Anyways, here's the characters: Bulma, as Cleopatra, Vegeta as Mark Antony, Juunanagou as Octavian Augustus, Nappa as M. Levidus, Juuhachigou as Octavian's sister (Mark Antony's wife), Chichi as one of Cleopatra's servants, and Kakkarott (Goku) as the deceased Julius Caeser. Happy reading ^_^

~Within The Arms of Death~
By: Android 18

44 B.C.

A single tear was all that she would allow to cascade down her tanned cheek and drip off of her chin. This small droplet contained her anger, hurt, despair, and pain of the loss that had currently befallen her. Throughout these current moments, many thoughts ran through her head, one huge thought that screamed inside of her. All she could wonder was 'Why, why would anyone do this to their beloved ruler'? But no answer seemed reasonable at the moment.

"Queen Cleopatra? Are you to be alright?"

Bulma Cleopatra gazed up at the short, bald headed soldier who had asked her a question that she thought to be stupid at the moment. 'Alright? Alright?! The man I had devoted myself to is dead! The man that I was madly in love with now ceases to exist! Are you pathetic or do you not see how hard I am trying to remain as sane as possible?!' But, being a woman of pride and honor, she contained herself and didn't allow herself to shout out obvious obsessities. Pushing back a few strands of curled, blue hair, she found her voice and answered in a controlled, mellow manner, "I am not alright. My beloved Kakkarot Ceaser's death has is of a shock to me. Just leave me be. I want to be alone at the moment."

The guard smiled sympathetically, having been close to the Caeser of Rome. "If there is anything you may be needing, just call for Soldier Kuririn. I know how much he meant to you and I vow to meet to any of your needs."

Bulma managed to smile back, losing her control as tears formed in her eyes. She knew that if she were to say anything, her voice would crack and she would break down into hysterical tears. To reframe from having the palace guard witness her loss of pride, she simply nodded her head.

As he retreated out of her private quaters in the Caeser's palace in Rome, she took one look at the surroundings of the bedroom and did as she expected; she broke down into hysterical tears.

~*~*~*~*~

Three men sat across from eachother at a round table, each giving the other two a blank _expression as the question of power ran through their minds. Of the three that had been mentioned in the will, who would be the man to conquer and rule over all that Kakkorrot Caeser had achieved? Would their settlement be fair and humaine? Or would this argument end in bloodshed?

All three were at the top of Rome's society, each so powerfully rich and prosperous that if any other man tried to oppose and make himself the next Caeser, he wouldn't even stand a chance. But two of them had gained their power through years of experience and hard work. Both Vegeta Antony and Nappa Levidus had spent their earlier years at Kakkarot's side throughout his victories and defeats, but mostly the victories. Both were among Caeser's greatest companion's and he trusted them with his life.

As for the other man who sat in this room, well, the only reason he was sitting here was because he was the flesh and blood nephew of the late Caeser. Unlike the rest of them, Juunanagou Augustus had never fought in a war and had spent his childhood recieving whatever he had wished for since he was the only male heir produced among Caeser and his siblings. The man that sat in the middle of the table had never lifted a finger in his life but he earned his rights only because of the relation.

When Vegeta Antony saw this man enter the room earlier before, he felt like snorting in disbelief. How does a cowardly man of no honor or responsibility make it on the will of one of the planet's greatest conqueror and leader? Definately an honor that a man like this didn't deserve.

"Here's what I propse," Juunangou began, a snobbish tone dripping in his voice. Vegeta felt like smacking the man for even considering himself to be above Caerser's finest soldeirs. "I say that to make this fair, we divide the land into three seperate countries, each of us taking our own piece and ruling over it. We stay true in our three-king alliance and vow to not try and control one of the other's land."

Vegeta smirked. He should have expected this, knowing that Juunagou was too cowardly to even fight Vegeta or Nappa for total control. Nappa was almost twice the man's height and everyone knew Vegeta's strength reached far beyond his 5'11' exterior.

"Well, I agree to this. Only on one condition: I get to have control over Egypt. Kakkarot Caeser's widowed wife ruled with him there and it would be a shame to leave her alone and at the mercy of anyone else's demise," Vegeta reasoned, although his true reason was a bit more than he would begin to express.

But Juunanagou had already guessed Vegeta's purpose. The man, like his stupid uncle, had fallen completely infatuated with the Queen Bitch that claims herself to be a goddess among her people. All of them were just a bunch of neaderthallic beings who spent their lives slaving over building giant structures to inpress Gods with animal heads and stuffing people with wrappings to prepare them for the 'next life'. They were too stupid to even realize that Jupiter and Pluto chose the fate of every mortal man.

"Fine, you may have the southern region of Rome's domain. On only one condition: I want you to marry my sister to prove that your loyalty is to Rome and it's people and not to some widowed bitch that claims herself to be some sort of goddess. Agreed?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed angrilly. "How dare you offend a widowed woman of high class? You disrespect your uncle's name by offending his widowed lover. I ought to remove that foul mouth from that foul face of yours."

Before either man could blink, a sword was drawn from Vegeta's belt and it's tip pointed at the base of Juunanagou's neck. The man cowered in fear, sweat dripping from his forehead as he pleaded with Vegeta to withdraw his weapon. But Vegeta had no intention of doing that until a large hand was placed upon his shoulder. Vegeta turned to see Nappa silently reasoning with him.

Withdrawing his sword, Vegeta calmly sat back down as if nothing had happened. He did know better than to pathetically kill an unarmed man.

"Fine. I will marry your sister to pledge my alliance to you. But you even think of double-crossing me or hurting one of Rome's strangest allies and I will personally remove your head from your body."

Juunanagou sat up and smirked, one that matched Vegeta's. "And so it begins..."

~*~*~*~*~

"Can we even trust him? He has no experience in politics or even in battle. He's a damn coward and I have the feeling that he'll turn his back on us the first chance he gets," Nappa said, his eyes filled with disgust and no respect for his new allie.

Vegeta stood beside the stalking giant as they made their way through the palace hallway. "I do believe you're right Nappa but he can't do anything to either of us if we stick together. With both of our armies joined as one, he wouldn't even stand a chance. I have the feeling that there will be peace for now."

Nappa casted a glance at the setting sun from one of the hallway's many windows, it's orange glow fading and becoming a deep red, one that reminded him of blood. A sudden chill creeped up his spine and he felt the premonition that something bad was approaching...something that may cause Rome or parts of Rome to suffer.

"Night is approaching. And since Juunangou is choosing to stay at this palace tonight, I must go and warn Queen Cleopatra that her presence is no longer welcome within the city of Rome," Vegeta whispered, completely catching Nappa off guard.

'Since when did Vegeta Antony care so much for a total stranger?' he wondered.

"She is of value to Rome. If I can convince her that she is safe as long as she is in alliance with Rome, there will be no need for blood shed and also no need for us to conquer the land of Egypt once more. I have the feeling she'll be playing an important part in the future of Rome," Vegeta stated, as if reading his friends thoughts.

Nappa Levidus nodded as Vegeta walked away.

~*~*~*~*~

She whiped at her eyes hastilly, feeling foolish to be wearing the same clothes she has the night before and to have not even done anything with her messy hair. A quick glance in the mirror had confirmed her suspicions; she looked like a weeping widow pheasant and not of a queen. Her eyes were all red and moist, appearing all puffed up and swollen from the non stop tears. Her aqua blue curled hair was a tangled mess. She also looked pale, considering she had naturally tanned skin. She looked so undignified, so filthy.

She heard it again. Another knock from her chamber door gave off the impression that the person standing on the other side was rather annoyed by her subdued silence. She almost felt like just ignoring it and later making up some excuse, like she had been sleeping or bathing. But she remembered that there had been a meeting earlier that day to determine the new ruler of Rome. So the person behind that door may either be a friend who is willing to stay in alliance with Egypt, or an enemy who only wishes for her to remove her presence from the city.

Sighing, she shook off any dread or fear she felt within her soul. If this person was an enemy, let them kill her. She had no reason to live anyways.

"You may enter."

Even to her, she sounded like some wounded dove that would never fly again.

The wooden door opened as she held her breath, expecting the worst to walk through. A man, with dark dark hair and deepest black eyes entered the room, wearing gold plaited armor over his chest, covering his write tunic. Behind him dragged his white cape. He wore articulated sandals and gold wrist bands, a sign that said he was of higher society, possibly a general or even the new Caeser. Bulma let out a gasp at how strikingly handsome he was.

"I am sorry to intrude on you, Queen Cleopatra, but I believe that it would be best for you to leave Rome immediately," he said, trying to disguise the fact that the woman in front of him had him weak already even though he knew nothing of her.

Vegeta gazed at her, ignoring the fact that her eyes were swollen and her hair was a tangled mask because, other than those small flaws, she was the most beautiful being he had ever laid eyes upon. She wore a long, white skirt with slits along the sides reaching up to her thighs, exposing her sexy, tanned legs. She wore a matching white top Egyptian style, covering only her breasts and exposing her divinly shaped stomach. Like him, she also wore a white cape and had a lot of gold jewelery on her arms and attached to the belt of her skirt. She also wore Roman styled sandals that tied around her legs until it reached her knees. She was breathtaking.

"Intruding?' she gave a small, sad laugh. "I was hardly doing anything at all except weeping like a child over my late husband's death. I must look like a total mess!"

"A mess? You look like a mermaid of Neptune, blessed with the beauty of Venus," he replied.

Bulma blushed at his comment. She had always known that men admired her for her beauty but no one ever had compared her to a mermaid. It was at that moment that she suddenly felt something for this mysterious man before her. Some unexplainable and strong feeling...

She noticed him look away, as if surprised by his own kind words. He didn't really come off as the kind of romantic man that spent his days writing poetry for his beloved. He appeared to be more of the type of man who kept to himself.

Then, something he had said suddenly clicked in her mind. 'I am sorry to intrude on you, Queen Cleopatra, but I believe that it would be best for you to leave Rome immediately...'

"Why must I leave?" she asked, breaking the endless silence.

Vegeta looked into her sapphire eyes, suddenly remembering what he had said. "You must leave because Rome doesn't welcome you here any longer. The new rulers of Rome and it's land are Nappa Levidus, Juunanagou Augustus, and I, Vegeta Antony."

"What? Three Rulers?" Bulma asked in shock.

"Yes. The three of us are sharing the land but I believe that Juunanagou Augustus will have you killed in you are in the city of Rome. He must find you threatening although I don't know why. If you hurry, I will assist you to a boat which will be taking you back to your country."

Bulma forgot all the recent events and focused on her departure. "Let's go."

~*~*~*~*~

The night was clear and blue with no moon to shine above them but only the silver twinkle of a thousand stars to guide the way. Through the alley that they were walking through, Bulma clung onto Vegeta's arm. She tried to remain mellow and calm but inside she felt electricty run throughout her whole body as the feeling she felt earlier clicked more and more.

Vegeta, like Bulma, tried to remain like his usual self; uncaring. But he found it hard and harder to deny the feelings this young woman brought out within him. For the first time in his life, he felt his heart pound with powerful andrenaline and anxiety began to overcome him. Just feeling the body heat that radiated off of her and the silky touch of her bare arm made him feel as if he were in heaven.

In the dark Vegeta saw the harbor before them as the alley opened up into the quiet docks of Rome. An Egyptian boat stood anchored as Bulma Cleopatra's most trusted servants awaited her arrival. All fear left her as she reconized one of her maids and childhood friend.

"Chichi?" she called, almost in disbelief.

A young, raven haired maiden approached the two. She stood in front of Bulma and bowed respectfully to both her queen and one of Rome's new rulers. But the second she stood back up, Bulma lost her cool and jumped into her friends open arms.

"Oh Chichi! It's been at least a million nights since I last saw you," Bulma cried, allowing a few tears to flow.

Chichi smiled with tears of her own shining in her midnight dark eyes. "We have missed you in Egypt, Bulma. Your people were all asking about when you would return. We were so afraid...A few days ago, your most loyal serverts and guards all agreed to come to Rome to see how you were. When we heard of the Caeser's death, we began to fear that you may have been executed. You're not very popular among the Romans."

"I know," Bulma sadly replied. "I was in great pain when I heard of my husband's death. I then became afraid when the possibility of my own death became closer to a reality. I don't know what it is about me but the people here would sooner kill me than accept me as one of them."

The two girls hugged again. Vegeta stared at them for a moment longer and then up into the sky. 'What if this is the last time I'll see her?' he wondered. Although it shouldn't have mattered, it did.

"You should be leaving now, Queen Cleopatra."

His words brought Bulma back to what was happening and she pulled away from her friend Chichi. "You're right. If I stay here any longer, something bad might happen."

Bulma motioned her Chichi to return to the boat. Chichi obeyed and walked away, leaving Bulma alone with Vegeta Antony. As Bulma gazed up into his dark eyes, even in this time of night, she could see the emotions running through them.

"I...I guess I'll be leaving now," she whispered with a hint of sadness.

Vegeta simply nodded.

As Bulma turned to leave, she felt his hand gently take her wrist. She turned back towards him and looked again into his eyes. He gently pulled her close to him as they eyes remained locked. Vegeta's hand rested below her chin and as the moments went by, he slowly tilted her face towards his, his lips drawing ever closer to hers. Racing thoughts ran through both of their minds and the second their lips met, it was like an electric shock running throughout their bodies.

The kiss started out soft and sensuous but grew more needing as those moments passed them by. A passionate needing grew within her soul and though Bulma regretted kissing a man so soon after Kakkarott's death, she shamefully wanted to stay here forever as she melted within Vegeta's arms.

But before anything else could happen, Vegeta pulled away. "Farewell Queen Cleopatra," were the only words he dare whisper. And before Bulma could protest or say anything else, Vegeta turned and walked back into the alley to return to the palace.

A single, solid blue tear made it's trail down her cheek. Then, casting a sadistic glance at Chichi, Bulma entered the boat that would take her back home and out of Rome forever.

'I know that I should probably forget you and the rest of Rome,' Bulma thought. 'But I know that I shall never forget that kiss.'

* * * * *