DISCLAIMER:
Rath: (Still running after that bogus lawyer) You know. (Pant, pant!) I've been running for months... Literally... And I still haven't caught him yet. But I'll get him! And when I do, I'll make him PAY for selling me this sign for $2 at the Dollar Store!
(Suddenly Rath finds herself passing by an old lady reading a newspaper, but it's what is on the front page that suddenly catches her attention. On it is a large picture of a small short young girl with a small widow's peak and long black hair that reaches down to her ankles... The top part of her hair naturally flipped to the right side of her head. She even had tanned olive skin and a loosely hanging tail.)
Wait a minute! That looks just like Vetyga! (Rath continues running, but now she sees even more people reading the newspapers... In fact, EVERYONE has one! She then turns her head to look back for just a moment, when suddenly the wind blows, causing a lone newspaper to go smack-dab into her face! She reads the captions: "Vetyga Takes Over...")
WHAT!? I can't believe this! I'm gone for only two and a half months and already my young assistant has turned against me! (Rath continues reading: "From this day forward Rath is no more! You will mention her never more! For I am the DontownDeeBeeZee Queen!") WHAAAAAT! Has Vetyga gone insane!? How dare she! Well, two can play at this game... Ha! I must put a stop to this once an' for all! Until then, it is I who DO NOT OWN DBZ!
[Chapter edited: 5Jan2014]
WITHIN THE PAST WORLD:
Goku, Bulma, and Goten were unsure of what to do next as Frieza's henchmen surrounded them.
"Back off!" Goku warned. "I don't want to, but if you push me, I'll have to use force."
"Try anything and you'll be dead long before you can make truth to that statement," Frieza openly threatened. "So I suggest you cooperate."
"I'm warning you, Frieza," Goku tried yet again to avoid the inevitable. Even though he was far above Frieza in power, to engage in battle while aboard this ship could mean the destruction of them all. It was far too risky. Perhaps it'd be best to just go with the flow, at least until they figured out how to return home again.
Frieza shot a small ki blast just barely missing Goku's head. "I make the threats here," Frieza said. "Now, I want to know who you all are and how you got here!"
"We can't tell you that," Goku replied, much to Bulma's shock.
'What's Goku doing?' Bulma thought. 'He could beat all of these guys easily, including Frieza himself! Why is he just talking it out as if he's going to negotiate something with them? Or maybe he believes this is for the best, somehow? Well, I've always trusted in Goku's judgment before... I suppose there's no reason for me not to now.'
At that moment, a wave of darkness warped through the air. Neither Frieza nor his men seemed to notice it at all. Bulma looked to Goku, but he had been too focused on Frieza to pay attention to anything else. She briefly glanced down at Goten, whose eyes suddenly became wider. So he'd seen it, too... Bulma wasn't just imagining things.
"Wh-What was that?" Goten exclaimed softly.
"Quiet, boy, unless Frieza calls for you to speak, you will remain silent in his presence," Zarbon reprimanded.
"I will deal with this, Zarbon," Frieza remarked in annoyance. "When I want your word in things, I'll let you know."
"Er, yes, my Lord," Zarbon quickly apologized.
Frieza studied the newcomers carefully and made a conclusion, "You're Saiyans, aren't you?"
"Actually, I'm only part Saiyan," Goten replied. "But my dad is!"
"So I was right," Frieza mused momentarily before ordering, "Dodoria! Lock them all up in the Prisoner Holding Room until further notice."
"Whaaaaat!?" Bulma exclaimed. "Listen, buster, I don't care who..."
Bulma stopped in mid-sentence as Goku cast her a knowing glance. 'Oh...' she realized at last. 'Goku must be playing along until we figure a way out of here. I just hope he knows what he's doing!'
And so they allowed Dodoria to lead them away...
WITHIN VEGETA'S ROOM, IN THE PAST WORLD:
Trunks had been listening to the entire exchange between Goku and Frieza.
"Why is he giving up so easily?" Trunks wondered. "Did he get weakened, too?" He kneeled down beside Vegeta, who was still bleeding copiously on the floor... A large puddle of blood still forming around the small child. It was hard for Trunks to see his father like this. It made him feel such unforgivable rage towards Frieza. He carefully lifted the small-framed child into his arms. "Now, all I've got to do is find a way outta' here without anyone seeing me and get you some help," Trunks said.
"How 'touching'," Frieza commented as he re-entered the room.
"Frieza!" Trunks growled.
"Stand up, Saiyan!" Frieza commanded. Trunks remained kneeling and glared at him.
'Those eyes...' Frieza thought to himself. 'And his expression... They remind me so much of Vegeta... So daring and defiant. Although they lack the cautiousness and that gleam of fear that Vegeta's eyes often get when in my presence. Hm, well, I shall crush any attempt of disobedience before the idea can even cross his mind!'
"Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Saiyan," Frieza pointed at Trunks. "Stand up or I'll make both you and Vegeta pay. So what'll it be?"
"Leave Vegeta out of it!" Trunks exclaimed angrily. "Haven't you done enough to him? He didn't do anything!"
"Then do as I say," Frieza replied.
"Fine," Trunks replied as he stood up, Vegeta still within his arms. "What do you want me to do?"
WITHIN THE PRISONER HOLDING ROOM, IN THE PAST WORLD:
Goku, Bulma, and Goten were each chained up against the wall, their bindings slackening just enough to allow them to sit down. Bulma was currently giving Goku a piece of her mind, while Goten was listening to every word. Goten felt sorry for his dad!
"I can't believe you let Frieza have his way, Goku!" Bulma chided him. "Just go along with it? Ha! You'd just better hope nothing bad happens to us or else I'm going to get really mad!"
Goku laughed nervously as he replied, "If you're not already mad, I'd hate to see you when you are. But we have to do this, Bulma! At least until we figure out a way to get back to our own time. Until then we can't risk messing things up any more than we already have."
Suddenly, Bulma became worried. "Oh no... What about Trunks? What could've happened to him? What if Frieza did something terrible to him?"
In perfect timing, Frieza entered the room, dragging along a struggling Trunks. Frieza then roughly knocked Trunks into the wall as he said, "I told you if you just obeyed me then things would go easy for you, but..."
Frieza let the sentence hang in the air as he bound Trunks's wrists and ankles to the wall like the other Z Warriors.
"FRIEZA!" Goku yelled as he tried to break through the chains to attack the lizard tyrant. The chains mus have been made up of some really strong material, because even Goku couldn't break through them...
Frieza paid no attention to Goku as he turned to leave the room. "I don't know how you monkeys got here or how you managed to remain hidden from me aboard my own ship, but I will get to the bottom of this!"
When Frieza finally left, Goku noticed the blood all over Trunks's clothes. "He hurt you?!" Goku questioned angrily.
"Oh, uh, no," Trunks replied quietly as he looked away. "That's Vegeta's blood."
"Trunks, I'm sorry," Goku sympathized. "I know how hard this must be for you."
"No, you don't, 'Kakarrot'!" Trunks replied. He was still angry at Goku and refusing to call him by his regular name.
"Trunks, not now," Bulma warned.
"Well, he doesn't!" Trunks replied. "He has no idea! Everything was always perfect for him! I always hear about how much fun you guys had as kids and how you had all those exciting adventures to find the dragonballs, but my dad didn't have anything like that!"
Goku sighed silently, deciding it was best not to say anything for a little while. Trunks needed time to calm down.
"Trunks, he said he was sorry!" Goten didn't like the way his best friend was talking about his dad.
"You just don't understand, either!" Trunks shot back.
"Shut up, Trunks!" Bulma yelled, finally fed up with her son's behavior. "I've had enough of this!"
Trunks said nothing more on the subject. He knew his mother was serious. She had never spoken to him like that before.
Several moments of uncomfortable silence passed before Trunks hesitantly apologized, "Uh, Goku, I-I'm sorry. I guess I'm just mad at Frieza more than anything else. It's just... Whenever I hear him talking about my younger father like he's dirt or something and the way he likes to punish him badly for no apparent reason..."
"I know you're just upset," Goku replied.
"I tried to protect him," Trunks said. "He was so helpless against Frieza, but still Frieza kept lashing down on him. I had to help, but the moment I tried, my strength decreased drastically. I can't figure out why... It is like everything seemed to morph in a wave-like motion around me."
"Hey, I saw the wavey thing, too!" Goten replied. "But what was it?"
"Hmmm," Bulma reasoned things out. "It probably has to do with you interfering."
"And if that's the case, it may affect our ability to return home," Goku added.
"This is my fault," Trunks said softly. "I shouldn't have wanted to do my project about Dad. I should have picked you, Mom."
"Well, we are already here, so it's too late for regrets," Bulma replied. "We're just going to have to deal with it. Besides, I'm sure I would've done the exact same thing if I was you."
She winked knowingly at Trunks, causing him to smile a little, but his thoughts remained on Vegeta. How was he doing? Frieza had forced him to leave the younger child behind laying in his own blood. Trunks had been so outraged at this that he had even dared to attack the tyrant head-on, even though he knew that he was no longer stronger. For that reason was why Trunks was where he was now... Chained alongside the other Z Warriors.
ELSEWHERE ABOARD FRIEZA'S SHIP, IN THE PAST WORLD:
Raditz and Nappa were busy eating their last meal ration of the day.
"You know, Nappa, I've been getting the strangest feeling that something bad is about to happen," Raditz said as he choked down a full slice of dry meat. "And I can't help but be worried that our prince may have something to do with it..."
Nappa just laughed. "Oh come on, Raditz! Nothing out of the ordinary has happened since the Planet Vegeta itself was destroyed. Stop worrying over nothing!"
"Not over 'nothing'," Raditz insisted. "Just concerned about Prince Vegeta. Haven't you noticed lately how depressed he's been getting... Especially where Frieza is concerned?"
"Don't go there, Raditz," Nappa warned vehemently.
The way Frieza treated their prince was a very touchy subject for Nappa. He was supposed to be Vegeta's protector and mentor, yet what good was that if he could not even hope to defend the child prince from that vile Frieza, who made it a point to find any flaw he could in the boy just so that he could dish out the cruelest and most painful physical and mental tortures upon him. Frieza even made sure to let them know that there was nothing they could do about it, either. He would often punish Vegeta for their mistakes as well. This all weighed heavily on Nappa's mind, for the king himself had entrusted his son in his care and he had failed them both.
Raditz noted the look within Nappa's eyes and mentally kicked himself for even mentioning Frieza. He tried to change the subject a little. "Hey, uh, why don't we go train or something?" he suggested. "We could even bring the Prince along if you want to."
"Fine," Nappa replied like he could care-a-less, but in 'Saiyan-lingo', that meant that he welcomed the idea.
As they left, Raditz grabbed a couple more big pieces of meat. "For Prince Vegeta," he explained. "Frieza doesn't allow him to eat as he should, so I'll sneak this to him."
They then made their way towards Vegeta's room. Along the way they passed by Zarbon and Dodoria, who seemed to be in a heated conversation. The two older Saiyans did not even glance in their direction, but they couldn't help but snag a few tad bits of the conversation here and there.
"...Should get rid of 'em."
"...Blasted monkeys! I thought we'd seen the last of that pitiful race."
"...With Frieza... Seems curious about that teenage Saiyan... Says he looks like..."
"I wonder if..."
"...I doubt that."
Most of what Raditz and Nappa managed to salvage from Zarbon and Dodoria's discussion seemed to carry no great importance to them, so they paid it no mind. When they reached Vegeta's room, Nappa knocked on the door. There was no answer. He tried again as he called, "Prince Vegeta? Are you in there?"
Still there was no reply.
"Maybe he's sleeping," Raditz suggested. "Let's go. You know how he hates us to bother him."
"I guess so," Nappa replied as they began to walk away towards the nearest training room. How could they have possibly known the suffering their prince had been going through within?
WITHIN VEGETA'S ROOM, IN THE PAST WORLD:
The small-framed figure that had been laying unconscious in the middle of the floor finally began to stir. His entire body quivered greatly as he felt droggy with the intense pain that shot relentlessly throughout him. He couldn't even remember what exactly he had done to merit such a harsh beating.
Vegeta's eyes could barely open halfway as he struggled to drag himself out of his room and to the bathroom down the hall. Along the way, he drew several looks of pity and even more looks of scorn and hatred from those passing by him, but he remained impassive to it all. It wasn't until he was sure nobody else was around that he slowly pulled himself up on top of one of the bathroom sinks. He cringed greatly as he carefully pulled off what was left of his shirt and stared motionlessly into the mirror at the countless number of deep scars, dark bluish bruises, and red-hot welts that literally blanketed his entire body (his face included). He was so sick of being treated like this day after day, over and over as if he was worthless trash.
The young child sighed softly as someone entered the bathroom. He didn't even need to turn around or even use the mirror to check behind him to know that it was Frieza. Frieza had caused him so much pain (both physically and mentally) throughout his short life that he had become keenly aware of Freeza's aura whenever he was near. Vegeta quickly masked his emotions so that Frieza would not see how he truly felt. All he wanted was for Frieza to leave him alone. As Frieza took another step towards him, his body immediately became tense and rigid.
"Now, now, monkey," Frieza said in amusement. "You're so distrusting.. But let's skip the small talk and get down to the real reason I've come," Frieza said. "It seems there had been other Saiyans aboard without my knowing it. I think you had known all along and had kept them hidden, didn't you!?"
"I really don't know what you're talking about," Vegeta replied as he continued to stare within his own eyes.
Frieza grabbed the back of the young child's neck and frowned as he said in a dangerously low tone of voice, "Ahh, but I think you do, monkey, and you will be certain to know that I will not let you slide easily on this one."
"But Master Frieza." Vegeta choked out. "I-I really DON'T know! I don't!"
Frieza tightened his grip around Vegeta's neck as he roughly jerked him off of the sink and turned him so that they were face to face. Vegeta's eyes narrowed with pure hatred, but he made no attempt to struggle free from Frieza's grasp. Frieza then laid a heavy fist to Vegeta's face as he threatened, "If you dare to lie to me, monkey, then I will make certain that being punished becomes the least of your worries."
With that, he punched Vegeta several times more before hitting the child hard to the floor. Frieza then walked out of the bathroom, still unsure of Vegeta's truthfulness about the Saiyan strangers. He decided, in the end, that he would deal with the monkey prince in due time anyways if it indeed turned out that he was lying to him.
Vegeta's anger increased greatly as he shakily forced himself into a sitting position and hugged his knees against his chest. His breathing became very shallow and ragged as he thought, 'What have I done to deserve this? I would rather he killed me than continue to live like this every day for the rest of my life! Maybe if I purposely get him mad at me then he will finally get fed up of me and punish me to death! Then I won't ever have to see his ugly face again or put up with this anymore!'
Of course, he knew these thoughts were ludicrous, as thoughts often are during such times of turmoil. He had decided long ago that he would never stoop to that last and cowardly resort... No matter what Frieza did to him!
Vegeta's eyes widened with a sudden realization of what Frieza had said. Other Saiyans?! That meant there were a few more survivors than they had originally thought... Maybe even more than a few! He began to get excited because if that was the case, then perhaps they could help him put an end to Frieza once and for all. His expression darkened, however, as he realized that these same Saiyans were also the reason why his master was currently angry with him! Just because they had hidden themselves aboard Frieza's ship would mean an increase in his own personal suffering from Frieza, who thought he had been the one to hide them in the first place.
He growled softly as he stood up slowly in pain, "Well, I will find these Saiyans and see for myself who they are and how they got here! Now, where could they possibly be?" He thought for a moment and concluded, "Of course, Frieza must've put them in the Prisoner Room... That is if they are even alive anymore..."
Despite the pain Vegeta was in, he again climbed up onto the sink and used the water to rinse off at least some of the blood from his body. Although, this time he refused to even glance at himself in the mirror, for he knew full well what he'd see. He then limped back to his room and searched for a change of clothes. All he could find was a sleeveless blue spandex shirt along with long blue pants. He hated wearing sleeveless shirts so soon after being punished, but at the moment he was far more concerned about finding those other Saiyans than about covering up his bruises. He then made his way to the bottom level of the ship. He leaned against the wall momentarily, still dizzy and droggy from his earlier loss of blood, before he entered the door to the far left. He hoped that no one had seen him...
Meanwhile, Goku and Bulma were quietly discussing a possible plan for escape, while Trunks and Goten were becoming restless from being chained up so long.
"If only I could lock into the computer systems," Bulma was saying. "Then maybe I could determine a way to return to the Present World!"
"I don't know, Bulma," Goku said uneasily. "That seems a little too risky and I would never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you."
"Then maybe you should stop playing along with this and break through these chains so that we could find a way off of this ship," Bulma suggested instead. "Then it'll be easier to find a way back home without having to deal with Frieza...!"
"It won't work," a young voice called out.
The Z Warriors immediately looked towards the doorway, where they saw the child version of Vegeta glaring at them.
"It won't work," the child prince repeated. "I've tried it before, but Frieza will always find you. Besides, those chains dampen any use of ki or strength, so don't waste your time trying to escape. It's useless."
"How did you know that?" Goten asked as Vegeta came closer towards them, but Vegeta's eyes only narrowed further as he purposely refused to answer the question.
After Vegeta had studied them intently, he said, "So it's true! There really are other Saiyans left! But how? How did you get away before the Planet Vegeta had exploded?! And even more so... What fools you are! You had escaped! You were free from Frieza! Why of all places would you bother hiding aboard Frieza's ship? He doesn't exactly like Saiyans, you know..."
At the time, he was referring only to Goku and Goten because the other two did NOT appear to be Saiyans in his eyes.
Vegeta's last statements, however, struck a deep chord within Trunks's heart at the very mention of Frieza as he noticed even more bruises newly darkening along the visible areas of Vegeta's skin, including some of which resembled the shape of finger imprints around the neck region and a swollen right cheek.
Trunks exclaimed softly with anger, "Vegeta... How? What happened? You didn't have some of those bruises earlier. He beat you again, didn't he?!"
Vegeta subconsciously lifted a hand up to the right side of his face as he replied with equal, if not more, vehemence, "What do you even care?! It does not concern you!"
Un-phased by Vegeta's sudden outburst, Trunks continued, "No! It isn't right! It's just not right, Vegeta! He shouldn't do this to you! He treats you so badly and I'm not going to allow it to go on any longer if I can help it!"
Trunks then vowed with utmost determination, "I'm taking you from this place! And that, I promise you!"
Rath: (Looks at watch) Yep! This looks like a good time to stop. Since I haven't updated in a while I decided to make this chapter much longer than usual. Anyone care to take a guess on what will happen next? Here's your only clue: "Don't think of the obvious!" Anyways. Please R/R!
Until next time! Sawatdee!