The Deception-Ch 5
By Elbereth in April
Vegeta and Kakkarot did practically nothing but eat and train for the next few days. Vegeta was gaining on Kakkarot but he could never achieve a clear, satisfying victory. It was seriously annoying him.
Then Kakkarot was called in to be "trained" by Frieza again.
_________ __________
"I could be making out with my new girlfriend right now, Vegeta."
"Shut up, Zarbon. It's not my fault." Vegeta sat on a medical table, arms crossed, watching Zarbon with a secret smile. Zarbon was crouched down beside a half-assembled rejuv tank, its parts spread out on the floor.
"No, you maneuvered Frieza into picking me for this job. I could tell what you were doing."
Vegeta shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." He looked over to the rejuv tank Kakkarot was in. It was on its timing out cycle. 'It's not like I'm worried about * him. * I'm just looking after my investment. And I'm bored. There's no one else around good enough to spar with.'
They both spun around when Jeice entered the room. He stopped short on seeing Zarbon. Vegeta smirked.
Zarbon stood up. They stared each other down. Vegeta felt the tension as a palpable force. "Jeice."
"Zarbon. What are * you * doing here?"
"Inspecting the new DNA-matching enhancers on the tanks. As per Frieza's orders. You?"
"Just in the neighborhood."
Zarbon smiled tightly. "Well. You know how much I always enjoy seeing you."
"Likewise."
They stared a while longer, until Jeice backed down. "I have better things to do than hang around here." He shot Vegeta a death glare. "Say hello to your monkey brother for me." He stalked out.
Zarbon went over and slammed the door shut behind him. "I really hate him."
Vegeta smirked wider. "Really, I'd never noticed."
Kakkarot's tank started to drain out.
Zarbon frowned at Vegeta. "Is he why you wanted me in here?"
Vegeta frowned back. "I never * want * Frieza's main toady around."
Zarbon looked over at the tank, not at all insulted. "Jeice is interested in your brother, isn't he?"
Vegeta didn't answer. He wasn't sure what to say.
Zarbon shuddered. "That's just disgusting. You know, that loser propositioned me when he first arrived on base. I almost smashed his head in." He paused. "Some day there'll be someone better, and he'll be off the Ginyu Force. Then I'm gonna kill him."
Vegeta smiled at that. "Can I watch when you do?"
The door on Kakkarot's tank opened and he stepped out, looking disoriented. You were always a little out of it when you first came out of a tank, a fact which more people than Jeice made use of.
"It's about time," Vegeta commented.
"Hey brother," Kakkarot greeted him, face lighting up. "Glad all that's over. Oh. Hello, Zarbon."
Zarbon had sat down by the tank parts again. "Yeah, hi."
"Enjoy your work, Zarbon," Vegeta said, smirking, and was just about to lead Kakkarot away, when the door opened and the doctor came in with a strange Saiyan.
"Who's that?" Zarbon demanded.
"The Saiyan King" (Vegeta's fists clenched involuntarily) "discovered a new Saiyan with a high fighting power and gifted him to Lord Frieza," the doctor replied. "I'm giving him his check-up."
Kakkarot came and stood close by Vegeta as they looked the newcomer over. Kakkarot's eyes were wide and Vegeta's were narrowed. "Name?" Vegeta snapped.
"Capran." He wasn't much taller than Vegeta, but big-boned and very muscled. His hair was very black, but in a buzz cut.
Vegeta tried to place the name. 'Capran, son of Slade. He's an elite.' Vegeta cursed the Saiyan pretender to the throne for sending him. 'He's Kwil's mother's cousin or something like that.'
Kakkarot smiled guilelessly. "Welcome."
Capran raised his eyebrows. "And who are you?"
"I'm Kakkarot. That's my brother, Vegeta."
Capran squinted at Vegeta. "You look kind of familiar." The doctor took his arm and started to take his blood pressure. Capran looked at the doctor in disgust.
"Come on, * brother. * Let's go."
"Bye," Kakkarot called over his shoulder.
The two of them walked down the hall. "Did * he * look familiar?" Kakkarot asked Vegeta.
Vegeta tried to recall if he'd ever seen Capran before. Slade had done jobs for his mother sometimes. It was possible they'd met as children. "I think his father knew my- -our mother."
Kakkarot got very quiet.
"I'm going to my room for a little while," Vegeta said.
"Can I come?"
"Don't you have something to do?"
"No. Please?"
"Those puppy dog faces you make are contemptible. Saiyans do not plead, even with their eyes. And we don't feel sympathy for anyone." Vegeta frowned harshly.
Kakkarot grinned. "How about this?" He jumped in front of Vegeta and blocked his path. He crossed his arms and gave a very credible smirk. "I am Kakkarot. You are a weak baka. I shall accompany you to your room now. Got it?"
Vegeta automatically scowled and dropped into a fighting stance. Then he suddenly laughed. "You don't have the stare down right. I do it better." He crossed his arms, wrapped his tail around his waist, and smirked arrogantly. His eyes flashed. "I am a dangerous menace to society and the strongest Saiyan in the universe. I am Vegeta. You are a weak, third-class baka who can never compare to me. Tremble before me. And go to your own room."
Kakkarot's eyes went wide a moment, then he recovered. He tried to portray the proper air of menace. "I am not third-class or weak. I shall defeat you in combat. Fear me!"
Vegeta took two steps closer and stared him down, eye-to-eye. "Resistance is foolish. My moment of triumph is at hand. You cannot stand against me."
Several doors opened and several Saiyan heads popped out at this point. "Hey!" Nappa shouted to them. "Why don't you try some Ginyu poses next?"
Vegeta and Kakkarot flashed each other a look and immediately sprang for him, drug him into the hall, and started pummeling him good-naturedly.
"All right!" Traigo grinned. "A hallway brawl!" He came out and grabbed Kakkarot from behind. Kwil ran over and grabbed Traigo. Several more doors opened and their occupants joined in as well. It wasn't often you got to have this much fun around here.
They finally broke up about an hour later when one of them pointed out they were missing lunch.
The six sweating Saiyans made their way to the mess hall and the Saiyan table. Capran was eating alone a few tables away. Rumors were flying.
"New guy," Vanyar greeted them. "Astor's dead."
"New guy strong?" Traigo asked.
"Appears to be."
Kwil frowned. "I recognize him. Name's Capran."
They ate quietly for a few minutes. There was shouting and money being waved around at the far end of the table. Vegeta looked over with disdain. "Bakas."
Kakkarot frowned in confusion. "What are they doing?"
"Betting on whether this guy is the prince. Every time someone new comes in, the bets change. It's known that Frieza is trying to find him." Vegeta snorted.
"You said nobody knows who he is," Kakkarot remembered. "They destroyed all the records and kept his identity secret so Frieza can't use what he knows or kill the true heir to the throne."
Vegeta, Traigo, and Nappa nodded.
Kwil pointed to the sixth Saiyan's potato dish. It greatly resembled Chikyu- jin French fries. "Valkan, you gonna eat that?"
"Of course I am!" Valkan picked up the dish protectively.
"So who do they think the prince is?" Kakkarot asked at length, when most of the diners had left the hall except for the ones he had come in with.
Vegeta licked the last few crumbs of his meal off his fingers and shrugged. "Some people thought it was me, til you came along. It's known the King had only one child."
"Why you?"
"Oh, power level, I suppose. And the attitude." Vegeta smirked.
Kakkarot grinned. "Ah."
"Now the odds are on Dom- -because he's as arrogant as me. Sekot- -because he has so many groupies. And Vanyar- -because he's also very powerful."
Kakkarot scratched his head and looked at Vegeta with deliberate innocence. "So what's the theory now as to why you're so arrogant?"
"Good question!" Traigo hooted.
The others laughed appreciatively.
Vegeta gaped at Kakkarot a moment and then burst out laughing, too.
'All right!' Kakkarot exalted. 'Twice in one day!' His thoughts were interrupted when Vegeta pulled him away from the table and put him in a headlock.
"Huh. I don't know why. You tell me."
Kakkarot was still laughing. "I think it's because you have me egging you on, big brother."
"You think so?"
"Yeah."
Vegeta let him go and looked at him. Then they both smirked at each other. "Who knows? Could be. Your smirk is getting better, by the way."
Valkan threw a potato at them. "Kakkarot, whatever you do, please don't turn into Vegeta."
Vegeta incinerated the last of Valkan's potatoes with a small energy blast. This led to the first-ever Saiyan food fight. Normally Saiyans wouldn't waste food.
The six of them were eventually called up before Frieza. "The head cook reported that you were causing chaos in the dining hall." Fortunately he seemed more amused than anything. "What can you expect of primates? Animals are notoriously messy eaters. Go clean it up. Don't waste any more of my time."
"Yes, sir," they chorused, hurrying away.
"Why isn't anyone strong enough to kill him?" Kwil lamented as they walked back to the dining hall.
"Shut up!" Nappa hissed, looking around to see if there was anybody to overhear.
"I will kill him someday," Vegeta said in a low, dangerous voice.
There was an awed, preoccupied silence until they reached their destination. They looked around at all the spilled food and groaned.
"This is now definitely a * mess * hall," Traigo said.
"Oh, bad pun!"
"Very bad."
________ ________
Much later that night, Kakkarot knocked on Vegeta's door. "Can I come in now?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing?"
"It was sit-ups. I'm ready for pushups now."
"OK."
So they both started doing pushups. "89, 90. . ."
"Vegeta?"
"What? 94, 95. . ."
"What is our mother like?"
Vegeta swore. He should have seen this question coming. He sat up, so Kakkarot did too.
Kakkarot was watching him intently with none of his usual simple- mindedness. Vegeta kept his face expressionless.
"Well. . . Mother is beautiful and ambitious."
Kakkarot waited for him to go on. When he didn't, "And?"
"I don't know! Smart. Perseveres in the face of incredible odds. Has strong convictions."
"Convictions. Such as?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Well. . . she's part of. . ." he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. Kakkarot leaned forward. "She's very high up in the Royalist faction. She thinks the prince will someday reclaim his birthright."
Kakkarot digested this. "And we're Royalists, too."
"Yes. But we're stuck under Frieza's thumb right now. Our goal is to become strong enough to kill Frieza."
"Mother's still on Vegeta-sei?"
"Yes. She works ceaselessly to promote the cause. Secretly."
"I wish I could remember her," Kakkarot said wistfully. "She sounds great."
Vegeta looked at the floor. "Yeah."
"I guess she still thinks I'm dead."
"I guess." Vegeta ran his thumb over and over a crack in the floor tile. 'I do not feel guilty about lying. I do not. It has to be done. And I am not homesick for my mother, like some baby.'
Kakkarot stared at the wall. They were both lost in their own thoughts.
Then Kakkarot straightened his shoulders. "The sooner we beat Frieza, the sooner I can see her again." He wiped sweat off his face. "Back to pushups, right?" Vegeta didn't move. "Vegeta?"
Finally Vegeta raised his head and looked at him from under his lashes. Kakkarot felt small shivers run up and down his spine and didn't know why. He shifted uncomfortably. "Vegeta?"
Vegeta tossed his head back. "Pushups. Right."
They positioned themselves on their stomachs.
"What number were we on anyway?"
"Um. . . I don't remember, Vegeta," Kakkarot replied, feeling subdued.
"Then we start over. 1, 2. . ."
By Elbereth in April
Vegeta and Kakkarot did practically nothing but eat and train for the next few days. Vegeta was gaining on Kakkarot but he could never achieve a clear, satisfying victory. It was seriously annoying him.
Then Kakkarot was called in to be "trained" by Frieza again.
_________ __________
"I could be making out with my new girlfriend right now, Vegeta."
"Shut up, Zarbon. It's not my fault." Vegeta sat on a medical table, arms crossed, watching Zarbon with a secret smile. Zarbon was crouched down beside a half-assembled rejuv tank, its parts spread out on the floor.
"No, you maneuvered Frieza into picking me for this job. I could tell what you were doing."
Vegeta shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about." He looked over to the rejuv tank Kakkarot was in. It was on its timing out cycle. 'It's not like I'm worried about * him. * I'm just looking after my investment. And I'm bored. There's no one else around good enough to spar with.'
They both spun around when Jeice entered the room. He stopped short on seeing Zarbon. Vegeta smirked.
Zarbon stood up. They stared each other down. Vegeta felt the tension as a palpable force. "Jeice."
"Zarbon. What are * you * doing here?"
"Inspecting the new DNA-matching enhancers on the tanks. As per Frieza's orders. You?"
"Just in the neighborhood."
Zarbon smiled tightly. "Well. You know how much I always enjoy seeing you."
"Likewise."
They stared a while longer, until Jeice backed down. "I have better things to do than hang around here." He shot Vegeta a death glare. "Say hello to your monkey brother for me." He stalked out.
Zarbon went over and slammed the door shut behind him. "I really hate him."
Vegeta smirked wider. "Really, I'd never noticed."
Kakkarot's tank started to drain out.
Zarbon frowned at Vegeta. "Is he why you wanted me in here?"
Vegeta frowned back. "I never * want * Frieza's main toady around."
Zarbon looked over at the tank, not at all insulted. "Jeice is interested in your brother, isn't he?"
Vegeta didn't answer. He wasn't sure what to say.
Zarbon shuddered. "That's just disgusting. You know, that loser propositioned me when he first arrived on base. I almost smashed his head in." He paused. "Some day there'll be someone better, and he'll be off the Ginyu Force. Then I'm gonna kill him."
Vegeta smiled at that. "Can I watch when you do?"
The door on Kakkarot's tank opened and he stepped out, looking disoriented. You were always a little out of it when you first came out of a tank, a fact which more people than Jeice made use of.
"It's about time," Vegeta commented.
"Hey brother," Kakkarot greeted him, face lighting up. "Glad all that's over. Oh. Hello, Zarbon."
Zarbon had sat down by the tank parts again. "Yeah, hi."
"Enjoy your work, Zarbon," Vegeta said, smirking, and was just about to lead Kakkarot away, when the door opened and the doctor came in with a strange Saiyan.
"Who's that?" Zarbon demanded.
"The Saiyan King" (Vegeta's fists clenched involuntarily) "discovered a new Saiyan with a high fighting power and gifted him to Lord Frieza," the doctor replied. "I'm giving him his check-up."
Kakkarot came and stood close by Vegeta as they looked the newcomer over. Kakkarot's eyes were wide and Vegeta's were narrowed. "Name?" Vegeta snapped.
"Capran." He wasn't much taller than Vegeta, but big-boned and very muscled. His hair was very black, but in a buzz cut.
Vegeta tried to place the name. 'Capran, son of Slade. He's an elite.' Vegeta cursed the Saiyan pretender to the throne for sending him. 'He's Kwil's mother's cousin or something like that.'
Kakkarot smiled guilelessly. "Welcome."
Capran raised his eyebrows. "And who are you?"
"I'm Kakkarot. That's my brother, Vegeta."
Capran squinted at Vegeta. "You look kind of familiar." The doctor took his arm and started to take his blood pressure. Capran looked at the doctor in disgust.
"Come on, * brother. * Let's go."
"Bye," Kakkarot called over his shoulder.
The two of them walked down the hall. "Did * he * look familiar?" Kakkarot asked Vegeta.
Vegeta tried to recall if he'd ever seen Capran before. Slade had done jobs for his mother sometimes. It was possible they'd met as children. "I think his father knew my- -our mother."
Kakkarot got very quiet.
"I'm going to my room for a little while," Vegeta said.
"Can I come?"
"Don't you have something to do?"
"No. Please?"
"Those puppy dog faces you make are contemptible. Saiyans do not plead, even with their eyes. And we don't feel sympathy for anyone." Vegeta frowned harshly.
Kakkarot grinned. "How about this?" He jumped in front of Vegeta and blocked his path. He crossed his arms and gave a very credible smirk. "I am Kakkarot. You are a weak baka. I shall accompany you to your room now. Got it?"
Vegeta automatically scowled and dropped into a fighting stance. Then he suddenly laughed. "You don't have the stare down right. I do it better." He crossed his arms, wrapped his tail around his waist, and smirked arrogantly. His eyes flashed. "I am a dangerous menace to society and the strongest Saiyan in the universe. I am Vegeta. You are a weak, third-class baka who can never compare to me. Tremble before me. And go to your own room."
Kakkarot's eyes went wide a moment, then he recovered. He tried to portray the proper air of menace. "I am not third-class or weak. I shall defeat you in combat. Fear me!"
Vegeta took two steps closer and stared him down, eye-to-eye. "Resistance is foolish. My moment of triumph is at hand. You cannot stand against me."
Several doors opened and several Saiyan heads popped out at this point. "Hey!" Nappa shouted to them. "Why don't you try some Ginyu poses next?"
Vegeta and Kakkarot flashed each other a look and immediately sprang for him, drug him into the hall, and started pummeling him good-naturedly.
"All right!" Traigo grinned. "A hallway brawl!" He came out and grabbed Kakkarot from behind. Kwil ran over and grabbed Traigo. Several more doors opened and their occupants joined in as well. It wasn't often you got to have this much fun around here.
They finally broke up about an hour later when one of them pointed out they were missing lunch.
The six sweating Saiyans made their way to the mess hall and the Saiyan table. Capran was eating alone a few tables away. Rumors were flying.
"New guy," Vanyar greeted them. "Astor's dead."
"New guy strong?" Traigo asked.
"Appears to be."
Kwil frowned. "I recognize him. Name's Capran."
They ate quietly for a few minutes. There was shouting and money being waved around at the far end of the table. Vegeta looked over with disdain. "Bakas."
Kakkarot frowned in confusion. "What are they doing?"
"Betting on whether this guy is the prince. Every time someone new comes in, the bets change. It's known that Frieza is trying to find him." Vegeta snorted.
"You said nobody knows who he is," Kakkarot remembered. "They destroyed all the records and kept his identity secret so Frieza can't use what he knows or kill the true heir to the throne."
Vegeta, Traigo, and Nappa nodded.
Kwil pointed to the sixth Saiyan's potato dish. It greatly resembled Chikyu- jin French fries. "Valkan, you gonna eat that?"
"Of course I am!" Valkan picked up the dish protectively.
"So who do they think the prince is?" Kakkarot asked at length, when most of the diners had left the hall except for the ones he had come in with.
Vegeta licked the last few crumbs of his meal off his fingers and shrugged. "Some people thought it was me, til you came along. It's known the King had only one child."
"Why you?"
"Oh, power level, I suppose. And the attitude." Vegeta smirked.
Kakkarot grinned. "Ah."
"Now the odds are on Dom- -because he's as arrogant as me. Sekot- -because he has so many groupies. And Vanyar- -because he's also very powerful."
Kakkarot scratched his head and looked at Vegeta with deliberate innocence. "So what's the theory now as to why you're so arrogant?"
"Good question!" Traigo hooted.
The others laughed appreciatively.
Vegeta gaped at Kakkarot a moment and then burst out laughing, too.
'All right!' Kakkarot exalted. 'Twice in one day!' His thoughts were interrupted when Vegeta pulled him away from the table and put him in a headlock.
"Huh. I don't know why. You tell me."
Kakkarot was still laughing. "I think it's because you have me egging you on, big brother."
"You think so?"
"Yeah."
Vegeta let him go and looked at him. Then they both smirked at each other. "Who knows? Could be. Your smirk is getting better, by the way."
Valkan threw a potato at them. "Kakkarot, whatever you do, please don't turn into Vegeta."
Vegeta incinerated the last of Valkan's potatoes with a small energy blast. This led to the first-ever Saiyan food fight. Normally Saiyans wouldn't waste food.
The six of them were eventually called up before Frieza. "The head cook reported that you were causing chaos in the dining hall." Fortunately he seemed more amused than anything. "What can you expect of primates? Animals are notoriously messy eaters. Go clean it up. Don't waste any more of my time."
"Yes, sir," they chorused, hurrying away.
"Why isn't anyone strong enough to kill him?" Kwil lamented as they walked back to the dining hall.
"Shut up!" Nappa hissed, looking around to see if there was anybody to overhear.
"I will kill him someday," Vegeta said in a low, dangerous voice.
There was an awed, preoccupied silence until they reached their destination. They looked around at all the spilled food and groaned.
"This is now definitely a * mess * hall," Traigo said.
"Oh, bad pun!"
"Very bad."
________ ________
Much later that night, Kakkarot knocked on Vegeta's door. "Can I come in now?"
"Yeah."
"What are you doing?"
"It was sit-ups. I'm ready for pushups now."
"OK."
So they both started doing pushups. "89, 90. . ."
"Vegeta?"
"What? 94, 95. . ."
"What is our mother like?"
Vegeta swore. He should have seen this question coming. He sat up, so Kakkarot did too.
Kakkarot was watching him intently with none of his usual simple- mindedness. Vegeta kept his face expressionless.
"Well. . . Mother is beautiful and ambitious."
Kakkarot waited for him to go on. When he didn't, "And?"
"I don't know! Smart. Perseveres in the face of incredible odds. Has strong convictions."
"Convictions. Such as?"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Well. . . she's part of. . ." he lowered his voice to just above a whisper. Kakkarot leaned forward. "She's very high up in the Royalist faction. She thinks the prince will someday reclaim his birthright."
Kakkarot digested this. "And we're Royalists, too."
"Yes. But we're stuck under Frieza's thumb right now. Our goal is to become strong enough to kill Frieza."
"Mother's still on Vegeta-sei?"
"Yes. She works ceaselessly to promote the cause. Secretly."
"I wish I could remember her," Kakkarot said wistfully. "She sounds great."
Vegeta looked at the floor. "Yeah."
"I guess she still thinks I'm dead."
"I guess." Vegeta ran his thumb over and over a crack in the floor tile. 'I do not feel guilty about lying. I do not. It has to be done. And I am not homesick for my mother, like some baby.'
Kakkarot stared at the wall. They were both lost in their own thoughts.
Then Kakkarot straightened his shoulders. "The sooner we beat Frieza, the sooner I can see her again." He wiped sweat off his face. "Back to pushups, right?" Vegeta didn't move. "Vegeta?"
Finally Vegeta raised his head and looked at him from under his lashes. Kakkarot felt small shivers run up and down his spine and didn't know why. He shifted uncomfortably. "Vegeta?"
Vegeta tossed his head back. "Pushups. Right."
They positioned themselves on their stomachs.
"What number were we on anyway?"
"Um. . . I don't remember, Vegeta," Kakkarot replied, feeling subdued.
"Then we start over. 1, 2. . ."