DBZ-fan-JESS- Thanks! I hope you like this chapter!
Garowyn- I'm trying to be speedy in my updates! I'm glad you liked the chapter. Sorry, I forgot to proofread it before I posted, so there are a few mistakes here and there. I have a bad habit of doing that. Thanks for reviewing!
Kataan- Yep. Ol' Veggie head and Akira are best friends. Radditz will explain about it a bit in this chapter. ;-) Arthos is going to show up around chapter 9. I must say, I can't wait! I like how he comes onto the scene! I think you'll really like him in this story. Thanks!
Fujutsu- Thank you! Enjoy!Vegeta's first fan- Why, thank you! I pride myself on being evil! Mu hahahaha! Thanks for the review, too!
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Chapter 05: I Feel Your Pain
"That was the best meals I've had in months," Nappa announced patting his stomach with a pleased look on his face.
Goku nodded happily. "Same here!"
"We better get back to the ship," Turlis spoke up. "The others are probably wondering where we've been."
He stood up and tossed Brolly a small, semi-transparent card. "Go pay."
Brolly glanced over at the bar and spotted the waitresses. A grin spread over his face. "Sure!"
"That boy desperately needs to find a mate," Nappa joked, watching his little brother flirt with the two blonds behind the counter.
"Let's wait for him outside," Goku said. "It's too nice out to sit in here all day."
"Fine let's go," Turlis replied. "Who knows how long it'll take Brolly to finish paying."
The three of them walked outside the bar and stood near the entrance. The sun was getting low in the sky, casting pink and orange over the horizon, and the warm air was soothing. It was making Goku feel sleepy. He yawned.
"Man, I'm tired," he slurred.
Turlis nodded in the middle of yawning himself. "Me, too. Brolly better hurry up."
Nappa fought to suppress his yawn. "Knock it off. You're making me tired."
Finally, Brolly stumbled out of the bar and toward them. "Man, guys. I'm beat. Let's get going," he said.
They all moved along the streets toward the transport center, where they'd be able to get a ride back to the spaceport He buildings became more spread out the further from the center of town, and the crowds lessened. That's when it happened. Goku looked forward through his drooping eyes to see their way was blocked by several men. Nappa bumped into him from behind and growled.
"What's the hold up, Kak? Get moving!"
"You're not going anywhere, offworlders. You were badmouthing us back at the bar," their leader spoke up, emerging from the group.
Turlis frowned. Something wasn't right about all this, but his mind was so muddled that he couldn't think straight. "Look. Just let us by," he called out. "You don't know what you're messing with here," he warned. 'Besides,' he thought. 'Vegeta'll get majorly pissed if we get into another fight!'
The gang leader smirked cruelly. "What's the matter? You don't look so good." He moved forward quickly and punched Turlis in the face, sending the Saiyan backwards several feet. "Must've been something you ate!"
Brolly and Nappa glanced down at Turlis, and Goku clenched his fists. "You're going to pay for that," he growled.
(Change scene)
Radditz and Nor approached the others where they stood outside the ship. The two brothers looked angry. "We couldn't find them anywhere?" Radditz growled out.
Nor turned to Vegeta. "We checked all over town. Not a sign, and no one we asked has seen them."
Vegeta wasn't happy about this at all. "I have to meet with our next client in less than half an hour. I don't have time for this bullshit! They've gotten into another fight, no doubt," he went on furiously.
"We need to find them," Akira cut in.
"No! Whatever scrap they've gotten themselves into this time, they can just deal with it on their own, or they can wait for me to get our affairs settled." With that said, he stomped back into the ship.
Bulma placed her hands on her hips. "What a jerk! They could be dead," she insisted.
"There's no one on this rock strong enough to kill them," Nor assured her. "And if Vegeta thinks it'll teach them a lesson, then so be it."
"And I take it you agree with this," she demanded, turning to Akira.
The Saiyan woman frowned. "There's not much you can do to change Vegeta's mind once it's set on something." She glanced back up the ramp to where Vegeta had disappeared. "Look. He wants me to go meet this client with him, so why don't you go with my brothers and try to find something out. Question some of the locals in the bars."
Bulma gave her an incredulous look. "You want me to go into that filthy city with them?" She pointed to Nor and Radditz. "But I hardly know them!"
Akira gave her a hard look. "They're my brothers, and they're not going to let anything happen to you. You'll be perfectly fine. Besides, you can't stay on the ship alone, and there's no way Vegeta is going to let you go with us."
Radditz motions for Bulma to follow him and Nor through the crowded space port. "Stick close to us," he told her. "It's peak time, and the streets are packed."
Bulma frowned back at Akira once more before walking off with the two Saiyan men. She wasn't happy about being traded off like this, but at least she'd get away from Vegeta for an hour or two. That man just got on her nerves!
(Change scene)
As they walked into the bar, Bulma immediately scrunched up her nose at the fowl stench that assaulted her. "I've never been in such a disgusting place in all my life," she stated snobbishly, but then she remembered the Cold's dungeons. "Okay, maybe once."
Nor glared at her. "Keep your comments to yourself, princess."
Bulma glared back at the sarcastic tone he used when speaking her title. "Why?"
"Because you'll make people suspicious," Radditz cut in. "By the Gods, how was Akira able to stand you," he muttered, leading they way toward the bar.
She ignored his rude comment and followed him with a sour expression on her face. "Who'd Akira and Vegeta go to meet with?"
"A man named Gero," Radditz responded quietly. You never knew who was listening in.
Nor frowned. "I still say that name's familiar, but I can't remember where I've heard it."
The other two could tell he was sort of bothered by it. Bulma gulped a little. "Is he a bad guy? What does he want you guys to do?"
"Just a regular shipping job. Nothing special about it," Radditz cut back in.
"Except the price," Nor interjected.
Radditz half smiled. "Yeah. 50,000 credits. Definitely something priceless or illegal."
"50,000!" Bulma accidentally said a little too loudly.
Nor smacked his hand over her mouth and glared at her, and Radditz looked around cautiously. "What the hell is a matter with you?" Nor demanded.
Bulma pushed his hand away. "I'm sorry. It just slipped out. I won't do it again," she insisted, taking a seat at the bar. She was very glad no one had overheard her.
The two brothers took a seat on either side of her, and the trio waited patiently for one of the waitresses to come over to them.
(Change scene)
Vegeta slammed down the off button on the com-board and glared out the window. "If there wasn't so much damn money involved with this, I'd end the deal right now!"
Akira sat next to him and sighed. "There weren't any other jobs around, and reading the fuel gages, it's unlikely that we'll even be able to make it to the next planet. We don't have choice."
The ex-prince continued to stare angrily out the front window. "I know. It's too late to find another job. I just wasn't expecting this guy to have the balls to run me around like this."
"Demand half now," she suggested. "This doesn't feel right."
Standing up, Vegeta said, "We'll go into the town and catch up with the others for now, since the meetings been changed."
Akira nodded. "If that's what you want to do."
She followed him out of the ship and threw the winding streets of the spaceport. They caught a lift on a transit vehicle to the closest village community and walked from the drop off to a tiny, run-down looking bar in the worst part of the town. As they were walking past an alley, Akira felt like they were suddenly being watched. She moved closer to Vegeta and dropped her voice as low as possible.
"Do you sense that?" She asked him.
He never broke his quick pace or even turn to knowledge her as he answered. "Yes. Whoever it is, has been following us since we left the spaceport."
"Sheesh, I need to train more," she muttered to herself. "I'm slipping."
Vegeta smirked. "I couldn't agree more. You're making me look bad. I taught you better than that," he scolded her.
She rolled her eyes. "Take them out now, or later?"
He thought about it for a few seconds. "We'll wait."
They approached the bar and walked inside. There was a foul stench in the air that made them both crinkle their sensitive noses slightly. Akira glanced over at him and frowned. Vegeta just inclined his head toward the bar where Radditz, Bulma, and Nor had just sat down.
"They just got here," Akira stated in disbelief.
"Well, it's not like we were that far behind them." He led the way through the crowd. "Come on."
Nor turned around and gave Vegeta a surprised look. "What are you two doing here?"
"Gero changed the meeting on us," Akira explained.
Radditz cringed. "Glad I'm not him," he murmured to Bulma.
Vegeta glared at him. "I can practice kicking his ass on you, though," he threatened. "What are you waiting around here for?"
Bulma narrowed her eyes. "For someone who demands that everyone be so damn cautious about what they say and do, you sure are making a scene," she told him.
"What did you say to me?" He growled, moving closer to her. No one spoke to him like that and got away with it!
The princess didn't back down, though, which surprised him. "I thought you had super sensitive hearing? You must be getting old then, if you didn't hear me the first time," she shot back.
Vegeta was about to retort, but someone behind the counter interrupted them all. "Sorry about the wait," she apologized. "Can I get you all something to eat or drink?"
The small group turned and looked at her for a moment, and she stared back anxiously. Radditz snapped out of it and leaned forward with a grin on his face. She wasn't bad looking at all!
"We're looking for our friends. I'm pretty sure they were in here a few hours ago. There were four of them; two of them were twins," he offered, trying to give her as much info as possible without letting her know too much.
She frowned. "I wasn't working the front earlier," she told him. Radditz frowned and looked back at the others. She sighed. "But the girl that was is in the kitchen. She had to take over for the cook. I'll go get her for you." She set down a menu. "You might consider ordering something while you wait, especially since you're taking up room at the bar during our busiest time of the day."
Nor shook his head. "No tip for her," he said.
A minute later, a woman walked over. She wiped her hands on her flour-covered apron and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Lai said you walked to talk to me," she told them.
Nor looked closely at her and frowned. He reached across the counter and grasped onto her wrist tightly. "A group of four men were in her earlier." The Saiyans could sense that she knew something.
The woman's eyes immediately grew big, and she yanked helplessly against his hold. "Please, I don't know anything," she insisted.
Vegeta glared at her. "I think you know more than you're willing to say."
"I can't," she hissed. "You don't understand!"
Bulma bit her bottom lip anxiously. It was obvious to her that this woman was human. She tugged at Nor's other arm. "You're hurting her, you oaf! Let her go." The woman stared at her for a moment in shock, temporarily forgetting about the pressure around her wrist that was threatening to snap her bones at any moment.
Akira pulled Bulma back away from them and gave her a harsh look. "What do you think you're doing?"
"He's hurting her," she cried out. "Why does you're damn race have to be so brutal all the time?"
"You haven't seen brutal, girl," Vegeta spoke up. "But you're little friend is about to if she doesn't start talking."
Desperate to help the girl, who was obviously scared out of her mind about something, Bulma cut in, "Just tell them what they want to know. We'll protect you. You can come with us."
The Saiyans all glared at her, but she stood her ground. "I'm not going to let you hurt her," she told Vegeta. "It's the only way she's going to tell you anything."
He smirked at her. "Oh, I know many ways of getting someone to talk when they're being…stubborn," he finished.
"Vegeta, maybe we should just take her along with us," Akira spoke up. She knew that Bulma wasn't going to back down from this, and would make all of their lives a living hell if they hurt the girl. "Whoever took the others obviously can come back and harm her." She moved closer to him and lowered her voice. "And we've made to public a scene out of this as it is. She's marked. That could be why we were followed here," she whispered to him. "She's an innocent in this. I'm sure of it."
Bulma watched the two of them whispering softly to one another and felt something twist in her gut. What was between them? They were so close. It looked almost intimate, and from what she'd overheard and seen for herself, Vegeta was completely unbendable. Yet, whatever Akira was saying to him had him rethinking things. What kind of power did the silver haired Saiyan have over him?
Vegeta glanced up at the woman behind the bar. "Fine. We'll protect your sorry ass. If you agree to that, then I'll order my man to let you go."
She nodded quickly and cradled her swore arm in her good hand as soon as Nor released her. "We shouldn't talk about this here," she told them, looking around cautiously. "Out back," she said, motioning for them to follow her.
Once they were outside, and Radditz and Nor searched the area to make sure it was safe, the woman began to speak. "Cap cornered me at the bar and threatened me to mix some drug into their food," she admitted.
"Who's Cap?" Vegeta demanded harshly.
"The leader of the Onbei Gang. They practically run this planet."
Vegeta sighed heavily. "You mean to tell me that some pathetic little outerworld gang," he couldn't even finish what he was going to say. He was suddenly very embarrassed and ashamed of the others. He sighed heavily again. "Nor, Radditz, take these two back to the ship and wait from me there," he ordered, motioning toward Bulma and their newest party member. "Let's go," he said to Akira. "Gero will be waiting for us."
"I'm being left with them again?" Bulma shook her head. "I can't believe this!"
Akira rolled her eyes. "Deal with it."
Bulma frowned and turned to the new girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name before."
"It's alright, Your Highness." Bulma and the others froze at that. "I'm Chichi Mau."
"You know who I am?" Bulma asked.
"Of course," Chichi replied. "You're the princess of my homeworld."
Akira stepped forward. "You are not to refer to her as such in public. We are in hiding. If you're going to be with us indefinitely, it's best you learn the first rule. Don't call anyone by name when you're off the ship," she warned.
(Change scene)
"Well, this is where me and Akira have been sleeping. You'll have to stay in here. The men take up all the other free rooms," she explained, turning the lights on. "Only problem is, we've only got two beds."
Chichi shrugged. "I can sleep on the floor."
"Don't worry about it," Radditz spoke up. "Take the bottom bunk. Akira doesn't use it anymore."
Bulma gave him a funny look. "What are you talking about? Of course she does," she argued.
He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. "Not since you started having those dreams of yours. You're calling out and constant moving around kept her up, so she's been running off and bugging Vegeta into late night spars, and then they crash in his room when they're done," he told her.
"So that's why he took her with him to meet this Gero guy and why she left me here with you," she muttered.
"What are you talking about?" He growled, knowing what she was insinuating and not liking it one bit. So many people had always misinterpreted the relationship between Vegeta and Akira.
Bulma shrugged. "It doesn't really matter." She didn't feel like getting into a fight with him.
"They're best friends," he explained. "They think of each other as big brother and little sister. It's always been that way. That's why he took her with him," he clarified. "He's just trying to catch up for all the lost time."
Chichi frowned. "But aren't you her real brother? Doesn't that make you mad?"
"Not at all," Radditz told them. "I have my own special attachment to my little sister. I have no intention of getting in the middle of her relationship with Vegeta." He turned back to Bulma with a knowing look. "You'd do best to learn to deal with that now."
Bulma followed him out into the hallway, leaving Chichi alone for a while to get settled. "How did a mere soldier get to be so close to the prince? I thought that Saiyan royalty was very exclusive with who they associated themselves."
"God, didn't my sister tell you anything?" He walked into the common room and plopped down on the lounge. "Our family was part of the nobility. Our father was a Duke."
"Akira's a lady then! Why would she run away from all that?" Their conversation from a few days ago popped into her head, and she felt like an idiot. Akira had professed to know so much about what was expected of a high-class woman, and Bulma had basically told her that she had no clue.
"Because when Rall took over the throne after Vegeta's banishment proceedings, he changed her marriage contracts."
"She was set up for an arranged marriage!" She couldn't imagine Akira in that kind of situation. "To who?"
"An ally of Vegetasei that King Vegeta wanted to strengthen the bond with," Radditz answered.
"Anyone I know?"
"Prince Leyto of Ulliasei."
Bulma's eyes went wide. "She was supposed to marry Leyto." She knew him alright! His younger brother had tried to court her unsuccessfully last spring. He was a handsome, quiet man, very polite. "Didn't she like him? He seemed like the perfect gentleman when I met him."
He chuckled. "She thought he was boring as hell, and I have to admit she was right." He leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. "But she had grown to accept it over time." Bulma watched as Radditz' eyes narrowed slightly. "Rall decided he didn't want her to marry Leyto, though. He wanted to gift her to his best friend, no doubt for the bastard's part in the king and our father's death."
"That's horrible," the princess spoke up.
"So she left, and went to work for your father."
"I never knew any of this."
"For the love of the gods, don't tell her I told you then. She'd probably rip off my head for it."
Bulma toyed with her next question, knowing that the topic was touchy. "Is Rall really as bad as you make him out to be?"
The man sitting across from her looked her straight in the eye, his expression dark and serious. "He's worse," was all he said, but it was so full of foreboding, that Bulma actually shivered. As curious as she was about Rall, she took the obvious warning from Radditz to heart. She could definitely wait to meet him.
(Change scene)
"Ahh!" Turlis' head fell forward, and he gasped for air as her watched the blood gush down his chest.
Cap grinned evilly and traced the tip of his knife down the middle of the Saiyan's well-built torso. "You stupid offworlders," he started. "Always coming onto my turf and acting like you're tough guys." He plunged the dagger deep into Turlis' shoulder. Blood flowed freely over the hilt and onto his hand.
Turlis bit back the scream gathering in his throat as he also fought to remain conscious. He wasn't sure what was happening, but the pain was unbearable. He felt like he was being choked, but it made no sense. The gang leader hadn't done anything like that to him.
Nappa, being the only other Saiyan conscious, growled at the men surrounding him. "If you hadn't drugged us like a bunch of cowards, you'd be dead right now," he hissed.
One of the guards pulled back his arm, made a fist, and snapped it back across Nappa's face. The Saiyan man slumped to the ground next to his brother and fell into darkness. Turlis winced at the thumping sound of his comrade's head against the hard flooring. That was definitely going to hurt later on! Moving his wrists against the bindings, he managed to scare one of his captors when he broke his left arm free. Unfortunately, his concentration was shot, and his energy was spent due to loss of blood and the drug that he had unknowingly consumed with his meal.
"I'll give you some credit," Cap said, motioning for his men to retie the restraints. "You sure can take a lot of pain."
Turlis let out a short, humorless laugh. "Yeah, well." He spat blood across Cap's dark brown leather boots. "It might actually help if you knew how to do it properly," he taunted.
A look of rage spread across the man's face, and he ripped the dagger out of Turlis' shoulder and slashed it across the Saiyan's face.
"Is that all you've got?" Turlis hissed in response, blinking to keep the blood from clouding his vision.
Cap clenched his fists. "You're going to regret opening your mouth, Asshole!"
Turlis gave him a smug look, silently daring the man to do his worst. When Cap turned back to the table full of various odd tools, the Saiyan bowed his head forward. The choking sensation had finally stopped, but there was this odd sense of dread knotting his stomach tightly. 'What the hell is going on?' He wondered. Then, in the blink of an eye, his whole world exploded around him, and he cried out due to the excruciating pain that ripped through his chest and head and his heart.
(Change scene)
Nighttime on Vegetasei was exquisite. There was just no doubt about it. Indara basked in the perfect moonlight and smiled. The stars were bright in the sky and the breeze was just the right temperature. She wished she had more time to take in her surroundings, but she wasn't supposed to be out tonight. Rall had been keeping a close eye on her lately, and she feared he had found about Vegeta contacting her somehow. Frowning, she began to walk a little faster.
She couldn't allow Rall to catch onto her. Failing Vegeta was not something she wanted to do. Not that she didn't have her own selfish reasons for doing all this! She wanted desperately to have Turlis back, to lie in his arms all night and wake up to him kissing her forehead gently.
Indara sighed raggedly and came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the outer gardens. Suddenly, her eyes snapped wide. She could have sworn she heard something! Turning around, she let out a startled gasp and backed up a step. Rall's piercing black eyes bore into her own as he stood before her, shaking his head slowly back and forth in a disapproving manner. Her eyes dropped down to his right hand, and her breath hitched in her throat. Her was holding the ceremonial dagger their father had presented her with on her thirteenth birthday.
"What are you doing with that?" She demanded fearfully.
He grinned. "I thought it'd be appropriate somehow," he mused, eyes gleaming maliciously. "Don't you?" He started moving toward her slowly.
Indara backed away cautiously, refusing to turn her back to him just yet. She knew he intended to kill her. It was written all over his face, and after the way in which he had brutally murdered their own father, she didn't think he'd give it a second thought.
"You know what makes me mad?" He inquired, playing with the tip of the sharp blade. "That you still haven't forgotten about our brother," he answered for her. "I don't get it, Indy. I've given you more than enough time to accept this, but you won't let it go."
"Rall, think of mother," she pleaded. "She's been through hell. Do you really want to take away her only daughter? I'm your sister!"
He looked around with a confused expression. "What are you talking about? I didn't do a thing," he told her, an evil smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.
Indara turned sharply on her heels and ran. Rall chuckled to himself as he watched her disappear into the courtyard before he started after her quickly. He didn't want her to get too far ahead. He had everything planned out perfectly after all!
The princess cursed under her breath. There was no point in even considering out flying her brother. Her only hope was to somehow make it to the gatehouse before he caught her. There was no way he'd kill her in front of the guards! She glanced back over her shoulder, but didn't see anything. 'Where is he?' she wondered frantically. She turned her eyes back to her destination just as she ran right into Rall. He'd flown over her head and landed in front if her to block her escape.
"This is the perfect place," he commented.
Indara looked around and almost threw up. They were in the graveyard. More specifically, they were standing beside the life-size memorial statue of their father, King Vegeta, in his trademark stance and royal armor. It was like a statue of a god.
"Vegeta is a fool if he thinks he can make it onto this planet without my knowing," he told her.
"He'll find a way, Rall," she shot back, finding her anger finally. She wouldn't let him see her fear if these were to be her final moments. "I almost feel sorry for you when he does, for he will show you no mercy."
He glared at her. "Is that any way to speak to me, after all I've done for you?"
"You took away my father and my brother," she shouted, tears streaking her pale face. "And you stole away my precious Turlis and any hopes for a family of my own, you coward! You fucking thief!"
Rall lunged at her, and they toppled to the ground, struggling against each other for control. Indara racked her nails across her older brother's cheek and kneed him painfully in the side, making him drop the dagger beside them. The king hissed, baring his sharp canines at her. His hand clamped around her neck like an iron vice, cutting off her airflow.
Indara stretched her arm out and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of her dagger. She was surprised when Rall let go of her and smirked down at her. He slipped his hand over hers and leaned in close to her ear.
"I was hoping you'd pick that up," he whispered. "Goodbye, little sister."
In one quick motion, he directed her hand to plunge the knife deep into her chest. He pulled her up into sitting position and leaned her back against the base their father's statue. Standing up, he tore off his gloves and stuffed them into his pocket.
(End chapter)
Wow! Rall's an evil bastard, eh? And just think, he's only one of the bad guys! Mu hahahahaha…. So yeah. Don't forget to review and let me know what ya'll think!
Next time: Vegeta and Akira finally meet with Gero and pick up the cargo. They'll also finally rescue the others, and some other interesting stuff. I don't want to give it all away!
PANDORA ;-)