Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Bounds of Hatred ❯ Punishments ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

I don't own DragonballZ or any of the characters appearing in the show. Although I do have a dark desire within myself to own Vegeta. Any other characters are of my own creation and therefore are mine.

Chapter Two: Punishments

Zarbon carried Jace like a baby, her dark brown tresses falling away from her face, swaying seductively with his long even strides. Her hair was a tangled mass of knots and frizz, but even taking that into consideration, she still looked beautiful, the tresses still looking soft and touchable. Glancing down at the fallen warrior he could feel a frown molding his normally handsome features into a fierce frown, lines etched deep into his forehead.

Her face had a violent looking gash edged along her left cheek, sliding just under the edge of her jaw. Blood was drying in patches over her smooth bronze skin and her breathing was just a bit on the ragged side. A bruise blossomed in multiple colors from her left temple, running `under' the gash and to her left ear, which had a dry patch of blood covering it. The bruise took on the ugly yellow color of a sea sick victim, with small traces of deep blue and light black. Nothing looked broken, or out of place and he almost gave an audible sigh of relief.

Shifting her weight slowly to one arm, Zarbon slowed to a stop, turning her chin gently with his fingers to examine the rest of her face. A few light greenish black bruises kissed the tanned skin of her jaw and a scrape about an inch and a half long slid from the right side of her nose over her cheek. All in all, judging by the damage on impact and the force of the blow, she had held up pretty well.

At first glance he had been so sure the female had not survived the impact, but he had been wrong. Terribly wrong. She had not only survived the impact, but with less injury than most male warriors could boast about.

After this standard examination, Zarbon felt his heart slow down about 5 beats per second and another breath escaped his lips. She was alright.

Zarbon couldn't figure out why he felt so attached to the female, but he knew that such feelings should be seen as very foolish. You did not develop feelings for anyone, and even if you did, it shouldn't be for someone you had briefly met for about three minutes. He in fact hadn't even met her, she had stalked confidently into a room full of lust hungry men, approached the Sire of their planet, and been knocked out accordingly. Even though his mind told him these logical things, he could not bring himself to close the door to his emotions for her. She seemed so trustworthy…so honest…or at least it seemed that way while she was knocked out.

He noted that the sleeping, or even people who were knocked out, always looked innocent because they had no control over their features. Their faces were, to say the least, quite slack when sleeping…content. Yet, he still felt an air of trust around the female and couldn't help from wanting to be called her friend. Foolish. He told himself.

Zarbon debated the plea of temporary insanity due to immense lack of sleep and convinced himself that that would be the only reason he would become attached to anyone so fast.
"What is such a delicate creature such as yourself doing messing around with such rough fools…" Zarbon whispered as if afraid of waking a sleeping child. It wasn't as if he had lack of confidence in her abilities to protect herself, Frieza would never allow a person, male or female, to become a warrior if they did not have that ability.

That was ability number one. So, he was very sure she had earned her place as a second class warrior in Frieza's eyes, but she still seemed too delicate…too fragile to be out rough housing with the cruel animals of the tyrant's court. She could, without a doubt, survive in Frieza's court, the proof had been witnessed less than 10 minutes ago. The proof was blooming across her face. She may have been out cold, but she was still alive.

For a more thorough examination, Zarbon slid a hand tentatively into the strands of her hair, prodding gently at her skull. His face fell into a blank mask as his fingers touched something wet and he knew without looking that it had to be blood. There was no time to tend to her wounds if Frieza was expecting them soon. It would only cause him trouble, and she could survive without immediate treatment. Cursing the ice lizard inwardly for his lack of control, Zarbon shifted her weight again and picked up his pace, setting about on his original destination. Frieza's chambers.
***

Vegeta lounged comfortably against the wall, not paying mind to the blood he was smearing on the unblemished surface. Not that anyone would notice anyway, the wall was the color of crimson, and if he had been dripping any blood on the floor it would never be spotted on the hatred black carpet. Patches of dark red stained his torso in many areas and Vegeta had to fight the urge not to storm into the lizard's adjoining bathroom and wash up. After all, it was the Ice-jinn's fault he was coated in his own blood.

Instead of being rash, Vegeta merely sighed and crossed his muscular arms over the expanse of his chiseled chest, glowering at the far wall. He may have been a Prince, and they were supposed to be patient and mannered, but Vegeta disputed with himself that he didn't remember anything about being civilized. But, in truth, Vegeta remembered everything he had been taught from birth to present and this often put him on the losing side of the argument. When this happened he merely used his back up excuse and argued that another responsibility of being a Prince was being spoiled. He should get whatever he wanted and he wasn't the one that had to be patient with anyone. This ended any arguments him and his mind had, settling his thoughts on the matter.

The truth was, he had been `kidnapped' by Frieza when he was 10 and had been living in a ruthless environment with nothing but commoners ever since. This was a disgrace to his birthright, but there was little he could really do about it. Instead, he had struck fear into the hearts of everyone, excluding the haughty snake that called himself a ruler, and delighted in bathing in the of smelling fear everywhere he walked. People not only fearing Frieza, but fearing him as well.

A small smirk graced the Prince's lips and darkness fluttered across the already dark hole that reigned where his heart should have been. Soon, one day, he would be ruler of the universe, raining fire and hatred over all of those who opposed him until all of the objectors had disintegrated into a pile of shame, dust, and a faded memory. Soon. Soon, his mind whispered in a bittersweet promise. The promise put both a sweet and a sour taste into his mouth. So sweet to be so close to his promised title, yet so sour for still having to wait for what was rightfully his. The throne.

Frieza should have already been slain by his hand and bled to death at his feet. This should have come to pass many years before, but as always, the time for him to rise to throne never came. There was always an excuse to him not challenging Frieza straight out. It was always the same excuse, and it was on no part, Vegeta's fault. He was not nearly strong enough.

Vegeta was stronger than Frieza while the freak was still in first form, but he had never personally witnessed his second or third form. Second form might be a bit harder, and maybe he could still win, but Vegeta knew in his mind that he could never beat the beast while he was in third form if he maintained his present strength.

Giving a growl of irritation, Vegeta clenched his fists into tight balls, his arms trembling with the strain not to strike out at the nearest object. Frieza had stolen a part of himself, holding it prisoner until the evil tyrant was dealt with, which in Vegeta's mind was always, `soon.' Just as it seemed his thoughts would engulf his sanity, the door gave off a silent whisper as its barrier was breached. Vegeta's eyes slid to the intruder and he gave a grunt of disgust as the alien closed the door, moving to the center of the room.

"Lap dog…" Vegeta hissed, flashing sharp canines, his face scrunched up into an unmistakable look of loathing. The light green alien stiffened at the insult, slowly turning his head to meet Vegeta's fiery gaze. The burning that caressed the midnight orbs seemed to intensify with each passing moment and Zarbon hated being the focus of its corrupting embrace.

He hated being the target of their seething fury, but he could not find the words to redirect orbs of a contained storm. How did you redirect a hurricane created by the devil? You did not. You turned tail and ran like a bat out of hell, seeking shelter. Staring into Vegeta's eyes sent a shiver slithering down his sweat slicked spine and he had to fight the urge not to tremble in terror. Just as he thought he was going to pass out from the sheer terror of being the path for Vegeta's loathing, he was saved by the soft hiss of the opening door.

"Zarbon, my faithful servant, place Jace on the bed and you may be excused, the three of us have some business to attend to." The lizard ordered, His yawn washing over His words in evident boredom before turning His full attention to a pair of flaming onyx eyes.
Zarbon gave a sharp nod of his head, his white dangling teardrop earrings swaying nonchalantly with the movement. The terror he felt for Vegeta slowly leaked away and anger took its place. His muscles tightened and strained with the need to reach out and twist the lizard's head from His neck and shoulders. Instead he put on a show of reliability for the monster, not about to give his true feelings.

If he gave away his true feelings, years of whispered tortures and pains he had survived would again be upon him and he could not suffer through them again.
He would not cry out into the night again while Frieza chained and stretched his limbs to the snapping point. He would not let tears of disgrace plague his pale cheeks while the Ice-jinn punished those he cared for right before him. He would not stand by and withstand Frieza marring his flesh with yet another scar.

So, he avoided giving off the clarity of his true feelings and turned towards the bed almost reluctantly. He would never again show his defiance. He would never again show his true feelings and urges towards anyone.

But what he really wanted to do was place the female gently on the bed, turn about and punch the lizard square in His face. The image of blood gushing from the monster's nose pushed a nefarious smile to the surface and his eyes sparkled with the possibilities.
Of course, Zarbon knew he would never be the one to defeat Frieza, but it was always nice to dream wasn't it? He was more than positive half the men that served Frieza dreamt the very same thing, because some warriors had even challenged the tailed freak publicly.

They had been so confident while challenging, and then had been reduced to mindless dribble while they were being cut down, not by Frieza, but his warrior team, the Ginyu Force. Zarbon's fingers tightened around Jace's body and a frown drowned out his handsome features. The cowardly mutant hadn't even had the respect to fight them Himself, but He had dispatched His pawns to do it for Him.

Bile built up in the back of his throat and he felt the grimace ripple across his face. He was disgusted at the thought of the hybrid that reigned over the universe. Frustration and sorrow marred his face in invisible scars as he turned towards the blood colored bed. He would leave the concern of Frieza's fate to someone who could actually do something about it.

Striding towards the scarlet bed, Zarbon stopped, stark still as his face bordered on complete shock. After a moment of coping, his face tightened into a surface of hard plains, concern etched only slightly into his forehead as a frown graced him.

Dark chocolate eyes were boring into him as his haunted memories plagued him in a wash of strong emotions. She had stayed silent, and hadn't shifted to avoid startling him in his state of fury. She knew better than to startle a warrior who was obviously in the mood to attack anyone who gave him an excuse. But how long had she been awake? Had she been awake when he had examined her injuries?

Perhaps she had been awake the entire time, even from the moment of impact with the wall. To not fall victim of the darkness that engulfs you after a head injury was very impressive to the young alien and he could not stop the smirk that conquered his lips.
She made a small movement, her eyes traveling down her body to where his grip met her flesh. Zarbon traveled her line of sight and saw what had pulled her from her `repose', or perhaps had pulled her from her act. The tip of his fingers had buried into the flesh of her arms and thighs, bruises blossoming on the sun kissed skin.

Her long black suede coat had fallen away when he had scooped her up. It still sheltered her shoulders down to her waist, but the rest fell in a swaying dance against the front of Zarbon's legs. Her tight fitting shirt was black, its straps secured to her shoulders. Whereas most females wore short skirts and skimpy shirts, Zarbon had to commend Jace on her choice of clothing. How did you fight in a mini skirt? Zarbon could not even fathom how they did it.

Her dark blue jean shorts hugged her closely, but not close enough to be suggestive. They were comfortable clothes for fighting. A true warrior does not care about clothes, but they do prefer to be able to fight comfortably.
He could see the tips of his fingers indenting the skin of her thigh painfully and he gave a silent apology with his eyes.

She hadn't been the one to anger him; he should not be hurting the female for his unchecked emotions. His grip loosened, the indents in her flesh filling out when his fingers did not breach their boundaries any further. He looked down at her again and she did not complain, merely accepted his silent apology and closed her eyes again.

Zarbon cocked an eyebrow and smiled almost genuinely. She had been acting; she did not want to face the lizard just yet. She was quite an interesting creature in this way and she captured his attention. Not the attention a male normally gave a female, but the attention a friend would give, interested in what they actually had to say.

He truly wished to speak with the young warrior one day, one on one. He wanted to examine her skills closely and judge her strength, but unfortunately this would not be the day. He sighed inwardly with reluctance and strode towards the head of the bed to settle her in. There would be thoughts for such things later on…he hoped.

"Vegeta, my little monkey.." Frieza chided, eyeing the Saiyan over slowly.

"I am not your little anything you filthy snake." Vegeta retorted, eyeing the lizard repugnantly, his lips curling back into a snarl of animalistic instinct. Frieza's liquid eyes hardened as He ground His teeth together at the disgusted tone in Vegeta's voice. Normally, this tone was not unfamiliar to the Ice-jinn, but Vegeta needed to be tamed, and quickly at that.

"SILENCE!" Frieza's voice bellowed, His tail lashing out in a blind fury, staggering the Saiyan no Ouji to the right a few steps. "You will be anything I want you to be, and if you don't like it, 100 more whip lashings will be awaiting you!" His voice had risen two octaves and was nearly unbearable to the ears.

It was like listening to metal scrape the ground, or metal scraping down a chalkboard. It made your teeth grind together and your face scrunch up in pain while your blood ran cold and shivers took over your body. It made you want to vomit over and over again just to pass out, rather than have to stand there, listening to the horrid sound.

Vegeta righted himself, pain throbbing in the left side of his face as he clenched trembling fists at his sides, replying with distaste. "I would rather suffer 100,000 dishonorable deaths before becoming what you wish me to be…" His voice was low and blank, nothing to give away any untruth that might lie in his words.

Frieza's anger molten insides ran cold, freezing with an icy reality. Vegeta meant every word he spoke, and he would rather die than to continue to serve Him. Vegeta would be the one to challenge Him one day and possibly come close to defeating Him. Even with this small piece of knowledge, Frieza hid his emotions behind a placid mask and eyed Vegeta over thoughtfully.

"Be careful what your tongue utters Vegeta, you might find yourself lying dead at my feet one day, just to have it done again the next day and the next until 100,000 days have passed." The tyrant chimed, hoping His cheerful tone was just as veiling as Vegeta's blank one. He wished to hide His own emotions on the matter, not wanting Vegeta to know just how much the young warrior's strength scared Him.

Anyone who had a brain was afraid of Vegeta, and it both fascinated and pissed the young tyrant off to an indefinite end. He should be the only one people feared, Frieza, Supreme Being!

He should be the only one people shuddered against and ran from in the midst of battle. Not Vegeta, not some member of a fallen race, but Himself! Frieza was submerged so deeply in his thoughts that he almost missed the tensing of Vegeta's well-sculpted muscles in a strain of control.

"You lying filthy piece of…” Vegeta muttered, his warrior instincts catching the immediate tensing of the Ice-jinn's arm. He was quite prepared for the assault before the lizard had fully processed the thought of attempting it. If the Ice-jinn could not win with words, he would win with assault, an unjustified assault against anyone who uttered a single word that might be taken offensively against Him.

Vegeta spat upon this method of punishment, you did not nearly beat someone to death for a verbal hatred, unless the person in question uttered words of treason. Vegeta knew Frieza better than most men in the tyrant's court did and was almost expecting the attack. Vegeta caught Frieza's dainty wrist in his hand, his fingers wrapped painfully tight around the small bone that resided there, giving a light squeeze.

"Trash." Vegeta chuckled, finishing his former statement. His trademark smirk spread over his lips, his eyes left unaffected, shimmering with an untold anger that haunted him awake or asleep.

Vegeta tightened his grip over the flesh, feeling the bones giving strain under his steel fingers. He would have more than gladly crushed the tyrant's wrist, but consequences rushed to the surface of Vegeta's revenge infested mind and he merely stood there.

He stood there, a vindictive smirk overtaking his defined features, sending a shiver flowing over Frieza's blackened soul of malevolence. Vegeta itched to give the mutant just one scar, which was far less than what the tailed freak deserved.

He itched to strike out violently in a rush of irrational movements against the ruler of hell. He wanted to make Him suffer just as he did, thrashing around in sleepless nights while his past haunted him in a blurry movie that resided within his head. A movie made for him, his brain the cruel director, his soul the tormented watcher. He wanted to…

Vegeta's grip suddenly fell away as something thick wrapped around his neck in a suffocating embrace. Vegeta was pulled violently from his thoughts, his eyes focusing on the Ice-jinn that smirked smugly before him. The bastard! Was all Vegeta's brain could muster under the physical assault rained upon him. Frieza crossed delicate arms over a small chest and flexed his tail muscles to put a little more pressure on the tender flesh of Vegeta's throat.

"If you are quite finished my little monkey,” Frieza hissed in an eerie melody that scraped the bones of his victims. "You will receive your punishment accordingly, and if you utter a single word or noise, you will be put to death."

This was no big deal to Vegeta since he went through all of his punishments without remorse and never uttered anything during them. They were like a distant dream in his memory and he chose to leave them lingering in the past.

You did not hold onto a past that you could not prevent. Being beat, being tortured, being harassed, these were all things Vegeta chose not to linger on, for they were of no importance. Revenge and victory over the mutated freak were his only goals, and he held them close like his assigned lover. Like a mate. The mighty Saiyan Prince squeezed out one word that dripped with as much sarcasm as he felt in the ridiculous punishment.

"Fine." He rolled his eyes, ignoring the fact that Frieza's tail was gripping tighter with the passing moments. Vegeta was beginning to feel the blood stop circulating, the blood in his face running cold from loss of flow. He was going to pass out in a few minutes and that would be a disgrace on his part, he would never allow such a thing! So he ignored the steel grip as best as possible and concentrated on staying awake and aware of his surroundings, not daring to surrender to the darkness that ate at the edge of his vision.

He would not surrender to the vast emptiness that fell upon you when you left reality to fall into a pit of your own blank emotion. Black spots danced in front of his eyes and he couldn't stop the clenching of his fists at his sides as he strained to stay still and hide his struggle. Just as he thought he would lose to the tyrant in a battle of wills, a dainty voice muttered from somewhere behind Frieza and the lizard stiffened.
"
Sire…” The voice whispered with an edge of roughness around it from lack of use. Jace had planned on faking immobility for the rest of the night, but she would not stand by and observe her `master' kill one of their strongest men. She was hoping that her sudden `presence' would convince the Ice-jinn that Vegeta was not a threat at the moment and that He had more business to attend to. Although this solved the issue of saving Vegeta from a sure death, this put Jace in quite the predicament. Now that she was `awake' and aware, she could fully receive her punishment without lack of understanding.

She sighed and the uncertainty whispered across her mind as she stared intently at Frieza's back, waiting for the reply. She waited a few moments, thinking that maybe He had not heard her, but she also knew this to be untrue. Next to Saiyan hearing, which she had found out quite brutally was excellent, His hearing was the best.

Frieza slowly withdrew His tail and turned to face Jace, leaving Vegeta his back in a show that the tailed freak didn't consider him a threat. Vegeta should have been more insulted than he presently was, but he could not muster the energy to feel anything but a tad dizzy after nearly falling into unconsciousness.

Frieza spread His arms wide and smiled a smile that sent your soul screaming with a searing pain that it should have never felt without an emotional blow. Her heart clenched tight and she was already regretting the choice she had made to save the Prince. After all, he was supposed to be able to protect himself right? He was a Prince, and he had survived this long in the presence of such a vile creature as Frieza.

Jace mentally slapped herself for being hasty in her decision, realizing he would have been fine on his own. He may have pissed Frieza off to an indefinite end, but the Ice-jinn needed him. He was a strong warrior with many befitting qualities it took to conquer worlds.

"Ah, my little female, so you have decided to stop your acting and join us." His voice hissed into the air, leaving Jace breathless with shock. He had known the entire time that she had been faking her own black out. But how had he known?

She had given no signs of life while in His presence and He had hardly paid mind to her anyway. She hadn't moved, hadn't breathed differently, she was sure she had done it quite well…but then how did the ruthless killer realize she was awake. How, how, how!? She mentally bashed her head against a concrete wall, belittling herself for being so naïve.

"Do not look so surprised little one…” Frieza chuckled, sashaying towards the crimson-coated bed in a grace Jace had only seen in cats. Except, cats didn't have that edge of danger around their form that told you if you didn't pet and stroke it just how they liked, they would rip your fucking head off. This was the kind of aura that surrounded the repulsive `King' and Jace grimaced as He reached her in only a few short strides, reaching out towards her with eager hands.

"You have been a very naughty girl female, and you know what that means?" His breath caressed her ear and she resisted the urge to shiver against the evil that whispered across her soul.

Instead, she gave a short nod of her head that surely sealed her fate. This meant that she was clearly doomed, her punishment was going to be worse than the Prince's, and she was almost sure she could not even perform his. She could not go through an entire torturing without a single whimper of pain. She considered herself strong, but she did not ever kid herself on how strong. She was not THAT strong.

Frieza slipped his eyes to a patient looking Zarbon who was waiting to be dismissed and Frieza gave a careless wave of His hand. Zarbon bowed low before stalking towards the exit and gladly slipping through its barrier to what he found to be safety.

"You shall be punished twice. Firstly, for disobeying me with your tardiness and secondly, for faking incapacitation. Are we clear…Jacinda?" He muttered, his tongue flicking against the warm flesh of her exposed neck.

She swallowed hard, the use of her real name unexpected. She blew out a heavy breath and it had nothing to do with the desire for a man as her eyes slid to his lust filled face.
What could she say? No, it's not clear, could you repeat the first punishment again? Yeah, that would get her into more trouble, just presenting her with yet more punishments.

Maybe she should just say `No, it isn't clear, could you tell me what I'm agreeing to first? Torture?' And get beat to death. It was probably a far less hideous fate than what the lizard was already mentally planning for her.

She shuddered to think of what his cruel punishment would be, dreading that she already knew the answer to that question. Even with this small sliver of knowledge, she nodded consent, not that she really had a choice, and accepted her punishments in a wash of uncertainty and fear.

"Your first punishment will be a whipping by Vegeta's hand." And the lizard snickered at the look of astonishment on both the warriors' faces. Vegeta could not ponder why the Ice-jinn wanted him to whip the female, because it was always his entrusted lap dog Zarbon who did it.

Frieza entrusting Vegeta to whip the female was foolish, but he would not refuse the offer. He could whip the girl bloody and not feel remorse as to opposing the lizard once more and getting more scars for his disobedience and still have to whip her. Vegeta gave a slight shrug of his shoulders that said `Whatever' and leaned his back against the crimson-caked wall, closing his intense obsidian eyes against Jace.

Jace felt time stop completely inside of herself and she had to force herself to take in a breath of air before she really did black out. She didn't want to be whipped by Vegeta, anyone but him!

"Since you are so set on saving the Prince from a shameful fate, you will be shown how much gratitude he can give you for it my pet." His tongue lingered near her ear and she felt tears pool in the backs of her eyes. "None." He hissed with a mockery of tens of thousands of snakes curled up around hundreds of mice. She stiffened at his show of malicious intent and her tears evaporated before having the chance to glide over her perfected skin.

"Your second punishment will be to see me after your whipping…in my bed chambers for a night of my company." He smirked, seeing the instant flash of surprise slide across her face. He could taste the words whispered in her head and threw His head back in joyous laughter that clawed people in the pit of their stomachs. Jace could not muster up enough rational thought to form a plan, so only two words whispered against her mind. Oh boy.