Chapter 58

“Something’s bothering you,” Vegeta said as he felt Zarbon step out of the shadows behind him.

“There’s no privacy with you, is there?” Zarbon muttered, falling into step with the Saiyan.

“Absolutely not. How much privacy do you give me, after all?”

Zarbon laughed, but the sound was devoid of real humor. “Not much. But you’re the Emperor. You knew the prices of power when you changed into a gigantic monkey in the arena. Was it really so long ago?”

“Yes, I knew. As my aide, however, you aren’t allowed to keep things from me,” Vegeta said crossly.

“Too bad, we’re out of time,” Zarbon replied archly, opening the door and holding it so that Vegeta could pass into the room. “I apologize for our tardiness,” he said to those assembled.

“I guess it’s okay if the Emperor’s late,” Goku said with a grin, tone bright. He winked at Vegeta.

“Goku,” Radditz hissed, a blush spreading across the warrior’s sharp features.

“Oop, sorry,” Goku exclaimed, putting a hand on his mouth.

“Anyway,” Zarbon interrupted, fixing both of the brothers with a cool stare.

“We are here to discuss our next course of action. It is exceedingly obvious that Freeza knows where we are. What is not so obvious is what he will do when he learns Dodoria’s outfit has been completely destroyed. Regardless of what happens elsewhere, however, you, Atlia, will stay here and run the Empire. I assume you feel equal to the task?” Vegeta said quickly, his scowl deeper than usual.

“Of course, sire. You have but to ask and you shall receive,” Atlia rasped.

“Excellent. Radditz, you are hereby promoted to Commander,” Vegeta said clearly, fixing the other Saiyan with a burning gaze.

“Y-yes, sire,” Radditz replied, eyes wide.

“Nappa is hereby stripped of his rank and is to be treated as a common criminal. No, he needs to be treated as a traitor.” Vegeta let his eyes wander around the room, resting on each participant as the torchlight flickered, throwing shadows on the sandstone and the faces of those assembled until each person’s emotions were unreadable because of the shifting light. “Zarbon?”

“Here is our position in space,” Zarbon replied, setting a device on the floor and hitting a button. A hologram appeared a couple of feet above the floor, glowing softly green. Zarbon pointed a remote at the device. “The flashing green light represents Arlia’s position. Now, as you’ll see over here,” he said, pointing the remote elsewhere on the hologram, “Is what we believe to be Freeza’s present location. The captives we took told us that Freeza has overthrown his father’s empire and currently remains at the empire’s center. However, there is no way to know for certain whether or not Freeza still holds that position.”

“So what are we gonna do?” chirped Goku.

“Shut up or I’ll throw you out myself,” Vegeta snapped. “Radditz, if you don’t watch your fool brother more closely I’ll have have the both of you taken care of.”

“Apologies, Prince Vegeta,” Radditz replied, throwing Goku a dirty look.

“May I continue?” Zarbon asked, voice dripping annoyance.

“Just do it,” Vegeta growled.

“Now, we have several things to worry about. First and foremost is a second attack to Arlia. Although the Empire now consists of several systems, Arlia remains the seat of power. If anything else were to happen here it could weaken and even destroy the remainder of the Empire. And, sire, if you’ll remember, the main reason half of these people even joined us was for protection from Freeza.”

“You were protecting people?” Goku interjected.

“Radditz!” Vegeta shouted.

Radditz’s face turned the color of a beet and he spoke through clenched teeth. “Goku, do you want to find out what happens or not?” he hissed.

“I wanna hear it,” Goku mumbled.

“Then be quiet.”

“Sorry.”

“Is this going to be the last interruption or should we all just throw our hands in the air and wait for Freeza to come kill us?” Zarbon snapped, tapping the palm of his hand with the remote control. “You know what, why wait? We can just fly to him right now and ask him to do us the favor!”

Vegeta’s chilly laughter suddenly echoed through the room. “Zarbon, I think you’ve hit upon something,” he said.

“Excuse me?”

“I think we should go to Freeza,” Vegeta replied.

“Are you sure you weren’t injured today?” Zarbon asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Absolutely. Think about it. If we leave here and head towards Freeza, we get to pick where and when we fight. Once he senses us in the area he’ll assume we’re launching and attack, and of course he would be correct. He will most likely send out the Ginyu Force first, allowing us to take care of them gradually and without worrying about Freeza. Then we find a good place to sit and wait for the lizard to show up. He’ll come to us once he hears how we’ve destroyed the Ginyu Force.”

“I think you’re being optimistic,” Zarbon cautioned. “There are five Ginyu Force members. Would we stand a chance?”

“I’m strong! Of course we can beat them!” Goku crowed, bursting from his seat and standing with a fist raised into the air. Silence filled the room and hung heavily in the air for several agonizingly long moments.

“That’s it,” Zarbon spat, striding over to Goku. He quickly punched Goku in the face, and as the Saiyan stared at him, stunned, Zarbon’s hand whipped out and grabbed Goku’s ear. Zarbon’s face broke out into a cold smile as he pinched the ear very hard. Goku yelped and changed the position of his head. “Oh does that hurt?” Zarbon mocked. “Well, you’ll have plenty of time to think about how much worse it could have been.” He pinched Goku’s ear roughly and towed him towards the door. “Now stand out there until you’re done, and I don’t want to hear a peep out of you,” he snapped. He slammed the door behind him and saw the other three people in the room staring at him. Radditz’s mouth hung open, his dark eyes wide and blinking. The short antennae on Atlia’s head hummed back and forth, his red, lidless eyes darting nervously around the room. And then there was the Prince, who had leaned forward on his chair with his fingers laced, an eyebrow raised.

“Are you quite done?” Vegeta asked, tone edged with amusement as he settled back into his chair.

Zarbon tossed his braid over his shoulder in an exaggerated gesture and cleared his throat. “Quite,” he replied haughtily, leaning against the door.

“Come on, let me in,” Goku’s voice whined, muffled by the thick door.

“Ignore him,” Vegeta said with a wave of a gloved hand. “We don’t have time for this. Regardless of what we do we need to act quickly.”

“Sire?” Atlia ventured.

“Speak,” Vegeta said, voice bored. He didn’t bother to look over at Atlia, just kept his burning black eyes on Zarbon’s face.

“What shall we do against Freeza’s empire should they attack while your highness is away?”

Vegeta’s scowl plummeted to unheard-of depths, but still he did not take his eyes from Zarbon. “Fight back. I fail to see the problem.”

Radditz’s face lit up with understanding. “Prince, although the Arlians possess weapons, Freeza’s acquisition of his brother’s and father’s empires give him quadruple the number of our troops. Most of our fighters cannot utilize ki, either.”

“What about that Pikuhan?” Zarbon interjected. “He seemed fearsome.”

“I’m sure that’s why you assigned him to my squad,” Radditz replied with a tight smile.

“Heh, found me out, eh? Well, was I wrong?” Zarbon asked with a tilt of his head.

Radditz sighed. “Absolutely not. You’re rarely wrong aren’t you?” he said. Zarbon answered with a grin. “Anyway, he brought back more captives single-handedly than any other of my squad. I’d wager he’s nearly as strong as my brother.”

“Which is to say he’s stronger than you are,” Vegeta said tightly. “Perhaps I assigned the wrong protector to my wife.”

“Vegeta, you know that was largely Nappa’s fault,” Zarbon snapped. “If it wasn’t for Radditz Bulma would be dead!”

“I’ve given you enough warnings to watch your tone in my presence!” Vegeta shouted, springing from his seat. He reached out a hand towards Zarbon, aiming to strike his throat.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Zarbon hissed, whipping his own arm into the air and batting the Saiyan’s hand away. Anger boiled up from within him until it seemed as if his very veins were aflame. “I’m not going to take any more of your abuse.”

“You’ll take whatever I give you,” Vegeta growled, his tail uncoiling from his waist and the hairs on it bristling.

“Absolutely not!” Zarbon protested, aiming a strike for Vegeta’s head. He let the blow fly, startled as he felt the motion of his hand stopped by a calloused grip. His eyes slowly rose to meet a pair of dark eyes.

“Don’t,” Radditz whispered. “As I have listened to you, now you must listen to me: now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. We have a greater enemy. We can’t let our own nerves create tension that could tear us apart.”

Zarbon felt the rage leave him immediately and he felt oddly deflated and energyless. “You’re right,” he mumbled, letting his hand drop. “I apologize, Vegeta,” he said as Radditz stepped out of his way.

“Very well,” Vegeta replied without his usual imperiousness, and Zarbon raised his eyes. The Prince’s face looked pinched and white, and although he appeared as angry as he always did, there was a certain broken look in his eyes.

“Bulma,” Radditz interjected suddenly from where he had reclaimed his seat.

“What?” Vegeta growled, his head snapping in the man’s direction.

“Bulma’s the answer. All this time she’s just been sitting here, idle. Don’t you remember the sorts of things she made while on Earth?”

Zarbon’s eyes widened. Being around that idiot Goku always made him forget that brains actually did run in Bardock’s family, and Radditz had apparently inherited them. “That’s right. She’s brilliant. If anyone could invent a way to quadruple the power of our forces, she could.”

Vegeta did not reply but remained standing rigidly in the center of the room. Zarbon thought he saw Vegeta’s clenched fist shaking with tension. “Machines,” he muttered.

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of this before. It’s how we met her, for heaven’s sake,” Zarbon grumbled, feigning relief but keeping his eyes on Vegeta the entire time. Something was wrong.

“Summon the Empress,” Vegeta said, voice quiet and cold, and Zarbon could almost see Vegeta building the walls around himself as he spoke.

Radditz jumped from his chair and went to the door. “Goku,” he said, opening it. “We have a job for you. Go get Bulma and bring her here as quickly as you can.”

Zarbon rolled his eyes as he heard Goku’s enthusiastic reply, followed by the rapid sound of footsteps retreating down the hallway. “So, it’s settled then.”

“Yes. Bulma will do what she can. Atlia will see to it that the Empire remains whole. Radditz, I expect you to speak with Pikuhan and further assess his abilities. Zarbon, you and I will depart with the new Commander and his brother within the week.”

“So soon?” Zarbon said softly, watching Vegeta’s face carefully.

He didn’t like what he saw. “Yes,” Vegeta replied, voice equally quiet, and Zarbon realized the shadows of death still lurked in his fathomless eyes. He was oddly reminded of the hollowness that had plagued the Saiyan’s face when Radditz’s screams were echoing in Vegeta’s head. The young man wore death like a cloak.

Zarbon drew near to his Prince. “Vegeta,” he whispered.

Vegeta looked up momentarily. “I don’t want to hear it,” he said sharply. “We have other things to worry about.”

Suddenly there was a commotion at the door and an Arlian guard entered. “Sire, there’s a disturbance. An alien craft crash-landed in the southeastern quadrant.”

Vegeta sat bolt upright in his seat. “What? Is it one of Freeza’s?” he demanded.

“No, sire. It’s unidentified. It’s also much larger than a space pod.”

Vegeta’s eyes narrowed and he looked as if he would speak, but Zarbon cut him off. “Perhaps, sire, you should have the occupants brought here?” he suggested smoothly, executing a little bow.

Vegeta shot Zarbon an angry look. “Radditz, deploy your squad,” he ordered roughly. “In fact, why don’t you see how this ‘Pikuhan’ handles authority. Make him the leader and send them out.”

“Yes, sire,” Radditz answered, putting on his scouter and stepping into the corridor.

“Dismissed,” Vegeta said to the guard. “Be sure to give the coordinates to Pikuhan and his team.”

The Arlian scraped a deep bow and scuttled out of the room. “This is simply too much excitement for this old boy,” Zarbon sighed, settling into a chair. “And where is that Goku?”

A small smile crept across Vegeta’s face. “The woman’s probably reading him the riot act,” he said quietly.

Zarbon felt himself give Vegeta and answering smile, but the uneasiness did not leave him. “You’re right,” he replied.

“Of course I’m right, fool,” Vegeta said, still with that small curvature of lips that served as his most heartfelt smile.

Zarbon chuckled and shook his head. “We’re nearly there. I can’t believe it. There’s no going back or hiding now.”

Vegeta suddenly fixed him with an intense look, the smile dropping from his face like it had been greased. “Do you regret what you’ve done?”

Zarbon frowned for a moment, then understood what Vegeta was asking him. He wasn’t merely inquiring about his decisions made, he realized slowly. Vegeta actually wanted to know how he felt. All the time he had spent with Vegeta passed before his mind’s eye, from remembering how Vegeta’s toes looked in the sand of the arena to the man’s dark gaze as he looked at him in the torchlit Arlian room, the city around them in ruins. He had never felt closer to Vegeta than at this moment. Resisting the urge to reach out and put his hand on the other man’s arm, he looked into Vegeta’s eyes and smiled softly. “Not for a second,” he whispered.

Something in Vegeta’s black gaze softened for a minute. “Zarbon, you know this is the end,” he began.

“We’re here!” a voice crowed, making Zarbon flinch. He felt a sense of loss as Vegeta bolted from his chair to stand, straight and proud, in the center of the room. Something sank in Zarbon’s heart, and he wondered if such a moment would be shared with Vegeta ever again, if there would even be time.

“What took you so long, woman?” Vegeta snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Well, I thought you’d be the first person to come back to my room,” Bulma said with a scowl nearly equal to Vegeta’s in intensity. She kept shifting her clothes, as if they had been hastily adorned. Her face wore a deep blush.

“You’re a lucky man, Vegeta,” Goku laughed, scampering to and fro like a dog waiting for its head to be patted.

Bulma’s face flushed even deeper red and she cleared her throat. “What in the hell do you want?” she growled.

“We’ve come to a decision,” Vegeta said coldly, and Zarbon watched as all the color drained out of Bulma’s face. Vegeta’s countenance, however, seemed equally bloodless.

“And?” she whispered between parted lips.

“And we’ve decided that you will remain here. You are needed to come up with some sort of way to quadruple our forces’ power. This isn’t just going to be a confrontation with Freeza. This is going to be a full-scale war.”

“What?” Zarbon, Bulma, and Radditz gasped in unison.

“You heard me,” Vegeta spat. “We’re not just going to sit here and wait for him to attack us. We are going to declare war on Freeza and attack with everything we have.”

“This is insane!” Zarbon squealed. “You are going to get every single last person in your empire killed!”

Vegeta fixed Zarbon with a cold stare and his stomach sank. Of course Vegeta was going to get every single last person killed. The Emperor wasn’t planning on surviving and obviously thought that his empire was worth sacrificing as well. “As long as that monster is stopped,” Vegeta hissed. “Prepare yourselves, all of you. Zarbon, we leave the day after tomorrow.”

“Hold on a second,” Bulma snarled.

“Quiet, woman. You have a mission as well. You have roughly one month to achieve your assignment,” Vegeta answered.

“What?” she shrieked. “Are you out of your tiny little brain, Vegeta? No one could pull that off!”

“You’re a genius,” he said softly. “You’ll find a way.”

Zarbon watched as Bulma’s eyes widened in shock. Vegeta had never complemented her before that he could remember, let alone in public. “Vegeta,” she whispered.

“I told you quiet,” Vegeta replied sharply. “It’s up to you to make this operation successful. If you fail, we’ve all failed.”
Bulma swallowed audibly and nodded her head, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Daddy!” a voice screamed out, and Zarbon turned slowly, staring at the small figure that stood in the doorway. A quick glance around the room told him that everyone shared his reaction. Every single living being in the chamber was standing as still as a statue, not even breathing for several heartbeats.

“Gohan!” Goku shouted, running over to the little boy and falling to his knees, scooping the child into his arms.

“I grew lots, Dad!” Gohan proclaimed, throwing his arms around Goku’s neck.

Zarbon squinted; the boy had indeed grown. How was it possible, and how did the boy make it to Arlia. “Hello to you too, Goku,” a deep voice growled, and Zarbon looked up to see the Namekian towering over the reunion. “I don’t even get a measly thanks.”

“You,” Vegeta breathed, the hair on his tail bristling once again.

“Hey, Vegeta,” the Namekian said, his smile revealing sharp teeth. “Been a while.”

“Vegeta’s the Emperor. Treat him with respect,” Radditz protested.

Zarbon sighed and rolled his eyes. “Come in,” he said. “You might as well join our little meeting.”

Goku looked up at Piccolo. “You’ve gotten a lot stronger,” he said softly, eyes wide.

“We spent a while in the Room of Space and Time,” Piccolo replied, looking down at the man. “We both improved quite a bit.”

“Well, I suppose that makes us even with the Ginyu Force,” Zarbon said.

“What?” someone said. Zarbon couldn’t tell who it was. There were too many damn people in the room now. The situation was getting out of hand.

“Well, there’s me, Vegeta, Radditz, Goku, and now Piccolo. That’s one each for the Ginyu Force.”

The room erupted in conversation, Bulma running over to Gohan and talking to him rapidly as Goku stood and began to speak to Piccolo. Radditz and Atlia were quickly exchanging words, and Zarbon’s head began to swim. “SILENCE!” Vegeta bellowed, bringing his foot down on the floor, shattering the stones beneath his boot. The conversation ceased instantly and all heads turned towards Vegeta. “I DEMAND to know how all of you got here and what in the hell you’re doing here!” he shouted, eyes blazing.

“We rode a ship,” Gohan answered simply, walking up to Vegeta and executing a darling little bow. “I knew Daddy had left, but we didn’t know where, so I made Mister Piccolo ask Kami, and Kami asked some man named King Kai. King Kai said you and Daddy needed help, so I decided to come here.”

Zarbon blinked. The child made sense. It was all very logical. “But how did you get the ship? Whose is it?” he asked Gohan.

Gohan turned to face Zarbon. “It’s Dr. Briefs. He didn’t want to let us borrow it because he said it was too dangerous, but I watched him put in the code to lock the hangar door. I went back later and got the ship.”

“And you?” Zarbon asked, raising his eyes to Piccolo.

Piccolo grunted. “Couldn’t let the pipsqueak run off into space by himself, could I?”

“But how did you get the ship started?” Bulma interrupted. “Only Dad knows how to do things like that, and I doubt he would have told you.”

Piccolo barked a laugh. “That was easy enough,” he replied. “Your dad apparently made a couple of different types of ship for Goku to come here in. Since he expected Goku to be piloting it, all we had to do was push the big red button marked ‘Start’.”

Zarbon lost it, nearly doubling over with laughter. Bulma was howling, almost slapping her knee as she laughed. Even Radditz was chuckling, and a tight smile had wound across Vegeta’s face. Piccolo’s grating laugh wound under it all. “What’s so funny?” Goku said, scratching his head. “I got here fine.” Everyone laughed even harder.

“Well, I think everything is abundantly clear now,” Zarbon said, wiping his eyes.

“So what’s the plan?” Gohan chirped.

“I think you should stay here while the rest of us go,” Zarbon replied, finally feeling in control of himself once again.

“But I came all this way to be with Daddy!” Gohan protested.

Radditz went over to Gohan and kneeled, lowering himself so that he looked the boy right in the eye. “Didn’t you say you got a lot stronger?” he asked.

“Yes, lots stronger,” Gohan replied.

“Well, then, who do you think has to protect Bulma while the rest of us go?”

“But-”

“Gohan, are you a warrior?” Radditz said suddenly.

The boy’s brows drew together. “Yes. . .”

“Well, warriors do what’s needed, even if it isn’t what they want. Even Bulma’s a warrior. Do you think she wants to see her husband go away to fight? Do you think I want to see your dad go off and fight when he could be safe on Earth? Do you think Zarbon wants Vegeta to get hurt fighting?”

“No,” Gohan replied. Zarbon hazarded a look around at the other people in the room. Everyone was trying not to be noticed glancing at everyone else. It would have seemed funny to him, had the tension not been so thick in the air it was nearly suffocating.

“Then will you do this, Gohan?” Radditz asked softly. “Will you be a true warrior? For me?”

Silence filled the room for long moments. “Yes, Uncle Radditz,” the boy finally said, and a collective sigh was released. Zarbon looked at Goku and saw his eyes shining with love for his brother. He had to admit, Radditz had considerable and varied capabilities. If only he had been Commander instead of Nappa before Dodoria attacked. Things might have turned out very differently.

“Excellent,” Zarbon interrupted, noticing that Vegeta looked like he was going to explode. The Prince never had fared well around emotional reunions, as he recalled. “I think now would be a good time for everyone to retire. We can figure out our precise plan of attack tomorrow. Atlia?”

“Everyone will be shown to their chambers. Please, follow me,” the Arlian said, leading Gohan, Goku, and Piccolo from the room.

“You are dismissed,” Vegeta said. Radditz stood from where he had knelt on the floor. Zarbon could tell from the looks on their faces that a silent exchange was taking place, then Radditz bowed and left. “You, too,” he told Bulma. “Go back to bed.”

“What about you?” she protested.

“He’ll be along shortly,” Zarbon offered, locking eyes with Bulma. Her mouth flexed as if to speak, but he narrowed his eyes slightly, hoping she understood. Relief washed through him as she nodded and left, but not before she threw Vegeta a dirty look.

They were the only two people left in the room. “Do you think she can do it?” Vegeta asked.

“Of course,” Zarbon answered.

“Will she be safe?”

“You know I can’t answer that.”

“I. . .I almost lost her today.”

“Vegeta,” Zarbon said softly, walking closer to Vegeta.

“I don’t need your stupid sympathies,” Vegeta snapped.

Zarbon scowled and took a step back. “You’re still going to do it, aren’t you?” he whispered.

“Do what?”

“You’re going to sacrifice yourself to kill Freeza.”

“I never said that.”

“Just about. And a million times.”

“So?”

Zarbon sighed, suppressing the urge to reach out and shake Vegeta. “It’s not going to work. You’ll die, but Freeza will survive.”

“Shut up,” Vegeta said, voice dangerously soft.

“You’re strong, Vegeta, maybe even stronger than Captain Ginyu, but you’re not strong enough to kill Freeza, not even if you summoned every single little bit of your ki. You could blow up a planet, but it’s not even going to scratch him.”

“Shut up,” Vegeta said more loudly.

“And then he’ll be free and you’ll be dead. Remember how sick you felt when you thought you’d lost Bulma?”

“How would you know?”

“There’s a hell of a lot you don’t know about me Vegeta, and you’re too damn self-centered to ever try and find out! I’ve lived several decades longer than you, but you couldn’t even tell me my age! Or what profession I had before I joined Freeza! So don’t lecture me about not knowing!”

“Shut up.”

“Dammit, Vegeta! You’re going to die and Bulma’s going to be a billion times more afraid than you were earlier today, because not only is she going to have to deal with your death, but she’ll have to worry about Freeza coming to kill her. She won’t know how and she won’t know when, but she’ll know he’s coming and you know what he’ll do to her when he finds her and smells you on her!”

“Shut up!” Vegeta screamed, taking a menacing step towards Zarbon.

“No, Vegeta, I’m not going to shut up! This is utter insanity and there’s no way you can follow through with this! You have to hear this, if from no one else then from me. I’m not going to let you destroy yourself, do you hear me?” Zarbon bellowed.

Vegeta fixed him with a looked of pure malice, the Saiyan’s whole body shaking. “I hate you, Zarbon,” he said softly. “I hate you from the very depths of my soul. How dare you.”

“Vegeta,” Zarbon said, reaching out a hand. “I just want what’s best-”

“I hate you,” Vegeta replied, smacking Zarbon’s hand out of the way. “I’ve always hated you and I always will,” he continued his voice cracking.

Zarbon felt his soul shatter into a million pieces, the feeling of breaking traveling outward from his heart and extending all the way to the tips of his toes and fingers, leaving him feeling raw. “Vegeta, please,” he whispered, desperately trying to press the tears down inside of him.

“Never, Zarbon, never,” Vegeta answered, voice rough, and opened a window, disappearing into the night.

Zarbon went to the window and planted his hands on the sill, staring up towards where the dust from the attack still obscuring the stars, and wondered what he would do next.

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57 / Bulma’s Hideout / 59