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Butterflies & Hurricanes	By : Froglady15 Category: Dragon Ball Z > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 739 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Disclaimer:I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I MAKE NO MONEY/PROFIT!

Chapter List
- 36
- 37
- 38
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Just my Husband, laptop, my 3 dogs and a very overactive imagination… Dragon Ball Z and any songs mentioned in this fic DO NOT belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my own twisted amusement.
Butterflies & Hurricanes
Once again- THANK YOU Dragonbabezee for betaing! :D
Chapter 37
Trunks and Tarble had just finished their early morning training session and were standing in line in the lunch hall, waiting for their breakfast.
"We should go bring mom something and eat with her," Tarble suggested.
"Ya, she would really like that I think," Trunks agreed. "We don't need to meet with Jeyice until later anyway. I have a feeling he wants us to train in the chamber again."
"Ugh, I hate that place," Tarble groaned.
"I know, I do too. But you're doing really good lately. If we both train really hard in there for 2 days, you could be the same as I am. Easily! Then we could both progress, maybe."
"Ya," Tarble shrugged. He hated training and he didn't believe he would ever become as strong as Trunks. He only worked as hard as he did so that neither of them would get into trouble. He preferred piloting ships and flying to fighting any time.
They piled up as much food as they could carry and headed towards the lab, leaving as they noticed Jeyice entering the lunch hall on the other side. They quickened their pace so he would not notice them and send them to go do something or tell them they needed to show up earlier than what they were supposed to. He hadn't been all that pleasant to be around since getting back from their mission.
They knocked on Bulma's door when they got there, but she didn't answer. They knew she was there because her energy signature was there.
"Maybe she's still sleeping," Tarble suggested.
"Let's surprise her then," Trunks smirked and they opened her door carefully, not wanting to disturb her until they set everything down.
They walked in carefully, quietly closing the door behind them, and heard the shower running.
Confident that she wouldn't hear them, they went to her kitchen to grab some plates and began setting everything up on her coffee table for breakfast.
-0-0-0-
Bulma still sat huddled in the shower, shaking. She could not get what had just happened out of her head. Shame and disgust and feelings of hopelessness and self doubt mixed with a desperation that the perception filter be her way out of here somehow - they muddled in her mind in an aimless, depressing mess.
She didn't want to leave the warmth and comfort of the small space of her shower. No, it wasn't luxurious by any means, but she'd spent a lot of time in there, letting the hot water beat out her negative thoughts and sooth her into a calm state. It had become her safe place.
Bulma froze as she thought she heard something outside the washroom. Oh god, she thought in panic. He wasn't here, was he? She couldn't bear to see him, or anyone right now for that matter. She just wanted to be left alone.
She quickly finished washing herself and shut off the water. She had heard a few noises and was convinced someone was definitely there, she wasn't simply being paranoid. She towel dried herself off quickly, frowning in the mirror at herself and then at her hair that was all over the floor and in the sink. Now that at least a half hour or so had passed, she couldn't believe she had actually gone and done that. Oh well, she shrugged. She hoped it looked terrible.
She changed into her normal loose pants and top and grabbed the scissors that were still on the counter top before opening the door slowly, hoping to god it wasn't Jeyice. She could not deal with him right now. If he came near her, she would stab him.
"Hey mom!" Trunks said cheerfully as he heard the door opening and only saw her peek cautiously through the small bit she'd opened in order to see who it was that was there.
"Trunks," she said in relief that it wasn't Jeyice, but alarm that it was the boys because she could not deal with them at this moment either, not now. "You guys shouldn't be here right now,"
"Are you alright?" Tarble asked with a frown. She was usually overjoyed to see them. She sounded terrible, like she'd been crying or had a cold and she was hiding behind the door.
"I'm fine," she said, opening the door just a little more. "I'm just not feeling well today. I don't want you boys to get sick."
"We brought you breakfast," Tarble said with a slight frown. Something was off about her. "Maybe you'll feel better after you eat something?"
"Thank you for being so thoughtful, just leave it and I'll have some in a little while," she said.
Trunks frowned at her; she was acting very strangely and he noticed she was shaking. "Are you sure you're alright? You sound terrible."
"Yes!" she insisted, though her voice cracked in emotion. She was not alright and she was tired of pretending that she was alright.
"What's wrong?" they asked, coming closer to the door.
"Whoa, what happened to your hair?" Tarble asked.
"Nothing," she insisted, trying to keep an even tone. "It just gets in my way all the time and I was tired of it and..." she tried to explain but slid to the floor as she began to cry. She was broken. This last encounter with Jeyice had been her snapping point and she couldn't keep herself together long enough to give them any kind of reasonable explanation like she always did and pretend everything was fine, despite her best efforts and will to shelter them from it.
"What's wrong?" Trunks asked as they both knelt on the floor next to her. A wave of fear and concern for her washed through him as he noticed the remnants of her hair on the bathroom floor and that she was clasping a pair of scissors as if to stab someone if need be. "What happened?"
"Just go," she said hoarsely to them. "I'm having a bad day, come back and see me tomorrow. I'll be fine. Thank you for coming."
Tarble sat there, looking wide-eyed as he noticed the bruising on her neck. "Who did that?"
"Did Jeyice do that?" Trunks asked firmly, putting two and two together. She had been all done up to go see Jeyice last night and now she was like this.
"It's fine," she replied, between sobs, Trying to adjust her top so that her neck was concealed. "I'm fine,"
"I asked you if he was mean to you and you said no," Trunks said firmly, standing up. "This isn't being nice,"
"No, but-"
Trunks shook his head and turned away from her.
"Where are you going?" Tarble asked.
"To see Jeyice," he answered shortly. He was just vibrating in anger at the thought that someone had been hurtful towards their mother.
"Don't!" she cried frantically. "Just leave it alone, Trunks!"
"You stay with her," Trunks said to Tarble, storming out of the room.
"Trunks, no!" she cried. "I won't be able to see you anymore!"
"Why not?" Tarble asked in confusion, torn between going after his brother and staying with Bulma.
"Because," she sobbed. "He's too much like his father... he doesn't think..."
"Should I go after him and bring him back?" Tarble asked, not noticing that she had said his father instead of your father.
"Bring him back, yes." She nodded, sniffing. By this point her voice was pretty much gone. "Before he does something stupid. I can handle Jeyice on my own."
Tarble looked at her a moment. It shook him up to see her so... like this. She was always happy and positive and confident even when he could tell she was tired or worn out. She always put on a good face for them, even last night. She had tried to comfort them even though she had said she couldn't. "I don't think you can," he said, though he meant no disrespect. "I'll go get him before he does anything to get himself into trouble."
-0-0-0-
Trunks stormed angrily down the halls of King Cold's base towards the dining hall. He always had breakfast with Recoome and Burter and some of the other soldiers who happened to be around.
He wasn't going to wait until training to confront him. He wanted to do it now. It didn't occur to him that having an audience might not be to his advantage. He didn't care. The only thought going through his mind was that Jeyice had hurt his mother.
He recalled that queen on that planet they had destroyed, Geralt's wife. He had visions now of her being replaced by his mother and Jeyice doing that to her. It had been picking at him ever since they'd seen him with that queen. How could he! He raged mentally again as the image went from him not only plunging into her from behind, but wrapping his hands around her neck while he did it.
"I should have known," he berated himself out loud. The more he thought about it, the more he literally vibrated in rage. He could feel and almost hear the energy crackling and humming around him. Even the hair on his head felt like it was standing on end.
He stomped into the dining hall, pausing only long enough to spot Jeyice who, as predicted, was sitting with Burter and Recoome.
"You wouldn't believe it," he was going on in a boastful tone.
"Really?" Recoome exclaimed, leaning in closer in interest.
"She's into some serious, twisted, kinky shit-"
Trunks didn't think twice, the roar of blood lust, rage and adrenaline pulsing through his veins unlike anything he had felt before was all that was guiding him as he just balled his fists and struck Jeyice square on the side of his jaw as soon as he was close enough.
Jeyice didn't know what had hit him. One moment he was having breakfast and had been bragging to Recoome and Burter, reiterating his supposed exploits with Bulma from the previous night, even though he couldn't remember a single thing. Now he was on the cold ground with the taste of blood in his mouth with the feeling of someone pummeling him and screaming at him.
He was still groggy and feeling slow from the sedative Bulma had given him, though he assumed he was just hungover.
"How could you!" Trunks screamed at him as he punched Jeyice over and over again in a blind rage.
"What the fuck?" Burter exclaimed in shock at Trunks sudden appearance; physically and literally.
"Ha ha ha haa!" Recoome laughed. "Look at him go!"
Jeyice's two comrades sat there dumbfounded, not coming to their colleague's rescue as they watched Trunks lay into him and wondered why his hair was platinum blonde instead of purple.
Finally out of a daze, Jeyice blocked a blow from Trunks and swiped his leg across his feet, causing him to trip. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, standing up. "Where do you think you get off and what the fuck is with your hair?"
"I'm going to kill you," Trunks growled in a very low, dangerous tone.
"Is that right?" he chuckled, standing up. "Alright then."
-0-0-0-
Tarble raced through the halls of the base as quickly as he could, hoping he could get to Trunks before he started anything. Hearing a loud crash from the direction of the lunch hall, he knew he was likely too late to stop him. Maybe he could talk some sense into him though before things escalated too far.
He ran into the lunch hall and all he could see was a crowd surrounding the far corner and he could hear the chanting of observers and the sound of blows being exchanged.
Tarble paused for a moment as a wave of fear rushed through him. How was he going to help Trunks now that his had obviously turned into a barbaric spectacle? He took a deep breath to compose himself before taking a bold step towards the riot, hoping he wouldn't get inadvertently crushed.
He pushed and shoved his way to the front with great difficulty.
"You'll stay out of it, boy, if you know what's good for you." One of the soldiers that Tarble didn't know well advised, grabbing his arm to keep him away from the altercation as soon as he was right up front of where Jeyice looked bloody and at least unconscious. It was Recoome who was fighting with Trunks now, though from the looks of it and it didn't look like he was doing well against Recoome, who was clearly just toying with him.
"I need to help my brother," he said, trying to wiggle his way out of his grasp, even though he knew he couldn't possibly win against Recoome.
"You can't," he said calmly. "Not unless you want to be included in his punishment once Cold catches wind of this."
Tarble quit struggling. He was torn between desperately wanting to help Trunks and most certainly not wanting a beating from King Cold. He also knew there was no way he could beat Recoome or Burter, who was standing back observing. However despite that, he felt like he was deserting his brother by not even attempting.
"Don't get involved," he said again. "Whatever your differences, it doesn't matter because you can't beat 'em anyway,"
He sighed in defeat. He didn't know this soldier's name, but he knew he was right.
"Best leave now so you will not be implicated at all," he said to him, guiding him out of the crowd. The soldier was tall, nearly as tall and thickly built as Recoome. "Go back to your mother."
"My mother?" he asked, wondering how the soldier knew.
"That's what all this is about, is it not?" he asked once they were out of the mess of spectators egging the fight on. "Jeyice was bragging about what he did with your mother, as he usually does, and Trunks overheard and went for him. He was full on Super Saiyan too for a while, but that's long gone."
"Yea, Jeyice hurt her real bad," Tarble admitted, trying not to cry. What was he going to do? Helping Trunks wasn't an option, but would his mother be angry with him if he went back to her without him? "Trunks told me to stay with her, but she told me to go bring him back."
"It's a bit late for that now, I'm afraid," he sighed, wincing as it looked like Trunks had just taken a hard knock. It was extraordinary though that the boy was still holding his own against Recoome. He had done some major damage to Jeyice as well; he would at the very least need to be in a regeneration tank for a little while. "Tell your mother what has happened, she'll be happy that one of her boys is okay. Now go, before anyone else sees you here."
"Wait, how do you know he is a Super Saiyan?" Tarble asked.
"His hair was blonde," the soldier replied. "It didn't last long, only long enough for him to beat the daylights out of Jeyice. Now go!"
Tarble still felt torn, but left the lunch hall and trudged back to the lab. He felt sick. Sick that he had just betrayed his brother, sick that his mother would be upset. Sick that she was hurt and upset because of Jeyice. Sick that he was too cowardly to even attempt to help his brother. What was he supposed to do? If Trunks couldn't beat them, there was no way he could. Besides, he figured, Trunks had told him to stay with their mother. Even he agreed that she shouldn't be left alone at the moment.
He went back into Bulma's room in the lab and found her sitting on the couch with her knees curled up and her head in them. She looked up at him as soon as she heard him enter the room. She looked a little better, but overall still worn and stressed out.
"Where's Trunks?" she asked. Her voice was still hoarse sounding.
"I… I couldn't do anything," he admitted shamefully. "He's fighting with Recoome, who I can't beat, but it looks like he got Jeyice pretty good; he was unconscious when I got there."
Bulma nodded but didn't say anything. She was so emotionally numb at the moment that she couldn't feel anything.
"I didn't see it myself, but one of the guys there said Trunks hair changed color. He said it was blonde," Tarble volunteered. "I've never seen that. He's stronger than me, but his hair never changes color."
Bulma looked at him and felt the slightest bloom of pride. "He's ascended," she said.
"Ascended?"
"He's moved up in strength to what Vegeta would call Super Saiyan," she informed him. "He worked so hard to get it and one day he did," she said, remembering that day back on Vegeta-sei with Zarbon and how he'd beaten him to death in front of her. It had been one of the most frightening, troublesome things she'd ever witnessed up to that point.
"So he's way stronger then?" Tarble asked. He and Trunks had heard the term Super Saiyan when someone had referred to their father, but they didn't really know what it was or why it was a big deal.
"Way stronger," Bulma confirmed.
Tarble went into her kitchen and poured her some hot water they had begun preparing earlier for tea. He put in a bag and handed her a mug. She still looked and sounded terrible.
"Thank you," she said, sipping it carefully. "So is Trunks okay?"
"I don't know," he sighed. "I was going to help him, but someone wouldn't let me in because Cold is going to be mad and I can't win anyway so he told me to leave so I wouldn't be implicated. I didn't want to… but... I was also worried about you because Trunks told me to stay here with you…"
"It's okay," she said, smiling weakly at him. She didn't know how to feel or how to react. On one hand she was worried sick that Tarble hadn't brought Trunks back, but on the other, there was no point in him being beat up for nothing in a fight he couldn't possibly win. That would break her heart as well. It gave her much comfort to hear that Trunks had made the transformation. It meant that he was probably okay.
They sat together in silence until there was a single knock on her door and in walked the Android. "You are wanted in the throne room for an immediate meeting with King Cold," It said to Bulma, walking into her quarters.
Oh god, she thought to herself in dread; her stomach tightening and she felt immediately like she might get nauseous. As long as Trunks is okay, as long as Trunks is okay… she kept telling herself as she stood. She looked down at herself, wearing only her loose pants and top she usually wore in the lab. She was hardly in any shape to look presentable for an audience with a king, but on second thought, she didn't care. She silently followed the Android out of her room and Tarble followed, sticking close to Bulma as they walked down the hall and into the throne room.
Another unpleasant feeling washed through her as she realized the last time she'd been in this room was during Vegeta's trial; all the unpleasantness and anxiety she'd felt those two excruciatingly stressful days hit her like a brick wall. We sat right there, she thought, looking at the empty row of seats at the front of the room. She remembered holding his hand and him wrapping his tail discreetly around her thigh during the trial as they sat there, him squeezing her thigh with his tail in encouragement every once in a while when he felt her beginning to lose her composure.
She shook herself out of her train of thought as she began to feel a panic attack coming on. She took a few deep breaths, hoping for the light headedness and nausea to pass so that she could focus on what was going on.
Glancing at King Cold, he did not look happy and instinctually, she reached behind her and took Tarble's hand. If something bad had happened to Trunks, she needed him close to her because he was all she had left now. Also, she would not be letting Cold take him from her either.
"Miss Briefs," he greeted sternly.
Bulma nodded at him in greeting. She was afraid if she opened her mouth she would vomit everywhere.
"What have you done to yourself?" he asked with a frown. "You are a far cry from the radiant beauty I remember who so valiantly defended her mate."
Bulma swallowed hard, trying to find her voice. Her neck was still feeling tight and bruised from her encounter with Jeyice and she wasn't sure she would be able to speak properly because of that mixed with the panic flooding her. "I did not… have the time to prepare to meet you," she managed to croak out, thought she did not recognize the sound of her own voice. "Where is Trunks?"
Cold stiffened up to the mentioning of Trunks' name. "Your son is currently in a regeneration tank," he informed her and she sighed a huge sigh of relief. He's alive and going to be just fine! She told herself. "You are aware he attacked his mentor, Jeyice. He attacked and very nearly killed him!"
Good! She wanted to say. It was a shame he hadn't killed him, but at least he'd given him a good beat down, she thought in satisfaction.
"Jeyice is in critical condition and inside a regeneration tank as well," he continued.
God, why?! she inwardly wallowed. Just let him fucking die!
"He will have to remain in there for at least a week, possibly two," Cold grumbled. "He was set to leave this morning on a very important mission! Now that is all to be cast to the wayside and I will be out thousands of credits because of it!"
Bulma numbly looked at him as he ranted on and on about the implications behind the setback Jeyice's predicament was going to cost him. What did he want her to do about it? More importantly, why did he think she even cared one iota about any mission or loss of income on his end?
"It would seem that there is a pattern here," she heard Cold say. Truthfully, she was only comprehending about half of what he was telling her, still trying to keep her breathing steady and not make herself sick from the stress of everything that was overwhelming her. "Prince Vegeta killed Zarbon, one of his superiors and he also killed his greatest mentor, my son-"
Oh my god, I know, she mentally groaned, not wanting to rehash all this old news with regards to Vegeta. She couldn't even bring himself to think about him right now. Can he not just get to the fucking point already! she thought as he continued to drawl on about Vegeta and Trunks' supposed disturbing similarities.
"What I find most interesting is the common denominator here seems to be you," he said finally, tipping his head in amusement at having drawn this apparent miraculous conclusion. "Whenever there is an issue, it seems to somehow involve you."
"We had this discussion at length during the trial if you'll recall," she said blandly. "In each and every instance, it happened because I was in danger or under threat. Vegeta acted accordingly. Trunks was no different."
"Yet Tarble did nothing," he pointed out, gesturing to the younger Saiyan who stood quietly next to Bulma, still holding her hand.
"Trunks told him to remain with me because he was concerned about my wellbeing," she said.
"Ah yes," he nodded. "You do look a horrid mess. Explain."
Bulma sighed. She didn't want to talk about it. Especially with this barbaric asshole who had no sense of empathy, right or wrong. "I am not sure if you are aware of the agreement Jeyice made with me," she began, despite not wanting to say anything to him, however if it vindicated Trunks, then that was all that mattered to her. "He came to me around the time that Vegeta was permanently placed in the tank and said if I gave myself to him, I could see my sons."
"You took up with him, yes," he nodded nonchalantly. "Everyone knows that, my dear."
"I didn't take up with him!" she said angrily. "He blackmailed me! You think I would ever willingly take up with anyone while my own husband is living in a drug induced coma, fighting for his life?"
"Well you both have been liaising for some time now," he shrugged. "It is a perfectly reasonable assumption that a beautiful, young woman like yourself and in your current situation would align herself with another male for her own protection and advantage. Someone like Jeyice is a wonderful, smart choice. I do not understand why you have not moved in with him. I have granted permission for you to do so, however you are still to work in the lab, assisting Dr. Gero in anything he requires."
Bulma blinked at him blankly several times, completely dumbfounded. She wanted to scream. Did no one around here understand? The thought process and way of thinking she had encountered for the most part since her own home had been destroyed was so skewed that she was beginning to think that either she was having some terrible nightmare that she'd like to wake up from any time now, or she was finally going crazy and had made up her own rules of right and wrong this whole time. It hadn't been like this back home. Or not where she'd been raised. Was there nowhere else that held that kind of thinking? That this was wrong!
"You are wrong," she said finally. "Wrong! As in this is not okay! I did not "take up" with Jeyice because I was looking for comfort or companionship! I will not move in with him because I do not want to be with him! I will not put myself in a situation that moves me further away from Vegeta!"
"Then you are with Jeyice, why?" King Cold asked, frowning at her in confusion.
"Because he said if I didn't fuck him, I would never see my children!" she screamed as best she could. Her throat burning by this point from trauma and trying to swallow back a lump of emotion and frustration at the complete and utter stupidity surrounding her at the moment.
Tarble looked at her in shock. So that was the payment arrangement. Immediately he felt guilt and shame that he and Trunks had not understood. They had recently began to suspect something not good was going on, but weren't sure. Why would Jeyice do something so terrible? He was their mentor. He had raised them. He seemed to care about them and if they had gotten to know their mother or not.
"I see, so it is an arrangement of convenience," Cold nodded in understanding, though seemed thoughtful about it, rather than appalled. "So what of the drama this morning then?"
"Jeyice roughed me up this morning," she said, exposing her neck to him so he could see the bruising. "Trunks and Tarble unexpectedly showed up and brought me breakfast and I tried to keep it from them, but I was still distressed because it had just happened. Trunks got angry and reacted before I could intervene."
"Just like his father," Cold said, shaking his head. "Completely unacceptable."
"He was upset, angry and concerned," she defended. "I was still shook up, and wasn't able to stop him in time."
"You should not have to," Cold said. "It is unacceptable in any stretch to attack your superior and mentor for any reason. A penalty will be paid."
Bulma balled her hands into fists and marched straight up to King Cold's throne.
"Mom, don't!" Tarble hissed going after her.
"Look here, you!" she shouted at him, so angry by this point she didn't care that it may not be deemed proper or respectful for her to approach him so directly and disrespectfully. "What is unacceptable is how your soldiers conduct themselves! I shouldn't have to make such an arrangement in order to see my children!"
"Mom, just leave it," Tarble said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. If she didn't walk away, Cold would only be harder on Trunks later on because of her.
"No! You don't understand!" she cried at him, stepping away from him. "You need to have a word with Jeyice once he's out and tell him to leave me alone!"
Cold laughed at her.
"I'm serious! If he touches me again, I will fucking kill him!"
"Well then," Cold snorted in amusement, still laughing at her as though she had told the funniest joke he had ever heard. "I suppose you are serious. However you should not have made such an arrangement then."
"Please," Tarble said quickly, jumping in before Bulma lost her cool any further. "My mother is extremely upset. She's been through a lot. Please just give Trunks a pass on this. I'll watch over him and make sure this doesn't happen again."
"We will see once I have had the opportunity to speak with him in an hour or so," Cold shrugged in disinterest. "You may leave now,"
Bulma shook her head and marched out of the throne room as quickly as she possibly could without breaking into a run. She didn't say a word the entire way back to the lab. "I can't believe this," she muttered over and over again, pacing her room once they got in and shut the door. "We need to get out of here."
"Just calm down," Tarble said, trying to be helpful. In actuality, he was freaked right out by her demeanor. "It's going to be alright,"
"How is it going to be alright!" she freaked out on him. "Who knows what Cold is going to do to Trunks now? We need to formulate a plan, pack up Vegeta and get the fuck out of here before I lose my mind. I can't do this anymore."
Tarble shrugged, completely at a loss about how he could possibly help or calm her down. She sounded a little better at least; her voice less hoarse, but he'd never seen her so frantic before. "It will be alright," he said, trying to convince himself of that as much as her. "Trunks is Cold's favorite. He won't do anything that bad to him that he won't be able to come back from." He knew Trunks would be in for a major beating from King Cold when he was out of the regeneration tank, but he didn't want to tell Bulma that.
Bulma didn't say anything else, just sat down, burying her head in her hands. She had her ship and all her supplies, but how did she get any of that out without drawing attention to herself? "Can you fly?" she asked Tarble so quietly he could barely hear her.
"Of course," he nodded. "Jeyice taught us before we could even-"
"A ship," she interrupted him. She was sure she remembered them talking about how Tarble was the better pilot of the two of them. "Can you fly a space craft?"
"Yes, I can," he nodded. "But I don't have clearance to leave with any of them if that's what you're thinking. My card won't give me authorized access to even start any of the ships here."
"That's fine, I have a ship," she said. "You can fly just about anything though, right?"
"So far as I know," he nodded.
Bulma was quiet as she mulled it over. If she could get Tarble to get the ship to the dock, maybe she could begin planning an escape. Sure she could fly the ship herself, but if she broke Vegeta out of the tank, he'd need possible medical support to bring him back to consciousness. She wouldn't be comfortable leaving him unattended. Not to mention she had no idea where to go or how to successfully fly through a stressful situation if they were caught and being shot at or pursued.
She also needed to test out the effects of that perception filter Jeyice had gotten her. She would need to put it on the ship somehow to keep it hidden. If only she had more than one. Fuck! There was so much work to be done and she had wasted so much time on her stupid time machine!
First things first, she told herself. She needed to see how this perception filter worked; she hoped to high heaven it worked and decided if it did, she would have to find a way to gather more. She just needed to make sure it did work before organizing that. She would wait until the opportune time before trying it out on Dende.
The only problem she could see was the Android was still always keeping a watch in the lab, presumably to make sure that Vegeta did not miraculously wake up and escape. Jeyice had mentioned to her that the filter didn't work on surveillance devices and animals. She wondered if that applied to artificial intelligence as well? She didn't want to scurry around the lab wearing it and have It rat out her presence; no, she would try another time to see if it worked on the Android. Dende first.
"Alright," she said to him. "Just hang tight. I may need your help, but not before we can take Trunks and Vegeta with us, and I may need you boys to take a shopping trip the next time you are out."
"Of course," he nodded eagerly. "We need to get out of here. All of us."
"We will, sweetie, we will," she said determinedly.
Trunks was let out of the regeneration tank only a few hours later, still in an extremely bad state. He was brought to Cold and given a severe beating for his actions and then left in the jail cells, denied any medical attention or contact with anyone for an entire week before he was granted the use of a tank; Tarble wasn't even allowed to see him or check on him. Conveniently enough, it was the same day Jeyice had been released from his tank that Trunks was put in.
Throughout that time, Tarble told Bulma that Trunks was still in the tank and that there were no changes. He asked about Trunks daily, but had not been allowed to see him or talk to him and he did not want to upset his mother by letting her know that he was sitting in a dank cell suffering on his own until King Cold decided to give him some relief.
On a positive note, the perception filter worked!
Bulma had tested it out on Dende and they were currently working in the late evening hours on splitting the small stone into smaller pieces so they could divide it. It seemed that it did not lose its effectiveness even when cut in half. After some thorough research, Bulma had been able to figure out where Jeyice had gotten the filter from and Tarble volunteered to get her more if they were near that planet on his next mission. She still had the capsule with everything Vegeta had prepared for them; funds as well in a universal currency that he had told her could not be traced and would be good anywhere.
Things were slowly, but surely beginning to look up for them as Bulma began to make plans for their escape. The one thing that troubled her was getting Vegeta out of the tank and moved to the ship unnoticed. There were surveillance cameras everywhere and only a very short period of time when the Android was not present. On top of that, she discovered that the filter did not work on It.
Despite her frustrations and many roadblocks, Bulma persisted. The perception filter had been broken into four pieces. The way the plan was looking, she needed one for her capsulized ship and have it stored in an area in the hangar that was not under surveillance. She wanted Tarble and Trunks to paint it with the stealth paint if possible. Tarble said that if they could remain unseen with the help of the filter, he would be willing to do it. However, finding the time to scope out the many hangars and load bays for a place to safely do it was proving difficult for him.
King Cold still had him training daily with other soldiers.
Bulma hadn't made any further progress on her time machine, convinced that it was a complete waste of her time since she'd seen Jeyice last.
He had been sent out on his mission as soon as he had been released from the regeneration tank. He had not come to see her since then, much to her relief. She held her resolve that the next time he tried to sleep with her, she would end him. She was done.
She had begun keeping a knife on her at all times in the even that he returned and showed up unannounced and when she slept at night, she kept it under her pillow.
When Trunks had been released from the tank, fully recovered, he only had time to see Bulma once. King Cold had kept him so busy with training. He had been withdrawn and did not ask about Jeyice or anything pertaining to the events that had happened the last time they had seen each other. Just like your father, she had told herself, though it hurt her at her soul that he had changed so much since she'd seen him last. It was as though he could not look at her and while she understood somewhat, it grieved her deeply that her son seemed to only want to keep her at arm's length.
It was two months before both boys were sent on another mission, coincidentally enough on the same day that Jeyice was returning. Trunks ran into him in the hangar while preparing their ship for their own departure.
"Well, look who it is!" Jeyice taunted him. "You did survive King Cold's wrath after all, hmm?"
"Leave me alone," Trunks growled, turning away from him. The mere sight of the orange man he'd once looked up to made him vibrate in rage.
"You try anything like that again, boy, I'll gut your mother while I fuck her, got it?" Jeyice hissed, his voice filled with malice. "Don't think I won't. An' if you're lucky enough to kill me, I've let Burter and Recoome know and they are to dispose of her and your weakling brother in the most painful manner at which they can come up with."
Trunks grit his teeth in anger. He would bide his time. Hopefully in a short time they would possibly be sent on a mission together and he could find a way to get rid of him and make it look like an accident. He would even keep it to himself and not let Tarble in on his plans so that he would not be implicated.
"Don't be thinking because you're a fancy Super Saiyan now that you're able to do anything either," Jeyice chuckled. "You're father was stupid enough to think he could take down an entire empire of this magnitude, look where that got him!"
Trunks said nothing, just glared at him. "Let's go, Trunks," Tarble urged him, not wanting this exchange to turn into an altercation.
"That's right, get on you two," Jeyice said. "Have a pleasant mission and I'll tell your mother you both said goodbye. As a matter of fact, I'll be on my way to go see her shortly."
"Leave her alone," Trunks growled.
"That's not up to you, now is it?"
"Trunks, let's go," Tarble insisted again. "He's not worth it."
"That hurts," Jeyice said, placing a hand on his heart. "Don't worry though boys, I'll take good care of her in your absence. Run along now."
Trunks balled his fists as he watched Jeyice turn and leave, a cocky bounce in his step. "Trunks, there's nothing we can do about it, let's go. We'll get him another time."
"You aren't even bothered knowing he's going to see her after what happened last time? Now that we know?" Trunks asked, pulling away from him in disgust.
"Of course I'm bothered by it, Trunks!" Tarble replied in a hurt tone. "But until we can stop him and get out of here, there's not much point. He'll only hurt mom more and who knows what King Cold will do. We have to be smart and wait. Mom is planning-"
"Yea, I know Mom's been planning an escape since she got here yet how long has it been and how many times have we heard that?" Trunks snorted, picking up one of the supply boxes and heading into the ship with it.
"It's not as easy as that, Trunks and you know it. She needs to find a way to bring Dad with us,"
"Whatever," Trunks shook his head. "We're never going to get out of here. Dad can stay in there and Jeyice can keep doing whatever he wants. That's the way it is, and that's the way it's always been."
Tarble didn't say anything. Since the incident, Trunks had been simply bitter and not very approachable. All he wanted to do was train and be left alone and so Tarble had respectfully given him his space. He was hoping that now that they would be together on a ship, he could begin filling him on the plans he and Bulma had been slowly setting in motion.
They finished loading up everything they had been instructed to and found their quarters on the ship, patiently waiting for takeoff so that they could get away from this place. Even if it was only for a little while.
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Jeyice managed to shower quickly and decided that paying Bulma a visit was the first order of business. It was his every intention to make things right with her, hopefully that night. He decided he would go see her, invite her over for dinner and hope she accepted. It had been a little over two months since he'd seen her. She couldn't still be that upset with him, could she? He walked into the lab and into her room, where he found her eating a less than appealing-looking meal. "How have you been?" he asked.
"Fine," she answered. The claustrophobic feeling of dread and hopelessness closed in around her as he walked into her room unannounced, as usual. It had been so peaceful without him around these last few weeks.
"I see you cut your hair since I seen you last," he said conversationally. She didn't respond. "I wanted to have you over for dinner, if you'd let me an' thought we could talk about a few things," he said, approaching her slowly.
"There's nothing to talk about, please leave me alone." she said firmly, but looking at the floor between them. "I'm staying here, I'm not moving in with you and I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"Oh come on," he whined. "Are you still upset over that little incident, love? If I recall, you enjoyed yourself quite thoroughly."
Shame ripped through her at the reminder that she had gotten fulfillment from him last time despite how horrific it had been. "I did not," she lied.
"Sure," he nodded. "Keep telling yourself that. I did bring you back something, however."
"I don't want it," she said without consideration. She just wanted him to leave.
"You don't want another perception filter or two?" he practically sang, waving a box in front of her that she had not noticed he had been holding.
Fuck, she cursed to herself. She wanted it, but not for the price he would be asking for it.
"Come on," he urged her, holding the small box out to her. "Look, I'm sorry about last time, I didn't mean it. Let's just put it behind us an' move on. You can tell the boys everything is fine so they'll quit looking at me with pure hate. That hurts, you know. I raised them too."
Bulma sat there a moment, weighing out her options. She needed those filters for their escape, but she didn't want him to touch her again. However she also knew his train of thought of giving and receiving things. There was always that expectation. As she thought about it, she remembered that she had her knife stashed safely under her pillow. Maybe she could start something with him and finish him.
No, I can't, the weak side of her said. What if she missed and then he killed her for attempting to take his life? What if he lived through it, then what? Adrenaline began to pump through her veins as she thought about the last time they were together and how angry at herself she had been for not taking him out when she'd had the chance. You can do this, she told herself. Jeyice had something she needed and seemingly wanted to make amends. That meant it would possibly be fairly easy to get him into her bed and distract him long enough to end him.
With that thought in mind she nodded and stood up. "You're right,"
"About what?" he asked in confusion at her sudden change in demeanor.
"We should try this again," she said. "We need to do what's best for the boys."
"That's right," he agreed. "You know they just left on a mission but when they get back, we should all do a nice dinner at my place."
"I could go for that," she nodded, forcing a smile and standing up to meet him in the middle of the room. He handed her the box and she placed it on the table far from his reach before taking her top and pants off in front of him revealing a very plain, practical bra and panties.
She closed the distance between them, opened her mouth and kissed him with as much enthusiasm as she could drum up. He seemed pleased with her effort and kissed her back. As they made out, Bulma placed one hand on his neck and the other she slid down the front of his pants, stroking him through the fabric.
He growled in both surprise and delight at her bold advance and continued to kiss her. While he was distracted, she moved the hand that was on his neck up to the side of his face where his scouter was still on his ear and took it off.
Jeyice didn't react to it or seem to care and as she continued to stroke him and kiss him, she held down the red button, shutting it off and tossed it behind them. All thoughts of taking her back to his place forgotten, he quickly removed his armor and flight suit and eagerly followed Bulma to her bed. She had been easier to convince than he thought she would be, he thought in anticipation.
Bulma removed her bra, leaving her panties on and pushed him onto the side of her bed so that he was sitting. She was near enough where her pillow was that she should be able to reach under it undetected if she kept him distracted enough. She straddled his lap and kissed him urgently as she ground her hips into his groin.
He groaned at her aggressive advance, pulling her hips tighter against him as he kissed her back with just as much enthusiasm.
Bulma was just about to attempt to push him down on his back when he suddenly flipped her around onto her back. Panic and anxiety washed through her as he held her hands above her head, pinning her down on the mattress where she did not want to be. The knife was just under her pillow within her reach but if she couldn't grab it, it wasn't of any good to her.
Her mind raced and anxiety ripped through her as Jeyice continued to explore her body with his free hand and mouth. She couldn't do this anymore; not for a single moment, she couldn't bare it. If she didn't manage to kill him now, this time, she decided then and there that she would kill herself once he was done with her. She absolutely could not live like this anymore.
She started trying to twist her wrists out of his grasp; even if she only got her left hand free, that was all she needed.
"Would you quit your squirming?" he complained irritably against her breast. "It's very distracting, it is,"
"Sorry," she ground out. "I just, I want to touch you. Nothing makes me hotter than to be able to run my hands all over a strong man's body as he fucks me."
Jeyice snickered against her skin. "Well in that case, touch all you want," he said, letting her hands go but grabbing her hips and pulling her towards him, pinning his pelvis into hers.
She ran her fingers through his hair and down his neck, resting them briefly on his shoulders, kneading the muscles there for a moment before moving her right hand on his chest and her left down his arm, letting it linger there as she distracted him with her other hand. Since she knew she would not be able to get a firm grip on the knife with her damaged right hand, she decided her left was her best bet, despite it not being her dominant side.
He didn't notice the absence of her left hand at all as he shoved his own hand down the front of her panties and two of his fingers into her.
Bulma quickly slid her hand under the pillow, gripping the handle and moaning a positive reaction to his ministrations. She needed to keep him distracted enough to not see what was coming but get this over with before it went too much further. She couldn't bare for it to happen one more time.
As Jeyice moved down the length of her body, licking and nipping at her, she slowly counted to five before stabbing him in the side of his neck.
"What the-?" he exclaimed in shock, immediately bringing a hand to the side of his neck and then looked at the blood on his hand in disbelief before looking at her. "You fucking little bitch!" he rasped. Instead of grabbing the knife from her hand, he wrapped both of his hands around her neck and began choking and violently shaking her.
Of course, her natural reaction had been to pry his hands off of her neck. She let the knife go at her side and began desperately clawing at his hands, but the more she fought him, the tighter his hands felt around her neck.
She couldn't even hear the obscenities and insults he was spewing at her over her own panic and her pulse pounding in her ears, drowning everything else out. She eventually quit trying to fight him as she began to feel dizzy and began feeling on the mattress for her knife again, hoping and praying that it had not fallen on the floor during their struggle.
Just as she began to feel light headed and see black spots everywhere, she felt the handle of it and made a second swing at him, hitting him on the lower part of his neck, just above his collarbone, hoping to have gotten his main artery this time.
Jeyice let go of her neck in response to the new wound inflicted on him and she took advantage of that, pushing at his chest as hard as she could in an effort to get him off of her.
He toppled down off the side of her bed and she tried to refrain from coughing and wheezing as she took a deep breath, still recovering from being nearly strangled by him only seconds ago. Unfortunately though, he now had the knife; she had left it in the juncture of his neck and shoulder instead of pulling it back out.
"You fucking little bitch!" he wheezed at her again, clutching at his neck desperately as the blood continued to flow steadily. He lunged for her, swiping the knife horizontally and she cried out as it connected and sliced through her before she could move out of his way. He tried to stab her again, but lost his balance and fell to the ground. He snarled in anger and disbelief of what she had done to him. "I'll not forget this you know," he said.
Bulma didn't say anything. She just stood there in shock, leaning against the wall, clutching her abdomen wound as she watched him bleed. She wasn't sure what she was more shocked over; the fact that she'd built up the nerve to stab him herself or the fact that he'd stabbed her back and now she was bleeding everywhere.
Jeyice chuckled at her. "Looks like I will be seeing you in hell shortly," he said as he took note of her own condition. "An' when I do, you'll pay for this dearly; you will wish you were still alive in this dump." he snarled venomously at her, his words beginning to slur.
Bulma slid down to the floor slowly; the room was beginning to spin and it was making her feel light headed and nauseous. She moved her hand off of her stomach and looked at the wound. It was deep; he'd gotten her good. Chances were, Jeyice was right. She was going to die. She hadn't planned accordingly. Oh well.
"Farewell, kitten," Jeyice hissed. "You did please me some of the time at least."
"You never pleased me," she replied quietly. The corner or her mouth turned up in a smile as she watched him bleed out in front of her; shock and disbelief written all over his face. "Serves you right," she said weakly even though she knew he didn't hear her in his own panic.
No, things did not go as she had planned but at least she'd killed him; that was good enough for her. She wondered if death would be all that bad.
"Trunks, I'm sorry," she murmured sadly to herself. She was already lightheaded and beginning to teeter between consciousness and unconsciousness. Be a good boy, look after yourself and Tarble and get out of here.
Oh, Vegeta. My love, she thought as she felt herself slowly falling away as she felt herself beginning to fall away. She felt a searing pain in her head and her center and she knew she had lost far too much blood to make it at this point. The door was too far away and she was too tired to attempt it. It was okay though. She did not fight to stay awake; she had fought so long, she was tired of fighting. I tried to get us out but I failed, forgive me... I love you.
Those were her last thoughts as everything faded to black around her…
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Butterflies & Hurricanes