[5] Prison

[Bra]

It was a restless sleep, but at the very least, the lack of consciousness allowed her an escape from the very painful reality which she had left behind, if not only for a moment. Her slumber wasn?t a comforting one. Her mind created a reality of darkness for her to inhabit, one which placed her even further on edge than she already was from the day?s events. Shadows from twisted, shrouded objects stretched menacingly across the poorly lit corridor she was apparently in. Two objects seemed to dimly burn in the distance, beckoning the devastated young girl toward them, like a moth to a flame. The halfling silently complied, cautiously stepping toward it, her footfalls echoing repeatedly all around her, as if being reflected in all directions, again and again. The otherwise absolute silence was painfully unnerving, and threatened to drive the girl into a panic. Her pace quickened, she had to see what those two crimson dots were, before anything horrible might happen. She neared them, watching as a silhouette began to outline itself on her approach-

She awoke with a gasp, the sounds of a mighty battle thundered throughout the chamber. Two incredulously powerful signatures seemed to overwhelm her sixth sense, but worse yet, an overwhelming sense of dread flooded her mind as she instantly recognized both fighters.

?You would dare to take me lightly?? rasped a most familiar voice, ?Don?t delude yourself into thinking you?re the only one capable of such power.?

Bra shot into a sitting position, her mouth agape as she witnessed her father - her real father - ascending into the second level of super saiyan. Blasts of raw energy burned at the very air, vaporizing their molecules and vanishing, leaving behind the stink of ozone as a reminder of their existence. Raditzu and Vegeta appeared to be at a stand-off, each one of them reaching far beyond the limits of any ordinary super saiyan. Finally, the girl had the sense to activate her LENS unit, which only confirmed what her ki sense implied; the prince was absurdly powerful.

?Come on.? Bra?s father challenged, waving his arm with a wide smirk. The long haired fighter vanished immediately, materializing behind the noble saiyan, eliciting another gasp from the cyan haired girl, who watched intently from her bench, unsure of how to act in the situation, ?Ugh... fast.? Vegeta scowled.

?Very fast.?

Raditzu, you bastard.

The young princess watched her father whirl about, managing to barely intercept a brutal elbow. The colliding energy seared throughout the air while Raditzu lunged forward, connecting with a vicious head-butt. The golden haired royal catapulted forth, propelling a mighty ki blast at his opponent. The long haired fighter was launched backward, painfully crashing into the ground.

The rest of the fight was viewed in a haze as the cyan haired girl was forced to watch her own father - whom she had met for the first time in an age - receive brutal blow after blow from the self-absorbed monster that Raditzu apparently was. She wouldn?t stand for it. She couldn?t! Bra got to her feet, resolving to assist her father in any way possible, but found herself unable to take any steps toward Vegeta?s fearsome opponent.

?Not bad.? the prince admitted, using a wall to maintain his balance for a moment. Quickly he returned to a battle stance.

?Tch... I haven?t even gotten started.? the egotistical fucker replied, his eyes freakishly devoid of pupils of any kind. He wore a broad grin, one of insanity. Of indiscriminate lust for blood and carnage.

*EVENT*

He is still alive...

The rest of Brim?s speech was unimportant. The vile executive gave her the gift of hope, wether knowingly or not, and Bra?s heart instantly felt as light as air. Another stream of tears fell from her soft, blue eyes, but this time were not accompanied by crying. These were not tears of sadness, but rather, tears of joy. She smiled widely, unable to prevent it. Her eyes fell upon Burter Junior, and she offered him the same warm smile, with a reassuring nod. The two hadn?t gotten to know one another nearly as much as she would have liked, but she swore to make time for it soon.

Suddenly, Vegeta and Raditzu, as well as a few others, vanished. A moment passed, and the ones who remained were transported as well, to yet another cell, this one with a wide viewing area, blocked by the same energy beams as before. Beyond the beams, her father continued his battle with Raditzu. Both warriors radiated horrifying levels of energy, their titanic strength clashing again and again. Bra felt that they were fighting about equally for the time being, but even so, Vegeta was in grave danger. The girl felt with all her heart that if there was anyone who could defeat Raditzu, it was her father, but at the same time, she knew that if there was anyone who could defeat her father, it was Raditzu. The two were far more powerful than Bra ever had been, they fought on a scale the princess could not even comprehend, which only intensified her sense of dread.

?Trunks!! We have to go help dad!? the cyan haired girl exclaimed, her voice rife with emotion. Her elder brother looked from her to the fight, and then back to her again before making his reply.

?Sis... you know how dad is. This is his fight now. ?Sides, didn?t you see you strong he is? He?ll be fine.? the lavender haired warrior replied, still holding his gladius over his shoulder. He offered her another thumbs up.

?...Are you sure, Trunks?? Bra?s pleading eyes looked into his own, ?...I can?t handle losing someone else.?

?I?m sure.? his reply was simple. He turned his back, heading away, perhaps he needed time to think. The younger hybrid decided against pursuing him, returning his attention to the battle before her. Both saiyans fought valiantly, each one burned with a kind of determination that could only come from surmounting adversity... or from hate.

Her father was a proud man, of this the heiress was sure. It wouldn?t have been overly unlikely for him to have held a grudge against the long haired warrior. Likewise, Raditzu was easily as stubborn as Vegeta himself. Neither one would ever think of backing down to one another. Never. Bra, on the other hand, had shied away from Raditzu?s self-appointed authority on more than one occasion. It was deplorable. As a princess over the race, it was her duty to uphold the virtues of the royal family, be it pride, will, or courage. And she had failed. Countless times.

A thunderous boom shook her from her reflection. The half-blood whimpered in shock as she watched her father careen into a wall under the force of an exploding column of energy. Hardly a moment passed before the prince lunged forward, planting a series of savage punches into the long haired one?s chest and stomach, before finishing by grasping Raditzu?s head with both hands, pulling down while thrusting his knee upward, driving it as hard as he could into his adversary?s face.

?Maybe Trunks is right...? the young demi saiyan murmured, gazing upon the two golden haired fighters as their battle raged on. With such legendary power, the fight threatened to continue on forever, as neither one achieved a clear advantage, no matter how devastating the attacks they launched upon one another.

The girl?s eyes swept from the arena into the cell as she spun about on her heel, catching view of the blond woman whom Raditzu usually traveled with. Android 18. She was speaking with another saiyan, but the cyan haired girl?s predicament was too pressing to avoid interruption. She rushed over to the striking humanoid, pushing past the others whom she didn?t know in order to get within a distance which they could converse in.

?Eighteen!? she demanded, apologizing for her interruption to the ebony haired warrior before focusing on the androidess, ?You have to stop him! They?re both in trouble!!?

She knew what the child was talking about. She could sense it. Her Raditzu was doing battle with the saiyan prince, and both one fought on a plateau far above that of almost any warrior in the cell. 18 almost smirked, knowing she fought on that plateau as well.

?Hm?? she offered, unsure of how to respond just yet.

?Raditzu! He?s... he?s fighting my dad, Eighteen. I haven?t seen him... I haven?t seen him in so long. Both of them could die, you know!? Bra declared, her eyes coating with a watery film.

?What do you expect me to do about it?? Eighteen responded. Maybe she was feigning apathy, maybe she really didn?t care. The princess was unable to figure out which.

?I... don?t know. Is there any way you can talk to him?? she pleaded, unsure even why she approached this woman. They had otherwise ignored one another before, but there was no way for that to continue now.

OOC: I kind of interrupted 18 and Bardock, sorry. ^_^;
However, I think I did give you an easy opening to use some liquid time and still get your conversation in before Bra actually comes to talk with 18.