Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Lost in the Darkness ❯ Slave Labor ( Chapter 11 )

Lost in the Darkness

Part 11

Slave Labor

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ.

Vegita: See! She said it! Now leave her alone!

You only said that cuz Gohan AND Goku are here AND I have the frying pan of Doom!

Vegita: So? I said it didn't I!

ANYWAY… Enjoy!

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Radditz grunted as the slave above him half-dropped the large and heavy box into his sweat slicked grasp. The box nearly fell and it took all the under nourished Saiya-Jins strength to keep in from falling. Sweat poured into his eyes and soaked his shirt. His hair stuck to the back of his neck and he almost wished it was short. Almost.

The slave behind him rolled his eyes and held out his hands. "Would you give me the box already?" He demanded. "The longer you hold it the longer this takes!"

"Gomen." Radditz sighed, turning to give the man the box. "It's just they keep getting heavier!" The other slave gave the Saiya-Jin an odd look but made no comment. He simply took the box. Radditz turned as another on fell from the loft.

The only problem was that this one was mis-aimed. "Watch out-!" The slave in the loft warned far too late. The box crashed down on Radditz's head, almost snapping his neck. The Saiya-Jin grunted and shoved the box off himself with a bit of trouble. He couldn't stand and there was no way he could walk. That box would have killed any other species. One of the reasons Saiya-Jins were so sought after.

"What happened? Is anyone hurt?" the man in charge, a yellow skinned alien called Nez ran to the loft's edge.

"No. I just had a one hundred pound box land on my head and I'm perfectly all right." Radditz snarled, doing his best to stand. It wasn't working.

"I'm amazed you're alive." Nez told him flatly.

"I'm Saiya-Jin. We don't die that easy." He snapped, managing to get to his knees.

"WHY AREN'T YOU WORKING?!" Their master snapped his whip.

"Sorry, master. That klutz had a box land on him." Nez was sucking up to the master.

"It was dropped on me!" Radditz protested vehemently. Nez rolled his eyes but said nothing. Dr. Briefs scowled and cracked the whip in his hands across Radditz's back. The tall ex-warrior sucked in his breath and didn't move. Not in submission or defiance. Dr. Briefs glared and cracked the whip down a second time.

Radditz bowed his head in submission this time and tried again to get to his feet. He fared better this time but as soon as the master was out of sight his strength gave out and he collapsed in the dirt, blacking out on contact.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Vegita walked slowly down the wing of the house Bulma called her room. So far he had been out of it very little. The only reason he would want to leave was to see Radditz. Although he tried to convince himself that it was only because Radditz was the only other Saiya-Jin here, he knew he viewed the Saiya-Jin as a friend. Almost a brother.

He turned the corner just in time to run into the master of the house. The lillac haired doctor glared at him and snapped the whip in his hand at the Saiya-Jin king. Vegita bowed, muttering an apology as the doctor brought the whip down on his back. The king nearly yelp as the blow opened the cuts to his last beating and hurt the tender skin on his back.

"You fool! Don't ever run into me!" He raged. "You stupid Saiya-Jins! Always getting hurt and beat up and not being careful!"

"DADDY!" Bulma turned the same corner. "You leave him alone!"

"Hi princess." He smiled at the teen. She scowled at her father, the owner of multi-million dollar capsule corporation.

"I told you a thousand times to NOT beat up on my slaves, Daddy! You never listen!" She snapped.

"I know, honey, but it is good for anger management." He sighed. "You know your mother worries when I'm angry."

Bulma made no comment and grabbed Vegita's wrist. "Come on. I don't want to listen to him for another moment!"

The short Saiya-Jin said nothing, following her without sound keeping his head bowed. What had the master meant by "You Saiya-Jins are all alike?" Had he hurt Radditz? The only other Saiya-Jin? That wasn't good. If Radditz had the same meals every one else did, the beating might kill him.

Silently Vegita slipped way from Bulma and walked silently towards the barn. They had been moving something there and he had a bad feeling about it.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Radditz was coming to about the time the Saiya-Jin king got there. He wasn't too bloody but it was pretty obvious he couldn't move. The other Saiya-Jin groaned and tried futilely to sit up, only to flop back down when he realized he couldn't. That was when his sharp hearing picked up Vegita's muted steps. He groaned again and called, "Who's there? You may as well come out. I can't exactly run off."

"So I noticed." Vegita replied dryly. "So, what happened?"

"My collar is set at an ungodly high level and I had a one hundred pound box dropped on my head. Not to mention the fact I haven't eaten enough in the past three weeks to keep anything, much less a Saiya-Jin alive. How about you?" Radditz's tone was tired.

"Can't compare. I guess I better take you to the house. I can't exactly leave you here." He pointed out.

"And what are you going to do with me at the house?" Radditz raised an eyebrow. Vegita shrugged and picked him up, taking up towards the large mansion. Raddtiz issued no arguments and sighed. He was gonna die one of these days. And it was gonna be Vegita's fault.

"What happened to HIM?" Bulma shrieked as Vegita and Radditz entered the room. The two Saiya-Jins winced.

"He had a one hundred pound box land on his head." Vegita replied, somewhat meekly. Bulma scowled, then waved at them to follow her into the sickroom next door. It was the same one Vegita had stayed in. The Saiya-Jin king shivered at the thought, but followed her without question.

"Put him there. What's his collar set on? How much has he gotten to eat latley? How long was he out?" The rapid fire questions rained down on both.

"My collar is set to high, but I don't know the level…" Radditz managed to tell the genius before he passed out again.

"All I know is that he was out about an hour before I got there and he hasn't had enough food in at least a month. Since we got here, maybe before." Vegita filled in, head bowed so he wouldn't make eye contact. The woman nodded and sent Vegita out of the room telling him to get enough food for the three of them.

"Radditz," She stated calmly, "will eat if I have to stick it in his arm." With a bow, Vegita left to do as she asked.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

~ I was lucky this time. ~ Vegita sighed in relief. ~ She didn't beat me. But I should be more careful. Still, I get the feeling there's more to this than it seems. ~ The Saiya-Jin walked almost silently down the halls with a slight frown on his face. He watched the ground to prevent looking any one in the eye.

The halls were richly carpeted, a small fact he noted that made him rather home sick. The carpeting in the hall was a bit like the carpet in the hall he was captured in. A soft pearly white, plush and woolly. Like you could just flop down and sleep. He had done so in the hallways at his home too many times to count. And it was often Bardock who'd found him and had to drag him to class.

Even Bardock brought back memories. Some good, like the time the older Saiya-Jin warrior, his father and Nappa taught the prince to fly or the one time he'd meet the man's youngest sons. Twins. Called… Turlip and Karato… or something like that… They had played together for about two hours as a reward for passing all his test with hundreds. Then, there were the bad ones. Like the last time he'd seen him, racing through the palace corridors just before he was captured. For the first time since he'd been taken from Vegita-Sei, the king wondered what had happened to his mentor.

He could also remember Nappa. His "bodyguard". It had seemed special then, but now it was just a ghost of his past. Nappa had always been there to offer advice when it came to fighting. The half-witted lummox had been pretty good friends with Bardock, when they weren't fighting which was pretty often, and even then they would act a bit like brothers. It had been the two of them and his father that had taught Bardock's youngest sons and Vegita to fly. That was all they'd done that afternoon… Unfortunately, Vegita also remembered him dying. Right in front of him, trying to gain time for the royal family to escape. He'd been killed on the palace raid. To protect the prince, the king, and the queen.

Vegita felt his eyes burn as his vision clouded with tears. There were to many memories there. Too many. The ghosts of his past were terrifying to him, but all he had left. Absently he touch the royal pendant he kept hidden under his cloths, tracing the patterns he couldn't see but had memorized. The fist sized medallion was all that was left of his home. All that was left of his past.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

When he returned to the sickroom some time later, Radditz was awake again and leaning away from the blue haired woman that was trying to get a blood sample. He'd forgotten that Radditz hated needles. Just like that one kid of Bardock's…Karato…no, that wasn't it, kakaro? No, Kakarotto! He'd remembered!

"You remind me of a kid I knew once, doing that." He told his friend dryly, setting down the food. Radditz shrugged.

"What kid?" He demanded. "It sounds like my little brother, Kakarotto."

"Are you related to Bardock? That was the kid's name."

"He was my father. I hope so." The two laughed.

"Ah. Bardock was my teacher. I knew he had an older son, named Radditz, but I never thought…" Vegita trailed off.

"Oh…" Radditz nodded. The two lapsed into silence, broken only be Bulma's command to eat. He didn't think of the instance again until his dreams.
~*~ ~*~ ~*~

It was bright and sunny out and a five year old Vegita wanted to play. His tutor, Bardock, flatly refused the request unless he got a one hundred percent on every test he had that day. The little boy's face brightened and he watched his teacher's face as he graded the tests. He thought he'd done very good, but hopefully he DID get a hundred and he would be allowed to play!

His tutor's face creased into a frown as he started to circle things. Vegita's face collapsed in a pout. He hadn't gotten a hundred. Well, drat! Suddenly his teacher nodded. "Get up, boy, you win that bet!"

"Did I really, Bardock-senshi? Did I? Really?" The little prince jumped up and down in delight.

"Yup, come on. What do you want to play?" Bardock grinned and stood up.

"I dunno. I wanna play WITH some one though. I never get to." The prince frowned as he thought.

"Well, all right then, we can play with my sons. They're only about a year younger than you. How's that?" He asked as he pulled open the door.

"Yay!" The prince cried happily.

He had spent the rest of the afternoon with the boys. The four year old twins didn't know enough about the planet to recognize the prince very well in person and so they played with him as though he was a regular Saiya-Jin. It was one of the best days he'd ever had.

The dream switched abruptly. It was the day he'd learned to fly. He was just over six at he time and his father had gotten home from the long conference. He's been gone for nearly a year and Vegita had refused to learn to fly unless his father taught him. So, by the time he'd learned, it was time to teach Bardock's youngest children as well.

That's all they'd done that afternoon. When the prince had been able to fly decently, the older Saiya-Jins took the younger three out for a special treat. Frizis, a drink a bit like a milk shake only it was in fruit instead of vanilla or chocolate, which didn't exist on their planet. He'd only had it since coming to Earth, once, and it wasn't too bad. It wasn't as good as Sirup, a flavor that tasted a bit like a mix between strawberry, raspberry with a hint of sweet. That was one of the things he missed the most.

The scene changed again, this time it was right before he was caught, the last time Bardock had caught him sleeping in the hallway. The man had woken up the prince and scolded him.

Abruptly the dream changed one last time. To the last time he saw his father, eyes glazed in death…

"OTOUSAMA!" Vegita cried, snapping awake. His breathing was heavy and slightly labored, his body covered in cold sweat. The dark seemed to close in on him, bringing with it his deepest fears… and darkest desires.

The door to his room creaked open and Bulma stepped softly into the room. She walked to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. Vegita slid back half in fear for he wasn't quite awake, and half in nervousness. The woman, his master, she could chose his life, or his death. Whether he lived in pain or not. And there was no denying he loved her. He knew that his soul was slowly binding itself to her, and that their destinies were intertwined.

"Vegita?" She whispered, reaching out a hand to comfort him. He cringed away from it, dark eyes wide. Bulma sighed and shook her head. She could never hurt him, her fallen king, her demon king. Her soul was bound to his, he owned her heart. Gently she moved closer, hugging him. "It's all right. Go back to sleep."

She let go of him and stood to leave. As she turned to go a heavily callused hand caught her wrist. She turned back in surprise. "Don't leave me. Please." Vegita begged in a horse whisper. Silently she nodded and sat back down. His arm twined itself about her narrow waist joined quickly by his tail. His breathing soon became calm and even as he fell into a deep sleep. And for once, he did not dream.
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(A/N) Lookie! Another brand new chapter!!!!!! Yay! Go me! If you want another, you'll have to review. I'm thirteen away from one hundred! WOW! And I'm hoping to break it with this chapter, so help me meet my goals! Please? *gives son puppy-dog look* pretty please?

So, R/R all you WONDERFUL people!

Ja ne!

Lady Foeseeker

And to Lord RawnBlade- I'll try to get a new chapter out for my HP story soon, K?

And, for Kyllir- Thanks for the WONDERFUL piccy!!!!! I think I've already told you me like, but I'm gonna do it again! Thanks so much for it!!!