Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Lost and Found: Royal Line Blues ❯ Race for the Race Bank ( Chapter 26 )

Chapter 26  

Many thanks to Christine Bulmathebabe for beta reading and ideas development for this story! Hugs and kudos to you my fellow DBZ author and fan!

At long last they crept in through the perimeter defense. Bulma felt the Prince set her down carefully inside the vaulted main chambers. After a harrowing goose chase with missiles, Bulma thought she was going to yet again risk throwing up on his brand new armor. Shivering she pulled her Capsule Corps jacket more tightly around her.

"The idiots are trying to shield their ki," Vegeta mumbled, urging her on ahead of him.

"We could fly down this hall and get this out of the way much faster," Bulma whispered, wondering why he was putting her first.

"What, and have them coming after us with their damn fool scouters?" he mumbled. "Haven't I taught you anything?"

"Whine and moan," Bulma mumbled as she followed their progress on the green lens superimposed on the forward view. Large organic columns supported a curved ceiling that stretched as far overhead as those of the museum on Archalis. All around her the curves and veinlike features reminded her of wandering through a model of a human body. Why did such architecture always look organic when it was clearly made of synthetic materials?

What was worse was the decorations on the curved surfaces. Skeletons of long dead creatures hung next to suits of armor, and the cast off exoshells of insectoid beings. Each turn in the corridors revealed other grisly trophies. "This would put a haunted house to shame," Bulma thought.

"Only you would think something that idiotic at a time like this," he mumbled.

"I'm trying to keep the barriers up. Maybe you shouldn't listen on thoughts that aren't yours,' Bulma complained, trying to keep away the nagging suspicion this was all too easy.

"Hn," he mumbled, ignoring her momentarily. His eyes narrowed at the dimness of the corridors. Illumination flickered then stopped. Bulma felt his gloved hand grip hers in the sudden blackness, trying hard not to squeal in fear. Seconds later the overhead lights flickered on once more.

"Hurry," Vegeta mumbled. "Which way?"

"Straight and to the left," she murmured, pointing with her finger. She streaked off down the hallway with him in fast pursuit. Boots pounded the glossy floor, carrying them through ruined pieces of statue and other architecture arranged on the walls instead of mere skeletons.

"Eww gross," she mumbled, glancing at other displays which included enormous tanks filled with floating figures. It dawned on her that they were exactly like the jars she saw in biology class with formaldehyde; showing preserved animals or other sick items. Each new chamber had skeletons, followed by broken buildings and rubble, then a series of dark twists and turns to the next place.

Bulma saw him turn a shade of green when he passed by several bizarre life forms bobbing in long tanks that ran for a hundred feet on either wall. Encased in green fluid, Bulma saw that the segmented shapes resembled gigantic earthworms. They were slightly bloated, making her feel ill, yet not as much as the Prince who was dragging her quickly behind him.

"His trophy chambers, woman. This whole museum is one big display case for the beings he's purged," said Vegeta quietly, leaning against one wall. He buried his face in his hands, heaving great breaths while Bulma rested her hands on his shoulders.

"And I thought I was gonna hurl,' she whispered. "This is like everything he destroyed…"

"I purged as much as he… but I NEVER kept a storehouse of… what was left behind." he mumbled.

"That's not why you're sick is it?"

"No, and don't you ever dare tell anyone that I…"

"Come on, you goof… before I get nightmares for a week," she said, grabbing his arm. Vegeta muttered a few choice curses and followed.

"Damn," Bulma murmured, resting her hands on her hips after a time. She could not tear her eyes away from the fragments of alien technology here and there. Tantalizing bits of battered circuits, and space ships lay in the most recent chamber. Some of them even appeared drastically familiar.

"We're almost there, aren't we?" she said quietly. "This stuff looks like what we saw in the museum…"

"Yes," said Vegeta slowly, noticing the antique space pods that had been in use thousands of years before he'd been born. Old style armored vests and other items made him shudder. Especially the sight of skeletons with a sinisterly simian configuration. His hand came to rest on the flat display cases filled with long furry objects, and he grew even more ill.

"What the hell is that?" she asked.

"His personal trophy collection. Of all the Saiayns he'd accidentally sent into dangerous assignments… he always liked collecting things… but this…"

"Those are…" Bulma realized as Vegeta's fists glowed blue with misting ki. "Just like yours…"

"The sooner we get out of here the better," Vegeta said quietly, voice tinged with rage. A cold hatred formed a solid lump in the pit of Bulma's stomach out of nowhere. Anger surged inside, turning to outrage. A tidal wave of sheer loathing threatened to overwhelm her. Shivering she focussed on something, anything else besides Vegeta standing there as stiff as a statue looking murderously at the display case of Saiyan tails that had been cut off.

Her eyes traced along the captured pieces of technology. Why would Bok Choi have bought these ruined pieces to place here? All of the items were shattered and broken pieces of weaponry, armor, and skeletons, not the cultural relics like buildings, pieces of statue, and other less militaristic flavor. IT was part biology lab, part military museum. Where would this race bank be, she wondered. Then she put the pieces together.

"Of course," she said.

"Here it is," Vegeta said suddenly, holding two small cylinders in his gloved hands. They were made of a silvery gleaming metal, about the diameter of two fingers together.

"That's IT? But when I saw it in the archives," Bulma whispered, as he handed them to her.

"We have to get these out of here," Vegeta snapped. He thrust the canisters into Bulma’s hands.

"Where… how… you knew they were in that casing there… which looked like some sort of weapon console…" she pointed. "And that's why…"

"Yes," he nodded. "Those canisters can withstand a full fledged ki blast. Guard them with your life…"

"What about the memory discs… you said contained the history…"

"I have them here," he said, thrusting multiple pieces of microcircuitry into his armored vest that she had fashioned for him. "This armor of yours had better be worth its bragging price, or else the history is lost…"

"I expected something… bigger," she shivered, thrusting the canisters into her shirt. One each fitted on either side of her bra.

"Information can be stored in many ways,' Vegeta said. "That is beyond even your comprehension… almost. Each unit contains thousands of years of history. While what you hold there is the memory of an entire race stored on genetic blueprints."

"What are you doing?" she asked, watching as he raised his hand. Bulma backed away, seeing the blue flames of energy licking along the display cases as he raised a hand to them. There came a series of loud smashes, followed by the sizzling smell of released ki. She whirled around to see Vegeta standing over the display cases, hurling ki bolts at them to destroy the pieces of his society that Bok Choi had on display.

"It all must be destroyed. This abomination to my race must be purged. And not for the sake of selling something to a fucking lizard, but to give some dignity to what he's distorted here," Vegeta said, as she stood there stunned.

"Vegeta… we have to get out of here… they'll know…" she shivered. "I know you're angry but…"

"He won't posses anything of the Saiyan race as long as I live and breathe," Vegeta said. "I'm giving him a nasty little parting gift to remind him not to fuck with me and mine."

"I think we'd better leave now," she said, rushing over to him. "The scouter's screaming at me…"

"Let’s go," Vegeta nodded, and scooped Bulma up into his strong arms. She threaded her arms around his neck as he leapt into the air and streaked out the window. All around them, the planet of Pyorrhea stretched in tans and viridian green skies.

"Alert, alert… robbery in progress at the Velox Universal Museum… pursue… pursue…"

"Someone doesn’t like you borrowing the exhibit, much lest destroying it!" Bulma whispered to Vegeta.

"Stupid idiots wouldn’t know what to do with the Race banks anyway. They are rightfully the property of the Royal House of Vejitasei… and as the Crown Prince they belong to me!" Vegeta snickered.

"To destroy at your whim? I understand you were pissed but that's a bit extreme…"

"Wouldn't you be angry if you saw your world tacked up on someone's wall like a trophy? Everything that you knew and held sacred to gawk at?" Vegeta snapped at her.

"I see…" Bulma whispered. "I'd hate it…"

"Think twice before you question so quickly," Vegeta answered.

"Look out!" Bulma screamed. Vegeta dodged to the left just as a disintegration beam sizzled past his arm. Angrily he glanced back to see sky sleds rise out of the nearby spires and lock onto his flight. Energy flared around Vegeta as he expanded his ki field. A sudden burst of speed tossed Bulma against him. Within a split second, Vegeta had vanished off their scopes.

"Lord Bok-Choi won’t be pleased," muttered Commander Kumquat.

"After them you fools!" Bok-Choi shouted, his face blaring angrily onto their screens. "We have to stop the thieves! They’ll destroy us with the weapons they’ve stolen!"

"Yes Milord! We won’t fail," said Kumquat, glancing over at Sgt. Marrow.

Krillen and Yamucha heard the frantic cries crackling over their scouters. "Vegeta and Bulma are on the scopes, we have to get going!" Ami cried.

"I’m bringing the air car around!" Yumi announced. "Come on guys, let’s find the ship and get the hell out of here!"

"We’re right with you girls," Yamucha nodded grimly.

He and Krillen leapt up and sped off to catch up with the modified air van. Painted bright purple and pink, it coursed out of the nearby parking garage and sped towards them. The dome opened up, admitting the two men. Krillen landed in the seat next to Yumi, who was piloting it, while Ami helped Yamucha buckle in.

"They’re at the museum… or were…" Krillen said. "I’m taking we’re at the top of their hit list now…"

"And it isn’t top forties!" Ami said. "Yamucha, can you sense their ki?"

"Barely… no wait… it’s that stupid prince! And they’re headed straight for us!"

"Get the white noise blaster ready…" Yumi snapped to Krillen. He pressed buttons all over the console, setting up the tape of their newest session. Loud rock music blared in the atmosphere for a radius of nearly a mile. Navigational computers were scrambled at the assault of hundreds of decibels. Vegeta howled in pain as his ears were spit by the sound.

"Vegeta!" Bulma cried. He lost concentration and plummeted earthwards. At the last possible moment he gained enough to twist his body underneath hers. Bulma wrestled with his free-falling body, trying to divert it enough so he’d land on the nearest rooftop. Gritting her teeth she squeezed her eyes shut.

"Wait guys… that’s BULMA there!" Yamucha gasped, noticing a flash of bright blue hair. "HURRY!"

"I’m onto it!" cried Yumi, gunning the bus full speed towards them. "Get ready to pop the sky roof, Ami!"

"Roger!" Ami replied, posting her finger over the button.

Fortunately the jarring thump that Bulma felt was not the impact of her Saiyan prince on the ground, but in a thickly padded chair. She groaned, blinking up into the faces of Yamucha and Ami.

"What the devil were you doing?" Yamucha yelled. "Bulma, we were worried sick! We’ve got every one of Bok-Choi’s goons tailing us from here to Silver City!"

"Ohhh," Vegeta groaned, hands pressed to his ears. "What the hell was that? And who do I destroy first?"

"Bulma! Thank Kami we got you in time… how did you escape?" Ami asked. She reached over to try to pull Bulma off of the Prince. She still sat on his lap, much to the amazement and chagrin of her fellow space travelers.

"Leave us alone!" Bulma yelled, slapping their hands away. "You’ve done enough!"

"Bulma it’s us? Don’t you remember your friends?" Yamucha asked, reaching out to grab her arm. "We’ve come to rescue you, because Krillen told us he’d seen you and Vegeta… but we didn’t think he’d survived! What are you doing with him?"

"Bakayarou!" Bulma yelled. She slapped Yamucha right across the face.

"You asshole, what did you DO to him!" Bulma yelled. "You could have gotten us BOTH killed!"

"We didn’t know that he was carrying you…" Yamucha gasped, rubbing his cheek.

"Fine… but… Krillen… guys… I appreciate you coming to the rescue but you didn’t have to do THIS to him!"

"Calm down everyone, sheesh!" Krillen interrupted. "If you don’t mind we’re all stressed out… so take deep breaths. Is Vegeta okay, Bulma?"

"Vegeta… say something," Bulma cried, gently rubbing his cheek.

"We used the sonic cannon," said Ami. "It was the only way… we didn’t know he was so sensitive to noise…"

"You can’t help him by sitting on him," said Yamucha as he tried to pull her away.

"Touch the woman, and die," Vegeta growled, as he sat up, and held Bulma on his lap.

"Wait a minute Vegeta… it’s us… there’s no need to flip out!" Krillen shouted.

"Vegeta… it’s all right… we’re safe!" Bulma urged. Unfortunately he ignored her. Raising a white-gloved hand with the palm facing towards them, he built up a charge of lavender ki. Yamucha quivered at the sight of the crackling energy, remembering what it was capable of doing. He held his chest, pushing Ami behind him.

"Stop… wait!" Yamucha gasped.

"If you value your wench you’ll not lay a hand on the woman, weakling… do I make myself CLEAR?" Vegeta reiterated.

"Vegeta stop it now!" Bulma urged, grabbing his wrist. Her fingers slid around the cuff of his glove and squeezed as tightly as she could, hoping it would get his attention. Judging from the feral gleam in his midnight black eyes, he could very well see everyone around him as a threat. Did he recognize them as people who’d agreed reluctantly to follow him?

"We’re okay… it’s our friends…" Bulma implored, moving her mouth right by his ear.

"I trust no one, save you, woman," Vegeta answered. "Especially that weakling… he sold us out to the enemy…"

"That’s the thanks we get for saving your asses," Yamucha snorted. Ami slid her arm around Yamucha’s chest when she saw him raise his hands before his face. In a gesture quite similar to Piccolo’s crossed arm stance Yamucha charged up his own ki field.

"NOT IN THE VAN!" Yumi yelled. "Get these clowns to stop this, K-man!"

"KNOCK IT OFF YOU TWO!" Krillen yelled. "HEY! Am I’m gonna have to pull this crate over?"

"Let Bulma go…" Yamucha panted. "Vegeta… you’re not your usual nasty self… you got to think about what you’re doing… if you let off that ki blast you’ll vaporize us, AND the woman… do you WANT that?"

"Don’t tell me what to do, human scum," Vegeta answered. "You have no idea what you’re talking about."

"Vegeta please don’t do this!" Ami begged. "Your majesty… don’t!"

"He’s not worth the title," whispered Yamucha. "Stay BACK…"

"Shut up, Yamucha, and you simmer down, Vegeta," Bulma said, tightening her grip on Vegeta’s wrist. "He’s not worth it… and they DID save us…"

"You did nothing!" Vegeta snapped. "While you losers wasted your blasted time, I was handling myself perfectly well without your interference!"

"Guys, enough!" Krillen yelled. "Do you mind, we’ve got BIGGER problems, as in every lawman in this planet after us!"

"Please Vegeta, we need you," Bulma whispered, kissing his lips before he could snarl protest. Yamucha bit his lip, and if it weren’t for the fact he was suitably angry and outraged, Vegeta would have scolded Bulma for such a public display.

"Sit DOWN bright buns, and I mean NOW!" Yumi hollered back. Yamucha shoved Ami into a seat and sat down opposite her.

"Thank the woman that I don’t blast you into atoms, weakling," Vegeta snarled at Yamucha from the forward video screen. "Stay out of the way…"

"Excuse the heck me," Ami mumbled.

"Ami, we are thankful, but now’s not the time for that kind of stuff," Bulma pleaded. "We’ve got what Vegeta wanted… now we just have to get out of here alive…"

"You really did it this time, Vegeta," Krillen commented. "I hope whatever you two got is worth it…"

"Don’t question me, Baldie. If I didn’t have grudging respect for your fighting skills…" Vegeta snapped.

"Vegeta, enough of the contest! We have to work together!" Bulma yelled at him.

"Fine woman, just shut up and let me think!" Vegeta yelled back. "Purple hair… I mean Yumi. How far to the space port?"

"About two hours, your Whyness… this bucket of bolts has enough juice to get us there… fortunately Ami and I put missiles on this bus…" said Yumi, punching buttons.

"Good, then have them ready," he said, then got up. With a gloved finger he punched the door button, blasting everyone with a gust of wind.

"What are you doing you crazy…?" Yamucha panted.

"Woman, come with me. You all stay here… I’ll direct you from outside," Vegeta shouted. He swung Bulma alongside of him, and she yelped. This told her that she needed to leave at least one free hand for fighting. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she straddled his hip. Vegeta nodded grudgingly, then shifted his gloved hand to hold her at his side. Just why he didn’t simply have her ride with the others she could not guess.

He released the side of the bus and flew under his own ki. Shocked, Ami shut the door and glanced out to see Bulma and the Saiyan Prince put slight distance between them, matching their speed easily. "Okay, you made it clear you don’t want to fly with us, Vegeta… so what’s the plan?" asked Krillen.

"Since I can’t get rid of you idiots you might as well be useful… so listen up! Your friend pink hair is so fond of shooting off her mouth, she puts herself use to pot shot those sonic disrupters at them…" Vegeta barked into his mouthpiece.

"Yes, your majesty," Ami snorted. Wearing Radditz’ old scouter, Bulma was privy to each participant in Vegeta’s conversation whether she wanted to hear or not.

"Good grief, we’re doomed," Krillen groaned from on the bus.

"Right, we’ll give ‘em a taste of the sonic blaster… but luckily this sucker’s soundproof," said Yumi, firing up the cannons. Krillen and Yamucha strapped in while Ami pressed keys on their sonic guns. Waves of sheer white noise formed concentrated beams that sliced into their pursuers. Yumi pressed buttons to activate the small arsenal of disrupter missiles. Bangs and flashes exploded as she wove the air car around their pursuers.

A large explosion slammed into them from behind. "Oh kuso… they’ve got turret guns," Yamucha yelped, grabbing his seat.

"Ladies, take them out if you will, I’ll pick off the sleds," Vegeta barked.

"Yes sir!" Ami nodded. Twin sonic beam cannons swiveled to aim their destructive beams on any guns from below. Vegeta’s ki blasts aimed left and right, picking off the others. Soon they shot past the perimeter wall and into the deserts vast expanse.

"Let’s do it again," Ami nodded, slapping Yumi’s outstretched hand.

"All right!" Krillen laughed, raising his fingers in a victory salute he’d learned from Goku.

"Don’t celebrate yet, idiots," Vegeta reminded them over his scouter. "We can’t let up for a minute…"

"Now just you wait…" Yamucha started, leaning in to yell in the com panel. Ami smacked his arm.

"Shut up, will you?" she hissed at him.

"We’re not out of the woods yet… six incoming and fast," said Yumi, glancing at her targeting scanner.

"Kuso," Bulma mumbled, wiping sweat off her face.

"Don’t let any of them lock onto us…" Vegeta snapped. "I’m sensing someone’s ki… and it’s almost as great as my own…"

"Terrific… don’t tell me that…" Yamucha groaned. "Shimatta, the power’s off the scale…"

Sweat blistered on the Z fighter’s forehead. Ami shivered at the wideness of his eyes in his scarred but handsome face. He grit his teeth together, wildly glancing at Krillen. The bald monk nodded his confirmation.

"Kuso, does that look mean what you think it means, Ami?" Yumi asked.

"Unfortunately we’re screwed," Yamucha whispered. "Unless his Royal Whyness can save our asses…"

"How great is it?" Bulma asked Vegeta.

"Not up to Freiza’s level, but it’s pretty freaking close," Vegeta grunted. "I’m certain I can handle it though… it’s time to see if that gravity training paid off. Are you scared?"

"Yes… but I know you’ll defeat him," Bulma said more confidently than her shaking voice told him.

"You’ll see that you’re safer with me, woman… unless you’re scared that I’ll drop you…" he teased.

"Very funny, not!" Bulma snapped.

"Maybe we’d better leave while we can…" Yamucha whimpered in the background. "Not something you want to piss with…"

"I heard that! Come on, you’ve been training hard," Bulma said angrily. "Are you telling me you’re going to cut and run?"

"Bulma, shut up," Yamucha snapped at her. "You don’t know what it’s like."

"Bulma… we’re strong and all… but we’ve got our limits," said Krillen quietly. "I think this guy’s in your class, Vegeta… do you know who it is?"

Vegeta grimly nodded. Yamucha and Krillen sensed his power level surge from its dampened state. Both of them widened their eyes discernibly, getting a taste of the energies he kept a lid on till now. They knew the Saiyan Prince was powerful, but now they were unsure of his true upper limit. Perhaps all those days in the GR were coming to fruition. Still was it enough to tackle the triple threat they now discerned?

"Bok-Choi’s calling card," Vegeta gritted. "He’s taking a personal stake in this. And he’s sent for some of his elite… I’m afraid your puny toys won’t be enough to stop them… better open it up woman…"

"C’mon… let me get a good shot…" Yumi whispered as she aimed her white noise cannon. Blasts erupted around them and Krillen and Yamucha sensed kis flaring around them. Shots of pure energy whipped into them. A huge wave of energy scooted across their line of sight, and Vegeta gritted.

"Bail out, now!" he yelled. "Or die!"

"What?" asked Yumi.

"Get out now! It’s the seismic wave blast!" Vegeta hollered. "Bulma, hold onto me! "

"Oh kuso…" Yamucha gasped. He unclipped Ami’s seat belt, yelling to Krillen to do the same to Yumi. Yumi turned the air car sharply, to turn it around and hopefully outrun the ribbons of energy radiating from a central source. Sand flattened and rippled under the tsunami of expanding force, which reminded Yumi of the stones she had skipped to create ripples in a pond’s surface.

Except this was pure energy distorting a landscape for miles. Bulma hit the eject button, blowing the canopy. Yamucha and the Ami shot out of the cabin in their seats. Krillen leapt up and grabbed Yumi around the waist as she hit the self-destruct button. Then the world disintegrated in blinding white light that seared her. Yamucha’s screams mingled with that of the girls and her own. Maniacal laughing surrounded them.