DISCLAIMER:
Vetyga: Stand back, Rath! Don't come any closer or I'll be forced to use… FORCE!
[An army of "Invisible Disclaimers" stand guard in front of Vetyga's latest project.]
Vetyga: [Laughs mischievously]
Rath: [Shakes her head] Yaaaa… Don't ask me what Vetyga is doing… She's taking this whole competitive disclaimer thing quite seriously. I dare not speak about the 'series that must not be named' in the presence of these signs, but you know what we don't own!
Enjoy the chapter!
IN THE PRESENT WORLD, AT THE BRIEFS' HOUSE:
Vegeta had to admit, his younger self was resourceful. Nothing in the room was convenient for cleaning up flooded water, yet somehow Vegge managed to do it anyways. He supposed it was a big reason why he had survived his past. One didn't make it under Frieza's reign being anything else.
There was a small whicker basket in the corner of the room. The basket alone had far too many holes in it to properly contain liquids, but Vegge had opted to line it with Goku's old shirt. It allowed him just enough time to scoop up water and empty most of it out into the tub before it soaked through.
Of course, Vegeta refused to give the boy any hint of his approval. It was counter-intuitive. He didn't want Vegge to think that his life was somehow better here or that he'd made the right decision back there in the Past World. He wanted Vegge to learn regret. He couldn't condone anything the boy did here.
Meanwhile, Vegge wished his older self wasn't there scrutinizing him. It made him anxious. Vegge tried to hide the fact, but his body betrayed him each and every time the older Saiyan made sudden movements.
'How much time do I have left?' Vegge wondered.
He'd made countless trips back and forth cleaning up the water with his make-shift bucket until there was nothing left to scoop up; however, Vegeta had ordered him to make the room spotless. It was far from that.
In an effort to satisfy Vegeta's demands, Vegge utilized his own ki to dry the carpet faster. He re-used Goku's shirt to wipe down the furniture and bathroom floor tiles before finally throwing it away.
Vegge paused for a long moment and took note of his own progress. He didn't know what more he could do. He didn't realize how long he'd been frozen in place thinking, until a gruff voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You think this is 'good enough' that you can simply stop?" Vegeta asked.
Vegge's heart pounded in his chest. He shrugged. He knew it wasn't perfect. It would never be perfect. There was nothing he could do to fix the permanent damage that some furniture had sustained after prolonged contact with the water.
"What was the time limit I had given you?" Vegeta questioned.
"You already know the answer to that," Vegge snapped.
People only asked him obvious questions when he did something wrong. It meant he'd be punished in some manner. It frustrated him. Vegge didn't have a scouter to help him keep track of time any more, but he assumed he must have taken longer than Vegeta's stupid one-hour limit. Why else would he ask?
Before Vegge could blink, an iron grip latched onto his forearm and held him up in the air. A large fist barreled perilously towards his face, but it was pulled back a split second before impact.
Vegge's eyes widened.
"If I was truly like Frieza you would no longer be able to walk out of this room on your own accord after speaking to me in such a manner," Vegeta remarked. "Now, be a good brat and answer the question. What was the time limit I had given you?"
"O-One hour," Vegge stammered.
Vegeta's speed and power frightened him. Vegge felt so helpless.
"And how long did you take?" Vegeta lowered his fist.
"I-I don't know," Vegge admitted.
Vegeta tightened his grip on Vegge's arm until he felt small bones grinding together.
Vegge gave a small gasp and the hairs on his tail suddenly stood on end as he fought back the urge to whimper.
"I don't h-have my scouter," Vegge explained. His eyes darted wildly side-to-side. "I don't know how m-much time passed. I d-don't!"
"Take a guess," Vegeta prodded.
"One hour?" Vegge's voice carried a hopeful tone.
"Try two," Vegeta corrected.
"Two?" Vegge repeated. "Two hours?"
The child panicked as he imagined all the terrible things Vegeta would do to punish him.
'Good,' Vegeta thought to himself as Vegge's aura practically radiated with uncontained fear. 'Life is not better for you here.'
Vegeta wasn't oblivious. He knew what was going through Vegge's mind. He released his iron grip and watched the boy fall to the floor with a painful thud.
"And do you find that acceptable?" Vegeta asked as Vegge warily stood back up.
Vegge's voice caught in the back of his throat. Vegeta claimed he wasn't like Frieza, but only Frieza would ask him such a double-edged question.
No… Two hours wasn't acceptable, but if Vegge admitted that fact, he might as well just beg for punishment. It'd be the same result.
Vegeta wanted to strike the boy for his lack of response, but something held him back.
'I'm not abusing the brat,' Vegeta silently convinced himself. 'This isn't abuse. This is different…'
"We'll continue this discussion later, brat," Vegeta said as he suddenly turned away from Vegge and walked to the door. "In the meantime, you have permission to leave the room and do what you please within the boundaries of my rules."
Vegeta unlocked the door and briskly walked down the hallway, leaving a rather confused Vegge staring after him.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING:
When Vegge slowly opened his eyes, he found himself tucked under the covers of some overly plush bed. He quickly sat up and looked around. Everything about his surroundings was unfamiliar. In fact, he didn't even remember falling asleep.
'But Frieza's not here,' Vegge once again reminded himself. He relaxed. It didn't matter where he was so long as that was true.
'You're better off dead…' a small voice echoed in Vegge's mind. 'Why fight it? Your existence is unwelcome in this universe. They hurt you only because you deserve it.'
"I know…" Vegge whispered as he stared at his hands.
'It's not coincidence. Frieza was merciful.'
"He wasn't!" Vegge disagreed.
'Oh? Then why are you still breathing?' the voice countered. 'So ungrateful…'
Vegge went silent.
'The rules haven't changed just because you made it to the future,' the voice reminded him. 'As counted in… is counted out… What do you suppose will happen if Trunks manages to return?'
"I don't know," Vegge replied.
'You do know,' the voice told him.
Vegge did not respond.
'That's right,' the voice said. 'You will be discarded. Frieza's still looking for you. They lied about his death. What do you suppose he will do once he gets hold of you? Once they give you back to him?'
"I don't know!" Vegge exclaimed. His body shook. He didn't want to think about it. Why did the voice have to tell him these things?
'You do know,' the voice cruelly reminded him.
"I don't know…" Vegge repeated as he was thrown into another flashback.
Vegeta had thought he was clever the first time he ever attempted to escape Frieza's rule. It happened not long after he had turned seven years old…
Only a week prior, Vegeta had learned how to manipulate the control settings of the space pods while watching some random tech do it after a mission got changed last minute. He then convinced Frieza that he was finally ready to be assigned his first solo purge; however, before departing, he edited the coordinates to be some unrelated planet far away.
What Vegeta didn't realize was that all the pods had tracking systems in place.
When he didn't return, Frieza personally came to retrieve him. The fact that Frieza took time out of his busy schedule for such a thing did not bode well.
At first Frieza had seemed overly calm and understanding about the whole mishap. On their way back to the ship, Frieza casually mentioned to his lieutenants that Vegeta was simply a misguided child testing his boundaries and that perhaps from this point forward he needed to invest more time in teaching the monkey discipline.
Vegeta's head hung low as he slowly followed his master back aboard the ship. He knew he was in for a severe punishment. For a moment, he wondered if he was going to survive it. A small part of him hoped he wouldn't. He was tired of serving Frieza.
Before they entered Frieza's throne room, Frieza dismissed his right-hand men and beckoned Vegeta to continue following him. Vegeta warily complied, but when the door closed behind them, Frieza suddenly turned to face him.
Startled, Vegeta kneeled down in respect, but Frieza kicked him into the far wall before he could get fully into position.
"Don't bother," Frieza told him. "After all, you are so unhappy here that you would dare to desert."
"I-I'm sorry," Vegeta stammered. He tried to stand back up, only to be silenced by a swift kick to the head.
"I am not interested in false apologies either, monkey," came Frieza's icy reply. "Stand up."
Vegeta quickly got to his feet, but Frieza grabbed him around the throat and threw him into the opposite wall.
"Disobeying me again?" Frieza questioned. "I thought I told you to stand."
Vegeta shakily obeyed his master's command, but Frieza appeared out of nowhere striking him down to the floor with yet another kick to his abdomen.
Vegeta uttered a gasp of pain as a stream of blood poured from his mouth. He flinched as he felt Frieza's tail lift him up by the throat, choking him in its tight grasp.
"Master…" Vegeta choked out.
"You enjoy being disobedient, don't you, monkey?" Frieza commented. He punched Vegeta several times before releasing his grip. "Stand… up…" he repeated as he watched Vegeta crumple to the floor.
Vegeta clinched his fists in frustration. He was trying to obey. He really was, but Frieza was making it impossible.
Vegeta flinched as Frieza's footsteps approached him. He became frozen with fear on the now red-splotched floor. Without warning, heavy blows rained upon his body and Frieza once again lifted him up by the throat.
"Do you ever learn?" Frieza's gentle tone of voice contradicted his actions.
Frieza gently combed his hand through Vegeta's bangs before twisting the child's arm into a painful position. He was rewarded with a loud whimper, but he was not going to be satisfied until he made Vegeta regret the day he ever considered running away.
Frieza decided he would savor every moment of this punishment. He'd make it long and cruel enough that the monkey would never consider such an action again.
Frieza beat him for what felt like an eternity before, once again, ordering Vegeta to stand. When Vegeta did not respond to the command, Frieza dug the nails of his hand deep into the meat of Vegeta's shoulder and repeated himself.
"Stand... Up."
Vegeta struggled to obey. He flinched, expecting another harsh blow to knock him back down, but this time, none came. His whole body trembled from the effort it now took to stay on his feet, but he knew if he collapsed, his punishment would be much worse.
Frieza used a ki-beam to trace a tight circle around Vegeta's feet.
"You are to stand there until I say otherwise," Frieza said. "If you so much as shift an inch out of that circle, your punishment will be extended and intensified. Am I clear?"
Vegeta nodded weakly. "Y-yes, Master Frieza…"
Frieza hopped into his hover chair and called for Zarbon to bring him a glass of his favorite Kreejuk wine while he watched Vegeta struggle to stay put.
To Vegeta's credit and sheer willpower, he was able to keep standing in place for over three days. He was not allowed to have food or water or to sleep during this. He wasn't allowed to receive any medical attention for his recent injuries. Nor was he even allowed to leave in order to relieve himself when he had to use the bathroom. Frieza made him stand there in humiliation even when he couldn't hold himself any more.
To make things worse, Frieza still hosted meetings there all while keeping tabs on Vegeta's 'progress'. Vegeta was mocked by some of the visiting diplomats for being a dirty uncivilized little monkey, but Frieza conveniently neglected to tell them the full circumstances of why Vegeta had no choice in the matter.
By the 4th day, Vegeta's trembling had increased ten fold. His vision kept blacking out from loss of blood and lack of nourishment. He wondered how long Frieza going to force him to stand there.
He dreaded when his real punishment would start. He somehow understood that this was only the beginning. Not for the first time, he wished he was dead…
It wasn't until the 5th day that Vegeta finally slipped up. Dizziness and fatigue caused him to lose his balance for a split second. In that moment, his foot shifted slightly outside of the circle to catch himself from falling.
It was the exact moment Frieza had been waiting for. Frieza knew Vegeta wouldn't be able to stand there forever, but he was willing to wait as long as it took for Vegeta to screw up. He was enjoying every moment of Vegeta's physical and mental suffering.
"You really don't know how to obey, do you?" Frieza sighed in mock disappointment. "I thought I told you not to move from that circle?"
"I-I'm sorry, Master," Vegeta forced an apology. "Please! I won't run away ever again. I won't!"
"I know you won't, monkey," Frieza agreed. "But your apology is unnecessary. After this, the thought will never cross your mind again, because you will understand the consequences."
Frieza dragged Vegeta to the far side of the room and chained him up against a wall so that his feet were barely touching the floor. A short shackle was attached to his neck and his back was left facing towards Frieza.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Vegeta repeated like a mantra.
Vegeta knew what was coming. Again he wondered if this time maybe Frieza would go too far and kill him. His shivering was uncontrollable. He was terrified. He subconsciously wondered where Nappa and Raditz were. Had Frieza forbidden them to come anywhere near him while this punishment was taking place? Not like it mattered… They didn't have the power to do anything. Perhaps it was for the best. He didn't really want them to see him like this anyways.
Vegeta's thoughts were interrupted as a sharp slicing pain suddenly cut across his back. He gritted his teeth.
His master was using one of his favorite punishing tools to beat him into submission—the whip. It didn't take long before his whole shirt was tattered, along with his back; however, Frieza showed no signs of relenting anytime soon.
The lashes only got more painful as they started landing in open wounds. A pool of blood formed in Vegeta's mouth as he accidentally bit down on his tongue in an effort to hold in his screams.
"After all I have done for you," Frieza commented in between lashes. "I will teach you how cruel I can be to those who earn my ire, but I am merciful. I will not kill you, monkey. Though in the end, you will wish I did…"
Frieza took the bloodied whip and coated it in a salt-like substance before continuing to dish out this part of Vegeta's punishment. The intense burning sensation across his back along with the shredding of skin in open wounds was overwhelming.
Vegeta screamed in desperation.
Vegge cried out as the memory faded away. Tears and sweat poured down the sides of his face. He tried to hold it in, but his body shook violently. The coppery taste of blood flooded his mouth. He'd bitten his tongue, but he didn't care. The memory had been so vivid, he felt as though he was still there enduring it. There had been multiple phases to that punishment. Those ones were only the first two. Frieza was right. He'd never forget…
The door to his current room suddenly burst open. Bulma rushed inside. She'd heard him cry out. It upset her seeing Vegge sitting there looking so distraught. She instinctively rushed to hold him in a tight embrace, but he pushed away from her.
"Leave me alone," Vegge said.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Bulma asked gently. She let him have his space.
"No," Vegge replied. "I'm fine! Go away!"
Bulma gave him a sad smile. 'No, you're not fine,' she thought.
"Are you hungry?" Bulma changed the subject. "My mom made plenty of food downstairs. Come eat."
"I'm not hungry!" Vegge replied as he used the sleeves of his pajamas to wipe away the tears from his cheeks and blood from the corners of his mouth. He knew if he ate now, he'd probably just throw it up anyways.
"Vegge, you need to eat something," Bulma insisted. "I won't sit back and watch you starve to death."
"I'm not starving!" Vegge replied stubbornly. "I'd know if I'm hungry or not."
"Alright," Bulma challenged. "When's the last time you ate anything?"
"When we left the 'Ghoul Saber'," Vegge replied.
"And before that?" Bulma asked.
"When…" Vegge had to think about it. Hadn't his father asked him this same question? Why did it even matter?
"Uh, just before I freed you guys," he replied after a while. "Raditz got it for me, because Frieza decreased my rations. He and Nappa always save food for me, even when I'm not supposed to have anything at all..."
Bulma approached the topic from a new direction. "When was the last time you ate until you were satisfied?"
"During my last purge mission," Vegge replied. "I ate one of the inhabitants."
The thought of Vegge eating some sentient being made Bulma feel sick to her stomach. She stopped questioning him about it.
'But he's not human,' Bulma reminded herself. 'And Frieza probably starved him enough that he thought he had no other alternatives.'
Bulma sighed. One of the biggest obstacles she'd had to overcome while getting to know the older version of Vegeta had her tendency to judge him by Earthling standards. Even though he and Goku were both pure Saiyans, they were polar opposites. Goku was kind and gentle… Vegeta was ruthless and uncaring… Or so he used to be. Then again, Vegeta didn't have the pleasure of living such a carefree life like Goku did. So many years had passed since Vegeta left Frieza's service and yet his past still came back to haunt him at times.
She had no right to judge Vegge over his meal choice after seeing first-hand what life was like for him.
"And when was that purge?" Bulma forced herself to ask.
"What does it matter?" Vegge retorted.
"When was it, Vegge?" Bulma asked forcefully.
"I dunno," Vegge shrugged. "Maybe a few days before I found you guys in the Prisoner Room."
"So in the span of about a week and a half, you've eaten mostly scraps?" Bulma asked incredulously. "Vegge, nothing you say will convince me you are not hungry. It's a lie and you know it."
Vegge remained silent.
"This isn't over," Bulma warned him. "If you don't eat soon, I will have Vegeta force you to!"
Vegge flinched at the mention of his older self.
'What would he care?' Vegge thought. 'He hates me…'
LATER THAT MORNING:
Bulma pounded furiously on the Gravity Room door.
"Open up, Vegeta!" she called.
She knocked again.
"Now, Vegeta! Or do I have to shut it down myself?" Bulma shouted. "Don't think I won't!"
Moments later, her disgruntled husband opened the door.
"Blasted woman, what's so important that you think you can just come up and interrupt me mid-training?" Vegeta growled.
"You need to help Vegge cope with all that's happened to him," Bulma replied. "I found him having a nightmare today. It was pretty bad."
"So what?" Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "He'll learn to deal with it, just as I had to."
"He doesn't know how to 'deal' with it, Vegeta," Bulma sighed. "He's not eating. He won't even leave his room… And I think he's depressed."
"What makes you think I care anything about that brat?" Vegeta asked. "Especially after what he's done… Have you forgotten Trunks already?"
"How dare you insinuate that I don't care about our son?" Bulma asked angrily. "Trunks means the world to me, but I'm not going to just sit here and watch Vegge suffer over it. Please, Vegeta... You understand his situation better than anyone, but it's like you've forgotten what it was like to have his desperation."
"There you go excusing his behavior again," Vegeta commented. "I told you to let me handle him my way. Yes, I do know what situation he came from. I lived it, but that does not mean he automatically gets a free pass in life."
"Fine then," Bulma replied with a smirk. "Until he eats, I'm disabling all access to the Gravity Room!"
Vegeta growled. 'Damn brat,' he thought to himself.
Rath: Wow! A big thank you to all the reviewers of the last chapter. You guys are awesome!
At silvia S.K : Nope! This is the first time I've seen your name in my review list for TTWV, though ironically, I already recognized your name. A while back, I saw your name pop up in the review list for one of my fav stories, "A Dark Past" by WildVegeta. I should mention that I started this story when I was a teen over 10 years ago. (My gosh…This story is 13 years old!) Back then, there was very very little information about Vegeta's past; however, several of the older authors (including myself) felt that Vegeta was mistreated in some manner under Frieza's rule. The extent, of course, varied depending on view points. Very few stories (at the time) focused heavily on Vegeta while he was a young child under Frieza. Lots of teen stories… Lots of adult ones with flashbacks here and there… But only a few young kid versions, so I made this to try my hand at it. None of this accounts for the existence of Super or Kai (though I do like those). Either way, I'm glad you still like the story.
At WildVegeta: Last one was short, but perhaps the length of this chapter makes up for it? Glad you still liked it! I hope you enjoyed this one just as much.
At mandy: Ya, Vegeta and Vegge have a very strained relationship. They really need to sit down and have a nice long talk…
At Guest: Thank you! I'm actually surprised that Vegeta's reaction towards Vegge is being received so well by reviewers. Glad you're enjoying the plot. There are so many Vegeta-past stories out there now. If this story still has a bit of originality, I'm happy.
At Ashe: Oh ok! Your last review makes sense now. Of all the original characters I've made, Drinn is probably my favorite one to write. Trunks definitely needs some Father-son bonding time, though he'd be pretty disappointed if he found out how his dad was treating Vegge.
At Guest: Your suggestion has been noted! Thank you for the review! I hope you find this chapter just as helpful for your English.
At Lady-Alucard: [Special reply!] This is the first time I've ever acknowledged a review on the very same chapter in which the review was made. Usually, I wait until the next, but your review brought up a great point. Based on your comments, I slightly edited the dialogue between Vegge and Bulma in this chapter. Vegge is certainly malnourished, but after I thought about it, there's absolutely no way Nappa and Raditz would have let him go that long without eating anything while on Frieza's ship. Even Frieza, himself, would have kept tabs on him enough to know when to ease up on his restrictions. After all, Vegge still had a job to do! The trip to Rijow probably took about one week, not two, so there's that too... Thank you very very much for your critique! I do listen :) [Also, Bulma's certainly not helping the situation between the two Vegetas. That's not going to go well at all...]
Until next time... Sawatdee!