Warning: Language and sequences of violence

Facing the Future

Chapter 8

It was a very boring four days...

Athea stayed in the ship for another day, just to be sure. She sighed as she stepped out of the ship, taking a deep breath of the clean air. It was refreshing after all that recycled air on the ship, and she sucked in another breath. She glanced around, not seeing any of the saiyans' that she had been cooped up with for the whole trip.

Her arm was snatched as soon as she stepped on the ground. Her head whipped around, her nose automatically scrunching up.

"Heh, You're not running off girly," Nappa stated, a small sneer on his face. "You're gonna sit your ass down and not move unless I tell you," he said, jerking her a little. Her butt smacked the ground, a grunt coming out of her.

The man walked away from her, his tail swishing back and forth as he looked up at the sky. A sigh left him. Athea swallowed, discretely moving a little to the left so she wasn't directly behind him.

"Where is everybody?" she asked softly, seeing his ears twitch a little as she spoke.

Nappa glanced over his shoulder at her, a disgruntled look appearing across his features.

"They went to look for those dragonballs," he frowned a little, "and I've been appointed to watch over your ass, so don't try me little girl."

Athea bit her lip, her shoulders drooping a little. She would have preferred being looked after by Vegeta instead of this nasty saiyan. At least he didn't pass gas all the time and scratch inappropriate places. Even though the man scared the crap out of her, at least he wasn't disgusting.

Athea listened to the silence, breaking it every now and then by clearing her throat or shifting on the ground. Every time she moved, Nappa would glance at her, his bald head shining as he shot her a look that said "Don't even think about it."

After what seemed like hours, her attention went from watching the grass grow towards the bald, burly saiyan as he grunted loudly. His shoulders' were tense, his tail wrapping around his waist. She watched him cross his arms, studying something in the sky. She looked, but didn't see anything.

"What is it?" she asked softly, a little nervous at the way he was acting.

Nappa didn't answer right away, slowly turning towards her. "Get in the ship," he commanded roughly, his brows narrowed.

Athea stood to do as he said, gulping when he suddenly whirled back around, his tail whipping through the air. A growl emitted from the man's throat, and Athea took a step back in response.

"Ah, I thought it was your ugly, bald ass."

Athea jerked her head over at the unfamiliar voice, gasping in an unsteady breath. What now!?

"Shut up you fucking lap dog! And who you callin' ugly!? At least I'm not pink ," Nappa snarled, unfolding his arms. Athea flinched back as he powered up, moving behind the massive leg of the ship.

"Ha! Look eh' here Zarbon! He thinks he can fight me," the strange voice erupted with laughter, a moment later something clinked against the dirt.

Athea peeked out from behind the steel leg, her eyes widening when she caught sight of the familiar orange ball sitting on the ground.

The four star dragonball!

Her gaze flicked to Nappa. The man had an enraged expression marring his features, a vein popping on his forehead. He grunted as he powered up even more, before a yell ripped from his throat as he launched an attack on the two aliens standing in front of him.

Athea squeezed her eyes closed, moving back out of sight and slowly sliding to a crouch. She covered her ears as blasts and screams rang out. She swallowed, a tear leaking out. She knew the saiyan didn't have a chance. She recognized both aliens as soon as she saw them, though their appearance kind of surprised her.

Zarbon and Dodoria.

A sob escaped her as the ground shook, blasts lighting up the sky. She could see them even with her eyes closed. There was sudden silence.

She held her breath to dispel another sob, before cracking her eyes open.

Athea screamed at the sight of Zarbon in front of her, gazing down at her with a small smirk. He grabbed her as she tried to scramble away.

"Well," he said softly, his voice low and silky, "What do we have here?"

She felt the blood drain from her face as he shot her a smile, his eyes hard. A chuckle came from Dodoria as he made his way over, a nasty sneer spreading across his lips.

He grunted. "You think Frieza would let us keep her?" the pink alien asked, licking his lips.

Athea let out another terrified scream, thrashing in the taller aliens' hold. They both seemed to ignore her, the short, fat pink soldier taking a step towards her and pinching her side. She jerked in response, trying to move away from him.

"She doesn't have much meat on her bones, does she?" Dodoria frowned, raking his gaze over her before letting a grunt out.

"I doubt Frieza would want anything to do with this one, though she smells like that monkey Vegeta," Zarbon said, "We'll just have to wait until the masters' seen her."

Small gasps escaped Athea as she listened to their conversation, her heart pounding. She didn't even want to contemplate what they wanted from her, just wanted away from here, away from these two aliens.

Dodoria's frown deepened, picking up the dragonball while eying her. "But I'm hungry now!" he whined.

Athea felt her heart stop at his words, a choking sound coming out of her. Oh my God! They want...they want to snack on me! Another scream of terror ripped from her throat as they took off, Zarbon throwing her over his shoulder.

"Come Dodoria, let's get back to our pods. Frieza's waiting for us to return to the ship."

She watched in absolute fear as the ground got smaller and smaller, the sight of Nappa's mutilated body disappearing within seconds. A sob caught in her throat as tears fell from her eyes.

Where were Raditz and Vegeta!?

XXX

Their heads came up as they felt the spike in energy. They both rose into the air, Vegeta letting the green soldier formerly known as Guldo fall to the ground with a loud thud. The short, fat aliens' head rolled away from its' body, his eyes still open. Raditz blasted the tall, bulky, orange-haired soldier through the heart, not even bothering to look over as Racoom's body slumped to the ground. He glanced over as Burter and Jeice took off, yelling that they were getting their captain. He sneered, watching them go.

Raditz' focus jerked towards the prince, the man's eyes widening. Vegeta's body became still, his tail swaying slightly before wrapping around him.

"Nappa's energy is gone," Vegeta stated, his voice devoid of emotion.

The prince took off, Raditz right on his heels. The long-haired saiyans' heart was pounding in his chest, apprehension sliding down his spine. He swallowed, the only thought running through his mind was getting back to the ship as fast as he could.

Back to the woman.

Raditz felt something slowly swirl in his chest, disrupting his breathing. It took him a moment to realize it was fear.

He had a feeling that he was too late.

He didn't even glance over at Nappa's body once they landed, just sped into the ship. There was nothing he could do for his comrade anyway. It only took him a moment to reach their room, bursting through the door. He didn't even pay attention to the large dent he put in the door, just glanced around wildly. He spun, a hiss of breath coming out of him as he slammed the bathroom door open.

"Brat!" he shouted, swallowing when he didn't hear anything.

"Hey," Raditz said loudly, "woman, get your ass out here!"

His voice ricocheted back at him, his heart sinking. Raditz ignored the feeling, narrowing his eyes as he made his way back outside. He swallowed again, meeting the prince's gaze as his feet touched the ground once more.

"She's gone," Vegeta stated, his gaze unwavering as Raditz nodded. The prince finally looked away, his eyes narrowing as he looked up at the sky. He finally turned back to the third-class after several minutes.

"And I take it you want to go after her," he asked, the tone unreadable.

Raditz swallowed, a muscle clenching in his jaw. He slowly nodded this time, not saying anything.

Vegeta muttered a few curse words, a frustrated sigh leaving him. "You damn baka's," he snapped softly, his eye twitching. His muscles clenched as he crossed his arms, his features hardening.

"I felt Zarbon's pansy ass over there," Vegeta stated, tilting his head slightly. "Along with that spiky bitch Dodoria," he paused for a moment before smirking, "Why don't we pay them a visit. See if they would like to talk."

Raditz nodded, his shoulders' visibly relaxing a little. He glanced once at Nappa's body, before taking off after his prince, neither speaking as they made their way across the water.

XXX

The ship landed, absolute silence descending for a few seconds before the door opened, touching the ground with a small bang. The warrior stepped forward, stopping at the threshold and taking a deep breath, closing his eyes. He opened them, glancing around. There was rustling behind him, a moment later a curse word rendered the air.

"Why don't you leave that Bulma," he said, "We can always come back for it."

The blue haired woman straightened, huffing a little as she put her hands on her hips.

"Goku," she said loudly, "I need this stuff! I just forgot how heavy it was, that's all."

She grunted as she picked it up once more, gritting her teeth as she slid it over her shoulder. "Besides," Bulma puffed out, "most of this stuff is yours!"

Goku let out a short chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "Well," he said, sending her a small smile, "hand it over. I'll carry it for you."

Bulma let the pack fall with a sigh, the bag landing with a loud bang. "Okay," she said, bending to take a capsule out, "here Goku."

All she heard was silence.

Bulma looked up, a brow raising at the hardened expression on her friends' face. She swallowed as his hands clenched.

"Goku?" she said weakly, her gaze not moving as she heard Gohan walk up beside her.

"Hey, dad?" Gohan said softly, also staring at his father. "What's wrong?"

Goku took several minutes to finally answer. "I feel some massive powers," he stated softly, his head jerking to the side a moment later.

"They're headed this way!" he said loudly, his fists raising to his waist. Gohan and Krillin ran up to his side, frowns on their faces.

Bulma listened to the man, her face whitening. Oh God! I'm too pretty to die!

She focused on the three at the door as they jerked in surprise, their bodies tensing even more.

"What is it guys?" she asked weakly, swallowing hard.

"They..." Krillin trailed off, his eyes widening.

"They have Athea!" Gohan stated in surprise, his throat working.

Goku didn't say anything, his brows narrowing before he suddenly took off.

"Wait, Goku!" Bulma yelled, "You have to protect me!"

She ran to the entrance, fear coursing through her as Krillin and Gohan followed the tall man.

"You guys!" Bulma shouted, sinking to her knees, a whimper coming out of her.

"I'm gonna die without a boyfriend," she whined softly, her eyes watering. Bulma sniffed, before she started crying in earnest. "I'm gonna die alone without brushing my hair!"

XXX

Goku landed a few feet from the man smoothing his hair, and the pink one with spikes. His gaze went to Athea, who looked petrified. Gohan and Krillin appeared on either side of him a moment later. Goku took a step forward, meeting the girls' eyes as they shifted over towards him. Her eyes widened.

"Goku!" Athea shouted, thrashing wildly to get out of the tall aliens' hold. "Help me! They want to eat me!"

Goku froze for a moment at her words, completely stunned. They were using the girl as dinner!? He felt nausea rise in his throat, tamping it down before gritting his teeth. Not my friends!

"Let her go!" he stated loudly, his voice firm as he narrowed his eyes a little more, watching every move the two aliens' made.

A slight smile appeared on the tall, green haired mans' lips. "Oh look Dodoria," Zarbon said, his eyes lighting up, "more entertainment."

The pink spiked alien chuckled, sitting the dragonball in the seat of his pod, running his tongue over his mouth.

Krillin let out an "Ugh", a grimace appearing on his face. Gohan's eyes narrowed, his hands clenching.

Dodoria took a step forward, his smile turning into a grin as he looked over, watching off towards the right.

Goku and the others also looked over as two more people landed. His eyes widened.

Vegeta and Raditz stared at them for a moment, before a small sneer appeared on the long-haired saiyans face.

"Hello again brother."

No one spoke for a moment, silence descending on the odd group.

A blast suddenly rendered the air, piercing the pink alien between the eyes.

A trail of smoke curled from Vegeta's fingers, a satisfied smile on his lips.

"That takes care of him," he stated softly, slowly lowering his arm as his eyes shifted to Zarbon and the girl resting on his shoulder.

Before anyone could move, the green haired soldier threw Athea into the space pod, quickly climbing in after her. The door shut as Raditz raced towards it, a roar coming out of him.

Goku and the others watched in disbelief as the saiyan bashed the door with his fist, leaving a good size dent in the metal. The pod door bent, cracking down the middle. A whirring sound echoed around them as the small ship lifted in the air, surprisingly slow as it ascended. They could hear Athea screaming through the gaps made by the pissed off saiyan rushing towards the pod.

Raditz snarled as he flew above the thing, his lip curled back, the sight of his canines making the two young warriors on the ground shiver. Goku watched with interest as his brother clenched his hands together, raising his fists above his head before thrusting them down, smashing the top of the round space ship. Goku's eyes widened a little before he took off, heading towards the white pod racing towards the ground. His brother got there first, an enraged look on his face. Goku landed beside him, absently wandering exactly what happened in the months the girl had been in the others' presence. The man was acting too pissed about the green haired alien kidnapping Athea.

Goku tensed as the bottom of the ship raced towards them, jerking in surprise when it stopped suddenly, inches from his face. He blinked, staring at the sight of his brothers' fist embed in the metal. He watched as a trail of blood trickled down the man's arm, feeling sort of detached from the whole scene.

"Dad!"

"It's okay Gohan," Goku said absently, "Stay there," he commanded softly, watching as his brother slowly extracted his arm, the metal ripping into the muscle and tendons along his arm. A hiss escaped the man.

Raditz let the pod fall, moving out of the way. Goku watched his eye twitch at the sound of Athea's shrieks, hearing his teeth grind as he stalked towards the pod. The long haired saiyan ripped the door off, a terrifying snarl coming from him. Goku narrowed his eyes as the green haired man was jerked out, the saiyans' massive fist smashing into his face. Goku watched as Raditz beat the crap out of the man, his eyes wild. The saiyans' tail was slashing angrily, wildly going back and forth and slapping the ground. He took a step forward, but halted when Vegeta appeared beside the two, kicking Raditz off the man.

"Shut up!" Vegeta snapped when Raditz jumped up, snarling. "Go to the damn girl while I take care of this pussy," he stated, looking down at Zarbon.

The alien soldier scrambled to get away, and Vegeta grabbed him by his armor, turning him. A malevolent smile appeared on the prince's lips, watching in delight as fear appeared in the man's eyes.

Goku made his way towards his friends, watching the scene as he scratched the back of his head. He was silent as he landed beside Krillin, the two shorter warriors staring, slack jawed in shock.

"Dad," Gohan said softly, still staring down at the scene.

Goku made a small noise, watching also.

"Um...do we need to...um, help Athea?" the boy asked, his brows furrowing.

Gohan finally looked over at his father when Goku stayed silent. The man had an unreadable expression on his face, watching as Raditz gently pulled Athea out of the wrecked ship, the young woman having passed out from fear.

"We'll wait," Goku stated softly, ignoring the surprised looks from Gohan and Krillin. "I want to find out what's going on," he whispered, his brows narrowing.

Goku raced down towards the prince, halting the mans' arm that was thrust back, ready to deliver the death blow. Vegeta snarled, slowly turning his head, his eyes snapping.

"What the fuck do you think your doing, you third-class trash!"

Goku clenched his jaw, holding the saiyans' gaze. "Killing doesn't solve anything," he stated firmly, his grip tightening when Vegeta tried to wrench his arm away.

"Get the hell off me!" Vegeta roared, finally jerking his arm free and back handing the taller saiyan in the jaw with his fist.

Goku's head snapped back on impact, falling back several feet. He powered up, gritting his teeth. He lifted his gaze, meeting the shorter saiyans'.

His hands balled into fists as he took a step forward, watching as surprise appeared in the shorter saiyans' eyes. They suddenly narrowed to slits, the man's tail thrashing and slamming the ground. A sneer appeared on Vegeta's face, right before he thrust his arm forward, his hand going through the alien soldiers' chest. It burst out the other side, blood and meat flying over the ground.

Goku gasped in surprise, his eyes taking in the gruesome scene. He took a hesitant step forward.

"Kakkarot!"

Goku halted as Raditz walked up to them, not even batting an eye at the sight of Zarbon, Vegeta's arm halfway through his body. The long haired saiyan was holding Athea close to his chest. His eyes snapped as he stopped a few feet away from Goku, his tail coming unraveled from his waist. It wrapped around Atheas' legs, the man seeming not even aware of it.

"What the hell do you think your doing!?" Raditz bit out, his lip curling a little. His gaze flitted towards the shorter man. "Excuse my brother sire," his eyes moved back to Goku, "his ignorance is showing."

Vegeta let go of Zarbon's armor, the body smacking the bloody ground. Neither spared the corpse a glance. The prince crossed his arms, his tail wrapping back around his waist. He slowly looked over at Goku.

"It seems to run in your family Raditz," Vegeta stated in a nasty voice, his eyes still glinting in outrage.

Raditz stayed silent, a muscle twitching in his cheek. Goku looked from one to the other, before glancing at Athea.

"You need to let her go," he stated softly, his gaze jerking up at the fierce growl.

Raditz rolled his upper lip back, his arms tightening around the womans' body.

"Fuck you," the long haired saiyan stated, his incisors flashing.

Goku studied his brother, noting the way the man was holding Athea, how protective he was acting towards her. Goku's brows furrowed. What the hell's been going on between those two!?

After studying the surly man for another moment, Goku made up his mind, slowly straightening. He let out a small sigh, glancing at the slashes on the older saiyans' arm. He turned, gesturing for them to follow.

"Come on," he said, lifting in the air.

"Why?" Raditz asked, watching him suspiciously.

Goku sighed again, folding his arms as he glanced back at them. "Just come on. I've got something that will heal that right up," he explained, gesturing to the man's blood drenched arm.

Raditz grunted, watching his brother fly off before looking over at the prince.

"Sire?" Raditz said, unsure as to whether his prince was going to follow or not.

Vegeta shot him a look, glaring after the tall earth saiyan before slowly following.

Raditz glanced down at the unconscious woman in his arms, his brows furrowing as he lifted his hand and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face. His focus went to his arm, studying the already dried blood and ripped skin. He grunted again, before lifting into the air and following his prince.

Krillin and Gohan watched, disbelief on their faces as Goku flew past them, the shorter saiyan following a moment later. They were still watching as Raditz flew passed, Athea clutched in his arms. Gohan and Krillin glanced at each other, before hurrying after the men. Krillin swallowed, fear sliding down his spine.

"Man," he whispered, glancing at the boy flying beside him, "Your dad is my best friend, but Gohan..." he let a nervous laugh out, "he's crazy. What the heck is he thinking!?"

Gohan didn't say anything for several seconds.

"I don't know Krillin," he stated softly, furrowing his eyes at the saiyans' in front of him.

Goku landed outside their ship, pausing and waiting for the two saiyans before slowly going up the steps. Something barreled into him, skinny arms wrapping around his waist.

"Goku!" Bulma sobbed out, her voice loud and scratchy. "You're alive!"

Goku let a nervous chuckle out, scratching the back of his head before lightly patting his friends' back. "It's okay Bulma," he said softly.

"Okay!?"

Goku winced at the loud screech.

"Okay!?" Bulma shouted again, untangling herself from him and planting her hands on her hips. Her face was furious. "How is it okay when you guys left me here to die!?"

"What the hell is that obnoxious screeching!?"

Goku glanced behind him, studying the shorter saiyans' face. The man looked slightly put out. Goku cleared his throat, reaching over and snatching the small bag off the table by the door.

"Here," he said, handing a bean to Raditz. "It will heal you," he explained at the suspicious look the man shot at him. His brother slowly took it, hesitating before throwing it into his mouth, his other arm still tightly wrapped around Athea.

Goku looked over at the other saiyan again, noticing the shorter man was glaring at Bulma, who's eyes had widened.

"Uh, this is Bulma," he said, gesturing to his blue haired friend, "She's a friend of mine."

"And Bulma," he said, studying the blushing woman as he gestured to the shorter saiyan, "this is..." he paused, not knowing the man's name.

"Vegeta," the flame haired saiyan stated firmly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Prince Vegeta."

Goku heard Bulma squeak a little, her hands grasping the front of the jacket she was wearing.

"It's nice to meet you," she breathed out, her gaze roaming over the prince intently.

Vegeta studied the woman for several seconds.

"Nnh."

XXX

~Chapter by GVLuver~