Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Chizzari-Raditz ❯ Fini ( Chapter 22 )

I raise my hand, fingers stroking over the marks he gave me… marks that may as well not be there for all the attention he has shown me these last… how long has it been? It shouldn't matter anymore, and I shouldn't be thinking about it. But I can't help it.

My leave didn't help. I forget how many women I fucked. How many fights I was in and won. How people cowered and ran from me. None of it helped. I'm… I'm inferior. A whole year I've spent away, training and fighting… and a little fucking. Trying to get my strength up and my confidence back.

Well… I'm stronger. Finally stronger. For all the good it did, I'm finally stronger. I rub at the mark on my inner thigh. He may as well have broken that bond as well. My fingers come back sticky with my own blood, and I finally force myself to my feet. I need a shower, pretty badly. I can't face him in this condition… I'm not sure I can face him at all.

It's a lot of work getting to the shower. More work to get the blood out of my hair. The water is cold… I won't allow myself the luxury of a hot shower. I don't deserve that privilege. Don't deserve to be considered a warrior. I lean against the shower wall, letting the water rinse the last of the cleanser from my skin.

I hadn't even cleared the hanger when they caught me. Nappa oversaw the whole business… guess he didn't want me too messed up since Vegeta wanted to see me as soon as I got in. He'll probably be angry that I'm late… but I won't go to him covered in blood and semen, with the scraps of my clothes hanging off me, stinking of sex and failure.

I slide down the wall, landing rather heavily. I can't do anything about the breaks in my tail just yet. That has to wait until I have time to go to a regeneration tank. I don't know if there's any point, though. Another bone breaks beneath my fingers, then again. The searing jolts of pain help me clear my head.

It doesn't take too long to get into my uniform. I wrap my aching tail carefully around my waist, securing it with a small band. It's not the first time I've done it… must keep up appearances, after all. Can't let it seem like a few bruises or a broken tail can keep a Saiyan down. My head aches too much from its recent pounding to shake, so I squeeze out most of the water, and towel it. Doesn't do much more than make the spikes even messier, and make me later.

One deep breath. Four steps. The door opens, and I step through. Five steps, and I kneel, waiting, grateful that my mass of hair hides the worst of the recent damage. I keep my eyes trained on the small boots in front of me, not daring to look up.

"There's a planet that Frieza is considering. A team of four Saiyans could clear it easily."

"There's only three of us." Trust Nappa to state the obvious. Except… he's not right.

The small boot taps impatiently, and I raise my eyes reluctantly. There is no softness in the flat eyes that stare down at me, no friendly emotion at all. Only an expectant irritation. My mouth opens, words I don't mean to say tumbling from my lips. "My brother… wasn't on Vegeta. He was sent to E'Arth."

"Go get him."

"My prince." I rise, moving shakily to the door. I stop at Zarbon's office only long enough to tell him that I am going on a mission for Vegeta, then go straight to the regeneration tanks. The tank I choose has barely begun to fill when I finally feel the horrible, wrenching, burning sensation I have been expecting for so long. I thrash, screaming into the mask as he makes his will known… and breaks the last bond.

Blood runs to mingle with the fluid that has risen to my knees. It is… too much. I have failed him completely. When I return with my brother… I doubt that he will make even a token protest at how I am treated. My tired mind wonders if he ever bothered to punish Nappa at all… and my last coherent thought before I slip into the healing sleep is of Nappa's leer as he sold my body to the men in the hanger.

I'm still tired when the fluid drains. It seems like the moment I got back to the ship, all the energy I'd had vanished. Well… it got used up fighting, and I just don't see the point anymore. I'll go get my brother for Vegeta. Maybe he will be able to do what I couldn't, and make our prince proud of him. Maybe he will not fail as miserably as I have. And when… when we come back… I will surrender to what I know must come.

But first, I have to get my brother. I step into the small pod that waits for me, set the controls. This time, I decide to watch the stars for awhile. And give myself a pep talk. After all, I am going to convince my brother to join us… and he's been left alone a very long time. It may take some conniving to get him to rejoin the remnants of the Saiyan race, since he probably believes he was abandoned.

I watch the stars go by, and wonder if we will fight. I will win, of course. I'm older, and he was born even weaker than I. Father must have been disappointed. In a way, I'm glad he died with the planet. He never saw what a failure I became. But… well, my brother will look up to me. I'm an experienced warrior, after all. And strong… first class. No longer just a low level like my father was when he died, or my brother at birth. I press the button for cryogenic sleep.

A small smile graces my lips. For awhile, someone will look up to me… and I will not be the weakest. My brother and I will be a team. A good team. I can feel it. I'm smiling when the cryogenics take over.

~0~

Jewel: I'm going to throttle you!

Muse: *runs like hell*