The Deception--Chapter 23
By Elbereth in April
Vegeta wasn't used to feeling gratitude. Until Kakkarot came along, no one had done much for him to be thankful for. And now. . .
He looked at the circle of Saiyans surrounding him, focusing their power, in preparation for giving it to him. And they didn't have to. It had been their own idea. They didn't have to fight for a rebel Prince, one who had just provoked an obsessed tyrant to decide to destroy their planet, and everything and everyone they held dear. Of course, they didn't know that last part.
But he wouldn't let it happen. He would not. His people had suffered enough.
And so had he. No more self-pity. It was time to act like a Prince, and defend his people. So be it.
Their energy coursed outwards, and filled him.
_________ __________
The far wall of the training room blew outward, exposing the armory. The servants there took one look at the battle before them and fled.
"See," Kakkarot laughed at Zarbon, "I told you that you were ugly."
Zarbon frowned at him, half-serious, half in jest. "Look, I'm more powerful in this form. I'm not ugly!" He looked down at his body, then back up at Kakkarot.
"Excuse me, if you're done talking, we're fighting here," Frieza complained.
"Why should we follow *your* timetable?" Zarbon muttered, then continued. "My hair, for instance. Still soft and shiny. . ."
Kakkarot laughed again, and charged Frieza.
Frieza blinked, then shifted into defensive stance. He considered transforming himself to his second level, but something in his mind seemed reluctant to do so. He shrugged. He didn't need that much power to defeat these bakas. He was fine.
In the hallway, Tory had his eyes closed and his fists clenched, and was starting to feel a little dizzy.
Kakkarot's fist plowed into Frieza's abdomen. Frieza hissed and grabbed Kakkarot by the hair, then hit him with a handful of ki and let go.
Kakkarot fell to the ground as Zarbon jumped in, fists flying, trying to land a blow. Kakkarot raised himself to his hands and knees and shook his head dazedly.
___________ __________
Vegeta opened his eyes. His aura shimmered around him, cracking and snapping like a live wire. His power level was as high as it could go.
The Saiyans around him were swaying a bit, shoulders slumped, but looking triumphant.
"Thank you," he said, softly and sincerely. "I won't waste your efforts." They looked at him with expectant eyes. His own eyes had that look. The look they'd come to associate with Vegeta: that determined, burning fire that said, someone is about to go down and it won't be me. His glory was showing through.
"Go take down the baka," Dom said, grinning suddenly.
Vegeta smirked, his best, most arrogant smirk. "Naturally." They all smiled then, and saluted him as he turned and ran into the fray.
__________ __________
Frieza threw Zarbon away from him and into a pile of dented armor. Kakkarot stood up, ears ringing a little, but ready to go another round.
There was a blur to one side, and then Vegeta appeared before Frieza, smirk still on his face. "Did I ever tell you I don't like you?"
"You're jealous of my power," Frieza said with a sneer on his face.
"No, I just think you're a sadistic, evil baka who should be wiped out of existence for the betterment of your species. Plus, you're not very smart."
Frieza gaped at him.
"And you're ugly. Did you know people speculate on what gender you really are?"
Frieza clenched his fists, rage covering him like a shroud. "Nani?"
Vegeta laughed. He gathered energy into a big ball and threw it at Frieza, who was too outraged to think of stopping him. Some of it hit, although he batted most of it away, damaging the ship still further.
"If this keeps on, we're going to hit the engine room," Zarbon worried.
"So we go up," Vegeta replied, pointing to the newest hole in the ceiling. They rose through the air into the throne room.
Behind them, they heard a shout of fury as Frieza recovered from the blast. Seconds later, he had appeared in front of them, standing before his throne.
"You think you're so clever, monkey prince," he snarled. "We'll see who's laughing at the end. Insult me all you want, the fact remains that I'm stronger than you could ever be. I'll kill you and your whole smelly, miserable race, and then I'll laugh over your bloated corpses!"
"I think the lizard protests too much," Vegeta retorted. Zarbon laughed.
Frieza's eyes blazed still further, then he attacked.
Kakkarot was not feeling as much confidence as he outwardly portrayed. They kept hitting Frieza--three of them, for goodness sake. And yet he didn't seem to be affected by anything. Could they defeat him? What was it going to take?
He and Vegeta were carefully not looking at each other. He wondered if one of them would die without ever speaking to each other again.
Frieza aimed a swing at Vegeta, who ducked under it, then slammed into Frieza, knocking him into the throne, kicking him in the thigh hard enough to seriously damage it, cracked, if not broken. Frieza hissed in pain and retaliated by grabbing Vegeta's tail.
Vegeta hissed in turn. He'd long ago trained himself not to be paralyzed by having his tail caught, but Frieza's grip still hurt. He supposed it was because Frieza was so strong. Still, it didn't incapacitate him, though he saw black at the edges of his vision.
He reached back and grabbed Frieza by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder, causing Frieza's hold to loosen enough to pull away. As he backed far enough away to regroup, Zarbon came in and hit Frieza with another blast of ki. Kakkarot was right on his heels with another kamehameha. That took out the throne, to Zarbon's great satisfaction, then struck the window along the far wall. They all caught their breath, but the window held, as the energy was absorbed into the material the hull was made of. But the spaceship rocked.
'This can't go on,' Vegeta realized. 'We have to kill him quickly. Or we'll destroy the ship and everyone aboard it ourselves.'
Time for another big attack then, but carefully controlled. "Final Flash!" he shouted, hitting Frieza with pinpoint accuracy. It shoved the icejin forward, singeing him quite a bit, and forming another hole in the floor, all the way down to the cells.
Frieza recovered quickly though, turned, and sent an energy disk slicing towards them, that they all dodged away from as fast as they could. It was way too powerful to block. Zarbon got clipped a bit in passing, and almost lost consciousness. He lay still on the floor for a moment, regaining his breath and sense.
The disk melted another wall, revealing about a dozen conference and reception rooms before it fizzled out, just short of the cockpit. Not that Frieza had planned to miss it. After all, he was not concerned about keeping the ship intact.
Vegeta was panting, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Frieza had said he would gladly destroy the ship just to get to his mother and Bulma. It occurred to him Frieza could just go ahead and do it at any time, even with his last dying breath. Even winning, they could lose.
He looked at Kakkarot, who was trying to get in a hit, but Frieza kept blocking. 'Kakkarot, Mother, Bulma. . .' It had been so long since he'd seen his mother, she seemed unreal to him now. And Bulma. . . he was overwhelmed by his sudden rush of feeling, by the images that overtook his mind. . . The look in her eyes as she'd kissed him that very first time, her smile afterward, her voice saying, "You can't pretend you didn't like it." The smell of her exotic blue hair, the warmth of her when she wrapped her arms around him. . . "I knew you couldn't resist me." He'd never told her that he loved her. He wanted her to know. In case they all died. . . he needed for her to know. On impulse, he tried to contact her telepathically. It was something he'd not managed to do before, but now he felt the bond to her pulsing through his being, incredibly strong. He reached out with the full force of his mind.
________ _________
Bulma sat in the air duct, listening to Lori chatter to the Queen, trying to distract her from her tense worrying. "Bulma!"
She started, eyes growing wide. "Vegeta?"
"Bulma. . ." The voice in her mind was full of so many things: adoration, longing, a hint of fear. . . she almost read his soul through it. It was bright and shining, his soul, and she smiled. Her reply was full of reverence.
"Vegeta. . ."
"I love you," he told her, quickly, while he could get it out, before his own nature stopped him from admitting it in words.
Her smile widened, and her eyes began to glow. "I love *you*, my prince."
For a brief moment he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to bask in it-- this incredible, unlooked for gift.
"I don't know if the ship's going to survive this fight, Bulma. It doesn't look good."
Dismay hit her. Why hadn't she considered that? And then she smiled again. "Do you think Frieza's scientists just sit and twiddle their thumbs? No, we've been working hard. Frieza wanted a way to conquer every planet, no matter how far away. We've been working on an answer. And we came up with one, love, that we never shared with our employer. We've created a portal, that we can set up in our lab. It'll only work for short distances yet, but that's enough. We'll turn it on, love, and set Tory by the gate, to contact all our friends, and make sure no one loyal to Frieza goes through. And we can all pass down to Vegeta-sei. And then, *let* the ship blow up, and rid us of all our enemies."
There was a long silence. Then, "You are the most desirable, kindest, cleverest, most ruthless genius in all the galaxies--and you always have an answer. Do it, and we'll come to you. Take my mother and the others and do it. And when this is over, Bulma. . . Bulma, I want to make you Queen of the Saiyans."
A laugh. "That's agreeable, but I'll expect a proper, face-to-face proposal first."
She could imagine his smirk. "Acceptable." An exclamation. "I better get back to the battle. We're a floor above you now. Be careful on your way down to the lab. That floor doesn't have too much damage, but watch for holes and debris."
"OK. I'll contact you shortly."
___________ ___________
By Elbereth in April
Vegeta wasn't used to feeling gratitude. Until Kakkarot came along, no one had done much for him to be thankful for. And now. . .
He looked at the circle of Saiyans surrounding him, focusing their power, in preparation for giving it to him. And they didn't have to. It had been their own idea. They didn't have to fight for a rebel Prince, one who had just provoked an obsessed tyrant to decide to destroy their planet, and everything and everyone they held dear. Of course, they didn't know that last part.
But he wouldn't let it happen. He would not. His people had suffered enough.
And so had he. No more self-pity. It was time to act like a Prince, and defend his people. So be it.
Their energy coursed outwards, and filled him.
_________ __________
The far wall of the training room blew outward, exposing the armory. The servants there took one look at the battle before them and fled.
"See," Kakkarot laughed at Zarbon, "I told you that you were ugly."
Zarbon frowned at him, half-serious, half in jest. "Look, I'm more powerful in this form. I'm not ugly!" He looked down at his body, then back up at Kakkarot.
"Excuse me, if you're done talking, we're fighting here," Frieza complained.
"Why should we follow *your* timetable?" Zarbon muttered, then continued. "My hair, for instance. Still soft and shiny. . ."
Kakkarot laughed again, and charged Frieza.
Frieza blinked, then shifted into defensive stance. He considered transforming himself to his second level, but something in his mind seemed reluctant to do so. He shrugged. He didn't need that much power to defeat these bakas. He was fine.
In the hallway, Tory had his eyes closed and his fists clenched, and was starting to feel a little dizzy.
Kakkarot's fist plowed into Frieza's abdomen. Frieza hissed and grabbed Kakkarot by the hair, then hit him with a handful of ki and let go.
Kakkarot fell to the ground as Zarbon jumped in, fists flying, trying to land a blow. Kakkarot raised himself to his hands and knees and shook his head dazedly.
___________ __________
Vegeta opened his eyes. His aura shimmered around him, cracking and snapping like a live wire. His power level was as high as it could go.
The Saiyans around him were swaying a bit, shoulders slumped, but looking triumphant.
"Thank you," he said, softly and sincerely. "I won't waste your efforts." They looked at him with expectant eyes. His own eyes had that look. The look they'd come to associate with Vegeta: that determined, burning fire that said, someone is about to go down and it won't be me. His glory was showing through.
"Go take down the baka," Dom said, grinning suddenly.
Vegeta smirked, his best, most arrogant smirk. "Naturally." They all smiled then, and saluted him as he turned and ran into the fray.
__________ __________
Frieza threw Zarbon away from him and into a pile of dented armor. Kakkarot stood up, ears ringing a little, but ready to go another round.
There was a blur to one side, and then Vegeta appeared before Frieza, smirk still on his face. "Did I ever tell you I don't like you?"
"You're jealous of my power," Frieza said with a sneer on his face.
"No, I just think you're a sadistic, evil baka who should be wiped out of existence for the betterment of your species. Plus, you're not very smart."
Frieza gaped at him.
"And you're ugly. Did you know people speculate on what gender you really are?"
Frieza clenched his fists, rage covering him like a shroud. "Nani?"
Vegeta laughed. He gathered energy into a big ball and threw it at Frieza, who was too outraged to think of stopping him. Some of it hit, although he batted most of it away, damaging the ship still further.
"If this keeps on, we're going to hit the engine room," Zarbon worried.
"So we go up," Vegeta replied, pointing to the newest hole in the ceiling. They rose through the air into the throne room.
Behind them, they heard a shout of fury as Frieza recovered from the blast. Seconds later, he had appeared in front of them, standing before his throne.
"You think you're so clever, monkey prince," he snarled. "We'll see who's laughing at the end. Insult me all you want, the fact remains that I'm stronger than you could ever be. I'll kill you and your whole smelly, miserable race, and then I'll laugh over your bloated corpses!"
"I think the lizard protests too much," Vegeta retorted. Zarbon laughed.
Frieza's eyes blazed still further, then he attacked.
Kakkarot was not feeling as much confidence as he outwardly portrayed. They kept hitting Frieza--three of them, for goodness sake. And yet he didn't seem to be affected by anything. Could they defeat him? What was it going to take?
He and Vegeta were carefully not looking at each other. He wondered if one of them would die without ever speaking to each other again.
Frieza aimed a swing at Vegeta, who ducked under it, then slammed into Frieza, knocking him into the throne, kicking him in the thigh hard enough to seriously damage it, cracked, if not broken. Frieza hissed in pain and retaliated by grabbing Vegeta's tail.
Vegeta hissed in turn. He'd long ago trained himself not to be paralyzed by having his tail caught, but Frieza's grip still hurt. He supposed it was because Frieza was so strong. Still, it didn't incapacitate him, though he saw black at the edges of his vision.
He reached back and grabbed Frieza by the arm and flipped him over his shoulder, causing Frieza's hold to loosen enough to pull away. As he backed far enough away to regroup, Zarbon came in and hit Frieza with another blast of ki. Kakkarot was right on his heels with another kamehameha. That took out the throne, to Zarbon's great satisfaction, then struck the window along the far wall. They all caught their breath, but the window held, as the energy was absorbed into the material the hull was made of. But the spaceship rocked.
'This can't go on,' Vegeta realized. 'We have to kill him quickly. Or we'll destroy the ship and everyone aboard it ourselves.'
Time for another big attack then, but carefully controlled. "Final Flash!" he shouted, hitting Frieza with pinpoint accuracy. It shoved the icejin forward, singeing him quite a bit, and forming another hole in the floor, all the way down to the cells.
Frieza recovered quickly though, turned, and sent an energy disk slicing towards them, that they all dodged away from as fast as they could. It was way too powerful to block. Zarbon got clipped a bit in passing, and almost lost consciousness. He lay still on the floor for a moment, regaining his breath and sense.
The disk melted another wall, revealing about a dozen conference and reception rooms before it fizzled out, just short of the cockpit. Not that Frieza had planned to miss it. After all, he was not concerned about keeping the ship intact.
Vegeta was panting, a sinking feeling in his stomach. Frieza had said he would gladly destroy the ship just to get to his mother and Bulma. It occurred to him Frieza could just go ahead and do it at any time, even with his last dying breath. Even winning, they could lose.
He looked at Kakkarot, who was trying to get in a hit, but Frieza kept blocking. 'Kakkarot, Mother, Bulma. . .' It had been so long since he'd seen his mother, she seemed unreal to him now. And Bulma. . . he was overwhelmed by his sudden rush of feeling, by the images that overtook his mind. . . The look in her eyes as she'd kissed him that very first time, her smile afterward, her voice saying, "You can't pretend you didn't like it." The smell of her exotic blue hair, the warmth of her when she wrapped her arms around him. . . "I knew you couldn't resist me." He'd never told her that he loved her. He wanted her to know. In case they all died. . . he needed for her to know. On impulse, he tried to contact her telepathically. It was something he'd not managed to do before, but now he felt the bond to her pulsing through his being, incredibly strong. He reached out with the full force of his mind.
________ _________
Bulma sat in the air duct, listening to Lori chatter to the Queen, trying to distract her from her tense worrying. "Bulma!"
She started, eyes growing wide. "Vegeta?"
"Bulma. . ." The voice in her mind was full of so many things: adoration, longing, a hint of fear. . . she almost read his soul through it. It was bright and shining, his soul, and she smiled. Her reply was full of reverence.
"Vegeta. . ."
"I love you," he told her, quickly, while he could get it out, before his own nature stopped him from admitting it in words.
Her smile widened, and her eyes began to glow. "I love *you*, my prince."
For a brief moment he closed his eyes, and allowed himself to bask in it-- this incredible, unlooked for gift.
"I don't know if the ship's going to survive this fight, Bulma. It doesn't look good."
Dismay hit her. Why hadn't she considered that? And then she smiled again. "Do you think Frieza's scientists just sit and twiddle their thumbs? No, we've been working hard. Frieza wanted a way to conquer every planet, no matter how far away. We've been working on an answer. And we came up with one, love, that we never shared with our employer. We've created a portal, that we can set up in our lab. It'll only work for short distances yet, but that's enough. We'll turn it on, love, and set Tory by the gate, to contact all our friends, and make sure no one loyal to Frieza goes through. And we can all pass down to Vegeta-sei. And then, *let* the ship blow up, and rid us of all our enemies."
There was a long silence. Then, "You are the most desirable, kindest, cleverest, most ruthless genius in all the galaxies--and you always have an answer. Do it, and we'll come to you. Take my mother and the others and do it. And when this is over, Bulma. . . Bulma, I want to make you Queen of the Saiyans."
A laugh. "That's agreeable, but I'll expect a proper, face-to-face proposal first."
She could imagine his smirk. "Acceptable." An exclamation. "I better get back to the battle. We're a floor above you now. Be careful on your way down to the lab. That floor doesn't have too much damage, but watch for holes and debris."
"OK. I'll contact you shortly."
___________ ___________