Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Rebirth ❯ Bonding ( Chapter 6 )

To Kegger007: Sorry, couldn't imagine Vegeta at teaching, so I went on with the plot. Somehow, this chapter got quite sappy, despite my intentions. I hope, it is still readable…

To The Ouji's Mate: Well, that was no quick update. Still, it is an update. Enjoy it!

To Vegge's mate: Did I add you to my mailing list? If you didn't get an e-mail with an update, please tell me! Thank you very much for your detailed review that was really helpful!

To Evil Saint: Somehow, I've never seen your review until today when I wrote the answers to all comments. Sorry, I am definitely interested in exchanging e-mails, I hope you are still interested, too. And hope and pray that the next chapter won't take as long…

To spini:Yes, I am still working on it, although it's been a long time. Enjoy this chap!

A/N: Sorry for the long delay! I didn't think it would take me so long to write this chapter (well, to be honest, I was kind of lazy, too). I have written a big part of this chapter during summer vacation, but then… in a fit of madness, I have almost deleted all of it. Only a few days ago have I found this chapter again, and now here it is! I hope that you won't have to wait for such a long time till the next update, but I can't guarantee for nothing… Sorry!

Bonding

Man, how does that guy do that? His wounds have healed in less than three days! And now, it is gone, only a small scar has remained, another one amidst all the others he has. Yes, I know, I should not have stared at him for such a long time, but hey, I am still a woman, and he looks good. Well, maybe he looks more than just 'good', though I don't want to admit that. Because then, I might have to admit that I have a silent crush on him, and that is something I absolutely do not need at the moment.

I still can't get the images of my father out of my head, and almost every night, I have nightmares about him.  The usual kind: I run and run and run, but I can't run away from him. I can feel him groping me, and just before I manage to scream, I wake up, drenched in cold sweat, my heart racing a mile per second. Then, I can't go back to sleep again, the memories won't let me.

Today, it's especially bad. It is two a. m., and I am wide awake. Silently cursing, I get up because I know that lying in bed will never calm me down. I have done that so often that I don't need a light to find my shoes and my clothes, and within a few minutes, I am out of the room I share with three other women.

At night, the base is so very silent, so different from the many shouts and commands during day-light. The only sounds are the wind brushing over the building, the steady humming of the generators, and the soft ticking of a clock. I don't add any further noise to the silence as I quickly make my way through the dimly lit corridors, fleeing to my safe-haven on this base. Well, safe-haven would be exaggerated; it is nothing more than a small lab, but I have always been able to forget everything around me when I am messing with some technical gadgets. And that is exactly what I need right now. A distraction from my nightmares.

When I open the door to my lab, I am surprised that it is already unlocked, and I am even more shocked when the lights are burning and I hear somebody working in there. Stealthily, I peek through the small crack between the door and the doorframe to see who has dared to enter my sanctuary.

Behind a rack of test-tubes, I spot a mop of flaming black hair that is bent over something I can't recognize. But that is already enough, because I know whom that hair belongs to. What in the world is he doing here at two in the morning? The only reason I can think of is that he is a spy. Either somebody sent by my father to have a look at what I am doing, or he is from some terrorist organization to steal some blue-prints for weapons. Though what is he doing in my lab; I have never been busy with weapons-design?

Suddenly, he perks up and looks around. Frightened, I freeze completely, hidden by the door. What has alerted him to my presence? I am so sure that I have not made any sounds at all! I hear him sniffing the air, and it is coming closer. He is coming in my direction… I hold my breath and hope that he won't discover me, but it seems that my luck has run out. Before I can react, he throws the door open, and I stumble inside with a choked scream of surprise. He immediately catches me and twists my arms into a painful position, his other hand threatening to break my neck.

His hot breath is whispering into my ear, and I am scared senseless. My mind goes into stasis, refusing to work properly. He is holding me - painfully. It is dark. Silent, hot breath against shivering skin. Hyperventilating. Dizzy, everything is starting to spin. All sensations are so unreal.

Am I still dreaming?

Yes, that must be it. I have actually never woken from my nightmare, and this is only the continuation. That would mean… no, please, father, no, let me go, and I promise I'll be good… don't… Stop it, somebody help me, please, I don't want to be hurt… I want to … wake… up…

Shaking with fear, I try to curl up into myself, but the painful grip around me doesn't allow that. It holds me up, with my arms bent at an almost unnatural angle, and he has still a free hand to do with me whatever he wants. I shudder and try to tune anything out, but the wandering hand on my back doesn't allow that. It is rough, strong, hard, promising pain if I don't relent to its explorations.

Strangely though, it doesn't try to get into my pants or beneath my shirt. It is just touching me lightly, and a soothing warmth is spreading from it, calming me down considerably. The pressure on my neck and my arms lessens, and I can hear him talking to me.

"What the hell are you doing here, onna?"

I break out in hysterical laughter, the shock of my nightmare not completely gone yet. However, the soothing hand on my back slowly brings me back to reason once again, and with it, my anger flares full force.

"That is not funny, mister. This room is my laboratory, and you are the one who is sneaking in here at two am. If you don't want me to report you to the base commander for being a spy, then you better talk now!"

"Report whom to the base commander?"

The cold voice behind me does not belong to Vegeta, but it is familiar. What the hell is everybody doing in my private lab at this ungodly hour? Just before I can retort a sarcastic answer, I see the speaker, and I can't help but press myself further into Vegeta's body, fear flaring around me almost visibly. To my surprise, he doesn't push me away, even when he doesn't know what is going on. He just remains standing behind me as stiff as a rock, every muscle taut in anticipation. I realize that he is not going to answer, so I quickly stutter out a not-so-well-thought lie.

"Erh, …, Vegeta just wanted to inform me… about somebody he had seen… sneaking around the base, and he wasn't sure whether to alarm anybody or not, so he came to me, but he didn't want to tell me what he was looking like, because…"

Vegeta interrupts me crudely.

"Silence, woman, you are rambling. Who are you and what are you doing in her lab?"

I am not very surprised that Vegeta doesn't recognize my father, but it is interesting to see how my father's face turns beet-red and he starts sputtering.

"You impudent, ignorant wisecrack, you think I don't see what you plan on doing with my daughter? Get your slimy paws off her NOW or I will call security!"

Amazingly, Vegeta releases me, and I immediately miss his reassuring hand. He stays strangely calm, although his voice is lined with ice.

"As you wish. But I think I planned on doing much less to your daughter than you did."

What? How did he know? I start panicking, which is made even worse by my father. He grabs my arm painfully, and he forcibly drags me towards him until I am face to face with his unnaturally pale visage that is sparkling with suppressed anger. I can't do anything else than tremble violently in the face of his fury, and he is trying to squeeze an answer out of me.

"What have you told him, you ungrateful wench? You will pay for that, be sure! I thought I have taught you to keep silent, but it seems that I have to give you that lesson again…"

I am frozen at his leering gaze that is wandering shamelessly over my body, reducing me to the frightened child that he had molested for the first time so many years ago. From far away, I hear myself begging, and I am disgusted at myself.

"No, please, father, I didn't do it, please, let me go, please…"

Suddenly, he doesn't hold me anymore and is about ten feet away. Dimly, I recognize that it is Vegeta holding me, and that soothing warmth of his hand is back stronger than ever before. His unnaturally calm voice is rumbling in his chest, comforting me further.

"She did not tell me anything. You just did by your actions, you puny human. You do not deserve her, and this is my one and only warning: Never come near her again!"

The warmth flowing from his hand is increasing, and I don't think it is only his body temperature anymore. I actually feel something pushing into me with an unbelievable strength, although it doesn't hurt. The warmth is relaxing me, allowing me to get away from reality, keeping the terror at bay.  Then I am filled, and something in my mind snaps into place, something I didn't even know was causing me any discomfort.

I don't know how or why, but suddenly, I understand him.

I know the way his mind works as if it was my own. I can practically feel his anger at himself for letting this happen. I was not supposed to be able to bond to him. He should get rid of me, at least his customs demand it, but he just can't, and he is cursing himself for it.

His eyes spit fire and venom, burning with a deep fury. Strangely enough though, it is reassuring to me, their power making me feel safe and protected by him. Yes, maybe I am really going insane, thinking that I can read some other person's mind. Well, not exactly like that, it is more like an understanding of him, like knowing him as if he was part of me.

Perhaps, if I strained hard enough, I could also access his memories or his thoughts, but that image scares me. The whole situation is scary. I think he picked up on my anxiety, because he reaches out a hand to me, lightly brushing it against my skin.

It feels strange, the echo from his brain confusing me. It is almost as if I was touching my own cheek, but still different. Perhaps it is like the phantom pain. People who have lost some body parts, a hand or an arm, sometimes complain about their missing limbs hurting, although they rationally know they are not there.

I am exactly the same. I rationally know that it can't be, but I feel his body as if it was my own, as if he was an extension of myself. And I can feel the power laying dormant inside him in a place I have never consciously known.

This is the power that made the walls crack, and who knows what else he can do with it.

Suddenly, a violent slap tears me out of my fascination, and I see my angered father looming over me. Recoiling in fear, I start to panic. What is he going to do to me? Surely, he will beat me almost senseless, but then? Is he really going to rape me again?

Please, no, somebody come and help me! Don't! Go away! I hate you, please go, don't touch me. No, leave me alone, no, no, no, no,… I don't want to be…

I feel strong hands seizing my shoulders. Ironically, the grip doesn't send me into new fits of panic again but calms me down with its familiarity. Without having to turn around, I know that it is Vegeta. Why he stayed to help me - I don't know. I can only feel him seething with an unholy amount of anger and hatred, and the power inside him is starting to boil over the edges.

It is demanding to be released, to come out and destroy everything in its wake. I can hear it crackling behind me, humming lowly like an electrically charged coil, but I am not touched by it. Instead, it is flowing around me in a protective shield, hiding me from my father. Vegeta's presence is reaching out to me, trying to reassure me while he is still struggling to control himself. Menacingly, he is growling at my father:

"If you want to live, never touch her again. I will know, and I will find you, no matter where you are."

His voice is sending shivers down my back, and I know that I never want to be at the receiving end of his anger. But my father doesn't look impressed at all, instead, he is smirking , and a glitter is showing up in his eyes.

"Oh, I would not be too sure about that…"

I am terrified, and a mind-numbing fear is laming my muscles. Why is my father so self-confident? He must know something I don't know, because he definitely is no fool. Suddenly, I realize that a great part of the fear shaking me is caused by my new awareness. It is flowing in thick waves from him, and its power is stunning.

Turning slightly in his grasp, I try to catch a look on his face. Finally succeeding, I almost wish I hadn't. He looks unnaturally calm, like a machine, but his eyes are screaming. The pupils are so dilated that the light must hurt him badly, but he doesn't even blink.

He is staring blindly, and his expression looks completely dead to me. Only the flashes of fear and horror that come from him indicate that he is still alive, because he looks like a statue to me. His feelings are so strong that they are almost overwhelming me, and I can only watch as his right arm rises mechanically from my shoulder, pointing two fingers at my father. Then, there is a flash, and my father is collapsing with a hole in his chest. Vegeta has just killed him.

-----<<<<<>>>>>-----

Cursing my fate in all languages I know, I let the new emotions and sensations flood through me. Why does it have to be that way? Why do I have to get the most impossible luck to land on a planet filled with people whose genetic makeup is not only 99.9% the same as mine, but who are also capable of bonding to my race?

Damn it, why do I have to get stuck with some weaklings who are a disgrace to every Saiya-jin? The f***ing bond demands that I proceed on to the next step, but my honor as a warrior, as the King of the Saiya-jin, does not allow me to go through with it.

If I don't complete the mating ritual with her, she will always be a liability to me, but if I do, she will share my thoughts and bear my child.

Shit, I don't want my heir to be some weak half-breed that can't fight properly!

Huh? What is it now? A slapping sound brings me back from my cursing spree. Looking around, I see that she is holding her cheek and that she is staring in fear at the weakling who has sired her. Now with the bond letting me share her emotions, I experience the whole load of terror that her father is inspiring in her. That scene reminds me too much of my own past, and no matter how weak she might be - nobody deserves that. It seems that there are bastards anywhere.

Gripping her shoulders, I let the boiling anger and hatred within me surround us. How does such a weakling dare doing that to his own flesh and blood? Barely able to control myself, I manage to spit out a warning, but that doesn't seem to impress that human at all. Instead, he has a sly look on his face and replies:

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that…". Mumbling under his breath, he says something that human ears would not be able to pick up, but I can hear it, and it makes me freeze on the spot. "So, you are the dirty Saiya-jin that lizard was talking about…"

How does he know that? I thought this planet was completely cut off from all space travel? Then it is dawning on me. Despite all my attempts, Furiza must have found me. Shit, and I thought I had more time. I am still not ready to face him, and I don't know how long I will survive under his torture alone. I have to get away from here as fast as possible.

Reacting completely on instinct, I eliminate the immediate threat to my life. Then, my brain kicks in again, and I realize that I have just gotten some more problems.

Shit.

Cursing some more, I carefully grab the stunned woman and drag her behind me. I can't leave her alone now, because she would report me to the authorities, and they would quickly make the connection to Furiza.

Only stopping briefly to completely incinerate the lifeless body, I make her come with me to the hangar. She is still too stunned to protest, but I know that is going to change soon. Taking the opportunity, I rapidly ask her questions, confirming through our bond that she answers them truthfully.

"What are Saiya-jin?"

She just looks at me confused. Good. Next question.

"How far is space travel evolved?"

"Erh, we have sent lots of satellites into orbit, but manned rockets have only landed on our moon."

Moon? Damn it, how could I have not realized that there is a moon? That would explain the fact that I have bonded to her today. Full moon always affects our mating urges, and I have been feeling the moon's pull for a few nights. I just did not recognize it for what it was. Damn it! But I have to keep questioning.

"What kind of satellites?"

"Telecommunications, telescopes, stuff like that. Say, where have you been living?"

Shit, she is getting her wits back, I got to hurry.

"Are some of them directed to outer space?"

She looks at me as if I had lost my mind. She must have sensed the importance of that question though because she answers it.

"Yes. Some are susceptible enough to pick up the background radiation in the cosmos. Why are you asking all those strange questions? Who are you anyways? And why did you kill my father?"

I perk up. So there is a possibility that Furiza has not landed here yet. He could have sent the message from beyond this solar system, but I have to make that certain before I start planning anything.

First, I have to decide what to do with the woman though. I can't let her go anymore, because she knows too much. So my only other option is completing my bond with her, as much as I loath that idea. But I can't force it on her, because both partners have to be willing and actively participate in the ritual. And having to hear the thoughts of somebody who hates you can be very distracting.

If she is willing though, she could be a great asset, because she has a technical education, and she is native to this planet. And when she has served her purpose, I can just leave her without hurting her or me severely. If I did that now, the uncompleted bond hanging between us would call us together to finish what we have started, and for some time, both of us wouldn't be able to think of anything else. I can't afford that, so I have to go with the only other option.

She is still looking at me expectantly, and I dimly recall that she has asked me some questions. Putting everything on one card, I carefully formulate my answer.

"I presume that you would think me a lunatic when I told you I didn't come from this planet. But have you ever heard of humans forming an emotional bond like we have? This kind of emotional bond Is part of a ritual of my people to open up two people to each other and to enhance the understanding between them. The next step will allow me to show you all your answers directly, but it involves a lot of trust on both of our parts."

I can see how her mind is working to process the unexpected answer, and I prepare myself for her reaction. Finally, she is ready.

"If you were anybody else, I would send you to the next shrink. But it would explain many odd things I have noticed about you. Before I agree though, I want to know a few things. What does that next step contain? Will it be something like mind-reading? And why does it involve trust from both parties? And last but not least: Why me?"

This is the deciding point. I answer her questions as honestly as possible and hope that I can count on her curiosity.

"After the next step is completed, we will be able to read each other's minds. But during the process of what my people calls the Binding, our memories are shown to each other. That is why it involves so much trust. Why it was you? I am not completely sure. The bonding hit me as unexpectedly as you, as you might have read from my emotions. But it might have been the fact that we share a common past. I know how you feel about your father from my own experience. That is part of why I killed him. I can only estimate what he has done to you, but it cannot be much different from my past. I do not wish to show you my past, but I have run out of options, and you are the one who will understand me the best."

She has grown pale when I told her that I knew about her father, and she whispers softly:

"Show me how you felt the few hours after the first time…"

I guess I have to be the one who starts trusting, because I am the one who knows what is going on. I have never really forgotten the humiliation, the broken feeling, the helpless ness, and the pain, because it was there every time that son of a bitch did that to me, but the first time had been the worst. I didn't want to live with that sort of humiliation, how could I be the Prince of Saiyans when I couldn't even protect myself? I felt dirty, used, numb with shock, replaying the event a thousand times in my mind, not quite believing that it had happened. I had not felt any horror or anger yet, I was too drained and too hurt for any strong feelings; I just wanted to shut everything out and retreat into my own, small shell where nobody could touch me.

From far, I hear an anguished voice calling me, and I open my eyes which I don't recall having closed.

"Stop it, Vegeta! Stop it!!"

She is crying, hitting me with her tiny fists, but slinging to me at the same time. Taking a deep breath, I shut my feelings away like I have done so many times. Sending her as many positive emotions as I am capable of at the moment, I wait until she calms down.

Slowly, her sobs are subsiding, and she is just holding onto my jacket as if her life depended on it. Carefully, I open her fists and wait until she looks at me again.

"I trusted you. Will you trust me in return?"

-----<<<<<>>>>>-----

Do I trust him enough to let hem see every humiliating detail of my past? I feel ashamed, and I don't want to show him how weak I really am, but hasn't he already shown me some of his weaknesses?

Gradually, I bow my head in a very small nod, and I can immediately feel the relief oozing from his every pore. Looking up into his eyes, I ask him what I would do.

"Mark me."

Mark him with what? What does he mean by that? He seems to be pretty confused by the fact that I don't know what he is talking about. Finally, he answers hesitantly:

"Is it not custom here to give a child its Mark when they reach adulthood?"

"What kind of mark?"

In response, he unbuttons his shirt and shows me the strange scar right over his heart.

"That is my Mark. It means everything what I am: Vegeta, King of the Saiya-jin. Tradition demands that I give it to you while you give yours to me."

Gulping, I look at the scar. Yes, it looks much too beautiful to be an accident. Do I have to get one of those, too? I don't think I could stand the pain. I still trust him, but that doesn't mean I can't be afraid.

"I have never been given such a mark, but I have a sign that means my name. Will that be sufficient?"

"No. It has to be connected to you, it has to be you. A name is not what you are. You will be able to feel the difference, but you will have to trust me completely. Usually, the Naming would be done by a parent, a sibling, or a close friend, somebody whom you already trust. But now, I am the only one who can do it. Don't be afraid, it is not what you think. Trust will keep the pain away."

This is the first time when it dawns on me that he really is not human, but now, it is too late to back out. I have committed myself to this, and I won't allow myself to retreat, as frightened as I may be. How will trust keep the pain away? Swallowing audibly, I nod and whisper:

"Go ahead."

Then, I tense up and prepare for the pain. I can feel his frustration when he harshly demands:

"Look up. Look into my eyes."

Following his instructions, I gasp in surprise. Both of his hands grasp my head and hold it in place. His stare is fixating me while his fingers are nimbly working strange patterns over my neck. I feel my eyelids getting heavier, but his stare seems to burn into me, the only thing that feels real while my body is becoming more distant. It is not like going numb, it is more that it is not important anymore. His voice is drilling deep down into my innermost core.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

Something deep down inside me starts to vibrate, trying to come out. From a distance, I hear myself say something, but it is not until everything is said that I actually understand what I said.

"Saiya, Queen of the Atorantisu-jin."

He seems to be as surprised as I am, but the distance makes it seem unimportant. My back is pulsing in some places, and the throbbing becomes more violent as a flaming symbol appears before my closed eyes. It is growing brighter in its intensity, almost burning my eyelids. Dimly, I hear his voice and obey its every command.

"Saiya, Queen of the Atorantisu-jin, turn around and receive your mark."

A burning sensation is digging into my back, and I feel that he is tracing out the very same symbol that I see in front of my eyes. Strangely, I don't mind the pain, it rather feels as if I was freeing some part of myself. I know exactly when he is done, because the flaming symbol in front of my eyes disappears within an instant, and I wake up suddenly like after a dream.

My back is hurting, but to an extent that I am used to. Taking a few deep breaths, I try to understand what has just happened. That symbol had seemed so familiar, as if I had known it for my entire life, and even beyond that. It feels so right to bear it between my shoulder blades, but it is only the outward sign of so much more… what, I don't know. How, I'm not sure. But it definitely is there, no matter if I understand it or not.

Turning around, I face Vegeta again. I try to consciously project my gratitude to him, because words are just not enough. He has given me a new name, one that is not linked to all the pain in my past. I thing he understands, as he only nods and holds his right palm out to me. On his palm, there is a small knife, and I understand. He repeats his words.

"Mark me."

Then, he turns the inside of his wrist towards me. Now I understand why so much trust is involved in this ritual. One wrong move, and I could accidentally hit an artery or cut some tendons.

Steadying his wrist with my left hand, I pick up the knife he offers and cut him. Blood is welling forth on both sides of the blade, and its deeply red color entrances me. While I am carving my symbol into his skin, I become aware of something flowing through my body, through the knife into his body.

Risking a glance into his face, I realize that he has his head thrown back and that he is staring ahead without seeing anything. The blood is flowing steadily, and I keep tracing the symbol, not caring if I get his blood onto my clothes.

Finally, I am done and lift the knife away. Something tells me though that I am not completely finished yet. Acting purely on instinct, I grasp the wrist I have just injured tightly in my right hand, my palm pressing on the mark.

Opening and closing my mouth a few times, I am struggling to get the right words, but suddenly, I know what to say.

"Vegeta, King of the Saiya-jin, you are Marked. No other woman has the right to touch you, as well as you don't have the right to touch any other woman. By the law of our people, you are mine."

I feel that I did the right thing, and I can feel that Vegeta's mind is returning to the present again. With unreadable eyes, he is staring down at me for some long seconds. Then, he nods slowly, and I let go of his wrist. It has already stopped bleeding and looks as if it was a few days old. But I can't let my mind wander like that now. Instead, I pick up the knife and offer it to him like he had done for me.

"Mark me."

He refuses to take it though, he just grasps my wrist in his left hand to steady it. Then, he puts his right palm over it, and suddenly, a burning pain is tearing into my skin. I automatically flinch away, but his grip has become as hard as iron. The burning and the searing is growing stronger, and I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming. It feels as if he was trying to cut off my hand, and the pain is radiating up my arm, making all my muscles cramp in agony. Finally, the world turns pitch-black, and I stop thinking.

When I open my eyes again, everything is in a blur. I try blinking, but the picture in front of my eyes doesn't come into focus. Waving my hand around, I can only see it as a strange shape dancing back and forth. If I hadn't known this was my hand, I would not have recognized it. Suddenly, I can hear some voices coming closer, and they sound familiar, but I can't understand them.

Then, a bright oval is looming over me, topped with some dark thing. A face. A huge face. The person who this face belongs to picks me up, and I am securely nestled into the crook of an elbow. Automatically, I wrap my tail around that arm.

Tail?

A furry extension of my spinal chord.

A tail.

My tail.

In horror, I watch the images in front of my eyes become clearer. This room does not look like any room built on earth. There are too many alien devices around for that. And the people are huge, all dressed in some strange clothes! Have I been abducted by aliens? Have they done experiments with me so that I have a tail? Swallowing my fear, I look around to see if I can find any familiar faces, but nobody is here that I know.

Well, actually, the man standing in the corner of the room, scowling, he looks like a monster version of Vegeta, at least twenty feet tall. The woman carrying me shows me to the Vegeta-look-alike, and to my amazement, he also unfolds a long furry tail, gathering me up in a loop of it. The tail has been wrapped around his waist before, so I thought it was a belt, but it actually is a tail.

A sudden realization strikes me. Vegeta also has a tail, I have just never recognized it for what it was.

My alien-theory seems to verify itself, and I start trembling. Well, at least, I want to start trembling, but my body doesn't. Fearfully, I look into those onyx black eyes staring at me, and I have to gulp when the man/alien starts talking.

"Hereby, I name you Vegeta of the House Vegeta, crown prince of Vegeta-sei. Honor your House and become the strongest warrior of all."

I am so perplexed that I don't even protest when he hands me back to the woman who has picked me up first. He tells her:

"Get him an armor and bring him to my private training room. I want to get started with him as soon as possible."

With those words, the man vanishes out of a door I have previously not seen and leaves me alone with the woman. What the hell is going on here? Why did that guy call my 'Vegeta, crown prince of Vegeta-sei'?

Well, suddenly, that alien-theory doesn't make that much sense anymore. But what else is happening?

The last thing I know before waking up here is Vegeta and me doing some strange kind of bonding ritual because Vegeta said that it was the only possibility for me to understand his past.

My stomach is sinking down to my knees. Perhaps those people aren't giants. Perhaps those people are only as tall as Vegeta, and it is me who is so small. Perhaps this is … Vegeta's memory…

Intrigued, I watch the woman coming back with a small version of the armor the man had worn, and now, I suddenly realize that Vegeta had worn a similar style. She is dressing me as I have next to no control over my limbs. Yes, this must be one of Vegeta's first memories, as a toddler.

Happy to finally get to know more about that man, I lay back and try to enjoy the ride. But all too soon, I see the horror's of Vegeta's past.

I am only an observer, but I feel what Vegeta is feeling, and the longer it lasts, the more am I thinking what Vegeta is thinking. The years spent with merciless training from his father and several elite soldiers were painful, but the real pain was just starting.

I see his first meeting with Furiza, and if it was me in control of his body, Vegeta would have lost his lunch at the disgusting sight. As it is now, he only swallows his fear, keeping his stomach under tight control when the lizard-like alien picks up a smaller, almost frog-like alien and rips him apart, never heeding the screams of pain and terror.

From that point on, horrors followed upon even bigger horrors, and pain is only swallowed by even greater pain. In my mind, I start screaming, wanting to get out, desperately pleading for the memories to stop. But I am forced to watch it all, to feel it all, to suffer through it all. And gradually, I am loosing my sanity.

In a brief lucid moment, I wonder how Vegeta could have endured that torture without breaking, but then, the images drown me again, and my mind is weakening. Pictures of unbearable horrors are flying by me, and I can't turn away. I try so hard, but I can't.

After a timeless infinity of unimaginable pain and agony, the memories slowly abate, leaving me shaking so hard that I almost can't stand anymore. A voice is surrounding me, slowly dragging me out of this nightmare. I can feel tears running down my face, and I have to fight to not loose consciousness. Desperately, I focus on the tone, taking refuge in the calm words.

"Saiya, Queen of the Atorantisu-jin, you are Marked. No other man has the right to touch you, as well as you don't have the right to touch any other man. By the law of our people, you are mine."

Not being able to bear the emotional pain from Vegeta's past anymore, I collapse into his arms, crying for his and my loss. He merely sits down on the floor with me, wrapping his tail around my waist, holding me. Just before I exhaustedly fall asleep in his arms, I feel a single drop of water on my face. For the first time in his life, Vegeta has shed a tear.

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A/N:Erhm, normally, I hate sappy ending, but I this time, couldn't help myself. I also didn't have time anymore to proof-read it, so if there are any logical or grammatical mistakes - I would be glad if you could point them out to me.

Well, now that the two of them are together, the real action can begin! But I am afraid to tell you that the next chapter probably won't come out anytime soon, because in a month, I am doing my A-levels, and I have to study for that - a lot. Until next time!