A/N: I'm back dear readers! Here's part 10. This chapter has some bit of blood, toned down enough I hope. So enjoy or puke.

A word of warning: There may be crude words and content in the near future that may offend some people. Meaning: foul words and possible sexual content. So if you're a minor or you hate these things, please do not read.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Except a few DBZ Mangas, DVDS, cards and a toy Vegeta. And this idea.

A promise to keep

He felt himself drifting again, in and out of consciousness. He could hear voices; make out a number of kis as he struggled for consciousness. Fuck, when had he become so careless? To think he had actually fallen for such a simple trap, had someone else been with him; he would have been ashamed. It was all that damn human saiyan's influence.

He could not allow any further mistakes… the galaxy was full of dangers, dangers he was aware of. It would do him a world of good to remember that he wasn't in the same universe and should view everything with extra caution.

Forcing himself to wake, he opened an eye but only slightly… he could make out shadows… outlines of people… he was still in the kobold's household… time must have not passed that far… he could make out some disagreement. He could hear the young male and the elder arguing, the little girl was nowhere in sight though. Where was she?

He focused downwards when he felt a slight movement… and there she was, sitting by his feet at the bed. Ask a stupid question and you get a stupid answer. Fuck… but at least she didn't seem to realise he was awake.

He tried moving his hand, good it's responding to his command… he would need every muscle at his back and call if he was to get out of here. But what of this family… if he managed to escape, what would become of them. Anger filled him instantly, he didn't want to bother. They had deceived him, sold him; their earlier compassions nothing but lies.

"You cannot do this! What were you thinking!? How could you trade a life for another, even if she's your daughter?! Do you have any idea what you have done?!"

"It's done! The soldiers are coming… we're done discussing this" the male Kobold sat heavily on the chair, obviously tormented about his choices as well. "I have no choice…" he kept repeating that phrase, trying to convince himself more than anyone.

"Papa… she's going to stay with us from now on... right?" She had gone over to him and tugged at his pants.

"Sweetie, go to your room. Papa and Grandpa need to talk" He barely managed a smile.

"Papa? ... I'll be good so... please don't be sad ok?" The little one scurried back to her room, looking back as she did.

"My son, I beg you to think this over. Murder cannot justify the preservation of another life. Please".

"You would rather save a stranger's life than your own granddaughter? In a few years' time, she would be the next tribute to that saiyan fiend. This is the only way we can save her, can't you see that!?" The young male was going ballistic "If I'm wrong then I will answer for it before the pantheon of our gods; not you! All your talks of righteousness couldn't help us, open your eyes! None of that had helped us then, it won't help us now. I cannot lose her... she's all I have left, father... please don't make this any worse." He covered his face with both hands as he slouched into the chair.

Vegeta sighed, things are never that simple. The idiot. You don't get to make bargains with Kakarotto, even he knew that. "You're an idiot and a fool".

"You're awake; you're stronger than I thought…" the Kobold male remained seated.

"And you're a bigger fool than I initially thought" Vegeta snorted.

The elder immediately made his way to Vegeta. "I'm sorry for my son's behaviour… can you stand?"

"No" It was a lie, but one he would have to maintain if he was to avoid another dosage of the same drug.

"I won't ask you to forgive me… nor will I expect you to understand… but I'm sorry… I had to do this for my little girl… I've already informed the soldiers, they're on their way to this planet as we speak" He spoke from where he sat, refusing to meet Vegeta's eyes if they were on him. They weren't.

"Hn, you're an idiot for making this arrangement and an even bigger fool for believing you would succeed". Vegeta spoke, his eyes closed; playing the part of a helpless, paralysed victim. He focused, sensing if there were kis heading their direction… not yet. But it would not be long. "Such a simpleton; had you been a soldier, you would not have lasted a day".

"I guess not… I never was soldier material… I just wanted a simple life… my wife… she was the muscle of this family… bless her soul. She was a good woman… never was one to give in despite her smaller size… you remind me of her. A strong willed woman… I can see why my little girl takes to you."

"Spare me your sentiments. None of your sob stories would save you when the soldiers come knocking. You fool." He growled; he would need to paint a clearer picture for the fool.

"Look, there's a 50,000 credit reward on my head, the reward isn't subject to occupants of a planet solely. That means anyone can turn me in for the reward. You said you informed the soldiers so that would mean Kakarotto doesn't know you're the one who found me. Do the math, Kobold. If Kakarotto doesn't know the truth, then it doesn't matter who gets to collect the bounty, now does it?" How dense could this male be?

"Shit…" Vegeta could feel numerous kis heading in their direction already. "How long was I out?"

"Almost a day…" the elder Kobold supported Vegeta's head as he fed him a cup of water.

"Fuckingtastic…" A day was wasted. Vegeta pulled the elder closer to him as he whispered in his ear. "The soldiers are here and they're reaching… just act normal and do not resist… I will handle the rest. Got it?" He released his hold.

"Understood… I hope you know what you're doing, your…"

"Not a word of that" he reminded the elder.

"Of course" the elder nodded. He had no other choice but to put his trust in the saiyan prince.

"You'll see what I mean soon enough" he directed that statement to the young male. Vegeta could sense his fear now, so he finally understood what he meant. It was far too late for that now; they would have to play by the ear and hope it would be enough.

Everyone but Vegeta jumped at the sound of the loud banging on the door. Daring a peek, the little girl opened a tiny space at the door of her room and watched as her father answered it.

Four soldiers and a ship captain entered just as the male kobold opened the door.

"You're the one who called? Where's the female?" The captain addressed him.

"She's… over there…" he pointed to the cot with Vegeta still lying in it.

"Check her for the ID" A random soldier was instructed and immediately he had gone to investigate.

Still playing the part of the immobile victim, Vegeta tolerated the manhandling but he hadn't liked the touches to his face and neck.

"It's here, captain. ID no. 35. It's her" he saluted.

The captain moved forward as he took a glance. "What's wrong with her? Her eyes are glassy and she's hardly responsive… so this is the 'dangerous' female?"

"She's drugged for your convenience… sirs…" the elder quickly answered before the young male could.

"Very clever for a couple of dogs. So, no one else knows of her being here except you?" Vegeta stopped a growl that was threatening to surface; the blood sucker of a captain was already scheming.

"No one else sir"

"Very good. You've done the right thing, now it's only fair for me to put an end to your worry about your future. You were expecting a reward, yes?" he turned around to face the two Kobold males.

"No reward is necessary sir, we merely wanted the danger out of our home" the elder had spoken, prolonging their conversation as soon as he 'saw' Vegeta's aura spring into action as he took down the nearest soldier who was examining him moments earlier.

Silently, Vegeta snapped the soldier's neck. Using the cloth from the cot, he coiled it around the next closest soldier's neck; pulling it as tightly as he could. The soldier wasn't able to utter a word before his windpipe was crushed from the brutal impact. Two down, three to go.

"I insist" the captain hadn't realised a thing as he kept on talking. "Leave no survivors".

Shit. Vegeta had to move fast. He pulled the next soldier down, just as he was about carry out the captain's orders.

"What the fuck!?" both captain and the last remaining soldier turned to find the female feline, up and had one of their soldiers in an arm lock, before she twisted the sod's neck in their presence. Looking from her to the back where his two other now dead soldiers laid, his panic meter went up a few more notches.

"Don't just stand there! Get her!" he ordered the last remaining soldier, the coward wouldn't even do it himself.

"You big bully~ you leave her alone~!" A loud little voice screamed out before she rammed into the soldier's thigh.

"Fuck! What the hell is this!?" the soldier shoved the little girl away from his thigh. "She stabbed me! The bloody bitch!" he aimed his rifle at the girl.

"NO!" three voices shouted out while, she in turn screamed in fear.

A loud thump followed. The same soldier had collapsed onto the floor… Vegeta turned his attention to the little girl… more accurately to the object in her hands. It was that familiar syringe. Vegeta smirked, silently praising her.

"I need backup, send more men. Send every soldier on board on the double!" Shit… the captain was still up. He pulled out his rifle. "Don't you fuck with me bitch, I won't be ruined by a woman!" He took aimed at Vegeta.

There hadn't been a need for Vegeta to do anything. Someone else had beaten him to it.

The young Kobold male had rammed himself into the captain's side, using his weight he had knocked him off balance and send them both crashing onto the floor. Vegeta kicked the rifle out of his reach before he could grab it.

"You picked the wrong person and family to mess with… Close your eyes, girl" Vegeta called out to the Kobold girl, he would spare her the sight. She obeyed, covering her eyes with her hands as her grandfather held her.

"Wa… Wait!" He didn't have the chance to complete his sentence if he had one. Vegeta had slammed his fist down into the front frame of his face, shattering the face structural bone of his skull. His face caved in from the impact, the blood gashed out from all possible exits of his face, bones shattered in fragments under face tissue. The only thing on the guy's face that was still intact was his scouter.

An awkward silence followed when it all finally quieted down, the dangers had passed for now. Vegeta had nothing to say, he was always a man of few words. He had instead opted to analyse their situation. They were far from being safe. More soldiers were coming, likely the whole unit… he won't be able to hold them off and if he left, the family here would be in danger… well fuck.

"You should go, you're not safe here" the male broke the silence.

"Papa… no… please"

"I agree… your… you're not safe here… you should leave" the elder corrected himself in time.

"No, I don't want her to go… please papa… make her stay… grandpa…?" She immediately ran towards Vegeta, hugging him by his thighs; startling him.

"What the… let go, kid" he was half-tempted to shake her off his thigh. Oh kami, she just turned on the waterworks too… wonderful...

"She can't stay, honey…" the male kobold gently pried her off. "If she stays, more bad people will come and hurt her… you don't want that to happen… right?" he tried to explain gently to the crying girl.

"We'll be fine, we survived the war. We can survive this" the elder Kobold assured Vegeta, sensing his unease.

He was growing too attached to this family; he had known them for how long, a few hours at most. Damn, he has grown soft… this must be that baka's fault again. He reached out and lightly patted the girl's head. "When is she to be given?"

"In 10 years, she's eight years old now" the elder answered.

"She doesn't have the scar yet" Vegeta noted.

"They're given the brand once they reach puberty, once that day comes; they'll come for my little girl… they'll take her from us…" the male was trying his best not to break down in front of her.

"That day won't come" he spoke before he could think. "I will stop him myself if I have to" The room was shifting back to the audience hall, back at Vegeta-sei. The events replaying itself, it was the day he was gifted to Freeza. The years of humiliation and pain he had endured. No more! It won't happen again.

He snapped out of his trance when he felt her lean her head against his arm. "You'll live to see her grow…" it was a promise he made to himself as well as them. A promise he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep, but one he wasn't looking forward to break. Another darn influence from that baka, he reasoned. "You have to take care of your father and grandfather, and you take care of her. He spoke to both father and daughter.

"What would you do now?" the elder took hold of Vegeta's hands in his, a small gesture of comfort; accepted with much gratitude. "Lord Kakarotto wouldn't stop searching for you… He wasn't like this, years ago… I don't know what could have happened… but maybe you could stop this madness" It was hard to keep anyone's hopes up in these dire times. Vegeta didn't attempt to answer.

Instead, he turned back to the unconscious soldier. "I have an idea…" It was an extremely far-stretched plan, and honestly he did not like it one bit. He hadn't the slightest confidence of winning the odds. He didn't have the choice to choose now, did he?

The soldiers were coming.

Reaching the location as directed by their captain's scouter, the backup force were stunned. Five bodies littered the ground some distance away from the city, their four comrades as well as their captain. Immediately they checked for any sign of life via their scouters.

"We have one here… he's barely alive" it was hard to see the face; it was battered and bloody, and the voice… the survivor could barely make a decent sound, let alone form a sentence. He did however, point to a direction with a shaky finger.

"She went that way!? You and you, bring him to the med bay. The rest of you, follow me".

Having given his instructions, the leader of the backup unit led his remaining 12 men towards the direction pointed out by the downed soldier, while two others brought him to the med bay on their ship.

They scouted the area close to an hour; their scouters were of no help. There were too many life forms here, it was impossible to differentiate the kis of the animals from a person.

There. They spotted something white, a white hoodie covering a body that was lying on the ground. They moved cautiously towards it. As they came closer, a few feet within reach, the leader started spreading the men out. Surrounding the white figure as they moved in closer, there hadn't been a response.

Perhaps she was injured. He gestured to one of the men closest to it; the guy cautiously removed the hood from the head.

He gasped and fell butt first onto the ground. It was a bloody head, without its facial skin from the temple down to the neck. Its eyes staring straight at him without its eye lids, it was enough to make a person's guts turn inside out and the smell... The soldier turned and threw up whatever contents he had in his stomach.

"What in the galaxies is this!?" the leader had stepped up to the sight, gagging as he made an inspection. It was a male body with his face flayed from the body.

"It's Zormon. I recognise that tattoo on his arm" Another soldier came forward within range and had taken notice of the man's tattoo. "He was with the captain". The leader wasn't listening by then… he was busy doing a head count of the men in his head.

There were 21 men on the ship. One was the paramedic, their captain, himself and 18 soldiers. Five guys, including the captain went on shore first… then he himself led 14 men on shore, including himself that would be 15. The paramedic is always on the ship so that's 16. But earlier at the location, there were five men and now here's another one … that would make it 22 men.

There was an extra person!

"SHIT!" He immediately attempted to make a call to the ship, but no one answered. He screamed out in frustration as he looked up into a distant where the ship had been docked and spotted a familiar aircraft as it took off, disappearing from his sight.

"SIR! Our ship's stolen! That soldier stole it!" And more frustration when he saw the paramedic and the two soldiers he had send off with that injured soldier; running towards his direction.

"That soldier was that cat-whore! She stole our ship!" he practically roared.

Kakarotto hadn't been surprised at the reports; he had come to expect such surprises from her. Again she has outwitted his soldiers and him. He had waited on a planet he had assumed she'd land on; only to realise she hadn't. His soldiers had lost their ship on the other planet she had apparently taken refuge in. Well played and well done for her. If she had been in his presence now, he would have applauded her. He had four dead soldiers, a dead captain and a prized ship gone; he would have to read the report in more details later.

A siren broke the silence. It was the communication system. Kakarotto wasn't expecting a call, so who could this be? He switched it on. It was a face he didn't recognise, it was hard to tell with all that blood on his face, but the combat suit indicated he was one of his soldiers.

"Speak up, soldier" he was expecting a report at most. But he wasn't expecting the soldier to reach up to his face and start peeling his own face off. Then he realised there was another face under the first.

He watched, mesmerised by the sight. It was her, he was sure of it. He could tell despite the blood covering most of her features. He waited patiently as she brushed off bits of dried, coagulated blood off her face; revealing a face he had longed to see. Ah, so that was how she fooled them.

She had the same look about her, that confident glare he had expected. He had to admit she looked good, covered in blood. He smirked despite himself, his tail swaying; hinting of his excitement. She spoke then, waking him from his thoughts.

"Not saiyan enough to do your own dirty work, Kakarotto? Or do you prefer giving orders behind your men, from your throne? Just like Freeza?" She was taunting him, just like she did back on the mother ship. He should have taken offense at that tone and accusation, a part of him did; the other however, noted the challenge she had issued him.

He grinned. "You won't be able to handle me if I showed you how Saiyan I can be" his eyes roamed her body as he allowed the words to sink in. She got the message; he heard her growl as she promptly turned off the communication channel.

So she wanted him to find her on his own strength, did she? Part of the thrill was the chase after all. He was sure she would have a trap for him, and he was looking forward to it. Two can play this game, after all he had the best teacher years back and he had done it before.

Opening the galaxy map on his monitor, he quickly traced the whereabouts of the ship. Except it wasn't the ship's coordinate signals, it was from a scouter. His scouter, the same one he had instructed the captain to place in the controller compartment before sending him to Planet 183.

He was confused… she was heading in the direction of the Milky Way… there weren't many planets in that galaxy, but there were many dead planets. They had been unsuitable, unable to support any life for years. Except for one, could it be… was she heading there?

He laughed. He knew what he had to do now. Picking up a new scouter, he gave instructions to his soldiers as he made his way to the space pods. Seated comfortably inside the improved pod that was now larger with sufficient room to stretch one's legs, he keyed in his desired destination.

Earth.

Soldiers were mere cannon fodders; no one would recognise or miss them. Harsh but true. It had been the case when he had been in Freeza's employment. It was evident; it remained the same now. That was the reason Vegeta was able to fool them, he couldn't use the Captain; the soldiers would have recognised him. It had been a gruesome chore to have to kill the soldier and more so when he had to flay his skin. It irked him to the core of his being to have to wear that same skin on his face after for a few hours. But it had worked.

He managed to steal the ship and now he's safely in space again. He couldn't run like this forever, he had to stop Kakarotto from chasing him somehow. He had a rough idea but he had to draw the man out; alone. Pushing that red button had been the last thing he wanted to do, he had poked at the man's pride and challenged him to get to him alone. But that wasn't what ticked him the most.

It was the look Kakarotto gave him after. The bastard was stripping him with his eyes, that bloody bastard! After he had disconnected the communication channel, Vegeta wondered if he indeed knew what the heck he was doing. Probably not. Truth be told, he wasn't sure.

He had been running from Kakarotto for two weeks now, his next destination would make it close to a month. He was still trapped in this universe, in this body no matter where he went… the dragon balls… if they were still on Earth, he would chance it when Kakarotto was off his back. And if that didn't work, would his family or friends… Would the Kakarotto of his universe find a way to help him? Did they know or realised anything? Suddenly he felt utterly alone.

Just as quickly, he perished that thought. He cursed, shaking his personal feelings aside. He loathed self-pity and he wasn't one to wallow in it like a pig in mud. Fuck it, he's gone through worse shit and been through hell; and each time, he had survived and became stronger for it.

He set the course towards the galaxy he had lived in for the good majority of half his life, before heading for the showers.

Safely hidden within the controller compartment beneath the controls, the scouter had already given away his location. The noises from the ship's bridge were enough to mute out its sounds, indicating its presence.

To be continued ~

Phew, what a crazy week, busy with lots of things. I got the word that I might have more projects coming my way… if that is true, I'm afraid I won't be able to update for at least a month or so. So wish me luck everyone ... not sure which one I meant though. It's good to have projects but... it also meant less time for myself.

I think we pretty much know what's going to happen on the next update, don't we?

As always I hope you enjoyed this and hopefully I can start on the next update soon. Don't forget to tell me what you think. Have a great day everyone~ XD