#and then i get to think about what element/type of magic everyone else uses... mmmm

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

mmmm thinking about... every element having a variety of expressions. thinking about an aesthetic of handedness, w/ certain expressions of each element being sinister and others being dexter, while the "root" of it can be used with either. this is also me thinking abt the aesthetics of mages having physical signs of their magic use, that grow and deepen as they become more proficient in casting. marks on their hands and arms. this would probably be agnostic to the mage's usual dominant hand, or maybe it's even that a right-handed mage who focuses mostly on sinister magic will become left-handed over time. ambidexterity is almost as rare in magic as it is irl, since it's usually difficult to be truly equally good at both kinds.

this is working backwards from the typical positioning of the twins wrt each other but i think dexter magic tends to be predominantly active, easily weaponized, very direct. conversely sinister magic is gentler, more easily used subtly for healing or manipulation. or possibly it's the other way round! i'm thinking of it as them casting with their 'free' hand since emmet seems to generally stand to ingo's right, but the thing is they do quite a lot, maybe even most? of their gesturing with the hand closest to the other, so it might be the inverse.

i also do really like the "one giant adventuring party" idea i pitched a lil while ago bc i think that's fun. with protag as the sort of nominal party leader, who is in a sort of weird position of being a very powerful mage who has no idea how to do magic. it's immediately visible from looking at them bc both arms are covered in glowing rainbow swirls, suggesting near-perfect ambidexterity in apparently every magical class, but every time they cast a new spell they're just as surprised by it as everyone else. and their giant party of mostly mages and then 1 or 2 physical fighters (someone pls help me balance teamcomp my squad is dying) is also there trying to help them learn how to actually. do magic not by accident.

[curtisandlewis]

Dean and Jerry

Safe for work

Synopsis: (1,359 words) Since he was fifteen Jerry has had the same boyfriend, Tony Curtis. For almost as long he has had the same best friend, Dean Martin. He fell in love with Dean Martin the first day he met him. The homosexual kind of love. But Dean was straight. It didn’t bother Jerry. If Dean could be so accepting of him then he could accept the fact they would be palls and nothing else. Besides Dean’s friendship was all Jerry could ever need. Dean gave him what Tony couldn’t and Tony gave him the rest. It was perfect. Jerry felt very lucky to have both of them in his life. Then Dean told him he wants to have a more “fun” relationship, a PHYSICAL relationship. Jerry thought he could but he finds himself at a crossroads between Tony and Dean and sex and love.

Things to look forward to: They kiss and kiss and kiss and kiss and then they kiss some more!

recap: The following takes place after Tony Curtis visits the boys and nearly has sex with Jerry against the door while Dean was in the room. They do eventually make it to the bedroom but after Tony leaves, Dean acted strangely. He asked Jerry all sorts of personal questions about Tony and being with men. Jerry thought it was just normal human curiosity. Then Dean said the words, “I bet we could have a lot of fun together.” Jerry gauged how serious Dean was by questioning him about his experience with men. It was all “guy stuff” typical of what Tony called straight culture. Jerry figured he could teach him some things.    

TW: one use of the Q word

Jerry grabbed Dean’s hand and lead him to his bedroom. “Sit on the bed,” he told Dean as he turned to lock the door. He bit his lip and thought this is really happening. Jerry turned to find Dean struggling to get his pants down. “Dean Martin! What kind of boy do you think I am? If you think you can just drop your pants and expect me...Well, you better go find yourself a prostitute.”

“Y-You,” Dean stammered. “You said that’s how it happened the first time with you and Tony. You and Tony go at it so fast I thought that’s how guys did it. I don’t know this stuff.”

Jerry had no regrets. His first time with Tony and the first time he had with a man was exactly what he wanted at the time. It felt perfect even if it was a bit rushed...Looking at Dean though he knew that’s not what he wanted for him. “That’s not how we’re gonna do it.” Jerry sat beside him on the bed while Dean lifted his pants back up. “You know how I’m the first boy you’ve ever kissed?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied zipping his fly.

“And we’ve probably kissed hundreds of times since then.”

“Yeah.”

“But why do we kiss?”

Dean listened waiting for Jerry to make his point.

“Sure, there’s comedy. There’s nothing funnier than the prancing queer wrestling the manly man in a lip lock and it doesn’t hurt the women go absolutely wild when we do. But there’s something much more serious than that. It’s dangerous. It’s...naughty,” Jerry whispered the last word and bit his lip when he saw Dean giggle. “The audience never knows when it’s going to happen, this forbidden act that these performers DARE to do. And we don’t know either. It creates anticipation and everyone’s thinking what’s going to happen next! That’s the magic that no one can duplicate. If we didn’t kiss in our act Paul, I don’t think we would be us.” Dean nodded in agreement. “Then there’s the kissing we do just for us.” Jerry wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck. “You make my heart so happy sometimes I just have to kiss you right on the mouth!” Jerry smooshed his lips to his partner’s and popped his lips at the end for effect. Dean, of course, wasn’t phased. “I know how hard words are for you and that you show me what’s in your heart through touch and kisses. I’m truly grateful for that.” Dean stayed silent but Jerry knew he understood that was an important part of their relationship. Jerry let his arms fall away from Dean. “Then there’s the other type of kissing...that we haven’t done before you know...that has an element of...sex.” Why did that word seem so different now it was almost as if Jerry was scared to say it. He pushed past the feeling. “I want you to understand that you’re with a man. Tony says that straight guys who are...CURIOUS treat the men they’re with like they’re women. You know they pretend and I think if we neck and do other fun things it won’t be so easy for you to pretend, especially if I keep reminding you.”

“Okay,” Dean said hesitantly.

“When you kiss a woman she’s passive, right?”

“How do you mean?”

“She opens her mouth and you slip in your tongue.”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t want us to do that.”

“You want me to be passive?”

“I want us to be dominant. My tongue in your mouth, your tongue in mine.”

“How can we both be the dominant?”

“That’s the beauty of being with a man Dino, there are no rules. But I want us to go slow and do the things we’re comfortable with first then we’ll try the sexy stuff.”

“Alright.”

“And I want you to know Paul, that if something makes you uncomfortable we can stop. I can give you some time or we can do something else you like. I know this is all new.”

“Is the lecture over yet? Kiss me already!”

“Not another word.” Jerry wrapped his arms around Dean’s neck and hung close to his body. He kissed his cheek seductively, playing up the “mmmms” and the moans with each kiss closer to his mouth. A kiss to his lips felt different. He kissed him over and over again like he did on stage but it felt like something had changed. Dean kissed him back. That was it. Their lips moved and Jerry moaned this time not just for Dean’s benefit. This new experience lasted and lasted. Dean moved his hands hesitantly to Jerry’s waist. Jerry hadn’t been with a man who didn’t know what to do with his hands in a very long time or ever. Their kiss made him think of innocent teen years he missed. Years spent kissing a boy because he liked him not because it leads to something. Maybe that boy could have been Dean. They finally broke away. Jerry stared at Dean biting his lip. “That was nice.”

“Sure was, Pally. Why did you stop?”

“The next time our dressing room has a couch we should do this.”

“Definitely,” Dean said before kissing him again.

“We-We should,” Jerry said against his lips. Dean pulled back. “We should go further,” Jerry said.

Deans eyes got intense. “You read my mind.” He held Jerry tightly and moved his mouth against his.

With their mouths open Jerry could feel his breath and that changed everything. There was no chance in hell it could be mistaken for friendship it was sex and Jerry WANTED Dean. He moaned in his mouth then pulled away. “Are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah yeah,” Dean replied then went back for Jerry’s mouth.

Jerry pushed him away. He situated his body to move back on the bed then swung his leg so that he was straddling his partner’s lap. They had been this close before and even closer but this time Jerry had a completely different intention.

“I gotcha,” Dean breathed. His hands rested on Jerry’s sides and his eyes raked up and down his body.

Jerry grabbed the back of Dean’s head tilting it into position and gave him his mouth again. His fingers ran through his hair.

Dean’s hands moved up and down Jerry’s back. “Jerry,” he moaned in his mouth.

“Paul,” Jerry returned. Why did this feel so good? He had kissed before and it didn’t feel like the greatest and sexiest thing on earth. They hadn’t even frenched yet and that made Jerry ache to suck his tongue. He didn’t feel like he could kiss anyone else after this. He would just have to tell his wife sorry, Mama my mouth is his now. Nor did he feel like doing anything else for the rest of his life.

“Why didn’t we do this sooner?” said Dean

“Because we’re stupid, stupid men.”

“It’s the only explanation,” dean said then went back to kissing. “When there’s a couch this is what we should do.” They kissed again. “This always this.” He kissed him longer than before. “Just do it on the floor.”

“Floor,” Jerry agreed and kissed him back. “We should do this on stage.”

“That got you off didn’t it?”

“A LOT of things are getting me off right now.” Jerry lay his forehead against Dean’s “I think we should stop for a minute.”

“no-no-no-no-no”

Jerry ignored Dean “I forgot how a kiss can go from I like you to I want you.”

“Does my kiss say I want you?”

Jerry looked at Dean. “Yeah.”

“Good. I don’t have to say it. Let's keep going I’m ready.”

“You haven’t had this tongue in your mouth and you revved up my engine, boy. I aint gonna hold back. You THINK you’re ready.”

“I’m not a virgin to kissing you know maybe it’s you that should get ready for me.” Deans hands traveled down Jerry’s back and squeezed his backside.”

“mmm, that felt good.” Dean’s hands went to their original position and Jerry was silent for a moment. “I wish we could stay this way forever.”

“Me too.”

[almaasi]

reaction post typed while watching SPN 12x12 “Stuck In The Middle (With You)”

well THIS is some delightfully interesting bullshit right here

06:43

frankly i am not ready and i don’t think i will ever be ready

i saw some shit on instagram and i went from being “scared but interested” to HYPED and now i’m scared again

i just want cas to come out of this okay

like that’s what i’m here for, just cas being alive and loved (by dean. but also sam and mary)

-

06:48

*DEEP BREATHS*

-

06:50

mr ketch is definitely cute, in a murderous stephen fry kind of way

-

06:52

cas: “cheese isn’t a carbohydrate”

i guess cas read up on the ketchup vs vegetables debate

give me a nutritionist!cas au stat

-

06:54

cas: “sunrise special please”

CAS IS SUNSHINE

also flustered under mandy’s attention BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAS A BOYFRIEND

RIGHT

RIGHT???

-

06:55

guess sam’s magic wifi hair doesn’t work any more

-

06:56

what i have learned here is that dean is turned on by the smell of food

give me cas bathing himself in strawberry syrup before bed

-

06:57

obviously there’s something else going on but right now it kind of looks like mary’s uncomfortable with either a) using mandy as part of a plan, or b) dean instructing his boyfriend to go flirt with someone else

edit: probably more like uncomfortable that they’re trying to make cas flirt and not focusing on the issue at hand

-

06:59

CAS SNIFFING PEOPLE

OH GOD CAS YOU’RE SO INAPPROPRIATE AND SO UNAWARE OF IT

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

sidenote, cas was the only one who didn’t get screentime when mary asked if everyone understood the plan

-

07:01

DEAN: “MY SHY BUT DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME FRIEND”

OKAY THAT’S CANON

GUYS THAT JUST HAPPENED DEAN JUST DESCRIBED CAS AS DEVASTATINGLY HANDSOME

CONTEXT DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE THOSE WORDS CAME OUT OF DEAN’S MOUTH

-

07:03

dean: “when do you get off?”

mandy: “whenever i can”

woooowwwww go mandy

also i’m so concerned for cas right now DID HE CONSENT TO BEING USED AS A HONEY TRAP I DON’T THINK SO

HE HASN’T SAID A WORD ON THIS

edit: mandy wasn’t even part of the plan ?? i’m ????

-

07:05

DID I JUST SEE A BLACK GUY DIE FIRST

///SQUINTS REALLY HARD

-

07:06

and then a white guy BUT THEN THE (asian? native american?) LADY

AAAND WE’RE BACK TO ZERO REPRESENTATION

WHAT THE FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

ARE THEY ACTUALLY KIDDING LIKE

DO THEY EVEN SEE THE ISSUE

DOES ANYONE MAKING THIS SHOW EVEN REALISE WHAT THEY’RE DOING

fuck 

y’know i’m just gonna have to let this go right now because i can’t even comprehend how ferociously problematic this show is

i just wanna enjoy it for my fave characters and i can’t do that unless i bundle the problems into a box and forget about them for now

-

07:09

still thinking about it though

this is trump’s america, where problematic bad things happen so often and with zero time to process that you just get to the point where it’s like “oh great another social apocalypse, must be thursday”

-

07:12

“the wounded angel” // “earlier”

i feel like i’ve watched a movie like this (certainly a lot of tv show episodes clearly all based on the same source material)

pulp fiction or something idk

something bizarre and character-action-driven that doesn’t make a lot of sense until the end

-

07:14

AW MAN THAT SLOW MOTION WALKING SHOT IS GONNA MAKE A REALLY GOOD GIF

THANK YOU GABRIEL RICHARD SPEIGHT JR

-

07:20

IS THAT YELLOW EYES

WHAT

WHAT WHAT WHAT

-

07:21

nOOOOOO CAS 

NOBODY HARPOONS MY BABY AND LIVES

except dean, who stabbed him first, married him later

-

07:21

YYYEEEEEEE MARY SAVING CAS WITH THE CAR

-

07:23

and while mary and sam are talking about yellow-eyes, dean is smothering cas in kisses and magic healing tears, yes? yes

-

07:26

WOW WAS THAT FLIRTY LOOK DEAN GAVE DIRECTED AT CAS

I THINK SO

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE THO

-

07:26

i watched that bit again I THINK DEAN WAS SIGNALLING TO CAS THAT MANDY’S RESPONSE WAS A POSITIVE THING

aaaah the people who subtly and automatically support autistic friends are the best

also why is dean so determined to get cas to like other people?? CAN’T YOU JUST ACCEPT THAT CAS IS ALL YOURS AND WILL FOREVER BE YOURS

-

07:30

is this glowing yellow thing from the safe gonna be a hand of god or whatever

-

07:32

the men of letters are labelled as “hobbits” in mary’s phone

-

07:34

crowley arrives. “you idiots. you’re all going to die.”

@ people who voted for trump

-

07:35

mary: “touch me and i’ll kill you”

things everyone ought to say to crowley (and trump)

-

07:35

CROWLEY CALLED CAS FEATHERS

(quietly laughing bc bobby called cas that in my fic Lucid Nightmare which i posted yesterday cough cough shameless plug go read it if you haven’t already)

-

07:39

“name’s crowley, king of the crossroads”

DJFJGF THE CUCKOO IN THE BACKGROUND

(ba dum tiss)

-

07:43

ramiel (sp?) gives crowley the throne of hell

OH HEY LOOK AT THAT they just filled in a narrative gap that’s been empty for years

-

07:47

crowley: “hey, i was growing fond of the choirboy too”

was that a lowkey “cas is gay” joke??

-

mmmm yes give me dean so concerned about cas his voice goes all breathy

-

07:52

“three humans with one good liver between them, and a busted up angel”

:/

that team free will season 12 aesthetic

-

07:53

WHEN WILL THE WINCHESTERS STOP THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW

-

07:55

okay but cas grunting in pain is kind of sexy in a way god help me

my faves being sick and dying is okay so long as they pull through and someone Cares About Them a lot

-

07:57

“the things we’ve shared together, they’ve changed me”

cas looks at dean when he says “they’ve changed me”

;a;

-

07:58

“i love you”

i cry

i CRY

CAS

and THE FACT THE REACTION SHOT IS ONLY DEAN

WOW

thanks richard speight jr that decision was an a++ decision

-

the slow zoom in on dean

i’m sweating

and shaking

help

-

08:00

............i just realised i’m watching this under the assumption that cas is getting out of this alive

DEAR GOD IF HE DOESN’T MAKE IT

OH NO

OH NO WHAT IF HE DOESN’T

IS THIS GOOD STORYWRITING AND DIRECTING MAKING ME WORRY OR IS THERE ACTUALLY A DANGER THAT HE MIGHT NOT MAKE IT

SHIT I SHOULD’VE CHECKED TUMBLR FIRST

NOW I DON’T WANT TO

HE’D BETTER FUCKING MAKE IT

MY HEART IS POUNDING I’M SO SCARED

-

08:10

THERE’S 10 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE LEFT, THAT’S ENOUGH TIME TO SAVE HIM RIGHT

-

08:03

“LIKE YOU SAID, YOU’RE FAMILY. AND WE DON’T LEAVE FAMILY BEHIND”

that look dean and cas share, cas’ eyes are wet

THAT WAS DEAN SAYING “I LOVE YOU TOO”

OH GOD

-

08:03

THEY ALL LOVE CAS SO MUCH THIS IS SO SATISFYING

SO MANY YEARS WE’VE ALL BEEN SO FRUSTRATED WITH HOW THEY TREAT CAS 

THIS IS GOOD

BUT HE’D BETTER NOT FREAKING DIE

-

08:09

black goop again

SOMEONE’S GONNA HELP CAS RIGHT

LIKE HE’S GONNA BE FINE RIGHT

PLEASE

PLEASE

-

08:10

C

R

O

W

L

E

Y

-

like i never thought i’d say this but

thank you crowley

thank you so, so much

oh 

god

i’m

dying

thank

-

08:11

I DEMAND THAT DEAN SMOTHERS CAS IN KISSES RIGHT THE FUCK NOW

-

08:12

i just

i want dean to go up behind cas and softly press his cheek between cas’ shoulder blades and wrap his arms around cas’ waist and breathe in deeply

oh god i’m so relieved

i can’t imagine what dean’s feeling

soMEONE CUDDLE CAS OH GOD HE NEEDS SO MANY CUDDLES

-

08:14

OKAY BUT

I JUST REALISED

what the fuck was all the stuff with cas flirting with mandy about

dean saying he was looking for “teachable moments”

DEAN YOU CAN’T TEACH CAS TO LIKE GIRLS

HE LIKES YOU, YOU HOPELESS LITTLE SHIT

i guess maybe that was the point of this narrative, cas will always choose team free will, dean pretends cas isn’t in love but GODDAMN HE IS

edit: or maybe dean’s not actually trying to make cas interested, he’s legit just trying to teach cas how flirting works, and what a positive response is?? and mandy just happened to be there and flirty. i mean, sure, i’ll go with that. quick question though, why didn’t dean just flirt with cas himself, like in all the fanfics, that would be better

-

08:16

mr ketch is kinda crosseyed

cute

-

08:17

CAS IS ONE OF MARY’S BOYS

HALLELUJAH

-

08:18

mr ketch is so fluffy-haired and cute i don’t know what to do

i hate him

but he’s smol

idk idk idk

-

08:19

wait wait it’s the colt

where was the colt supposed to be

heck

-

08:19

(real life interrupts)

ooh there’s lightning outside!! eee

the power may go out at any moment though, that’s the downside

IT’S MEANT TO BE SUMMER and all we’ve had is rain

(okay back to the show)

-

08:21

is that pellegrino!lucifer, i recognise the voice

-

08:22

yes it is

WELL THEN

-

08:22

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BOY

where to start

that was.... a lot of stuff

firsTLY CAS MADE IT OUT ALIVE AND EVERYONE LOVES HIM AND HE LOVES HIS FAMILY I’M SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS YOU HAVE NO IDEA (actually no you probably know exactly how happy i am. if you’re reading this, you probably agree)

BUT LIKE

WOW THIS SHOW NEEDS A SELF-REVIEW ON NOT KILLING CHARACTERS OF COLOUR

mandy made it out alive, and she had a name, a speaking part, and a character, so that’s +1 for everything

BUT... look i don’t think i even need to say it again, it’s a Problem

(my thoughts: here, and here)

i’ve never watched any other show with such a huge fucking issue with this

that aside, i think i just need to mostly ignore that specific problem until they fix it, because if i just focus on the bad shit i’m never gonna wanna watch the show again, and the characters are really important to me so i’ll come back anyway

LET’S FOCUS ON HOW INTERESTING THIS EPISODE WAS

and how well-formed and well-paced it was

AND HOW CAS DIDN’T FUCKING DIE HORRIBLY

and how i was actually legit terrified for a couple minutes

physically sweating with heart pounding

that was cool

9/10 probably

still confused about mandy and cas, that wasn’t necessary. same with dean and the lady in the bar last episode. as much as i’d love to see the “i love yous” in this episode as romantic between dean and cas, they clearly were only meant to be 50% romantic, interpreted whichever way the viewer prefers. so the showrunners are maybe adding in sidenote heterosexual elements that objectively mean nothing, but for those who like to see tfw as HetroStraight (TM), the info is just... there. but it’s not possible eradicate the bisexual/demi-asexual loVEFEST THAT’S BEEN BREWING FOR 9 YEARS THAT’S DEFINITELY THERE AND IS DEFINITELY ROMANTIC AND HAS BEEN ALL ALONG AND WILL ALWAYS BE, DESPITE SNEAKY HALF/HALF MAKE-UP-YOUR-OWN-MIND DIRECTING AND SCRIPTING

to be fair though, i’m learning a lot about how creators get the best of both worlds. this is the Bipartisan TV Show. this is the same way donald fucking trump and kellyanne fucking conway and all the other politics snake people manage to fuck everyone over and not answer questions. they present both sides of the argument, each “fact” contradicting the other, and the viewer picks the one they agree with, and explain away the other argument however they like.

which, admittedly, i’m currently doing when it comes to seeing romantic destiel as ever-present, because it’s the only way this show doesn’t make me lose my shit all the time

but I SEE WHAT YOU’RE DOING, YOU PRIME BULLSHITTERS, YOU

I SEE YOU

I’M NOT HAPPY BUT I’M GONNA KEEP TORTURING MYSELF REGARDLESS BECAUSE YOU’RE PRETTY GOOD AT THIS ~ENTERTAINMENT~ BULLSHIT

BUT I’M TAKING NOTES

[sarahw-world]

My first fanfic: A Dark Heart

Chapter 12: A New Intergalactic Order                         

Summary:          

Bulma and her friends discover a new planet, its people and quite a few things about Vegeta's new life...

Will he be there?

             But we must kill them.  

We must incinerate them.  

Pig after pig.                          

Cow after cow.  

Village after village.  

Army after army.  

And they call me an assassin.  

What do you call it, when the assassins accuse the assassin?  

They lie.  

They lie and we have to be merciful, for those who lie.  

Those nabobs.

I hate them.  I really hate them."

[Colonel Kurtz; “Apocalypse Now”]

Yamcha finished getting dressed in his tiny cabin, making sure he would be protected from the harsh weather they were about to face, and he double checked that the belt Bulma have given him was secure underneath his warm clothes.

She really was amazing, wasn’t she? The woman had certainly come prepared for this trip, especially considering it had only taken her about two weeks to prepare for it. Not only had she built a new ship, with the help of his father and a few trustworthy members of Capsule Corporation, but she’d also been extremely foresighted and she’d taken the time to create three belts, one for each of the passengers of the ship, which contained tiny capsules full of food, clean water, medical supplies, a few different types of Capsule Corp. vehicles and clothes suitable for every single kind of weather they might encounter during their new adventure. The capsules were tiny, about half the size of a regular one, and Bulma had commented that they were a new model, entirely her invention, that hadn’t even gone into full production yet because the costs of manufacture were still too high and she didn’t think they would be a profitable product until they found a way to make them more affordable to the general public.

His ex-lover truly was brilliant.

The warrior sighed, shaking his head, knowing where this train of thought would lead him. He had to admit, this trip hadn’t been as easy as he’d thought it would be.

Back in the lab, as he’d held her and basically forced her to allow him to accompany her in this odyssey, he’d truly felt that he’d finally achieved some kind of closure from their past together. But now, he wasn’t so sure anymore. He knew that he’d never attempt to pursue her again, and he really hoped she’d be able to find Vegeta and convince him to give their relationship a shot, but he couldn’t help some of the images that went through his mind when she was near him…

Spending time with her in a closed space hadn’t helped either. Every damn day he was surrounded by her scent, her smile, her soothing words of encouragement, her cooking, that had actually gotten better than it used to be, and of course, her beauty. He’d often catch her standing in front of the main window of the space ship, her tiny shivering body wrapped in that blue blanket, lost in thought, with a slight concerned frown and those pink pouty lips he’d been fortunate enough to kiss so long ago, and he wondered what went on inside that girly but complex mind of hers.

Yamcha shook his head again, telling himself that if that fool didn’t want her back he’d kick his ass.

“Lucky bastard” he mumbled frustratingly as he exited his cabin and he walked towards the main living area, where Krillin and Bulma were already waiting for him.

“There you are!” she said cheerfully, although he could tell she was simply trying to hide her anxieties. She softly patted the couch, asking him to sit down next to her, and he complied.

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“Uh? Um, yeah…” he replied in confusion.

“I mean the clothes, silly! Do they fit you well? Are they warm enough?”

“Sure!” he honestly replied. “They’re very warm, but light at the same time. You’re really talented, as usual…”

She gave him that Bulma Briefs cocky grin of hers…

“Well, of course! I am a genius, after all!”

He mockingly rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah… Anyway, are we all ready to go? Do you have all the information you needed before we land?”

“I think so…” she replied, her cute face getting serious, meaning that they were about to discuss things of great importance. She held a few documents she’d just printed, no doubt the results of the tests she’d been running ever since they’d reached the planet. The blue haired woman had wisely decided not to land until she was able to find out as much as she could about the planet they were about to visit. As a result, they’d been orbiting it for about two hours, as her computers worked their magic and gathered as much knowledge about it as they could.

“Alright, boys! This is what we know…” she said as she went through her notes. “As you can see, most of the planet is white, and just as I suspected, the white substance is ice, apparently with the same composition as Earth’s water. The air is also constituted of the same elements as the one from our home planet, which means that it’s breathable and it shouldn’t give us any trouble. Mmmm… Let’s see what else… Oh! Here. OK, most of the planet seems to be unpopulated; I’ve only discovered two zones where there seem to be some villages. They appear to be small, and I’ve also detected a few really large hangars near the villages.” She stopped, frowning… “I guess… Maybe they could be some kind of factories? Perhaps? I mean… The weather seems to be pretty harsh in here, so I’m guessing these people don’t make a living from something like agriculture… By the way, can you feel their kis? Are the inhabitants strong?” she asked the two men.

“It’s hard to tell, Bulma”, Krillin said, shaking his head. “I mean… I can feel quite a few kis on the planet, but we’re still too far to know for sure… Also, they could be like us and know how to hide their energy levels… We won’t know for sure until we land”.

She nodded, disappointment written on her face. Landing on that planet without knowing what to expect wasn’t exactly safe, but really, what other choice did they have? Go back home because they were scared? No fucking way. Not without her Saiyan Prince.

“I’m sorry, Bulma…” Krillin said, realizing that the scientist looked somewhat agitated.

“It’s fine, Krillin. It’s not your fault…” she grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently. “I… I wanna thank you guys… Whatever happens down there, you don’t know how much it means to me to have you two here with me…” she smiled, looking at both men.

The warriors looked at each other. Humble, grateful Bulma was certainly something they hadn’t witnessed very often, and they couldn’t help but being surprised.

“You don’t have to thank us” Yamcha replied, putting his hand on her shoulder. “That’s what friends are for… It’s gonna be alright, you’ll see…”

Bulma smiled, swallowing a lump in her throat. No. Bulma Briefs wasn’t going to get emotional. Not today, anyway.

“Well…” she continued after taking a minute to compose herself. “As you already know, we haven’t received any signal from Vegeta’s ship for the last couple of days… This could mean two things…” she stopped, taking a deep breath. “He’s either on the planet and he encapsulated the ship or… Or he’s left the planet with the ship and we can’t receive the signal anymore for whatever reason…”

Bulma suddenly stopped talking, knowing full well there was a third reason: the possibility that Vegeta’s ship had been destroyed and that something bad had happened to him, but she didn’t even want to think about it, so she decided to keep that fear to herself.

“Even if he isn’t in there, Bulma, I’m sure we’ll get some info on him, I mean… He spent at least six days on this planet, right?” Yamcha said cautiously, reading her face like an open book, knowing full well the woman knew something bad could have happened to the Saiyan.

She nodded again.

“Let’s hope the people here are friendly…” she whispered distractedly…

There was silence in the room, until Bulma came back to the present.

“Anyway... These are my plans: we land close to the smallest village, since it would be less risky having to face a smaller amount of people, in case they’re hostile, but far enough that we don’t make a spectacle of ourselves, I mean… This ship can be a bit loud when it lands, and I have to say, I’m not sure how landing on a surface full of ice will work out… If anything bad happens, I have tools and spare parts in one of the capsules in my belt, in case I have to make some emergency repairs…”

Both men nodded in approval.

“It sounds like a plan…” Krillin replied.

“I also think it’s better that we just walk into the village, trying to blend in as much as we can… By the way guys, we will not, under any circumstances, tell anyone where we come from. We don’t want to put our planet and friends at risk, right?”

‘Or our children’ she anxiously thought…

“Absolutely” Yamcha said in complete agreement.

“Then, I think we’re ready… Everyone, take your seats and get ready for a rough landing!” Bulma said, her voice full of newfound determination.

They all walked towards their seats, with the scientist sitting at the pilot’s one, they fastened their seat belts and they proceeded to approach the planet, Bulma typing the landing coordinates on the computer system…

*********************************************

As it turned out, the landing hadn’t been as bumpy as the blue haired genius had expected, and she’d managed to land quite gracefully over the slippery grounds of the planet without damaging the space ship in the slightest.

The three passengers stood up, Bulma’s legs a bit wobbly from the landing, and Yamcha held her arm in order to steady her.

“Are you OK?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“Y-Yeah… I’m fine. Thanks babe!” she replied, trying to hide the nervousness from her voice.

Krillin approached them.

“Alright guys. Let’s do this!” he said resolutely as he opened the gate of the ship. He waited until Yamcha and Bulma were standing next to him, and then the three of them exited the vehicle.

A rush of extremely cold air hit their faces, making the woman flinch, and her ex-boyfriend couldn’t help but feel worried about how difficult it would be for her to handle the harsh environment they were about to deal with. He held her hand, helping her to descend from the ship’s slippery walkway. She grabbed it, gratefully, and she didn’t let go until she reached the ground, taking a deep breath of relief and flashing him a bright smile.

“Thank you, Yamcha.”

The scarred faced warrior nodded, unable to hide the hint of a blush from his face.

“No problem… Boy! It sure is cold in here! I think we should wear those hats you’ve given us, uh? We don’t want our ears to freeze!”

She nodded, putting her cozy wool hat on as both men did the same.

Bulma walked towards the side of the ship and she pushed a button, effectively encapsulating it and safely keeping it inside of one of her zipped pockets.

“So… Do you guys sense any kis? Where’s the village?”

Krillin frowned in concentration.

“This way”, he said pointing to their right. “I’d say it’s not very far, but we probably should fly a little so that we don’t freeze our asses off!”

Yamcha held Bulma in his arms and the three comrades flew towards the nearest village, which they reached about ten minutes later. Just as they were about to enter it, Bulma asked Yamcha to put her down so they’d be able to walk in without drawing too much attention to themselves.

The Earthlings walked, side by side, curiously looking around them and realizing there wasn’t much to see. In the distance, they witnessed the few large hangars Bulma had talked about back before they’d landed, but they really couldn’t see what was inside of them.

As they slowly started to reach the village, they finally saw some people, walking in different directions. They all seemed to belong to the same race, and they looked humanoid, with light blue skin, burgundy hair and large yellow-green eyes. Despite the obvious difference in their appearance, nobody seemed to really pay much attention to them, and they walked past them minding their own business. Bulma couldn’t hide her relief as she realized the inhabitants of this frozen world seemed to be peaceful individuals.

“Well guys, either these people are really good at hiding their power levels, or they’re all even weaker than Bulma…” Krillin finally said.

“Ha! Ha!” Bulma said, laughing sarcastically at his friend’s comment.

Krillin smirked.

“Aww, Bulma! Don’t be like that! This is actually good news, right? That means your friends are the strongest people on the plan…”

Krillin suddenly stopped talking and walking, deeply shocked by the image in front of him. He looked at his friends and he realized they’d both stopped walking too, staring dumbfounded at the new scenario.

They’d finally entered the village, and they stood on what seemed to be the central square of the small town. In the middle, the villagers worked together placing large bundles on what appeared to be something similar to Earth’s primitive carriages. One of the bundles opened a little, allowing them to see what was inside of it.

A hand.

A dirty, bloody hand.

“Oh, Dende…” the scientist whispered in shock.

“Bulma, perhaps you shouldn’t look at this…” Yamcha said, suddenly feeling like the carnage would be too much for the fragile woman to take.

“It’s OK, Yamcha, really…” she replied softly, unable to take her eyes off the image in front of her.

As they tried to absorb all the details of this new situation, attempting to make some sense of it, they didn’t realize that someone was carefully approaching them.

“Excuse me, Miss…” a shy voice said, and Bulma looked in front of her, realizing a little girl was standing right there.

The child cleared her throat timidly and she asked another question.

“Is… Um… Is your hair blue, Miss?”

The woman blinked in confusion, surprised about being asked that question. Of course her hair was blue! Wasn’t that obvious? And then she realized that most of her hair was covered by her wool hat, and she nodded.

“That is correct. My hair is blue” she replied kindly.

The little girl’s eyes suddenly widened and she smiled.

“Wait here!” she yelled as she run towards a group of people that was standing in front of one of the houses in the square.

“What the hell was all that about?” Krillin asked.

Bulma crossed her arms, squinting as she looked at the group of people the kid was running towards.

“I have no idea…” she said, puzzled, wondering what exactly was going on in this planet…

The three earthlings saw the child reach a small group of women and hold the hand of one of them in particular, an older woman; the girl whispered something in her ear and the old lady looked around her until she finally set her eyes on Bulma. She tilted her head to the left, she asked the child something and, after the kid replied to her, she nodded and she proceeded to walk towards the new visitors.

The child was holding the lady’s hand, slowing down her pace so that the older woman could comfortably follow her, and as both females got closer and closer, the scientist realized a lot of the villagers were now staring at the travelers and whispering to each other.

“I don’t like this…” Yamcha said in a low voice.

“Ssshhh… Yamcha, let’s wait and see what is happening here…” Bulma said, trying to remain calm and to appear confident. She could hear the child saying “I think that’s her, grandma!”

The older lady finally reached her and she stood in front of them, trying to catch her breath for a few seconds. Then, she finally addressed them.

“Bulma? Bulma Briefs?” she asked politely.

“Um… Uh, who are you?” the heiress warily asked, amazed that someone in here knew who she was.

“Oh, excuse me, Miss. Where are my manners?” The lady replied embarrassed. “My name is Khalla and this is my granddaughter, Ellah”, she said pointing at the little girl.

“Nice to meet you, ladies. You are correct, I am Bulma Briefs… May I ask how do you know my name?”

“We’ve been expecting you for the past two days”.

“Expecting us?” Yamcha suddenly questioned.

“Not all of you, young man. We were expecting her”, she clarified, pointing towards Bulma.

“But, how…? What…?” Bulma asked confused.

“Lord Vegeta. He left something for you, and he made me its custodian until your arrival.”

The blue haired woman’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked as if she was going to faint any minute…

“L-Lord Vegeta?” she whispered.

“Holy shit…” Krillin murmured…

Khalla nodded and she cautiously looked around her, noticing that the entire village was now paying attention to the new visitors.

“Yes, Lord Vegeta. If you don’t mind, it’s better if we discuss things privately. Our people are harmless, I can assure you, but I get the feeling that you’ll want some discretion, am I correct?”

Bulma looked at the boys questioningly. She got the feeling that the lady’s intentions were honest, buy she still wanted the opinion of her companions. Yamcha and Krillin seemed to be scanning their surroundings, searching for any potential threats and finding none. They both looked at Bulma and nodded in approbation.

“Alright, we’ll follow you”, the heiress finally said.

“My house is right there” Khalla said, pointing towards a small white house.

They all walked towards it: the older lady and the child first, followed closely by Bulma, whose back was fiercely protected by Yamcha and Krillin, acting as bodyguards. The blue haired woman smiled, feeling extremely grateful again for having her friends by her side. They finally reached the tiny home and Ellah opened the door for her grandmother. They all entered and they took the seat their host was offering in what seemed to be a small sofa.

“Would you like a warm drink?” the woman politely asked.

All three of them shook their heads.

“No, thanks. We’re fine”, Bulma replied. Deep down, there was nothing more she wanted right now than a really hot drink, but she still didn’t fully trust the people on this planet, and she could tell her male friends were having the same exact thoughts.

“Very well then… I’ll prepare one for myself, if you don’t mind…” she said, walking slowly towards a little kitchen that was placed in one of the corners of the house. As the older woman prepared her drink, little Ellah stared at Bulma with fascination.

“Can I see your hair, Miss Bulma?” she finally whispered, afraid that her grandma would hear her.

Bulma chuckled, removing her hat and revealing her cascade of blue hair, which had gotten longer after the Cell Games and was now a bit past her shoulders. The little girl’s eyes opened wide, fascinated by the woman’s beauty.

“Can I… Um… Can I touch it?” she said in a really low voice full of curiosity.

“Of course, kiddo…” the earthling said, smiling.

The child carefully run her fingers through the turquoise tresses.

“It’s so soft…” she whispered absentmindedly…

“Ellah!” the older woman reproved. “Please, stop bothering our guests. Go to your room, child…”

“Aww, granny! Do I really have to?” the girl asked, clearly not wanting to leave.

“Yes, you must let the grown-ups discuss our business, understood? Go on! Go to your room!”

“Aaaalright…”

Ellah kissed Khalla on her cheek, and she murmured in her ear…

“She’s so pretty… Isn’t she granny?”

The woman smiled quietly and nodded, fully agreeing with the child. They all waited until Ellah left the room, closing the door behind her in order to give them some privacy, and then Khalla turned towards Bulma.

“She’s right. You are a stunning young woman. I can see how Lord Vegeta would wish to have a friend like you”.

The scientist blushed.

“Thank you, you are very kind. So… I assume Lord Vegeta is not on the planet anymore?” Bulma asked, her mind full of emotions. There was disappointment at the Prince not being there, and then there was that word, ‘lord’, Vegeta’s new title made her internally cringe for some reason…

Khalla shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. He abandoned the planet two days ago.” There was a pause, and the old woman continued, “I’m assuming you were expecting to find him?”

Bulma nodded and she sighed tiredly, suddenly wanting nothing more than being at home, with her baby in her arms, watching some TV wrapped in a warm blanket…

“Then you must be disappointed. I am truly sorry, my child…”

“You said Lord Vegeta left something for Bulma” Krillin finally said, joining the conversation. “Could you please tell us what it was?”

“Ah, yes… I had almost forgotten… You must forgive me… I must be getting old…” the old lady said, almost talking to herself. She stood up and she walked into another room next door. As they waited, Yamcha couldn’t help himself…

“Lord Vegeta? What the fuck, Bulma?” he whispered angrily, fearing that their worst nightmare, the one that depicted Vegeta trying to achieve some form of world domination, had actually come true.

“Quiet, Yamcha!” Bulma whispered back. “We don’t know what Vegeta has really been doing, so just be respectful…”

Meanwhile, their host had silently come back into the living room and she stood in front of Bulma.

“There you go, young lady…” Khalla said, holding a tiny object in her hand, offering it to her.

Bulma grabbed the object in her now trembling hands and she examined it.

It was a capsule.

And not just any capsule.

It was Vegeta’s ship.

“Oh, no…” Bulma mumbled, suddenly feeling tears gather in her blue eyes…

Yamcha was fuming at the sight of his best friend getting hurt. ‘That fucking asshole’…

Krillin observed the scene, trying to remain calm and objective.

“Do you know why Lord Vegeta left his ship in here? Was it by choice, or had the vehicle been damaged?” the bald man questioned.

“Well, I know he left in one of the pods Frieza’s soldiers used to travel with…” the woman said. “As far as whether the ship works or not, I am afraid I’m not an expert about such matters. Our planet’s technology isn’t too advanced…”

Bulma remained quiet for a few moments, trying to gather her thoughts, and then she realized that there was something that didn’t make sense. How…?

“How did Lord Vegeta know we were coming in here? We didn’t mention our intention to visit him the last time we saw him”, she asked.

Khalla shook her head in confusion.

“I… I am afraid he didn’t share that information with me… I…”

“Someone else must have told him, Bulma” Krillin said.

“But who? Was Lord Vegeta talking to someone before he left?”

The old woman shook her head.

“Not as far as I know… I did see him walk inside the ship for a while… And then, we felt something, like… Like… Like an explosion of energy or something like that… It emanated from the ship, and then he exited the vehicle and he… He pushed a button and the ship turned into that tiny thing and, that’s all I know Miss Bulma…”

“Maybe he was talking to someone inside the ship?” Krillin asked again.

“But… Who could he…?” Bulma asked, as if trying to solve an equation. Suddenly, she stood up.

“My dad! Guys! Maybe he called my dad!”

Yamcha shook his head.

“That wouldn’t make any sense, Bulma. He left our planet, why would he call back home?”

“There’s only one way to find out. I haven’t talked to my dad for a while, perhaps we should try to get in touch with him…”

She turned towards the old woman.

“Khalla, is there any place big enough to open this capsule? It should be large enough to fit a space ship.”

Khalla stood up, and she pointed towards one of the closed doors in the room.

“That’s our backyard. It’s empty and it’s quite large, since our house is the last one in the village… You could open it in there…”

Bulma smiled with gratitude.

“Thank you, Khalla. Do you mind if we go in there right now?” she asked hopefully.

“Not at all, child… Go ahead…”

The three travelers walked towards the door, opening it and revealing a backyard covered in ice. Bulma whimpered, internally asking herself how could these people live in these conditions full time. She didn’t think she’d ever be able to get used to this horribly cold weather… She walked a few steps and she pressed the capsule’s button, throwing it at a safe distance…

There it was.

Vegeta’s space ship.

Bulma walked towards it, examining the vehicle with scientific eyes and realizing that it didn’t seem to be damaged at all, at least, not physically. She walked through the walkway and she entered the ship, cautiously looking around her in case there was any internal damage.

There wasn’t any.

Not only that, but the place actually smelled of Vegeta. That masculine, musky scent that was only his, and for a moment, Bulma felt a sharp pain in her stomach.

Gods, how she missed him!

She swallowed her tears and she walked towards the central computer system, trying to switch it on.

Nothing.

She tried again.

And again.

Nothing, it didn’t work.

Bulma sighed in frustration and she lifted her jumper, searching through her tiny belt, looking for the capsule that contained her repair tools.

“There you are…” she whispered as she grabbed the tiny object, pressing the button and throwing it next to her. A heavy red toolbox appeared, and the scientist knelt down next to it, looking for a medium-sized screwdriver. When she found it, she walked towards the central console, she knelt down on the floor again and she proceeded to open the small door that held the central circuits of the vehicle.

“Fuck!” she yelled as she saw what the problem was.

All the circuits were burnt.

“Unbelievable…” she angrily murmured.

She’d been there before, and she knew this kind of thing usually happened when Vegeta had either been overtraining or so angry that he couldn’t properly control his damn energy…

As Bulma looked around her, she realized that it was farfetched to assume that her man had been doing some serious hardcore training in there, given that the room seemed to be in perfect physical condition, so she could only imagine that the Saiyan had been pissed off about something and he’d exploded in rage. But, how? What could have possibly enraged him that much in order to destroy the best space ship he was probably going to own?

The heiress tiredly wiped her forehead as she stood up, hands on her waist, deep in thought, and she realized that the only thing she could do right now was talk to her dad and see if her theory was correct. She’d promised to call him as soon as they reached their destination anyway, so it was still all part of the plan. She walked outside the ship, where her friends and Khalla anxiously awaited her.

“Did you discover anything?” Krillin curiously asked.

She shook her head as she carefully walked through the walkway.

“No guys, sorry. All I know is that the circuits are burnt, and he was probably the one who did it.”

As she reached the ground, she encapsulated the ship again, she opened the zipped pocket that contained the vehicle they’d used to get to the frozen planet and she opened it instead, saving Vegeta’s ship in the same place.

“I’m going to try to call my dad, it’s the only thing I can think of right now… It might take a while, I’m not sure how hard it will be to communicate with our planet from here.”

Bulma walked back inside the ship, she strode towards the console and she typed the secret communication codes of her father’s lab. She knew it would take at least a few minutes for the satellite to catch anything, assuming they’d even be able to reach the Earth from their current position. While she waited, she decided to do something productive with her time: she wanted some answers.

“Yamcha?!” she yelled from inside the ship.

“Um, yeah?!” he yelled back.

“Would you mind asking Khalla to come in here and help her to get inside, please?! I’d like to talk to her!”

“Uh, sure…” The man questioningly looked towards the old woman, she nodded, accepting the invitation and she stretched her arm, seeking his help.

Yamcha looked at the lady, he looked at the slippery walkway and back to her. No, this wasn’t going to work out.

“May I?” He said stretching both arms in her direction. “It will be a lot easier if I just carry you in there myself.”

“Of course, young man…” the woman shyly replied.

The human carefully carried Khalla inside the ship, delicately leaving her on the ground, making sure that she was alright and she could keep her balance before he completely let go of her. Then he turned towards Bulma.

“Is there anything else you need, B.?” he asked.

She didn’t even look at him, too focused on the numbers on the screen placed in front of her.

“No thanks, that’s all… Could you leave us alone, please? I’d like to talk to her in private if that’s OK…”

“Uh, sure. No problem… We’ll be waiting for you outside. Just yell if you need anything.”

Bulma turned towards the entrance door, where Khalla was patiently waiting for her.

“Please, come in Khalla. I’d like to ask you a few questions… If that’s alright with you, of course”, she said politely.

The older woman slowly walked towards the scientist, looking around her in bewilderment, and then back at the beautiful woman sitting on the pilot’s seat. She realized her attributes were more than just physical, and she got the impression that it wouldn’t have been hard for the young Prince to fall in love with this exceptional young woman.

“Please, take a seat” she said, gesturing with a welcoming hand towards the seat to her right.

Khalla sat down, exhaling softly with exhaustion. She was getting too old for this…

Bulma crossed her arms and closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. She opened her blue eyes and, without daring to look at the other woman yet, she softly asked.

“Did he do it?”

Silence.

“I… I beg your pardon, Miss?”

Bulma sighed again, afraid of the woman’s future answers…

“The bodies your people were carrying, I’m assuming to get rid of them. Did Vegeta kill those men?” she asked again, now looking into the woman’s eyes.

“I see…” Khalla finally replied, realizing that Bulma needed to know exactly what the Saiyan warrior had been up to.

“Well, he killed a few of them, but most of them died by the hands of his men, actually…”

“His men?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

“Um, it’s hard to tell. We were all advised to get into our homes so we wouldn’t get hurt so…”

“What?” she asked in confusion. “Who asked you to do that?”

“Lord Vegeta.”

“Are you telling me he didn’t kill any of the villagers?”

“Of course not, Miss Bulma!” Khalla replied, almost offended. “He only killed Frieza’s men!”

“All of those people were Frieza’s men? What…? What were they doing on the planet?”

“Now I can see that you didn’t know anything about our planet, young woman… Our planet was one of Frieza’s centers of manufacturing”.

“Manufacturing?” Bulma asked, confused.

“Yes… The soldiers brought some raw materials and we built weapons for them, well, only spare parts, since Frieza didn’t allow us to own any weapons. They were manufactured inside the factories located at the outskirts of our villages. Then, every few weeks, Frieza’s men would take them away and his own soldiers would assemble the parts in an undisclosed location.”

Bulma remained silent; she blinked slowly, trying to put all the pieces together…

“So… Your people worked for Frieza?”

The old woman chuckled sadly.

“We were given some food in exchange for our services. Would you call that working?”

Bulma cringed.

No.

She would call that slavery.

She was standing on a slave planet.

‘Holy shit’ she thought, now feeling deeply overwhelmed.

“But Frieza died years ago, right? Were you still working for him?”

“For his father, King Cold. We heard rumors that the father had also died, but we couldn’t tell the difference, to be honest.”

“Cold died.” Bulma firmly said. “I saw him die with my own eyes; a great warrior ended his life”.

‘My son’, she thought proudly.

“I see…” Khalla said, feeling there were certain things the woman was choosing to keep to herself.

“Wait a minute, what do you mean you couldn’t tell the difference after his death?”

“Well, our people aren’t physically strong, and we own neither weapons nor the means to create them. Frieza’s men took control, and things went from bad to worse ever since his death, to be honest…”

“In what sense?”

“When Frieza was alive there was some order, it was horrifying, but he somehow kept everyone in check, and we got food supplies regularly. Now… It’s all full of chaos… A lot of our people have died of starvation.”

“Oh Khalla… I’m so sorry…” she said, holding her hand, feeling her eyes burn with unshed tears.

The woman gawked at Bulma, shocked.

Compassion.

The young woman’s eyes were full of pity and compassion.

That was something she’d never seen in her very long life, a stranger feeling empathy towards her weak race.

“It’s alright Miss…” she said patting her hand comfortingly. “Things will get better now that those monsters are dead, I’m sure…”

“So… Now…” Bulma couldn’t even ask the question, too scared to know the answer. If her worst fears were true, she knew she’d never be able to look at Vegeta in the eye again.

“Are you…? Are you now Lord Vegeta’s slaves?”

“Oh, no! No, my child! Now we are free!” Khalla replied in dismay.

Bulma burst into tears. Hot tears of pure relief.

He’d freed them.

Vegeta had freed a slave planet and he hadn’t abused his power.

“Oh, Dende… I knew it…” she whispered… “I knew he was a good man… I just knew it…”

Khalla nodded, deeply moved by Bulma’s joy about the fact that Vegeta had showed mercy to her people.

“Out of all the warriors that ever visited our world, he was always different.”

Bulma wiped her tears, although some of them kept falling freely, and she looked at the woman in shock.

“You… You’d seen him before?”

“Of course, Miss Bulma. He was one of Frieza’s men; he started visiting the planet at a very young age… Back then, there were other two Saiyans with him…”

Bulma nodded.

“Nappa and Raditz”.

“Yes… I believe those were their names…” Khalla continued, nostalgia and pain in her voice. “But he was always different. He was ruthless, but he was fair. He was occasionally ordered to kill some of our people back then but… But he was quick; he never made them suffer… Some of Frieza’s men, they… They took pleasure in torturing and abusing weaker races… That’s why I was so shocked when I saw him this last time…”

“What… What do you mean?” Bulma asked fearfully.

“Well, he… He didn’t hurt any of us and I heard him forbid his men from touching our people but… Frieza’s men… He destroyed them… I had never seen him fight that way. He… He looked different… It was the first time I actually saw him trying to inflict pain…”

“How did he look, Khalla?” Bulma asked in a whisper. “Did he at least look healthy?”

“I guess… He certainly had the strength to fight… Although…”

“What?”

“His eyes… They looked tired… It’s like he was…”

“Gone?” she finished the sentence for her.

Khalla nodded, realizing the girl probably already knew the warrior was troubled. Was she the reason for his pain? Had she come looking for him to try to heal his wounds?

“He didn’t look like himself. But I can assure you he didn’t kill any innocent people. Bulma, may I ask what your relationship with…?”

Suddenly the screen beeped, making both women turn towards it.

“It worked!” Bulma yelled happily. “It’s my dad, Khalla! Let me talk to him…”

“Of course, Miss Bulma, do what you must…”

The older woman started to get up, and Bulma quickly jumped to help her, offering her arm to her.

“Yamcha!” she yelled.

“Yeah?!”

“Can you please come in here?”

The man was up there in a second.

“What’s up?”

“Can you please help Khalla get back to the house? The connection worked today and I want to talk to my dad in private…”

“Sure thing”, Yamcha said as he carried the woman in his arms again, leaving Bulma alone inside the ship. She went back to the pilot’s seat, wiping her face once more, trying not to look too disheveled in front of her father.

She pressed the “OK” button and, instantly, a blurry image of Dr. Briefs showed up on screen.

“Bulma? Bulma! Oh, Gods! Bulma! It that really you?!”

Bulma looked at her father in shock. Her usually careless father was concerned, really concerned…

“Of course it’s me, dad! Is… Is everything OK?”

“Is he with you, Bulma? Did you see him?” he nervously asked.

“Who?”

“Vegeta! He called, Bulma! Is he with you? Where are you?!”

This couldn’t be her father. He was frantic, clearly disturbed by something, and he looked as if he hadn’t slept for a week.

“Dad, please, you have to calm down…” she said soothingly, fearing that the poor man would end up having a heart attack.

Her father sat down on his lab chair, running his hands through his hair, trying to force himself to cool down.

“We reached the planet a few hours ago, dad, and we’re all fine. It’s really cold, but the inhabitants are friendly people, and they’re not very strong so they’re not dangerous to us.”

“Vegeta?” Dr. Briefs asked.

Bulma sadly shook her head.

“Nothing… He’s not here dad… He… He left me his ship. It doesn’t work though…”

“Did he burn the circuits?” the doctor asked knowingly.

“How… How do you know?”

“I figured…” he replied, sighing, relieved that his daughter at least was alright.

“He called us, Bulma…”

“He did? What did he say? Did something happen to him?”

“He… He didn’t say much at first… He just… I think he just wanted to talk to you, or at least find out how you and Trunks were doing… He asked for you…”

“Oh, Gods…” she whispered.

He’d tried to reach her, to talk to her… Did this mean that he cared? Or did it simply mean that he needed something from her? No. That didn’t make any sense, since someone in his position could literally have anything he wanted right now.

Anything.

And yet, he’d freed those poor people…

“Daddy…” she whispered, her lower lip trembling.

“Bulma” the doctor calmly said, now fully composed after his initial outburst of worry. “Do you have the means to repair Vegeta’s ship?”

She nodded.

“I think so… It seems to be in perfect condition physically, I’d probably just have to replace some of the wiring…”

“Then you must do it, Bulma.”

“Why? What do you mean? Dad… What…?”

“I told him…” he whispered, putting his elbows on the table and holding his head in his hands in frustration. “I may… I may have made a mistake… I don’t know… I was just trying to help…”

“What…?”

“I told him about you and your trip, how you had decided to go search for him because you wanted him back and he…”

“He what, Dad?” Bulma whispered with a shaky voice.

“He got mad, Bulma! Really mad! He asked me why… Why hadn’t I stopped you… I… I didn’t know what to say…”

“B-But, what does that have to do with me having to repair the ship?”

“Well, he… He seemed really, really mad at first… You know what he looks like when he’s barely trying to control himself… He looked so furious, Bulma… But then… He calmed down and he… He asked me…”

“W-What, daddy? Please…”

“He asked how to record a message for you.”

       Notes:        

Well... This has probably been the hardest chapter to write so far (and the longest!).

Please don't hate me! I promise a lot of things will happen in our next chapter!

You can also find it at Archive of Our Own:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/9066958/chapters/21323423