Chapter 10 - Enemy Territory
Bulma slowly stood with her hands behind her head.
Gods, if only she had Saiyan hearing, she would have heard them coming!
Not like it would have helped. What was going to happen now?
She wanted to cry. And the scariest part was, she was really worried
about Vegeta.
He had not moved since he'd fallen. She didn't even know if he
was still alive! She stared hard at him as she heard footsteps approach
and was slightly relieved to see his chest rise and fall with each breath.
But he was still lying face first in the dirt-
A hand roughly wrapped around her upper arm and
spun her around to face a dog-like creature. It reminded her of Anubis,
the ancient Egyptian god. Its fur was short and black and its long
muzzle sniffed her experimentally. It walked upright like a
man and was clothed as such- although the clothing was to all appearances,
of ancient design. And somehow it spoke her language.
"Human." it stated, its voice like a low growl.
"Do you accompany this Saiyan by force?" His meaning was clear.
He wanted to know whether she was a prisoner or not. For a moment
Bulma was struck speechless, what would she say? The way he'd said
"Saiyan" had left no doubt as to his feelings towards Vegeta's nearly-extinct
race.
"We escaped planet Namek together. We are
merely traveling together, nothing more." She said as calm as she could.
"Lies!" it barked. She flinched away as a
savage growl tore from its throat and as it leaned close she could only
see its jagged teeth. "You are with him of free will and therefore
an accomplice to his acts!"
"Wha-? Wait a minute!" she cried as it dragged her
forward. "I'm no accomplice! I just want to go home!" she felt
tears threaten to break as it snapped something in a harsh, guttural language
and the others surged forward and surrounded Vegeta's prone form.
She tried to break free or at least twist around to see what they were
doing to the Saiyan, but she was caught in a vice-like grip that looked
oddly like dog paws shaped into human hands.
A shout came from the soldiers and the creature
dragging her away stopped and began to head back to the group surrounding
Vegeta. He shoved his men out of the way and knelt next to Vegeta
who looked about as white as he could get without actually being dead.
Bulma felt fear well up in her gut and tried to dismiss it, but as the
leader nudged Vegeta with his clawed toe and the Saiyan did not stir, she
could no longer suppress it.
"Is he dead?" she asked softly, her voice trembling
with dread. What the hell would she do if he died? He'd so
far been her only protection, but then again, he'd dragged her to these
places! At first she'd agreed, wanting to be rid of him. But
he'd saved her life several times now, and she had felt more than obligated
to help him when he got hurt. It wasn't just that she owed him.
She wanted to help him. She didn't want to see him hurt. Which
was strange because he'd been an asshole for the most part. But now
faced with the prospect of losing him, Bulma realized that she didn't want
it to happen. A few weeks ago she thought she'd be glad to be rid
of him. But now she was trying to think of anything to save him.
The dog-demon-creature bent down and sniffed several
times.
"He lives. He will survive long enough to
reach the capital. But it may not matter anyway. You see-"
he began, fixing his glittering eyes on Bulma's. "This Saiyan is
well known to us. He is a murderer."
"Because Frieza made him! Frieza took him
away from his planet when he was a boy and told him to do what he said
or he would destroy his planet! And then he blew it up anyway and
Vegeta had no choice but to serve him or die. I know how you feel,
he came to destroy my planet too, but... I can't explain it, he saved my
life more than once- and I trust him."
"I believe you, even though I sense you have not
said all. But how am I to know that your senses aren't misguided?"
"Listen. I'll cooperate with you, but we need
to do something for him. He's been poisoned by a creature that attacked
us. If he doesn't get help soon he's going to die!"
"It matters not to me. His crimes are enough
for multiple death-sentences. It would be better for him if he did
not survive."
"No!" Bulma cried, panic washing over her.
"I'm telling you, Frieza made him do it all!" a rough growl answered
her and she felt the creature's claws digging into her flesh. She
stifled a whimper, but suddenly cried out in pain as he dragged her forward,
in the process tearing the soft skin of her upper arm.
"Silence! Your kind is not much better than
his! Humans are no more honorable than Saiyans and cowardly to boot.
Our races once worked together many, many generations ago and our ancestors
were deceived by humans leaders and slaughtered. It is no surprise
to me to find you two together. It only confirms our worst fears.
You will be tried as well as the Saiyan, and you will regret having met
him by the end."
"But I just wanted to go home! That's all
we wanted to do!" Bulma cried.
"Silence!" he roared and threw her to the ground
with all the brutal force he possessed. Bulma landed on her elbow
and screamed in pain as the joint was dislocated.
Through the haze of pain she could see a commotion
going among the other soldiers. Suddenly Vegeta lurched to his feet
as if pulled by strings. He plowed through the attaché as
if the dog-like men weren't even there. The leader released her and
a rabid growl ripped from his throat. Vegeta didn't even blink.
In fact, he looked almost like he was sleep-walking. His eyes were
half-lidded and his movements were sluggish, almost dream-like as if he
was underwater.
But then she felt a rush of air and heard a pained yelp and then Vegeta
was kneeling before her.
"Are you ok?" Bulma whimpered as she cradled her arm. Vegeta
stared at her for a moment as if he didn't recognize her and then grabbed
her uninjured arm and hauled her to her feet. He began to pull her
towards their ship. The dog-men began to groan and shake their head
as they attempted to rise.
Vegeta stumbled and almost fell, but Bulma grabbed
him with her uninjured arm and tried to pull him back up.
"Stop!" The leader roared as he scrambled to his
feet. They made it a few more steps before clawed hands tore them
apart. Bulma cried out in pain as her elbow was wrenched again and
Vegeta was thrashing weakly in their grasp.
A hand grabbed Bulma by the back of her neck and
pushed her face-first into the dirt. Another hand grabbed her mangled
limb and pulled up. She couldn't stop the piercing scream that tore
from her throat.
Agolus maintained his grip on the female as ordered,
but he was feeling his first glimmers of apprehension. Her cry of
pain seemed to enrage the Saiyan and his struggles became more powerful
and desperate. Was he trying to protect the female? He didn't
know much about Saiyans. Or Humans for that matter. This was
the first time he'd ever seen them. He'd always assumed they were
mythological creatures, like tigers and lions.
There were ugly, to be sure. But something
about this whole operation didn't feel right. He'd accosted aliens
before, and he'd taken many to trial. It should be routine, but everything
screamed of complications.
First of all, both aliens were damaged already.
The Saiyan seemed very ill, from what he knew of Saiyans their strength
was their main asset. And it was truly terrifying if the legends
were true. Because even as weak as he had seemed at first, he was
fighting off Agolus's comrades with ridiculous ease. But he could
see the effect it was having on him. The Saiyan was gasping for breath
and his face was a strange red shade. Agolus figured he had to wait
only a few moments before the Saiyan's strength was spent.
The female beneath him was weeping and he adjusted
his grip on her arm to cause as little pain as possible, but she immediately
began to struggle. He grabbed her small, oyster-shaped ear and yanked.
"Ow!" she bellowed. Agolus's gaze snapped
to the Saiyan and saw that indeed, the female's cries seemed to spur him
on. He lashed out with his foot and sent three soldiers flying.
Daiamerus, his Captain, roared in rage and pounced on the Saiyan and was
thrown off just as easily.
"Vegeta! Stop!" The female cried. The Saiyan
shook his head and tried to stand, but several pairs of hands gripped him
at once, dragging him to his knees. That was when Agolus saw the
Saiyan's tail. How they had missed it before, he didn't know.
It hadn't mattered at the time, his face was recognizable
enough. Two weeks had passed since he'd first seen his image.
Apparently he'd destroyed a few of their Master's bases. The price
on his head made it seem very much worth the effort. Agolus knew
better. If this was the strength of a weak and ill Saiyan, he never
wanted to see one in perfect health.
"Sir!" Agolus cried. "He has his tail still!"
Daiamerus leapt back into the fray and seconds later they heard a muffled
shout. Then each soldier stood one at a time until Daiamerus remained
on bended knee above the Saiyan grinning triumphantly. The
furry tail was writhing in his grasp.
The Saiyan was groaning in agony between heaving gasps. The female
beneath him shuddered and tried to move.
"Stop, human." Agolus advised. She tried to
lift her head anyway and he allowed her that.
"Leave him alone!" She cried once she saw the Saiyan's
tail in Daiamerus's grip.
Vegeta felt hot needles of pain racing up and down
his spine, spreading numbness throughout his body. Not only that,
but he felt really sick. He was sure he was going to vomit at any
moment. His vision was swirling and blurring and flashes of hot and
cold made him sweat and shiver alternately. The poison was racing
through his system, but he had to fight. Bulma's pained cries were
torture to hear, something inside of him had snapped when he'd seen the
demon throw her to the dirt. And then her screams had sliced through
the din and a blood-red haze had dimmed his vision. He had attacked
then, with as much strength as he could gather. And for a moment
he thought he might escape. He actually did for a second and he and
Bulma had staggered towards the ship, but they were too injured and too
slow. Bulma was abruptly snatched from his grasp again and once again
he was forced to the ground.
He heard her cry out in pain again and he desperately
tried to escape. But sudden agony had raced up his spine leaving
his limbs dead and useless.
His damn tail. He could feel claws digging
into the lithe appendage and he bit back a cry of pain. His stomach
was churning violently and he gagged as he inhaled a lungful of dirt.
He began to choke and inadvertently sucked in more dust. And suddenly
the contents of his stomach emptied onto one of the soldiers.
"Ahgk!" It cried, leaping to its feet and dashing
off. The other's cackled and roughly hauled Vegeta to his feet.
Blood pounded in his temples as they quickly stood and the overwhelming
dizziness caused his legs to buckle. They released his tail, but
it didn't matter by then. His eyes drifted shut as unconsciousness
seized him.
Bulma groaned in dismay as Vegeta threw up on one
of the soldiers. He looked horrible. His face was chalk-white.
The flesh under his eyes was dark and bruised, and he could no longer stand
on his own. They released his tail, but mere moments later his eyes
rolled up in his head and he collapsed.
A hideous, rumbling roar distracted her for a moment.
Behind them were several huge beasts that looked like a relative of a long-extinct
creature from Earth's ice-age. It stood almost twenty feet tall and
was covered in coarse brown fur. Long savage claws tipped each massive
paw but its face reminded her of a beaver without the buck-teeth.
Several soldiers were already climbing onto its
back and Bulma was roughly hauled to her feet and prodded from behind.
She took several tottering steps forward but stopped when her captors motioned
for her to climb the small rope that lead to the beasts saddle.
"Are you crazy, my arm!" she said. She could
barely feel anything but a dull throbbing in her elbow and they expected
her to climb onto this mammoth animal? Suddenly the guard grabbed
her injured arm and with a wrench and twist popped the joint back into
place. Bulma almost fainted from the pain, but it was over quickly
leaving it sore but she could move it a little. "Thank you." She
murmured quietly. The creature climbed up the beasts flank and offered
a hand to Bulma. She grabbed his strange paw with her good arm and
with a jerk she was pulled up in the saddle. She looked around and
saw Vegeta slung across the back of one of the large beasts, still unconscious.
The leader clambered up behind him and with a shrill
blast of a horn the caravan was off. The creatures were slow and
lumbering, but so great was their height and stride that they traveled
quickly. They made they way across the ledge of the cliff and at
once she spotted a path that would lead down to the river below.
The ledge seemed far to narrow for the huge animals.
"Grip with your legs and sit up perfectly straight,
human." Her guard ordered. Then the creature stood on its hind
legs and for a moment Bulma thought she would be thrown off the cliff.
She did as she was told and found it easier than she'd imagined.
She glanced back and saw Vegeta's hands were tied to the pommel of the
saddle and the captain of the guards was holding onto him tightly.
With incredible ease the creatures walked down the
ledge, and Bulma momentarily forgot her fears as she watched the amazing
scene before her. The ledge had to be only two feet wide and the
beasts were walking down them with ease. But that only caught
her attention momentarily. The forest and the river which was growing
in her vision was breathtaking. She could hear the roar of the rapids
even from their height and the sounds of the animals in the forest were
truly calming.
But all the beauty couldn't keep her from forgetting
their predicament. They were prisoners after all. And this
might be the last beautiful thing she ever saw. She wanted to enjoy
it, but she was too worried. What were they going to do? Would
she ever see Earth again? Or any of her friends? As they descended
lower and lower she couldn't help but imagine the worst possible scenario.
She and Vegeta would be separated again, and they
would wither away in separated cells. He would most likely die first,
she couldn't see him living much longer without medical attention.
As for her, she would probably starve to death or be hanged or burned at
the stake or whatever these things did for punishment.
But what else could she have done? She didn't
want Vegeta to die. And she wouldn't say that she was his hostage,
because she wasn't. He'd saved her life more than once. He'd
also saved her from being raped. All that aside, he hadn't tried
to hurt her. Well he almost had, but that had been her fault.
She'd said something cruel to him and he'd almost strangled her.
But she'd called him Frieza's little servant.
She knew better. She knew how cruel it was to say that to him.
But sometimes Bulma spoke without thinking and that had been one of those
times. She didn't like his quietness sometimes, but she understood.
But it wasn't just that. Now that she realized
they might part for good, she realized what she had been attempting to
deny the whole time.
She liked Vegeta. It was as simple as that.
She liked being near him, she liked hearing his voice, hell, she even liked
fighting with him. They reached the bank of the river and the creatures
dropped to all four legs again. She dared a glance at Vegeta again.
His skin was alarmingly pale.
"Stop!" Bulma cried. The captain glanced at
her, annoyed.
"What is it?" he snarled.
"Vegeta needs some help! Look at him!"
The captain grabbed Vegeta by his hair and yanked his head back and peered
down into his face.
"So what?" he growled.
"He's dying!" Bulma cried. "Don't we get the
right to a fair trial?"
"Yes." He grumbled.
"Well he can't go to trial like that!" she snapped.
"Agreed." He mumbled. Bulma sighed in relief
as they began to cross the river.
She was amazed at the brute strength of the beasts they rode as the
plowed through the rapids that would have easily swept a horse away.
They were all across in minutes. They stopped briefly on the
other side to rest and drink some water. And while the guards lapped
up water, Bulma was contemplating on attempting to wrap her elbow.
But she abandoned the idea when Vegeta groaned roughly
from the saddle of the furred behemoth. She tore a piece of
her shirt off, blushing when the tear went a little too high and she could
feel the breeze blowing up her back. But she tried to ignore it as
she dipped the rag into the river and clambered up the side of the creature
Vegeta rode.
It was almost impossible with her injured elbow,
but another soft moan from Vegeta spurred her on. She scrambled up
behind the Saiyan no Ouji and wrapped her arm around his chest, pulling
him back against her and squeezed the water from the rag into his mouth.
Her elbow ached as she squeezed the moisture from the scrap of cloth.
"More." She heard Vegeta gasp.
"Ok. Hang on." Bulma said, and slid off the
creature's back. She looked all around her trying to find something
to hold more water. If Vegeta was conscious, that was a good sign,
wasn't it? And if so, she thought it would be a good idea to keep
him awake. She didn't know much about medicine, but she had to try
and help. She looked towards the forest and found the solution immediately.
From a short, squat tree hung many wide, long leaves. She ran over
and picked a few and ran back to the river and filled one with water.
Then she headed back to Vegeta and held the leaf up to him.
"Vegeta. I can't climb up there with this.
Take it!" His head turned slowly and he peered down at her. For a
brief moment, he smiled down at her and then snatched the leaf away and
drained its contents without spilling a drop, leaving Bulma to wonder if
she'd seen the expression at all. He murmured something and leaned
forward, his eyes falling shut as he leaned against the creature's neck.
The beast turned its head to regard the Saiyan, sniffed his foot experimentally
and then went back to digging with its massive claws.
Bulma regarded Vegeta for a moment wondering whether
to wake him or not. Then she remembered that only victims of head
trauma weren't supposed to sleep. She slapped her forehead and went
and refilled a leaf for herself.
She had to admit, the water tasted better than the
most expensive bottled "spring" water that her mother always liked to waste
money on. But then again, she didn't see any cars or smoke stacks
or any type of technology that would cause pollution. It was what
she'd always wished the Earth could be like.
Humans had almost destroyed the planet themselves
long before Bulma's father was born. Several radical changes in economy
had to be made to support the rehabilitation of the planet. Now sixty
percent of the planet was covered in trees. Hemp and rice were the
only material used to make paper, and rice was a distinct second.
Oil burning cars and busses were none-existent anymore. Only airplanes
were allowed combustible fuel. But gas was so hard to find nowadays
that most planes used alternate methods.
Earth was getting better though. The ozone
layer had actually shown signs of repair after so many years. And
many species on the brink of extinction in the past were now making a rebound.
But it wasn't half as lush as this planet, only in remote areas.
It was dream-like, the beauty that surrounded her,
and for a few moments she could try and forget her fears. That was, until
she heard Vegeta moan softly every once and awhile.
Their captors were climbing back into their saddles
and Bulma wanted to ride the same creature as Vegeta but a rough paw gripped
her wrist and hauled her into a saddle behind him. The creatures climbed
to their feet with a frightening lurch and crossed the river quickly.
Once on the other side, they headed south down the riverbank and entered
a large path in the forest not visible from the cliff.
The air was cooler under the massive leafy limbs
that made a thick canopy over their heads. The forest was amazingly
full of life. Beautiful birds flew to and fro and tiny animals leaped
from branch to branch. For a moment Bulma was stunned, never had
she thought that Vegeta had any use for beauty, yet he had wanted to come
here, and it had to be the most breathtaking planet she'd been to.
Not that she'd been to many, but she'd seen more than most humans, so her
opinion counted for something.
They traveled on the path for what seemed like hours
and not once did Vegeta wake during the whole time. But he unconsciously
vocalized his discomfort enough to stay on Bulma's mind the whole trip.
Once the spires of the city walls came into view it seemed as if a vast
weight lifted from her shoulders. The were close to civilization,
soon they could get help. Her elbow was still throbbing dully and
she hoped to at least wrap it tight. Some ice would be nice too,
but seeing as they were prisoners, she didn't know what to expect.
She only prayed that they wouldn't be separated. Even if her only
company was unconscious, she preferred him to a talking dog.
The walls soon came into view and on them were carved strange and magnificent
scenes. Probably all historical or religious. Guards stood
at intervals of ten to twenty feet apart on the top and a great iron door
stood open before them.
The beasts entered single file and at once she saw
a throng of curious towns people. They were apparently used to aliens
for there was no extraordinary commotion. They merely looked and
whispered to each other as they passed. She noticed that each building
was the size of four to five rooms stacked on top of each other. Some were
tall cylinders with windows and a conical roof, some were flat on all sides.
Some had four walls and some had as many as eight. Each was made
with a pale plaster or mud, the color reminded her of a sea shell.
And beautifully polished rose quartz dotted the walls. The windows
were open to the elements although in some of the finer houses she saw
fine linen curtains and some bamboo blinds. Everything reminded her
of a primitive island culture but she saw no ocean. But as they drew
nearer to the center of the metropolis she began to notice birds that reminded
her very much of sea gulls. Even their cries were similar.
She could also smelled salt.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Kami
if I've ever done anything especially deserving of a good turn, please
let me stay here as a free person. Let these people realize that
we aren't here to do anything wrong. Let them Let Vegeta go and do
what he will... and maybe... maybe he'll want to stay... She
prayed. Although I doubt it now after how we've been treated,
he'll probably be pissed when he wakes up. And anyway,
she knew it was foolish to pray for Vegeta to do anything, but she could
always dream.
She switched her gaze to the Saiyan on her mind
and saw with a wince of dismay that his face was twisted in discomfort.
She hoped that their destination was close.
After about a half hour of travel the smell of the
sea was very strong and the breeze was whipping her hair about. They
were approaching the tallest tower in the city. And it was not just
one tower. It was several constructed together each tower of different
shape and size. It looked like a castle, and a very beautiful one
at that. She could tell that the curtains billowing in the breeze
were made of fine silk and the polished stones were of a different hue
than those adorning other houses. The stones were a rich amber that
caught the fading sunlight and enhanced it dramatically.
They were led into a beautiful courtyard filled
with exotic plants and a large pond surrounded by graceful statues and
fragrant flowers of indescribable colors. Bulma stared in amazement
for long moments.
A long wailing note filled the courtyard and the
main doors of the house swung open. Several small creatures emerged,
most likely the females of the species for their fur was a soft brown and
their eyes were golden and each was wrapped in colored silks. They
each bore a basket containing flower petals which they littered on the
path behind them, stopping in front of the guards. Bulma heard another
wailing note and a lone figure emerged from the magnificent house.
He was very tall, was powerfully built, and indeed, looked like Anubis
incarnate. He wore a kilt of pleated linen and he was covered in
gold and jewels. A circlet on his head bore the image of a serpent
and one of his necklaces had an udjat. (A/N: An udjat is the protective
eye of Horus) She also saw an ankh on one of his many rings.
Bulma stared at the dog-King for a long time and
he did likewise with her and Vegeta. The leader of the group that
had captured them dismounted and headed to the side of the King.
"My scouts say that you have captured a Saiyan and
a human. And indeed, these two fit the descriptions from the ancient texts.
I always thought it was just a bedtimes story."
"Yes sir. They are both in need of medical
attention." Daiamerus replied. The King smiled as through that information
was known to him as well.
"I thought Saiyans had the ability to heal quickly.
Was I mistaken?"
"No sir." The captain replied quickly. "The
human claims that they were attacked and the Saiyan was poisoned."
"Really?" the King said, his curiosity piqued.
"Human. How did this possibly happen. Saiyans are one of the
fastest, strongest creatures in the known universe. How did this
come to pass?" his voice raised and reached her on top of the furred
behemoth quite easily.
"We were attacked by this huge spider on our ship
and it sprayed venom at him and the ship is really small, he accidentally
got hit." Bulma said, her voice carrying through the courtyard. The
King seemed to regard her with amusement, Bulma frowned in anger.
She hated that patronizing look the King aimed in her direction.
But for once she knew that it would be in their best interests if she kept
her mouth shut.
"But how?" he persisted. Bulma felt her face
turn pink. Why did they need to know exactly what happened?
"It was trying to attack us! What do you mean?"
there was that look again. Bulma growled.
"Saiyans are swift and powerful creatures.
I don't understand how he allowed himself to be hit." The King said, his
voice carrying through the courtyard. "Is he one of the weaker members?"
"No!" He's one of the strongest! He could
destroy this whole planets easily!" she bellowed before thinking.
"Silence." The King snarled his nostrils flaring.
Bulma saw soldiers leveling weapons at her and her mouth snapped shut.
"Wake him!" he growled, pointing at Vegeta.
The guard closest to the Saiyan no Ouji grabbed
him by his elbow and tugged until Vegeta slid off the saddle and crashed
to the ground. Bulma winced but it didn't seem to have an effect.
He lay in the dirt on his side, completely unaware. The guard bent
down and shook him roughly, and then she heard a startled yelp. She
saw a bright flash and then heard a rabid growl, unlike the growls coming
from each of the soldiers.
The soldier was lying on his back and she could
smell burnt fur. Vegeta stood wobbling as he remembered the damage
to his leg. Through the holes in his ballet suit she could see the
bandages. They were still clean. That was a good sign.
He looked dazed as though he'd forgotten where he
was and before he could get his bearings the other soldiers reached out
and grabbed his arms. Vegeta's aura flared and Bulma felt it pushing
her back. Maybe the period of unconsciousness had returned some of
his strength? The King was backing away while the guards surrounding her
aimed their weapons at Vegeta.
Suddenly the light intensified brilliantly and then it faded as his
aura shrank to a small blue glow. Vegeta wrenched his arms free from
his captors grasp and grabbed two guards by the scruff of their necks and
brought their skulls together with such speed and force that they shattered
on impact. Bulma screamed in horror and blood, brains, and bits of
skull splattered the ground near her. Vegeta dropped the corpses
with a little smile, the look could almost be called serene. She
heard several weapons discharge and brilliant blue spheres flew towards
Vegeta, and then it appeared that they went right through him. Then
she saw bodies flying in all directions and Vegeta was a blur. One
guard remained and he still gripped Bulma's arms tightly. Suddenly
the King was at their side and Bulma felt a cold blade pressed to her throat.
"Tell him to stop." He growled. The guard's
grip tightened as well. Bulma fought the rage and fear that was building
inside her.
"H-he won't listen.." she gasped weakly.
"Lies!" the guard snapped. Bulma tried to
swallow but the knife pressed tighter. Bulma tried to step back but
the guard began to push her forward.
No! I'll die! - Bulma thought, fear beginning
to overwhelm her.
Vegeta suddenly froze as fear suddenly overwhelmed
him. But it wasn't fear of his opponents. Most of them were
dead. And it wasn't fear of the poison. The effects were becoming
tolerable, at least, the pain was. The sudden surge of energy was
about to leave him. One of the natives lunged at him and he threw
himself on his back and as his opponent sailed overhead Vegeta had a small
ki sphere waiting. It punched through the creature's chest easily
and he was relieved that it took little energy to destroy the things.
The last guard standing in front of him was tall
a wiry and his eyes were filled with murderous rage. He charged Vegeta
with a rabid growl. Vegeta's knee slammed into its midsection and
he brought both elbows down on his exposed back. He heard the vertebrae
grind and the creature went limp. He let him drop with a smile.
But the smile faltered a second later when the sudden
rush of fear made him jump in alarm and twist around to confront-
-Bulma held in the grip of two more natives.
TBC