Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Dragon Ball VE: The Keeper Saga ❯ Chapter 3

Dragon Ball Vegeta's Era: The Keeper Saga

 

Chapter Three

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. I do, however, own the plot of DBVE and all of the original characters that might appear.

 

Co-written by: Mia Skywalker

 

…

 

Gohan woke slowly, feeling groggy and nauseous. He wondered for a moment how he had slept so late, and why he still felt so tired. Why was it so bright? Had he left the light on all night?

 

He tried to force himself to get up, he didn't want Bulma yelling at him if he was late for his research work at Capsule Corp, but his body just wasn't responding. Maybe I'm sick, he thought woozily. He needed to call in. He hoped Bulma would answer the phone. Vegeta would just mock him and call him weak for giving in to illness.

 

Vegeta! Somehow, thinking of him triggered a recent recollection. He had a vague memory of his father's birthday, and then Vegeta showed up and… it went hazy after that. What had happened?

 

Parts of it slowly came back to him. Strange aliens had shown up and there had been a fight. Things were foggy after that, and no matter how much he wracked his brain, he couldn't recall anything more.

 

He turned his head slightly to the side and finally noticed that he was lying on the floor. He was in a small, very white room with almost blindingly bright lights. There seemed to be only a few pieces of furniture, but his position didn't make it conducive to recognize what they were.

 

Gingerly, with a mind to keeping the contents of his stomach inside him, he slowly sat up and looked around. There were two beds off to one side, each of them occupied. The figure on the closer of the beds was bundled up in blankets, but he could see some of its hair. The color suggested someone from Bulma's family.

 

The blue-haired occupant of the bed stirred and sat up. The little girl looked around the room, confused, scared, and not feeling well.

 

“Gohan?” she said, her voice shaky and uncertain as she noticed the other half-Saiyan.

 

“Bra? Are you all right?” He remembered how nauseous he had felt on first waking and imagined the little girl felt no better. He sat down next to her on the bed, putting one arm around her comfortingly. He didn't really know her very well, despite working for her mother, but he still felt a strong sympathy for her.

 

“Feeling any better?” he asked softly, noticing as the green pallor began to fade from her face. “It would probably help if we could eat soon,” he muttered darkly. He had no idea why they were there, but he knew it couldn't be good.

 

The little girl nodded in answer to Gohan's question, then froze as she noticed the other bed. Vegeta was curled into a ball in the middle of it, his newly re-grown tail twined tightly around him.

 

“Daddy?” She slid off the bed and went over to the other one, climbing up and gently pushing at her father's shoulder. “Daddy?”

 

Vegeta moaned softly, but didn't wake. Bra shook his arm harder, convinced that he would be able to make everything all right again. “Wake up, Daddy! Wake up!”

 

When all else failed, she finally grabbed his tail and tugged on it. Hard. There was no response from him other than a faint whimper of pain. That was enough to scare Bra even more, bringing tears to her large blue eyes.

 

“Bra…” Gohan admonished softly. “I think your father is sick. Really sick. Maybe they got him with more than what they got us with.” And maybe the fact he's a full Saiyan and we're both only half is also a factor. He didn't voice that idea out loud, not wanting to worry Bra with pointless speculation. She was only a little girl, and it was her beloved father who was sick.

 

“Vegeta,” he said softly, touching the older man's forehead. He didn't feel feverish. He was, in fact, a bit cooler than he should have been. He was also paler than normal.

 

“He seems a bit shocky, but other than that, I think he's okay,” Gohan said to the frightened little girl. “I'm going to need you to do something to help make him better, though. You need to snuggle up with him and keep him warm.”

 

She gave him a wide-eyed stare and nodded, doing as he had asked. Gohan took the blanket from the other bed and wrapped them both in it, keeping it loose to allow the shared body heat to build up.

 

Worried, Gohan started to pace, wishing fervently that Vegeta would wake up and give him some advice. Maybe he didn't always get along with him, but the Saiyan prince was a tactical genius, something even Piccolo had admitted to. Having him alert would only be an asset for whatever they were up against, and Gohan was certain it was something very bad.

 

While Gohan paced and pondered, Bra snuggled close to her father, forcing herself to ignore her fear. Daddy needs me. I have to be strong. I'm the princess of the Saiyans, and princesses don't cry when there's trouble.

 

With that mental declaration, she wrapped her arms around Vegeta, rubbing her small hands up and down his back in an effort to warm him. After several minutes, he finally began to stir, slowly forcing himself into a sitting position.

 

“Daddy!” Bra squealed, crawling into his lap and hugging him tight.

 

“Why's it s' dark?” he muttered, his words slurring as he blinked and tried to get his bearings.

 

Bra stared at him, wide-eyed, then glanced over at Gohan, hoping he would know what was wrong and could fix it.

 

“Dark?” Gohan looked at him sharply. Vegeta's eyes were wide open, but it was apparent that they saw nothing. “Vegeta….” He hesitated, then walked over to the bed. “It's not dark in here. In fact, the lights are almost too bright. You can't see anything, not even shadows?”

 

He passed his hand in front of Vegeta's face, giving a startled jerk when the older man's hand snapped up and grabbed his wrist. The movement had been quicker than Gohan would have thought possible, even for someone who could see.

 

“Could you see a blur or shadow?” Gohan asked, hoping that was the reason for Vegeta's quick movement.

 

Vegeta was silent for a long moment, still holding the half-Saiyan's wrist in a vice-like grip. Finally, he let go. “No. I saw nothing. I felt the change in air pressure.

 

“There were aliens… they flashed some kind of light in my eyes… what happened? Did we defeat them?” His voice was oddly calm and collected as he asked this, his sightless eyes staring in Gohan's general direction.

 

“I don't know,” Gohan said honestly. “I think they knocked us unconscious somehow. The last thing I remember, they were in front of us. Then I woke up here with just you and Bra. I have no idea where the others are, if they're all right or anything else.”

 

Gohan frowned. “If my dad can sense our ki, he can always come to us. So since he hasn't yet, then they have our ki blocked somehow. Or he's dead.”

 

He said the last bluntly, trying not to let it hurt him. His father had been dead several times in the past, he reminded himself, and had always come back. Death wasn't permanent, not if you had the dragon balls. He just had to remember that.

 

Vegeta took a deep breath and gave a short, jerky nod. “Where are we? Describe our surroundings to me.”

 

Gohan started pacing, and Vegeta turned his head to follow the sound. He frowned at the feel of something brushing lightly against his neck. Reaching up, his fingers encountered a thin collar of some sort.

 

He put his hand out, feeling around until he was able to lightly grab Bra's shoulder. She too had a thin collar around her neck.

 

“What are these?”

 

Gohan reached and touched his own neck and felt something similar. He hadn't noticed it before, Vegeta had been covered and up, and with Bra he had thought it was just some jewelry. His only excuse for not noticing the one around his own neck was how horrible he had felt when he had awoken and the ensuing distraction.

 

“They're metal, and they don't seem to have any seams,” he observed as he looked carefully at Bra's. “I'm not sure how they got them on, or how we'd get them off. As for what they do….” He shrugged. “I have no idea.”

 

Vegeta closed his useless eyes, his face scrunching up slightly in intense concentration. “Damn it…. Gohan, I can't power up, can you?”

 

Gohan blinked. It hadn't even occurred to him to try, despite the fact that he knew instant transmission and could get them all back home if he could power up. He mentally cursed himself for being an idiot and tried to reach super Saiyan. When that didn't work, he attempted to attain his Mystic state. That didn't work either. Last, he tried to gather enough ki to use instant transmission. It was no use. With the collar on, he couldn't even reach the same power level as Bulma.

 

“No,” he sighed in resignation. “I can't power up or use any of my abilities.”

 

“Our ki is being blocked somehow. That means we can't be tracked by anyone. Kakarot won't be coming to our rescue,” Vegeta said, a bitter note in his voice. “I suppose that leaves you to play the hero and rescue my daughter.”

 

“Daddy, are you okay?” Bra asked, clutching his arm as she stared up at him.

 

“No,” he said shortly, pulling away from her and scooting to the far edge of the bed.

 

Gohan frowned, confused by this sudden change in attitude. He had seemed so calm and sure of himself before. Now he sounded like a pouting child. Gohan was normally a very gentle person, but if Vegeta was going to act like a child, the half-Saiyan was going to have to act like a parent. He still wasn't completely used to it with Pan, and with Vegeta… that was going to be even tougher. Vegeta had always scared him, ever since he was a child, and he had never fully gotten over that. But the prince was apparently sinking into a deep depression, and Gohan knew he had to snap him out of it.

 

“Vegeta, stop that! You can't allow yourself to wallow in self-pity.” He sat down on the bed, letting Bra snuggle between him and her father. “I need you right now. We need you right now. Even if you can't see, you're the best damned tactical expert that I know. We're going to have to be calm and rational and figure our way out of this. I'll be your eyes. You just keep your wits intact. We need you. Without you, there is no way Bra or I will be able to find a way out.”

 

“Just what the hell do you expect me to do?” Vegeta snarled. “I can't see a damn thing, and I can't power up. You are the one who is going to get us out of this. It's always your damn family that saves the day. No matter what I do, or how hard I try, that is always the way it ends up!”

 

Gohan was surprised for a moment at Vegeta's outburst and was glad the older Saiyan couldn't see his expression. He schooled himself into a scowl again, knowing it would affect his tone. He raised his voice, trying to make himself sound as powerful and authoritative as possible.

 

“Is that how you see it? Haven't you figured things out yet? My father never wins on his own! When he wins, it's because we all worked together to help him. When I killed Cell, do you think I did it by myself? If the others hadn't distracted him, I would have been killed before I could finish powering up. And if you hadn't struck him when you did, I wouldn't have had the opening I did. We needed you that day, and if you hadn't been there, we would all be dead now!

 

“It's all of us or none, Vegeta,” he continued passionately, his voice dropping. “That's the way it's always been. We're a team and whether you like it or not, you joined that team when you fought with us against the androids. Maybe some of our team didn't like you at first, but didn't you ever wonder why no one really argued against you being there? Because every damn one of them had started off as an enemy of my father and ended up an ally. Why? Because they, like you, eventually figured out that we are all stronger together than we are apart!”

 

Vegeta was silent for several moments, and Gohan began to hope that he had gotten through to him. “Fine,” he finally said, sounding sulky. “At least tell me where we are. There is nothing I can do if I do not even know where we are. Describe our surroundings.”

 

Gohan sighed, holding back his disappointment. “Well, it's not a big area. We're in a room; I'd say about thirty by forty feet. There are two beds on one wall and a sliding doorway on each of the walls framing the wall with the beds. And everything is white. Very, very white.”

 

He stood up then and touched the sliding doorway on one wall. It opened immediately, showing a fairly decent sized bathroom. “There's a bathroom in here,” he called out over his shoulder. “A sink, toilet, large bathtub, and a shower. That's it for in here. And the basics of course; soap, toilet paper, towels and such.”

 

He walked over to the other door and pressed against it, but nothing happened.  "This door doesn't open," he said grunting, trying to force it open.  "It's probably locked from the other side.  I think we're prisoners.  But... we haven't seen anyone yet."  He was more worried over that part than he liked to admit.  He only vaguely remembered the aliens they had seen on Earth, and he didn't know if these others were like that, or different.

 

There was an odd popping sound, followed by a voice coming from the ceiling. “We are sorry for the poor accommodations, Saiyans. The habitat we have been making is not yet ready for you. Food will be given in short time. Saiyans need much food.”

 

“'Saiyans need much food'?” Gohan arched an eyebrow. “Well, that's an understatement,” he commented wryly, trying to smile.

 

He reached over and ruffled Bra's hair, trying to reassure her. “How you holding out, kid?”

 

She gave him a wavery smile, then glanced back at her father, looking worried. “Will he be okay?” she whispered. It scared her to see him like this. She wanted to be home and for everything to be normal again.

 

“He'll be okay,” he whispered back, knowing full well Vegeta could hear them. “He's the Prince of all Saiyans, remember? Nothing can beat him.” He smiled at Vegeta and was tempted to wink. Then he remembered that the other Saiyan couldn't see, and his smile faded. “We'll get through this. We're Saiyans, right? The most powerful race in the universe!”

 

Vegeta snorted at that comment. “If we are so powerful, then why have these beings captured us? Of what use is all of our power when it can be so easily neutralized?” he asked, reaching up to lightly touch the collar around his neck. “What is the point of trying to formulate an escape when our captors can hear our every word?”

 

“Vegeta….” Gohan didn't like the way Vegeta kept trying to throw out obstacles. Did he want to remain a prisoner? Why was he giving up so easily? This wasn't like him. Gohan was sure there was something Vegeta wasn't telling them, but he wasn't to force it out of him. Not only couldn't he, but he didn't feel it would be right.

 

“Saiyans do have… another way,” Gohan said slowly. “You could teach us your language. And we could use… the other method. Dad used it on Namek a few times, and Piccolo used it with me when we were fighting the androids.  I've never tried to do it myself, but... I'm sure if anyone knows how to, it's you."

 

Gohan didn't elaborate on it. He was hoping Vegeta would understand what he meant, and that their captors would not. He didn't know how to snap Vegeta out of his depression, but at least he might be able to redirect him.

 

`Ic eka zhevva ana yan.' Gohan jumped slightly, startled as the strange words suddenly filled his head, spoken in Vegeta's voice.

 

`Ic eka zhevva ana yan. I am not sure of this. We will perhaps give it a try. Do you even know anything of telepathy?'

 

“What's that?” Bra asked, smart enough even at the age of five to know that she should not repeat the word her father had used. It was possible that the aliens could find a way to read their thoughts if they knew they could communicate together with them.

 

`I used it with Piccolo a few times. And with Dad. But I've never tried to instigate it myself. I guess… I guess it's something Saiyans and some other races can do from birth, but need to be trained at it to be good. Am I right?' Gohan replied.

 

`Very good, but you need to be able to send to Bra as well when speaking to me. Concentrate on both of us as you send out your thoughts, darryn.'

 

Vegeta stood and started pacing, his tail lashing behind him and one arm held out to keep himself from bumping into walls. “It is useless, boy. No matter what we try, we are trapped here. There is nothing we can do.” He allowed real feelings of bitterness and anger to color his voice, just as he had allowed real annoyance and frustration to infuse his tone when he had spoken of all of the times Goku had saved the day.

 

Teaching them his language would be useless as a way to communicate, there was no telling how long it would take the aliens to translate it with their ball device, but it would help to hone their telepathic abilities.

 

`Bra, coeya, think in words as you concentrate on the two of us.'

 

The little girl frowned, concentrating hard. `Like this, Daddy?' she thought, the words reverberating loudly through Vegeta and Gohan's minds.

 

“Ow…” Gohan groaned aloud, putting one hand to his forehead, where felt the beginnings of a headache. “Not so loud, little one.”

 

`Sorry,' she thought at a more reasonable level.

 

`Very good, both of you,' Vegeta said, the thought tinged with approval. Now he had a decision to make. He could feel depression waiting to overcome him if he gave it a chance, but he had yet to give in to it, despite his earlier actions. He could let Gohan in on what he was doing, or he could leave him ignorant.

 

`Before we do anything more, I have one question. Gohan, how are your acting skills?'

 

`Acting skills?' Gohan asked, bewildered.

 

`Get that confused look off of your face and pay attention to the spoken conversation!' Vegeta snapped.

 

`Oh, um…' Gohan forced an angry scowl onto his face as he tried to remember what Vegeta had been saying. He also wondered just how Vegeta had known he had looked confused. He had the distressing feeling that he found him extremely predictable.

 

“I'm not going to give up, no matter what! And neither is Bra. But if you are, then maybe we should let you just stew in your own feelings of defeat! You make me sick, and I see no reason to speak to you any further!”

 

`I'm sorry, Vegeta,' he apologized. `Um… can I just pretend I'm mad at you andnot talking to you? It's hard enough concentrating on this without having to do two conversations at once.'

 

`Hn. I suppose you will do well enough.Just keep looking angry and determined and treat me like I am useless to you.'

 

“Fine!” Vegeta spat. “I'd like it if you did not speak to me. I have enough to worry about without your annoying, childish prattle.”

 

“Fine!” Gohan snarled back, stomping over to the other bed and scowling fiercely. “You can stay by yourself and sulk! I'll get us out of here.”

 

`Good, very good,' Vegeta said, his mental voice full of grudging approval. `The best way to fool your enemies is to fool your allies, but I think I will likely need your help for this. You are too kind natured and would attempt to bring me out of my “depression” if you thought it was real.'

 

Remembering Vegeta's question about his acting ability, Gohan managed to keep himself from gaping in shock. `You mean… it was all an act? Even from the beginning?'

 

`Yes,' he replied calmly. `They need to have their attention focused on you as the possible source of any trouble. You are intelligent, Gohan, but you are not cunning. And you have never counted on your ability to deceive and seem apathetic to keep you alive. I honestly do not know if we have any chance of escape, but cunning and deception are our only chances.'

 

After that, they spent a good hour going over basic words and ideas in Saiyasi, steadily improving their telepathic communication as they learned, before the door leading to the outside opened. One of the blue, equinoid aliens pushed a cart full of food into the room, one of the translation balls hovering beside her.

 

“Greetings to you, Saiyan guests. We have brought food to you. Eat and be well, yes? We will begin the testing once you are done eating.”

 

“What testing?” Vegeta growled, turning to look where he thought the alien to be.

 

“We cannot risk any more physical damage to you, so we will test you mentally. The small one will be given non-harmful testing, and the physical limits of your kind shall be tested on the hybrid male. He is more than just Saiyan or other alien. We must test his blood and his threshold for different energies.”

 

“My what?” Gohan blurted out, shocked by the alien's comments. “More than just a Saiyan? Just because I'm half human? So are Trunks and Goten and even Bra! So I'm expendable since I'm half human, and you're going to torture me? I don't think so!”

 

He instinctively tried to power up, pushing past what he had tried before. Then he cried out in agony as powerful shocks jolted through him from the collar. When his vision cleared a few seconds later, he found himself crouched on the floor. He shook his head to clear the remaining spots from his eyes, then glared at his captor.

 

“You aren't going to torture me! I'm a living being, and I have rights!”

 

The alien cocked her head as she looked at Gohan, confusion clear on her strangely built face. “You are not half human. Human is the name of the main species on your planet, yes? You are only one fourth of that kind of being.”

 

Gohan growled, pulling himself to his feet. “What are you talking about?” he snarled at the alien. “My father is Saiyan and my mother is human. I don't know what other kind of thing you think I am, but you're wrong.”

 

“We are the Keepers. We are never wrong,” the alien said gently, as if informing a small child of one of the inherent facts of the universe. “Eat now, yes? The testing must soon begin.”

 

With that, she turned and left the room, the door closing and locking behind her. Vegeta carefully made his way towards the cart, grunting slightly in annoyance as he managed to accidentally ram his shin into it.

"They will take us away for testing no matter what,” the Saiyan prince said. “We might as well eat something."

"Well, at least for you the testing isn't going to damage you.  You seem to be important to them, but I'm expendable."  Gohan spoke bitterly, but didn't allow that to stop him from going over to the cart.  Without letting it be obvious, he tried to make it easier for Vegeta to find things, so he didn't get too frustrated with his blindness.  He also made sure Bra had plenty to eat and wasn't feeling too intimidated by them to reach for anything.

 

`Vegeta,' Gohan said to the prince directly, making sure to keep his thoughts from Bra. `I don't know what they have planned for us, but even though they're feeding us, I don't think it's good. Plus, they said they were going to test you mentally. Let's hope they don't figure out you're telepathic.'

 

`Hopefully not. I think they are merely planning something along the lines of mental torture,' Vegeta said, his mental voice strangely calm. `I am more worried about how they plan to eventually force me to mate with their created Saiyan. They must know that I will not do it willingly. They may use a threat against you or Bra to force me into it. Be on your guard once they take you from this room.'

 

`We can keep making them think we hate each other,' Gohan suggested. Then he looked down at the little girl sitting next to him who smiled innocently up at him. `Damn it. Then they would just use Bra against you. I can't think…we have to get her out of here, Vegeta. We can't let them use her against us.'

 

`Promise me something, Gohan. If they use her to try to make you do something, do it. I don't think they'll be quick to hurt her, but there are things you can do to a person that leave no physical damage. `

`I....'  He looked down at the smiling little girl again and swallowed.  `I won't let them hurt her, Vegeta.  No matter what they do to me, I'm not going to let them hurt her.  Not if I can help it at least.  I'll kill all of them with my bare hands, even if it costs me my life.'

`Good,' Vegeta thought with a slight nod. Then the three of them turned their attention to eating, wondering what the Keepers had in store for them.

 

…

 

The two aliens released Gohan back into the room, indifferent to the way he stumbled to the floor. He groaned, his entire body aching. Even though they had healed him after finishing, the lingering pain was still there.

 

“Damn torturers!” he muttered darkly as he lifted himself onto his hands. “I'll kill them all. I swear it!”

 

It was only then that he noticed Bra was in the room, her eyes wide with concern and fear. He felt a pang of guilt for letting her see him this way, even though he knew he couldn't have helped it.

 

“I'm sorry, Bra,” he gritted, trying to make it sound like the truth. “It will be all right. Really.” He was lying, but he hoped she didn't realize it. He didn't even have the strength to get up off the floor. Instead, he remained there, his arms shaking with the strain of holding him up.

 

The little girl bit her lip as she gazed at him. Then she nodded to herself, coming to some sort of decision. She trotted to the bathroom, her slender white tail waving behind her.

Gohan heard the water in the sink run, followed by the sound of Bra's approach. She held a small plastic cup of water out to him, her free hand lightly touching his shoulder.

Gohan stared at her a moment, completely dumbfounded.  Too surprised to say anything, he simply took the cup from her and swallowed the water quickly.

"Thank you, Bra," he said, still staring at her as though he couldn't understand her.  Then his brow furrowed in worry.  "They didn't... they didn't hurt you, did they?  You're all right?"

Bra shook her head. "They didn't hurt me. They put me in a room with a big window so they could watch me, and gave me a bunch of easy puzzles and stuff."

 

She wasn't aware of it, but the Keepers had been very impressed by how well she had done with the "easy" puzzles they had given her. Any other child her age would have found them difficult, though manageable.

Gohan smiled.  He had some idea how smart she was, and knew she was probably underestimating herself.  "You're your mother's daughter," he said quietly.  "Beautiful, brilliant, and caring.  She was a bit of a bitch when she was younger, though," he muttered, forgetting she could hear it.  "She scared the shit out of all of us except Piccolo."

Her eyes widened a bit at his description of her mother. Her father tried to keep his language clean while around her, but he didn't always succeed, giving Bra a vocabulary that wasn't considered good for a five-year-old girl.

"Are you okay now, Gohan?" she asked, worried.

"Huh?"  He looked up at her in surprise.  "Oh.  I don't know.  I will be."  He grimaced as he finally pulled himself up off the ground.  He felt like screaming with the pain in his joints.  "They spent a few hours taking me apart, and then they put me back together again."  His tone was wry and bitter.  "For all their skill and technology, they have no compassion or understanding for living beings.”

”Daddy will stop them,” she said, sounding very sure of herself. "He'll punish them for hurting you. He's your prince, and he is supposed to look out for you. That's what he always tells me."

 

"That's what?" This was the first time Gohan had ever heard sentiments like that from Vegeta. Admittedly it wasn't Vegeta saying it to him, but Bra said it as though her father had said it to her many times. It was almost like a speech she had memorized.  He wondered if Vegeta really meant it when he said that to her, or if he was just saying it to talk.

 

Then he thought about it. Even when he had first known Vegeta, even when they were enemies, Vegeta had saved him on Namek twice. There had been no reason for it, and Gohan had been both surprised and confused. Vegeta had refused to explain himself at the time, and had, in fact, yelled at Gohan as though the rescue had been completely against his will.

His own feelings towards the Saiyan prince were confused and muddled.  He had always respected him, at least once they had become uneasy allies on Namek, but had never really liked him.  Vegeta was too harsh, too cold, and too brutal.  Gohan, used to his father's gentle ways, had always felt intimidated and overwhelmed by the Saiyan prince's presence.

 

But then he thought of Trunks and Bra. Neither of them had ever seemed to feel that their father was anything but perfect. Neither child had ever acted like they were neglected or abused, like Gohan had always thought the offspring of Vegeta would be. Could it be that Vegeta really was different with his family? Could it be that he wasn't as cold and uncaring as he pretended to be?

 

He narrowed his eye, considering what Vegeta had said earlier about deception and seeming to be apathetic. Was it possible that Vegeta had continued his act to some degree even after he had more or less become one of them?

 

His line of thought was disrupted as he noticed Bra staring at him in concern, obviously wondering why he had been silent for so long. He smiled at her reassuringly, holding his arms out for her to crawl into them and snuggle against him.

 

`Sorry, little one,' he told her telepathically, rubbing his chin against her soft hair. 'I am beginning to understand that your father is a different person than I had always thought. You know him better than I do. Can you help me see him for what he really is?'

`Daddy is different from what most people think. Sometimes he doesn't like Kakiku, because Kakiku gets stronger than him. How can he protect his people if his people are stronger than him? How can he keep bad things from happening to him again if he isn't the strongest?'

Before Gohan could react to that spate of information, the doors opened and Vegeta was shoved into the room. The Saiyan prince staggered until he came to the wall, then he turned to lean against it and allowed himself to slowly slide down to the floor. His useless eyes were closed, and his breathing had a slightly ragged quality to it.

 

`Vegeta?' Gohan's eyes widened, and he automatically started from his seat to help the older Saiyan.  It was with considerable effort that he held back, deliberately turning his face away from Vegeta.  "So, are you still giving up?" he asked derisively.  "Who is the weak one now?"

`Are you all right, Vegeta?'  Gohan's thoughts were very different from his words.  He was getting better at saying one thing and telepathically communicating something else.  It was difficult, but he was learning. `Bra, go over to your father and help him.  He released her from his lap to go over to her father. `Vegeta, I swear, I am going to tear these aliens apart for everything they have done to us....'

"Giving up seems to be the only option we really have," Vegeta said softly as Bra came over to him. The little girl snuggled close, and he wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her soft hair.

`There will be no need for you to tear them apart. I will do it myself,' Vegeta thought grimly.' I will be all right in a few moments. Apparently, these beings consider sensory deprivation as a sort of mental torture. That or they figured they might as well see how I would react to being cut off from all of my senses, rather than just my sight. `

"Only a weakling gives up," Gohan sneered.  "I've always known you were a weakling.  Even you know it.  That's why my father always beats you - because you're really a weakling."

`Sensory deprivation?'  Gohan was startled.  That wasn't something he had thought of.  `But what about your ki senses?  Did you still have that?'

Gohan concentrated, wondering if his ki sensing abilities were even still working.  He was a little hesitant, remembering how trying to gather ki earlier that day had caused a great deal of pain.  To his surprise, he found himself still able to do it, the collars not even twinging in response.

`Apparently these things around our necks don't block our ki senses,' Gohan informed him.  `I can sense both of you, and….'  He concentrated a little. `Two... no three... aliens outside.  One of them is going away now.  But if we can sense them, that's going to give us an advantage.'  He frowned.  `But did they block that sense from you when they were torturing you?'  Without intending to, he briefly flashed through their mental link the torments the Keepers had put him through earlier.

Bra whimpered as she experienced the flash of Gohan's memories, burrowing as close to her father as she could get. He held her close, murmuring soft words of comfort as he gently stroked her back. Without really being aware of it, he wrapped his tail around her, using it to hold her close.

`Damn it, Gohan, be careful of what you send to her. Don't worry, coeya, they will pay for what they have done to him. I will see to it.'

`Because no one messes with a Saiyan without answering to you,' Bra said, her mental voice shaky.

 

`Exactly, coeya. No one messes with my people and gets away with it.' He turned his head to face Gohan's general direction. `I don't know if they were able to block my ability to sense ki or not. I didn't even attempt to use it, as they were monitoring my mental reactions.'

`I'm sorry, Vegeta.' Gohan's mental voice was contrite.  `I wouldn't hurt her on purpose, you know that.  I guess I just need to learn to control it better.'

He ignored for the moment the conversation between father and daughter.  He was trying to absorb it, but it would take some time.

`That was a good idea, Vegeta, not trying to use your ki sense.  I don't know that I would have thought of that.'  He found himself feeling embarrassed. 'I probably would have been so anxious to prove to myself that I still could that I would have tried.  I'll make sure I don't, if they decide to do that to me as well.'

 

`We will bring these bastards down, boy,' Vegeta thought fiercely, carefully excluding Bra from the conversation. `You will be my eyes, and we will make these bastards pay.'