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The Real Story of Bulma Briefs - The Namek Saga
Chapter 16
Bulma and her friends were flying a few yards behind Vegita, allowing him to lead them to his stash of dragonballs. As they sped towards Vegita's hiding place, it was easy to see that they were very uneasy.
Bulma and Kuririn looked at each other. What were they going to do? Once Vegita was immortal, he'd be unstoppable. Suddenly, Bulma gasped, and then her face brightened. She'd suddenly had a great idea.
"Kuririn," she whispered. "Come a little closer. I have something to tell you."
"What is it?" He whispered back, gliding in next to her. "Do you have an idea, Bulma? Please tell me you do!"
"I sure do!" She whispered excitedly. "I figure that Vegita's got a point about our making him immortal. I mean, when it comes right down to it, he's the only one who can save us from Freeza. It's nearly impossible for Goku to have surpassed Freeza yet, and besides, we don't even know exactly when he'll be here anyway. I say we go ahead and rely on Vegita."
"Some idea!" Kuririn said disgustedly. "I'm not ready to admit defeat yet, Bulma!"
"You didn't let me finish," she said, smiling craftily. "Sure we'll make him immortal. But not indefinitely. What say we use the second wish to put a curfew on ole' Veggie's immortality? Say, oh, three hours, for example. That should be plenty of time for him to kill Freeza, don't you think?"
"I get it!" Kuririn whispered excitedly. "We just tell the dragon to make Vegita immortal for only three hours, right? He'll take care of Freeza, and we can use the third wish to wish our friends back!"
"Right!" Bulma said, beaming triumphantly. "It should be a sin to be so smart," she thought to herself.
"It'll work!" Kuririn said happily. "Way to go, Bulma!"
"And none too soon," she said, pointing to a cracked mound below. "Because there's where Vegita's got his dragonballs!"
Vegita glanced back at them, pointing down, and then zoomed down into the cracks of the small hill.
"Tell Gohan the new gameplan," Bulma said. "And then you two take the dragonball and follow us down there. But don't take more than a few seconds to tell him. I don't want Vegita getting suspicious."
"Right," Kuririn said, nodding. "We'll be right down, Bulma."
She nodded back at him and then flew down after Vegita. He was standing in front of his six dragonballs with his arms crossed, scowling for all he was worth.
"What is taking you so long?" Vegita demanded. "You don't seem to realize how little time we have left!"
"Calm down," she said soberly. "My friends and I have decided that we'd much rather that you were immortal than Freeza. And besides, we agree that you're the only chance we have of defeating him. And since you need to have your wish granted for that to happen, we have no more objections to your getting your wish. So very well, Vegita. We'll use the first wish to give you immortality, and the other two my friends and I will use. Agreed?"
"And here I was thinking that you Earthlings didn't have any sense!" Vegita said, smirking. "You have a deal, Earth woman!"
Bulma groaned angrily. "For Kami's sake, Vegita!" She snapped. "I have a name, you know! I took the time to learn yours; the least you could do is use mine! Call me Bulma! Got that? Bul-MA!"
Vegita was rather taken aback. To think that she would dare speak so rudely to him! And he wasn't even insulting her as much right now! Well, no lowly Earth-woman could get away with that! Even if she was gorgeous!
"Now you listen to me," he began, sounding as fierce and commanding as ever. "I won't have you..."
"Finally!" Bulma called out, waving Gohan and Kuririn down, and cutting Vegita off in the process. "Bring that thing down here quick! We'd better get these wishes made as fast as we can! There's no telling when Freeza will pick us up on his scouters, anyway!"
"We're ready, Bulma," Kuririn said, as he and Gohan landed in front of them. "Let's call the dragon."
Suddenly Vegita gasped, and looked up behind Bulma, Kuririn, and Gohan. "No!" He exclaimed. "Team Ginyu! Damn you three, we're too late!"
They turned around to see five armored fighters of various sizes, shapes, and colors land behind them. Bulma realized in horror that they'd been too careless. They'd let their guard down long enough for this "Team Ginyu" to sneak up on them. Bulma and the others quickly backed up to either side of Vegita so they could help him shield the dragonballs from this new threat.
"What should we do?" Bulma asked quietly, eyeing each of her opponents one at a time. "I don't think we can win, even with you fighting with us, Vegita."
Vegita just remained silent, glaring contemptuously at Team Ginyu. The large, purple one in the center smiled and shook his head.
"Poor little Veggie-sprout," he said tauntingly. "So you thought you'd enlist some help against us, eh? Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but all your efforts have been in vain. It's game over for you and your little friends, Vegita."
Vegita bared his teeth and snarled. He didn't look too happy, but at least he didn't seem very afraid. But then again, he wouldn't show fear at a time like this anyway.
Bulma gulped. She tried to size up her opponents. The one who'd been speaking to Vegita, a fair-sized purple being with horns similar to Freeza's, seemed to be the most powerful of the group, but not by too much. The next one down was probably the large blue one, and right after him was the short orange one with the long white hair. He was glancing in Bulma's direction and laughing quietly with the next one down, a large, rather human-looking giant of a man with a short patch of shaggy orange hair. They all were much stronger than she was, with the exception of the last one. Last came the squat, green alien with four eyes. He was very rotund, and seemed as weak as a kitten compared to Vegita. Bulma had no idea what he could be doing with such an elite team of fighters. Perhaps there was more to him than met the eye.
"Now then," the purple one announced. "It's time we retrieve these dragonballs that Freeza wants so much. We'd like to thank you for collecting them for us, Vegita. It's just too bad that you won't be around to see Freeza's glorious ambition become a reality."
"We aren't just going to hand these dragonballs over to Freeza!" Kuririn yelled, as he, Bulma, and Gohan assumed fighting stances. "You'll have to fight us first!"
The purple one grinned evilly, and raised the index finger of his left hand. The dragonballs arose from their place on the ground behind Bulma and the others and shot over to him, settling in a group above his head.
Bulma gasped in surprise. He had caught her off guard. Fortunately, she could at least retaliate. She knew a bit of telekinesis too, thanks to Yamucha. She concentrated fiercely on the dragonballs, and they began to slowly float towards her.
"What the?" He cried, strengthening his hold on them. Bulma visibly strained against him, but she couldn't budge them any further. He was much too powerful. She looked at the others with an expression of defeat, and Vegita growled in anger and frustration.
"Dammit!" He yelled. "Smash the other one! Now!"
Kuririn hesitated for a brief moment, his face showing the surprise and confusion that had overwhelmed him all of the sudden. But then he gritted his teeth and pulled his fist back swiftly. He then threw it down, with more than enough force required to destroy a dragonball.
Suddenly everything around Bulma took on a reddish hue. Also, she could sense a light strain on her movements. Not only that, but also her friends had stopped moving altogether. It seemed almost as if time had stopped, although everything was red instead of the usual blue. But she knew that she hadn't stopped time. So what could have happened?
She got her answer when the short green member of Team Ginyu suddenly walked over to Kuririn, grabbed the dragonball out of his hand, and just walked back to his position with his companions. He exhaled, and then time resumed its normal flow once again.
Bulma's jaw was hanging as low as it could possibly go. She had been so astounded that she hadn't even made a move to stop him from taking the dragonball. She couldn't believe that someone else could do her signature move. And not only that, but she was able to see him do it! But she was shaken from her thoughts by Kuririn's distraught exclamations of surprise.
"Where'd it go?" He cried, looking around.
"Damn you, Gurudo!" Vegita cried furiously. "I'd forgotten all about that stupid trick of yours!"
"What happened?" Kuririn asked angrily. "One second I have the dragonball in my hand, and the next he has it! What's the deal, here?"
"That one Vegita called Gurudo," Bulma said quietly, "can stop time."
"What?" Kuririn exclaimed. "You mean he can pull that time trick that you do? How do you know that?"
"I just know," Bulma said, too ashamed to mention that she'd let him just waltz on over and take their dragonball. "Trust me on this."
"Well, men," the purple one said, taking the dragonball from Gurudo and floating it up with the others, "I'll let you decide how to dispose of these four, but keep in mind that Freeza wants to take care of Vegita himself. So don't get too carried away with him, unless it's absolutely necessary. I'm going to go on ahead and take these to Freeza right now!" With that, he shot off in the direction of Freeza's compound, with the dragonballs in tow.
"No!" Bulma cried, taking off after him. "You can't do that!"
Suddenly the orange one with white hair appeared from out of nowhere right in front of her. Bulma screeched to a halt. Man, this guy was fast!
"Captain Ginyu can do whatever he wants," he said, smirking at her. "Besides, it might be in your best interests if you don't catch up with him, if you know what I mean."
Bulma scowled at him, and glanced at the disappearing image of Captain Ginyu as he flew out of sight. "Well, it's not as if I'd fare any better against the four of them," she thought to herself, glaring back at the one in front of her. She backed away from him slowly, eyeing him with extreme caution. "You stay away from me," she said, trying to sound threatening.
He laughed. "Calm down, sweetie," he said. "It's not quite time yet. Why don't you go and join your companions for a little longer. Besides," he added, as Bulma began her retreat, "Rikuum and I had something special planned for YOU later!" His loud laughter echoed in her mind as she nervously sped back down toward Vegita and her friends.
"Geez, that guy's fast!" She said as she joined her companions below. "I never even sensed him coming!" She shivered nervously.
"He's not the fastest one," Vegita remarked, scowling. "Baata, the large blue one on the right, claims to be the fastest warrior in the universe, next to Freeza."
"Hey," Kuririn said, glancing at Bulma. "Just what did that guy say to you up there, Bulma? You're shaking like a leaf!"
Bulma tried to laugh. "I- it's nothing," she said, shaking her head. "But what say we win this one, okay? I don't want to lose to these creeps."
"Just keep your wits about you," Vegita said. "We may have a chance. But you three are going to have to do exactly as I say. Otherwise I may be the only one who makes it out of here alive. And I'm warning you. I won't have any of you hindering me. I'm nothing like that pathetic excuse for a Saiyan you have on Earth. When I discover a weak spot in my arsenal, I eliminate it before the enemy gets the chance to exploit it. You understand?"
Kuririn and Gohan glared at Vegita with contempt, but Bulma just sighed and nodded her head. "Right now I'll take whatever chances I can get," she said, looking Vegita solidly in the face. "Even if it means taking orders from you, Vegita, I'll do whatever it takes to win. You're in charge, Saiyan. I just hope you're as good as you claim to be."
Gohan and Kuririn stared at Bulma in amazement. "Bulma!" Kuririn gasped. "What are you saying?!"
"Be quiet, Kuririn!" Bulma snapped. "We're going to have to set aside our differences with Vegita for awhile. This is much bigger than that, and you know it. And don't forget that these clowns are just the tip of the iceberg. We've still got Freeza to contend with. If we're going to win this thing we're going to have to do it together, as a team. So stop fighting with Vegita and focus on our real enemies, okay?"
Kuririn was dumbfounded. To think that Bulma would side with Vegita so quickly like that! But at the same time her reasoning made so much damn sense that he couldn't even think of anything to say in protest.
"Well," Gohan said. "I guess that's that, huh, Kuririn?" Kuririn just scowled at him in reply. Vegita smirked.
"Now that you're done squabbling among yourselves," he said, glancing back at Team Ginyu, "maybe you ought to think about concentrating on the real battle at hand!" They did as he said, and were surprised to see Team Ginyu playing Jan-ken.
"What are they doing?" Bulma said in confusion. "Surely they're not playing Jan-ken at a time like this?"
"They've chosen this method to decide who gets the pleasure of finishing us off, no doubt," Vegita snarled. "The idiotic fools! They do this same damn thing every time they have to decide something. I hate it!"
"Ha!" Gurudo cried suddenly. "I won! So that means I go first, huh?"
"Aw crap," the big, orange-haired one grumbled. "And I was so close, too."
"Don't worry Rikuum," the orange one said, patting him on the back. "Save your energy for our target. Gurudo only gets the two shrimps, after all."
"I would have preferred Vegita," Gurudo said, whining a little. "Those two won't even offer me a challenge."
"I think he's talking about you two," Bulma whispered to Kuririn and Gohan. "But if I were you, I'd be very careful..."
"Ha!" Kuririn interjected. "No challenge, huh? He's the weakest of the whole bunch, and he says you and I aren't even a challenge! Well, we'll show him, right, Gohan?"
"Right!" Gohan agreed. As the rest of Team Ginyu moved back a bit to give Gurudo some space, Gohan and Kuririn began to charge up their ki trememdously. Then they nodded at each other and shot up into the air.
"Wait!" Bulma cried. "Come back here, you idiots! I'm trying to warn you about him!"
Gohan and Kuririn fired two massive energy blasts down toward Gurudo. Just before they connected, everything turned red again. Bulma sighed and kept her eyes on Gurudo. Those two were going to need her help with this one.
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On to the next Chapter!
