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the-ash0 · 5 years

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surviving paradise 21 -want

She's down in her den; a lab in the lower catacombs of Capsule Corp. Hiding, I suppose.Though she should know I can sniff her out by her ki —puny though it is. The door is open, and I can hear her tinkering away. Slow wafts of smoke claw their way out from the entrance and into the hallway like some hungry beast.

I’ve never been down here before and given a choice, I think I’ll never return again. The place is dark, oppressive, and in severe need of a better ventilation system. What possesses a woman of means to seclude herself in such a deprived little hell? Small wonder she’s so weird.

Before I can come up with a decent plan of attack, the vixen beats me to the punch. Something hits the tabletop with a clunk; and I hear her sigh as she announces, "come on in, Vegeta. I know you are out there."

Well damn. Guess she's not hiding. With a grunt I enter her lair, and regret it instantly; the air inside is as thick and solid as a curtain. A brown, filthy one. Although the chamber itself is spacious enough, the hallway has more room to manoeuvre. Bookshelves line all the walls, filled with a large assortment of items; everything except for actual books, which are placed in large stacks on the floor. It’s a labyrinth of contraptions, running in every direction. The only clear path is to her desk, half-way in. The desk itself has only enough space cleared for her hands and her current project.

I quickly realise how she found me out. Monitors are suspended over the desk and while one shows a zoom-in of her work, the two others are clearly surveillance cameras. The left shows an obvious and familiar place: the Gravity Room. I tell myself I should not be surprised, shouldn't bother worrying about such things like being watched. Raditz told me I’d drive myself mad worrying about shit like this, and he was the expert. No; it’s actually a good thing she likes to spy. It’s exactly what I need her for. "I thought I told you I had a job for you?"

Bulma turns in her revolving chair to face me, and lights up another cigarette to take a deep drag, then breathes out the stench like she’s Shenron’s spawn. Once again, she’s all smiles and familiarity when she was screaming at me less than an hour ago. "Oh, Vegeta. How nice to see you’ve finally heeded my warning and dragged yourself away from my invention. Amazing though it is, I really think it’s time for a break, don't you? So ask away. What is it that you require of the world's greatest genius?"

I just broke several bones, not to mention five ribs, why would I need any more breaks? The woman seems in a good enough mood, reclining in her chair, so perhaps I am better off leaving her with her silly misconceptions.

"Right." I turn and run my hand along a contraption that reminds me of a mechanical winged beast. Its head is at my eye level, and my finger leaves a near-white streak on the brown surface. Ugh. I wipe the grime off on my shorts quickly, suddenly missing my gloves. "Well there is one little thing you could help me with. Just a little thing." I clear my throat again. It must be the smoke.

This gets her attention. She leans forward and brings the long cigarette to her mouth halfway before thinking better of it, then extinguishes the little smokestick in an ashtray by her side. There is a soft smile on her lips as she states, "well, I'm always happy to help out, Vegeta." She blinks and that weird look crosses her face. "Is your room comfortable? Are you getting enough to eat?"

I nearly bark out a laugh, but quickly disguise it as a cough. Yes, she is always happy to help... too happy. What is this game? Is she rubbing my nose in the help I’ve already received? "Oh yeah. It's... fine. Enough food. Everything's been... adequate?" Yes, I'm playing it down, but as far as I’m concerned the negotiations have already started. I look back at her, crossing my arms as I lean back against the doorframe.

"Good! I was worried about you for a bit there, Vegeta." The woman puts her elbows on her knees, hands twitchy with vacancy. "So, you said you wanted help with a project. Would you like another upgrade to the GR? Or perhaps something else for your training? If you just take a few days off, I bet I can whip you up something special."

A weird laugh bubbles out of my gut at that, and I disguise it as another cough. Is she going to make me state the obvious? Fine. “That would be pointless.”

She freezes and sits back. Her face goes through a myriad of expressions from surprise to confusion to an odd frown, like I just said something very scary. Kami, but I hope she’s faking it. Yet if she is, she is the best actor in the universe and that might be worse. Her voice is sad when she responds. "Pointless? I'm surprised to hear you of all people say that."

This isn’t getting us anywhere. I shake my head, angry that I have to explain. "I’m as powerful as Kakarot was when he challenged Frieza, maybe even more so. But it's not working. There has to be some sort of... trick to it. Some kind of..." I gesture wildly, unwilling to say it out loud. It's not about skill. It’s not. "Technique? I don't know how, woman. I need to know how Kakarot did it."

Bulma taps a finger to her chin as she thinks for a moment. "Why, that shouldn’t be a problem. Would you like me to give Goku a call? I'm sure he'd be happy to help too. I bet he’d come right over."

I almost tell her that nobody would be stupid enough to reveal his greatest secret to an enemy... but who am I kidding. Kakarot is definitely that stupid. Regardless, there are some levels I don’t want to sink to if I have even one other option left. "You think I have no pride left? You would have me run to that third-class simpleton and be taught like I’m— that idiot’s disciple?"

Oh, I think I'm going to be ill.

"Okay, sorry." She holds up her hands. "I wish you’d give Goku some credit; I know he can be a bit airheaded. I wasn't trying to offend you. So, what do you expect me to do? Unless you believe that basking in my scintillating company will make you magically turn Super Saiyan.” Bulma stops then smoothes her hair with one hand as she flutters her eyelashes. “Which, honestly, does seem like a viable theory."

I refuse to by side tracked by whatever that's supposed to mean. "Well he's your..." What’s the word, "friend, right? I mean, he'd tell you." Hell, the woman could even say she was doing research. For science. Not that it matters. Kakarot would never suspect his ahh... odd-found knowledge ... would be used for evil. Oh, the idea calms me down well. I nearly smile.

"So you’d like me to talk to Kakarot for you about how to become a Super Saiyan?" She gives me a look like that’s the oddest thing she’s ever heard. Though, really, what gives her the right to judge me? She’s the one on a weird planet with this entire fantasy freak-parade. "Oh Vegeta, I wouldn't even know what to ask about..." She trails off and gets that far away look in her eyes. I think she gets it now. Yes, she is a scientist. A clever one at that. And apparently she enjoys spying, so this is right up her alley. Oh, I knew she would not acquiesce easily. That is fine.

"Okay." Good. Finally I’ll have her demands clear; she’ll tell me what she wants of me, and we can trade. No more surprises. No more guessing at her motives. "Yeah, ok. I get it. You want something in return to compensate you for your time." Hell, the thing that worried me most was she’d leave it open. Put me in debt to her. Little minx, not this time. "So what would you want?" I just hope it’s either someone dead or stress testing an invention.

I seem to have broken her trail of thought, and she fixes me with that sad look again. "What do I want," Bulma repeats, like it’s a weird thing to ask. Foot tapping, she takes way too long to answer, frowning worriedly. Finally she reaches for her coat pocket, then catches herself, a slow smile spreads across her face. "Well, for starters, I'd like to make sure that my people are safe. Those androids are coming in a few years, but to be honest right now I’m more worried about you. And if I help you become a Super Saiyan, then I want you to use those skills to defeat them. Fair enough?" I shouldn't care about her acknowledgement, but it’s so nice to be seen as a threat once again. Because it’s been too long, and it's rightly my due. That’s right! I’m the real danger. Me! Feheheh. Also, it seems the job she wants me to do is... not doing any work? It’s a good deal, but there's one little hitch. "I still want to fight Kakarot. But I suppose I could hold out till after the androids are dead."

She smiles in earnest now; I realise the previous grin was more of a stage move, and this is real, carefree happiness on her face. “Right, I don't think I could stop you two. Besides, Goku would be so disappointed if he didn't get to fight you as well! So, here's the deal. I'll start doing some research— I'll talk with Goku, Krillin, Tien... and I’ll see if I can find a common thread. In the meantime, don't kill anyone. Just relax and maybe get to know people. When was the last time you took a vacation?" Vacate what? She’s talking in riddles. I tisk at her in annoyance. Worse still, so much for me being seen as a threat. She is not even one bit afraid of what will happen after I’ve defeated Kakarot. I guess when Earth’s hero comes into play, the woman’s faith is absolute. But she talks over any objections. “I bet if you got to know our crew, you’d find you have more in common with them than you realise. Yamcha used to be a desert bandit, oh, and Tien. Not to mention Piccolo...” She trails off again and gets a dreamy look in her eyes.

This woman really is weird. I have absolutely no interest in getting to know any of these creatures, yet I can see the advantage of gathering some intel. Besides, I know just where to start, so I bare my teeth at her. "Deal."

#surviving paradise #not sure i posted #also on ao3 #and ff.net #vegeta #vegebul #pastfic #just read it it

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