Bulma's Life.....Like It Is! And What It Once Was...... She knew that she could never turn back...so she turned herself in to the changes. I let the moment of fear slide over me, and swallowed, trying to gain courage. He had gone *too* far to come and threaten me in such a way! I lifted my chin and stood up shakily. Get dressed...that was the only thing I had to worry about right now. I picked up the first outfit I saw, a white halter top and a pair of black pants. I slid on some tennis shoes and ran a brush that I had found in the bathroom through my now-dried hair. I didn't bother with makeup, I was going for a natural feel, I guess. I threw open the door of my room, determined to find out *something*. I would ask the very first person I saw, if I really had to! I stomped down the halls, searching for *someone*. I realized that the control room or the throne room would be a good bet as to where everyone was, and then realized that I didn't know where either one was. I stamped one foot in frustration and gritted my teeth. I was ready to chew out the first person who crossed me, and planned to do so. I took a wild guess at the room, and peered through a set of windows in a big wooden door. This had to be an important room, there was hardly any other wooden things on the ship, let alone wooden *doors*. A small assembly of soldiers was in there, as well as Vegeta, and he was warning them about something, from the expressions on both his face and the warriors'. I shook my head and stood beside the door, waiting for someone to come out. To my *superb* luck, I thought sarcastically, Vegeta was the first and last person to come out. I glared at him from my postion leaning against the wall, and he saw me with a start. "What do you want?!" He snapped, crossing his arms and pasting that annoying smirk on his face. I narrowed my eyes and kept his gaze, meeting his level of anger. "I just want to know how long until we land, that's all," I said, trying to keep a sarcastically innocent tone to my voice, and he shook his head. "Why do I have to tell you?" He jided, obviously seeing how long before he pushed me off the edge. I hated how he thought of others as objects of amusement, things to mess around with. It was really, really sick. And especially when he did it to me, knowing that holding my temper wasn't my strong point, not at all. "Because *I* am the one you need for this little mission, and I can always change the answers to screw you over," I said, my voice low and eyes narrowed. I was ready for his comeback, providing one came. He lifted his head a little higher, like he was the slave driver and I his slave. I lifted mine and crossed my arms, bent on getting my answer. We stood there like that for long moments, glaring and challenging each other to say something. "Really? I would like to see you do that. The moment I see that the plans have been touched..." Vegeta trailed off, his voice getting more forceful. "Then, then you will see that it isn't wise to fuck around with me." He turned to leave, and I held my stance. "Is that a promise?" I spat, trying to set him off. *Two* could play at that game! "If it has to be. I could always just find another pawn for my little game, as you would probably think of it," He said, turning back around to face me. I held my ground shakily as he advanced on me. "What are you going to do, eliminate me? Squash me like a bug, like you don't even know me? Is that how you like to play?" I growled, angry at him beyond my own control. I hated when he did this to me. He hiked an eyebrow, and crossed his arms. "Yes, it is how I like to do it. Would you prefer if I did it differently?" I hiked my own eyebrow, imitating his menacing look. "No, not at all. I just wish that you wouldn't even *play* it. Then I wouldn't have to participate." He opened his mouth to make a reply, but was stopped when a guard came up from behind me, and bowed his respect. I stepped to the side, slightly behind the guard, so I could see Vegeta's reaction to whatever he was going to say. "Your Majesty, we are within an hour of landing," He said, bowing again. "So we would like to get things prepared for our takeover." Vegeta scowled and looked out a porthole next to him. The ship whizzed by stars and a couple asteroids soared past in the distance. I was waiting as intently for his answer as the guard was. Vegeta didn't hurry, that was apparent. You had to respect him for not making hasty decisions, or at least most of the time. "Fine. But don't get *everything* prepared so quickly. We don't want anyone getting anxious, we will need everyone superbly alert if we are to do this effiecently." The guard bowed, nodded, and hurried off. I watched him go, thinking. My sixteenth birthday was in three days, and I wanted to definitly spend it with friends. That meant Goku and Yamcha. I just couldn't consider Chichi to be anything yet. I would try to be civil with her, if she just wouldn't be so protective by Goku, I didn't even want him *that* way! But this also meant I had to find them. A problem, considering that they had been sent back my someone that was dead! I heard a beeping noise behind me, and turned to see a warrior adjusting his scouter as he passed. That was it! A scouter would definitly be able to track someone like Goku. His ki was different from anyone else's on this planet. I decided to take one the soonest chance I got, but first I had to find out where we were going to land. Vegeta was standing, feet apart, arms crossed, peering out of the porthole, at Earth, which was now visible. I was surprised at how fast this journey had been. But not exactly happy. I would have liked it better if I had had time to plan a little better. I hated making fast decisions! "Where are we scheduled to land?" I asked, out of the blue. Vegeta looked up, surprised. He obviously didn't even notice my presence, and that bothered me. "Near where Frieza's ship was, close to Chicago," He said, and walked off in the direction that the guard had gone, probably the control room. I watched him go, reluctant to carry out my plans. I couldn't deny that I had feelings for him...I shook my head and went off in search of a scouter. -*- I found one in the storage room, and I switched the language from Saiyan to English. A memory struck me suddenly, like I had triggered it somehow. I stood kneeling beside my mother's bed, as she sang the haunting lullaby that was in a strange language. Vegeta sang along for the last line, my favorite. I knew then that it was Saiyan, and Vegeta did, too. He looked at my mother strangely and asked how she knew Saiyan. I wanted to know, also, and said so. "I will not say," She said, a sly twinkle in her eyes. I had been disappointed, and said something in the strange language, something that even I didn't know the meaning of, my mother said it meant 'I am angry at you, but forgive you also', but somehow I remembered *me* being the one to first say it. Vegeta had looked at me and asked how *I* knew Saiyan, and I replied that I didn't. My mother had shook her head and looked from Vegeta to me, her smile wide. "*I* have never *learned* Saiyan, my daughter has taught me," She whispered. I shook the memory away, wondering what had triggered it. And why my mother had said that *I* had always known it. I had never even *seen* a Saiyan until the fateful day that I had been taken, and had thought nothing of what strange language my mother used to sing to me in. My mother had always been a strong believer in fate, and had thought that everyone's path of life had been pre-determined, and that is how she believed that we chose sometimes stupid paths, but later they benefited. Maybe she knew that I had been destined to live a life *full* of Saiyan language, and that is how she knew. But that didn't explain how *she* had aquired the knowledge. I shook my head again, and sat down on my bed. The scouter beeped and I could see my meager power level, at three. I got angry, why did I have to be so helpless??!! The scouter rapidly beeped, and I saw that my own power level was going up as my anger grew. It reached a high of seven, but dropped back down to three when I calmed down. I smirked and fingered the buttons, searching for what this little thing could do. I found a memory bank where some information on Saiyans themselves was stored. I gasped in wonder at some of the things I saw. I had known that Saiyans could change form to a giant ape, but not because of their tails or the moon. I felts stupid and searched for more information. I saw that they had the power to move things with their mind, if they were strong enough. My eyes got wide and I hungrily searched for more, but the rest was stuff that I already knew. I sighed sadly and turned the scouter back to normal, so it could sense someone coming. I fell asleep waiting for the time to land, and didn't dream at all. -*- Tell me what you think: HaWaiiaN BaBaY@aol.com Ja ne! b e a u t i f u l :: i r o n y
Chapter 48: Otherside