I'm trying to be quicker. ^_^
Thank-you so much to Jay goose for Beta-ing this chap! ^-^
Disclaimer- I don't own.
*~*~*~*
The longhaired Saiyan watched in horror as his Prince was carried to a bed. The Prince, still unclothed, was swarmed with medical staff who were tubing him, but they appeared to be having some difficulty.
The Prince began thrashing in what seemed to be to a violent seizure, blood spilled from his mouth and nose as his small body thrashed about the bed. Choking noises could be heard from where the observers stood.
Raditz had to stop himself from reaching out to aid his Prince. He knew there was nothing he could do to help, at his young age of 15 he had little if any medical knowledge; but it didn't stop him from feeling guilt.
The boy thrashing about on the bed looked so small now, so defenseless, at times Raditz found himself forgetting that his Prince was still a boy… a 6 year old boy.
He discreetly shifted his eyes to look at Frieza and was met immediately with soulless red eyes. He quickly turned away; staring into those eyes unnerved him, as if he were staring into hell itself. He berated himself again for leaving his Prince with this monster.
Zarbon was the first to speak, "What's wrong with him?" It was obvious to those in the room that he was not asking out of concern for the Prince, the voice held a nonchalant tone to it.
Some of the medical staff seemed to freeze at the question directed towards them; the others were too busy attending to Vegeta.
A male attendant came towards them; his skin was a dusty orange color, like desert sands. His build was not-quite scrawny, there was still some meat left on him, but he had a tired look that made him seem older then he probably was. His ears protruded from his face and pointed upwards, making him look somewhat comical like. But from the look of seriousness imprinted there and the way his eyebrows scrunched together, he looked like he couldn't smile if he wanted to. Perhaps this was what years of servitude to Frieza did to you.
He strode near confidently; this was noticed by all. Most men who approached Frieza, or any of his high-ranking soldiers, were usually to the point of nearly urinating themselves. This action was both disconcerting and suspicious.
He cleared his throat before speaking and Raditz watched him closely as his eyes made contact with Frieza's and stayed there, the others around seemed to notice this but saw it only as a sign of respect. If they looked deep enough, Raditz pondered, they would see the intensity of the look between the both of them.
"The regeneration tank has been successful in healing Prince Vegeta's most serious wounds but…"
He paused, turning to look at Vegeta, the boy now wasn't convulsing as badly as he had been before; the shaking seemed more in control. But the Prince was still vomiting violently, dark blood and…other things.
The doctor began speaking again, startling everyone from there observation. Raditz was almost glad for this distraction. "…His body seems to be rejecting a foreign entity that has entered his system. This is doing more damage then good."
He paused and looked again to the Prince, adding effect to what he just said. A silence hung in the air. The background noise of the retching Prince and scurrying medical staff was eerily muted out, sounding distant… very distant.
Raditz stifled his unuttered questions; it was not his place to speak, especially in the presence of Lord Frieza. Looking at Nappa, he concentrated on urging the higher ranked large Saiyan to question the doctor. He knew that attempting a telepathic connection with Nappa would mean a promised beating; but he also knew that this was the only way to find out what really happened to his Prince.
A quiet growl was heard almost immediately gaining the unwanted attention of Frieza and Zarbon. Surprisingly, Nappa kept his attention towards Vegeta, his aura giving off a suppressed rage.
~It is punishable by death to attempt to connect minds with an Elite, Third class!~
The guttural whisper continued to ring in his mind. The presence of the older Saiyan in his mind had been so strong he was nearly knocked off his feet; reminding him how inexperienced he was in telepathic communication. He attempted to answer back but his whisper of a mental voice was squashed by the warning growl that rumbled in his ears from the inside.
~Don't give me an excuse, little boy or I'll make you wish you died with the rest of the planet.~
He felt pain. The ringing in his ears wouldn't dim and his head felt heavy and cramped. He wondered if it was his imagination or it was really Nappa's gluttonous laughing he could hear.
~Your biting off more then you can chew weakling! We get our answers from the Prince and the Prince alone. We won't get any truths from this doctor or anyone else on this ship."~
The first thought that came to the longhaired Saiyan's head was, the large Saiyan was smarter then he looked. But after another growl painfully rumbled in his head, he cleared his thoughts, not wanting to experience that again.
~Clean yourself up boy!~
He stood confused for a while wondering what was meant by the statement,
until he caught the glittering golden eyes of Zarbon, the green haired
man took a quick glance towards Raditz' nose and raised his elegant
green brow.
Raditz, now understanding, hurriedly wiped the blood leaking from his
nose, earning a smirk from Zarbon. A blush lit his cheeks as the green
haired man winked and turned away.
He knew Zarbon only did this to make him lose his composure, reserving his 'special' smirk, just for him. The fact that he didn't like the man didn't stop his body from responding, but this could easily be blamed on teenage hormones.
All thoughts were abandoned when his Scouter sprang to life bleeping repeatedly with the rising of the Prince's power level.
He couldn't see what was going on because of the horde of medical staff in the way, but this didn't bother him, his Prince was awake!
He couldn't stop himself from taking a quick glance at the tyrant. To his surprise, and fear, there was a smug smile upon his lips and a glint in his eyes that Raditz didn't like at all.
Somehow he didn't think he and Nappa would get the answers they wanted.
*~~~~~* The Prince slowly slid on his body suit completely oblivious to the presence of others in the room. He didn't say a word, even as he slipped his petite feet into the pristine white boots. When he finished dressing he looked up but remained silent.
Breaking the silence he smiled, almost childishly and looked to Frieza, directly at Frieza. "How long was I in there?"
The question was asked with a childlike innocence Raditz didn't know Vegeta possessed, but it was answered nonetheless.
"A little over 3 days, little one, but not to worry. You didn't miss much. You seemed to be the subject of most of my ship's interest; you're quite the popular little Prince."
There was a tenderness to the tyrant's voice, but also amusement. It was well known throughout the ship and most parts of the universe that Frieza held a soft spot for his Prince. It was not something Frieza needed to keep silent; no one would dare question him.
Vegeta rolled his shoulders and grinned, "Three days! Must've been something I ate." It was right about then that Raditz knew they would never know what happened to their Prince, but perhaps it was for the best.
Girlish laughter was heard from the tyrant, which cause everyone to become tense, laughter from Frieza usually meant, pain, death, torture, or anything else along those lines.
"I think you and 'yours' deserve a few days break, don't you think Zarbon."
The green haired man frowned and then looked at Raditz, "Nothin' wrong with a little rest and relaxation." He snorted quietly as the 15 year old turned away from him, he had that effect on most, but he mainly enjoyed seeing the Saiyan's cheeks turn a rosy red. He found it… cute.
Raditz locked his eyes back on the ground, it seemed most were attuned with Zarbon's 'secret' smile for him. He was a Saiyan, Saiyan's weren't supposed to blush, or be shy; and now his Prince witnessed this embarrassing scene.
He remained with his eyes on the ground, not wanting to meet the mocking gaze of Vegeta, but it was also guilt that kept his eyes to the ground. It was his duty to protect the Prince, both his and Nappa's. And they left him.
His gaze at the ground was interrupted when two small boot clad feet came into view. It was then he noticed the large body of Nappa kneeling on one knee in front of the Prince. He quickly got on one knee, surprisingly gracefully; his long hair fell around his face as he bowed his head slightly, he was still about an inch taller then the Prince even in this position.
Then there came that annoyingly feminine laughter again, followed by a somewhat high-pitched voice, "Oh! What loyal little puppies you have, you wouldn't mind if I skip the bow!" He looked up to see Vegeta sharing the same wicked smile Frieza had upon his face, "So long as you wouldn't mind either!"
Again with that innocent childlike voice, it sounded so wrong coming from those wicked lips.
As if reading his thoughts, the Prince looked at Raditz, there was something in those eyes the longhaired Saiyan had never seen before, and it scared him. More then the tyrant ever could.
"I suppose we should go now… unless you prefer to say here?"
He stood to his full height, choosing not to reply, and waited for Vegeta and Nappa to walk ahead. Not that he held any respect at all for Nappa; he liked him as much as he did Frieza. But the large bald Saiyan, if he wanted to, could beat him to a pulp.
As they retched the door, Frieza and Zarbon graciously stepped out of the way, not a word was said as the exited the medical bay of the ship.
*
Nappa was blunt and to the point as always, this was not always too intelligent and got him into trouble at most times. "Vegeta, what happened?"
The young Prince let out a short laugh and turned to the large Saiyan. "Nappa, how did our planet die?"
The Bald Saiyan's eyes narrowed in suspicion before he answered, "It was struck by a large meteorite…"
"Well actually Frieza blew it up!"
The sentence was said so nonchalantly and with no emotion at all present, that it was hard not to believe the Prince, they all had they're suspicions, and now it was confirmed.
An abrupt question was blurted out by Raditz, "How do you know?"
The Prince snorted, as if it were the most foolish question in the world, "I known for ages, it was obvious… and Frieza told me."
"Wha…" Vegeta suddenly turned serious, his mood change sending chills up their spines. The way he looked at them was… wrong. "I've missed 3 days of training, if you carry on wasting my time I may just take it out on you!"
He began to walk away from them at a steady pace, with out turning, or slowing down he spoke. "Raditz! You have the honor of being my sparring partner today; I didn't know 3 days of my absence would make you so…Girlish. I'll be sure to whip you back into shape." Nappa snorted in laughter, not bothering to stifle the sound.
"We can spar tomorrow Nappa, when I'm at my full strength."
Raditz couldn't resist turning and smirking at the big Saiyan, but the smirk disappeared when the realized he was heading for a beating from the temperamental Little Prince.
*~~~~~*
A/n- I'll try to get the 5th chap posted as soon as I can. ^_^
Please give feedback.