#like no one is gonna read my adventures in odyssey fanfic

[maebird-melody]

5, 15, 23

5. Is there any fic that makes you super happy to reread and remember you wrote that?

Oh man. Let me tell you, every time I get a really nice, effusive comment on one of my fics, I go back and reread what I wrote. "Sympathy for the Dwarf Planet" is probably my absolute favorite thing I've written. It's an outsider POV story, which I think gave me a little more room to play. Some poor schmuck who works at NASA is forced to deal with Danny and his friends as they repeatedly break through their security to reclassify Pluto as a planet. I had a blast.

Other honorable mentions include "A New Haven," a Dragon Age Inquisition fic about another person's Lavellan, "Dreamers," my Hypnos fic from the game Hades, and "Glockwork," a crackfic that continues to be my most popular fic ever, based on another DP fan's artwork of Clockwork holding a gun.

15. Have you ever purposefully written one fandom/fic idea over another because you knew it'd be more popular?

Can't say that I have! Unless inspiration strikes, I can't write. But I have participated in a lot of events where either a) the person you're gifting your fic to dictates the kind of stories they want to see or b) the event has a pool of prompts written by the participants that you can pick-and-choose between. So in that sense, I have written fic based on what specific people want, but in general, I tend to write what I would enjoy reading. I do murder my darlings though when I know that removing things I would enjoy normally will make for a better, more satisfying story. But that's more about good story sense than writing what's popular.

I wrote a fic for my college roommate's book, like, no one knows that book except for a small circle of folks in my city and her readership from the serialization days.

23. What's the nicest review you've ever gotten?

Oh man. This incentivized me to go back and reread the comments in my inbox, because I honestly couldn't remember any specific ones to highlight and had to go searching.

My favorite reviews are, hands down, the ones where the commenter is screaming, unhinged with happiness, about the fic. But the best reviews in my experience are the ones where the reader feels I've captured the characters well, or they've come away with a new understanding or perspective on them because of what I wrote.

The nicest review I ever got was for a Dragon Age fic, back when I was heavily participating in DA fic exchange events. I was actually really uncertain about writing this person's Lavellan because her personality was not the sort I had a lot of experience writing--taciturn, unyielding, and sharp-tongued. But I wanted to push myself, so I read their entire character bible for their Dragon Age OC, then I did a bunch of research on blacksmithing techniques since she was a smith. It was a Solavellan fic, but the relationship between their Lavellan and Solas was a little more subdued and less overtly romantic. Their review was very long, but the part that stuck with me most was this:

"I never realised how often I wrote them just together, and how that togetherness translates best to doing things together vs talking and speaking past one another. You've taught me a lot about her with this, and how others view her vs how I try to present her, and it's an absolute joy."

The fic is "A New Haven" and I do think it might be some of my best work.

[5uptic]

crewfu: fanfic spotlight!

We work together by Anonymous (5up & DK, unrated, gen | 248 words)

Summary: One likes plants and baking, the other loves to create and design video games. They stay up and create monstrosities together, it's their fun, it's their favourite game. Aka a 5up and Dk roommate au!

No matter how life tangles, I’m still here with you. by hungryandsleepy (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 279 words)

Summary: 5up has been working so hard on his new map, and of course, he needs someone to give him a motivation to go to sleep.

objectively pretty by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 462 words)

Summary: steve is drunk. he's pretty sure 5up is too. that doesn't mean being called pretty is any less momentuous.

you plus me by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 489 words)

Summary: 5up and Steve meet.

he said to me by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 656 words)

Summary: 5up and Steve share a moment.

by the snowmen by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 670 words)

Summary: Steve has a moment when it's all over.

today you got to know me (a little bit too slowly) by runninohhoney (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 675 words)

Summary: Steve lights up a cigarette. 5up doesn't smoke.

what would it take by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 787 words)

Summary: It's Steve's first mission. He hecks up. Or does he?

sorta cute by floweruru (5up/Steve, unrated, m/m | 822 words)

Summary: ‘I wouldn’t do that,’ he said. ‘That’s just disrespectful,’ he said. Yet there was 5up, crushed like a can in Steve’s embrace, feebly kicking at nothing as his feet leave the pavement.

i was gonna kill u, but ur kinda cute?? by Cthulhuer (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1k words)

Summary: Steve is a mess and 5up is worse.

I hear a Symphony by AwkwardAce (5up/Fundy, unrated, m/m | 1.1k words)

Summary: He exhaled until his lungs ached for air, fingers twitching as he opted to remove the sleek white gloves he wore in a feeble effort to soothe himself. It didn’t work. He wrung his trembling hands together as his eyes raked down the worn leather case taking in the doodles- some etched some drawn- across the faded surface. He snapped the buckles open and his breath hitched, catching in his already tight throat. For a moment the world span, his head throbbed and he wanted nothing more than to run and hide. 5up breathed out slowly, shakily.

staring by lytriis (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.1k words)

Summary: steve asks 5up out. 5up doesn’t know how to respond.

and it's four am, and yet, you're here by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: in which steve shows up at 5up's house, in the middle of the night, completely spontaneously

more than this by mangoedges (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: Steve catches 5up venting.

3:15 by vesque (5up/Steve, general rating, m/m | 1.2k words)

Summary: Steve tries to guess Five's name. It's much more difficult than he anticipated.

things were different by fourpebbles (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.5k words)

Summary: His eyes circled around to his friends, Kimi and Janet engaging in pleasant comversation, sleepy and becoming increasingly more sober. He looked, finally, across him, and caught Dumbdog staring at him. What now bro, what did this guy want. small talk, turns into not small talk, then there's no talk

Once Upon A Dream by SmearedWords (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.5k words)

Summary: 5up looks ethereal, while Steve is struggling to breathe. "You're not real either." Or: Steve has a crush and a nightmare in three parts, 5up is tired, the crew life is hard and Polus sucks.

the ones you love will call you back by homeward_bound (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 1.8k words)

Summary: stevesuptic: dude, is it weird that i miss vegas   DumbDog: No? I do too.   stevesuptic: okay [steve misses vegas and apollo. they talk about it]

cough it out by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2k words)

Summary: Apollo thinks that Steve must be well and truly gone, at this point, because he giggles, like Apollo’s just told a particularly funny joke. He looks Apollo right in the eye and asks, “Do you trust me?” “Absolutely not.”

ivy by Secular_Czar (5up/Steve, teen rating, gen | 2.1k words)

Summary: It might be a sad day, in general, but Steve isn't about to let it get to him. His friends won't ever let him wallow either.

The Colosseum by WhenTheFogClears (general rating, gen | 2.1k words)

Summary: Five squinted, looking at the colosseum intensely. He thinks Apollo was latched onto the sphinx’s shoulder, fur matted with blood. Janet was slumped against a column, probably out, with Kimi whose bow was snapped in two, her leg twisted at an odd angle. DK was in the corner trying to cast various supporting hexes and charms with a broken arm, whilst Hafu was dragging a heavily bandaged Steve away. or 5up slaughters a cat

Oneshots :) by woofles1990 (5up/Fundy, 5up/Steve, teen rating, multi | 2.5k words, oneshot collection)

Summary: Just a bunch of MCYT/Among Us oneshots, mainly featuring 5up's crew because yes :)

the adventures of 5up and steve staying up late because they're under 30 by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.5k words)

Summary: “The night is young!” Steve yells at the ceiling, throwing his hands up in the air. “Take advantage of it! Commit crimes! Fuck hoes!” Five catches his hands in the air and laughs. “You wish you had hoes.”

unreasonably in love by cj__writes (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 2.6k words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: "It was like pieces of a puzzle, everything coming together. And now, here they are, standing in their apartment, which looks more like a hollow shell than a home, filled solely with scattered boxes and the minuscule amount of furniture that they brought with them to Vegas." Or: what happens after Apollo and Steve move in together.

cant be love by fourpebbles (Apollo/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 3.5 words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: He had chuckled to himself, he felt so stupid. Who in their fucking minds names a playlist 'sugr?', he thought, internally cringing. A story where a Steve meets an Apollo, and some things happen.

Somewhere in the darkness, us together for a while by tumtummeke (Apollo & Kimi & Steve, teen rating, gen | 3.6k words)

Summary: Apollo worries about Steve. Steve breaks his vape pen. Kimi plays power washer. Self-indulgent angst, with a generous helping of friendship and cuddles.

odyssey by 5280ft (5up/Steve, teen rating, m/m | 23k words, chaptered WIP)

Summary: "First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them. If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens...they warble him to death with the sweetness of their song. Therefore pass these Sirens by and stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear." -Homer, The Odyssey

Also: SilverSprinklez10‘s yupwaves collection.

Summary: This is a Harry Potter AU based on the characters/personas of the youtubers/streamers.

FAQ:

Wait what is this: pretty straight to the point! i’ll regularly share crewfu-related fanfictions to this blog :)

How regularly is “regularly”?: great question! LOL. it depends on the flow of fanfics that get uploaded, which i do not have any control over, but i’m looking forward to do this twice a month. after all, it’s only me doing this and i often run on a tight schedule.

What’s the format like?:

[title of fic with link] by [author of the fic with link] ([main pairing(s), if there is one/multiple], [fic rating: eg, general rating], [relationship: eg, m/m] | [word count in k] ([added prompt to specify if it’s complete or not)])

Summary: [summary provided by the author. if it doesn’t have a summary, a “No summary” prompt will be put instead]

(What does WIP mean again?): Work In Progress :)

Why are you doing this?: from the beginning, my blog has hosted conversations about RPF (real people fiction) and crewfu pairings. this has evolved into people sending me updates about certain fics in the crewfu tags every now and then, but i wanna take the next step and just do these things myself. after all, i’m already lurking in the tags often to see the fics that get posted. as someone who is both a writer and a reader, i wanna appreciate fanfic writers and help out other people that want to read fanfic and consume more fandom content!

Will it be AO3 only?: well, ao3 has a very helpful tag system that makes finding fics incredibly easy, as well as allowing people with no accounts to like and comment on fics, so that’s the site i will personally look in for fanworks. but if there are any fics you’ve written or liked in any other platforms, such as wattpad, you can always contact me through my inbox (send an ask or a dm!), and i’ll make sure to include for the next fanfic spotlight :)

Does it mean you won’t reply to fic asks anymore?: yeah, i guess. since i’ll be doing the searching myself it seems counterproductive. but if i ever skip a fic or again, it’s in another platform, or you’ve posted/read the fic a while ago and you want to get more traction on it, hit me up and i’ll take it into consideration!

Will you read every single one of the fics on your list?: oh no. again, i run on a tight schedule, and also i have my own taste when it comes to fics. i won’t be reviewing fics or any of the sort, and my intention extends to simply sharing these fics to this page so people will have easier access to them :) that’s where ao3 tagging becomes SUPER useful!!!

So what’s the criteria for the way you’ll sort out the fics in your list?: word count, going from lowest to highest. in case of fics in other platforms, i guess i’ll put them at the top of the list. i’ll also be looking for fairly recent fics, so let me know if you want any old-ish fic to be included.

I see you talking mostly about 5up/Steve and Steve/Apollo. Can I still send/see other crewfu fics?: why yes absolutely! my goal is to push every fic which heavily features regular crewfu characters - 5uptic and supdog just happen to be very popular pairings. so, to give you a list: core 4 (5up, hafu, dk, steve), apollo, aipha, annie, janet, kimi, ellum, koji... you know the drill. it doesn’t have to be centered on a relationship, or about 5up in specific, etc. my only requirement is that any of the previously mentioned members are a central part of the fic or are HEAVILY featured in it (sorry, minecraft fics with 50+ tags who only mention 5up as an afterthought won’t make the cut :/).

Isn’t shipping Bad™?: well, it’s a little more nuanced than that. i will go out of my way to discourage and shame people who often violate CCs’ boundaries by acting like so and so has a crush on this person, or that this and that are Actually Into Each Other or secretly dating. any sort of tinhat bullshit is a big nono (think larries). but i run on the assumption that people who write rpf understand that what they’re doing is simply write a completely fictional story using real life personalities, and understand the boundaries necessary to do it - aka they’re not tinhats, they understand they can’t assume everything about CCs’ thoughts and personalities, they understand that what they’re writing is strictly fiction, they keep these works only in fandom circles, etc. (but again, it’s only one me doing this, so please be kind if i don’t happen to know that this person is Actually a tinhat or whatever).

show fic: NO. (seriously. i don’t feel comfortable putting my ao3 account out there. please respect my privacy on these trying times <3)

I REALLY don’t care about your rpf/fic talk: fair! i’ll be tagging every single one of these posts as “fanfic spotlight”, so just mute the tag using tumblr settings so you’ll never have to look at these! likewise, you can follow the tag if you want to keep up with it, or search it on my blog to look at the other entries you might have missed (but this is the first one! lol).

Hey, my fic is here and I don’t feel comfortable with it being shared over here: no problem! let me know as soon as you can and i’ll take it down <3

[iguanasplit]

top 3 fanfics, let's gooooo

Eyes Wide Open All the TimealsoSo realityOOOOF WHY

ok then,,this one has had me screaming since july of last year and i havent gotten over it:

AMULGOE or  A Misguided and Unnecessarily Long Galactic Odyssey to Earth by dearest  unclassified_senpai  

the sci-fi fanfic ive been crying for eons and i keep doodling stuff about, (i know this is cheating but up here goes too the rest of this because HA ITS A SERIES YEET , so ADEGU or A Detailed Explorer’s Guide into the Unknown goes here as well, as well the logs of the stravechi nava, (look im so whipped and YOU KNOW IT)

then tbh i have a couple of possibilities ok i cannot do this: im gonna list my faves in no particular order

Heart of darkness by  SooSooDyo which Ha! also got me obsessed its a very amazing world building based on a videogame/novel and its dystopian and very well written and so good, just dont read it at 2am haha its about darkness and stuff and trains

the saga of Dragon Age!Jongyu by bmot DAMN ok one of the best fics i read in the fandom, its so well done i could prefectly get it despite not knowing sht about dragon age

OFC Press start to play by Jumpthisship you know this, the writing is light yet the perfect amount of detailed to fit the whole situation, and i liked the how the aftermath of the experience was treated (plus this has many side stories and an epilogue so it should count as series too)

OFC circuit breaker by  wolfsupremacist   this one wow!, also the perespective of an android living his life and the haunting development of yeols character was a 10

a very odd number on the list since its a harry potter fic, Running on air by  eleventy7. one i read very longish ago one or 3 years and i rember it was sooo good,, i saw a fanart and found the fic

reality check by  syncopate one of my favourite shinee writers, the whole hanahaki series its very very pretty, it was made showing other types of finals to the usual hanahaki ones and its very pretty, its a Gwi x onew haha

talking about hanahaki one of my faves is So silver bright by  baeconandeggs, Ink-and-stars (AriasOfSnow) one with a very different focus on a world with hanahaki and that baekhyun character is very very insteresting, the whole plot is narrated in an unusual way with some second person POVS i love

and from the same author as so silver bright its Codename:M.O.N.S.T.E.R one with a dystopian videogamish very cool world building (on hiatus)

also Shadows Fading into Light by Bbaegi in which yeol is a cool and a bit of an ass blue monster!!! which has the same writing energy as an adventure book its charming in lots of ways and the worldbuilding is cool (on hiatus) 

this one is very special and one i have re-read a couple of times since its a oneshot and isnt super long, its very comforting and grounding when i feel like jumping into a void or numb, its called and all this time by  younghyuns     

ofc came the last night, exodus , phoenix by unniebee such a good writer i cry, really, plot twists at the middle of the fic are totally her thing, i can always see one in her fics, came the last night its my favourite from her but phoenix, literally got me into exo so, also here should go and you have read them all... but im adding this one The space between with a steampunk verse by her too, that has an amazing turn of the whole social classes in the steampunk society, it is close to cam the last night, its so good.

OK I SHOUDL SLEEP NOW 

special mentions to

The palace series by Anonymous_Ostrich  a very cool series of fanfics from when i was in free!, back then it was still ongoing and its on hiatus, i started reading this in fanfiction.net lol, it has to do with geniuses and the ending of free where they have camels and stuff in the desert but super well developed

Eyes Wide Open All the Time by macbetha my last free! fic before jumping to kpop and one of the best experiences i had reading back then even tho i actually didnt finish it bcs it was ongoing when i left the fandom, it deals with many triggering topics tho so caution with the warnings

wow this got me busy for like a whole hour!!!! i love talking about fics ok!!! 

[1000-directions]

i almost forgot that @heartdevouring tagged me in a thing!! which is sad because i was so excited to get tagged <3

RULES : ANSWER all questions, ADD one question of your own and then TAG as many people as there are questions whoever i want cause i don’t even know 50 people on tumblr :)

i’m gonna tag at the top, because this is long. tagging people makes me so nervous, thanks anxiety!! feel free to ignore altogether. @akai-coat @bigbrotherlouis @jiksax @busy-nothings @alligatornyc @magicalrocketships @rickshawala @flora-flauna @gretawhy

live session or studio session? this is off to a bad start because i legitimately don’t understand what this question is asking! like a live recording or a studio recording of a song? i only enjoy live recordings like...while i’m there listening to it. i hate watching concert videos on youtube or whatever, and i never take photos or video at shows. i’ve been to around 80 live shows for various artists, so i love me some live music, but i still prefer to listen to the meticulously mixed and balanced music that comes from a studio session. IF THAT’S EVEN WHAT THIS IS ASKING?

coke or pepsi? i can’t drink soda because it hurts my mouth, and i don’t like fluids that much in general :( :( on the one hand, i’ve never even tasted pepsi? but i had coke exactly once and i hated it. so, neither.

disney or dreamworks? i guess disney but in a super casual “maybe i’ll watch ‘cinderella’ one more time someday” way and not like “i wanna get married at disney AND go there for my honeymoon AND go back every single year and never visit anywhere else ever disney disney disney” way.

coffee or tea? i love them both so much in so many varieties. if i had to choose, i would choose coffee, but i wouldn’t turn down either. i’ve been drinking a lot of taro milk tea lately and it’s fucking amazing.

books or movies? lol i’m one of those jerks who’s like “i’m too busy to read a book!!!!!!!!” but i have no problem getting through a 100k fic in one weekend. okay actually, i feel like these days i don’t super love books OR movies, i just love fanfic and tv shows, and that’s because both of them give you sooooooo much backstory and characterization, and you get to spend so much time living with them in a way you don’t get from a movie. that being said, when i was a kid i used to stay up reading in the bathroom with a flashlight until 3am like every night. i am a lapsed book lover.

windows or mac? mac

dc or marvel? ugh i love the old campy batman show, it was an important part of my childhood and my weird relationship with my father. and i LOVED “lois and clark: the new adventures of superman.” so i love that sort of nostalgia feeling i get from dc. actually you know what, i was gonna hedge and say dc for old stuff and marvel for new stuff, but i’m going dc regardless, because i’m not super into all the new marvel properties anyway. dc, final answer. batgirl could get it.

xbox or playstation? the last game system i played was a super nintendo, but i was always more of a sega genesis gal tbh

night owl or early riser? because of my schedule and my shitty decision-making, it ends up being both. i sleep like four hours each night :/

cards or chess? i’ll go cards, but i am probably garbage at both

chocolate or vanilla? like, you can’t ruin anything by adding a really beautiful freshly scraped vanilla bean to it, whereas there is a lot of extremely shitty chocolate in the world. or, i guess mostly in america, we’re pretty shit at chocolate :(

vans or converse? converse. i have like seven pairs of chucks right now, though most of them are falling apart.

star wars or star trek? star trek: the next generation. omg it’s on netflix??? i’m gonna marathon the hell out of that 🙃

one episode per week or marathoning? MARATHON. my attention span is too short to keep up with something i only see once a week.

gandalf or obi-wan? i literally don’t care at all

heroes or villains? i don’t know, just be nice?

john williams or hans zimmer? i have no opinion about this

disneyland/disney world or six flags? i kind of hate all theme parks, but i really especially hate disney theme parks because i think it’s a huge scam. it’s expensive as shit, and there’s this creepy mythology around it where we brainwash kids into wanting to go there before they even understand wtf it is, and you’re not a good parent if you don’t take your kids there, and it’s EXPENSIVE AS SHIT, and you wait in lines for ten million hours, unless you hire a kid in a wheelchair to pretend to be your kid so you can cut lines (this is a real thing, people are fucking monsters). it’s just extremely unappealing to me, but the corporation seems to be doing okay without my support. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

forest or sea? i like hiking and i don’t like swimming, so let’s go forest. however, i love birds, but i REALLY love fucking weird deep sea creatures, so this is tough. i don’t wanna go for a swim or anything, but i would get in some kind of boat and look at weird fucking rays and anemonefish and shit like that.

flying or reading minds? when i was a kid, i legitimately thought people could read my mind, and it was The Worst, so let’s go with flying. so i can hang out with birds :)

twin peaks or northern exposure? never seen northern exposure, so twin peaks

harry potter or lord of the rings? i really liked the lotr books and really did not care about the lotr movies. i am not super passionate about harry potter books or movies, but i fucking love one direction harry potter AUs, so let’s go potter. i found out today that my patronus is a chow dog.

cake or pie? both both both but if i have to choose i would pick pie but also both both both

you are banished to a desert island, which benedict cumberbatch character would you choose to take with you? THIS IS MY FAVORITE QUESTION IN THE WHOLE THING. BECAUSE. THIS MEANS I GET TO BE ON AN ISLAND WITH VICTORIAN SCIENTIST JOSEPH FUCKING HOOKER. DARWIN’S BEST FRIEND!!!!!!! he could teach me about plants, and then we could gossip about darwin and huxley!!!!! omg i want it so bad

train or cruise ship? i would rather drive, but i guess a train is fine.

brian cox or neil degrasse-tyson?  neil. he can be Too Much, but i like that he’s actively trying to defend science in a mainstream, accessible way.

wizard of oz or alice in wonderland? i’ve never made it all the way through wizard of oz because i was too scared of the flying monkeys :(

fanfiction or fanart? i am more into fic personally but good on you for creating something whatever it is <3

the hunger games - books or movies? books

be able to see the future or travel into the past? fuck the future, i wanna hang out with dinosaurs and/or victorian scientists

han solo or luke skywalker? yeah i don’t care. princess leia.

lilacs or sunflowers? omg don’t get me started on plants, i love em!!! turning sunlight into food, little legends :’)

spring or autumn? spring is good but it only lasts for about 14 seconds around here. we pretty much go from “ahhhhh it’s too cold!!!” straight into “ahhhhh it’s too hot!!!!”

campfire or fireplace? campfire 🔥🔥

french fries or onion rings? fries

truth or dare? truth. i’m pretty open about most things, but i ain’t doing shit and you can’t make me :) :)

winter or summer? i kinda hate them both. summer is too hot for me. but in winter, you have snow, which is the worst. and then you bundle up to go outside but when you get inside the heat is BLASTING and you’re overdressed for it, so winter ends up being too hot for me, too :( i’m always too hot :( :(

vampires or werewolves? vampire tv shows, werewolf one direction aus

red or blue? GREEN

eyes or lips? idk i mean they both serve an important purpose, i’d like to keep both

burgers or sandwiches? i don’t eat meat so let’s go sandwiches

friends-to-lovers or enemies-to-lovers trope? i guess friends to lovers but as long as louis is loved and cherished and gets everything he wants then i don’t care how it started

pizza or pasta? eating pasta right now :)

ancient rome or ancient greece? omg don’t make me choose. classical languages and civilizations and mythology, my first ever academic passion <3 guess who’s read the odyssey in three languages THIS GUY (guess who doesn’t remember any language except for english anymore, also this guy)

foxes or wolves? FOXES!! fennec foxes!! darwin’s foxes!! arctic foxes!! all the lil foxes 

mermaids or dragons? MERMAIDS. EXTREMELY MERMAIDS. the only reason i even started liking louis tomlinson is because i read a fic where he was a mermaid, but that’s a story for another day.

sci-fi or fantasy? ahhhhh don’t make me choose. gimme all the dystopian societies

watch a film in theaters or at home? going to the theater sounds exhausting, i’m good right here

fireproof or no more sad songs? fireproof, on account of louis tomlinson rolling and rolling until he changes his luck, which is basically my mantra

bands or individual singers? individual singers within bands

sweet or salty? if i only get one, i’ll choose salty, but i want both. both together!! salted caramel!!! cheese and caramel popcorn mixed in a bag together!! chocolate covered pretzels!!!!

monotype corsiva or comic sans? both of these make me itchy. BUT. i’m gonna go with the dreaded comic sans BUT ONLY BECAUSE i read a thing once that people with dyslexia have an easier time reading it, and i’m on board with it from an accessibility standpoint ONLY.

my question: turtles or frogs? i know this is tough because they are both so awesome <3

[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