Thanks to Ivanoma for beta-reading.
For the people who want to know: The supervisors with whom Boris lives found him after he escaped from camp. I see I didn't mention this in the story. They found him and kidnapped Boris with them again. He's still used to being a slave for them so it's hard for him to ignore that behavior.
I don't own.
Chapter 25. Initiation.
Vegeta heard a knock and went to answer the door. The Prince raised an eyebrow at the three warriors in front of him. "What do you want?"
One of them grinned. "We heard you have a new member. We're here to ask if he's in." replied a man with two spikes on his head.
Vegeta looked at Gohan. "Half-breed, go to your room."
Gohan looked back at him. He was arguing with Raditz about lessons and wasn't in a very good mood. "What? Why?"
"Because I said so. Now go!" Vegeta snapped back.
Gohan crossed his arms. "Since when aren't I allowed to hear your conversations?"
"Are you disobeying me?" Vegeta asked raising an eyebrow as his tail lashed out and gave a warning flick behind him.
Gohan's tail twitched a bit in fright and the boy scowled at him. "All right! But I'm not agreeing with it!" He yelled at Vegeta before he went to walk to his room.
Raditz, however, landed his hand on the back of Gohan's neck. The boy widened his eyes before he lost consciousness. Raditz grabbed the boy on the back of his shirt before he fell down on the ground and smirked at Vegeta. "Now he won't be listening to us."
Vegeta chuckled and motioned for the three warriors to come in. Raditz picked the boy up and carried him to his room. There, he put the boy on the bed and closed the door. Raditz walked back to the couch, where he sat down with the others. Vegeta looked at the adult Saiyans. "Are we in?"
Raditz shrugged. "I wouldn't mind." He answered numbly.
Nappa nodded. "It's tradition."
The three warriors grinned. "So, he's in?" The three adults nodded. The man named Clii grabbed a document. "His name?"
"Gohan." Vegeta answered crossing his arms.
The man raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like a Saiyan name."
Vegeta shrugged. "We took him from another planet."
Clii nodded and wrote the name down. "Race is Saiyan." He muttered while writing it down. "Let's see. Is there anything we can't do to him?"
Vegeta smirked. "Will you be listening to these restrictions?" He asked disbelievingly.
Clii shrugged. "We have to ask it." He said waving with the papers.
Vegeta waved the answer away. "You can do what you want with him. He can handle it."
Clii grinned at him. "Are you sure? We have tough volunteers this time."
Raditz smirked. "He's probably survived much worse." He answered amused.
Clii nodded. "Okay, everything will happen tonight. Make sure you are all gone and he is the only one in the house. Everyone sends the victim to bed around 8. We will be coming around 10 so make sure he is really sleeping."
"How long will it take?" Vegeta asked, earning a shrug from Clii.
"Probably somewhere around 10 in the morning. You can pick him up in front of the Grimaol building." Clii grabbed a small packet containing white powder and handed it to Vegeta. "This is something to make them sleep. Put it in his drink and he will be out within the next ten minutes." He said with a wink.
The three adults nodded and they all got up. They directed the warriors out of the apartment and smiled at each other. Raditz walked to Gohan's room. "I should probably wake him up or he won't be able to sleep tonight."
That night, Gohan yawned as he was sitting on the couch. The boy crossed his arms and rubbed his neck where Raditz had hit him earlier that day. His uncle sat down next to him and handed him a drink. "Don't be such a baby, Half-breed. I didn't hit you that hard."
Gohan frowned at him. "Yes, you did. I didn't even deserve it." He muttered, looking back at his drink. The boy caught a whiff of something and frowned. He looked at Raditz. "Have you put something in my drink?" He asked suspiciously.
Vegeta sat down next to him and smirked. "Sometimes I hate the fact that Saiyans have such a great sense of smell." He said amused as he pushed the drink towards Gohan's lips. "Drink it."
Gohan frowned. "No way. What's in here?"
Vegeta shrugged. "Something to make you sleep better. With those nightmares you need a goodnight sleep."
Gohan shook his head and went to put the drink away. "I can sleep fine without it." He muttered.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Drink it or I'm forcing it down your throat."
Gohan widened his eyes and moved to throw the drink away. Vegeta, however, grabbed the boy's arm and snatched the drink away. Raditz took this as his cue and grabbed the boy's arms. Gohan struggled as Vegeta pushed the drink to Gohan's lips.
Vegeta frowned. "Drink it."
Gohan shook his head and pressed his lips together. Raditz pulled the boy's head back by his hair but Gohan kept his lips shut. Nappa sent a small blast at the boy and Gohan gasped as it hit him. Vegeta took this opportunity and pushed the drink to the boy's lips. He tilted the glass's contents into the boy's mouth. Gohan retched as Vegeta poured everything in his mouth and he was forced to swallow it. Vegeta smirked and put the glass on the table.
"Good boy."
Gohan shuddered and got up. The boy walked to the bathroom where he went to stand in front of the toilet. There he put a finger in his mouth and retched. He needed to get this out of him right now. The boy frowned and tried again. The door was violently pushed open and Vegeta stalked inside. He grabbed the boy by his hair and pulled him outside.
"I don't want you to throw it up!" He snapped as he pushed the boy onto the couch roughly.
Gohan looked up at him with a frown. The boy crossed his arms and looked away. Raditz put an arm around him. "Just to make sure you stay here." He said amused. Gohan scowled at him and looked down.
A few minutes later, Gohan yawned. This caught the attention of the others, who made sure the lights were dimmed and Gohan wasn't doing anything. Raditz was gently stroking the boy's arm. Gohan yawned again and rubbed his eyes. Damn he was tired. Raditz pulled him a bit closer and Gohan fell back against him, his head resting on Raditz's shoulder. Gohan's eyes threatened to close and the boy shook his head. After this they closed again. The three adults waited a while until they noticed Gohan's breathing slowing down.
Raditz smirked. "He is asleep." He said looking at the younger Saiyan.
Vegeta nodded and stretched. "Put him in his bed. Meanwhile we will make sure we have everything and go to the restaurant."
Raditz nodded and pulled the boy up to carry him to his room. There he put the boy in the bed and covered him with the sheets. "Good luck, Nephew." He muttered before he walked away.
"Wake up!" Gohan opened his eyes to find himself surrounded. The boy gasped and jumped up, but six hands grabbed him and pushed him down on the bed. Gohan struggled and tried to power up before he noticed he couldn't. The boy searched for a reason for his inability to power up and noticed a collar around his neck.
Gohan looked at the men but he couldn't see them in the dark. They got a hold of his hands and pushed them behind his back. "Come on, newbie." A low voice said as he pushed Gohan forwards. The boy struggled and cursed.
They pushed Gohan in the hallway where Gohan noticed another teenager in cuffs. Gohan looked at the other victim and looked back at the kidnappers. "What the heck is going on?" The answer he got was a punch in the stomach. Gohan gasped and looked down.
They pushed him into the elevator. They were joined by a few groups, and, in the end, they walked out with ten other victims. Gohan looked around when he was pushed outside. He saw everyone else and counted something around fifty victims. They were all pushed in a line opposite a big group of adults. Gohan looked around and noticed a few familiar faces. He spotted Boris among the group but he was too far away.
"Ladies and Gentlemen." The group fell silent as a low voice thundered in the air. "We present to you the newcomers of these five years. Now you have seen them from the outside, let's take a closer look at them."
The three men around Gohan attacked him and pulled on his uniform. Gohan growled and tried to push them away. One man punched him in the stomach, weakening the boy. Gohan still tried to fight them but they successfully ripped his uniform off. Gohan took a deep breath as he was now standing in a tank top and boxers. He was glad he took Vegeta's advice and put a tank top on.
Gohan blushed and looked down as they waited for everyone to be undressed. "Well, we should be proud. Our warriors have added a lot beautiful bodies." The adults laughed and the teenagers looked down. "We have to give them a small treat. It's nothing serious, just a little something to keep them under control."
Gohan's head was pulled back by his hair and his mouth was opened. A green liquid was tossed in his mouth and Gohan retched. The fifteen year old swallowed it and immediately felt nauseas. The boy gagged and vomited. The three around him frowned. "Let's try again." They pushed Gohan on his knees and forced it down his throat again. This time Gohan did the same and threw up. The boy received a punch to the gut. "Stop doing that!"
"I can't!" Gohan screamed back at him, receiving another punch. They pulled his hair back again to try it one more time.
In the group of adults, Vegeta frowned. "What are they giving them?"
Another warrior shrugged. "Probably Water Reso liquid. That's a good way to keep people quiet."
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Of all things, they use that." He muttered frowning.
Raditz watched Gohan. "We should have mentioned that."
Vegeta shrugged and floated in the air. He landed behind the warriors and tapped one on the shoulder. "Stop that. Saiyans are allergic to WRL. His body automatically evacuates it out."
The man nodded. "All right. We didn't know that." Vegeta shrugged and floated away.
Gohan looked up. "Vegeta! You'd better get your ass over here and free me!" He screamed at the older Saiyan. Vegeta ignored him and floated away. Gohan received another punch.
"Be glad we can't use WRL on you, kid!"
Gohan growled and looked down again. They pulled him up by his arms and pushed him back in the line. "Now we are getting to the real thing. Say goodbye to the innocent little children. They'll come back after they get a good look at the real world." The amused voice thundered out over the people.
They were turned to the right and pushed forwards. Gohan growled and tried to power up again, his collar sparked and he received another punch. Gohan screamed. "That's it!" The boy ducked and kicked a man in the stomach. After this, he turned to another man and punched him away. The boy growled and whirled around to kick another man away.
The group of spectators started cheering for the little Saiyan. The volunteers all frowned and looked his way. Vegeta chuckled. "He's fighting them."
"He's going to regret that." Nappa continued watching a man dressed in a black cloak and mask coming closer.
Meanwhile Gohan was attacked by five others. He punched one man in the stomach but the man grinned and grabbed his arm.
"Too weak, kid." He tossed Gohan on the ground where he stomped down on Gohan's back with his foot.
Gohan screamed and tried to get up, but the others were faster. They grabbed his arms and pulled him to the center of the group.
"We always hope for an example. See this stubborn little Saiyan."
Gohan looked up and frowned. They pushed him to the ground where they grabbed his arms and legs. Gohan struggled but couldn't get up.
"Thanks to his cooperation we can make an example of what happens when you don't listen."
Strong hands grabbed the back of Gohan's tank top and torn it from his body. The boy looked up when a man with black clothes and a black mask only showing his eyes sauntered up. "Meet the bully."
Vegeta smirked. "Aw."
The bully pulled the whip back and landed it on Gohan's back with a yell. Gohan gasped as spots of blood dripped on the ground. The bully sadistically pulled the whip back, licked his lips and landed it on the boy's back again. A deep red bloody line remained as the whip was pulled back again. The bully landed it on Gohan's back for the third time and Gohan whimpered.
"Come on Saiyan! Show us how you really feel!" The bully yelled as he pounded on the boy's back with the whip again. Gohan clenched his teeth and pushed his head on the ground. The bully tried it one more time but Gohan wasn't going to scream. "He's stubborn." The bully said amused.
Another warrior grinned and grabbed a bottle with alcohol. "Let's change that." He tossed the alcohol over the boy's back and Gohan screamed this time. The boy struggled as the alcohol spread over his fresh wounds.
Gohan let his head fall down as they pulled him up again. "So?" The amused voice asked the boy. "How did that feel?" Everyone fell silent and listened for the half-breed's reply.
Gohan looked up, noticing everyone was focused on him and smirked. "Fantastic."
The adults all laughed and Gohan was pushed back in the line again. The teenagers were all pushed towards a big dark door. Gohan looked sideways and noticed the Saiyans. Vegeta smirked at him, Raditz waved and Nappa winked at him. Gohan narrowed his eyes and glared at him until he received a smack against his head. "Look in front of you, Kid!"
Gohan looked up when he was pushed inside the dark room. "Welcome to hell."
A few hours later, the three Saiyans were looking around for their comrade. All the teenagers were on their knees with their noses on the ground. Their hands were tied behind their backs. Some had rips on their backs giving evidence to the fact that they had disobeyed. Vegeta looked around with a frown but grinned when he noticed his young comrade. The Saiyan Prince looked at the other two. "I found him!"
The other two nodded and followed him to the ground. Gohan was in the same position as the others with his nose at the ground. The boy's back was red and inflamed, covered with welts and open wounds. The boy frowned when they landed. "You'd better touch me." He muttered looking down.
Raditz chuckled. "Why?"
"I'm not allowed to get up until you touch me." Gohan muttered irritated.
Raditz shrugged. "Maybe we should leave you here." Gohan sat up and frowned at them but before he could say anything two blasts were sent his way. They hit his back, forcing him to the ground again. The boy whimpered and Vegeta concluded that wasn't the first time it happened.
Vegeta smirked and touched Gohan on his shoulder with his foot. The boy sat up and closed his eyes, waiting for the blow. When it didn't come the boy looked back at the warriors, who waved at him with a grin. The boy sighed and looked to the Saiyans. "Wow, look," He stated accusingly. "My family."
"Wow, I thought we came here to pick up a teenager, not a baby." Vegeta chuckled when Gohan sent a glare his way. "Don't worry. As you've probably noticed, you weren't the only one." He answered gesturing to the other teenagers still on the ground.
Gohan frowned. "Still. I can't believe you set me up for this, damn it."
Raditz pulled the boy up and untied him. "Come on. Let's get back to our apartment."
Gohan pulled away. "I can walk by myself." He muttered looking down.
Vegeta rolled his eyes and Raditz ignored the boy. The older Saiyan put a blanket around the boy's cold body and pulled an arm around him. "Come on, humor me." Gohan frowned but decided to do as asked. The four Saiyans walked into their apartment and Raditz directed Gohan to the couch. There he laid the boy down on the couch. "Let me see your back."
Gohan sighed and pushed his head in the pillows. "Warm." He muttered as a shiver traveled through his body.
Raditz smirked and pulled the blanket down. He looked at the boy's wounds. "Wow, this is terrible, boy. You really made them mad." He said amused.
Gohan frowned. "I didn't even do anything." He complained shifting on the couch.
Vegeta chuckled. "Of course not." He answered giving the boy a warm drink. "Just like we don't have a reason for beating you up."
Gohan ignored this and sipped from his drink. The boy sighed and put the drink back on the table. Raditz came back with a bucket filled with water and a cloth. There he sat down next to Gohan and he gently started cleaning the boy's back. Gohan flinched when Raditz touched him. Raditz smirked. "Baby."
Gohan growled. "You don't even know what they made us do in there." He muttered.
Vegeta grinned as he sat down on the chair next to the couch. "I'd love to know, though." He said as he put a hand on Gohan's hair. Raditz smiled at Vegeta, who returned the amusement.
Gohan went to shake his head but found out he couldn't since he was lying on the couch. "You will only enjoy it. I am not giving you the satisfaction of knowing it."
Vegeta shrugged. "They will probably give us a report about it. They love taking pictures of the initiations." He said with a smirk.
Gohan sighed. "Great."
Raditz put the cloth in the water and squeezed it. "Damn, how many times did you disobey them?" He asked turning to Gohan's back again.
Gohan frowned. "I'm not letting them force me to do those things without a fight."
Vegeta shook his head. "It's an initiation, Half-breed. You were supposed to be quiet and do everything they say. You will be humiliated for one night to make clear where you really stand. The older warriors outrank the new ones, and you have to listen to them. It is something to show you who your superiors are."
Gohan was done with this. He just had the worst night he had in years and here they were preaching him again. Gohan growled and went to get up. "I'm going to my room." Raditz watched Gohan struggling to get up. The other two watched for a while as Gohan tried to get past Raditz, who held a hand on his back. The boy growled. "Let me go."
Raditz smirked. "Lie down." Gohan frowned but lied down again. He wasn't able to move so why bother trying it? Gohan flinched as Raditz turned to his back again. The boy looked at Vegeta, who caught the glance and grinned at him. Gohan narrowed his eyes and turned away. Vegeta chuckled and watched Raditz treat the boy's back.
Gohan closed his eyes and thought about everything that had happened last night. At first they were fed the most disgusting things, which they just pushed in their mouths. After this they pushed every teenager into a mud-like substance and made sure they were covered entirely. Every teenager was covered with the substance, only to be pushed in the coldest shower they ever felt. After this they were forced to do sparring matches against people without collars, which they couldn't win and were easily defeated and knocked out.
After that, they had to stand for hours on a pole and everyone who fell down had to spend the remaining time in an ice cold pool. Gohan was one of those able to hold on for a very long time, but fell down after a while too. The last course was running around and jumping for hours and hours. At the end they pushed the exhausted teenagers outside and after giving them all a brief cool down with a bucket of ice water, they were pushed on their spots outside the building. There they had to wait in these uncomfortable positions until their comrades came and touched them. Gohan calculated that he waited there for three hours.
"So, tell us." Vegeta said amused. "What happened?" He asked poking the boy on his head.
Gohan frowned and ignored him. Raditz smirked and caressed the boy's tail, earning a snicker. The boy glared at him. "Stop that."
Raditz shrugged. "You ignored the prince." He said gesturing to the Saiyan prince.
Gohan looked at Vegeta. "I don't want to talk about it." He said frowning at the Saiyan.
Vegeta shrugged. "Okay,"
Raditz finished cleaning Gohan's back and got up. "Maybe we should get something to ease the pain." He muttered walking to the kitchen to dump the water.
Gohan closed his eyes. "I am fine."
Vegeta stretched and got up. "I am hungry." He announced walking to the kitchen.
The other two adults nodded. "Me too." They said simultaneously. The two adults smiled at each other and grabbed something to eat.
Vegeta put his own plate on the table and glanced at Gohan. "Half-breed, you want something too?" He asked the boy. Gohan didn't answer and Vegeta raised an eyebrow. The man walked up to Gohan and looked at the boy.
A smile edged on the man's face and he cleared his throat. The other two looked at him and Vegeta waved them over. Raditz and Nappa got up and walked towards him. Vegeta pointed to Gohan and the other two looked too. Raditz shook his head and Nappa chuckled. Gohan was lying on the couch, rolled up under the sheets with his legs pulled up and his arms around them. His face was nearly pushed in his knees. The boy shivered and Raditz put the sheet around him tighter.
Vegeta walked back to the table and smirked. "How long should we let him sleep?" He asked the others as they sat down.
Raditz shrugged and grinned. "We are always the one sleeping and he is always waking us up. It is like everything is turned upside down."
Vegeta nodded amused. Nappa grabbed a bite from his food and shrugged. "I guess we owe him one. We were able to sleep, but he stayed up all night."
Vegeta nodded. "We will let him rest, for a few hours."
Later, Gohan woke up and yawned. The boy blinked a few times until he noticed he was being watched and looked to the side. Vegeta smirked at him. "That took you long enough."
Gohan growled and got up. "God, my back hurts." He whined only to earn a "Figures" from Vegeta. The boy yawned again and stretched. Gohan got up, deciding he could better get dressed. The fifteen year old got off the couch and went to go to his room when he noticed something and looked down. He was already wearing an unbuttoned shirt and black pants. The boy raised an eyebrow at Vegeta.
The older Saiyan shrugged. "We noticed the temperature in the room and you started coughing so we decided to play it safe and dress you."
Gohan nodded and stretched. The boy fell down on the couch again and looked at the table. "What's that?" He asked pointing at an envelope.
Vegeta smirked. "Take a look and you'll find out."
Gohan grabbed the envelope and opened it. He got pictures out of it and frowned. "Damn it."
The first picture was of Gohan standing outside with others, still held in the line. The second was when he was inside biting his lip with closed eyes as he was under the cold shower. The third one was of Gohan and Boris, who were standing side by side and grinning at each other. Neither was looking very good, but they had a look in their eyes that said: 'We'll get through this together.' The fourth picture was of Gohan in a fighting stance in the arena. And the last one was one of him kicking one of the warriors away.
Gohan pulled a face. "I guess it could have been worse." He muttered frowning. "You're the only ones with these pictures?" Vegeta nodded.
Gohan sighed relieved. "Good, I'll be burning them."
Vegeta chuckled and snatched the pictures away from him. "Oh, no." He said looking at them. "We're keeping them."
Gohan frowned and got up. "Fine." He muttered numbly. Not that he really cared if they kept them. The boy walked towards the kitchen and grabbed something to eat.
Vegeta looked at the pictures and smirked. "Now I at least know a few things that happened there."
Gohan shrugged. "You would have heard about it anyway."
Vegeta nodded and looked at the picture of Boris and Gohan. "I like this one though, this picture of you and your friend together. You seem to be having fun, there."
Gohan chuckled. "Not really. We just can't be sad around each other, I guess." He answered earning another question from Vegeta.
"What happened there, then?"
Gohan shrugged and thought of that moment.
Flashback ****Gohan and Boris stood in line waiting to be picked for the next fight. Boris looked at Gohan's back. "How's your back?"
Gohan looked forward and shrugged. "It's fine. How's yours?" He directed his gaze to Boris's own back.
Boris pulled a guilty face. "Did you notice it?"
"Of course." Gohan answered with a grin. "Remember I have an excellent hearing so I could hear every time someone was punished. Don't think I wouldn't notice you being punished."
The one next to Gohan chuckled. "Don't even try it." He said amused before he looked at Boris. "Your little friend isn't telling you his torturers left him on the ground to help yours." Gohan whistled innocently, earning a chuckle from Boris.
Gohan looked at the other boy. He was wearing a tank top too and black boxers. The boy's muscular body was purple with orange spots, reminding Gohan of the spots on a cow. "You just ruined it."
The boy grinned and shrugged. "Sorry, I couldn't stand to see your friend getting lied to."
Gohan pouted. "Well, it's true. I can hear a lot."
The boy nodded. "I know. You are a Saiyan."
Boris frowned. "Wow, I remember feeling embarrassed when they undressed us in front of everybody."
Gohan shrugged. "It wasn't nice but I guess it is nothing that they don't have."
Boris shrugged. "True. The girls weren't undressed, though."
Gohan laughed. "No, of course not!"
Boris grinned and sighed. "That would be so much nicer for us." Gohan and the boy nodded in agreement. Boris looked at Gohan again. "We just keep running into each other huh?" He asked amused.
Gohan nodded. "I really thought I got rid of you."
Boris kicked his butt. Gohan grinned and did it back. "Hey! You two!" A tall man with two horns on his head and a purple body waved at them. "Quiet!" Gohan made a face at him. The man growled. "You'd better be nice, monkey, or you will get another punishment." Gohan pouted and the man turned to Boris. "And you! Stop siding with the monkey!"
Boris pulled an innocent face. The moment the man turned away Boris and Gohan chuckled. "We just keep getting into trouble." Gohan said amused.
Boris looked at him. "I guess it's you. You always get me in trouble."
Gohan shrugged. "But you always stay with me."
Boris nodded. "And I will always be with you." The two boys grinned at each other, oblivious to the man taking a picture.
Flashback ****
Gohan turned to the counter while Vegeta put the pictures back in the envelope. The two Saiyans looked up when the door opened.
() **** **** ()
I hope you liked it,,