Chapter Six: Flight of Freedom
The ship was impossibly huge, Celia soon found out as she searched for Vegeta, and the Saiyan Prince was impossibly fast. More than once she found herself down a hallway she had already ventured down, and more than once she found herself in a room that she knew Vegeta wouldn't be in. Finally when she had begun to pant, she sat down and started to think.
If something as humiliating as that had happened to her, she would want some way to vent her anger, but she highly doubted that Vegeta would go off and pout. So what would he do?
The training room!
Felling slightly in better spirits, Celia quickly got to her feet and started to run, her feet padding silently in the deserted hall. She needed a sign or something, something with words and arrows, something that would lead her to her destination. She found just that and her heart sank. The words were nothing more than interesting looking shapes and scribbles to her.
Furrowing her brow in thought, she suddenly remembered a question she'd asked Vegeta on their way to the mess hall.
"How do you know how to speak my language?" She'd asked timidly, wanting to break the unnerving silence between them.
"My scouter programmed it into my head. If I wanted it to, it could decipher foreign symbols, codes, languages, just about anything. It acts as an instant translator."
Now she knew. On her way to the sign she'd passed an entire room full of scouters. Blue scoters, red scouters, yellow scouters, green scouters, big scouters little scouters, a whole shit load of scouters. She smiled. She needed a scouter.
The training room was empty of any other occupants besides the Saiyan Prince. It reminded Celia of the huge coliseums she'd seen back home. It was dome shaped, with gravity simulators lining the far wall and a nice assortment of exercise equipment scattered around at random places. One gravity simulator seemed out of place amongst the others as it hummed monotonously, red caution lights flashing, creating an eerie effect in the otherwise pitch black room. Curious, Celia tiptoed closer to the simulators viewing window where she wasn't surprised to find the Saiyan she'd been searching tirelessly for. Her eyes wide with wonder, she settled her arms on the window ledge and proceeded to watch as he performed a graceful kata, his face set in a stern look of pure determination. Although she knew there were emotions raging inside him, her naïve mind couldn't grasp how intense these emotions really were.
The hate he felt for Frieza was so strong that he was nearly vibrating in rage as he throttled an invisible worrier to within an inch of his pathetic life. He was familiar with this specific warrior, having spared with him on numerous occasions. The fighters face held many forms, but the one Vegeta saw most often was that of a stock white face with evil glowing red eyes bulging out from their sockets and a mocking smile that only infuriated him more. That face he knew all to well.
A wave of agony descended over his empty belly and he found himself crashing to the floor of the gravity room before he had time to tense up against the impact. His muscles screamed from the pressure of the extra gs as he began the laborious process of crawling toward the 'off' switch, his eyes narrowed as he focused solely on his goal.
He didn't make it.
He was a mere foot away when the increased on its own, resulting in the Saiyan's anguished screams echoing off the simulators wall as the pressure started to literally crush him.
Outside, Celia watched helplessly, regret settling in her stomach as Vegeta started to scream. She knew she shouldn't have touched it! She should have let him get to the control panel. At least he knew what buttons did what. She had accidentally turned the gravity up and now she didn't know what to do. Turning back to the alien panel, she studied it in a slight panic, before realizing that if the button she had just pressed meant 'up' then the button below it had to mean-
She wasted no time in pressing the life saving button and turning back to the viewing window was relived to see Vegeta's tense form relax as the pressure finally started to dissipate into nothing.
Blinking in confusion, Vegeta tried to make sense of what had just happened. Turning painfully towards the viewing window his questions were answered when he saw Celia's smiling face framed in that glorious blue mane of thick curls. Wrenching his eyes from her beauty, he pulled himself into a sitting position with a tiny gasp of pain that was audible only to his ears, as Celia came running in, her face beaming. Her features quickly darkened when Vegeta doubled over and began to cough, his arms cradling his bruised ribs. Celia knelt down beside him, but kept her distance. She was still slightly wary of him.
"Oh God, Vegeta I'm so sorry! I didn't know what button to press and I couldn't read the writing, and you just looked like you were in so much pain that I had to do something I mean I couldn't just leave you here to die and-"
"Would you please shut the fuck up?" Vegeta ground out between pained coughs. "Good God! I already have a damn headache and all you want to do is run your fucking mou-"
He broke off coughing and Celia grimaced when a small bit of crimson splashed to the once clean floor. "You need to get to the medical bay."
"No! I have had enough of them for today. And besides this is only a minor break, nothing that won't heal on its own." He got slowly to his feet before stumbling over to the door where he leaned against the frame, his breath coming in quick shallow gasps. Sweat was pouring down his face and Celia concern grew when he started coughing again.
"You haven't eaten in- well... I don't know how long but if you try to let it heal on it's own it might not heal." She drew in a deep shuddering sigh as he turned to look at her, his eyes wide in surprise. "Without the food to power your body, it might not have the energy to heal the wounds. You could bleed to death from the inside or drown in your own blood or-"
"How do you know all this?" he asked.
She lowered her eyes as they started to fill with tears. "I- I was training to become a doctor back home." She sniffed. "I guess that will never happen now..."
Vegeta looked on impassively as she crumpled to the floor and wept with the loss of her world. "Actually you could become a doctor." He said and her head snapped up so fast he swore it almost fell off her shoulders.
"Here?" She said sneering. "I don't want to have to treat a bunch of disgusting aliens who will only cat call me while I'm trying to work! They won't appreciate me one bit because I'm female!"
Vegeta's face grew cold. "I'm one of those aliens." He said and she shook her head.
"No. If you were really one of those aliens you would have taken what you wanted from me and left me for dead." She said staring into his eyes. "You're different. You helped me when no one else would."
"Well I'm trying to help you now. I could talk to Frieza about it." When she looked apprehensive he continued. "Well it's better than being his little whore isn't it?"
He realized he'd said the wrong thing when she started to sob again only gracing him with hateful glares once in a while. He sighed. This was going to be difficult.
They both jumped when the training room doors flew open and in strode Dodoria his eyes narrowed at the woman on the floor. "Frieza sent for you over an hour ago you little bitch. He wants some company."
Celia gave Vegeta one last frightened look, who felt just as helpless as her, before she was dragged from the room kicking and shrieking like a banshee.
"Where was she?" the tyrant purred as he stared down at the sobbing princess at his feet.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you-"
"Where was she Dodoria?" Frieza hissed, the first tendrils of annoyance gripping him.
"She- she was with Vegeta."
Frieza looked at him curiously. "Were they doing anything?"
"Actually Lord Frieza they seemed to be having a civil conversation."
Frowning Frieza said "I didn't know that monkey was capable of intelligent speech." And laughed at his own joke, while Dodoria chortled stupidly behind him. "Tell me my dear what were you talking to him about?" he said addressing Celia.
When she didn't answer she received a brutal slap that sent her flying to the other side of the room. "Leave Dodoria! I have ways to make her talk."
Vegeta was actually disappointed when Dodoria took Celia away. Having no one else to converse with, he made his way to the mess hall to wait outside the door for Raditz and Nappa to finish stuffing their faces so they could go spar. Every other person in that damn mess hall had left before the two Saiyans finally emerged but when Vegeta saw the bundles in their arms he instantly knew why they had waited. Nodding for them to follow him, Vegeta led them to the same boiler room he had taken Celia earlier that day. Safely inside, the larger Saiyans set down the bundles they had been carrying and Vegeta grinned with anticipation.
Food.
Sitting before his prize, Vegeta started to plow through the generous helpings his comrades had managed to sneak out, relishing each bite like it would be his last. 'And in a way it could be', he thought darkly. Nappa and Raditz had gone off somewhere in the large room to spar and leave Vegeta in peace.
He could literally feel his depleted system returning to normal. Starving cells replaced their nutrients and Vegeta felt his strength returning with a vengeance. He would be back to training at his best in no time.
Deciding to catch up on lost training time, Vegeta stayed long after everyone had left, receiving the solitude he craved. He practiced his katas some more before moving on to basic martial arts, and after destroying every punching bag in the entire training room, moved back to the gravity simulator where he stayed. After one of his longer katas, he returned to the floor where he sat to catch his breath. Looking around he was startled to see Celia's pale face staring at him from outside the simulator. Déjà vu.
Frowning, he got up from his sitting position and hobbled painfully over to the door, where he opened it before approaching Celia who never even looked at him. She kept her lifeless eyes on the spot that Vegeta had been sitting in before. He came up beside her.
"Did you get something to eat?" She asked vacantly.
He nodded, guilt starting to settle in the pit of his stomach. "Did you?" A dumb question.
She shook her head 'no' and he turned his eyes away from her. He knew what had happened, but he didn't know what he could possibly do to help and he was completely inexperienced in that area of tenderness. Then he had an idea.
"Come here. I want to show you something."
She followed him obediently to the middle of the domed room, keeping her eyes low. When she caught up with him he smiled. "Would you like to experience flight?"
Before she could answer, he grabbed her around the waist from behind and took to the air, slowly at first but when she spread her arms while laughing in delight he went faster, dodging rafters and support beams. After a while he started to laugh too, joining in on her joy, having the time of his life. He was happy.
A while later her laughter turned to a contented smile. She looked over her shoulder at Vegeta who was also smiling and whispered two simple words.
"Thank you."
Wow! I loved writing that chapter! Sorry it took so long but I had trouble thinking up how they would get together. Then I was listening to a song called "Running Blind" by Godsmack and I heard a line in there that set the whole message for this chappie! The line was:
'I thought if I showed you I could fly
Wouldn't need anyone by my side'
See what I mean? It was perfect! Thanx, Godsmack for giving me that idea!
Oh! And thanx to all the peoples who reviewed! You guys are awesome and a special thanx to Josh who advertised for me! you guys kick ass!
The ship was impossibly huge, Celia soon found out as she searched for Vegeta, and the Saiyan Prince was impossibly fast. More than once she found herself down a hallway she had already ventured down, and more than once she found herself in a room that she knew Vegeta wouldn't be in. Finally when she had begun to pant, she sat down and started to think.
If something as humiliating as that had happened to her, she would want some way to vent her anger, but she highly doubted that Vegeta would go off and pout. So what would he do?
The training room!
Felling slightly in better spirits, Celia quickly got to her feet and started to run, her feet padding silently in the deserted hall. She needed a sign or something, something with words and arrows, something that would lead her to her destination. She found just that and her heart sank. The words were nothing more than interesting looking shapes and scribbles to her.
Furrowing her brow in thought, she suddenly remembered a question she'd asked Vegeta on their way to the mess hall.
"How do you know how to speak my language?" She'd asked timidly, wanting to break the unnerving silence between them.
"My scouter programmed it into my head. If I wanted it to, it could decipher foreign symbols, codes, languages, just about anything. It acts as an instant translator."
Now she knew. On her way to the sign she'd passed an entire room full of scouters. Blue scoters, red scouters, yellow scouters, green scouters, big scouters little scouters, a whole shit load of scouters. She smiled. She needed a scouter.
The training room was empty of any other occupants besides the Saiyan Prince. It reminded Celia of the huge coliseums she'd seen back home. It was dome shaped, with gravity simulators lining the far wall and a nice assortment of exercise equipment scattered around at random places. One gravity simulator seemed out of place amongst the others as it hummed monotonously, red caution lights flashing, creating an eerie effect in the otherwise pitch black room. Curious, Celia tiptoed closer to the simulators viewing window where she wasn't surprised to find the Saiyan she'd been searching tirelessly for. Her eyes wide with wonder, she settled her arms on the window ledge and proceeded to watch as he performed a graceful kata, his face set in a stern look of pure determination. Although she knew there were emotions raging inside him, her naïve mind couldn't grasp how intense these emotions really were.
The hate he felt for Frieza was so strong that he was nearly vibrating in rage as he throttled an invisible worrier to within an inch of his pathetic life. He was familiar with this specific warrior, having spared with him on numerous occasions. The fighters face held many forms, but the one Vegeta saw most often was that of a stock white face with evil glowing red eyes bulging out from their sockets and a mocking smile that only infuriated him more. That face he knew all to well.
A wave of agony descended over his empty belly and he found himself crashing to the floor of the gravity room before he had time to tense up against the impact. His muscles screamed from the pressure of the extra gs as he began the laborious process of crawling toward the 'off' switch, his eyes narrowed as he focused solely on his goal.
He didn't make it.
He was a mere foot away when the increased on its own, resulting in the Saiyan's anguished screams echoing off the simulators wall as the pressure started to literally crush him.
Outside, Celia watched helplessly, regret settling in her stomach as Vegeta started to scream. She knew she shouldn't have touched it! She should have let him get to the control panel. At least he knew what buttons did what. She had accidentally turned the gravity up and now she didn't know what to do. Turning back to the alien panel, she studied it in a slight panic, before realizing that if the button she had just pressed meant 'up' then the button below it had to mean-
She wasted no time in pressing the life saving button and turning back to the viewing window was relived to see Vegeta's tense form relax as the pressure finally started to dissipate into nothing.
Blinking in confusion, Vegeta tried to make sense of what had just happened. Turning painfully towards the viewing window his questions were answered when he saw Celia's smiling face framed in that glorious blue mane of thick curls. Wrenching his eyes from her beauty, he pulled himself into a sitting position with a tiny gasp of pain that was audible only to his ears, as Celia came running in, her face beaming. Her features quickly darkened when Vegeta doubled over and began to cough, his arms cradling his bruised ribs. Celia knelt down beside him, but kept her distance. She was still slightly wary of him.
"Oh God, Vegeta I'm so sorry! I didn't know what button to press and I couldn't read the writing, and you just looked like you were in so much pain that I had to do something I mean I couldn't just leave you here to die and-"
"Would you please shut the fuck up?" Vegeta ground out between pained coughs. "Good God! I already have a damn headache and all you want to do is run your fucking mou-"
He broke off coughing and Celia grimaced when a small bit of crimson splashed to the once clean floor. "You need to get to the medical bay."
"No! I have had enough of them for today. And besides this is only a minor break, nothing that won't heal on its own." He got slowly to his feet before stumbling over to the door where he leaned against the frame, his breath coming in quick shallow gasps. Sweat was pouring down his face and Celia concern grew when he started coughing again.
"You haven't eaten in- well... I don't know how long but if you try to let it heal on it's own it might not heal." She drew in a deep shuddering sigh as he turned to look at her, his eyes wide in surprise. "Without the food to power your body, it might not have the energy to heal the wounds. You could bleed to death from the inside or drown in your own blood or-"
"How do you know all this?" he asked.
She lowered her eyes as they started to fill with tears. "I- I was training to become a doctor back home." She sniffed. "I guess that will never happen now..."
Vegeta looked on impassively as she crumpled to the floor and wept with the loss of her world. "Actually you could become a doctor." He said and her head snapped up so fast he swore it almost fell off her shoulders.
"Here?" She said sneering. "I don't want to have to treat a bunch of disgusting aliens who will only cat call me while I'm trying to work! They won't appreciate me one bit because I'm female!"
Vegeta's face grew cold. "I'm one of those aliens." He said and she shook her head.
"No. If you were really one of those aliens you would have taken what you wanted from me and left me for dead." She said staring into his eyes. "You're different. You helped me when no one else would."
"Well I'm trying to help you now. I could talk to Frieza about it." When she looked apprehensive he continued. "Well it's better than being his little whore isn't it?"
He realized he'd said the wrong thing when she started to sob again only gracing him with hateful glares once in a while. He sighed. This was going to be difficult.
They both jumped when the training room doors flew open and in strode Dodoria his eyes narrowed at the woman on the floor. "Frieza sent for you over an hour ago you little bitch. He wants some company."
Celia gave Vegeta one last frightened look, who felt just as helpless as her, before she was dragged from the room kicking and shrieking like a banshee.
"Where was she?" the tyrant purred as he stared down at the sobbing princess at his feet.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you-"
"Where was she Dodoria?" Frieza hissed, the first tendrils of annoyance gripping him.
"She- she was with Vegeta."
Frieza looked at him curiously. "Were they doing anything?"
"Actually Lord Frieza they seemed to be having a civil conversation."
Frowning Frieza said "I didn't know that monkey was capable of intelligent speech." And laughed at his own joke, while Dodoria chortled stupidly behind him. "Tell me my dear what were you talking to him about?" he said addressing Celia.
When she didn't answer she received a brutal slap that sent her flying to the other side of the room. "Leave Dodoria! I have ways to make her talk."
Vegeta was actually disappointed when Dodoria took Celia away. Having no one else to converse with, he made his way to the mess hall to wait outside the door for Raditz and Nappa to finish stuffing their faces so they could go spar. Every other person in that damn mess hall had left before the two Saiyans finally emerged but when Vegeta saw the bundles in their arms he instantly knew why they had waited. Nodding for them to follow him, Vegeta led them to the same boiler room he had taken Celia earlier that day. Safely inside, the larger Saiyans set down the bundles they had been carrying and Vegeta grinned with anticipation.
Food.
Sitting before his prize, Vegeta started to plow through the generous helpings his comrades had managed to sneak out, relishing each bite like it would be his last. 'And in a way it could be', he thought darkly. Nappa and Raditz had gone off somewhere in the large room to spar and leave Vegeta in peace.
He could literally feel his depleted system returning to normal. Starving cells replaced their nutrients and Vegeta felt his strength returning with a vengeance. He would be back to training at his best in no time.
Deciding to catch up on lost training time, Vegeta stayed long after everyone had left, receiving the solitude he craved. He practiced his katas some more before moving on to basic martial arts, and after destroying every punching bag in the entire training room, moved back to the gravity simulator where he stayed. After one of his longer katas, he returned to the floor where he sat to catch his breath. Looking around he was startled to see Celia's pale face staring at him from outside the simulator. Déjà vu.
Frowning, he got up from his sitting position and hobbled painfully over to the door, where he opened it before approaching Celia who never even looked at him. She kept her lifeless eyes on the spot that Vegeta had been sitting in before. He came up beside her.
"Did you get something to eat?" She asked vacantly.
He nodded, guilt starting to settle in the pit of his stomach. "Did you?" A dumb question.
She shook her head 'no' and he turned his eyes away from her. He knew what had happened, but he didn't know what he could possibly do to help and he was completely inexperienced in that area of tenderness. Then he had an idea.
"Come here. I want to show you something."
She followed him obediently to the middle of the domed room, keeping her eyes low. When she caught up with him he smiled. "Would you like to experience flight?"
Before she could answer, he grabbed her around the waist from behind and took to the air, slowly at first but when she spread her arms while laughing in delight he went faster, dodging rafters and support beams. After a while he started to laugh too, joining in on her joy, having the time of his life. He was happy.
A while later her laughter turned to a contented smile. She looked over her shoulder at Vegeta who was also smiling and whispered two simple words.
"Thank you."
Wow! I loved writing that chapter! Sorry it took so long but I had trouble thinking up how they would get together. Then I was listening to a song called "Running Blind" by Godsmack and I heard a line in there that set the whole message for this chappie! The line was:
'I thought if I showed you I could fly
Wouldn't need anyone by my side'
See what I mean? It was perfect! Thanx, Godsmack for giving me that idea!
Oh! And thanx to all the peoples who reviewed! You guys are awesome and a special thanx to Josh who advertised for me! you guys kick ass!