Chapter 33. He
His mother's ashen face was altogether still. Vegeta kept staring at her slender form beneath the furs hoping her chest would rise. He didn't dare to blink because he dreaded the thought of missing it when she finally started breathing again. How long had he been standing at her bed? It must have been hours. She never once breathed, her chest had not moved at all. She couldn't be dead, he refused to believe that. His mother was like a goddess and goddesses didn't just die. They had eternal live.
Next to him stood the great King Vegeta. There was nothing great about him anymore. His father had lost all his might. The King's laments chased away the deathly silence that tried to settle upon them and the sleeping chamber in the Queens bower brimmed with the sadness that went out of him. It was strange to see tears on his father's face and Vegeta wouldn't have believed the King capable of weeping if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
Vegeta didn't weep. His mother was bound to wake up from this odd slumber soon and then everything would be back to normal. She would smile at him and tell him how brave he was and she would laugh away his father's tears. Her dark eyes would shine again and the life would return to her beautiful face.
His father fell to his knees and someone was on the floor with him immediately to help him back up. Vegeta recognised his mother's lady in waiting with the pretty face and long black hair.
"A terrible tragedy that the Queen had to be taken from us at such a young age." the lady spoke dolefully. The sadness she proclaimed never reached her cold green eyes. "The grief of her passing will be shared by all of your nation. None, I believe, shall sleep on this fateful night but my King, will you not try and rest a while? It has been a trying day."
Vegeta watched how the lady with the long hair led his father away by his arm, softly speaking words of comfort. The young Prince was left alone with his mother, staring at her and willing her to wake up. The Queen still refused to move and gradually tears started to fill his own eyes as he realised that the goddess would wake up no more.
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Hot suns above, scorching heat before him. Amidst a lamenting gathering, a great phyre devouring the body. Grey smoke clouds reaching for the light purple sky. A shaking hand coming to rest on his shoulder. His father's tears falling to the ground. Pangs in his heart leaving him breathless. The urge to release his pain through screams. Roaring flames dancing before his eyes. A choked sob.
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Vegeta didn't understand all the commotion. There were guardsmen on patrol in all the halls of the palace and no less than four stood outside the doors to his apartments every minute of the day. Everywhere he went two of them tailed him, followed him like shadows. He had asked his father about it, but the King seemed incapable of even speaking lately. Ever since the Queen's passing the King had remained inside his solar where he sat staring out in blank space for days on end. Sometimes he wept, sometimes he slept. Mostly he just sat there waiting to wither away.
Everybody apart from his father was fussing over Vegeta. His lessons had become more pressing and demanding than ever and everyone was constantly nagging him about being strong and standing firm. Tragus most of everyone. His father's confidant just wouldn't leave him alone.
"You must stand firm, young Vegeta." Tragus said yet again.
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Why are there so many guards at my doors?"
The sturdy man crouched down on one knee before him and put a fatherly hand to his shoulder. Vegeta shook him off brusquely. The kind smile Tragus gave him was distorted by a gruesome scar running across his face, making it look more a hidious mask.
"In these uncertain times there are always those who wish to take over the throne. It is of the utmost importance that you remain safe. If your father fails to conquer his grief, may the Sweet Mother prevent it, you must take his place as our King."
"I don't understand!" Vegeta hollered angrily as he was unable to suppress the despair he felt any longer. "What is wrong with my father? Why will he not come out of his solar?"
Fear threatened to swamp him. Was his father ill as well? Would he just refuse to wake up one morning and leave him like his mother had?
"Is he going to die too?"
Tragus' expression was alarmingly plain. "Sometimes when mates part, the one that remains is unable to live without the other. It is often said that there are but two ways out of a bond: death or insanity. Many simply perish and there are some who sever all ties with their own minds and live as solitary creatures in the wilderness. They become much like beasts really. After a while they even lose the power of speech and ultimately there is nothing Saiyajin left in them."
Vegeta was horrified.
"Not all hope has faded yet, Prince." Tragus spoke soothingly. "There are also those who find a healthy way of living with their loss. My mother for one. She lived another three decades after my father's passing. The King is very strong. In body and mind. If anyone is able to adapt to a life without his mate, it is your father. All we can do for him is pray and..."
Vegeta didn't wait for Tragus to finish his words. He scuttled to the King's solar, threw the doors open ignoring the guards' objections and yelled: "You cannot leave me!"
His father, once so powerful a man, so hearty and generous and full of mirth, looked up at him with dead eyes from where he sat at the table inside the front room of his solar. Vegeta ignited in fury. He charged at the King and started throwing desperate fists at him until the man showed some form of life again by pulling Vegeta in a tight embrace.
"Son." the King whispered.
Vegeta hated himself for weeping again but he couldn't stop the tears from falling. If his father left him he would be all alone. He wasn't ready to become King! He wasn't ready to loose another parent! He was a six year old boy! Tears soaked the front of his father's shirt as Vegeta half fought, half embraced the strong man who held him.
"I am not ready, father." Vegeta sobbed hopelessly.
"Fear not, Vegeta. I am not leaving you." the King spoke reassuringly.
Vegeta broke away from his embrace and searched the King's sad face for truth. "Then you are not dying?"
The king smiled sadly. "I will not deny that it is what my heart desires. Your mother will not let me. She says it is not my time yet."
Vegeta feared that his father was loosing his mind and would become a beast like Tragus had told him. "Mother is dead! She cannot speak to you!" he yelled.
"But she does. She speaks to me from beyond. A bond does not stop after death. We are tied together for eternity." the resoluteness in his father's face left no room for debate.
Vegeta wiped his tears with his fists. "What does she say? Is she happy there?"
"I dare say she is, lad." the King answered softly. "She says that everything becomes clear once you enter the Undying Fields. She can see the future and there is a part that I need to play before I can join her there. She also told me how proud she is of you, Vegeta. You are destined to do great things."
Vegeta, now eager, scooted onto the chair next to the one his father was sitting on. "What kind of things?"
"This she cannot disclose. It is not for the living to know what is to come."
Vegeta was a bit disappointed. The light seemed to want to return to his father's sad eyes so he didn't dwell on it long. "Will you come out of your solar again soon, father?"
The King nodded and relief washed over the young Prince.
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Barren wasteland vibrating with heat. Nappa and Raditz behind him grinning. A sore arm. The scent of blood drying on his armour. Stained gloves. Disgust, horror and pride tumbling inside him. The planet before him wiped clean of everything living and dead.
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Vegeta wrinkled his nose in disgust at the sight of Dodoria shoving in food whole trays at a time. He halted at the armrest of Frieza's seat behind the control panel. His eyes briefly followed the stars whisking by in the darkness of space behind the broad window inside the main control room.
"Does he ever stop eating?" Vegeta asked with another distasteful glance on Dodoria who was now stuffing his fat face with pie.
Dodoria's head snapped up, his astounding row of chins jiggling as he did. "What was that, Saiyajin?"
Vegeta bared his teeth in a provoking smirk. "I said stop eating. You're starting to weigh down the ship, you fat fuck."
"Why you little shitbag, I'll rip you to shreds!" Trays were rocketed into the air when the now furious Dodoria shot up from his chair to charge at Vegeta.
"Dodoria!" Frieza called him back.
The plump, pink warrior froze in the midst of his attack at the call of his master and he looked at Frieza sourly. "My Lord?"
Frieza cackled at his expression. "Though I might not have put it so indelicately, he is right, Dodoria. You should ease up on the cake. Now take a walk, I want a word with Vegeta alone."
Dodoria clenched his fists at his sides and started out of the control room seething.
"Make that a run. Work off some of those pounds." Vegeta called after him.
Dodoria's shoulders visibly tightened, but the door slid shut at the moment he whirled around to shout a reply.
"Now Vegeta, as much as I enjoy watching you have fun, I can't keep allowing you to insult my men." Frieza spoke with an eerie warmth in his scratchy voice.
Vegeta folded his arms. "Well, it's true isn't it? That pink blob is becoming as big as a cargo vessel."
Another maniacal cackle. "True, but Dodoria has his use. In spite of your magnificent progress his power level is still several thousand points above yours. Does it not trouble you that he might decide to retaliate?"
"Not in the least." Vegeta replied loosely. "He'd have to catch me first and with all that extra weight he's carrying around I don't expect outrunning him will pose a problem. In the end I think his inferior speed would cancel out any points that I am below him in strength."
Frieza laughed in agreement as he got up from his chair, the claws on his feet making scraping sounds on the tiled floor. "I think you might be right."
The silence was filled with dread and Vegeta listened to the swishing sound of Frieza's thick tail swooping back and forth lazily. It alarmed him unbidden and his every muscle primed to either fight or flee, even if he already knew that whatever happened next, he would do neither of the two. Fleeing would be a disgrace and for fighting he wasn't ready. The only thing aiding him in standing firm right now was the prospect that one day he would have his revenge.
Frieza lifted a clawed finger to the screen in front of them where a small unknown galaxy was displayed. "I've had my eyes on this little cluster of planets for a while now and since my father recently made known he has no interest in this galaxy, I think the time is right to make my claim. Personally, that is. And I want you to accompany me, Vegeta. I do like seeing you in action."
Frieza's suggestive smile said enough. Vegeta chose to ignore it. He would go on this purging mission even if it meant having to suffer the ogling stares of Frieza while he wiped those planets clean. It would help make him that bit stronger again and that was all that counted in the end. No matter how disgusting, this sickening adoration Frieza felt for him was something he continued to benefit from. After all, the end justified the means. One day he would surpass Frieza and make him pay for everything he had done. Until that day… Well, he would just have to swallow his pride.
"Yes, my lord." Vegeta spoke with feigned veneration.
Frieza seemed very pleased and his heinous smile was almost warm for his standards. "We leave in an hour."
Vegeta inclined his head and left to get ready.
Out on the hallway he ran into Cui. That wasn't a surprise. Frieza's fish-faced henchman had made it his personal business to keep track of Vegeta's doings at all times. Vegeta was the only thing standing in the way of Cui becoming Frieza's third top man alongside Zarbon and Dodoria so he was always looking to catch Vegeta at fault.
Frieza had high regards for Ciu, the man's loyalty was sincere unlike Vegeta's. Frieza knew that Vegeta's allegiance only went so far, the lord wasn't stupid, but he did have a soft spot for Vegeta and that gave him a head start in the race to becoming top man. Vegeta didn't really care about the position. It was only that being ranked that high would make his life in Frieza's service a lot easier. It would give him more freedom to act on his own accord. Then he would spend even more time gaining strength and preparing himself for his ultimate battle with Frieza.
The way things looked now Vegeta had a good chance of becoming the third man, but Frieza was still unwilling to simply pass Cui over. It was probably because the lord's ratio told him that in the end Cui would be the better man for the job. He could rely on Cui while Vegeta would screw him over the first chance he got. That still didn't change Frieza's feelings for him though and Vegeta would continue to milk those until they were utterly spent.
"It's minging of fish in here." Vegeta said with distaste. His eyes fell on Cui and he laughed mockingly. "Oh, Cui it's you. I failed to notice you flopping about in the shadows there. Did you come to see Frieza off?"
Cui narrowed his orblike eyes in gall. "Off to where, Saiyajin filth?"
"They haven't informed you yet? What an outrage!" Vegeta shook his head acting as though he was truly appalled. "That one of your rank should suffer such contempt. I can only imagine how that pisses you off. I gather you might as well hear it from me: Lord Frieza is leaving the ship for a purging mission."
Cui's eyes grew big. Frieza rarely went on a purging mission himself. It was clear that the scaled warrior smelled an opportunity. "Has he chosen who will accompany him yet?"
Vegeta smirked. "He has in fact."
Cui's ugly face clouded over. "Who is it?"
"Well me, of course." Vegeta let out a bark of laughter and left Cui behind looking like he was about to choke.
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A gentle scent. Silky blonde hair falling in his face. Soft flesh in his hands. Locking lips. A muffled cry reminding him to be gentle. Slowing motion. Whimpers of agreement. Frustration soon mingling with welcome relief.
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"It has been brought to my attention that you have taken a fancy to one of my female employees." The distaste was clear in Frieza's voice.
Vegeta cocked a brow. It must have been Cui who brought it to Frieza's attention. That fish-faced fuck. He folded his arms unimpaired.
"I fancy fucking her. There is no rule against that, is there?"
"There should be in your case." Frieza's black lips twisted into an unpleasant grin. "It doesn't matter anymore at any rate. I just thought I should inform you that she has been put to death."
Vegeta couldn't stop the laugh that stirred in his throat. Did that hideous freak seriously think this would upset him? He just had his needs like any man and the blonde servant had been more than willing to assist. There had been nothing more to it. Sure, it was a pity she was gone, she had been about the only attractive woman on Planet Frieza 31, but Vegeta would survive. He had other goals in life.
"I know rape is the more accepted form of intercourse around here but to put a woman to death for enjoying herself is a bit steep if you ask me. I do hope you didn't expect this would get to me, Lord Frieza because then I would have to disappoint you. I honestly couldn't care less."
Frieza didn't look too happy with that announcement. Soon enough the sinister smile was back on his face though. "My dear, handsome Vegeta. Of course you don't care. I didn't expect you to. Why, this wasn't an act of revenge. It just had to be done. What you did to her conflicted with my plans."
Vegeta was overcome by the trusted feeling of revolt. He might bear it, he might even undergo it without struggle for the sake of a higher cause but he was never, ever going to pretend that he approved of it. "You do know this thing you have for me is a one way deal, right? I have never given you my consent and I never will."
Frieza scrutinized him, his eyes lingering at Vegeta's crotch. "Now why would you feel the need to say such a thing? Could it be that you are starting to question your own motives, Vegeta?"
"I don't take pleasure in being raped." Vegeta spat. He bridled his fury and reminded himself that if he exploded in rage now, Frieza would get exactly what he wanted.
"You don't seem to mind it much either." Frieza said. "Tell me, was it painful to realise that I have corrupted you to the point where you care too little to even put up a fight."
"You're interpreting me wrong." Vegeta assured him.
He did care. What Frieza did to him disgusted him. What sickened him more was the way the brute seemed to enjoy it when he struggled. That was why he didn't fight. He wanted to make it as unpleasant as possible for Frieza to rape him.
Frieza rippled his long black nails onto the table next to which he was standing. "Did you know the girl was with child?"
Vegeta had not known. It didn't really surprise him, or move him in any way. What did he care? All that mattered to him was becoming the strongest warrior, the one that would put Frieza in his place. Everything else was side issue.
Frieza seemed disappointed by Vegeta's lack of emotion. He was clearly out to upset him in some way.
"That is the reason why she was put to death." Frieza continued with a condescending smile. "You see, sad as it is for you that your home planet was destroyed by that meteorite storm, it was a blessing to the rest of us. The Saiyajins were a despicable race and I will not have you spreading your vile genetics."
The grip he had on himself gave way. A faint voice in the back of his head told him that Frieza now had him exactly where he wanted him. Vegeta no longer cared. He charged at the disgusting monster knowing it was a mistake when he found himself being rammed facedown onto the table by a clawed hand in his neck.
"You had me worried for a while, Vegeta. It is good to see you still have some fire left in you."
Vegeta ground his teeth and fought to break away fiercely at first. Then as he realised that fighting Frieza only gave him a sense of control, he stopped struggling. He wouldn't give Frieza that satisfaction. Frieza's claws tugged at his clothing and he closed himself off by fleeing inside the safe place inside his head where he would only distantly have to bear witness of the assault on his body.
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The promise that this time had been the last time. Wroth consuming him. The confines of his space pod soothing him with the prospect of another tour. A short reprieve in which to build more power. The small round spaceship trembling as it was flung into space.
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"Well that takes care of Raditz." Nappa said as he turned off the scouter on the right side of his face. "I would have liked to see him fry. Took us ten days extra to purge this stinking planet without him."
Vegeta sat chewing on the shank of one of the former inhabitants from the fairly large planet they had just finished purging, chucked away the remains of his food and gave a growl in reply, though he hadn't really listened to what his subordinate said to him. He came to his feet, stretched his tired limbs and started to pace around their small campsite, his brown-furred tail curling and uncurling behind him as he brooded on the information they had just overheard on their scouters.
Raditz, who had deserted the WTO and his Prince a moon's turn before they embarked on their current mission, was just killed on a planet called Earth by his younger brother Kakarot. Why Raditz had decided to go rogue and seek out this brother on the foreign planet was a mystery to Vegeta. He cared little about it. What did interest him was the conversation between the two brothers he had overheard via the scouter. A conversation about something called dragonballs and their supposed power to grant wishes.
If this was true Vegeta could very well have stumbled upon the weapon he had been searching for all these years. The weapon that would enable him to overthrow Frieza. Had the long years of biding his time finally come to an end? Was this his way out? As if the very thought of betraying Frieza could be transmitted over the scouter on his face, he took the device off and double-checked whether it was tuned out before dropping it on top of the rest of his belongings: a cracked, bloodstained armour and his worn, even bloodier battle gloves.
"Turn it off." Vegeta demanded indicating the scouter on Nappa's face and cutting across the gargantuan Saiyajin's continued rant about how Raditz had gotten what he deserved for being a recreant.
"It is off." Nappa said, checking his scouter nevertheless to be certain.
"Good." Vegeta said, resuming his pacing around the campsite under the watchful eye of his subordinate. "Now what exactly is it, Nappa, that you deduced from the conversation we just overheard, apart from Raditz' celebrated death?"
The enormous bald man gaped at him from his spot on the ground, his dark eyes holding the trademark vacant expression he got whenever he was challenged to use his brains. "What? You're talking about the dragon's balls? Well, they can bring people back to life, can't they? So, you want to use them to bring back Raditz?"
Vegeta sighed accepting that this was what he got for letting the immense Saiyajin think for himself. Nappa had proven his use through the years, but he wasn't the one to seek aid from while shaping his grand plans to overthrow Frieza. For that, sadly enough, Vegeta had always turned to the sharper minded Raditz. All he had ever needed from Nappa was his insane strength.
Even so, talking of his plans would help him create some order in his rattled mind and for that reason he explained: "They do not just bring people back to life. That Kakarot said these dragonballs can grant any wish one might have. I would not waste such power on the continuance of Raditz' sorry existence. I told him that tail would be his downfall. He can stay in hell, I do not need him anymore. Not now that I have this powerful tool at my disposal."
Nappa was still watching him closely, ever ready to obey orders, even if it was quite plain that he hadn't the slightest idea what course his Prince's mind was taking. "What would you use them for?"
A smirk crept to his face and Vegeta felt rather victorious as he spoke: "Immortality, Nappa. I will wish for immortality and gain the strength I need to defeat Frieza. I will destroy them all. Cold, Frieza and all their pathetic underlings. I am going to bring down the whole WTO."
High on his own thoughts Vegeta took his place in front of the fire again and his laugh sounded as mad as he felt. He would finally have his revenge. He would make them all suffer, suffer the way they had made him suffer. He needed to act fast. Frieza expected them back on planet Frieza 23 within a forthnight and if they didn't turn up in time it would raise suspicion.
Preferably he made his wish within the short time he had left before having to report back in, but it was impossible to reach the far Milky Way Galaxy of Earth that fast. The other option was to be well on his way before Frieza had time to become aware of his absence on Frieza 23. Once Frieza did find out that Vegeta wasn't there, he would not have enough time to track him down and beat him to the punch. And even if Frieza did follow after Vegeta, he would never come in time to stop Vegeta from making his wish.
Then perhaps this planet Earth would be the arena where he defeated his oppressor.
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A darkened room impregnated with the scent of innocence. Furtive entering. A cot. Calm breathing filling his ears. Big blue eyes looking up at him curiously. Pride. A miniscule hand clutching his gloved finger. His firstborn.
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"You would do that for me?" Bulma whispered, her blue eyes even bigger than usual from surprise.
"You are the mother of my son, I will do anything in my power to protect you from harm." Vegeta answered gruffly. He sighed when he found the woman in tears behind him. "Ah fuck, woman. Not the drama again please."
"That is so sweet of you." Bulma half sobbed. She was biting her lip to keep herself from bursting out in tears.
Vegeta ignored her remark and announced coolly: "I have to go away for a while."
Bulma hurried to catch up with him when he paced out of the kitchen.
"Where to?" she asked worriedly and when he didn't reply: "When will you return?"
Vegeta just marched on through the corridors. He was stopped when the woman literally threw herself in his path. She rammed her fists down on his chest repeatedly and he allowed her. He didn't even feel it. When she met his stare, she backed away. Frightened yet also still very angry.
"Damn it, Vegeta! Answer me! You know I hate it when you do this!" Bulma shouted.
"We go over this routine every time, woman." Vegeta said unmoved. "You know I am not going to tell you. Why do you even bother?"
"Because I care, that's why!" she yelled hysterically.
Vegeta simply lifted her out of his path by her slender waist and resumed his way. If he wanted to become a super Saiyajin he couldn't use any more distractions. Not from his son and certainly not from the woman. He needed to get out of there.
"You're just going to leave us worrying about you for months again?" Bulma screamed now totally out of control at his retreating back. "You selfish piece of shit! I hate you!"
She shrieked when he halted to throw her a look over his shoulder. Once she would have been hanged for the way she spoke to him. Now there was nobody left to care. Not even Vegeta himself. The front door slamming shut after him was his only answer.
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The same cot years later. Another secret meeting. A diminutive creature sucking her thumb. Excited little noises. Eager hands reaching up at him. The soft lump of life in his arms. Adoration. A full head of silky blue curls resting in his hand. His Princess.