The Light to my Darkness

A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews folks! It seems some of you have a good idea with regards to where the story's headed! You'll know who you are, as the journey continues in the chapters to come!

Chapter 14: Remorse

Vegeta gave her a withering look as he saw the bitterness and rejection on her face. Her sentiments were no concern of his! She should be thankful he was even letting her live! She meant nothing to him! But then why couldn't he rid himself of her?! He mentally cursed himself for being so weak! No, her only purpose was to help him find the dragon balls and satisfy his carnal desires, nothing else! He took a deep breath, with that piece of reassurance in mind, as Bulma had her face downcast, hurt by his stony display.

"Get my clothes washed and dried!" Vegeta ordered tersely. "I need to get cleaned up! Where do I shower?!"

'Should've known.' Bulma thought, as she sighed dejectedly. "Right there." She pointed straight ahead, not looking him in the eye. The Saiyan instantly made a beeline for the washroom. Why? Why did he have to be like this? She'd given him everything and was willing to give more. All she wanted in return was some affection, but as always, he gave her the cold shoulder. She sighed as she picked up his dirty uniform, minus the armor. Deciding that the outfit she'd donned during her journey to Namek needed a good wash too, she took them with her as she headed towards the laundry, with a pile of grimy clothes.

She flung them all in her own newly designed CC washer-dryer combo, for a quick and thorough ten-minute wash, followed by a ten-minute dry. When it came to being inventive, she was always number one. Smiling smugly, she continued her way inside her room, all the while pensive, her mind centred around one person and one person only. What was it that made Vegeta so closed off? Of course! His life had been nothing but pain, suffering and horror and wreaking them all upon others! It's all he knew! He wouldn't change overnight, that much was certain. Even then, she was intent upon showing him that there was another way, a better way! He must have had the capacity to care! She'd seen for herself the longing within his ebony eyes, the peace, calm and tranquility when he fell asleep in her arms. On top of all that, she was still alive! There had to be some hope for him!

Flinging those thoughts aside, Bulma entered the bathroom, washed her face and hands and brushed her teeth. She then pulled out a bottle of her favourite strawberry flavoured mouth bath from the vanity, opened it, half-filled the cap with the antiseptic content, before swishing it about in her mouth, gargling and rinsing. Perfect! She felt so much fresher now! She grinned wickedly, as a thought hit her! Vegeta wasn't too far away.

'Why not join him?'

The Prince, meanwhile, was brooding pensively for the last five minutes or so, as the warm water began cascading down his body. Just what was it about this little vixen that had stupefied him so much? Sure, she was excessively pleasing to the eye and even more so in bed, but he'd had plenty of women in the past, all of whom were now dead, by his own hand. What made her so different? He'd never fucked the same woman twice and definitely not so feverishly. His thoughts came to a grinding halt as the shower curtains slid open. He snarled viciously, prepared to blast a hole into the intruder, till he saw- her?!

"What the fuck are you doing here?!" He scowled, his eyes fixated upon her bare, svelte figure.

"Hey, I need to get cleaned too, you know!" She frowned back at him, placing her hands on her curvaceous hips. "You're not the only one who reeks of smoking hot sex!"

Vegeta turned beet red.

"You- vulgar- female!" He looked aghast, completely at a loss for words.

"Oh come on." She rolled her eyes, as she boldly walked up to him, barely an inch of distance between them. "We just had sex. Quit acting like a such a prude."

"B-Back away!" Vegeta took a step back as she drew closer, suddenly beginning to feel perturbed by her amorous advances. Dammit, she should be the one retreating, not him! What the fuck was going on?! Bulma smirked wickedly at him.

"You know, you didn't act this shy when you were putting that nifty tongue of yours to good use."

"H-How dare you?!" Vegeta bared his fangs at her, the blood rushing to his face as he reddened about a further ten shades of crimson. It took every ounce of effort the heiress had, not to explode with laughter as she observed his mortified expression. Vegeta let out a furious snarl. "Just leave! Shower once I'm done!" He finally moved towards her and began prying her out of his domain.

"Wait, hold on!"

Too late. Vegeta had already forced her out and closed the shower curtain. Bulma was livid!

'What right does he have to throw me out of my shower?!' She mentally fumed. 'I'll show him!'

Vegeta exhaled after finally getting rid of that idiotic female. However, seconds later he heard the shower curtains slide open yet again as she stormed her way back inside. He scowled, but before he could say anything, she daringly shoved him against the wall and pressed her hands against it, on either side of him, effectively trapping her Saiyan captor with her bare, petite figure. He goggled and began to tremble, feeling uncharacteristically skittish all of a sudden, as he felt his entire form radiate with heat at the proximity of her nude, supple body. No one had ever done that to him before.

"Who do you think you are, Vegeta?!" She shrieked right at his face, causing him to flinch and shut his eyes tight. "This is myshower! You hear me: mine! M I N E!" She spelled out those last four alphabets just to emphasize her point.

Vegeta continued trembling as he opened his eyes and couldn't get them off the puckered buds of her hemispherical mounds that were brushing against his solidified chest with each smoldering syllable. Bulma smirked inwardly, but on the outside appeared to be as enraged as ever.

She tucked her index finger under his chin, tilting his head up to meet her eyes.

"My face is up here, you pervert!" She instantly found herself on the other side of the shower, her upper arms pinned against the wall, by Vegeta's hands.

"You've crossed me for the last time female!" He roared into her face. "No one insults the Saiyan Prince!"

"Pheeuu!" Bulma wrinkled her nose, clamping it shut with one hand, while daringly placing the other on Vegeta's mouth. "You smell like a dead cat covered in manure!"

Vegeta batted her hand away and scowled furiosly at her. He was smoldering! If this little minx couldn't control her tongue then he wouldn't hesitate to cut it off!

"Wom-"

"Please, don't talk." Bulma cut him off, facing away from him. God, baiting him was just far too entertaining! "Brush your teeth first, unless of course, you plan to kill Frieza by breathing on him."

Vegeta's jaw went ajar in disbelief at her flagrant boldness, but a nasty grimace instantly contorted his visage. The nerve of this female!

"Wow, a little excited are we?" Bulma hacked right through his irate line of thought, as she glanced low. Vegeta followed her gaze and as it suddenly dawned on him how hard he was down below, his face flushed once again. The heiress began to chortle and Vegeta glowered fiercely at her, before he picked up the scent of her arousal, causing his rage to dwindle as he smirked at her.

"I may be hard, but at least I'm not wet." He promptly brought his index finger between her legs and ran it alone her cleft, eliciting a shudder from her, before showing her the gooey evidence. Now it was Bulma who began blushing.

"H-How did y-you know?" She asked, averting her discomfited visage from him.

"I could smell it a mile away if I had to." He replied, his smirk widening into a wicked grin. "Add to that your erect nipples and overt vulgarity."

"Hey!" Bulma scowled at him, but hadn't a chance to mutter another word, her eyes widening as he pressed his hardness against her lower abdomen and smashed his body to hers, making her breath hitch, as lust deluged her every pore.

As he brought his lips towards her and exhaled into her mouth, she winced, his bad breath suddenly jolting her from her rapturous stupor as she turned away her face and pressed her palm sideways against his mouth.

"Hey! If you're gonna slobber all over me, at least clean your mouth first!"

Vegeta immediately pulled back and loured at her.

"Oh quit death staring me, Vegeta." She chided. "You're a Prince. It's only right that you smell good."

After glaring heatedly at her for a moment or two, curiosity got the best of him, as he leaned in and brushed the tip of his nose against her lips, sniffing them. Unlike him, she smelled extremely pleasant. Bulma giggled and playfully nipped his nose, before heading out, much to his confusion.

"Come follow me." She instructed.

Vegeta frowned at her a moment.

"Hey, it's rude to keep a lady waiting you know?!" She knit her eyebrows in a pretence of indignation.

The Prince brought a fist up, baring his teeth menacingly at her, before exhaling in surrender and grudgingly following along. Bulma's lips quirked up, as she led him towards the vanity. Vegeta's gaze was fixed on her voluptuous ass, his member hardening further, as she deliberately sashayed her curvaceous hips in a blatantly provocative manner.

Bulma whirled around as she reached the vanity and as expected, caught Vegeta scrutinizing her hips.

"Something catch your eye?" She taunted, smirking coquettishly at him.

"Shut up!" His faced abruptly turned several shades of crimson, as he averted his gaze. Damn her and her ostentatious wiles! She was always making a fool out of him! "Just do as you're bid!"

"Sure thing, you grouch!" Bulma rolled her eyes, before pulling out a new toothbrush, a toothpaste bottle and some oral rinse and subsequently running him through the whole wake up process. Vegeta exhaled and took a whiff of his own breath. It was so much better now! He'd never felt quite so refreshed ever before! He shook those thoughts away and headed back in the shower, to finish cleaning himself off.

A few seconds later the curtains slid open to once again reveal a naked Bulma, as she made her way inside.

"For God's sake, can you never leave me in peace?!" He snarled. "If I knew you'd be this bothersome, I would've just left you on Planet F-"

"Would you just calm down, Vegeta?!" She frowned in askance. "Quit being so uptight, you need to learn how to relax." The Prince glowered at her, as she leaned in and took a whiff of his chest, before wrinkling her nose.

"Eww, you didn't even use soap!"

"What the fuck is soap?!"

"You mean you don't know?!" Bulma squealed in absolute disbelief.

"Stop shouting in my damn face!" The Prince clasped his ears and shut his eyes.

"Man, this is ridiculous!" Bulma was dumbfounded. "You've got space ships, space pods, regeneration tanks and a multitude of other hardware that totally puts Earth's technology to shame, but you don't even know what soap is?!"

Vegeta paused a moment, before contemplating.

"Soap?" He mused audibly, before furrowing his brows at her. "If you're talking about cleaning gel, I didn't find any here."

"Oh that explains it." Bulma said, finally understanding. "You guys just call it something else. It's right here though." She headed over to the dispenser to the side of the shower.

Vegeta considered his options for a moment. He definitely reeked of sex and he wanted to rid himself of that stench, before taking off and so he followed her lead.

"Here, take a look." Bulma pressed the button on the dispenser and gathered a copious amount of the foamy substance into her other hand.

"I see."

She then headed his way.

"What're you doing?" He asked in a dubious tone, raising his hands defensively.

"Take it easy, I'm just gonna lather you up."

"I can do it myself!" He growled back. "Just go away, already!"

"Oh come on, you're no fun!" Bulma pouted her lips petulantly. Vegeta continued baring his teeth at her, until she took a sigh and rolled her eyes, thinking of a way to convince him, until an idea finally came to her. She didn't want to stroke his ego, but if it was the only way, then so be it. She looked him in the eye. "I agreed to serve you, Vegeta. That was part of our deal, remember?"

"What of it?"

"Well, let me serve, your highness." She smirked coquettishly, rubbing her soapy hands together. Vegeta felt heat sear through his body, as those words escaped her lips and he finally let out a huff, before nodding in approval. God! Could this lusty wench never leave him alone?! She was more trouble than she was worth!

"Perfect!" Bulma smiled as she headed his way and began sensually rubbing soap on those protruding pecs of his, loving how Vegeta unwittingly leaned against her touch. She made her way down to his hardened abs, before lathering up his sides, arms and hands, glancing at his pensive black eyes from time to time. The Prince, all the while, tried to pay as little heed to her as possible, instead contemplating on his next move.

'Without his scouters, it's unlikely Frieza will be able to track down the last dragon ball anytime soon.' He thought. 'Perhaps it would be wise if I collect it myself. Once I have two within my grasp, I just need to figure out a way to swipe the five balls he possesses. He's probably gathered them inside his ship. If that's so, I can sneak in and nab them before he even knows what's happened. He'll definitely see it coming though. If only there were some way to divert his attention elsewhere, but how?'

"Hey Vegeta." Bulma suddenly interrupted his thoughts, as she began to lather his back.

"What?!" The Prince growled.

"I was just wondering, are you really going to wish for immortality?"

The Saiyan frowned and tilted his head back to look at her.

"Yes, so what?!"

"Nothing, it's just-" Bulma stopped mid-sentence as she felt his dark eyes practically pierce her soul.

"What?! Tell me!" He demanded.

"I just-" She paused a moment, before considering her words. There was no way in hell she could give her plans away, lest he kill her on the spot! "I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Explain." He narrowed his eyes further, whirling around all the way to face her.

"It might not help, that's why." Bulma argued, furrowing her brows. "Give me a rough estimate, how much more powerful than you, is Frieza?"

The Prince brooded for a moment, before giving his answer.

"At the moment my power level is approximately twenty-five thousand, maybe twenty-seven at the very most." He responded. "Last I remember, Frieza sits at over five-hundred thousand."

Bulma's eyes widened in horror, her heart hammering so hard, it threatened to burst out of her chest.

"That's not all." Vegeta continued. "I don't know if there's any merit to it, but I've heard rumors that his true power level is somewhere in the millions."

Bulma's skin took on a sickly pallid hue and after a few tense moments of silence, the heiress finally spoke up.

"But- but if he's so m-much s-s-stronger than you, h-how will-"

"Reason's simple." Vegeta interjected. "If you must know, a Saiyan's strength soars after recovering from a fatal injury, which is why I'm more powerful now than I was on Earth."

Bulma nodded for him to continue.

"If I challenge Frieza as an immortal, each time he destroys this body, it will recover and my strength will take a huge leap, bringing him one step closer to his doom." He stated, smirking as he envisioned himself in all his glory. "Eventually I will have the power to ascend, to become the legendary Super Saiyan. Then I can obliterate that bastard."

"Super Saiyan?" Bulma asked, dumbfounded. "What's that?"

Vegeta huffed in exasperation. Why was he even explaining all this to her?! She could never learn her place and was far too nosy for her own good!

"Vegeta, tell me, this could be important." Bulma pled.

"Important?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow, confusedly. "How?"

"Just tell me what a Super Saiyan is first, I need to know."

"Fine!" The Prince relented and lengthily recounted the fable of the Super Saiyan, a legendary being with unprecedented powers that was unrivalled throughout the Universe and cleared away everything in his path, as he wreaked havoc upon planet after planet. Millions of stars were wiped away across the cosmos, only for the titanic being to eventually be consumed by such rage, that he ended up destroying himself too.

"Wow, insane." Bulma was breath-taken. So that's what Vegeta was striving for?

"So?"

"So- so what?"

"You said this could be important, how?!" Vegeta asked.

"Oh." Bulma cleared her head and thought for a moment, her face downcast. "Well, I was thinking, instead of wishing for immortality, why don't you just wish to become a Super Saiyan or whatever?"

"Why?"

"Well." She looked up at him, frowning disapprovingly. "If you're immortal, you won't be able to die. What's the point of that? Sure, it might be good for the first few hundred years, but what about after that? Everything and everyone will continue dying around you and you'll be stuck here, unable to pass on and probably wishing you could. Where does that leave you?"

Vegeta spent several moments contemplating her words. He'd never thought of it that from that particular point-of-view. The mere idea of being the omnipotent overlord of the Universe had surged his thirst for power to such a degree that he didn't take the time to consider such obvious downsides. She was right. He most certainly didn't want to turn his glory into a never-ending hell. The Prince let out an exhale, before nodding approvingly.

"Alright, I'll wish for the powers of a Super Saiyan instead."

Bulma smiled brightly at him, before she noticed his attention drawn elsewhere.

"What's that noise?" He asked.

Bulma soon picked up a whirring sound coming from the laundry.

"Oh, our clothes are washed and dried." She said. "I'll go get them, while you get cleaned up." She smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips, before heading out. That act was all it took for Vegeta's senses to fully re-awaken.

'What the fuck am I doing?!' He thought, beginning to feel unsettled as he took the time to assess her overtly familiar behavior towards him. 'She's making me go soft and develop some sort of attachment towards her!' He let out an angry snarl. 'She's a weak and frail Earthling, who should be kneeling before me, yet here she is behaving like some sort of consort! This cannot go any further!'

Yes, she was exquisite-looking and he respected her fiery-temper and there's no way he could deny the superlative pleasure she offered in bed, but he'd decided very long ago that he would not allow himself to fall into the trap of getting attached with anyone, lest they be used against him by his enemies, the way his- No! He didn't want to dwell on the past! No more! This would have to end here! It was bad enough that he couldn't kill her, but he was loath to allow her to alter his mindset, even to the smallest degree! He had to eliminate any regard he held towards her and be the cold-hearted and callous warrior he was born to be, Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans! With that in mind, the Prince quickly lathered his lower body up with soap and washed himself clean, before heading out of the shower.

XXXX

'Sorry Vegeta.' Bulma sighed in disheartenment, musing as she headed over to the laundry. 'As much as I want you to destroy Frieza, I really need that wish.'

Like her Saiyan lover, the heiress felt completely at odds with herself, more than ever before. Just how had the two of them reached this stage? The moment he'd declared war on Earth over a month ago, she and Vegeta had been sworn enemies and yet, somewhere along their journey together, he'd stolen her heart and that made it all the more difficult for her to have to betray him. One way or another, it was bound to happen though. It was either that or turn on her deceased friends and there's no way she could do that, not after they'd all died so chivalrously to protect the Earth! Their revival was of paramount importance! No matter what she chose, however, she knew she'd hate herself! Why, why her?! Why did fate have to curse her like this?!

If by some off-chance they did gather the seven dragon balls and she stole the wish from Vegeta, he'd most likely kill her. Then what? Would he head over to Earth and destroy it? Or would Frieza kill him before he had the chance? No matter what way she thought about it, she couldn't possibly envision even a semi-decent culmination to this whole mess.

'Unless.' She suddenly beamed as a thought hit her! It was simple: they could wish her friends at home back to life with Namek's dragon balls and since Piccolo and Kami would be revived, Earth's dragon balls could be used to turn Vegeta into a Super Saiyan! Better yet, since Goku was also a Saiyan and an extremely powerful one at that, they could use the wish on him too! That would double their chances against Frieza! Yes, that was the perfect idea and she'd be sure to run it by Vegeta! Even if he didn't agree now, she had plenty of time to persuade him otherwise and boy, she could be very, very persuasive! She smiled at that thought.

'Bulma Brief, you're a true genius!'

She quickly collected their garments from the washer-dryer duo and headed back to the bedroom, her face shining brightly with hope. She set the clothes down at the foot of the bed and made her way into the washroom. Just then Vegeta exited the shower and scowled, as he saw her.

"Hey Vege-"

"Where are my clothes?!" He demanded brusquely.

'What's up with him?!' Bulma thought, knitting her eyebrows in aggravation. Did he always have to be ticked off for no apparent reason? "They're near the bed."

Without paying her a glance, Vegeta was about to walk by her, only she stood in his way, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hey, I- uh- wanted to ask you something."

"What?!" He growled peevishly.

"It's about the dragon balls."

Vegeta frowned suspiciously at her and she bit her lip for a moment, before continuing.

"I just had an idea is all." She began, her heart racing in anticipation. "It's about my friends who died on Earth."

"What about them?" He asked in a low, distrustful tone. Surely, she wasn't suggesting-

"Well, if we collect the dragon balls and wish them back, Earth's dragon will come back to life and we can-"

"No!" He answered resolutely, narrowing his eyes further.

Bulma's heart lurched at his abrupt dismissal. She shook her head and gently placed a hand on shoulder.

"Look, I'm not asking you to decide now, just give it some-"

"I said no!" He snarled, batting her hand away, causing Bulma to shrink back. "Your weakling friends don't mean anything to me and neither do you!"

Bulma looked at him with a pained expression engrained on her countenance. He hadn't a clue how much those words stung her, but what was said afterwards, made them pale by comparison.

"You're a decent lay, nothing more." He stated in a low, heartless tone, his face and eyes completely void of emotion. Her heart wrenched as tears glistened her azure eyes. Was that really all she meant to him? "You're a whore."

Bulma froze as the tears now began cascading down her face in a torrent of pain and betrayal. If he'd stabbed her through the heart a thousand times over with an icicle, it wouldn't have hurt nearly as much as that cold and vile declaration. A wave of severe anguish like no other washed over her, only to be quickly replaced by unparalleled incandescence, as he continued looking at her with a masked expression of indifference. She clenched her teeth in fury and abruptly slapped him hard right across the face with far more strength than she could muster.

Vegeta was astounded, as his head was knocked sideways and he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek. She carried a lot more power than he'd ever have expected. He winced in pain as he touched the reddened area. Upon turning his head her way, he quickly realized that so immersed was he by the shock of it all that he hadn't noticed until now that she'd already left the washroom and slammed the door behind her. He snarled angrily, before sensing her Ki in the bedroom and heading her way.

The moment he entered the bedroom, Vegeta's heart dropped to his stomach, as he saw his little prisoner lying naked on her stomach, her face pressed against a pillow, as she bawled her eyes out. His lividity vanished away, as he was overcome by a feeling of disgust and self-loathing. This was the only person in the Universe that refused to back down before his might and refused to show weakness and now, by rejecting her, he'd destroyed her world. He'd reduced his fiery and assertive vixen into a sobbing and writhing mess! For the first time since his mother's untimely demise, someone had truly cared for him: a frail little human female whose life was reduced to cinders by his hand and yet, she'd overlooked his dark and malevolent nature. She'd accepted and embraced him, all the same and as ludicrous as it was, had even tried to convince him that he could be a better person. And now, he'd thrown it all back in her face!

Each tear that escaped her beautiful eyes, felt like acid searing the hardened flesh of his stony-heart. Now, for the first time in his life, he could taste the foul bitterness of remorse, eating him from the inside out and he hated it! He'd always hated himself for being too weak to rid himself of his enemies, for letting himself be enslaved and tortured by a madman all his life and now that hate had multiplied tenfold! He couldn't stand being here any longer! He was unable to stomach seeing her this way and so he quickly grabbed his armor, uniform and the dragon radar that lay on a table next to the bed, before changing and bolting away in search of the last dragon ball, all the while trying to rid himself of this damned feeling!

Curse her! Curse her for making him so weak and disoriented! He hated her! She'd truly become the bane of his existence! If only he'd killed her from the very beginning! But now it was too late! He thought that by breaking her, he'd finally regain the edge he needed to finish her off, but that just made everything worse! Much worse! He roared furiously, before turning up the speed as he headed towards the final dragon ball.

XXXX

Bulma felt regret, revulsion and desolation wrack her entire conscience, as she continued sobbing. As she sensed Vegeta leave, she paid a fleeting glance at his ebbing figure, momentarily overcome by surprise. She would've thought for sure he'd end her existence for daring to strike him, but he hadn't. Those thoughts vanished away, as the stinging pain of hurt and betrayal seeped their way back into her soul. Bulma clutched her pillow once again, as she continued to wail. She'd sold her soul to the devil! She'd handed herself over to a heartless demon that loathed her and used her for his own purposes, the same demon that had murdered her dearest friends! She began crying out even louder!

'Yamcha, I'm sorry!' A fresh surge of anguish and despair attacked her. 'I'm so sorry!'

She had the sweetest and nicest man the Universe could ever give her and had taken him for granted, constantly manipulating him at every turn by using his weakness for her to her advantage, only to end up betraying him and all her friends as she'd twice given away her body and spirit to the cold-blooded beast responsible for their demise. She'd even thought she loved that Saiyan fiend, no she truly had loved him, if only for a brief interval and now she abhorred herself more than ever, as an ocean of tears escaped her eyelids!

Bulma felt empty, soulless and cursed! There was only one thing she could do, only one way she could truly redeem herself: by wishing back all those that had perished at the cruel hands of the insensitive bastard she'd slept with! If she met her end then so be it! At least she'd die knowing she'd done something right! Nothing else mattered! She sighed dejectedly against her pillow, her tears slowing down, but still continuing to flow, as she turned her face sideways and stared aimlessly at the wall, her heart aching with unbridled pain and remorse.