Warning: Language!

Facing the Future

Chapter 9

Raditz stepped into the room Kakkarot indicated, keeping a firm hold on the woman in his arms. He paused as the door slid shut behind him, his chest expanding as he took a deep breath. He finally glanced down.

Athea was still out, her lips parted slightly as she breathed. He reached up, brushing a few stray hairs away from her face. His gaze went to the dried blood on his arm, freezing for a moment before his eyes widened. He stared at the perfectly healed skin. No torn meat, no tendons showing, no oozing liquid. Just caked blood. Shit! He let out a shuddered breath, blinking once before slowly letting his arm fall. I'm gonna have to find out where that bastard got those damn beans! Raditz' gaze went back to the woman sleeping peacefully against him.

The memory of her horrified face flitted through his conscious, a muscle twitching in his jaw. He couldn't help his lip curling back instinctively, a guttered growl escaping his throat. Mine! His mind shouted the word, almost feral in its intensity. He knew what those disgusting maggots were going to do to her. Despite what most thought, Frieza's henchmen did not take females to rape and defile.

It was more disturbing than that.

The men under Frieza delighted in pain and torture, always taking joy in seeing the terror on the victims' faces, the screams that ripped through the night. It was more than just getting sexual satisfaction. It was pure evil.

Those men, with no moral, no justification...roasted their victims and picked their bones. Literally.

Raditz had seen it happen, and he would never get those screams out, never get the faces of those females out of his head. Out of his memory.

He looked back down at Athea, his arms tightening around her instinctively. No matter what vile, low things he had done in his life, he would never...never stoop to that sort of malevolence. He was a cold bastard, but he wasn't that sick in the head.

Raditz slowly turned, taking the two short steps to the bed and laying the young woman down. She curled up on her side, a small whimper coming out of her. One of her hands tightened around his armor, fear passing over her features as she let out a small gasp, an almost inaudible sob coming from the woman' throat. "No," she breathed out, her voice laced with terror.

Raditz swallowed, closing his eyes. He knew the woman would have nightmares the next few days, if not weeks. He let out a low sigh, grasping the hand wrapped around his chest plate, gently extracting it. She fought his hold, though it was like trying to swat a butterfly away without hurting it. She latched onto his armor again, this time burying her face against him as a shudder raked over her body. Raditz clenched his jaw, turning his head to study the door for a moment before gently sliding Athea's body across the bed. Her hand stayed firmly wrapped around his armor, her breath hitching slightly. Raditz threw another glance at the door, pausing for a moment before laying on his side, facing the woman that he was thinking about way too much lately.

He scowled at himself, wanting to hate the girl for making him experience these...feelings! He couldn't remember the last time he had felt that swirling coldness in the pit of his stomach, the shortness of breath, the shaky aftermath. Fear. It had been fear he had been experiencing, and for someone besides himself. Had he ever felt the need to let that emotion take over, the unstoppable pounding of his heart, the quickening of blood in his veins? And the rage that accompanied it...the fury that had blinded him when he saw Zarbon throw her into that space pod. He had felt his world tilt. He had seen red, the only thought was to get back what was his!

He slowly reached over and slid his fingers through the woman's hair, his thumb gliding across the hallow of her cheekbone, down to the side of her neck. She moved closer, her eyes still closed, scrunched up a little as a shiver ran down her body. Raditz went completely still as Athea buried her face against him, her body scrunched into a little ball. He moved his hand away, balling it into a fist against his side. He warred with himself, the automatic response drilled into him since he was a cub shouted at him to severe the contact now, to hell with the woman's feelings, to jump up and get as far away as possible. His muscles twitched with the command his mind was shouting, but he couldn't move.

Raditz glanced down at the top of her head, snuggled as close as she could to his chest, her cheek pressed against the chest plate of his armor. He blew a harsh breath out through his nose, his hand lifting on its own, his fingers curled and ready to pull her roughly away from him by her hair. Her hand moved then, unclenching from the plate of armor and wrapping around his arm. His hand stopped, already wrapped in the woman's hair, ready to jerk her painfully away. His skin burned where her fingers touched, her small hand barely able to wrap around not even half of his bicep. Raditz felt his tail unravel as his breath hitched, not exactly sure what he should do. The furry appendage shot forward on its own, wrapping around Athea's small waist and pulling her snug against him. Raditz slowly looked down at the woman's face, now lifted slightly towards his neck. He clenched his jaw, extracting his tail from her body as a muscle jumped in his cheek. Raditz let out a small breath as he sat up, looking away from the woman as he pulled her away, ignoring the small whimper that passed her lips. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at her, the young woman curling into a ball in the middle of the bed, her arms wrapping around her waist. Raditz looked away from her before leaving, putting the sight of her from his mind.

He went in search of Kakkarot, intent on finding out exactly where his little brother got those damn beans.

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Goku watched the door his older brother disappeared through, absently responding to something Gohan and Krillin were saying to him. His eyes narrowed a little. The long-haired saiyan was taking too long. It didn't take ten minutes to lay the girl down on the bed and leave. What was he doing in there? Goku was fixing to get up and check on Athea when Raditz finally came out, his features hard. The earth raised saiyan studied his brother, hoping the man didn't hurt or scare the young woman. She was Goku's friend, and he always tried his best to keep his friends safe. He cleared his throat, standing and folding his arms as Raditz came stalking towards them. A squeak came out of Krillin as he jumped back, Gohan standing with his father, a hard expression appearing on his face. Goku didn't pay any attention to this, just studied his brother as Raditz narrowed his eyes on him.

"Raditz-" Goku began, only to be cut off by the man.

"Where did you get those beans you little bastard!"

Goku scowled at his words, his frown deepening. He studied the man as he stopped a foot away from him, the difference in their sizes becoming apparent as they stood in front of each other.

"I-"

"Dad! Don't!" Gohan stated loudly, a small scowl appearing on his face as he raised his head towards his father.

Goku studied his son's features for a moment before looking back over at Raditz. "I can't tell you brother," he said firmly, his hands tightening into fists.

Raditz glared at him before grabbing the front of his orange shirt. The man's lip curled a little.

"Why not!?" the long haired saiyan snarled, his fingers twisting in the material.

"Because we don't trust you!" Krillin stated loudly, finally gathering the courage to speak. He lifted his chin as Raditz slowly looked over at him.

The man's eyes blazed. "I wasn't talking to you baldy," Raditz barked, smirking as Krillin went white, taking a step back.

Raditz studied Goku for another moment before flinging him away, a louder snarl full of disgust erupting from him before he swiped his hand out, snatching the small brown bag from his little brothers' waist.

He grinned in satisfaction as the others yelled in disbelief. Goku lunged for the bag in his hand. Raditz reared his arm back, punching his brother in the face. Goku let out a painful yelp as he flew back, smacking into the side of the ship.

"I'm stronger than you, remember Kakkarot!" Raditz let a chuckle out, tossing the bag of beans in the air and catching them once before turning away, not sparing the two short fighters a glance.

Goku let out a grunt as he extracted himself, his brows narrowed as he glared at his brother.

"No you're not," he stated softly, wiping the blood dripping from his chin.

Raditz paused, his back to his brother. They saw his shoulders tense.

"That sounded like a challenge Kakkarot," Raditz growled, turning and studying his brother before a dark smile appeared on his face.

A chill slithered down both Gohan and Krillin's spine, their eyes wide as they looked from Goku to Raditz.

Goku suddenly smirked. "It was."

Raditz face turned thunderous, his eyes gleaming. He bared his fangs at his brother.

"Then lets go!" he snarled, stalking back towards Goku.

Goku held up his arm, a finger extended. "One condition."

Raditz smirked, not pausing as his footfalls left dents in the metal floor.

"If I win, I get to take Athea back home with us," Goku stated softly, watching his brother freeze, his eyes going wide.

"WHAT! FUCK YOU KAKKAROT! I'LL KILL YOU!" Raditz flung himself at his brother, both men going through the doorway to outside. The others could here scuffling and snarls, accompanied by cursed and shouts of rage.

Raditz bashed his brother in the jaw, his lip curled back in murderous rage.

"No one challenges me for what's mine and gets away with it!" the long haired saiyan snarled, thrusting his hand out to blast the bastard.

Goku expertly maneuvered around it, engaging his brother in close hand-to-hand combat. The ground caved under them, and Goku pushed the fight away from the ship, concerned for his friends' safety.

"It wasn't yours to take in the first place Raditz," Goku stated, landing a punch to the saiyans side. He listened to the small grunt come out of his older brother, blocking a massive kick the man tried to land to his face.

"You do not tell me what I can and cannot have you son of a bitch!" Raditz snapped, grabbing Goku by his hair and slinging him towards the ground. He let out a growl of annoyance as Goku flipped, landing on his feet before blasting towards him once more. They continued to fight, flinging words at each other as they went.

"Athea isn't a thing Raditz!"

"I claimed the woman! So she's mine!"

Goku's eyes widened, and his whole body went lax. His head snapped back as Raditz landed an uppercut, causing Goku to flip through the air. The younger saiyan smacked into a wall of rocks, the massive boulders caving in on him and covering his body in seconds. He flew out immediately afterward, staring at the older man and not even making a move to engage him in another fight.

"You didn't," he whispered in disbelief.

Even though he was a few hundred yards away, Raditz heard him, scowling as he slowly descended. He scoffed at the stupid look on his brothers face.

"What's the matter with you?" he snapped, his brows narrowing as Goku continued to gape at him.

"You...you didn't. Please tell me you didn't." Goku mumbled the words, hoping and praying it wasn't what he thought his brother said. Athea's just a kid!

Raditz glared at him in silence, a brow raising.

"Tell me you didn't," Goku swallowed hard, a little afraid of his brothers' answer, "sleep with Athea."

Raditz eyes widened comically before he started sputtering. "That's none of your business you little shit!" he yelled, not being able to stop the heat surfacing on his face. The gall of his little brother to ask such an intimate question!

Goku sighed with relief, knowing Raditz answer by the flush on his cheeks, the disbelief that entered the man's eyes at his question. He hadn't touched his friend...yet. He frowned at that last word, knowing that if he didn't separate them soon, then the burly saiyan in front of him might do something that can never be rectified, and he didn't want to see his vulnerable friend taken advantage of.

"I want to take Athea back home with us Raditz," Goku stated firmly, watching the anger appear once more on his brothers face. "She doesn't belong out here in space. Athea needs to be with her friends, people that love her."

Raditz lip curled. "No," he growled out, "A deal's a deal. You didn't win, so I get to keep what is rightfully mine."

Goku's jaw clenched. "My friend isn't just some possession to play with until you get bored and then cast her aside. You kill for a living Raditz," Goku held his brothers gaze, "what kind of life would that be for Athea."

Raditz didn't respond right away, his eye twitching. His tail snapped the air behind him before wrapping securely around his waist.

"A deal's a deal," he muttered, before taking off towards Goku's ship once more, not looking back.

Goku watched him, hoping the man thought about his words before doing something drastic. Like taking the innocence of a perfectly harmless girl.

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Bulma sighed, her chin resting on her hands as she gazed in infatuation across the table at the prince. She watched him shovel another forkful of food into his mouth, barely chewing before swallowing and taking another bite. A pleased smile appeared on her face, watching the man's jaw work as he chewed his meal.

"You're really a prince?" Bulma sighed out, looking the man over as he stopped to shoot her a murderous glare, his eye twitching.

"Are you stupid or is your species naturally dense?" Vegeta snarled, glaring at the blue haired woman sitting across from him. "You asked me that not ten minutes ago, and the damn answer is still the same! Yes you imbecile!"

His teeth clicked against the fork as he finished his plate, letting it clatter onto the dish before shoving it towards the obnoxious woman.

"Bring me more," Vegeta barked, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair, expectant of the command to be obeyed.

Bulma beamed at him, which seemed to irritate him. His eye started twitching again, a low growl coming from the man's throat.

"So you like my food!" She exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands in happiness.

A dirty smirk appeared on Vegeta's lips, his eyes reflecting the lights above as he leaned forward a little, taking pleasure in the woman's obvious ignorance.

"I've had squalor rat that tasted better than what you concocted."

The smile disappeared off Bulma's face, replaced with irritation and anger. She slammed the plate onto the table, settling her hands on her hips.

"I don't care if you are a prince. You are rude and uncaring! I slaved over that for almost an hour and you sit there and belittle it!"

Vegeta curled his lip. "You slaved over this!?" he gestured to the now empty plate, shaking his head a little. "It looks like roach guts mixed with dog shit!"

He sent her a cold smile when Bulma's face turned red. She let out a screech, stomping her foot before stalking from the kitchen.

"Ungrateful bastard!" She screamed, not caring if everyone on the ship heard her. She would make that ungrateful man...-prince-...her heart thudded, but she ignored it...eat his words before their journey was over. The man was going to apologize while he was at it. No one talked to Bulma Briefs that way and got away with it!