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Barracks	By : chayron Category: Dragon Ball Z > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 16996 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.

Chapter List
- 1-Barracks
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 35-Part 35
- 36-Part 36
- 37-Part 37
- 38-Part 38
- 39-Part 39
- 40-Part 40
- 41-Part 41
- 42-Part 42
- 43-Part 43
- 44-Part 44
- 45-Part 45
- 46-Part 46
- 47-Part 47
- 48-Part 48
- 49-Part 49
- 50-Part 50
- 51-Part 51
- 52-Part 52
- 53-Part 53
- 54-Part 54
- 55-Part 55
- 56-Part 56
- 57-Part 57
- 58-Part 58
- 59-Part 59
- 60-Part 60
- 61-Part 61
- 62-Part 62
- 63-Part 63
- 64-Part 64
- 65-Part 65
- 66-Part 66
- 67-Part 67
- 68-Part 68
- 69-Part 69
- 70-Part 70
- 71-Part 71
- 72-Part 72
- 73-Part 73
- 74-Part 74
- 75-Part 75
- 76-Part 76
- 77-Part 77
- 78-Part 78
- 79-Part 79
- 80-Part 80
- 65
- 66
- 67
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
A/N 1: The Buster Sword and the Masamune are borrowed from Final Fantasy VII’s world. They belong to their respective owners, and I’m not making any money from these swords either.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.
A/N 2:
Head of Royal Division - Harada Lorimara
Deputy Commander - Ealdira Fidan
Captain - Amren Komira

Barracks
by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by werewolfflutist
Part 66
“So, are you going to leave?” Trunks Vegeta asked once Goten had finished telling him of his and Prince Vegeta’s recent exchanges.
“Well, of course I’m going to leave!” Goten exclaimed. “Do you really want him to kill me?”
“Let me talk to him first.”
Goten shook his head. “Stop this nonsense. The problem is not him. It’s you. Your father is right – I am not supposed to be here! What do you think you’ll achieve by keeping me here?”
“A problem, huh?”
“Well, you are! And you fucking know it!”
The prince sought out the other man’s eyes, but Goten wouldn’t meet his. Despite his vehement statements, the look on the third-class’s face was awkwardly shy. The prince tugged the bottle closer to himself and started filling the glasses. The sharp smell of alcohol hit Goten’s nostrils again.
“Okay, here’s a simple question for you,” the prince said. “If both of us, me and Reyn, were drowning in a river, which one of us would you save?”
“Oh gods,” Goten said, rolling his eyes in disbelief. “Have you gone completely mad?”
“I just might have,” the prince said, handing a glass to him. “But really, think about it.”
The third-class sighed. “You, of course,” he said without any hesitation. He took the proffered glass. “You’re the Saiyan Prince. Your life comes above everything.”
The other man shook his head impatiently. “That’s cheating. And if I weren’t a prince?”
“But you are,” Goten said firmly, ending the discussion. “Besides, if you weren’t, I’d punch you for asking immoral questions like these.” He eyed the liquor in his glass. “I’m not sure it’s safe to drink.”
“What do you mean?”
“Remember the dream I told you about? Where I was poisoned?”
The prince rolled his eyes. “Don’t be stupid,” he said and took a large gulp from his glass. “That’s not his style. He’d rather just…”
“…send someone in with ki-cuffs while I’m asleep?”
“Yeah, that’s closer to what he prefers.”
“I absolutely hate you,” Goten spat angrily. “You knew how dangerous it was and you still brought me here!”
The prince snorted. “You aren’t so fragile.”
Goten thought about punching him. “Gohan wasn’t either! And he’s fucking dead!”
“Your brother? What’s he got to do with this?”
Goten glared at him. “Quite a lot, in fact. I finally found out what really happened to him.”
“Oh, you did? How?”
Goten debated with himself for a few seconds, then decided that it was only fair that he should tell the prince what he had discovered. They had discussed this in the past, they had speculated. Mostly it had been Goten who had speculated, but still, this had to have closure.
“Just recently,” Goten said. “I met Gohan’s ex, and he told me everything.”
The prince gave him a surprised look. “The universe really is small.”
“You’ve got no idea,” Goten laughed. “The ex is an elite, a shaii, just like you. To cut a long story short, other elites didn’t like them together, so they killed Gohan.”
Uncertain whether this was a lie or the truth, the prince stared at Goten. Yet, the third-class didn’t add anything else to his story and neither did he deny it. Goten was looking back at him, his eyes hard, but at the same time, sad and regretful.
“Ironic, isn’t it?” Goten said when the prince stayed quiet. “And I didn’t even have the guts to hate the man. All I could think about at that time was you and how stupidly familiar it all was. It was a clear warning and, yet, here I am.” He lifted the glass to finish the foul-smelling liquor.
“I wish you’d told me sooner.”
Goten swallowed the liquor. “Why? Having second thoughts now?”
“I’ve always had second thoughts, you asshole!” the prince spat, angered by Goten’s dismissive tone. “I know it’s awful what I’ve been doing to you. I know. I’m just…”
“…desperate, huh?” Goten finished for him. He reached for the bottle. “It’s not like I don’t understand. It’s the same for me.” He blushed lightly, thought about being quiet, then decided that he could let himself slip one last time. “You wouldn’t believe how thrilled I was with all the little things you did,” he admitted in a mutter, blushing even more. “Like a freaking idiot. But now it’s time to put a stop to it.”
“You’re being overly dramatic. In a few weeks’ time, none of this will matter. Ice-jins will probably kill every one of us.”
Goten poured himself one more and refilled the prince’s glass. He lowered the empty bottle onto the floor and pushed it under the table. Then he realized the glass table was see-through and huffed at himself.
“Even if they kill us, it does matter,” Goten protested. “All the more, actually. It has to be done properly. So that neither of us has any regrets.”
The prince snorted. That was exactly what Reyn had said, and it annoyed him. “No regrets, you say? How about…?” But he didn’t finish the sentence, closing his mouth and, instead, cursing softly. “Fine.”
Goten saluted him with the glass and downed its contents. He shivered at the taste, but it was exactly what he needed at the moment. Maybe he should go through the rest of the prince’s alcohol supplies.
“How about one last kiss?”
“I can’t do that to him, you know that,” Goten said, motioning at the door with his hand. Gods only knew what Reyn had to be thinking, waiting for him in the corridor. Goten’s attention returned to the prince. “But we made a promise back then. About a swordfight.”
The prince nodded. “Yes, I remember. I’ll hold you to that.”
Goten chuckled. He should probably stop thinking about how to get more alcohol, then. He set down his empty glass, burping loudly. He gave a somewhat apologetic look to the prince, who rolled his eyes at him.
“I doubt I’ll be allowed to leave so easily,” Goten mused. The prince was about to protest, but the third-class raised his hand to keep the other man quiet. He was suddenly overtaken by the feeling that he was going to utter his last request. He shook his head and straightened. “Whatever happens to me, happens. But it’s my fault that Reyn got dragged into all this. If it’s possible… Please.”
The prince leaned back into the couch. “I’ll see what I can do,” he muttered. The prince, however, knew how pretentious he sounded. Worse than pathetic. If he could do anything for Goten, he would do it. He would have already done it.
ooOoOoOoo
Goten and Reyn stood at attention, trying not to follow Harada with their eyes. They were in the headquarters with five other royal guards besides the Head of Royal Division. There was even Ealdira Fidan, sitting at one of the computers, looking bored out of his mind.
“So how did it happen that two of them died?” Harada asked.
“I think it’s more of a question of how we didn’t die, sir,” Goten told him. He held Harada’s eyes calmly, and the older man was first to look away.
“Yes, that too,” Harada agreed. “So how?”
“Well, we tried our best to take them alive, sir. It didn’t work out the way we had planned.”
“Well, fucking whoops,” Ealdira muttered, hardly audibly.
For a few seconds, everyone’s faces were hard like stones, then Amren sniggered. Harada joined in a moment later, trying to stifle his laughter.
“Are you fucking listening into our scouters?” Goten demanded.
“No, we would never,” Ealdira gasped. “Well, of course we are!” he snorted. “What do you think you…?”
“Ealdira,” Harada said, gently patting the Deputy Commander’s shoulder. Harada was still chuckling. “Can you leave us for a moment? Go have dinner – you’ve surely earned it today.”
Ealdira gave him a none-too-friendly look but rose out of his chair without comment. Harada looked around the room. “The rest of you as well. Leave.” He stared at Reyn, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “You included.”
“I refuse, sir.”
Ealdira turned his head to Goten, who shrugged.
“Very well,” Harada said.
“Sir, how is Kailan doing?” Goten asked when only the three of them remained.
“Nothing too bad. A broken jaw and two ribs. Forget about him, he’ll be as good as new in about a week.”
Harada leaned against the desk behind him, casting off all traces of amusement. “Prince Vegeta has issued a clearance for you to leave at any time,” he said. “You’re released from your duty.” He dug in his pocket and retrieved a slip of paper, holding it out for Goten. “Try this number. This is where your father was seen last.”
“Thank you, sir,” Goten said, taking the slip. He raised his eyes to look at Harada’s face and noticed the other man trying to avoid his gaze.
“I can assign you to a location of your choice,” Harada said. He turned away, opening a drawer and pulling out two blank forms for transfer. “Where to?”
Goten turned to Reyn. Was there even a question? “To Starcut, sir,” he said.
“KIF 693, sir, codename Starcut 147,” Reyn clarified when the division head gave Goten a blank look.
Harada nodded. “Ah, I see.” He sat down and started filling out the forms. “You should leave immediately,” he warned softly. “We’ve been receiving contradictory orders concerning you.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed, sir. We are leaving tonight,” Goten said. He noticed Reyn’s disapproving look; he shouldn’t have told anyone about this.
“Good. This conversation never happened.”
“Yes, sir.”
ooOoOoOoo
When Goten used to imagine about how he would spar with the prince again, he was always overtaken by excitement. He had dreamed of this opportunity. Now, when they stood face to face, their swords drawn, it seemed more like fulfilling his duty than his dream. It felt empty and sad and, frankly, he didn’t want to do it.
There were no spectators except for Reyn. They had the whole training hall to themselves. Right after the spar, they were going to pack the little belongings they had and leave.
Uncertain, Goten weighed the heavy sword in his hands. The weight was welcome, the shape well-known. A familiar scene from about eight months ago arose from his memory. Back then, the prince had wielded the Masamune, while he had fought with the Buster Sword. Today, they had agreed on simpler swords: they were still quite massive, with wide double-edged blades and long hilts that could be held with both hands, allowing for more powerful blows if needed.
Gods, had it really happened eight months ago? Seemed like yesterday.
“Don’t be a party-pooper,” the prince said with a derisive snort when he noticed Goten’s melancholic mood.
The younger male sighed and whipped the sword around a few times to get his blood and instincts flowing. The heavy weight of the sword felt comforting. “I’d rather get drunk, you know,” he muttered.
The prince rolled his eyes. “You’ll have your chance after I beat your sorry ass.”
“Or I yours,” Goten told him. “Last time you won just because my tail hurt like a bitch.”
“It didn’t.”
“It did, and that’s the only reason you won.”
“Excuses… I didn’t even fight you seriously to begin with.”
Goten’s eyebrows rose at the lavender-haired man. “You sure you aren’t talking shit? Because I remember chasing you around the base while your sword was lying on the ground.”
“You sure are a sore loser.”
“Back at y-”
“Oh, for fuck’s sakes!” Reyn spat at Goten. “Shut up and fight him! We haven’t got all day!”
The prince chuckled. “At least one of you has brains.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Goten grunted out, his stance suddenly changing, the air around him starting to ripple with charged ki. The blade started to glow light blue. “Up to twenty thousand,” he said, his eyes narrowing at his lavender-haired target several meters away.
Reyn nearly facepalmed. “That’s fifty,” he said.
“Is he serious?” the prince wondered, disbelieving.
Reyn grunted, embarrassed for both of them. “Just power up to fifty,” he muttered without looking at the prince. “Will be easier than getting him to power down.”
The prince laughed. “Seems so.”
Goten rushed at the prince, his sword rising into the air, gaining momentum. The prince jumped away, avoiding him, and landed a few meters away. Goten didn’t lag behind even for a blink, flash-stepping towards him, forcing the prince to defend himself. Their swords clashed against each other, separated, then joined again. Goten fell back, and this time, the prince charged at him.
Instead of blocking the prince’s blow with his sword, Goten simply jumped to his right to avoid it. His blade whooshing upward again, the prince went after him. He slashed at Goten, and the third-class ducked, sliding sideways, nearly parallel to the floor. The back of his left foot suddenly shot up and collided with the prince’s sword hand. Uncontrollably, the prince’s blade whooshed upwards, the man nearly letting go of his sword at the pain shooting up his wrist.
The prince tried to kick at his side, but Goten blocked the boot with the cross guard of his sword. He shoved, and the prince was thrown backwards, onto the ground. It was tricky to maneuver the blade while he was rolling over the floor, trying to get back onto his feet as fast as possible. The prince managed it, avoiding cutting himself in the process. He shook his hand, trying to return feeling in his numb wrist. Then Goten was on him again, and their swords clashed, sparks of blue-colored ki flying out from the blades. The third-class pushed again, and prince wasn’t able to hold his ground, instead jumping into the air. His balance disturbed, Goten stumbled forward, nearly face-planting onto the floor. In a blink, though, he was airborne as well.
The prince blocked Goten’s blade and diverted it aside. Goten gasped and whooshed backwards when the prince’s foot caught him in his midsection. Air left his lungs in a rush, and he let out a series of involuntary coughs while trying to regain his breathing. The third-class managed to turn over in the air and land on his feet, his sword swinging in front of him, already prepared to block any incoming attack.
The other man wasn’t coming after him, though. He was still floating in the air. There was a look of pure enjoyment on his face. He was smirking lightly. Goten snorted. He couldn’t help but return the same grin. He lunged at the prince. They exchanged a series of blows and attacks, each successfully blocked and avoided, then Goten landed back onto the floor, the prince bearing down at him from the air.
Goten’s sword was already up, parrying the attack. The sheer strength of the blow, though, sent him skidding backwards. He caught himself midair, starting to float instead. The prince was right in front of him again, their blades meeting. The third-class turned sideways, pushing forward, the blades screeching against each other. He was suddenly free of the deadlock, his foot kicking out at the prince’s unprotected side. The prince’s back connected with the wall behind him, the impact sending a shockwave throughout the entire training hall. He was just in time to veer out of Goten’s way, the third-class’s blade narrowly missing his neck.
Goten tugged at his sword to pull it out of the wall, his attention not straying even for a moment from the prince. The other man had already pushed himself off the wall and was coming at him, his blade raised. Goten was ready for him, jerking his sword from the wall just in time to block the prince’s blow. For a few seconds, they struggled against each other, then simultaneously withdrew, jumping away from each other.
In a few seconds, their blades clashed again. Goten whisked backwards and jumped into the air, somersaulting and flash-stepping at the same time. He appeared behind the prince’s back just as intended, but the older man was ready, his whole body leaning forward, transferring weight, while his left foot shot in the opposite direction, at Goten.
The high kick caught Goten under his chin and snapped his head backwards. He staggered, dazed, trying to keep his balance. His sword went sideways, leaving him unprotected and vulnerable to further attacks. Turning around, the prince thrust his sword at him, but Goten let himself fall to the ground. The blade whooshed above his head, parallel to the floor. The third-class lashed out with his own sword, but he was facing away and was too disoriented, and his blade whizzed close to the prince’s side without making contact.
Diverting the dangerous blade with his own, the prince kicked at the third-class’s wrist. With a yelp, Goten let go of his sword. In an instant, though, his foot shot out to sweep the prince’s left leg from under him.
“Fuck,” the prince spat, falling. His back slammed against the floor. Through the thundering pulse in his ears, he caught the sound of a light scrape of metal and knew that Goten had already retrieved his sword. Keeping his blade apart from his body, the prince rolled sideways, away from the third-class. The floor splintered while Goten kept hacking at it with his sword, trying to hit the prince. A cloud of dust rose into the air, and chunks of concrete scattered across the floor.
Panting, Goten stared at the prince, who had managed to get to his feet. The third-class could hardly resist the urge to start throwing ki-blasts at the evasive man. The same fierce discontent was burning in the prince’s eyes. They glared at each other for several seconds then, simultaneously, burst out laughing.
The prince lowered his sword and brushed over his forehead to wipe off the sweat. He started powering down. “You’ve gotten better,” he said, still chuckling.
“So have you,” Goten countered, grinning. He lowered his sword as well; it was over. He was out of breath and inhaled deeply a few times to return his breathing to normal. The adrenaline rush was already leaving the third-class’s body when he powered down. The blue glow around the sword vanished. Goten was glad that they had kept their promise – the fight had been awesome. Incredibly awesome, and the third-class couldn’t help the giddiness that he was currently feeling.
“Can he use a sword?” the prince asked when he and Goten were walking back to where they had left their armor.
Goten threw a quick glance at Reyn. He chuckled at the look of astonishment that was still frozen on the flight officer’s face. “No, he can’t.”
“You could teach him,” the prince suggested.
“Nah, he’s more interested in watching.”
The prince sighed softly at the fact that they would never spar again. That was such a pity. Compared to their unavoidably approaching death, though, it wasn’t a big loss.
They redressed in their armor, Goten putting his on for the last time. He was going to leave it in his room since walking around with the royal guard’s armor was out of the question. Reyn had already taken his off and was only in his uniform.
“So, back to Starcut?” the prince said softly when they were done putting on their armor. He picked up Goten’s sword, which the third-class had leaned against the wall.
Goten nodded.
The prince shook his head. “And to think, you were so livid when you were first assigned there.”
“Times change,” Goten said.
The prince patted him on his shoulder. “Some things don’t. Take care, Goten.”
“You too,” Goten said softly, his eyes following the prince’s back until it disappeared behind the door.
It was over. Yet, the only thing he was able to feel was regret. The relief that he had expected was absent. There was no sense of righteousness either. Just pure, bitter regret.
Quietly, he and Reyn left the training hall. On their way to their room, they received a few curious looks, but no one stopped them. It seemed that the rumors of them leaving had already spread, but no one really cared to find out why they were leaving, or to ask about their new destination. Undisturbed, the third-classes reached their room. Goten took his armor off and went to have a quick shower.
When Goten left the bathroom, Reyn was mostly done with packing; they still had a ton of canned goods, potatoes, and two withered cabbages. Goten dressed in his old uniform, folded the latest one and threw it onto the bed, on top of the armor to leave it behind as well. He leaned down to pick up his boots, straightened, then suddenly, his vision went completely white.
Reyn started at a loud thud. He turned around to see Goten lying on the floor, face down. Dropping his suitcase, he rushed to the other third-class.
“Goten? Hey, what’s wrong?”
The younger male was unconscious, his breathing irregular, punctuated by short, whistling intakes of air. Reyn lifted Goten off the floor, kicking the pile of armor and uniforms off the bed to lay him there. He gave the room a frantic look and spotted the scouters on the desk. He rushed to pick one up, but, after failing to reach the infirmary, realized that the scouters had already been disconnected. He wasn’t able to contact anyone. His personal scouter was just as useless, since the only help he would be able to get was from the capital, and that would take too long.
Reyn grabbed Goten and rushed out of the door. In a few minutes, he was already in the infirmary. The doctors turned to him simultaneously. At the sight of an unconscious man, they stood up and rushed to Reyn.
“There’s something wrong with him,” Reyn said at once, laying the other third-class on the nearest bed. “He blacked out a few minutes ago.”
Ofura shook his head. “No, put him there on the bed with the scanner,” he said, pointing.
Reyn moved Goten to the other bed. Logan turned on the scanner and held it above Goten.
“What happened to him?”
“He fainted suddenly,” Reyn repeated.
“Any injuries? What has he been doing?”
“No injuries as far as I can tell. He’d been sparring previously, then we went to our room, he took a shower, and fell down.”
“Possible head trauma?”
“Umm… He got kicked in his chin. But… It seems like this used to happen quite frequently, him fainting after exerting himself physically. But these spells haven’t occurred lately.”
The scanner booted up, and Logan started moving it over Goten’s body, starting with his head. Goten’s breathing was still somewhat erratic but seemed to be slowing down. Reyn had no idea whether that was a good sign or not.
“Well?” he asked impatiently when the scanner’s laser reached Goten’s toes.
Ofura, who was at the terminal analyzing the data that was being transferred, shushed him. The second-class scrolled through the information. The data was confusing: it didn’t seem that there was anything wrong with the young man’s health fundamentally, but his body was discharging small amounts of ki into the environment. That was causing fine tremors within his muscles and was clearly the cause of his irregular breathing.
“I’m surprised he’s not having seizures,” Logan said, after reading the smaller screen attached to the scanner. “Shall we give him some muscle relaxant?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary yet,” Ofura said, still reading. “Repeat the scan in five minutes. We’ll see then.”
“What about his brain?” Reyn asked. “I think he once said something about his brain wave pattern being irregular.”
Both doctors scrolled up to return to the earlier data.
“No,” Logan said after a few moments, “there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Let me check again just in case.” He set the scanner for longer exposure and pushed it back over Goten’s head. “Yep, everything’s alright,” he confirmed again.
They waited for five minutes, then scanned Goten’s whole body anew. The scans showed that the tremors had lessened. His breathing was almost back to normal as well.
It was decided to move Goten to the ward. Reyn carried him through the adjacent door joining the two rooms. The big size of the ward made him falter. There were about fifty empty beds and twenty regeneration tanks inside. If needed, there was enough spare space to lay down about a hundred additional bedrolls.
Kailan was the only patient, taking the most comfortable bed in the front row by the window. Logan removed the cover from one of the beds in the same row, and Reyn laid Goten down.
“He can have his clothes on but pull his boots off,” Logan said.
Reyn did so and set the boots on the ground, pushing them lightly under the bed so as not to get in anyone’s way. He watched Logan cover Goten with the bed’s blanket.
It took Reyn a lot of effort to convince the doctors to let him stay with Goten, but he finally did. He settled on the bed adjacent to Goten’s.
ooOoOoOoo
Something touched the side of his face. The pat was feathery, gentle, and Goten hummed in response. His head felt woolen, floating. Something cold touched his right wrist, and he shivered. His eyelids kept fluttering open and closed, but he could not make anything from the shadowy shapes drifting in the room. Then something fluffy but firm pressed against his face. There were no thoughts in his disjointed existence, but the lack of oxygen stirred his physical response, and he tried to push the obstacle away from his face. His feeble movements brought no result.
The blackness in his mind started to spread, he registered neither his futile gasps for air nor the numbing buzz in his ears and head. All he could feel was a burn in his air-deprived lungs. Goten’s fingers tore into the object on his face, but they had hardly any strength in them. His hands were pushed away and held down. The thing that finally roused him was an impulsive thought that the addictive darkness was familiar. He had seen and felt it. The third-class’s whole being was suddenly pierced by a belated but crystal-clear thought – murder.
His attempts to power up and free himself had no effect whatsoever. He wasn’t able to summon his ki. There was something off with it – he would gather it to a certain point and then it would suddenly dissipate. He had tried to summon it a few more times until his hardly coherent mind pointed out that someone had put a ki-cuff on him.
Then a sudden burst of light tore through the dark ward. The pillow exploded, its insides shooting all over the ward. Goten’s foot struck a jaw, dislocating it at once, pushing the crushed mass of bones up into his attacker’s skull. The neck tore, bones snapping, the soft mass of brain shooting out through the cracks in the skull. The death was instant, and the man’s large body dropped like a sack of potatoes.
The second man was still half-blind when Goten’s palm smashed against his face, driving his head backwards through the wall. It wasn’t enough, and Goten squeezed. His fingers, much harder than the wall, crushed the cheekbones easily. The man let out a gargling, agonizing cry before the third-class squashed his face into an unrecognizable mass.
Goten pushed the lifeless body away from him. For a few seconds he stood motionless, lost and completely disoriented then was caught in a coughing fit. He doubled over, his body shaking while he tried to cough and breathe at the same time. He could see blood dripping from his mouth onto the floor and knew that his lungs had been scorched just as they had been back then on the base.
The ki-cuff was burning into his flesh, and he tugged at it with his left hand. It snapped in half as soon as his fingers closed around it, and he discarded it onto the floor. His head was swimming madly, his breathing painful. He blinked a few times and rubbed at his burning and teary eyes with his sleeve. His vision was flickering, and he had to hold himself up onto the wall so as not to fall over. At the sound of someone approaching, his head snapped around. He blinked rapidly, but the infirmary kept on vaulting and even if he knew that the face he was seeing was familiar, he could not put the name to it.
“Fucking fuck,” Ealdira said at about the same time when Goten fell over. “Shit.” He threw the door to the ward open all the way and covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve; the room smelled of blood and tissue. The amount of light that was falling from the other room through the hole in the wall wasn’t enough, and Ealdira reached out for the lights switch. Briskly, he walked over to the third-class to roll him over. Goten let out a warning growl, but his open eyes held an incoherent look in them.
“Shit,” Ealdira repeated at the combination of a teal and a dark eye staring at him. The stare was dazed, concentrated somewhere above his left shoulder, at nothing. The hair was a blend of blond and black as well. Ealdira cursed again. His eyes returned to the horribly mangled men in the room. He wasn’t able to recognize one, but the other belonged to King Vegeta’s suite. Another row of curses rolled off Ealdira’s tongue.
A trickle of blood had found its way past Goten’s lips and down his cheek. His wrist had been scorched and was bleeding as well. Ealdira stayed indecisive of whether to take him to a regeneration tank or to finish what the king’s suite had started. He watched the blond color bleed away from the third-class’s hair leaving only black in its wake. Goten’s eyes closed and his body relaxed.
“What’s going on here?”
Ealdira raised his head and saw Harada standing in the doorway. The Royal Division’s Head was glowing with powerful ki, but it was obvious that he had trouble figuring out what he was supposed to do. You’re not the only one, Ealdira thought. If not handled carefully, this was going to lead to civil war. As if they didn’t have enough problems.
“He’s been attacked,” Ealdira said, finally having decided on his course of action. He lifted Goten into his arms and started carrying him towards the row of regeneration tanks situated at the back wall. “Nothing serious,” he said. “A day or two in a regeneration tank will take care of it.”
Suddenly, Harada barred his way, and, for a moment, Ealdira thought that he would have to fight the man. However, after a thorough look at the youth, the division’s head moved aside and let him pass. Harada was obviously thinking that he might be one of the attackers. Not so far from the truth either.
Ealdira reached the regeneration tanks and tapped the first one’s controls. Coming to life, the green liquid swirled and bubbled inside it. Ealdira turned to Harada with the intention of asking him to get the ladder from where it stood at the window, but the other man already had it in his hands. He pushed the ladder to the regeneration tank.
“Someone should inform his man,” Ealdira said, carefully lowering Goten into the tank.
Harada gave his back a look. It wasn’t mocking, but there was unconcealed amusement in his eyes. He, however, didn’t ask which one – Reyn or the prince – Ealdira meant. “Yeah, I’ll do that as soon as he’s in the regeneration tank.”
“You don’t trust me at all…”
“We both know who the boy’s father is. And I knew his grandfather. And I promise I’ll have your head if you do anything to him.”
Silently, Ealdira covered Goten’s face with an oxygen mask, and pushed him all the way into the regeneration tank. He should have probably taken the youth’s clothes off, but he couldn’t care less.
“The princes are oblivious,” Ealdira said while stepping down the ladder. “You can’t protect him.”
“We’ll be telling Prince Vegeta, then. Tonight. Right now, in fact. And you are coming with me.”
Ealdira frowned at the commanding words, but there was no other way now – if he didn’t do anything, Harada would contact Kakarott and then all hell would break loose. Ealdira didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Kakarott found his son dead. He had been told that when someone had killed his eldest son, heads had been rolling left and right with no regard to rank or class, and nobody had dared to stop the man.
“Trunks will be pissed,” Ealdira said. “If he…”
“He’ll have your ass for this.”
Ealdira sighed at the unfairness of it all. The only reason he had appeared in the infirmary so late at night was exactly because Trunks Vegeta had asked him to keep an eye on Goten. He could only speculate about Harada’s reasons.
ooOoOoOoo
It had only taken Reyn a little over ten minutes to visit the bathroom and stop by his and Goten’s room to get his scouter. When he returned to the ward, he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a hole that had miraculously appeared in the wall separating the infirmary’s two rooms. The door connecting the rooms was ajar as well.
Powering up and begging whatever gods there were that he wouldn’t find Goten dead, he shot into the ward. The lights were on, two dead bodies strewn across the floor. From the bed at the window, Kailan gave Reyn a bewildered look.
“What’s…? What’s going on?”
Reyn couldn’t see Goten anywhere, and he ignored Kailan. He glanced towards the regeneration tanks – the first one in the row was busted, the glass shards and green medical liquid covering the floor. Shouting Goten’s name in hopes for the other third-class to answer, Reyn rushed out of the ward. Then his scouter started to pick something up, so the flight officer sped off to the source of the signal.
ooOoOoOoo
At a cold touch to his wrist, Goten opened his eyes. Someone had put ki-cuffs on him for the second time. The thought passed Goten’s mind causing both a bout of anger and a sense of hilarity. He obviously shouldn’t have smashed through the regeneration tank and left the infirmary. Someone had found him lying in this corridor and was trying to kill him again.
Goten felt that he was being moved, carried somewhere. Through his muddled senses, he tried to decipher the destination, but it was futile. All he could see were corridors passing through his eyes.
The third-class didn’t know how long the trip lasted, but then he was suddenly lowered to the ground. It was a big hall, there were more people here, more sets of royal guards’ armor. Two? Three? They were talking about him, arguing maybe.
Goten closed his eyes and concentrated as best as he could. In a few moments, he snapped the ki-cuffs off. While the royal guards were staring at him, he slowly got to his feet. The enormous amount of ki he was emitting was making Goten sway on his feet. His head was buzzing with tension. He had no other choice, though. He’d rather explode than let them kill him.
Ready to fight, Goten moved towards his enemies. He advanced forward, but his steps were closer to a stumble than a walk. The third-class felt as if his body was on fire, his skin taut and hot. It hurt to breathe. He made another step, then stopped in surprise. All the elites stood motionless, their heads bowed, their fists pressed to their chests. When did this happen? Goten had no idea what was going on, but they weren’t attacking him. In fact, all of them had powered down. Goten leaned his shoulder against the closest wall and concentrated on breathing.
Someone growled behind him, and Goten turned toward the sound. King Vegeta was just a couple of meters away from him. The king was glowing with ki so powerful that it was pulsing in waves.
“Same as always,” King Vegeta spat, enraged. “If I want to get things done, I have to do them myself!” He moved towards Goten. No matter how powerful Goten was, at the moment, he could barely stand.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The low voice was close to a growl, the white-hot fury in it so evident that it made Goten’s fine hair rise. He looked past the king’s shoulder at Prince Vegeta, who had just entered the hall, Harada and Ealdira close behind. The next moment, Prince Vegeta powered up to match his father’s enormous ki.
Baring his teeth in a snarl, King Vegeta turned to face his son. “This should’ve been done centuries ago!”
The Crown Prince eyed him coldly. “You are in breach of the noninvolvement agreement between the two Houses,” he said. “Step away from him, or I will have to take drastic measures.”
“You fool!” King Vegeta snarled.
There was a racket behind Prince Vegeta and the two royal guards, then Trunks Vegeta suddenly shot into the hall. Once inside, he stopped dead in his tracks, his face morphing through a kaleidoscope of emotions. He recovered quickly and rushed to Goten, whose hair was starting to bleed back to black. Not managing to keep his balance, the third-class was now kneeling.
“Goten!”
Goten’s teal eyes blinked, concentrating on Trunks Vegeta’s face that had suddenly appeared beside him. The prince wasn’t certain whether he was more relieved or worried. The color of Goten’s eyes made him flinch, and hundreds of questions exploded in his head at once.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he muttered, trying to help Goten stand. He still wasn’t certain what was going on. Then he spotted the broken ki-cuff on the floor. “Just like in your dream,” he said softly. Goten wasn’t able to stand. He seemed to be hurt, and the prince kneeled next to him, frantic. “It’s fine, I’ve got you,” he whispered in an attempt to calm Goten down.
Goten pressed his fists to his bursting forehead. “It’s the opposite of fine!” he croaked. “No more ki-cuffs! It fucking hurts!”
Trunks looked at the broken ki-cuff on the floor again then turned to stare at the scene behind him. His grandfather’s ki was glowing as he glared in their direction, while his father stood further behind, his ki glowing even brighter than the king’s. Staring at them, Trunks wrapped his arm around Goten’s shoulders protectively and started powering up.
Prince Vegeta didn’t pay his son any attention. His arms were crossed, eyes locked on the king, waiting for him to power down. He didn’t react even when Reyn appeared in the doorway.
“Don’t you see?” King Vegeta said. “House Bardock has to be obliterated!”
Prince Vegeta gave his father an annoyed look. “Care to try?” he asked, motioning at the door behind him. “I never understood your insane obsession with them, however… This has gone too far. What has that kid ever done to you? What has any of them ever done to you?”
“They are a nuis-”
The king stopped abruptly, startling the youngest prince. In absolute silence, the prince cast his eyes to the doorway, where a man had appeared. The resemblance was so apparent that he instantly realized that he was looking at Goten’s father. Harada and Ealdira were saluting, their heads bowed in respect.
“I’ve come to take what’s mine,” Kakarott said lowly, the words booming through the deafening silence.
TBC
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- 67
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