Power of Love
by Hidden Angel

Chapter Nineteen - Growing Hostilities


Bulma stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was... She quickly sat upright and hugged herself; a feeling of panic spreading it's way through her body. They hadn't done anything to her had they? A gentle, reassuring hand pushed her back down again and she felt her anxieties begin to ebb.

"Sleep Bulma."

Chi Chi's voice was reassuring as Bulma closed her eyes, not wanting to think or fear anything at the moment. She felt herself lapse into unconsciousness as the darkness enclosed itself around her. Blissful sleep rescued her from the waking nightmare that was to ensue.

*****

Anon jumped out of King Vegeta's arms the minute they touched down in front of the castle. Without waiting, knowing that her personal escort would follow, she pushed the double doors aside. She threw caution to the wind, feeling invincible with such strong bodyguards. Who else in the universe could claim to have King Vegeta and Frieza with a few other elite Saiyans as their personal bodyguards? She was sure the answer to that was none.

Frieza strode in after her, also seeming careless. Why wouldn't he be? The place was virtually empty save for one, very bizarre, ki. He could sense it and to him, it seemed like Vegeta's yet it wasn't Vegeta's. Something was different, almost as if the poor Saiyan had gone out of his mind. Frieza almost laughed at this thought but held it back knowing that if he laughed now, Anon would know he wasn't under her power. He was, afterall, supposed to be a mindless zombie who responded only to her wants, needs and desires regardless of the perils.

"Where is he? Is he here?" Her shrill voice echoed off the walls as she turned this way and that, glaring at her escort.

"Who are you referring to Anon?"

Anon slapped King Vegeta without hesitation. The King did nothing further then stare blankly at her. "Vegeta of course! MY Vegeta! I didn't come all this way just to find that he's not here!" Anon seemed on the verge of hysteria at this point.

Lumo stepped out from where he stood and began walking down the hallway, indicating for his master to follow. Anon smiled and followed before Lumo disappeared down the left corridor. It seemed to Anon as if hours passed before Lumo finally stopped outside a door in the upper regions of the palace.

"The Saiyan you seek is two doors up ahead on your left."

"Well? Why aren't we going there now?"

King Vegeta stepped up beside Anon. "It would seem, my precious, that Vegeta is not himself at the moment. I would consider him highly dangerous. His power exceeds both mine and Lumo's combined."

An evil smile crept over Anon's features as the words sank into her mind. So Vegeta was exceedingly strong. This was great news to her! She had always envisioned herself with a strong king by her side, to help lead her mighty army into victory after victory. The universe would be her's! There was nothing that could stand in her way now. All that was left was to get her would-be-king under her control.

"Frieza! Go in there and bring him out here to see me. I want to see what my sweetie looks like now. "

Fighting back the urge to gag in disgust and swallowing the lump of pride that made him want to strangle Anon, Frieza did as he was told. He constantly reminded himself that he would one day get his revenge and she would be under his power. She would learn to fear and respect him as he should be feared and respected. He would gain back what she stole from him, what was rightfully his.

Anon watched Frieza inch his way towards the room with its closed doors. There was something about him that didn't seem quite right. It almost seemed as if he wasn't completely under her spell but that was impossible. Only the truly powerful could hold out against her and she was almost certain that Frieza wasn't THAT powerful yet. She narrowed her eyes at him, making a mental note to herself to keep a closer watch on him. He kind were tricky, there was no doubt about it.

She lost all thoughts however, as Vegeta was pushed out the door towards her. He looked like Vegeta and his ki signature was Vegeta's yet it wasn't the Vegeta she had seen so many years ago. This Vegeta seemed lost, weak, and delusional...as if he had nothing to live for. His eyes were empty and didn't hold the glimmer which she had dreamt of for so many years. His shoulders sagged, all traces of his pride were gone. His feet dragged along the floor lacking any signs of enthusiasm. He wasn't even fighting back against Frieza's insistent prodding and pushing. Something was wrong with her Vegeta. He wasn't himself.

Pushing the thought aside for the moment, she snapped her fingers and turned on her heels. "Come now. Let's go home."

*****

Vegeta stood on his little ridge focusing on the powers nearby. There was that of Frieza, the reptilian creature that had often sent shivers of disgust up and down his spine. Also present was his father, a few other Saiyans that he vaguely remembered and Lumo. Vegeta snarled at the remembrance of the traitor but he felt too tired to do much else. There was also another ki, one that he felt he should remember but didn't. He dismissed this as unimportant and decided that he would figure it out at a later time when he didn't feel so exhausted.

Sitting down, he rested his head in his hands. What was he to do? He could try to regain control of his body but what good would that do? He would only be overcome by all the warriors present. Sure he could take a few of them out, but in the end, it would be a hopeless cause.

Sighing in dismay, Vegeta lay down on the rough ground and closed his eyes. He would stay where he was for now. It seemed like a comfortable enough spot. He shut out the outer world and all its noises, but no matter what, there was always a singsong voice in his head. He tried in vain to ignore the voice, that voice which reminded him too much of her.

*****

Chichi paced worriedly in front of her best friend's bedroom door. Bulma seemed to have passed out for almost weeks when in reality it had been no longer than a couple of days. She wrung her hands together and bit her lip while throwing nervous glances at the door. She felt helpless and useless. Her best friend could be dying and she couldn't do anything about it.

Her breathing quickened as she felt the need to scream. A hand placed itself on her shoulder, forcing her to stop and calm down. The hand turned her around and she found herself staring into Kakkarot's dark eyes. She almost sighed in relief as he wrapped his muscular arms around her.

Leaning against him, she felt many of her fears leave her. He felt so warm and safe. It seemed as if nothing could harm her while he was around. Even if he had never said it to her, Chichi knew that he would die before letting any harm befall her. She could feel it in his love, the love that she always felt when she was around him. Secretly, hoping that he couldn't feel it, she knew that she would die if he were ever killed. She couldn't bare to live without him again. He meant way too much to her.

"Don't worry too much. She'll be okay." His deep, rumbling voice warmed her in a way that no fire ever could. Sighing again, she hugged him in return. She was still worried about Bulma, but she wasn't as tense or scared as before. She couldn't help it. Kakkarot had that effect on her.

*****

A sweet scent greeted her senses as Bulma woke up from her dreamless sleep.

"Bulma?"

Bulma turned her head as far as she could and opened her eyes to stare into Yamcha's concern filled eyes.

"Where..."

The question was barely out of her mouth when Yamcha pressed his fingers gently against her lips indicating silence.

"Shhh. Everything will be okay."

Unwilling to remain in the dark any longer, she pushed herself up. "What's going on? Where are we? How did we end up here?" She placed a hand on her forehead as the world began to swim around once more. Forcing her eyes to remain open, she took a quick glance at her surroundings.

Wherever this was, this wasn't her bedroom, or any room in the castle for that matter. This place had an eerie glow to it, making it seem as if evil creatures lurked in the depths of the shadows, waiting to pounce on innocent individuals. The walls seemed to close around her, seemingly shrinking to slowly suffocate her precious air supply. The bed itself was soft and comfortable. But even that did little to ease her fears as the pillows and blanket had a musky and old smell to them. It smelled as if they had never been used, simply stored away in the darkest parts of a decaying building.

Yamcha sighed loudly and stood up from the wooden stool which he had previously been perched on. "I guess you want your answers now don't you? There's no point in delaying I guess." He turned away from her, almost as if afraid to look at her. "We were all sparring out on the yard when Kakkarot and Toruo rushed up to us shouting and yelling for us to clear away from the castle and follow them. We had no time to take anything or anyone for that matter. It was by chance that we ran into you on the way to this half-hidden cave. What were you doing anyway? I thought you were in your room? How did you end up asleep in the middle of a field?"

Bulma blinked dazedly at her friend, the words slowly processing in her pounding mind. "I was overwhelmed with depression and needed some fresh air so I went for a walk. Then that Saiyan attacked me. Lumo." Her eyes flashed in anger at his name. Suddenly, part of Yamcha's explanation came rushing back to her. "What do you mean by 'we had no time to take anything or anyone'?" Even though she couldn't see his face, Bulma was sure that Yamcha had flinched at this question. A look of horror spread its way over Bulma's face. "Where's Vegeta?!"

After seconds of hesitation, Yamcha finally answered in a quavering voice. "He's gone."

"What?" Fresh, hot tears sprang to Bulma's eyes as Vegeta's face began to fade from her mind. "Where? Why? How?" The words came out sobbed and broken, barely audible.

"He was taken back to planet Vegeta."

Bulma could do no more than allow the tears to streak down her cheeks, a feeling of loss growing with every passing second. Gone. He was gone. She lay her head on her pillows once more and closed her eyes trying to subdue her tears. She suddenly wished that she could fall asleep again...and never wake up.

*****

Vegeta felt his body wake with a start but couldn't open his eyes. What was going on? Getting to his hands and knees, he felt around himself. Why couldn't he open his eyes? Panicking, he pulled desperately at his shut eyelids. He had to see! Wherever his body was, it felt foreign and dangerous, not at all like his palace on Earth. He had to see what this new place was like before he could rest again.

As he frantically tried to force his eyes open, they had been shut tight by Anon's mind controlling powers, he didn't see the darkness closing in around him. With every second that he gave into the darkness, every second that he spent in his own little corner, it made it that much more difficult to return to the real world. The shield of darkness continued to circle in on the momentarily blind warrior, cutting off his only means of escape.



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