Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ
A One-Shot which might get turned into something more... we'll see. Please review and feel free to be critical, I can take it!
Chapter 1
There was no 'night' on the dead planet which held Freiza's main base. Nor could one really say there was a 'day'. An eerie, gray light shone down from one of the system's two suns, almost continuously. There were, however, certain hours when most of the soldiers, warriors and faceless computer technicians slept, and the entire base seemed to shut down. This was the only time it could be done.
Vegeta made his way slowly down a nondescript corridor, careful not to make too much noise. If he could just make it to the lift at the end of the hall without being noticed, he would be home free. The Saiyan teenager was abnormally alert; he could feel everything, the coarseness of his cloths, the warm stale air. The soft hum of endless generators and air circulators roared in his ears and he broke out in a cold sweat, starting to shake.
It was getting bad.
"Just a little farther" the young warrior told himself, "just turn the corner, get into the lift and you're there."
Vegeta quickened his pace as he approached the last stretch of hallway but stopped short as he rounded the corner. A door was open, and not just any door, the door to Freiza's viewing chamber. Vegeta leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor, feeling suddenly weak. What should he do? He couldn't go back; they were leaving tomorrow, if he didn't do it now he wouldn't have another chance for at least a week, probably more. He couldn't wait that long. He could go outside, take the long way around. But he was late as it was, if he didn't get there soon, he would lose his chance.
Standing up, the prince slowed his breathing and took a cautious first step. His legs moved automatically but froze as they reached the open doorway. Slowly, the prince inched his head closer to the opening. And there he was. Freiza sat lazily in his hover chair, sipping a glass of wine and gazing out of the large domed window.
A voice echoed through Vegeta's head. "Freiza never sleeps"
Just another myth he had heard about the tsirijin as a child, but never believed until now. The warrior's mind screamed at him to move on but his legs wouldn't budge. He was transfixed. Staring at the tyrant, Vegeta felt a deep loathing well up inside him. Every wound the changeling had ever given him seemed to ache and unconsciously the saiyan's power level began to rise. He was so preoccupied he almost didn't hear Freiza's calling out.
"Hello Vegeta" Freiza said in an icy voice and then smiled to himself as he heard the boy bolt.
"Never mind monkey. I'll deal with you tomorrow. Better to let you fret all night about it." Freiza was nothing, if not patient.
Vegeta collapsed into the elevator and stretched a shaky hand up to press the down button.
"Kuso!" He cursed himself. "I'm dead!"
There would be hell to pay tomorrow, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was reaching his destination.
The downward motion of the elevator was soothing and Vegeta found himself struggling to stay awake. Finally the compartment jolted to a halt and Vegeta stood and walked into a dimly lit cargo bay full of outdated weaponry and dusty computers. He could hear voices emanating from the opposite end of the room and he quickly made his way towards them.
"Oi! Vegeta!" Jeice whispered from behind a gigantic crate, "Took you long enough! And keep quiet I don't want the others to know you're here."
The orange warrior silently motioned and the two of them drifted off into the darkness.
"Do you have it?" Jeice asked extending an open palm.
Vegeta reached into this armor and pulled out a small plastic card containing every credit he had. He was about to drop it into Jeice's hand but stopped.
"Let me see them."
Jeice chuckled. "Ah come on, when have I ever ripped you off, eh? But if you insist…" From his own armor Jeice produced a tiny bottle no bigger than his thumb.
"That's it!"
"Sorry mate, I'm afraid prices have gone up, and they're only going to get higher. Freiza just ordered us to destroy the planet where it's produced. If only he knew the gold mine he was throwing away. But," the warrior shrugged, "there's nothing to be done. If Freiza ever found out I was doing jobs on the side he'd kill me for sure. Especially if he found out I was selling drugs to his 'special project' eh Princeling?"
The bottle and card were exchanged.
Jeice grinned and began to walk towards the light, "I suggest you find a new vice, my friend."
Vegeta heard Jeice speaking to the other members of the Ginyu Force. Slowly the voices began to fade and then disappear, leaving the prince in silence.
"Shit!" was the only thought he could properly form. He stared down at the bottle of capsules. It was probably the last one he would ever see. If what Jeice said was right, prices were about to sky rocket and Vegeta would never be able to afford it on what Freiza gave him, which wasn't much.
For a moment he considered saving them. But the sound of the pills rattling in their bottle as his hand shook was driving him insane and before he knew it he had already swallowed two of them.
The teenager sat in the darkness and waited for the drug to take effect. He sat for what seemed like hours, until finally…
He was back on Vejitasei, training in one of the palace courtyards. His father was yelling at him from a balcony, telling him not to leave his left side so exposed. He could feel his mother's ki moving closer. She was coming to watch him, as she always did in the evenings. There was no Freiza, and there never would be. And for a while he was able to forget that his planet was gone, that his family was dead and that he was the last prince the Saiya-jin would ever have.
As the second capsule dissolved into his blood stream Vejitasei disappeared and the Saiyan was filled with euphoria. A comforting void surrounded him as he was lulled into unconsciousness. Where he dreamt of nothing.