Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ At Odds ❯ The Rise of the Dark Prince ( Chapter 8 )

Disclaimer: Don't own it

Love is like a unicorn.

Rare, perfect and pure,

But if no one believes in it, then it can't exist.

~~~Tempest~~~

Chapter Eight

The Rise of the Dark Prince

Zarbon felt his flesh tighten over his skeleton in a desperate attempt to crawl away. His throat closed up and he had to struggle to breathe around his thick tongue that was stuck to the roof of his dry mouth. Cold sweat ran in rivets down his back and under his arms, staining his fastidiously clean uniform.

"Are you sure?" He whispered and his stomach threatened to escape through his mouth as the messenger nodded a quick affirmative.

With a flick of his wrist he dismissed the man, but kept his back to the room. He lifted his amber eyes, observing the reflection that shone in the huge mirror that covered most of the back wall of the massive conference room. He could see the rigid back of his lord as he sat at the head of a rounded oak table, facing the rest of the delegations in the room.

Two hundred worlds were involved in the negations. Each world had sent two people and they all had their own servants. Approximately six hundred people were either sitting at the table or whisking in and out to fetch their masters food and drink. Next to each of the representatives were mounted video screens from which the monarchs participated in the talks from the safety of their thrones on their home worlds. An insulting bone of contention already with Vegeta.

They had been talking for days and as every hour passed Vegeta's patience was stretched like a heretic on The Rack, wound increasingly tighter until it threatened to snap. Zarbon was surprised that he had lasted this long, but he had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with the mysterious Princess Aigneis Aingeal. Zarbon's gaze slid to her reflection. She sat coolly to Vegeta's left, a marble statuette, breathtaking and majestic, barely moving throughout the entire proceedings. However whenever the arguments grew too heated she would shift subtly in her seat and the atmosphere would calm, her tranquility soothing balm on fiery tempers. Zarbon was impressed with her skill and he was thankful for her presence, but he had little hope that it would be helpful in the coming moments.

Zarbon looked away from the room, instead concentrating on his own jade reflection in the mirror. He gazed deeply into his eyes, looking for the shadows that he knew resided there but were momentarily obscured by an odd spark that had developed inside of him. He had done terrible things while serving Frieza. He had murdered friends, betrayed lovers and tortured innocents. He had been subjected to his own horrors as well. Unlike the other unwilling victims in Frieza's court, he had not lain prone under the reptile while he took his pleasure, but participated in the bed sport. Every drop of pleasure that he was able to gift his master was another day of life. In his struggle to survive he had became the top courtesan in Frieza's court, a master at seduction and eroticism. Nothing more than a filthy whore writhing under the touch of a sadistic, bloodthirsty tyrant.

Zarbon leaned closer, searching for the man he used to be in the reflection of the man he had become. Since Vegeta had come into power, he had not done a thing that would keep him awake at night in shame. He hadn't killed or tortured anyone and best of all he hadn't been forced to sleep with anyone that he didn't want too. His position in court now was one of respect, not servitude. He served his Lord and Lady by using his wit and savvy, not by laying on his back.

He backed away from the mirror, grim realization spreading through him like a disease. For him, the last few months had been a little slice of heaven and that was more than a piece of filth like he should ever be granted. During this short reprieve, a new person had been born. Someone who was happy and carefree, full of laughter and an almost comical pleasure at being alive, but it was time to return to his true cynical nature.

He watched with calm acceptance as the spark died in his eyes and the darkness reformed in the amber shadows. In this universe there was only one way to be. Cold, hard and deadly. Peace never lasted and terror reigned supreme. He turned away, leaving himself behind in the cold reflection of the mirror.

Zarbon leaned down to Vegeta's ear, his lips moving, but only the barest sound escaping them. After his message was delivered he stepped back, taking his place behind his Lord. He braced his legs apart, folding his hands calmly behind his back, his implacable features never hinting at his distress.

His amber eyes flickered over to the Princess, who shifted subtly in her chair. She turned her head, treating Zarbon to a perfect view of her flawless profile. Her blue eyes roved over Vegeta's face, looking for some sign of his sudden and intense emotional upheaval. She could see nothing except for a slight tightening of his mouth and a terrifying darkening of his eyes.

Vegeta sat forward, listening to the pompous ramblings of one of the representatives, agitation eating at him. He was almost relieved when Zarbon leaned down to whisper in his ear. Finally, something else to think on besides the insult he was forcing upon himself, all to please one woman. His eye flicked to the female beside him. Correction, two women.

Zarbon's words made his blood run cold and the nauseating pitch of the speaker's voice drifted away in a roar. He could feel the Princess' eyes on him, but he refused to look at her, instead fixing his deadly eyes on some distant point in the center of the table.

Bulma had left him.

She had run away like a coward in the night. She had used to ki wand to knock out Raditz who guarded her door and slipped away on a ship, taking Delia with her. His soul contracted in agony and the fiends that crept along the edges of his newly found light roused themselves from their slumber. The teal eyed dragon shifted slightly inside of him, gathering power unto itself.

She had run from him.

After everything he had done for her. Here he sat at this farce of a conference, negotiating with these imbeciles, because of her. In all of his long years serving Frieza he had never bowed to the tyrant's wishes. He had remained unbending and true to his nature. Always he proclaimed who he was without shame or sorrow, but for her he was willing to reshape himself into something that he was not. She didn't want bloodshed. She didn't want war. She didn't want him to be him. The darkness swelled and the dragon roared.

She had abandoned him.

He had sacrificed everything on Namek for her. His sanity. His pride. His wishes. Ye Gods, his wishes. He could have had his planet, his family, his home, but instead he wished for her. He fought to save her from the pits of hell, to give her life once again and this was how she repaid him? By bolting from his side the first chance she got?

The demons hissed and paced restlessly outside the perimeter of light, advancing as the radiance dimmed. He felt freezing hands claw his insides as his fragile soul began to wither and die.

He would have given her anything she could ever want. If only she had asked. If only she would gaze at him with that shinning light that he could only find in her eyes. If only she would look up at him with that small secret smile that she only bestowed on him. Instead she turned away, her presence like an icy rain on his flesh, stinging him with needles of distaste. Shunning him, despising him. Desolation swept across his barren soul, reminding him of the life he once lived, of who he used to be. Insidious whispers echoed through the emptiness of his heart, speaking to him of treachery and betrayal.

Look at him. Playacting for these low life, traitor scum, pretending to be something he wasn't, just like Primus. Always, she controlled their relationship. Telling him what he could and couldn't do, telling him how to behave while pulling all the strings.

She was the reason he had ended up on Namek in the first place. She was the reason he had felt pain for the first time in twenty years. She was the reason for all of his suffering. She was the reason he hesitated when killing. She was the reason he stayed his murderous hand. Her. Her. Her. The demons screeched and the dragon snorted in distress. She was the reason for his weakness.

She stole from him.

He had given her his very carefully guarded heart. He had entrusted her with his fragile emotions. He had convinced himself that it was her very presence that had allowed him to ascend, but he knew now that it was just her manipulating him once again. He had let a fucking female play with his mind.

He deserved this. This is what he got for trusting someone besides himself. This is what he got for allowing himself to believe that he could be different. For one brief enlightened moment, he thought that he could be something other than what he was. A small part of him wanted to be the benevolent king, but in truth he was a monster, a dark prince who was the master of death and carnage.

The protective barrier around his newborn heart and soul rattled and cracked as the fiends tore at the chinks in the wall. The dragon coiled tightly around itself, pulling its tail to safety as the demons crawled forth.

He did not need her.

A piece of his soul shattered and the dragon snarled. The light inside of him dimmed and he felt a split in his heart. He felt alone, separate, incomplete.

He glanced around the room at the blatant disrespect that was being displayed by every single person there. He had claimed the throne in a flurry of bloodshed. He had killed Frieza, ripping his head from his body and he had the trophy to prove it. These people should be crouched at his feet, begging for mercy, not arrogantly demanding concessions from him.

This was her doing. She thought it would be better, more civilized. She disagreed with everything that he was. She wanted some perfect prince that would sweep her away and live happily ever after without ever raising his fist in conflict. She wanted something that he could not give her. Peace. She wanted a fantasy, not him. She did not want or need him. She was only using him to become queen. He was nothing more than a pawn in her game. She used him, just like she used Frieza, probably from the very beginning. The self righteous, egotistical bitch.

He did not love her.

His heart shrunk and pulsed with agony. A sorrowful wail echoed across his barren soul, but it was muffled by the shrieking of fiends as they surged over him like a bloody stain. The faintest light of love that had been growing inside of him was stillborn, rejected from his heart like a poisonous seed.

He hated her.

He felt something snap deep down and the screaming of demons resounded in his ears. The wall came crashing down and the dragon roared with outrage. Vegeta could feel the flood of dark power rush through him. It was something he was intimately familiar with, the power of hate and rage. He had been wrong. She was not the key to his power. She was merely a tool, nothing more. It was he, Vegeta, the Prince of All Saiyans who had achieved the Legendary and slew Frieza. He needed no one, only himself. He was a god. His power was limitless.

A flood of writhing blackness flowed over the golden dragon, drowning out the goodness of its light. The demons pulled at the dragon's scales, slipping under and into its body, infecting it. The dragon moaned and the demons laughed as they reclaimed their territory in Vegeta's black soul.

Vegeta ignored the swamping waves of calmness that emanated from the Princess beside him. He turned his head to meet her eyes and he felt a chilling laughter well up inside of him at her panicked gaze. She could feel the shift inside of him, the lessoning of her hold over him.

Death comes to everyone, but it is guaranteed to be painful when inflicted by Vegeta, The Dark Prince of the Universe.

He rose from his chair, abruptly cutting off the tirade of words from the representative of the Shari-Reaves union. The blazing menace that peered out from the shadow of the Emperor's face froze everyone in their seats. Even the servants ceased to scurry about, dropping their platters to the ground with loud clangs as they watched with shocked expectation.

"You dare to insult me." His first words were low and deadly, but they increased in volume, defying the imposed tranquility of the atmosphere. "You dare to believe that I will not punish you all for your impudence." Vegeta's deadly voice boomed throughout the room and the Princess whimpered. No one moved, no one dared to breathe.

"You dare to think that you can make demands of me. ME! The Emperor of the Universe." The delegations shrunk back in their seats and the watching kings and queens paled on their monitors.

Vegeta's lips parted, revealing a row of ivory teeth that glinted maliciously in the low light. The wider his maniacal smile grew the more uneasy the people felt. They shifted in their chairs, darting panicked gazes towards the door. The servants stood rooted to the spot, unable to run away like they so desired.

"You thought wrong." The simple sentence seemed to trigger a chain reaction throughout the room. People sprang up from their chairs and raced towards the exit, only to come to a screeching halt with the heavy double doors slammed shut with a deafening crash.

Vegeta's laughter rang out, filling everyone with overwhelming dread. Slowly they turned to face their Emperor, their executioner.

Vegeta stood at the head of the table, his hands fisted at his sides, his neck bulging with strain. His black hair burst into gold and his eyes turned teal. An aura of power enveloped him, radiating out from him in great heated waves and all the while his maniacal laughter poured over every one present, shriveling their flesh with terror.

Some were awestruck by the light, imagining that he looked like a shining angel, come down to show them mercy. Only the Princess and Zarbon noticed the black lining his golden aura had taken on. A small tainting of the purity of his power.

He could feel his strength coursing through him. His greatest fear had not come to pass. Even though Bulma had left him, he was as strong as ever, stronger even. He was the mightiest being in the universe and nothing could stop him.

Vegeta coiled his body like a lethal predator and sprang forward, lashing out at the closest possible victims. His laughter echoed through the room as the bodies fell to the floor, gurgling and choking on their own blood. The terrified people tried to scream but blood spewed from their lips in a fine spray, leaving behind obscene patterns of gore on the walls and floor.

He reached out, punching through soft flesh and cracking bones. He reveled in the feel of wrapping his strong hands around the delicate arms and necks of his offenders, squeezing until he felt their flesh bulge between his fingers. Their thin skin burst under the pressure with a rending of bone and a gush of blood, feeding the raging beast inside of him. Blood desecrated the white walls of the palace and sprayed across the monitors. The stunned gaze of kings and queens peered out behind the crimson coating, watching with horror as their subjects were slain without mercy or regret, by the man they chose to disrespect.

Princess Aigneis leapt up from her seat, gathering her great power around her, preparing to bind the emperor with silken ropes of tranquility. Unexpectedly, muscular arms wrapped around her and a vicious voice whispered in her ear.

"I don't think so Princess."

She instantly recognized the cool tones of Zarbon, but a shiver of fear raced down her spine. She had never heard the jovial man sound so distant, so incredibly deadly. She struggled, but her physical strength was no match for his. Distracted as she was she could not gather the spiritual energy she needed to calm the raging monarch. She whimpered and opened her mouth to plead with Zarbon, but a green hand quickly muffled her.

"Don't make me kill you. I will not hesitate to snap your neck." Her heart leapt into her throat in an effort to escape her fear. His words were clipped and concise, leaving her no doubt that he would do exactly as he promised.

Her eyes widened when she saw a badly mangled body rocketing towards them. Zarbon pushed her aside and her silvery, butterfly wings burst from her back automatically to help balance herself. Zarbon batted the body away easily and already dead blood arched from the body, splattering her pristine clothing. She looked down, unable to comprehend the sight of the scarlet droplets that stained her flowing white dress. Her huge blue eyes darted up to meet Zarbon's emotionless gaze. His gem-hard amber eyes flickered over her, taking in her defiled ethereal appearance.

A small part of him, the part of him that refused to die, but was buried under callused indifference, wanted to reach out and drag the delicate creature from this monstrous place, but he could not. He served King Vegeta now. The lord and master of the universe. His lord and master. No matter how much it hurt to shut away the man he so desperately wanted to be, he knew where his loyalties lay. He would serve the emperor until his dying breath.

The corner of his mouth lifted in a self-mocking smile when he read the defeat in her eyes. Only the mighty could effect change and she was not as powerful as that. For all her strength, she did not have the mental capacity to deal with the living breathing embodiment of hell and the demons that wrought it. She was on the brink of the realization that she could never be more than a passive observer in a universe that rejected her goodness and snubbed her humanity. Her attempts to steer fate to her liking was futile and laughable. Only the strong survived and the weak perished. He whirled away, burying his fist into the stomach of an escaping servant. The princess backed away, watching with horror filled eyes at the carnage that was being wrecked around her by the two madmen.

Bodies dropped to the ground at an alarming rate and the screams that were so deafening in before began to die out the fewer people were left. There was so much blood that it soaked the carpet and the pads underneath. It ran in rivers into the seams of the building so that it bled into the soil that it stood on, tainting the very core of the planet. So much blood that it would never be washed away.

Someone grabbed the hem of her dressed and she felt a painful yank on her wing. She glanced down to see a young woman, trying to use her as an anchor to pull herself into a standing position. Princess Aigneis leaned down to help the woman, but a flash a light caught her attention. She glanced up in time to see a blue ball of light hurtling towards her. She jumped back, the woman's grip rending her gown. She slipped in a pool of blood and fell to the ground ungracefully. Before her stunned gaze, the woman she had been trying to help burst into flame, screaming in agony as her flesh melted from her bones.

The princess scooted back on her behind, sliding easily on the blood slicked floor. She bumped into the wall and used it as a support to haul herself off the ground. Her dainty wing caught under her heel as she struggled to stand and she hissed in pain.

When the last body hit the floor, Vegeta stood silently his back to the room. Zarbon stood to the side, apparently unaffected by the gore that dripped down the walls and the carpet of corpses on the floor. Vegeta's hair still glowed golden, but she could see where blood was matting it down and his once blue uniform was now nearly black in some places.

Slowly he turned, his teal eyes instantly finding her terrified ones. He held her gaze for endless moments, until she could not bear it a second longer. She blinked back her tears and when her eyes opened again he was standing directly in front of her. She shrank back into the corner, desperately trying to escape him. He stood so close now that she could see the black pupils of his eyes. The dark ring was dilated and the blackness starred out, infecting the beautiful teal color.

As Vegeta surveyed the destruction he had wrought, he could feel the censuring gaze of the princess behind him. He turned slowly to face her, taking in her ragged appearance. He could see the hem of her gown was ripped away and was stained red with blood. She made no effort to hide her silvery butterfly wings now and one was ragged and torn. She clasped her pale hands in front of her, directing him a look so full of forlorn misery that he almost laughed.

She blinked away her tears and he appeared in front of her, the sick need to torment her rising inside of him.

"So what do you think, Angel? Is it how you imagined these peace talks going?" His voice was soft, almost alluringly musical. He waved his hand to the monitors behind him and abruptly he turned his back on her, addressing the remaining rulers who watched from the safety of their thrones.

"You dare to defy me and you will be punished. Mark my words well, traitors. I will be coming for you all very soon and your sorrowful words of regret will fall on deaf ears. I give you warning, prepare yourselves and your families. Your time here in this dimension is limited." His voice was not raised in damning anger, but soft and echoing with hellish promise. Many bolted from their thrones, their fear of the man who was light years away ruling their weak minds.

Princess Aigneis swallowed hard, calling on her innate calmness to assist her while she searched for the words that would save her.

"Please, Prince Vegeta. Think of what you are doing." Her whisper turned into a gasp as he whipped around, closing the distance between them. He wrapped a blood-stained, gloved hand around her throat and pushed her against the unyielding wall. His eyes roved over her porcelain features, stopping at her blue hair.

His other hand drifted up to toy with a powder blue lock that had escaped its confining pony tail. His nimble fingers undid her simple clip and he pulled her hair forward so it cascaded over her shoulder in a shimmering waterfall. He ran the smooth locks through his fingers as if testing their texture.

"So very beautiful." He said to himself, seemingly unaware of her presence. He lifted the strands to his nose, inhaling deeply. He dropped her locks with a sneer of disgust that caused her to shudder. "It smells all wrong though."

The princess stared at him wide eyed, her heart racing in her chest. "T-think of B-bulma." She stuttered, unable to contain her fear.

Vegeta's face hardened to an impervious mask of steel. His tainted gaze met her deep blue eyes and she felt her soul shrivel up like a rose in winter. "I am thinking of that bitch." Vegeta's evil glare bore into her and she felt his hot breath on her cheek as he leaned in close. "I think you would make a nice substitute for her." His hand tightened around her throat and she struggled for air. Her eyes darted over his wide shoulder, locking on Zarbon who stood facing the Shari-Reeves monitor.

Zarbon's eyes narrowed as he watched the screen, a flash of color diverting his attention. The two monarchs had fled their throne room, leaving the camera still in place. From behind the thrones he saw a shadowy figure dart to the side, revealing only an instant of violet radiance that left him with a lingering surge of yearning.

He heard the princess whimper and he hunched his shoulders against the sound. He leaned over, flipping the screen off, keeping his back to his Lord.

Princess Aigneis realize that she would find no aide from the emerald man and her eyes locked once again with Vegeta's. His golden aura shrunk down around him, seeping back into his pores and dousing the bright light. His gold hair melted to midnight and his teal eyes returned to their diamond black coldness.

She felt the press of his fingers on the side of her throat, squeezing the very life from her. Her eyes welled up with tears and they poured over cheeks, dripping onto his forearm. He ignored the wetness and pressed harder, reveling in the feel of her pulse beneath his fingertips.

Vegeta leaned in close to her and somehow through the rush of blood in her ears, she heard him speak to her.

"I would have died a thousand deaths for her." He whispered in her pink shell ear. "Now I will slay millions for her." He promised with conviction. His soft growl wove itself down her spine, making her think of a ravenous animal.

With one hand he lifted her up, until her toes brushed the floor and her wings were splayed brokenly against the cool stone wall. He nipped at her chin, before breathing in her ear once again.

"Take that message to your gods, Angel." All at once she felt the sickening collapse of her esophagus and then blissfully there was nothing.

Vegeta and Zarbon blinked as they stood on the bridge of their ship, staring at empty space where there should have been a planet. They glanced around observing the startled faces of their crew who were taken off guard at their sudden appearance.

Vegeta growled, turning his narrowed glare back at the view screen. It was obvious to him that he had been ousted from the sanctuary of Folaithe Ceo. He had outstayed his welcome and they had removed his offensive person. He was impressed with their power at being able to bodily move him from the planet's surface to the deck of his ship in a blink of an eye, but he felt intense satisfaction that they had felt the need to do so. The cowardly planet had slipped away again, disappearing into the obscure folds of time and space, perhaps never to be heard from again.

Vegeta spat orders to his men to advance on the nearest planet that defied him. He left the room, certain that Zarbon would see to the details. He needed a moment to welcome back his true self and say goodbye to the weakling who had dwelled in his place for so many months. He ignored the smallest corner of his heart that cried out in longing and despair, unable to kill of the barest remnant of remorse that lingered inside of him.

Princess Aigneis Aingeal lay prone in the blood-soaked room that was shrouded in the mists once again. A deep crimson pool ringed her body and her small hand was clasped lightly around her bruised throat. Her endless blue eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling, while silent tears flowed down her cheeks, forging paths through the warm blood. She cried for the many innocents who lay dead around her. She sobbed for the soul of the man whom had caused such pain. She wept for the many more deaths that would come and she wailed for the universe, for already she could hear its screams of pain.