He didn't know what she wanted from him. This frail human female who stood between him and certain death. Why had she done it? It angered him because he couldn't understand. He had dimly been aware of being lifted and carried, but hadn't had the strength to resist. He had listened to the human speak with Kakarot in her human language. He hadn't understood, but when he had cracked an eye open to watch, he thought he understood a little more. This human woman who had defended him was trying to convince this Earth-twisted Saiyan to leave her. With him.
The look on Kakarot's face had been haunted. Why? Why would a Saiyan think so much of a fragile woman as to allow himself to be emotionally distraught by one? Who the fuck is this ridiculous female? He had wanted to shout the question at the two. Instead, he watched them and became more baffled and angry as he did so.
When finally the blasted pseudo-Saiyan left, he decided to let the female know he was awake. He needed to take back control and even if the other Saiyan wouldn't assert himself, he certainly would. What had happened next hadn't been part of the plan.
After watching her make a fool of herself, pacing back and forth after having lost the scouter, she had abruptly stopped. Interested in spite of himself, he continued to watch her. There was nothing else to do. At least, not until he gained the strength to break out of here. Unless there was something unseen that would ensure he stayed here? They knew what he was, and even injured, they would know he couldn't be kept in a cage such as this one.
Bah.
And then – magic. No. Not magic. Something even more improbable. Something small thrown to the ground and when the smoke cleared, something large in its place. He knew what he had seen, but he couldn't wrap his mind around how it could be done. He looked back up at the female, even more wary. He knew she was intelligent; she had changed the scouter technology to suit her needs. Just how intelligent was she? Was that why everyone seemed to defer to her? No matter. Just so long as she kept to her side of the cage, he couldn't care less who she was or what she was doing.
But then she stood, clearly intending to approach him and he… reacted. He didn't know why he felt so threatened by her. He knew she couldn't – wouldn't – harm him. He didn't know why he knew this, but he was certain of it. Maybe that was why he felt so strangely off balanced. He'd never felt safe before, and the sensation made him feel vulnerable. He simply didn't trust it.
So when she challenged him, he felt more at ease. And, oddly, amused. What kind of prey threatened a predator?
His amusement was replaced by surprise when she took a step towards him. Annoyed, he stabbed at her mind… and was shocked to find it extremely well defended. He pushed harder, thrusting aside the mixture of gibberish and symbols meant to confuse him. He was getting nervous. Never before had he met such resistance. Angry, he pushed even harder.
And then promptly, his brain broke. Or rather, his control of it did. The image was.. like nothing he could make sense of. Visually, he could ascertain the activity; her mouth was pressing against his. But the feelings behind it mystified him. Wholly withdrawing from her mind, he retreated and put barriers up to protect his own mind against a further attack. He didn't understand why this image disturbed and fascinated him so powerfully, but something about it reminded him of Zarbon's game. He wasn't sure if he believed the little human female was trying to manipulate his arousal to gain control, especially when the image had an undertone of shyness and embarrassment. He wasn't even sure if arousal was supposed to be an effect of the image. Or the action the image portrayed.
The whole thing left him puzzled, annoyed, wary, and, bizarrely – insanely curious.
He allowed her to approach him. Still trying to discern deception, he tasted the air. She smiled patiently at him, like she knew what he was doing. This irritated him even more but he found himself relaxing under her fingers. It wasn't until she handled a cutting instrument that he realized he had grown too comfortable. He stared at her while she stared at him, trying to figure out why the hell he didn't care that she was sitting so closely, why it didn't bother him that she was touching him.
He sighed, torn between lethargy and wariness. Then it hit him.
The reason her scent had caught his attention before; it was calming. The deeper he breathed, the more tranquil he felt. This in itself should have been enough to blast her across the room in a mist of blood and bone. But the peculiar buzz of peace teased his exhausted mind, and the certainty that she wouldn't harm him floated into his awareness again.
He decided to allow her to finish. He'd sort out the rest later – for now, he didn't have to particularly like the female to trust her to tend his wounds. After all, she was familiar with Kakarot and knew well that Saiyans were most dangerous when they were injured. And there was Radditz who had trusted her. Not that Kakarot and Radditz were shining examples of Saiyan behavior.
He closed his eyes and relaxed under her fingers. Never once did his attention waver.
So when she stood up and started speaking to him, he realized she believed him to be asleep. As her voice moved across the room, he opened his eyes. When she started to disrobe in front of the sink, he suspected he knew what she was doing. Yet, he continued to watch her with mild, detached interest. When she was finished washing, he closed his eyes before she turned around.
Sometime later, he awoke when he heard her shifting position on the floor. He hadn't realized he had fallen asleep, but he was beyond caring about the woman or her intentions. She wasn't a threat. If she became one, he'd kill her. For now, she brought him water, ensured his bandages were clean, and spoke to him. He didn't understand her words, but her voice was soft and soothing. She wasn't Saiyan, but she was the only other being here. She would have to do. He had been alone in space way too long already. He had expected to meet Radditz and Kakarot here… not get stuck with a human woman.
He sighed and closed his eyes again. He didn't miss Radditz or Nappa, but they were necessary. As telepathic creatures, Saiyans used their minds just as much as they did any other sense. When there were no other minds shoving, poking, slapping, squashing, guiding, or – simply there to brush up against just to feel another presence – Saiyans became unstable. They relied on each other for balance. A Saiyan alone was… dangerous. Growing more and more desperate for telepathic contact, a Saiyan would become enraged and panicked; lose control of their ki bit by bit until it consumed them completely. But worse than death by loss of control was the time spent before that moment; drifting in the depths of their own limitless emotions and perceptions without other minds to lean against, eventually – a year, maybe more, maybe less - a Saiyan would become unreachable in a haze of featureless, endless nothingness. Insanity. It would be a release when one finally succumbed to the implosion of their own ki.
This was why Freeza had left him a kingdom of two fellows; older and more experienced so they could help their powerful Prince. Even Freeza understood that the more powerful the Saiyan, the more dangerous if ever lost within the nothing. The problem was the two he had were barely sufficient. If his people and planet were still in existence, he likely would have had dozens of Saiyan minds dedicated to him as he was raised. Minds to educate him and guide him, minds to suppress his wildly potent ki until he could learn to control it under the influence of intense emotion. Minds to help his body and ki adjust as he came of age..
The woman sat up and looked out of the cage and down the hallway. She didn't realize the noise she had heard was a rodent climbing through the walls. Vegeta counted backwards and deduced that they had been inside this cage for almost two full days, and were halfway through their third. In another day or so, he'd be able to rise from where he lay, tear off the door, and walk out. It would still be some time before he could fly. Though the woman had plenty of food in those impossible miniature contraptions of hers, he couldn't eat as much as he needed to heal. When he had been hit with that energy beam, something deep inside him had ruptured.
If they were stuck in here much longer, though, he'd need the woman's help using the - towlet? – Whatever she called the thing in the corner. Every so often she pointed at it and then at him with a question in her voice. He only knew what it was for because she had needed to use it surprisingly often. Couldn't her body use water more efficiently? Apparently she knew to be embarrassed by this because every time she went to sit on the contraption, she chirruped at him energetically until he relented and looked away. At this point, when he saw her moving towards the thing, he turned his head without her encouragement. As if he had interest in her bodily functions.
He touched her mind again. He tried to resist the urge to do so as long as he could each time, but he found he was starting to subconsciously look for the reassurance of another mind even in his sleep. He wasn't sure if she noticed it, but if she did, she didn't try to block him. He tried to be as subtle as he could, anyway. Accepting the human's help was one thing. Allowing her to know he found – needed - comfort from mind to mind contact was out of the question.
She was pacing in front of the cage door. This time the sound was definitely not from a rodent in the walls. Suddenly very alert, he pushed his awareness out. Over the last days, he had learned a telepathic alteration when trying to reach out undetected to the woman's mind. It didn't work so well with the kind of mental connection he needed, but it was a revealing, quite useful discovery. He prepared his mind as he would before making a telepathic connection, but he reached out with his ki instead. The result had been so shocking, and the effort so simple, he wondered how he had never discovered this before. He felt the location, strength, and even the disposition of life forces as far out as he could reach with his ki. With practice, he was learning how to discern specific life forms from others. He was certain he could recognize the woman without effort. He'd been stuck with her long enough.
But now, he felt something – different. Life forms, yes. Three had a fair level of ki, one was substantially stronger. There were four of them, and without a doubt, they were purposefully headed towards he and the human.
He struggled to sit and instantly, the woman was at his side trying to help him. He didn't bother slapping her away with much vigor; she was a persistent little pest, and he wasn't sure yet whether or not he would need her assistance. Sitting upright was… more difficult than he had expected, and standing would be a feat of miraculous will even with her help. He flicked a heated glare in her direction just to be sure she understood and she backed away. Not too far away, he noticed. He also noticed that she had reacted to his response when he realized something was approaching. She had trusted his instinct and she had come to his side - as an ally would. Foolish woman. Hadn't she even considered it might have been a rodent in the wall? Or that those who approached could very well be her own companions returned for her?
He peered at her from the corner of his eye. She looked towards the hallway, not with anticipation of a reunion with those whom she trusted, but with trepidation. Did she know there were enemies approaching? Or was she just following his lead? How did she know he wouldn't react to her associates in this manner? How did she even know he knew someone approached? What if all he had wanted was to release his water into that contraption in the corner?
He narrowed his eyes before turning his attention back to the hallway. None of that mattered.
They sat. And they waited.
