At long last here is the next chapter! Sorry for the delay.
Chapter 5: Upheaval
Nira placed her hand upon
the glass window of the regeneration tank and contemplated its occupant's sad
situation. While the Saiyajin Prince
had remained in the healing sleep of the chamber things had changed drastically
for both he and his entire planet. Buying perfectly into Freeza's plot the Saiyajin King was quick to
declare war and rally his forces to strike the Daidaiirojin in vengeance for
their supposed assassination of the Saiyajin Queen. Freeza, of course, had been very supportive and declared war as
well. Things were moving forward
according to plan and she was the one responsible for this turn of events. Ordinarily she took pleasure in having
accomplished her task but this time she was almost overwhelmed with guilt. She could barely look at the King and the
prospect of facing the small saiyajin that now occupied the chamber in front of
her was worse.
"I'm ready to begin the
waking process" the helpful technician informed her rousing her from her
reverie.
The girl merely nodded her
understanding and permission keeping her eyes on the figure of the boy who
would soon wake-up in a world undergoing the upheaval of war. After a few moments the boy's eyes fluttered
open and he looked around in disorientation before understanding when he met
her violet depths. Nira smiled
half-heartedly at him and received a knitted brow in reply. She was relieved that he was okay but still
dreaded his reaction to the news as was happy that she was not the one to give
it.
The technician came over
and Nira moved politely to the side, allowing him to start emptying the
chamber. When the green liquid had
emptied the prince tore-off his mask before the tech could open the tank. The boy stood-up immediately flaring his ki
to dry himself and promptly ignored the technician instead he walked straight
up to the girl who awaited him with his clothes. Without a word he snatched the bodysuit from his caretaker and
began to dress.
"Prince Vegeta" the
technician babbled "I need do a visual check before I release you."
"You can see that I'm
alive, can't you?" Vegeta told the technician as he adjusted the sleeves to his
suit.
"Yes.." he began and was
then cut-off again.
"You can see that I'm able
to walk under my own power, can't you?" he quipped slipping on his armor.
"Yes, but.."
"Then write that in your
report" the boy snapped crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't have time to waste. I've already been in here for…for.." he
stumbled. "Nira how long has it been?"
the child asked sitting down.
"A week my prince" she
said handing him his boots.
"A week" he said softly in
disbelief absently pulling on his footwear.
"Yes My Prince" she said
feeling hypocritical for what she was about to say. "Much has happened. Your
father wishes to speak with you immediately."
"What could the old man
possibly want that can't wait until I've eaten?" the prince grumbled donning
his gloves.
"It is very important
Ouji-sama," she said fastening his cape to the armor.
Recognizing the
seriousness in her tone the boy turned and looked at her questioningly. "Nira, what is wrong?" he asked her a large
knot forming in his stomach seeing the troubled expression in her eyes.
"You must go before your
father becomes angry" the girl told him adverting her eyes.
Vegeta stared at his
caretaker a moment more before turning on his heels and leaving the room. As he walked through the hallway of the
palace toward the conference room he couldn't help but notice the sense of
urgency all around him. Saiyajin elite
warriors, in full battle gear, walked with purpose toward the training
center. No one loitered in the halls
but were busy with one thing or another. They passed by him so absorbed in their own thoughts that for once in
his short life he went almost completely unnoticed, which, for someone who had
been worshiped wherever he went since infancy, found unsettling.
He reached the door to the
conference room and opened the doors and found his father sitting alone at the
table staring up at a large chart and display.
"Come here brat," the King
demanded in a much softer tone than his usual one.
Vegeta walked up to the
head of the table feeling the thick gloom in room begin to settle in his chest.
"Do you recognize this
place?" the king said pointing to the photographs and diagrams.
"Yes, it is Daidaiirosei"
the boy answered. "Aren't these battle
plans?"
"Yes, they are battle
plans" Vegeta-ou replied turning towards his son with a weary but pleased
expression for his correct assumption. "We are at war with them now. They declared war on us for our alliance with the Cold Empire in the
most deplorable and cowardly manner."
Vegeta couldn't help but
notice how poor his father looked. He
was pale, drawn and had the distinct air of melancholy about him. The boy tried not to betray the uneasiness
his father's state gave him. "You sound
as if it were a bad thing" he said. "I
thought wars were good for our people."
"Any battle gives us each
an opportunity to sharpen our skills as a warrior and grow stronger but only a
fool welcomes war" the King told the boy seriously leaning back in his
chair. "This war is necessary as a
matter of honor," the King informed him, as his mood grew still darker. "Vegeta" the king began "both our house and
our planet have suffered a great tragedy."
The young prince froze
transfixed as his father's eyes met his in a dramatic pause. He could see great sadness and pain in his
gaze and this unnerved him still further. His father's mood and the use of his name told Vegeta that whatever his
father had to say must indeed be terrible and he felt an odd sense of
foreboding when his father continued.
"As you battled Freeza's
lackey a Daidaiirojin assassin attacked the Queen" King Vegeta said in a
carefully measured voice. "She is dead
Vegeta and must be avenged."
"Mother.." the boy began
in question as the numbness of shock overtook his senses.
"She is dead," the King
stated tearing his eyes away from his son's lest the child's mood feed his own
into becoming more emotional. The child
was always too emotional for his own good, although his training had tempered
them a good deal, and he knew that he was likely to see a little more emotion
from his son than was proper. He was
only 5 years old after all. He had been
much the same when he was a boy but his centuries of experience had allowed him
to keep his emotions in check as befitted a saiyajin warrior.
Vegeta lowered his eyes to
the floor as the strange feeling of grief tore into his young heart. The idea of never seeing her again brought a
feeling of overwhelming sadness that wanted to burst forth in a wail of
mourning or a torrent of tears and this made him angry with himself. "Emotions are for the weak," he repeated
silently to himself as he felt one tear escape his eye. "The only productive emotion is anger" he
continued to tell himself silently guiltily wiping away the proof of his lack
of self-control. "I must harness the emotion and channel it into anger." He carefully chose to think of the assassins
instead of the victim and allowed his anger to grow until it evaporated the
tears that he had been holding back.
"Then I swear I will kill
the one responsible with my own hands" the boy said as the soothing feeling of
anger completely taking over his senses.
"Unfortunately that is not
possible," the King stated. "It is my
right as her mate to do so. Remember
our laws."
"Forgive me ou-sama," the
prince said bowing slightly "but it is my right to exterminate all that you cannot
dispatch yourself. I want to join the
assault on Daidaiirosei."
The King looked at his
son. All trace of sadness was erased
from the boy's manner. He had done well
in controlling his emotions so he graced the boy with a slight smirk. "You are of age and may come if you wish"
the King said "but you cannot be a part of the strike on the capitol."
"But father…"
"You lack the experience
needed for such a dangerous mission and that is final," the King snapped
swiveling away from the boy once again. "You are dismissed," he barked closing the dialogue.
Vegeta left the room his
mind and body overwhelmed with anger and frustration. He needed a way to let it out and knew precisely how to do
it. He would go to where the Elites were
training and order them to fight him. Vegeta smirked he would definitely have to test out the new strength his
recent near death had brought.
***
"Your majesty" the King of
the Lizardjin said to the orange queen. "I don't think it's wise to make enemies of either the Saiyajin Empire
or the Cold Empire, let alone both! I
cannot join you in this rebellion."
The others in the room
grumbled their support to his opinion.
"Believe Me," the queen
said, "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think we had a chance. Between all of our kingdoms we have more
than enough warriors and with the new arms technology that I've procured we
could do very well. Especially if we
use guerilla tactics."
"Forgive me" the horn
headed ambassador stated "but how do we know that you speak the truth and not
some unrealistic dream."
"Don't worry" the queen
said with a throaty chuckle. "I'm
planning a little raid on a saiyajin colony that will more than convince you of
just how realistic I'm being. Look, I
know how Freeza works. It's only a
matter of time until the saiyajin and we will be nothing more than jewels in
his crown if we don't do anything. I'd
rather go down fighting than just willing hand over everything to him. The only thing I ask is that you keep an
open mind. I know that when you see
precisely how well my strike is then you'll be happy to join me." She laughed again. "Now if there are no more questions then I'm calling it a day."
The various dignitaries
watched as the Daidaiirojin queen exited the room with her new bodyguard squad
with curiosity. Everyone was shocked,
and some even appalled, by the queen's proposition. It wasn't like her take such an offensive against the saiyajin
let alone instigates a full-scale rebellion of all the protectorates. All of them couldn't help but puzzle over
her strange and recent change in behavior. It was almost as if she was a completely different person.
"You sure know how to work
the room captain" Bata stated once the entourage was a safe distance down the
hallway.
"It's a gift," the Ginyu
said with a smirk. "Tell me" the
captain asked Recoom "have you evaluated the Daidaiirojin forces."
"Yeah" the big man
said. "They're an average bunch. I think we'll have to take care of most of
both the raids to make them work."
"Then maybe I should ask
Freeza to take care of his own base" the man in the woman's body said. "I don't want to send any of you to a place
without a partner. Are you sure there's
no one we can use in some capacity?"
"There are a few that are
rather promising but they need a lot of work" the giant replied. "Especially this one kid."
"Really?" the captain
asked coming to a stop. "How good is
this kid?"
"Well" the big man said,
"he's strong, has a good battle instinct and is a snappy dresser."
"In other words Ginyu
material?" the captain asked.
"Maybe" the big man said
shrugging his shoulders.
"Bring him to me and I'll
see if we could use him" Ginyu stated rubbing his chin.
"You got it captain,"
Recoom said with a salute before walking off.
***
Vegeta stared out the
window into the courtyard below. He
guiltily wiped the tears away from his eyes. He was ashamed at himself for allowing this empty feeling to come back
but he couldn't help it. When he had
looked down at the courtyard below by habit it seemed strange not to see her
there in her evening training. The
thought that he would never again see her performing her graceful katas had
brought a fresh wave of sadness with it. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself and now understood all of the
lectures he'd received on not allowing yourself to become too familiar with
anyone. He heard the door to the room
open and he quickly faced away from whoever was entering. He felt angry that someone would have the
chance to witness his weakness.
Nira entered the prince's
chamber tentatively. She found Vegeta
in front of the large window staring out at the dieing sun as it cast a deep
purple glow across his features.
"So Nira" the boy said
unmoving. "You finally decided to come
and attend to me."
"I'm sorry Ouji-sama but I
thought…" she began examining him with concern.
"Just because my mother is
no longer here doesn't mean you can slack-off in your duties" he snapped at her
only barely moving his head in her direction.
"My prince" she said
softly approaching him. "I just thought you would like sometime alone to absorb
everything."
"I'm not some weakling
that needs coddling just because his mother has been murdered," he shouted at
her wheeling around with his outburst.
"You're not weak" Nira
agreed, "but you have suffered a great loss and you need to grieve."
"You only grieve if you
allow yourself to become emotionally attached," he said crossing his arms.
"You can't hold it all
inside. It isn't healthy," she told the
boy approaching him. "Just look at what
its doing to your father. He looks
terrible."
"My father is worried
about the war and his honor," the child asserted more trying to convince
himself than her. "Once he kills who's
responsible he will be fine."
"But what about you?" she
asked softly kneeling down to his height at last seeing the traces of his
mourning. "You don't have to pretend
when no one else is around Vegeta," she said softly tracing the dried path of a
tear. "No one will ever know the tears
you shed in private."
"Leave me alone" he said
fighting back the tears he felt still ready to flow from his eyes. "Leave now" he said turning from her as they
began to come. "I order it!"
Respectfully the girl left
the room as the door closed behind her she finally heard the muffled sobs. She almost wanted to cry herself knowing
that she was the true cause of his pain.
"He's taking it pretty
hard isn't he" she heard a familiar voice ask.
"What do you want Zarbon?"
the girl asked angrily for the intrusion.
"The boss wants to see
you," he said simply with a smile of understanding. Despite how hard Freeza had tried he had never been able to beat
the girl's innate kindness from her and for that he respected her a great deal. However, he also pitied her for it because
their master used that same kindness to torture her cruelly.
The girl sighed and
watched as Zarbon began to walk down the hallway perplexed as to why he would
speak so openly in an area where he knew that there were cameras. Slowly she began after him at a distance so
as not to betray that she was following him. She stopped after a time leaving the blue alien to arrive before her
taking a moment to push back her emotions. She was safe in a blind stop in the security and when she was certain
she was prepared she melted away discretely before making her way to the
chamber her master was given for the duration of his stay in the royal palace.
***
"So this is the kid?" the queen asked her minion.
"Yes your majesty" came the reply.
"What is your name?" she asked in a lilting tone carefully examining him.
"Jeice, my lady" the teenage boy said with a bow and a winning smile.
"Well he certainly is polite," the queen said with a laugh. "And he does have a certain style about him."
"I am an able warrior as well" the boy asserting looking flirtatious up at the monarch.
"You can't charm me kid" the woman said slapping her knee in a very unlady-like fashion. "Do you know why you've been brought here?"
"The tall fellow said you needed someone to help protect you while several of your body guards took care of some off-planet business" he answered.
"And you think you're worthy of this great honor?" she asked. "You have to prove yourself first."
"What must I do to prove myself worthy of your trust?" he asked.
"Strike a pose that shows me you are a man of action and you have the job," the woman said with a smirk.
"Excuse me?" Jeice asked in disbelief.
"Not up to the challenge kid?" the woman asked leaning on the arm of her chair lazily.
"Of course I am! I just well…" he stuttered.
"Then snap to it soldier!" the woman shouted. "And make it look polished and dramatic."
"Okay" the boy said. "Here goes nothing!" Quickly the boy flipped up in air, landed in a crouch, flipped his hair and landed in a fighting stance.
The woman yawned. "That's so ordinary. Can't you do anything flashier? Demonstrate the pose of a true warrior for the kid Recoom."
Recoom decided to give the kid his favorite pose for the boy. He shot out his fists on either side pivoting gracefully in a manner seeming impossible for his bulk and then kicked his leg out behind himself. Leaning forward he kept his arms at his side executing a strange sort of arabesque while the daidaiirojin teenager stared at the exhibition in disbelief.
"Now let's see you do something equally impressive" the queen said.
Jeice stood in place a thought for a moment before deciding what to do. He flipped over and landed in a handstand. Leaving himself to balance on one hand he brought the other out to the side without separating his legs for counterbalance. This trick used to impress everyone when he was a little kid so he was hoping that it would work. It was equally as ridiculous as the arabesque at least. He looked hopefully over to the throne as the woman rubbed her chin examining him.
"There may be hope for you yet" the woman said at last. "You start tomorrow morning."
"Uh thank you your highness" the teenager said lowering himself out of the handstand and coming back up to his feet. He bowed and exited the room making his way out of the palace still a bit puzzled about the interview but glad that he got the prestigious position.
****
Ice waited patiently as her Lord slowly sipped the last of the wine in his goblet. She looked nervously over at Zarbon who merely shrugged his shoulders confirming that he also had no idea why Freeza wanted to see them.
"Ice my dear," the tyrant finally said raising the empty goblet "refill my cup."
Silently she moved forward to his hover chair and took the glass. Freeza's red-eyes followed her as she went to the bottle and carefully poured more of the expensive beverage. He slowly took it from her sure to make eye contact and give her an intimidating smile. The girl looked away to his pleasure.
"You did your job very well" he told Ice. "You should have seen him. It was pitiful. The proud and arrogant King covered in the blood from his mate's mangled body utterly wretched still trying to sound like the unfeeling and savage saiyajin. It was positively exquisite." Freeza smirked at her as she tried not to display her discomfort at the topic of conversation. "Yes I am most pleased. So pleased in fact I'm going to reassign you to my ship. I need your skills to escalate this war."
"You want me to leave Vegetasei?" Ice asked clearly upset.
"Yes" the tyrant, said taking a sip. "Your work here is complete. King Vegeta is now completely at my sway. I will be staying here to help coordinate the war effort and can personally see to the rest of the take over." He peered up over his glass and regarded her discomfort with scorn. "What's wrong my dear? I thought you'd be glad to finally leave the monkey barrel. You've been here so long you must be bored out of your mind."
"Of course I'm pleased" she replied in an expert lie.
"If it's your little monkey prince your worried about, don't" Freeza said. "I have great plans for him. You will be seeing him again soon enough."
Ice looked up at him with a lump in her throat. "Then you have decided to take him?" she questioned in a trembling voice.
"Yes" he replied with a cold smile. "I wish to take the boy under my wing. He has great potential."
"If it is his allegiance you wish," the girl pled, "then let me stay. He listens to me and I can be sure that when he becomes King that he is your willing servant and ally."
"That is not what I want," Freeza said evenly. "I want his fear and his power." He paused taking a slow sip from his glass carefully mulling over his words in his mind so as to do justice to his plan. "Imagine, if you will, a living weapon. One so powerful people live in fear of its arrival. One so cruel and deadly it's as feared as it's master. With that power Ice I can stretch my rule further across the galaxy. His constant presence in and around my holdings will ensure I won't have to deal with the inconvenience of paltry rebellions and insurrections." The tyrant stopped and sipped his draught yet again allowing what he had just said to sink in before revealing the most delicious portion of his plan. "Besides I have always wanted to mold someone in my own image and he is half-way there already. His people have made him cruel and an efficient killer. I just need to erase the little bit of twisted morality that exists in his mind and he will be perfect. He will be best of all my pet projects."
Ice watched the face of her master soften just slightly, as he mused over his plans, with the condescending tenderness he only showed to his creations. This kind of tenderness he had once displayed towards her when she was once his 'pet project' but he had grown tired of her, as he inevitably seemed to do with all his 'pets'. She knew from the moment that he had sent her to stay on Vegetasei he had grown tired of her. She had become merely another of his loyal followers, like Zarbon and Dodoria, and no longer held a special place in his plans. Freeza cared nothing for his soldiers and they merely fell into one of two categories as far as he was concerned. The 'useful' group he used extensively in work and preserved alive for his own ends and the 'disposable' group about whom the Lord cared nothing of whether they lived or died as long as they did it in his service. With her assassination of the queen she had elevated herself to the 'useful' group and nothing more. Strangely enough this realization wasn't in the least bit comforting despite the fact she had been long wished his interest would wane. She had been replaced, and would be allowed to fade into the background, but at the cost of someone whom she cared about taking her place.
"Enough of my plans for the monkey" Freeza said at last "now for you and Zarbon." The Lord raised his hand and waived the blue-skinned warrior to come forward. He waited until Zarbon was standing next to Ice. "I had a call from Ginyu. It's seems that the Daidaiirojin forces are far too inexperienced to carry out a raid without assistance. I want you two to go to my base on Delta 4 and do whatever you must to insure that the base falls to them. Zarbon, my friend, you will go under the pretext of an inspection and Ice, my dear, you shall accompany him, clandestinely of course."
"Do you wish me to be taken prisoner during the raid?" Zarbon asked. "It will be extremely difficult to get away undetected."
"No" Freeza replied "you will get away safe I assure you. Ice will see to that. She excels in that sort of endeavor. Don't you my dear?"
"Yes my Lord" she replied.
"Good" the tyrant said. "Gather what you need and quickly. I want you to get there as soon as possible. You are dismissed."
Freeza watched his minions bow before him and exit quickly to do his bidding. He smiled softly to himself mulling over his plans for the near future. He swirled his wine, clockwise in the glass and let its gentle motion send him further into his visions of the future. He could see everything very clearly now. The entire saiyajin race would be reduced to a planet of his own personal, private mercenaries doing the jobs no one else would take. They would willingly do anything he asked because he would have their most precious possession, their Prince. King Vegeta would bend over backwards to ensure his son's safety.
"Just think of all the delightful games I could play pitting father against son," he thought with an evil chuckle. "How it will torture the poor King to see his son turning to me as a role model instead of him. How I will enjoy subjugating these apes."
He allowed his thoughts to drift towards his new pet. He had never run across a find like the saiyajin prince before. There had been others defiant is spirit and strong but this child was different. He had a charismatic air about him, a born leader as one might say, and he had enormous power. Power that he had only begun to tap. Harnessing that power now, and bending the boy to his will while he was still young was imperative. He would be quite a nuisance when he reached the apex of his power if he was not completely controlled. With this thought the sooth-sayer's words popped into his mind once more and he began to feel and unsettling fear.
"This is ludicrous," he scolded himself out loud. "There is no way in heaven or hell that any of these monkeys will ever equal my power. Not even Vegeta with his potential could ever equal me." Freeza grumbled in frustration as the feeling of uncertainty still clung to his mind. "Damn that witch," he hissed crunching the glass he held in his hand. Somehow he couldn't escape from the ever-present specter of her prediction despite everything that spoke against its truth. On the other hand he couldn't dismiss them either. It was wise to take every threat, although it may be unlikely, seriously. "There are other's out there said to have the gift of prediction and I will seek them out for their answers as well" he resolved. "Whatever the future holds I will be prepared."
NOTE: There are some people who might object to young Vegeta's reaction to his mother's death stating 'he'd never show emotion' but I however feel it is realistic. Just as King Vegeta said in the story 'he is only 5 years-old' and has just experienced the loss of someone he cared about for the first time. As I've said before, I think Vegeta must feel other emotions just as deeply as he feels the anger and hate he freely displays. Someone isn't born with perfect control over their emotions, its learned and in this story he is still very young.
I hope you are enjoying this story. I now have no way to know how many people
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to hear from you guys who are kind enough to follow my stories every once in a
while in either an e-mail or a review.