The Soul and The Flesh~Freiza Saga Part VII Not too long after Zarbon had left the lake created by his body, Vegeta had made the surface, gasping desperately for air. He'd crawled up onto the shore, moving a little at a time. He cursed Zarbon with every breath, and sought Raimi's Ki in vain. He wondered if she was dead, or if she'd gotten away. He could have used some help; he was in a bad way. After an hour of creeping slowly, he'd only gotten about six meters from the new lake's shore, and couldn't move another inch. He felt his energy give out, and his head fell to the dirt.

That was how Zarbon found him, stretched out and exhausted, still damp but alive. Zarbon took a deep breath of relief. Now he might be able to regain Frieza's good graces. He felt the Saiyans pulse, but had no idea if it was good or not. He shrugged and hauled the Prince up by one arm. Vegeta didn't even stir as he was borne off to Frieza's ship.
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Once there, he was taken to the Iso-chamber right away, and set up right next to Raimi, who seemed to be stabilized. Apuru, one of Frieza's most trusted servants and chief medical officer on the Flagship, watched the pair, speculating. He wasn't too sure about how fast they would heal; Zarbon had worked them over pretty bad. The girl was healing faster, due to being in the tank longer, but she was still very badly hurt and weak. He almost felt sorry for them, death would have been better than what Frieza would do to them… he turned as Zarbon chuckled beside him.

"Let's get them well, shall we? Then we'll let Frieza have a few words with them." He felt a lot better about things now, and Frieza was happy as well. He smirked at the Saiyans, and relished the idea that maybe Frieza would let him make a wish too, since he'd been so useful with the hunt for Vegeta. He left the medical bay, sighing contentedly. Yes, this was the start of a new era…
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After fourteen hours in the tank, Vegeta was fully healed, but he was playing dead, so to speak. He held his Ki down to barely alive, and waited patiently for the right moment to break out of his tank. He sensed that Raimi was almost ready too, and that she was also hiding her condition from Apuru's worried eyes.

Apuru was sweating, wondering if he'd done something wrong, because both Saiyans seemed to be failing, not getting better. This had happened before when the subject was just to hurt to get better, but they hadn't seemed to be that bad off. Now he fiddled with the dials on his machine, and sighed. He jumped as Zarbon entered the room.
"How are they?" He said, smiling. The smile faded when he saw Apuru's face. He looked at the dials and readouts and went pale baby blue in shock.

"This isn't good, Zarbon. They just aren't getting better. The female's ribs were crushed, and Vegeta has compressed discs in his back. Both had severe internal injuries. They might have been hurt too bad to recover… " Apuru started, but broke off when Zarbon turned to him, eyes wide.
"Well, they have to get better! You got that? Do whatever it takes, but Vegeta at least must survive! Both are too important to let them die, Apuru, you understand? Frieza will… " He stopped and stared angrily at Vegeta.

"Frieza will kill me if you die, you stupid monkey, so get well! And you," He turned to Raimi, whose name he'd never even learned, "He wants to kill you himself; wake up so you can die!" He grimaced as he saw his hopes for promotion getting very slim. Hell, Frieza was getting so impatient, he might be dead before they showed any improvement. He left and went to his own chambers, but knew he'd not find any rest there.

About one hour later, Apuru was staring at Raimi disgust. He sniffed and turned to Vegeta.
"Man, look at this. I can't believe these readings. You would never see ME in such bad shape. I guess the High and Mighty Prince Vegeta isn't such a tough guy after all; are you, you little wimp?" He laughed. Suddenly, he saw movement, and the monitors on the Iso went off the scale. Apuru's eyes widened as he watched Vegeta open his eyes and glare at him. He stumbled back as a horrible white light erupted from the Prince's tank…
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"Well, Zarbon? How are they doing?" Frieza asked. Zarbon smiled confidently, while shaking inside.
"I'm told they will be well soon, sir." Let it seem that Apuru was wrong; he wasn't going to die for this mistake.

"Ah, good. You had better pray that it is so, Zarbon. I want those Dragonballs soon. Hmmm, and I still need to get the Ginyu here, I want those Earth Saiyans caught. The female's reaction was too strong, they are still out there, somewhere, and I don't like it… " Zarbon had the intelligence to be quiet this time. However, just then, they felt something shake the ship. As they stumbled to the side, they turned to the door. Zarbon realized that it had to have come from the medical bay, and set out to find out what it was…
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"Hmm, you look like you're the one in bad shape now, Apuru… " Vegeta said smugly as he stood with one foot on the creatures throat. He turned and hit the outer wall of the room with a Ki bolt, and then punched the tank that held Raimi so hard that it shattered completely. He yanked the mask off her face, and pulled her around the corner to wait for Frieza. He held one hand over her mouth as her eyes fluttered open. She gasped and looked around as he stood her on her own feet.

"Frieza?" She whispered. He nodded to the doorway, and she smiled wickedly. She knew what was going on, and slid deeper into the shadows, waiting with him. Sure enough, Zarbon and Frieza raced into the room, and instantly assumed that they'd escaped out the hole in the hull of the ship. Frieza screamed at Zarbon to find them; while they were so distracted, both Saiyans fled the room, and raced to Frieza's personal chambers. Raimi ran into Vegeta's back when he stopped abruptly and opened a door. She peered around his shoulder as he stood with his arms spread across the doorway, and stared at the five huge Dragonballs lying on the floor. Vegeta laughed wickedly as his eyes caressed them. They stepped into the room, while Vegeta grinned like a maniac.

"Ah, Frieza, you are the fool! Now, how to get them out of here?" He turned and looked at Raimi. She smiled uneasily, but didn't speak. Vegeta frowned for a moment, and them smiled back. He held out his arm, and a soft blue light enveloped it. He concentrated on it, and pointed at her, then at the huge round window high on the wall. Raimi powered up too, her Ki its regular blue-violet color, and turned to the window. She knew it wasn't glass, but a clear metal alloy, which meant she needed to be very forceful with this Ki blast. She looked over her shoulder and nodded.

"Ready!" She said softly. Vegeta went to the doorway, and cleared his throat.
"Hey! You guys looking for something?" He called and then waited for a count of ten. He then released his built up Ki. It soared down the hallway, bounced off a curved wall, and barreled into a control room, where it exploded massively. Raimi let her Ki fly too; it slammed into the window, and punched a huge hole through it. Before she could turn around, Vegeta was hurling the Dragonballs out the hole, aiming carefully across the lake. Raimi waited and was surprised that he grabbed her wrist when he flew out the window.

He dragged her to a small rock, which barely hid them from the ship. She stared at him, eyes wide, and he held a finger to his lips. They listened and heard Zarbon yelling with frustration, then Frieza giving him an ultimatum; find Vegeta in two hours, or die. Raimi smirked at this, and raised an eyebrow at Vegeta. He smirked too, and then pointed down. She took a deep breath, and then slid into the water.

It was warm and very clear as she followed Vegeta while he swam across the lake. She took a moment to realize that she felt great; her ribs didn't hurt, nor did her arm. She was very glad to be well but now she had to deal with Vegeta… How would she get away and find her friends? She decided not to worry about it, and just play it by ear. She was more surprised by Vegeta helping her to escape than worried anyway.

Finally they reached the shore, and both broke the surface gasping. Raimi hauled herself ashore, and wrung out her hair though she'd have to rebraid it anyway and looked around. Vegeta took some deep breaths, and then pointed to the Dragonballs, which were scattered across the ground nearby.

"Look, they are all right here. Not a bad bit of aiming!" Raimi laughed and stooped to pick one up. She was startled to find Vegeta grabbing her from behind in a chokehold. She didn't fight him, but waited, wondering what was wrong now. After helping her to escape, was he now going to kill her himself?

"Wait just a minute here. What are you doing?" He said warily.
"I was helping you move these things to shelter." She said evenly. He bent and sniffed her neck in a way that made her shiver. It wasn't unpleasant, but it wasn't comfortable either. He moved his head up to her ear.
"Say that again!" She turned her head slightly, puzzled, and he growled softly.
"I said, I was trying to help you move them out of sight… " He waited a moment, and then let her go. She rubbed her arms, feeling weird. He smirked at her.

"Ok, I believe you. You did say you were here to stop me, remember? Now, no funny stuff, or else, got it?" She wrinkled her nose at him, and grabbed one Dragonball under her arm. Vegeta was stunned by that cute expression, and had to shake his head to clear it.

"Damn woman, I don't know why I saved her!" He grumbled to himself and he took up two more of the huge Dragonballs then followed Raimi as she sought a nice little cave to hide them in. All she could find here was a depression, with almost no cover really. It was all they had, so in the Dragonballs went. Raimi stood outside the space and scratched her thigh absently. She could still smell the Iso-chamber's fluid on her clothes, and in her hair, and the darn stuff itched terribly. She turned to look at Vegeta.

His helping her to escape puzzled her. Why did he do it? He could have left her there and Frieza would have killed her. Then she'd not be in his way while he searched for the last of the Dragonballs. Did he expect her to help him now that she owed him her life not once but twice?"

"Um, thanks for saving me and all, but I'd really like to go now… Is that alright with you?" She didn't really know how to handle this situation, but she was still feeling strange because of his apparent kindness. To her surprise, he waved at her to go.
"Yeah, whatever. I can't trust you alone with them anyway. So go on, I'm sure I can find you if I wish to," Raimi smiled and bowed slightly.

"I thank you for my very life, Oji-sama! I'm sure we will see each other again, VERY soon!" She rose into the air, and felt for Frieza's power. Once she'd located it, she had a better idea of where her friends were in relation to it, and took off that way at an extreme speed.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow at her, surprised that she didn't try to hide her trail. But, she knew how to take care of herself, and she was lucky too. He turned to look at his Dragonballs, and smiled, pleased as he remembered that he only needed one more to make his wish.

He was a little baffled at himself though, for bringing her with him when he escaped. He knew she'd probably not help him with the Dragonballs, and she might be trouble later on. Still, something in him couldn't allow another Saiyan to die at Frieza's hands. And she was the last female of the species as well; she might be useful later on at that…