Third side story...getting close to the point where side stories will no longer be needed…*smirks* Why yes, I AM a tease, thank you so much!! How did Vegeta react to the news about Sage’s little…situation on the space station? How is the family preparing to welcome him back? And what about Ou and Bardock?

Thanks to everyone for being so patient...RL has kicked me in the gut, literally, the reason for my longish absence. Hopefully it’s under control now, and more regular updates will be the norm.

At any rate, please enjoy!!!

Always for my tsuin.

With utter gratitude for my d-mate for her beta’ing.

Aftershock

A Restraints and Liberations Side Story

By Talon

To be read after chapter 10 and before chapter 11

Vegeta was shaking with suppressed rage, pain and a general overload of emotions when they finally keyed off the caller. His mate wasn’t much better off, but he managed to wrap his arms around Vegeta and keep him from collapsing to the floor.

“That...that...that...” Vegeta’s vocabulary seemed to desert him, not able to find a suitable word for what that Indruuds who had so damaged their son was.

“Yes, he will suffer,” said Kakkarott calmly, though his expression was anything but.

Vegeta was still far from coherent. He had been watching his son as Turles relayed the incident on the space station, and had noted every flinch, every twitch, every time he tried to flat out get up and run. Disjointed phrases rang through his ears, Shroud...slave…forced Awakening...suicide...shame...

He shook his head. It was much more to process than he had been prepared for. The shock of Kakkarott telling him his son, his heir, was frightened of him, of his hatred and disapproval had still not receded when he joined his mate at the vid screen and spoke to his son for the first time in three years. His eyes had not missed a thing, from his ragged hair to his sunken cheeks, his deep, expressive eyes, so filled with fear and longing. Vegeta thought he might be able to reach through the vid screen and touch them, oh so gently. He noticed every shiver, every time Sage visibly forced himself to keep looking at the screen, at him, every nuance of his son’s body language spoke volumes to him. And he did NOT like what he was reading.

Damnit, what did you expect would happen when you saw him, knot tail? Did you think everything would be magically better, and the last three years would just vanish in a puff of smoke for the both of you? Well, actually, now he thought about it, he had thought it might be something along those lines. He and Sage had always been so close...he had thought perhaps seeing him, even through a caller, would have triggered something. They could connect again, and he could help him. He was just now beginning to understand how woefully inadequate he was going to be.

“You won’t be,” murmured Kakkarott into his mane. “You won’t be inadequate, lover, but you have to realize Sage is going to need time.”

“Time?” spat Vegeta. “How is TIME going to heal….THAT?” he asked, knowing his lover knew full well what he was referring to.

“Sage survived,” said Kakkarott simply. “He survived and is coming home.”

A low voice. “But he is afraid of me.”

“He fears your hatred and rejection for what he has done. He doesn’t fear YOU, not really.”

“Isn’t it the same?” Vegeta’s voice was dejected. He LOVED his son...loved him so much, had always been fiercely devoted to the little scrap. And to know his chukra, his danabei, feared anything of him HURT. Hurt nearly as much as the thought of him being dead, or forever out of their reach had.

“It’s not. I know it feels that way, but koi, really...Sage has always strived for your approval, your pride; much like you did, and still do with your father. He loves you, and to face the prospect of living without that love...”

“But I could NEVER not love him,” came Vegeta’s anguished voice. “How could he THINK that?”

“Vegeta,” Kakkarott’s arms were warm around him. “Turles told me something, and I think when I told you, you did not hear me, not really. Sage hates himself. And if he hates himself, how could anyone else love him, especially YOU, whom he reveres and strives to be like with each breath? How?”

“How can he hate himself?” whispered Vegeta.

Tears were streaming freely down Kakkarott’s face as he answered his mate. “I don’t know, baby, I don’t have all the answers, as much as I would like to be able to give them to you. We will have to wait for Sage to give them to us.”

Vegeta shook himself slightly. “He’ll be home in less than two days…we need to prepare the boys.”

“I’ll pull them out of school for the next bit…probably at least a week or two.”

“Good idea. I’ll speak to Father again...he’s going to need to be prepared as well,” said Vegeta bleakly.

“Oh gods, your father...I had forgotten,” said Kakkarott looking worried.

“I can manage him,” replied Vegeta, struggling to regain a bit of his old composure. “You manage the brats, and call if you need my help.”

“I suppose,” said Kakkarott doubtfully. “You sure you’ll be able to manage alone?”

Vegeta’s tone was short. “I’m fine, koi. I’ll be back in a little while.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

The call came through to the classroom and left their tutor looking distinctly disgruntled.

“You have been excused from school for the foreseeable future,” he said shortly. “Your father,” here he looked hard at Gohan, “has requested you return home at once.”

He had barely finished his scathing statement when the door slammed and he was alone in the silent classroom.

Meanwhile, the boys were sprinting down the halls, dodging guards and various official sorts of people.

Tail looped with his twin's, ‘ten panted, “It’s gotta be about Sage, right, Tora?”

“Sure sounds like it to me,” panted Tora back. “Gohan?”

Gohan wasn’t answering. He knew it was about Sage, the only question in his mind was, Is he home?

No…he wasn’t home, and that much was obvious the second they set foot in their suite. No one was there except Mama, and his scent confused the boys. Gohan slapped a hand over Tora’s mouth as he opened it to ask, sensing somehow Mama was going to tell them, and it would be better not to interrupt.

“Boys...my sons, come here, please.” Mama’s voice was slightly husky and thick as though he had been crying, or else trying not to cry. The twins moved immediately into his open arms and Gohan stood in front of him, waiting.

“We’ve just spoken to your brother,” he began and smiled as he waited for the jubilant, questioning voices of the twins to die down. “Yes, yes, all in good time, brats,” he said, laughing a little bit. “As I said, we’ve just spoken to Sage, and to Turles, and they will be here the day after tomorrow.” Again he waited, though he noticed Gohan wasn’t joining in the twins’ loud questioning and excited cheering. His second oldest was listening, and had a distinctly worried look on his face. He smiled at Gohan, sending calming feelings along their bond and said, “You won’t be going back to school for awhile...we will need everyone’s assistance to help Sage feel safe again. But there are some things you’re going to have to know. So I want you to really listen to me and then, when I’m done, I’ll answer any questions you can think of, okay?” The twins quieted instantly at the serious tone of their Sebba’s voice, and Gohan’s already serious demeanor darkened perceptively.

“First of all, Sage is still very frightened of a lot of things. Turles says he’s gotten better, but some really horrible,” Kakkarott swallowed hard for a moment before continuing, “some really horrible things have happened to him. And he was trained to be frightened of people bigger and stronger than he is. He won’t be the same Sage you remember. He has very little control over his ki just now too, and he is very much stronger than he used to be. He has nightmares, and he’s afraid of frightening you three with them, through the bond.” ‘ten spoke up, interrupting. “But we wouldn’t be scared…” he insisted, sticking out his bottom lip in a manner both pouty and defiant.

Kakkarott smoothed the wild hair of his youngest. “I think you probably would be frightened of his nightmares, Goten, even if you didn’t understand what they were about. He doesn’t wish for you to be frightened. For that reason, you may not be bonded back with him all at once.” Before him, Gohan nodded slightly, his coarsely cropped mane a stark reminder of Sage and his terror.

“What else, Mama?” asked Tora innocently.

Kakkarott took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Quite a lot of what is going to be difficult will be easy for you three to spot. As I said, he is frightened, he has been ill, and he has been cut off from us for more than three years. He has been a slave, and sometimes, quite a lot of the time actually, he still thinks of himself as one. Most of this we will simply have to take as it comes. But the biggest problem will be convincing him we still love him and want him in our family.” Firmly he looked each cub in the eye and said slowly, “Sage hates himself, because of what has happened to him and what he has done.” An accurate explanation as possible, if vague, thought Kakkarott. “Because of that, he will believe none of us can truly love him or want him here with us. You MUST be patient with him.”

The cubs were stricken into silence, ‘ten and Tora’s tails twining nervously together as they communicated in that deeper level the twins had, and Gohan looked steadily into his Sebba’s face.

“I will help Sage, Mama,” said Gohan simply and firmly, sounding for all the world like his true Sebba, Vegeta. “I will be patient and not get mad or upset. I will help him remember he can trust us and I will MAKE him believe we love him.”

Kakkarott smiled at his determined son. “Yes, I believe you, Gohan.” He ruffled the boy’s hair with his tail affectionately. “I believe you.”

~*~*~*~*~

Several floors and corridors away, Vegeta no Ouji rubbed his forehead. His father was not taking this well. All the stubbornness and thick-headedness inherent in the Vegeta line seemed to concentrate within his father, Vegeta no Ou. Beside him, the Royal Consort Bardock, Kakkarott’s father, wore a similar expression to the younger Vegeta’s. The older men had been lovers since before the Queen’s illness and untimely death, and Bardock had been well received by the people as the Ou’s chosen.

“Refusing to accept this will NOT make it go away,” said Vegeta no Ouji firmly to his father, who had a distinctly juvenile look on his face. “Father, please, this is for Sage’s well being. You NEED to HEAR what I am saying!!”

“Vegeta is the crown prince,” said Ou stubbornly. “Coddling him will only make him weak.”

Vegeta no Ouji wrestled with the urge to flame into Super Saiyjin and throttle his stubborn father. Bardock, seeing his son-in-law’s struggle, placed a brown hand on Ou’s sleeve. “Vegeta,” he said calmly, “This solves NOTHING. LISTEN to your son. Your grandson is coming back, but he is damaged and hurt. You cannot pretend his slavery never happened. You cannot expect him to take his duties up right away. If you continue to deny this, you will destroy your grandson and our sons as well.”

Ou sighed quietly. He didn’t like it when his walls were breached, but Bardock had always been able to make him hear. “Will I be allowed to see him at least?” he asked sarcastically. “Or am I to be banned from his presence?”

“You will, of course, be allowed and encouraged to see him and speak with him, Father, but you MUST NOT PUSH HIM.” Vegeta no Ouji’s voice was firm. “The first time you do, I will personally shove your face through the back of your skull.” The prince’s tone was pleasant, but Ou would have had to of been deaf to miss the underlying threat and seriousness beneath the words.

There was no getting around it. Ou was visibly sulking. Vegeta stifled a giggle and looked to his father-in-law, who smirked in a reassuring sort of way at the prince. “Don’t worry yourself, chibi,” he said. “I’ll make sure he behaves. Come to that, I’m also anxious to see my grandson. Turles is caring for him well, I trust?”

Vegeta shoved down the sharp pang of jealousy the mere mention of Turles’ name evoked within him. “Very well indeed,” he said, trying to keep his tone neutral. Bardock nodded. “Should we plan to meet the ship with you, or would you rather we wait until after the initial tumult has died down?”

Vegeta hesitated. On the one hand, it would only be proper for the Ou and his consort to meet the ship with them...on the other hand, he was sure it would overwhelm Sage, who was bound to be already overwhelmed as it was. “If you wouldn’t mind waiting, Sebba (though Bardock was not his birth parent, he called him thus as a sign of affection and respect), I think it would be better for Sage,” he said finally.

Bardock smiled and inclined his head. “As you wish, of course, and don’t worry about your father. He’ll behave, or else.” Ou scowled more darkly at that, but Vegeta didn’t miss his father’s black tail slinking its way around Bardock’s thigh, indicating his true feelings. “Go on, back to your family and get ready for Sage’s homecoming.”

Vegeta bowed shortly and bid them both farewell, leaving the room as quickly as politeness allowed. Well, that was over at least, and if his father hadn’t taken the news well, he had at least taken it as well as Vegeta had expected. And Bardock would get him to behave. Vegeta smirked openly as he stalked back to his family’s suite. Bardock was always able to manage Ou.

~*~*~*~

That night, after the cubs had been put to bed and Kakkarott’s breathing had evened out into the unmistakable sounds of deep sleep, Vegeta slipped from their bed and padded soundlessly out to the balcony. He perched in his childhood position, one arm draped casually over a bent knee, sitting easily on the broad railing, leaning back up against the building and looking out into the star-scattered sky. The late spring’s breeze was warm and it brought a variety of scents to his nose. As his brain absently sorted out the smells of the night he watched the lights of the spaceport wink in the distance.

He’s coming home, the voice in his head whispered. Vegeta sighed. He was at once delighted and frightened to be getting his most desperate wish and desire of the past three years. He’ll be home…day after tomorrow, the voice whispered again. Yes…his son would once again be where he belonged. But he’s frightened of you, whispered that traitor voice. He won’t want to be around you, he will prefer Turles. Vegeta did growl at that thought. However grateful he was for Kakkarott’s cousin rescuing his son, he couldn’t help being intensely jealous of the man. And this business of Sage calling him Turles-sama would have to stop. At once.

He’ll be home…soon…

Yes...Sage would be home soon. And soon, home would be whole again.

~*~*~*~*

Owari