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Soldier Boy	By : Robyn Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 6894 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don’t own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters found in this fic. They are the property of TOEI ANIMATION in Japan and FUNimation in the U.S.A. I make no money from this. I am making no money from this work of fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Disclaimer: I don’t own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters found in this fic. They are the property of TOEI ANIMATION in Japan and FUNimation in the U.S.A.

Title: Soldier Boy (abridged) – In place of DBGT

Chapter word count: 6749

Type: Yaoi (aka slash), mentions of het

Warnings: M/M (sex, oral, kissing), incest, language, domestic violence, tails, blood, violent sex. (It’s taken me over a year to write this. I’m certain I’m forgetting some warnings. I apologize.) OCs.

Genre: Drama

Pairings: Goku/OCs, Goku/Gohan, Gohan/Goku

Past pairings: Vegeta/Goku, Gohan/OC’s

History pairings: Vegeta/Bulma, Goku/Chichi, Gohan/Videl

Rating: NC-17, not suited for minors

Beta: rdk (Thank you!) Also, thank you, Iuvenes!

Chapter Summary: ~o0o~ The evaluation.

Chapter 4

The posturing and posing before the actual evaluation reminded Goku of Budokai on Earth in most respects. The loudest participants were the ones that didn’t realize how much they didn’t stand a chance. When would they learn that if there was an opponent who seemed weak, but had managed to survive in this saiyan-unfriendly universe for this long, then he or she had probably learned a few skills over the years? One of those possible lessons being how to hide one’s ki – he had learned that although you could tell certain people this over and over and over, they would never understand. There were times Goku blamed scouters on their unwillingness to learn to read ki. One of the many reasons he was glad he wasn’t stationed on this ship any more. There had been more than a few frustratingly irritating moments he’d been tempted to beat it into some of their skulls.

Physically the sparring arena was inverted to the design of the Budokai arena on Earth. During an evaluation like this the flooring retracted, opening up into seats set below, with only a bit of the flooring left that was stationary in the center – where the action should take place. Although it looked like open air, Goku knew there were already shielders set into some of the dozens of shielding units built strictly for the purpose of monitoring the evaluation area – protection for the crowd and a buffer to the ship. More shielders held the exterior of the entire arena to provide more protection for the ship. Although there’d been talk at one point of finding a suitable planet for such evaluations, it had never happened. Planets were stationary and therefore predictable – if saiyans were constantly going to one planet all the time they would be an easy target for ice-jin or any other species that wanted what remained of the saiyans destroyed in one easy shot.

Before he was ushered to his seat Goku was able to get a quick look at the opponent board. He was surprised Vegeta had the usher insist he take his old place. After their conversation earlier Goku had thought perhaps Tarble would be sitting at Vegeta’s left. He made the assumption that if Vegeta wanted him anywhere near then the prince wasn’t as upset as he had seemed after the meal. “They’re starting kind of low, aren’t they?” he whispered to Vegeta as he rejected the cape the usher tried to get him to wear – he’d never been a fan of such social devices. Why Vegeta insisted on wearing something so ridiculous was beyond him.

The thought never occurred to Goku that if Vegeta were acting as the jilted lover, then he would chose to make Kakarott sit next to him; in order to make the interloper jealous.

“I’ve left this evaluation’s management up to someone else, because I could be accused of foul play under the circumstances,” Vegeta said without looking at Kakarott. The prince wasn’t disappointed by the prospect Gohan would basically plow through the ten saiyans he was supposed to be evaluated against. It meant he would be able to step into the arena to face off with Gohan just that much sooner.

“Riiiiiight – so they insult him by giving him an opponent so low to start out with? Good call,” Goku pointed out with a heavy dash of sarcasm.

Vegeta smirked. “It’s not their fault he can keep his ki level so low when he’s not using it. They’re going with their best guess; I refused to give them any hints. It would ruin the setup you created if I spilled the beans how well I know this young upstart. If there’s any intentional insults going on then I guess I’m not the only one to think we should be together,” he stated as casually as possible. Having Kakarott sit next to him during this evaluation told the saiyans in attendance, and the ones watching via ship feed, that Vegeta would consider taking Kakarott back – provided Kakarott ditched the new fuck toy, of course.

Feeling as though he’d walked right into letting Vegeta make the unwanted implication Goku changed the subject. “Where’s Tarble?”

“He’s escorting Gohan and informing him of the rules,” Vegeta explained. “Originally he was supposed to be one of the opponents, but since we found out who this actually was, and he understands he doesn’t stand a chance, my brother took this other formality.”

“I bet Gohan’s glad to have someone he knows bringing him here,” Goku commented.

Vegeta frowned at Kakarott and spoke quietly so those closest to them wouldn’t overhear. “Your son shouldn’t be nervous about this evaluation. Being concerned about whether or not he has a friendly face in this is just another example of how you coddle him.”

Goku looked away from Vegeta as he shrugged and chose to say nothing.

A moment later they both sat straighter in their chairs, their attention drawn to their left. It was the end of the arena they knew Gohan would be escorted through. They had felt Tarble’s ki increase – and they weren’t the only ones. The few saiyans who had learned to sense ki as well as those who had their scouters switched on were able to alert everyone else in the arena, lucky enough to watch this event live, that things were about to begin. Goku couldn’t remember an evaluation that had generated this much interest – of course, it had been a long time since he’d been stationed on this ship.

Despite the ki increase their entrance wasn’t very dramatic – Gohan coming through the sliding doors a pace behind Tarble – at ground level. The younger prince veered off the dais after he’d led Gohan to his starting position, climbing down a half dozen steps and making his way to the seat at Vegeta’s right.

“You look good, Tarble,” Goku whispered as the younger prince passed.

“Thanks.” The beaming grin Tarble turned to him was so unlike a response his brother would give that Goku had a hard time believing they were siblings – it wasn’t the first time the thought had ran through his head, either.

Catcalls and a couple of encouraging chants drew Goku’s attention back to the arena in time to watch Gohan’s first challenger step up on the dais from the side opposite of where he sat. There was a moment when Gohan looked away from the saiyan coming onto the platform with him and Gohan’s gaze fell to where Goku was sitting. For lack of any other way to describe it, his son’s gaze felt hostile to Goku. Then Gohan’s attention was drawn back to his opponent and without much more fanfare the evaluation started.

“Let’s see what it is about you that gets Kakarotto’s undivided attention,” Gohan’s first challenger addressed the crowd at large, earning him a few snickers for his poor humor. The guy was roughly twice Gohan’s bulk and a few feet taller before he squatted down into a defensive pose and beckoned at him.

Gohan sneered at his adversary. “You’ll never get that lucky.” If Gohan’s memories of Radditz and Nappa were correct, then this guy made them seem down right gorgeous. His sneer morphed to a grin at his own thoughts and what he would now term as the Nappa scale.

Something about the look on Gohan’s face seemed out of place Vegeta. The angry attitude confirmed it, but he couldn’t tell if Gohan was acting or if this really was a new side to Kakarott’s oldest brat.

“Ah, don’t be that way, sweetheart.” The saiyan in the ring with Gohan had the audacity to pat his thigh with his tail. “Why don’t you come have a seat and we can talk it over.”

It wasn’t until then Gohan finally made a move, which was dropping his guard and walking across the platform as though he were actually thinking about it. “You aren’t that pretty,” he finally said when he was within arms reach, “And you talk too much,” he finished as the saiyan grabbed for him, ducking out of his opponent’s bear hug-reach and delivering a jaw crunching kick to the underside of his chin. It took the crowd a moment to react since no detectable ki – either by technique or technology – had been used to augment the strike: fast, silent and done.

It seemed like only a tiny twist of the hips before Gohan was practically doing the splits while standing – Tarble watched while Gohan held the pose as his opponent collided with the ki shield, slide down it as though it were a physical wall and collapsed – knocked out. When Kakarott’s son finally relaxed out of the pose to let his leg down it wasn’t to drop it quickly – it was a deliberately slow, controlled movement. Gohan gave one last sneer at the guy on the floorboards before he turned his back on him and walked to his starting point to wait for the first-aid personnel to clear the arena and his next opponent to take the floor. The attitude was more saiyan than Tarble had expected from the Earth raised half-breed. He found it exciting. Which, if his nose were anything to go by, so did other saiyans in the arena. He clicked his scouter on, switching through the database options until he found the pheromone reader.

Goku shifted in his seat, not realizing he was doing so out of response to the crowd’s reaction. He should have expected the first opponent to try to use psychological tactics. That hadn’t stopped him from becoming angry at the idea of the lug touching Gohan. Thankfully his son’s quick actions made the audacious offer a moot point.

Vegeta was relieved by what he could sense of Tarble’s response. He had begun to wonder if there was something wrong with his brother; now he knew not to worry any longer – the selection on the ship just hadn’t been anything Tarble was interested in. Kakarott’s response was weird, though. He hadn’t seen his ex-lover’s tail do that funny little dip and twist at the tip since – well, the last time they’d sparred, just before the last time they’d been in bed together. Only this time Kakarott’s attention was wholly focused on Gohan.

Gohan stepped to the side to let the stretcher-bearers by as his next opponent took the cleared floor. “Flexible little thing, aren’t you?” the guy asked with more admiration than seduction in the undercurrent of his words.

“And quick!” someone from the crowd shouted. There were several nervous twitters and sidelong glances in Kakarott’s direction as saiyans wondered how quick and flexible were used behind closed doors. They all had their own ideas, of course.

“Good of you to notice,” Gohan drawled, “Maybe you’ll have more staying power than the last guy.” There were several chuckles from the crowd as the saiyan being addressed blushed.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” the saiyan shrugged as he began to circle, looking for an opening in the evaluatee’s stance. It was the weirdest thing – the young man looked unguarded, but there were subtle shifts correcting for his change of position. Nettle thought maybe Brewort had the right idea – using his longer reach to advantage, but the guy had been over enthusiastic about his chances. Gohan’s second opponent frowned – words weren’t distracting this one, but maybe…Nettle grinned as he maneuvered to have the kid looking in Kakarott’s direction as he moved behind and out of sight – hopefully that instant would do.

Gohan wasn’t thinking about tactics – and if he were any frame of mind to admit it, he wasn’t thinking clearly at all. When his gaze trailed over the area Vegeta and his father were seated he stalled, thinking Goku was leaning too close to Vegeta. That crucial moment was all his opponent needed in order to grab him from behind.

Gohan’s opponent’s elation of success was quickly cancelled when Gohan brought his arms forward and broke the hold. Nettle only had a short time to muse about his mistake – not remembering it was possible for such a small person to have that much upper body strength – before he was struck with an elbow high and hard, knocking him out cold as it caught him in the temple.

Tarble’s scouter beeped quietly in his ear as the pheromone levels rose another three percent.   He hardly took notice, reacting on his instincts rather than what a machine was telling him.

Vegeta frowned at Kakarott’s brat as he walked towards the staging area rather than back to his starting point, as was protocol. The facial expression deepened to a scowl as Gohan spoke harshly. “Are you going to stop toying around?”

The unprepared deployment person floundered. “Sir? I’m not certain what you mean? This is the normal setting. One fighter at a time in increasing strength…”

Goku started to stand and was forcibly restrained by Vegeta’s hand on his thigh. “What do you think you’re doing, Kakarott?”

“I was…” Goku sighed and sat back down at Vegeta’s knowing look. “Right” Maybe Vegeta was right – he was coddling Gohan. Something about his son’s performance was starting to seem as though it weren’t an act. It was tough for Goku to figure out if he was reacting as a father, a lover or just a bystander. Neither a father nor a bystander would interfere at Gohan’s outburst while worrying at the possibility of embarrassing his partner. Would the lover, knowing there was undercurrent others weren’t privy to? Sometimes Goku found this dual role in their relationship difficult to sort out.

“Tch, If that’s the case, you’d better get a hundred more lined up then.” Gohan snarled and turned away to gain his starting position again. A quick glance in his father’s direction aggravated him more. Vegeta’s hand was on his father’s leg.

The next opponent out reminded him of the space pirate Turles – which in a way meant the saiyan reminded him vaguely of his father. However, there was size and brutishness to his looks his father didn’t have. He wondered, for a moment, if he and his father hadn’t already been involved if he would have found this saiyan attractive. Then he was angry with himself for questioning his emotions. His interest in his father may have very well been accidental in the beginning, but he hadn’t lasted this long in the relationship fighting his social upbringing every step of the way to think it could be anything but actual love on his part.

Goku hardly noticed as Vegeta’s hand continue to linger on his leg until the second time Gohan looked over at him. In a panicked reaction he picked Vegeta’s wrist up and forced his hand away.

Being made to feel as though he had some sort of plague offended Vegeta. Kakarott’s sudden need to remove his hand from his leg was bizarre and out of place. The prince looked up as Gohan’s next opponent roared and charged the small half-breed to see Gohan smiling satisfactorily in his direction, not paying any attention to the man coming at him. Vegeta’s eyes narrowed as he looked back at a relieved looking Kakarott while wondering what exactly was going on – because the acting was being carried too extreme as far as he was concerned.

Tarble should have found Gohan’s apparent lack of respect for his opponent offensive.   The big saiyan’s momentum continued to carry him even as Gohan dropped into a right split and took out the third class’s knees with his forearms. The demi quickly snapped back to his feet before the saiyan had settled to the floor, howling.

“Gohan!” Despite the appreciative reaction of the crowd, Kakarott’s shout held disappointment. Tarble looked over in surprise at Kakarott’s behavior – and then remembered whom he was thinking of. There wasn’t anyone other than his brother on this ship who would actually be a challenge to either of the Sons. Gohan’s behavior was more like that of a bully than a real fighter. Yet, it was very difficult for him to worry about the three saiyans Gohan had undoubtedly put in the healing tanks when part of the younger prince said that reckless fools got what they deserved.

“Sit down, Kakarott!” Vegeta ordered with growl as he stood, staring Gohan down – which wasn’t effective in the way he wished – the crowd responded enthusiastically to the fact their prince had chosen to directly challenge the newcomer, even if the confrontation was purely via posture. Since Gohan was only supposed to be acting Vegeta partially agreed with Kakarott’s disappointment – the brat had taken the strike too far – but he had a different way of dealing with it. Kakarott grudgingly obeyed his order to sit down, something Vegeta knew he did only because he wasn’t prepared to cause more of a scene than he already had.

There was a part of Gohan that felt a little bit bad he hadn’t pulled back on his double strike. Although, he hadn’t felt sorry about it until his father’s disappointed shout. The enthusiasm of the crowd said he’d done something right – and that excitement was building to disorienting proportions and every time the shield came down – in order to let an opponent out or a first aid crew in – he was more exposed to it.

The crowd’s excitement was to be balanced against the fact they didn’t actually know him. If they knew him, they wouldn’t be so quick to send these weaklings one a time. When his father actually sat down at Vegeta’s order Gohan was more than willing to jump to the conclusion his father continued to have feelings for the prince. The demi’s control slipped that much more. When it seemed Vegeta was actually trying to tell him to stand down with his gaze, he wondered by what right the prince thought he could tell him to do anything. He wasn’t the child Vegeta had kneed in the gut all those years on ago on Namek – he could hold his own now. And he was itching to give it a shot.

Goku had only seen his son on edge twice before – training in the Room of Spirit and Time and then during the Cell games. It had taken incredible amounts of goading for Gohan to go over during Cell’s Budokai. He’d suspected at the time of Buu that Gohan had learned to control and then use his rage, but now he realized his son hadn’t ever reached the edge before Buu absorbed him – Gohan had been ‘normal’ strength after the marathon meditation ‘training’ with Rou Dai Kaioshin. Gohan still held himself in check, but Goku didn’t think the next opponent sent out to ‘evaluate’ his son would survive the sort of treatment given to Buu. “Do something, Vegeta,” he hissed.

Vegeta frowned as he sat back in his chair and dropped his gaze from Gohan’s – for a person who was only ‘acting’ Kakarott’s brat was making the situation too intense. “Do something? I thought this was part of your plan,” Vegeta spoke quietly, realization dawning even as he spoke. Kakarott was concerned enough to ask him to step in, in some manner – which led him to the conclusion Gohan wasn’t acting. “What the hell is going on Kakarott?” he finally hissed even as he started typing unconventional instructions into the scheduling board on his chair’s arm console.

“I think he found out about our history,” Goku said quietly. Vegeta and he had a lot of ‘history’ – Goku hoped he didn’t have to spell out which part he was referring to.

“He did,” Tarble confirmed. “I didn’t think it was secret,” he finished distractedly. He couldn’t seem to take his gaze off Gohan and fuck if it wasn’t becoming more and more difficult to think straight. An evaluation hadn’t ever affected him like this before – it gave him a better understanding why these trials were so popular – he hadn’t really grasped the nuances until now. He didn’t know whom Gohan was trying to impress, but the thought it might be him was ramping Tarble up.

“Not so much secret,” Goku sighed. Part of him continued to be disappointed, part of him was excited at Gohan’s show of jealousy – his son had seemed so passive about their relationship at times. “Just that it’d never come up.”

“Why the fuck does he care this much?” Vegeta asked as three saiyans stepped up on the dais as he’d instructed. He remembered telling Kakarott after dinner that if Gohan hadn’t known then he was more naïve than Vegeta thought possible.

The fighting started before Goku had enough time to answer Vegeta’s question, and he was thankful for the distraction. Goku understood Gohan was drawing the fight out much longer than he had to – his son toyed around with them long enough for several of the audience members to get up and leave for various reasons; work shift starting, hungry, excited to the point they didn’t care to embarrass themselves in public or other reasons Goku couldn’t even begin to fathom. Even three against one it was easy to spot the fight was lopsided in Gohan’s favor. Goku was finding it difficult not to react with the crowd as well as to them. Although he couldn’t really blame them for finding his lover as exciting as he did, this understanding didn’t mean he didn’t want to get up and snarl at every single one of them that Gohan was his. Goku smirked – maybe some of the saiyans were leaving because they didn’t want to become a personal enemy of his.

The nagging feeling Kakarott wasn’t telling him something made Vegeta even more perceptive of the saiyan sitting at his side’s behavior. One thing about those gis his lover chose to wear – they didn’t hide the fact when a male was becoming sexually excited. Black material made it more difficult to see, but there was definitely a bulge showing under the loose material. Kakarott wasn’t looking at anything other than his son. The prince knew it wasn’t because of himself – his concentration had been divided between how to draw Kakarott’s attention to him or some nagging detail of this overly long and underpowered evaluation. Vegeta knew from personal experience Kakarott could get roused just because he was reacting to the crowd’s response, but he didn’t think Kakarott would become aroused if the object of the crowd were his own son.

Gohan realized he’d let this little warm up go on for too long when one of his three opponents became Super Saiyan. The ki shield surrounding the fight taking place glowed briefly from the unexpected influx and then became as clear as air a moment later once the system – or rather the people connected to it – compensated. He turned his focus to putting the blond opponent down first and quickly incapacitated the other two after.

Kale thought for certain, when Char became super saiyan, Kakarott’s little playmate was done. Sure, he’d taken out Escar, Brewort and Nettle with freakish ease, but a super saiyan – his scouter had only beeped to indicate Char was powering up. There was no such power signature from Gohan before Char was knocked up against the ki shield and then laying out cold on the evaluation floor. Bale and Crutter landing on top of him moments later was stunning to say the least. Kale decided the reason they reminded him of a happy threesome pile was because the pheromone levels in the arena were almost toxic and messing with his head. Then the ki shield came down and the first aid crew gathered them up and hauled them away.

Vegeta stood as the shielding came down and Gohan’s challenging gaze once again sited directly on him. “Fine.” It was sooner than what he had designed, but since Vegeta had already planned on facing off against Gohan anyway, he thought he might as well do so now.

“Vegeta? What are you doing?” Goku questioned Vegeta’s sudden movement with concern.

“He wants to make this about me, and you wanted me to do ‘something’,” Vegeta responded while unclipping his cape, “Then I’ll just settle it.”

“That’s not…” Goku’s response and reaction were muffled as Vegeta’s cape landed over the top of him. By the time he’d managed to get untangled from the stupid piece of material the ki shield had already been raised again – Vegeta facing off against Gohan. “Why did he have to chose now to do something I wanted him to do?” he asked no one in particular.

Tarble shrugged and tried to act as though he didn’t have concerns about his brother’s direct involvement. “I don’t know, Kakarott.”

“I can’t let them do this,” Goku said as he stood. He blinked in astonishment as Tarble moved to impede him.

“You can’t interfere either,” Tarble insisted.

“This is stupid!” Goku objected.

“You cut in right now and you’ll embarrass one or both of them.” Tarble couldn’t disagree with Kakarott about the stupid statement. He had no idea what his brother was doing – half the crowd probably expected Vegeta to kill Gohan – which wouldn’t happen, and when it didn’t happen Vegeta would lose face. It was a stupid move on his brother’s part to have been baited so easily by someone who was acting. The only possible way for Vegeta to save face if he weren’t going to kill Gohan was if he humiliated him – and Tarble didn’t think the demi would make that easy – let alone allow it.

The younger prince didn’t return to his seat until it seemed he’d gotten through to his brother’s lover and Kakarott sat down – not that Tarble thought he could stop Kakarott – he just wanted to get the more powerful saiyan to think rather than react. If the saiyan really wanted to get in the middle of the two, then Kakarott could use his teleportation technique – instant transmission.

Gohan was looking towards the section the rest of the evaluation testers had come from when he sensed by Vegeta’s ki the prince was moving and then watched as the ki shield glowed as someone realized an increase in power would be necessary as the prince joined him in the arena. Gohan was certain they hadn’t added enough power to the shield to compensate for what was coming.

“I don’t know what your issue is, but we’re going to settle it now,” Vegeta announced.

The fact Vegeta was trying to order him around amused Gohan, but he couldn’t think of a better time to settle this – even if the prince had no idea what they were settling. Gohan could tell by his father’s tense pose that Goku didn’t expect things to go well, but so far his lover hadn’t tried to intervene – fine by him. “May I recommend we stop fooling around?” Gohan suggested as he began to increase his power level. “Give the crowd what they really want.” He smirked at Vegeta.

Unconsciously Vegeta answered the challenge with smirk of his own. “If that’s how you want it.” He ascended to super saiyan, preparing to go to the second stage when Gohan’s matching power level stopped rising. “Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got.”

“Don’t worry,” Gohan assured Vegeta as he hooked a thumb over his shoulder indicating the crowd, “I’m just giving them a measure of what they want. We’ll leave the stuff they aren’t capable of handling for later.”

With the first exchange Gohan was certain they’d lost most of the crowd who were watching live. The small space the ki shield provided was less than satisfactory when it came to firing ki blasts of the magnitude either of them were capable of – they neither had the space nor time to set up one of their signature attacks; not to mention a blast that big in such a confined space would probably harm the author as well as the designated target. Gohan consoled himself with the knowledge that at least Vegeta couldn’t go far. The fight became more physical – strike, dodge, block, repeat. A couple of small ki blasts flung in as potshots to see if they could throw the other off their guard. Both opponents’ clothing suffered more than the actual wearer.

Tarble could feel the uncertainty rolling off the crowd when his brother’s physical appearance changed as he became super saiyan, but Gohan’s did not. There were several groups gathering around those who wore scouters as it seemed everyone wanted confirmation – the prince’s challenger was keeping up without the typical hair and eye color changes associated with the first stage of the Legendary state.

Kale was the center of one of the many clusters Tarble was observing. He frowned as his neighbors crowded in close before he answered someone’s annoying question. “Yeah – he’s past the battle power required to become super saiyan.”

“But – why isn’t he going blond?” There were moments when either opponent would flash into view briefly, the prince with the typical color changes associated with ascension, but the challenger still dark in contrast.

Kale didn’t know this saiyan well at all – certainly not well enough for how close he was getting and how much he stank. “How the fuck should I know?” There were lots of saiyans with unexpected abilities – circumstances had often forced individuals to learn astounding things in order to survive. He wrinkled his nose in distaste as the gathering crowd overwhelmed his sense of smell.

“Is his power rising? I think the challenger’s power is still rising.” Another of the group asked.

“Yeah” Kale stated automatically. The data kept evolving. “So is the prince’s,” he stated before someone felt the need to ask. Even if he couldn’t keep up with the physical movement of the two fighters the scouter kept spitting out the data. It was true – at this rate the prince would be at the threshold of stage two in less than a minute. Only problem was…

Goku could sense that Gohan was going to pass the level usually associated with super saiyan level two. Not that he was surprised – on good days his son was able to press into the reaches of what would normally be considered level three. “The shielding is not going to hold if they both cross over level two,” he growled at Tarble.

Tarble nodded and tapped a code into console on his brother’s chair. “Let’s just hope the reinforcements get in shield units on time.”

“Crap,” Kale shot up from his seat only to be pressed down by his shoulders.

“Where you think you’re going?” one of the unwanted bodies around him growled.

“Prince Tarble just put the call in for more shielders, ASAP!” Kale stood as the hand moved off his shoulder. “Any shielders around?” he shouted. “You’re needed in the arena shield units immediately!” Several other people wearing scouters were doing the same thing Kale was.

Goku could see people making their way reluctantly towards what he knew the area the shielding units were. They weren’t moving fast enough, torn by their need to watch rather than protect. “MOVE YOUR ASSES!” he shouted as he stood.

It was all about timing. Gohan resisted the urge to smirk as he continued to lure Vegeta right where he wanted him. Spin, weave, twist, swing, push, loop and pull.

Vegeta knew at the rate they were going he’d have to press through the threshold of level one into two to keep even with Gohan. By the time he figured out the instant of transition was going to give Gohan the advantage it was already too late.

Gohan didn’t bother to block the strike towards his chest as he pulled the ki web he’d been weaving around Vegeta’s body tight, and slammed the prince face down into the arena floor as Vegeta became immobile for just that one instant.

Everyone’s attention went immediately to the arena as fighters’ movements stilled long enough for them to be visible again. In one frozen instant everyone could see the challenger had the prince pinned to the floor. Those that were wise realized they should brace themselves – this was only the calm before the storm.

If he was going to be pinned down for the instant it took to ascend to the next level, then Vegeta was going to use it to his advantage. He took the calculated risk the arena wouldn’t be torn apart if he used the moment to press into level three.

The arena rocked as the insufficient shielding around the fighters came down because of the power surge of the prince skipping level two and moving directly into level three.

Gohan’s gloating was cut short as his miscalculation took him by surprise. The ki-web had been strong enough for level two – not level three. Of course, he hadn’t realized Vegeta could bypass levels – or rather speed so quickly through one that it wasn’t even sensed. Now Vegeta had him hooked by the arms from behind. “Get the fuck off me,” he hissed. It may be too late, but he increased his power, trying to hold just below Vegeta’s level – he was going to have to use the last of what he could muster all at once to break Vegeta’s hold on him.

With Kakarott’s gaze set upon them Vegeta saw his moment to get his point across. “If the father won’t return to my side,” his eyes never left Kakarott’s as he whispered these words in Gohan’s ear, “I’ll gladly have the son in his stead.”

Gohan froze as Vegeta’s words and lips settled against his ear. “What?”

Vegeta took advantage of Gohan’s stillness to settle fully against his backside, moving just enough to insinuate exactly what he meant. He couldn’t have asked for a better situation to press his plan into play, that little idea he’d hidden from Kakarott at dinner having found its outlet. The fact Gohan’s gi was almost non-existent from the fight was an unexpected bonus. “Come now – where exactly does your animosity stem from? Even if your father did return, I would not set you aside. I rather enjoy the idea of having you both.”

Tarble gripped the arms of his chair, crushing them, reacting to what his brother was mimicking. Vegeta had made an offer before he could even gain Gohan’s attention. It wasn’t fair – his brother already had Kakarott. Having both Sons was just plain greedy – and there was no doubt in Tarble’s mind his brother could talk them into it.

No matter his concern about what Gohan thought of his and Vegeta’s past relationship – and Goku was going to make sure Gohan understood the relationship was history the first chance he had to explain – what Vegeta was indicating by his actions set Goku off. Gohan was his – Vegeta had no rights to put his hands – and other things – all over him.

Gohan couldn’t believe Vegeta’s audacity. “You have nothing I want worth that bargain,” he growled just before he powered up the last bit of ki he’d withheld and set off a shockwave – enough to break Vegeta’s hold just as he’d planned.

With Gohan’s last power increase being so near, neither of them felt Kakarott ascend, and didn’t notice until he was standing between them. “Enough.”

“Get out of the way, Kakarott,” Vegeta hissed. Gohan had just bested him in power and anyone with a scouter could see that. At the moment the prince had yet to realize his ascension to stage three had taken out most scouters in the room and Gohan’s last little blast had taken out any still functioning recording equipment; two-thirds of the live observers were still coming out of a daze from the triple shockwaves – the other third still knocked out and some of those were going to need medical attention.

Those who had prepared for the first wave from Vegeta hadn’t been expecting the second from Gohan or third from Kakarott. Bulma’s quadruple-quadruple precautions and additions to the arena had been aided from the initial crisis by most of the saiyans building their own protective barriers. Those were the only reasons the structure was still fairly sound. New and improved arenas – as well as stern verbal lashings – arrived every time Vegeta sent one back broken.

Quick observation showed most of the damage sustained was superficial, such as electrical connections showering sparks at random moments. Some of the emergency warnings were still in working order – red bullet lights turning rather uselessly, flashing their quaint warning. Those hadn’t come down from their hidey-holes until after the excitement was over, though. The warning sirens had never gone off.

Goku ignored Vegeta – he knew there was no reasoning with the prince at the moment. “Gohan, please, stand down,” he said quietly, hoping no one in the crowd heard his words.

Gohan’s gaze flickered to his father before settling back on Vegeta – who was smirking at him now. He spat at the floor and shook his head, giving only a grunt to reinforce his disagreement with Goku’s request. It pissed him off his father would require him to stand down and not Vegeta. Even now his father was trying to save face for Vegeta – he wasn’t going to make that easy.

“Gohan…” Goku’s second attempt to reason with his son was angrily interrupted.

“NO!” The reasoning tone in his father’s voice set Gohan’s teeth on edge – he had every right to be angry right now. The problem was, he knew if he let Goku talk long enough he would be able to talk him down – it made Gohan feel like more of a sucker.

“Get out of the way, Kakarott. I know how to handle the boy.” Vegeta wasn’t certain what was going on between Kakarott and his offspring, but that ‘coddling’ quality he’d warned Kakarott against was certainly still there. If Kakarott wanted Gohan to ‘stand down’ he should have just knocked the brat on his ass and been done with it.

“Fuck you, Vegeta. You’ve done enough handling as it is.” The memory of Vegeta grinding against Gohan nearly overrode Goku’s common sense. Vegeta had no idea how narrow a path he tread at the moment. There was only a small sliver of understanding that if he took over the fight now, Gohan would be pissed at him for – well, weeks at least. Right now he was hoping they could settle their differences in a matter of days.

Kale surmised if there were going to be three beings capable of that much power on one spaceship it was probably practical of them to have learned to hash out their differences with talking. Didn’t mean his blood didn’t boil at the thought of all three of them having at it, but self-preservation said he wouldn’t be able to handle it at this close a range for long – and the ship probably even less. Maybe they’d talk themselves into finding a planet somewhere…then again, Kale wasn’t certain a even a planet would be able to handle the sort of fight this trio of saiyans would bring.

There. His father’s attention was turned away, dragging Vegeta’s along with it just long enough for Gohan to make his move.

Vegeta’s attention snapped back to where it should have stayed as he sensed Gohan’s movement – soon enough to meet the attack with an offensive move of his own. He was not expecting Kakarott to move as fast as he did though – and damn if that elbow of Kakarott’s didn’t hurt like hell when he collided with it moving at those speeds. Vegeta couldn’t help but feel a little bit of satisfaction as he watched Gohan collide with the floor, deflected in the opposite direction – by what sort of block or strike he hadn’t seen – just before he made his own connection with the solid, abused and cracking surface.

“I SAID ENOUGH!” If they insisted on making him humiliate them in order to get them to pull their heads out of their asses, Goku was going to do it. “GOHAN! STAND DOWN!” his son had recovered faster than he’d calculated. He could feel rebellion in everything Gohan did. “Gohan, please. You’ve already proven you’re in the top three…”

“You think that is what this is about?” Gohan’s anger transmuted to gut wrenching pain at the thought. If Goku believed this was only about power…gods – how could he have been so thick? He turned away from the arena and headed towards the exit. He needed to get out of there, get his things and get off the ship. His father could find his own way back to the Gandlan or stay on Vengeance for all he cared. Gohan hoped by the time Goku made a decision he would be stationed on another ship.

Kale groaned and held his head as he levered himself up with the aid of someone’s hip. He thanked his lucky stars the scouter shreds hadn’t punctured his eye, but was very disappointed to see the challenger leaving, but not knowing the turn of events that made it so.

Tarble was torn for a moment until he figured out that whatever issues needed to be resolved between Kakarott and Vegeta he wouldn’t be able to help – those two were on their own. Watching Gohan leave alone…he could do something about that. The only reason he could have these thoughts instead of crawling out of the rubble was because he’d anticipated Kakarott’s ascension.

“Tarble, stop.” Goku’s tone made it clear it was a request and not an order. “He needs time alone.”

“He’s not going to find it here,” Tarble debated.

Goku nodded. “Yes, but…he won’t accept someone trying to help him right now.”

“pft,” Vegeta snarled in disgust. “He needs to get over it.” The prince was disappointed Gohan had left as Kakarott had ordered. As far as he knew it was only their clothes that were in shreds – he didn’t think either of them had managed to draw first blood.

Goku gave a disapproving look over his shoulder at Vegeta before he turned his attention back to Tarble. “Perhaps you can show me what room Gohan is staying in?”

Although Kakarott’s instruction that Gohan wouldn’t want help, but now wanted to go find his room were contradictory, Tarble didn’t hesitate. “Sure, Kakarott.”

Vegeta didn’t care for the bitter taste that rose to his mouth as he watched Kakarott walk away with his brother.

~o0o~
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Soldier Boy