A/N: This chapter has some insinuated rape. Probably won't be the last. Nothing graphic, but just a warning.
Zarbon was standing in front of a huge black digital screen, ignoring the young prince standing right behind him in favor of the advanced mapping of the universe quadrant they were in. He touched the screen and swiped it with his finger, bringing up a different digital display showing blinking red lights on all the different planets. Vegeta was curiously peering up at the display, which took up the entire length of the wall. The red lights were all space pods, and all being tracked. Behind them was a team of technicians, doing work on advanced computers as they scurried about.
The prince would glance back at them every now and then, envy in his dark eyes. The technicians were never physically harmed. They just did their work keeping Frieza supplied with the absolute best in technology, and they were left alone. Though every last one of them had lost their family in a purge, and though they faced immediate death with even one failure, Vegeta still considered them lucky. Compared to him, they lived like kings.
Vegeta frowned as he looked back at Zarbon, impatience in his features. "If you're too preoccupied to deal with me, Zarbon, then just summon me on my scouter when you're ready."
"So impatient," Zarbon chuckled. He switched the display again, and this time there were blue lights on the different planets. Vegeta raised an eyebrow; the red were space pods, but he didn't know what the blue was. Zarbon zoomed in on one planet in particular as he added, "Today is a good day for you, Saiyan. You're alive and you are now on the rank qualifying squad. You should smile for once. It might make you less rough on the eyes."
"Bah, forget this! Just wasting my goddamned time," Vegeta snarled. He spun on his heel and went to march away, when Zarbon quickly grabbed him by the arm and roughly spun him back around. The prince instinctively braced himself for some kind of physical blow, but it didn't come.
"You leave when I let you leave, monkey prince. Don't forget your place," Zarbon warned. Vegeta glared back at him, barely able to restrain from saying something back. Zarbon chuckled again, patting him on the shoulder. "Now. You know all this I'm sure, but let's refresh. Since you are now on the squad, you are hereby granted preliminary rank. You will hold preliminary rank until one man emerges victorious from the competitions. That man will be upgraded to rank 5, and the rest of the squad members will be unranked again. Do you understand?" he asked slowly, as though Vegeta was a mere child.
"Yes, I already knew that," Vegeta snapped.
"Good. You're not as stupid as you look, boy," Zarbon sneered. He turned back to the digital display on the wall, crossing his arms over his armor. "As part of preliminary rank, you are granted immunity. You cannot harm any other member of the squad outside of training and competitions, and they in turn cannot harm you. Also, no other ranked man can touch you. The only exception is for self-defense. Anyone who breaks these rules will answer to me personally. Am I clear?"
"Yes," Vegeta eagerly replied, a smirk creeping up on his face. He had already known he would be given temporary protection just by making the squad. It wasn't much, but it still felt like he had just won the lottery.
"Now, just because you have made the squad doesn't mean you are absolved of your usual responsibilities. I will still be giving you and your fellow monkey brutes assignments, and I expect you to meet all my deadlines."
Vegeta's smirk disappeared. His eyebrows drew together in confusion. The training and competitions he was going to endure were legendary in their brutality. How was he ever going to finish his usual tasks at the same time?
"But—I won't have the time-"
"Would you like to take this up with Lord Frieza?" Zarbon challenged. The teenaged prince frowned. They both already knew the answer to that. No one ever wanted to deal with Frieza if they could help it, and Vegeta was no exception. He remained silent as Zarbon smirked.
"That's what I thought. Now, you have the rest of tonight off, and you report to Dodoria for your first day tomorrow at 080X. I will have a recruiting assignment for you soon on one of these planets on the screen, in a few days. For now, pick up a new armor set in the equipment room. It will be some time before you have another day off, so I suggest you enjoy it tonight while it lasts, monkey prince. Dismissed."
Vegeta lowered his head a little in feigned respect, and then spun on his heel, grumbling to himself as he walked away. He had thought his regular assignments would stop while he engaged in the training and competitions to earn his rank. He had clearly thought wrong.
Minutes later, the prince was putting on a set of new armor. It looked just like his original white set, except it was silver with a black cape attached. The visual signifier that he was not to be touched. The teenager frowned, not liking how it felt. He was debating fastening the cape to his original white armor when the door to the equipment room opened.
"Vegeta!" Nappa greeted, the relief clear in his voice. "We've been trying to reach you!"
The prince scowled but said nothing as he adjusted his armor. He had felt both Raditz and Nappa mentally prodding him to see if he was alright, and he had blocked them out. In his mind, they only cared because if he died, they would soon be next. Thinking of how useless they were without him angered him, and that anger was obvious as he looked up at them now.
"We saw Jhainer leaving earlier. We thought the worst," Raditz admitted.
"You thought wrong," Vegeta hatefully responded. Nappa and Raditz exchanged a confused look, not knowing what had the prince agitated. He looked unscathed for the most part. Finally, Nappa stepped up to the prince.
"So you made it on the squad, huh? That's fantastic, Vegeta!" Nappa laughed, patting the youngest Saiyan on the back. The prince's nose twitched a little at the contact, and Nappa swallowed a little before awkwardly removing his hand.
"It was only a matter of time, idiots," Vegeta gruffly said. "Nothing fantastic about it."
"Oh come on. You're the youngest to ever qualify! That deserves a celebration," Raditz chuckled. "So how about a female from the slave quarters? Someone to get you lighter on your feet before your first day? You can have one now."
Vegeta blinked a bit, forgetting his irritation with them. That was one perk he had forgotten about. He was still deemed too young to actually claim a slave for the night (he was just shy of the minimum age), but now that he had preliminary rank, he could bypass that rule. The sex slaves, consisting of males and females alike, were kept to be used whenever any of the men wanted, and some of the women weren't too hard on the eyes. The young prince had seen his share as Nappa and Raditz frequently took different women over the years, always leaving them in private so he wouldn't see what he always considered a disgusting act.
But now he was older. More of a man. With the changes in his body, came a change of perception. What was once a disgusting act in his eyes was now a tempting experience. He was especially intrigued by the idea that he could be man enough to have a female to himself, and make her submit willingly to him. The prince licked his lips, contemplating for a second, before nodding.
"If you can find me one that's been untouched by all these other fools…perhaps I can make some use of her," Vegeta finally agreed. He smirked a little in anticipation. "We've been given the night off. Might as well take advantage of it while it lasts."
"I'll be back then," Raditz said, smirking a little too. He turned and headed out to the slave quarters to find a female worthy of his prince while Nappa stayed behind with Vegeta.
"Everyone has been given the night off tonight," Nappa informed the young prince. "It doesn't feel right."
Vegeta looked bewildered. "The entire army? That's impossible."
"No, no, not the whole army. Just the men who were on base tonight. They're all down at the Ozo Tavern down southwest. If Raditz can't find a decent female for you, maybe we can go get some drinks there instead."
"Perhaps we can arrange time for both," Vegeta suggested, activating his scouter to see if he could detect who exactly was at the tavern. "It would be good to see who else is on the squad besides Jhainer, and size up the competition."
"I know Cui is one of them."
The prince's eye twitched in annoyance. He and Cui had been rivals since they were both small boys, and were almost dead equal in power. The only notable difference was that Cui was constantly sucking up to Frieza, whereas Vegeta just showed the bare minimum amount of respect so he wouldn't be killed. Cui was a slimeball, a sleaze who was even less trustworthy than the usual man in Frieza's army. He would have to keep a close eye on him.
"Do you know who the fourth man is?"
"No idea. We'll find out soon enough though."
Vegeta's scouter suddenly blinked to life. He reached up and picked up the transmission from Raditz.
"Vegeta, I found you a whore that hasn't been touched."
"Bring her to our quarters," Vegeta ordered, before cutting the line again. Nappa smirked a little in approval. This was the first time he was seeing Vegeta openly showing interest in having a female to himself, and he was grateful for that. It was good to see the prince experience something that didn't involve violence and brutality for once.
Vegeta's anticipation was growing as he headed back to his quarters with Nappa on his heels. He was already in the mood, and he was envisioning different female beauties who would be waiting for him. But when he rounded the last corner and saw the girl that Raditz was gripping by the arm, he crashed back down to reality.
"This is who you got?" Vegeta angrily demanded, stepping towards them before Raditz could enter their quarters.
"Well, she's the only one who was untouched," Raditz explained, looking down at the small alien girl who was practically shaking with terror. The girl's body was silver and shiny, like she was made of metal. She was wearing dirty rags that barely covered her.
Vegeta reached out to grab her other arm, hauling her closer to him. The girl gave a cry of terror, but he was uncaring as his eyes swept over her small frame. Her dark purple hair was dirty, and there were bruises on her body from several beatings. His eyes finally raised to meet her wide, terrified black ones. He scoffed.
"This girl is nothing but a child. She doesn't even seem half my age," Vegeta sneered in disgust. She barely reached his shoulders, and he was already short for his age.
"The girl is a little younger than you, true, but not by much," Raditz tried reasoning. "No other man has had her yet. She's perfect for you."
"I don't want a damn girl," Vegeta spat out hatefully. "I'm a man now, and I want a woman. Or is that too hard to understand?"
"But there was no one else, Vegeta," Raditz said, almost pleading. He swallowed a bit as he remembered that the regeneration tanks were down, and any lashing out by the prince would probably kill him without the ability to heal quickly afterwards.
"Hn. So be it then."
Vegeta effortlessly launched the young girl to the opposite wall with barely a flick of his arm. She shrieked in pain after colliding with a sickening thud against the wall. The sound of agony was quickly silenced when Vegeta raised a palm in her direction and fired, the light from his ki flashing through the corridor. When the light was gone, the only thing left of the girl was a darkened spot on the wall where Vegeta's ki had burned through.
"Well," Nappa casually started, as though nothing had just happened. "Since Raditz apparently has poor taste, I can go take a look around the slave quarters, Vegeta. Find someone more suitable for a prince."
"Forget it," Vegeta gruffly dismissed the notion with a wave of his hand. He turned on his heel and started walking away, with Nappa and Raditz quickly following after him. "Let's go to the Ozo Tavern. The night is young yet."
A few hours later, the Saiyans were sitting together at a small table against the wall of the only tavern on Frieza's base planet. It was exclusively for Frieza's soldiers, which was the primary reason why Vegeta hated going there. He much preferred going to another specific tavern on a different planet run by an old associate of his named Uvi, where few knew who he was, and where he rarely knew anyone else. Here, at the Ozo Tavern, none of that was true.
Still, he wanted to spot who the fourth man in the squad was going to be. Looking around, he saw Cui on the opposite side of the tavern, chugging down drinks with other soldiers while they all laughed and cracked crude jokes. Jhainer was nowhere to be seen. The prince scowled, surveying the tavern again. There was a fight going on in the far corner, a small scuffle between two drunk soldiers. In another corner, two men were engaged in blatant, heated sex. Vegeta purposely avoided looking in that direction. No one else besides Cui was wearing the armor and cape that he was wearing. It seemed the fourth man wasn't there.
"I don't think it's that big a deal," Vegeta heard Raditz saying. He finally turned his attention back to his men as Raditz continued, "We deserve a night off for a change. It doesn't mean anything."
"Don't you remember the last time Frieza gave everyone on base the night off?" Nappa questioned, getting Vegeta's attention.
"I don't remember that," the prince said with a frown. "When the hell was this?"
Raditz leaned back, chugging down his entire mug of a dark green alcoholic beverage. Nappa exhaled slowly, before turning back to the prince.
"We hadn't been here for long. You were still a boy. He gave us all the night off, but you were in the regeneration tank recovering from a beating Frieza gave you. Raditz and I stayed with you, but the next day, half of the men on base were summoned by Zarbon and killed. I remember how weird it felt at the time. It feels like that now."
"Sounds like coincidence to me," Vegeta offered with a shrug, already dismissing the tale as unimportant as he scanned over the tavern again, looking for another black cape.
"Ha! See? Vegeta agrees with me," Raditz boasted loudly, making Nappa growl. "Oh, don't be mad, bald man. One day one of us will agree with your conspiracy theories-"
"Who is that?" Vegeta suddenly interrupted. His fellow Saiyans followed his line of sight, not seeing anyone special.
"Who?" Nappa asked, trying to see who could be of interest. "Thonzin? He's a new recruit-"
"No, not him. Her."
Vegeta nodded towards the only female in the entire tavern, who was busy scrambling around, trying to keep about forty drunk soldiers satiated with drinks and food. It was hard for him to guess the female's age, but for sure, she looked older than the slave girl he had killed earlier that night. Her skin was a pale green, but what caught Vegeta's immediate attention were the long, powerful looking wings that ran down the entire length of her back. The wings were folded in place, looking like part of her clothes from a distance, but he could tell the difference. They looked like they would have an impressive wing span if she stretched them out. He was mesmerized by the pattern of green and blue feathers on her wings. It was artistic, and coupled with her thick feminine legs, he was captivated.
"Oh, the woman," Raditz chuckled knowingly. He and Nappa both smirked at the look on Vegeta's face while he stared at the female alien from behind. "I don't know her name, but she is half Legan."
"Half aerial warrior," Vegeta mumbled, his attraction increasing exponentially just at the thought that she might have a warrior's blood in her veins. And he hadn't even seen her face yet.
"You should go introduce yourself," Nappa suggested. "Get your hands on her before anyone else does."
Raditz' smirk disappeared, and he looked down into his drink. "Actually, that might not be a great idea."
Vegeta finally tore his eyes away from the female to look over at the Saiyan sitting on his left. "Why not? What do you know?" the prince demanded, making Raditz shrug uncomfortably.
"I don't know for sure, but I overheard Manzin saying a while back that the new female worker here was his."
"She belongs to Manzin?" Vegeta asked, looking back at the woman as she hurried towards the back to get more alcoholic beverages. He scowled; he still hadn't seen the female from the front.
"Sounds like it."
"Hn. Well, in that case - now I simply must go introduce myself."
Vegeta smoothly got up, and went over in the direction he saw the mysterious winged female walk off in, ignoring Raditz calling out to him that this wasn't a good idea. He dodged the others in the tavern easily, and then frowned when he got to the front counter. The woman was nowhere to be seen. Finally, the prince sat on a levitating slab of marble close to the counter.
Despite his confident stroll over there, the back of Vegeta's neck was tingling with sweat as he realized he had no idea what to say to the female when she appeared. He had very little experience actually talking to a woman without threatening her life or her family's life for some reason or another. Raditz was the smoothest of the three Saiyans; though he wasn't above taking a woman by force, he was quite skilled in getting any woman he wanted, to do whatever he wanted. But Vegeta's pride refused to allow him to ask Raditz for advice, so there he was, wondering what approach to take.
The young prince straightened up when the woman finally emerged through a curtain of lights that led to the back. Her eyes stood out to him first, a hypnotic and reptilian blue. She wasn't blessed with the largest breasts he'd ever seen, and she only had a few long spikes of dark green hair that fell down over the side of her face. But Vegeta was immediately attracted to her nonetheless, already imagining her pinned underneath him, with her flimsy little white straps of clothes gone from her body while they both worked up a good sweat.
The woman placed a drink in front of a higher ranked soldier a few seats down from Vegeta, and then she finally came to stand in front of the Saiyan prince.
"What would you like to drink?" she asked him, casually leaning her hands on the counter. Her voice was very sensual. He already liked it. "Some more of what you and your men ordered earlier?"
Vegeta said nothing, blinking as he stared at her. She blinked back at him for a few seconds, and then sighed, assuming he was far too drunk to speak. The woman went to turn away when Vegeta finally snapped out of it.
"Wait. Do you know who I am, female?" the prince asked, leaning forward in curiosity.
She paused. Her reptilian eyes shifted past him, before she hesitantly answered, "Yes. You're one of the Saiyans. Vegeta, right?"
"That's right. I'm not just any Saiyan though. I'm the Prince of all Saiyans," Vegeta boasted, thinking that would impress her enough to get her somewhere private.
"That's quite nice," she meekly offered, clearly trying to back away from him, which made the prince scowl. He wasn't even trying to frighten her, and she looked terrified.
"I'm not going to kill you," Vegeta tried reassuring her, before flashing a cocky smirk. "I was granted preliminary rank today in Frieza's powerful army. It's a tremendous feat for someone my age, so I'm in a very good mood-"
"Congratulations, that's extraordinary! You know what, I think I'll go get you and your men some more drinks," she interrupted, making the young prince frown. Before the teenager could get another word out, she had already practically dashed through the curtain of lights again.
Vegeta growled, and went to stand up to go after her, when a very strong orange hand landed on his shoulder and forced him back down. The prince glared straight ahead, already knowing who was next to him before he looked. That smell was unmistakable.
"Vegeta," a terse voice greeted.
"Manzin," the Saiyan responded evenly.
He didn't move, even though he saw the other soldier sit down right next to him out of the corner of his eye. The prince frowned though when he saw the black cape attached to Manzin's silver armor set. The fourth man. Of course. He looked forward and inwardly sighed. It was just his luck that one of Frieza's men who hated him the most was the last man on the squad. Vegeta's icy relationship with Manzin made Cui seem like the prince's best friend.
"She's a beauty, isn't she? Her name is Aradeen."
Vegeta scoffed. "You say that like I care."
"It looked like you cared before I came over here. You're making a habit of taking things that don't belong to you, Saiyan. Aradeen is my woman, not yours. And the last spot on the rank qualifying squad was Wygen's, not yours."
"Wygen committed suicide. The spot is mine now. I imagine the fool is too dead to reclaim it."
Vegeta forced himself not to move when he felt Manzin's hand mockingly tugging at the back of his cape. The prince growled low in his throat in warning, making the other soldier chuckle.
"I heard about what happened with Tanus, so I'm just curious, Saiyan. How did you manage to survive against Frieza? Why are you always spared, hmm? Why are you his favorite, when you're so pathetically weak?"
Vegeta's head snapped to the soldier sitting next to him, his eyes narrowed dangerously. His pride and his strength were all he had in this life, and he did not appreciate either being insulted. He glared at Manzin, who had eyes that changed colors rapidly depending on his mood and his thoughts. Right now, his eyes were cold black slits. That corresponded with hatred. It was the only look Vegeta ever saw from him.
"We'll see if you're calling me weak when I rip your heart out after I earn rank, Manzin," Vegeta snarled venomously, his eyes shining with his own hatred.
"Go ahead and try," Manzin challenged, before motioning with his chin towards the back of the tavern. Vegeta turned his head just far enough to see through his peripheral vision. He grunted when he saw Manzin's older brother standing against the wall, arms crossed over his armor while he stared right at them. "I have some backup."
"So do I," Vegeta countered, glancing towards where Nappa and Raditz were seated. Both Saiyans were staring right at them, watching the whole thing and ready to step in.
"My brother is a rank 3 man. He can kill you and your men in his sleep."
"Oh? And where was your brother when the Saiyans purged your pathetic planet long ago?" Vegeta sneered.
Manzin immediately stood up, and so did Vegeta, both of them braced for a fight. The older of the two hissed, his forked tongue flicking out of his mouth under sharp looking yellow fangs. He had short black hair on his head that looked more like fur on his tough orange skin; that hair ran down the back of his neck and coated the back of his arms and hands. In Manzin's rage, his hair was bristling and standing on end. Vegeta had one hand pulled back, his fingers twitching as he prepared to summon his ki at a moment's notice.
But they both hesitated in striking first. Whoever struck first would be punished, with the other absolved in self-defense. Neither wanted to limp into training the next morning, already bruised and beaten before the day even started. Nor was either aware that they had the complete attention of the entire tavern now. Nappa and Raditz in particular were on their feet now, tense for battle.
"You dare mock the purging and destruction of my planet at the hands of your filthy race?" Manzin snarled, barely able to keep hold of his rage.
Vegeta smirked. "My only regret is that I was far too young to participate in that purge. I would have loved slaughtering your family myself."
"I still have my brother. Who do you have, Vegeta?" Manzin demanded, tremendously pleased when he saw Vegeta's smirk disappear. A look of unhinged rage crossed the young Saiyan's features, and more than thirty scouters lit up in response. Manzin chuckled, knowing he had hit a sore spot and delighting in that knowledge.
"Oh, that's right. I heard about the fate of your parents. Just between us – who do you think screamed more in their last moments? Your father, or your mother? Actually, it must have been your mother, right? I heard they raped her before they finally killed her-"
Nappa and Raditz both immediately phased in, grabbing their infuriated prince from behind, just in time to prevent him from lunging at Manzin.
Don't, Vegeta. He's just baiting you so you'll be at a disadvantage, Nappa sent, using nearly all of his strength to keep Vegeta at bay with Raditz doing the same. Even then, the prince could have easily broken free. But he stopped struggling when he heard Nappa's logic, even though he was shaking with rage.
Manzin chuckled again, and smiled, his forked tongue flicking out again. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. Neither will top how loud their son screams when I finally destroy the last Prince of the Saiyans-"
"What the hell is going on here?" Zarbon's voice rang out angrily. Everyone suddenly turned to the tavern entrance, where Frieza's lieutenant was now striding in, his white cape flowing out behind him. Nappa and Raditz promptly let go of Vegeta, who was now giving Zarbon his full attention, as was Manzin. Zarbon eyed everyone over carefully, before coming over to stand in front of the two young soldiers at the heart of all the conflict. "Didn't you two fools hear my instructions?"
"My apologies, Zarbon," Manzin immediately said. His eyes were wide and purple now with fear as he bowed his head in respect. Zarbon shifted his eyes to Vegeta, who just glared back at him. Zarbon snorted, and then turned around.
"Everyone, back to base immediately!" he ordered. "Your night is done."
Soldiers were grumbling, some barely able to stand, but they all quickly did as they were told. Manzin shot Vegeta one last hateful glance, his black eyes promising misery for the prince if he gained his rank. He then motioned with his head for his brother to come with him, and they both left the tavern.
Finally, only Zarbon and three Saiyans remained. Zarbon slowly turned back to look at Vegeta, and cracked a smirk. The prince smirked back.
"Good to see that you're still alive, Saiyan," Zarbon smoothly drawled.
"Good to be alive, Trikan," Vegeta chuckled, his anger now gone. "You're going to get a good thrashing for that, though."
"Well," Zarbon started, right before a soft yellow beam of light ran from his head down to his feet. When the light was gone, Jhainer was standing in his place, also dressed in the silver set of armor with the black cape, his scaly, blue tail rising up behind him. A slow grin spread over Jhainer's face. "Technically, I was helping enforce Zarbon's rules."
Vegeta cocked an eyebrow. "But in reality?"
"In reality, I didn't want you or Manzin getting a beating too soon," Jhainer spoke in his soft voice. "I want you both at one hundred percent going in, so when I win my rank, my victory will be that much sweeter."
"Hn. We shall see about that."
"I'm curious though. How did you know it was me?"
Vegeta glanced at Nappa, who answered, "You can impersonate in appearance and voice. But you can't do it in scent. Zarbon stinks, and you don't."
Jhainer laughed softly, before nodding. "Very useful information. Thank you, Nappa."
"Don't mention it."
Jhainer turned back to the youngest Saiyan, and gave him a nod of respect. "I don't wish you harm, Vegeta. But, I will earn my rank, no matter the cost. If it means your death in the process, then I won't hesitate. I hope you understand."
Vegeta nodded back. Though he wouldn't call Jhainer a friend, he wouldn't call him an enemy either. And in their world, that was the closest anyone ever came to friendship.
"The same goes for you, Jhainer. If I have to kill you to get what I need, then so be it."
"So be it, indeed," the young Trikan agreed, turning and walking away. "See you tomorrow, 080X."
"Hn."
The prince waited until he saw the flash of Jhainer's ki ignite around him outside, before the other boy blasted off into the air. Vegeta then headed out of the tavern, stepping into the night air with Nappa and Raditz flanking him.
"Do you think we can trust Jhainer, Vegeta?" Raditz wondered aloud.
"A little, but not too much," Vegeta cautioned. "His shape shifting ability could be deadly if he wished it so. From now on, we will confirm first that we are truly speaking to each other," he said, tapping his temple to signify the use of telepathy. His Saiyan comrades nodded their agreement.
"Hey Vegeta, how did it go with that chick, before Manzin interrupted everything?" Nappa curiously asked.
Vegeta growled at the reminder of that failure. He shot Nappa a glare. "Shut up, Nappa! We have more important things ahead than some useless female slave! Now let's go back to base. Zarbon said this will be our last break for a while. Might as well get rest while we can."
Even though the Saiyans went back to their room and turned off the light to sleep, the prince remained awake long into the night, staring up at the ceiling. Vegeta's mind was filled with visions of him moving up in rank, until he was stronger than anyone else in Frieza's army. Then the day would come when he would be stronger than Frieza himself. He would then kill Frieza and his family, and then rise up to take his place as leader of the universe. The thought brought a small smile to his face. He would have power, women, glory in battle. He would have it all.
The young prince finally fell asleep after a few hours, looking forward to the next day for the first time in years.