A Boy and His Dog
Fast Forward
Four years pass, and Vegeta still lives in what he calls "Cell Block Number Bullshit". The guard tried to correct him on many occasions. ("It's Cell Block Number Nine," he'd practically plead for the youth to agree, "And it's not bullshit." Vegeta would shake his head and say he was just trying to skirt around the issue. Whatever the issue may have been, the guard never found out.) If Vegeta was good, meaning, he wasn't passing insults - even to those who deserved it - he was allowed some "probation" time. He was also allowed to leave for missions/planet purging. His guard would escort him to and from the cargo bay, and he was always punctual, which in turn made Vegeta very punctual.
Speaking of the guard, his name was Syx. He was of some race that Vegeta never cared to learn the name of, and enjoyed his job enough to make him tolerate it. Though usually he didn't give a flying-fuck about any of the criminals, he did hold a soft spot for Vegeta. The prince was crass and tactless, but on second thought, that's what Syx liked about him. Vegeta, in short, was a typical guy, albeit, a bit mature for his age. Also, like any security guard, he liked adult magazines and lounging around on the clock when he could.
The Prince of Saijins wasn't allowed to keep anything that could help him escape. Of course, Vegeta was powerful enough he could easily blast down the door, overpower Syx, and head on his merry way... but, then again, there was Freiza. Freiza who could completely pJ0\/\/|\| him in an instant. Instead of pursuing a course of action that would end in his probable demise, he chose to instead perform a type of quiet rebellion.
In accordance to the rules, however, Vegeta lived modestly. His cell was painted a stoic off-white, and contained three pieces of furniture: the bunk bed, the bookcase, and the toilet. He slept on the top or the bottom bunk depending on whatever he was in the mood for (except when he had a "visitor", then he always slept on the bottom). The bookcase was specially made for him, and filled the entire back wall (opposite of the door). His collection began when Radditz had returned, successfully bringing him what he desired.
It was day 752 on their cosmic calendar when the loyal servant was granted time to see his master. "I have reading material as per requested," the older Saijin held up a book. Vegeta remembered idly thanking the other man, or saying a job well done, but he was really focused on the phone cord at the time.
'We can travel through space,' he thought, 'but we can't have cordless phones?' It boggled the mind, and he nodded to whatever Radditz was saying, adding "uh huh" or "yeah" whenever there was a pause. Syx came up to him sometime later, and he quickly said goodbye.
It wasn't that Radditz was a jerk and he didn't want to be around him, but he usually didn't care about what the elder had to say. All in all, the third class acted more professionally than this superior, but Vegeta was young and naive. Honestly, Radditz could've been any race and Vegeta would've treated him the same. As it was, he was Saijin. Vegeta, Nappa, and Radditz - the Brains, the Brawn, and the Whatever Else Was Left.
The book had to go through "customs" to make sure there wasn't anything hidden in it, physically or information wise. The entire process took three days, mostly because they had to find an inspector who could recognize the difference between a written language and scribbles, and then be able to read any language it was in. One afternoon, Syx knocked on Vegeta's door. "Special delivery," he announced, and slid the item through the slot. Vegeta got down from the top bunk and picked up the book. He wasn't too impressed with the shape it was in, but it was something to pass the time.
It was a math book, and for no reasonable explanation, he absorbed it as quickly as he could read and interpret it (which turned out to be pretty fast, as a week later he was asking for more). It was like the secret you didn't want anybody to know. Vegeta had a huge skeleton in his closet, and it took the shape of him. Except his skeleton was wearing big glasses and a pocket protector. Yes, Vegeta was a math nerd. It sort of pissed him off that he was, but he couldn't help it. One mention of the Pythagorean Theorem had him as giddy as Zarbon when he won a free manicure. And don't even get him started on Pi. So after four years have gone by, his collection had grown quite large.
Today, he's reading something about functions, or thought he was. He couldn't be too sure considering it was in a now dead language he hadn't been exposed to so far. The prince had spared the item when on his latest cleansing mission. Frieza looked at him dubiously when he stepped out of his pod with it in his hand. Resigning, the iceling said, "It's just some numbers. What harm can they do?"
There was a knock at the door. "Vegeta," Syx called for him, "I'm going to open the door. You get a roomie tonight." The prince sighed in irritation and climbed down to the bottom bunk. "He's kind of a live one," the alien warned. There was the ritualistic sounds of the door being opened, and a young man was forced into the room against his will. He stood for a moment, looking like he'd lost his last marble, and then he seemed to notice the Prince of Saijins. His eyes were elongated, an odd, deep blue color, and very sad in appearance. Vegeta raised an eyebrow and the man flinched from the tiny movement.
"Soooo..." the brunette began awkwardly. He closed his book to examine the other species in front of him. He had a flat nose and long ears that extended backwards rather than sideways. His skin was a caramel kind of color with patches of varying shades of brown around the frame of his face and wrists (probably elsewhere too, but the battle suit successfully hid them). His hands and feet were partially webbed and the digits were thick and stubby.
His expression was one of petrified despair, and he seemed to regard Vegeta as something to be afraid of. In his mind, he rationalized, already, that the child before him was insane. Why else would they stick a kid into a prison cell? Of course, a rather good handful of people thought he was off his rocker, but that didn't mean anything because he knew he wasn't.
"I'm Vegeta," said Vegeta, "What's your name and crime? Crime first, please, it defines the person better."
"Ins-subordination," the man managed to say with only one stutter, "I'm..uh...Jonei."
"Insubordination? Huh. That's why I'm here too," Vegeta said, a bit relaxed knowing he wasn't rooming with someone with serious issues. To make the man feel at ease, the prince explained, "I called Frieza a fag to his face. He won't let me out until I learn my lesson, or what the Hell ever. What happened with you?"
"I tried to run," Jonei explained sheepishly.
"What's that? I don't quite follow you. Run from what?" Vegeta asked.
There was a pause. Then the pause turned into an extended period of silence. Then the extended period of silence turned awkward. Finally, Jonei spoke again, clarifying, "I was out purging, and I tried to steal a pod and get as far away as I could."
"That doesn't really say much, now does it?" Vegeta pestered him, his curiosity piqued, "Why'd you do it? I mean, yeah, it's obvious why, but..you know..."
When Vegeta's black eyes met Jonei's blue ones, the prince suddenly felt a tad uncomfortable. "The yzaek," he said, as if it explained every last detail.
"Pardon?"
"The yzaek. Ochulorex deila Poux. Grargh. The Soul Langolier. It has reported documentations from Freiza planets M12 through M57 and Cooler planets J52 through J65 as well as 907A through 908V, and who knows where else," Jonei paused, noticed the young heir's blank look, and elaborated some more, "Schischig. Cordih Innex. Cujo."
"Schischig. That's Pjorkian," Vegeta noted.
"Yes."
"Hold on," the prince held up his hand in gesture for silence, "Give me a moment." Vegeta's brain had to turn several gears to switch from his math-translation track to a pure language-translation one. Pjorkian wasn't one of the most fond languages he'd learned, but it had been useful for some of the advanced calculus they had, basically, experimented with. All in all, his mind had to, and did, work like a personalized Rosetta Stone. He translated the simple words through several other languages before he could get it closer to his own. When it finally came to Saijin, he was stumped. "Neraknarog?" he said aloud in utter befuddlement.
"I haven't heard it referred as that before..." Jonei honestly admitted.
Vegeta redid the translations in his head, pointedly ignoring the other man. He finally caught the error of translating the second "s" sound into a symbol resembling an es-zett with an umlaut. "Ah," he said, eyebrows furrowing, "It's 'demon' then, is it?" Jonei shuddered and looked over his shoulder, as if the yzaek would be right there.
"Rumor has it that Hell could not tame the damn thing, and let it run free."
"Rumor says a lot of things," Vegeta replied smartly, "Why do you think it's after you?"
Jonei looked at the boy in shock, his eyes widening, "Because it is." It was about this time that Vegeta began to be one of the people who believed that Jonei was off his rocker.
It is noteworthy that Jonei was not.
P.S. Thank you Rena Sama for Syx (the name). ♥
Fast Forward
Four years pass, and Vegeta still lives in what he calls "Cell Block Number Bullshit". The guard tried to correct him on many occasions. ("It's Cell Block Number Nine," he'd practically plead for the youth to agree, "And it's not bullshit." Vegeta would shake his head and say he was just trying to skirt around the issue. Whatever the issue may have been, the guard never found out.) If Vegeta was good, meaning, he wasn't passing insults - even to those who deserved it - he was allowed some "probation" time. He was also allowed to leave for missions/planet purging. His guard would escort him to and from the cargo bay, and he was always punctual, which in turn made Vegeta very punctual.
Speaking of the guard, his name was Syx. He was of some race that Vegeta never cared to learn the name of, and enjoyed his job enough to make him tolerate it. Though usually he didn't give a flying-fuck about any of the criminals, he did hold a soft spot for Vegeta. The prince was crass and tactless, but on second thought, that's what Syx liked about him. Vegeta, in short, was a typical guy, albeit, a bit mature for his age. Also, like any security guard, he liked adult magazines and lounging around on the clock when he could.
The Prince of Saijins wasn't allowed to keep anything that could help him escape. Of course, Vegeta was powerful enough he could easily blast down the door, overpower Syx, and head on his merry way... but, then again, there was Freiza. Freiza who could completely pJ0\/\/|\| him in an instant. Instead of pursuing a course of action that would end in his probable demise, he chose to instead perform a type of quiet rebellion.
In accordance to the rules, however, Vegeta lived modestly. His cell was painted a stoic off-white, and contained three pieces of furniture: the bunk bed, the bookcase, and the toilet. He slept on the top or the bottom bunk depending on whatever he was in the mood for (except when he had a "visitor", then he always slept on the bottom). The bookcase was specially made for him, and filled the entire back wall (opposite of the door). His collection began when Radditz had returned, successfully bringing him what he desired.
It was day 752 on their cosmic calendar when the loyal servant was granted time to see his master. "I have reading material as per requested," the older Saijin held up a book. Vegeta remembered idly thanking the other man, or saying a job well done, but he was really focused on the phone cord at the time.
'We can travel through space,' he thought, 'but we can't have cordless phones?' It boggled the mind, and he nodded to whatever Radditz was saying, adding "uh huh" or "yeah" whenever there was a pause. Syx came up to him sometime later, and he quickly said goodbye.
It wasn't that Radditz was a jerk and he didn't want to be around him, but he usually didn't care about what the elder had to say. All in all, the third class acted more professionally than this superior, but Vegeta was young and naive. Honestly, Radditz could've been any race and Vegeta would've treated him the same. As it was, he was Saijin. Vegeta, Nappa, and Radditz - the Brains, the Brawn, and the Whatever Else Was Left.
The book had to go through "customs" to make sure there wasn't anything hidden in it, physically or information wise. The entire process took three days, mostly because they had to find an inspector who could recognize the difference between a written language and scribbles, and then be able to read any language it was in. One afternoon, Syx knocked on Vegeta's door. "Special delivery," he announced, and slid the item through the slot. Vegeta got down from the top bunk and picked up the book. He wasn't too impressed with the shape it was in, but it was something to pass the time.
It was a math book, and for no reasonable explanation, he absorbed it as quickly as he could read and interpret it (which turned out to be pretty fast, as a week later he was asking for more). It was like the secret you didn't want anybody to know. Vegeta had a huge skeleton in his closet, and it took the shape of him. Except his skeleton was wearing big glasses and a pocket protector. Yes, Vegeta was a math nerd. It sort of pissed him off that he was, but he couldn't help it. One mention of the Pythagorean Theorem had him as giddy as Zarbon when he won a free manicure. And don't even get him started on Pi. So after four years have gone by, his collection had grown quite large.
Today, he's reading something about functions, or thought he was. He couldn't be too sure considering it was in a now dead language he hadn't been exposed to so far. The prince had spared the item when on his latest cleansing mission. Frieza looked at him dubiously when he stepped out of his pod with it in his hand. Resigning, the iceling said, "It's just some numbers. What harm can they do?"
There was a knock at the door. "Vegeta," Syx called for him, "I'm going to open the door. You get a roomie tonight." The prince sighed in irritation and climbed down to the bottom bunk. "He's kind of a live one," the alien warned. There was the ritualistic sounds of the door being opened, and a young man was forced into the room against his will. He stood for a moment, looking like he'd lost his last marble, and then he seemed to notice the Prince of Saijins. His eyes were elongated, an odd, deep blue color, and very sad in appearance. Vegeta raised an eyebrow and the man flinched from the tiny movement.
"Soooo..." the brunette began awkwardly. He closed his book to examine the other species in front of him. He had a flat nose and long ears that extended backwards rather than sideways. His skin was a caramel kind of color with patches of varying shades of brown around the frame of his face and wrists (probably elsewhere too, but the battle suit successfully hid them). His hands and feet were partially webbed and the digits were thick and stubby.
His expression was one of petrified despair, and he seemed to regard Vegeta as something to be afraid of. In his mind, he rationalized, already, that the child before him was insane. Why else would they stick a kid into a prison cell? Of course, a rather good handful of people thought he was off his rocker, but that didn't mean anything because he knew he wasn't.
"I'm Vegeta," said Vegeta, "What's your name and crime? Crime first, please, it defines the person better."
"Ins-subordination," the man managed to say with only one stutter, "I'm..uh...Jonei."
"Insubordination? Huh. That's why I'm here too," Vegeta said, a bit relaxed knowing he wasn't rooming with someone with serious issues. To make the man feel at ease, the prince explained, "I called Frieza a fag to his face. He won't let me out until I learn my lesson, or what the Hell ever. What happened with you?"
"I tried to run," Jonei explained sheepishly.
"What's that? I don't quite follow you. Run from what?" Vegeta asked.
There was a pause. Then the pause turned into an extended period of silence. Then the extended period of silence turned awkward. Finally, Jonei spoke again, clarifying, "I was out purging, and I tried to steal a pod and get as far away as I could."
"That doesn't really say much, now does it?" Vegeta pestered him, his curiosity piqued, "Why'd you do it? I mean, yeah, it's obvious why, but..you know..."
When Vegeta's black eyes met Jonei's blue ones, the prince suddenly felt a tad uncomfortable. "The yzaek," he said, as if it explained every last detail.
"Pardon?"
"The yzaek. Ochulorex deila Poux. Grargh. The Soul Langolier. It has reported documentations from Freiza planets M12 through M57 and Cooler planets J52 through J65 as well as 907A through 908V, and who knows where else," Jonei paused, noticed the young heir's blank look, and elaborated some more, "Schischig. Cordih Innex. Cujo."
"Schischig. That's Pjorkian," Vegeta noted.
"Yes."
"Hold on," the prince held up his hand in gesture for silence, "Give me a moment." Vegeta's brain had to turn several gears to switch from his math-translation track to a pure language-translation one. Pjorkian wasn't one of the most fond languages he'd learned, but it had been useful for some of the advanced calculus they had, basically, experimented with. All in all, his mind had to, and did, work like a personalized Rosetta Stone. He translated the simple words through several other languages before he could get it closer to his own. When it finally came to Saijin, he was stumped. "Neraknarog?" he said aloud in utter befuddlement.
"I haven't heard it referred as that before..." Jonei honestly admitted.
Vegeta redid the translations in his head, pointedly ignoring the other man. He finally caught the error of translating the second "s" sound into a symbol resembling an es-zett with an umlaut. "Ah," he said, eyebrows furrowing, "It's 'demon' then, is it?" Jonei shuddered and looked over his shoulder, as if the yzaek would be right there.
"Rumor has it that Hell could not tame the damn thing, and let it run free."
"Rumor says a lot of things," Vegeta replied smartly, "Why do you think it's after you?"
Jonei looked at the boy in shock, his eyes widening, "Because it is." It was about this time that Vegeta began to be one of the people who believed that Jonei was off his rocker.
It is noteworthy that Jonei was not.
P.S. Thank you Rena Sama for Syx (the name). ♥