A.N: Warning! This chapter contains torture! Warnin!

A sandstorm was the last thing the saiyan prince was expecting when he entered the Ao Tokonga. His arms immediately came up to block the sands from cutting his face. The crystal sands were like shards of glass in gale force winds.

"Toa!" He was immediately concerned for the little beta. Was he in the house with Kakarot, or was he out in this mess? He hoped Toa wasn't in this. At the same time, he had no idea where he was. Toa said something about this when he showed him Kakarot, the bad memories were in the storm. Zarbon had stirred something up in Toa's memory.

The hair on Vegeta's neck stood on end as the air shimmered around him. Thinking quickly he jumped clear of the distortion and winced as the sand pelted his skin relentlessly. Toa was on edge the last time they were in a memory and that wasn't a 'bad' memory.

His lungs were burning. He needed air. The grip on his neck was like iron holding him beneath the surface of the water while he struggled and pulled against the chains on his wrists. Water filled his mouth seconds later as he couldn't hold his breath any more. Cold fear washed through him.

'They're gonna kill me.'

The light was near blinding when the grip on his neck jerked him up as the edges of his vision faded black. Coughing, he choked up the water he breathed in shivering from the cold air and water all over his body at this point.

"Now, monkey, lets try this again." Zarbon said leaning into his view as he tried to catch his breath. "I'll start simple, what is your name?"

'Don't say anything. Don't tell him anything. He'll just hurt Teti and Baban.' Pain jerked him from his thoughts when the blue skinned alien backhanded him.

"Come now, I just want to know your name. Is that so unreasonable?" Zarbon said passively.

When he said nothing the alien sighed and gestured towards the tub again. The beta struggled uselessly as his head was shoved under the water yet again. This time pain surged up his spine making him scream and inhale water as his tail was twisted harshly. When they pulled him out, a swift blow to the stomach made him vomit up the inhaled water. His body was shaking with exhaustion now. How many times had they done this? He was losing count.

"He can't take much more, Zarbon." The one holding him said. It was like they were in another room rather than right behind him. "He's gonna black out or actually drown."

"We keep going until he blacks out then. This little bastard is going to talk one way or another. Lord Frieza wants him intact which regrettably limits our options."

"You know, with all that dirt off his face he kinda looks like one of their generals? Or was it that pirate bastard?" Cold terror shot through him.

'No! They can't guess. Please Tarro don't let them guess!'

"Who cares, all the filthy monkeys look the same." Zarbon sneered. "Are you going to answer my question now, monkey, or do you need another bath?" He glared up at the bastard that captured him and spit in his face. He was a saiyan warrior, he was stronger than them. He'd die before he told this sick bastard anything. His ears rang from the vicious blow Zarbon landed before grabbing his throat and shoving him underwater again.

Vegeta gasped and came to on his knees. His lungs burning like he'd been the one to live the experience just then. If that was how all of the memories were he didn't blame Toa for taking him inside the house the last time. Stumbling he blindly started moving through the storm. He needed to get to Toa and Kakarot. The world shifted around him again.

Spot lights cut on around him making his eyes water at the sudden change from dark to light. His muscles cramped and ached from the position they chained him into on the platform.

"Oh how wonderful, you're awake." Terror washed over the beta as he saw Frieza standing not two feet from himself. From the grin on the demon's face, Frieza was perfectly aware just how scared he was.

"I have a proposition for you, monkey. Would you like to play a game?"

"W-what?" The question was so random. It hurt to actually speak now. When was he last given anything to drink that wasn't water torture? Even that didn't count when they made him throw it back up every five minutes.

"I know you monkeys have small brains, but surely you know what a game is?" The demon said smugly.

"I know….Why?" he rasped out confused.

"You see, monkey, I get so wearily bored so I've decided to make a little wager with you."

"No." It was a trap. It had to be, nothing good could come from any deal Frieza offered.

"No?" The tyrant was mildly surprised. "So you aren't interested. And here I thought you'd jump at the chance to go home. You don't seem to be enjoying your stay here, but perhaps I was wrong and you do enjoy Zarbon's tender mercies." He shrugged turning away to leave.

Hope surged through his heart. He could…

"Wait!" There was more desperation in his tone than he intended, but he couldn't worry about that. "How, what do I do?"

"There's the spirit." Frieza grinned. "It's quite simple. What you see around you is something I've put a considerable amount of time into building. This is my maze. If you can find your way out of it, you are free to leave and go home."

That was it? Get out of a maze?

"Hold on now. Its not quite so simple, monkey. There are a few rules to my challenge." Frieza said getting his attention again. "First of all there is a time limit. I'll give you a ten minute start. Now I know what you're thinking 'I can't solve a maze like this in ten minutes.' This is where the second rule comes in. There will be a hunter released after your time is up. At which point, you must escape the maze before they catch you. If not, well I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere."

Kakarot bit his cheek. He wanted to go home. He wanted to get away from these…he couldn't even call them people in his mind. They were monsters. He wasn't stupid, things like this happened to the enemies they captured, but they did it to get information. They stopped asking him questions and just hurt him.

"Well, monkey, do you want to play? What else do you have to lose?"

++VK++

The floor opened under him, and he franticly swung his arms to grab onto anything to avoid whatever Frieza had in store at the bottom of the pit. His fingers caught the edge up the trap but pain lanced through his leg drawing a scream that almost made him release his precarious hold.

'No! I won't let him win again! I'm going to beat it this time!' He screamed at himself as he forced his weakened body to drag him up out of the pit in spite of the pain in his leg. Panting he rolled away from the pitfall and glanced down to see why his calf was hurting. A thin steel spike ran through the meat of his leg, narrowly missing the bone. Metallic bile rose in his throat as his fingers brushed the injury, tears filled his eyes against his will.

"Damn it." His hand trembled, knowing that it would hurt even worse pulling the spike out. Leaving it in would slow him down causing more pain every time it was jostled. He didn't have time or anything to bind the wound either, he was going to bleed out and get weaker as he got further in the maze.

"Time's up, monkey." Panic threatened to drown him then. Had it already been ten minutes! Clenching his eyes his hand closed around the metal and yanked, biting back a scream of agony as the 6 or so inches slid back through his leg.

Bile rose in the alpha's throat. What kind of sick game was Frieza playing? It was like two memories had bled together.

"Enough of this." He growled angrily trying to shake off the memories. Vegeta roared flaring his ki around him and blasted back the stinging sands with the force of his aura. He could see some of the distortions now, like heat shimmers. Many had cries of fear or pain echoing from them or ice cold auras. He needed to find Toa. Kakarot's mind couldn't handle this kind of a beating. He only got a taste of the things his mate had been through and already he understood why Kakarot broke.

Ten years before he finally couldn't handle anymore. Vegeta had a feeling he wouldn't have lasted five under these conditions. The hair on his neck stood on end, and he spun lashing out with his ki to try driving the memory away. The world shimmering around him told the prince that it didn't work.

Blackness was all he could see and that scared him. He was on his back with his arms and legs restrained, and he jerked his arms only to hear the sound of chains rattling above his head. Other than that, it was silent. He could tell someone was in the room with him. He was all too aware of the feeling of being watched, but he couldn't smell the other's scent.

'What's going on?' His heart started to pound in his chest the longer nothing was done to him. 'What are they waiting for? Tarro, please…don't let it be Zarbon!' Something was coming, he knew that, and the anticipation was starting to make him panic.

His body jerked when something light and soft ran up his side, and a choked yelp came from his throat at the feeling. He squirmed on the hard surface to get away from the ticklish feeling, but his bonds didn't allow much movement. The light thing came back and ran up and down his side a few more times, and he had to bite his lip to keep from laughing as he still fought to move away.

They…were tickling him? This was supposed to be torture? How was this suppose to make him talk? He jerked again as the light thing brushed over a sensitive spot just below his rib cage, and he had to choke back a laugh. He clinched his hands into fists to try and give him another sensation to distract him.

Just when he thought he was going to bite through his lip, the thing went away. He sagged in his bonds as he panted to get his breath back. His breathing was almost back to normal when a pair of soft things brushed over the soles of his bare feet. Reflexively, his legs jerked to get away, and the cuffs around his ankles dug into the skin on the tops of his feet.

Hands grabbed his legs to keep him from moving and the things swirled over every bit of his feet and toes. He couldn't keep the laughter from coming out this time, and he felt weak disgust for laughing while he was with his captors.

More soft and light things came up on both of his sides, making the tickling worse. It was starting to get to the point where tears were coming from his eyes as he gasped for air. This was wrong, he shouldn't be laughing! The soft touches on his sides became more random, but he was growing more aware of the touches to his feet. Who ever was doing it had started some pattern of slow brushing along his arch.

Every time the tickling on his sides let up just enough for him to take deeper breaths, he was aware of his feet. Thrashing his head he screamed in frustration trying to get loose. It was like a knife was moving across his feet as his laughter rang in his own ears. All it earned him was the more aggressive tickling returning to his sides as he choked out a sob between his involuntary laughs.

Why weren't they asking him anything! Wasn't that the point of all this! These were his enemies, he shouldn't be laughing like a cub from anything they did to him! Something soft brushed his bare stomach, and he screamed again jerking at the chains as tears streamed down his face after soaking the blindfold. Trying to fight back he clenched his fists digging his claws into his palms deep enough to draw blood from what he could smell. A slap knocked his head to the side, the tickling never stopping, but it broke his focus on his hands before something started to softly brush his open palms. Every attempt to close his hands met with another slap, all the while he just kept laughing.

He couldn't breathe. His stomach ached from laughing so much, it shouldn't have ever felt like that here unless he was laughing at Frieza. His father would be ashamed of him. The shackles on his wrists and ankles were holding him down too tight. His lungs were burning with each frantic inhale before the air was stolen from him. He wanted it to stop. If they'd ask him something, he'd- Horror make him sick. He couldn't give in! Not from this! Cries of pain erupted from his throat from what ever they were doing to his feet. It had to stop, he couldn't- What the hell kind of torture was this?!

Feeling himself slipping closer to giving in he strained against his bonds and raised his head up desperate to get loose. With a final frustrated roar, he slammed his head back as hard as he could.

Pain in the back of his skull made Vegeta's ears ring. He was so disoriented from the pain that he stumbled, landing on his hands and knees in the sand. The wind was picking up, but the alpha was so dazed that he barely noticed. He wanted to lift his hand up to check his head to see if he was bleeding, but he couldn't lift an arm without falling into the sand.

His eyes blinked heavily as the prince looked at the sand between his hands. He saw the image shimmer making him confused before the realization that another memory was forming around him. He sluggishly tried to move and almost tipped over as he lost his balance.

Vegeta panted and cringed once his mind started to clear some. He didn't want to see anymore. He almost let out a whimper when the world started to distort.

"Alpha!"

The call was distant, and hardly audible over the storm, but he still heard it. It gave him enough strength to lift his body back up on his hands and knees despite the sand and wind swirling around him to show a forest at night.

"Here! Toa!"

His hands had finished the last of the knots, and he grunted as he pulled the heavy weight of the log off the ground. He quickly worked to set the trigger so that if one of his pursuers broke the vines, the log would flatten and spear them against the bolder that was behind him. It had taken him more time to cut the spikes on the end of the log without his ki, but he couldn't risk being detected.

He held his breath as he slowly let go of the vine, praying to Tarro that it would be strong enough for the trap. Seeing that it held strong, he let out a relieved breath before moving on. His footfalls nearly silent as he moved through the tree.

Someone had destroyed his blutz wave orb, knocking him out of oozaru, and there hadn't been enough time to form another one before he was forced to flee. Now, he was being hunted like an animal by whole squads.

He had to get back to his ship. That bastard, Zarbon, might have blown it up, but there might be something salvageable he could use to call for help. There had to be a team nearby that could back him up or something! Unfortunately, the Cold's men were doing a great job in keeping him away from it.

He needed to set up more traps to get rid of his hunters so he could send a distress call. As soon as he had enough, it would be a matter of luring them right where he wanted them.

The small beta slipped deeper into the trees and checked his injuries next to a pool he found earlier. Several lacerations had cut through his armor and left shallow wounds on his shoulders and arms. He froze hearing some of Frieza's soldiers approaching his position. The beta immediately climbed into one of several large trees.

"Where is that little bastard! We've been here for two days already. How hard is it to find one stupid monkey?"

"Just shut up already." The other guard said dropping next to a pool of water. He grinned at the stupid fools as they drank from the water. The first fell over as he spit up blood-

"Alpha!" Vegeta stared up into Toa's worried eyes. Around them he could see more memories shimmering into focus. The beta snarled before letting out a roar that drove back the sands and memories.

"Alpha ok?" Toa asked giving the storm a wary look. The prince sat up rubbing his head as he let out a groan. He shook his head to get rid of the disorienting feeling of living his mate's memories. "You saw…" The words were soft and the prince saw the concern in the beta's eyes before growling at himself.

"Should have been faster. My fault."

"Its ok Toa. You got here and that's all that matters." Vegeta said hoping it comforted the feral beta.

"Need to move. Go to Safe Place."

The prince nodded, still slightly out of it. The smaller saiyan managed to help Vegeta get to his feet, and they started to hurry through the storm. The alpha had a hard time keeping his legs under him as they rushed while the sands and winds buffeted him, and it wasn't until Toa came to support him under one of his arms that he noticed something.

The memories seemed to be staying away from the beta. Or he more accurately noticed that they were being driven away after one tried to form in front of the pair, and Toa snarled at it before it vanished.

"Not far, Alpha." The feral beta half guided half dragged the older man. Despite his small size, Toa was very strong and very fast. "There!"

Seeing the house had the prince nearly sagging in relief. He wasn't sure just how much more he could take watching Kakarot's memories, each one he witnessed made him feel less like himself. Vegeta stumbled when Toa suddenly stopped before the door. He blinked in confusion and turned to look at the younger saiyan to see him looking at the door with a slightly fearful gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked before the beta hissed. The prince jerked some at the sudden sound, but Toa just tightened his hold on his arm and waist to keep him from moving away back into the storm. His brow furrowed as he moved his head to look back at the door only to groan at what he saw.

The air in front of the door was wavy and blocking their way completely. Toa snarled at the air, but it didn't go away like the others that had when the submissive had done that before. The small beta hissed and roared at the memory again but it stubbornly remained in their path.

Whining, the beta shifted closer to Vegeta as he looked around them. He seemed be getting more agitated the longer they were out of the house, and the larger man attempted to pull him closer to sooth his mate. The prince found himself growing worried about Kakarot. Was he ok inside?

"Have to go through." Toa said not looking away from the distortion. His words didn't quite make sense to Vegeta, and he tried to understand what he was talking about.

"What?"

"Flash. We go through Flash." Toa said with a shudder. Vegeta wanted nothing more than to go the other way. He didn't want to see any more of the hell his mate had been through. One look at Toa made him both ashamed and weak. Toa obviously wanted nothing to do with these memories, he knew what they would likely see in one, had possibly lived it himself, and he was still willing to go through it for the promise of safety on the other side. If his mate could do it, so could he.

"Alright." Toa looked up at him seeing the resolve in the alpha's eyes. Vegeta was pleased to see the uncertainty in Toa's eyes fade before the beta gave him a quick nuzzle.

"Don't let go."

Zarbon backhanded Toa hard enough to knock him away from the pile of blankets. Whimpering in pain the small beta forced himself up only to freeze as Seba screamed. Franticly, the beta looked to his nest. Zarbon harshly gripped the tiny cub's tail and held him in the air taunting him with the mocking sneer on his face.

Toa snarled in rage before he lunged at the alien. He swung wildly, his claws only ever reaching air. Finally he got close enough to hit the bastard only for Zarbon to thrust the wailing cub in front of himself. The beta froze in his attack, terrified of hurting his cub. Smirking Zarbon punched the small saiyan in his exposed stomach throwing him back to the floor.

It hurt. Toa couldn't help the whimper that came from his throat as he curled around his injured stomach. He could still feel the new cub. How could he have been so stupid to leave that area unguarded? Seba wailed in pain crying louder as the alien squeezed the tender limb. Growling he tried to get up only for white-hot pain to rip through him. He whimpered curling around his unborn cub.

Zarbon spoke to him again. He hated that hateful sneer. The beta bared his fangs with a growl but any attempt to move sent more pain ripping through his stomach.

He was going to lose the cub if he kept fighting. Seba cried again reaching out for him, and his heart broke. He had to choose between the two. With his eyes clenched, the beta force himself up gritting his teeth as he glared hatefully at the monster once he was on all fours. A bloodthirsty snarl tore from the beta as he lunged for his cub.

The blue alien laughed and struck him away again and again. Toa whimpered and pushed through the pain as tears fell down his face as he got up again. He could feel himself losing his cub. Bracing himself to attack again he screamed and fell to the floor, the pain too great. He could smell the blood from between his legs and feel it pooling under him. Seba, he couldn't lose him too.

With a weak growl he tried to pull himself towards his tormentor, his fingers straining against the floor as tears streamed down his cheeks. Laughing Zarbon dropped the now quiet cub just out of the beta's reach. He was breathing, unconscious from the pain inflicted on his small fragile tail. Whimpering the beta tried to get to his cub.

Footfalls and numerous people entered his view. Toa snarled angrily at the guards. Chorri was there in front of him then. Gently cradling Seba in one arm while the other gently touched his face. Her tone was soft and gentle, her eyes filled with worry. Turning away she hissed at the Bad one, clutching Seba closer to her chest to shield him. Pain tore though him, stronger this time making the beta cry out before blessed darkness took him.

Vegeta gasped as he and Toa fell out of the memory and landed heavily against the door. He shifted so that he would take the brunt of the landing, and the small form of his mate was held to his chest tightly.

The beta squirmed out from the tight hold the prince had on his mate to get to the door to open it. The larger man had his eyes glued to the shimmering air that was slowly getting closer. He pressed his body against the door to put as much distance between them and the memory as he could. It had been horrible to experience it once, and he had no desire to fall in it again.

The distortion was almost on them when Vegeta fell back with a yelp as Toa managed to get the door open. He landed on the floor with a groan and quickly moved back to kick the door shut. Only once the door was closed and remained that way did the alpha allowed his head to fall back on the floor.

++VK++

Kakarot pulled the fur covering him closer to his body as the storm raged outside. Vegeta and his other half were inside his Ao Tokonga, but they weren't in the house. They had to be out there in the chaotic storm of his memories, and he bit his lower lip as a violent blast of wind made the walls creak.

He closed his eyes to concentrate on Toa as he moved through the storm, something he had never done before. His feral side was feeling worried, and Kakarot realized that he was hunting for Vegeta out there. It worried the beta that the larger saiyan hadn't shown up in the house. He had been there every time he woke up since he had first seen the alpha in the nest.

The slight feeling of relief calmed Kakarot. He felt Toa slowly getting closer to the building, and he tried to focus on that feeling instead of the howling wind outside. He needed to remain as relaxed as he could to keep the storm from overwhelming the pair outside, unfortunately he was having a very hard time staying calm.

He had been awake ever since the storm started, and the small beta was getting more nervous the longer he remained alone. He knew that the flashes…memories couldn't get in the house, but that didn't stop the saiyan from whimpering and flinching whenever the storm made the house shake.

There was a loud thump at the door that had Kakarot yelping in fear. He huddled down in his nest as the door opened and the sound of something landing on the floor came from the entrance of the house. Feeling his other half's relief at being inside had the beta relaxing as the door slammed shut.

It was quiet for a few minutes, and he wondered if the alpha was alright. He slowly moved out of the mass of furs and hesitated a moment before climbing out of the nest. Kakarot trembled as he walked to the doorway of the room his resting place was and looked down the hall.

"Ve-Vegeta?" The storm crashed overhead shaking the house and the small beta whimpered in fear covering his head. He shouldn't have left the nest. Where were Toa and Geta? He didn't want to be alone.

Cloves assaulted his nose as familiar strong arms enveloped him. Kakarot left his soft purr rumble through his chest as he nuzzled into the warm safety of his alpha's arms. Toa was on the edge of his awareness. He wanted his other half there too. His tail fluffed in happiness as the feral half was there behind him then.

"You left the nest." Vegeta said almost in shock causing the beta to look up at him.

"You….weren't there." Kakarot softly answered biting his lip. He didn't want the alpha mad at him. The storm thundered again making him whimper and clutch at Vegeta as his tail latched on to Toa's wrist.

Vegeta was in shock and amazed by the small beta. Kakarot had sought him out, trusted him enough to leave the comfort and safety of his nest because he wasn't there.

"Shh, it's alright. I'm here now. You're safe, Kakarot." Vegeta crooned in his deep voice while his arms tightened protectively around the beta. His hand ran up and down Kakarot's back for a few minutes trying to comfort his small mate, and the younger man seemed to melt in his hold. The alpha moved an arm under the other's knees and lifted him off the floor before going back to the nest with Toa staying close beside him.

Kakarot's chest started to feel warm as they settled back in the furs and pillows of the nest. He nuzzled his face in the crook of Vegeta's neck with a happy purr, which only became louder when his other half came to rest against his side.

The beta felt his alpha's face move to nuzzle in his wild spikes of hair and the chest he was resting against started to rumble with a deep purr. He shivered as he felt the sound travel to his bones making Toa and Vegeta shift closer to him. Kakarot let go of the larger man to wrap an arm around the feral beta and pull him closer to relish in the feeling of safety.

++VK++

Vegeta held both of them tightly and nuzzled each in turn. They were safe, he told himself feeling his instincts on edge after viewing his mate's suffering. How could Kakarot even want to be close to another living being that wasn't one of his children after all of that? Kakarot and Toa's gentle purrs were soothing, as was the heat of their bodies and their weight in his arms. He warred with the urge to keep them in his arms where he knew nothing would hurt the gentle beta again and the knowledge that it wasn't possible.

Kakarot gently nuzzled back, filling the alpha with pride and he rumbled in his chest. At least he can keep them safe and calm as long as they are still with him like this. He needed to keep the smaller saiyan protected after everything the beta suffered through.

Vegeta fought a shudder at the thought what he had saw in his mate's memories. He knew that wasn't even the worst of what Kakarot had experienced during his time here, and the thought of what else could have been done to the younger male had the alpha tightening his hold on the pair in his arms. Just imagining what might have happened made him sick to his stomach.

"Mmm…" Kakarot's content hum brought Vegeta out of his dark thoughts. The beta was rubbing his cheek over the prince's heart in small nuzzles. He looked so peaceful at the moment, and Vegeta noticed that the storm had all but dissipated outside of the house. All that remained was a strong wind that howled over the sands.

Toa looked boneless on Kakarot's other side. Seeing the feral half of the submissive so relaxed had something unclenching in the taller man's chest. If he was calm, then things must have improved in the Ao Tokonga. Things were definitely different from the last storm he remembered.

The prince smiled softly and ran a hand over Toa's head, and his smile grew as he felt subtle changes in the other's mane. The texture was softer, and he could get his fingers to Toa's scalp. That was a great sign.

Twin purrs came from his armful, and Vegeta chuckled as he watched both Kakarot and Toa try and keep their eyes open. While he wished that they would stay awake longer, sleep in the illusion world seemed to help heal Kakarot's psyche. He started a deep purr and shifted them all into a more comfortable position.

"Sleep, Kakarot, Toa." Vegeta spoke with a low pitch that he hoped was soothing as he nuzzled his face in the spiky manes of both aspects of his mate. "I'll be right here when you wake."

"Mmm…" Kakarot seemed to whine out a protest, but he was quickly nestling down for another nap. As his eyes slowly slipped closed, he mumbled out something that stopped the alpha's heart in his chest.

"…love you…Geta."

He stared at the small beta in shock before shaking his head. He couldn't have heard what he did. Kakarot…he wasn't sure Kakarot knew what he was saying. Even if he did, he might not be communicating accurately or any better than Toa. Kakarot was happy he was there, he felt safe, but that did not mean he loved him. The beta remembered him vaguely and that made him comfortable with the prince. No, he could believe both halves of his mate liked him, but not more than that.

But that didn't stop the prince from hoping it might one day be true.