With a small moan, Goten opened his eyes and surveyed his surroundings. His mouth was dry indicating he had been incapacitated for some time. His back was sore as he sat in an uncomfortable chair in a small room devoid of anything other than another chair of the same make in front of him. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there.
He felt… weak. Strangely and intolerably weak and was shackled by his wrists to the metal armrests. His feet were free but little good that did when the chair was bolted to the ground. Without necessary energy, trying to pry himself from the chair was proving impossible.
Deducing there must be something to block his ki, he gathered what little strength he could manage and pulled upward.
With several attempts, he wriggled and wretched at his restraints but to no avail. The room was quiet but for a low hum.
"Fuck." He exhaled quietly. This sound echoed a little in the open space causing a rustling noise outside the room and a door in front of him on the far wall to open. Two large men in soldier's uniforms enter the space and glare down at him. Wordlessly, one walks over with a glass of liquid in hand and extends it to the demiSaiyan.
"I don't want that." Goten said tight lipped and shaking his head. The man, broad shouldered, muscular built with several scars on his face, smirked and walked back to the other. They exchange hushed words Goten could not follow. They give a final look at the teen before opening the door wide and allowing another, smaller soldier in. Dressed in similar garb, this one had dark emerald green pants, a shiny emblem over their heart, and long black hair in a braid that rested on the left shoulder. It wasn't until the soldier got close, did Goten notice the tail wrapped tightly around their waist. A Saiyan? How? How is that possible?
It was then that the soldier spoke.
"Hello, little hybrid. It's nice to finally meet you." A female voice, honeyed and calm. Placating. He was taken aback at the black haired woman. He remembered many times being told that the Saiyans were all but extinct now and that females in particular were a rarity.
She sat down in the chair facing him, crossed her legs and tapped lightly on her knee while the
two men kept their distance behind her at the now closed door.
"Where am I?" He asked, slightly unnerved at the sound of his own voice, loud in tenor compared to her.
"On a ship orbiting your planet." She replied frankly.
"Why did you kidnap me."
"Kidnap? You do not look like a child." She smiled with a humored expression in her dark eyes. The eyes of someone with an advantage.
"You do not have to be a child to be taken against your will." He said through gritted teeth.
"Don't be so defensive. I was merely attempting what you humans call a joke. I see perhaps you are not amused?"
"Needs to be funny to be a joke. As I sit here, in shackles, I probably would not find most things amusing."
She sat back slowly in her chair and looks off at nothing in particular, her tanned hand still drumming slowly on her knee.
"Ah I see. Well maybe another time. Tell me, hybrid, do you know who we are?" She looked at him with an inquisitive eye. He glared under furrowed brows.
"Saiyans, I assume. With the tails and need to control everything." He shook his bound wrists and clenched fists.
She gave a light laugh showing white canines before continuing in a grin.
"The wit on you. Yes, we are Saiyans and from what I've gathered from intel, you are part one as well. However, now that you sit in front of me, it appears my intel has you incorrectly identified. Whom are you parents, hybrid, particularly who is the Saiyan side of your parentage?"
"And I would disclose that because?.." He narrowed his gaze with suspicion. So he was being questioned but for what purpose. She seemed to not know about his father. He wondered what else she may or not have known.
"If you do not, I can not see our conversation going in a good direction. With that said, you will probably tell me one thing I need to get from you: do you know of Prince Vegeta?"
His glare softened and eyebrows raise slightly and she smirked. He says nothing but tells all she needs.
"You do. And so quickly a response, too. Which leads me to believe that you know him well or are able to at least make contact. Are you on speaking terms with him?"
Goten looked away from her, attempting to not give away more. "He's not really on speaking terms with anyone."
She stopped drumming and gives him a face of feigned disappointment. She rested an elbow on the armrest and placed her chin in her palm.
"Too bad. I was hoping, Goten, you would perhaps relay a message for me." She said this in a friendly fashion, as if they were already on friendly terms and not in a game of cat and mouse.
He looks back at her incredulously. The nerve of this woman to abduct him and now ask a favor.
"So you know my name. And, seriously, you're asking me for a favor."
"I do know you, and the one of your kin called Gohan. There's a petite black haired human woman of whom resides in a mountainous region, another black haired human that is other half to Gohan and a female hybrid of whom I assume is their offspring." The woman sat up and glanced down to inspect her fingernails nonchalantly. This disclosed information was extremely personal and violating. Better to grant a little time to process before continuing. Maintaining control was absolutely imperative.
Goten stared at her, not realizing until then that things could go from bad to worse very quickly. Clearly this woman had a lot on his family, spying, possibly knew their daily routines and who they associated with. She knew where his home was located and who lived there. She probably also knew about Trunks and his family. She was interested in Vegeta from her questioning.
Good thing his dad was off in space bouncing around looking for new techniques for the past year. He had hoped they hadn't been spying that long.
Silent, the wheels still turning in his brain trying to process this new information, the woman leaned back in her seat and placed her hands in her lap. The curt smile still on her face with a look that still appeared friendly.
"As a show of good faith, little hybrid, I will allow 4 questions of your choosing. I will undoubtedly give perhaps convoluted answers but they are answers none-the-less. Take what you can from them. I hope that once you get what you want, I can get what I want."
He exhaled a breath he didn't realize was tight in his chest and thought for a moment. He looked down with concern then back up with a determined look.
"Is my family in danger?"
"Family.. That's right. Humans call their clans 'family'. No. Not at the moment. We do not have any need for… compromised Saiyans or humans. Believe me when I say your 'family' is to remain unharmed and unprovoked for the foreseeable future."
Another pause as he assessed the answer. She did appear genuine but this could all be an act.
She did say his family was safe but he felt distrust as he was still completely unsure of what exactly she knew about his family. He still couldn't fathom the purpose of all this.
"Why are you here?" He finally says.
"We are here for Prince Vegeta." Saiyans looking for Vegeta. That didn't seem uncharacteristic. The only odd part was that there was a Saiyan here and two more behind her that should not exist. He could only imagine there were more but where did they come from? Weren't they all supposed to be dead? And what the fuck did they want with him?
Goten waited for more information but the silence stretched out too long. A raised eyebrow on her face indicated to him to ask another question.
"Why did you take me? What do you want with me?"
"You are a courier. I have something that needs delivering and you were alone… and unaware of your surroundings. I needed someone close to the Prince; that was not direct kin. I also know you are able to procure a meeting with him. Other than that, we require nothing more from you. Final question, make it count."
"You only want Vegeta, right? So, if you get him, the Earth is unharmed? You'll leave?" He said hopefully.
"As much as your cute little planet has been interesting to observe, we have no need for such a primitive place. We do not plan on remaining any longer than necessary. Truely, Prince Vegeta is all we want."
"What are you going to do when you have him? Are you gonna use him or kill him?"
The canines were back in her smile as she sat up a little straighter.
"You ran out of questions but your leading has brought us back to my initial inquiry. Will you relay a message to Prince Vegeta on my behalf. I have attempted to be forthcoming in answering your questions to establish a little trust. I hope that we've come to an understanding."
"What's the message?" Goten responded after a some tense moments.
"Inform him that in one week's time, we wish to converse about his ascension to the throne. His rightful place needs to be filled and he is the only one to do it."
"You want Vegeta to come back to be your king?" The demi-Saiyan was now very curious. He knew Vegeta was the Prince of all Saiyans but nothing had ever come of it other than the title he loved to throw around like that scowl that was perpetually on his face. But the half Saiyan never thought there was anything real attached to it.
"PRINCE Vegeta is requested to return to his people at the behest of my Commander. You see, we have the numbers but lack a lead. We have the drive but with absence of direction."
She then suddenly turned her head slightly and spoke with the two Saiyans behind her in a language he could not understand, brusk but calm. They nod and walk to Goten, removing the shackles and return to their place. It appeared that the interrogative imprisonment was finally over.
"You are free to leave. Do I have your word that my message will be successful repeated?"
Goten rubbed his wrists suddenly feeling his energy returning, surmising the chair was a ki blocker of sorts. He had no idea how long he had been on the ship, but he was now feeling claustrophobic and wanted to leave immediately. One thing still tugged in his brain however.
"What if he refuses. He's been here a long time."
She smirked and lets out a small chuckle.
"Little hybrid. See this is the difference between tainted and pure blood Saiyans. He is our royal heir. He has set us free from our tyrant. His refusal would be against everything he is."
He cut his eyes at her comment and stood slowly to take one final look at her. He didn't know what she meant by 'set us free' but didn't want to stay longer to ask.
"Follow them. They will take you to a small pod to return to Earth. I enjoyed our little talk, Goten."
He walked after the two when she gave them her instruction.
"It's a pity." She says to his back before he reached the door. He slowed his step but does not turn.
"You look like one of us. But you will never BE one of us."
Grinding his teeth silently, he exited the room. At the pod bay, the doors hiss open and he was guided inside roughly. The door closed as he sat down, going over what she said in his head. No final look was given to two men that took him as the smoke burst up around the vessel and shot into space.
The woman brought a finger to her temple and closed her eyes in reflection. It had been a while since she had to question someone. She got up quickly, removed the small recording device from her ear and walked out in the narrow hallway to the adjacent room which housed a metal table with a large recording device on it. The script of her interview was scrawled on the pages in her language and was being read over by another soldier, male, of whom looked up at her unsure.
"There was probably more you could have gotten from him." He states in their mother tongue.
"There is always more. I do not think that I gave too much away if that is what you're implying. My first job was to get the message out and I did. He will tell the Prince. He has time to come around to our side if there was any doubt. It makes no difference how long he has resided here. Prince Vegeta will not abandon us."
"For all of us, I want that to be true. The Commander asks that you return once finished with the boy. Here is the transcript." She took the dossier and pivoted on heel down the hall, her steps echoing off the metallic walls.