Disclaimer: I do not own anything DBZ, except the plastic SS2 Gohan on my power woofer.

Warning: Angst, Humor, Language and (all together now) Violence! Lots and lots of bloody violence!

Archive: Hell yeah!

Special thanks go to Stormy, Stacey and Maria. And to the wonderful reviewers out there who review! It actually pulls me away from EverQuest and gets me writing.

Author's Note: Please note that I am using the power levels taken from the series. I am forced to guess about little Vegeta's, as in this fic he is a child. Since he was about 30 when he first appeared in the series with a battle power of 18,000, I am going to guess that at age nine, he has a battle power of around 6,000. Of course this means that Vegeta will not be able to go Super Saiyan until he gets much, much older. But that goes along with his genetic engineering.

Lactaids: 120,000 (since Captain Ginyu had a power of 160,000, and these guys aren't quite as strong)

The original figures come from Majin Planet.

A Killer in Me

Chapter 11

Vegeta slinked down one of the corridors of the Lactaid's ship, pausing just long enough to run a scan of the area with his scouter before proceeding on his way to the engine room.  It was easy enough to avoid any of the ship's inhabitants as they were each as big as a lumber wagon and about as noisy. They didn't even notice the small Saiyan prince lurking in the shadows, his tail waving slowly behind him as they ran past.

As he watched them skid around the corner, Vegeta wondered what his companions were up to. Whatever it was, it seemed to have caused a great deal of excitement among the Lactaids. Shrugging, he decided it wasn't really relevant. As long as they didn't destroy their own ship, Vegeta wasn't going to waste effort being concerned.

Finally, the last soldier disappeared out of sight, and Vegeta glided silently to the engine room doors. He hit the button to open the doors and stepped to the side out of sight, just in case there was someone still in there.  A quick peek showed him that the room was empty.  Satisfied, he sneered to himself. He couldn't believe the overconfidence of some people. 

It never occurred to him that that was one of his own major failings.

Adjusting his scouter, he did a quick scan of the room. There.  That was what he needed. Taking a last look around, just to be sure he was really alone, he sauntered to the main reactor and set it to overload. Making sure that all the fail-safes were off, he then sent a small ki blast into the control panel, destroying it completely in a shower of sparks and smoke.

Immediately, a siren began to wail.

Grinning evilly in smug satisfaction, Vegeta quickly made his exit. He figured it would take about 10 minutes for the reactor to blow itself up, along with the rest of the Lactaid's ship. There should be plenty of time for them to make their getaway.  His sharp ears caught some shouts ahead of him and hid in a small alcove to one side. Probably the engineer was coming back to try to find out why the reactor was overheating. Of course that knowledge wouldn't do them any good, as Vegeta had made sure that there was no way to stop the imminent explosion.

His tail lashed from side to side with impatience. Why weren't they hurrying up?

He knew that he was cutting it very close. The longer he lingered in one spot, the greater the chances for discovery were. Finally, Vegeta decided that he couldn't wait any longer. Making his way back to the airlock that bound the two ships together; he was just edging around a corner when he heard a sizable number of Lactaids coming in behind him. Eyes widening, he bolted around the corner just in time to wind up face to face with several soldiers hurrying back through from the other side.

'Why the hell were they coming back?' he wondered insanely. Weren't Trunks and Goten following his orders to kill them? Then the danger of his own situation sank in as it took Vegeta a second to realize that he was surrounded.

For a beat they all stared at each other, then with a burst of adrenaline, Vegeta dove for the exit, trying to slide through a set of massive purple legs in a desperate bid for freedom. But a clawed hand seizing his tail brought him up short with a scream of pure agony as he dropped to his belly, writhing.

"He sabotaged our ship!" one of the Lactaids shouted from behind. The enraged soldier kicked the helpless prince once, twice, three times in the ribs. Vegeta's vision swam as he felt the bones give way under the blows. He bit his lip to keep from crying out, and tried to force his agony into rage. But the terrible grip on his tail kept him weak as a day old kitten, and it was all he could do to hang onto consciousness, even as blackness hovered at the edges of his sight.

Then the others joined in, kicking the helpless Saiyan cub with steel-toed boots. Vegeta bit down on his lip, nearly biting through it to prevent any sound to escape. He was stubborn enough to deny them that satisfaction at least. He wasn't sure how long the beating lasted but it was abruptly terminated when a sudden explosion in the engine room threw the soldiers off their feet as the ship rocked from the blast. Feeling the horrendous pressure on his vulnerable tail lessen, Vegeta pulled away from his tormentors and crawled a few paces before pushing himself up to his feet. Clutching at the wall for support, he drew a deep breath and focused the last shreds of his ki into a small glowing ball. Aiming it at the control pad on the wall near the airlock, he let it loose and then fell rather than jumped through the closing door, trapping the Lactaids in their own ship, and leaving Vegeta alone on the other side in the Tsufuru-jin ship.

Clutching at his broken ribs, he tried to draw a breath. His mouth was full of blood, the thick coppery taste nearly making him gag. Grimly, for the sake of his injured body, he fought the urge. Breathing was very, very painful but not impossible. Drawing on that famous indomitable will, he forced himself to stagger to the control room, clinging to the wall every step of the way. His entire being focused on getting the hell away from the Lactaid's ship before it blew up completely.

At first he thought it was his vision getting cloudy again, but it gradually penetrated through the haze of pain that the ship was filled with smoke. An ominous feeling began to gather in the pit of his stomach. What the hell had happened?

Vegeta entered the control room, and staggered over to the pilot's chair, intent on making his getaway. He focused his fraying attention on plotting their course and getting the hell out of there. He hit the ignition switch and sighed as he sat back, closing his eyes, letting the pain of his injuries slide over him.

After a minute he frowned and opened his eyes. They should be moving.

They weren't.

In fact, there was absolutely no response from the engines. "What the hell…" he muttered.

Behind him the door opened. Spinning around, he stared at the strange person standing in the doorway, who for some reason was looking rather sheepish. The person was wearing some type of vest that showed off incredible abs, and baggy white pants. Long gold hair and no eyebrows completed the look. Scowling, Vegeta commented, "Okay, you take the prize for being the weirdest thing I've seen all day. Who the fuck are you?" He didn't have time for this. All he wanted to do was get away far from the Lactaids so he could nurse his wounds in peace.

The golden haired newcomer struck a dramatic pose; chest thrust out and hands perched recklessly on his hips. "I am neither Trunks nor Goten, but a more powerful fusion between the two. My name is Gotenks!" he announced in a strange dual voice, striking another pose.

Rubbing a hand over his eyes, Vegeta said, "That does it, I am through being surprised or shocked by anything. I have now officially seen it all." His ribs were aching fiercely, and other bruises were being felt emphatically as well.  

"I have driven the enemy back to his ship," Gotenks announced, posing yet again.

"Hooray for you," Vegeta commented snidely. He had run right into them. "Now go somewhere else, I'm busy. The engines aren't responding and we have to get out of here." He turned back to the control panel, trying to figure out why the engines weren't responding.  It was obvious that the person known as 'Gotenks' wasn't an immediate threat, so the Saiyan prince mentally dismissed him, categorizing him as something to deal with later. Much, much later.

Gotenks cleared his throat. "Uh, I think I know why the engines aren't working."

Under normal circumstances, Vegeta wasn't psychic. He didn't know what the future held and didn't really want to know either. He had enough just living in the present. But there was something in this Gotenks' voice that made his skin prickle. Something that told him that he really did not want to know how Gotenks knew that the engines weren't working. But nevertheless, he had to know.

"Why aren't the engines working?" he asked, his eyes closed and one hand clutching his ribs.

"I sorta blasted them," Gotenks said with an embarrassed laugh, one hand behind his head.

At first Vegeta thought that his injuries had extended to his head, making him hear things that just couldn't be possible. "I think I heard you wrong," he said. "Because I swear I just heard you say that you blasted our engines. The ones that we need to get out of here before that warship explodes right next to us."

Blushing, Gotenks grinned weakly. "No, you heard right," he rallied. "I did it. Umm…would it help if I got out and pushed?" he offered generously.

Only his broken ribs prevented Vegeta from launching himself at the fused Saiyan and throttling Gotenks out of sheer frustration. "Why the hell did you do that?" he snarled, trying to keep his rage leashed. Then, as Gotenks started to stammer an explanation, he decided it didn't matter. There was no more time. The ship rocked violently as the warship next to them finally exploded for real in a rain of fire and twisted metal.

Both Vegeta and Gotenks were thrown to the floor as the Tsufuru-jin ship shuddered and spun out of control. His vision going gray, Vegeta clung to the control panel and tried to marshal his thoughts. Warning claxons shrieked as the already damaged engines were being torn apart by the stresses of the nearby explosion.

"Shit!" Vegeta gasped. "This ship is gonna blow too!" His mind raced frantically for an alternative and found one.  "The scout ship!" he ordered Gotenks.

Eyes widening, Gotenks grinned and nodded, bolting to the exit, Vegeta grimly staggering behind him. Gotenks lifted into the air and blasted down the corridor, out of sight in an instant. Vegeta snarled in frustration, trying to make his injured body move faster. His breath came in short, painful gasps and black spots were now exploding in front of his eyes. It was clear that he wasn't going to make it.

Another explosion shook the ship, sending Vegeta crashing to his hands and knees. He raised his head, almost expecting to see the bright blackness of space when strong hands around his waist hoisted him into the air.

"Why are you just sitting here Vegeta, we have to move!" Gotenks encouraged as they flew down the corridor toward the cargo bay. 

If he hadn't been so hurt, Vegeta might have died of embarrassment right on the spot. It was humiliating having to be rescued by this dual Saiyan freak. He heard Gotenks laughing in his ear. Growling, Vegeta realized with horror that the fool was enjoying this!  He was worse than a natural born Saiyan!

"Almost there!" Gotenks cheered himself on unashamedly. He decided that going on adventures with Vegeta was great! He would have to make sure they did this more often.

Meanwhile, Vegeta was not having nearly as much fun. Grimly, he hung onto consciousness; concentrating on breathing and letting Gotenks get them there. He raised his head as they slammed to a stop and got their first look at the cargo bay.

It had been reduced to a twisted mass of rubble. The remains of the scout ship were jammed into the far wall, which was bowing out in an inevitable hull-breach.

"Uh, got a plan B?" Gotenks asked, still not worried. Gotenks wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer but had unfailing confidence in Vegeta's ability to get them out of this. 

"Fool, that was plan B. Plan A didn't involve you crippling our own ship! Have you never battled in space before?"  Vegeta snapped as he struggled to get down on his feet. Gotenks put him down easily, still waiting for the Saiyan prince to find a way to get them out of this situation.

"Nope, this is my first time," was the reply. Gotenks beamed, "Its so cool!"

Vegeta spat some blood and wiped his mouth. "The first rule is that you don't break your own ship, because we are out in the middle of nowhere and it's too far to walk to the nearest planet for repairs."

Giving an embarrassed laugh, Gotenks shrugged. "Oh yeah," he said. "So what is plan C?"

"I'm working on it!"  Vegeta now believed whole-heartedly that Gotenks intelligence seemed to be inversely proportional to his power. And he was very powerful.  Determinedly, he took stock of the situation. The ship was going to blow up at any time, the scout ship was now modern art against the hull, the escape pods had been used by the Tsufuru-jin…except for one! "Okay, there is one more escape pod. It's by engineering."

"Gotcha!" Gotenks scooped up the swaying prince and shot down another corridor, in the direction of the engine room.  For once it seemed that they were in luck, the massive drive shafts were still intact, although a strange, glowing light seemed to be playing around them, making the room seem rather eerie. Dangerous energies filled the room. The hair on Gotenks and Vegeta's heads and on the prince's tail stood on end at the massive discharge of energies coming from the damaged engines.

Looking around, Gotenks spotted the escape pod and headed toward it. He opened it and peered inside. "I don't think it's big enough for the two of us," he observed.

"No time for that now!" Vegeta snapped and pushed the fused Saiyan face-first into the small pod, and jumped in directly behind him. Not caring that he was sitting on top of Gotenks, Vegeta closed the door and hit the eject button…

…just as the ship exploded in a massive plume of fire.

The next few minutes were among the more uncomfortable in Vegeta's life. The escape pod spun like a top before the inertial compensators could kick in. At last they leveled out and Vegeta took a deep breath, trying to clear away the dizziness. Underneath him, Gotenks moaned. "I'm gonna yak."

"Then find a bag to do it in," Vegeta told him impatiently as he worked to get something, anything to work.

"I don't see a bag," Gotenks said, trying to sit up underneath Vegeta.

"You don't see anything, idiot. There are no lights on," the prince told him.

Gotenks squirmed some more, nearly unseating Vegeta. As it was the prince banged his head the top of the circular pod. "Stop that!" he said irritably. A light shone out of his scouter, illuminating the tiny space. "That's better."

The pod was hardly big enough for one person, let alone two. It was only because neither of them was very big that they could fit into the pod at all. As it was, Vegeta had to sit on Gotenks lap when they finally got themselves situated after much shoving and complaining of long hair and tails getting on the other's eyes and mouth.

After running a system's diagnostic, Vegeta began to swear in soft, even tones.

"What is it?" Gotenks wanted to know, trying to peer around Vegeta's shoulder.

"This pod is obviously for last resort use only. It has no propulsion unit, so we are going nowhere, fast, with no hope of controlling our trajectory. We will keep traveling in this direction forever, thanks to the wonderful laws of inertia. Due to the damage caused by the Tsufuru-jin ship exploding on top of us, communications are out, so we can't call for help even if there was someone around, which there isn't because we are literally right out in the middle of nowhere."

"That's not good, is it?" Gotenks commented as he jerked his head to the side in order to dodge Vegeta's tail as it lashed back and forth, reflecting the prince's agitation.

"It gets better," Vegeta said, sarcasm dripping form his voice.  "The oxygen tanks were damaged as well by the explosion, so our air is leaking out as we speak."

Gotenks powered down until his hair turned back into its black/purple upswept look. "Is there anything we can do?" he asked, for once serious.

Vegeta coughed, grimacing as pain shot through his ribs and blood coated his hand. "I'm thinking about it," he said. Vegeta refused to give up; it was against his nature. As long as he could think, he would continuously keep trying. There had to be a way!

"Think faster!" Gotenks encouraged.

Growling a warning, Vegeta coughed up more blood. In the dimness of the cockpit, Gotenks didn't see it though. For a while they tumbled through space in silence until,  "I'm getting sleepy," Gotenks murmured, his eyes were drooping.

"It's the lack of oxygen, fool!" Vegeta snapped, trying to fight the panic that was threatening to rise in him. But there wasn't much he could do about their situation. Try as he might he could not think of anything that could save them. He was trapped and suffocating with no one around to help.

Unless…

He closed his eyes, starting to feel lightheaded. Ignoring it, he dove through his conscious mind, into the deep part of his brain and sent out a call.

'Kakarrot'

Not waiting for a reply he opened his eyes, looking at the readout in front of him.  He sent out the information that the monitor was reading. Then his eyes closed and the darkness he fought for so long rose up to claim him as its own.

"Vegeta!"

Goku shot up from where he was sitting. He had been contemplating the stars, or at least that's what he told himself he was doing. Actually, he was just on the verge of a nap when the mental cry snapped him out of his stupor.

"Dad?" Gohan asked, looking up from his book, his voice rich with worry, but Goku held up a hand for silence. Then his face went white.

"Vegeta!" he shouted, sending his mental voice winging through the vastness of space to an unreceptive mind. Turning to the others, Goku looked shaken. "He's gone," he said.

"Did he say anything?" Piccolo asked from behind the Saiyan.

His brow furrowing, Goku scratched his head. "No, there were just some numbers."

"Numbers?" Gohan echoed. "What numbers?"

Shutting his eyes, Goku recited a long string of numbers, which Gohan copied down. As he looked at them, he thought he saw a pattern. "These are spatial coordinates," he noted.

"That must be where they are then," Piccolo observed. "Gohan!" he said, but the demi-Saiyan had anticipated the order.

"I'm on it!" Gohan said as he entered the coordinates into the navigation computer and hit the enter key. The ship changed heading and shot forward.

"Can you contact Vegeta?" Piccolo asked Goku.

Goku was shaking his head. "No, the link is completely gone," he swallowed at the implications.

"Don't worry, he might just be unconscious. He warned you that might happen," Piccolo reminded him.

Nodding, Goku tried to calm down. He rubbed his palms on his pant legs and took some deep breaths. They had been getting closer to the boys, he had felt it.  "Vegeta didn't have this problem when we were inside of Buu.  He led us straight to you guys, and you were all unconscious," Goku said.

"Vegeta is a stronger telepath than you are," Piccolo said, his cape billowing gently, "and he shares a bond with Trunks."

Goku cocked his head to one side as he thought about it. But before he could reply, Gohan interrupted their conversation. "Guys, I'm getting some readings of massive explosions and heavy debris up ahead."

"I'm not surprised, seeing as Vegeta and the boys are involved," Piccolo observed.

Shooting him an amused look, Gohan straightened up. "There is an escape pod on tracking right now," he reported, and then went white as he continued to read. "But there are only two life forms inside."

"Are you sure?" Piccolo asked, exchanging a glance with Goku.

Nodding, Gohan licked his lips. "I don't know who it is though. There is too much interference to determined who survived." The demi-Saiyan felt sick with dread. Please, he did not want his little brother to be dead! But he had looked at Trunks as a younger brother too. As for Vegeta, the volatile prince had been a part of Gohan's life for so many years now that it was hard to picture him as dead. And he had already died twice, and Goten and Trunks had died once. That meant that Shenlong wouldn't be able to restore them to life.  The pain of loss tore at his soul, and he bit his lip. Filled with uncertainty, he looked up and could see his conflicted feelings reflected on the faces of his father and mentor as well.

As they approached the pod, Gohan reported more bad news. "The air is leaking out of the pod, and the life forces of the two are fading!" he shouted in alarm.

"Hurry up!" Piccolo growled as Gohan deftly maneuvered the spaceship alongside the drifting pod. Manning the mechanical arms, Piccolo snagged the pod and dragged it into the airlock. The three rushed to the airlock and after it was pressurized, opened it.  Goku seized hold of the space pod door and wretched it open with a metallic clang.

Huddling around the hatch, they peered into the dark interior and their eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious Vegeta limply sprawled out over an unconscious…

"Gotenks!"

TBC