Vejita stood, hands on hips, looking around. The ship was tiny with only two rooms. The control room, and the bathroom. There was nothing to do and he was about to lose his mind! The only things worth his time were looking at the stars and sleeping in one of the two uncomfortable chairs that had been installed before the large window, where he could view space and all of its infinity.
It was Sunday morning according to Earth time. Unfortunately, as his ship hovered near the blue planet, it wasn't near enough to sense much, including Kakarotto, and strangely enough, it made him feel even more alone. He wondered how things were going, and when would his damn friends contact him as they'd said they would? And if they never did, how long should he wait before returning?
Growing frustrated, Vejita shook his head, as if to shake the thoughts away. Training. He needed to train. That would get his mind off things. Maybe relax him.
Just as he began a series of push-ups, a beeping noise filled his ears, "What the… "
Rising to his feet, Vejita hurried to the control panel, the sound driving him nuts with its piercing insistence. A tiny red light was blinking near what appeared to be some kind of communications radio. He pressed several buttons before finding the right one.
"Hello?" asked a man's voice, strong and deep.
"Who is this?" Vejita demanded, not recognizing the voice as any of Kakarotto's friends.
"This is the president of the United Federation of Earth. Am I speaking with Prince Vejita?"
Shit! Things had obviously gone very, very wrong. Hadn't he told Kakarotto not to mention him? Shit!
"Hai, this is Prince Vejita, Saiyajin Elite." He answered, suddenly reveling in the sound of his title being announced, even if it came from his own lips.
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"Yamcha, Krillin! Get over here!" Bulma called, the two guys quickly hurrying into the room followed by Meijin Roshi.
"What is it?" Krillin asked, looking at the blinking objects on the screen of some sort of device their genius friend had come up with.
"They're talking to Vejita." Chi-Chi answered, scooting closer to hear better.
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"We know of your location and we're prepared to fire if you don't cooperate."
Vejita smirked, "You do realize that I can just as easily destroy your entire planet, with a single blast." He added. There was silence for a moment. Had he scared them? He hoped so. The weak bastards didn't know what they were getting themselves into.
"We have Son Goku. Turn yourself in and we'll let him live."
Vejita's eyes widened. What could he say? What could he say? "I don't believe you." he answered, buying some time to think. There was more silence, longer this time, but still, he couldn't think of what to do.
"Ve… Vejita? I can't sense you."
Vejita winced at the sound of the boy's voice so small and choked, as if he were holding back tears.
"Was that proof enough? Now, turn yourself in. There's no escape. We've already informed other planets of your whereabouts."
"I need time to think." Vejita admitted. He'd considered it a weakness before, trying to buy time and saying anything before letting himself sound weak and desperate. At the moment, however, that's exactly how he felt.
"You have ten minutes."
"Fuck!" Vejita exploded, letting all of his anger, his rage to explode into that single syllable, punching the control panel with limited force. The metal twisted and broke under his fist, disabling the climate control unit.
Narrowing his eyes in thought, the prince realized that there was no way in Hell he was going to willingly land and turn himself in. His pride simply wouldn't allow it. They'd have to come and get him, but they wouldn't. They'd kill Kakarotto.
He knew not to put it past the weaker race. They were insignificant and stupid, but any being desperate enough can use cunning and courage they were never thought to have possessed.
His gaze hovered over the communicator and on down, settling at the damage he'd done. He could break the ship. They'd have no choice but to come get him then. A brilliant plan indeed.
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"What's all this blinky crap?" Roshi asked, pointing at the screen, smudges trailing his touch.
"Get your filthy hands away!" Bulma yelled, "And that 'blinky crap' is ships, satellites," she pointed to a little red spot, "This one is Vejita." When she touched it, the light magnified into the silhouette of the specific type of ship he was using.
"Well, what's all that blinky crap on the ship?" Roshi asked, pushing his limits with the blue-haired beauty.
"Those are malfunctions… It looks like the air conditioning, the landing gear, and the navigator are broken." Bulma reported, punching various buttons, causing the view of the ship to change.
"That's odd. That ship was brand new. It should be fine." She said, puzzled.
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Goku simply stared at the floor, ashamed for what he had done. The edges of his mind were still cloudy, and it was hard not to react to things strangely. It was so hard to explain, to understand. He wasn't himself.
Still, he knew what he'd done. He'd given them Vejita's name. No wonder he hadn't wanted him to. He was a prince, and he'd been right.
It had only gotten him into more trouble.
They'd moved him from the sparkling clean complex in East City to an even larger building. This one appeared clean and formal, but they held him in a prison like basement with bars and restraints and filth.
It was horrible.
He wasn't sure exactly where he was. Somewhere north, he knew that much. Plus, he'd heard a woman say something about Capital City. They'd led him through a grand front entrance, through carpeted halls and beautifully furnished rooms down to a level beneath the earth. It was a clean, tiled lab filled with complex hallways and littered with research room. This level held the most personnel. Of course, he couldn't sense them with his energy, but he could other ways. The sounds of their footsteps, their smells, and the strangely warm air, as if there were too many bodies to keep it cool. Finally, they'd reached the final level, even further beneath the earth. It was much smaller than the others with four guards at the only entrance/exit. This is where they kept him, locked in a cage like some kind of animal. He listened to the conversation at hand. He seemed to be above ground, in a large office with a large machine at the center of everyone's attention.
"No need to worry, Prince Vejita. We'll get you down." The president said, sarcasm rich in his voice.
"What a fool! Breaking the landing gear, as if we wouldn't notice. What does it accomplish anyway?" The president went on after cutting the connection.
"Sir, should we take him back downstairs?" asked one of the men gripping Goku's arms.
"No, we need him still."
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Vejita was more than disgusted with the damn Humans. They got him down all right! That had been the worst landing experience he'd ever had.
Now the prince was waiting. He'd tried to open the hatch, but was unable, as if it were locked. He'd thought about just blasting the damn thing open, but surely they'd take it as some kind of attack or hostility, and he couldn't risk Kakarotto's life.
Finally, there was a metal sound, and the hatch began to slowly hiss open. Vejita was impressed. It seemed this president had gathered nearly two hundred armed guards, and they all had their guns pointed at him. Oh, how desperately he wanted to laugh! As if the puny weapons could do him any damage.
He scanned the large group, finding the president easily. He was an outstandingly tall man with a large square jaw. He had several cronies about him, dressed in wrinkle free suits and supposedly stylish ties. That's when he caught sight of Kakarotto. Two men held him easily, one of them holding a gun to the boy's temple. At that range, even their puny weapons could be lethal.
It was so odd, why didn't Kakarotto break free? They must have done something, surely the boy would if he could.
Suddenly, a muscular man of average height stepped forward, flinging a metal case at him. Vejita caught it easily, somewhat impressed with the weakling's ability to throw such a heavy object so far.
"Put them on or the boy dies." The president boomed.
Vejita undid the latches to the case, curious as to why they wanted him to change clothing. Upon opening the case, however, he found that it wasn't clothing inside, but jewelry, some kind of odd-looking bracelets.
He looked up, eyeing the fools. Was this some kind of joke? Obviously not. The guards were sweating bullets and the president held his stern expression.
Shrugging, Vejita figured he had no choice. It was either go drag, or watch the only thing he cared about be destroyed. It seemed simple enough. He pulled at one and it opened, a hinge allowing him to place it over his wrist, snapping it closed. Quickly, he had them on and kicked the case away, amused as several guards jumped out of the way as it flew by.
The president smiled, lifting a small phone, "Now."
Vejita was about to burst into laughter when he noticed that Kakarotto was wearing the same ridiculous jewelry, but something hit him. It was an odd feeling and before he knew it, he was crumpling down to the ground.
"What the Hell's going on?!" He hissed to himself, urging his muscles to obey.
The sound of boots trampling towards him got his attention and he pushed himself to the limit, straining as he slowly rose and stood. His stance wide, crouched slightly, his fists clenched, panting. They stopped in their tracks.
"It's all show! He can't do any harm with those on!" The president called, disappointed in his soldiers.
Vejita didn't understand what was happening, but it seemed that president fellow was right. Just two guards were able to hold him, practically dragging him towards the huge, elaborate building. The guards dispersed, and now there were only about ten of them, the president leading the way. Kakarotto was there too, just ahead of him, but he couldn't sense him, he couldn't sense anything, including himself. He couldn't be dead, could he?
He wasn't sure of their surroundings, finding it hard to concentrate at all, but soon enough they got to their destination and the two guards tossed him to the ground.
"Together?" Came a voice, questioning.
"No." Came the booming sound of the president's voice.
Footsteps on concrete suggested their leaving, followed by the sound of a door clanging shut before being locked.
"Ji… Jita? Are you okay?"
The prince struggled for what felt like hours, trying his hardest to lift his head to the beautiful voice, but it was so hard!
"Don't strain yourself. If ya wait a while, you'll get used to it." Goku said, looking on sadly at the sight of such a proud warrior crumpled on the ground, practically shaking with frustration. At his words, however, Vejita relaxed, his eyes closed, his fists falling open.
He wanted so desperately to go to him, to tell him it would all be okay, that it was a joke and they were going back to Meijin Roshi's. But the cold fact was that they were prisoners on death row, and they weren't even allowed to be together, two sets of bars and a wide isle separating them.
