Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ For the Sake of the Saiyan ❯ Friend or Foe ( Chapter 8 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

A/N: Here's the next part, a little late, but it's up now.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ (if I did, I wouldn't be as poor as I am now) and I'm not professionally affiliated with DBZ in any shape or form.


Part Eight-Friend or Foe

Hours passed without any kind of interaction with Dark Warriors. The Renegades were getting restless, sealed up in their cramped little tubes. Conversation was almost nonexistent except for curt, vain suggestions of escape.

"Why isn't Vegeta helping us?" Ren asked finally. "Does he still not believe us or something?"

Anai shook her head. "It's not that he doesn't believe us, this whole situation is hard to accept. Imagine waking up one day and finding that everything you've ever loved, and taken for granted, is gone."

"And a bunch of strangers are feeding you stories and expecting you to believe one and kill the other." Nemie added. "That's too much for one person to handle, even the Prince of Saiyans."

About that time, the screen on the opposite wall came on in a bright flash of color. Ryukin's nauseatingly cheerful face appeared, a Cheshire cat grin on his gray-hued face.

Nemie groaned. "What NOW?! Have you come to gloat some more?!"

Ryukin shook his head, his smile never fading. "Of course not, my dear. I've got a much better purpose this time. I've come to tell you how you'll die."

"I wish you'd hurry up and put us out of our misery; I'm getting sick of hearing your voice." Mercay growled.

"Ah, a Namek with a sense of humor," Ryukin laughed heartily, still grinning, "what a rare find. But back to the point. You'll all die tomorrow morning, bright and early. I've decided that my new 'second in command' will have the honor of killing you himself...a sort of revenge, you might say."

"You're making Vegeta kill us?" Silva squeaked.

"Make is hardly the word. It was his idea."

There was a collective gasp from the Renegades.

"I guess that means he didn't believe us." Anai whispered bitterly.

The general glanced away from the screen and seemed to be listening to a voice in the background. Then he turned back to his prisoners. "Sadly, that's all the news I have. There's other pressing business I must tend to, so I'll leave you to yourselves for a while. See you in the morning!"

Nemie managed a vulgar sign with her fingers before the screen went black. Then she sighed and muttered a curse to herself. She spun in her cell, suddenly feeling very claustrophobic.

"This is just GREAT!" She shouted angrily, punching the wall. "We risked everything trying to help this moron and what does he do to repay us? He KILLS us!" She powered up and went Super Saiyan, her rage clouding her judgment.

"Nemie, NO!" Anai yelled, to no avail.

Instead of letting loose a deadly blast as her sister feared, Nemie continued to let her fury explode in a hot, yellow aura. The jagged edges of her burning aegis licked at the wall. To everyone's surprise, the energy wall shuddered visibly under the heat.

What if...oh Kami, that's it! Anai thought. She called to Nemie over the girl's screaming.

"Sis, kick it up! Make it hotter! More intense!"

Nemie appeared to not be listening, so Anai took a different approach.

"FINE! Throw your temper tantrum! Scream and yell and throw your ki around like a immature little brat!"

The white-haired Saiyan just screamed louder.

Mercay quickly caught on and joined in. "See? I told you she's nothing but an airhead teenager. She can't even control her temper!"

Nemie's madness deepened and her ki began to glow a brighter gold. The walls of the cell slowly began to bow outward, stretching at the top and bottom.

The other Renegades soon understood what was happening and decided to help.

"Will you ever grow up, Nemie?" Ren shouted at her. "You're eighteen years old for Kami's sake!"

"She's never going to be a real fighter! You hear that Nemie? NEVER!" Lorn added savagely.

"Look at her! She's gone hysterical! Get over it Nemie, act your age!" Silva exclaimed.

The energy pushed the wall out even farther. Only a little more to go...

Anai's mind raced for something that would send Nemie over the edge. Suddenly, the answer came.

"You're no Saiyan, you're just an unruly, spoiled child!"

That did it. Nemie snapped. Her hair spiked up almost straight, her aura glowed deep gold and expanded, pushing violently on the energy wall. With a strangled cry, her ki erupted outward, shattering the prison shield.

The others cheered until Nemie collapsed onto the cold metal floor. Her hair went limp and her golden ki dissipated. Her face was drenched with sweat and her chest heaved with her labored breathing.

Almost immediately, the door slid open and a red hellhound ran in, its teeth bared and wiry fir bristled. Two guards, a male and female, darted in behind it.

Anai groaned with defeat. She should have known. Hellhounds were ki hunters; they tracked down all strange energy signatures within their range.

The dog stood over Nemie, snarling and making a half-bark, half-roar sound.

The male guard grabbed Nemie's arms and picked her up while the female patted the hound on the head for its good work.

"Not a very good escape plan, bakas." The man said with a sneer. "All you managed to accomplish is sending your friend to Ryukin's private incarceration. He'll figure out what to do with her."

Anai pressed her hands against the shimmering barrier and glared at the guards. "If this wall wasn't between us..."

"But it is, Renegade. That's all that matters." The woman said with an evil laugh. They turned and sauntered out the door, Nemie slung over the man's shoulder like a knapsack.

Once they were gone, Anai felt tears welling up in her eyes. What had she done? She had pushed Nemie to the limit, not even thinking about the consequences. She had sent Nemie to inevitable doom.
But still...she hadn't even fathomed the depth of her sister's power. If only that level was attainable in battle...

Anai quickly wiped her tears away before they fell and turned to the others. "I can't take this anymore. I have to DO something!"

"Like what Anai? What can we possibly do now?" Mercay asked.

"We could...we can maybe..." She stammered for a moment before sinking to the floor and starting to cry. "I don't know! I JUST DON'T KNOW!"
* * *

The guard carried Nemie down one of the many plain hallways, the floor steadily descending. In her drowsy, half-conscious state, Nemie could barely piece together one thought: 'I'm going to die.'

They passed numerous doors on their trek to wherever they were going. Nemie, draped over the guard's shoulder, could see inside a few. A mess hall, a dark office-like place, and a room set aside especially for the hellhounds. Nemie felt the bile rise in her throat at that sight and for a moment she was afraid that was her fate: to be fed alive to those monstrous beasts. She managed a relieved sigh when the guard kept walking.

Finally, the guard stopped at the wide door at the end of the hall. Nemie felt him hesitate and draw a deep breath before knocking twice.

The sharp reply was muffled, "Enter."

The door opened with an airlock hiss and the guard slowly went in.
Nemie managed to lift her head, but her vision was blurred. She made out the shapes of a circular table and a computer terminal built into the wall. Two people were seated at the table. It took Nemie a considerable amount of time to realize this was Ryukin's personal anteroom; his quarters were just behind a door in the corner.
Without warning, the guard unceremoniously dropped Nemie on the floor.

"We caught one of the prisoners trying to escape, sir." He said.

One of the indistinct blobs Nemie took as people stood up. "Really? And just how did she manage that?" It was Ryukin; Nemie could tell by his menacing voice.

"She, ah, powered up to, um, a very high level and, uh, broke the-the energy shield."

"That's what that massive ki energy was." The second person spoke up. Vegeta.

Nemie felt her blood run cold. With the two of them, a slow, painful death was inescapable. She blinked a few times to try and clear her vision. It worked, somewhat, and she could see the three people in the room. She still felt unbelievably weak, though.

"Nonsense. No one's power level is that large, not even mine." Ryukin snapped, irritated.

"Don't be a fool, General." Vegeta replied. "It was her. Can't you recognize the similarity in her signature and the power we felt earlier?"

Ryukin paused and glared at Vegeta. He nodded slowly. "Perhaps you are correct, Vegeta." He turned his gaze to the guard, who was standing stock still, sweating profusely. Nemie could smell his fear of the two warriors in front of him.

"You are dismissed, soldier." Ryukin barked.

The guard saluted quickly and all but ran out of the room.

It was then did the two generals turn their attention to their captive.

Nemie carefully got to her feet, swaying slightly as her head spun.
"What do you plan to do to me?" She asked, trying to make herself sound bolder than she felt.

Ryukin eyed her for a moment, considering her. Being in the same room with him made Nemie's skin crawl; evil radiated from him like a light bulb.

Ryukin's red eyes lit up suddenly, and took on a look that made Nemie want to heave. "I think I'd better keep an eye on you until the morning. There's a vault in my quarters that you'd be...safe...in."
Nemie's face paled. She caught the underlying tone in his voice, and it put a new fear into her heart.

Vegeta said nothing, so Ryukin grabbed Nemie by the braid and dragged her into the next room. She was still too weak to fight back, so all she could do was scream.

The next room was large and luxurious compared to the rest of the compound. A large bed was the dominant element in the room, a holo-screen hung on one wall, an energy cell sat in the corner, and next to the cell were ki-suppressing shackles. The lights were low; Ryukin was sensitive to bright lights so he kept to his dark room. But what made Nemie's breath catch was the array of torture devices hanging along the walls.

Only then did Nemie comprehend how grimly sadistic her captor was. She tried with all her remaining strength to fight him off as he threw her in the cell and activated the energy barrier.

Nemie lay sprawled across the circular platform, too tired and powerless to move. She felt drained to the point she was afraid that her energy would never come back. She knew it would take time, but that was the one commodity she didn't have.

"Vegeta..." She whimpered softly, lifting her head to look at the resurrected Saiyan, "please help me. Help us."

Vegeta watched her, no emotion in those hard onyx eyes. He just shook his head and turned away.

Suddenly the holo-screen on the wall turned on, the face of a middle-aged man lighting up the darkened room.

Ryukin squinted against the abrupt brightness. "What is it, Private?"

"Excuse the intrusion, sir, but Colonel Pichu wishes to speak to you in the War Hall." The man said stonily.

"Very well. Tell her I will be there shortly."

"Yes, sir." The screen blinked out.

Ryukin looked at Vegeta. "I hate to leave the girl alone, considering the damage she could do if she managed to get loose again. I need to find Kyris to watch her."

"Don't bother." Vegeta said. "I'll guard her."

"My thanks, General Vegeta."

"Sure." Vegeta's voice was almost dripping with sarcasm. Ryukin either didn't notice or didn't care. "Just go on."

Ryukin gave Nemie a hideous smile before turning to leave.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Vegeta faced his adoptive granddaughter. They locked glares for a second until Vegeta reached over to the control pad and switched the energy field off.

Nemie sat up slowly, surprise evident on her face. "What are you doing?"

Ignoring the question, Vegeta leaned in toward her. "How well can you act?"

"I don't know...pretty well, why?"

"Because we're going to have to put on quite a show for this idiot if we're going to get your friends out of here."