Chapter 57: Separation
As the doors closed the first thing I noticed was how dark it was inside. I only saw one torch inside the entire open hall, and this hall made the Capsule Corporation look small. The ceiling was so high up we couldn't see it.
"So, which way do we go, fearless leader?" Goku directed his question to me. That statement shocked me.
"I'm not a leader, Goku, and I am anything but fearless. That job is yours, and it always has been." I said, sounding a little more spiteful than I meant to be.
"What do you mean by that?" Goku asked.
"Just an old feeling I've kept in too long. I explained it to you five years ago, remember?"
"Oh, yeah."
"That still isn't getting us anywhere. Which way, Katie?" Vegeta asked.
I looked ahead and saw four different paths. I concentrated, placing my hand in front of the path farthest to the left. I slowly crossed my hand to each path and decided on the third from the left.
"That one." I pointed and started toward it, but then the room shook.
"What's that?" Goku called. Small bits of rocks started to fall from the ceiling. My SG went off.
"Look out!" large slabs of stone fell from the ceiling, cutting me off from the rest of the group. I couldn't see the top, but then another wall fell to my right. The only way to go was ahead.
"Guys! Can you hear me?" I called, but didn't hear any answer. "God, please no."
"Goku, Vegeta, Mirai, can any of you hear me?"
"Katie, are you alright?" Goku replied first.
"I can hear you." Mirai replied.
"I'm okay." I replied, but Vegeta hadn't responded, and that wasn't a good sign, "Vegeta?"
"Damn, one of these blasted walls crushed my leg."
"Guys, calm down. I can hear each of you, but you can't hear each other. Wait until I call to each of you, okay?"
"Okay." All three basically said.
"Vegeta, where are you?"
"I'm on the path farthest to the right."
"Good, you're right next to me. How bad is you leg?" I asked.
"It's buried under some rocks, and I can't lift them by myself in this condition."
"Damn. Okay, wait for me. I'll try to get to you as soon as I can."
"Take your time." Vegeta replied sarcastically.
"Goku, where are you?"
"The second path from the left." He responded.
"So you're on my direct left. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, but what do we do?"
"I'm working on it. I'll contact Mirai and get back to you. Vegeta's been hurt, so we need to act fast."
"Right."
"Mirai, are you okay?" I called mentally.
"Yeah, but what should I do?"
"Wait there. I'm going to try to find you guys."
"By yourself? That's crazy!" Mirai yelled.
"If we all leave then we'll all get lost. I'll figure something out."
"Be careful."
I started on the wall to my right, where Vegeta was hopefully all right. I started to hit the wall with all my strength, but I couldn't crack it.
Should I try to transform? If I do I can help Vegeta, but this thing will be able to read my Ki. If I don't Vegeta could be in real trouble.
I decided to transform to SSJ and that way my power would be hidden some. I hit the wall several times and it finally broke apart.
"Vegeta?"
"Over here." I broke some more of the wall and climbed through. Vegeta was on the other side of the narrow path and his right leg was caught under some rubble.
I ran over and started moving some rocks. Vegeta cried out when the rocks shifted.
"Sorry."
"Damn this place! I haven't even had the chance to fight yet and I'm already down."
"No problems, I have Zinzu beans in a capsule."
"Good idea. We may need more of those later." Vegeta didn't look so good, so I hurried up with my work. It would be useless to give Vegeta a Zinzu bean if his leg was still buried. I powered down so I could save my energy.
A few minutes later I got his leg free and gave him a Zinzu bean.
"Any other warrior would have left a fallen comrade behind."
"Would you have preferred to stay here? I could, you know. Come on, let's get to the others." But right as I turned to the hole in the wall more slabs fell, blocking that path.
"Someone's doing this on purpose." Vegeta snarled.
"Mirai, Goku, I got Vegeta. But circumstances have made it so I can't get to you. Go on onto your paths and be careful. We'll catch up at the end."
So Vegeta and I started down the path. It was really dark, and I was staring to feel scared. It was so dark, like the Darkness I had been running from all this time.
If the Darkness scares me this much, how bad will its master be?
Vegeta placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Calm down." It was simple, but it helped.
I focused my eyes so I could see better in the dark, and that really helped. I had never really used this ability yet, so I was surprised to see the room grow so bright.
"Vegeta, how do you think the others are doing?"
"Knowing Kakorot, he's probably whining about being hungry." Vegeta smirked, and I laughed.
"That sounds like Goku. Not like you at all."
"And Mirai No Trunks is probably worried about you as much as you're worried about him."
"I've loved him since I first saw him on the show back home."
"And how did you feel about the others?"
"I thought Goku was a Baka, though loveable. You were a true warrior. The first episode I saw of Dragonball Z, you were fighting Zarbon, and you beat him. I thought you were an amazing warrior. As I continued to watch the series I grew fascinated by you. Then the re-runs began and I saw your humiliating defeat by Goku's hands. It's hard to believe, but I was cheering for you, not Goku. That made it much harder when I had to fight you, but I did what needed to be done. I love and respect Goku like a father, but I respect you as the warrior you are. You should have become a Super Sayjin before Goku and you should have gotten to rule Planet Vegeta. There I go rambling again." I gave a nervous laugh.
"Kakorot has my respect as well, but you have so much more. You are different than other warriors."
"It must be hard accepting that Goku is stronger than you. Well, at least for now." I smirked.
"You never mentioned you first feelings for Mirai."
"You are asking me how I feel about him?" I asked, surprised.
"I am."
"Well, the first time I saw him I automatically knew he had to be your son. There was something about his eyes, like he had to grow up too fast. Just like you because of Frieza. And then he kept staring at you like he had met someone from a legend. I was shocked to see that you and Bulma were going to get together, but as I watched the show I realized it was true. It was just as shocking when it really happened."
"You're straying off subject." Vegeta said as we turned the corner.
"I am, aren't I? Okay, well, I guess I loved him even then. He was a cartoon character, but I didn't care. He was like me somehow."
"I see. You have never asked me about my time working for Frieza."
"I thought if you wanted to talk, you would. Do you?" I asked. I knew it would be bad if he did tell me, but he needs to tell someone eventually. I thought he might have told Bulma by now, but I don't think he has or he wouldn't have brought it up now.
"We may never make it out of here, and you are the only one who could understand. Bulma would just cry for me and make me feel awkward."
"I'm ready to listen if you're ready to talk."
"I was taken from my home when I was eight. Soon after that Frieza blew up Planet Vegeta. I didn't know for sure, but I guessed that was what he did. Nappa and Raditz were the only Sayjins left, and I was their leader, though I was younger than them by ten years. Frieza constantly beat me for the next two years, wanting me to grow stronger. I did, and soon he was giving me suicide missions and I came back after each one. Then he'd let me heal and beat me near death, sometimes he'd let me go back to the healing tanks, and sometimes he wouldn't.
"I attempted to escape many times, and each time I was caught. Frieza would beat me near death and leave me in my room to suffer. My room, a hellhole that could barely be called a rat's nest. A cell with a window to the outside space. Many times I would stare out that window and contemplate suicide. Each time the thought of revenge for my fallen race and for myself against Frieza would push those thoughts aside. Nappa and Raditz needed a leader to look up to, and I wouldn't let that be Frieza.
"Finally when I reached eighteen Frieza decided to show me he was top dog. He started raping me. I'd get sick from it and he'd grow mad and make me eat my own vomit."
By this time we both had tears in our eyes. I knew his life had been bad, but I could have never imagined how bad it really was. I quickly wiped the tears away, knowing that he would stop if he saw me crying. That was why he wouldn't tell anyone else.
"Nappa and Raditz tried to care for me the best they could, but Zarbon or Dodoria would put them in their place. When I thought I was strong enough I tried to fight Frieza. When I did that, he'd hold me down and make me drink until I passed out. I never found out exactly what that stuff was, but I would wake up the next morning feeling dirty and berated.
"I turned to killing to relieve my own pain, and soon I was addicted to murder and carnage. I blew up homes and laughed at the children when they cried. It was then that I realized I was becoming just like Frieza. I couldn't let myself do that, not ever.
"Finally I got a plan. I would play nice and not fight Frieza until the time was right. I would act gracious to him and act like I respected him. I told Nappa and Raditz and they played along with me."
He grew silent as we walked down the corridors.
"Vegeta, I never knew. I knew it had to be bad, but I couldn't guess at how bad it really was."
"Truth is sometimes more sickening and stranger than fiction."
"But… if Raditz and Nappa had meant so much to you then, why did you kill Nappa?"
"You were the one to say my reasoning when I did so."
"I was only guessing."
"If both of us returned to Frieza beaten, we'd both be tortured. I couldn't let that happen to… my best friend. I gave him an honorable and quick death to spare him."
"You thought you'd be defeated by Goku?"
"It was strange but… I thought I'd be beaten. By you."
"Me?"
"It was an odd feeling… I still can't comprehend it. Now I feel… guilty for killing Nappa."
"Greek mythology says that the dead can hear our thoughts, and I believe that to be true. I'm sure he knows."
"Well, enough of this talk. Something is ahead of us."
I turned back to the front and felt out for anything, and I was hit with a wall of dark Ki. Whatever it was, it was evil. I looked ahead but couldn't see anything. We both stopped, listening and waiting. My SG wasn't working, so I had no idea what was going to happen. I guessed the SG was overloaded and it shut off.
Suddenly a large black tentacle shot out and grabbed me by the throat.
"Katie!"
I struggled, but I couldn't fight it. I couldn't breathe at all, and my vision started to go fuzzy. I pounded on the arm, but it was futile. The more I struggled, the stronger it got. Soon I lost the strength to fight back, and my arms went limp.
Vegeta went SSJ, brightening up the hall and the tentacle disappeared. I fell to the floor, gasping for air and coughing.
"Whatever that was… it nearly cut through my windpipe." Vegeta helped me to my feet.
"Are you all right?"
"I think so." I replied, rubbing my neck.
"What happened? What was that?"
"I think I know." I powered up to SSJ then, "The Darkness. The light from our Ki will keep it away."
"How do you know that for sure?"
"I just do. In one of my dreams the Darkness attacked me, and when I transformed it stayed away."
"Do you think Kakorot and Mirai have been attacked by the Darkness?"
"Most likely, but they'll transform and be okay. It was a good thing you were here."
It was a good thing, or the Angel Sayjin would be a dead Sayjin.
"Lets get going, we have to make sure the others are all right."
So much for our moment of insight.
