****SECOND CHAPTER****
His chest was heaving as he poured every amount of energy he had into his training. He
cranked the gravity resistance up to 227g, the highest he's had it so far. Energy swirled around
him, and crackled as it touched his skin. Jumping into the air, Vegeta could feel his muscles strain
against the resistance. Forcing his body to stop midair, he hovered there, with sweat running
down his muscular torso. Common sense told him to stop a long time ago, but it was his anger
that kept him going. His mind kept on finding it's way back to earlier that night, to the time he
had spent with the woman. Powering up even more, he tried to force his mind back to the
training.
"DAMN IT!" He yelled as he let loose a fair sized energy blast. He didn't aim it
anywhere specifically, he didn't want to damage the interior of the gravity machine again. If he
did, he would have to go and find the woman, and face her. Feeling his energy slowly leave him,
the proud Saiyan made his way to the control panel and turned to gravity back to normal. His
mind was so conflicted that he forgot to erect a ki shield around him, and his lungs burnt as the air
pressure quickly changed. Losing his breath, Vegeta fell to his knees, coughing. His lungs
quickly returned to normal, but for a second there, it felt as if there was a vice on them, forcing
them closed. Cursing himself for not even preparing for the shift in pressure, Vegeta toweled
himself off and exited the machine. His throat felt as if it was on fire, so he went into the kitchen
for water.
"Damn it." He cursed under his breath. As soon as he entered the house, he could sense
her. The lights were off, but she was in the kitchen. Deciding that he could just as easily get
water from the sink in his bathroom, Vegeta forced himself to be as quiet as he could be, and he
began to walk softly down the hall. Stopping suddenly, he scoffed at the idea. He was the Prince
of all Saiyans, why would he be so worried about confronting this woman? Why would he, one of
the most powerful beings in the known Universe, the Destroyer of Worlds, Ravager of Planets, be
afraid of a mere Earth female? With a scowl, he set his jaw. He knew why. Earlier that night,
she had made him feel things that he thought were long since dead in him. It was obvious, the
way he treated her. He had never been so careful with a female before, and not because she was
one of the weakest that he had ever bedded with. He was actually worried about hurting her. So
worried, in fact, that he actually displaced part of his energy into her, just to protect her. When he
did this, he could see it in her face, she began to trust him. That wasn't sitting well with him.
Passion soon took over his mind however, and it was only until later, when they were laying
there, wrapped in each others arms, did Vegeta actually begin to allow the thoughts to enter his
mind.
How could she put such faith in him? He was a murderer, one who had no mercy for a
foe, or for any weaker than himself. His eyes narrowed as he thought about it. If he had been
sent here only a few years ago to clear the planet for Frieza, would he have spared her? Would he
have allowed this one to live if she had so begged? No. He would have killed her without a
second thought. And beg? He smirked a little at this. No, she wouldn't beg. She had shown her
courage time and again, standing beside her friends even when she knew that even they were no
match for the danger that they faced. So how could she suddenly trust him?
He growled to himself. She, out of every other being that he had ever face, it was she that
was forcing him to regret the atrocities that he had committed. His mind began to replay all the
missions that he had been on, of all the times that he felt pride when he alone was able to clear a
planet in the matter of days. How could he have ever felt pride in doing so? He remembered the
contempt he felt for the beings that begged for mercy, didn't they have enough pride to stand
against him, even if they knew that their death was certain? And the children, it was the children
that sickened him. He began to remember, once, he was on a mission alongside the hated Ginyu
Force. They were on Planet Gefris, a planet whose warriors showed great potential. That is why
they had to be exterminated. Vegeta scowled as he realized the similarities between Gefris and his
own home planet. Vegeta himself had decimated at least half of the planet's army, while the
Ginyu force sat back and ordered the slave ships to begin to round up some breeding stock for the
slave pens.
When he was finally finished destroying the army, Frieza himself had ordered Vegeta to
aid the slavers. Scowling, the proud Saiyan believed that it was above his station to round up
common slaves. Choking back his pride, he obeyed the powerful monster. Being reliant on his
scouter back then, he had searched the cities for survivors. His scouter began going wild as it
picked up a concentrated number of people, underground. Still pissed off, he flipped in the air,
and shot toward the ground at an incredible speed, heels first. The compacted dirt gave way as
Vegeta plowed through it, and he forced his way into a large underground cavern, packed with
children. Many were just slightly younger than himself, and most were cowering against the
walls, holding each other. He sneered as he saw this, how could anyone just hide like rats in a
cave? Why wouldn't they stand against the invading army, they were a warrior race, just like
Saiyans were. These children were trained, just as Saiyans were. And Saiyan's? They would
never just cower in a corner, waiting for death.
With a scowl on his face, he watched as one girl, not much older than himself, pushed her
way through her cowering brethren, to stand in front of him. Vegeta was expecting an attack, and
was shocked as the girl bowed to him.
"Prince Vegeta, of the Saiyan warrior race, I am Neben, daughter of the great Dorsen, the
honorable captain of the Gefris army. We know that you are here representing the monster
Frieza, and we also know that you are extremely powerful. We hereby surrender ourselves to
you. You are hereby given control of our welfare." The girl was able to force out. Vegeta could
see the hatred in her eyes, and the pride in her stance. Around her, more of the children had
gathered, all standing tall and proud, not what you would expect from a group of people who had
just given up their freedom.
Vegeta scowled, how could someone willingly give up their freedom so easily? He
himself would rather die than be a slave. Suddenly, his eyes widened with the realization. That
was exactly what the Saiyan's had done. But worse. For power and money, and for just simple
survival, the proud Saiyan race had bowed to Frieza, obeying whatever the monster commanded,
knowing that going against him would mean certain death. Grimacing, Vegeta realized that what
the Saiyans did was worse, even more cowardly. They had given up their pride, their
independence, just for survival. They let Frieza rule their lives, they were his willing slaves, until
he became threatened by them, and callously destroyed them. And the Prince himself? He
became a personal slave, a lackey, to the murderer of his own people. Just as these children here
were about to become.
"You wish to give up your freedom for mere survival?" Vegeta growled at the girl.
"You think I want to?" The girl growled back. She knew what was in store for her in the
slave pits. Women were not treated as warriors when it came to the worlds that Frieza ruled. "I
have a responsibility to protect these others from death. Being the highest in command, I cannot
consider to throw their lives away!"
Vegeta shook his head. The pride that this girl had would be the downfall of her. His
bloodlust had quieted considerably since he had defeated the army. He would have killed her
already if she had not reminded him so much of himself. Turning from her, he pressed the button
on the side of his scouter, opening a comlink to one of the slave ships. He began to tell the
operator on the other end his coordinates when he heard a scuffling behind him.
"Corsine! No!!!" Vegeta could hear Neben yell as another girl rush past her, with a
sword drawn. Vegeta scowled, and allowed the girl to reach him. Extending one finger, he shot
a laser straight through her chest. The girl's body fell to the floor, unmoving. Neben ran to the
girl's side, drawing the motionless body into her arms. Rocking back and forth, she held the dead
girl, her tears falling on the motionless face. She glared up at Vegeta as he stood over her.
"I allow you to live, I even show you mercy, and this is how you repay me!?!" Vegeta
yelled. Neben carefully laid the girl flat on the dirt floor, and stood up, eye level with Vegeta.
She glared at him, and her words were obviously different from how she felt.
"We are still at your mercy, Prince Vegeta. Corsine was my sister, and she acted under no
orders when she attacked you. Our surrender still stands." The girl said, her face streaming with
tears. Vegeta set his jaw and nodded. The girl knelt back down to her sister's side and forced the
dead girl's eyes closed. Vegeta finished relaying the coordinates and returned to the girl's side.
The children cowered in silence until the walls began to shake around them. The slave ships were
approaching. Neben's second in command, a young boy, barked out orders to the other children.
They lined up in single file, waiting to be marched to the ships. Vegeta allowed the girl to finish
her mourning, but as soon as he heard Frieza's soldiers, he forced her to her feet. He shoved her
into one of the lines and told her to be still. He didn't want her standing out from the rest,
because if she knew did, she would be made an example of to any other unruly slaves. He
escorted the prisoners to the ships, where they were separated by age and gender. He finally left
Neben's side, but stopped as she turned to him.
"At least Corsine is free. She will be no one's slave." Neben whispered. Vegeta nodded,
his jaw set. His scouter could pick up the girl's energy level, and it was rising. Shaking his head
in response, Neben settled down. She looked at him once more before she was shoved through
the doors. He watched as one by one the ships took off, hovering in the air, waiting for orders
from that bastard, Frieza. Still watching the ship that Neben had been forced into, Vegeta
scowled. Maybe he could find her later in the slave pits and somehow... his thoughts were
abruptly shattered as his scouter warned of several of the children's energy levels rising. Above
all, there was Neben's. In his head, he could hear her voice, raised with the power that she had
gathered. It was directed at Frieza.
"MONSTER! THE GEFRIS WILL NEVER BE YOUR SLAVES!" Vegeta grasped his
head as the words ripped through it. He spun and looked at Frieza, who sat in his hoverchair, an
amused look on his evil face. Vegeta looked back to the ships as one by one, energy ripped from
the bowels of them, where the slave pens would be. The children themselves were committing
suicide, ensuring that they would be above all else, free, as well as crippling Frieza's slave trade
for a while. Vegeta smiled, silently applauding the bravery that Neben and the others had shown.
A bravery that he could never find.
"Fools." Frieza had said from behind him. Vegeta held his tongue, and watched as the
burning wreckage fell from the sky. He nodded, his face set again in his deep scowl.
He was shaken from the memories as Bulma turned in his arms, snuggling in closer to him.
He could only watch her. How could she trust him, so quickly, so completely? How did she
know that he wouldn't just kill her once he was done with her? At that moment, he hated her for
how easily she could place her trust in someone. That was something that he could never do.
There was never anyone for him to trust. He was caught off guard when she looked into his eyes,
he didn't mean for her to see the contempt that he felt. He was angry with himself for that, and
his anger grew as he realized that she didn't understand what it was about. Not that she could.
He couldn't understand it himself.
Turning from her he told her to leave, he didn't want her to see him like this. He knew
that he had hurt her, but his anger with himself was so great, that he really didn't care. As soon as
she had left, he grabbed a pair of jogging pants and headed out the window. He could still hear
her on the other side of the door, but he couldn't face her. He silently made his way to the gravity
room, training until he was close to collapsing. And now here he is, standing in the darkened
hallway, hearing the rhythmic breathing of the woman who has caused such upheaval in his life.
By the way she way breathing he could tell that she was sleeping, and he forgot his burning throat
as he walked into the kitchen. He smiled slightly as his eyes fell on the little pieces of the electric
knife sitting on the table in front of her. He knew that when she was bored, or angry, she would
attack any electronic device around, pulling it apart, allowing her mind to become engrossed in its
workings. Sighing, he gathered the sleeping woman in his arms and took her back to her room,
setting her gently in her soft bed. He saw his own emerald green pillow lying on her bed, and
shook his head, smiling. Silently, he left her there, hoping that she would forgive him. Forgive
him? He had never asked for forgiveness before, in all of his life. He scowled again, this damned
woman was getting to him. Walking down the hall to his own room, he collapsed onto his bed,
and he inhaled deeply. He could still smell her in the sheets.
****So, what do ya think so far? Please people, review!****