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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 Eight

           The seconds were ticking away with the speed of hours and the hours were stretching for years. The only reliable way for Vegeta to know that time was still passing was the beating of his heart, maddeningly loud but slow in his ears. His heart rate had decreased as if even his body had lost its will to survive; his mind had long come to the conclusion that his release would only come in death.
           Vegeta had been returned to the same spotlight in which his tail had suffered, but the platform was absent. For what must have been days now, he had been hanging by his arms, his wrists enclosed in manacles that gnawed into his flesh as they pulled his arms up and away from him. The aggravating pain that had plagued the joints of his upper body had receded to a disturbing numbness. His legs hung limply, unable to touch the ground a meter below them, making it impossible to find relief from the pull on his arms. The simple restraints could have been overcome with the slightest exertion of ki or brute strength, but Vegeta had neither to give. Despite the intravenous line that ran along the chains to one of his wrists, his body continued to wear down. Physical exhaustion and strain had taken a firm hold of him now that his hope for escape had been eliminated. Looking down at his once impressive physique, Vegeta only saw weakened muscles and a concave abdomen under the lines of increasingly visible ribs.
           Since he learned of the futility of his efforts to break the K.R.I. device, Vegeta had nothing to pass the time except to relive Freeza's triumphs. Despite all of his best efforts, Vegeta had not only let Freeza make a fool of him, but had let Freeza manipulate him into making a fool of himself. Vegeta was disgusted at the depths to which he had fallen. No, not fallen, he thought. Crawled. Every one of Freeza’s victories had been an inch, the sum of which Vegeta had no expectations of getting back.
He thought often of the moment Freeza had given him the opportunity to die. Had he known what he knew now, he would have never let his eyes turn to Freeza. Vegeta felt hollow at the thought that he probably would never be given a chance like that again, if in fact there had been one there to begin with. Who knew how long Freeza would find his torture entertaining? Perhaps even Freeza didn't know.
Vegeta could only hope that Freeza would make a mistake somehow, possibly killing him with a blow that had a little too much force to it. Perhaps the medics just wouldn’t be quick enough in their work one day. There could be no other end to his misery. There was no way that he could charge up enough ki to kill himself before blacking out from pain. More importantly, he could never bring himself to bend to Freeza's will again, even if it meant a choice between freedom and endless torment. If there was a fragment of his own sanity that he could cling to, it would have to be to remember that simple resolution. Speculating about the consequences of giving in only made Vegeta decide that Freeza's promises to end his suffering were probably just another trick. Though the idea of submitting repulsed him, the very real possibility that he didn’t even have the power to surrender pushed Vegeta deeper into despair. He tried to think of how he might expedite Freeza's loss of interest, but Vegeta no longer had the energy to scheme. It was taking all of his remaining willpower to simply retain some sense of self and not recede into the protective shell of madness. The only thing standing between him and completely losing his composure was his pride, but even that was now eroding in light of his numerous failures.
           Vegeta found himself in a surreal fog, sometimes forgetting the pain in his arms and shoulders long enough to fall asleep. It was from this sort of detached unconsciousness that Vegeta was roused to alertness by a slight tingling along his spine. Vegeta had just enough time to wonder if he were imagining things before his entire body exploded into fiery pain. The sudden agony made Vegeta's body jerk in its bonds, unable to suppress its own injurious reflexes. When it had passed, he was left swaying slightly by his damaged arms. Vegeta snarled in rage and twisted his head to look for any sign of Freeza through the darkness.
           There were a few minutes of unsettling silence before the K.R.I. device sparked to life again, this time with enough intensity to make Vegeta roar until he was out of breath. The second round was over more quickly, but Vegeta had little time to recover before he could feel the familiar needles up his back that signified the faint beginnings of another activation. No, no, no, Vegeta thought over and over again in anticipation before the small stings erupted into larger shocks. Vegeta roared louder than before, afraid that if he didn't verbalize his suffering in one way that he would accidentally do so in another, weaker way.
           Relief returned, and Vegeta scanned the small visible area around him one more time. There was still no sign of Freeza. Vegeta wondered how far away Freeza could be and still activate the K.R.I. device remotely, a depressing consideration. Now that Vegeta knew it was pointless to trigger the K.R.I., it seemed fitting that Freeza would take over the task.
           Alternating rounds of pain and relief continued in quick succession, as if Freeza were tapping the button of his remote absent mindedly. "Fuck!" Vegeta screamed. He couldn't believe how debilitated he had become. Never once had he considered how much of his power had resided with his ki and his ability to utilize it, nor had he ever thought it possible that he would one day lose it. He thought of his origins, the powerful, prideful Saiyajin race, and how he had been its prince. It seemed so distant now that he scarcely believed it had ever been real. He thought of his destiny to be the most powerful being in the universe, a Super Saiyajin. It seemed so ridiculous in his current situation. How had he ever hoped to attain such greatness if he was capable of being so completely crushed at Freeza's will?
           The K.R.I. device sparked to life, but now with such sudden intensity that he was unable to scream. After its initial shock, its use was continuous with slowly increasing magnitude. Vegeta was lifting himself centimeters upward by the tightening of the muscles in his useless arms. There was a pounding in his head as all of his blood vessels were compressed, increasing his blood pressure until he thought he could feel his brain throbbing against his skull. When Vegeta returned to consciousness, he quickly realized two things: he had been unconscious and the K.R.I. device was still activated. How long? Vegeta wondered bleakly, unable to tell if the pain had ever let up between when he had blacked out and now.
           Then it stopped. Vegeta hung listlessly, unable to find much of a difference between punishment and reprieve due to the painful aftermath of the extended activation. Was this what his destiny was? Was it to suffer until he could no longer comprehend anything but pain? Is that all his life had really been to this point? Had Freeza's assaults on his body made him forget what is was to be a strong warrior? Had his isolation from his people made him forget what is was to be a respected prince? Had his abandonment by his father made him forget what is was to be a valued son? Vegeta had thought he had retained all of these, at least in some way, under Freeza. Now he could see that they had all been taken away, long before he had even known it. All of his effort, all of his aspirations to this point in his life had been for nothing.
           Vegeta felt some small relief that all of this didn't really matter to him anymore. He welcomed death. Up to this point, Freeza had only used his desire to live against him anyway. The next opportunity to arise, Vegeta was going to get the last laugh by denying Freeza the pleasure of torturing him any further. Whether the moment came when Freeza slipped up or Vegeta was able to use his own hand, it didn't matter. It could only be a matter of time.

****

           Vegeta was startled to wakefulness by a sharp slap to his face. His eyes shot wide open to see Freeza staring up at him from the floor, his small frame partially concealed by the wide span of his shoulder armor. Freeza's tail was retracting away from Vegeta, who realized that it was the appendage Freeza had used to strike him. Vegeta immediately winced as his awareness extended to his aching shoulders and arms. How long had he been hanging there? There was no way to tell anymore; he had been in and out of consciousness too many times.
           "Do not look so miserable, Prince Vegeta. I come bearing good news for you," Freeza announced, staring up at his prisoner. Without much thought, Vegeta moved one of his legs as if to kick Freeza in the face, but Freeza's tail shot forward in an instant, blocking and then binding Vegeta's offending ankle to its left counterpart. Freeza looked almost hurt by the gesture.
           "After all we have been through together, I would have thought you would be happy to hear of good news," Freeza's voice oscillated between wounded and teasing. His upturned face was still half-smiling as his tail began to apply a downward force on Vegeta's trapped ankles, causing Vegeta to scream at the excruciating pull on his arms.
He's going to rip them out, Vegeta thought wildly, but the pulling stopped. Vegeta regarded Freeza through eyes narrowed in residual pain.
           "Not...you," Vegeta breathed the words with hostility. He had meant “Not from you,” but it was as close as he could manage. This only elicited a slight chuckle from Freeza as he used an unseen method to lower Vegeta by his chains. Vegeta silently descended until his bare feet were just touching the cold floor. If he stretched his legs, Vegeta was able to finally take most of his body's weight off of his screaming shoulder muscles. In his physical and mental weakness, Vegeta momentarily lost balance on the balls of his feet and tottered to one side, causing a renewed strain on his arms that made him cry out.
           "Are you ready to hear your good news?" Freeza continued cheerily, ignoring Vegeta's obvious discomfort. Vegeta simply continued to glare at Freeza, baring his teeth in hatred. "I thought so," Freeza smiled back, and began to circle Vegeta as he continued. "I have come to inform you, Prince Vegeta, that it will not be long before you are serving me once more. I have decided that you will be returning to your previous work." Freeza was now at Vegeta's back, but Vegeta didn't try to keep him in view.
           "Would...die...before—" Vegeta was cut off by Freeza sweeping at his feet with his tail, causing him to lose contact with the floor. He swayed precariously by his arms, trying to regain his footing. Once he had, Vegeta turned his face into his shoulder to stifle an agonized hiss. The awakening of his nerves in his upper body was becoming worse than the numbness had been.
           "So sorry, Your Highness," Freeza spoke sarcastically, "but your death is not what I desire. You do not deserve the mercy of death. You will be released so that you may obey my commands and work to expand my glorious empire."
           Released? Vegeta's mind reeled. It couldn't be possible. If Freeza were going to try to utilize him as a warrior again, Vegeta would have to have the K.R.I. device removed. It's a trick. "Why...obey...you?" Vegeta scoffed tiredly as Freeza came into view again. Freeza stepped closer so that Vegeta could see the smallest shadows created by the vertical lighting on Freeza’s face.
           "Because it is what I require of you," Freeza stated, his bright fuchsia pupils glowing. Vegeta sneered, unbelieving. Freeza let his intense gaze linger. "I know you do not see it now, Vegeta...but of course..." Freeza was still. Then, before Vegeta could register any movement, Freeza's hand was up to his face, the tips of two of his black claws millimeters away from the surfaces of Vegeta's eyes. Vegeta pulled his head back, momentarily letting his tough exterior crack to show the fear he kept hidden beneath. "...When have you ever been able to see what is coming next?" Freeza laughed behind an innocent smile as Vegeta's expression hardened again.
           "Nothing..” Vegeta coughed before he could force more words from his dry throat. “...Could do...to change me. Release me...I kill you," Vegeta insisted through gritted teeth. He had to convince Freeza that there was no point in continuing the torture, that he must simply be executed.
           Freeza laughed delightedly, his shoulders moving up and down. "Oh? And how will you do that, Prince?" He obviously regarded the idea to be complete nonsense.
           Vegeta was taken off guard by the question, and replied with the only thing he could think of in the moment. "Fight...be the strongest...the strongest warrior...in universe...until...Super Saiyajin." Vegeta was trying to convince Freeza of the reality of a childhood aspiration, one that even he no longer believed himself. Vegeta felt a pang of loss at the memory of his father telling him many times that he had the potential to be a Super Saiyajin, the first in thousands of years.
           Now Freeza was laughing so hard that Vegeta instantly regretted his attempt to threaten the tyrant. "You still believe such legends? A silly tale passed down by generations of ignorant monkeys—how quaint!" When Freeza stopped, he regarded Vegeta's sullen face with quiet amusement.
           "Ah, Vegeta. The one thing I have yet to strip from you is your insolence. In fact, the only reason you have been allowed to retain your impertinence is that it will make your rehabilitation all the more effective." Freeza was smug, but serious now. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the mention of rehabilitation. He hadn't heard Freeza refer to it for a long time, but it had always remained a mysterious threat looming in the future. Whatever Freeza meant by it, it seemed to be what was intended to prepare Vegeta for reintroduction into the PTO. Vegeta's mind began to swim with images of unknown tortures. No matter how he tried, however, he could not think of something terrible enough to transform him without rendering him useless.
           The image of Freeza standing, smirking with untold horrors planned for him, exacerbated Vegeta's contempt. "Going to...kill you," he said in a low, dangerous voice. Freeza simply remained standing, staring silently. Vegeta could feel the prickling of pain across his body as his ki began to seep out along with his rage. "Hear me, Freeza? Kill you!" Vegeta was shouting hoarsely now, too tired to care about anything, even looking like a fool.
           Freeza hummed a soft noise of contentment before turning away to leave.
           "Free-!" Vegeta's voice was cut off when his ki surged too suddenly, rendering him silent, his head bowed in anguish. Before he could look up again, Freeza had returned to the space directly in front of him, his fist connecting with Vegeta's unprotected torso. When Vegeta's head jerked with the force of the unexpected blow, Freeza moved closer until his shoulder armor was just under Vegeta’s chin. Freeza's mouth was at one side of Vegeta's face, and for a surreal moment, Vegeta could hear Freeza's breath in his ear.
           "You are mine, Vegeta. I am the only one who can save you.” Vegeta’s body shuddered. “Do not worry, Prince. Soon, I will end your pain. I will free you of the pride that brings you so much suffering." Freeza paused as Vegeta remained paralyzed by the blow, then retracted until his mouth was just at Vegeta's cheek. Freeza's tongue emerged from his mouth to drag lazily up Vegeta's face before Freeza withdrew with an unreadable expression. Vegeta was frozen, now by shock as much as pain, his face contorting into revulsion. With that, Freeza turned away to disappear into the darkness surrounding them.
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Breaking the Prince (Part 1)