"...ke up..." Gohan's ears could barely detect the angry voice calling him. Suddenly, he felt a hard slap to his cheek as he woke up with a start.
"Wake up, boy!" Raditz called angrily as Gohan rubbed his now slightly bleeding cheek. "Hurry and get out of the pod before we're late." Gohan slowly stood out of the pod as he took a look at his surroundings. Their pods had just landed in the... Well, Landing Bay of the planet as far as he could tell. Several workers moved towards the ships after the Saiyans moved from them, ready to move them with the other stationary pods.
"Now," Vegeta started as the four began walking towards a white dome, "this woman, Kurieta, you answer to whenever you aren't answering to me, got it?" Gohan nodded. Not that he was planning on answering to anyone here, but he may as well go along with it.
"I'm serious. One wrong move and you'll wish we had beaten you to death. Well, we might, but it's far more favorable than what she'll do to you if you get on her bad side..."
"Oh yeah," Nappa chuckled, "remember Appule? Guy thought he could try to cop a feel, then he wound up in Appule of blood! Haha!" Nappa laughed at his own lame pun while the others, including Gohan, merely groaned in response.
"That was just awful, Nappa..." Raditz shook his head while Vegeta silently agreed.
"Hey, ain't like you could do better! Still, not that I could blame the guy. That is one smoking babe-"
"Nappa," Vegeta said in a serious tone, "do you still have your Scouter on?" Nappa fell silent.
"...It was nice knowing you guys." He said solemnly as he turned off his Scouter while Gohan raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Uh, Ve-I mean, Prince Vegeta, sir?" Gohan started nervously, though Vegeta sent him a glare.
"Prince Vegeta. That's it, no sir in it." Gohan nodded.
"...Prince Vegeta, what's this... Kurieta like?"
"You'll know when you speak to her. Just try to speak respectfully and do whatever she tells you to, alright? She already killed our last employer, I don't need her killing her employee as well."
"Y-You are actually worried about me, Prince Vegeta?" Gohan asked with barely hidden surprise.
"No, I meant me. Try not to get me killed or you will regret it, understand?" Gohan sighed as he nodded. After a few more moments of walking, the four finally reached a huge, double steel door. Vegeta knocked on it, and no sooner had he...
"Come in! It better be important, or you might have to D.I.E...your hair blonde!" A cheerful, very girlish voice boomed from the other side as the Saiyans sweatdropped. That was even worse than Nappa's...
Vegeta opens and goes through the doors first, followed by Nappa, Raditz, and finally, Gohan. In the room, Gohan noticed three figures. One was a tall, slim, greenish alien with dark green hair. It seemed he was one of the more 'human-like' in terms of appearance here. He also had a blue Scouter.
It was the other one that almost made Gohan heave in disgust. This one was a very, very ugly, pink creature that had a weird, somewhat creepy grin on his face. Of course, there was the one in the middle that caught Gohan's attention the most...
It was a woman. A Human-no, an alien that simply looked like a human, but one could easily mistake her for one if not for the circumstances. She has rather long dark purple hair tied into a ponytail and emerald green eyes. She wears a somewhat loose black dress as well as fingerless gloves and long black leather high heel boots. She had a warm, friendly smile on her face that made Gohan wonder why they talked so bad about her. Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz all kneeled while Gohan looked confused for a moment, though Vegeta quickly kicked one of his legs, making him kneel as well.
"Why, hello my little Saiyans! Or, do you prefer Monkeys? I remember Frieza saying something about that before I blew him up..." She tilted her chin in thought for a moment before waving it off.
"Ah, who cares about that anyhow? Now, I heard that you, Raditz, yes you," she lazily pointed a finger at the low-class, "brought back your brother! But, if I'm not mistaken, isn't this adorable little thing too young to be your brother? You know, since the rest of your family kinda...exploded more than...how old are you, kid?" She turned to Gohan.
"I-I," Gohan stuttered, "I turn twelve this year, ma'am..." Gohan looked directly in her eyes as he said this, causing the others to sweat a bit.
"Ohmygosh, you are so cute! Anyways, I'm pretty sure Planet 'Insert-name-of-dead-father-here' exploded more than twelve years ago. Care to explain?"
"Well, you see, Lady Kurieta, my brother did not want to come back with me. He attempted to fight me, so I was left with no other choice but to kill him. I took his son instead, as I have witnessed myself that he can be of some use to us." While Gohan's fist had balled up, Kurieta's face suddenly darkened, taking on a more serious tone.
"Raditz. Could you do me a big favor and come over here for a minute?" Raditz almost hesitated, but he decided against it as he immediately got up and walked over in front of Kurieta, kneeling once again.
"Milady, what is i-" Raditz was cut off as he was roughly grabbed by the neck and brought up to eye level with Kurieta. She stared deep into the man's eyes with a look that sent shivers through Raditz's body.
"You killed the boy's father in front of him, then you have the nerve to bring him to me, expecting this child to kill innocent people for me? And you seriously expected me to just let this slide?" Raditz didn't know what to say. Even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to get it out as she intensified her grip on him, causing him to cough and hack violently.
"Despicable. You there, little boy, what's your name?" Gohan looked at her as his shock only grew.
"G-Gohan, L-Lady Kurieta..." He wasn't used to using such titles yet, and it seemed it'd take him a while to. She smiled at him.
'Well, my adorable," Kurieta tightened her grip, "little," again, "Gohan," She said with force as she let go of Raditz, who had went limp and fallen on the ground, eyes rolled into the back of his head.
"Free to go you are indeed!" Kurieta threw her arms in the air with glee, as if she was the one getting to go home. Everyone's eyes widened.
"R-Really?" Gohan asked, not able to hide his surprise.
"Yep! Come with me, I'll come prep one of the pods for you!" Kurieta said happily as she stepped over Raditz's twitching body, causing Gohan's smile to wane. True, he did hate the man, but he never was one to handle violence well...
"O-Okay..." Gohan followed Kurieta, though, as they were about to exit the room, she turned around and spoke in an even tone.
"Take him to the Rejuvenation Pods. You get stronger every time you heal from a battle, correct? Then, this should be no problem...right?" The two Saiyans nodded in response. Nappa alone went to go help Raditz before he was called to stop by Kurieta.
"...Prince? Aren't you going to help your subjects?" Though it was worded as a question, Vegeta could tell it was meant as an order. He got up and held Raditz up by one of his shoulders while Nappa got the other one.
"See? Now that's some teamwork right there! Oh, and Nappa?" Nappa raised his head.
"That was a funny joke! Appule of blood? Awesome!" He smiled in response, though it faded when she dropped her own smile.
"Don't ever call me babe. Ever. Are we clear?" Nappa nodded furiously.
"Good! Now, off we go Gohan!" Kurieta marched off into the hallways along with a beaming Gohan, leaving a glaring Vegeta and Nappa.
"Well," the green man spoke, "you two better hurry and do as the Lady says." Vegeta scoffed.
"Yeah, whatever Zarbon... F.A.G." Zarbon gasped.
"No, goddamnit, I meant it as 'freaky alien genotype!' Why does no one ever get that...?" Vegeta shook his head. "Come Nappa, this low-class needs to be healed..." Vegeta said with a low growl. Though he didn't show it, he was quite angry at how Raditz was just man- or in this case, womanhandled lie that. He was a Saiyan! And yet, this woman incapacitates him with one hand! She'll have hers yet... But, for now, the health of his subject came first, The two walked off with Raditz in tow, thinking about Gohan as well.
"You really think she's just gonna send him home, Vegeta?" Nappa looked at Vegeta with a somewhat worried look.
"Knowing her, there's no telling if she's joking or genuinely serious about it. She was serious about Raditz's punishment, though..." Vegeta muttered.
"...Hope the kid gets through whatever she'll do."
"Of course he will, Nappa. Though he is a half-breed, keep in mind he has the blood of a Saiyan. He'll make it." Vegeta said with utmost confidence.
Landing Bay...
"Alright...this should do!" Kurieta exclaimed as she picked out a brand new pod for Gohan to take. He looked at it happily, though he then looked at Kurieta, puzzled.
"E-Excuse me, Lady Kurieta, but-"
"Just call me Kurieta, kid. Just because it's you, I'll let it slide!" Gohan nodded.
"Kurieta, why are you just...letting me go like this?" He said, somewhat suspicious.
"Aw...are you suspicious of me?" Her attitude seemingly fell, making her look depressed.
"I-It's not that, it's just I have to wonder why you're doing this..."
"Gohan," she placed her hands on his shoulders, "Was your father a good, honest man?"
"The best I knew...why?"
"That's why. You don't deserve a life like this at your age, especially with what your own uncle just did to you! You have a mother, right? Any family friends?" Gohan nodded, and she smiled in response.
"Then you deserve to be with them, not people who would just use you for their own goals. I may kill sometimes, but I don't believe in taking lives unnecessarily. They tell you about their previous boss, Frieza? I took care of him because he was a guy who destroyed planets for the fun of it! I'm gonna try my best to reshape this empire and turn it into a working organization in the Universe, not a tool used by a dictator. We both have to try our best for our own respective goals...'kay?" Gohan stood still for a moment before nodding happily.
"I think I get it...thank you." Tears almost took form in Gohan's eyes, but he quickly wiped them away.
"Say, want me to go with you? Y'know, incase something happens along the way?" Gohan shook his head.
"My dad taught me how to protect myself, but thanks anyway. You've been a big help, Ms. Kurieta!" Gohan gave her a big smile, causing her to, weirdly enough, freeze.
"U-Um... Are you okay, Ms. Kurieta?" He asked, slightly worried he said something wrong. In a matter of seconds though, she waved it off.
"Nah, it's just pretty cold in here kid. Now, go on and get in the pod; typing in the coordinates of Earth should be a breeze- that is your home planet, right? I think that's where Raditz said he was off to before he came with you..." Gohan nodded.
"Yep, the beautiful planet known as Earth!"
"Well, alright then! I'll type in the coordinates while you get your little tail in the pod!" Gohan had to chuckle a bit at that one. He got into the pod and sighed happily as the door closed. A few moments later, the computer turned on.
"Destination set: Planet Earth. Would you like to initiate sleep mode? You will be put in a state of unconsciousness until the destination has been reached." Gohan paused for a moment.
"...Yes," He said after giving it some thought. He wanted to be well rested for when he met mom and everyone else! Soon after saying this, the pod took off into the sky, and then outer space. Kurieta smiled as the pod left the atmosphere.
"...I think I might be obsessed." She whispered to herself as she bit her own finger.
"I've never seen such...innocence before in my life. A child like that, so helpless, naïve... He'll return to Earth, if only for the briefest of moments. Then... I'll show hi-" Kurieta cut herself off as she gasped.
"I...I can't help myself...just thinking of his expression at that point in time, when he loses all hope... it's making me all warm and fuzzy..." She held on to her arms as she swung herself back and forth, seemingly lost in her thoughts.
"Gohan... That innocence of yours, that hopeful expression... I've been in control of this empire for a long time, and I've met thousands of individuals in the Universe. In that time, I've only seen the ugliest, most shrew of individuals...but never have I seen such purity of heart as you..." She looked back towards the sky, her breathing incredibly ragged.
"I...must have you...Gohan...ha...haha..." She began laughing quietly, though it's volume soon grew. She fell to her knees, unable to keep her emotions in check.
"Hahaha! Hahahahaha!" Her breathing came out in various bursts, one would think she was having a heart attack from looking at her.
"Hahahaha...oh, right, cameras...Shit." She looked over to a corner of the bay as a camera was focused on her.
"Welp, guess I'm gonna have to kill the security people now... She sighed as she left for the security room with a sadistic smirk.
"Still, Gohan, the point still stands... I'll be your master yet." She chuckled as she entered the security room, much to the chargin of the two workers in it who backed away slowly.
"So, how much did you see?" She asked playfully.
"W-We-" An audible *pop* could be heard as the worker's arm was now a mere stub, the arm now in the hands of Kurieta. Using her Ki, she incinerated the arm right then and there.
"Good thing the cameras won't see this."
