Tarble hugged Goten closer as he waited anxiously for Raditz to get in contact with Vegeta. The still crying cub was inconsolable as he spoke of what he saw in his dream between broken sobs. Tarble was disturbed by the dream itself; the beta had no idea how or why the black haired boy had dreamed of something so vivid, and it made him very worried about his nephew. They had been so careful to keep things like that from the cubs for this very reason. They were just too young.

The boy started to cough as he continued to vent his emotions. His small hands fisted in Tarble's shirt as if the submissive prince was the only thing keeping him from falling back into that horrible nightmare he just had.

A beeping was barely heard over Goten's crying, and Tarble had never felt so relieved as he rushed into the sitting room with his arms full of half saiyan. Once at the console, he saw his older brother already on the screen.

The older man's eyes widened at the sight of his youngest stepson in tears. The alpha didn't think something like this would happen only a week after he had left the planet, and he felt guilty that he couldn't be there to comfort the cub.

"Goten?" Vegeta's voice made the cub freeze for a moment before he pulled his face out of Tarble's tear soaked shirt. His breathing hitched as he saw his father, and a hiccuping cough rattled his frame. "What's wrong, tesoro?"

"Daddy! You need to make her stop!" Goten moved forward so fast he nearly fell out of the beta's lap. It was only Tarble's reflexes that kept the black haired cub on his perch. "Tama's hurt! She won't stop! She-she…!"

His eyes squeezed shut as he sobbed again and hiccups were interrupting his breathing. Goten pulled his dragon closer and buried his face in the plush fur as he saw what his tama was going through in his dream again. His whole body shook in stress and from his sobs.

"Calm down, cub." The prince spoke with a soothing tone. "You'll get sick if you don't. Take a deep breath." He gave a small smile as the boy followed his instructions. "That's it. Now…tell me again."

"T-the mean lady, she's hurting tama!" Goten said between his hiccuping sobs. "She keeps hitting him and won't stop." He whined loudly as he squeezed his dragon. "H-he…He was b-bleeding and crying…"

"Take another deep breath for me, tesoro." Vegeta said calmly as he saw the cub getting worked up again. "That's my boy." He praised as the boy listened to him.

"S-she, she hurt his tail too, really bad. Tama screamed so loud…." Goten whimpered as he remembered his tama's scream. "Daddy you have to make her stop! She's hurting tama!" He begged.

"I know, son. I'm going to make sure she doesn't hurt your tama again."

"Why can't you stop her n-now?" he sniffed.

"We have to find her first, tesoro, she's hiding and we have to catch her." Goten whimpered as his eyes filled with tears again. "Hey, I promise your Tama will be ok." Vegeta cooed to the chibi. "I know it was scary, but it was just a dream, alright? Your tama is very strong, remember?" Goten nodded with teary eyes.

"But what if she hurts him again? W-what if-"

"Shh, its ok." Vegeta cut the distraught child off. "You can't worry about if it happens again tesoro, you can't think like that. You'll make yourself sick. Your tama and I don't want that."

"But I don't want tama to hurt!"

"I know." Vegeta replied softly. "I don't want him hurt either, but some very bad people took him, tesoro. As much as we don't like it, your tama is going to be a little hurt until we can bring him home. He'll be ok, Goten. Every time you get scared and worry about your tama I want you to tell yourself that. Can you do that for me tesoro?" Goten nodded as his hiccuped breathing finally calmed and came to a stop.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Goten asked with a frown on his face. "You said you wouldn't call me names anymore." Vegeta smiled a bit relieved that the boy wasn't crying anymore.

"I can stop if you like but this is a very special name, Goten, it's my way of showing you how special you are to me."

"Like how you call tama Karo and he calls you Geta?" The chibi asked as he leaned back on Tarble's lap and cuddled his dragon. His eyes fluttered sleepily as he leaned back on Tarble's chest.

"That's right, just like that."

"But its not like my name." Goten said with a confused pout. "Gohan only ever called me Ten, and tesoro isn't like that."

"You're right its not a short version of your name, nicknames can be new words that mean something special."

"So what's mine mean?" Goten asked curious with a yawn.

"It's a word in our old language." Vegeta gently explained. "When I call you Tesoro, I'm calling you "my treasure" because I love you and all your brothers very much."

"Th-that's a nice name." The crying had exhausted the cub and his eyes fell shut as he murmured, "I love you too daddy."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes for a moment, studying Goten's face. Seeing that the boy didn't look like he would wake any time soon had the alpha's shoulders sagged as he looked back to his sibling.

"He's out." The older male whispered, and Tarble relaxed back in the chair he was sitting on. "What brought this on? I wasn't expecting a call like this for another week or so."

"I'm not sure, but something just seems off. Goten's dream was too detailed to be a random nightmare. Dear Kalious, his screams Geta…I never want to hear that from him again." The beta tiredly commented as he shifted his nephew in his arms. He could see the tear trails that had been left on that innocent face, and Tarble felt his heart clench before he gently dried the child's face with the sleeve of his sleep shirt. "He hasn't been sleeping well understandably, but this was the first time he's been this upset."

"We'll worry about that later, I'm just glad he's calm and sleeping for now. I just hope it doesn't get that bad again for your sake and his." Vegeta looked at the younger prince in concern. "You should get some rest as well. I know from experience that taking care of all three boys is very taxing on a person."

"I'm just thankful that Trunks and Vegito have been somewhat easier to handle. Although, Vegito has had his moments, but as long as he's with me, they're not so bad. Any news on Kakarot's location?" The beta looked eager for any information so he could pass the word along. He had been getting inquiries every day from various saiyans about their Prince Consort.

"We've got a lead from one of Bardock's old contacts on where Shiveria was last located. Apparently she's very similar to Frieza, and her men just conquered a star system three to four weeks from our current location."

"Do you think she'll stay there long enough for you to get there?"

"From what I know of her, she will. She'll need to be close if she wants to sell the planets. Fortunately, that could take months for her to do. If we are lucky we can reach the system before she gets wind of our approach." The dominant's eyes burned with determination. "I'll check in with you in a few days, brother. Take care of yourself and the cubs."

"Good luck, Vegeta. Bring him home." Tarble said disconnecting the call on his end. Vegeta sagged in his chair and ran his hands through his hair in a mix of exhaustion and frustration. He seriously was hoping Goten and the kids would have been ok longer than two weeks. He just hoped he managed to calm Goten enough to keep him from getting that inconsolable again.

"What happened to Goten?" Vegeta looked up to see his eldest half asleep in the doorway.

"He had a nightmare about Karo." Vegeta said running his hand through his hair again before rubbing his neck in exhaustion. "He was so worked up about it he almost made himself sick. Goten begged me to make her stop hurting him." The alpha shivered at the image of his mate bleeding how Goten described it. He couldn't imagine what that was like for the child to see, especially one as sensitive as Goten.

"Why would Ten have a nightmare about that?" Gohan asked dropping into another chair as Bardock leaned against the wall. "I know Tarble and Raditz wouldn't have told them anything that could have given them that kind of idea."

"Your brother is very attached to Kakarot, Gohan." Bardock offered. "His mind could be dealing with his fears and worries about his Tama with this nightmare."

"Tarble wonders if it could be something else." Vegeta offered. "He thinks it was too detailed to just be his fears playing out. I'm not sure what to believe, I just hope it doesn't happen again."

"Is that possible?" Gohan asked surprised. "Could Goten actually know what was happening to Dad?" Bardock growled a little.

"Its possible, but very unlikely." He said finally. "That kind of ability does exist, I've seen it, but I think your brother is a simply a very empathic person and combined with his nightmare and anxiety about Kakarot it played out more vividly than it would for another child. Goten isn't that naive about being hurt as you think, Gohan. He told Kakarot and I what your mother did to him. He also told us about fighting Buu; your little brother has some mental scars, Gohan. I know you had similar experiences at his age but you aren't as soft hearted as he is."

"Don't beat yourself up, Gohan." The eldest saiyan said sharply. "You tried to protect him from everything you went through and give him a real childhood. For the most part you succeeded. We can't worry about Goten right now, as hard as that is. He's going to be fine and all the cubs are safe in the palace at home."

"Bardock's right, we need to focus on getting Karo back home. There's nothing we can do about your brother right now. Getting Karo home will do the most good for the cubs and us."

"You and Gohan should get some sleep, Vegeta." He said placing a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder. "I'll take the next watch and wake you if something happens."

+++VK++++

When he woke next, Goku was laying on his stomach beside his kennel in a painful daze. He cringed every time his chest expanded to take in air as the movement pulled at the still open lashes on his back. It felt like his lungs were on fire with how painful breathing was, not to mention the throbbing that came from his poor tail.

It was like he was underwater. Shiveria was speaking with Oaklio at her desk but his pain-fogged mind didn't seem to grasp at what they were saying as he drifted in and out of awareness. He let his eyes close against the overhead lights and pushed his face into his cushion to ease his headache with a faint whine in his throat.

"You certainly did a number on him, mistress," the goat said as both stopped beside him. "I've never seen you do this much damage to any of your pets before now."

"He is easily the most stubborn pet I've had to break." She hissed in irritation. "Will he require additional treatment or are you done?"

"Let me perform one last inspection, mistress." One onyx eye opened and stared up through the haze of pain as the goat began prodding his back almost gently. Goku felt the occasional set of stitches now that he focused on the hands touching him as his eye slid closed again. An irritating snap near his ear caused him to turn his head away from the sound as it was repeated several times. The sound made the pounding in his head worse.

Before long a hand grabbed his head and lifted it up and pulled open his mouth. Yellow eyes narrowed as he looked down his sore throat, and Goku let him. He didn't want to fight the doctor, not when they could possibly stop his pain. That changed when a bright light shined in his pupils making his head feel like it was splitting open.

Goku couldn't stop the growl that came instinctively, but no sound was heard. He blinked a few times in confusion after Oaklio switched the light off. The goat lifted a brow at the lack of noise, and he leaned back with a hand rubbing his chin.

"I need you to say something, monkey. I don't care what, just speak." Oaklio waited impatiently as the beta tried to make sense of the request.

He opened his mouth to ask what the brown haired man wanted to know, but once again, no sound was heard. Feeling a little more aware, Goku tried again. A small whine of confusion was heard when the saiyan finally stopped. The goat-like alien was unsurprised from the look on his face and left the saiyan as he gathered his instruments.

"Everything seems to be mending just fine save for his tail, mistress. There was no sign of head trauma either or any side effects from the procedure you requested. I would like to recommend that your pet remain resting here in your rooms until his stitches come out." Oaklio reported as he got to his feet. "If he is forced to move more than necessary for bathing or otherwise, it could cause massive damage to the muscles in his back. He'll need the lashes washed everyday while they're open and healing to stop infection since you declined bandages or ointments for quicker healing. I will provide a solution suitable for your commands and visit daily if you prefer."

"Very well. I do not want my pet too damaged despite the marks he left behind." Shiveria muttered the last part as she felt over the three slashes on her chest. "I believe that is all I require of you at the moment, Oaklio."

Goku tried to ask what was wrong with his voice, but he ended up having to whine to get the attention of the other two in the room.

"What was that, pet?" Shiveria asked with a cruel smile. "I can't understand you. You need to be a little more clear." Goku flinched at her tone and how much her words reminded him of Chi-chi.

The submissive painfully moved his arm so he could point at his throat. He whimpered in pain as his skin shifted.

"Oh, you want to know why you can't speak? That's just another part of your punishment. While you were unconscious, I had an epiphany. Pets can't talk back to their owners. So I had Oaklio here partially paralyze your vocal cords, now there will be no more of that irritating backtalk or growling from you."

Goku's heart sped up in fear as his breathing quickened. She….she took away his voice? He tried to growl or purr, anything to make some kind of sound but all he managed was a low whine in the back of his throat. Panic and terror threatened to overwhelm him. How could you just take away someone's voice!

"You should be grateful pet, now you don't have to worry about that mouth of yours getting your cubs into trouble." Shiveria said carelessly breaking Goku from his thoughts. "It's not irreversible of course, not yet anyways; although I find the idea has a certain appeal to it. I'll admit you've forced me get much more creative pet. Since my usual methods proved ineffective on you I've decided to try some new tactics." She knelt next to the cage and looked Goku in his eyes relishing in the fear she saw beginning to grow there. "If you're good, maybe I'll decide to fix your voice pet. Of course, I have no problem making it a permanent feature, its not as though you actually used it for anything besides disobedience." Goku whined softly, flinching as she touched his bruised cheek.

"I'm far from done making you pay for your actions pet, your punishment is only just beginning." She smiled as Goku's breathing hitched and panic filled his eyes.

"Oh, I'll keep my word pet, your little cubs are safe so long as you do exactly as you're told. No, I have other ideas for your continued punishment." The beta jerked with a silent scream as her tail delicately lifted his. "For starters this ugly tail of yours is going to heal on its own. I personally think it's an improvement, and doesn't your tail ring look so nice." She said as her tail caressed the black limb while Goku whimpered trembling in pain. Just the feather soft touch was enough to make him want to vomit.

"I think we'll see how you behave without eating for a few days. Besides, we wouldn't want you to make a mess in your room if you get sick from the pain, now would we." Goku whimpered as his tail was let go. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you what will happen if I return to find you disobeyed me and hurt yourself further, do I pet?" Goku shook his head weakly before she stood and walked to the doors of her room.

"Be a good boy, I'll be back later this evening." She said almost cheerfully before plunging the room into darkness and locking the doors behind her. The beta buried his face in the cushion once again and choked on a silent sob as he lay in the dark. He knew Shiveria was no doubt aware of his tears, but he took solace in the fact that at least she couldn't see them. His watery eyes looked over at the window, and he could see the faintest of red stars. Goku bit his lip and let out another whine.

'Geta...please hurry.' he prayed silently. 'Please….I can't do this by myself.'