The Bond

The city was a bustling place with a lot of distractions. Katima had never been to a night club, but when she spotted one while she walked the dark streets, trying to avoid thinking about Vegeta, There was a long line outside it, but Katima wasn't in the mood to wait. She went to the bouncer at the front of the line and smiled, "What does it take to get inside?"

"I don't play that game," said the bouncer, "Back of the line."

"What about a wager?" asked Katima, "If I beat you at an arm wrestle, I go in."

The bouncer looked her up and down and smirked, "Okay, deal."

He propped his elbow on the podium beside him and Katima grabbed his arm.

"One, two, three!" said the bouncer.

Katima could barely feel the pressure he was exerting. She smirked and slammed his hand down.

The bouncer stared at her in amazement, but before he could speak Katima went past him and into the club.

Inside was all flashing lights, pounding music, and the throbbing sea of dancers. Katima looked around in aw. How intense- the smell of sweat, the pulse of the music in the floor under her boots. She was in jeans and a t-shirt, hardly club going clothing according to these people. Flashy tank tops, short skirts… but Katima wasn't daunted. She threw herself into the crowd and quickly began to mimic the dance moves she was seeing. She had never listened to this music before, but she found it very easy to move to.

She swung her hips and twirled around. In several ways, it was like fighting, putting the right moves at the right moments. Katima could forget about everything here- about Cell- about Vegeta… As she danced out of the crowd and headed for the bar counter, she realized she didn't have an ID. Though she was 26, Saiyans aged slowly. She could still pass for a minor. This meant she wouldn't get to try alcohol for the first time.

"Hey, sweetheart!"

Katima turned to see a man smiling at her. He was decent looking as far as humans went, and he was in a loose shirt and pants with a fedora on his head.

"Hi," said Katima, smiling back.

"Do you want a drink, hun?" asked the man, "My treat."

Katima considered, "Okay," she said, "People drink to forget, right?"

"Baby, here, you can forget everything," said the man, smiling.

He ordered her s fruity drink while Katima watched the dancing crowd while the bartender got it ready. He tapped her on the shoulder when he had it, and Katima took it, smelling it cautiously then sipping. Other than the weird after taste, it wasn't half bad.

"So what's your name?" asked the man.

"Katima," she answered.

"I'm Quince," he said, "Pleasure to meet a fine young lady here."

Katima laughed, "Flatterer."

Quince smiled, "Is it flattery or just pointing out the obvious? Though you look a bit young for this club."

"Would you believe that I aged a year since yesterday?" Katima said, smirking.

Quince laughed at her, "What, did you have a stressful day?"

"You could say that," said Katima, sipping on her drink, "Why are you here, Quince? Just for shits and giggles?"

"Among other things," said Quince, "And you?"

"I told you," said Katima, "Drinking to forget."

"Do I dare ask?"

"I'd rather you didn't," said Katima, "Talking about it doesn't help me forget."

"Right," said Quince, "That seems logical."

Katima felt a slight ringing in her head. Was this the buzz from the alcohol? Already? Was she really such a lightweight?

"So how did you get in?" asked Quince, "Without an ID I mean."

"I beat the bouncer in an arm wrestle."

"You're kidding."

"Not a bit, wanna try it?" Katima offered her hand, propping her elbow on the bar.

Quince laughed, "You're funny, I'll give you that. As tempting as it is, I'll pass."

"You don't believe me," said Katima.

Quince shrugged, "Do you blame me? That bouncer is huge- and you're… small."

Katima rolled her eyes and drained the rest of her drink.

"Geez, you tore through that fast," said Quince, eyeing the drink.

Katima shrugged, "It tastes nice," she said.

"You're not buzzed?" asked Quince, "Not even a little?"

Katima shook her head, "Just barely."

Quince seemed confused, but got her a refill. As she waited for him to finish fiddling with it, she looked at the dancing bodies again. These people had no idea about Cell yet. Why was it taking him so long to reveal the location of his tournament? Was he still picking a spot? Katima shook her head, refusing to think about it. After she finished her second refill, she felt pleasantly calm.

"That's three," said Quince with an exasperated look on his face.

Katima looked at him, "Yeah, so?" she asked.

Quince shook his head, "Nothing."

"I think I'm gonna head out," sighed Katima, "Lots more stuff to do in a city at night, right?"

"Wait- don't go-" Quince grabbed her arm, "There's- a- uh- back room- where- er- more hard partying happens."

Katima blinked at him, so pleasantly feeling, she felt like that sounded like a good idea.

"More partying?" she asked, "Okay, hot shot, lead the way."

He smiled, seeming relieved, and began leading her through the crowd. As they walked he asked, "So you look familiar- I think I've seen you around Capsule Corp."

Katima smiled, "Bulma Briefs is a good friend of mine," she said.

Quince led her up a stairwell and to a door that was at the top. He opened it and led her into a smoke filled room. Katima looked around to see that this didn't look like a party. There were a lot of men sitting around smoking on something- passing it between them. They looked up when Quince strode in.

"Is this her?' he asked them.

Katima turned and frowned at him, "What?"

"Yeah, that's her," said one of the men, a large fellow, who stood up and smiled at her, "Lock the door."

Quince obeyed and Katima suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"Why isn't she loopy?" asked another, "Didn't you dose her drink?"

"Three times," said Quince, "Don't ask me, I figured that would have knocked out an elephant."

"If someone doesn't start explaining something right now, I'm gonna start kicking in heads," snapped Katima, keeping her distance from all the men.

"You're Bulma's friend," said the big man, "Holding you for a ransom will get us huge dough from Capsule Corp."

Katima blinked, "Really? That's it? Why didn't you target her son or something like that?"

"Her baby is way too well protected," said Quince, "I wouldn't want to cross his daddy- I heard that guy is tough."

"And you think I'm an easy catch?" Katima began to laugh, "You guys are idiots. I'm feeling generous- unlock the door, and no one gets hurt."

"You think that we're scared of a little girl?" laughed the big man, walking toward her.

"You should be," Katima smirked and let off a small pulse of energy that made them all stumble.

"What the hell was that?" screeched one.

"A warning," said Katima, and looked at Quince, "I wasn't lying when I told you I beat the bouncer in an arm wrestle."

"I dunno, Kace," mumbled one of the men.

Kace was the big guy, and he scowled, "It was a trick. Just hold her down."

Katima sighed, shrugged, and then powered up to Super Saiyan, which blasted them all against the walls. They all began screaming and bolted out of the room. Katima laughed when she was alone, muttering, "That was easy," and went out the window.

She went down and landed in the ally behind the club and powered down. She wasn't expecting that strange turn of events, but oh well. She went back to the street and began to walk, enjoying the crisp night air on her face. As she made her way to the darker side of town, she began to feel a weird drowsiness take on. Damn. It had to be whatever that Quince freak put in her drink. It must have taken a delayed effect due to her being a Saiyan.

Nothing to worry about. She could fly to her tree house from here and get some sleep. However when she tried to fly, she fell back to the ground hard. Cussing, she got to her feet, and felt her head spin. Great- what now? She had never been in this predicament before. No one knew where she was or that she could be in trouble. Her strength was next to none- if someone decided that she looked easy to mug, she couldn't do anything to prove them otherwise.

Katima had to find a place to hide until this shit wore off. Stumbling down the street, her legs feeling like jelly, she checked each ally way, wondering if there were any random homeless people down them. However, just as she decided that one looked decent, a group of loud men headed down the street toward her. Katima hissed in annoyance and made to duck into the ally way, but she heard one call to her.

"Where are you goin', gorgeous?"

Katima stumbled into the ally way, hoping they wouldn't follow. Of course that seemed too much to hope for. She tripped half way down the ally, and remained on her knees, not having the strength to get back up.

"I think she's drunk," laughed one as the group entered the ally after her.

"Isn't that just our luck?" whispered another.

"Sweetheart, you feeling okay?" sneered one, kneeling beside her, but the glint in his eyes did not look kind in the least.

"Back off," she said. At least her voice still had strength.

"Oooo," they all chorused.

"Come on, lovely, we just want to help," hands came to her shoulders.

"What part of back off did you not understand?" she hissed.

"Why don't we lighted you mood?" one whispered in her ear.

Katima tried to lash out and hit him, but her movements were slow and sloppy. Her hand went through thin air and she only succeeded in flipping herself onto her back. She grunted in pain as all the men laughed.

"Well, I'll take that as an open invitation," one said.

"Step away from the lady."

That was the last voice that Katima wanted to hear. The men all looked up and down the ally way and laughed.

"Nice costume, pal, but Halloween is pretty far off!" one said.

"What are you supposed to be, a bug?" crowed another.

"No," said Katima, and they looked down at her again, "He's Cell. And if you want to live, I suggest you run."

"Running won't help them in the least," drawled Cell's smooth voice, and a small beam pierced each of the men through the chest. They all choked out in pain and shock, and fell to the ground, unmoving.

"I must say, Katima, you've seen better days," Cell's face appeared above her and he smiled down at her.

"This is what drinking does to a Saiyan," sighed Katima, wishing terribly that all her muscles didn't feel like lead, "Besides, you're the one who called me a lady."

"Where's your other half, then?' asked Cell, "I was waiting for Vegeta to come and save the day, but when he didn't show up…"

"Don't act like you did me a favor," spat Katima, "You just wanted to kill me yourself."

"Don't be like that," Cell knelt beside her, "I fully intend on letting the Z fighters train for the next nine days as promised."

"Then why haven't you told everyone where your stage is going to be?" asked Katima.

"I'm working on it," said Cell, "But I didn't want one of my challengers daunted. This is why I saved you."

"Very noble," snarled Katima sarcastically, "Now if you don't mind, get out of my face and let me sober up."

"I am curious, though," said Cell, "About where Vegeta is. I thought he was pinned to your side."

"It's none of your business," snapped Katima.

"Oh, my, so there was a argument?" Cell smirked, "How juicy. You know, maybe we can make a point for Vegeta," he reached down and grabbed Katima by the throat and lifted her up.

"Get your hands off me," grunted Katima, but couldn't even lift a finger.

"Trust me, I'm helping you," Cell smiled and tossed her over his shoulder, "Let's go and announce the new Martial Arts Tournament. I do hope Vegeta is watching."

*scene change*

Vegeta stalked the halls of Capsule Corp, his arms crossed and a scowl on his lips. It was nearly three in the morning, and Katima wasn't back from Kakarot's yet. He wondered if she had stayed there. He knew she had been angry with him, her emotions through the bond were clear. But around midnight they began to numb. He figured she was asleep. But at the moment, he thought he could feel a small prick of anxiety from her, but it was so faint that he thought that it was probably just something she was dreaming about.

Still… irritation flooded him about Kakarot. Kakarot with his carefree attitude and his goddamn confidence… What was he so sure about? Was he even taking this thing seriously? Part of Vegeta knew that Kakarot was though. He knew that Kakarot had a plan, and that he was confident for a reason. And he hated him for it.

"Dad! DAD!"

It was Sykaima's voice, and it rang down the hall. She came running into view, and when she spotted him she rushed forward, "Dad! Thank God I found you- dad, quick- the TV- it's Cell-"

"I don't want to see his face," snapped Vegeta, "Come tell me where his damned tournament is after it's done."

"No dad," Sykaima had fear in her eyes, "He has mom- he has Katima."

*scene change*

Cell tossed Katima to the ground in the television studio he had just blasted into. He smiled at the camera, having just given his coordinates for the challenging area.

"Of course, the rules will be more or less the same," said Cell, "If you fall out of the ring, you lose. If you give up, you lose. If you die… you lose."

"Die?" Katima spat, "That's not in the original rules- if you killed someone you lost!"

"This is my game, Saiyan wench," snapped Cell, picking her up by the throat, "And you- you will be my example that I mean business," he glared at the screen, "To dear Vegeta, who wasn't there to protect his Saiyan princess… Let this weigh on your conscious."

A small light appeared on the tip of Cell's finger. Though Katima's strength was coming back, and she could hold onto his wrist that clutched her throat, she wasn't strong enough to break his grip. Cell slowly came forward, and Katima twisted, trying to get away. Finally, his finger touched her cheek and she screamed in pain. It felt like fire tracing on her face. Her feet kicked wildly, her eyes clenched shut as she bawled out. It seemed to take forever, but finally, Cell took back his hand, and smiled at her.

"You're face will forever be scarred because of how Vegeta let you down. Every time he sees it, he will be reminded it was him that did this to you," he said, and looked back at the camera, "I await my challengers."

With that, he tossed Katima out the hole he made in the building, and she fell the seventy stories to the ground. She landed heavily, leaving a huge crater. She lay there in pain, her right cheek still burning terribly. Darkness quickly surrounded her, and she fell unconscious, her cheek facing up, where, just under her eyelid, was etched the letter V.