

"Don't leave me alone!" Bulma sobbed, sitting upright. Reality intruded and she blinked into a faint bluish white light. Several ports had been open, and she saw a curved sphere that was rapidly blowing up in size. Glancing at her watch she saw that almost six hours passed in the darkness. Engines hummed with the space drive, and Bulma calculated from the energy she was seeing through Radditz' old scouter the velocity of the engines.

"That must be… our destination," Bulma murmured, wiping away her tears. That dream had given her a kick in the pants because she wanted desperately to know who that young purple haired man was.

"You're never alone," echoed his voice in her head. With a watery smile she glanced down at Vegeta curled up. Although she knew it had been a dream, it felt so real she could still hear the youth's voice and remember the smell of his clothes and hair. Bulma could even feel the warmth of his hug still clinging to her body, and the odd familiarity of his body type. In the dream and in reality he'd been about Vegeta's height, give or take the different hairstyles. At that moment she'd stood next to him a whiff of familiar cologne caught her nose.

Bulma leaned down and smelled the sweat and blood of battle on Vegeta. Again she blinked when she remembered the smell of the youth and his warmth from her dream minutes ago. Despite her sense of smell being much weaker in comparison to a Saiyan's, she found herself remembering the youth smelled about the same as Vegeta did, after a battle. However his eyes were blue, and his hair as purple as an Idsarijin, or her own father's had been years ago. Nevertheless his eyes had an exotic slant, while his bangs curled over a wide forehead. Even the boy's hands had resembled Vegeta's in some way, though he wasn't wearing gloves and carried a sword.

Strangely the dream memory of the lad's arm around her waist felt notoriously similar to the manner Vegeta carried her when they flew. Just why she'd dream of him reassuring her instead of Goku or her parents was very odd. Long ago Goku had told her that sometimes he could sense Gohan or Chichi simply by thinking about them. It was far more than just sensing ki, Goku had claimed.

"It's kinda cool, but sometimes I can hear Chichi yelling at me to come home for dinner," Goku had chuckled. "And I sometimes hear Gohan calling to me…"

"That's nuts!"

"I know, isn't it?" Goku had laughed. "But I could feel the same happen when my grandpa Gohan was alive. It was like we were connected. Even after he was dead…"

"Goku, he wasn't inside that four star ball!" she had groaned.

"I know, but it's a nice way to remind me of him… and he's never totally gone… not when he's alive in my heart. The same thing goes for Gohan and Chichi. When I was dead the first time, I never stopped watching over them from the Other World. Chichi sensed I would always come back… although she was really mad when it took me so gosh darn long…"

"So you share a mental connection?"

"Uh huh," Goku nodded eagerly. "I guess it's cause we're married, but it's pretty rare…"

"Maybe it's because you're from outer space," Bulma said quietly. Goku had considered this, and nodded gravely. In the days after Radditz had attacked, and they'd awaited Goku's return, Chichi had been angrier than devastated. She'd claimed she knew that Goku was on his way back, and was going to give him a considerable piece of her mind when he arrived. In reality Goku had been running at top speed along Snake way, and undergoing training elsewhere on his long trip home.

"I felt you… I still feel you, Vegeta," she mumbled, reaching down to stroke the back of her hand against his cheek.

"Even when I was about to die I somehow knew you'd be able to reach me in time. Something tells me to believe you completely when you said you'd be okay… but I feel so damn useless…"

Beside her, Vegeta glowed with a puny ki, well puny for him, at about 200, while she still glimmered with 45. Grabbing her belt she checked to see what capsules she had with her still. A small flashlight she pulled out of her boot, and beamed it onto the small flat box containing her emergency supply.

"Let's see, I've got at least five left… space rations, cosmetics, an empty, a television, and good… there's one with a mini fridge in it. I hope those dorks don’t' try and take that one away," she whispered. Taking the mini fridge one, she slipped it into Vegeta's belt and hoped he'd use it in due time. If they confiscated the others, they might possibly overlook it. When he was feeling better it might give him enough nourishment to make the difference between life and death.

"Woman…" he moaned softly after a time in darkness.

"I'm here… you're awake!"

"Listen to me. It's VERY important…" he coughed. "I'm going to look like I'm… dead… but I'm really… sleeping… that idiot Kakkarot might not have told you this… but we Saiyans… when we heal from a horrible injury grow stronger…"

"But there's no regeneration tank! The only way I could help you is to… wait Vegeta… how do I transfer the ki back to you that you gave me?"

"Don't be stupid… girl…"

"You need it more than me! It's only 200, and if you take 1/2 of it… look I don't know how to use it, and I'm just a weakling woman remember? What do I need it for?"

"Stubborn…" he grumbled. Reaching his hand up to his mouth he tugged his glove off by catching the middle finger between his teeth. Bulma helped him pull it off as he rested his hand to her head. Her own fingers interlaced. A sensation of something draining out of her body ensued, and she saw a faint blue glow surround him before her. Vegeta groaned and lay still, letting his hand drop.

"Vegeta-chan…" she asked, noticing the ki had risen in his body by 150. He had still left the rest inside of her. Grumbling she shook him.

"You were supposed to take it ALL back… you lunkhead… hey! Are you listening to me?" she asked, slapping his cheek.

"Shut up woman, don't question… my motives… you'll soon see… it's enough… but I must rest…" Vegeta groaned. He lay his head and shoulders on her lap again, and turned on his side. Bulma swallowed hard, feeling a sense of hope for the first time since she'd seen him fall. At least with the ki restored he had a fighting chance without her having to make any stupid sacrifices.

That left her with a few others, which she had difficulty reading in the dark. Too bad she hadn't finished work on a Saiyan regeneration tank. Faintly she wondered if the world they were going to had a moon or not, and then she remembered something she'd ridiculed earlier. Actually she suspected it wasn't his, but she'd heard Goku talk about the first time he'd generated an artificial moon. But would he have enough to transform, and be able to control it? The only time she'd been around a transformed saiyan was when Goku changed the few times and it was an experience she didn't want to repeat.

"IF I can somehow duplicate that," she thought, reaching for the other capsule that contained a television. Whatever parts there were she had to figure it out. IT was the frequency of moonlight she had to duplicate, not just a fake 'moon'.

"Vegeta…" she said, shaking him.

"Hmm," he mumbled.

"Does this place we're going to. Does it have a moon?"

"Unfortunately…. No…" Vegeta cursed. "But you're… thinking finally…"

"Can you generate enough ki to make a fake moon thing? I mean like you made back when you were fighting the Z fighters all those years ago? Krillen and Piccolo said you had used your energy…"

"I can't… spare enough… now… but I think…" he coughed up more blood. "Yes… it might… it might just… work…."

"Well if you can't, maybe I can," Bulma said, glancing at the television capsule. "If it's the light but not the moon…"

Vegeta nodded, before laying his head back down. She shrieked at the sudden vibrations rocking the ship, accompanied by a cherry red glow coming from the windows. Obviously the heat of reentry, she noted. Quickly she shoved the capsules with the food and other parts into Vegeta's armored vest in case she was searched. Leaning close, she pressed a kiss to his forehead and wrapped him in the cloak once more. Then she held tightly to him during the shock of reentry.