Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Against All Odds ❯ Me or Them ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, if I did GT would have been very different.

The last couple of chapters were difficult. Vegeta had all that messy emotion crap running rampant, it was just sickening. But I figured I could get away with it since it was all internal. It's not like he broke down in front of anyone, so he still gets to retain his bad-assness we all love. However, it's time to shove those wussy feelings back into lock up and have Vegeta do what he does best, KICK BUTT!. *gets out pom poms and waves them frantically* GO VEGGIE!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Me or them.

Vegeta impacted heavily on the green planet, eagerly springing from his pod to inspect his surroundings. He was in the middle of an emerald field that was sparsely decorated with a smattering of oddly twisted trees and shrubbery. The golden sun shone down on the dark warrior, but its bright light could not pierce the shadows of his face. He raised his head, his hair ruffling in the cool breeze. His teeth pulled back into silent snarl as he sniffed the air like a predator on the prowl, uncertain of where to begin. He stretched out his consciousness, seeking out the nearest source of sentient life. If he had to interrogate each denizen of this worthless planet in order to achieve his goal, he would do so. Vegeta gave no thought to the innocents he would annihilate; only vengeance mattered.

Vegeta closed his onyx eyes that had hardened back into gems of ruthlessness and cruelty during his journey to Namek. He pushed away all his pain and suffering, molding it into a dense, hard ball of black torment that sat oppressively in the pit of his stomach. Vegeta did not allow himself to mourn or feel remorse; instead he hardened himself against his weakness, becoming an uncompromising warrior with the single minded purpose of destroying his enemy at all costs. Shards of glass splintered through his brain as the headache that had been plaguing him since he awoke in the pod sliced through his head. The beast inside of Vegeta roared as a whiplash of anger and hate surged and he grit his teeth in frustration. A faint voice whispered soothing words of patience in an attempt to pacify the raging beast, but he shoved it away, unwilling to hear the calming words.

As he reached out a flash of light sparked across his brain, alerting him to the presence of raised ki's in the area. His lips curled into snarl of disgust and a dangerous growl vibrated from his throat. He recognized one of the ki's as being Recoome's, a member of the Ginyu Force. Vegeta's thoughts frantically raced for an explanation for Ginyu's arrival on Namek, a planet that Frieza should have no knowledge of. He didn't understand how they could already be there. It could only mean that they had been on their way to the planet while he was back on Capital World. Suspicion festered, taking root in his mind and he felt the anger welling up inside of him.

Careful to keep his power level low, so not to appear on the scouters the Force wore, he flew towards Recoome. As he neared the disturbance, he could smell the acidic scent of blood and smoke in the air, forcibly reminding him of the many purge missions that he had participated in. Below him he could see the burnt remains of a village littered with the crumpled corpses of the residents. Thick, purple blood seeped into the land, staining the soil a rich dark color. Recoome's boisterous laugh rang out, drawing Vegeta's attention to the left. He could see the overgrown warrior facing off against a smaller, leaner green man who was obviously losing badly.

Vegeta landed softly on a nearby hill, watching the battle impassively. The presence of the Ginyu Force complicated his plans greatly. He had taken a perverse pleasure in the thought that he would be able to take his time torturing the Namekians for their information, thereby ridding himself of the plague of pain that suffocated him, but now he wouldn't be able to demand the dragon balls from the Nameks like he initially intended. He didn't have the time to waste searching for the dragon balls either, so he would need to have the Namek's cooperation if he wanted to gain them before Frieza did. It galled him to have to play nice with the green freaks, but he had no choice, he'd merely have to convince them that he was a better choice for their trust than Ginyu.

He heard soft feminine laughter mocking him in the wind, haunting his soul. He shook his head to clear it, but that only caused spears of agony to pierce his brain as his headache worsened. He wondered briefly if the woman had found her way safely to Yamma's gates, but he quickly shied away from that train of thought and concentrated on the battle before him. Decimating the Ginyu Force may be the cure that he was looking for. He thirsted for vengeance against them almost as intensely as he wanted it against Frieza. The untouchable Force had taken the opportunity to make the young prince's life hellish every chance they had gotten and the idiot before him was no exception. As Vegeta watched, Recoome blew the green man back several feet by a ki blast and readied his final blow.

Vegeta moved quickly to intercept the blast, deflecting the beam with ease. The taller warrior staggered back in shock for a moment, before he regained his bearings. Normally, Vegeta would have smirked at the man's obvious surprise, but ice water flowed through his veins, freezing his face into a motionless mask. Images of Recoome laughing down at him, as he lay in a pool of his own blood flashed through Vegeta's mind. The taller warrior had beaten the young prince many times throughout his life, taking malicious pleasure in the pain he wrought. Often he had taunted the young man with jeers of `pipsqueak', tormenting the prince about his small stature.

Recoome grinned down at Vegeta, placing his hands on his hips as he chuckled in delight. "Look who it is. The Monkey Prince has come out to play." Vegeta sneered in disgust at the brainless brute in front of him. The animal that he had barely been able to restrain inside of him since walking out of Frieza's throne room snarled with menace, sensing that it's blood lust was about to be fulfilled.

"Cut the crap, Recoome. Why are you here?" Vegeta hissed. He dreaded the answer that would only confirm his suspicions. If the Ginyu Force was already here looking for the dragon balls, then that meant that Frieza had sent them before summoning Vegeta to his throne room. There was no escaping his fate now. He needed to find the balls and make his wish or everything would be for naught. Her death would be meaningless.

"I'm just doing a little treasure hunting, Princeling. I'm surprised the little woman let you come out to play with the big boys. I thought she had you leashed like some sort of trained monkey." At the mention of Bulma, Vegeta dropped down into a fighting stance and the beast inside became still with expectation. Recoome only laughed confidently, he knew that he was stronger than the prince and his scouter confirmed it.

"Oh that's right. She's dead. Frieza made you kill her." Vegeta inhaled sharply at the older warrior's words. How had Recoome known that? Recoome threw back his head, laughing at his own perverse joke, completely missing the reason that faded from Vegeta's cold eyes only to be replaced with the feral rage of an animal's. White hot fury pumped through his veins and the view of the world around him became coated with a crimson sheen of mania. With an enraged howl Vegeta rushed the unsuspecting warrior, attacking him in a frenzy of blood lust and loathing.

All of the anger that he had kept inside since leaving behind his mate ran unchecked through him. He sank his hands into the warm flesh of his enemy, imagining that the hot blood that spurted onto him was Frieza's. A small part of him whispered that it wasn't Frieza or Recoome that he was ripping apart, but that he was trying to tear a piece of himself out. That he was trying to slay the disgusting monster that was capable of raising a murderous hand to his own mate.

He relived every moment that he was in the throne room. His master's threats as Bulma pleaded with him to end her life. How the weakling inside of him had balked at killing her, while the murderer that he was taunted him for hesitating. He could see the two men of his mind clearly as if they truly existed. One strong and fearless and the other feeble and worthless. Both stared deeply into the sapphire gaze of the fallen woman, killer and lover, unable to turn away, unable to say goodbye.

Warm breath tickled the back of his neck as she wrapped her arms around his hunched shoulders from behind. Words of comfort drifted over him, leaching away his anger, soothing his aching soul. The shards of glass in his mind became duller and the pain lessoned. Gradually, Vegeta regained his senses enough to realize that he was kneeling in something wet and slightly sticky. He looked down to see his hands buried deep within Recoome's chest, his fists tightly clenched around the man's organs. The sensation of Bulma's presence faded as his reason took hold, giving way to the piercing pain in his brain that reappeared. Slowly he withdrew, backing away from the twisted body. Blood soaked the ground underneath Recoome and his face was wrenched into a nearly unrecognizable mask of pain, shock and fear.

Vegeta stared at the body uncomprehendingly for a moment. He remembered Recoome telling him that he was here on Namek treasure hunting, but after that Vegeta's mind was blank. Only darkness remained where the memory of the last few minutes should have been. He had heard of warriors losing themselves to madness, blacking out in the heat of battle, but he never thought he would be victim to such a weakness. Soft murmurs whispered through his mind, followed by piercing pain as steel claws ripped at his brain again. He grimaced, pressing his palm to the side of his head to help relieve the pressure building inside of his skull.

Vegeta glanced down at himself, taking in his bloodstained armor and scarlet gloves. He could feel a warm dampness coating his face as something ran down his cheek to the point of his chin before falling to the ground. Vegeta watched the crimson drop splatter at his feet, its brightness contrasting with the deep green of the grass. He heard a rustle of movement behind him and he spun around growling ferociously at the newest threat.

The green man that Recoome had been fighting froze in place. Nail was a proud warrior that didn't back down from a fight but neither was he stupid. The taller warrior had been much stronger than he and had been on the verge of killing him when the flamed hair man, wearing similar armor stepped between them. Now the smaller man turned on him, pinning him to the ground with merciless obsidian eyes, snarling in warning. Nail was convinced that it wasn't a man that stood before him, but an imposter. A wild beast standing on two legs, masquerading as a man and in a rage it had literally torn the larger warrior apart in a matter of moments. Self preservation bade Nail to remain still and make no threatening movements towards the compact warrior in front of him.

Once Vegeta realized that the man was no threat to him, he relaxed his stance. He found a clean section of his sleeve and used it to wipe the gore from his face before approaching the nervous man. The green warrior scrambled to his feet, taking a step back before raising his fists to ward off his attacker. Vegeta stopped a few feet from the man, gazing at him impassively.

"Tell me what happened here." He demanded arrogantly. The man shifted indecisively at first, before a mulish expression settled on his features. Vegeta swallowed his growl of frustration at the man's stubbornness. Be nice. Her voice drifted through his mind a split second before he would have advanced on the man, stalling his instinct to beat the information out of the warrior in front of him. This time he could not hide his sneer and the man gulped before steeling himself. Vegeta felt a flicker of respect for the man's bravery even if it was born from stupidity.

"Let me guess. They came here looking for the Dragon Balls in the name of Lord Frieza?" The man's eyes widened a fraction and he gave an almost unperceivable nod. "And when you refused to give them up, they began to slaughter your people and took them anyways." Again the man nodded hesitantly.

"How many dragon balls do they have?" Vegeta hissed angrily. The man gave Vegeta a long considering look before answering. The other warriors that had came for the dragon balls hadn't bothered to restrain themselves long enough to ask questions, but this man held himself back. He had saved his life, killed his attacker and made no move to harm him. He was the last warrior on his planet and most of his people already laid dead, he didn't know what else to do, but cooperate.

"They have five. They have taken them back to their ship." The man responded in a low voice. Vegeta crossed his arms in front of him and smirked wickedly. The man took an involuntary step back from the blood-soaked demon that stood in front of him, flinching at the hate that gleamed in his cold black eyes.

"Good, that means less work for me." Vegeta pinned the man to the spot in front of him with his ruthless eyes, his aura of cruelty ebbing off of him. "Now tell me, do you know where the last two are?" His voice was soft but with a sharp keen edge that promised pain if the question went unanswered. The man shook his head and Vegeta's eyes became even darker causing the man to shiver. Vegeta advanced a step, stopping when her voice whispered to him. Don't terrorize the poor man. As her voice floated through his mind, the pain lessoned and he felt a moment of relief, but as soon as her presence drifted away, the agony crashed down on him even more intensely, nearly buckling his knees. Vegeta remained standing in front of the warrior; the only hint of his pain was a flashing of his black eyes.

"I know that you are lying to me." Vegeta hissed, afraid that if he spoke any louder his head would split in half. Nail refused to give more ground to the dangerous warrior and instead he dropped into a fighting stance, determined to protect the dragon balls. Vegeta heaved a great sigh as his gaze drifted to the horizon. His concentration momentarily lapsed as he wondered what was wrong with him. Saiyans very rarely become sick, yet the pain in his head was intensifying. Perhaps he had been poisoned and he didn't know it, but that didn't explain why he kept hearing her voice. Vegeta's body shuttered slightly as he squashed his wondering thoughts.

With the absence of Vegeta's cold eyes, Nail felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his chest and he was able to take a deep breath, but he quickly exhaled when he become pinned again a second later. Vegeta stared darkly at the man, vengeance burning deep in his eyes.

"You can either help me or I am going to sit back and wait for them to gather up the rest of the dragon balls. I am sure it won't take them long to finish off the rest of your people in their search." Fear raced through the man's body at the truth of Vegeta's words. The other warriors would sweep through the planets remaining populace, decimating everyone in order to procure the dragon balls for their master. He wanted to prevent such a disaster, but he knew that he didn't have the strength to fight the Ginyu Force and he knew that the prince did. Vegeta saw the man's uncertainty and he pressed his point unmercifully. "Make no mistake, someone will be making wishes today. It would be in your best interest that it is me and not Frieza.

Nail looked at Vegeta's armor, noting that it was the same design as the bloody mess that was on the ground. "But you work for Frieza." Vegeta snarled violently at the man's words and the young warrior took a step back, putting more distance between them. The Namek took a steadying breath before asking his next question.

"Why should I trust you?"

Vegeta clenched his fists in anger and he hissed through gritted teeth. "Because I am going to kill that bastard." The young man could see the flames of vengeance blazing in the cold warrior before him. Whether or not the man was evil was not in question, but his desire to kill the mighty lord was visibly apparent. "I will have no need to take what is freely given to me. Lead me to the Dragon Balls and I will leave your remaining people in peace." There was no doubt that Vegeta would use the balls to defeat his master, what happened after that, the Namek couldn't begin to imagine. He was left with very little options. He could tell Vegeta to go fuck himself and end up dead on the ground, leaving the rest of people to face the same fate or he could choose the lesser of two evils.

The Namek dropped his head to his chest overwhelmed with the feeling that he was about to enter into a compact with the Prince of Hell. He nodded his head slightly and Vegeta's tense body relaxed as he realized that the man would give him what he wanted.

"The sixth ball is over there." Nail pointed to a large hut in the center of the village and before he could blink Vegeta phased out only to reappear a moment later with a large golden ball in his hand. He tossed it negligently in the air, before catching it again, smirking with undisguised pleasure.

"Very nice. Now why don't we pay Ginyu a little visit, then we will gather up the last ball." The Namek nodded and took off towards the invaders ship. With any luck the alien warriors would end up killing themselves off and his people would be left in peace.

They landed on a small knoll not far from the small ship and Vegeta grunted in disgust. Now that he was so connected to the universe he couldn't imagine not being able to feel the ki's around him. He knew exactly who was inside of the ship and what level their power was. He felt pity that the pathetic fools couldn't feel him outside, stalking them. Without their scouters they were useless and Vegeta made certain that his power wasn't high enough to register.

The only one inside that could cause him the most amount of trouble was Guldo. His ability to stop time was tricky and Vegeta didn't want to get trapped in his vortex. Vegeta sought out Guldo's signature and he grinned victoriously when he realized that his quarry was alone in an outer room. Vegeta turned to the Namek, quickly relaying his plan before moving into position.

Vegeta stood outside the wall, well out of range of the frog's power as the Namek prepared a blast that would rend apart the steel wall apart, creating a large hole. As expected, as soon as the Namek blew a hole in the side wall, he froze, caught with Guldo's time stopping technique. As the frog stepped out of the hole to deliver the killing blow to the Namek, a blast he never saw, tore through his chest plate, splitting his heart in half. He fell dead to the ground releasing his breath as he did so. Vegeta chuckled as he walked up to the blinking green warrior.

With a perverse satisfaction Vegeta stepped on Guldo's head, relishing the resounding crack of his skull under his foot, followed by a wet squish. Nail blanched and drew away from Vegeta, who didn't notice the man's retreat. As a child Guldo had tormented Vegeta endlessly, flaunting his special ability in front of the young prince. He would freeze Vegeta then walk up and grab his tail, yanking on it unmercifully for hours while the prince writhed on the ground in agony. Vegeta regretted that he didn't have the opportunity to repay the ugly frog for all the pain that he caused him, but he reminded himself that he had a larger goal at hand.

The explosion had alerted the others to an attack and Vegeta could feel their power rise. He stepped back into the open field and the Namek wisely retreated to the knoll to watch the battle unfold. Captain Ginyu, Jeice and Burter appeared by the corpse of their fallen companion, barely sparing him a glance as their gaze fell onto Vegeta who stood with his arms crossed carelessly over his chest, a mocking smirk etched on his cruel lips.

Vegeta surveyed the destruction he had wrought with a cold eye while Jeice and Burter muttered obscenities to themselves. His onyx eyes, burning with the banked fires of hell in their depths locked with the equally chilly gaze of Captain Ginyu. A harsh wind swept through the small valley heralding the clash of wills between the battle-hardened warriors.

As Ginyu watched, Vegeta tilted his head in an arrogant manner, his self satisfied smirk taunting the Captain who hissed in anger at the blatant disrespect that was being displayed. With a snort of disgust, Ginyu gathered the attention of Jeice and Burter who were still murmuring over Guldo's crushed head. The two men straightened and turned to face the ruthless prince. They had spent years tormenting Vegeta as he grew into manhood before their very eyes and they felt confident that it would be an easy task to punish him for his insubordinate behavior.

When Vegeta had first arrived in the Emperor's court, Jeice had been instantly interested in the exotic prince. He had taken a great deal of pleasure in stalking through the darkened halls of the palace, hunting the child like a wild animal. Jeice had an insatiable sexual appetite and he especially delighted in taking young boys to his bed. He had spent many frustrating hours attempting to get the boy alone, but he was always guarded by that bald-headed freak, Nappa. Not long after Vegeta had come to serve under Frieza an order had been issued for the boy not to be touched.

A rumor spread that a nasty incident had occurred in the Emperor's bed chambers that the young prince had barely recovered from. Since then, Jeice had been forced to take out his frustrations in verbal sneers and physical jabs, forever unable to satisfy his burning need for the young prince. Even now that Vegeta was a grown man he had not lost his allure.

Jeice's lips pulled back into a feral grin as realization dawned on him. Now that Vegeta had fallen out of Frieza's favor he was no longer protected by royal decree. Jeice's eyes glinted maliciously as he imagined the ways he could repay the prince for all of the years of denied pleasure he had suffered through. Vegeta recognized the gleam in Jeice's eyes and he shuddered in disgust. As a boy he hadn't understood why the orange alien had followed him around constantly with a lusty grin on his face. It wasn't until Frieza had taken him aside and showed him what real depravity was that he understood.

A night in the Emperor's bed chambers had taught the young prince a lesson he had never forgotten about evil. He had been unable to control his fear and he had nearly destroyed half the palace in his terror driven frenzy. Frieza had to knock him unconscious to stop him from practically imploding in on himself and by then he was so bloody from his master's attentions that he had to be taken to the Regeneration Tank. His very first sexual experience and first trip to the tank were irrevocably tied together in his mind. After that the Emperor decreed that no one was to touch Vegeta. Frieza had decided that the prince was worth more as a soldier for the empire than as a half dead concubine.

Vegeta sneered at the dangerous pedophile while switching his attention to the cobalt colored Burter. He almost felt the need to thank the man. It was because of the speed demon that Vegeta had pushed himself to become faster. Burter had taken time out of his busy schedule almost every day to remind the young prince that he would never be fast enough to avoid certain death. If his reflexes could not compare to his opponents then it wouldn't matter how strong he was. If you couldn't hit your enemy then you could not defeat them. Burter would corner the boy in some portion of the ship or in the hallways of the palace and taunt the child into near tears. Every time Vegeta tried to fly past the much faster adult he would be slammed into the floor or the wall. To his credit, Burter never really physically harmed Vegeta; he just tore down his self worth a little everyday.

After every encounter, Vegeta would retreat to the training room and scream at Nappa to teach him to be faster. The older man would stare grimly down at the young boy and nod his head wearily, unable to do anything to help his prince's plight other than train him even harder and regale him with tales of the Legendary. The bodyguard had convinced the prince at a young age that he was destined to be Super and he would be the one to avenge his race and destroy the evil tyrant Frieza.

Now as he stood across the battlefield from his tormenters he did not feel the ripple of pleasure that he had expected at the prospect of killing them. Yes, he wanted the wet feel of their blood on his hands, anything to wipe away the memory of her body lying on the floor, but he wanted something more. Perhaps only Frieza's death would fill the emptiness that spread inside of him. A cool breeze swept through the field again, ruffling his hair. He could almost feel the sensation of Bulma running her hands through his mane in a soothing manner. A frown creased his brow and with steely determination he shook the phantom touch away. It was nothing but a figment of his imagination and he had no time to be distracted by fantasies. As her fingers trailed away the pain in his skull spiked and he inhaled sharply. If the pain did not abate soon, he was going to collapse under the assault. Only when he thought of her did the pain go away.

The remaining Ginyu Force did not see Vegeta's discomfort; instead Jeice and Burter readied themselves for an attack. He was so caught up in his thoughts, Vegeta almost didn't noticed when the two men launched themselves at him. They sped towards him with blinding speed, but suddenly Vegeta felt impatient. He knew causing the two men to suffer, repaying them for all the grief they had caused should make him feel satisfaction, but he could not rouse the feeling inside of him. He only wanted the Namakian balls so he could be on his way.

With an almost negligent disregard, he flung ki blasts at the oncoming men, shooting them out of the air, like fish in a barrel. They fell to the ground with a heavy thud and Captain Ginyu inhaled deeply with shock. Vegeta advanced on the leader with a disinterested air as he passed between the two fallen warriors. He didn't notice as Jeice used the last of his strength to reach out for the prince's booted heel, trying desperately to at least touch the object of his obsession one last time before he left this dimension. His empty fingers curled into the dust as Vegeta strode by untouched as the last breath left Jeice's body.

The two hardened warriors faced each other in the field of battle. A grudging respect lit the Captain's eye, but his gnarled features remained impassive. Now that they stood only a few feet apart Ginyu could see the lines of strain around the Prince's cold eyes. Something was wrong with the younger man, but he was uncertain of what it was. Perhaps the decision that him and Frieza had made to have the blue haired woman killed was a mistake. It seemed to have the same effect on Vegeta as breaking the leash on a rabid animal. It freed Vegeta from any calming influences the female may have had on his psyche, allowing him to begin a slow descent into madness.

Vegeta glared at the man, barely standing under the constant waves of pain that was swamping him. He allowed himself to think briefly of Bulma and the pain abated for a moment, allowing him to think clearly. The more he considered his problem the more he became convinced that he hadn't been poisoned. He feared that he was suffering some sort of psychological backlash from forming a complete telepathic link with Bulma only seconds before killing her. He didn't know how much worse his affliction would become or how long he had before he completely buckled under the strain, all he knew was that he had a mission to complete. He glared at the man before him; conviction of faith gleaming in his blazing eyes. Her faith that he would defeat Frieza no matter the cost.