"What in the name of the Fates was that? It felt like it landed close to the house; could it possibly have been a missile?"

The equally shocked Sar’in shook his head, replaying the last few moments of the objects descent. "It couldn’t have been a missile, it looked like it fell right from the heavens. From the speed it came in at and by its fiery descent I would say it had to have come from high up in the stratosphere. Nothing produced on this planet could reach that height; I’ve never seen anything with that level of engineering. It could have been some kind of meteorite but it looked too big to make such a small amount of damage. Something that size would have easily destroyed the house with the shock wave."

ChiChi had long since ignored the technical’s reply, shouting out orders to the guards that soon filed into the main hall. The explosion, or what ever it was, had rocked the strongly built house through its foundation and Sar’in knew that the hall would soon be crowded as it was on that faithful day he had sworn his loyalty; maybe today would be the day it came to be tested. His eyes caught the movements of the warriors as they quickly grabbed weapons from the decorated walls, noting with some pride the ki powered weapons that Modulus had developed. If it was Enleo he was in for a rude awakening, no matter what technological advantage Gero could have come up with to use against the Mistress.

"Men, I want you to scour area. It looked and felt as if the thing landed here, due West of Bushi, no more than a league away. Break into teams of four and each take a direction and investigate; this isn’t a fight, this is recon. If this is an attack, we can’t trust that Enleo is coming from the direction that the missile landed or which direction it came from. If you find anything: the object, troops, anything that looks suspicious, come back immediately. Use your weapons only if it is an emergency, is this understood?"

A quick note of acknowledgement was sounded and the men quickly left. He could sense the electricity in the air; the anticipation of combat flowed through him as the room steadily filled with bodies clad in black and red. Those two thousand eyes looked to their Mistress as they had those days before when this threat had been first told to them. The great war had begun and all that could be done now was to just watch and wait.

~~~~~

It was the harsh smell of ammonia that met Kakarott’s nostrils, pulling his unconscious mind back from the black depths. Blinking his heavy eyes open, his brows raised and his angular eyes widened in shock at what he saw around him. It was only a moment ago that he was in outer space, staring out into that dark abyss that was the never-ending universe, right before that whirlpool opened up in the nothingness and swallowed him whole. Kami, he must have been going nuts, none of this makes any sense whatsoever. Where was he, how long had he been out, what had happened back there? Searching through the pod he found the answer to at least two of his questions; it had been five days since he had left the ship. As he found the radar for the Prince’s pod he realised, with a great deal of joy, that he had landed on the right planet. A slow static beat pulsed from a small monitor in the pod: location, due East, several kilometres away.

Feeling out with his senses, Kakarott searched out for Vegita’s distinctive ki signature. Smirking at the tiny power readings that nipped at his sense, a realisation hit the Saiyajin, he couldn’t feel Vegita. They had been experimenting with hiding their true power levels but why would the Prince do it now? They only used that technique when fighting a high ki opponent but there was no one close to their power level, there wasn’t even an Elite level Saiyajin’s power level here. Maybe Vegita sensed his arrival and was testing him, though he never hid from a fight. Often they used that technique to scare opponents in the tournaments King Cold would put on, hiding their power levels, making their opponents cocky until they realised it was too late. Yet, Vegita hiding his power now didn’t make any sense at all, unless the natives of this planet can do it too. Either way, he wasn’t going to find the Prince by just sitting here. Looking back at the radar he watched the blip of the pod’s homing device. If I’m going to find answers to Vegita’s whereabouts, I might as well start there.

Finally opening the pod’s hatch, the Saiyajin warrior stood up and started to rise in the air. His lungs filled with the clean air of the planet as his nose tried to pick up the smells of burning and death that normally accompanied a battle. He was amazed as he continued to rise in the air, over the tree tops, the untouched trees. This planet was in perfect condition; there wasn’t a burn mark or a crater anywhere his sharp eyes could see. Vegita would never have given up without a fight, unless the natives did; but why then is Vegita hiding his power level? Every minute he spent on this planet confused him more and more. Maybe there wasn’t even any alien life on it? No one had ever mapped it or even found it, he didn’t even know if it had a name but someone, certainly not Vegita, had fixed the pod so life and intelligent life did exist. Kakarott stopped his ascent and stared down on the unsuspecting planet which seemed to hold so many mysteries. He looked out over the thick forest where he had landed, the planet obviously could support plant life but there was no signs of any animal life, though the crash would have probably scared anything off. Turning in the air, he faced west, the light of the low sun highlighting the dark cliffs in the distance. Once he found the craft, then maybe he could start answering some of these questions. Kakarott let his aura surround him, not caring what was out there; I’m not going to let them think that a Saiyajin warrior is afraid of them. The sound of the rushing wind blew past his ear as he flew over the dense woods. Staring down through the trees, a bit of movement caught his eyes, so there was something out there, and as his ears picked up the sounds of cracking twigs and panting, he knew they were trying to get away. Bakas, as if they could escape him, but they could give him some answers, so I guess I will let them live.

Listening carefully to their pants, the Saiyajin rapidly descended, falling through the trees and landed right in front of the fleeing men. Before him were four men, all dressed in black and red armour and armed with various weapons. So this planet did have intelligent life, and warriors to boot, though ones with very low fighting power. To attack them and then ask questions or to question them and then attack them; the dilemma went through his mind. He never got a chance to decide as one of the natives questioned him.

"Who are you and what are you doing on Bushi land?" The click of a weapon being armed and the feeling of ki energy began to radiate from the creature. The sudden burst of ki caused Kakarott to examine the creatures even further. To his amazement, the things almost looked like Saiyajins, small Saiayjins but Saiyajins never the less. He glanced down to their waists, almost expecting to see a brown furry tail wrapped around them but no such appendage existed. Well, there are some similarities in appearance but they aren’t Saiyajins, nor are they strong enough to defeat Vegita; even their ki energy doesn’t feel right.

"What are you doing on Bushi land? Answer me, or you will face the consequences." Bushi land, what an odd name for a planet, maybe I was too quick to brand this planet intelligent.

"I didn’t know I was on anyone’s land. Is that the name of this planet, Bushi land?" Well, I might as well get some answers from them before I have some fun.

"Don’t play dumb with me, you are a member of Enleo’s army; the armour must be something that Gero invented, I’ve never seen it on any of his troops before. Answer the question, what are you doing on Bushi land and where is Enleo’s army?"

Now Kakarott knew he was going nuts, what was this creature talking about; who in the Empire was Enleo and what is a Gero? I see I’m not going to get anything intelligible from these creatures. With that thought in mind he began to power up, wondering if these pathetic weaklings could even feel out ki.

The normal yellow glow surrounded the Saiyajin’s body, the humans’ eyes widened in response. Panic rose in guards at the spectacle before them, if this was an invention of Gero’s, a new mechanical warrior or something, they had very little chance of escaping or informing Bushi about this new threat. Knowing that they only had a few moments before it would be too late, one of the guards raised his pulse beam cannon to his shoulder and aimed it at the tailed creatures head. Concentrating on his goal, the guard pulled the trigger and let the energy fly at the beast, his attention diverted for a moment to give a loving thought to his comrades, his Mistress and family. Whatever happened after this, it would be the end of all of them. Enleo was here and with resources far stronger than anyone could have imagined.

It took Kakarott only a second to feel the strange ki energy flying towards him and put up a block against it. So these creatures can use ki, though it’s not even their own. Taking that as the offensive manoeuvre, the Saiyajin countered, aiming at the creature who shot him with that strange weapon. The warrior, shocked that Kakarott had withstood the shot, tried to aim his weapon again; nervousness making his hold the unsteady. The man screamed as the Saiyajin punched him through his solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him and smashed his spleen. The creature sank to his knees and then to the ground, groaning at the unimaginable pain. His comrades could merely stare in shock at the attacking creatures, at its speed, its strength. At that one moment they forgot their mission and the instinct to survive kicked in. Two of the men grabbed at their weapons, hoping to wound the creature, to stop it or at least slow it down so they could escape. They didn’t even have a chance to aim as Kakarott’s attention turned back to them and flew at them, striking them dead before they could pull their triggers. The last man simply ran, hoping and praying that whatever it was would not attack him, his need to survive beyond anything else. I am willing to give up my life to fight against Enleo, but if that is the kind of soldiers he has then we don’t stand a chance against them. I have to warn the Mistress, there just might be something we can do.

Kakarott turned to see the creature run through the forest, towards the cliffs and the signal. Coward; didn’t even stay to help his comrades, not that he couldn’t have helped them anyway. Well, if Vegita’s whereabouts didn’t interest him, the weapons these creatures used and their origin certainly did. In all the stories he had heard his father telling him and his brothers about the squad’s exploits he never remembered anything about ki weapons, maybe this world was more of a challenge then it appeared. Whatever these ‘things’ were, they were obviously lower level warriors. This rock had bigger fish, and the fact that they had done something to Vegita meant that they were definitely worth his attention. Smirking, he decided to run after the fleeing being, flying would alert the creature to his presence and whatever was out there he wanted to surprise them. Feeling out the other being’s ki, his sharp Saiyajin ears caught the sound of his sloppy retreat. Soon he would see some real action.

~~~~~

Passing through the immaculately clean halls of the white and purple palace, the armoured figured walked behind another as he was led through corridors he had never seen. This place seemed a maze to him, in the past two weeks that he had spent here he had memorised the way to the hall, the study, the Kennel, and that woman’s bed chamber but a large chuck of this house was still a mystery to him. Well, he was deluding himself, this entire world was a mystery to him but the biggest one so far was what was he doing walking through these particular halls, wearing a bastardised version of his Saiyajin armour.

He still remembered last night, and the oath that he had to give to the blue haired wench and he was sure that all of this had something to do with it. After he had awoken, he found that he was no longer in the study, nor was the woman with him, but he was sleeping in a servant’s quarters, with a young boy standing by the door. Mentally cursing that he had not awoken with that tantalising little vixen, he sighed at the feeling of sheets beneath him; it was definitely better than the small cells of the Kennel. In truth he hadn’t been there in a week, always waking up in other rooms, with or without a bed, but never chained. When he was fully awake, the young boy, clad in the standard white loincloth, informed him that the Mistress had a new assignment for him and with it, a new set of clothes. Relishing the feeling of armour on his body again, he gladly donned the white and blue tipped chest plates and quickly followed the boy to find out what new service she had for him. He almost laughed at the memory of how she had informed him that she needed him to save her from enemies, little did she know a far more deadly enemy would soon be unleash upon her when he was free of this blasted contraption.

~~~~~

"Lady ChiChi, all of the search parties are back but one, the one that went to investigate the explosion. Should we sent a larger party, they could have been attacked."

"No, Kreden. If they were attacked by anything they know to get the attention of the house, we must trust that they are going to come back. We can’t allow more troops to be diverted to investigate what could be nothing if there is chance that Enleo might attack. Fortify the guards posts, keep on the look out for anything that could be coming and you," ChiChi said, pointing at Sar’in. "Contact Modulus, they must be informed if this is the attack."

"Mistress, Mistress, Chielam was just spotted coming through the Ignatieff Pass but no other member of the team are with him." A soldier panted out as quickly as he could to deliver the news.

"My Lady, we must assume the worst, that Enleo has attacked. What should we do?"

ChiChi stared out at the assembled; she might have been preparing for this moment since she was fourteen but fear still crept at her. What if they couldn’t win; she was sending all of these people to their deaths, but even if they survive this day could they even hope to survive the full wrath of the sadistic monster? At this point, the only thought that entered her mind was a saying her mother often told her, it’s better to die on your feet than live on your knees. She would never give up, even if it meant her death, she would avenge her parents, and looking out over the crowd she knew they were all willing to make the same sacrifice, to avenge families, friends, and loved ones that had all gone before them, before their time.

"All of you, arm yourselves. If this is the attack, it will go down in the history of Gaia that a stand was taken this day against the worst monster of our time, that we were willing to fight against tyranny. Remember your training, you are the greatest groups I could have ever lead and I will stand by you today if you stand by me."

Another roar rang through the house as the people of Bushi made their decision to fight. So loud was it that they never heard the sounds of combat right until the huge wooden doors swung open.

"Mistress; outside there is a creature, a tailed creature attacking the fortress. Chielam was in shock when we brought him in. We could barely get the gate closed before this thing began to attack."

"A thing with a tail, what are you talking about? Sar’in, Lady Bulma said that Gero was a genius in Biology and Chemistry, could he have built or created this warrior?"

"I have no idea what Gero is capable of, I’ve never heard of anyone having the technology to create living beings. Wait a minute, you said it had a tail, anything else about it?"

"I don’t know, I only saw it for a moment before the gate was closed. Chielam has been babbling since we got him in about flying creatures with tails. I haven’t been able to make sense of any of it, one of the other guards noticed that the thing had a tail. It must have been the thing that attacked him; it must have killed the others."

"Have you been able to see anymore, can you see any of Enleo’s army?" Kreden asked.

"No, sir. The only thing we’ve seen is that creature, but from Chielam’s ranting it sounds as if it could be worse than even Enleo."

"Well, whatever it is I want everyone armed. Enleo might be cocky but he would never just send one soldier to attack an enemy, no matter how strong it might be. If this is one of Enleo’s, I want it killed and sent back to him in pieces." ChiChi fear renewed itself; she could fight against human monsters but freakish flying creatures with tails were another story all together. If that murderous bastard thinks he can intimidate me with his new monster, he is in for a big surprise.

The rumbling in the room was quickly hushed by the sounds of fighting in the halls. It seemed the thing had made its way into the house, and from the noise it was meeting resistance. Screams of terror began to waft through the open hall door. It couldn’t be a demon, the time of the dark night was approaching, maybe the superstitions were true, but why would it attack Bushi and at the start of the day as well.

"Hold your places, men. Don’t attack until we know exactly what it is, then we can plan for later attacks if there are more of them out there."

The sounds began louder, screams and the sound of flesh against flesh echoed through the dimly lit hallway and then a deathly silence fell over the house. The muffled sounds of footsteps soon filled the void, the thumping becoming louder and louder in the deafen silence. The cocky bastard, it doesn’t even try to hide itself from being detected, it will definitely in for a rude awakening. The footsteps finally stopped and the click of one thousand ki weapons filled the hall, her men were ready to blast this creature to the afterlife. Standing in the doorway was a creature that looked a man: tall, very strong, handsome man, with spiky black hair and a confident smirk on his tanned face. He wore white plate armour with blue trim, maybe he was a creation of Modulus, wearing those colours but Bulma would never attack an ally. The male merely stood in the doorway, acting almost unaware of the hundreds of eyes boring into him and the weapons aimed for his head; his stance as relaxed and overconfident as the smirk on his face. Crossing his arms over his chest, a deep tenor voice soon resonated through the tension filled hall.

"I wish to see the Master of this house, I challenge him to a duel."

~~~~~

Yamcha stared daggers at the figure that walked through the doors of the training hall, that spiky haired monkey wearing the armour of a guard of Modulus; it sickened him to the core. When the Mistress had ordered them to the practice hall with the promise of a new training aid he had been eager to see what new creation she had come up with. It had been almost a week since she had declared the house in a state of emergency but after a few days he was beginning to think that it was nothing but a hoax; he had never trusted that little pale eyed bitch. And now this, what is this planet going through: making bargains with assassins, allowing Bruhas to live in the house, and now, letting a murderous alien fight with her loyal guardsmen. The Mistress must have caught an illness of the mind in this past year, and it seems to have become worse in the last month.

The alien stood before them all now, smirking with that air of superiority as he did on the first day Yamcha saw him in the torture chamber. Didn’t Bulma see the danger that he presented to her, to all of them? That tailed freak was a monster and it had to be destroyed. His thoughts were cut short as his attention turned from the Saiyajin to the sound of footsteps along the ped-way. Walking graceful down the stairs he was confronted with his angel, the beautiful creature that had been in his dreams since he first found himself in her arms. She moved gracefully through the giant room, the sway of her hips clearing visible through the shimmering blue gown she wore and he allowed his imagination to slowly peel away the rest of the garment. His memory of her, that soft, milky skin, her lithe body, those lovely supple breasts and smooth silky thighs washed over him as he watched her progress through the room. Even after all this time he still wished for her, longed to tangle his hands in that soft hair, have those legs wrap around his torso, that look of devotion in her eyes when they both hit their climax. His fantasy ended as he heard her finally speak, her stern serious voice bringing him back to reality.

"As you have all been working extremely hard for the up-coming battle, I have decided to give you a challenge. The person before you is a Saiyajin, a member of a powerful race of warriors and I have allowed him to fight against you to see what progress you have made and to give you an idea of what you could be facing when the battle begins. You will only engage in one-on-one combat and no ki attacks are to be used, is that understood?" The Mistress said, her eyes staring down into the Saiyajin’s as she made the last comment.

"How do you wish me to fight wearing this collar?" The Saiyajin’s deep mocking voice rang out in response to Bulma’s rather odd statement. I guess he didn’t know exactly what was going to happen today either. The Monkey Prince’s underlying anger at the situation made Yamcha’s own discomfort much more bearable. Yamcha smirked at the realisation that the alien was scared to fight against them with that collar on. Well, he didn’t need ki to fight, at least not against that thing. When Bulma sees me defeat her little monkey she would come back to me.

"The collar’s setting will be lowered to where your power will be at a human’s level. I also remind you that you have given me your word of loyalty and I make this request of you, do you go back on your word, Prince Vegita?"

Nodded her head, a technical slave walked over to the Saiyajin and began to fiddle with the collars controls. A little beep soon followed, along with a smirk from the collared alien. In an attempt to intimidate the guards, the creature allowed a low white light to surround it, showing off its power. Staring over at his guards, he was angered to find the look of fear and apprehension in their eyes at this new threat. Mentally cursing all of them for their cowardice, he barked at them an order to set up in formation and the names of three guards who would be first. Yamcha chuckled when the first man walked up onto the fighting stage across from the Saiyajin; he was a younger warrior, one of the newer ones to the house but he was a deadly fighter, of course, so were the two that would come after him. Depending how the little monkey handled them he might just send up some of his weaker soldiers, or if he proves to be a challenge maybe I’ll take the next round.

"Alright combatants," Bulma yelled out, "Begin."

~~~~~

Kakarott stared out at into the sea of faces before him; well at least he had found the origin of those weird creatures he had found in the forest. In front of him stood hundreds and hundreds of these native creatures, all wearing the same black uniform with the red emblem over their hearts; stupid bakas; just made it easier for him to target an attack. Again he felt the air crackle with that strange energy, ki but not ki. I guess this definitely is the place.

"I wish to see the Master of this house, I challenge him to a duel."

A murmur went through the gathered crowd, the attention of those eyes shifting from himself to the front of the hall, to a raised platform where two figures stood. One was clothed in an immaculate white uniform, a beacon in the darken hall, especially surrounded by the black garb of the rest of the natives. This must be the leader of these ‘warriors’, rather a strange looking fellow, hardly a fighter at all. Just another stupidity he could chalk up to these creatures, to pick such a frail leader, with the same fashion sense as Zarbon, as the leader of a group of warriors. Oh well, what could he except from beings with power levels that low. Ignoring the seemingly ineffectual leader of these people, his attention turned to the other occupant of the platform, a woman. Hmmm, must be a servant or a concubine of their leader, but still, what would she be doing in front of all the warriors. Kakarott’s disbelief at the bizarre customs of this planet was so replaced as his gaze fell over the woman on the stage. She is dressed like one of the soldiers, that black garb yet again, odd dress for a concubine. His Saiyajin eyes watched her intently, that uniform hid much of her figure from his view but he could still pick out the slopes and curves of a female, an attractive one anyway. Studying her face, he caught her gaze and smirked in surprise as the woman met his hard gaze with defiance. She has spirit that one, when this is over maybe I’ll take her for a pet.

"Where is the head of your house, is he such a coward as to not face my challenge?"

As interesting as it was to hold the staring contest with that little minx, his too fragile patience was beginning to break. Why does that white clad freak not come forward and accept my challenge, but what can you expect from weaklings? Thinking of a way to provoke a response, he began to charge a small amount of ki energy in his hand; if the leader of these warriors wishes to hide behind them maybe I should take away his cover. Scanning the crowd, his eyes picked on a target and he raised his ki charged hand to point directly at the creature’s chest, dead centre with the strange red symbol over his heart. Kakarott looked back at the stage, his eyes boring into the strange man in white, he would learn what it means to toy with a Saiyajin. His smirk widened as the creature in white realised what the Saiyajin was planning to do and looked over to the other occupant of the stage. Kakarott’s own gaze followed the man and the smirk vanished at the absence of the fiery little creature. Suddenly he felt a shift in the room, the sea of head parted right through the centre and a figure came into view, a smaller figure clothed in black, a curved figure with mahogany eyes that burned in his own bottomless black.

"I am the leader of this house and I accept your challenge."

If the little creature had chosen that moment to strike the Saiyajin would not have been able react. Kakarott allowed his eyes to try to confirm the words his ears had just taken in; this, this woman was the head of a household of soldiers, soldiers that obviously respected her. His mind reeled with too many possibilities of why this could and could not be true.

"You don’t seem so talkative now, is it that you do not think a mere woman could be a challenge, or is it that you’re scared?"

A smirked appeared on that pale smooth face as Kakarott’s own superior expression vanished into a scowl. Did she dare insult him, imply that he, one of the strongest Saiyajins in four hundred generations and this creature with a power level of one hundred mocks him. You have spirit, little one, but don’t think that will save you.

"What is the matter, creature? Does Enleo think by sending tailed humans that he will intimidate me? I give you the choice to leave right now before my warriors and I rip you apart; make your decision."

Kakarott began to chuckle at the little female ‘human’s’ comment; she still thinks I’m some kind of soldier of this Enleo person. She actually thinks I’m a ‘human’. This could be interesting; maybe I’ll play this game a bit longer.

"I don’t care if you are intimidated by our tactics, I issued a challenge and I heard that you accepted it. I don’t care if you think you can beat me, there are more of us than you could every dream of defeating. So, I’m ready if you are, ‘Master’, if you are; but you aren’t allowed to use your goon squad with this one."

Waiting for a curt comment, Kakarott was rather impressed as the woman merely nodded. The crowded, disorderly room suddenly cleared, the mass of black moved to stand at attention along the thick stone walls of the gigantic hall. Glancing around, he noticed that the markings on the floor, the outlines of a fighting arena. Glancing over at his opponent he felt a little tinge of disappointment, no tail.

"What is your name, thing? I am the Lady ChiChi of Bushi house and I never fight an opponent without knowing their name."

"I am Lieutenant Kakarott, a name I’m sure you will soon learn to curse."

A cough from the platform drew both Kakarott’s and the cocky woman’s attention. There stood the male in white, along with several others, looking of high rank. One of the taller men walked out from the crowd and he looked down at the two combatants.

"Since a challenge has been issued I will go over the rules of combat in this house. All fighting must be done within the ring. If any part of the body goes past the lines, the person is disqualified. All blows are allowed and victory comes either from a disqualification, a submission, or a knock-out. We have a rule in this house, Lieutenant; if anyone defeats the leader of this house they become the head of Bushi house. Are these rules understood?"

Both fighters nodded in agreement and faced either other.

"Understand this, creature, I’ve never been defeated and I don’t intent to be." The smaller figure replied as she took a stance.

"Alright, begin!!"

~~~~~

It might have been on a lesser level than what he was capable of but the too long held back surge of battle sang through the Prince of the Saiyajins’ body, increasing even more so as his third opponent walked up to face him. The first two had been simple fighters, hardly a challenge at all compared with Kakarott and the other sparring partners he had had in the past, but they were a pleasant warm up after his hiatus. Vegita blocked the right hooked aimed at his temple as he regarded this new competitor; this one was taking a much more direct approach with the Saiyajin Prince, at least he had learned from watching his comrades before him.

The first of Bulma’s elites had taken it slow, trying to assess what kind of fighter Vegita was. After a few experimental punches the human struck, attempting to hit him in the stomach and using his assumed fuzziness as the beginnings of an assault. The look of the human’s face as he took the hit with not so much as a flinch had been priceless, shock mixed with anger and a small measure of foreshadowed defeat. No matter how many times he had seen that look he never got tired of it. He smirked at the human’s shock when he mirrored his enemy’s attack, knocking the wind out of the stunned fighter and following it with a slamming elbow under the jaw. At that moment, his long wrought battle instincts came to life, and before the guard could collect himself to defend he went flying out of the fighting area, the red mark of Vegita’s palm clearly imprinted under the unconscious man’s chin. The next one took the Prince’s obvious non-use of his legs as a weakness and again after a few short kicks decided to strike. Baka human, as if he couldn’t tell what wasn’t coming; he had faced ten of the strongest fighters of Vegitasei when he was ten years old, faced them and defeated them before they could land a strike. This human took a similar approach, swinging around his leg to hit Vegita in the ribs with a round kick. Quickly blocking the obvious shot, Vegita decided to prove his adeptness with his legs as well as his hands. Using his knee, Vegita delivered a sharp knee into the man’s floating ribs, a satisfying smirk tugged at his lips as he felt ribs cracking under the assault and watched the man stagger back. A howl of pain followed, along with a look of pure rage from the source of the pained sound. At that, all decorum and strategy was abandoned as the enraged guard ran headlong for the Saiyajin Prince, swinging his fists under Vegita’s rapidly dodging head. A choke sound soon replaced the man’s snarls as Vegita grabbed the guard’s expose trachea and began to squeeze until his face began to turn purple and his once hard hits turned into weak slaps. The man’s head finally slumped forward as he blacked out. Chuckling at the second warrior’s unconscious state, Vegita tossed him from the arena and looked out at his audience. That onore who had tortured him on this first day, ‘Yamcha’ Dazu had called him, had a look of rage that even surpassed that of his second opponent. Figures; he trained them and chose them as an example of the houses fighting prowess, and to a greater extent his own, and Vegita had just mopped the floor with his first two choices like they were nothing. His amused gaze fell on the other object of his interest, that woman, Bulma. He had almost expected to see a blind rage in her eyes too, and he almost revelled at the idea of her eyes flashing with anger. Instead, he was met by a cold gaze, colder than it had ever been, assessment and criticism radiating from those blue pools. So his little human was testing him, seeing if he was worthy. I guess she was lucky she had found him, if this was what she had to protect her no wonder she feared these enemies of hers. Incredulous at the thoughts that had suddenly come to him, he pushed them out of his head and faced his next opponent.

At least this new one has some game play, even if his first move doesn’t work. After blocking the blow aimed at his head, the human kept pressing forward, using the opening in the Prince’s stance to draw a quick thrust kick to his stomach, as much to put distance between himself and the Saiyajin as to afford as physical damage. Watching this third opponent, Vegita decided he had had enough of this warm-up, if he had to fight against weaklings he might as well be leading these fights. Making his decision, the Saiyajin rushed as the other fighter, arm cocked back and ready to strike. Stunned by the speed at which the Saiyajin moved, the third of Bulma’s warriors was caught unaware as a slamming fist caught the man under the chin, shattering the jaw bone and sending him flying. Hmm, baka woman, she might have been able to understand about the power level but his more physical attributes were another story. He had noted with interest how easily he had broken the warriors’ bones, much thinner and more brittle than his own. Well, what can one expect from a planet with one tenth the gravity of Vegitasei.

"I certainly hope that isn’t all you have, I’m surprised this place has been taken over before this. Of course, why take over something of no value."

Black eyes bore into black eyes as Yamcha seethed with anger at Vegita’s comment. The Prince mentally chuckled, that human was so easily gloated, so quick to anger, no wonder the woman tossed him aside. I’m surprised she would give such a loose cannon such a high-ranking position, she actually strikes me the type with a bit of intelligence in her head.

Turning to hear to see if his words had effected her as it had her subordinate, ha again found her expression unresponsive, cool and calculated.

"Who is next, I want to see more of your great defence."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw several of the white garbed warriors make their way towards the fighting area but their advance was soon stopped by a taller, slightly broader figure, with spiky Saiyajin-like hair. So, Bulma’s little reject wished to fight against him. The man must obviously have a death wish, wanting to challenge me after having witnessed the fates of the first three. Oh well, I guess revenge will come earlier than I expected. Taking a Master stance, Vegita regarded his new opponent. How this human would pay for what he did, I’ll make him scream before I knock him out, but I’ll let him live so he can always feel the humiliation.

His rival adopted a normal basic stance and sneered at the Saiyajin’s cocky stance. Circling each other for a moment, Yamcha jumped at the Saiyajin Prince, a shout ripping from his lungs.

~~~~~

The second he had seen that head he knew, the hair gave it away even before he saw the long brown tail or the ever-present armour. Saiyajin; a shiver ran down his spine as he utter that word under his breath. Now Sar’in stood next to Kreden, watching with silent horror as the tall Saiyajin warrior and his new Mistress got ready to fight.

After the challenge was first issued, Sar’in tried to tell ChiChi of the danger she was facing. He knew she still thought she was dealing with one of Enleo’s soldiers; by the Fates, he wished they were now. If this one was anywhere close to the level the other creature was at, he could easily destroy this house and everything in it. Yet, when he found those dark black eyes boring into his own, a look of amusement and barely held aggression behind them, he froze. Even now, after those eyes left him and the second, more mocking challenge was called did he not tell ChiChi of the danger they all were in. Looking down at the two battle ready figures, Sar’in would have given anything to have stepped in to save her from fighting that tailed freak; and glancing around he saw he wasn’t the only one.

"Alright, begin!!" Kreden called out, and the two combatants began to circle. Both warriors were assessing, taking stock. The person across from them was a stranger, someone they had never fought, or could never even encounter before. ChiChi, having heard the reports of her men, had enough foresight to not jump into battle, even with her bravado from before she had understood that she would be the underdog in this battle. What shocked Sar’in the most was the caution that the Saiyajin was taking, either a very clever rouse to try to convince ChiChi to attack, and get her off her guard or maybe he was just testing her. She had said before that she had never lost a match and no matter how in love with violence the Saiyajins must be, he is probably fascinated by the challenge. Sar’in’s thoughts of combat strategy were forgotten as he watched one of the figures, the Saiyajin, leap at Mistress ChiChi, arm cocked back and ready to pound her back into the arena wall. The technical didn’t know who looked more shocked, the Saiyajin or himself when ChiChi, using an agility he didn’t think a human could possess, dodged out of the way of the fist and delivered a solid palm strike up and across the Saiyajin’s jaw. A shiver went through the room; that strike, with enough power behind it, could kill. That ChiChi used that strike, and so early in the match showed that she understood the threat of this creature, and as much in love with the challenge she would normally be, she also understood the danger he was putting everyone in if she lost. Sar’in’s respect for the woman grew at that thought.

The Saiyajin shook his head, trying to clear away the blow that felt as if it was too big to be delivered by such a small force.

"You’re a greater challenge then I had anticipated," the Saiyajin smirked as he rubbed his chin. "To show what a good sport I am, I’ve even out the odds a little more." With that, the chest armour slipped over his head and hit the floor with a solid thud. Kicking the armour towards the stage, the Saiyajin resumed his stance before ChiChi began her attack, kicking along his side, earning a tiny grunt from the Saiyajin before spinning around, avoid his counter attack to shoot an elbow at his temple. Sensing that he was not as affected by those blows as she had hoped, the woman began to fire a flurry of punches the Saiyajin’s stomach. Sending one last hard fist into his stomach, ChiChi again delivered a palm strike under the chin, knocking the creature’s head back while he swept his feet out from under him. The woman was about to strike again at her prone opponent when a hard laugh. Jumping to his feet, the Saiyajin stroked his jaw and smirked down at the now panting ChiChi.

"That was a good warm-up, but playtime is over. Now it begins."

~~~~~

Punch, kick, block, block, strike, punch, block. Bulma watched with composed indifference as she watched her old lover and her new one attack each other with unheard of fury. Since the first moment she had seen Vegita she knew he was dangerous, like an animal waiting to attack, his rage barely contained under his own control and the confines of the collar. While that side still scared her, she still was fascinated by it, wondering what kind of a fighter he was and he might be like if release from the confines of her collar. As she watched him fight the first three challengers she realised that his talk of Saiyajins and their power was more than just an idle boost; if she gained his true loyalty, even all the troops of Enleo and Gero combined couldn’t hurt her.

She was about to call the demonstration over. She knew Yamcha and his pride, he had been seething the moment the first combatant had been thrown from the ring. At first it had shocked her, she knew Vegita was strong but how could he have gotten that strong that fast? Slow realisation dawned on her as she looked at the collar, she had forgotten to recalculate the new level for his increase in power after Kayra healed him. She had told the slave to lower the collar’s drainer to allow the Saiyajin of one-eighth of his power, now that seemed to be more power than she had originally wished to allow him. By the time she grasped at what finally had happened it was too late; Vegita had called out his insult and Yamcha, like the overly arrogant ass that he was, stepped right into the Prince’s trap. Now the two were locked together in combat, in fact they were at a stalemate now as they locked arms, both jostling for position over the other. Vegita suddenly smirked and broke the lock, his head smashing Yamcha’s top half down as his legs swept the bottom half off the floor. The attacked man landed hard on his back and grunted at the sharp bite of pain.

"Warm-up is over," Vegita growled, "Now it begins."

~~~~~

As soon as those words left the creature’s mouth ChiChi could sense she was in way over her head. She had just delivered one of her most deadly combinations, and he had shrugged it off as if it were a mere tickle. She had figured he must have been holding something back but exactly how much had yet to be determined. If that was what he considered warm-up, how am I going to face him going all out? He hasn’t even broken a sweat.

"Giving up already? Well, what could one expect from a woman? No wonder these warriors are so weak, if you are the best of the lot."

ChiChi snarled at his taunts, if he thinks he is going to provoke me into fighting him blindly he has greatly underestimated me. Well, if physical strength is my weakness in this fight I guess overconfidence is his. Know the enemy, know yourself, my father always said, I guess this creature isn’t as wise.

Deciding it was now or never, ChiChi ran towards her opponent, mentally smirking at his too lax stance. When she was within arm’s reach of him, she grabbed his shoulders and used the momentum to flip over him. Obviously surprised by the unconventional move, he was too slow to prevent her from giving him a quick back kick in the kidneys. Jumping up again, ChiChi prepared to deliver a jumping round kick to his temple when she felt a firm hand grab at her moving legs. The sudden force of that strong fist over her ankle stopped the movement of her kick and using her vulnerable air position to his advantage and gave her a quick snap kick to her ribs. The sharp sting of pain welled through her; that hurt, that hurt a lot. The pain was soon pushed aside as he took another strike, this time to break her clavicle. Adrenaline pumping through her, ChiChi took a bold move and threw a quick shot at the arm holding her leg, directing it towards his exposed radius. The shot of pain she delivered was enough from him loosen his grip on her ankle. The pressure around her leg now gone she let herself fall to the ground, rolling away from him and adopting a stance again. This time the Saiyajin merely lunged at her, faster than before, with his fists at his side, ready to begin an assault on her abdomen. Rolling to her side, she narrowly escaped but she knew he was ready as soon as she was up again. Before she had placed herself in a proper stance he was on her again, grabbing her shoulders and ramming his knee into her stomach. Doubling over in his grasp, she felt searing pain as his clenched fist slammed into her back, knocking her to the ground.

"Is that all you have?" She heard a mocking voice ring out.

Forcing herself on to her knees she noticed his unwound tail for the first time. She didn’t know why but some inner sense was suddenly yelling at her, over the pain and the exhaustion she felt. Getting up on one knee, she lunged herself at him, at first aiming a punch at his stomach but moving at the last second towards the brown furry length.

~~~~~

Panting heavily, Yamcha stepped back from his opponent and wiped the blood from his mouth. The cocky bastard is good, very good. The Fates help them if he ever got out of that collar, but he is in it, and he might be good but he’s not unbeatable. At least he was panting, however lightly, and he was not without injury, Yamcha thought, glancing at the small cut under the monkey’s eye.

Against his better judgement, Yamcha glanced over at the woman in blue. Bulma’s expression was still stern and unemotional, the same cold stare he had confronted four days ago in the bathing chamber. Was this another one of her tests for him, to see if he was worthy? It couldn’t have worked out any better for her, allowing that monster to fight against him, with both of them at equal power, measuring who was the better man.

After his brief distraction, he again placed his attention on his opponent. By the Fates, how could his Bulma allow such a creature to touch her, to caress her, to delight in her as he had once before? He sneered at his shorter enemy and couldn’t get the image out of his mind of the two of them together. As if seeing the image that ravaged Yamcha’s mind, he saw Vegita smirk at him, mocking him. Anger beyond anything Yamcha had ever experienced welled up inside of him; he is responsible for this, for Bulma’s change. Thinking of nothing more than getting even with the thing that did him an imaginary ill, Yamcha darted at the Saiyajin. Aiming a kick to his opponent’s shin, he followed it up with an upper cut to the chin, glad that he had finally landed a punch that stunned the Saiyajin. Grasping the creature under the neck, he brought his leg up to sweep the monkey’s feet right out from under him. Yamcha felt his leg rise up and at the last moment, felt Vegita’s hands grab his triceps. Amazed at how much the Saiyajin weighted, Yamcha could do little as the combined weight of him and his opponent fell to the floor.

~~~~~

Lashing his tail back and forth, he watched the prone girl get to her knees. She had remarkable strength for one so small, one so weak, well weak to a Saiyajin. He smirked down at her; had she the strength to behind that skill she would be a match for even a Saiyajin, except himself or the Prince. The sudden reminder of the Prince made him remember his purpose here on this planet; this wasn’t the time to be playing with the natives. The question of what happened to Vegita again resurfaced. If this girl was one of the greatest warriors on this planet then why hadn’t it been conquered by the Prince, or at least why had he not made his presence known. What mysteries this place held.

Ah, so my little sparring partner is up, concentrating his attention again on the other warrior. It was obvious that his little demonstration of his ability before its proven very effective. I wonder if this planet had rejuvenation tank, he did want to keep her. As she opened her eyes, he almost smiled; she has more life in her yet. His smile quickly vanished when he followed the path of her gaze, so she thought she could get his tail, huh? He watched her jump to her feet and leap at him, her fist cocked to fire at his stomach. Her position changed in the air as she completely missed the punch and instead shot out her hand to grab at his tail. Amazed at her speed, his senses were faster and his tail lashed out of the way and twirled around his waist once again. Turning with her, he allowed her to take up a stance again, no point in ending this battle before it could get really interesting.

The woman snarled at him, for foiling her attack and jumped at him again. Round two, Kakarott thought as he lunged to meet her halfway. As soon as she was within distance he began firing shots, punches and kicks almost as fast as he would in a spar against his father. True to her nature she was keeping up with him, not giving an itch but never able to gain one either. She looked as if she was tiring again and her blocks and dodges were now becoming slower, as the odd hit would break through her defence. Delivering what was in his mind a light tap, he hit her low against her injured ribs. He earned a grunt of pain for his efforts, and more grunts of anger as he pinned her arms to her sides. Locking his elbows, he began to squeeze her side together, forcing the air from her lungs. Hmm, either a knock out or a submission to win, I wonder which will come first.

~~~~~

As Vegita felt his feet come out from under him only one thought came to his mind, I’m not going down without you with me. With that, he grabbed his opponent’s shoulders and allowed his greater body weight to bring them both to the ground. Baka human, does he really think taking me to the ground will change anything, any manoeuvrability I’ve lost can be more than made up for by my weight. Knowing his advantage wouldn’t do him any good in his current position, he used his one grounded leg to twist himself in the air and kneed the falling human in the stomach with his other leg. The two fell on their sides and Vegita used his earlier attack to take the advantage. As much as it almost pained him to say it, he was enjoying himself immensely, fighting with his human. It had been too long since he really practised his fighting skills, his physical technique over his ki ones. Grappling had been one of his earliest lesson and one he had not returned to in a long while, preferring kicks and punches to grabs, chokes, and holds. It seemed, unfortunately, that his opponent had either more experience or quicker reflexes in this instance. The human hit him across his bruised cheek, and before he could respond, the Prince found two arms tighten around his throat, cutting off his air in a deadly embrace. He tried to grunt as his opponent’s knee connected with the side of his own. He couldn’t let this human defeat him; he was Vegita, Prince of all Saiyajins. With that, Vegita clenched his fist and pounded his aggressor’s side, taking a deep breath as the pressure around his neck lessened. Clenching his other fist, the Saiyajin Prince began attacking his weaker human counterpart with a vengeance, pounding on his chin and temple.

~~~~~

How can she go on, Sar’in thought, wincing again as he saw the Saiyajin punched her ribs. He had never seen any of the sparring matches or training exercises during his tenure at Bushi but it couldn’t be anything compared with this. An unheard of anger welled up inside of him, the desire to jump and attack the Saiyajin himself, to do anything to help the woman who was now sacrificing herself in a losing cause.

"That asshole Enleo. The Mistress said he was smart but to use one of his warriors to defeat her and give up the house. The coward, he doesn’t even come himself and challenge her." He heard Kreden mutter under his breath, a sense of helplessness overcoming the Lady Bushi’s second in command.

Kreden’s comments were quickly forgotten as fear now replaced the anger in the technical’s mind. That, that tailed creature had finally decided he had had enough and was now squeezing the injured woman along her battered ribs, squeezing the very life out of her. Sar’in could only growl furiously as he watched the torture continue, knowing there was nothing he could do to save her.

~~~~~

The sound of flesh against flesh filled her ears as she tried to block out the spectacle before her. Bulma wanted to scream; her carefully placed mask starting to break under the pressure of watching the two males beat each other to within an itch of their lives. She couldn’t take it, her heart and her loyalty splitting her in two. She had always tried to keep some emotional distance between her and her pleasure slaves but it seemed that they did not understand the same principle. She had seen fighting before, had watched practices, spars, even battle but only one other memory compared with this; the night of the attack and her parents’ death. That night, the slaughter had been personal, as it seemed here. She had seen so much blood spilt and the thought that it was going to spill again, because of her, made her stomach sink to the floor. She watched in silent horror as Vegita began to pound on Yamcha, a look of vengeance in his eyes. Her stare moved back to Yamcha, his face and chin covered in his own blood. Her eyes caught the motion of Yamcha’s hand before she closed her eyes and turned her head in dread.

~~~~~

Can’t breath, getting sleepy. No, can’t give up, can’t let him win. ChiChi forced her eyes opened, fighting a battle on two fronts, against him and against her own weaken body. Have only one chance; have to get his tail. As well as her oxygen-starved mind could function she knew that that tail of his was a weakness. Yet, in her current position there was no way could reach it. Must think, body getting heavy. No, I’m not going to die here. Mother, I know it’s a dirty shot but it’s all I have left.

Taking her last ounce of strength, ChiChi swung back her leg and drilled her knee into her attacker crotch. His scream of pain was like music to her ears as his hands fell from her side and he dropped to his knees. Catching herself before she fell, she roughly grabbed for the brown furry length around the kneeling man’s waist and squeezed it for all it was worth.

~~~~~

Damn that creature, Yamcha thought as he tried to shift his legs from underneath the surprisingly heavy set which had pinned him to the ground. He tried to block the flurry of punches aimed at his head but he was failing miserably. He knew he only had one chance but this guy was out for his blood; Bulma should have sent him to the torture chamber more often to drive the fight out of him. Flicking his wrist, Yamcha felt the welcoming smoothness of a cool piece of steel on his palm. He tested his legs again, hoping to use them as leverage so he could spring an attack with the knife. Darn bastard, there has got to be some way to distract him.

~~~~~

As soon as the pain on one side ended, the other side flared up and he knew from experience that this one wasn’t going to let up soon. He didn’t know who he hated more right now, her for catching him off guard or him for being too easy on her. Mind numbing pain shot up his spine again as she gave his tail another hard tug. It took all his pride and stubbornness not to yell out at every twist and pull; he was a Saiyajin, he couldn’t allow this tiny weak female to beat him. Yet, he could feel the strength leave his body every second she held his tail, hell to the Saiyajin tail and all its weakness. A breath next to his ear brought him back to a sense of reality.

"Look who is weak now?"

Great was the Saiyajin rage and the might that went with it.

~~~~~

It took a second for him to feel that ki, a second to recognise its source and other second to yell in pain as he felt a blade slash through his body suit and slice through his forearm. He felt that hand swipe down for another blow, this time for his face. Angered at the cowardly actions of his opponent, a violent rage began to flow through the Saiyajin Prince like liquid fire and for the first time since he had been placed in the collar he powered up. His ki leapt in response and he was bathed in a bright blue-white light. The force of his aura threw the other man off of him. Time to show that onore real power.

~~~~~

Never in all of the battles Sar’in had seen, which admittedly weren’t many, had there been such a fast turn-around one way and then the other. First, he saw the Mistress knee the Saiyajin, causing a collective wince to travel through the room. She had then grabbed the creature’s tail, causing it to writhe in agony. One second later, the tables turned again and he covered his eyes as a bright yellow light surrounded the tall humanoid and threw ChiChi back several feet. Before she could even stand she had been grabbed again, this time with both hands held behind her back by his one. Fates deliver us from this evil.

~~~~~

Blood flooded freely on the arena floor, a mixture of Yamcha’s and Vegita’s. The motion of Yamcha’s knife was faster than she could see but when she heard the Saiyajin Prince yell out she saw the knife in Yamcha’s hands. It took Bulma a brief moment to wonder what had distracted Vegita long enough to allow Yamcha the use of the weapon when a light surrounded the Saiyajin, a light she had only ever seen three times in her life. Calling to the technical that had first adjusted the collar, she grasped the controller and watched the fight.

~~~~~

Beautiful yellow light, like the rays of the sun, surrounded her, along with a warm body and an arm that held back her arms in place. She weakly struggled against the iron grip, knowing that this was the end. I’m sorry Mother, Father. Please forgive me. She shivered involuntarily as she felt his breath against her ear.

~~~~~

With the knife sliding out of his hand from the impact of the mysterious blow, Yamcha quickly turned and faced his rival, his now glowing rival. After all that, he still hasn’t even used most of his power. Gritting his teeth, the man tensed his muscles and prepared for the coming attack.

~~~~~

All he could do was smirk as he felt her shiver beneath him, she knew the end was near as well as he did.

"You have spirit, little one. You would have made an excellent Saiyajin warrior."

Her eyes widened in horror at what he said. You do know what that means, well you can think about it after your nap.

~~~~~

Kami, the power, it had been too long. Staring over at his rival, he smirked in pure amused malice and flew at the now helpless creature.

~~~~~

You would hear a pin drop on the floor of the hall as Sar’in watched in suspended disbelief at watched the Saiyajin raise his hand and club the dark haired woman along her temple. The woman, his new Mistress, who had faced against this creature for almost an hour and had almost defeated him, slumped into the Saiyajin and blacked out, unable to fight. Almost cradling the bundle to his chest, he shifted her to one of his thick arms and yelled out to the house, the sense of authority in his voice.

"I’ve defeat your Mistress in combat, as you have all seen. What say you?"

Sar’in burned with rage as the entire assembled crowd, the warriors of Bushi, yelled out at the top of their lungs.

"All hail the Master of Bushi House!!!"

~~~~~

Bulma cringed as a loud thud reverberated through the arena; the match was over and very decisively too. There, twenty feet from were he stood a second ago, was Yamcha, crawling out of a man-size hole in the wall. Making his way to his feet, he looked over at her, and fell to his knees and then to the floor; he was out cold.

"Take the injured to the Bruha, she should have something to heal their wounds."

Her guards nodded to her and began to leave, taking their fallen comrades with them. A grunt broke her concentration as she turned to the Saiyajin Prince, the still glowing Saiyajin Prince. He jumped down from the stage and eyed her, his intention so clear it caused her warriors to stop, ignoring her direct order. Walking towards her, she couldn’t help but compare him to a panther: sleek and beautiful, but deadly. Putting up her mask of indifference again, she matched his stare, never think I will bow down to you, Vegita. He continued to walk towards her until he was merely inches from her nose.

"That was a very stupid move of you, freeing my power from the confines of the collar. You should be thankful I have given you my word of honour; I won’t attack you while I wear this collar. Since I have passed your silly test, I ask a reward. This healer of yours, she uses magic, right?"

The mask of indifference fell as her brain processed his words. He wanted to see Kayra, but why? Her mind was being muddled by his questions, his very presence. She felt his body heat surround her, along with that beautiful light from so many nights ago. Not knowing why he would request such an audience, she merely nodded to his question.

"I wish to see her tomorrow, I have a question for her." Vegita announced, acting as if he were the Master of the house. Not knowing if she could request such a thing of the woman, she decided that first things were first, and she again ordered her troops to go to the healer.

"Mistress, I don’t think we should take Master Yamcha as he is, the movement might injure him further."

"You may come back later for him or bring Kayra here to look at him. The better if you do it before he wakes up, he does not like the Bruha and would only injure himself further trying to get away from her."

Satisfied with explanation, her soldiers finally left, leaving her alone with the Saiyajin Prince and an unconscious Yamcha. Looking over at Vegita, she noted again the gash on his arm and remembered his yelp of pain at being struck with the piece of metal. With the prying eyes of others gone, she took his arm in her own and studied it.

"You’ve been injured. I’ll call for a slave to bandage the wound, does it pain you greatly?"

Shocked by her suddenly gentle tone, Vegita allowed her to examine his arm.

"You know nothing of Saiyajins, woman. It’s a simple scratch, a flesh wound. I do not need your healer for this."

Stepping closer into him, her hand grazed the side of his face, causing him to wince slightly as she touched the cut on his cheek. Not thinking of anything else, she tilted her face up slightly and kissed him, full on the mouth.

"You will go to one of the medic slave and get these seen to." She declared, after breaking the kiss. By what ever sense he had in that Saiyajin mind of his he agreed to her demand. When the guards returned for their downed comrade, Vegita went with them, smirking at his down opponent all the way out of the fighting hall.

~~~~~

He returned to her a few hours later, his arm covered in a white cloth bandage and the cut over his eye cleaned though not dressed. His arms were folded over his chest in his classical pose, his naked chest, as he had to relinquish the armour. Standing before her in his old ‘uniform’, he didn’t make a move towards her.

"Why did you choose to test me today?"

"Would you rather I had waited until tomorrow?"

His cold expression didn’t move. "You know what I mean, woman; why did you have me fight your warriors, why did you allow me that kindness?"

Shocked at his unexpected revelation, she stepped towards him and wrapped her arm around his neck, her free grazing over the skin across his clavicle.

"I needed to test your loyalty to me. I also wished to know how good of a fighter you were. Believe me, you exceeded all my expectations. I told you once you could only use your body as a weapon if I ordered it, I wanted to know what kind of a weapon I had attained." By now she was kissing him along his collarbone, her hand massaging the spot above his tail. Sighing as she felt him purr against her, she felt his arms wrap around her waist and her thighs and carry her to the waiting bed.

~~~~~

Yamcha laid on one of the cots in the medic room, his head and ribs wrapped in gauze but he was awake and alive, and wishing he was neither. He still remembered the cry of pain as he slashed at his opponent, spilling that monster’s blood. The moment it took the creature to register the pain and react was just enough for him to raise his knife a second time to slice through the monkey’s throat and end the threat forever. Only one second it took, but it was a second too slow as the creature used its energy to blow him off as if he was nothing but a rag doll. Before his mind could even process what had happened to him he found himself again airborne, smashing into a wall and then everything went to black. When he had again opened his eyes he was sure that he must have been hallucinating, or in a nightmare. Before him was his love, his Bulma, standing in the bloodied hand of that monster. Yamcha felt his heart spilt in two as he saw her caress his face, the look of devotion she had reserved only for him looking into the eyes of another. Then it had happened, she kissed him, and every fibre of his soul wanted to scream out as his body laid in silence agony. How, how could you do this to me Bulma? Sorrow unlike anything he had ever felt overcame him and tears formed in his eyes. In all their times together, she had never once kissed him on the mouth, never once let him taste her lips. And yet, she allowed that creature, that monkey tailed murderer to have what he, her first love, could never have. I will not allow this to happen, Yamcha thought, fighting back his tears; you will be mine, Bulma.

* * * * *

Table of contents
Chapter 4
Chapter 6