Allegiance - Part 5 (see part 1 for notes)


Vegeta had arrived.  There was no mere travel pod for the Prince of the
Saiyajin - his spaceship was a far grander vessel, complete with crew
and technicians, as well as a full complement of Saiyajin warriors.  The
Prince's personal guard disembarked in two rows, lining up on either
side of the ship's entrance, beneath the early morning sun.  An
apparently high-ranking officer surveyed the scene before him from the
open hatch, an unpleasant smirk appearing on his face as his eyes rested
momentarily on Toro who, along with the rest of his troops, was
kneeling  in homage for the Prince.  After a moment, the officer stood
aside with a low bow, revealing the Saiyajin no Oji at last.

<He looks the same. He looks *exactly* the same!> Trunks stared at the
man who in another world would have been his father.  The pointed hair,
the immaculate suit and armor, and the sweeping cape that hung from his
shoulders - it all screamed out the identity of the man, fitting
perfectly with what Trunks remembered of his father.  <But then, how
else would he look, I wonder?>  Even when he had been the only Saiyajin
left alive in their universe, Vegeta had maintained his attitudes and
appearance - his whole manner and style - as befitted a Saiyajin Prince,
despite having to make do with whatever was available on the primitive
planet he had ended up on...

<Looks like Otousan did a pretty good job of *that*...  I suppose he
would have died of horror if he'd failed to live up to his own
standards.  I just wish that I could have - >

Vegeta paced down the walkway, stopping before Toro, whose head was
bowed low.  "Report," he ordered briefly.

Toro raised his eyes to meet those of his prince, and proceeded to give
a succinct summary of the events that had taken place since his arrival
on the planet.  Including the fact that Goten had been mistaken for him
- and that he and Trunks were from a different universe.

<Good thing I didn't tell him who my parents were.  I don't think I
could handle that at the moment.  It's bad enough standing right here in
front of *him*.>  Trunks ducked his head as Vegeta glanced in his
direction, not willing to meet his gaze.  He was standing slightly apart
from the Saiyajins; his impromptu display of strength while attempting
to defend Kami had made most of the warriors wary of him.  Only Toro had
not appeared to be cautiously interested in him after that, and he had
spent the rest of the night under constant surveillance.   

He chewed his lip as he sensed the intensity of the gaze that Vegeta
directed towards him.  <Damn it!  I just want to get out of here and
look for Goten!>  The only problem with that was that he had no idea of
where to start looking for his missing friend.  <Except that I'll need a
spaceship to start - and the only ones here belong to the Saiyajins...>

Of course, it would be easy enough to take one of the ships by force. 
It was highly doubtful that any of them had ever encountered anyone as
powerful as a Super Saiyajin.  He probably wouldn't even need to power
up that much...  <Which is most definitely a good thing - the last time
I consciously turned Super Saiyajin was when I killed - > He shook his
head, blinking back the tears that threatened to escape his eyes.  <But
I've been Super Saiyajin since then.  I just can't remember how I became
so...>

A hand grasped his chin firmly, lifting his head forcefully until his
eyes met the Prince's...  Terror froze his limbs and locked his gaze.

"What have you to say for yourself, brat?"

He quivered beneath the attention he was given, his body trembling with
the effort to suppress the emotions evoked by the touch of the familiar
stranger.  Fear, anger, love, hate, hope, despair  - all blended
together, drowning him in an overwhelming tide that caused his heart to
pound, his breaths shallow and fast.

"Goten," he choked out at last.  "I - I want to find Goten..."

The black eyes narrowed, then released him from their compelling hold. 
He staggered, dropping to his knees, hands buried in the soft, dark
soil, head once again bowed low.  Through pale wisps of hair he
carefully observed the booted feet as they turned away from him and
stalked over to the pod containing the treacherous Saiyajin.

<I don't envy him.  He's going to be in a lot of pain, soon.  I don't
really like the thought of that - but if he knows anything about how to
find Goten, it'll be worth it...>

He snatched a brief glimpse over at the pod, before ducking his head
once more.  Toro was standing impassively to one side of the pod, while
two of the brawniest of Vegeta's guard had the traitor down on his knees
before the Prince he had betrayed.  Vegeta looked a little disappointed;
but his disappointment held no room for mercy, and his eyes were as hard
as diamond.  He was exacting punishment for a failure, and failure was
something that he would not tolerate. 

He was starting to scream, already.

Trunks winced away from the noise, wishing desperately to be able to
block his ears as easily as he could shut his eyes.  <I can remember
that look on my father's face...  I can remember screaming like that...>

He clenched his fists, then relaxed them, concentrating on the feel of
Goten's ki.  <If I can find where he is, I won't have to stay and
listen...>  He stretched his senses to the limit, for perhaps the sixth
time since he had awakened to see Toro instead of Goten by his side. 
His unsuccessful attempts the night before had left him discouraged,
with Goten being beyond his reach either due to distance or - <NO!  I'm
not even going to *think* that!  Besides, he said that Bardock wanted
Toro alive, and the universe is a very large place...>

He took  a deep breath, clearing his mind - and *reached*, ignoring the
screaming and faint beeping around him.

<Like I thought - nothing.>  He started to pull back - but caught a
faint trace of Goten's ki, far nearer than he had expected.  <What - ?>

He gasped, looking up to where a faint dot was descending into Earth's
atmosphere.  A moment later a ki-blast was on its way to intercept it. 
He surged into the air just in time to divert the blast that Toro had
sent, in accompaniment to Vegeta's which had already passed him by.

He snarled at them, blue eyes flashing in anger.  <If that hurts Goten -

 "What happened to the pride of the Saiyajin?" He demanded.  "Are you so afraid of those pathetic weaklings that you must attack them in this *cowardly* manner?"  He spat out the words, ignoring desperately the icy touch of fear on his heart.

Vegeta's blast hit the ship, tearing a gaping hole in the side, sending
it spinning.  <Goten...>

He eyed Vegeta who was frowning at him, arms folded across his chest,
and Toro who was subconsciously mimicking his Prince's stance.

<Goten had better be all right - or *they* won't be!>

***********

<Trunks had better be all right, down there...>

Goten glared at Bardock sourly.  The Saiyajin was still holding tightly
onto the transporter.  <I almost wish he *had* activated it - it would
have made this trip a lot more enjoyable...>

Bardock had spent most of the journey laboriously explaining exactly
*why* Goten had to kill Vegeta.  <Or rather why he wants Toronipsu to
kill Vegeta...  Heh, I'll probably be a lot better for the job than my
'uncle' - I doubt that he could go Super Saiyajin, and if he's been
following Vegeta's orders for so long he might have been brainwashed
into believing that the bastard doesn't deserve to die...  Which is
probably why Bardock's been going on and on about it.  Not that he needs
to convince *me*!>

They were just starting to enter Earth's skies; they would soon be in
confrontation with the Saiyajin forces that Bardock and his men had
detected on the planet's surface.  <But they *don't* know about Trunks
being there, too.>

A sudden burst of power from the earth below them caught his attention. 
<That's going to hit the ship!>  His eyes flicked across to the
transporter in Bardock's hands.  <And if it *does*...>

He tracked the ki with his senses as it approached, and was thus far
more prepared for when it hit the ship than any of the others were...

"NANI?!" Bardock grabbed at the walls as the ship rocked unexpectedly,
dropping the transporter in the process.  Goten lunged for it, snatching
it up before it was lost to the hole in the side of the vessel which was
sucking the contents out of the cabins.

"I believe someone just hit us!"  Goten answered lightly, a grin on his
face as he yelled to be heard above the rash of noise.  "Vegeta, most
likely!  Now if you excuse me, I have other things to do - oh, and
thanks for the ride.  I always wanted to fly in a spaceship!"

He laughed as Bardock cursed at him, and punched another hole in the
wall.  <It's not like it matters much, now.>  He smirked as Bardock
feebly attempted to hold him back, then shrugged him off as easily as he
would a baby.  <You don't stand a chance, 'grandfather'.>

As soon as the hole was big enough, he slipped through, cushioned on all
sides by the rushing air currents, as he emerged into the soft morning
light.

He hovered motionless for a moment as the ship spun away from him,
scattering its contents as it went.  <Bardock will probably be out of
there in no time - and after me.>  He turned to look at the group of
dots gathered together below him, a little way off.  <Trunks is down
there, and he seems to be okay...  And now that I know where he is, and
I finally have the transporter back, everything should be all right. 
Hmmm, I wonder if Toronipsu is down there, too...>  He smiled.  <I
wonder what Bardock's going to think when he sees *him*!>  He glanced
briefly at the rapidly descending wreck of a spacecraft.  Several
figures could be seen fleeing from it.

<Well, there's only one way to find out!>

**********

Rhionae
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3226/fanfics.htm