Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Branded ❯ Chapter 11

"Put Raditz on a scouting team? Why would you bother me with this today of all hours?" King Vegeta asked as he paced irritably before his throne. "Frieza will be here in a matter of days! I don't have time to deal with your petty squabbles!"

Vegeta held his temper. He knew the pressure the king was under and didn't dare get him angry. He was still exhausted from the week spent with Ruga and the night with Beli. He was no match for the king that morning.

"Then give me the power to assign him as I see fit," Vegeta suggested. The king waved his hand in dismissal and Vegeta went to make the arrangements.

"I want you by my side when Frieza arrives!" King Vegeta called out after him. "So no disappearing acts today!"

Vegeta found Raditz with a couple of his buddies, lounging about the palace, drinking as much of the royal wine as possible. They were laughing so hard together that none of them noticed the arrival of the prince.

"Raditz!" Vegeta shouted over the noise. The other two immediately stood and saluted, but not Raditz. He remained seated, his feet resting on the table.

"Speak of the devil," Raditz drawled, holding his mug high. "I salute you mighty Prince! Maybe if you had had more practice, it wouldn't have taken an entire week to breed a bitch in heat."

"You're drunk, Raditz," Vegeta said from between his teeth. His fists were clenched so tight his knuckles had turned bone-white.

“That's right," Raditz agreed and drank the rest of the contents in his mug. "And now I am going to have a little fun before you ship me off to some barren planet on the edge of the galaxy." He got to his feet and swayed slightly before heading in the direction of the kitchen.

Vegeta disappeared and was suddenly in front of Raditz. His friends gasped and took an involuntary step backwards. Raditz blinked his bleary eyes down at the younger man.

"I suggest you two return to your barracks before you also find yourselves on 'some barren planet on the edge of the galaxy'," Vegeta warned, his eyes still locked on Raditz. The two warriors turned and practically stumbled over each other in their race to escape the prince's wrath.

Raditz leaned down, his stinking breath in Vegeta's face. "So, did you tell daddy all about your little distraction? Is he going to let a Tuffle slave become queen of the Saiyans? Or maybe you talked him into letting you keep her as a pet. If so, can I pet her every now and then?"

His laughter was abruptly cut short by Vegeta's fist. The taller man flew across the room, his back slamming against the wall. He scrambled to his feet, but froze at the sight of the energy ball in Vegeta's outstretched palm.

"You've seen me train, Raditz," Vegeta said calmly. "You know I can blow a hole in a mountain if I wanted to. Count yourself lucky that I'm sending you away instead of gutting you and using your worthless hide as a throw rug."

"I will be the lucky one, Vegeta," Raditz sneered. "Once Frieza gets here and sees how powerful you’ve become, he’ll destroy you."

Vegeta let the energy in his hand dissolve and he lowered his arm. "What are you talking about?"

"My father says that Frieza is afraid of losing control over the Saiyans. That's why I'm glad to be off this miserable piece of rock," Raditz said and began walking toward the door.

"Bardock is a Third Class joke! Frieza afraid of us?" Vegeta laughed. "Frieza isn't afraid of anything! That's why he is the most profitable man in the universe!"

Raditz ignored Vegeta and kept walking. Soon afterwards, Vegeta and Beli watched his pod jettison into space in one direction and Frieza's ship entering the atmosphere from the other.