Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Slave ❯ An Eternity That Lasted An Instant ( Chapter 47 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or the characters.

 

A/N - See - I'm writing again! A day after my last chapter! And…I've planned this fic all the way up to chapter 50! Which means that my writers block has finally broken! FINALLY! Thank you Chris Sabat and unedited season 2 DBZ. Enjoy!

Chapter 47: An Eternity That Lasted An Instant

 

 

~*~

 

 

“You want me to go where?” Kakarot fought not to show any sign of annoyance, but the predicament he currently found himself in was severely trying his patience. The King was sending him away on a mission that would take him off planet for a very long time! It was frustrating, incredibly so! Just when he'd thought he was making headway with Vegeta and breaking through some of his barriers something had gone wrong and he'd become icy and closed off again.

 

Evidently the blowjob had been a bad idea.

 

“I want you to find Brolly. He should have been back by now and since we've had no contact with him I can only assume that either he found Frieza and got himself killed or he's taken off like the coward I always thought he was.” Vegeta glared at him as though he was a simpleton. “Now, do I need to repeat myself a third time or do you think you can manage the very simple job I have given you?”

 

“I think I can manage, Sire.” Kakarot forced himself to bow, half to pacify Vegeta and half to hide the look of anger on his face. “What should I do if I find Brolly? Should I bring him back?”

 

“If you find him…” Vegeta seemed to mull over the idea. “…If you find Brolly then kill him. He's become a liability to the Saiyajin Empire.” He was about to add something else but paused, closing his mouth with an audible `snap'.

 

“Sire…” Kakarot knew instinctively what Vegeta had been about to say and rather then leave things unsaid he spoke up. “Brolly was sent to find the Earth woman, correct?” The third class saiyan watched his King carefully, watching for any sign of emotion. “What if he found her? What should I do with her?”

 

Vegeta swallowed and met Kakarot's eyes with a steely glare. A glare, Kakarot thought, that was designed to hide whatever he was truly feeling.

 

“If he has recovered the woman, my property, then bring her back. She will face punishments for her betrayal and her defection.”

 

There was a tone to Vegeta's voice that sent shivers down Kakarot's spine. He had always prided himself on his ability to ensure he heard all the latest gossip and the gossip around the palace was all about the blue haired slave that had bewitched the king. The earthling woman that had survived against the odds and who, although she was supposed to be working on some kind of ki enhancing weapon, had managed to do almost no work on the project without reprisals.

 

The gossip had labelled her as a beautiful genius that had wormed her way into Vegeta's good graces by her amazing prowess in bed and her ability to wrap him around her little finger by granting his every sick sexual fantasy. Apparently the Queen had been bitterly jealous of the earthling and her relationship to her then to-be husband.

 

Bulma Briefs sounded like an amazing woman, someone who had talents not unlike his own. If indeed he somehow managed to find Brolly and the woman…well…he couldn't wait to meet her. If everything he had heard about her was true then it was no wonder Vegeta wanted her back. Hell, if everything he had heard about her was true then he was going to find himself hard pressed to bring her back to Vegeta.

 

“Sire, if I am to bring back the woman then perhaps an image of her would help me identify her…” Kakarot allowed his voice to trail off and he straightened up from his bow and allowed a small smirk to play across his face. His trip back to the Saiyajin Empire hadn't been quite what he had expected it to be, but no matter. He'd enjoyed his little visit even if he hadn't been able to kill his father.

 

“An image? Hmph.” Vegeta crossed his arms and drummed the fingers of one hand on his muscle bound arm. “You'll have to see security for that. There would be some security footage of her somewhere; you're welcome to help yourself. Now, if there is nothing else I will expect you to be on your way.”

 

“Yes, Sire.” Kakarot bowed again, turned smartly on one heel and stalked away down the hallway. He'd leave and do his job like a good little soldier; he couldn't afford to give up his nice little position here on Vegetasei.

 

Not when he was having so much fun…

 

~*~

 

Vegeta watched Kakarot walk away, feeling irritated at himself for the momentarily lapse he had felt when Bardock's son had brought up Bulma. Why did he feel this way? Why was he still so caught up in her even though she'd shown her true colours and abandoned him at the first chance she'd been given?

 

He shook his head and almost rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. The woman was a criminal and a dangerous one at that. He knew that she was a very dangerous little minx who was far too clever for her own good…but…he still wanted her. He wanted her more then ever. Especially now that Zucchini was finally pregnant. He could afford to have a little plaything in his bed again now that that black haired shrew was finally out of it.

 

Maybe he just needed to get himself another concubine…there was that earthling woman who had been in his father's harem. She was still with the other ladies waiting to be sold to new masters, but maybe before he sent her away he should try her out. Maybe she would be enough to keep his mind interested and take his attention away from that blasted woman.

 

~*~

 

Bulma opened her eyes groggily. Ilandra stood on one side of the operating table and Brolly stood on the other, they were arguing quietly and neither one of them were aware that Bulma had regained consciousness. For a moment Bulma blinked stupidly without paying much attention to what they were saying, but gradually she began to listen.

 

“It isn't right! That halfling should be killed, not left here to be brought up by a maniac like Frieza - especially when the child is going to be raised to take control of the Saiyajin Empire if Frieza ever manages to kill Vegeta!” Brolly stabbed his finger at Ilandra angrily and glared at her.

 

Why couldn't they get along? Bulma wondered sleepily, and why were they arguing about her child?

 

“It isn't up to you! I'm doing everything I can to get Bulma out of here alive and to ensure that my father doesn't go after her! The only way I can do that is by taking the babies out of her! If my father has them then he wont have a reason to track Bulma down.” Ilandra slapped Brolly's accusing finger away from the space over Bulma's body. She tossed her hair and threw a withering glance at the saiyan. “If you were smart you'd see that this is a win-win situation. My father gets what he wants and Bulma gets to go free. The only person who looses is me.”

 

Bulma slowly began to take stock of her surroundings. She was in the med bay…and…her babies were gone…? She struggled to make sense of the conversation she'd just overheard. Slowly some sense began to swim through the murkiness that the anaesthesia had left in her mind

 

Last night Ilandra had told them that she believed that Bulma's life was in danger and that she thought that Frieza was going to try to take Bulma away. Ilandra had said that the only way she could keep Bulma safe was by getting her off the station. She and Brolly had stayed up most of the night formulating a plan to smuggle Bulma off the space station. Part of their plan, a part that Ilandra had fixated upon from the start, was the removal of Bulma's unborn babies and their transference to artificial wombs.

 

It was a plan that Bulma had readily gone along with despite some minor reservations…but here she was, waking up on a cold metal table minus two babies. Thanks to the advanced medical facilities on the station there wasn't going to be a recovery stage for Bulma - Ilandra had assured both of them that the procedure to remove the foetuses was a “walk in - walk out” affair.

 

“Did it work?” Bulma struggled to speak and the words came out slurred and fuzzy sounding. “Are the babies gone?”

 

“Bulma?” Ilandra was instantly by her side, one slender hand gently smoothing back Bulma's fine baby blue hair. “Don't try to talk, honey. The drugs are going to wear off soon, we'll talk then.”

 

“I wanna know…” Bulma blinked unsteadily, her words sounding even more slurred this time then last.

 

Brolly appeared by her side. “It worked, they're gone.”

 

Bulma let her head slump back against the table. “Good.” She breathed deeply for a few moments, ignoring both of the people above her. “Okay,” She said finally, her voice a little firmer, “help me up.”

 

Ilandra looked as if she was about to protest but Brolly instantly helped to ease her up into a sitting position, following orders like the good little saiyan soldier he was. A roll of nausea instantly passed through Bulma and she felt her body heave involuntarily, “I'm gonna be s…”

 

She was unable to finish her sentence and she scrambled to the edge of the table just in time to be sick over the side. Ilandra made a noise that could have been sympathy but might just as easily have been disgust, but Bulma didn't care. Once the nausea faded she felt much better and she was able to steady herself without Brolly's help.

 

“I want to go now.” Bulma unsteadily climbed down from the table and wobbled her way to the bench where she could see her clothes. She dressed without her usual finesse, even allowing Brolly to hold her steady as she swayed back and forth while trying to pull her boots on.

 

“Bulma, you don't have to go now…” Ilandra's voice interrupted the silence; there was a note of pleading in it that tugged at Bulma despite the rock-hard shields she had erected against everything Ilandra-ish.

 

She had been doing her best to ignore Ilandra since she'd discovered that she was screwing her own father, but ignoring her was only getting Bulma so far. It was hard. Hard because even though she hated Ilandra now…she had loved her. She had loved her deeply and it was hard to simply switch off her emotional response.

 

“You said I had to leave as soon as possible.” Bulma kept her eyes down as she finished pulling on her boots and stood dressed in a short black skirt, thigh-high leather boots and a black and white long sleeved striped shirt that showed plenty of cleavage. She was horribly aware of how loose the clothes were on her emaciated frame but Bulma squashed down her insecurities.

 

“I know what I said but…” There was a note of pleading to Ilandra's voice and Bulma finally looked up at her. Ilandra looked desperate and desolated. “I don't want you to go. I love you.” She walked towards Bulma, ignoring all the signs that the human was putting out to stay away.

 

They faced each other silently, each of them struggling to deal with their pain in their own way. After what felt like an age Bulma sighed and stepped forward, taking Ilandra's body into an embrace. She rested her head against the icejins chest and listened to her heartbeat.

 

“I can't stay here any longer.” She whispered the words against her lovers skin. “If your father doesn't kill me then I'm going to end up killing myself. This place is poison.”

 

Ilandra sobbed silently and wrapped her arms tightly around Bulma. “I'm so sorry.” She whispered eventually, resting her cheek lightly on Bulma's hair.

 

Gradually Bulma drew away. She held one of Ilandra's hands for a moment as they stared into each other's eyes, then she let go; not just of her lover's hand but of everything. The last remaining flicker of emotion that was loyal to Ilandra slipped away with her hand and Bulma stood for a moment feeling oddly like an empty vessel. For an eternity that lasted an instant she knew what freedom was, and in that instant Bulma saw herself for what she was.

 

She would never be her own person because all her life she'd defined who she was based upon the people she was with and the situation she was in. Now, free of everything, she saw herself as the sad lonely little girl she was. Not even Brolly, who she almost counted as a friend, meant anything to her really. She was truly alone

 

Bulma felt herself smile.

 

“We have to go.” Brolly touched her shoulder and Bulma turned around with the smile still firmly in place.

 

“Then lets go.”

 

Ilandra led the way to the docking bay. Down they went, down into the depths of a space station that may just as well have been hell. The further down they went the more it seemed to Bulma that she could actually smell the stench of moral decay; it hung in the air like a fine veil.

 

There wasn't a sound to be heard aside from their soft footfalls as they moved like ghosts down the corridors. It was as they were approaching the doors for the docking bay that Bulma realised that there should have been more people around. It was the middle of the day, yet the place was deserted.

 

“It's a trap…” The softly spoken words had barely left her mouth when a ki blast seemed to appear from nowhere. It arced through the air towards Bulma in a stunning flare of golden light. It was beautiful.

 

“No!” Ilandra leapt in the way in a flash, smacking the blast out of the air with a show of strength that few people had ever witnessed. “Father!” She hissed as she hovered in the air in front of Bulma, a lilac aura surrounding her as her power level crept up.

 

“Daughter.” Frieza was suddenly in front of them, Zarbon at his side. They both wore identical smirks on their faces. “Did you really think that I would allow you to let them leave? They're too dangerous to be left alive, especially now that they both know our plans for the Saiyajin Empire.”

 

Ilandra bared her teeth and growled, “How! How did you find out?”

 

Frieza tossed back his head and laughed, Zarbon copied the gesture immediately. “This is my station, my empire - nothing goes on here without me knowing about it.” He stopped chuckling abruptly and fixed ruby eyes on them all. “Now daughter, get out of my way so I can obliterate these two monkeys…”

 

 

“No.” Ilandra spat on the ground in her father's direction. “I won't let you.” She turned her head slightly towards Brolly while she kept her eyes on Frieza. “Zarbon's mine, you take daddy dearest.”

 

“Gladly.” Brolly smirked and powered up, feeling the familiar adrenaline rush he always did when he was about to battle someone. It had been so long since he'd taken on somebody with a power level similar to his, he'd heard stories about Frieza's strength but he found it hard to believe that the delicate looking being in front of him could actually have strength close to his.

 

In a flash Ilandra, Brolly, Frieza and Zarbon were moving; their moves so lightning fast that Bulma couldn't keep track of them. She edged closer to the wall and tried to get down as low as she could. Explosions, grunts of pain and screams of power issued back and forth across the room. For an instant she saw Frieza and Brolly trading blows, then they were gone. An instant later she caught a glimpse of Ilandra with Zarbon in a headlock before Zarbon pulled free and they disappeared again.

 

She turned her gaze on the docking bay doors and after taking a deep steadying breath she gathered her courage and sprung to her feet, bolting towards the doors as fast as she was able.

 

“Oh, no you don't, clever little monkey.” Bulma heard Frieza's raspy voice beside her and she screamed despite herself as he phased in front of her, a glowing red ki ball in his hand. She slid to a stop and for less than a moment she stared at Frieza and waited for the end…then Zarbon interrupted.

 

With a howl of humiliation Zarbon found himself flung straight at his master from Ilandra's masterful grasp. He slammed into Frieza with enough force to send a stress fracture up the side of the wall. Both of them collapsed into a pile and Bulma didn't need any further urging to leap past them and continue on her way to the door.

 

Behind her Brolly and Ilandra were barring Frieza's way while Zarbon lay prone on the floor, blue liquid leaking from his skull and pooling around his body. It was evident that Zarbon wasn't going to be doing any more fighting ever again.

 

Bulma reached the door as the fight behind her grew in intensity, Frieza's frustrated growls sending shivers down her spine. She frantically stabbed her finger at the door's open button, but to her dismay the door remained stubbornly closed.

 

“Shit.” Bulma slammed a fist into the door and then wrenched open the control panel next to it. She didn't know wether Frieza had locked the door before the fight or wether it had been damaged when Zarbon and Frieza crashed into the wall, all she knew was that she had to get the door opened.

 

She scrabbled desperately at the wires inside the control panel, her eyes identifying which wires needed to be crossed in order to `hot wire' the door security system. Finally she managed to wrench the right wires free and connect them and the door grated open with a slow screeching sound, indicating to Bulma that the stress fractured had warped the entire wall and door frame.

 

“Brolly! Ilandra!” She screamed as she slipped through the door, standing inside the docking bay panting with her exertion. She risked a glance back through the door, hoping that somehow Frieza would be gone or dead.

 

But of course he wasn't. He had one hand wrapped around Brolly's throat while the other one punched him with such force and speed that his movements were a blur. Suddenly Ilandra was there again, she brought both of her hands down on her father's head with enough force that he was stunned for an moment and Brolly slipped from his grasp.

 

“Go! Get Bulma out of here! Take the scout ship and go!” Ilandra hit her father again and then was forced to block and defend as he turned his brutal attack on her. Brolly didn't need any further urging; he was through the door in an instant.

 

For a moment, before Brolly dragged her away, Bulma met Ilandra's gaze and they looked into each other's eyes for a final time…then Brolly had her by the wrist and had dragged her into the ship.

 

Bulma was dazzled by the speed in which things had happened, she let Brolly strap her into a seat as he slid into the captions chair. Then they were off - the cargo bay doors vaporised in a flash of weaponry and the scout slid out of the space station. Bulma waited for something else to happen - for another ship to come after them or for a tractor beam to prevent them from leaving.

 

But nothing happened.

 

Once they were far enough away Brolly turned the ship around and left her again. Bulma sat like a rag doll staring at the space station through the view screen and when Brolly appeared outside of the ship with an aura of tight green energy around him like a protective bubble Bulma almost laughed. Then he fired an energy beam at the space station and in a flash it exploded…

 

Bulma had a moment to wonder why the space station's shield and defence systems weren't working before shock took a firm hold of her and unconsciousness welled up. Her final thought was of Ilandra, who had sacrificed herself to get Bulma free…and who had been on the space station when it exploded.

 

~*~

 

A/N - Finally! I finally got them off that damned space station! Screw you writers block! It took a couple of hours but she is finally away from the icejins! Come on - show me love!