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Breaking the Prince (Part 1)	By : Doog Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3090 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or any of its characters. I will not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter Three
            Waiting proved to be more difficult than Vegeta had imagined. Initially the sedatives occupied his time, giving him an opponent to concentrate his efforts against. It may have been hours until they had completely worn away, though Vegeta could not be sure. For what seemed like days, and very well could have been, there was absolutely no way to gauge the passage of time. The room around him was completely static and no noise came from the area behind his field of vision. The intravenous line feeding into his arm was an opaque white, so he could not tell what, if anything, was being fed into his veins. Though he recognized that he had remained hydrated, it was not enough that his efficient Saiyajin body produced any waste. With only various forms of discomfort to occupy him, Vegeta felt that even the steady beeping of a computer would have been a welcome measure of time. In this vacuum of stimulation, Vegeta could feel his temporal perception slipping wildly away from reality.
            Even worse, his usually active body was reduced to a another drain on his mental resolve. What had once been muscular stiffening from overuse from the K.R.I. device progressed to stiffening from disuse. Vegeta cursed to himself as cramps erupted in rounds throughout his body, barely soothed by the minimal amount of shifting and stretching he could accomplish under the thick straps. Despite repeated flexion and extension of his fingers, his arms quickly lost sensation and ached from poor blood flow. This left them susceptible to the chill that began to creep into his body. Vegeta had always been able to generate ki at will to protect himself from physical attacks and the elements. Without that, he was at the mercy of the cold temperature of the empty room. Though the air around him was not circulating, it had an icy quality that made Vegeta actively shiver. At a point, though he was spared from admitting it to himself because it was not an option, he would have curled up into a ball to stay warm.
            The next physical trial to arise was hunger. Vegeta could have taken this as an indication of how long he had been restrained, but it was difficult to estimate given that he had undergone surgery and hadn't eaten for days anyway. The supportive nutrients and care he had probably received to survive the procedure were now mostly absent, assuming anything was in the intravenous line. Looking down at his abdomen, he could tell that it was abnormally flattened from a lack of solid sustenance; he may not have actually digested anything for a week. The hunger pains were intermittent, then unrelenting. Vegeta imagined his stomach slowly digesting the rest of his internal organs, greedily sacrificing them for the sake of his appetite.
            Lastly, though it was masked by the onslaught of varied forms of suffering, Vegeta was overcome with sleepy exhaustion. The effort needed to keep his mind focused on a way to escape this situation increased his fatigue. Vegeta found himself dropping off into mindless trances and even nodding off, snapping back to alertness for fear of being caught off-guard. His momentary lapses in consciousness only contributed to his overall disorientation. As the long hours of constant bright lights and empty space stretched on, he began to imagine himself slowly starving to death, Freeza returning simply to destroy his wasted, lifeless form.
            Despite his weariness, Vegeta tried to examine every encounter he had recently had with the rest of Freeza’s forces, looking for some indication of who may have been the cause of his abuse. No matter how much he wracked his brain, however, Vegeta could not dismiss Freeza’s description of the K.R.I. device as being devised specifically for him. Vegeta, with a brief renewal of pride, began to wonder if Freeza had commissioned the creation of the device in fear of his potential as an elite Saiyajin warrior. Still, there had to have been some catalyst, some reason why Freeza had decided that its use was now warranted. Vegeta concluded that there had to be some betrayal or sabotage intended against Freeza and himself. If he could convince Freeza of this, they could kill whoever was responsible together, and Vegeta could be free to continue to fight his way towards being the strongest.
            When the familiar electronic swishing of a door opening and closing in the distance interrupted the silence, Vegeta jumped at how loud the once ordinary sound seemed. Vegeta listened in agonized anticipation, steeling himself for what was to come next. After a few long minutes, Freeza strode confidently into view, still dressed for battle and appearing expectantly smug as he surveyed Vegeta's worn body and expression. It took Vegeta a while to realize that Freeza was actually in front of him, and not just a projection of his hopeful imagination. They shared a silent exchange before Freeza startled Vegeta by barking an order to an unseen listener.
            "Release him."
            Vegeta's heart began to race as he realized that he might actually get a chance to make an appeal to Freeza. He had so little information to form his defense upon, and so many unanswered questions. Furthermore, his only hope lay in the possibility that the K.R.I device was only being used against him because of some external influence on Freeza. No matter the exact circumstances, his life depended on his ability to convince Freeza of his loyalty. He had to try, no matter how small his chance.
He was distracted by this thoughts enough that he was caught by surprise when the solid straps enclosing his body suddenly retracted into the slab, leaving his entire body's weight on his feet and the small platforms. Vegeta tried to will his muscles to tighten, to support him so he could step down, but the long time spent in confinement had left his limbs numb and unruly. All it took was the momentum of his arms falling at his sides to send him falling forward, landing heavily and then folding onto the floor below. Vegeta was barely able to protect his face, managing to get his listless arms under his head just in time. He hardly felt the intravenous catheter rip out of his left wrist, and it took a while for the pain of his fall to register in his elbows and knees. Vegeta stifled a groan as he tried to push himself up from of his pathetic position. Feeling a change in his face, he realized that the strap holding the gag in place had also come loose. He opened his mouth and shifted his jaw, using his tongue to push the hated mouthpiece out. The feeling of his teeth fitting solidly together was foreign to him, and his jaw burned with the same lack of use as the rest of his body.
            Not forgetting that he was in fact sprawled at the feet of an impatient overlord who was the source of his new-found suffering, Vegeta summoned the sheer will to push his torso up until he was on all fours, albeit shakily. He winced and almost fell completely back down when he instinctively tried to use some ki to steady his wavering limbs and was jolted with a sharp stab of pain in his spine.
            "Kh—" he vocalized the pain through now gritted teeth but tried to pull himself together quickly. He knew that Freeza was not one to wait patiently as a minion recovered from physical difficulty. Vegeta carefully wrapped his tail around his bare waist, drawing strength from the familiar security of it being out of harm's way. Gaining focus, Vegeta ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth, preparing himself to speak. He turned his head to the side and then tilted it back enough that he could look up at Freeza with one eye. Freeza was staring down at him, still smug and surprisingly silent. Shaking with effort, Vegeta tried to speak, but found that his voice had also atrophied with disuse. When something finally came out, it was unrecognizable to him.
            "F-Free-za-sama," Vegeta marveled at how weak he sounded, but continued, gaining control. "Freeza-sama, please allow me-" Vegeta tilted his head back down into a bow, hiding his contorting facial expression as he fought back his pride to ensure his survival. "To...to demonstrate my continued loyalty to you." There was only silence, the last thing that Vegeta had expected. He had anticipated outright rejection via laughter or perhaps a death blow, or at the very least some verbal response. Unsure of how to proceed, Vegeta contemplated the possibility but didn't actually dare to look back up at Freeza.
            Freeza's tail swiftly but non-violently caught Vegeta under his chin, tilting his head all the way back until the his skull was touching his straining shoulder blades, and held it there. Vegeta couldn't help but grimace as his stiff neck cracked from being forced into a position that had been prevented for so long. His eyes momentarily caught Freeza's, which were bright with predatory interest, but he quickly forced his gaze back towards the floor and the purple end of Freeza's tail. Another long moment passed in silence.
            "Oh? And how do you intend to do that, Prince Vegeta?" Freeza spat Vegeta's title but kept a tone of mild interest, as an adult plays along with a child's fantasy. Vegeta faltered at this, but forced himself to press forward.
            "I will serve you without question...and...will continue to conquer planets in your great name, Freeza-sama." Vegeta's concentration waned as he feared that his limbs would give out.
How can I convince Freeza that I am still of use if I’m already this weak?
            "What makes your tiny Saiyajin brain think that will be enough to satisfy me in light of your previous failures?" Freeza was starting to lose his patience, his frown evident in his voice.
            "Freeza-sama, I have done n-nothing to betray you. Who...whoever...has told you otherwise...he is the true traitor. Allow me to kill him to honor you." Vegeta's heart was pounding now, his energy nourished by anger at an unknown enemy.
            The reaction was almost immediate. Freeza's tail snapped away from its place below Vegeta's chin. Before his head could fall, the tail whipped into his side. Vegeta was hurled sidelong against the nearest wall, which he settled against, doubled over. Vegeta was too weakened to have seen the blow coming, and was barely able to register that he'd been hit before Freeza was looming over him, plucking him up by the front of his neck and pulling him just high enough to keep his body's weight off of his knees.
            Vegeta's eyes remained half closed in pain, his hands feebly coming up to grasp at Freeza's thick forearms even though he was unable to ease any of the pressure from the hold around his neck. Freeza’s mouth was pursed into a tight sneer, his disgust evident as he regarded Vegeta's pained stare.
            "Saiyajin are all the same," Freeza hissed, tightening his fingers until only choked breaths could pass through them. Vegeta could already feel his grip on life loosening.
This is it. Even though his death had seemed like a very real possibility, the moment of its arrival shocked Vegeta. His paralyzed body stiffened in protest, clinging stubbornly to survival.
            "But you, Vegeta, must be the most stupid of them all." Freeza's nose wrinkled as if even touching Vegeta were an unseemly experience. Vegeta wasn't entirely listening, caught up in the anticipation of his demise. He'd seen it play out this way so many times before, except he'd always been on the sidelines, smirking.
            "I don't know why I continue to spoil you, but I suppose I do—" Freeza flashed a smile as he readjusted his small hand around Vegeta's throat, "—enjoy it." Freeza paused, amusing himself with whatever he was thinking as Vegeta waited in labored silence.
            "It amuses me to think that you still have not realized that I know that you have done nothing to betray me," Freeza spoke softly now, but his message caught Vegeta's wavering attention.
            Freeza pulled Vegeta closer. "So far, your service has been completely loyal in action. In action...but not in thought. Your insolence is in your desires, Vegeta. You desire more power than you already have...than I have allowed you have.” Vegeta's eyes widened as he listened. “You do not know your place. I have played along with your childish ambitions because I found them amusing, but now it is time for you to realize your true potential." Each statement was a sucker punch. Vegeta's eyes narrowed into a glare as "true potential" took on an unfamiliar meaning.
            Freeza laughed to himself as he continued, "I suppose you still have not even realized why everyone— Zarbon-san, Dordoria-san— why they all detest you? It is because you are merely my pet, and I have coddled you. You are not the great warrior you believe yourself to be. I could have crushed it long ago, but your ego grew so easily with the slightest encouragement— so amusing!" Freeza laughed openly down at Vegeta, ignoring how Vegeta now struggled in his grasp. Vegeta's rage at having his life's efforts reduced to Freeza's entertainment seemed to only feed Freeza's satisfaction.
            After Freeza's laughter subsided, he considered Vegeta's infuriated expression for a moment before he slowly lifted his free arm, retracting it in preparation to deal a blow to Vegeta's face. Vegeta's eyes darted to and then followed the hand as its black nails disappeared into the ball of a forming fist. Freeza let it hover threateningly, his smile lingering after his laughter. Without warning, the fist suddenly flew toward Vegeta, but stopped less than a centimeter from Vegeta's right jaw. The damage was done, however.
            Vegeta, acting on countless years of training and fighting, anticipated the connection of the blow and prepared himself by releasing ki to shield his face. The reflex cost him dearly: an arc of agony ripped through him, causing him to choke in pain as his weak muscles convulsed. It was brief and intense, just as his protective ki was intended to be, and it left Vegeta limp in Freeza's hand.
            Freeza retracted his fist, erupting in more unbridled laughter as he threw Vegeta overhand by the neck towards the far wall. Vegeta flew almost ten meters, his back bouncing off of the wall so that he fell once more into a sprawling prone position. Vegeta calculated bitterly that if he been able to use ki he probably would have slammed straight through the wall and had a chance, however slim, to escape. He could also tell that Freeza was being careful to use light force; it had been enough to cause pain, but not enough to kill an unprotected Saiyajin.
            Vegeta raised his head enough to see Freeza's feet draw closer. "You are simply too easy to fool, Vegeta," Freeza gloated over his little trick. Vegeta's injured pride brought his temper to a boil, and he could no longer restrain himself.
            "Fuck you," he hissed, continuing to watch Freeza approach. Freeza disappeared from sight mid-step, moving too quickly for Vegeta’s eyes to track. Before he could react, he felt himself lifted by his abdomen off of the ground, kicked up. Vegeta's back slammed into the wall once more, this time pinned there by a punch to his side, which Freeza continued to grind into his abdomen as he spoke.
            "Now, now, Vegeta, you really should keep your—" Freeza used his other arm to punch Vegeta in the other side, now grinding that fist into him instead, "—base nature in check. I will not have you acting like monkey scum in my presence." Freeza released his pressure, letting Vegeta slump, the wind knocked out of him, to the floor. "How do you ever expect to be rehabilitated if you are rude to the one person that pities you?" Freeza plucked Vegeta up by the neck again and threw him back in the direction of the metal table. The exhausted Saiyajin landed heavily and rolled until he was lying on his back, staring up at the lights embedded in the ceiling. There had been that word again: rehabilitation.
            The adrenaline rush from Freeza's return was beginning to wear off, and Vegeta could feel the heavy weight of absolute exhaustion settling over his abused body. The simple act of lying on the ground and letting gravity take control would have contented him for hours had Freeza not moved closer once more. He could feel Freeza staring at him, appraising him as he made no effort to move.
            Without a word, Freeza lifted one foot and brought it down solidly in the middle of Vegeta's abdomen, making Vegeta gasp and then shake silently as Freeza continued to bring it down in the same place several more times. With a disdainful "Hmmph," Freeza repeated this treatment on Vegeta's chest until he felt several of his ribs crack and then cave into one lung. When the stomping stopped, Vegeta remained frozen on his back, staring up at Freeza through one eye, his other clenched shut from the pain of trying to take a breath. Vegeta panted shallowly for a while then started coughing, turning his head to the side as bright ropes of blood came up with his saliva. He wasn't able to think anymore; the effort and pain of breathing consumed him.
            "Don't worry, Prince," Freeza was talking again, but Vegeta could barely focus and missed some of his words. "...this long for you to make yourself the insolent brute that you are now, but take comfort in that I will be much more efficient at breaking you," Freeza continued to gloat, but was also motioning to unknown onlookers. Vegeta lifted his head to look to the side of the room yet unknown to him, but his eyes only met more empty space ending a few meters beyond the table. There was nothing else to see before the medics were surrounding him, their white robes making a solid wall around him.
            The slight relief of having Freeza out of sight was enough for Vegeta to allow himself to slip into unconsciousness. There was no need to stay on guard. His body was completely useless for the time being, and it was obvious that Freeza had no intention of killing him, at least not yet. As his vision faded into darkness, Vegeta imagined the lukewarm relief of a medical tank, and welcomed the distant sensation of many hands lifting him gently away from the hard floor.
****
            Vegeta's first indication that he was alive and awake came when he recognized the steady sounds of deep breathing as his own. His breaths sounded resonant and raspy through the mask covering his nose and mouth, which he knew led out through a tube to the rest of the medical chamber. The slightly warm liquid that surrounded him was so familiar and comforting that it took a few moments for the memories of Freeza's betrayal to come flooding back. Vegeta could feel the electrodes on his forehead shift as it creased in anger when he remembered Freeza's words and the beating he had received.
            How could Freeza do this? It wasn't that Vegeta didn't know that Freeza was cruel; he had grown up in Freeza's shadow, and had witnessed first-hand the large-scale atrocities that Freeza committed, and had him commit, on a regular basis. Vegeta simply had not considered the possibility that Freeza would have the patience to prolong suffering to this extent. Why would he, when Freeza had enough power to simply kill whomever was in his way? Vegeta's stomach lurched as he remembered what Freeza had called him: a pet. An amusing pet.
            Had that always been the way Freeza felt about him? Had that been why Freeza had wanted to keep him so close? Vegeta's mind was reeling now, his returning health allowing him to contemplate the full implications of Freeza's revelations. Vegeta had always thought it had been because of his great potential, especially at an early age, when Freeza had first known him. He had been one of the greatest elite Saiyajin ever born; of course he was a powerful warrior! There may have always been fighters stronger and more experienced than he was, but Vegeta had always thought that, given enough time, he would be able to overcome them and take his place in the universe as the best. With his abilities as a Saiyajin to recuperate and gain power exponentially, he could eventually become stronger and—
            No. Vegeta was paralyzed, faced with a new and terrifying revelation. The K.R.I. device was more devious than he had initially thought. Now, in the medical chamber, its second purpose was obvious. The K.R.I. device was not simply meant to prevent him from using ki, though it had succeeded in that regard better than even Freeza had probably expected. Its secondary, and perhaps more crucial purpose, was to prevent Vegeta from benefiting from his torture. Without the use of any ki, Vegeta knew that he would not be able to fight back. Thus, his strength would not be increased from being subsequently healed. It was the perfect way to circumvent the one quality that Vegeta had as a Saiyajin that would have allowed him to eventually overcome Freeza.
            You fucking bastard. Vegeta kept his eyes closed, but could feel his blood pressure rising as he tightened his muscles, bubbles spilling out from around the air mask as he exhaled in rage. The medics in attendance must have become alarmed at this, for Vegeta could hear the noises of them fast at work at their stations outside the chamber. Before Vegeta could think about ripping off the electrodes that were monitoring his health, no doubt only there to let Freeza know when he'd be well enough for another beating, Vegeta could feel more sedatives beginning to take him over.
            As the drugs sapped him of his excess energy, Vegeta felt his raw anger give way to the hollow ache of betrayal. He could feel the emotions building in his chest, tightening his lungs and throat until there was a painful lump that he could not force himself to swallow. It was the same feeling he had long ago, after he had found out that he was going to be staying on Freeza's ship, away from his father and the rest of his race. His father had always been the most powerful person he'd known. At the time, Vegeta hadn't understood how King Vegeta had let Freeza take him away. He had only resented the way King Vegeta and the other Saiyajin kowtowed to Freeza and his men.
            Vegeta realized with a degree of shame that Freeza had been more to him than just an overlord, especially since the destruction of Vegetasei. Vegeta remembered how he'd been requested to accompany Freeza, and how Freeza had tolerated and then even requested seeing him off personally whenever he sent Vegeta on missions. He recalled all of the times Freeza had expressed interest in his progress as a soldier, or had praised him for his abilities. Sleepily, Vegeta remembered one particular instance in which Freeza had watched him train.
            Vegeta had been young then, probably no older than eight or nine years old, but his strength had already been significant within the Planet Trade Organization. Even in his youth, Vegeta had long surpassed the strongest Saibamen developed, but a new opportunity to prove his strength had come with the creation of an even stronger strain. Freeza had come to Vegeta's quarters, which were never far from Freeza's own, and had surprised Vegeta (and his own top men) by informing the young Saiyajin that he wanted to see how Vegeta fought the improved Saibamen. Vegeta's stomach twisted as he remembered how he had been excited to be given a chance to show off his skills to Freeza, and how he had wanted to please him and gain notoriety within the organization. This sort of incident was not entirely unique, save for one detail. It had been the day that Vegeta had opted to don the official battle wear of Freeza's organization, which was free of the Saiyajin Royal Family symbol and the red cape that he had worn proudly up to that point. Vegeta remembered the bitterness he had felt towards his father’s absence. With no hope of guidance from King Vegeta, it had seemed that Freeza had been his only choice for a role model. Freeza had proven to be stronger than any Saiyajin up to that point, and embodied many of the ruthless conqueror attitudes that Vegeta had been instilled with by his nature and upbringing. Even though Vegeta had dreamed that he would one day surpass Freeza by becoming a Super Saiyajin, it had seemed like a logical move to try to appease Freeza and even idolize him until that day came.
            When Vegeta had showed up to the demonstration in unmarked, but elite battle wear, he had seen Freeza's face change. At the time, Vegeta had thought it was pleasure at seeing him show increased loyalty. Vegeta had felt his confidence growing, as though the new uniform had given him greater power. Looking back on it now, Vegeta's stomach clenched at the thought of Freeza internally gloating over his increasing hold over him, or Freeza's mind working away at how to further manipulate him. Young Vegeta had quickly eliminated the enhanced Saibamen, and Freeza had been the first to clap with delight as the last of the Saibamen disintegrated into burnt dust. The memory of the look on Zarbon's face as he had hesitantly clapped along still brought a modicum of self satisfaction to Vegeta, who realized that Zarbon and Dodoria had apparently never been in on Freeza's little scheme. The worst of it all, however, was what had come after Freeza had excused the rest of his men, leaving Vegeta and him alone in the space outside the training room. Vegeta imagined what it had been like, staring up respectfully at Freeza over the edge of his hover vehicle as Freeza regarded him warmly from above. Vegeta had been surprised when Freeza reached over the lip of the craft and touched Vegeta's head, ruffling the tall hair there and saying, "Excellent work, my little prince." Vegeta had been shocked at this sudden show of affection, not only because it had come from Freeza, but also because he had never really known affection. There had been a few precious moments after battle along his father's side, but they had been distant memories, even at that age. Freeza had gone shortly after Vegeta managed a stunned thank you, but the feeling of exuberance from the positive reinforcement had lingered.
As the memory came to a close, Vegeta felt his pride sink lower. It was becoming evident that Freeza had been manipulating him from day one, building Vegeta up for his own entertainment. It couldn't have been long after he acquired Vegeta that the development of the K.R.I. device had been started. Vegeta began to make himself feel physically ill just thinking about it, but he couldn't stop himself from dwelling on it.
He began contemplating the hatred he had felt from his comrades. What if their dislike for him was not due to his fighting prowess or potential, but was because of the special treatment he received from Freeza? Even worse, what if they felt his abilities were undeserving of Freeza’s praise? For the first time, Vegeta was unsure of his power. Was he the accomplished prince of a once fearsome race, as he had always considered himself? Or, was he an inconsequential remnant of a dead race, kept around by a spoiled, bored overlord because he made a good puppet?
            Vegeta couldn't think about this possibility for long before he reflexively rejected it as impossible. He may have let Freeza get the best of him up to this point, but he had always been able to rely on himself to overcome any adversity, including the complete destruction of his home world. He could survive this, whether that was Freeza's intention or not. Even though he could glean no physical benefit from the beatings that were certain to come, he could find a way to overcome this situation. Freeza seemed to want to keep him around, so Vegeta was going to show him that he was no longer going to be controlled without a fight. First, however, he had to rest and heal.
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Breaking the Prince (Part 1)