Chapter 10
Krillin shivered. Since the moment they had first stepped aboard Freeza's ship he felt terrible dread creeping up his spine.
It started with the eerily silent corridors and flickering lights in damaged walls. Then they found the bodies.
Krillin almost stepped on a severed arm lying on the ground, then spotted the former owner in several different places. He fought against his churning stomach and glanced at Gohan. The boy was very pale but seemed determined not to panic. That was something at least.
If only he knew what had happened here. Did some Namekian monster come in here and start killing the crew? So far the wildlife they had encountered on the planet had been pretty scarce and not too threatening for someone of their prowess. Still, he hoped that whatever did this had already left.
Leaning on his shoulder, Goku was fading in and out of consciousness and Krillin could feel his friend's blood trickle on him. In short, this was an awful circumstance to fight some wild beast in.
"Uhm, Vegeta?" he addressed the Saiyan who was leading them deeper into the ship. "Do you know what happened here? I mean, was it..."
He trailed off as Vegeta looked over his shoulder and flashed his murderous smile. Oh. So there was a monster that came here and slaughtered everyone. And now that monster was playing tour guide for them.
Great.
To make matters even worse, the thought crossed Krillin's mind that these folk had been Vegeta's allies until not too long ago. Goku might be right that he wouldn't harm them as long as he needed them but...
Krillin shivered again. Stay useful, he reminded himself. Stay useful.
Then Vegeta stopped abruptly and pressed a button next to a door on their right side. The door hissed open and revealed some sort of medical station. There was some medical equipment that looked vaguely familiar to Krillin – including some syringes that jolted Goku out of his stupor until they had reassured him this wouldn't be used on him - but most of it was utterly alien to him. This was to be expected since they were on an alien ship on an alien planet but he still couldn't help but look around wide-eyed.
Vegeta pointed at a bulky machine with a circular, transparent lid that revealed an empty chamber. "Put him in there," he said curtly. "It's going to heal him."
The whole apparatus didn't instill much confidence in Krillin who would have expected something this mechanical with all its tubes and thick metal plating in an engine room. Still, he was far from an expert on these things and assumed Vegeta wouldn't have gone through the trouble of taking them here if this wasn't going to work.
Getting their patient inside proved easier than Krillin had expected as the transparent lid opened wide and given his terrible condition Goku was so exhausted he was almost grateful to be able to sit and didn't give them any more trouble.
Vegeta watched them grimly, his arms folded over his chest, then he pointed at some breathing apparatus that Gohan was quick to outfit his father with. When they were done Vegeta shoved the boy aside and activated the machine with a few button presses. Some light blue liquid filled the pod and Krillin felt Goku's ki calm down and settle into a light slumber of healing.
"And that stuff is going to heal him?" he asked in Vegeta's direction.
The Saiyan shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm no technician, but it should work just fine." One of the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. "They had another healing chamber that was a bit more modern and faster, but..."
Gohan looked at him wide-eyed. "But?"
"I blew that one up."
Krillin suppressed a sigh. Great.
His eyes wandered from Goku floating in that healing liquid, air bubbles rising occasionally from his breathing tube, back to Vegeta only to find himself and Gohan being scrutinized.
"Now, let's deal with you," the Saiyan said, causing Krillin's heart to skip a beat, but he quickly calmed down again as Vegeta continued, "I should better get you proper armor. The rags you're wearing give no protection at all."
Krillin blinked. That was unexpected. "You mean like the stuff you're wearing?" he asked, unable to keep his lack of enthusiasm out of his voice.
"I don't think I want to look like that," Gohan chimed up next to him.
Krillin couldn't blame him. After everything they'd gone through the outfits of the Freeza Force evoked a certain terror in him. On the other hand, he couldn't deny that more protection sounded like a very good idea, so maybe he'd just have to live with that.
Vegeta didn't pay any mind to their opinions anyway. After announcing his plans he hadn't even deigned to reply but went off in search of fitting equipment.
After a second Krillin and Gohan followed him. They didn't have to go far. Just around a corner was a corridor that lead to a storage room. Or at least, Krillin assumed that was what it was because of the number of locker doors lining the walls. This place obviously had seen no fighting when Vegeta had cleared the ship of Freeza's men as the walls were pristine and the lighting bright and even. All doors Vegeta checked slid open smoothly and with barely a sound.
Krillin took it all in and could hardly keep his jaw from dropping. "This technology... it all looks so advanced."
Gohan murmured in agreement as he looked around, his eyes wide, yet while impressive the ship seemed to intimidate the otherwise so inquisitive boy too much to really appreciate the technological progress.
Something blue landed on the floor in front of his feet and Gohan blinked uncertainly at Vegeta who tossed another suit, this one black, at Krillin.
"Take off your clothes and put these on. I'll go and look for armor," the Saiyan instructed them. "Get a move on. We don't know when Freeza might be back."
They hesitated for just a heartbeat then they obeyed.
"Gohan," Krillin whispered as he pulled the orange kame school gi over his head. "Judging by how much Vegeta cares about our protection I can't help but think this Freeza must be a terrible foe."
The boy nodded. "It scares me, too."
The answer made Krillin immediately feel guilty. Making brave little Gohan afraid hadn't been his intention. On the other hand, sugarcoating the truth wouldn't do him any good either.
He suppressed a sigh and reached for the new suit. It was a short-sleeved and -legged onesie that he wouldn't have touched if the circumstances were different. And yet, when he put it on he couldn't help but feel amazed. The fabric was incredibly smooth and fit snugly without being stifling. He idly wondered what it was made of when Vegeta returned with two body armors he had pulled off a rack. Contrary to the one he was wearing which only sported a strap holding it on his shoulders, these were more akin to the one he had been wearing before until it got severely damaged in the fight against Recoome.
"Luckily for you, Freeza's soldiers come in a lot of sizes, there are even some as small and puny as you."
Krillin accepted the armor without a word but his lips formed a very thin line. After all, Vegeta was a head shorter than Goku and not all that much taller than Krillin. The only thing big about him was his ego. And maybe his fighting power.
Well, whatever.
He examined the armor, looking for a zipper or some other way to open it so he could put it on, but he was out of luck. "How are you supposed to wear these?"
"I don't think I can fit my head and arms in there," Gohan added.
"You have to squeeze in," Vegeta explained in a tone that was remarkably calm for him. "They are elastic and will stretch if you pull enough. Remember, when I turned into an oozaru on Earth my armor didn't tear either. Besides, they are very shock resistant."
Krillin did remember the terrible, giant, monkey-like creature Vegeta turned into. It wasn't a moment you could forget quite so easily. Yet, to his own surprise, his horror had faded quite a lot and all he could think of was that Vegeta was right about that armor being both really stretchy and durable.
"It works!" Gohan chirped happily as he pulled it over his head like a sleeveless shirt.
Following the boy's example, Krillin squeezed himself into his own set of armor and was delighted. "It feels so light," he mumbled making a few tentative jumps and eventually a back-flip. The armor stayed wonderfully in place and didn't weigh him down at all. "Are the gloves and boots made from the same material?"
"Yes, sure," Vegeta replied unenthusiastically.
Krillin blinked. The Saiyan had taken hardly any damage fighting against Ginyu in Goku's body and yet now that he got a good look at him from up close Krillin noticed how troubled he appeared. Vegeta was breathing hard, he was leaning against a bulkhead as if afraid to lose his balance and on his pale face, there were beads of sweat. "Are you okay, Vegeta?"
Straightening up immediately the Saiyan glared at him for noticing his condition. "Of course I am."
He didn't know what he had expected. Gratitude for his concern was hardly something Vegeta would ever show. Attempting to ease the tension Krillin decided to try and change the subject. "I really think I'd prefer the armor you're wearing, Vegeta. It looks like it allows for much better shoulder movement."
"Mine is simply an older model that works just as well. When I came here earlier I didn't find any other armor that was suitable for me."
Krillin made a mental note reassessing his earlier judgment about Vegeta not being vain as untrue.
"Look, Krillin", Gohan chirped, rotating his arms to demonstrate his point, "the shoulder pads are really flexible and give way. It's really not a problem."
Glancing at Vegeta to see if that was enough to take his mind off his former annoyance Krillin caught him wiping sweat from his face. He looked even more strained than before and for a second Krillin feared he might collapse. His instincts kicking in before he could think about it he barely caught himself from patting Vegeta's back. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
This time the Saiyan growled at him. "I am sure this is none of your business, Earthling. I can handle this. I'm from far more noble stock than you can even imagine. So spare me your fake pity."
What he was feeling was more concern about Vegeta fainting in the worst moment than pity for this genocidal maniac but Krillin decided against arguing the point. Antagonizing the Saiyan wouldn't do them any good and only weaken their position.
Besides, these moments of weakness did wonders to calm Krillin's ever-present panic that Vegeta might turn on them. Back on Earth when he had got up again no matter what they did to defeat him he had seemed like a monstrous and unstoppable force of nature. But by now Krillin had seen him both beaten and close to death as well as stumbling with fatigue. He had seen behind the facade, had seen the vulnerable moments of fear.
Vegeta may be a terrible person but he wasn't the unstoppable beast Krillin had once thought he was.
"Whatever you say," Krillin told him. "I meant no offense. I just think we should use our time well, maybe for a little rest or..." He frowned. "Say, Vegeta, how long will it take until that machine has nursed Goku back to health?"
The Saiyan folded his arms. "Up to an hour, I guess."
Krillin nodded as if he was just now making up his mind. "Then I'll go to the Namekian Grand Elder. Even if I risk running into Freeza there we'll get nowhere unless we find out how to summon the dragon."
Gohan was immediately at his side. "I'll go with you!"
"No, Gohan." Krillin was taking quite a risk with going anywhere near Freeza. He had brought the kid into enough terrible situations as it was. "It'll be easier if I go alone. Besides, you need to be near your dad when he wakes up. Just wait here with..." He glanced at Vegeta who was scowling again. "Just wait here, okay? I'll be back soon."
The boy didn't look too happy about it but he dutifully took up position next to Vegeta.
It was strange seeing them like this. The high-born Saiyan and the half-Saiyan child, both wearing armor, both looking determined and grim. And yet, there was something truly innocent about Gohan that neither his attire nor his companion could ever darken.
Krillin smiled at him again, then he whirled about and took off into the eerie corridors.
