Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Nossoreg's Revenge ❯ Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

They all proceeded silently down the stairs with Vegeta in the lead. The two men were also impressed with Nossoreg's enormous hideout, but the women were still under too much stress to appreciate its significance. Goku also realized that their host was nowhere to be seen. Nossoreg was much too cautious to be caught without an energy shield protecting him.

When they finally reached the bottom of the steps, Vegeta led them to a large room with monitors covering one entire wall. Most of the screens were dark, but those that were glowing showed their family and friends. Krillen was sitting beside the unconscious Number 18 at Hercule's house. Master Roshi and Hercule were watching Marron and Goten play with a laughing Pan. Yamcha was at the Capsule Corp. with Bulma's parents, who looked very upset. They even caught a glimpse of Trunks flying through the air before that screen went dark.

"He bugged our houses?!" Bulma exclaimed. "When? How did this happen?"

"That's how he knew so much," Chi Chi said in awe.

Facing the monitors was a large, hovering chair. The back was too high to see who was sitting in it, but just the sight sent a shiver down Gohan's spine. It was the same chair that Frieza had used on Namek. It was a sign of superiority. Was this person more of a threat than Nossoreg? Slowly, the chair rotated around to face them.

"Vegeta?!" they all said in unison. They looked back and forth from the Saiyan who brought them to the control room and the one sitting in the hoverchair. The one in the armor did not show any emotion, but the one in the chair was clearly angry. He jabbed a button on the arm of the chair.

"Nossoreg! What are they doing here?" he demanded.

"They have decided to join us," Nossoreg's voice answered from a speaker overhead.

"I told you we didn't need them," Vegeta said.

"We love our families just as much as you do!" Goku interrupted. He stepped forward and crossed his arms, acting more like Vegeta than ever. "We want them as safe as Bulma and Trunks. We're going to do whatever it takes," he repeated.

Vegeta appeared to consider Goku's dependability. He floated his chair over and leaned toward Goku, their noses just inches apart.

"Whatever it takes?" Vegeta asked skeptically. "Are you sure? Once you give your word, you are honor bound to keep it."

"I know," Goku answered without flinching. "I give my word."

"What do you think, Vegeta?" Nossoreg asked. Vegeta sat back, his chair gliding a few feet backwards.

"Time will tell," he said. "What do you want me to do with them?"

"Show the women to their new accommodations, then take Goku and Gohan to the lab. The other Vegeta and I will meet you there.

Vegeta floated over and landed beside Bulma. Without a word, he took her hand and helped her up onto his lap. Bulma looked surprised by the gesture, but didn't comment as the chair raised up into the air. He then led the way through a maze of rooms and stairs to a large, round room with comfortable sofas and chairs.

"Each of those doors leads to separate living areas," Vegeta told them, pointing to each wall. He then glided over to the door on the right, which opened on its own and closed behind him.

"Vegeta, what's going on?" Bulma asked when he set the chair down next to the bed. She heaved herself off the chair and onto the soft mattress. "Who is that other Vegeta? Is he an android?"

"He's not a machine," Vegeta sighed, drooping back in his chair. "He's as alive as you and I, only he has no free will."

"But how?" Then Bulma noticed how exhausted Vegeta looked. Sweat stood out on his forehead, but he didn't lift a hand to wipe it away. "And what happened to you?"

"Nossoreg took the DNA that Dr. Gero collected from us and grew them. The only thing he needed to make them fully operational was our energy. He needs to keep us around to 'jump-start' his army."

"So you aren't really on his side, are you?" Bulma asked, hope obvious in her voice.

Vegeta gestured with his eyes to the corner of the room behind him. Bulma noticed a small speaker box near the ceiling. If Nossoreg could talk to them, then he could also listen.

"Like Kakarot said, we'll do whatever it takes," Vegeta said. "Get some rest. Trunks is on his way here. To help," he added with a ghost of a smile.