00/07/15-08/04

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Thank you all for the wonderful reviews of Dreamed. As this is the last chapter to this strange epic of mine, I've spent a lot of time thinking and planning this last chapter out so you can all leave here knowing what I wanted to achieve with this story. For those of you who asked what I'm planning to do next, I'm working on a couple of short stories. I'll post them later on and see what happens, then go from there.

Special thanks to Kukyu for putting up with my awful spelling and the endless writer’s block and other assorted shit.

If you’re looking for more of my work you can find it at my site http://members.xoom.com/tanava_manor/ or www.tanavamanor.com and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign the guestbook.

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As Bulma followed the Prince diligently through the maze of embellished corridors, she reflected on how in the space of two months her life had changed. From playing hide and seek with the Sayians to sleeping in the same bed as their Prince. The walls were beginning to change and return slowly to the dull metal alloy in the palace. Her steps seemed to dwarf everything as the sounds bounced off the walls. She wanted to reach out turn the proud prince around and slap him until he talked to her like a normal person. She disliked the cold feeling she got when she was in his domineering presence, the uneasiness she felt from his stemmed from her fear of being battered again.

The hallways seemed to drag on endlessly, although he knew where he was going. It didn't take a conscious effort to lead his new Queen to their chambers, although he was distracted and had chosen the wrong corridor more then once. He doubted she even suspected that they'd been through that same passage-way more then he'd care to count. He stole glimpses of his bride as they turned corners; she was in, Sayian terms, weak. Though in his own mind he though her to be rather exotic and quite his match in temperament. Her technology would be quite useful to him and his people, after all she was supposed to be the most brilliant of the Chikyuu natives.

The maze of halls finally came to an end at a set of double metal doors. The symbol of Vejiitasei was engraved into the panels and imprinted into the tile in front of the door. The Prince stood on the imprinted tile and waited for a moment, the doors swung open inwards. The room was exquisite as far as Bulma could see in. It had its own anti-chamber decorated in the royal colors, crimson and black. The inner sanctum was quite alike, flourishing in the same colors and style on a whole new level. Bulma was curious at first and poked around at some of the displays or tables and such. 'So very home like' she thought. Her face broadened into a smile as she spotted the bed. It took far more self-control than she thought she possessed not to just fall into it and snuggle down into the depths of the warm sheets. She was just dying to sit alone for a few minutes and figure out what it meant to be 'mated' to the Prince. She stared out into space, hoping for a few moments to herself; unfortunately her 'guardian' didn't see it as such.

"I bow to you Queen Bulma." The new queen looked up for the source of the voice. She found it, but was somewhat disturbed; Stataris had dawned a heavy black cloak and now carried with her a tall staff. "I have come to collect you end of the bargain." Bulma looked at her for a moment, "You have already had you share, I fought in the battle." The guardian licked her dry lips; this part of her plan required perfect timing, not only on her part but on that of the couple before her. "I do not have the time or energy to waste on you. I will collect what I need from you, willingly or not; it is your choice." Vegeta, who'd been silent, spoke up sternly. "What do you want bitch?" The guardian hissed back at him, losing her control. "If that is your choice I will take what I need now then from another source." She rapped her staff on the floor three times and held out her free hand. On the third knock something red and slimy appeared in her palm. She held out her hand to Bulma, "All I needed to complete the spell was the love of one being for another. So I have taken the heart of someone you loved, Bulma, and who loves you in return." Her control was lost and the hood of the cloak fell backwards.

On Chikyuu, Yamacha fell to the ground, grunting with incredible pain. The other Z warriors gathered around him, unable to determine the problem. As suddenly as it started, he tumbled to the ground his last breath seeping from his lips. "...Bulma..." Goku knelt down next to his comrade and placed a hand over his heart and gasped. "...His heart was removed..." Piccolo and Kami both stopped in mid-movement, that feeling was in the air again, though sharper and more distinct. The Namekian's eyes locked, the silent conversation exchanged, it was her, she'd done this.

Bulma covered her mouth to push down the bile that threatened to overcome her. The once unmarked guardian had been mutilated. Her eyes were wrapped with white gauze that had long ago soaked through with blood and dried. Her hair had been cropped off at uneven lengths in some places, while one of her wings was bandaged tightly in more bloody rags. The dishevelled guardian tossed the heart onto the floor where it slid to the Queen's feet, "Remember what promises you make, for that is what you are judged on when you time comes." She hissed and vanished with another quick sound of her staff on the floor. Bulma stared at the bloody mess and trail on the floor, she blinked and the heart and its crimson trail vanished. She turned her blue eyes to where Vegeta was but a second ago, he was gone. 'Was it my imagination?' she questioned and looked down to the floor again but stopped. In her hand was a goblet, it was filled with a dark purple liquid that threatened to slosh over the edge of the cup if her hand didn't stop trembling.

"Ve..Ve...Vegeta?" Her voice wavered slightly as her overactive imagination played tricks on her. There was a grunt from behind her. Her Prince was on the other side of the bed giving her the strangest un-Vegeta like stare. "What?" She asked not losing her composure. "Drink it..." he told her in his gruff voice, "What is it?" she asked peering at the cup. "What the Chikyuu-jin call wine, though slightly more potent. Bulma sniffed it and found it to smell quite like the red wine of earth. She took a tentative sip, then drowned the cup in a single sitting, "It’s like wine...but it isn't..." She trailed off as it burnt its way down her throat. He grunted and laid down on the bed, "You’re too weak to mate with, I'd probably kill you in the act," the blunt statement was seemingly out of place in all the events that had just transpired.

The wine in the goblet was affecting her mind; it coated her throat and mouth with a sweet and tangy flavor. When she rolled her tongue around in her mouth it made her head spin. Bulma took a moment to weigh her options with the help of that unique wine. She could spend a sexless life with a Prince with the perfect body, or go out in a big bang, no puns intended.

The to-be Queen turned away for a moment and smiled ever so evilly as the cup's contents fully took hold of her. Lust, desire and pure temptation coated her mind, letting her body take over. In one quick and fluent motion she turned around and took a step to onto the bed. She took another step before pouncing on her Prince. She sat straddling his hips with a deliciously seductive smile on her rouged lips. He just looked up at her, expression unchanging. She smiled and leaned down on his chest. "Then kill me..."she whispered into his ear and smiled into his neck as she leaned in closer to kiss down his strong jaw line. Something flickered in his obsidian eyes for a brief moment before he changed the tables on his mate; he liked having the upper hand. He grinned down from his lofty position, there was something feral about his new Queen, and he liked it.

Bulma grinned, her hands wove themselves up around his neck, cold delicate fingers traced patterns down his back and over his broad chest. His facial expression stayed the same, if not more calculating then before, her eyes followed his fingers as they worked off her clothes slowly under his torturous ministrations. She tossed back her head, exposing her neck to him and withered under his well built body. The Saiyajin no Ouji's hands roamed free, enjoying what they found and more. Bulma grinned up at him as she started her own torture with her tongue and lips, nipping and tasting everything she could find.

Vegeta's tail withered around his waist until it spawned a mind of its own and chased after one of the woman's hands. The Chikyuu woman caught the limb in her palm and tickled the tip with her thumb, watching the fine hairs raise and bristle. She grinned and giggled as she heard her lover purr in her ear.

From within the Medlab, workers quickly helped a newly healed Potatirs out from a healing tank. From her groggy point of view she could have swore that the technicians were afraid of her. Her eyes blurred and burned when she tried to focus on the form she knew was her mate. "Corais? How long was I in for?" The newly healed fighter stretched her senses to help her cope with her loss of eyesight. Corais cleared her throat in signal for the technicians to leave, they cleared out quickly. "Po-chan, you were only there for a few days, but something...happened..." The blind warrior had found her way to the other and gently traced her face with once wet hand. "While you where in there, your power level spiked ten fold, Vegeta no Ouji has taken a mate and we were both promoted to Queen's Guards." Corais watched Potatirs' face intently as she digested the information.

"Doesn't, don't I have to be present to be a Queen's Guard at the bonding ceremony?" She pushed out of her closing throat. "They took a blood sample from you when you were in the tank, the Prince ordered it. The techs are still freakin' out over your power level, and mine too."

"Yours? I don't understand Corais, how did you get so powerful?"

"I don't know Po-chan, all I remeber is having a fucked up dream about some freaking angel telling me that I had a job to do." Corais' foul mouth was beginning to get worked up.

"Seriously Corais, I had the exact same dream, you’re not screwing with my head are you?"

"No Po, though we don't have time to be idle, we have to get you a new uniform and move our quarters."

"Move quarters? I can't even see yet, much less find my way to new quarters." She snorted as she let her mate lead her out of the medlab.

Bulma smiled to herself as she shifted positions on the bed, the wine was beginning to wear off and take its aphrodisiac feel with it, though she didn't really mind. She could swear she was never going to be able to walk right again. Though that was far from her mind, she'd managed to break through the Saiyan no ouji's shell. It had taken her all of an hour to get him to even taste the rest of the wine that stood in a bottle on the night table. Once he'd tasted the tangy potion he was hooked, she had him wrapped around her finger. Although she'd failed to realise that it took a much shorter period of time for the beverage to burn out of his system.

She stretched her legs out in front of her and curled her toes. It didn't bother her that she hadn't slept for the better part of two days, though the feeling of her mate having his furry appendage wrapped around her waist did. His tail was a unique attribute with its own talents; she wasn't sure what to make of it. Her hand trailed down under the sheets until she found the offending extra limb. She let her fingers run over the fur lightly, feeling it bristle against her skin in response. The formerly sleeping Prince raised his head off the pillow almost looking too exhausted to move.

Bulma grinned as he pulled her closer in his embrace before settling back down into the mattress. "Tomorrow is going to be a long day..." he muttered, meaning she should probably sleep. Softly, she closed her eyes and leaned into a warm embrace.

From on his throne, King Vegeta sat alone in the room, his thoughts left to echo in his head and the vast chamber. His fate would be sealed today, the Prince was mated and far more powerful than him with a taste for the throne. He snorted and called for Nappa and Radditzu, they appeared at once. "I have a task for you, the final one that you must carry out for me." He paused and scratched his goatee. "I want you to destroy the planet the Prince's bitch is from." The two elite soldiers nodded and turned to leave, but were stopped by a cloaked figure that stepped into the light. "King Vegeta, it is not a wise choice you have made. If it pleases you, I have a better solution." Angry that there were eavesdroppers in the shadows, he stood and began to gather his energy into his palm, "Show yourself!" The intruder stepped out into the light. She was battered and bruised and her face partially covered with bloodied bandages. The King still recognised her.

Years ago, she'd come to his court and foretold that once of the Cold Empire would take his son, enslave him and destroy the Saiyan race. Thinking only of the prosperity of his line and the unborn child his mate held, he agreed. When she returned to Vejiita-sei he would turn over another unborn child; it made no difference whose it was, as long as it wasn't his.

"I need you to gather the vessel for me and in exchange, I will free you from the promise you made so long ago." The King fingered his goatee again and demanded what it was again the woman wanted he had forgotten. "I need a soul and body untouched by this world. I need the child conceived by your son and his mate." She spat the words with distaste.

"And how do you wish I do that, Stataris?" He asked levelly, slowly thinking that he'd made a wrong choice when he'd made a pact with Stataris. In his head he slowly began to realise that he'd been foolish as a young ruler.

"All you need to do is bring the woman here and I will take the child." Her voice was slowly changing, to something darker and more venomous. "Your son and mate are both young and fertile, they will create another heir." She stated off-handedly

"Is that all?" The King began to tense as he began to feel the electricity in the air.

"Yes, now bring the woman to me." From beneath her cloak, the woman smiled,;her goal was within reach, even if she did have to step out of bounds to make it happen. She sighed as she felt her life beginning to wind down as everything was beginning to fall into place. The King nodded at the bald one who took off in a run.

"Now our transaction is soon complete. You have what you wanted, the Saiyajin race will survive the wrath for the Cold Empire." The figure paused for a moment to pluck a dead and wet heart out from the folds of her clothes, a quick twitch of her wings and it was returned to its rightful owner. Stataris stood and waited.

On Chikyuu, Yamcha gulped in deep breaths of fresh air as he sat up. The pain in his chest was receding and his vision clearing. He sniffed the air, it smelt like something was burning, but he couldn't quite put his finger on the scent. He placed a hand over his heart grateful to realise that it had only been a daydream. The hand that had come from nowhere, shoved itself deep into his chest cavity and pulled out his beating heart for him to see. The human warrior stood and left the room.

The quick knock on the doors jarred Vegeta from his sleep into his combative mindset, his muscles tensed and his jaw locked in anticipation. "What is it?" He snarled as he made a move to sit up. It was then he realised there was someone in the bed with him. "Vegeta no Ouji, the King wishes to speak with your Queen." Nappa yelled from the other side of the doors. The saiyan no ouji gently moved the sleeping Bulma from his chest and stepped out of the bed, taking an unused sheet to cover himself. "Nappa you ass, leave at once! Tell that bastard of a King that it his no longer his place to call for anyone." He snorted at slammed the door shut.

Woken by the sound of voices, the woman yawned and asked who it was. No response, she opened her eyes as slowly sat up keeping the sheet in place. The room had changed, the ceiling was higher and she was no longer on the plush bed, but the floor with a carpet, stiff and scratchy against her skin. "Hello my dear." Bulma's head snapped up, the voice, it sounded like Vegeta's but deeper. She searched for the source and found it at the end of the room upon a raised platform and a throne. "What do you want?" She asked, gathering the sheets under her and standing up. "It’s not what I want, but it’s what she wants." He sneered at her and pointed to Stataris who stepped out of the shadows next to the King. Bulma gasped and took a step back; the guardian who'd started out like a guiding light had changed. She wasn't sure to trust the winged woman any longer since her motives were still unclear to her.

Stataris stepped forward, "Restrain her" she said. The King stood and in a flash was behind Bulma, pinning her to the floor. Bulma stopped fighting against him as Stataris plucked a feather out of her one good wing. "Remove the sheet." The sheet was gone and she lay naked on the floor trembling in the king's grasp. The guardian used the tip of the feather to trace a circle on the queen's abdomen, "what do you want with me?" Bulma screeched. The perpetrators paid no heed to her words as the feather continued to draw on her unmarked stomach.

Bulma's eyes flared violently as she began to feel hot pain searing through her body. She threw back her head and screamed. The pain stopped suddenly as she felt droplets splatter on her face. She looked up and gasped, the King, or what had formerly been the king was now a decapitated body laying next to her. Stataris was still kneeled next to her feather in hand. "You know you can't hurt me, Vegeta, I am invincible. Let me have it. It is of no use to you." Bulma wasn't sure what they were taking about. "It is worth nothing to you, it will only cause you to become weaker." Stataris taunted.

"It makes no difference, it is not yours to take."

"Then I wish for the next one. Your father owes me and since he is dead his debts a passed on to you."

"Fine, you may have it, but on my terms. Leave and I will pass it to you later." The new King stated. Stataris nodded and stood, she faced Bulma and dropped the feather from above, "...forget..." The Queen watched the feather float down to her forgetting everything that had occurred in the throne room and falling into a deep sleep. "Take her back to your room, do whatever it is you need to do. I have others to attend to." Stataris was gone as the last word left her lips.

Vegeta stood in the throne room and looked around, rage still burning in his eyes. He watched his Queen, she still slept. The body of his father was beginning to stain the carpet a deeper red. He stepped towards the throne and sat in the chair's embrace relishing the feel of power contained in the chair. He stood and walked away from the dais to stand over his Queen. With her in his arms, he left to return to their quarters.

In their room he watched her sleep, her chest rising rhythmically while her blue eyes flickered under her closed lids. Vegeta closed his eyes and listened to his inner voice, it whispered to him about a new ki. He swallowed once and began to form a plan in his mind. Should he tell her? All first couplings with a non-Saiyajin mate result in a miscarriage. Perhaps it would be best if he destroyed the failed child before its mother knew. In her sleep, Bulma mumbled something about it being cold and rolled closer to Vegeta's warmth. He'd decided, he wouldn't tell her, there was no reason for her to know. He held her close to him and placed a hand over her abdomen and concentrated. In a moment it was gone, no trace of the ki left.

On earth the Z warriors were thrilled that Yamacha was alive, they questioned him extensively on his sudden revival. Kami and Piccolo could still feel the new charge of that woman in the air around Yamcha. While the rest of the group celebrated on the lookout, Yamcha stood off away from the other looking down on Earth. "Bulma..." his mind whispered, missing her. Tomorrow they were going back to Earth to help rebuild and find their lost friend. Yamcha jumped as he felt a presence beside him, he turned to look. It was the woman again. She stood cold and unwavering, looking down on the earth, "Bulma is no longer on Chikyuu. She will return when the time is right, but she is no longer yours."

"Where is she?" he was almost afraid to ask, he looked down on Earth, studying the people as if they were as important as anything.

"She is sleeping, tight in the embrace of her new husband. Her life has started again anew." Yamcha turned to ask her another question but the stranger had vanished. Sadly he turned and returned to the party to tell the others the news.

Bulma awoke to an empty bed, food was on a tray on the nightstand and she could hear what she assumed was a shower. Slowly she stood and pawed her way to the bathroom, rubbing her stomach. The door was slightly ajar and she pressed it open with her fingertips. Steam rolled out and she smiled seeing the form of her husband through the frosted glass. She ran a hand through her hair and found it rather matted with sweat from last night. Cautiously, she pulled the shower door open slightly and stepped in. He felt her as she entered the stall before she put her hands around his waist and laid her head on his chest. They stood there for a long time, just letting the water run over them.

When they were done they dressed and left the room, there was business to attend to. As they neared the throne room, Vegeta pulled out a silk scarf and tied it tightly around her eyes. "This isn't the thing you want to see." he whispered into her ear and led her into the room of delegates. She followed him blindly with only his gloved hand to lead her. Her ears could detect there were others in the room; they seemed agitated, almost frantic. Her prince led her down what felt like a carpeted path till he had her sit on a hard chair, then his warm leading hand was gone. The crowd became quiet and Bulma began to fidget in her seat, something felt off here.

The silence in the room was broken by Vegeta's commanding tone, "I am now King of Vejiitasei, you will swear your oaths of fealty to me to follow in the paths of my father." Unknown to Bulma he pointed to the decapitated body that still lay on the floor from early that morning. The delegates took a long look at the new King sizing him up, choosing their sides. One foolish Ambassador stepped forward, "Who is your mate, we do not bow down to off-worlders!" he asked, forgetting how lethal a Saiyajin could be. In an instant the man was dead, body parts strewed over the carpet. "My mate does not concern you." He nodded to his guards and they advanced from out of the shadows, their red armour glinting in the light. The soldiers knelt on one knee and swore fealty to their King in their own language. Slowly the rest of the delegates followed suit. Vegeta snorted "Have someone clean this mess up. There is business to attend to." Slaves emerged to clean up the bloodied mess and return the room to its former glory. As the last drop of blood vanished the new King pulled the silk scarf away from the eyes of his Queen. He softly whispered into her ear. "Welcome of Vejiitasei, Queen Bulma."

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