Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. Is that clear?
Warnings: Angst, humor, language and of course violence, this is DBZ after all
Archive: FFN and Stormy. Otherwise just ask.
Written by Annabell with special thanks to Maria and Stacey
A Killer in Me
Part 8
In his 'room' on board the Tsufuru-jin spaceship, Vegeta tried not to fidget impatiently, but he couldn't quite stop the agitated twitching of his tail. He had done what he could to ensure his rescue, and now he had to wait. His lip curled in a classic Saiyan snarl. He resented having to be rescued. He was the Saiyan prince, dammit! He shouldn't need rescuing. But he was, among other things, a pragmatist. It had been his only viable option.
To pass the time, Vegeta tuned into his 'scouter'. Like he had told Piccolo, it wasn't just a scouter. When he had been informed that he was going to be 'serving' Freiza, (again, his lip curled) the prince had gone to the smartest scientists on the planet and secretly ordered them to make this special device. Frowning, he wondered if any of them had been descended from the Tsufuru-jin that had gene-engineered his bloodline. It hadn't mattered at the time, and thinking about it, it still didn't matter.
What resulted looked like a scouter; even functioned like a scouter. It would have fooled anyone, even Freiza, had he put it on. But there was much, much more to it than that. Inside if the simple-looking device operated the highest technologies available on 35 planets. Microscopic crystals stored vast amounts of data inside, and even more importantly, it was tuned to activate to only Vegeta's brain wave patterns.
When he had tried on the scouter on earlier that day, (had it really been just that morning?) he had accessed the main menu. To his delight, there had been huge amounts of data added over the years, up to the present day. Apparently he had continued on with his original mission after Freiza had been killed. He had also noted the personal log had been added to as well. The first entry was the date that would have been three days from what he remembered last. Vegeta couldn't help but smirk with anticipation. It was like having your own guide to your future ready and waiting.
He settled down with his back to a wall and activated the first entry.
On the bridge, the Tsufuru-jin were quiet. Each one was lost in his respective tasks. The only sound was the occasional beep of a computer, and the low swish of the circulating air.
"Are they still in the cargo section?" Kiwi finally asked, breaking the silence. He didn't look up from his screen at the science console. Data was scrolling by at a tremendous rate, but he didn't read it. He was waiting for the computer to make its conclusions.
"No, they are now in the passenger section. They seem to be looking for something," Papaya answered, sitting in the pilot's chair, bored out of his skull. "Should I go down there and lock them up too?" They had sent the preliminary data to five of the richest governments in their sector. Now they were cloaked as they hovered in space, waiting for a reply. For amusement, he had been watching the two little earthling's progress through the ship on the main screen. In a corner of the same screen, an image of the Saiyan cub who was sitting still, staring at nothing that Papaya could see.
"Don't bother. They are only Earthlings. They can't get into any trouble. This is odd," Kiwi muttered to himself, but just barely loud enough for Papaya to hear.
"What is?" he asked, not because he cared. But because he was so bored that even listening to Kiwi's geek talk sounded good.
Kiwi didn't notice. "The computer is done analyzing the sample we got from that half-breed. According to these results, the half-breed reaches full potential far earlier than a purebred."
"Like an s.Prou sub-t?" Papaya asked, proud of himself that he'd remembered that much. Then promptly got lost halfway through his partner's answer.
"Yes, and the addition of another species' genes seemed to have stabilized the mental instability inherent to those that reach maximum ki level before maturity."
Papaya blinked. "Can you repeat that, in Common?"
"Uh, sure. Umm…. the half-breed reached full power very young. And he seems to have remained sane."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
"I did, you are just too lazy to try to keep up with the conversation."
"Shut up." Papaya grimaced when he realized that he was still bored. Then an idea came to him. "If a half breed is so strong at a young age, why don't we go back and get him? He might be worth something."
Kiwi considered it, and then shook his head. "I don't think so. The half- breed isn't nearly as strong as the purebreds. My guess would be that he if he hasn't already, he would reach his limit in the next few years. And it seems to be considerably lower than the purebred's."
Making a disgusted noise, Papaya slumped lower in his seat. They were so far out in the middle of nowhere; they couldn't even get the broadcasts of the latest Gladiator Tournaments. All they were stuck with was some lame intergalactic soap operas and infomercials. Not even on his worst day would Papaya watch one of those. So now all he had for entertainment was a dull conversation, riddled with geek-speak. "Why are you even bothering with it then?"
Shrugging, Kiwi turned to face him. "It seemed like a good idea to get to know as much as possible about these Saiyans."
'Whatever," Papaya said, still slouched down in his seat. He glanced up at the monitor. "It looks like the earthlings are near our guest's quarters now."
"What do you suppose they are looking for?" Kiwi asked, glancing up.
"I dunno. But the one with dark hair sure seems agitated about something."
"Well, keep watching them. If it looks like they might get into trouble let me know."
Papaya nodded. Yawning, he let his eyes drift shut. He decided to catch a nap. Those two kids were only weak little Earthlings. What damage could they do?
A little while later…
Shaking and pale with rage, the young prince reached up and removed the scouter. He slowly licked his lips, his mind trying to come to grips with what his future/past had been like. He could only feel thankful that he didn't remember any of it.
Freiza had destroyed his home world. It wasn't anything terribly surprising, indeed the prince half suspected it before he had found confirmation in the records. But that hadn't been it. Freiza had been so much stronger than the Saiyans, that Vegeta half expected something like that to happen. And it wasn't even the near-extinction of his race. He had always looked down on his people for their inferior intellect, and their own weaknesses. He didn't miss them very much. The prince was still too young to fully comprehend the magnitude of the destruction of Vegetasei. His child's mind could not grasp it, and that was what kept him from going insane.
No, it was what happened after that that held the young prince's anger. Anger that acted as a balm against the horror of knowing that he himself would grow up in virtual slavery. And the things Freiza had done to him. The abuse, degradation, the…
He had been a goddamned PET!
NO! he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to think about that. Then another thought occurred to him. If they returned him to his normal age, he would have to relive all those memories again. And with his photographic memory, it would be like reliving those twenty years of hell.
"Fuck that," he whispered. "I have a chance to start over. If they think that they can take that away, I'll blast them to hell and gone. I will not be returned to what I was."
I will not let them do that to me!
Goten and Trunks' search was getting desperate. The ship was big, certainly, but there should have been a bathroom somewhere around there! Goten was starting to look like he was in serious pain.
"Hang in there Goten," Trunks encouraged. "There has to be one around here, I'm sure of it!"
Nodding, Goten continued to stagger down the corridor they were currently exploring. They looked in room after room, but there was nothing that resembled a bathroom. Then they came to a locked door.
"What do you suppose is in there?" Trunks asked.
At this point, Goten was past casual curiosity. All he cared about was relieving himself. "Open it, Trunks. What if it's the bathroom?"
Trunks didn't really think that it was, but for Goten's sake, he would humor his friend. He studied the controls next to the door. Having spent his life in his grandfather's lab and possessing his father's photographic memory, Trunks easily deciphered the locking mechanism. The door slid open to reveal…
"Father!" Trunks exclaimed.
Vegeta was standing in the doorway, ready to pounce. His tail was fuzzed out, making it look twice as thick as usual. His face was strangely pale, and his eyes were fixed in that famous glare that made most people feel the need to be somewhere else, anywhere else, now!
Seeing the two demi-Saiyans in the doorway, Vegeta froze in surprise. That didn't last too long, though as Goten shoved his way past the little prince into the cell. "Where's the bathroom," he half wailed, half pleaded.
Blinking, Vegeta numbly point to a small indentation in the back corner.
Goten stagger over as fast as he could, undid his pants and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Turning to Trunks, Vegeta asked, "What are you doing here?" He seemed almost angry. His color had returned, but he seemed distracted by something.
Blushing, Trunks stuttered to explain. He knew that he shouldn't have snuck onto the ship, and figured that Vegeta was mad at him for it. But then Vegeta waved his explanation aside. "Never mind, we have more important things to do."
"Like what?" Trunks asked, cautiously relieved. His father didn't seem too mad at him. His excitement began to grow again.
"We are going to take over this ship," Vegeta announced calmly.
"Cool!" Trunks exclaimed. Now this was his idea of fun. Over in the corner, Goten was still occupied.
"Not so fast," Vegeta folded his arms over his chest, scowling at nothing. His tail twitched from side to side. "We have to disable their main weapon."
"What type of weapon?" Trunks cocked his head to the side. Trunks was a typical boy in most respects. If it could cause damage and chaos, he wanted to know about it.
"A sonic weapon," Vegeta grimaced, remembering the pain it caused his sensitive ears.
"What's a sonic weapon?" Goten asked from the corner.
"A weapon that uses sound to hurt someone," Trunks explained.
"How can sound hurt someone?" Goten asked as he finally finished and redid his pants.
"Its sorta like when how your ears hurt when your mom screams at you."
Understanding shone on Goten's open features. "Oh! I get it!" he beamed.
"So how can a weapon like that be disabled?" Vegeta asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer.
He didn't know that for a kid, Trunks was very, very smart. Having a genius for a mother, and a genetically engineered father, Trunks was one of the brightest kids on the planet Earth. Thinking his father was asking him, tapping his lower lip, Trunks thought hard. He remembered his mother talking about sound once. "Sound travels in waves," he said.
Vegeta scowled impatiently. " I know that," he said. He was suppressing the urge to bolt out of the room before the door closed on them, but forced himself to wait until they had a plan at least.
Trunks ignored him, trying to remember what he had heard. "To cancel out a wave, you must send out a wave that is the same amplitude but opposite frequency," he recited.
Dark eyes widening, Vegeta slowly nodded. "Of course!" he said. He reached up and activated the controls on his scouter. He called up the recording of the sonic weapon, but had it muted. Programming the scouter, Vegeta set it to send out a negating wave. Smirking in triumph, he turned to his son. "Good work," he praised. "I should make you my lieutenant."
Trunks beamed from ear to ear. His father had rarely praised him. Now he was going to make him a lieutenant!
Hearing this, Goten piped up. "Can I be a lootenant too?" he asked, stumbling through the word. "Please! I want to be a lootenant too!"
Feeling inordinately smug with the turn of events, Vegeta was feeling generous. "Sure, why not?"
"Yay!! Goten jumped with glee. "I'm a lootenant!" He stopped abruptly, cocking his head to one side. "What's a lootenant?" he asked.
Vegeta and Trunks stared at him a few beats, then pretending not to have heard that, resumed their previous conversation.
"Why are we going to take over the ship, Father?" Trunks asked.
Lip curled in that classic Saiyan sneer, Vegeta walked out the open door and looked up and down the empty corridor. "Because, we have to go someplace to check something out." he announced.
"Where?" Goten asked excitedly.
"You'll find out," Vegeta replied smugly.
"Is it a surprise?" Goten asked, clapping his hands.
Raising an eyebrow, Vegeta smirked. "Yes, it is a surprise. But first, we must take over the ship." He chose a direction at random and started walking with Trunks and Goten a step behind.
"How are we going to take over the ship, Father? Goten and I didn't see anyone here and we have been looking around for a while now."
"They are here, trust me," Vegeta said. Eyes narrowed, he led the way down the corridor.
In another part of space, Goku was studying Piccolo's hovering form. The Nameck was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation, cape billowing gently behind him. Puzzled, the Saiyan sucked his index finger and held it up in the air.
Gohan looked up from the control panel. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"There is no wind in here," Goku said, still holding his wet finger in the air.
"Of course not. We are on a spaceship," Gohan patiently explained. "The air is controlled."
"Then where does Piccolo get the head wind?" Goku asked, scratching his head.
Gohan gaped, then turned and studied his mentor. Cocking his head to one side, he considered the scene in front of him. Finally, he shrugged, deciding to tease his father a little. "I think it's a prerequisite. He wears a cape, therefore he must have a head wind."
"Oh, I see!" Goku exclaimed with a grin.
Both Gohan and Piccolo sweat dropped.
They were on one of Dr. Brief's new spaceships. This one had an experimental drive that was theoretically twice as fast as the old drive. But they found out that even with the new drive, they were no match for the Tsufuru-jin ship. They could only hope that the Tsufuru-jin would stop long enough for them to catch up.
Changing the subject, Gohan asked Goku, "Are we getting close?"
Goku frowned, turning his thoughts inward to where he could sense Vegeta. It felt like they were getting closer, but Vegeta was still very far away. He told Gohan so.
Something else that concerned him was the faint emotions that he was feeling emanating from the small Saiyan prince. It seemed to be a blend of rage, shame and fear. Not knowing what was happening, he tried to contact Vegeta, but there was absolutely no response for his efforts. The prince had shut him out of his thoughts, even thought the slender psychic thread still tied them together.
It was frustrating Goku to no end that Vegeta was hurting and Goku couldn't be there to help him. But he tried to help anyway. He concentrated on sending waves of reassurance to the prince. Whether of not Vegeta received these thoughts wasn't certain, but Goku did it anyway.
Unknowingly mirroring his father's unease, Gohan said, "I hope those kids are alright."
Forgetting his own disquiet, Goku grinned confidently. "I'm sure they are! Trunks and Goten are strong kids. And Vegeta can take care of himself. Between the three of them, they'll be fine. "
Piccolo broke in. "I don't know about that."
Looking back at Piccolo, Gohan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Opening his eyes, Piccolo lowered his legs to stand on the floor. "Trunks still thinks of Vegeta as his father, just in a smaller body. He doesn't realize that this young Vegeta has none of the power or the experience that he will gain as he gets older. And I don't think Vegeta would think twice about putting his son or Goten in danger. He is back to being the spoiled, selfish brat prince he once was."
"So you think that Trunks and Goten will follow Vegeta even if it gets them into serious trouble?" Gohan asked.
"Especially if it puts them in danger," Piccolo retorted. "You Saiyans have a knack of finding trouble, especially Vegeta."
Goku shook his head. "I don't think so, Piccolo. When we met Vegeta, he had been under Frieza's control for years. He was taught to be vicious and cruel. Young Vegeta has not had that; he is still..." he fumbled for the correct word. 'Innocent' and 'pure' didn't describe Vegeta. The prince had already by this time, committed genocide many times over. Sighing, he gave up, deciding to just rely on his instincts. "They'll be fine," he stated.
Gohan was staring at his father, wide-eyed in some amazement and admiration. There were times when Goku seemed to be as wise as kami…
"Say Piccolo, do you think that I would get a head wind if I had a cape?" Goku asked enthusiastically.
…and then there were times Gohan would swear that he had met smarter houseplants than his father.
"I don't know," Piccolo answered, sounding strangled.
Gohan snorted, smothering a laugh at the look on Piccolo's face. The computer beeped, giving a grateful Gohan to turn around and hide his smirk from the glaring Piccolo. He forgot about laughing as soon as he saw what was on the screen in front of him. "Oh, no," he whispered.
Concerned, Piccolo and Goku crowded close behind him, trying to see what was wrong. "What is it?" Goku asked.
"The Tsufuru-jin are transmitting their information to various points in the sector of the galaxy. They really are going to sell Vegeta to the highest bidder. Someone has already responded."
A very unwelcome thought occurred to Piccolo. "Guys, we may be in trouble here."
Hearing that ultra-serious tone, both Saiyans looked at Piccolo. "Why?" Gohan asked.
"The Saiyans had a well-earned reputation for wiping out entire races of beings. Say, if some of those races had survivors, this would be the perfect opportunity for them to get revenge."
Gohan gulped, and even Goku looked serious. "You are right, Piccolo. And Vegeta isn't nearly as strong as he used to be, he can't defend himself like he could before."
"We'd better get there first," Piccolo said, and both Sons nodded solemnly.
TBC
Warnings: Angst, humor, language and of course violence, this is DBZ after all
Archive: FFN and Stormy. Otherwise just ask.
Written by Annabell with special thanks to Maria and Stacey
A Killer in Me
Part 8
In his 'room' on board the Tsufuru-jin spaceship, Vegeta tried not to fidget impatiently, but he couldn't quite stop the agitated twitching of his tail. He had done what he could to ensure his rescue, and now he had to wait. His lip curled in a classic Saiyan snarl. He resented having to be rescued. He was the Saiyan prince, dammit! He shouldn't need rescuing. But he was, among other things, a pragmatist. It had been his only viable option.
To pass the time, Vegeta tuned into his 'scouter'. Like he had told Piccolo, it wasn't just a scouter. When he had been informed that he was going to be 'serving' Freiza, (again, his lip curled) the prince had gone to the smartest scientists on the planet and secretly ordered them to make this special device. Frowning, he wondered if any of them had been descended from the Tsufuru-jin that had gene-engineered his bloodline. It hadn't mattered at the time, and thinking about it, it still didn't matter.
What resulted looked like a scouter; even functioned like a scouter. It would have fooled anyone, even Freiza, had he put it on. But there was much, much more to it than that. Inside if the simple-looking device operated the highest technologies available on 35 planets. Microscopic crystals stored vast amounts of data inside, and even more importantly, it was tuned to activate to only Vegeta's brain wave patterns.
When he had tried on the scouter on earlier that day, (had it really been just that morning?) he had accessed the main menu. To his delight, there had been huge amounts of data added over the years, up to the present day. Apparently he had continued on with his original mission after Freiza had been killed. He had also noted the personal log had been added to as well. The first entry was the date that would have been three days from what he remembered last. Vegeta couldn't help but smirk with anticipation. It was like having your own guide to your future ready and waiting.
He settled down with his back to a wall and activated the first entry.
On the bridge, the Tsufuru-jin were quiet. Each one was lost in his respective tasks. The only sound was the occasional beep of a computer, and the low swish of the circulating air.
"Are they still in the cargo section?" Kiwi finally asked, breaking the silence. He didn't look up from his screen at the science console. Data was scrolling by at a tremendous rate, but he didn't read it. He was waiting for the computer to make its conclusions.
"No, they are now in the passenger section. They seem to be looking for something," Papaya answered, sitting in the pilot's chair, bored out of his skull. "Should I go down there and lock them up too?" They had sent the preliminary data to five of the richest governments in their sector. Now they were cloaked as they hovered in space, waiting for a reply. For amusement, he had been watching the two little earthling's progress through the ship on the main screen. In a corner of the same screen, an image of the Saiyan cub who was sitting still, staring at nothing that Papaya could see.
"Don't bother. They are only Earthlings. They can't get into any trouble. This is odd," Kiwi muttered to himself, but just barely loud enough for Papaya to hear.
"What is?" he asked, not because he cared. But because he was so bored that even listening to Kiwi's geek talk sounded good.
Kiwi didn't notice. "The computer is done analyzing the sample we got from that half-breed. According to these results, the half-breed reaches full potential far earlier than a purebred."
"Like an s.Prou sub-t?" Papaya asked, proud of himself that he'd remembered that much. Then promptly got lost halfway through his partner's answer.
"Yes, and the addition of another species' genes seemed to have stabilized the mental instability inherent to those that reach maximum ki level before maturity."
Papaya blinked. "Can you repeat that, in Common?"
"Uh, sure. Umm…. the half-breed reached full power very young. And he seems to have remained sane."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place?"
"I did, you are just too lazy to try to keep up with the conversation."
"Shut up." Papaya grimaced when he realized that he was still bored. Then an idea came to him. "If a half breed is so strong at a young age, why don't we go back and get him? He might be worth something."
Kiwi considered it, and then shook his head. "I don't think so. The half- breed isn't nearly as strong as the purebreds. My guess would be that he if he hasn't already, he would reach his limit in the next few years. And it seems to be considerably lower than the purebred's."
Making a disgusted noise, Papaya slumped lower in his seat. They were so far out in the middle of nowhere; they couldn't even get the broadcasts of the latest Gladiator Tournaments. All they were stuck with was some lame intergalactic soap operas and infomercials. Not even on his worst day would Papaya watch one of those. So now all he had for entertainment was a dull conversation, riddled with geek-speak. "Why are you even bothering with it then?"
Shrugging, Kiwi turned to face him. "It seemed like a good idea to get to know as much as possible about these Saiyans."
'Whatever," Papaya said, still slouched down in his seat. He glanced up at the monitor. "It looks like the earthlings are near our guest's quarters now."
"What do you suppose they are looking for?" Kiwi asked, glancing up.
"I dunno. But the one with dark hair sure seems agitated about something."
"Well, keep watching them. If it looks like they might get into trouble let me know."
Papaya nodded. Yawning, he let his eyes drift shut. He decided to catch a nap. Those two kids were only weak little Earthlings. What damage could they do?
A little while later…
Shaking and pale with rage, the young prince reached up and removed the scouter. He slowly licked his lips, his mind trying to come to grips with what his future/past had been like. He could only feel thankful that he didn't remember any of it.
Freiza had destroyed his home world. It wasn't anything terribly surprising, indeed the prince half suspected it before he had found confirmation in the records. But that hadn't been it. Freiza had been so much stronger than the Saiyans, that Vegeta half expected something like that to happen. And it wasn't even the near-extinction of his race. He had always looked down on his people for their inferior intellect, and their own weaknesses. He didn't miss them very much. The prince was still too young to fully comprehend the magnitude of the destruction of Vegetasei. His child's mind could not grasp it, and that was what kept him from going insane.
No, it was what happened after that that held the young prince's anger. Anger that acted as a balm against the horror of knowing that he himself would grow up in virtual slavery. And the things Freiza had done to him. The abuse, degradation, the…
He had been a goddamned PET!
NO! he squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to think about that. Then another thought occurred to him. If they returned him to his normal age, he would have to relive all those memories again. And with his photographic memory, it would be like reliving those twenty years of hell.
"Fuck that," he whispered. "I have a chance to start over. If they think that they can take that away, I'll blast them to hell and gone. I will not be returned to what I was."
I will not let them do that to me!
Goten and Trunks' search was getting desperate. The ship was big, certainly, but there should have been a bathroom somewhere around there! Goten was starting to look like he was in serious pain.
"Hang in there Goten," Trunks encouraged. "There has to be one around here, I'm sure of it!"
Nodding, Goten continued to stagger down the corridor they were currently exploring. They looked in room after room, but there was nothing that resembled a bathroom. Then they came to a locked door.
"What do you suppose is in there?" Trunks asked.
At this point, Goten was past casual curiosity. All he cared about was relieving himself. "Open it, Trunks. What if it's the bathroom?"
Trunks didn't really think that it was, but for Goten's sake, he would humor his friend. He studied the controls next to the door. Having spent his life in his grandfather's lab and possessing his father's photographic memory, Trunks easily deciphered the locking mechanism. The door slid open to reveal…
"Father!" Trunks exclaimed.
Vegeta was standing in the doorway, ready to pounce. His tail was fuzzed out, making it look twice as thick as usual. His face was strangely pale, and his eyes were fixed in that famous glare that made most people feel the need to be somewhere else, anywhere else, now!
Seeing the two demi-Saiyans in the doorway, Vegeta froze in surprise. That didn't last too long, though as Goten shoved his way past the little prince into the cell. "Where's the bathroom," he half wailed, half pleaded.
Blinking, Vegeta numbly point to a small indentation in the back corner.
Goten stagger over as fast as he could, undid his pants and let out a huge sigh of relief.
Turning to Trunks, Vegeta asked, "What are you doing here?" He seemed almost angry. His color had returned, but he seemed distracted by something.
Blushing, Trunks stuttered to explain. He knew that he shouldn't have snuck onto the ship, and figured that Vegeta was mad at him for it. But then Vegeta waved his explanation aside. "Never mind, we have more important things to do."
"Like what?" Trunks asked, cautiously relieved. His father didn't seem too mad at him. His excitement began to grow again.
"We are going to take over this ship," Vegeta announced calmly.
"Cool!" Trunks exclaimed. Now this was his idea of fun. Over in the corner, Goten was still occupied.
"Not so fast," Vegeta folded his arms over his chest, scowling at nothing. His tail twitched from side to side. "We have to disable their main weapon."
"What type of weapon?" Trunks cocked his head to the side. Trunks was a typical boy in most respects. If it could cause damage and chaos, he wanted to know about it.
"A sonic weapon," Vegeta grimaced, remembering the pain it caused his sensitive ears.
"What's a sonic weapon?" Goten asked from the corner.
"A weapon that uses sound to hurt someone," Trunks explained.
"How can sound hurt someone?" Goten asked as he finally finished and redid his pants.
"Its sorta like when how your ears hurt when your mom screams at you."
Understanding shone on Goten's open features. "Oh! I get it!" he beamed.
"So how can a weapon like that be disabled?" Vegeta asked rhetorically, not expecting an answer.
He didn't know that for a kid, Trunks was very, very smart. Having a genius for a mother, and a genetically engineered father, Trunks was one of the brightest kids on the planet Earth. Thinking his father was asking him, tapping his lower lip, Trunks thought hard. He remembered his mother talking about sound once. "Sound travels in waves," he said.
Vegeta scowled impatiently. " I know that," he said. He was suppressing the urge to bolt out of the room before the door closed on them, but forced himself to wait until they had a plan at least.
Trunks ignored him, trying to remember what he had heard. "To cancel out a wave, you must send out a wave that is the same amplitude but opposite frequency," he recited.
Dark eyes widening, Vegeta slowly nodded. "Of course!" he said. He reached up and activated the controls on his scouter. He called up the recording of the sonic weapon, but had it muted. Programming the scouter, Vegeta set it to send out a negating wave. Smirking in triumph, he turned to his son. "Good work," he praised. "I should make you my lieutenant."
Trunks beamed from ear to ear. His father had rarely praised him. Now he was going to make him a lieutenant!
Hearing this, Goten piped up. "Can I be a lootenant too?" he asked, stumbling through the word. "Please! I want to be a lootenant too!"
Feeling inordinately smug with the turn of events, Vegeta was feeling generous. "Sure, why not?"
"Yay!! Goten jumped with glee. "I'm a lootenant!" He stopped abruptly, cocking his head to one side. "What's a lootenant?" he asked.
Vegeta and Trunks stared at him a few beats, then pretending not to have heard that, resumed their previous conversation.
"Why are we going to take over the ship, Father?" Trunks asked.
Lip curled in that classic Saiyan sneer, Vegeta walked out the open door and looked up and down the empty corridor. "Because, we have to go someplace to check something out." he announced.
"Where?" Goten asked excitedly.
"You'll find out," Vegeta replied smugly.
"Is it a surprise?" Goten asked, clapping his hands.
Raising an eyebrow, Vegeta smirked. "Yes, it is a surprise. But first, we must take over the ship." He chose a direction at random and started walking with Trunks and Goten a step behind.
"How are we going to take over the ship, Father? Goten and I didn't see anyone here and we have been looking around for a while now."
"They are here, trust me," Vegeta said. Eyes narrowed, he led the way down the corridor.
In another part of space, Goku was studying Piccolo's hovering form. The Nameck was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation, cape billowing gently behind him. Puzzled, the Saiyan sucked his index finger and held it up in the air.
Gohan looked up from the control panel. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"There is no wind in here," Goku said, still holding his wet finger in the air.
"Of course not. We are on a spaceship," Gohan patiently explained. "The air is controlled."
"Then where does Piccolo get the head wind?" Goku asked, scratching his head.
Gohan gaped, then turned and studied his mentor. Cocking his head to one side, he considered the scene in front of him. Finally, he shrugged, deciding to tease his father a little. "I think it's a prerequisite. He wears a cape, therefore he must have a head wind."
"Oh, I see!" Goku exclaimed with a grin.
Both Gohan and Piccolo sweat dropped.
They were on one of Dr. Brief's new spaceships. This one had an experimental drive that was theoretically twice as fast as the old drive. But they found out that even with the new drive, they were no match for the Tsufuru-jin ship. They could only hope that the Tsufuru-jin would stop long enough for them to catch up.
Changing the subject, Gohan asked Goku, "Are we getting close?"
Goku frowned, turning his thoughts inward to where he could sense Vegeta. It felt like they were getting closer, but Vegeta was still very far away. He told Gohan so.
Something else that concerned him was the faint emotions that he was feeling emanating from the small Saiyan prince. It seemed to be a blend of rage, shame and fear. Not knowing what was happening, he tried to contact Vegeta, but there was absolutely no response for his efforts. The prince had shut him out of his thoughts, even thought the slender psychic thread still tied them together.
It was frustrating Goku to no end that Vegeta was hurting and Goku couldn't be there to help him. But he tried to help anyway. He concentrated on sending waves of reassurance to the prince. Whether of not Vegeta received these thoughts wasn't certain, but Goku did it anyway.
Unknowingly mirroring his father's unease, Gohan said, "I hope those kids are alright."
Forgetting his own disquiet, Goku grinned confidently. "I'm sure they are! Trunks and Goten are strong kids. And Vegeta can take care of himself. Between the three of them, they'll be fine. "
Piccolo broke in. "I don't know about that."
Looking back at Piccolo, Gohan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Opening his eyes, Piccolo lowered his legs to stand on the floor. "Trunks still thinks of Vegeta as his father, just in a smaller body. He doesn't realize that this young Vegeta has none of the power or the experience that he will gain as he gets older. And I don't think Vegeta would think twice about putting his son or Goten in danger. He is back to being the spoiled, selfish brat prince he once was."
"So you think that Trunks and Goten will follow Vegeta even if it gets them into serious trouble?" Gohan asked.
"Especially if it puts them in danger," Piccolo retorted. "You Saiyans have a knack of finding trouble, especially Vegeta."
Goku shook his head. "I don't think so, Piccolo. When we met Vegeta, he had been under Frieza's control for years. He was taught to be vicious and cruel. Young Vegeta has not had that; he is still..." he fumbled for the correct word. 'Innocent' and 'pure' didn't describe Vegeta. The prince had already by this time, committed genocide many times over. Sighing, he gave up, deciding to just rely on his instincts. "They'll be fine," he stated.
Gohan was staring at his father, wide-eyed in some amazement and admiration. There were times when Goku seemed to be as wise as kami…
"Say Piccolo, do you think that I would get a head wind if I had a cape?" Goku asked enthusiastically.
…and then there were times Gohan would swear that he had met smarter houseplants than his father.
"I don't know," Piccolo answered, sounding strangled.
Gohan snorted, smothering a laugh at the look on Piccolo's face. The computer beeped, giving a grateful Gohan to turn around and hide his smirk from the glaring Piccolo. He forgot about laughing as soon as he saw what was on the screen in front of him. "Oh, no," he whispered.
Concerned, Piccolo and Goku crowded close behind him, trying to see what was wrong. "What is it?" Goku asked.
"The Tsufuru-jin are transmitting their information to various points in the sector of the galaxy. They really are going to sell Vegeta to the highest bidder. Someone has already responded."
A very unwelcome thought occurred to Piccolo. "Guys, we may be in trouble here."
Hearing that ultra-serious tone, both Saiyans looked at Piccolo. "Why?" Gohan asked.
"The Saiyans had a well-earned reputation for wiping out entire races of beings. Say, if some of those races had survivors, this would be the perfect opportunity for them to get revenge."
Gohan gulped, and even Goku looked serious. "You are right, Piccolo. And Vegeta isn't nearly as strong as he used to be, he can't defend himself like he could before."
"We'd better get there first," Piccolo said, and both Sons nodded solemnly.
TBC
