~He was shaken awake, it was still night but the sun was starting to rise and left a browninsh glow on the horizon. He looked up sleepily into the eyes of his father. "Get up. It is time to leave." Groggy he stood on shaky legs and ran to keep up with his father's long stride. King Vegeta stalked down corridors and the prince watched as dozens of guards ran about the halls carrying various items and shouting orders. His father stopped just inside the gates and bent on knee to look his son in the eyes, "You are a brave and proud warrior. The prince of all saiyajins. Now are you prepared to take your first step to help your people?" Vegeta looked at his father fully confused but nodded and put on his bravest face. "You are leaving with this _man_ and you'll do as he says. Do you understand?" Vegeta looked through the gate to a lone figure standing amidst destruction the pale white skin shimmering in the early dawn and a light cackle came to his sensative ears. Vegeta shivered and leaned into his father, King Vegeta pushed him away with one arm and cupped his small chin in one large hand. "Do you understand?" Vegeta's teary eyes blinked but he nodded in response. "Now go." Vegeta turned toward the man outside the gates and walked slowly toward him. The beast held out one hand and vegeta came to stand before him, "Watch this boy, I think you'll enjoy it." The voice was a silken but with an edge. Vegeta turned to where the man was pointing and saw his father standing in the gates. A sharp point of light came from the man's finger, bursting through King Vegeta's chest. He yelped in shock and collapsed onto the ground. Vegeta screamed lunging toward his father but was stopped with a cold hand on his shoulder. "Come with me brat. Do as your father says." Evil laughter swam in his head as the hand squeezed on his shoulder sharp claws digging into his skin...~
Vegeta came awake with a start, Radditz was sitting back with a hand outstretched to the Ouji his eyes wide in shock. "Ouji-sama, are you alright?" Vegeta could feel the sweat spilling down his spine and sticking his suit to his body. Instinctively he put one hand to his shoulder and felt the small raised bumps of scars and shivered despite the heat.
He looked up at Radditz and grunted before standing and walking toward his pod. He shut the door and sat in the cold seat, pulled his knees to his chest and rocked lightly. He could feel the anger rise in his insides where it always started. His mind felt clogged and he could feel the tingly burning sensation in his stomach that rose into his throat. His muscles began to twitch, the flow of his blood quickened until all he could hear was its roar and the ragged intake of his breath. With a violent scream that ripped his vocal chords raw he stretched and blew the small ball of metal apart.
***
Radditz had watched Vegeta twitch and whimper lightly in his sleep for nearly ten minutes before he decided to wake him. Just as he'd touched his shoulder Vegeta came awake with a sharp yelp. Radditz sat and looked at him for a moment, he must have been having one hell of a nightmare. Even after waking, the Ouji never would show any internal emotion yet there he sat shaking and gripping his shoulder. After Vegeta went to his pod Radditz went to sit with Nappa again to finish their bullshit stories. They only ever conversed as friends when Vegeta was sleeping or away for a time and being alone in a bubble made it harder for them to express their troubles for fear of Vegeta's wraith.
Nappa was in the middle of a dirty joke when Radditz felt a tremble in the earth and looked toward its source. Nappa stopped in midsentence, the punch line forgotten, as light seaped out of every crack in Vegeta's pod before it shattered like frozen glass. Jumping to thier feet, Radditz and Nappa ran to the wreckage and began to heave chunks of metal that hadn't flown outward. After moving several larger sheets, Radditz could see Vegeta seated neatly with his legs crossed under him and his arms across his chest a look of irritation twitching on his face.
"Vegeta what the hell happened?!" Radditz mouth gaped as Vegeta stepped from the wreckage without a single scuff. Vegeta looked at the steaming rubble and kicked some sand into a smoldering piece of shrapnel. He sat with a thud onto the ground and shut his eyes. Radditz sighed and went back to his spot, Vegeta wasn't going to divulge any information.
Vegeta's stomach rumbled lightly but he chose to ignore it. There was no food and for once he didn't feel like eating. Radditz had gone to his pod to radio a tracker ship to pick them up. Nappa was just playing in the dirt. The nightmare still clung to Vegeta's brain in a haze of swirling color, he'd repeatedly touched the scars on his shoulder to remind himself that though it was a nightmare it was also a memory.
***
The day drug on slowly, Radditz said a transport was less than five hours away and they had been tracking the storm, saying it would wear itself out within an hour. For once they'd been correct. A little less than an hour had passed when Vegeta could see the winds die down slowly and the sand start to settle and slide to the sides of their bubble. He'd kept to himself after the whole nightmare incident, he had caught Radditz watching him from the corner of his eye a few times. Whenever Vegeta had noticed, he'd turned slightly to put his back to him. Nappa seemed indifferent to the whole thing, he'd never questioned anything the Prince had done or would ever do. Vegeta supposed it was because he was an elite guard and that questioning what a superior does wasn't worth the bother because they'd never get an answer.
Knowing this grumpiness was going to stay awhile he resigned to the scraps of his pod and rummaged through them for any salvagable pieces. _What the hell is wrong with me? Not controlling my anger and blowing up a pod, I must be going insane._ Vegeta threw a few smaller chunks over his shoulder and heaved the larger out of his way and found his scouter unscathed by the blast laying beneath the rubble. He picked it up, placed it over his ear and flipped the screen down over his eye. As soon as he filpped it on a screaching voice pierced his ear.
"VEGETA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Dammit, stop your yelling, yes I can hear you! Fuck!" Vegeta gripped the side of his head and grimmaced.
Zharbon's voice came back across in a more normal level, "Where and the hell have you been, I've been trying to reach you for more than two hours!"
Vegeta smirked slightly and replied, "Had a glitch with my pod that I was taking care of. What do you want?" There was a silence for a moment before Zharbon's voice crackled across the distance.
"I have some good news..."
"Well don't just stop there, what the hell is your _good_ news?"
"You are aware that Freeza and myself went to a distant planet for some odd thing or another?" Vegeta nodded as though Zharbon could see, "We were jumped on arrival. Apparently this new race we're tangled in is quite strong. A lot of them are dead, but about fifty of them managed to beat Freeza to a pulp." Vegeta's eyes bulged and jaw dropped open. "I'm not kidding, Vegeta. Not about something like this. We're on the transport that's picking you and your crew up." Vegeta smiled, large and toothy. Radditz had watched him since he'd found his scouter and when Vegeta smiled a cold shiver ran up his back.
Laughing, Vegeta signed off with Zharbon and awaited the transport with a happier disposition.
***
Vegeta's laughter echoed in Zharbon's head long after he had turned off his communication. Walking slowly through the hall of the transport, he turned several corners and entered the room designated as his own for the time being. He entered and locked the door behind him and put the speaker on the wall on privacy so he wouldn't be disturbed. Taking the communicator from his ear he set it on the tabled beside a low bunk. He walked to the bathroom and filled the sink with icey water and splashed his face. Looking into the mirror he watched water drip from his chin before roughly drying it with a damp towel. His hair had grown another few inches, which made him very happy. Now it was almost to his shoulders but still too short to really make a good braid so he had taken to tying it loosely at the nape of his neck.
He'd just gotten layen out on his cot when the door buzzed. _for Chrissake..._ Picking himself up he shuffled to the door and unlocked it, a low class warrior stood at the door at attention. The boy said nothing, just stood there like a statue. "Well? What the hell do you want?" The boy shrank away slightly.
"Sir, We've reached the pick up point of Vegeta and his crew. Do you wish to go to the surface?"
Zharbon looked at him funny, "No, just get them up here. There's no reason to stay on the planet." Snapping his feet together he replied with a curt, "Sir!" before leaving. Zharbon sighed and shut the door and locked it again. He plopped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow, _How dumb do you have to be...this is a transport ship, I mean gawd don't these people have brains?_ Zharbon drifted slowly to sleep, his face still pressed into the musty pillow.
When he awoke a couple hours later, the lights in his quarters seemed harsh to his sleepy eyes and he grunted and rolled onto his stomach. He reached out a hand and dimmed the lights considerably so that his eyes were happy but he could still see around his quarters.
"Mood lighting, eh? Should I have brought you some flowers?" A familiar voice caught his attention and he sat up looking around the room where his eyes rested on a figure in the corner. A light laugh came from the shadows as they knew they were finally spotted.
Zharbon looked around rather confused and noticed his door was still locked, "How did you get in here?" Vegeta stood from the corner with a smirk and crossed the room to the lightswitch where he turned the lights back up. Zharbon squinted for a moment before eyeing Vegeta. He looked like hell, covered in dirt and dried blood. His clothes had rips in them and several long scratches ran across him.
"You did." He smirked again as he flipped a chair around backward and sat on it, resting his elbows on the back. "I wouldn't think you'd remember. As soon as I came in you locked the door and flopped in bed again. I would have left but I don't know the combination to your door."
Zharbon laughed and nodded, a faint ring of truth to Vegeta's words, he started to remember something waking him up and groggily stumbling to the door. "Well for the love of the Gods, why didn't you at least shower?" Vegeta cocked an eyebrow.
"And risk your roaming eyes, eh? I'd rather of waited." Zharbon nodded and stood, stretching out his muscles.
"Well then I suppose I'll let you out shall I? Clean up and come to the medbay as soon as you can. I've got a present for you." Zharbon smiled, his k-9's shining. He punched several keys on the pad by the door and it slid open. Vegeta nodded and "hnn"ed at him as he left. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Zharbon pulled off the old clothes he had slept in and removed a fresh outfit from the closet. He dressed quickly and left his room, bound for the medbay to see how Vegeta's little gift was fairing.
Vegeta came awake with a start, Radditz was sitting back with a hand outstretched to the Ouji his eyes wide in shock. "Ouji-sama, are you alright?" Vegeta could feel the sweat spilling down his spine and sticking his suit to his body. Instinctively he put one hand to his shoulder and felt the small raised bumps of scars and shivered despite the heat.
He looked up at Radditz and grunted before standing and walking toward his pod. He shut the door and sat in the cold seat, pulled his knees to his chest and rocked lightly. He could feel the anger rise in his insides where it always started. His mind felt clogged and he could feel the tingly burning sensation in his stomach that rose into his throat. His muscles began to twitch, the flow of his blood quickened until all he could hear was its roar and the ragged intake of his breath. With a violent scream that ripped his vocal chords raw he stretched and blew the small ball of metal apart.
***
Radditz had watched Vegeta twitch and whimper lightly in his sleep for nearly ten minutes before he decided to wake him. Just as he'd touched his shoulder Vegeta came awake with a sharp yelp. Radditz sat and looked at him for a moment, he must have been having one hell of a nightmare. Even after waking, the Ouji never would show any internal emotion yet there he sat shaking and gripping his shoulder. After Vegeta went to his pod Radditz went to sit with Nappa again to finish their bullshit stories. They only ever conversed as friends when Vegeta was sleeping or away for a time and being alone in a bubble made it harder for them to express their troubles for fear of Vegeta's wraith.
Nappa was in the middle of a dirty joke when Radditz felt a tremble in the earth and looked toward its source. Nappa stopped in midsentence, the punch line forgotten, as light seaped out of every crack in Vegeta's pod before it shattered like frozen glass. Jumping to thier feet, Radditz and Nappa ran to the wreckage and began to heave chunks of metal that hadn't flown outward. After moving several larger sheets, Radditz could see Vegeta seated neatly with his legs crossed under him and his arms across his chest a look of irritation twitching on his face.
"Vegeta what the hell happened?!" Radditz mouth gaped as Vegeta stepped from the wreckage without a single scuff. Vegeta looked at the steaming rubble and kicked some sand into a smoldering piece of shrapnel. He sat with a thud onto the ground and shut his eyes. Radditz sighed and went back to his spot, Vegeta wasn't going to divulge any information.
Vegeta's stomach rumbled lightly but he chose to ignore it. There was no food and for once he didn't feel like eating. Radditz had gone to his pod to radio a tracker ship to pick them up. Nappa was just playing in the dirt. The nightmare still clung to Vegeta's brain in a haze of swirling color, he'd repeatedly touched the scars on his shoulder to remind himself that though it was a nightmare it was also a memory.
***
The day drug on slowly, Radditz said a transport was less than five hours away and they had been tracking the storm, saying it would wear itself out within an hour. For once they'd been correct. A little less than an hour had passed when Vegeta could see the winds die down slowly and the sand start to settle and slide to the sides of their bubble. He'd kept to himself after the whole nightmare incident, he had caught Radditz watching him from the corner of his eye a few times. Whenever Vegeta had noticed, he'd turned slightly to put his back to him. Nappa seemed indifferent to the whole thing, he'd never questioned anything the Prince had done or would ever do. Vegeta supposed it was because he was an elite guard and that questioning what a superior does wasn't worth the bother because they'd never get an answer.
Knowing this grumpiness was going to stay awhile he resigned to the scraps of his pod and rummaged through them for any salvagable pieces. _What the hell is wrong with me? Not controlling my anger and blowing up a pod, I must be going insane._ Vegeta threw a few smaller chunks over his shoulder and heaved the larger out of his way and found his scouter unscathed by the blast laying beneath the rubble. He picked it up, placed it over his ear and flipped the screen down over his eye. As soon as he filpped it on a screaching voice pierced his ear.
"VEGETA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Dammit, stop your yelling, yes I can hear you! Fuck!" Vegeta gripped the side of his head and grimmaced.
Zharbon's voice came back across in a more normal level, "Where and the hell have you been, I've been trying to reach you for more than two hours!"
Vegeta smirked slightly and replied, "Had a glitch with my pod that I was taking care of. What do you want?" There was a silence for a moment before Zharbon's voice crackled across the distance.
"I have some good news..."
"Well don't just stop there, what the hell is your _good_ news?"
"You are aware that Freeza and myself went to a distant planet for some odd thing or another?" Vegeta nodded as though Zharbon could see, "We were jumped on arrival. Apparently this new race we're tangled in is quite strong. A lot of them are dead, but about fifty of them managed to beat Freeza to a pulp." Vegeta's eyes bulged and jaw dropped open. "I'm not kidding, Vegeta. Not about something like this. We're on the transport that's picking you and your crew up." Vegeta smiled, large and toothy. Radditz had watched him since he'd found his scouter and when Vegeta smiled a cold shiver ran up his back.
Laughing, Vegeta signed off with Zharbon and awaited the transport with a happier disposition.
***
Vegeta's laughter echoed in Zharbon's head long after he had turned off his communication. Walking slowly through the hall of the transport, he turned several corners and entered the room designated as his own for the time being. He entered and locked the door behind him and put the speaker on the wall on privacy so he wouldn't be disturbed. Taking the communicator from his ear he set it on the tabled beside a low bunk. He walked to the bathroom and filled the sink with icey water and splashed his face. Looking into the mirror he watched water drip from his chin before roughly drying it with a damp towel. His hair had grown another few inches, which made him very happy. Now it was almost to his shoulders but still too short to really make a good braid so he had taken to tying it loosely at the nape of his neck.
He'd just gotten layen out on his cot when the door buzzed. _for Chrissake..._ Picking himself up he shuffled to the door and unlocked it, a low class warrior stood at the door at attention. The boy said nothing, just stood there like a statue. "Well? What the hell do you want?" The boy shrank away slightly.
"Sir, We've reached the pick up point of Vegeta and his crew. Do you wish to go to the surface?"
Zharbon looked at him funny, "No, just get them up here. There's no reason to stay on the planet." Snapping his feet together he replied with a curt, "Sir!" before leaving. Zharbon sighed and shut the door and locked it again. He plopped onto the bed and buried his face in the pillow, _How dumb do you have to be...this is a transport ship, I mean gawd don't these people have brains?_ Zharbon drifted slowly to sleep, his face still pressed into the musty pillow.
When he awoke a couple hours later, the lights in his quarters seemed harsh to his sleepy eyes and he grunted and rolled onto his stomach. He reached out a hand and dimmed the lights considerably so that his eyes were happy but he could still see around his quarters.
"Mood lighting, eh? Should I have brought you some flowers?" A familiar voice caught his attention and he sat up looking around the room where his eyes rested on a figure in the corner. A light laugh came from the shadows as they knew they were finally spotted.
Zharbon looked around rather confused and noticed his door was still locked, "How did you get in here?" Vegeta stood from the corner with a smirk and crossed the room to the lightswitch where he turned the lights back up. Zharbon squinted for a moment before eyeing Vegeta. He looked like hell, covered in dirt and dried blood. His clothes had rips in them and several long scratches ran across him.
"You did." He smirked again as he flipped a chair around backward and sat on it, resting his elbows on the back. "I wouldn't think you'd remember. As soon as I came in you locked the door and flopped in bed again. I would have left but I don't know the combination to your door."
Zharbon laughed and nodded, a faint ring of truth to Vegeta's words, he started to remember something waking him up and groggily stumbling to the door. "Well for the love of the Gods, why didn't you at least shower?" Vegeta cocked an eyebrow.
"And risk your roaming eyes, eh? I'd rather of waited." Zharbon nodded and stood, stretching out his muscles.
"Well then I suppose I'll let you out shall I? Clean up and come to the medbay as soon as you can. I've got a present for you." Zharbon smiled, his k-9's shining. He punched several keys on the pad by the door and it slid open. Vegeta nodded and "hnn"ed at him as he left. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Zharbon pulled off the old clothes he had slept in and removed a fresh outfit from the closet. He dressed quickly and left his room, bound for the medbay to see how Vegeta's little gift was fairing.