The floor beneath him rumbled as Gohan listened to an explosion somewhere in the depths of the ship. He had taken his reserved senzu bean long ago, but the boy strategically maintained his injured stature in case one of Frieza's henchmen passed by.
Another explosion, and the sound of glass breaking.
"Where the heck is he?" Gohan was starting to wonder if Vegeta would ever come let him out. It felt like it'd been three years since they'd last seen each other!
"Quiet, boy."
It was as if on cue. Metal was rustling as Vegeta worked his key into the lock of the door. As soon as the hinges sounded the boy was being pulled to his feet.
"You've served your purpose. I want you to leave." Vegeta growled, yanking Gohan by the shoulder.
"What?!" The younger saiyan protested. "No!"
"There are plenty of pods to snatch." Vegeta didn't even look at him as he ushered the boy down the hall. "You've served your purpose."
"No! I said I was going to fight!"
"There is only one senzu bean left." Vegeta replied. Why did it scare Gohan, the way his mentor spoke? His tone was so resolved, and Vegeta wasn't even acting angry. In fact, he was calmer than Gohan could ever remember seeing him.
"But, Mr. Veg-" He began, but the two were interrupted by laughter so loud that it echoed through the cold walls.
"You can't escape that easily! Are you mad?!" The voice cackled.
"Zarbon!" Vegeta growled, and immediately he launched. It seemed that Gohan was a bit premature in thinking that Vegeta was calmer than he'd ever been. Without a remark or taunt, the saiyan prince was pummeling punches into Zarbon's stomach, and Gohan couldn't blame him.
After all, that had been the man who had hurt Miss Bulma.
And, in noting this, the rage was bubbling in the child's veins as well. That man had hurt Miss Bulma! He'd knocked her unconscious, and he seemed to enjoy it! He needed to pay!
"He's mine!" Vegeta spat when Gohan came charging from behind. Zarbon already had several welts in his body from where Vegeta had landed hits, despite his attempts to block the onslaught.
"He hurt Miss Bulma!" Gohan growled when Vegeta pushed him aside. "I can't forgive him!"
"No shit, you idiot boy!" Vegeta stopped punching altogether to turn to the child. "Stop distracting me and get-"
" Ta-ta !"
Gohan and Vegeta both stopped their bickering to look up. Zarbon was running down the hall, his white cape blowing behind as his boots clicked.
"Damn you, boy!" Vegeta spat. "Look, you caused a diversion!"
"Can't catch me!" Zarbon taunted as he went. He was absolutely delighted at how easy this was!
"You cowardice fuck!" Vegeta barked. "Get back here! I wasn't finished with you!"
"Get him!" Gohan yelled.
"Right!" Vegeta spat. He ran two steps forward, and then stopped. "Hey, I make the orders!" He added. Vegeta made as if to go again, but then jerked back. It was as if he was stuck with internal conflict, unable to decide if he cared more about catching Zarbon now, or reprimanding his mentee first. "This is all your-! You can't just-! Gah! Shut up!"
And then, as Gohan watched, Vegeta went charging down the hall. "Come back and take your beating like a man, you disgrace!" He called.
It was thrilling to watch his mentor go. Gohan grinned, delighted to know that Vegeta had forgotten all about sending him away. But now he was gone, and the child was quickly realizing he had absolutely no idea what to do with himself. Gohan wasn't familiar with the layout of this ship, nor who the bad guys actually were, or where he should go. Would Vegeta want him to just go around killing people? That didn't seem right. Zarbon might have deserved revenge for what he did to Miss Bulma, but that didn't mean everyone else did.
The alarm was still blaring from the depths of the ship, and Gohan was stunned that nobody else was coming to take Zarbon's place.
So, he did what any prepubescent would do in that situation.
He started walking.
.
"There's hardly any time to spare!" Roxena stood on her bed and called above the madness to her colleagues. She pushed her white hair out of her face, her eardrums ringing from the sounds of disarray. All around her girls were swarming the slave quarters, ransacking the little resources they had.
"Damn you!" A purple woman growled. She tugged at the bread that another lady held. "You don't even like fungus, let go!"
"Yeah, but I like not going hungry!" The other girl snapped. "I had it first!"
Roxena's lips curled. As the youngest (and newest) of the slaves, she was used to nobody listening to her. Rumors had been flying for weeks, ever since Vegeta's mate had arrived on ship. There were bets placed among the girls as to whether he would actually come for that Bluehaired human. Many believed he would never turn, some thought he would ~ but only out of self interest. Everyone knew how much Vegeta hated Frieza, so why wouldn't he come back to even the score?
And, as soon as word had passed that he had actually arrived hours earlier, the older girls began to murmur of what would ensue. Vegeta would only return with the intention of defeating Frieza - whether he'd accomplish this or not was something else entirely. But the alarms were blaring, and the group knew that they were on borrowed time to find an escape.
"Get off!" A catty scream from behind, and Roxena was thrown from her bed. Someone had tugged the blanket from the mattress, right out from under her feet, and it left her tumbling into the nearby wall.
Roxena looked around after she regained her footing, unsure of who had done it. The air was thick, and all the girls were blending into one large blur as they fought one another in the wake of the evacuation. "We can get out of here without fighting!" She tried once more. "We're wasting time!"
A round pot came flying from the debris, breaking into pieces against her head. Roxena bit her lip and backed away, trying to palm the dust out of her hair. She'd spent long enough trying to get these girls to listen, but she was going to have to figure this out alone. Without another word, Roxena escaped the yells of the slave quarters, hoping against all odds that she wouldn't run into any guards along her way.
.
"Zarbon, you idiot!" Vegeta barked, enraged that the jerkwad was still attempting to flee. He chased him down the hall, gaining on the green skinned alien with every stride, but this was just getting ridiculous,
He didn't come here to play chase, after all.
"You'll never get me!" Zarbon, who had been too nervous to check over his shoulder, jeered.
Oh, for goodness sake. Vegeta stopped running and opened a palm, shooting a purple beam. It hit Zarbon in the back of the shoulder, and he screamed dramatically as he flew into the ground.
"Such a pathetic wimp!" Vegeta spat. "Really! I'm embarrassed on your behalf!"
Now he had yet another injury. Panic coarsed through Zarbon's chest, but he tried not to show it. He rolled to his back to see Vegeta looming over him. "I was just playing." He tried, not sure what to say.
"You were fleeing ." Vegeta growled. "Don't think you'll get off that easily after all you've done."
"I figured you wanted a real challenge." Zarbon attempted again. "You caught me off guard, and I haven't had a chance to transform."
"Zarbon," Vegeta groaned before kicking a toe into his enemy's rib. "That's the biggest sack of crap I've ever heard. You were running away to hide behind your master, as always."
"Was not!" Zarbon clenched his teeth from the kick. "You're afraid to let me transform! You know you have no chance if I do!"
" Fine ." Vegeta rolled his eyes. "As much as I look forward to peeling the skin from your bones while you beg for mercy, it'll only humiliate you more if I destroy you at your strongest. Go ahead…"
AN:
I'm sorry that I don't have more of a message to go with this update. It's been almost 3 years since the last chapter was posted, and the longer it takes me, the harder it is. This chapter is short, but please bear with me. I am going to write everything I need to finish this story, and if that means posting it in 1000 word increments just to get it done, I will. I need to break the ice somehow, and the longer I wait, the more I overthink how amazing the return needs to be. The truth is I don't think it is possible to post anything that is worth a three year wait, and something (I hope) is better than nothing.
I can't wait any longer and want to post this right now, so I can't give a sufficient explanation on why this has taken me so long. Not yet, at least. Just know that as much as life has gotten in the way, and as much as I have questioned ever writing again, I have ALWAYS wanted to return and finish the story. I hope you are all doing well in the aftermath of the pandemic. I hope you are happy, safe, comfortable, and feel loved. Please take care (and please go easy on me! I'm a nervous wreck as I post this!)