(A/N): No matter what I say right now, my readers from before hate me for being SOOO late updating... So, I'll only say it once... I'M SOOOO SORRYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But, its here now so read, review, and enjoy! ^_^ Unfortunately, none of my 'faithful' readers responded to my questions of what to do with this chapter, SOOO, I just made up a bunch of crap as I wrote. LOL! ^_^() Hope it comes out good. Any who, enjoy!

-----

Things said in ~tilde~'s are the character's thoughts.. Obviously.. lol

-----

REVIEW RESPONSE:

Embient: You flatter me ^_^;; I read the story you wrote after I 'inspired you'! It was good! Why didn't you continue it!? I'm going to have to pester you until you finally update it! .!! If I got off my lazy bum to write this update, you can too!!! XD

Sailor J-chan: You are too kind ^_^ TY I shall take your advice and CONTINUE ^_^;; "After a looong while she finally listens", right? lol X3

KA: . . . MEW!! =^.^= lmao! TY for the positive reviews you've given me over the .. er .. years x.x;; I promise to get new updates out faster . ... . ~ahem~ .. *dodges the Evil Smiting Oranges of Staci's Hell* (ESOSH) lmfao!! XD ahh the good times we have! ^_^()

Alex: You keep on hoping! XD It might be the only thing that gets my lazy bum to update!! lol

ALSO, I'd like to thank Jay for his helpful idea!! I'd have been stuck if it weren't for you!! ^_^

-----

Disclaimer: Hey, I know we all wish we owned it... but if we did, It'd probably suck ^^() So I'm happy to say that AKIRA TORIYAMA is the rightful owner of DB/Z/GT and everything related to it except my characters and story lines! ^_^ You want to buy my story, Akira?? I'll sell it to you cheap! ^_^ LOL

*Takes out her Magical Writer's Key Board (TM)* Ok! On to the story! Woo! ^^() lmao

-VTL

*~*~*

Last time on Dragonball Z: Bulma and Bra woke to find themselves captured by none other than Lt. Xero (the deceased Lt. Armock's son) and Prince Kakkon (the deceased King Xero's son). They were chained and brought to the 'special' dungeon. The boys, however, found the ship but were stopped when they realized that Paragus and Brolly could not hide their Ki. They were left outside to hide in a tree while the others jumped on top of the ship and walked to the other side. When they arrived there, they saw endless lines of chained humans being marched into the ship under the slave trade. Upon entering the center of the ship, courtesy of Vegeta's ki blast, they found themselves in a huge, cold, pitch black room. Deciding on splitting up and using 'light balls' of ki for torches, they searched for a way out. Soon, they heard Goku fall and his light ball disappeared. Vegeta, who ran to check on him, was the second to fall. Trunks was left all alone as he extinguished his light and waited for the enemy in the dark. He waited in his fighting stance for the first strike... He waited.. And waited and waited... But nothing was there...

*~*~*

Chapter 3: Separated and Re-Separated

*~*~*

"Dad, how long do you think they'll take?? This is getting boring!" Paragus looked over at his son who was leaning against the tree with his arms folded on his chest while standing on a thick branch. "How should I know? It IS the Prince that's leading the team in there, after all... Could take DAYS!" Brolly stared dumbfounded at his father. "The Prince is our leader, father! You should not say such things!" The older man, sitting on the same branch as Brolly, was once again surprised by his son's ability to actually form sentences now. ~Who the hell taught him all this??~ Paragus returned his gaze to the hole in the ship's roof where Vegeta, Goku, and Trunks had entered. "All I know is that I'm not waiting much longer..."

"If they aren't out in an hour, I'm going in to look for the girls myself." "Eh?... So.. You like the Princess, don't you?" Paragus noticed bright red spread all over Brolly's face. "S- She's ok....." ~Sigh.. Maybe I should have made the wish so he at least knew of The Vegetas' evils...~ "Father, can I ask you something?" "Hmm?" "Why don't you like the Prince and his family?" Brolly was searching his father's face for an answer. "His family has done many things to us in the past... You were too young to remember it..." ~Too young? I remember a lot from my child hood.. Like my first training session...~ "Oh.." was all he could think to say. It was silent for a long time.

*~*~*

Trunks was all alone in the dark vast room. The only light he could see was a spotlight-like beam shining on the ground near him from the hole Vegeta had made in the roof of the ship. ~Is it not going to attack?... Father.. Goku..~ All of a sudden, bright lights filled the room. After Trunks' eyes adjusted, he noticed that he was in an empty room. All metallic everywhere. No exits, though... And Vegeta and Goku's bodies were gone. ~...Now what?...~

*~*~*

"That's it! I'm going in!!" Taking to the sky, Brolly was quickly stopped by his father. "Let me go, father! I have to rescue her!" Sighing, Paragus whacked his son in the back of his head. "OWWww!! What was that for?!?" "Look before you leap. There are guards galore down there and you planned on flying to the ship and them actually not noticing?" "Oh.. Yeah.... I'll walk then. Are you coming?" "... Sigh .. I suppose .. Can't have my only son getting himself killed going off alone." Paragus smirked at Brolly and Brolly sent it back. They set off towards the ship, trying to stay out of sight.

*~*~*

Bulma and Bra woke up in chains. They were in a cold metallic room much like the last 'holding room' they were in. It was dark like the last one but there seemed to be no walls anywhere near them. A strong stench filled the room- decaying flesh and even cooked flesh. And worst of all, they were separated. They were in separate parts of the 'special' dungeon, waiting to be dealt with. There were sounds of people near them... People being beaten and interrogated... People screaming for mercy and pleading innocent... People.. Breaking down a wall?? What the heck had they just heard?? Guards all around them rushed towards the sound. They could each see a distant light far, far away where the sound initiated from. Screams for help engulfed the room.



*~*~*

"Brolly!!! Do you want them ALL to know we're here!?!" Paragus flung another guard to the rubble filled ground as ten more flew at him. Ignoring his father's comment, Brolly looked around at what he could see of the poorly lit room and realized it'd take forever for them to search together. "Dad, lets split up!" He used his ki to make a make shift night light ball like the other guys had done before. Paragus did the same and made his way through the room fighting gauds and looking at hundreds of tortured faces for his newfound 'pals'. ~This could take forever...~ They simultaneously thought.

*~*~*

Meanwhile...

~Ugh.. My head feels like it was dripped in gasoline, set on fire, decapitated, used as a pinata, and thrown into the ocean where sharks then proceeded to gnaw on it.... Kakarotto is still out cold... Wait.. Where am I??~ Vegeta looked at his surroundings. He was in a tiny electrically barred prison cell, across from Kakarotto, and both were surrounded by two cells on each side, making a total of ten cells in two rows of five. Each Prisoner had his own cell and had only enough room to sit down Indian style, stand, or be fried by the high voltage bars. Needless to say, it wasn't the Marriot's Grand Suite.

Their cubicles were not the only thing in the huge section of the ship. The dungeon was divided into four main sections separated by locked walls. Their containments were in the back right and there was another set like theirs across the walkway and towards the door (the front left section). In the other two compartments, one across from them and one below them, there were torture weapons and all sorts of inventions that could drive any man insane after a short time of using it.

"Kakarotto... KAKAROTTO!! WAKE UP!" "Mmmm... I dun wanna go to school, Chi chi!! I have to save the world..." Goku was sitting Indian style, with his head drooped down, snoring and talking in his sleep. "... KAKAROTTO!!! CHI CHI COOKED YOU DINNER!! GET UP OR I'LL EAT IT ALL!!!" Vegeta smirked as Goku's head shot straight up and he looked around, sniffing for the direction of the aforementioned food like a police dog sniffing out drugs.

Turning finally to Vegeta's direction, he gave Vegeta his cheesy grin and waved. "Oh, hey Vegeta! ...Where are we??.. I thought we were with Trunks.." "We were, Kakarotto.. Till some creature knocked us out.. I don't know what happened to Trunks.." Vegeta looked down and clenched his fists. "Don't touch that bar, Kakarotto." Goku stopped his hand only centimeters away from the high voltage barricade and looked over at his friend. "Why not?.." "Kakarotto, living in the forest and all, I understand you don't have much technology, but you should KNOW electricity when you see it!! You're such a hillbilly..." Vegeta turned away from Goku and studied the design of the electric bars. "Kakarotto.. I have an Idea.." Goku looked at Vegeta with that classical clueless look on his face.

*~*~*

"... DAMN IT!!! ..." Trunks dropped to the ground, already tired. He had been firing ki blasts at the metallic walls for a half hour now. Apparently, the metal on the wall is very, very strong... "Forget it.. I'll just go out the hole dad made and make a new one somewhere else!!" Just as he said that, the section of the wall in front of him seemed to melt and attach itself onto the walls to make an open doorway. "........." he stared in shocked wonder at the new doors and cautiously started out in search for his family and Goku.

*~*~*

"Bra!! BRAAA!!!" Brolly was starting to really get worried. He'd never seen such ugly and deformed people in his life.. All these prisoners were so badly tortured. "BRAA-... BRA!!!" He layed eyes on her finally and rushed to her side. She was chained to an upright table like thing but she was luckily unharmed. "BROLLY!! Oh thank god you're here!!.. Where is father? Where are they all!?!" He had untied her by now. "They went in before me and my father because we could not hide our power.. But they hadn't come back in a long time so we went in to find you all.... Where is your mother??"

Bra looked as if she would cry. "I-..I don't know! We were together-.. And there were these gauds and men that mama knew!! And- And-.. Then I woke up here!!" Brolly instinctively wrapped his arms around her small body and let her soak his gi with tears. "Shhh.. I'm sure my father has found her by now.." ~I hope.. Guess I shouldn't have made that promise..~ Bra looked up at him, held him tightly, smiled, and wiped her tears. "Lets go look for them." he quickly let go and turned around, blushing.

*~*~*

~The smell of this place is worse than on the battle grounds.. Of course, this is inside.. Brolly.. I hope you've had better luck than me.. This is almost impossible.~ "Hmm?.. Bulma??" "PARAGUS!! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!" Paragus winced at the screeching. Unwillingly, he broke the chains on her ankles and wrists. "Where is everyone else??" Bulma rubbed her wrists sympathetically. "I do not know.. Come.. Lets find my son. Hopefully, he has found someone by now."

"W-.. Wait!! Where is Bra?? She was just with me before I was brought here.. BRAAAAA-MPHH!!" she was interrupted as Paragus gagged her with his hand. He whispered harshly "Quiet, woman!! Are you trying to help them locate us!?!?" ~Woman.. He called me woman.. Vegeta...~ "Are you listening to me!?!?!?" "Huh!?.. Oh.. Yeah, sorry. Lets go find my family.." "OUR families!" "Y-Yeah.."

*~*~*

"Kakarotto! Can your arm fit through the bars between us?" "Ummm.. Yep. They sure can.. Why?" Goku seemed totally lost by now. "Sigh.. Isn't it obvious yet, Kakarotto? Instantaneous Movement (Instant transmission). Now, grab hold of my shoulder and bring us over to that poor unsuspecting guard they left to watch us." "Ooohhh! Why didn't I think of that?" And with that, they were out... So was the guard.

Vegeta started to walk out, past the torture chambers and to the doors leading to the main walkway that circled the huge dark room they had previously been in with Trunks. Goku ran to catch up with Vegeta. "Vegeta, wait up!" "Kakarotto, I continue on without you. You constantly get me into trouble. I'm going to find my family." Goku stood, watching Vegeta's retreating back, and tried to think of a way to change his mind but could not. "FINE! Sheesh.. I'll find them all by myself!!" he stuck his tongue out as Vegeta turned the walked out the doors and turned the corner.

*~*~*

Vegeta had gotten far enough from Goku that he decided to stop running. He did NOT want his rival to be anywhere around when he found his family and the person(s) who split them up. He hated having to hide his emotions because of people being in his business. "Ouff- ... WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DO-" "Dad!? DAD!!" Trunks had ran right into his father. "T- Trunks.. What happened?? What knocked us out??" Vegeta, as a father, unconsciously looked for any signs of physical pain in his son.

"I- I don't know.. I waited for it to attack me, too.. But nothing happened.. after a while, the lights turned on. Then, I spent the next half hour or so trying to blast my way out. Finally, the wall made its own door, oddly enough.." Vegeta looked at him like he had lost it. "S-serious!! I'll even show you!!" "No time! We must find Bulma and your sister." Trunks looked around Vegeta. "Dad, where is Goku? Was he not brought to the same place you were??" "I left him to search on his own." Vegeta continued walking as Trunks joined him in his quest. ~I know I heard a blast coming from this direction before I woke Kakarotto...~

*~*~*

Goku had started to walk the opposite direction Vegeta had. Little did he know, the doors he was approaching would lead him to doom and destruction. He entered, not knowing what to expect.. It was a fairly darkened room.. Any light came from dim torches in the middle of the room spaced twenty feet or so. Also, there was a tiny speck of bright white light at the far, far end of the room... That was the hole Brolly had made. He unknowingly had entered the same room Bulma, Paragus, Brolly, and Bra were in. Now if he could only find them...

After walking about five minutes in the room of death, Goku was about ready to throw up. He wanted to help all these people so badly but he knew it could be too late for his friends if he stopped to help them all. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light that appeared to be a Ki attack of some sort.. As he ran to the source, he heard screams of men fighting. He recognized one of the voices as...

*~*~*

---

(A/N:) MWAHAHAHAAAAaaaaaaa!!!! CLIFF HANGER ONCE AGAIN!!! XD Wow.. I've been evil lately.. Lots of cliffhangers in all my stories.. Well, I FINALLY got it up, right?? lol Hope it was what you all have been waiting for!! ~ I better stop typing and post or they'll lynch me @_@; ~ Well, now that you've all read, you have no excuse to not review!! Next up on my updating list should be HDHD and then my NEW never before done story (which I already have mostly done...) will premiere! ^_^ Exciting times ahead.. And for all you "Hey Shinlong..." readers, I know I still owe you all a review special but you will get it when I get to updating that story. ^_^() Sorry y'all. REVIEW!! ^_^ ... Please? ;_; *sniff* ;-; lol!

LOVE & PEACE!!

-VTL aka VTL77

Sephi77@hotmail.com

---

~~~~~

ADVERTIZEMENT!!!! ^^

Again, I credit this idea to Burenda. Read her stories!! They are extremely good!! ^^

Speaking of Burenda, I am advertising one of her stories again. A Father's Pride. She recently posted this one shot that goes off of 'Wish for the Past' but you do NOT have to be familiar with it to understand it. This story I've chosen to advertize is a tale of Vegeta's childhood and his relationship with his father. This is EXACTLY how I see Vegeta's father.. Not evil or extremely cruel.. More like loving and just annoyed at hell because his son gets into SO much trouble. This story tells why Vegeta gets into trouble. WARNING: small amount of child abuse/punishment... And a REAL TEAR JERKER! I was crying while I read this and it takes a bit to make me cry. Crying of sweet happiness that is.. lol! Any who, read it!!! Its very good, I promise!!

A Father's Pride:

storyid=1787361

Also, her main story this comes from (and is VERY, VERY popular on FF.net) is at this site:

storyid=678451

~~~~~