Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Price You Pay ❯ Chapter Forty-Four ( Chapter 44 )

Insert standard disclaimer here.

 

The Price You Pay: Chapter Forty-Four

 

Nappa grinned as he watched Vegeta-sei turn into a small red globe behind his military vessel. The time had finally come to take action.

 

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

 

Zarbon was surprised and worried when he encountered Radditz briskly walking down the hall. He hadn't been expecting the warrior to come from the direction of Bulma's quarters.

 

Nevermind, he's just the Saiya-jin you were looking for anyway.

 

Thought Zarbon, trying to force the tension from his shoulders. It was unlikely that Radditz would have done anything to the human queen. He spent most of his time fawning over her or favoring her. Even here, on Freeza's flagship, it couldn't be denied. The traitorous warrior had received a beating for it. Though by the looks of him, it had done anything but forced him into submission. Zarbon almost admired him for it. Almost.

 

“Where are you scurrying off to so quickly?” asked Zarbon in a casually mocking tone. The hallway they were in was still too public for any of the things he had planned for the traitor.

 

Radditz stopped after thinking for a few moments and turned to Zarbon with a peculiar look on his face. He looked haunted.

 

“Zarbon, get to Bulma. I can't promise that you have much time left.”

 

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

 

Almost immediately after Radditz left, Bulma was pacing her room again.

 

Listening to Radditz's summary of what had happened to Vegeta's parents was horrifying, but enlightening. After spending so much time wondering about Vegeta's past, she partially wished she could return to ignorance.

 

What a horrible way to die.

 

She thought as she put a hand around her neck without thinking.

 

Kami, how was she supposed to react to this? Stuck in the middle of a political battle that had been going on for three decades. She knew that King Vegeta had sold Vegeta to Freeza in their own dimension just before Vegeta-sei was destroyed. Was it possible that his mother had been murdered in an equally brutal manner in their dimension too? With a dead mother and a crazy father, it was no wonder Vegeta had no choice but to submit to Freeza's rule. Everyone he cared for, everything that mattered, either betrayed him or was destroyed. And everyday Freeza pushed him farther into a dark place until finally he felt like he didn't deserve redemption. He didn't care about anything else, not when it could be taken from him, not when it could be used against him, like it was now.

 

At least Freeza hadn't had a chance to destroy Earth in their dimension as well, but it did explain why Vegeta felt so strongly about becoming the next Super Saiya-jin. He must have hated knowing that he could never fulfill the prophecy; must have hated knowing that he wasn't human enough. Or maybe he hadn't known, maybe part of the tragedy of it all was that Vegeta never knew he couldn't fulfill the prophecy the way Goku could. He'd spent all that time training in vain. Maybe transferring to this dimension just made him realize how hopeless it was.

 

Bulma wasn't shocked when Zarbon walked right into her room, distress evident on his face. If he felt at all the way she did, well then, maybe they could help each other understand how everything in the universe suddenly seemed to be going mad.

 

Zarbon's cape flared around him and his eyes were doing that bizarre glowing that Bulma would never get used to regardless of his reptilian features. He was worried.

 

“Radditz...” he began.

 

She didn't want to think about him. Vegeta was off fighting Freeza and now Radditz had only succeeded in giving her more ammunition for her nightmares.

 

“Zarbon, I might have created a diversion but it won't last very long. Do you know how to get us to the nearest shuttle?” she asked, completely ignoring his panic. If she was in control of her emotions, then just maybe she could be in control of the situation too.

 

“Of course,” he said, visibly trying to calm himself.

 

“I've programmed the computers to think that the ship is being attacked. We're going to have to take a fighter shuttle out so that no one will question us. I'm going to wait until we get to the hanger to actually trigger the whole thing so that Trunks and I can hide on the ship before anyone else has time to get there.”

 

It was a good plan. Zarbon hadn't had any luck getting around security on his own. His main plan had been to escort Bulma and the Heir directly to the hanger himself and blast anyone who got in his way. Bulma's diversion would work nicely.

 

Bulma was pacing the room at this point, obviously deep in thought.

 

“Bulma, Vegeta's already left the ship. You must tell me what's going on,” said Zarbon, trying to understand the situation.

 

“Radditz is going to blow up the ship, Zarbon,” said Bulma with complete calm. “He's giving us a chance to escape.”

 

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The Saiya-jin King raced through space with a single-minded intensity. He wanted to get to the system he and the Ice-jin had decided upon as soon as possible. The more quickly Freeza was distracted, the easier it would be for Bulma to escape with their son.

 

It had been too easy convincing the lizard to isolate their battle. Frankly, Vegeta was surprised when Freeza agreed to moving their fight further out in space. The Ice-jin lord had never been one to indulge Vegeta in any of his requests. He supposed Freeza couldn't fathom that being separated from his command post would ever be dangerous for him. The bastard was as confident as he was evil.

 

Vegeta turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand. Once they left the Vegeta-sei system, the risk to his family's lives would be minimized. He also didn't want to risk any of his fellow Saiya-jins interfering directly in the battle. This battle was his, one way or another, it was his destiny. And he'd wanted this for years.

 

But he had to stop thinking about that. If there was going to be any chance of him winning the fight this time, he was going to have to put everything else out of his mind.

 

Vegeta closed his eyes and focused on the part of his mind that always calmed him.

 

Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan Rash'kin a sonat su ma. Skar shinta mun a kin'moshan.

 

He chanted the words he'd been given as a child over and over again in his head. The calming effect it had on him was impressive. After they'd given him those particular lines as a child, the world seemed clearer. He could focus. What little peace he'd ever found while serving under Freeza he'd felt while murmuring those words to himself. They reminded him of who he was and what it meant to be the only remaining hope for his race.

 

Now that he knew the key to becoming the Legendary was something he could never achieve, a strange calmness had come over him. All this time and he'd thought he was somehow being cheated out of his destiny when really it had cheated him. He felt empty.

 

Figures, I had to travel to a different dimension to find out that my destiny has always been a joke.

 

It just wasn't what he'd thought it would be. Not that it wasn't as noble.

 

Still, he was going to fight. He wasn't sure why the prophecy was bothering him now, but there was no way he was going to roll over and show his belly to the Ice-jin as was expected of him. He'd died once at the villain's hands but this time he was going to be the one throwing the punches. Freeza was never going to terrorize the universe again.

 

As the planets raced by, Vegeta began to slow the aggressive speed he'd been maintaining. From what his scouter was telling him, this system was devoid of any sort of sentient life. That suited him just fine. He didn't want to have to worry about protecting the innocents. He wasn't sure he was that merciful right now.

 

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

 

It was a miracle that Bulma's private quarter's weren't very far from the nearest hanger. With a ship this size, making it any farther without someone noticing them would have been hopeless at best. Especially considering he had to maintain a completely unrushed facade as he walked the human and her son through the halls. Anything else would immediately alert security's attention.

 

Once they made it through the password encrypted hanger doors, it was smooth sailing. Bulma immediately walked to the wall communications screen and began typing in her commands. If Zarbon had been less rushed for time, he might have been more impressed.

 

There were only a few shuttles to choose from in this particular part of the flag ship, but Zarbon thought that a moderately sized vessel would be their best bet. There was no way they would all fit in one of the spherical single seaters and the medium sized shuttle provided better stealth technology and maneuverability.

 

Zarbon approached the most adequate ship and examined the controls. They were standard. He wanted something with a little extra boost. Wasting time out in the open air when war was on the way wasn't intelligent.

 

After finding a ship that suited him, Zarbon turned to Bulma, waiting for her to enact the next part of their escape plan.

 

“I hope this works,” said Bulma as she crossed her fingers and punched the alarm codes into the console.

 

Immediately, the lights in the room started flashing red.

 

“The ship is under attack. Please report to the nearest battle station,” said the automated voice of the computer repeatedly. It was eerily monotone as the ship abruptly turned to chaos.

 

“Someday, you're going to have to tell me how you do these things,” said Zarbon with surprised admiration.

 

Bulma grinned at him. “They don't call me a genius for nothing.”

 

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

 

Nappa gazed on Freeza's vessel with bloodlust. After Freeza's broadcast on Vegeta-sei's public channels, it had been more than easy for the Elite to gather a large group of warriors to join his cause. Now, with almost a thousand Saiya-jin troops behind him, Nappa could take his vengeance on the Ice-jin freak and the pathetic alien woman who was corrupting his King.

 

“Saiya-jin vessel, what is the nature of your approach of Lord Freeza's ship?” came the voice of the communications officer. But Nappa was already preparing to evacuate his pod.

 

“Death,” he said. Everything else was static.

 

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

 

“My, my, has the monkey king finally decided to grace me with his presence?” asked Freeza rhetorically as Vegeta softly landed on the small moon. The destination he'd chosen allowed for terrestrial or aerial battle and was devoid of geological formations.

 

Vegeta measured Freeza and his deceptively small form as the Ice-jin stared him down. Vegeta, of all people, knew not to underestimate opponents due to size alone. He couldn't remember how many battles he'd won after he'd been wrongfully assumed weaker because of his stature. Freeza may have been small, but he could destroy the moon they were standing on and the entire system in little more than an afterthought. And this wasn't even his highest level of ascension.

 

“It's a pity your planet will have to be destroyed,” commented Freeza, trying to regain the Saiya-jin no Ou's complete attention. “I was particularly interested in getting to know your little human whore better. Her beauty is quite a commodity on this side of the galaxy.”

 

Vegeta's eyes flashed. Though he knew that Freeza's true sexual tastes contradicted his words, the insult was difficult to ignore. Freeza never had qualms bending his personal preferences if the end result was in his favor. Torturing Bulma publicly had apparently done little to quench his thirst.

 

“Ah. Finally something that brings some fire out of you.” Freeza smiled coldly. “Maybe you'll be more fun than your father was, after all.”

 

Vegeta ground his teeth and clenched his fists, the power he'd worked so hard to gain slowly began to seep into an angry red aura. He took in a deep breath and released it slowly through his nose. It was an effective calming technique he'd learned ages ago from Bulma. He could vividly picture her standing in her kitchen on Chikyuu, fuming and counting to one hundred in her head, trying her best not to scream at him in derision. Now those days seemed like an eternity ago.

 

I am not my father.

 

Vegeta recited to himself. He would not watch passively as his mate and child were threatened. Bulma would not die like his mother. He would sacrifice everything if he had to, as long as she and the child were unharmed. He would not let his father's weakness taint the decisions he had to make.

 

A thousand thoughts ran through the Saiya-jin no Ou's head. The feeling of betrayal when his father gave him over to Freeza in exchange for his planet. The screams of millions of Saiya-jins as they were incinerated and Vegeta-sei destroyed anyway. The sharp pain as he was whipped for impertinence. Freeza's maniacal laugh as his blood soaked its way into the grout of the cold tiled floor.

 

And then there was the onna. Her eyes flashing as she cautiously asked him to stay with her family. Her ill concealed smiles after delivering a particularly brutal insult. The way she had befriended him in spite of the carefully constructed barriers he'd erected. And, eventually, the glint of his mother's ring on her hand.

 

Vegeta looked up at Freeza defiantly and unclasped the cape that hung from his shoulders. It fell heavily to the ground.

 

He could not have been given this chance just to let history repeat itself. He would do this, if not for himself, then for her.

 

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

 

Bulma had barely made it onto the ship with Trunks before the first wave of guards flooded the hanger.

 

“Master Zarbon,” said one of the men, never questioning Zarbon's proximity to one of their shuttles. Obviously, he assumed Zarbon was planning to join the fight. “It's the Saiya-jins, sir.”

 

Zarbon waited for the man to continue.

 

“It would appear a small fleet is attacking our ship.”

 

Zarbon carefully tempered his facial expression. This must have been part of the diversion Bulma created with the computer. It was amazing how well she had enacted her plan.

 

“Clearly. What are you waiting for? Are you going to wet yourself or do you need me to hold your hand?” asked Zarbon as he let some of the reptilian hiss edge into his voice. “Open the bay doors. Launch all available shuttles.”

 

“Of—of course,” stammered the younger warrior as Zarbon stared him down.

 

“Now.”

 

The man scurried off and Zarbon made his way to his own craft, smiling to himself, his eyes hard. Really, these idiots were too easy to intimidate once Freeza wasn't there to do everything for them. They couldn't rely on the Ice-jin's amazing power for everything.

 

As the door closed behind him, Zarbon glanced at the woman and child already harnessed to the seats in the back of the ship. Bulma's eyes were bright.

 

“Nice,” said Bulma with a bemused tone. “Enjoy making Freeza's lackies cry for their mommies?”

 

“Oh, shut up,” said Zarbon. Bulma smiled tightly.

 

“I've already programmed the coordinates into the computer. All we have to do is launch,” said Bulma as Zarbon took a seat at the head of the craft. He was starting to wonder who was rescuing whom.

 

The ship hovered in the air as the bay doors slowly opened. Through the window, Zarbon could see the men scurrying to get into their pods before the airlock was released. Everyone was frantic.

 

Before the airlock had time to decompress, a blast hit the ship, shaking their escape shuttle violently. Zarbon's brow furrowed. Were the Saiya-jins actually attacking?

 

“I suppose that was not part of your escape plan? Looks like Radditz may not have to blow up the ship afterall.” Zarbon turned to look at the rattled female sitting behind him. Something was wrong.

 

Bulma's eyes widened as she continued to stare out the front of the ship.

 

“Zarbon—!” she screamed.

 

But it was too late. Everything went black.