A/N: Miss me? Mesa back! Thanks a bunch for reviews (they're so nice and encouraging and and...) and, lilou for correcting my French! There might yet be hope for me in that language department... And to answer your possible questions about lemons to come... yes, there is going to be a lemon of some sort. I just don't know should it be minor one or grand one chapter piece of hentai... Help me decide? (Innocent blink of eyes)
Disclaimer: Declaration of disownership (Is that even a word? If not, then I made it up! Yay for me!): I don't own DBZ... waah! You meanies made me say it! ( points accusingly at a bunch of lawyers nearby)
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Chapter 9 - Master's clutches.
ChiChi slowly came around, feeling disoriented and uncomfortable as the darkness left her hazy mind. Sharp pebbles were poking her in the back nastily, helping the progress of waking up to the painful reality. She grunted disapprovingly at the whole fiasco going on and opened her eyes carefully. Nothing. More darkness surrounded her; impenetrable and trapping.
" Gghh..." she managed to utter and rose up to sitting position, feeling nausea sweep through her, from stomach to head and back to her toes. Great... just so... great! This is becoming too familiar situation to associate with... she thought bitterly, waiting for the horrible and queasy feeling to go away. After few minutes of stillness, she was feeling fine again and decided to take the next step. Standing up.
Carefully she got on four and noticed the cold and moist stone floor under her bare hands and knees. The air hung heavily and was damp, stinking of puke and something decaying. Bile rose up her throat and she closed her eyes trying not to think what it might be, almost afraid to move in fear of touching and finding something she'd regret.
" C'mon Chi girl... you can do this... you can do this... just concentrate... " she encouraged herself, scared of the loud voice that was her own. How did she manage to get into things like this in the first place? Taking a deep breath of the cool air she righted her body and found out she was sore all over.
" Crud." the female slayers muttered and tried rubbing knots and kinks out of her neck and back with little success. Where were the others? Where was the blue-haired woman, Bulma? What happened to the battling vampires, Messenger and Great? She didn't know and the room wasn't giving any answers any time soon. Were they in a creepy rooms also? The little devil in her hoped so for she wasn't going to suffer this kind of environment alone!
Rubbing tiredly her temples, she sighed. She'd find out later. If there were any later, it was.
ChiChi's sight was becoming attuned to the darkness and she was beginning to see some shapes and contours of the room. Now that she was up and running again, she needed to figure out where she was located, currently. Not an easy task in a medieval, dark and damp, square stone room. But that was a start. Could this room be a part of some bigger mansion or even a castle? ChiChi questioned herself in her mind and once again cursing the dress she was wearing, or more like what was left of once beautiful piece of clothes. It was getting chilly and the disgusting floor and rooms weren't appealing to her in the least.
Waiting seemed to be the only option as inspecting the room was not in the top of her things-to-do list. Hugging herself to keep warm, she concluded that the owner of this place and her wouldn't like each other; anyone who ran such bad guest treatment policy couldn't be a nice guy.
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Bulma was faced with similar circumstances in another room, identical to ChiChi's though neither of them knew that and it didn't matter. Bulma crawled carefully around the room, feeling the rough surface of the floor and running her hand along the wall. A square. He was locked into a square room with no doors, windows or whatsoever.
She cussed meagerly, scared out of her wits. Her scientific part of mind was wondering how in the devil did she get there; a room without any entrances, thinking over possibilities magic heavily included. That darkness that engulfed them was none else than magic. By whom and why? The questions ran around in a circle in her mind that was still rational and not overdriven by ever-consuming panic.
Her selfish part was nagging at her that she should have run when she still had a chance and not to start drooling at the hottie and not to play loyal friend.
" This is just dandy..." she groaned and sat down, not caring if the floor was infested with smelly mould. It was just a type of fungus and fungi and rather interesting one at that... No harm done by sitting on it with jeans on... After all she was in contact with far more icky things than a moud than to her career as an inventor and scientist.
She ran her hand thru her damp hair, cursing the atmosphere and air that would do no good to her hair, worry rising its head in her soul. Where was this all going? Were her friends all right? And why it was so friggin' dark?
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Goku woke up not in the best of the moods. His body automatically knew where he was, even if his mind had not caught up with the surroundings. He'd recognize the cold and unforgiving stone floor anywhere having met it and laid there too often. Usually he was bleeding from his Master's training and this time was only different in sense that he was bleeding and hurting from the wounds that Vegeta inflicted.
And speaking of Vegeta, the asshole, where was he?
Not bothering to get up and wear out his last bits of strength, his mind went back to the fight and his words spoken before the unpredicted darkness. He licked his dry and split lips and smirked in spite of himself. Maybe he'd still have a chance to feel her life pulsing under and around him so sweetly... He chuckled darkly at the thought. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep her around: for his own personal enjoyment, for the forever reminder of his victory over her and the slayers. Yes. That sounded good...
His thought going back to serious, he scowled. That darkness wasn't a natural loss of consciousness; it was too sudden and precise and the legendary vampire definitely knew what it had been. A powerful spell; meant to abduct groups of people at once, rendering them unconscious. Master just loved to throw parties with 'passive hunting' a.k.a. casting the spell and bringing group of helpless people for eating and fun.
Goku frowned, adjusting his position on the floor, absently recognizing the room as one of the usual ones. The spell had a limit though... it could be used only once in two month for requiring so much energy from the Earth itself which meant Master had planned this beforehand. Whom did he take within the spell? Why?
The man-made vampire had a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach that Master wasn't particularly happy with him and that thought if what bade him curl into a ball and insides turn to ice. Resting and concentrating on healing his wounds were the only sensible things he could do. Too bad he didn't feel really sensible at the moment and wondered what a real legendary vampire would do in this situation.
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" What's the big idea, lizard?" Vegeta hissed pissed off and crossed his arms tightly as he wobbled slightly from the surprising abduction with on of the grand spells. Master was standing in front of him, smugness and sinister intentions coming off him in waves. He had specifically placed the foursome in the different parts of the castle counting them to be unconscious. But for his eternal irritation and spite Vegeta was in better condition than he should have been after a fight like that.(He followed it thru one of his magical mirrors) Obviously he had underestimated the cocky little bastard, Vegeta.
" It was one grand battle, Vegeta, I'm impressed," he purred, taking in his battered condition with satisfaction. Ah. The heavenly sight of blood... Honestly he didn't think that the boy could cause so much damage to the other legend. Vegeta snorted in laughter.
" You? Impressed? Don't I just feel fucking loved... Why you called off the order? I was about to kill him." he spat angrily, eyes lit by demonic power inside him. Master smiled ruefully under his hood and Vegeta became alarmed immediately, but not fast enough. The highest vampire's hand shot forwards taking the 300-year-old vampire into a invisible chokehold and lifting him up, slowly.
Vegeta felt his wind cut off, but didn't react with panic; only irritation and rage. He struggled fiercely against Master's unorthodox grip, but in vain. His mind was beginning to get unclear and he cursed profusely with the remaining air in his lungs. Even if he was 'dead' he needed air to maintain his being on the living realm.
The horrid pressure became lighter and he heard sadistic chuckling.
" What are you really after, reptile?" he choked, trying to pry the hold off his throat. Weakened greatly from the battle with Messenger he was no match to Master's greater powers and that thought twisted his soul more than a holy silver bullet. After 300 years of confinement, he still was helpless in front of the Noble's of the vampires.
" What I'm after? The same as always. I'm just removing obstacles out of my way, if you know what I mean... And you Vegeta, are an obstacle you mean it or not. Three hundred years ago you were also an obstacle. You were in between my total control and power at that time. I really can't have a powerful vampire such as yourself running around. It's way too much of a risk."
Vegeta was silent and glared and Master continued.
" I needed you to take care of one problem I couldn't possibly take care of myself. Ever," The face hidden under the hood darkened and spite could be almost tasted in the air." But even the best of the plans have their twists and twirls. Even the best and most powerful have their flaws and mistakes. You if anyone should know that, Vegeta the Great."
Before Vegeta could even open his mouth to rudely question more about this 'problem', a psychic strike knocked him out cold and Master dropped him on the floor like a sack of human heads.
" Good nigh'... 'Cause it will be the last good night you'll ever have again. Just hope the people with you aren't that good friends with you or Messenger... "
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A/N: Just had to end it here... damn writer's block... But hope you enjoyed anyways... Heed the warning! Next chapter is going to be explicit torture and gore and more (hopely) plot development! Review and have the next chapter tomorrow or at the end of the week... or month... What can I say? My sense of time is bad? JA NE!