Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ What Exactly Is Involved In A Saiyan Mating Ritual? ❯ Better left forgotten ( Chapter 13 )

AN - Well here we go for chapter thirteen, happy reading *^_^*

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own DBZ, but does that mean I am going to stop writing fanfiction for it? Not likely!

Chapter thirteen

Better left forgotten

"You wished to see me Lord Frieza?"

The Ice-jin stared out of the large observation window, not turning to acknowledge his guest, "Ah my dear Vegeta, how nice it is to see you back so soon!" he hissed, "Did you have a nice time on Nitari? I hear the locals were just dying to cooperate with us!" his head tilted back into a sardonic laugh.

Vegeta fisted his knuckles into the floor in forced reverence, knowing that this civil repartee wasn't going to last long. He forced down the lump that had jumped into his throat, trying to muster the courage to speak, "They took some persuading my Lord, but after the capital was destroyed they came around to our way of thinking. The king will be travelling here tomorrow to make the final arrangements for a complete surrender."

Frieza's body tensed, and Vegeta had to try and stop nature's instinct, as his body was telling him, in no uncertain terms, to get away as quickly as possible. That wasn't an option he had the luxury of taking though, and even as he watched Frieza's tail lash behind him, (a sure sign that the megalomaniac was pissed) he didn't so much as flinch

"Vegeta, Vegeta, Vegeta… what are we going to do with you?" he purred, turning to face the teenaged Prince. The words had a seductive quality to them, which made Vegeta feel sick to the stomach.

Frieza edged closer, a black fingernail stretching out to gently run down the length of his cheek. "I would have hoped that the honour of being allowed on your first single-handed purging mission, would have been met with greater diligence and respect, but I see I was sadly mistaken. Didn't I make it very clear to you that Nitari is a category five planet?"

Vegeta nodded grimly, knowing what was coming next and preparing himself mentally for the pain that the Ice-jin would inflict. His worry was justified as Frieza moved so quickly that all normal rules of physics were broken… in an instant the bastard was right behind him allowing the taunt of his calculated laugh into flow pristinely over young ears. "I had hoped to be celebrating the latest addition to my empire, over a glass of Takalian red wine." He crooned, "Now I will have to put my plans on hold. Do you have any idea how angry that makes me Vegeta?"

"Yes my lord, but the Natarians have a great understanding of this sector, and its inhabitants, they could prove useful to us if…."

Frieza chuckled, "My, my Vegeta… is that the best you can come up with?" he practically choked on the laughter now. Its thin disguise was crumpling fast, showing the Saiyan no Ouji what true rage really was. The laughs lack of emotion was soon painfully clear to Vegeta, as Frieza's mouth tensed and contracted only to be emphasized by the full force of a muscular tail. It crunched against exposed ribs, swinging in merciless precision into Vegeta's side. The force propelled his body into the spaceships solid metal walls, shattering (what felt like,) every single bone in his upper body, "Maybe you need to go back to school Saiyan!" he shouted, picking the prince off the floor by his neck, "Do you remember what category five means, my little Ouji… hmm?"

Vegeta opened his mouth trying to speak, but nothing came out, save for a gurgle of blood-filled spittle, "Very well," Frieza continued, "Let me remind you another way!"

A solitary finger was slowly raised to the Saiyan's chest, the tip flowing with purple energy. The power quickly collected in a perfect sphere above the fingernail and was expertly dragged along the clean lines of a white breastplate. The trail of smoke that drifted slowly into the re-circulated air, smelt of melting plastic, as the raw power burnt pungently into the material of Vegeta's body armor, scorching its path through the reinforced fabric as though is didn't exist, and not stopping for anything… flesh and blood included. Vegeta threw his head back as the pain hit, but did not, would not give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

"You know full well what category five means Vegeta…" he sighed, "this continual disobedience will not be tolerated, do we understand each other?" his hand tightened around the prince's throat, as his finger pushed mercilessly deep into Saiyan muscle. "I don't like having to hurt my special little monkey, but when you constantly disobey me, what else can I do? Your orders were clear… no survivors, no treaties, and definitely no official surrenders!"

Vegeta's eyes shone in the artificial light as they watered along with the pain coursing though his chest. Even if he could find the strength to speak, he would not be able to justify his actions to the twisted fool. He looked the Ice-jin straight into the eyes, trying to get the message through to his preset brain in one scouring glare, that he would never be tamed, never be tutored. The Saiyan no Ouji was his own person, and that so long as this monster had a sick desire for him, then he would always remain so.

The pride-filled stare only seemed to enrage Frieza even more. He growled in frustration, brining the back of his free hand across an already bruised cheek, causing a small trickle of blood to run defiantly down tanned skin. The Ice-jin didn't lose any time, and bridging the gap between them, hungrily lapped up the sweet red liquid.

Vegeta growled with feral disgust. He had to act now, couldn't keep it inert any longer... could only take so much. Now was the time to test his present from the Ko-oni-jin. He couldn't afford to show any weakness in front of the Ice-jin, his pride would not suffer him to do so.

He couldn't help but thank his father inwardly for what he had arranged, it was paying back dividends beyond any expectations. Whatever the sick fuck had in mind would never be able to affect him… he would simply blank it out. The power would erase all emotion, make him unbreakable, it would save him, and his sanity.

The energy swirling inside his chest was just waiting to be released, looking for that escape to overpower his body with its addictive numbness. It was a drug that he couldn't get enough of recently. He had barely been awake an hour that morning before seeking its lack of feeling, mentally preparing himself for the acts he would be forced to commit that day.

The trouble was that he had still not learnt to control it properly, and in a moment of despair it had failed him, mid purging mission. To say that the consequences had been disastrous would have been an understatement, as all the feelings, and emotions he had repressed during the morning raid on the capital, had come crashing down on him like an anvil to the stomach.

Frieza sighed, shaking him out of his guilt-ridden reverie, "Well whatever reason you had for saving that disgusting planet… it really doesn't matter now. I will send Zarbon there first thing in the morning to finish what you should have. I would love to punish you some more Vegeta, but Cooler and I have some business to attend to. I am sure you understand. Zarbon will be more than happy to finish where I have left off. You know how much he hates having to kill on a Sunday… it goes against his precious religion… he will make you pay for your insolence." Frieza's face was barely inches from Vegeta's, "If this ever, EVER happens again, you will most certainly live to regret it, do we understand each other?"

His fingers loosened from around Vegeta's neck, but the princes battered body was not destined to hit the floor, and as the false gravity pulled his bloodied frame down, a three-toed foot caught it on the half-volley, sending it crashing against the ships main view screen.

Vegeta's limp body slid slowly down the large smooth surface, and over the elaborate control panel at its base, eventually coming to a rest, hanging upside-down by a booted foot. His back was bent uncomfortably over a security monitor as his arms hung parallel to his hair, stretching his chest, and sending extra stabs of pain along broken ribs.

"Do not fuck with me monkey," came the cool voice of his tormentor. It was right by his ear, and dripped with cold brutality. Vegeta could do nothing, as ice-cold hands ran seductively down the contours of his bodysuit, finding the one weakness no Saiyan could control.

Powerful fingers gently kneaded soft brown tail fur, literally adding insult to injury, by sending a disobedient jolt of pleasure to mingle in with the almost unbearable pain. "Or… I will fuck with you."

He straightened himself up. "Foot soldier… take Prince Vegeta to a rejuvenation tank, and once he is finished tell Zarbon to bring him to my quarters. I have some unfinished business to sort out."

Vegeta could do nothing but watch as Frieza walked languidly out of the room, and the foot soldier approached to drag him unceremoniously away by the hair. His consciousness wavered for a moment, and his brain got a quick glimpse of green, mingled with the feeling of near liquid power, before an inescapable blackness rushed in to replace all color, light, and texture.

*************

The Ko-oni-jin elder held his hand firmly over the chipped breastplate of their guest, his mind caught between satisfaction, and self-loathing. This was not what his species were about. Since the very beginning of time they had existed as a peaceful race, their ancestors, at that time, having the run of the planet… and whilst the monkey race, (which soon evolved into the present day Saiyan,) had still been hunting in the great canyons that dominated the surrounding terrain… they had thrived as the superior race.

They had been one of the most advanced species at that point, not very technological, but still adept enough to be pushing the way forward for future generations. They had lived very peacefully alongside the Tuffles (A/N - Tuffles… confused? It's taken from the episode, "The Legend of the Saiyans" in which King Kai tells Goku the history of the Saiyans… The Tuffles were the Saiyan's rival species, just like the Ko-oni-jin are in this story) sharing technology with them, prospering as a coalition, and the perfect example of cohabitation.

The Tuffles were much more capable with science and technology than the Ko-oni-jin, and enjoyed a good amount of power, and with the discovery of space travel, they eventually became the dominant species.

Unlike so many other species however, they never developed the arrogance or desire for control that power so often inspired. Whilst lesser races would have tried to dominate, and crush any rivals, the Tuffles continued to advance, wanting nothing more from their discoveries than to explore, and learn.

Never once did they impose themselves on the Ko-oni-jin. In fact it was quite the opposite. They revered and protected them, and the elders had always been indebted to them for that. The Ko-oni-jin species as a whole, thrived on a strong sense of spirituality, and benevolence, and it was this that set them up as a sort of spiritual figurehead for the Tuffles. The gentle race would sooner die than lay a hand on the elfish creatures.

This kind of detached mysticism was a tradition that the Ko-oni-jin still cherished and upheld to this day, but things had changed. This was a time of war. It had been that way from the very first day that the evolved Saiyan's had crawled out of the caves and desolate wasteland, to overthrow the once great towns and cities with the power of the moon.

In little more than a fortnight, they had completely eradicated any trace of the Tuffle population. They didn't stand a chance! Unlike the Ko-oni-jin they had no fighting abilities or significant power level that would be able to match that of an Ozaru Saiyan. It was one fight they were never going to win, and the Ko-oni-jin elder of the time had pleaded with the Tuffle leaders to retreat, and join them in hiding, but it wasn't in their nature.

The coalition between the two species had turned the elfish creatures into something close to semi-gods in the eyes of the Tuffles. They would protect them, even if it meant the destruction of their own kind. They would fight… and nothing the Ko-oni-jin could say would persuade them to do otherwise.

They had all died.

All of them!

Since that day the Ko-oni-jin had been reduced to hiding in the few sparse forests surrounding Mestalia, (the oldest city on Vegeta-sei, and the only one of the Tuffles to have survived the Saiyan invasion.) They were forced into living as hermitic scavengers, too scared to ever be truly free.

The Saiyans had turned hunting their species down, from a tactical struggle between cat and mouse, to nothing more than a sport. They had been transformed from gods into nothing more than hunted game in little more than a month! The elders had been the most at risk. The king at that time had put a bounty on their heads. Any Ko-oni-jin was a great prize to them, but the more devout and stubborn they were, the better.

Now things were finally going to change! Now they had bargaining power… they had the prince, and King Vegeta would do anything for his son… that much was clear. The alliance the two had both agreed to had become null the moment the Saiyan's had gotten what they wanted. The killing had started afresh, and the costs had been even greater than before. The Ko-oni-jin's precarious predicament was now doubled, as the Saiyan's now knew where they were hiding.

Unbeknownst to the King though, the Ko-oni-jin still held the trump card. Meeting Vegeta had given them an edge that not one of them would ever have believed possible. The young prince had given them the tool they needed to exact revenge. Whilst holding him under their power they had managed to test an ancient technique, forgotten amongst the small amount of sacred scrolls that had been salvaged by the Tuffles. The answer to their victory had been staring them in the face for as long as they had struggled against the Saiyan, and no one had realized it… that was until now.

Being able to put a damper on another species ki was fairly easy… controlling and influencing it, on the other hand, was a lot harder… but they had succeeded. Their experiment on Vegeta had worked well. The energy had adapted as they had hoped, and now they would exact revenge for all the suffering they had been put through.

The only thing that they hadn't counted on was that the power would join his own. After all this time to have the plan screwed up by such a simple thing was infuriating, but it would be rectified easily enough. All they had to do was search his memories until they found the information they needed, and once that was taken care of, then everything would be back on track. It was so frustrating… the only flaw in an otherwise perfect technique. How had he managed to escape its full hold? It didn't make any sense.

Snapping out of his feelings of disgust, the Ko-oni-jin elder looked down on the stricken Saiyan, his power reserves dwindling with every second, "How far have we reached?" he asked the emissary at his side.

"It's difficult to put an exact age on him. The Saiyans mature so rapidly after ten, … perhaps he has reached his late teens."

The elder nodded his head, "Have we found out anything useful yet?" he asked, forcing out the last vestiges of energy.

"No… I can't even be sure if what I see is true."

"How do you mean?"

The emissary cleared his throat, and rubbed a tiny green arm across his forehead, "It is so confusing," he said thoughtfully, making a myriad of wrinkles spring out in consternation, "I think I might be tapping into his dreams as well as his memories. Over the past four or so years of data there have been several pointed references to Vegeta-sei's destruction, and as you know… that is impossible!"

The elders withered hand gave up its last remnants of power into Vegeta's body, as he thoroughly studied the princes sleeping form, "He is so strong, anything is possible." Came the spoken result of his musings, "It could mean that he is trying to fight our power, trying to hide what it is that we seek. Do not let your guard down for one second." His hand lifted, "I have no more energy left. It is your turn to take over now. Let me watch though, lets see if we can figure out how the Saiyan broke through our power."

Vegeta's once still body, stared to twitch, and his eyelids slowly began to flicker open. "Quickly, he's coming to!" encouraged the elder.

Not losing a second longer than was necessary, the emissary placed his hand where the Spiritual elder's had once rested. The palm glowed a deep red, and Vegeta's eyes gave up their brief struggle for consciousness, closing just as suddenly as they had opened.

****************

The night's sky was framed with the tint of orange, as vast fires burnt in the middle distance. On the horizon the jagged peaks of an unknown mountain range collapsed in on themselves, as rapid ki fire blasted relentlessly in every conceivable direction. Huge chunks of rock were sent smashing into the ground as the landscape fell to the dictation of its new designers, irreparably being altered for the future it was faced with.

The Shanatei prospectors had paid handsomely for this planet, but there was no way they would have taken it as it was. Their overly proportioned, slug-like bodies would not be able to thrive on such a volcanically scarred planet. Of course it would only be barely habitable, even after its facelift, but that didn't matter. They would hardly be in a position to bargain after their species claimed it as their own, and so long as it looked ok to the untrained eye, then Frieza would be able to make a small fortune from the excellent Zephire seams dotted all over its now pitted surface. The market value for such large quantities of the precious stone was immeasurable.

Vegeta wasn't sure what possible good would come from an alliance with the Shanatei, but Frieza had assured him that, as Zephire experts, they were invaluable. Quite frankly he was disgusted with the Ice-jin's decision to keep this strange race alive, and not only that, but to keep them well nurtured on a very valuable planet! It was pure madness… not one of them possessed a decent power level. Even the most experienced fighter's, (and calling them as such was an insult to warrior blood everywhere,) was little over fifty, and that was probably reached by sheer good fortune.

He sneered his disgust out, and powered back up to finish his latest assignment. Dammit! Since when did the Prince of Vegeta-sei get reduced to redeveloping conquered planets! He should be the one doing the purging! It was what he was good at. Not since his early teenage years had he failed to complete a category five mission. For five years he had done everything that Frieza had instructed!

After the beating and abuse he had suffered that day and the resulting weeks, he had continued to hold the Ko-oni-jin's power in place, not willing to be a victim of such brutality again. He couldn't afford to be without it any longer. From that day on he had vowed to rely on it all the time, and now, as he flew over the wrecked planet, watching the remaining survivors of another pathetic race facing extinction, he didn't even notice its presence. He had all but forgotten the values of his previous life, or that an alternative had even ever existed.

This was what he was… a leader of men, the promised legendary, a murderer, and he revelled in it. If only he were stronger, then he would be free from all this pettiness. Free to rule over the universe as he chose it!

The mountain villagers scrambled for their lives over the scorched and blackened chunks of stone that had once been their home, and the blood rushed through Vegeta's veins with that added lick of adrenalin he thrived on. It felt good to be able to use such a vast amount of power, especially as Dadoria had missed one of the most well hidden villages, and allowed him the sport of toying with the its last survivors.

The chiselled angles of his now grownup face, pulled into a smirk of demonic satisfaction, as his hand raised to the dozens of fleeing forms, racing in confusion several hundred metres underneath his gold tipped boots. The power built steadily into his outstretched palm, culminating in a perfect sphere of blue. The power it held was unbelievable, he must be so close to becoming the legendary now, and then Frieza would fall, and at his hands as well… how wonderfully delicious.

"VEGETA!"

Letting the residents live for a couple more precious seconds, the Saiyan turned his head to see where the voice had come from.

"Vegeta, hurry it up all ready… I'm getting hungry here!"

Vegeta growled, "Shut up Nappa, or you'll be on the receiving end of this!" he held his hand up as if to prove a point, "Do you understand me?"

"I just wanna see the fireworks! Mass destruction never looks as good as it does coming for your hands!" he grinned manically.

Smirking despite himself, Vegeta turned back to the task at hand, and braced his arm to fire, "BIG BANG ATTACK!"

The blue energy flew from his hand in a direct path to the ground below, making the air surrounding it burn with electrical energy. The blast exploded on impact, making a cloud of nuclear proportions rise into the air, "Way to go for the overkill Vegeta!" came the resulting drivel from the other Saiyans mouth, "Ya know I think there was a species on the other side of the universe that didn't quite see that! Ya know I bet you could take on Frieza himself now!"

"Stop talking nonsense Nappa, do you know what would happen if you were caught saying that? Now lets get out of here, before I die from boredom!" He snapped his scouter over his left eye, scanning the destruction just to make sure there were no survivors. His head swept the area, but the small digits on the red view screen did not flicker. Something, however, didn't feel right. "Nappa… check your scouter, can you pick up any signs of life down there?"

Nappa's green scouter beeped into life, "There's nothing down there Vegeta, now let's go, I think I'm going to go insane if I don't get something to eat soon!"

"Too late for that," he breathed, but it was little more than a murmur, as a feeling flared up in the pit of Vegeta's stomach, "You go on ahead, I'll catch you up!"

With a shrug of the shoulders Nappa left his prince alone. The wind rushed around Vegeta's ears, blowing his hair even more upright than usual, as he let his ki dissipate slightly, to fall gently on the splintered ground beneath. The flames leaping up from the forests surrounding him, licked around his boots as he stood arrogantly, surveying the blasted terrain.

Blocking out the crackling of fire, and the groan as large slabs of rock came to an abrupt halt, Vegeta closed his eyes. Damn his scouter! He was right! One of them had survived. He could here the half choked infantile cries, underlying the grinding of stone on stone. His feet moved casually as he walked in the direction it was coming from, and as he reached the edge, the cries became louder.

Deep penetrating eyes scoured the rock for the glimpse of life his instinct just hadn't been able to block out. Eventually they settled on the culprit of the noise. In the midst of twisted metal and rock, lay the tiny figure of a baby. It couldn't have been more than five months old. Vegeta approached the kicking child with wonder. How did something so small survive when so many beings, so much stronger than it, had not?

Bending down he took the child in white-gloved hands, holding it at arms length.

A shot of pain raced through his head, almost making him drop the pathetic creature. A familiar voice erupted from the deepest recesses of his mind. Its soft cooing made him feel so… safe, "Your father lives solely for power Vegeta," it whispered sadly, "I wish that just once he would understand… love is just as important… and so are you." The voice was so soft, and beautiful. It was… was?

The baby in his grip thrashed violently, throwing the moment into complete oblivion. "What the hell am I doing?" he sneered, relaxing his grip. The baby fell violently to the floor… its tiny body hitting the stone floor with a satisfying crunch.

The muffled whimpers of the child could still be heard, as its fragile body held onto life by the thinnest of threads. The downward draft of Vegeta's power propelled him into the air, but still he could hear the soft sobs, drifting on the breeze. Gritting his teeth in disgust, and without turning to look back, the proud Saiyan no Ouji relaxed his arm, letting it fall behind him to unleash a small concentration of power to the spot he had just vacated. He didn't turn to watch the explosion behind him, and wiping the wetness he attributed to the wind, away from his cheek, he scorched his ki onto the night's sky, satisfied that the annoying cries were silenced for good.

*************

AN - I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I was fun to write, if not a little darker than usual from me. Please review and tell me what you think! *^_^* Hopefully the next chapter should be a little lighter.

If any of you are interested I now have the pics, lyrics, and fanart pages up on my website, so go check it out at http://www.angelfire.com/anime4/ember/ or you can check out my fanart on mediaminer.org at http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/agal.php?id=14011 and don't you dare forget to review… lol!