The Deception
Chapter 20--The Truth
By Elbereth in April
Kakkarot looked warily around the hangar bay. A number of Frieza's henchmen were guarding the ships, but he was in a dark, out-of-the-way corner, unobserved. He knocked on the panel to the air duct. "Woman! It's Kakkarot!"
The panel was removed. Colyte's face appeared. "Ah, it is you." He disappeared. The next face that popped out belonged to a lovely, regal Saiyan woman.
"My Queen!" He sketched a bow.
"Kakkarot," the Queen smiled. "I've heard so much about you. Did Zarbon free my son?"
"I'm afraid not, your majesty. But we'll get him out." His eyes scanned her now anxious and disappointed face. She looked like him. "You're Vegeta's mother."
She tilted her head to the side. "Yes."
"And you and the King only had one child."
"You're the second person to ask me that," Siane frowned. "Yes, just one."
Kakkarot closed his eyes. *It was true*. He hadn't really believed Frieza. But the Queen should know. It was true. His last hope was gone. Vegeta wasn't his brother. He'd trusted him. He'd loved him. He'd have done anything Vegeta asked. And it was all a lie. He was played for a fool.
And now he didn't even know who he was. Was Kakkarot really his name? He had no family. And the person he'd thought he'd belonged to had been lying to him all along. To use his gene. And when he'd said he cared about him, that was probably a lie, too. Vegeta had just wanted to keep using him when he knew the game was almost up.
Grief and misery flooded through his whole body. The tips of his fingers were numb; he felt sick and dizzy. He opened his eyes.
The Saiyan lady was gone. Instead he was being stared at by a pretty, concerned-looking. . . Earthling. They recognized each other at the same moment.
"Goku!"
"Bulma. . ."
"How--what. . ."
He remembered. Earth. Bulma. The man who'd raised him, that he'd called grandpa. His friends, Krillin and Yamcha. The old man he'd been training with, Master Roshi. And the daughter of one of Roshi's friends, who he'd met just 8 months ago, and fallen instantly in love with--though he hadn't yet told her. Chi-Chi. . .
His mind was chaos. Emotions churned through him so strongly he thought he'd choke on them. He shook his head, trying to retain some rationality.
Then he realized. . . "It's gone, isn't it?" he blurted. "Earth."
Bulma's face hardened. "Frieza destroyed it. Just after he captured me. But I didn't know he had you."
"Frieza captured me, too. I'm a Saiyan, Bulma."
Bulma's surprise quickly faded. "That explains the tail you used to have. That explains a lot of things."
"Frieza set me to live with them. I've been going by Kakkarot. I had amnesia for a long time. But that's not important now." Kakkarot couldn't bring himself to tell her the whole story. Not now. And would he tell her the Saiyan she liked was nothing but a backstabbing, hypocritical deceiver? Not now. But he didn't want to see them stay together. Bulma was his friend; she deserved better.
'Vegeta. . . how could you do that to me, Vegeta?'
No. Push it away. Right now, there was only one thing left to think about, to do. "We have to take down Frieza," he said.
For that would be his overriding task, his one, all-consuming goal. He *would* kill Frieza. Get revenge for Earth. Save the Queen and his friends. Kill Frieza.
"Yes. Take this." Bulma handed him a small bottle.
He frowned, trying to get himself under control. "What is it?" He opened it. Inside were two brown pills.
"One for you, one for Vegeta," Bulma explained. "They should help you break through the barrier and reach Super Saiyan."
Despite everything, Kakkarot felt the stirrings of excitement. "Do I take it now?"
"Go ahead." Kakkarot swallowed it dry. "You'll still have to push at the barrier," Bulma told him. "You may still need a catalyst. I don't know. But I think these pills may make the difference. Can you get the other to Vegeta?"
"He's still in his cell. Frieza's watching it."
Bulma bit her lip. "Well, take it. If anyone can do it, you can." Kakkarot looked at the floor. Bulma frowned. "Goku. Kakkarot. Promise me you'll do everything you can to save him."
Kakkarot met her eyes again. "I promise." He hid the bottle away. "You two-- can you get off the ship?"
Bulma indicated the guards. "Not now."
"Then stay in hiding. Vanyar is trying to rally the other Saiyans into our alliance. There are 30 of us, you know. I think most of them are Royalists."
"Good luck," Bulma said as she replaced the panel.
________ _________
Kakkarot stood on a chair in one of the larger training rooms. Watching him were 26 Saiyans, Natala and Spona. Spona had rejoined them, but Zarbon had had to go pretend to look for the Queen, and Bulma, whose disappearance had been discovered, as well.
"All right. We have to rescue the Prince and kill Frieza. That sadistic, planet-destroying murderer has to die. Are you all with me?"
They cheered. Then Capran asked hesitantly, "Are you and the Prince brothers or not?"
Kakkarot stared at him. "Um. No. That was just a story to throw off Frieza. Sorry if we led you on."
They shrugged. No big deal. "It was for the greater good." Capran waved it away.
Kakkarot could hear Vegeta saying, "Sometimes, when you don't have any choice, you do what you have to do. You may not necessarily be proud of it afterwards. You think it's for the greater good."
Had he been referring to his lie?
"Do you think I'll be forgiven, Kakkarot?"
And he had answered, "You will be."
'But I can't. I can't. I can understand why he did it, why he thought he had to do it that way. I honestly can. But it hurts too much. He deceived me.'
Another question brought him out of his thoughts. "So what's the next step?" Karock called out.
He wished he knew.
________ _________
"Now what are you doing?" Sekot asked abruptly, entering the room Ryok was in.
Ryok looked up at him, not at all startled. "I am sending a message to Frieza," he replied, typing on a computer. He pressed Enter and words flashed. "Message sent. Message has been uploaded. Reply from Lord Frieza. He will take care of Kakkarot at once."
"Take care of him? Why?"
"That Kakkarot," Ryok sneered. "Thinks he's the only one who can plant a bug. Well, I've showed him. Kakkarot's trying to lead all the other Saiyans in an uprising to free the Prince. After he just swore to Frieza that he was loyal! I expect Frieza is pretty angry."
Sekot's aura flared as he filled his fist with ki and ran it straight through Ryok's chest and out the other side. "Yeah," Sekot said. "But I guess I just showed you."
He whirled around as the door opened. Tory stared at Sekot and Ryok's body in shock. He had been spying on the two of them.
"You're with Vegeta, aren't you?" Sekot asked. "We need to warn Kakkarot that Frieza knows he's trying to lead the Saiyans against him." He started to hurry out of the room, but Tory stopped him.
"No. I can do it. Hold on." He cleared his mind and reached for Kakkarot's. "Kakkarot! It's me again. Frieza knows you're disloyal. Ryok bugged your room. He's coming to kill you right now."
Kakkarot thought. "Then I'll go kill him first."
"I'll come!"
"No," Kakkarot insisted. "I'm stronger than anybody here. I'll go alone. If I fail, then the rest of you will get a turn."
"Is that smart? Let us help you. I can't affect Frieza's mind the way I can other people's, but. . ."
"No. But I have another job for you. I've got all these Saiyans here, claiming to be Royalists. Can you sort through them and make sure they're not lying? I've had enough of traitors."
"OK."
__________ ___________
When Kakkarot explained he was going after Frieza and why, there was an uproar. And everyone wanted to come. "No," Kakkarot said again. "Just me. I'll represent the Saiyan race. The rest of you are reserves if I fail."
They finally agreed. But Natala said, "I'm not a Saiyan, so I'll go with you and represent my own race. Frieza wants to kill me anyway."
"I'm going to represent my race, then," Spona put in quickly.
So in the end, Kakkarot and the two aliens raced to confront Frieza in his throne room. Kakkarot couldn't stop himself from wishing Vegeta would be there to help him.
Chapter 20--The Truth
By Elbereth in April
Kakkarot looked warily around the hangar bay. A number of Frieza's henchmen were guarding the ships, but he was in a dark, out-of-the-way corner, unobserved. He knocked on the panel to the air duct. "Woman! It's Kakkarot!"
The panel was removed. Colyte's face appeared. "Ah, it is you." He disappeared. The next face that popped out belonged to a lovely, regal Saiyan woman.
"My Queen!" He sketched a bow.
"Kakkarot," the Queen smiled. "I've heard so much about you. Did Zarbon free my son?"
"I'm afraid not, your majesty. But we'll get him out." His eyes scanned her now anxious and disappointed face. She looked like him. "You're Vegeta's mother."
She tilted her head to the side. "Yes."
"And you and the King only had one child."
"You're the second person to ask me that," Siane frowned. "Yes, just one."
Kakkarot closed his eyes. *It was true*. He hadn't really believed Frieza. But the Queen should know. It was true. His last hope was gone. Vegeta wasn't his brother. He'd trusted him. He'd loved him. He'd have done anything Vegeta asked. And it was all a lie. He was played for a fool.
And now he didn't even know who he was. Was Kakkarot really his name? He had no family. And the person he'd thought he'd belonged to had been lying to him all along. To use his gene. And when he'd said he cared about him, that was probably a lie, too. Vegeta had just wanted to keep using him when he knew the game was almost up.
Grief and misery flooded through his whole body. The tips of his fingers were numb; he felt sick and dizzy. He opened his eyes.
The Saiyan lady was gone. Instead he was being stared at by a pretty, concerned-looking. . . Earthling. They recognized each other at the same moment.
"Goku!"
"Bulma. . ."
"How--what. . ."
He remembered. Earth. Bulma. The man who'd raised him, that he'd called grandpa. His friends, Krillin and Yamcha. The old man he'd been training with, Master Roshi. And the daughter of one of Roshi's friends, who he'd met just 8 months ago, and fallen instantly in love with--though he hadn't yet told her. Chi-Chi. . .
His mind was chaos. Emotions churned through him so strongly he thought he'd choke on them. He shook his head, trying to retain some rationality.
Then he realized. . . "It's gone, isn't it?" he blurted. "Earth."
Bulma's face hardened. "Frieza destroyed it. Just after he captured me. But I didn't know he had you."
"Frieza captured me, too. I'm a Saiyan, Bulma."
Bulma's surprise quickly faded. "That explains the tail you used to have. That explains a lot of things."
"Frieza set me to live with them. I've been going by Kakkarot. I had amnesia for a long time. But that's not important now." Kakkarot couldn't bring himself to tell her the whole story. Not now. And would he tell her the Saiyan she liked was nothing but a backstabbing, hypocritical deceiver? Not now. But he didn't want to see them stay together. Bulma was his friend; she deserved better.
'Vegeta. . . how could you do that to me, Vegeta?'
No. Push it away. Right now, there was only one thing left to think about, to do. "We have to take down Frieza," he said.
For that would be his overriding task, his one, all-consuming goal. He *would* kill Frieza. Get revenge for Earth. Save the Queen and his friends. Kill Frieza.
"Yes. Take this." Bulma handed him a small bottle.
He frowned, trying to get himself under control. "What is it?" He opened it. Inside were two brown pills.
"One for you, one for Vegeta," Bulma explained. "They should help you break through the barrier and reach Super Saiyan."
Despite everything, Kakkarot felt the stirrings of excitement. "Do I take it now?"
"Go ahead." Kakkarot swallowed it dry. "You'll still have to push at the barrier," Bulma told him. "You may still need a catalyst. I don't know. But I think these pills may make the difference. Can you get the other to Vegeta?"
"He's still in his cell. Frieza's watching it."
Bulma bit her lip. "Well, take it. If anyone can do it, you can." Kakkarot looked at the floor. Bulma frowned. "Goku. Kakkarot. Promise me you'll do everything you can to save him."
Kakkarot met her eyes again. "I promise." He hid the bottle away. "You two-- can you get off the ship?"
Bulma indicated the guards. "Not now."
"Then stay in hiding. Vanyar is trying to rally the other Saiyans into our alliance. There are 30 of us, you know. I think most of them are Royalists."
"Good luck," Bulma said as she replaced the panel.
________ _________
Kakkarot stood on a chair in one of the larger training rooms. Watching him were 26 Saiyans, Natala and Spona. Spona had rejoined them, but Zarbon had had to go pretend to look for the Queen, and Bulma, whose disappearance had been discovered, as well.
"All right. We have to rescue the Prince and kill Frieza. That sadistic, planet-destroying murderer has to die. Are you all with me?"
They cheered. Then Capran asked hesitantly, "Are you and the Prince brothers or not?"
Kakkarot stared at him. "Um. No. That was just a story to throw off Frieza. Sorry if we led you on."
They shrugged. No big deal. "It was for the greater good." Capran waved it away.
Kakkarot could hear Vegeta saying, "Sometimes, when you don't have any choice, you do what you have to do. You may not necessarily be proud of it afterwards. You think it's for the greater good."
Had he been referring to his lie?
"Do you think I'll be forgiven, Kakkarot?"
And he had answered, "You will be."
'But I can't. I can't. I can understand why he did it, why he thought he had to do it that way. I honestly can. But it hurts too much. He deceived me.'
Another question brought him out of his thoughts. "So what's the next step?" Karock called out.
He wished he knew.
________ _________
"Now what are you doing?" Sekot asked abruptly, entering the room Ryok was in.
Ryok looked up at him, not at all startled. "I am sending a message to Frieza," he replied, typing on a computer. He pressed Enter and words flashed. "Message sent. Message has been uploaded. Reply from Lord Frieza. He will take care of Kakkarot at once."
"Take care of him? Why?"
"That Kakkarot," Ryok sneered. "Thinks he's the only one who can plant a bug. Well, I've showed him. Kakkarot's trying to lead all the other Saiyans in an uprising to free the Prince. After he just swore to Frieza that he was loyal! I expect Frieza is pretty angry."
Sekot's aura flared as he filled his fist with ki and ran it straight through Ryok's chest and out the other side. "Yeah," Sekot said. "But I guess I just showed you."
He whirled around as the door opened. Tory stared at Sekot and Ryok's body in shock. He had been spying on the two of them.
"You're with Vegeta, aren't you?" Sekot asked. "We need to warn Kakkarot that Frieza knows he's trying to lead the Saiyans against him." He started to hurry out of the room, but Tory stopped him.
"No. I can do it. Hold on." He cleared his mind and reached for Kakkarot's. "Kakkarot! It's me again. Frieza knows you're disloyal. Ryok bugged your room. He's coming to kill you right now."
Kakkarot thought. "Then I'll go kill him first."
"I'll come!"
"No," Kakkarot insisted. "I'm stronger than anybody here. I'll go alone. If I fail, then the rest of you will get a turn."
"Is that smart? Let us help you. I can't affect Frieza's mind the way I can other people's, but. . ."
"No. But I have another job for you. I've got all these Saiyans here, claiming to be Royalists. Can you sort through them and make sure they're not lying? I've had enough of traitors."
"OK."
__________ ___________
When Kakkarot explained he was going after Frieza and why, there was an uproar. And everyone wanted to come. "No," Kakkarot said again. "Just me. I'll represent the Saiyan race. The rest of you are reserves if I fail."
They finally agreed. But Natala said, "I'm not a Saiyan, so I'll go with you and represent my own race. Frieza wants to kill me anyway."
"I'm going to represent my race, then," Spona put in quickly.
So in the end, Kakkarot and the two aliens raced to confront Frieza in his throne room. Kakkarot couldn't stop himself from wishing Vegeta would be there to help him.