Author's Notes:

Sorry for the late-ish update. I hope I have partially made up for it by posting such a ridiculously long chapter.

Just to cover my bases, possible trigger warning for this one. Just a reminder, this story is rated M for a reason.

Chapter Eleven:

Raditz' nose wrinkled at the putrid smell of the cold, stone dungeon. The air felt stale, and the chill was the type that sunk to the bone. Not a windy, blustery, cold season sort of chill. It was more like the scent of foreboding, wasted space, and an unsettling stillness hanging in the air.

He walked down the dank hallway, trying his best to ignore the disgusting scents and jeering calls from the filth behind the bars. They would not be there for long, as these men were on death row. He supposed they just wanted to show their disdain for the the ones who had caught them once before they died.

Raditz crossed his arms, striding through the dank stillness beside Nappa. He wasn't paying the large, bald man much attention as his thoughts were far off elsewhere.

Quirking a frown, Nappa asked. "What's got you thinking so hard?"

Raditz' scowl softened as he took a deep breath. He waved the torch in his left hand around noncommittally. "Thinking about the results."

"It's been a week, they still don't have the sample completed?"

"No."

Nappa nodded, turning his face back to the hallway he was walking down. The guard had done as the prince suggested, giving a blood sample to the doctors in the medical unit. They had been working on it nonstop for the past seven days, and said it would take until noon this day to have it verified.

They passed a final twist down the hall, finally arriving at the lower dungeon. It was worse here, the air more rancid than in the higher levels. Shouting issued from behind the bars he passed, men calling out their supposed "innocence" to the disgusting hallway. He stopped suddenly, he had recognized the voice echoing from a cell to their right. It seemed they had found Cchini.

~•~ POV Change ~•~

Vegeta was waiting outside, near the entrance to the dungeon. He hated walking down into the dungeons. The men down there hated the royal family even more than they hated the guards. As it was, standing in the outer office of the prison guard, the air still smelled faintly putrid, even being on the ground level.

Vegeta hadn't wanted to have Cchini taken to his own office. He was terrified of what the man would do if he saw Kakarrot, and even more so what the boy would do at again seeing Cchini. Instead, he had borrowed the office of the leader of the prison guards. It was small, but suitable for the purposes for which he needed it.

The past week had gone about as smoothly as one could expect. Kakarrot, for the most part, would follow Vegeta around and see to his wishes. He was timid, mostly around those he did not know. He obviously did not like Nappa much, but had taken a liking to Raditz and Chiva. Elry was quiet, and rather reserved around the prince, but always seemed to brighten when she saw the boy scamper down the halls. It was hard not to brighten when Kakarrot did things like that. It was like he had never been allowed to be a child, and was now making up for lost time. Kakarrot seemed to know mostly where he stood with the prince. Around others, he was quiet and unobtrusive, and when Vegeta asked something of him, he never ceased to jump to the prince's order. When they were alone, however, he was a playful, bright spirit.

Vegeta sighed, tapping his gloved fingers agains the wooden desktop. He hoped Kakarrot was not worried. When the prince had awoken that morning, he had rolled over and peeked his head off the end of the bed. Kakarrot had been sleeping on his stomach, large, powerful back muscles relaxed as he snored into the carpet. Vegeta had felt a pang of guilt at seeing the boy laying on the floor like that, just like he had for the past week. He had tried to offer him a better place to sleep, but he insisted he was most comfortable there.

Besides, Kakarrot's rhythmic, purring snore was far more effective at calming him than... Anything. He couldn't truly remember the last time he had slept all the way through the night in his own bed, and was amazed to notice he had now been doing so for over a week now.

Raditz had surprised him that morning as they and Nappa walked to the dungeon. He seemed to be mentally preparing himself for the possibility of Kakarrot being his brother. Vegeta hated to see his friend upset, but was secretly glad they had not verified the results yet. There was no telling what Raditz would do to Cchini if he thought he had hurt not only a collared boy, but his own brother. As it was, his large bodyguard was grinding his teeth at the thought of the innkeeper.

Raditz had asked questions about not only the boy's well-being, but also his personality. The boy liked the long-haired man, but was still rather timid around any but Vegeta. He had answered all the questions to the best of his ability, but was sure not to tell him about what he knew of the boy's mistreatment. He needed to get answers out of Cchini, and that would require him to be breathing. That was something that Vegeta was sure he would not be doing if Raditz knew the disgusting innkeeper had been forcing Kakarrot into prostitution, brother or not.

With a clang, the thick iron door swung wide, Nappa and Raditz each holding an arm of the struggling innkeeper. The man was smudged with dirt and grime, not to mention blood. There were vivid, blossoming bruises coloring him all over his large body and a gash across the top of his head, coagulated blood covering the area all around it. His hair, so neatly parted just a few nights before, was a disheveled, matted mess. It seemed he had lost the ribbon he used to keep it back, and so the whole lot had fallen in front of his face. He was a large man, but nothing compared to Raditz or especially not Nappa, who were all muscle. Cchini's bulk was almost half fat, and so though he was large, he was not powerful.

The guards dragged the man over, grabbing him by each shoulder before finally getting him to kneel before the desk Prince Vegeta was occupying. He sneered down at the innkeeper, finally ceasing the incessant drumming of his fingertips to the desktop.

"Good morning, Cchini." Vegeta growled, leaning back in his chair.

The man spat at him, once again trying to shake free from the hold each guard had on his arms. "What is the meaning of this?" He shouted. "Why did you send these-" He gestured at Nappa and Raditz with a jerk of his head. "To destroy my inn? What right do you have to do that? You bastards left me down there for days without treating my injuries!"

Raditz, seething at this man's audacity, grabbed him by a fistful of his greying hair. "Is that any way to speak to Prince Vegeta?" He growled. "You're lucky to be alive, you little bastard! If it were up to me and Nappa here, you'd have been dead back at the inn. I believe you owe the prince an-" He tugged the mat of hair back, making the man cry out in pain. "Apology."

"That's enough." The prince warned, smirking approvingly as he leaned forward in his chair. "I think he gets the idea."

"P-Prince Vegeta?" Cchini whispered, eyes wide.

Nappa laughed. "Of course it's the prince!" He boomed.

Said prince smirked down his long nose at the man kneeling before his tiny desk. The wide, yellowish eyes had switched from anger to unbridled terror. Vegeta knew his reputation preceded him. He was known to be a cruel, calculating bastard, despite his young age. While that may not have been strictly true, it suited his purpose just fine. Intimidation was a tool he valued very much, and it seemed to be doing its magic on the kneeling man.

"Thank you, Nappa, Raditz. I can deal with him myself." He said, smirk fading slowly into a glare.

"But, sire!" The large, bald guard began.

Vegeta's glare turned to him instead, dark eyes narrowed towards the gigantic bodyguard. "I know what I'm doing, Nappa. You two can wait for me outside the office."

Sighing, each man let go of the shoulder he had been holding. Vegeta was surprised to hear no protest from the long-haired bodyguard as he left. But, Raditz had had a lot on his mind lately with the results coming in just a few hours. When the door closed back behind them, the prince once again turned his attention to Cchini.

"I've done nothing wrong," The man started immediately, beginning to rise to his feet.

Vegeta growled, holding his right hand palm-up. Inside it sat a concentrated disk of burning ki. He leveled a look at the man, gently spinning the disk in his hand. "Move one more inch, and your head comes clean off."

Cchini swallowed, sitting back into the kneel the two guards had positioned him in. "I've done nothing wr-" He began again.

He jumped and cowered back in terror when the prince's other hand slammed hard onto the desk. "Nothing wrong?!" He shouted, rising to his own feet. "How is there nothing wrong with raping a twelve-year-old boy? For selling him you like a whore to whichever sick son-of-a-bitch wanted him?"

"I-It was... C-consensual!" He called, scooting back on his knees across the stone floor. "The boy's a liar, always has been, you can't trust a word he says, sire"

It was all the prince could do to keep from throwing the disc then. To decapitate this useless waste of air that had made Kakarrot's life a living hell. "You're telling me that a twelve-year-old became a prostitute of his own free will? His tears suggest otherwise, Cchini."

"I- Well, he- he's acting!" He spluttered.

Cchini violently cringed, shaking uncontrollably in fear when Vegeta walked around the desk. It was becoming steadily more difficult to keep his cool. The prince grabbed a fistful of hair, wrenching the man's head back to expose his quivering throat. He slowly lowered his right hand, the spinning disc of death not even an inch from Cchini's wildly pumping jugular vein.

"I will have no more lies from you." The prince breathed in a deadly whisper. "You will never have your freedom for what you have done to Kakarrot, but you can at the very least save your own life."

He watched as that thought sunk in. Selfish tears started welling in the corners of the man's eyes. He nodded slowly, as best he could with the prince's hand still keeping a tight grip on his matted hair.

"Do you want to know why I sent them out of the room?" Vegeta asked, not loosening his hold.

Apparently unable to speak, the man just nodded dumbly again.

"Raditz," He growled, mouth right beside the old master's ear. "The one with the long hair, is Kakarrot's older brother."

He felt Cchini immediately tense, his breath stopping altogether when he heard the prince's words. Vegeta didn't have the definitive proof, but he was almost certain. The stories sounded too similar to be a coincidence. How many boys would be weak enough to plausibly die at birth? And how many would have been born in the Crown City? And then how many more to have the name, Kakarrot? It was true in the prince's mind, and the lab results would show it before this day was up. Either way, even if it was not true, it was having the desired effect upon the quivering coward before him.

"So, Cchini, if you need any more convincing to be cooperative, I can always call Raditz back in here to change your mind."

~•~ POV Change ~•~

Kakarrot stretched and awoke with a relaxed, purring yawn. In the past week, things had settled down considerably, though Vegeta had been avoiding the king like the plague, only seeing him when he was forced to attend meetings and such. Kakarrot knew he had seen a side of his Master than no one else had, and secretly treasured it. He was sure the prince did not. The boy was glad he did not need to accompany the prince to court, for he was sure he would not have been able to look at King Vejiita without glaring, even now. He didn't know what his Master's father had said, but anyone that could cause the prince that much pain was not the sort he wished to ever meet.

The cold had intensified as well, though he always found himself safe and comfortable beside Prince Vegeta's bed. He shifted under the warm, silken blanket thrown over him. He had never had a blanket before... Not even when he was made to sleep outside. The only times he could remember having one at all were the times he was made to stay in a room with a... Client... All night. Sometimes, after they were done with him, they would make him stay. He hated that, as it meant they were just keeping him to use him again. But, at the very least he was sometimes warm.

That was what had happened the day his Master had saved him. The man in room fourteen had kept him there far past his time, and then left before the sun had even risen. He had lain there, on a soft, warm, guest bed until the early hours of morning, trying to recover from the effects of yet another night of service. That is when master Cchini had found him. The boy shivered at the memory, recalling both the humiliation and the pain in sharp detail. Cchini had been furious at his "selfishness" for sleeping where he did not belong. The thought of those welts before he had passed out, the feeling of having a broken tail, all made him want to cry. He almost did, but then stopped when he remembered what it had brought him. Had that never happened, would he ever have been taken in by Prince Vegeta? He didn't know, but was glad that was the case.

Kakarrot felt safe in the palace. He was allowed to be himself around the prince, something he had never known before. It felt so odd, being allowed such freedom, he was almost scared by it sometimes. He had a sense that, maybe he would have the rug yanked from beneath his feet, sending him crashing where he had once believed all was well. He wished for that not to happen, though. He wanted to stay in Prince Vegeta's service.

Kakarrot sat up, stretching his broad shoulders. The blanket he had been curled under slipped off his chiseled chest to puddle in his lap. The light blinding him from the high windows told him he had slept much longer than he thought necessary. Maybe he had been more exhausted than he had thought.

The previous night, he had been with his Master in his personal training rooms. Vegeta had once again taken up his usual routine of sparring, something Kakarrot delighted in watching. The prince seemed to like it when he was there, and made a point of showing him how to preform certain moves. It also gave them a way to train together, something the boy still enjoyed doing, even though it was no longer necessary to his sanity. Those were some of his favorite times over the past week, being able to train. Over the time he had spent at the palace he had gained in both fat and muscle, filling up his malnourished frame. He didn't need to tie his sash as tightly any longer, something he felt rather proud of.

As awareness slowly dawned in his foggy mind, Kakarrot suddenly remembered that he had not been using a blanket the night before. He felt the gentle weave between his fingers. It was the same color as the bed he was lying beside, and so he peeked his head around to see if that was where it had come from. Sure enough, the prince's bed was bare but for its plush pillows and top sheet. The blanket his Master had been using the night before was now curled around his own body, giving him warmth.

There was a gentle depression in the center where Vegeta had slept, but that was all that was left of him. The prince must have woken early and allowed Kakarrot to sleep. The boy supposed he had given him the blanket as well. His eyes caught on a piece of off white paper lying on the pillows at the top of the bed. He stood, reaching a powerful arm forward to grab it.

Kakarrot stared in worry at the note clutched in his hands. It seemed that Vegeta had left him a letter telling him either where he had gone, or what to do until he got back. That was not what worried him, though. The letter was written neatly, with a seal stamped in the bottom. The bright red royal crest was all that let him know for sure that it was from his Master.

He sighed at the paper in his hands. "I can't read."

His thick eyebrows drew together as he intently studied the note. He only knew four words, and that was because they had been on the sign outside of where he had worked: "The Carved Crown Inn". The first word was on there several times, but the rest were odd symbols he had no idea about.

Kakarrot sighed, folding the letter and placing it into his black pocket. There was nothing he could do about it, and so he just reached down to the blanket puddled on the floor, throwing it over the large mattress to remake the bed.

Once finished, Kakarrot walked out into the sitting room. It too was empty. The dishes from the previous night had been cleared, and the room restored to its usual crispness, but he still did not know where to find Vegeta. Suddenly, he was struck with a thought.

"I could ask a guard!" He smiled, turning towards the door out of the prince's chambers.

Kakarrot knew how kind Chiva was, and was sure if he found her standing watch outside, she would help him with the note. Even Elry, maybe would help.

He cracked it slightly, peeking into the hall. The main wing itself, by the looks of it, was being guarded. There was usually another guard right beside the doors, but there seemed not to be one today. He shrugged his shoulders, walking out into the cold hallway and towards the two men standing at attention.

They were facing away from him to look down the many branching corridors through which others would be able to access the prince's rooms. The guard on the right, a tall, sleek man heard Kakarrot approaching, and so spun around to face him.

The boy stopped dead in his tracks.

No, not him, anyone but him. Why is he here? Why would he-? His mind reeled, trying to comprehend what was this man was doing being a guard. Kakarrot hadn't seen him once the entire week at the palace! How?

His thoughts were interrupted by the other guard turning to face him as well.

No, not him too... He whined in his head.

Kakarrot wanted to cry. To curl into a ball and weep, to scream and run away, to be away from these two, horrible men. At the inn, they would sometimes come separately, sometimes together. He had never learned their names, but he knew their faces, knew their voices, knew who they were and what they did to helpless people like him.

The man on the right grinned cruelly, turning to his fellow. "Look who's come to visit us."

Kakarrot was shaking his head in disbelief, backing away towards the prince's chambers. No, no, I'm safe here! He thought, but knew it was not true.

"Wanted us that badly, did you boy?" The left man sneered, advancing on him.

He cried out, walking backwards as quickly as he could to Vegeta's rooms. Tears began leaking from the corners of his dark brown eyes. He had been training, he was strong, but he had no power to combat these men. They had ki, he had nothing to compare to that. Kakarrot spun around, ready to run full-fledged into the room, but one of the men caught ahold of his arm. He screamed, trying with all his might to get away.

No, I'm not a whore anymore. I don't have to do this, Master promised me! His mind cried, but no words could make it past the swelling lump in his throat.

He fought, kicking and screaming incoherently as the men laughed in amusement, pushing him to the ground. He couldn't save himself, he wasn't strong enough. Powerful fingers grabbed at his shoulders, ripping his black shirt along the seams. His Master's red, royal crest was torn in half, crimson thread snapping loudly as his clothes were viciously torn from him. Tears spilled from between his black eyelashes, heart hammering in his chest as he was once again subjected to the humiliation of being weak.

A hand grabbed his tail, squeezing it until his knees buckled. He was sobbing in agony and defeat. He couldn't fight anymore, his body rebelled, and Kakarrot went limp, crashing to the ground in a heap.

He was still clothed, mostly, but his shirt was in tatters. His muscled chest was clearly visible through the gaping holes ripped in the fabric. The first man had already untied Kakarrot's sash, the black materiel of his pants already starting to be tugged down. No, no, no! His thoughts screamed at him, though repeating that word did him no good.

"What the hell are you doing?!" A female voice shouted from down the hall.

The boy mustered the energy to turn his head, being held to the ground as the men preoccupied themselves with humiliating him further. Chiva, hair flying wildly behind her was running at break-neck speed down the hall.

"Chiva," He called, voice choked. "Help!"

Face paling considerably as she took in the sight more clearly, she gave up running entirely, opting instead to just fly. The men had finally taken notice of her, but it was too late. She lunged, kicking the larger man off of him. He swung at her, but she used his momentum against him, making him stumble and fall over. His tail, curled around his waist was all she needed. Kakarrot watched in stunned fascination as Chiva sent a carefully aimed ki blast at it, breaking the strong tail in half. The man cried out, rolling onto his side to get off the shattered tail. She had not even scorched it, but just sent enough power to break a few of the delicate bones. He passed out abruptly, mind unable to process the pain.

The other man, much smaller than the first, held Kakarrot by the neck as she advanced towards him. He had the boy in front of him, Kakarrot's left arm twisted behind his back, joint searing painfully at the unnatural angle.

"Let him go, or I'll cut off your godsdamned tail." She growled.

The man holding him looked worriedly to his fallen comrade, but still held tighter to the boy's quivering throat. "I could say the same to you, bitch." He snarled. "The kid's fair game. You can have him when we're done."

"Let him go!" She shouted, advancing on the man.

He tightened his hold over the boy's windpipe. Kakarrot struggled, unable to breathe. Tears flowed more freely from his eyes as he choked, trying with all his might to extricate himself from the strong grip.

Kakarrot didn't want Chiva hurt, but he didn't want to die, either. She backed away a little, giving them both more space. The man, occupied with Chiva for the time being, was paying him little mind. The boy grunted, trying to wriggle his arm into a better position. It was pinned between the man's front and his own bony lower back, making movement impossible unless he shifted. He was using Kakarot as a living shield, preventing the short woman from throwing a ki beam at him like she had the last man.

"What right do you have to him?" She growled, tail bristling.

"Leave us, bitch. We've got some more important things to be seeing to." He snarled.

She almost pounced at that, sickened by his cruelty, but then saw the tiny droplets of blood forming on the side of the boy's throat. Grubby fingernails had opened flesh there, tiny streaks of crimson falling down the his tanned neck as the man continued to tighten his grip. Kakarrot's mind went fuzzy, his only task to free his arm.

Finally, with one last tug, he wriggled his left arm out of the way, grabbing hard onto the tail around the man's waist. He howled, releasing the boy and dropping to his hands and knees as Kakarrot violently squeezed.

True to her word, Chiva sent a hard, little blast directly to the base where Kakarrot had it held out for her, cutting the appendage clean off. The man passed out at her feet.

Dropping the disembodied tail, Kakarrot curled into a ball, weeping profusely. He scooted away from the body on the ground, finally coming to rest in a corner next to the chamber door. I am weak. I am weak. I am still weak. He thought bitterly, coughing as he tried to get his bruised throat to work properly.

Chiva sighed, looking both serious and distraught at the same time. She clicked some buttons on the side of her scouter, staring worriedly at the huddled boy from the corner of her eye. Connections between her private channels opened up and she began speaking into it.

"Prince Vegeta, I am sorry to interrupt, but Kakarrot was just almost raped by two guards." She was breathing hard, fighting back the adrenaline rush that had just assuaged her senses. "What would you like me to do with them until you get here?"

He heard a deep, worried voice coming from the scouter. It shouted, swore, and then unintelligible muttering reached the boy's still ringing ears.

"Yes, sire." Chiva pressed another button, opening another channel. "Raditz, Elry, I need you two in the prince's wing now." Without waiting for a reply, she closed connection and dropped to her knees beside the boy.

"Shhh, it's okay." She whispered, laying a comforting hand on his shoulder. "They're not going to ever be able to hurt you again."

Kakarrot nodded, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. "Th-thank you, Chiva." He said, voice rougher than usual in his abused state.

His stomach was twisted into knots of anxiety, tears sliding down his crinkled nose and flushed cheeks. He felt violated, physically and emotionally. He had believed he was safe, only to then have that hope shattered, like it always was. He sniffled, fighting back the true waves of panic and terrified sobs rushing forward to leave his abused system.

"Shhhh, it's okay." The short, female guard whispered, sitting beside him. She reached an arm around his shoulders, letting him rest against her side as he slowly regained control over himself. It wouldn't last long. "Do you know those men?"

Kakarrot nodded against the side if her large breast. "Th-they used to come to the inn." He whimpered, leaving it at that.

~•~ POV Change ~•~

Raditz growled, running down the hall after a cursing Vegeta. The prince had burst out of the office, told Nappa to get Cchini back into his cell, and for him to get moving. Not even a second later, he had heard Chiva through his scouter. "Raditz, Elry, I need you two in the prince's wing now." before it cut off.

They flew down the halls, the long-haired guard shouting after Vegeta for answers, but getting none in their haste.

Finally, the two skidded to a halt in the entrance way to Vegeta's wing. There was a man, a little smaller than Nappa, knocked out on the marble floor. His tail was at such an odd angle it must have been broken. On the other side of the wall was a smear of blood and a brown, Saiyan tail lying in the middle of it. Then, at the far end of the hall sat Chiva, gently holding Kakarrot's shaking shoulders as the boy sobbed into his hands.

"What happened?" Raditz asked immediately.

"Two guards tried to hurt Kakarrot. Elry just took that one," She gestured to the smear of blood and tail. "to the dungeon. That one," She nodded to the unconscious form with a broken tail. "is for you."

Vegeta stared, taking in the sight of Kakarrot as he bounded up and rushed over. His clothes were violently torn apart, ripped so viciously in places that they hardly served the purpose of clothing any more. Several red marks were visible through the holes in the materiel, surely bruises still yet to form. His head was bowed as he ran for the prince, sobbing incoherently as Vegeta's arms enveloped him in a comforting embrace. Kakarrot's black hair was a disheveled mess, even more disorderly than usual. Worst, though, was the stricken, horrified look on his red, sobbing face. Tear-tracks glittered over his flushed cheeks, still falling from his tightly closed eyes and onto the prince's royal armor.

"Master!" He wailed. "Master, I'm so sorry!"

"Shhh, it's alright, Kakarrot. You have nothing to be sorry for." He cooed, stroking the boy's tail.

Kakarrot winced as Vegeta's fingers found a sensitive spot about a third of the way down, and then another right towards the end. He let out a tiny whimper at each point, moving tighter into the prince's embrace as his fingers gently traced them.

"Is anything broken? Are you seriously hurt?" He asked, stepping back to get a look at him.

Kakarrot shook his head, looking solemnly at the ground between them. "N-no, but they grabbed my tail, so it hurts."

He hugged the boy tightly again, resting the shaggy head again upon his shoulder. "It's alright. You're safe now. Here, follow me." The prince whispered, gently smoothing the fabric ripped open over the boy's muscled chest.

Once assured that Kakarrot was being well cared for by Vegeta, Raditz walked over to Chiva, still sitting against the wall. He offered a hand, picking her up by the strong grip. "You okay, Chiva?"

She looked at him deeply. She appeared shaken, not by the battle, but by what she had seen moments before they got there. Her dark red hair was knotted around her pale face. No, of course she wasn't okay.

Finally, she nodded. He wished more than anything that he could have kissed her, then. Or even just held her in his arms like Vegeta was for Kakarrot. He turned his head around, watching the prince lead the boy into his chambers by the grip on his tail. The chamber door swung shut behind the pair, sending a clear signal of "keep out" to the guards in the hall. Sighing, Raditz leaned in close to her. She was looking away, gaze fixed upon anywhere but her mate's face. There were no witnesses, she needed this, who was he to deny her? Even if she didn't know what he was planning to do.

Quickly, softly, the long-haired bodyguard landed a chaste kiss on her flushed cheek. She jerked her head up in surprise, eyes going wide as she first searched his face, and then the halls. They were empty. He had already checked.

Raditz smiled at her. Then, without another word, he turned, grabbing the limp body on the floor to take back to the stone dungeon he had just left behind.