Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or the characters attributed to the show; no money being made on anything that I write. Also, if you are underage, don’t read. Take note: This and the next few chapters are extremely dark. If this troubles you, please don’t read it.

 

Bulma's Journal - PART THREE

 

DAYS THIRTEEN-FIFTEEN (or so estimated by me, Bulma Briefs)

He plucked me from my cell like I was a fruit, ripe for the eating. His face held a cold terrible look, and for a moment, I truly believed he might devour me whole. Dragging me down the long, dimly lit hall of his ship—I hardly paid any attention to where he was taking me for the nauseating fear choking me—he drew me into a sterile, metallic room, where another like him, but in a different form, stood waiting. Paralyzed with fear, unsure if I was trapped within the confines of my own nightmares, or if this thing was truly happening to me, I stood shaking like a leaf as Koola shredded the clothes from my body.

There was never a word said between them. The other creature stood casually, thick tail swinging leisurely behind him as he watched and waited. Just as I found my voice to scream, I found myself pressed naked and panting—I could scarcely draw in a normal breath, and when I could finally, it was sharp and painful—against the cold metal table that stood in the far corner.

Unable to move, I felt the sharp pain of a needle as it pierced the skin of my back, at the base of my spine. Oh God, what were they going to do to me? I felt a rush of darkness coming to claim me, but not before I heard his cold, dead voice whisper something in my ear.

"I wanted to see to your implant, personally."

Before the merciful oblivion of that sweet darkness claimed me, I heard the deep menace of his laughter, and I cried.

When I came to…when I came to, I was lying on the table and he was staring down at me, wearing a cold, arrogant look. Every part of my body was stiff and heavy, and I was forced to hold his gaze. The ruby eyes seemed to glow with an unholy light, matching the reddish tint of the strange M character that slashed across his head. Wanting nothing more than to hide myself from that cruel gaze, I tried to turn my head, to move, but for the life of me, nothing I did could make my body budge. All I could do was lie there and breathe. The sound of my own fright is still with me, even now, days after this event: the shallow, raspy breaths I took filled the room. They were the only sound as neither of us did anything more but stare at each other. I wanted to look away…God how I wanted to look away from that malicious, piercing gaze. It was like he was staring right into me, searching my thoughts, laying me bare before him as if he could discover every secret I possessed. I tried to put on a blank face. I tried with all my might to give absolutely nothing away, especially the fear that was racing rampant through my body, engulfing every nerve, invading every sense, and leaving its bitter, acrid taste in my mouth.

I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but I became vaguely aware that I hurt…or more to the point, that my back hurt. It was a dull throb, as if something had been wrenched out of place. I shifted, wincing as a more excruciating throb of pain shot through my spinal cord, and his gleaming red eyes caught the movement. It was then that he finally smiled at me. The smile may have lifted his deep plum colored lips, but it didn’t reach any other part of him, nor did it contain one ounce of warmth.

"Does something pain you?" he asked me after a minute, the deep voice polite and cool, the barest hint of amusement audible to my ears. "You look…" he paused for a moment, and I saw those purple lips curl again, lending him an almost sadistically evil look. "Uncomfortable." He finished finally, flipping his thick tail behind him.

"What are you going to do to me?" I squeaked out through parched lips. My mouth seemed to be unusually dry, and it had finally dawned on me that I lay completely naked before him. It was then that I recalled him stripping my clothes from my body. I remembered the cold feel of his smooth hands and dagger nails pressing into my flesh. I remembered the icy fear that had flooded my body as he pressed me to the metal table. I had caught a glimpse of a creature that resembled him. There had been a needle. What had they done to me? Why couldn’t I move? With panic flooding my system, I struggled to sit up, ignoring the stabbing pain that shot up and down my spinal column and into my brain.

Koola tipped his purple head back and laughed deeply. After a moment, he spoke again, using that same, menacingly polite tone he had been using on me since I had first come to his notice. "You needn’t bother, Bulma Briefs. You will find yourself unable to move for a long while." He moved towards me again, chucking his hand under my chin. I tried to jerk away, that at least I could manage, but his grip was unbreakable and he tightened his hold mercilessly, cutting his nails into the flesh.

"What did you do to me?" I wheezed out, as my throat closed up in fear and horror. I could hear him whispering words into my ear…right before the black oblivion had drawn me into its embrace. I could hear them still, echoing somewhere in the vastness of my memory, but they were far too faint to make out or recall. What had he said to me?

Koola’s eyes, red as rubies, blazed into mine for a long, dreadful moment before he moved from me. Walking to a low table, he plucked something off of it and turned, holding it up in the air. Squinting at it, I tried to make sense of what he was showing me. It was a small metal object, shiny and silver, trailing what looked to be hundreds of small wires. Pursing my lips, I tried to think about what it might be and why he was showing it to me. Flicking my bone-dry lips with the tip of my equally arid tongue, I forced myself to form words. "What is it?"

"All my slaves are given implants," he said simply—casually, as if we were merely talking about the weather. His words made something in me go cold and numb, and I felt the blood drain from my face as the full impact of what he had just said hit me like a ton of bricks. That was what I had heard him whisper in my ear. He had said something about an implant.

Feeling a surge of bile rush up my throat, I swallowed it down, closing my eyes at the thick wave of nausea that swept over me. Ignoring the acrid taste in my mouth, and the burning in my throat, I forced myself to speak. "You put that in me?" I felt a tremor course through my body, and suddenly the dull ache in my back seemed to rage to life, throbbing now with a fiery, stabbing sensation. The pain seemed to crackle within me before it shot into every extremity, even my head. "You put that in me?" My heart leapt into my throat and my voice rose in octave before cracking with emotion. I clamped my mouth shut, unable to stem hot tears from falling past my eyelids.

Koola took immense pleasure in my reaction. I saw the quick grin that lit his face. Moving forward he laid the small device on my bare chest, before stroking the tears off my face with his icy hand. The metal of the implant against my skin was ice-cold, but not as chilly as his freezing hands. The icy feeling seemed to crawl up my spine, leaving me feeling drained and ill. Wanting nothing more than to shake off both his hand and the implant from my skin, but knowing it was futile, I settled instead for staring at his purple hued lips. Lips colored so darkly they were almost ebony against the flesh of his skin. They parted slightly as he took a breath, and then he continued speaking.

"All my slaves, all my captives are fitted with these small devices. I have found that it ensures their obedience completely." He scratched his dagger-like nail down my cheek, causing me to jerk away from him at the stinging pain it caused me. Koola seemed to take offense at this, for he clasped my face tightly between his hard, cold hands, lowering his face towards me. My heart thudded painfully in my chest as he drew close to me, and all I could do was watch, sickened, as he swirled his thick red tongue along the scratch he had made.

"Mmmm…" he purred, cat-like, into my ear, his breath as cold as the rest of him against my skin. "Your blood tastes good. It’s agony to have to leave you untouched." He paused for a moment and again his red tongue licked along my cheekbone, filling my body with revulsion. "Still, I want to make full use of you before ending your miserable existence." Again he paused, and when he spoke again, it seemed as if he were lost in almost whimsical thoughts. "I am faced with the dilemma of thanking you for ending my pathetic brother’s existence or killing you for the debt of blood that is now between us. My father…my brother…they are all gone. I am the only one that remains."

"If you didn’t like him, then what’s the big deal?" I managed to whisper breathily, amazed that I had the guts to even speak a word to him. I was truly terrified of him now. I had never really been close to him before, and so I am not sure what I had been expecting. I know that for once, my own thoughts were far less horrifying than the actual reality. Frieza had been frightening; there was little doubt of that…yet his terror was tempered by his obvious obsessive insanity. It had always been there, and it had left you with hope that you could find a way to defeat him by simply playing with his mind. His obsession with Vegeta had been his biggest downfall. It had caused him to lose all reason, and after that it had only been a matter of time before he had fallen.

But this thing…this monster that leaned down next to me…there was no insanity in his eyes, no obsession. There was cruelty, malice, perfect reason and logic, and he was all the more terrifying because of it. He killed because he chose to. He hurt because it brought him pleasure to hurt. He thrived on power and control—domination even. There was nothing behind it but his desire to do so and the knowledge that he could. There was no obvious madness, no obsession, just the pure desire to inflict pain and suffering on other beings and to be in complete control of everything he touched. Why he hadn’t killed me yet, I had no idea, but as our eyes met, I knew he would. It was only a matter of time.

"Ahh," Koola gave a small chilly laugh, and reared his head back. "You would like that, wouldn’t you? Unfortunately, it is not as simple as that for you. Regardless of my feelings for the little bastard, Frieza was still my brother…my blood. And my father…" his usually cool, even voice faltered and he lowered his head for a moment. I furrowed my brow, confused. Could it actually be that Koola had cared for his father? I waited for a moment, watching him as he seemed to struggle with something. It wasn’t an obvious struggle, and nothing that I could point to decisively, but there was something…something different on his face, something almost melancholy. Perhaps he wasn’t immune to feelings and emotions. I had almost come to believe that there was something to this, when he rose up his head. The M character that I had noticed before seemed to glow crimson, and the look in his eyes made my blood run cold in my veins.

"My father held my respect." He said in a low voice, menacing in his calm deliverance of the words. "We have no allegiances, we have no affections…but we have respect, and he had every ounce of mine." His lips sneered, twisting his face into something horrid and ugly. I felt my heart thudding against my breastbone painfully. "In my race, blood demands respect. While I may not have liked my brother, he was my blood and as such he had some small measure of my respect. My father…my father…" he broke off again, angrily, and I cringed as he took a threatening step towards me, lifting a balled fist into the air. "I can not—and I will not— let the death of my entire blood family go by unanswered! It is my family that must be the strongest in the universe! It can be no other way!" His voice had risen in pitch and the usually cool, clipped tones were harsh and angry. It was the most emotion that I had seen from him since he had taken me captive. His glowering face lowered until it was hovering just inches away from mine. I tried to look away, but he grabbed my chin with his hand, holding it firmly in place, and holding my gaze with his fiery eyes. "There is a blood debt between you and I, now, Bulma. You, Vegeta, and the rest of your miserable little rebellious group, while handing me a golden opportunity, will still have to pay for your crimes against my family." His eyes blazed like fire into mine, and again I felt the overpowering desire to turn my head, to hide myself. "But as good as your blood tastes to me," he snarled, bearing his teeth. "As sweet as it tastes, and as much as I want to squeeze every last drop from you, I have to wait...for now!"

Standing, he moved from me, his features once again cold and blank, as if the intensity of the last few moments had never happened. "Not only do I need you to capture Vegeta—heir apparent to the Saiya-jin race, but I would be a fool to throw away your genius." He turned back towards me, eyes glittering like fine rubies. "The implant is in your body. Even now, it is twisting its way through your every nerve and cell, entwining itself round your spinal cord, becoming a part of you. If you disobey me, if you fail me in any way, pain will be your constant companion. If you refuse the orders I give you, the implant will show you an agony that you could only envision in your worst nightmares. Do not try to escape me, for you will fail. You are my willing captive now, and there is nothing you can do to fight it." The lips curled upwards in a menacing smile.

I felt the blood seep from my face at his words. I had heard of the kind of implant he was talking about. They had been a recent invention by a Chikyuu scientist. I couldn’t think of his name, but I had been horrified at the device. Once implanted onto the spinal cord, the hundreds of small wires attached to it interwove themselves around the bone, melding with the nerves and sensory glands. In essence it became a part of your body, enslaving you to the will of your captor. If you failed to do as you were bid, any amount of pain could be introduced directly into your nervous system. It really came down to how much pain a person was able to tolerate before giving in, or dying. They had just started using it in prison populations to contain the prisoners and make them more malleable. It had yet to be marketed into universal society because the moral implications of the device were huge. And now, it appeared Koola, as immoral a creature as existed, had a hold of it.

Trying my best to not hyperventilate, I tried to shift my lethargic body on the hard table. There had to be a way out of this nightmare. I couldn’t be at the mercy of a monster like this. I couldn’t be his willing slave. I would rather die than ever be forced to serve him or his will. God knew what kind of things he might force me to do. The idea that my mind and will was no longer mine to control…that my own body would be used against me should I try to fight him…I choked as a hard, painful lump rose up and lodged in my throat. I felt the scorching blaze of tears burning inside my eyelids, and for a moment I thought I might break down in front of him…sob like a baby for what he had done to me. With sheer force of will, I took a deep shuddering breath and forced them away.

"I would rather die, then serve you," I spit out weakly, inhaling great drafts of air. My stomach had risen into my throat, replacing the lump of sorrow, with a thick, heavy dread, and I felt the first heady rush of panic as it soared through every fiber of my being. My words were merely that—words. How could I possibly fight back against this? Heart in throat, I watched him as he responded to my words.

"Oh don’t worry, Bulma, you will die…once I have Vegeta." His voice held a mocking note, and I clenched my fist in response to it. "Until then, however, I plan on making full use of you and your abilities. If I’m not mistaken, you created many of the weapons that were used against Frieza…." He meant to say more, but the door to the medical bay snapped open, stopping him and admitting the creature that I had seen before…before they had….

"Lord Koola," the creature was an almost carbon copy of Koola, though he was pale like Frieza, and less muscular. His facial features were different, though, and his voice was low and reedy—raspy almost, making me think more of a snake than a Reiketsu-jin. Granted I had hardly ever come into any contact with the Reiketsu-jin race. Frieza had really been the only one, until Koola.

"Ahh, Frost," again, Koola’s lips lifted in a slight smile. "Please see to it that the prisoner is healed from her procedure completely. She will be useless to me if she is unable to function."

I tried to open my mouth in protest. How could I possibly be forced to work for something so vile? I had to fight this, even if it meant my death. Knowing this, however, and making my body work were two different stories completely. Hard as I tried, I couldn’t get my mouth to move. Cursing myself for my fear, I inhaled deeply, trying to calm the pounding of my heart, and hoping that doing so would silence the roaring of my blood in my ears. There had to be some way out of this…there had to be. How would I ever be able to figure it out or think straight if I couldn’t even hear myself think? I couldn’t let this fear rule me. I was dead for sure if I did. Knowing this did little to ease the terror that was seeping through my body, though. My mind might be able to rationalize it, but it was incapable of stopping any reaction I had to Koola and his plans.

The medical officer’s raspy voice cut into my reeling consciousness, sending a shiver cascading down my spine. "It was a minor procedure, my Lord. A night in the regeneration tank should prepare her for service."

"Good, I will send Sauzza to escort her to the science labs in the morning." Koola came towards me, reaching a hand to finger a tendril of my hair. I tried not to shudder away from him. He seemed to thrill to that, and I would be damned if I would give him any more pleasure. I could at least manage that. "I have something very specific I want her to work on."

I said nothing, summoning, instead, the courage to shoot him a venomous glare. The look elicited a low chuckle that seemed to rumble from deep within his massive chest.

"Ahh, little Bulma from Chikyuu," he chuckled again, turning and striding towards the door, thick, muscular tail swinging leisurely behind him. "You will be a challenge, I see." Punching in the key code, the door slid open before him. He turned back to me, red eyes glowing with an eerie, unnatural light. "But I assure you, you will soon learn you are now mine." With another low chuckle, he stepped out, and I watched the door slide shut behind him.

A deep, cold shudder wracked my body, and I gave into it, unable to stop the fine tremors that raced through my body. Behind me, the medical officer gave a hissing laugh.

"You are wise to be afraid…Lord Koola is one to fear, greatly." Frost bent over the regeneration console, pale white hands flying over the buttons as he punched in specifications. Coming towards me, he reached weak looking hands around me, surprising me when he easily lifted me from my resting place. It would appear that even the weakest of the race was far stronger than any human. "It would be in your best interests to do everything he says. The Lord has been known to be most…" Frost paused, seeming to search for the appropriate words. "The Lord has highly cruel and unusual methods of dealing with those that disobey him," he said finally, seeming to settle on exactly what he wanted to convey. "The stories I could share with you," he hissed again with his raspy voice.

"Please don’t," I murmured, sickened at having his cold, dry hands touching my skin. I had little choice in the matter, however. I was as weak as a newborn, and if I had any hope of surviving whatever torments Koola had in store for me, I needed to heal.

Frost smiled wickedly, emitting more of the hissing laughter. "It is in the blood of the Reiketsu-jin to be so sadistic. You will find that Koola is hardly alone in his perversions."

I gasped in pain as his nails bit into my skin, clawing down the side of my body across my hip, and laying open skin. Unable to fight, I could do no more than stand still as he bent to eye his handy work, moving his ruby lips to the wound. Moaning in horror, as he suckled the scratch, I tried to shove him away.

"Your blood is sweet," he said finally as he pulled away. "I knew it would be the moment I laid eyes on your pale skin." I felt him trail a cold finger along my skin.

My stomach churned violently as he lifted his face, pale ivory skin, stained crimson with my blood, to stare at me. God, was the true nature of these monstrous creatures something akin to vampires? Was this the new horror that awaited me? Had Frieza been this way? I swayed unsteadily, blackness rushing forward to claim me again. No, I couldn’t pass out, I couldn’t let myself be at the mercy of this creature. If I did so, I would be vulnerable to anything that he wanted to do to me. My eyes blurred as I fought to stay conscious, and I felt his hands pushing me towards the tank. God, no, I had to stay awake. I had to fight it.

It was my last conscious thought, and when I came to, I was lying on the table again, still naked, but the pain and heaviness was gone from my body. What had happened? And where was that hideous medical officer? How long had I been out? The sterile white light of the bay seemed to burn into my skin like a hot brand, and I gave a little cry of pain. Why was my skin burning?

"It’s the regeneration tank that Koola uses," a quiet voice said from the far corner. "The liquid is a special mix fit for the tough hide of a Reiketsu-jin, not the fair, soft skin of a creature such as yourself." The voice drifted towards me, and I turned my head, half afraid of what I would see. My eyes lit on a short, muscular body clothed in a purple body suit and thick white armor. Memory sparked, and I knew it was Sauzza.

He walked towards me, stopping to stand beside me. His skin was blue, and his blonde hair swept to the side in a dashing style. In my youth, when I had been a young Princess on Correnia, I would have found him handsome and exciting, but now the look in his eyes disturbed me, making me feel like I might be in far more danger from him than any Reiketsu-jin on this ship.

"Have you healed properly?" He asked, his voice hinting at a slight accent. Reaching down, he lifted a strand of my hair off my breast "You are truly an exotic creature," he remarked placidly, the dangerous light back in his eyes. "I have never seen hair this same shade." Rubbing my hair between his blue fingers, he stared down at me, sweeping his gaze over my naked body.

"Clothes, please…" I swallowed dryly, hoping that he would just leave me alone.

His lips curved upwards into a wry smile. "Such a shame to clothe such a body." He bent towards me, brushing his lips along mine. I jerked my head away, pressing my lips together in a tight line. He chuckled, drifting a hand upwards along my belly to cup a breast.

"Please…" I whispered, the burning of tears hot behind my eyelids. "Don’t…"

"Do I scare you?" He chuckled again, giving my breast a tight squeeze. "I do have you at my mercy after all, naked and weak, ripe for my taking." Again his mouth bent towards me, this time sucking at my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut, praying that I could tolerate whatever he was about to do to me. His mouth moved downwards, the tongue flicking out to swirl around a nipple. "Don’t fear, Bulma…" the hand drifted southwards, easing its way between my legs. "As badly as I might want you, I have my orders from Koola. You are to remain untouched." The hand retreated, dropping to his side. And his mouth detached from my breast, moving to hover over my mouth. "My only hope is that you might anger Koola in some way. I’ve been used to dole out his punishments on several occasions…" He said no more, but the insinuation was clear.

I heaved a sigh of relief as he moved from me, moving to toss me a purple bodysuit that was the twin of his own. "You will have no need of armor. You will do no fighting. You are to be escorted to the science lab where you will be informed of your first task." Sauzza watched as I sat up, his eyes never leaving my body. I wanted to slap him, scream at him that he was a pervert and there was no way in hell that I would have ever let him near my body, but prudence held my tongue. I had escaped relatively unscathed, though I could still feel his disgusting touch on my body. I didn’t need to tempt fate. The whole idea of being raped by him or any of these people was enough to make me sick. I couldn’t survive that. I just couldn’t.

"Where are we going?" I asked softly, hoping that I might be able to find some information out. Knowledge was power, or so my father had always told me when I complained about the tutors that he had forced me to learn under.

"You are being taken to Reiketsu," Sauzza said simply, eyeing me appreciatively as I slid my body into the tight bodysuit he had provided for me. "As to why, I do not know. Koola has not shared his plans with me yet…" he paused and I saw something flicker in his eyes. "He sees fit to share nothing anymore…" He broke off, seeming to realize that he had said more than he intended.

"Why is that?" I asked, grabbing onto the information. Was there discord here?

"It is not for you to know," Sauzza growled, grabbing my arm in a tight grip. Jerking me towards him, he pressed me against his body. "That look becomes you," he murmured into my ear, running a hand down over my bottom and lifting me against the hardness that bulged from his own suit.

"Yes," I gasped, trying to push away and stay calm. "But remember, Koola’s orders…"

"It will be most difficult to keep myself from taking you." He murmured low against my throat. "I have a feeling you would be well worth the punishment."

"Get away from me," I screeched at him, ignoring the tightness in my chest. Pushing at him, I tried to shove him off of me. I winced as his hands laced through my hair, jerking my head back to expose the line of my throat.

"Now, now," he whispered, panting, excitement burning like an inferno in his eyes. "Save the wildcat act for the bed." Roughly, he jerked his head down, moaning as he licked his way down my neck. Panicking, I jerked my knee up sharply, relief flooding through me as I connected hard between his legs.

Giving a hoarse shout of pain, he sunk to his knees, rasping out hoarsely, "Bitch, I will see that you pay for that!"

I backed away from him, grabbing at the boots that he had left on the table, and turning to seek some escape from him. Too late, I felt his hand claw at my leg, dragging me down to him. Panting, eyes blazing, he rolled me under him. I clawed at him, lashing out with my nails, trying to scratch at his eyes. Effortlessly, he caught them, pinning them roughly above my head with one hand. His other hand, jerked at my suit, ripping it down off my body.

I bucked wildly under him, trying anything and everything that I could think of to knock him off of me.

"Yes," he moaned against my mouth, seemingly lost in fury and lust. He fumbled at his armor, jerking it off, all the while holding me immobile under him.

I screamed loudly, praying that there was someone who would come to my aid. This couldn’t happen to me! This couldn’t happen to me! I felt him knee my legs apart, and I bucked harder, determined that I would get him off of me somehow, some way.

"Sauzza, I was sure that I told you she was off limits to you." The cold voice seemed to jerk Sauzza out of his rutting frenzy and he heaved upwards, throwing himself off of me. His armor lay atop of me, the only piece of clothing that he had been able to shed.

Shuddering with relief, and unbelievably, for the first time, actually thankful for Koola’s presence, I sat up shakily, jerking the ruined suit up to cover my chest. That had been far closer than I cared to admit, and I didn’t want a repeat.

Snarling, Koola plucked Sauzza from the ground as if he were a child. I watched, horrified, as he dangled Sauzza by his neck. I had the sudden feeling, as I watched Sauzza quail under that brutal gaze, that he had far underestimated Koola’s reaction to his disobeying orders.

"She is not for you, Sauzza," Koola growled, the M glowing scarlet again. "I should snap your neck for your willfulness. You were given a direct order, and you dared to disobey me?" His voice seemed to grow louder and colder with each word he uttered and I shrunk back, fear shooting through me.

"My Lord, I am sorry…I lost my wits…I…" Sauzza gurgled, snapping his mouth shut at the look of merciless fury on Koola’s face. Steeling himself, he said quietly, "I have failed you, my Lord."

The words seemed to reach through Koola’s fury. He stared for the longest time into Sauzza’s eyes, and to Sauzza’s credit, he met them unflinchingly. Slowly, Koola’s mouth curved upwards ever so slightly. "Yes, you have failed me, Sauzza. Failure to follow my orders is punishable by death. Yet you have served me well for many years. I am loathe to end your life for one simple mistake." I watched as his grip tightened around the smaller man’s throat. "You will, of course, be sure that this never happens again."

"I will obey your orders completely, Lord." Sauzza rasped out hoarsely, blue face sweating and turning a sickly shade of green.

"Good," slowly, the burning red of his eyes receded to a softer glow and he set the man down. "I will see to the prisoner. You will go and ensure that we start the journey to Reiketsu." He turned his gaze to me, and I shifted, drawing the ruined pieces of the suit more tightly around me. "I will be setting my trap for Vegeta into motion shortly."

"Yes, Lord Koola." Avoiding my gaze, Sauzza stepped around me, reaching down to snag his armor before shooting towards the door.

"Sauzza," Koola said, stopping the subordinate in his tracks. "You will not fail me again. " The words were said chillingly, and I watched as Sauzza’s blue face seemed to pale.

"No, my Lord," Sauzza said in a quiet voice, accent thick. "I will never fail you again." The door slid open and he slipped out, shrugging back into his armor as left.

When the door had shut, I snapped my gaze back to Koola, who walked towards me. Reaching down, he jerked me up with one hand, eyes burning into mine. "You seem to have a bad influence on my men," he snapped coldly, shoving me towards a tall locker. Opening it, he jerked out another suit. "Put this on, that one is ruined."

His words snapped something inside me, and I whirled on him, uncaring that my ruined suit hung around my body. "I’m the bad influence?" I retorted in disbelief. "Like I asked that sick bastard to come in here and touch me?" I felt my cheeks flush red at the idea of it. Angrily, I jerked my suit off. What did it matter that Koola looked at my naked body? He thrilled on pain and power, not nudity.

To my amazement, Koola chuckled in amusement. "Sauzza has always had a weakness for beautiful women. Typically, I would hardly care if he took his pleasure, but you…you are far too important to allow anything to happen to, and Sauzza can get rough. I’ve seen his work firsthand." He tilted my face up with the tip of his nail, studying my face with barely concealed humor. "Do not think that I will always stop him. It would be in your best interests to behave yourself and do as you are commanded. Sauzza could prove quite useful as an appropriate way to control you."

"What, are you going to have him rape me every time I tell you no?" I snapped, throwing caution to the wind. " I will kill myself before I let him touch a hair on my head."

"It would appear that he has already touched the hair on your head," Koola said mockingly, pointing out my disheveled appearance.

I glared at him, summoning every bit of contempt I could muster into my gaze. "God, I hope that Vegeta kills you!" I said furiously, dressing myself in the new suit he had provided for me.

His countenance grew thunderous, and I knew real fear as he leaned towards me. "I think it is time that you saw what I do to those that do not show me the proper respect." Jerking me forward, he drug me out of the medical bay and down the long, dimly lit corridor. Fear and nausea seemed to war with themselves inside me as we approached another silver metal door. God, what was he going to show me? What poor soul was I going to see being tortured? As the door slid open, I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see whatever horror was before me.

After a long, tension filled moment, I became aware that there was nothing but dead silence around me, and a strange, acrid scent that set my stomach churning. Koola’s grip on my arm lessened, the only sound the quiet rasp of his breathing and the sudden gurgling of my knotted belly. Slowly, fearfully, I opened my eyes, lifting them slowly to the spectacle that lay before me.

I threw up where I stood, unable to stop the sudden rise of burning bile as it shot up my throat and filled my mouth. Koola let me fall to my knees, another low, devious chuckle rumbling from his chest. "Too much for you?" He asked derisively, watching as I emptied the contents of my belly on the floor.

Before me, hanging from chains that attached to the hooks in the ceiling, was a Namek--not too old by the looks of him. His back had been laid open by two guards that had apparently alternated beating him with whips. One whip was thick and black and heavily barbed. It had created deep cuts into the poor thing’s flesh, tearing open the skin, exposing the muscle and fat of his back. The other whip was an electro whip, and it had burned the bloody, exposed skin and muscle. The heavy scent of burnt meat filled the air and had been the scent that had filled my nose when we had first came in.

"Please…" I begged as the barbed whip descended upon the Namek’s back. He jerked spasmodically, and I think he lost consciousness, but they refused to let him out of his punishment that easily. One of the guards waved something beneath his nose and he jerked upwards, moaning in pain as the action wrenched his raw, bloodied back. The electro-whip sliced through the air, sizzling and crackling as it hit the flesh. A low, low keening, cry filled the room, and I realized, to my horror, that it was spilling from me. "No, no, no, no, no," I moaned in horror, shaking my head futilely, back and forth. "Please, whatever he’s done…you are going to kill him!" Hysteria was threatening to swallow me whole.

"Oh, I assure you that death will not come so easily for this Namek scum." Koola smiled. "He will give me the answers that I am looking for, or I will bring the child in here to suffer this." He nodded his head towards a room, and I followed his gaze, cringing back in horror at two more Nameks, one a small child, that stood watching their fellow companion with glazed expressions of terror and sickness.

"Not the child," I whispered, thinking of my own small boy. "How could you even think of harming that child?" I sobbed in appalled horror.

"I am not bothered by such trivialities." Koola waved a hand, dismissing my words. "If it serves my purpose, I am perfectly willing to torture men, women, and children to get what I want. Since the Nameks have something that I want, and they so-far refuse to share their knowledge with me, the time is coming that the child may just be the best tool I have to getting them to open to their mouths."

I stared at him in shocked horror. What had I expected? Frieza had been the same way. Hadn’t he killed my child, purged it from my womb as if it had been nothing more than an inconsequential bug for him to squash. The thought of my lost child inevitably brought thoughts of Vegeta and Trunks to my mind, and I struggled against the strong wave of sorrow and sadness that I washed over me. Since the first initial touch of his mind, I had felt nothing from him. I had not had time to dwell on what that might mean, but now, seeing the tortured Namek, and knowing Koola’s desire to capture Vegeta in a web of his making…well the fear came rushing back over me. How would Koola use me to gain access to Vegeta? Could I stop him? And worse…if I failed to stop him, and he did manage to get his hands on Vegeta, what would he do to him?

"I’ve seen enough," I whispered, voice dead and devoid of all emotion. I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but I knew I couldn’t stay in here another moment and see the Namek suffer, or smell the scent of his suffering.

"I trust I’ve made my point to you?" Koola asked slyly, red eyes mere slits in his face.

"Yes," I said quietly, hands clenched tightly in my lap. "Your point is well made."

"Good, it would be a shame to see you or one of your companions suffer such a fate. Wouldn't it?"

My head jerked up at the mention of my companions, and as he jerked me to my feet, I questioned him.

"Bardock, Chi-Chi…they’re alright?" I asked fearfully. Bardock had been involved in King Cold’s death. I wasn’t sure if Koola knew that, but if he did, Bardock would surely suffer something similar to the poor Namek.

"For the time being," was all he said, and we proceeded down the hall, making our way to what I presumed was the science lab. I ached to ask him more about Bardock and Chi-Chi, but the look on his face quelled any ideas that I might have had. After a moment, and many twists and turns, we came to another door, and his hands flew over the control console, keying in the code. "You will find a guard waiting for you in the lab. He has been given specific instructions on how to deal with you. Should you fail to comply, he will see to your immediate punishment. Beyond that, he will inform me and if I so see fit, I will add to your discipline." He ran a hand up my spine, pressing hard at a spot in the center of my back. "It would do you well to remember your implant. I will use it well should you force my hand."

With those words, the doors slid open, and he entered, dragging me along behind him. The workers, fellow slaves I presumed, judging by the look of despair and terror on their faces, stopped what they were doing, and the muted conversation hushed as we entered the room. Koola wasted no time on the workers in the main lab. Instead he drug me by them all, and as we rushed by them I took in races and sexes of all kinds before he shoved me into another room.

As we entered the brightly lit room, I noticed a red-skinned man standing in the far corner. He was young, arrogant looking, with white-hair that brushed his ankles. Remembrance sparked in my mind. I knew him…I had known him when he worked for Frieza. Hurriedly, I sifted through my mind, until I came upon what I knew his name to be. "Jeiyce," I whispered under my breath.

"Ahh, I see you’ve already met him." Koola smiled smugly. "You must recall that he worked for my brother, Frieza. I graciously found a position for him among my own mercenaries after you killed my brother."

"I remember her well, my Lord." Jeiyce smiled, though it never reached his eyes. "This is Vegeta’s woman, if I am not mistaken?"

"Yes, she is the mate of our belligerent little Prince," Koola said, staring at me scornfully.

"You would have thought a beauty like this would have had better taste than a Saiya-jin monkey," Jeiyce laughed. "Perhaps she needs to come to know what a true man is."

"You will not touch her, Jeiyce. I will not risk harming her while she serves my purpose." Koola warned, red eyes blazing. "I have already had this discussion with Sauzza. I would hate to have it with you as well."

Something in his tone seemed to reach Jeiyce. He nodded, bowing his white-haired head low. "As you wish, Lord. Your order is my command."

"Good." Koola snapped, before turning to me. "I have the plans for a new weapon on the desk there." He pointed his hand at the desk, and obligingly, I moved to it. I had little choice but to go along with him for now.

A new idea entered my brain, however, as I had stood watching his and Jeiyce’s exchange. He was planning on putting me to work on his weapons. How easy would it be for me to pretend fear and acquiescence all the while sabotaging anything and everything I worked on? How long would it take him to catch on to that game? Trying to keep my face blank, I stared down at the plans, smoothing over them with trembling fingers and reading through the scrawled text of his ideas.

"This is an optic laser," I said neutrally, after taking a moment to read. "Has anyone else worked on this?" His idea was simple enough. He wanted a type of gun that he could outfit his men with. The laser would, when flashed, blind the enemy for any length of time, depending on the strength of beam and the amount of exposure to the victim.

"My science officer has worked on it a bit, before meeting with a most unfortunate accident." Koola replied with a hint of amusement. "You will find all of his work there as well. He has provided you with an ample foundation for all your work. I will give you two days of undistracted work. At the end of the second day, Jeiyce will bring you before me and you will report your progress."

"And if there isn’t any progress?" I asked meekly, half afraid of what he might answer with. What unfortunate accident had his previous science officer had?

"I trust you will recall the implant that has been integrated within your body." Koola’s lip curled upwards slightly, eyes cold and calculating. "Jeiyce has been given full authority to use it should you fail to follow his orders. And I would be happy to add to any tortures that Jeiyce might come up with, should I need to. I trust you will recall the Nameks."

I stared down at the papers before me, the words blurring before my eyes, before I snapped them shut. The memory of the little Namek boy’s tremulous, shocked face as he had watched his friend, possibly his protector, being tortured like he was something less than an animal flashed through my mind.

"I can have this for you in a day, if you would grant me a single wish." I said finally.

"You will have it in the time I have allotted for you if you don’t wish to suffer," Koola snapped. "What wish could you possibly believe you might have granted?"

"I’ll need help in here, working on this and whatever else you want from me," I rushed on before I could lose my courage. "If you would allow me to have the little Namek boy as my aid, if you would see to it that what was done to his companion isn’t done to him…I will have this laser of yours working for you in one day." If I could at least help him…then this nightmare would at least have some reason, or so I thought.

His face clouded over, and instantly, I felt the white-hot pain of the implant as a bolt of electricity arced down my spine and into my legs and arms. My legs seemed to liquefy and I fell to the hard metal floor, banging my head, painfully, alongside the corner. Giving a soft moan, I lay on the floor, body twitching.

Koola’s voice came to from what seemed a great distance, breaking through the pain-induced fog. "I will grant you your helper, but if you ever seek to manipulate me in such a way again…" his voice lowered, and I felt him grasp my hair with his hand, lifting me up. I gave a soft cry of pain as my hair was pulled from its roots. "I will use the Namek boy any way I see fit and you will have that laser ready for me in a day’s time!" he hissed furiously into my ear. "Do I make myself clear to you?"

Swallowing hard, I blinked away scalding tears of pain and nodded, hot anger warring with cold fear. I had to find a way out of this; I had to show him that he wasn’t quite as all-powerful as he thought he was. Oh how I would show this bastard! Some how, some way, I would find a way to defeat his sadistic ass.

"Good!" He snapped again. "Jeiyce, go and retrieve the little Namek brat. Bring him here. He will aid her in her work, and do nothing else. She will work all day and night if she needs to, to honor her word." Jerking me up, he pushed me against the table, his grip on my hair unrelenting. Tears filled my eyes as another burst of pain radiated from my scalp. "Get busy. I will see this finished by tomorrow." He twisted his hand in my hair tightly, before releasing me, shoving me away from him.

My cheeks reddened as the blood rushed to my face in rage. God, he was a monster! I had to find a way to defeat him, to escape and get as far from him as possible. If I had to sabotage every single thing I worked on for him, I would. In that moment, I would have given anything to have that damn gun in my hand and that virus loaded inside of it. In my mind, I saw myself, calm and steady, a smirk that would have rivaled any that Vegeta had ever worn, painted upon my face as I blew him away just like Frieza. The longing to kill him nearly overwhelmed me, so strong it was. He deserved to die! He was too monstrous to live! He was a plague on the universe, and by all that was holy, I would find a way to end his miserable existence before he could do anymore damage to anyone!

Koola stood for a minute, sneering at me with his arrogant disdain, before whirling on his heals and striding towards the door. "Get to work!" He barked, leaving behind a heavy aura of barely controlled power that even I could feel through the air, weak as I was at sensing any type of ki. It clung to him, rolling off of him in thick black waves, choking anyone that was near him. He loved it, one had only to look at his face to see that, and he flaunted it, abusing and using it to control all those that were too weak to stand up to him.

Which, at this particular time, seemed to be half the universe. Strong as he was, I wasn’t even sure that Vegeta would be able to defeat him. And I absolutely couldn’t let him ambush Vegeta. I would rather die than see him go through any of the things that Koola was sure to put him through.

Why couldn’t I reach him through our bond? I couldn’t even sense him anymore, and I just didn’t know why that was. I knew so little about the bonds between mates. I knew that Hachuu had blocked our bond for all those weeks on Kannassa, but I had felt him, however briefly it was, just a few nights ago. What was happening? Shutting my eyes, I tried again to search for him, to feel him somewhere within my body. No matter the issues that lay between us now, nothing else mattered in that moment, than feeling him where he was supposed to be. I loved him. I would always love him, even if he didn’t feel that way about me. There was this huge, empty hole inside of me that only he could fill. It had been that way since the day that I had first clapped eyes on him. I needed him now as I had never needed him before in my life. Beyond that, there was so much that I needed to know. Had he rescued our son? Were they both safe? The wondering was going to drive me insane and on top of everything else right now, I just didn’t need it.

After a moment of desperate searching, I gave up, sighing heavily as I relaxed my mind. For a moment, I had thought that I might sense him. There had been something, something faint, yet familiar, and it had drifted tantalizingly close to me. I had reached for it, so hard I thought I might shatter like fine glass when I was unable to reach it. Had it been him? Had I had him within my sights and lost him? Cursing, I punched my hand fiercely against the hard metal of the table, crying out in pain as something cracked in the hand. Great, I thought miserably. I had to have this stupid thing done and ready by tomorrow and I had more than likely just broken my hand. What the hell else could possibly happen to me?

Biting my lip to hold tears of self-pity and misery at bay, I bent to study the plans and notes that lay in front of me on the table. I didn’t need to feel this way, right now. There wasn’t time to feel sorry for myself, or moan about my fate. As easy as it would be to just lie down and cry, I couldn’t. I could survive this. I had to. I would finish his laser for him, and cause him no trouble. I would stoke the fires of my obedience and when he wasn’t expecting it, I would find a way to kill him. I would have to, or he would kill me. It was as simple as that.

The door sliding open interrupted my furious musings, and I turned, seeing Jeiyce and the small Namek boy. The poor thing looked small and scared, and I was reminded of Trunks, again wondering if he was all right, if he and his father were somewhere safe and sound. God, I hoped so. Frowning at Jeiyce as he shoved the timid child into the room with a low, frightening growl, I stood and smiled, walking around the table to kneel before him.

"Hello," I said gently, taking his small hand in mine. "I’m Bulma. What’s your name?"

"Dende,’ he answered me timidly, eyes wide and frightened.

I stroked a hand across his green cheek. "Don’t be scared, Dende. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise." God, there had to be a way to save his life. I just couldn’t fathom that what was happening to the other, older Namek could possibly happen to this small, helpless boy.

He gazed deeply into my eyes for a moment, his wide eyes searching deeply for what I couldn’t imagine. Knowing what he had been exposed to, what he had been forced to witness, the fear that he had to have lived with since he had been taken made my heart shatter into a million pieces. This could be my son in his place, and most likely would be if Koola got his way. I assumed that his vendetta extended to our son. Ignoring, Jeiyce’s impatient sigh, I returned Dende’s gaze, trying to fill my eyes with as much peace and kindness I had left in this hellish situation.

"Are you a prisoner of Koola’s as well?" He seemed to gather his courage, and I watched as he straightened himself up.

I nodded grimly, squeezing his hand. "Yes, and I…"

"Get on with it, woman." Jeiyce growled, nudging me with his booted foot. "You don’t have time to chitchat with the little brat."

Shooting him a glare, I retorted," I have to explain what we are doing. How do you expect him to understand?"

His boot pressed harder into my side. "You have five minutes to get the brat to work," Jeiyce warned menacingly. "Otherwise, you get a dose of my medicine, and the brat goes and takes his place in line for the whips."

"Fine!" I snapped angrily. "Bastard," I hissed under my breath, so low that no one heard it but me. Probably a good thing, since I was fairly certain that Jeiyce would have beaten me with no remorse. After what Dende had seen this morning, I had no desire to have him witness anything like that here.

"Dende, I have to work on this optic laser. I thought that you could help me. Would you, please? I hurt my hand…I could really use the extra pair." I showed him my injured hand that I had been cradling against my belly. He stared at it for a moment, and I saw something odd flicker across his face. He glanced at Jeiyce who was watching us with little interest, before turning back to face me.

"I suppose that I could," he said shyly. "I don’t want to watch them interrogate Nail any longer. I can’t take what they are doing to him."

"Is that what they called it?" I retorted in disbelief, the image of the half dead Namek flashing through my mind again. I had a feeling that image would be stuck in my mind until the day I died. Eyeing Jeiyce who had crossed his arms over his armored chest, I stood, grabbing Dende’s hand. "Come on, we’d better get started. We don’t want to get into trouble." I had no desire to feel the pain of that implant anytime in the near future. I wasn’t sure just how they were able to get it to work, but they could.

Bending over the desk, I busied myself, giving Dende a couple of small jobs, and staying quiet. Scanning over the notes, and looking at the plans that had already been started, I began to cobble together the first stages of the optic laser. After awhile, when my neck ached, I glanced up from my work, noticing that Jeiyce had actually fallen asleep against the wall where he was leaning. So much for Koola’s guard being up to the job.

"I could take care of your hand now, if you’d like me to," Dende’s small little voice cut through the silence, and I jumped, even though his words had been hushed. I glanced down at him, brows furrowing slightly.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly, lifting the swollen, purpling appendage. It had gotten much worse in the past hour that we had been working, and it ached miserably. So much for my supposed brute strength. I hadn’t even noticed it before now, I had been so preoccupied with trying to get my work done. "What do you think you can do for it?" I asked Dende, holding it out to him. It needs medical attention, but I can’t go get any—not now."

Dende took my hand gently into his own, and carefully positioned his left hand over it. I watched in stunned silence as a light seemed to glow from his hand. "Wh-wh-what are you doing?" I stammered in shocked disbelief.

"I have the power to heal," Dende said simply in his gentle little voice. "None of Koola’s men know, or I would have done this for you sooner. I didn’t want Jeiyce to find out." He glanced surreptiously at the snoozing Jeiyce, assuring himself that the soldier still slept. "Is that better?" He asked me expectantly, moving his hand from over my own.

Amazed, I lifted my hand in front of my face, staring at it wide-eyed. It was perfectly normal. There was no pain, no swelling. Flexing my fingers, I was dumbstruck to find that they bent normally. Letting my hand drop into my lap, I shook my head. "How?" I asked him finally. "How in the world did you do that?"

"It was something I was born with. Guru says that I am able to focus my regenerative powers into helping other people." Dende shrugged. "Before Koola came, I had never really had to use it too much. Now it seems like I use it on a daily basis—" His face was downcast, and I heard the note of numbed horror in his voice. "On Nail," he finished in a high, child’s whisper.

Impulsively, I reached out to him, drawing his small body against mine and hugging him close. "Oh Dende, I’m so sorry. You’ve seen far more horror than you should have. You’re just a child." I felt him shiver against me, his body finally melting against me as he threw his arms around me and accepted my comfort.

"Guru says I need to be brave…but it’s so hard," he whispered against my neck, small body convulsing into sobs.

Throwing a cautious glance towards Jeiyce who remained quietly snoozing, I soothed him quietly, thinking again of Trunks and how easily it could be him standing here instead of Dende. Finally, after his sobs were spent, I pulled back from him, staring into his round, tear-filled eyes. "Whose Guru?"

"Guru is the elder. He created the Dragonballs."

"Dragonballs?" I asked. I had heard of them, back on Chikyuu. Kakkarot’s old pervert teacher, Roshi, had spoken something of them. What was it the old hermit had told us? They granted any wish? "Do they grant wishes?" I asked him, brows furrowing again. While it seemed absolutely impossible that something like that existed, I had come to understand that there were forces in the world that I could never hope to understand. "Is that what Koola is after?"

Dende nodded. "But he doesn’t know how to activate them. Only Guru does, but he won’t tell him. He’s too afraid of what Koola will do with them." Dende shuddered, and he hiccupped on another small sob. "That’s why Nail is beaten every day, and lately, Koola has threatened me."

"They’re trying to break Guru through you guys." I shook my head, sickened. "On one level, I understood completely why this Guru remained silent. He was right. Something like the Dragonballs, under the control of someone like Koola…I shuddered, shaking my head. God, it was such an impossible position for him to be in. Forced to watch the people he counseled and led tortured before his eyes, all the while knowing that to give in to Koola’s demands would have universal consequences…

Movement from the corner caught my eye and I leapt up, heart racing. Casting my gaze towards Jeiyce, I sighed in relief. Still sleeping. He must have only shifted. Looking down at Dende, I patted his head. "We’d better get back to work, Dende. We’ll talk later…I promise. There has to be something we can do."

"I hope so, Bulma." Dende said sadly. "I just want things to be the way they were before Koola came…"

My heart shattered for the small little boy whose life had been indelibly touched by Koola. It seemed we had that in common. How many other people, how many other innocents would be forced to endure his tyranny? There had to be a way to stop him. There had to be a way to get the Dragonballs and secrete them away. If only Bardock were here to listen to Dende’s story…or Vegeta. Vegeta would know what to do.

We worked the rest of the day, side by side. At some point, Jeiyce awoke, and made a point of standing over me, threatening me should I not get the laser done. I wanted so much to cram it up his nose, or better yet, test it out on him. After awhile, he grew tired of the mental abuse, and moved restlessly about the room, complaining that he had gotten stuck with the worst job. I ignored him as much as I could, though I did pick up on a lot of resentment towards Koola. I had heard it in Sauzza’s voice as well, and I wondered if there was any way such resentment could be used as a tool against Koola.

I had managed to cobble together the laser gun that Koola had wanted. Staring down at it, I had only a few more things to do it. It had been simple, really. Working with laser technology was trivial for me—child’s play. I had exerted precious little effort in it. The poor scientist that had come before me had done the majority of the work. All I had really had to do was wire the damn thing together. I had toyed with the idea of screwing it up, or finding a way to make it backfire on the user, but caution won out over the desire. I needed to lure Koola into a false sense of security, first, before I went tripping down that path. He had to believe that I was completely at his mercy. He had to completely underestimate me.

"I’m going to go and deliver the brat back to his cell," Jeiyce growled, grabbing hold of Dende’s clothes. "And I’m going to go and get a meal. Nothing for you until this is done." He nodded at the laser that lay in two pieces on the table. I decided to not waste my breath and tell him that for all intents and purposes, I had it done. But I was going to fight for Dende.

"Fine," I said, "But why can’t Dende stay here? I need him. He’s really helped me."

"Koola’s orders!" He snapped, face twisting with impatience. "Now shut up and get back to work!"

I grabbed Dende’s robe, pulling him back towards me. "Koola told me that I could have him as a helper. I’m still working."

The pain hit me like a heated knife twisting in my back. Gasping for air, Dende’s robe slipped from my hand, and I staggered back, falling to my knees. How had he done that? How had he triggered the implant? It felt as if a thousand heated daggers were scraping along my open nerves. I couldn’t breath, I couldn’t speak. Clutching my fists in my lap, I doubled over, feeling a deep, rolling shudder work itself up and down my spine, leaving me trembling uncontrollably in its aftermath. The nerves felt as if they were ablaze, and what was worse was that it was licking up into my brain like a red-hot flame, making every inch of my brain feel as if a hot poker were being driven through it over and over again.

From somewhere in the distance, and through the roaring of my blood in my own ears, I heard Dende crying out my name. He must be terrified, especially after watching the brutality that had been visited on his friend, Nail. "Dende," I said in a hoarse, raspy voice, as I watched Jeiyce’s booted feet moving towards the door. "Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine." I heard the door snap open, heard the soft whimper of Dende’s voice, and then Jeiyce’s cocky laughter.

"I’ll be back in a bit. Get yourself to work, woman." The door snapped shut. I sat, hunched over, trying to ride out the endless shoots and waves of pain that burned through me. Slowly, it began to recede, turning itself into something akin to electrical charges that snapped through me, making me jerk and convulse. Exhausted, sweating and shaking, I slid the rest of the way onto the floor, resting my aching, burning head on the cold metal. God, nothing had ever felt as good as that coolness had against my blazing face. My body jerked spasmodically as the last of the electricity ran through my body.

How did this fucking implant work, I wondered as I lay there trying to get control of my body back. I had to find out. I had to find out how to get it out of me. I balled my fist, pressing it to my mouth as a sob bubbled out. I couldn’t let them control me this way. I had to find a way to counteract the pain and electricity that it was able to use in my nervous system. It had integrated with my body, or so Koola had told me. It had melded into my spine and nerves…into my brain…how was I ever going to defeat that?

I must have blacked out, because I dreamt. For once they were beautiful dreams, untouched by the nightmarish hell that had become my life. I dreamt of Trunks, of his laughter as we ran and played in the fields beside our home on Chikyuu. And then I dreamt of Vegeta. He was there, touching me, soothing me…I heard his voice…that beautiful, smooth, deep voice whispering to me. I could feel the excitement coursing through my body at the heated words he breathed against me, I could see his strong hands as they smoothed over my body, and suddenly nothing mattered anymore. There was nothing but he and I—alone, untroubled…there was nothing but him.

He held me in his embrace, and I was safe and sound—enclosed within the strong steel of his arms. His mouth was upon me, and there was nothing in the world that could touch me, nothing that could ever hurt me again.

I won’t let it, woman. God his voice sounded so close, so real. If only I could touch him. If only I could…

I am real, Bulma…

I jerked awake, inhaling sharply. "Vegeta", I whispered into the heavy silence of the room. Groggily, I pushed myself up. I must have passed out. That was the first thought that came to my mind. I had blacked out, and somewhere in my delusional brain I had conjured up Vegeta. Nothing like tormenting myself with images of things that couldn’t come to pass, nor would be anytime soon. How long had I been out? Jeiyce wasn’t back yet, so that meant only a few minutes at the best.

Trying desperately to regain my equilibrium, I let his name escape my lips again. "Vegeta." I sighed out. God, he had been so real. It had been like those hands had been really touching me, sheltering me. Another shudder coursed through me, but this time, it was born from something far more heated and potent than an electrical charge. I shook my head, shutting my eyes and trying to banish all thought of him from my mind. I couldn’t go there now; I couldn’t delude myself into thinking that he was there. Something had happened to the bond, something had come between us. The only person that was going to save me, was me…and that was a long shot at best.

Bulma, dammit, I am real! My head snapped up, and a cry escaped my lips. Shutting my eyes, I opened myself up to him, sobbing with joy as I realized that I felt him. I felt him! He was with me. The hole that his absence had burned into my heart was full. How could I have missed it? He was with me…he was back inside me in that place that was his and his alone. Giddily, I laughed. If I had been able to find the strength, I would have danced around the room. I settled instead, on sitting on the floor, tears of joy spilling down my face at hearing that furious voice.

"Vegeta…" I sobbed out loud, pressing my hand to my heart. "I can feel you! You’re back, our bond…oh! Trunks! Is he…" the words tumbled from me in a rush, and I heard him sigh. There was a brush of something angry, but I sensed that it wasn’t directed at me, and then as if he was struggling to get himself under control, I felt a softer brush of his mind. It was a touch that he rarely gave, but when he did…another deep, wracking shudder coursed through me.

I won’t waste my time explaining things to you now, Bulma. Trunks is fine. He is with your father. Are you all right? His deep voice radiated through my head, and before I could even begin to form an answer, he continued on.. I’m coming for you. I need you to hang on for a little while longer. Be strong, woman. Koola wants me as much as he wants you. He won’t kill you until I get there.

"Words of comfort…" I gave a little, choking laugh, relief flooding through me that my little boy was safe and sound and with his grandfather. "Has he contacted you?" I asked him. "You can’t just deliver yourself to him, Vegeta. He’s worse than Frieza…he’s…" I broke off, realizing that hysteria was fast rising up to claim me.

Calm yourself, I’m coming and I swear to you that he will pay for anything that he has done to you. His voice shuddered on the last of his words, and I felt the intensity arc between us. It was mixed with thick concern and a hint of arrogance. I knew he was worried for me, yet he refused to consider that anything else but his victory would occur. He’s contacted me, but I was unable to take his transmission. I was— Kakkarot… He struggled for a moment, something that was highly unusual for him, before breaking off completely. The anger that had radiated from him before swirled up again, sweeping through me in thick waves and I gasped from the sheer intensity of it.

This time, I could feel him struggling with it, before finally, he managed to get it under control. Still, I could sense it simmering underneath his surface, ready to boil over at any time. I had rarely felt him this way, but when I had, it had been frightening. His emotions were so intense, so fierce, you could find yourself swept away in the torrent.

Whatever was wrong with him, aside from the obvious with Koola, involved Kakkarot. It was something that I was picking up through our bond. If I dug deeply, I could feel something close to hatred. It confused me. He had not always agreed with Kakkarot, nor had he liked him, but I had never felt this from him before. Before I could ask, he cut me off, sealing off that part of himself and picking back up on his thought from before.

Kakkarot spoke to him. He is willing to trade your life for my surrender…I could almost hear the arrogant sneer that I knew was on his face.

"Don’t you dare surrender yourself, Vegeta! He’s already told me that he’s going to kill me, once he has you." I bit my lip hard, forcing myself to stay in control. Hearing his voice, feeling his presence strong and fierce within me again…it had opened up a dam of pent-up emotion that I had been building and patching since this ordeal had begun. But I knew he would hate hysterics, and he needed me to be strong. "Vegeta, he has Dragonballs," I added, knowing that this was a detail that needed to be addressed. "We have to find a way to get the Dragonballs from him."

I have no plans to surrender anything, idiot woman! Vegeta snapped. And how in the hell did he get those?

Something in me snapped at the anger in his tone. How dare he treat me this way? How dare he get mad at me when I was here because of him! I was the one that was suffering; I was the one that had been treated to one abuse after the other. "Damn you, you arrogant Saiya-jin! I have been through hell because of you! You dumped me off like I was nothing but a piece of trash!" I sobbed, the tears flowing freely. Cursing, I dashed them angrily away. "If I had been with you, then none of this would have ever happened! So don’t you dare talk to me that way!"

Bulma…he said after a moment, and this time there was something in his voice that I had never quite heard before. We have much to work out, you and I. He said after a moment. But not now. He added firmly, voice hard and cold again. When I have you, when you are with me, we will deal with everything else. For now we only need to worry about getting you out of this.

His tone quieted me, and I nodded to myself, hoping that he could sense my acceptance. We had far more to work out than he could even begin to realize, but he was right. Now wasn’t that time. It would come, and when it did…all would be said. It had to be. "He has Bardock and Chi-Chi as well. Chi-Chi…" I paused. "Chi-Chi is not well.

Kakkarot can worry about his own mate and father. Again, I felt the black touch of his rage, but this time, he seemed to have it bottled away. Still, his voice was far colder, far angrier than I had ever heard him before. What had happened between them? You’re traveling to Reiketsu, Vegeta continued on, voice deep and fierce. We are on the way. His voice softened and again I felt the gentle touch of his mind.

It never ceased to amaze me how he could be hard and cold in one second, and gentle in the next. I imagined that I was the only one who ever saw that side. I wasn’t even sure that he knew it existed himself. I will get there, Bulma. I will take you from him, and then I will kill him. He said more fervently.

"Vegeta…" I half-whispered, fear rising. There was something that he had to know, now. I had no idea how it might affect things later on. "Vegeta, he’s put something inside me. Something he uses to control me…"

I heard his growl, and I jumped at the fury that I felt through the bond. Has he hurt you in any way? You never answered me earlier. Have any of them…have any of them… He couldn’t finish, and I couldn’t even begin to think of a way to explain Bardock or Hachuu to him. I would have to, I knew that. It would all have to be revealed when we brought all the things that needed to be aired. On this one issue, however, I could at least put his mind to ease. The time would come when everything else would have to be drudged up and that included his part in it. As much as I loved him, as much as I needed him, there were other issues between us now.

"No, I haven’t been raped." I said matter of fact. "Koola has seen to that. He uses it as a threat to ensure that I behave myself." I added bitterly. "God, Vegeta, it has been hell…first the Kannassans and now this. Why didn’t you trust me to come along with you?" The words escaped me before I could stop myself and he must have sensed some of my pain and anger, because I felt him shudder away from the bond.

Bulma…he croaked out, but the sound of the door beginning to slide open jerked my attention away from him.

Oh God, Jeiyce! I whispered to him in my mind, leaping up and throwing myself at the table. Fingers shaking, heart pounding, I fumbled around with the components, trying desperately to look as if I had been working away since his departure.

He sneered at me as he came in, before shooting me a mocking smile. "Feeling better?" He taunted me, peering down at my trembling hands. His mouth drew downwards into a frown. "Doesn’t look to me as if you’ve gotten very far."

"It’s almost finished," I said dryly, keeping my head down. I didn’t want to have to look him in the eye. Having the bond return itself was still a new experience to me, and I didn’t want to give it away. My face felt hot and flushed, my palms were sweaty I could feel Vegeta hovering in my mind protectively, and I sighed, acclimating myself to the renewed feeling of his presence. I had taken it for granted at one time, and now, after weeks of being empty, the renewed feelings were strange and awkward. Yet I couldn’t deny that it was also the sweetest feeling that I had ever had. It had been like being denied water, and then led to a lake to drink my fill. He was back and he was coming for me.

Jeiyce circled round me, stopping to peer over my shoulder. "You know," he whispered into my ear. "It defies all logic that monkey boy ended up with a fine piece of ass such as yourself." His finger trailed along my cheek. "You could have something far finer—me."

Closing my eyes, trembling with rage at the insulting way he spoke of Vegeta, I shifted away from him, bending towards my laser, and pretending to scrutinize it. I had to ignore him. I had to ignore him. "You can tell Koola his laser is ready," my voice was laced with arrogance. "Tell him that I got it done early."

"You avoiding the subject?" He gave a short laugh, before moving away from me. "That’s alright, I doubt you could handle a man like me. I doubt Vegeta could have ever prepared you for a real man."

"Is there a real man here?" I snapped, knowing that I would pay for the remark. I wanted to laugh out loud at his absurdity. What a pompous jackass, but then, hadn’t he been a part of the Ginyu Force? If I recalled they had all been obsessed with style and appearance. It had been incongruous to see lethal killers worrying about the way they looked. Apparently Jeiyce had not outgrown his roots. Still, hearing him degrade Vegeta was more than I could handle. Vegeta was twice the man that Jeiyce was and would ever be. Hearing him go on and on…I don’t know…something in me snapped

He didn’t disappoint me with his reaction. His hand flew out, cracking along my jaw and sending me flying about three feet back. It wasn’t the worst hit I had ever been given. Mercifully, the jaw wasn’t broken, but it still hurt to high hell. Clutching at my jaw, I glared up at him defiantly as he stalked towards me.

"You’d best watch your mouth, woman!" He growled angrily, grabbing my elbow in harsh, unbreakable grip. "I have the power to hurt you badly. I have the power to make you wish you were dead."

"I already wish I were dead!" I spat out, shoving at him. "That would be preferable to being here with you!"

His other arm came up, and he grabbed my other arm, shaking me violently. "You’d best get over this fit now. Believe me when I tell you, I can make you wish you had never been born. Then I can stick you back into the regeneration tank and heal you all over for another round. You haven’t experienced anything yet." His face was inches from mine, red as a tomato, teeth bared.

"Let go of me!" I hissed, trying not to let my obvious fear show. He couldn’t see that he had me quaking in my boots. My arms ached from where his fingers were digging into the flesh. My head hurt from where he had shaken me like a rag doll.

"Say please," he smirked, eyeing me with mocking amusement.

"Never!" I screamed at him, pent-up rage making me far braver than I would have normally been.

Jeiyce’s eyebrow raised an inch, and a wicked smile curved across his face. "Alright then…" I watched in horror as he pointed a finger at my laser gun. "I blow it into a million pieces, bitch. You’d best say what I want to hear."

I stared at him, eyes wide, darting back and forth between him, my gun, and the finger, which had began to glow with an ominous white-blue light. It would take me forever, if he destroyed all the circuitry. Granted it was easy enough to decipher and build, but I had also had Dende’s help, and the wiring had gone much faster with two sets of hands. I didn’t know if I could make Koola’s deadline should he blow it up. "Please…" I whispered under my breath. Disgust with myself made my stomach churn violently. That I should have to endure this was more than I could bear. "Please let me go."

Jeiyce cocked his head. "I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that. What did you say?"

God, I longed to knock that superior, smug smile from his face. I balled my hand tightly against my leg, and lowered my gaze. Swallowing my pride, which all but killed me, I spoke louder, gritting my teeth as I spoke the word. "Please…" My face twisted with disgust, but still I kept my head bowed and my eyes down.

"I don’t know. You don’t sound like you really mean it." The finger glowed brighter and he aimed it at the table with the gun and tech read outs of the optical laser. I felt a ball of panic unfurl in my chest. I had basically built my work on the work of someone else, which had been considerable. If he destroyed the written work and formulas, along with the work that I had done, I really would be starting from scratch. I was familiar enough with lasers in general and building one wasn’t a problem, but working it up from scratch would take me far longer than the time that was allotted to me.

"No! Please…please don’t blow it up!" I grabbed at his arm, and he laughed, enjoying my obvious distress.

"Not so high and mighty now are you, stupid woman?" He laughed. "Listen to you beg like a dog. What would your Saiya-jin Prince think of you now?"

It was as if cold water had been thrown over my head. God he was right. Vegeta would have never begged, for anything. And here I was, a woman that had been raised as a Princess, the supposed mate of the Prince of an entire race, begging him like a lowly coward.

"You know…" I rose up straight, an ugly sneer painted across my face. "You’re right, Jeiyce. Thanks for reminding me of who I am. Fuck you!"

My work was gone in a flashing blur of light. I watched, back rigid, face expressionless, as the work that I had done scattered across the room in a million burning pieces.

"I wouldn’t give you the pleasure, Saiya-jin whore." Jeiyce spat in my face, shoving me away from him. "You have a night. Better get your little ass in gear." He smirked. "I have some things to attend to. If I were you, I’d get a move on. I take you to Koola in the morning." He swept imperiously from the room, leaving me to stare at the shattered remnants of a day’s work.

Vegeta must have picked up on the emotions that were swirling around in my head—anger, fright, despair…god there was so much despair. It was all jumbling together in my mind, sending me over the edge into some dark oblivion that I new I would lose myself in if I succumbed to it. I could feel him, feel his unease as he hovered near me. I could feel the intensity of his own burning rage and despair, but thankfully he made no move to communicate with me. I just couldn’t…not now. I would shatter into a million pieces right now, if anyone tried to do anything for me. Thank God, he knew me well enough to know that. I had to…I had to deal with this on my own. I just had to. I couldn’t hide from it, and I couldn’t pretend that it wasn’t happening. It would be so easy to lose myself in him, retreat from reality. Trouble was, if I did that, would I ever find my way back?

Numb and cold, I walked to the table. It was as I feared. The technical work that I had worked from had been burnt to a crisp when Jeiyce had blown up the gun. Well, I had known he would do it when I stood up to him. I had only myself to blame. Dispassionately, I moved about the room, remembering facts and formulas that I needed to begin the initial stages of rebuilding the stupid optic laser. It was as if I were lost in a thick fog, every move was mechanical, precise. I must have worked for hours without realizing what it was I was doing.

I ignored everything: the pain in my belly from lack of food, the need to use the refresher, the despair that seemed to be eating away at me like some terminal disease. All that existed were me and my fingers as they built and wired and wrote out formulas.

When Jeiyce came, I was half-done with the work. It had taken me far longer, since I had to go back and re-design the components. Still, considering I was going from scratch, I had achieved far more than I had expected. Some of that was because of my own expertise in this area. I’m a genius. Maybe that sounds cocky, and maybe it is. I don’t know. All I know is that it is the truth. Since I was a child, things of science and technology drew me, mathematics and formulas excited me, and designing any machine…it didn’t matter what it was, was a joy. The optic laser was a toy for me.

Still, I was in trouble, and I knew it. I was smart enough, judging by the look on his face, to know that my time was up. It seemed my time of reckoning was at hand and with only half a laser gun to show him, the chances were likely that I was going to be punished. Damn my stupid mouth. I squared my shoulders, and clambered to my feet. No, I couldn’t think like that. I had my pride. I couldn’t fold whenever they wanted me to. I had to be tough.

"Well, it looks as if you didn’t get your little laser gun rebuilt in time." Jeiyce smiled mockingly at me. "Koola is going to be most displeased."

"You knew I wouldn’t when you blew it up," My teeth clenched, and somewhere deep within my gut I felt the slow buildup of ice as he ushered me out the door. What in God’s name was Koola going to do to me?

"Maybe next time, you’ll mind your mouth and do what you are told." Jeiyce snapped. "I could care less if he beats you within an inch of your life. But I will give you a word of advice, for your own self-preservation. Keep your mouth shut and do everything that is asked of you."

"Everything?" I choked in disbelief. There was no way in hell I would ever agree to everything these monsters told me to do.

"If you want to stay alive." Jeiyce replied, gripping my arm hard. He propelled me along, finally stopping in front of a steely grey door. Grinning at me, he keyed in the code and the door snapped open, admitting us into a large, darkened room.

An icy tingle spread through my body, pricking every sense and nerve. It was as if I was being stabbed with a thousand icy needles. I shivered, unable to swallow for the horrible, icy-cold feeling that was radiating through every part of my body. Panic began to fill me, and with it a keen desire to escape Jeiyce and run as far and as fast as I could.

"Lord Koola," Jeiyce called, and I thought I noticed some unease hanging in his voice. "Lord Koola, I have brought the woman as you requested." He pulled me along across the room.

As we walked I saw him appear from the shadows, floating gently in a hovercraft that was identical to Frieza’s. The coldness tightened its grip on me and for the first time, I noticed that it was cold in the room. My breath, which was coming harsh and fast, was a white mist in the room. Koola seemed unbothered by it, and I supposed that it was his natural habitat. I had never really thought about it before. But looking back, Frieza had been similar. Rooms had been cold…and I had heard from some one that Reiketsu, itself, was an ice planet.

"Thank you, Jeiyce. You may leave us. I will call you when I am done." The words were ominous and again I was left with the desire to run until my legs couldn’t carry me any further. But there was nowhere for me to escape to. He would be upon me in seconds.

It was then that I noticed someone else hovering in the background of his room. The figure, large and bulky, hovered in the shadowy mists of the room, and I strained my eyes to get a better look. Why did that form seem so damn familiar to me?

"Bulma," Koola shook his head, the red eyes glowing malevolently in the murky room. "I see that you did not live up to your word. " He nodded pointedly at the half-done gun that I clutched in my hand.

"It was done!" I said hotly, anger burning through me again. "I had it done and your stupid guard blew it up. This was the best I could do from scratch in the time that I had left."

"Why in the world would Jeiyce wish to blow up your work?" Koola asked tauntingly.

"I said something to him," I ground out. "I said something to him that pissed him off."

"Well, this is most unfortunate." I saw another figure emerge behind Koola. It was short and brown and unimaginably ugly. I shuddered at the look of pure evil that radiated from its yellow eyes. Strangely, he bore the same M on his clothing that Koola wore across the white crown of his head.

"Ahh, Babidi…tell me, what would you do with her?"

"Well, I always say kill any subordinate that doesn’t follow instructions…" The high, shrill voice made me wince and the cackling laughter that he emitted was far worse. What manner of creature was he?

"Yes, except I need this one…for the time being." Koola floated towards me, peering coldly down at me from his hover chair. "What to do with you, Bulma…what to do with you…"

"I could finish it in another few hours, if you would only give me the time." I said meekly, looking for any way out of the present situation.

"Yes, but weren’t you already given the time to finish what I wanted done?" he asked imperiously and I saw the M glow red against the pale white of his forehead. His lip curled up. "You will come to learn that when I give an order, they are to be followed to the my exact specifications."

"I am not your slave, Koola!" I barked out angrily, suddenly tired of his bullying and threats. He could kill me! I just didn’t care anymore. "I will never be your slave!" I think a part of me wanted to die! A part of me wanted to be free of the hell that had become my life. Despair and rage had mixed together inside of me and it had formed a lethal mixture. I was helpless to aid myself. I couldn’t fight my way out of here, I couldn’t do anything to help myself, or for that matter, Bardock and Chi-Chi who I knew had to be here somewhere. God, I was so sick at being at the mercy of other people!

The blast hit my shoulder before I could even prepare for it. I saw his eyes glow a brilliant ruby red before beams shot from them, piercing and burning the skin of my left shoulder. Giving a cry, I dropped the gun and clutched my wounded arm. Blazing pain leapt down my arm, from my shoulder, and I realized that his blast had burnt through skin, muscle and bone. I couldn’t even move it. Too shocked to do anything but stand there and hold it, I stared up at him, once again helpless to do anything but take whatever he chose to dish out. The pain was immense and I swallowed down a sudden swell of bile.

"Your mouth is going to get you killed!" Koola growled furiously. "You obviously need to come to understand who is in charge of your life now."

"Just kill me now!" I screamed at him. Hot shame filled me as the thought of my son filled my mind. He was waiting for me. He was waiting for me to come back and be his mother again. But I wasn’t sure if I could ever be a normal person again. Too much had happened to me! Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I heard Vegeta’s voice yelling at me that this was nothing compared to what he had gone through. That if he could survive his years of torture and torment, I could surely survive this! I was a coward, nothing but a foolish coward to give up so easily.

"When I am done with you," Koola snarled, teeth bared and eyes glowing scarlet in the dim light. "You will wish for death even more so than you do now, but it will not come. It will not come until I deliver it to you!" Again the beam shot from his eyes, catching me in the right shoulder this time. Groaning, I slipped to the floor, unable to lift either arm, unable to do anything for myself.

"You will finish my gun, and you will do so the way you are. It will be finished by the end of the day." I twisted on the floor as a cold stabbing pain seemed to lay open every nerve in my body. God, the implant. "You will be brought before me tonight and the gun will be tested—on you. For your sake, it had better be working!"

Dimly, through a thick haze of pain, and the god-awful cackling of the wizened creature that stood next to him, I heard him call for Jeiyce. Hands were grabbing at me, pulling me up, dragging me along out the door and down the corridor.

"Better get yourself together, woman. " Jeiyce’s voice floated to me. "He’ll make you beg for death, if it isn’t."

"This is all your fault, anyway!" I ground out, hissing as he jerked me along.

"Maybe next time you’ll mind your mouth," was his only reply. No remorse, no regret, just a matter of fact attitude that I had somehow brought it all upon myself by refusing to tolerate his insulting attitude towards Vegeta and refusing to beg like a dog when he bade me to." Why in the hell was I expecting any of these tyrannical monsters to have any sense of conscious or remorse? They were nothing but mercenaries—greedy and power hungry, looking to control anything less powerful than themselves.

"You’ve been confined back to your solitary cell, no food, no water…I’ll be bringing your parts to you." He paused…" Oh by the way, the little Namek brat, he’s to be whipped today. Koola feels that it will remind you of your place and be a useful tool in breaking the old Namek elder."

"No!" I gasped in horror, my own pain forgotten for a moment. "He’s just a child!"

Jeiyce shrugged. "When it comes to this job, there are no innocents. Every one serves a purpose, every action serves a need… I’m sure Vegeta, worthless as he is, would tell you the same thing. Ask him, if you get to see him again, how much innocent blood he taints his hands? " With a quick, mocking smile, the door slid shut, and I was alone, back in the cell that I had first been put in.

With a shuddering cry, I slid to the ground, scorching hot tears sliding down my face. God, what had I done? I had been so stupid. I should have just swallowed my pride and begged like Jeiyce had wanted me to, I should have kept my mouth shut around Koola and accepted whatever he wanted to do to me. Because of my rashness, because of my stupid, selfish, self-pity, a little boy was going to get whipped, and I couldn’t even move my arms.

God, Vegeta, how long until you get here? I whispered in my brain, not sure if I would get a reply or not. I had felt him hovering earlier, but I had been too preoccupied to pay much attention to anything but Koola, and though I thought that I had heard him yelling at me in my brain, I wasn’t sure if it was really him, or something that I had conjured up in the quickly weakening recesses of my mind.

Idiot…his voice fumed in my mind, and suddenly I knew that I hadn’t imagined that angry voice in my mind. If you had any backbone, you might be dangerous, woman.

The harsh words hit me hard, and I shut him off, unable to listen to him berate me. Not now…I couldn’t…not now, not now. I needed time before I could listen to him yell at me for my weakness and my stupidity. Maybe I had been stupid, maybe he was right, but I had been through far more than any human should have to endure. My thoughts, my will, it had all been taken from me. My choices were gone from me…maybe he was used to that, but I wasn’t and as far as I knew there was no book that told you how to accept torture and abuse with grace and honor.

Opening up my mind to him briefly, I managed to spit out a quick reply to him. "You know better than that, Vegeta! You of all people know better!" I shut it off before he could form any sort of reply. I could feel him, pounding at me angrily, battering away the wall I had erected to keep him out. But I couldn’t open it to him, not now. I just couldn’t.

Staring down at the half-finished gun that Jeiyce must have brought down here with him, I tried to ignore the distant feel of Vegeta hammering at me. This was going to be tested on me, huh? Well, I supposed I had better build him the mother of all guns. We wouldn’t want it to not blind me. Sneering, I tossed it down. I couldn’t do anymore work on it until Jeiyce came back with my parts. Ignoring the pain that was burning through every cell in my body, and fighting the desire to lie down and just sleep, I glanced around the room, my eye catching on the small recorder that I had so hastily discarded when Koola had first come to get me. How many days had that been? Right now I had not idea. I know that the last twenty-four hours had seemed to be a hundred years.

I managed to crawl to it, and bending to pick it up, I leaned back against the wall, flicking it on. Maybe if I talked out this helpless rage and frustration, it will help me stay sane. I don’t know. There is no one to turn to. Not now…Vegeta is too angry…he is not right…I can sense that and I can’t let his rage overtake me. He is cruel in his rage, and I can’t take any more cruelty right now. Not from him…not from him…

I’m not sure what time I began speaking into this thing. I started right after I found it lying where I had dropped it. I stopped only long enough to hide it from Jeiyce who came back with my parts. The compelling need to speak of all of this, to just unburden myself somewhere was so overwhelming, I thought I might be swallowed whole by it.

I have to go now and finish this optic laser. My meeting time with Koola has to be fast approaching, and I don’t want to think of what he might do to me should I fail to get this thing finished as he commanded. I have two choices ahead of me: I follow his every wish, all the while biding my time for the right opportunity, or I fight him at every turn. I don’t really want to die…they were cowardly sentiments, spoken by a woman who has nearly lost her way. This road…this road that I am traveling…I’m lost on it and I don’t know my way out. But surely there is a way back. There had to be a way back to my son and to my life. I just have to find a way out of the mire. God, I hope that I can do that. I am about to suffocate in it and there is so little hope…

There is so little hope.

* * * * *

Coming next chapter: Reiketsu; the branding; Vegeta and Kakkarot’s arrival…


Table of Contents
Journal Part 2
Chapter 5