Things were beginning to brighten on R’haksin.

Despite the obvious feelings of apprehension that lingered in both Bulma and Vegeta’s minds, Bulma had the feeling that they were beginning the long journey down the road to a definite improvement in their relationship.

She sat back against the cool side of the ship and smiled to herself. Ever since yesterday, when she had awoken at Strifelon’s and kissed Vegeta, she had been feeling extraordinarily healthy. It was very strange that she did, considering the fact that only one night ago she had begged to be put out of her misery. Now, she felt ashamed with herself, and felt stupid that she had been so selfish.

The weather seemed to have changed overnight. Now, the sky had turned from its dreary dark red to a light pink, and the air was humid and warm. Ahead of her, most of R’haksin still lay in shambles from the storm, but a number of Storkrin’s had taken the liberty of cleaning up after their Planet’s mess. Bulma had jumped at the chance to get some color in her legs and arms; Fortricres was making her pale and sickly looking. Now, she sat outside, surrounded by Spider, his brothers and sisters, and Ghost, who was asleep in the crook of her neck. She was expecting Vegeta at any second; they were going to chance another trip to see Koru. It had been days since she had, and it was making Bulma feel guilty. Beside her, Spider sniffed eagerly at the small basket of food and drinks that Bulma had prepared on a whim for her imprisoned friend.

The subject of Koru remained strong in Bulma’s thoughts. It always played on her conscience, but she was afraid to confront Vegeta about it, especially now that they had finally seemed to overstep their boundaries and come closer to each other. She didn’t pretend to know that being in a relationship with Vegeta was going to be easy. She knew it was going to be terribly hard, if not impossible. She smiled, feeling the warmth of the planet bathe her face. But that wouldn’t bother her, not now, not when she had gotten this close.

She looked over at Spider and his brothers and sisters. Each and every one was getting bigger by the day, even though Spider grew at faster rate than they did. Ghost remained the same size, although his fur was darkening to an almost black shade. She smiled and reached up to ruffle his ears. His tiny body stirred but did not awaken.

"You ready?"

She spun around to see Vegeta standing behind her. She hadn’t heard him creep up. She smiled and stood, Ghost finally awakening and slipping with a startled chirp into her expectant arms. With an angry grunt he was satisfied to jump down and walk beside her.

"Yes." She said. "I’m really looking forward to seeing Koru. I’ve missed her."

"Yes, well," Vegeta paused, looking uneasy. "There’s something about this trip that I don’t quite like."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I don’t have to explain myself to you." He replied testily. Instead of yelling at him as her usual reaction, Bulma walked over to him and embraced him with a warm hug. "What?" she said innocently. "It’s a beautiful day, we’re together…nothing could go wrong."

"Don’t." he shrugged her away. Something was obviously troubling him enough to make him this testy. Although, and Bulma knew this well, Vegeta was always testy. She stepped away from him and looked curiously into his face, which was partly blinded by the sun.

"What?" she asked softly.

Instead of answering her he bent at the waist and retrieved the basket of food seconds before it was snatched away by the increasingly brave Spider. Bulma sighed. Why were getting answers out of him so difficult?

"Let’s get this over with." He said. "Come on."

As Bulma fell into step beside him, she found herself paying attention to little details that she normally wouldn’t have. She inspected his strong jaw line, his stubble (which she found strangely sexy) and noticed the way his hands hung by his sides as he walked. She found her eyes especially appreciative of the fact that he was wearing his white dress shirt, unbuttoned half the way down. She was becoming more and more attached to this enigma of a man, and she knew it; a part of her brain screamed DANGER at her every chance it got. She sighed and took his arm in her own, ignoring the startled look on his face. Why should she be in danger? Vegeta wouldn’t hurt her. She had proven that to the both of them with her own self pity.

As they walked, she remembered when she had asked him if he was going to make love to her. She remembered it with vivid detail. She hadn’t even given him a chance to say anything; she had been to wrapped up in her own embarrassment. She wondered what he would have said if she had not silenced him.

She noticed him gazing at her. She lifted a hand against the sun and looked up at him, stepping carefully around overturned logs and small rocks. "What?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." He replied. Ahead of them, Spider was chasing some small, terrified animal through the underbrush.

"It’s nothing." Bulma looked quickly away. As always, whenever she thought such thoughts, she felt that nagging, insistent heat in her thighs that begged to be tended to.

"I get shit for not answering you." He shot back.

"Fine!" she barked. She’d kissed him, slept beside him, been in the bathtub with him…so why couldn’t she admit one dirty little thought? "I’m ashamed with myself for thinking such thoughts about you right now." She confessed. "After what I did to you…and especially considering the predicament we’re in."

Vegeta’s demonic smirk spread, only increasing her desire for him. Oh, Kami, why did she have to be such a sucker for the bad boy types?

"Oh?" he stopped in the middle of the trail. "What thoughts would these be? Do tell." He set the basket down, a bit too hard for Bulma’s liking, and lightly fingered the exposed flesh of her collarbone. She heated.

"I don’t have to explain myself to you, either." She said smugly. She tried to remain calm and collected in his arms, but the closeness of his bare chest was too much. She shifted uncomfortably, trying to ease the rising heat in her crotch.

"I’m curious…" Vegeta moved closer to her. Their chests were now touching, and Vegeta privately reveled in the sensation of her pert breasts rubbing through the thin fabric against his own skin. He wanted desperately to tear the cumbersome shirt off and force her to the ground, but he couldn’t do that. Not here, and not now.

He would have his fun, though.

Bulma tried to back away but she couldn’t. His thigh brushed hers and she felt the brief contact of his insanely hard member brush against her. "They’re…just thoughts…" she complained, wanting him to ravage her until she couldn’t walk for a week.

Vegeta nudged her nose with his own, his fingers deftly brushing hair from her neck. His warm tongue darted out and wet her lips with his kiss, softly enough to entice her for more. She moaned softly and leaned into him, returning the kiss shyly.

"What kind of thoughts…?" Vegeta murmured. He pressed himself against her, letting the feel of his hardness press fully into her belly. This time his tongue parted her lips and warred briefly with her own. Their breathing was increasingly rapid as it exhaled through their noses, mingling together as they fought to get closer. Somewhere in the middle of it, Bulma managed to wrap her leg around him, and had somehow allowed him to grab her wrists and press them up against the tree he had backed her into. Her head spun as Vegeta’s slick, hot tongue flicked at her neck as he chuckled, tickling her skin, his fingers pulling down on the fabric that held her breasts. She felt the fabric slip, felt her breasts freed, and then whimpered in pure ecstasy as his lips suckled gently at her nipples. She bucked her hips against his, wanting him inside of her so terribly bad. Vegeta exhaled loudly and suddenly as her hand slipped between them and grasped him firmly in one hand. She pushed him against her crotch, panting into the crook of his neck.

With an effort, Vegeta pulled himself away from her, and, still holding her wrists above her head, stared intently at her with lust filled eyes. "Woman…" his voice was thick and husky, "I swear on every bit of honor and pride that I have inside of me, that I will have you tonight." He pinched one of her nipples between his finger, and then slid his hand down to suggestively brush against her crotch. "Not now…but tonight." He smirked.

Bulma whimpered, pleadingly, not the least bit ashamed at having been reduced to near begging. "Now…" she complained, leaning forward to kiss him. "Now…please…"

Vegeta just about lost it. But he managed, with a supreme effort, to tear himself away. He looked longingly at her for a second before turning back to retrieve the basket of food.

"Tonight." He said, over his shoulder. "I’ll make you scream."

* * *

The Dungeons were warm today.

Koru lay on her side, trying to soak up the tiny ray of sunlight that fell across her cell floor. She stared blankly ahead and chewed slowly on the bitter vine that she held in her claws. Breakfast was always the same as lunch and dinner; she hated all three of them.

Yet she had to eat the vine in order to stay alive. It may have been the same thing for years, but her taste had becomes so accustomed to it that she hardly even knew she was eating in anymore. She craved the daring, exotic food of the Storkrins. She remembered well the food that Bulma had brought her from the festival.

Koru longed for Bulma’s company. It had been the only company she had had in the long years of living down here. No one spoke to her. No one could. The other females were mute; products of some of the more ‘unpleasant’ Storkrin’s cruelty. Being who she was, Koru had been left mostly undamaged for her part. It was the only thing she valued herself for….her tribal status.

It had spared her many things.

She assumed that now, most of the females were either dead or very close to death. She could never see the other cells across from her except for in the mornings when the tiny rays of sun would somehow sneak their way through cracks and down passages to light them up. This was the reason she hated breakfast the most…but she had learned not to look. It made the vines go down easier.

Now her pointed ears perked up as she heard the familiar sound of footsteps on the long spiral of marble staircase. She rolled defensively into the back of her cell, forgetting all previous thoughts. She lifted her nose to the air and sniffed delicately. She relaxed. It was Bulma…and…she sniffed some more. A Roctorn. And a Sayajin.

Spider and Vegeta. Had that been their names?

The aqua hair came into view, tiny patches and slits of the sunlight accenting its healthy shine. Bulma smiled. She was holding a basket, which Koru could already tell was holding food. Her mouth watered.

"Koru!" Bulma ran to the cell, taking the massive woman’s hands through the bars. "I’m sorry I waited so long to see you."

Koru smiled back. Behind Bulma, the dark form of the Sayajin held back in the shadows. She ignored him.

"How are you?" Koru looked her over quickly. "Are you faring well?"

Bulma smiled quickly. "Never mind me. I brought you food." She opened the basket and pulled out random items so that she could pass them to her through the bars. "Although…this is Human food. I don’t know if you’ll like it."

Koru took and inspected the small block of soft, orange material. She sniffed it, then took a small bite from the corner.

"It’s cheese." Bulma said. "Cheddar."

"Cheddar?" Koru repeated around a rather large mouthful. She liked the cheese.

Spider padded up to Bulma’s side and plopped down beside her. Ghost chirped, startled, and then snuggled into the big animal’s side. Bulma grinned at the two of them. "They’re getting much friendlier. Spider doesn’t torment poor Ghost anymore."

Koru smiled back, licking her lips. She had finished the cheese, regretfully, and wanted more. She looked hopefully at the basket. "Hey, little guy." She extended a hand. Ghost chirped and ran to it, nuzzling her fingers. She giggled again.

"Did you miss me?" she ruffled his ears. "Bulma better not let you stay with me anymore. You’ll just get lost again." She looked past Bulma’s shoulder at Vegeta, who was walking away from the two of them.

"Hey!" she barked. He didn’t stop. "What are you doing?"

Vegeta paused in front of a cell, where a small scampering noise was heard. He stared into the darkness, then leaned back, his hands in his pockets. He glared at her.

"There are other women down here." He announced. "Do you just ignore them?"

"They are mute." Koru said quietly. "And sickly."

"You are sickly. Would you not have us bring food to them as well?"

Vegeta stared through the iron bars at the small Storkrin woman who blinked back at him dumbly, as though there were no thoughts left in her head. Her hands clutched a small object to her chest, and her scaled skin was stretched taunt across her bones. She looked like a bloody skeleton.

"Are you mute?" He asked her quietly. She blinked at him some more, but said nothing in return. Whenever he moved, she would move back further.

Koru sighed. She was beginning to remember horrible memories. Things better left buried. She glared at the Prince’s back, and Bulma remained silent. "Most of us down here are dead." She said quietly. "I do not know of half of the prisoners down here. The Dungeons stretch for miles. It’s our burial grounds; a place we were shoved deep inside years ago to be forgotten."

"I know the story." Vegeta said.

Something deep inside Koru snapped. "You don’t know shit!" she cried, lunging against the bars. "So don’t pretend you know how I felt that day! Because you have no idea!!"

Bulma looked curiously at her friend through the fading light. "What day?" she asked quietly. "Koru…?"

Koru looked up at her with a sad expression. "The day they took my sister and I down here."

* * *

Koru stared at her mother’s face, drawn tight with fear. She tried to make sense of what she had said, but she couldn’t manage. Fortricres…not her. She couldn’t be! She was the De’lkili. The most important tribal status for Storkrin females. She had so much more to do...

She took her mothers hands in her own, ignoring the way she flinched when she did. "There is a cure!" she said frantically. "Treskor will know of a cure!" around the two of them, where they stood in a semi-circle of serious looking Storkrins, she could hear angry grunts.

"No." Her mother said softly. "Not for you. There are many infected. They will take you from me." She looked down at her hands. "Do you remember the great hole Treskor and his men dug?" she smiled with frightening detachment. "It is for you. And your sister."

"NO!!" Koru screamed. "Mother, Treskor would never do such a thing! He loves me! I am important!" she lunged at her. "I am the De’lkili!"

Her mother stepped away from her, holding hands imploringly up. "Please…understand, my daughter. You cannot be here. You cannot infect us. Treskor will not kill you. You will be shut away."

"MOTHER!!"

Behind her, it took five Storkrin men to hold her panic back. She struggled against them, refusing to go wherever it was they would take her without a struggle. Her head whirled, trying to catch sight of her beloved. She caught him, his beady eyes in the crowd, but he shrank from her gaze. "TRESKOR!" she screamed, her face breaking into a smile. He would stop this. He would not let them take her away. She was their female matriarch. They would be lost without her.

"TRESKOR!?" she dug strong heels into the ground and pushed away from the men, breaking free for only a second, running to Treskor. But she lost sight of him, temporarily, only to have him grab her from behind. She gasped with relief and went to turn in his arms, but he held her, his massive bulk stopping her from moving even an inch. A shadow of betrayal crossed her thoughts and she opened eyes wide.

"Treskor…?" she whispered. "No…"

"You are infected." He hissed, lowering a once sultry and loving voice into her ear. Now, it was changed. It was cold. "I cannot have you infecting any othersss."

"No…no…NO!!!!!!" with startling force, Koru hunched her shoulders forward and broke free of his grip. She ran instantly, pushing through the crowd who jumped away from her as though she was vermin. No one stopped her…no one wanted to touch what had already killed hundreds.

But, within seconds, Treskor slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground. She struggled to clear the soil from her nostrils but it was no use; he grabbed her head with a giant clawed hand and slammed it down into the dirt, while seven others encircled her, each grabbing a limb and holding it securely.

"Do not get too clossse." Treskor warned. "Come. Take her to the transssport vehiclesss."

The person she found herself thrown against in the back of the giant, steel monster was her sister. Small timid hands sought her out in the darkness of their confinement and they embraced each other, holding onto one another when they had nothing else to do. Tears streamed down her sisters face and spilled onto Koru’s chest. But only anger filled Koru. And shock.

Beneath them, the vibration of the vehicle shook to life. It jumped, bumped around, and lunged forward down a dark, R’haksin road. Koru’s mind raced. Betrayed. By her own mother…and her lover who she had trusted with her life. Numbness crept into her, and she was no longer able to comfort the trembling girl in her arms. Jona was only four years old. It wasn’t fair…

Their ride was a long one. Koru could tell, through the fleeting glimpses of the outside through the windows, that they were nearing the great excavation site that Koru had accompanied Treskor to. It made her sick; now, to think that he had been building her very prison and she had not known. No…instead, she had kissed him and congratulated him on his efforts. She wanted to throw up…

"Koru…?" Jona whispered from under her chin. Koru looked down, slowly, as if not comprehending quite why she was here. "Where’s mommy? Are we going on a trip?"

"Yes…" Koru whispered back, to numb to say anything intelligent. "We’re going away for a while, but Mommy can’t come. It’s sort of like a game, Jona. But you have to be brave to play." She stroked the little girl’s face, wiping away the big, fat tears that caught in her fingers. "Can you be brave for me?"

Jona nodded. "Uh huh." She said. " I can." She lifted her little chin.

"Good girl." Koru said, pulling her tightly against her. "You’re a very good girl."

Behind them, there were seventeen more of the Storkrin transport vehicles, carrying exactly 2000 Storkrin females. The vehicles jolted and lunged sharply around as they drove over logs and anything else in their path. Rain, thick and suffocating, clouded the skies and pelted the tin roofs of the vehicles, sounding much like small pebbles. The sound snapped Koru out of her temporary shock and jump-started her quick mind into thinking of a plan.

"Will I win?" Jona interrupted her thoughts. Koru looked down at her little sister, her eyes tearing. She actually thinks it’s a game.

"If you remember to be brave and wait for me." Koru said, her mind racing frantically.

"Where will you be?"

"I might…have to be gone for a while. But only a little while, all right? Mommy might find you before me. But one of us will find you. And soon…you just have to wait. And be brave. Can you do that?" she smiled for her. "You’ll win, if you’re extra brave."

"’Kay." Jona said softly, nestling back into Koru’s chest.

Koru let the tears fall.

* * *

They had stopped.

The doors to the vehicles were yanked open, roughly, and hundreds of strong hands were reaching for them within seconds. Claws tore at their cloaks and grabbed at ankles. Jona was easily pulled away, but Koru caught her with one hand as she fought off a barrage of others. With a violent force she tore her crying, nearly hysterical sister from the Storkrin’s arms, crushing her protectively to her chest. She wrapped her tightly and hunched over, defending her with deadly intent.

"Give it up!" An angry Storkrin hissed. Sharp claws tore across her back, and she cried out sharply. "Give the girl to usss."

"NO!" Koru screamed defiantly. She bent over Jona, surrendering herself to the vicious attack that dealt blows to her unprotected head and back. She took them silently, biting her lip, letting her tears spill onto Jona’s upturned face. "Koru!" she cried. "Koru, I don’t like this game anymore!"

And then, out of nowhere, Treskor appeared, brushing away the swarming Storkrins that tore at her. They backed away and she slowly raised her head, cautiously, staring him down. He ignored her and focused falsely friendly eyes on Jona. "Jona." He said quietly. "It isss all right, now." He slowly extended his arms. "Come here."

Jona raised her head, saw Treskor, and made the instant connection. She smiled; happy to be rescued, and wiggled out of Koru’s now relaxed arms with childish ease. "Treskor!" she crawled frantically to him. "Take me and Koru home, now, ‘kay?"

"Don’t. You. Dare." Koru whispered with venom. Jona turned, not understanding her sister’s cause for anger. "We can go back now, Koru!"

"No, Jona." Koru shook her head. "Come back over here."

"No." Jona said, snuggling into Treskors arms. He regarded her coldly. "Ssshe wissshesss to ssstay with me." He said, his lips turning up in a cruel sneer.

"JONA!" Koru barked. Her sister flinched. "Treskor isn’t my friend anymore. He’s a bad man. He’ll take you away from me, Jona." She held out her arms. "Please, Jona, come back here. Now."

Jona looked imploringly up at Treskor; the very man she had played with and received gifts from on many an occasion, and didn’t understand. "Treskor isn’t bad. Are you?" she giggled. "Koru’s silly."

Tears ran down Koru’s face. "Please…" she whispered. "Jona…?"

The two stared at each other for a fleeting second before Treskor turned abruptly away. "Take her." He ordered, and the swarm returned. Koru fought savagely to get to Jona, who now was suddenly afraid, and wanted back into the comfort of her sister’s arms. The swarm overcame Koru, and she was carried roughly from the vehicle, listening to her sister’s screams as they were drowned out by the many hundreds of Storkrin males.

Koru fought, and she fought hard, but there was going to be no getting to Jona, not with as many Storkrin’s as there were surrounding her. Dozens of hands groped at her, hefting her weight over their heads. They formed a sort of walking net beneath her, and carried her, struggling, across the red earth to the great pit ahead of them.

Her prison.

Rain pelted her face in sharp, pebble-like drops. She was carried to the edge of a great marble entrance, where she was put abruptly onto the ground and roughly bound, gagged, and restrained. Beside her, Treskor stood, holding Jona, whispering things she could not hear in her ear. "You and your sssissster are evil, Jona. You mussst be punnissshed."

Koru was yanked to her knees. She wanted so badly to be able to tear the filthy gag from her mouth and tell her sister it wasn’t true. Jona’s eyes had become gargantuan, teary saucers of fear as she watched her sister being held at gunpoint. A Storkrin laser was pressed violently into the small of her back. "Get going." A voice hissed in her ear. "We are following a tight ssschedule."

With angry hands at her back, Koru was shoved blindly into the darkness in front of her. Her feet touched stone and she scrambled to keep her footing on the narrow stairs as the Storkrin’s forced her down. Only now did she notice how most stood a fair distance from her, and how the one’s touching her wore gloves over their clawed hands. She felt dirty, like she was some diseased creature. With a sinking feeling, she supposed she was.

They reached the bottom of the stairs after a few moments and small, overhanging vine’s slapped against Koru’s unprotected face, startling her. The Storkrin males laughed with cruel humor, and then, with one final heave, threw into damp, smelling cell. She landed on her knees; her hands slipping in what she assumed to be moss. She turned just in time to see Treskor hand Jona to another Storkrin, who marched off immediately with her.

"KORU!!" Jona wailed, her voice rising above the roar of Storkrin voices with a fierce determination. She held her little arms out and struggled uselessly against the one who held her. Then, before she could even get a word in, she was pulled into the shadows and was lost around the corner. She heard the clanging of a cell shutting, and the tiny hiccuping noises of her crying, terrified sister.

Treskor marched with cold intent into the cell, his cocky and uncaring demeanor only furthering her rage. Kneeling beside her, he took her ankle roughly in his hand and clamped a giant, heavy vice around it. She noticed that it was chained to the ground a foot or so behind her. She was very restrained in her movement, and she noticed with dread how tight the iron clasp was around her thick ankle. She felt her eyes tearing up again, but looked away, refusing to give him any satisfaction out of this sick game.

He rose, taking the gag out with one swift motion. He looked as though he was waiting for her to yell and scream and rage at him, but she remained silent for a good moment. Then she spoke.

"I want my sister."

Treskor shook his head. He stepped out of the cell and slammed a row of iron bars in place. A quick assessment by Koru confirmed the fact that she would not be able to break free of them. She narrowed her eyes and strengthened her voice, lifting her chin bravely.

"I said, I want my sister."

But he was already walking away. She felt useless in her protests; he would not listen. Sinking back into the darkness against the wall, she listened with great suffering to a sound that would remain burned into her memory for a very long time…

Her sisters crying.

* * *

Koru finally lifted her face and looked back at Bulma’s, her face drawn tight with shock and streaming with unrestrained tears. Bulma didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know what to do. She only knew that now, she hated every single Storkrin except Koru, Onyx and Strifelon that she had ever met.

"I knew she was alive, because we called back and forth for days." Koru said softly, drawing in a shaking breath. "I calmed her down, and we talked about how we would escape. Then…then one day...she didn’t answer me when I called her."

Bulma looked away, covering her hand with her mouth. How could someone be this cruel? It made her sick, when she looked beside her at the cold face of Vegeta, to know that he had once been as ruthless and murderous. But the look on his face now was one of genuine sympathy. She had been waiting, the entire story, for Vegeta to interrupt with some cruel remark or cutting comment. But he hadn’t. She reached out and impulsively took his hand.

"Koru…I’m so sorry." She swallowed against the lump in her throat. "I’ve had enough of this. Vegeta and I will get you out."

Koru took her hand and shook her head. "No, Bulma." She said quickly, obviously struggling with her words. "I…it’s hard to explain." She looked at Vegeta. "It’s something you would just make fun of."

"I think you’d be surprised." Vegeta said quietly.

"I…I just…" Koru looked down at her folded hands. "I want to be with Jona. Down here…I’d feel like I was betraying her, if I left. I know she’s dead…but…I just know, somehow, that she rests easier knowing I haven’t left her yet. I won’t leave her." She said with a note of finality. "I swore I wouldn’t." she looked up at the two of them. "And…for another, it would cause a number of unsolvable problems for you two. I wouldn’t know how to act, what to say…" she trailed off. "I’ve almost…made this cell my home. I know it sounds sick, but it’s true, in a way."

Bulma nodded. "I understand, Koru. I…have an idea, however."