Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Forty-Three ( Chapter 43 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Forty-Three

 

The corridors on Freeza's ship were relatively quiet as Vegeta hastened toward the bridge. Confident that his mate and child were safe, at least temporarily, he was now eager to enact the last part of his plan.

 

Bulma had known what he was going to do immediately. The too vivid dreams she'd been having since the formation of their bond had alluded to this pivotal moment. Though their exchange may have varied from the multiple reactions they'd experienced in her dreams, the overall emotional ambiance had been the same. He wasn't sure why or how she'd been having visions for so long, but it was strange living the memory through his own eyes as it happened in real time. If anything, the confirmation of the validity of Bulma's dreams only served to further strengthen his belief in the prophecy's fulfillment—if not with him, then at least with his son.

 

Vegeta crossed his arms, trying to stop the trembling in hands. He'd wanted to tell Bulma so many things, and mainly about his guilt, but he knew it would have been an act of selfishness. The only thing the truth would have accomplished was starting an argument and alleviating his burden. He had to be patient, timing was everything. He didn't want to spend what would most likely be the last moments he had with his mate filled with guilty confessions. It would be too difficult to see the coldness and resentment in her eyes at his betrayal.

 

As the doors to the command center slid open, Vegeta let the complete emptiness that only came with years of training fill his mind. He wouldn't be able to defeat the Ice-jin lord if he couldn't maintain his focus.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

The mental shields Bulma erected almost immediately after Vegeta left were some of the strongest she'd ever attempted. With emotions tearing her in conflicting directions, Bulma was certain that the mental pressure would only put the Saiya-jin no Ou at a disadvantage.

 

The ring Vegeta had given her hung heavily from Bulma's finger as she paced the floor. Regardless of the doubt she'd had about Vegeta's feelings toward her at the onset of their relationship, she couldn't deny now that they had little to do with the instincts of the Khon'daia na. When she'd first met him on Namek, the defiant Saiya-jin no Ouji appeared to have the personality and emotional range of a concrete block. Now she wore his mother's ring.

 

Trunks was fully awake in his crib, a reminder of the bond she and Vegeta would always share. He watched patiently as his mother paced back and forth across the carpeted floor warily.

 

From the lack of commotion on the ship, Bulma gathered that the Saiya-jins had no idea that Vegeta had already left planet side. No doubt there would be a riot once it was discovered that the King had left of his own volition. Launching himself at Freeza could be considered nothing other than a death wish. Perhaps that was what sickened Bulma the most. Knowing what he planned made it that much worse.

 

She wasn't planning on attempting anything overly risky. There was no way around the fact that she could do little to help the Saiya-jins or her mate from such a position. Vegeta wouldn't have wanted it anyway. This was his fight.

 

Still, she wasn't going to go down without at least finding a way off the ship. Sure Zarbon was supposed to have everything planned out already, but there certainly was nothing wrong with keeping a contingency. Bulma had always been a firm believer in plan B's and C's.

 

Taking a brief glance around the room, Bulma made her way to the control panel located to the right of the entrance to her quarters. She knew better than to hope that the doors would open merely with her proximity; she'd already tried that at least a dozen times. The sensors were uncannily accurate when it came to which visitors were allowed in and out.

 

Breaking the security code would be easy. It didn't matter that the language setting was different. Given that Vegeta spoke “Standard” so well, Bulma hoped that she would be able to trigger the system into a tongue more familiar to her own and thereby discover some vital information. The communications chip she'd had implanted years ago at Capsule Corp had proven itself before. Hopefully, it would do so again.

 

She didn't allow herself to set her hopes too high as she lightly tapped the screen with well-rehearsed fingers. This was probably going to be her only shot at helping Zarbon with their escape plan.

 

To her delight, the screen blinked out for a moment before returning to its usual blue and white text. This time, the words were all in Standard.

 

Thank Kami.

 

Bulma muttered to herself.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

Zarbon wasn't overly concerned as he stood in the communications room. Transmissions were starting to escalate across Vegeta-sei's surface as word that the King had disappeared spread like fire. As much as he hated to admit it, he was pleased that the nobles were so enraged. They may have been useless during the past months of negotiation, but at least their loyalty seemed to be in the right place. Freeza, either out of complacency or stupidity, had done the one thing that was sure to throw the Saiya-jins into a killing frenzy—threaten the strongest Saiya-jin royal line since the appearance of the Legendary.

 

Any fool knew that when predators were pushed into a corner they would strike. Zarbon was counting on it and grateful that the retaliation of the Saiya-jin populace would not only prove their fealty, but provide the much needed distraction Zarbon was hoping would help him flee the Ice-jin flagship. With Freeza away fighing the Saiya-jin King, and the other soldiers distracted by the Saiya-jin army, the chaos ought to be sufficient to sneak a tiny pod into the Saiya-jin atmosphere.

 

The corridors were eerily quiet. They had been since the Saiya-jin no Ou had arrived. It certainly wasn't normal. Zarbon could still remember the last time he'd seen Freeza go off to fight some cocky monarch. The mess hall had been crammed beyond capacity as nearly all of the Ice-jin's lackies gathered around the large communications screen where the fight was being broadcast. Watching Freeza play with the strong and powerful as if they were children never failed to give the soldiers their kicks. The purgers were the only ones who never really seemed to care for the lizard's little competitions. Perhaps it was because there were more than a few of them who, through personal experience, knew exactly how it felt to be on the receiving end of Freeza's well placed kicks and punches.

 

The atmosphere on board was confident, but humble. Freeza may come out with the final victory, but a great man would be lost in the process. The Saiya-jins were not a peaceful race, but they were universally respected for their loyalty, discipline, and strength. It was also true that they were cold and ruthless, but compared to Freeza, well, the contrast spoke for itself.

 

Zarbon.

 

It was Vegeta's voice and Zarbon tried not to let his facial expressions give away his surprise as he continued down the ship's hallway. There were security devices that watched his every move.

 

Vegeta?

 

Zarbon had never been so thankful that Freeza was incapable of reading minds.

 

Zarbon, we're leaving the ship. I've convinced Freeza to take the fight a distance from Vegeta-sei to reduce casualties. Leave while you still can.

 

The Saiya-jin King didn't wait for a response before re-erecting his mental shield. His confidence in Zarbon must have been very great. Zarbon would never risk Bulma's life or the Heir's regardless of the alignment he'd maintained with Freeza years ago. Naturally, he would take Vegeta's family to safety, but he had no intention of leaving the ship before he made one last overdue visit. It would take him awhile to find the warrior now that he'd lost his scouter, but the suspense was just part of the fun.

 

~~~~~~~<(((((|||)))))>~~~~~~~

 

By the time the doors to her room slid open, Bulma was already lying on her bed with Trunks beside her. What she'd done was a risk, but if she could do anything, it was worth it. She smiled to herself. She wasn't nearly as powerless as they'd thought.

 

“Lady Bulma.” The voice was familiar though the tone was strange. His voice was harsh, as if he'd been screaming ceaselessly for hours. Maybe he had.

 

“Yes, what is it?” she asked without moving from her position on the bed. She was in no mood to oblige the Saiya-jin traitor. He'd already played his part, and soon his betrayal would hardly matter at all. She heard some light beeping noises as commands were rapidly typed into her comm screen before he answered.

 

“I disabled the surveillance system in this room. Freeza will not hesitate this time to destroy me, so please, if anything, try to listen carefully to what I'm about to tell you. Since I have nothing left to lose, I have no reason to lie.” He paused then barely whispered, “I've already lost what's most important to me anyway.”

 

Bulma stiffened as she felt Radditz run his fingers through a lock of her hair. Touching had never been something he did casually, and considering their current situation, Bulma was shocked by the unexpected attention.

 

“You may not realize it, but I'm several years older than Vegeta. In fact, I was working as one of the Queen's guardsmen when Vegeta was born.” Bulma stirred slightly but made no move to face him. “She was beautiful, the Queen. I knew from the time we were children that she would do great things. She was fierce, ruthless. I once watched her take down a man twice her size in unarmed combat before she hit puberty.

 

“You would have liked her,” he said and smiled at Bulma. “In many ways you two are very similar.

 

“The nobles during those years were still required to put in their time aiding the armies. There was none of the laziness and uselessness then that the nobles depend upon now. So when she decided to join the Palace Guard, I followed swiftly behind her.

 

“Our relationship would have been frowned upon had we been more careless in hiding our feelings. She was an Elite noble and my status as a Third Class would only have tainted her bloodline. As you know, mixing between classes is still considered taboo today.

 

“Because of her beauty and strength, it wasn't uncommon for her to be sent on diplomatic missions as a personal guard of the King. Unfortunately, my ranking as a Third Class seldom took me off planet unless we were participating in a directly violent conflict where large numbers of 'expendable' warriors could be useful.”

 

Bulma sucked in a breath and Radditz paused.

 

“Vegeta-sei wasn't always the way it is now,” he began again. “When I was young, before Freeza arrived, Saiya-jins were considered to be a race of honor and skill. We were hired assassins and in great numbers we were responsible for aiding in countless galactic coups. We were defenders of the weak when violence was necessary and though we could never have been considered defenseless or gentle ourselves, a severe and unrelenting sense of justice was what most greatly influenced our success. It was through this method that we first began acquiring what we now call 'Associate Worlds'.

 

“Anyway, as the King was needed on missions farther and farther away from Vegeta-sei it was often months before I would see the face of the woman I loved. The accumulation of so many Associate Worlds made it so that our resources were growing thin. With the King gone, some of the nobles began to question his authority as their leader. King Vegeta had been of the proper breeding age for a couple of decades and without an heir, the nobles began to grow restless.

 

“I can still remember the day King Vegeta announced her as his future queen.”

 

Bulma ran a hand along Trunks back, smoothing out his clothes, before finally turning to face Radditz.

 

“It happened the way bonding always does. Prolonged exposure to a suitable mate as well as physical contact or energy exchange can expedite the process. Still, bonding among Saiya-jins is very rare. When it occurs, the bond is considered to be sacred, unbreakable, final. No one understood that more than I did. But for me, nothing had changed. So instead of being her lover, I became her protector. It was all I could do as she was swept away from me by the charismatic King and the diplomacy that came so naturally to her.

 

“I fell into the shadows as was expected of me. On several occasions she even tried to confront me and explain herself. In retrospect, I realize how selfish I was. When I wasn't on duty, I spent the majority of my time out with other Third Class warriors trying to drink or whore away the memory of her skin, her hair, her black eyes. But every day I reported to duty showered and prepared. My devotion, in spite of the emptiness I felt, was probably a daily burden to her as she walked the palace halls and had to see the dark rings under my eyes—know that I would never accept her words of compassion and regret.

 

“Saiya-jins are not as heartless as you may think.” Radditz grunted, as if the whole story now seemed ridiculous to him.

 

“She'd just found out she was pregnant when we first heard news of the Cold Empire.”

 

Radditz got up from the bed and walked to the porthole as if staring into the expanse of space would help take him back to that time or erase it from his memories.

 

“There had been whispers if an enormous intergalactic empire for decades but we never imagined that they would take any interest in us. While the Saiya-jin Empire was continually growing, we had no intentions of encroaching upon another empire's claims unless we were directly asked to do so. Even still, we would never have risked our planet along with our Associate Worlds if the threat was too great. We were brave, but not stupid.

 

“When Freeza requested the Saiya-jin monarchy's presence, King Vegeta could hardly refuse. Whether they'd committed some breach of protocol or the Ice-jin just wanted to be more familiar with a neighboring empire, no one knew. But as horror stories of the worlds Freeza had conquered spread, King Vegeta knew that he could not ignore Freeza's invitation.

 

“Just after Vegeta was born, the King and Queen, along with several select Royal Guards, left to meet on a 'neutral' station just outside of the Saiya-jin Empire's territory. I was assigned to personally guard both the Queen and the Heir. My attachment to the boy was obvious and King Vegeta knew that I would readily give my life to protect his most valuable possessions. At first, things seemed to be going well. Freeza was pleasant and with Zarbon as our personal liaison it appeared that the negotiations between the two empires would go smoothly. We couldn't have been more wrong.”

 

Radditz took a deep breath as he prepared to bring the past back to life.

 

“On the day our treaty was supposed to be finalized, Freeza let his true colors show. We were all assembled in the station's grand ballroom along with other nobles from different systems considering Freeza's proposition. We would all be able to keep our empires intact if we decided to join the Cold Empire and help expand its growth. Until this point, the overall consensus was not in the Cold family's favor. To most of us, it seemed like Freeza's proposition was merely an excuse to disguise enslaving the people from our own empires. Toward the end, we began to hope that if we could just band together for a short time, we could eliminate the Ice-jin's threat altogether.

 

“As the largest power, the Saiya-jins were the first to come before the Ice-jin lord and declare their decision. Through your experience with King Vegeta you may think that his first reaction was to resort to violence, but with great finesse and wisdom, he actually expressed his desire to continue commerce and negotiations with the Cold Empire—but not to join as an Associate Empire.

 

“Freeza smiled and, in his smooth voice, expressed his distress and disappointment that the Saiya-jins had decided against his generous offer. He rose from his seat at the head of the room and made his way toward the Queen. The entire room became silent as Freeza caressed her cheek with his clawed hand. Touching any Saiya-jin, especially another's mate, was considered extremely rude. Feud's had been fought over such discretions on Vegeta-sei. But the King just stood there patiently, trying not to seem aggressive or dishonored. He didn't want to give Freeza any motivation to turn the situation violent. The Queen meant everything to him.

 

“'I must say, Vegeta, she's quite lovely,' said Freeza. His dulcet tones sent shivers down my spine and I could feel myself being gripped by an instant fear for the Queen's life.

 

“'I'll make you a deal, my reluctant friend. Since my first offer was not to your liking, it appears you need some... motivation.'

 

“I watched, horrified, as Freeza's tail shot out and wrapped around the Queen's neck faster than anything I'd ever seen. All around us, scouters started popping as the Ice-jin's ki spiked at an alarming rate. We weren't aware that there was any power in the universe that could rival our own prophecies of the Legendary until that moment. Somehow, Freeza had been masking his true power during the entirety of our negotiations.

 

“The Queen looked calm even as Freeza tightened his grip, choking off her air supply. I'm still not sure whether she thought Freeza was bluffing or was just awaiting the inevitable. Either way, even though we were all shocked, I don't think any of us truly believed that Freeza would kill a fellow monarch's mate so brutally.

 

“The Saiya-jin King stood defiant though strangely humble. He didn't want to anger Freeza anymore than was necessary, and since none of us were sure that calling Freeza's 'bluff' would be wise, we waited.

 

“'Vegeta.' Though her voice was barely a whisper, all of us heard her. The Queen's voice had always had a particular resonance that demanded an audience. The room was silent, cautious. 'Never... don't let him...'

 

“Freeza's eyes narrowed.

 

“There was a brief tearing noise, a thud as if something heavy hit the floor, and then absolute silence.

 

“No. Impossible.

 

“I thought, desperately trying to make sense of the scene before me, but it was too late. And there was so much blood. Strong hands gripped me around the arms and pulled me back, behind the crowd. King Vegeta had collapsed on the floor and was screaming soundlessly, gripping his head in his hands. It was a miracle he had even survived the ordeal. As you know, being forcefully separated from one's mate causes an indescribable amount of pain and, in most cases, death.”

 

Here, Radditz paused and turned to look back at Bulma.

 

“Go on, Radditz. I know this must be hard for you.” Her words were calming and Radditz was glad that the sneer she'd greeted him with was gone.

 

“I tried frantically for hours afterward to communicate telepathically with the King, but after the death of the Queen, it seemed that his abilities to communicate mind to mind were destroyed. It wasn't until years later that we realized some of his other mental faculties had been destroyed as well.

 

“Anyway, finally someone came to the room I was being held in and told me that Freeza required a personal audience with me.

 

“When I entered the control room, Freeza was facing away from me, with his arms folded. Without turning, he made me an offer. If I agreed to monitor the Heir—the now current King Vegeta—and keep him privy to some of the more sensitive information on planet Vegeta-sei then he wouldn't kill the young prince.

 

“Right as I opened my mouth to refuse, the Ice-jin turned to face me and I realized I'd mistakenly assumed Freeza's arms to be crossed. Instead, he was holding Vegeta in his arms.

 

“'Almost cute... for a monkey prince,' said Freeza, his voice pleasant. But his eyes were hard. 'Radditz, you will do as I ask or the entire Saiya-jin monarchy along with your pathetic little planet will die along with your Queen.' He smiled cruelly and then looked down at the baby. 'Starting with you!' he said to the child merrily and poked him on the nose. That action alone made me want to vomit. The boy was so fragile at that age.

 

“I stood for a moment, trying to think things through. Refusing him was so much more difficult while he held the child in his arms. While Freeza waited, he told me about how he'd organized his coup. All the other Saiya-jin guards had been killed. The only thing that had spared me was my embarrassingly low ki level and my obvious loyalty to the Saiya-jin Heir and Queen. Freeza knew exactly which strings to pull to make me his slave.

 

“Still, as he laid his entire plan out before me, my only thoughts were on Vegeta and how I could save him. He was the strongest Saiya-jin child we'd seen in centuries, a child I'd spent everyday with since he was born, and he was her child. How could I stand there and watch the last part of her I had left die?

 

“I couldn't, I knew, but that didn't have to mean that my loyalty was changing.

 

“Numbly, I agreed to Freeza's plan and secretly vowed to gain the power necessary to defend the young Prince at any cost.”

 

“But, after all these years... What happened?” asked Bulma.

 

“You're probably wondering how Vegeta-sei came to be the ruthless planet it is today.” When Bulma nodded, Radditz continued. “As I said before, we've always been a battle-hardened race. When we came back planet side after the confrontation with Freeza, the King was half mad. He could hardly control his ki and we feared he would inadvertently kill an official or important ambassador. In order to protect the monarchy, the Senate was established to give the King time to recover. At that time, the King and myself were the only Saiya-jins who knew about what had happened on Freeza's ship.

 

“You see, Freeza had it worked out quite nicely. The Queen's death was explained by a tragic explosion that took place while we were at the space station. He'd worked it out so neatly that the guilt was placed upon another group of dignitaries. Naturally, these were the other lesser powers who had witnessed Freeza's little 'show' and still refused his offer. In the end, anyone who didn't join the Cold Empire ended up dead. The Saiya-jin's were so enraged that they sent a small party to 'purge' the systems that the murderous dignitaries belonged to.

 

“It was a sad time for the Saiya-jin race. Though problems had begun to develop with some of our Associate Worlds before the Queen was murdered, things started to become worse and worse as the Cold Empire tightened its grip on some of the peripheral systems that belonged to us. Dokar-sei is a good example of one such system. For awhile we couldn't explain why these systems were causing so many problems. The Saiya-jins became overly paranoid, searching for blame where it wasn't.

 

“The Saiya-jin council actually thought that Freeza had lost interest. Of course, I'd always known how untrue that assumption really was.

 

“As the years passed, King Vegeta's madness worsened until he became nearly as blood thirsty as Freeza himself. The council was taken over by Senate members who were corrupt or power hungry. The few positive influences we had left were always silenced or ignored. Slowly, Vegeta-sei lost its balance.

 

“You can imagine, with Vegeta raised in such an atmosphere, why he grew up to be a mirror of his father. Violence or the threat of violence molded him into the man he is now. I hated watching it. I also hated knowing that no matter how close we were, he never really trusted me. Not that he had reason to. I'd all but sold my soul to Freeza at that point.

 

“Zarbon showed up on our planet not long after we returned. No one would have ever expected my betrayal with one of Freeza's most flashy and important toys stalking through the palace. I always felt somewhat jealous of him. He was feared and respected. And on top of that, Vegeta accepted him so readily even though he stood passive when the Queen was being murdered. I never understood their relationship. Zarbon became close to the boy very quickly. Part of me was waiting for Zarbon to be discovered as a traitor too. But the more I watched the two of them, the more I realized that Zarbon depended on Vegeta, and somehow, even cared for him.

 

“I kept my promise to Freeza. I was required to give, in the very least, biannual reports that documented all of the major happenings on Vegeta-sei. Nothing so plebeian as political changes or death reports, more subtle, private things. I tried my best to keep our prophecies about the Legendary away from the Ice-jin's ears but he somehow still found out. He nearly beat me to death when he realized I'd been keeping the information from him.

 

“I'm afraid you know most of the rest,” said Radditz.

 

“Okay, but when you met me you assumed that I was the former King's mate, didn't you?” asked Bulma. She didn't want to believe Radditz's story, but, for some reason, she did.

 

“Vegeta had never really shown any interest in courtship in the past and considering your rather exotic coloring, I assumed you were a member of the King's harem. I thought I'd met all the girls, but I was never as close to Vegeta's father as I was to him,” he replied.

 

“Is it possible to bond more than once, then?” asked Bulma, still pulling at straws.

 

“I didn't think so, but what else could I assume? Vegeta denied any connection between the two of you and I'd never seen you before.” He paused. “How was I supposed to know that a human female of all things would just show up in the middle of the royal garden, mysteriously bonded to the Heir?” he finished a bit defensively.

 

Bulma leaned back against the headboard and crossed her arms over her chest. She mindlessly played with the ring the Saiya-jin no Ou had given her.

 

“So, why did you bring us here, then—Trunks and me?” she asked, staring out the porthole from the bed.

 

“Freeza was going to destroy the whole planet, Bulma. You and Trunks included. Vegeta was the only choice the Saiya-jin people had. He wouldn't fight unless you were directly in danger.

 

“Though I had my doubts in the past, I've seen a change in him since you arrived here. He isn't like his father. History is not going to repeat itself this time. And he's strong, stronger than anything I've ever seen before. He doesn't need my protection anymore. He's going to ascend and he is going to win.”

 

Bulma wished she could be so sure. She was still so angry. Radditz should have never endangered her child, regardless of what he was trying to do to in order to push Vegeta into Ascension.

 

“Besides, Bulma, he was going to find out about me eventually anyway, and I knew what was in store for me. Vegeta has no choice but to kill me. I deserve it for what I've done. The least I can do is help destroy the empire that has caused the Saiya-jin people to compromise and become something shameful. I might as well die for a cause.”

 

“What do you mean?” Bulma asked, suddenly worried.

 

“Bulma, when Vegeta and Freeza leave I want you to find Zarbon. I was surprised to see him here, but I can guess what he's doing. There's no way in hell he would betray Vegeta.” He paced over to her and stood at his full height. This was the first time Bulma had ever been afraid of him since the time she first saw him on the river's shore.

 

“Why? Radditz, what are you going to do?” Her voice was frantic.

 

“I'm going to blow up this ship,” he said, and before she could reply, left the room.