DISCLAIMER: DBZ I do not own.

 

THANKS – Rayvyn Styx for beta reading.

 

Chapter 1: ‘Let Come What Comes’

 

 

 

 

~*~

 

~*~ To Hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! ~*~

 

~*~ Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! ~*~

 

~*~ I dare damnation: to this point I stand - ~*~

 

~*~ That both worlds I give to negligence, ~*~

 

~*~ Let come what comes; ~*~

 

-               Laerties from ‘Hamlet’

 

 

~*~

 

 

 

“Bulma! Bulma! Get your worthless hide out here!” The hoarse cry echoed around the blue haired beauty and Bulma sighed, putting down the miniscule screwdriver she’d been holding and pushing her latest invention carefully to one side.

 

“What is it, Oitaroh?” Bulma shouted back loudly, his dislike for the warrior obvious in her disrespectful tone.

 

“Turles wants you in the main room, now!” Oitaroh, Turles’ right hand man and constant brown noser, appeared in the doorway of Bulma room and leaned against the doorframe, impatiently shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he waited for her to put away her tools and tidy her desk. “Come on, come on! He said to be quick.” He snapped at her irritably as Bulma made a big show of very slowly sweeping her desk clean from dust.

 

I said I was coming, be patient for once in your life.” Bulma growled at him and finished cleaning her desk, not impressed with the snarl he dealt her in return. She had once seen Turles pound Oitaroh into a wall and almost kill him because he had dared to strike Bulma.

 

Oitaroh had never touched her again.

 

Deliberately walking as slowly as she could, Bulma followed Oitaroh down the long winding hallway towards the main room. She was faintly aware of the hum of the big spaceship’s engines under her feet but mostly her concentration was taken up by the thoughts that whirred frighteningly around in her mind.

 

Maybe he knows, Bulma thought to herself as she neared the entrance to the room that Turles spent almost every waking minute in. Maybe he somehow found out that I’m pregnant and he’s going to make me get rid of it…

 

Bulma roughly shook her head as if trying to dispel the thoughts from her head. Turles couldn’t know she was carrying his child, she wasn’t even sure of it yet herself.

 

“My Lord.” Bulma entered the room and bowed respectfully in Turles’ before she moved to stand beside him, her eyes dutifully lowered to the ground in submission.

 

Turles was gazing out the window of the ship, his muscular arms folded and his tail curled delicately around his waist. He turned his head to watch her as she crossed the room, and once again Bulma saw something more animal then human sweep through his eyes as he watched her.

 

He was dressed in his usual green and black standard issue armour with the red trim, his hands were covered in finger-less black gloves and he wore simple black boots with red tips on his feet. Despite the simple battle armour, Turles managed to look both frightening and awesome; Bulma shivered as her eyes swept over him. It might have been in the haughty way he stood, or perhaps it was just the defiant look in his eyes but he always looked imposing.

 

“Tell me Bulma; have you ever heard of the planet Kramned?” Turles’ voice was a velvety growl and Bulma shivered again as the tenor of his voice raised goose bumps on her arms.

 

“The planet Kramn…Kramned?” Bulma stumbled over the unfamiliar word and blushed as Turles chuckled. “No, my lord, I haven’t heard of it.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes or slap him for asking such a stupid question - after all, it wasn’t like she’d spent her entire life travelling through space like Turles had. She didn’t have a huge knowledge of the galaxy like him and he knew it!

 

“I didn’t think you would, but I decided to ask anyway.” Turles unfolded his arms and looked at her sideways as he spoke, looking ever so slightly amused at the ferocious indignation in her blue eyes.

 

“Why?” Bulma bit the word out angrily. Turles often did this to her – humiliated her in front of her men and made her feel like a backwater hick.

 

“Why?” Turles repeated slowly as though he hadn’t heard her properly. “Because we’re landing there tomorrow and we’re going to get rid of the extremely dangerous natives and then sell the planet at a more then fair price to a buyer.” His eyes moved from her face to look back out the window and Bulma followed his gaze expecting to see a planet in the distance, and indeed she could just discern a small blue and yellow orb in the distance.

 

“Which buyer? Why are the natives so dangerous?” Bulma folded her arms and tried not to look as irritated as she felt. Why was Turles telling her all this? Why was he humiliating her again? Had she done something wrong?

 

“The buyer is none of your concern, but as for the natives…well, they very much are your concern.” Turles looked down at the ground and then back at the window, his sight zeroing in on the yellow and blue planet they were approaching. “You see, the natives of Kramned, or the Kramnamians as they prefer to be called, have a certain habit of attacking foreigners - more precisely in attacking females.” Turles paused to see if Bulma was paying attention. He met her eyes and the full force of his dark gaze hit her. “So, when we set down tomorrow, I want you to keep out of sight.” He raised a hand and touched the side of her face fleetingly.

 

“Well that won’t be a problem, I would hardly want to watch you murder another race.” Bulma pulled away from his hand and looked pointedly away. “It was bad enough to have to watch you kill my own.” Bulma added the last sentence in a hushed undertone, hoping her captor wouldn’t hear it.

 

Turles’ ear twitched and he frowned. “Tell me, Bulma, would you have rather me not told you of the danger forthcoming?” Bulma could almost feel the anger vibrating off his skin and she swallowed convulsively, forcing her mouth to form words.

 

“I…I guess I would have wanted to know.” Bulma admitted reluctantly, looking back at the floor.

 

“Exactly. So stop whining.” Turles’ glanced back at her, looking her up from head to toe. “I wouldn’t want to lose someone like you, you’re far to valuable.” His voice roughened and he smirked at her. Against her will Bulma found herself blushing and she silently berated herself on her show of femininity.

 

“Am I valuable?” Bulma asked softly, wondering if Turles was going to admit how he really felt about her…if he liked her or despised her or just saw her as a whore to be used.

 

“Of course.” Turles nodded once. “You’re a brilliant scientist. Your inventions are priceless to us and therefore you are too.” He looked away from her again, his profile giving away none of his inner thoughts.

 

“Oh.” Bulma couldn’t hide the tone of rejection. He didn’t find her valuable, just her brain.

 

“You may return to our quarters, I’ll join you in a short while.” Turles waved a hand to dismiss her and Bulma turned and left, her cheeks burning at the looks the other men gave her as she stalked past.

 

Sometimes Turles could be such a bastard…

 

 

 

~*~

 

 

 

Goku stared regretfully down at the creature he had just killed and a great swell of pity swept through him for the aliens as he watched his brother, his own flesh and blood, take down five more of the tiny beings in a blast of ki; their blood splattering his face and body and mattering his long hair.

 

“Kakarot, you fool! Just don’t stand there gawking!” Vegeta’s voice cut through his melancholy and the prince of all Saiyans appeared next to him briefly, his face set in its usual ferocious scowl. “We’re not here to sight see you know!” He paused long enough to deal Goku a menacing look before disappearing again to continue his mindless slaughter of the planet’s inhabitants.

 

“Oh really, you think?” Goku snapped at the empty space where Vegeta had been. He launched himself into the air again; hating what he had become and hating the others for making him do this. He caught another of the creatures off guard and wrapped his hands around its neck, crushing the delicate bones with an audible crackle before letting the lifeless body drop from his hands.

 

Goku shuddered with revulsion and kept fighting. He had been forced to do what he did for his family and his friends - for Chichi, Gohan, Krillen, Yamcha and Bulma. He had become what he hated most to keep them safe back on Earth and one day soon he’d go back and see them again, reassure them that he was still alive and well.

 

Goku phased behind another of the aliens and snapped its neck cleanly then shot a Kamehameha wave at three more that were charging at him - desperately firing weak ki blasts in an attempt to kill him. Crouched in a defensive position, Goku waited for more of the aliens to attack him…but none came and an eerie silence descended on the four Saiyan warriors who hovered above the barren, charred and pock marked battlefield.

 

“What pathetic creatures, almost as weak as Earthlings,” Nappa commented, his eyes sliding sideways to see what effect his comment would have on Goku.

 

Goku ignored him. He stared balefully at the thousands of bodies that were littered across the ground, his prayers to Kami for forgiveness more important in his mind then any snide comment Nappa might make.

 

“Come on, let’s not waste more time then we have to here.” Vegeta dusted off his armour and yawned in boredom. “We have to rendezvous with Frieza in two days time and pick up our wages for blowing away these insignificant creatures.” He looked disdainfully at a patch of blood on his glove and his mouth twisted in annoyance.

 

“Yeah, let’s blow this joint.” Raditz glowered at his brother before launching himself into the air and following his prince back to their pods. Goku followed at a more leisurely pace, his thoughts back on his family and Earth.

 

He wondered how they were doing.

 

 

 

~*~

 

 

 

Bulma dropped her screwdriver with a squeal of surprise as two hands closed on her shoulders and lifted her bodily from her chair, dumping her unceremoniously onto the bed.

 

Turles grinned at her shocked and unhappy expression as he pulled off his chest armour and jumped onto the bed next to her, his tail lashing about in excitement as he pinned her down and kissed her, his hands exploring and ruthlessly manipulating her body.

 

“Turles…I was in the middle of something,” Bulma complained, aware of his sudden good mood and wary of it.

 

“Whatever it is you can finish it later. I want to play.” Turles grinned wider and let Bulma wiggle from his grasp before pouncing on her again and pinning her to the bed. Bulma shrieked louder as he made as if to bite her, then let her wiggle free again and scramble from the bed so he could watch her movements through narrowly slitted obsidian eyes.

 

Turles’ idea of ‘play’ was much like a cat playing with a mouse before it devoured it. He’d chase her around, occasionally knock her to the ground, sometimes pin her to the bed or mock bite her. Sometimes he did much more, things that Bulma winced even thinking about.

 

But all in the spirit of play of course!

 

“Turles! This isn’t funny!” Bulma screamed loudly and fell to the floor with an ‘oomph!’ as Turles grabbed her ankles and pulled her legs out from under her. He kept a tight hold on her ankles and Bulma squirmed around but was still unable to get free. In a bold movement Bulma suddenly changed tactics and threw herself in his direction.

 

Turles let go of her ankle and for a moment Bulma was pleased to see a surprised expression on his face, then she crashed into him and skidded across the floor, gently bumping into the wall.

 

Bulma laid half on Turles’ chest, panting, and pushed a strand of blue hair behind her ear. He caught her hand in his and pulled her down until she was lying on him, then he rolled over so he was on top and kissed her, his sharp canines pressed against her lips but not drawing blood.

 

“See what you do to me?” Turles murmured as he drew back to take a breath. “I can’t control myself when I’m with you.” He was softly purring now and his tail was running up and down her body in long sweeping movements.

 

Bulma rested her head on his chest and wondered why she didn’t fight him. “I know.”

 

“Is it like that with you too?” He asked, his hands stroking her soft hair and pulling her face away from his chest so he could look into her eyes.

 

Bulma blinked, genuinely taken aback by his question. “Sometimes. When I’m with you I forget everything. I forget that all the people I love are dead and that my planet has been destroyed. I even forget that it’s you who did it.” Bulma voice was soft and she glanced up at him then lowered her eyes again. “I won’t lie to you, Turles, I don’t like you very much. But I respect you and I respect the way you treat me...well, most of the time.”

 

“How do I treat you?” Turles’ voice was deceptively bland as if he didn’t really care about the answer but somehow Bulma had the feeling that he did care.

 

“You treat me like you treat the others - except for the bedroom part and the constant belittlement in front of your men…” Bulma trailed off to let Turles kiss her then continued. “You listen to what I say and seem to hold my ideas in consideration. I appreciate being treated like I matter.” She looked at Turles devilishly from under her long lashes and tried to distract him away from the conversation.

 

Apparently it worked as Turles was silent for a moment but when he spoke again his voice was a husky growl and he said only one thing before kissing her again with a blinding force. “That’s because you do matter, you matter far more then you can possibly imagine.”

 

 

 

~*~