Time Warriors Chapter 16

Theo was so horror-struck that she initially couldn't speak.

…master? My master? A vision of herself with a wide golden collar floated in front of her eyes. Oh, no … not again …

Of course again, the voices in her head snickered, sing-songing their maliciousness. We told you, we told you, your master's come to claim you…

Theo stared into Vejiita's face, a cold, sinking feeling gripping her stomach, the blood pounding through her veins. "What are you talking about?'" she croaked, protesting, her hands fastening around his wrist at the back of her neck, trying to relieve the pressure on her scalp. "I'm not your property –"

"Hm," Vejiita taunted, lifting her up by the back of her head like a scruffy dog as she lurched to her feet. "I'd say that you are. In fact, you've belonged to me for quite some time now. About – what? Thirty-five years or so?"

"Vejiita, what d'you think you're doing? Let that woman go!" roared Gohan, ready to leap over the TARDIS console and charge toward the prince, his eyes flashing with righteous indignation. There was no WAY he would allow the prince to abuse that woman, especially since the poor thing was just coming to and completely defenseless.

"Put her down, Vejiita! You're going to hurt her - leave her alone!" Gokuu said, moving purposefully toward the prince.

Vejiita turned toward Gohan and Gokuu, shaking his head and glowering. "This woman is DANGEROUS, you idiots," he shouted angrily. "She's evil - she murdered every living thing outside of this vessel, or had you forgotten?"

"What?" Gohan blinked, pausing in mid-leap, his arms stiff and straight in front of him, his jaw slack. "What did you say? She murdered – everything? Outside?"

What did you think happened? Vejiita demanded silently. Did you think that everyone conveniently dropped dead at the same time?

He held her at arm's length and looked her up and down, critically assessing her body. Theo blushed and wiggled as he examined her; her arms were behind her head, giving him an excellent view of the contours of her torso. As his eyes caught hers, her face turned crimson and she tore her gaze away, dropping it to the floor, cursing him under her breath.

Are you sure, Vejiita? Gokuu sent, dubious, stopping several paces from the smaller Saiyan and his quarry. She doesn't look like she could harm a fly, let along those huge warriors outside. I know she said it, but I can't believe she killed them all.

"Hn," he grunted as he looked at her. A sadistic smile quirked the corners of his mouth as he said, "Good to see that you've tried to keep yourself in shape." Nodding, he took his free hand and moved it a hand's breadth away from Theo, watching her shy away from his touch. A shrewd look danced in his eyes as he deliberately prodded her side and belly, commenting matter-of-factly, "Too soft here, though. You need conditioning. I'll take care of that."

Continuing his mental conversation with Gokuu, Vejiita thought irritably, Yes, I'm sure, Kakarotto, you great fool. How many times do you have to hear the same thing? She is evil - she killed EVERYONE outside except the people standing in this room. And she was going to kill you, too, but I managed to stop her. If you don't believe me, ask the Namek.

Gokuu whirled, a bewildered expression on his face. Piccolo? Is this true?

The green warrior nodded toward Theo, his expression dark. Yes, Gokuu, it's true. She tried to kill everyone - only Vejiita could stop her. She's a strong psychic fighter, Gokuu. I wouldn't take any chances with her.

"Don't you dare touch me, you – ahh!"

His hand tightened cruelly in her curls as he shook her, his eyes bright and fierce. "Still as stubborn and defiant as ever, aren't you, Guardian? I'm not surprised," Vejiita said angrily, pulling her close. The Saiyan prince switched to direct mind to mind contact, punctuating every emphasized word with the mental equivalent of a slap. Listen, and listen well. You belong to me – I own you. You are mine, your soul is mine, and you have been mine ever since the day we met. I will do whatever I want with you – and you will do whatever I tell you, whenever I tell you to do it. Do you understand?

Me, woman. You belong to ME.

"But Vejiita," Gohan continued stubbornly, "I didn't see anything happen - she never moved - "

Theo's words were cut off as Vejiita expanded and moved in her mind. No longer content to simply communicate, the prince threw his essence into her mind, pushing down, around and through her psyche and claiming every synapse and nerve as his own, his strength and will hundreds of times stronger than she remembered.

The prince's eyes caught Gohan's for a moment. That's because she's a PSYCHIC warrior, you moron. They don't HAVE to move - they do everything with their minds, like Gerudo. And unless you'd like her to kill you and your idiot father, too, you'd better leave me ALONE. Now.

The Saiyan pulled back behind the console, subduded.

Turning back to Theo, the prince sent, I remember how to do this, Guardian – we've danced like this before –

Gasping, Theo struggled against him, trying to force him out and away from her nerve centers – but he was simply too strong, too authoritative, much too overwhelming. She was mentally surrounded by the prince on all sides, pinioned, his psyche overpowering hers completely.

You are mine without question, Guardian.

The other people in the control room held their breath as they watched Vejiita and Theo, most of them expecting the worst.

Elyse's hands hovered over her keyboard, her face stretched with anxiety; Gohan and Trunks stood next to her at the console, unsure of what to do. While Gohan understood the danger facing them, Trunks literally had no idea why his father was being so brutal with Theo - he had not inherited his father's knack for psychic communication, nor did he have his father's strange experiences with the Guardian race to help him sort through the signals raging through the air.

Allyssa and Dron watched the scene from across the room – it was obvious that the only reason Allyssa hadn't attacked the Saiyan prince was Dron's white-knuckled grip on her upper arm, holding her back. Gokuu was the closest to Vejiita; his body was tense and ready to leap to Theo's defense, and he was clearly upset.

"Leave my mama alone - let her go!" Elyse exclaimed, unable to contain herself any longer. "Why are you saying all those awful things about her? You have to stop doing that, and right now, or else I'm -"

No - you're staying right there! Don't you dare come any closer to me! Theo sent to her, frantic. I'm not going to lose you, too ...

Too? Elyse wondered - but was comforted by her mother's emphatic response. She's not as bad as I thought,she realized. Looking over at Trunks with wide, scared eyes, she whispered, "Please - can't you do something? I'm afraid he's really going to hurt her. Tell him to stop -"

"I don't know," Trunks muttered back to her, staring at his father's muscular back, hoping he didn't break the woman's neck. "I don't know if I can."

"But - but you have to try, you just have to!" Tearfully she implored, "I think he's really going to hurt her - please - "

Gohan glanced down at Elyse, his face a mask of stony control. He looked over at his mentor who shook his head imperceptably; with a sigh, Gohan swung his gaze back to Vejiita and Theo, placing a light, comforting hand on Elyse's shoulder. She looked up at him, then back across the TARDIS at her mother, her eyes changing from green to a sky blue with purple swirls.

"Hey, Vejiita –"

Miserable, Theo averted her eyes from Vejiita's glare, thinking gods, I can't even attack him unless –

I wouldn't recommend anything like that, Guardian. Nor would I recommend trying to kill anyone in this craft. If you disobey me … I will show you no mercy whatsoever.

Color spread across her cheeks in waves as she immediately looked up at the Saiyan prince, realizing her private thoughts were private no more. She was still, docile in his grip, but her expression held the hostility, rage and the beginning of despair that colored her thoughts. You can't do this to me …

He held her gaze with his own, seeing the tumult in her mind, and replied, of course I can. I'm doing it now. Your power is nothing without control and discipline, and neither are you. And you know it.

Confused, she broke contact and looked away.

Gokuu was caught up in the surging mental stream created by Theo and Vejiita. The currents running in the air between them were electric, strong enough to cause the hair on the back of his arms to bristle and make the back of his head itch. The prince, though, was obviously the stronger of the two; Theo didn't stand a chance against his psychic strength. With that, Gokuu decided that he had seen enough – there was no need for the prince to manhandle the woman any longer. He stepped next to the smaller Saiyan and reached across for Theo, saying, "Look, Vejiita, let her go. She can't hurt you – you've proved your point. I can't let you –"

Vejiita's free arm unerringly found the middle of Gokuu's chest and sent the hapless Saiyan sailing across the ship with a hard punch. He crashed into the back wall of the TARDIS, striking it with a loud *thud*. The back of Gokuu's head bounced off the wall with some force and smacked the wall again; he staggered and blinked, completely surprised.

"Leave it alone, Kakarotto," the prince admonished, pointedly staring at Gokuu. "This does not concern you in the least. This woman and I have unfinished business that has nothing to do with you –" and he glared generally at the room around him, warning everyone away – "nor anyone else here."

Gokuu gave in and closed his mouth, pushing himself away from the hull of the ship, watching his friend with a troubled air. "Well, okay, but – but don't hurt her, Vejiita. I won't let you hurt her."

Vejiita glared at Gokuu for a long moment - she's evil, Kakarotto, get that through your thick head - then turned his full attention back to Theo. He smirked and deliberately shifted his hand on the back of her head to a more comfortable position, watching her as a lion watched its captured prey.

Her eyes widened a bit at his movement; she realized he was going to physically keep her prisoner, that the light restraint of his hand could turn to iron in a moment. At the same time Vejiita pulled his awareness from the foreground into the far corners of her mind. His essence was muted and faint, completely in the background of her thoughts – but she knew that this, too, could change in an instant.

He's trying to intimidate me, she thought, staring at him.

And he's doing a fabulous job, isn't he? the voices in her head snickered back at her.

"Now – I'm curious. Tell me how you and your friends escaped Vejiitasei. And don't bother to lie," he said, watching her expression. "If you survived, I know the rest of your wretched lot did, too. You couldn't get all of you into a space pod – so did you use a vessel like this one? A time machine that looked like something else?"

Theo gawked at him, stunned. "A – vessel like this one? A time machine?" she repeated stupidly. Her gaze darted over Vejiita's shoulder to the textured white walls behind him as she drew a shaky breath. Kami, she thought, feeling betrayed. …I didn't even realize – we're in the TARDIS …and he knows it's a time machine? how…?

Vejiita favored her with a sardonic look and a tug at her hair. "You heard me, Guardian. Don't act so surprised – and answer my question. Was it a machine that was like this one – something that looked different on the outside?"

Theo's silence and horrified expression was all the confirmation Vejiita needed. He chuckled, still clutching her hair in his hand.

"I see. Heh – that's certainly useful to know." He brought his free hand to her face, took her chin and tipped it to the side, running his fingers possessively along her jawbone. "I always thought you people were smarter than you allowed," he murmured to himself, nodding. "That's good – that's very good."

Fighting down her initial impulse – yanking her head away from his hand and spitting in his face – Theo stood still, her breath coming in quick pants, her eyes rolling back slightly, and suffered his touch. Her reaction was not lost on Vejiita.

A slow, deliberate smile crossed his lips as he turned her head and stroked that side of her jaw with his fingers as well. "You have other uses, too, Guardian – other than being decorative, that is. That power of yours, for example – controlled, and in the right hands, it could be exactly what this universe needs."

Theo stared at him, her eyes widening in shock. He smiled mockingly at her, nodding his head.

"Oh, yes – that controlled power is exactly what the universe needs. And your ship!" he continued, looking around, "ah, your ship is quite valuable. A vessel that travels through time, can disguise itself based on its surroundings AND is larger on the inside than the outside? Can you imagine an army of machines like that? Or the amount of warriors they could contain? I'm sure your vessel is at least three times the size of what I see here, isn't it?"

Abject horror shone from her face as she tried to shake her head. No, no, no … you can't mean ..

"Heh – you, your power and your ship will come in very handy." The prince grinned at her, his eyes sparkling with malicious glee. "In ways I'm sure you can't possibly imagine."

In ways I … he's going to use me to … The old sickness and fear of her dreams churned through her as she jerked her head back, twisted in his grip and shouted, "No – I will not! We’re not on Vejiitasei anymore – you can't do this! Take your hands off me!"

Part of her mind wailed what are you doing, fool? Attack anyone, and he'll murder you where you stand –

Fine. Then I'll be dead, bitterly flew across her psyche in response. Much better than this living hell I'm in – giving him access to everything in the universe –

Snarling in hatred, Theo heedlessly drew wellspring power from her source and drilled into Vejiita's mind, catching him off guard. Aiming precisely at his frontal lobe, Theo flung a quick burst of chi there and pulled at his motor center. Firing randomly, his neurons short circuited his gross motor functions – and the prince lost control over the large muscles in his arms and legs, released her hair and with a yelp of surprise fell on the floor of the TARDIS, his body twitching spasmodically.

Hit him again, hit him hit him hit him, her mind sang, do it quick, quick, quick before he recovers…

"Otousan!" Trunks cried from the other side of the TARDIS console. "Otousan, what's wrong?"

Theo stood over the prince, her eyes almost as black as his. Another chi burst to another part of his brain left him convulsing in earnest on the floor, his body shuddering uncontrollably, guttural noises tumbling from his throat.

"Vejiita! Vejiita, what's happening to you?"

Once more, just one more time … stop his heart, crush his lungs, kill him, kill him, kill him …

"Otousan!" Trunks leaped over the console and flew straight at Vejiita and Theo.

Turning toward the sound of rushing air, Theo saw Trunks in mid-flight, his youthful face contorted with alarm and dismay, power crackling around his hands.

Does he know it's me? He's coming - it doesn't matter, get rid of him now! Theo thought in panic, watching the demi-Saiyan move as if in slow motion. Hit him hard, do it now – no time, just do it! She called more power from the wellspring, fashioned it into a probe and hurled it at Trunks' mind in a matter of milliseconds – where it shattered back at her into a thousand psychic images, leaving the boy undamaged.

"Damn!" she gasped, battered in a backwash of energy. What…?

Too late, Theo saw the protective mesh covering the Saiyan boy's mind like a fine, bright net, shielding him from coercive psychic attacks.

No, Mama, no! I won't let you hurt him – I won't let you! He saved me from those awful things on the planet – he's beautiful, Mama, beautiful – not evil at all … why did you –

"ELYSE!" she howled as she dove sideways and rolled on her shoulder to escape the boy's charge. "Elyse – gods, how could you?"

I had to, Mama, she heard faintly. He's not evil …

Theo twisted, looked over her shoulder and felt fear stab her in the stomach – Vejiita was slowly rolling onto his side facing her, his eyes wide and staring, his pupils dilated. Gokuu was behind him on his knees, shouting his name into his ear; Trunks was at his feet, massaging his calves, urging him to get up. The Saiyan prince was exerting iron control over his body as he pushed himself up on one arm with his eyes still unfocused and staring.

"Otousan!" Trunks shouted as he landed in a heap about Vejiita's feet. "Otousan! What happened?"

"I don't know what's wrong with him!" Gokuu protested as he kneeled in back of the prince, shaking the smaller man's shoulder and rocking his body back and forth. "Vejiita – Vejiita! What happened?"

Grimly the prince forced himself to stay conscious. He had anticipated that she would attack him – had, in fact, tried to provoke her to do just that – but had no idea how ferocious she truly was. Theo had come very close to ending his life; if not for his son, he probably would be dead.

And when the teenager had leaped to his father's defense, she had tried to kill him, too. It was Theo's daughter, of all people, who had protected Trunks from her mother's assault. The irony of that was not lost on him at ALL.

Now, as his bodily functions started to come under his control again, a slow, savage fury toward Theo seared across his mind.

You disobeyed me, woman, the prince thought as he pushed himself up on one nerveless arm, his eyes dim and unfocused. You tried to kill me and mine. A good try, but not good enough. He smirked dangerously as his eyes focused on Theo's lithe form struggling to escape.

It's time for me to teach you how to behave.

Oh, shit – I've got to get out of here …

Abruptly she started to feel small twinges and tweaks along the long spinal nerve in her back, coupled with a dark, forbidding something that was rising out of the recesses of her psyche, flowing smoothly across her power conduit, denying her access –

Terrified, Theo's hands shook. Panting, she found herself next to the doorway that opened into the body of the ship. Heaving herself off the deck, she grabbed for the handle that would release the door and allow her to escape into the depths of the TARDIS – the shielding and distance would save her from—

Oh no you DON'T …

It was as if a large bubble had burst. Theo collapsed on the floor in a screaming paroxysm of pain, every nerve and synapse in her body ablaze – something had exploded in her mind with the force of a supernova. She saw bright, shooting lights in front of her eyes, and now knew nothing other than her world began and ended in fire; her only desire was that someone or something, somewhere, would stop the agony. Her brain felt as though it would shatter – he was pushing from the inside out, stripping her raw, ripping and tearing her apart with his scorching breath, burning every square centimeter of skin.

I warned you, woman. I told you not to try to kill anyone.

It went on and on and on, one wave after another, pulsing and cresting. Every time Theo thought that she had reached her limit, another wave would crash on top of her, proving there was yet another level of agony to endure.

"Please, ouji-sama – please, please stop!" she shrieked, rolling from side to side on the floor, trying to do something, anything to stop the boiling pain streaming down her body. Words and screams mixed together as she pleaded, "I won't do it again ... I won't .... ouji, please .... please ... stop!"

Vejiita stood over her body, his arms folded and face impassive as he watched her writhe and scream at his feet. "I'm sure you won't," he said. "I'm quite sure you won't do anything remotely like that again."

"Ma-MA!" Elyse screamed. She tried to leap across the console to get to her mother, but Gohan's strong arm prevented her from going anywhere.

"No," he hissed in her ear, "leave them. This is between the two of them."

"But he's killing her!" Elyse sobbed, twisting and punching alternately at Gohan's arm. "Let me go, let me go, I have to go to her!"

"He won't kill her," Gohan said, narrowing his eyes as he remembered other times with the prince. "But she will wish she was dead."

The torment refused to stop; instead, it flowed over, around and through Theo, touching every part of her, body and soul. She had tried to crawl to the wellspring in her mind but was slapped away by a dark, looming presence that guarded the entrance. Whimpering, she tried again with the same result – except that this time, the presence slapped her harder and carelessly tossed her into another section of her own mind.

It was becoming extremely clear that she had no control over either her body or her psyche.

"Ouji, please, please, stop," she sobbed brokenly, trying vainly to seek some relief to her suffering and finding none.

Vejiita stood facing the doorway that lead into the body of the TARDIS, his back to the rest of the people in the control room. His expression was tight and closed, his eyebrows drawn together in a scowl, and he said absolutely nothing as he watched Theo writhe on the floor.

Do you think you're ready to behave now, woman? Can I trust you not to try to kill anyone?

The rest of the people, too, were frozen in place, completely bewildered and appalled. Bewildered, because there was no true physical fighting – neither combatant had touched the other; and appalled, because it was obvious that Theo was in massive pain that she attributed to Vejiita.

"What's going on, Trunks?" Gokuu asked. All his instincts were screaming at him to knock Vejiita down and cradle Theo in his arms, to make her pain disappear – but another part of his mind kept him in place. She is evil - she killed EVERYONE outside except the people standing in this room. And she was going to kill you, too, but I managed to stop her, Vejiita said – and gauging by the expression on his face, he had been totally serious.

"I – don't know," Trunks replied, his voice strained. Otousan, please don't make her suffer any more, he sent, distressed. You will kill her.

His father's head turned slightly so that one eye glared at Trunks. Keep your opinions to yourself, boy, he sent, glowering at him. And make sure those bakas around you do not come near me.

Trunks briefly inclined his head, acknowledging his response. Yes, otousan. I will.

Vejiita looked down at Theo – she was hoarse from screaming, but continued to whimper and moan at his feet, a huddled, broken mess with waves of trembling pulsing down her back. He uncrossed his arms, went down on one knee and touched her sweat-soaked forehead, brushing away damp, straggling curls.

That's enough, woman. It's time to talk.

A cold, clear presence fused inside her. It touched several parts of her mind at once, cooling the inferno throughout her body, bringing blessed relief, allowing her to think coherently once more. She stopped screaming and calmed herself so that she lay panting and hitching on the floor by his feet, her legs drawn up, enduring her mind's remembered agony.

"Woman, you try my patience to the limit. Do you imagine yourself stronger than me? Open your eyes."

She slitted her eyes against the interior lights and focused on the face in front of her. "Ouji-sama," she whispered through cracked, dry lips.

His fingers lingered against her brow, then traced a path down the side of her cheek, brushing away the dampness of her tears, and lifted her chin so she could not avoid his gaze.

Who is your master, Guardian?

She stared into his eyes a long moment, her own roiling with dark, turbulent color – and abruptly felt something inside of her crumble and break. He felt it too, she knew – and he held her eyes, controlling her, demanding an answer to his question.

Theo swallowed and tried to look away, but Vejiita would not permit it – he held her chin tightly in one hand and leaned over her.

Tell me, he commanded. Tell me right now.

It's – it's you, ouji-sama, Theo thought, her mind exhausted, completely defeated. You are my master.

A satisfied smile crossed his face as he looked at her. "That's much better, Guardian. Very good. Compliance is much easier on you than rebellion. So - what will you do now?"

He still refused to let go of her chin, and instead forced her to look at him while she spoke. "I will do whatever you tell me to do, whenever you tell me to do it ... ouji-sama," she said, her voice low.

"And what else?" he prodded.

Theo frowned and shook her head, not understanding. Vejiita stared at her, his black gaze boring into hers, until he was satisfied that she actually had no idea what he wanted.

"Nothing else?" he asked almost pleasantly as he tucked his hands under her armpits and dragged her to her feet in front of him. She stood there swaying, clutching his arm for balance before pitching into him, her eyes locked on his.

I am your master, he sent to her, giving her a mental shake. You are mine - you belong to me. I do not give up anything that is mine – ever - so don't think you'll be going anywhere soon.

He stared at her for a long moment, allowing his words to sink in. Then he held her right arm, turned and beckoned to Allyssa, raising his voice and saying, "You – woman. She needs to be cleaned up – and you wanted to do that before. Take her back into the other part of this ship and see to it."

Tearing her arms out of Dron's grip, Allyssa bounded across the floor and nearly collided with Theo in her haste to get to her. Scooping the other woman into her arms and pushing a nearly-fainting Theo toward the doorway to the rest of the TARDIS, she turned and snarled at Vejiita, "You're a monster, you know that? A sadistic monster! You and all your rotten friends who allowed this to happen to her. You should ALL be food for the Gonarch, you horrible, vicious, self-serving—"

"Just get her cleaned up and back here in the next 10 minutes," Vejiita interrupted, glaring at Allyssa. "Don't try my patience any more than it has been these last few minutes."

Allyssa closed her mouth and glowered at Vejiita as she hurried Theo through the door.