Peripheral Reality

Chapter 8

Kakarot touched his face absently, wincing as his fingertips came in contact with another bruise. They showed up clearer each time, and he wondered if it was because Broly was hitting him harder, or because he was getting paler from lack of sleep and fear. His tail flicked beside his own leg, a little sore and stiff from his last healing session, but otherwise intact. He should have counted himself lucky he hadn't been permanently injured, but the soreness served as a reminder of how helpless he was when his domineering mate took control. He could remember the splitting agony of having his tail twisted and bent, the delicate bones crunching together and sending lightning bolts of torment up his spine with each one that was mutilated. And that wasn't even the worst part; the worst of it was when he couldn't get his muscles to relax before Broly forced himself inside, tearing and shredding until Kakarot wanted to pass out from the pain. And when he was done, Broly left him alone to bleed, until Vegeta or Radditz found him like they always did and took him to be healed. But they couldn't stop Broly from doing the same thing over and over again, and Kakarot could do nothing but obey and submit, or else it would be worse for him.

In other words, Broly was not Kakarot's mate; he was his master. Nearly his owner, except Kakarot had one thing keeping him from breaking, one thing keeping him from giving in and surrendering.

He had a memory of what it was like to be cherished, of how it was supposed to be; and he drew on his memories of Goku and the wonderful experiences he'd shown him every time Broly descended on him.

Broly had thought Kakarot was a virgin when they mated; that he had no idea what to expect and couldn't associate the union of two bodies with anything but mastery and pain, but Kakarot knew different, and that was one small thing that kept him from feeling hopeless; one small flame of defiance that kept him fighting Broly's control.

He heard footsteps, and looked up nervously in time to see the familiar form of Broly striding through the doorway. The tall, dark-haired Saiyan looked at him briefly with coal eyes, the golden bands on his arms glinting in the fading sunlight as his tail lashed and curled.

"You were healed again," he said in monotone, his lips barely moving.

Kakarot's tail smacked the bed with suppressed anger, "No thanks to you."

"That's right," Broly scowled, "His Highness and his little long-haired friend always help you out."

Kakarot set his teeth, "If they didn't, I wouldn't be here now."

Broly loomed over him, and an imprinted sense of foreboding urged Kakarot to shrink back, but he resisted.

"You would be," Broly said icily, "And you'd be a little wiser for it."

"I would be crippled," Kakarot spat.

A snarl cornered Broly's mouth, "You would learn some humility. A little pain can teach you a lot."

A little? Kakarot thought incredulously.

"Like what?" he retorted.

He swallowed hard in mounting dread as Broly's fingers clenched around his jaw, "Like when to hold your tongue."

Kakarot was aware that he was shivering fearfully as he met Broly's flinty eyes, "Broly, please don't -" he implored, "It's only been a day -"

"Should have thought of that before you decided to run your mouth," Broly growled.

With that, the tall Saiyan gripped Kakarot's shoulder and wrenched him to the side so that he was flat on his stomach on the bed. Kakarot grit his teeth as his muscles sang with pain, and in a burst of resistance he tried to get up, to flee and get away from the threat every nerve was interpreting loud and clear.

Broly was having none of it, and he dragged Kakarot back so that he not only lost his balance, but fell so that he was sprawled on the floor instead of the mattress; on his hands and knees at Broly's feet, unable to escape.

Terror raced through Kakarot's veins as unforgiving hands grabbed his shoulders from behind, twisting his arms behind his back and snapping bones, which ripped through muscle as they shattered, jabbing him with spears of pain. Broly threw him to the ground, his ruined arms useless to catch him as his face collided with the stone floor, cutting teeth through his gums, the broken fragments slicing at the meat of his tongue. He spat blood, defenselessness setting in as Broly's fingers grabbed his hips, digging in bruisingly before he stripped away Kakarot's spandex leggings.

Kakarot's tail automatically tried to move away, but wasn't able to evade Broly's hand as it closed around the base painfully, applying pressure as he held the appendage away from his goal. Kakarot took a shuddering, shallow breath, trying to force himself to relax, knowing it would only be worse if he was tense.

A choked shout of agony escaped him as Broly shoved into his entrance, and he heard the perverse groan the other released as he started to move his hips, destroying inner muscle with each brutal thrust as Kakarot felt trickles of hot blood begin to leak down the insides of his thighs.

"So fucking tight," Broly panted cruelly, driving in deeper and eliciting a tormented whimper, "Just like always, pet."

A growl that was drenched in pain and blood rumbled from Kakarot's throat and he squeezed his eyes shut, "Don't -" he forced out, his voice strained and shaking, "Don't call me that you bastard."

He inhaled sharply as Broly flipped him and slammed him down on his back, ribs piercing his lungs as he struggled to breathe, coughing wetly on the blood in his throat and chest.

"Still running the mouth," Broly sneered, "Keep it shut, pet, and I'll make this quick."

Kakarot felt tears forming behind his eyelids, of fear and helplessness, and he moaned dully in pain as Broly invaded him again, taking his tail in his hand, a little higher up.

Think... think of something else... his thoughts begged, and he kept his eyes closed, taking clogged, steadying breaths as he tried to remember a happier memory. For a seeming eternity, his mind failed him, blank except for the pain weighing on his body, the fear thrumming in his veins.

Kakarot, you are so amazing...

He exhaled softly as the remembered words lulled his mind, the smile on Goku's face as he kissed him and worshipped him, the beautiful golden eyes resting gently on him.

I want to stay here with you and never let you go... I need you... you hear me, Kakarot? I need you...

Kakarot felt the tears escape and trace down his cheeks, and he had only a dim awareness of Broly hammering into him ruthlessly as he thought of Goku's words, the ache in his heart as he thought of how much he still loved him, how much he wished he could see him again, one more time.

He was jolted from his remembrance, his eyes snapping open, as he felt fingers gripping his tail harshly; his world narrowing to the sensitive appendage in Broly's grasp, and he watched with the same thrill of horror he always felt as it was snapped to the side, then twisted almost into a knot, unbearable agony pinching and crushing the fragile bones beneath hypersensitive skin and fur. He screamed, trying futilely to kick his tormentor away, only to have his shin splintered as his leg was broken beneath Broly's boot. Broly was panting delightedly as he thrust once more, the final movement lubricated with blood, and he released his seed deep in Kakarot's depths as he gave a sickening sigh of deranged ecstasy.

Then he withdrew mercifully, and only gave Kakarot a dismissive glance before walking away and pulling up his pants.

And as he left, Kakarot curled into a ball, blood pooling between his legs, and broke down into choked, gasping sobs as tears rushed uncontrollably down his face.

X

It couldn't be real. Goku stared in horror, unable to comprehend what he was looking at. There was no way Kakarot could still be breathing with that much blood creeping across the floor. He had known Vegeta was telling the truth when he described the monstrous rapes Broly had forced on Kakarot, but whatever he'd pictured didn't come close to what he was seeing.

Kakarot was lying, curled up like a wounded animal, in a shockingly bright red puddle of his own blood, seeping from between his thighs; his leg was at an awkward, twisted angle, clearly broken, and his arms were limp, bone visible in some places where it had shredded through the skin. His tail was a knotted, tangled mess that was painful just to look at, and his frame was shaking with weak, clotted sobbing.

Tentatively, forcing himself to move, Goku approached the tortured figure, and knelt, horrified that the damage looked so much worse up close, at Kakarot's side.

"Kakarot..." he murmured; his voice sounded feeble and distant, barely able to form coherent words with the numb disbelief taking over.

Kakarot visibly flinched, and hollow, green eyes opened slowly and looked at him without focus.

Goku felt his heart break. There was such a depth of tormented fear and defeat in those eyes that he could almost feel it himself. And Kakarot gave no sign of recognition before his eyes flitted closed exhaustedly, his breathing sawing in his chest, thick with blood.

He doesn't know who I am right now, Goku thought, I doubt he'd recognize anyone though... Is this what Vegeta had to see every time he came to rescue him?

He loathed having to move Kakarot, having to lift him and in doing so cause him more pain, but he had to do it, or else Kakarot would die here. As gently as he could, he wrapped an arm around Kakarot's shoulders, and hooked the other behind his legs, lifting him like a delicate thing and holding him to his chest carefully, feeling rivulets of blood running from the injured Saiyan's legs and dripping down on his own arms and chest. He was aware when Kakarot lost consciousness in his arms, likely passing out from pain or blood loss.

He brought him over to the bed on the other side of the room, and laid him down. He remembered his grandpa Gohan's teachings in healing, but even then, he knew it would be a stretch to fix the damage himself. Luckily Vegeta had supplied him with some of the healers' herbs, but still he berated himself for not bringing senzu when he'd returned here.

He set to work, stopping as much of the bleeding as he could and setting the broken leg, but the arms took a bit more effort, and he was fairly certain every single bone in them had been shattered or bent. He didn't know what to do with the tail, so he treated it much the same as he would another arm, carefully laying it straight and being sparing with any bandages, as they would just have to be removed later, and that would be a painful process for such a sensitive part of the body. He chewed the herbs Vegeta had given him into a paste as he'd been instructed, and applied them wherever they were needed, slipping a certain ground-up leaf into Kakarot's mouth for him to swallow, which he was told would stop internal bleeding. The rest was up to natural Saiyan healing.

Feeling rather helpless, Goku sat on the edge of the bed next to him, his tail curling restlessly. At first his thoughts dwelt on Kakarot, and he allowed himself to feel what he'd been hiding from for much too long, that he truly did love him. It had taken Gohan's perception for him to realize it, but he couldn't deny that he'd known it all along deep down.

And then his pondering turned to Broly. A growl came from his throat as he thought of what that bastard had done... and he swore he would make him pay in blood for it. Just thinking about the relentless agony Broly had caused Kakarot for years was enough for him to want to rip out his spine and feed it to him. ...Though he did consider that a slow, thorough castration may be more appropriate.

Kakarot stirred slightly with a quiet murmur of pain, and Goku immediately snapped to attention.

He's coming to already? He thought, Gods, he's so much more resilient than me... I was out for a whole day when I had half his injuries.

Kakarot's expression was contorted with discomfort, and his eyes squinted open after a long moment, instantly landing on Goku.

He said two words.

"I'm dreaming..." he murmured, his vision obviously still unsteady as his emerald eyes shifted for focus, nearly rolling back in his head at some point.

"Kakarot," Goku said levelly, "You're badly hurt, you should rest."

Kakarot looked at him waveringly for a long moment, "...Are you real?" he asked thinly.

Goku felt an ache in his throat of mixed pity and affection, and he slowly leaned down and touched his lips to Kakarot's chastely. He could feel Kakarot trembling, and when he broke away, Kakarot's lips pursued his beseechingly, a soft sound of longing escaping him.

Goku remembered that, while it had been only a few hours since he'd last seen Kakarot, for Kakarot himself it had been much longer. It had been years since Kakarot had seen him, since he'd been able to look at him and kiss him. And in all that time he'd been sure that he'd never see him again, that he'd be condemned to a life all but enslaved by Broly until that monster saw fit to end him. That thought alone caused Goku to cave with an almost painful rush of sympathy, and he gently covered Kakarot's mouth with his own, feeling and hearing the moan released almost desperately against his lips.

"Please..." Kakarot whispered when Goku drew away again, "S-stay... please... don't leave me again..."

"Never again," Goku promised, lightly kissing him again.

"Goku please..." Kakarot pleaded shakily, "Love me... make love to me..."

Goku met his dazed green eyes, and slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry Kakarot... You've lost a lot of blood, you aren't thinking clearly... Rest; when you've recovered completely, and only then, I will do anything you ask."

There was a long silence, and for a moment Goku thought Kakarot had fallen unconscious again, until he spoke.

"W-why did you... come back?" Kakarot asked quietly, his eyes closed as he drew breath slowly, clearly in great pain.

Goku allowed himself to just look at him, amazed how uniquely beautiful he could still be when they were two versions of the same person.

"I love you, Kakarot."

He heard Kakarot's breathing catch, and watched the slightly unsteady smile cross his face.

"I love you too," he said in little but a whisper, his eyes still closed.

Goku smiled, "I know."

Kakarot paused for a moment, "What are... you g-going to do about Broly?"

A grim determination sparked in Goku's chest, and his tail swished once, "I'm going to set you free of him. He can't run or hide from me, and his death will be slow and painful; you have my word. He will be punished for what he's done to you."

Kakarot was silent for a while again, processing Goku's words.

After a moment his eyes flitted open and looked at Goku with a mix of emotions meshing in his gaze.

"Goku..." he said softly.

"Hmm?" Goku asked.

"...I missed you..."

Goku leaned down again and brushed his lips across Kakarot's brow, "I missed you too."

TBC

((So... apparently I do my stories in chunks. I get focused and I throw in a bunch of cliffhangers, and boom, three chapters in three days. This one was a little cruel at the beginning, sorry about that. But I made up for it with some nice sap for you, and believe you me, Broly is going to get his punishment and then some. I'd be very... amused... at any suggestions you guys have for how precisely Goku should hand him his ass. Be creative guys, I look forward to it.

Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing. This story is looking to be short but sweet, and I think we're already past the halfway point, unless some new inspiration comes up.

-Shinsun))