A/N: Hello peeps! You might remember this story as "Full Moon Shining Upon them".I wrote it a few years back and I thought that now that I was picking it back up - and since it was ONLY three chapters...I thought it could use a re-write before I add more chapters. It's been so long that, it'll help me get back into the flow, see whee I'm going - and yea. It's just easier all around!so I re-wrote (no, I didn't go through each chapter, deleting words, I actually re-typed the whole thing, differently).

Enjoy.

The Prince and The Scientist

Part 1

Blackness swallowed the sky whole while the impeccable carmine ground was disturbed by a single foot dressed in a long white boot. Stars no longer illuminated the skyline or the vast horizon of the universe as more and more worlds vanished from existence. The heel of the foot dug further into the soil, denting it with each footsteps that was taken. Another foot followed and soon enough there was a trail of footsteps. Onyx eyes flickered in the night, observing, hunting, waiting. To a mere fool, this planet would be assumed to be lifeless, void of any form of life that could speak or breed - but he was not a mere fool. He knew of the people who lurked in the shadows and lived and trembled in fear. People who wasted their time consuming unnecessary goods, relishing in the treasures they could not keep.

His people were different.

Possessions, desires; they were trivial. The need for violence ran through their blood; they wanted to take everything, they wanted to vanquish all that lived. A good fight sent their blood pumping and their pride pumping. That and food. As long as the needs for blood and food were satisfied, saiyans were pleased. In theory anyway.

An important aspect of their lives had been transformed during recent years.

In all logistic, those needs were currently being filled but - as a saiyan he was receiving no fulfillment out of them. The most important trait of a saiyan was his pride and something was attempting to eradicate the saiyan pride - actually all the saiyans together. A ruthless monster, a lizard from the deepest part of space; Frieza. They tried to break him, they tried to rip his useless little tail from his body but he crushed them as though they were nothing. A race of powerful, ruthless overtaker warriors, and they were taken like they were nothing. But oh they remained quite valuable and that led them to being spared - as long as they bent to his will and obeyed his every commands like trained monkeys.

They did what he asked and in exchanged, they lived.

No one wanted to die squish to death. They wanted to die on the battlefield and this way - that goal was still attainable. There was no honor in being killed like an ant. They refused to coward. They fought - or they fought.

There was no other choice.

Hope was extinguish and most resigned themselves to the new fate that was presented to them. He did not. There was, buried somewhere in old books, a legend, one that could dethrone the vile lizard. Supersaiyan. A saiyan who lived long ago, who had managed to unlock a level of power that was unheard of - one that made him unbeatable. It was but a mere legend, a whisper left hanging around the streets but he believed it. The reason behind his confidence was simple; he would be the next one to achieve that level.

He would be the next supersaiyan.

It lived through him, through his blood. He was after all, Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans. His father, the King, might have failed but he would not be repeating the same mistakes; the power would be his.

The day the lizard landed on their planet was the day his life was transformed. His entire life became about training - except when he was sent on purge missions. However, they provided some fort of training as well, and he found them acceptable. Why should anyone live while his people were treated like slaves? If he had to kill every single entity in the world to achieve his goal, he would. Their lives meant nothing to him. From the moment he woke in the morning, when the sun was barely cracking the horizon, until he passed out of exhausting, he trained. His body had taken a toll, and his growth had stunted a bit but the sacrifices were worth it; he did not need height, he needed strength. Leisure was not a word he knew; he needed to save his world. Once he would reach the status of supersaiyan, he would vanquish Frieza and they would follow him as he would become the strongest being in the universe.

For the time being, his entire life was a lie. He had to swallow his pride, hold his tongue, and pretend to be obedient to the disgusting lizard. Either he killed someone or he martyred his own body. There was no escape, no second choice.

As prideful as he was, he was not daft.

He made progress, his ki grew exponentially - but it was not sufficient. Each time he grew stronger, so did Frieza. If he wanted to surpass him, he had to get stronger faster. If not, his dream would be nothing more than that - a dream. A futile one. And so, he searched for a solution - and found one.

During many years they scouted the universe, searching every corner, every planet - no matter how weak - in the hopes of finding one useless race that could offer them what he desperately sought. Nearly all attempts turned out to be a failure - except this one.

At least he hoped so.

If those morons had forced him to take these risks without a reward, he would slit their throats.

Communication was rather difficult at the moment since Frieza loved to watch their every move. Of course, this little meeting could not possibly happen on Vegeta-sei. Instead, Vegeta took a little detour as he returned home from purging yet another world. He was meeting this scientist on his home planet. He could not let someone else make this decision for him. Vegeta had observed and murdered his share of so-called scientists in the past - he was not above doing it again. He could spot the liars, the useless and the morons from miles away. This one would be no different. Where the situation complicated itself was if indeed, he was worth something. If Frieza found out about it, Vegeta had no doubts that he would inhalite their world. He had to be discreet and he could not afford to leave a trail.

But he would get to that if this scientist was worth his time.

All he needed was someone useful he could hold in the palm of his hands. Usually it was not too difficult; those weak races reacted well when you threatened the fate of their entire world. One little blackmail and they would drop to their knees, ready to worship him.

As he finally reached his destination - a meagre forest - Nappa was there to greet him. He towered over him with his height, his lack of hair strikingly noticeable besides Vegeta's imposing mane. He kneeled in front of his Prince and Vegeta gestured him up with the wave of the hand.

"Make it quick." Frieza would notice he was off course if he took too long. At least the lizard barely spent any time on their home planet.

Nappa stroke his moustache, trying to hide the faint scent of fear that coated his body. Despite the fact that he had helped raise the Prince, he still had yet to figure out how to talk to him without infuriating him. "Well, you see. There's a bit of a problem with the scientist." He winced as he watched Vegeta's expression shift. "She's feisty."

She? It was the first time they brought him a female scientist. His elite saiyan was telling him that a whole group of saiyan could not handle a mere she? Maybe if she had been saiyan but… "What is this planet?"

"Earth."

He had never heard of it which already answered one question for him; they were weaklings. To confirm his theory, he snatched a folder that Nappa was keeping tucked away beneath his arm. He assumed it contained information about those earthlings. He let his eyes travel over the sheets, quickly flipping them over one after the other. Their ki was not even worth mentioning. How in the world did she get the upper hand on them? Pathetic. Why was he surrounded by idiots?

"What do we know about her?"

Nappa shrugged. "We visited Earth on a whim. We went to this planet and they had these trainings bots. She and her father made them." At first they did not think much of them but after a lengthy investigation of their home and their invention, they decided that they had some potential.

"Her father? Her father was there and you took her?" Surely an old man was easier to transport that this apparently feisty woman. Elders tended to be easier to control than the youngsters.

"About that - we tried."

"And?"

"And his daughter came barging in, sceeching that her father was not to go in space. He shouldn't risk his life to work for some ruthless monkeys." He cleared his throat. "Her words." In his humble opinion, the best thing would have been to snap her neck on the spot. However, he had not wanted to risk endangering the potential they had discovered and instead he maintained his self-control. But, if Vegeta decided that she was not worth it, he would snap her neck for her insolence.

"And she came with you?" he asked with an arched eyebrow. She sounded like a loud mouth but he did not understand why that meant they could not control her.

"You know, we threatened to snap her father's neck - to blow up their planet." It was quite easy to get people to say yes when you held the fate of their loved ones in the palm of your hand. He did miss that rush of power. Frieza was controlling them too much, clipping their wings.

"Is she as good as the old man?"

"He assured us that she was better than him."

There was only one aspect left; he had to inspect her himself. It was time to see if her father's claims were true. He moved pass Nappa and headed towards three guards that were forming a circle around someone who had a ki of 13. He assumed it was her. He could feel the guards twitching; they were dying to kill her. After all, it was saiyan instincts; if someone did not bend to their will, they killed them. Once he was near, they cleared themselves out of the way, revealing the prize from Earth. The woman was sprawled on the ground, strange aqua blue hair covering her eyes. Once his feet reached her field of vision, she tilted her head upwards. Cerulean eyes stared at him, fury twinkling in them as she glared him down. Her ridiculous hair was tangled - which he assumed came from her fighting the guards every step of the way. It appeared that she also learned her lesson; there was a purple bruise coloring her left cheek while a deep cut on her upper lip was still spurting blood. At least they had gotten a few shots in.

He knew her glare was meant to be imposing but he simply found it foolish.

"Prince Vegeta, her name is Bulma she-"

But he never let the guard finish. Instead, he dismissed him with a wave of the hand. Honestly, he did not give a fuck about her. The essence of his interest in her was solely based on what she could do - not who she was. He closed the distance between them, his onyx eyes narrowing as he observed her. If it were not for her exotic hair and eye color, the basic anatomy of her body resembled that of a saiyan - and it was far from being a statement he could make without great shame and disgust. Despite the bile that rose up his throat at the thought, he had to admit it could be useful if they had to sneak her in. She could be easily disguised.

There was something in those blue orbs of hers; an urge. If she had possessed the power to do so, she would have rip his throat apart. He could see the strained of her jaw as she bite her tongue to hold herself back. All the other scientists were shaking like leaves, begging for their lives. They were cowards. Surprisingly, she was the opposite and in a weird twist of fate, she was the weakest of them all, the one with the most to fear. Then again, feeble creatures were oh so often idiots. She was not brilliant enough to know she should be fearing for her own life. He finally looked away from her as he was left with mixed emotions. Her attitude displeased him because she showed a great lack of respect but at the same time, she believed in her skills. She thought she was good enough to be kept alive.

"What was the deal?" he asked to no one in particular.

A short hair saiyan moved forward, a smirk on his face. "She does as she is told and we do not destroy her planet."

Another lie. It was what they said to get them to come aboard, but it was nothing more than mere lies. If she failed, her planet would perish. If she succeeded, it would perish as well. He could not leave a trail behind. What if someone used the knowledge to reproduce his results? That would not serve him. In either cases, this planet would blow up but if the idiot found some comfort in the lie… it would only make the job easier.

As he looked at Nappa, he could feel her frustration rising; he could ask her these questions directly but it was much more enjoyable to watch her squirm. The less he referred to her, the less important she would realize she was. To him, she would be nothing more than slave building the machine he needed to achieve his goal. He had seen some scribbles in the folder that talked of a gravity machine. He wanted to know more.

"Show me," he demanded, referring to her work. He wanted to see the actual work or at least blue prints and plans.

As he backed away from her, she realized he was still not addressing her. Bulma felt her blood boil and she nearly let her tongue slip; it had taken everything she had to not spit in his face. He had taken no account of her as though she was completely invisible. He was lucky they were still in near distance of her family and her home or she would have taken a swing at him. Then again, his display of rudeness was hardly a surprise after what his people did to her home. What kind of useless, impolite, savage apes barged into people's home and demanded whatever they wanted - threatening to blow up a whole planet if they did not get their way?

Savages.

They had even proven their threat by blowing a third of the city away! At that point, she had begun picking her words a bit more carefully but it was already too late; she was fuming. She did not follow them because she wanted to but because despite her rage, she understood it was her only option. Especially considering that it was her father they wished to take in the first place. She was a much better choice than he was; the years had rendered him soft and he was too old to be under such a leve lof stress. She could do the same thing for them as he could - except she could handle herself better. Then again, she had not missed the disgusting, perverted looks those monkeys had been given her. Perhaps the word safety was no longer something that existed for her. If they thought she was going down without a fight…

She was not here to be a hero, she was here to save herself and save her family. She did not give a flying fuck on about how selfish it sounded - she was the one putting her life on the line, not the other earthlings.

Plus, her amount of problems had just risen up; she thought it was just the perverts but she had been wrong. She had been feisty enough for them to keep their hands off of her but he was not like the others. The size of his ego nearly caused her to suffocate. If he had questions about her inventions then he should be asking her - not them. She was not even sure they were able to read blueprints - they clearly did not know the first thing about brain power and technology.

Disgusting, stinking, caveman, idiotic, moronic, brain dead monkeys!

She allowed her glance to roam in his direction while he observed and judged her blueprints. Fury rose in her chest, crimson colors forming on her cheeks. She hated everything about him; his stupid gravity defying hair, his shortness and most of all, his arrogance. She did not care if a Prince was supposed to be arrogant, he was a moronic prideful idiot and looking at him set her blood on fire. If it were not for the wrath that lived in her, she might have shed a few tears. It had not settled in yet, but she was about to be rip from her world, from her parents and everything else she knew. They would take everything from her ands he would be left at their complete mercy. They needed her but how badly was she required? What if their patience ran out and they snapped her neck?

They knew they could use her father as a back up option. She was not essential.

His survival was the reason she had kept her mouth shut this long.

All that she loved could disappear in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Vegeta carefully folded back the blueprints, not wanting to damage the invention that might grant him his supersaiyan level. Once it was done, he gave it back to Nappa and re-focus his attention on the blue hair woman who had yet to stop glaring at him. Did she think he would be intimidated by her? Perhaps she thought she might gain some respect out of hiding her fear? All of it was wrong. If she thought she was hiding her emotions from him, she was wrong. He could smell it all; from the rage, the panic to the tiny layer of fear hidden beneath it all. The only reason he let her get away with the glaring was because so far her work looked decent. He never saw anything of the sort before and if it could do what she claimed it could - then he would at the very least maybe let her live.

Actually, no, he would not.

But he would make sure her death was a quick one. That was enough kindness.

"You. Woman."

Her eyes widened - showing the white - while spit built up in the corners of her mouth. Woman? If he thought she was going to respond to him referring to her like a dog, he had another thing coming his way. If he was finally going to acknowledge the fact that she existed, he would have to do it properly. Did he not know that his title or his strength meant nothing to her? Her neck corded and her nostrils flared while she crossed her arms in front of her chest, lifting her ample breasts up, nearly causing a spill out of her blue shirt.

The vein on Vegeta's forehead began throbbing as he closed his eyes. His action caused a general wince in the population that surrounded him. If there was one way to tick him off, it was by ignoring him. He would never let a low life like her think she was better than him. He would remind her that she was nothing more than scum - a bug he could wipe from underneath his shoe. He did not care. His hand was crisped into a fist as he reduced the distance between them.

Once Bulma finally noticed his proximity, there was a struggle raging inside of her head. Although she would never let him know that his presence was quite intimidating, the darkness swallowing his eyes was terrifying. It appeared that one mere action was sufficient to push him over the edge. The little Prince was not accustomed to people not begging at his feet and it was tempting her. He could kill her with a snap of the fingers but it was tempting to see how far she could push him. It was his fault; he should not have revealed his triggers this easily. If he thought he could come, take her and threaten her planet while she came willingly - he had another thing coming.

He chuckled. Except, it was dark, sending a threat looming over her head. It was time he let her in on one of his secrets. "I can smell your emotions, Woman."

Her muscles began rigid and her posture stiffened while she turned her head away, hoping to hide away the emotions covering her face. Her knowledge of saiyans was next to zero but she could make a mental note to be cautious of their stupid nose. Her surprised caused her to remain unaware of the threat that lured in his voice. He was a desperate man with nothing to lose - those were the ones who went to awful lengths to obtain what they sought.

It crossed her mind to turn around to shield her body from him but before she could even consider her, he was right behind her. She could not see him but she could feel his overwhelming process lurking over her small frame. They were murderers which they had proved by killing innocent bystanders. Was her pride standing in her way of figuring that out? Her heart hammered in her chest, painfully pressing against her rib cage. As soon as it echoed through Vegea's ears, he decided that it was his favorite sound. Nothing was better than as a scared prey. His fingers itched as he was dying to wrap his glove covered fingers around her slender neck. He wanted to see the life disappear from her strange blue eyes and he wanted to watch her lifeless body dropping to the ground.

But he restrained himself.

And it was not only because he might need her but also because he was intrigued by her. There might be a scent of fear coating her skin but - the fact remained that she kept a stoic expression on her features, challenging him.

"How long will it take you to build this?" he inquired with a firm tone. He might be intrigued but it did not mean he was about to go easy on her. Once she completed her task, he would give her the proper punishment for her insolence.

Bulma tried to avoid glancing his way out of spite - there was no way she was going to give him an inch of power over her. "By myself, a month."

"Too long," he quickly answered. "How many people do you required to complete it in two weeks?"

He had to be fucking kidding her. "Two weeks?" She scoffed. "Ten people." No, wait. He was a monkey. She had to be more precise. "That know what they're doing."

Vegeta wanted to cave her little skull in; who the fuck did she think she was - ordering him around and disrespecting saiyans? Today was her lucky day but she could not expect to be this lucky twice. If she ever even gave him a reason to think she was not good enough to finish the job, he was going to torture the fuck out of her and then skin her alive.

"You'll have your team, but you have two weeks. No more," he warned before turning his back on her. "You'll start tomorrow at dawn."

Now, he could do the one thing he had been dreaming of doing since he met the annoying, impolite woman; he could strike her. He put his hand straight and then, in one good swipe, he hit her at the right spot between her neck and her shoulder. Immediately she fell unconscious to the ground and already he could feel the tension in his neck lessening. "Bring her home."

That woman would be the death of him.

How was he not going to kill her?

-T-

That fucking violent monkey.

She could not recall a single thing about her trip in space. All she knew was that she woke up in a locked room that contained barely anything more than a bed. It took them hours to even unlock it and even longer to bring her food. She did not know how the saiyan appetite worked, but as a human she required food if she were to live. They were about to learn that. Although she was disappointed by the lack of windows - closing her off to the world - she was grateful that she was alone in her room. She did not want one of those beasts watching over her, doing whatever he pleased.

Except, now she had to build a machine for those monkeys - and she had to make them stronger. Why? She did not know. Because despite the fact that they ripped her away from her life, she was not allowed to ask any questions and she did not deserve any sort of explanations. Instead, they were expecting her to be a good, quiet slave. They had another thing coming.Bulma knew it was better for her survival to follow that path, but her mind wouldn't allow it. Though she might have to put a damper on the whole fighting back thing. At least until her injuries were healed. Her lip still hurt and her cheek was killing her.

Despite her current acceptance, she would not let them break her.

She would devise a plan, a way to escape - or a way to kill them all. As her first clenched, she felt a throbbing in her head. Her anger had zapped all of her energy. The way she dealt with her emotions was through anger - she refused to be weak in front of people. However, it was becoming quite a challenge to maintain the facade even if she knew she had to be strong. She did not know how long she would be here, separated of everything she knew and everyone she loved. She had to remind herself that she did it to spare her father's life. Although, now that she had time to dwell on the matter, she wondered if her sacrifice was even worth it. They did not appear to be the kind of people who honored their promises.

Bulma had to ignore all of this - her focus should be on sleeping. The Prince seemed to be a man of his words when it came to threats and she was convinced he would barge in her room at the crack of dawn - anything to annoy her. Although, she could hardly see how she was supposed to sleep on that tiny cot. Then again, she had worked while completely exhausted before. It should not interfere with her work.

This place was dangerous and the safest place for her was the bedroom. And yet, her blue orbs flickered to the door for a moment too long and she was tempted. She used to live for adventure and exploration. The more she knew, the happier she was. She soaked up knowledge - she was brilliant after all. Now, she was on another planet and she would not even get to see what it looked like? It seemed like such a shame. She was a prisoner earlier but now - nobody was guarding the door. Maybe - maybe she could venture through the halls. It was not as though she could escape; they were going to blow up her whole planet. Maybe she could play it off as her looking for food or a freaking bathroom. It was believable. Plus, she had heard them mention that her non-existent ki (whatever that was) made her seem almost inexistent.

She could blend in.

Bulma should really stay put - but then again, it was what they wanted from her. And did she really want to give them what they wanted after what they did to her?

One act of rebellion to soothe the rage in her heart.

In a last moment of doubt, she closed her eyes and then gathered the courage to open the door.

Time to take a risk.

-T-

Steam coated the entirety of the room as Vegeta slowly emerged from the shower, a white towel loosely wrapped around his waist. He ran his fingers through his thick mane of black hair, the excess water dripping from his fingertips. Once enough water was squeezed out, his hair stood back up like it always did. He had hoped the shower would calm his nerves but it had the opposite effect; he was more annoyed. It was that rude, vile woman. Despite Frieza's reign over his people, he was used to people fawning over him as he remained their Prince. The females also often glanced. That Earthling on the other hand had no kind of respect for him. He was under a lot of stress and ripping her neck apart would fix that.

Soon enough, he reminded himself.

After all, he promised he would find her a quick death. What was quicker than a snapped neck?

The muscles in his neck bugle and he reminded himself that he could handle worse than a pathetic human girl. As he walked back into his bedroom and faced his empty bed, it crossed his mind that a distraction was perhaps needed. While he began drying his wet skin with the towel, leaving his body bare, he thought it was actually an excellent idea - ripping someone else's neck might help him control the urges swirling in him.

But that thought never went far because he was disturbed by the sound of unfamiliar footsteps. He knew everyone's sound and this was not one he was familiar with - but it was not a dangerous. It was that fucking woman. He wasted no time rushing to the door and once he grabbed the handle, he swung the door open.

And they nearly found themselves face to face.

A yelp of surprise nearly slipped her but she managed to hold it back. She was quiet - how in the world did he even fucking know she was there? She meant to speak but she was rendered speechless by his sudden appearance. And now that she was getting a good look at him, she was startled by his naked appearance. He was bare from head to toes, dripping wet and leaving spots of water on the floor beneath his large feet. His eyes however, spoke a different story as he looked at her as though he hoped looks could kill.

She needed to explain her little walk before he blew up her entire planet. "I lost a blueprints."

She was smart. Was that really the best she could come up with?

"You didn't."

Oh what, he could smell a lie too? She exhaled deeply before biting on her bottom lip. "So it's forbidden to walk now?" she snapped at him.

His eyes narrowed and his control slipped him; he had snapped neck for less than this. Apparently his choice to let her go unpunished for her little outburst led her to believe that all behavior was tolerated. He took a step forward, knowing his strong presence would be intimidating. And it worked. There it was again; the sound of her heart chased away all other distraction to only have her heartbeat echo in his mind. It was different from saiyans, or most aliens he encountered. It was appealing to his predator side, while being soothing at the same time.

It meant nothing to her that he was trying to intimidate her - she would not fall for it. So far, she had stood her ground the entire time and she was not about to let that little piece of control go. She ignored the shiver that traveled down her spine and instead took a step backward. She was not cowering away from him, she was simply leaving - without his permission. She was ignoring the warning he was giving her and doing as she pleased regardless.

She gave him no warning as she turned around, ready to spin away from him. The glares were working but he had actual muscles and power to back up his threats. She did not. Unfortunately for her, she was never given the chance to create distance between them. Instead, she was rewarded by a strong grip around her wrist - one that brought tears to her eyes. The pain nearly made her buckle beneath him but she held her head high. It was going to take a lot more than that to bring her down.

As soon as the salty scent of tears burned his nostril, his lips stretched into a smirk. He could feel her quickening pulse beneath his touch and he knew it was time to teach her the lesson he should have given her when they met. He would be forced to spend time with her if he wanted to turn her into his personal technology slave. If it needed updates, if it broke - she would be responsible for it. It was time she learned how to respect him. He yanked her closer, the back of her head banging against his chiseled chest. He used his hold on her wrist to twist her arm behind her back, keeping her locked in place.

"I'm not like them," he finally said as he drilled holes in the back of her head with his eyes. "They've gone easy on you because they think you're useful." There was a slight truth to that statement but if she found out that he truly needed her more than she needed him - his power over her would disappear. "I won't hesitate to eliminate you if I have to." While still holding on to her wrist, he approached her face, his hot breath tickling her ear. "You will learn your place in this castle."

Despite her red cheeks and embarrassment from the close proximity, Bulma furrowed her eyebrows together, her rage slowly rising. She was about to reply with a comment of her own when she felt his fingers trail up to her throat. They lingered before slowly applying a pressure. It did not matter if she tried to fight his hold - it only increased the pressure and reduced her air supply. She gasped, she fought in his hold, she kicked but nothing freed her. Her world was becoming dizzy and she tried to elbow him but she might as well had been hitting a rock wall; her hits had no impact on him.

"Beneath me," he almost whispered as he finally freed her throat from his hold.

What a trouble some woman she was already.

And he slammed the door in her face.

She nearly collapsed on the ground as he released her but she managed to grip the doorway. Her wrist was numbed from his ministration and she was certain that bruises would form on her neck. Bulma regained control of her body and quickly spun around to glare at the door. She hated herself for not reacting but she hated him more. She humphed before holding her head high; he had won this one and she would indeed be heading back to her bedroom. This defeat tasted bittersweet and she would remember it.

He might have won this battle but the war was far from over.

If he thought she would just bow to him like all the others, he had another thing coming.

Nobody treated Bulma Briefs like that.

-T-