Well, it seems we all survived the Apocolypse Saturday. Hooray for us! And as a reward to all of you, here's another chapter. I think you've all earned it.
Year658
The humiliation, the insults, the rage, Lord Piccolo could feel them all. His war, his perfect war, had backfired on him in the most disastrous of ways. The combination of the other three houses had proven too much for his forces and had forced him into surrender. That was when the rending really began.
Already, the Demon House was in dire financial straits. Now the other three houses wanted reparations for the war, along with an annual levy he had to pay as punishment. At this rate, there was no way his once proud house would recover.
And as if to add insult to injury, his people were fleeing his lands, leaving him without the basic revenues he need just to operate. People didn't work for free, you know, even if you threatened and tortured them into service. The competent workers tended to disappear when that happened.
So at wit's end, Lord Piccolo knew his time as Head of the Demons was coming to a close. Unless he turned his fortunes around, it would be his head on the chopping block and he liked to keep his head attached to his neck, thank you very much.
But how could he turn this around? There wasn't a House, higher or minor, that had survived such a crippling blow as his house had. Everyone single one had dissolved in a matter of years, fading into the annals of history as their lands were claimed by surrounding houses. He refused to give in to that fate that was rushing to it, even as his people had begun to accept it. Lord Piccolo would never accept that, not until his last dying breath.
The same with his son.
Yes, he had a son, Lord Piccolo II. He was shaping up into a fine specimen, the perfect balance between physical and magical abilities. He would be a force to reckon with one day, eventually leading the Demon House to even greater heights. But that was at jeopardy due to his…no, the incompetence of his generals. They were the ones to ruin this war for him; it was their faults that they hadn't been ready for the union of the other houses. They should've known what would happen and planned accordingly. They must be punished.
Later. Right now his house needed to be righted and he would make sure that would happen. But he needed money and that was hard to come by at this point. There was no way the other houses would take pity on him, not after they had rebuffed his previous proposal, and now definitely after this war. If he had to do business with them, he needed a bargaining chip so large they would be willing to negotiate anything with him. Yet he had no such chip and his future was in…
Future…
Yes, the future was what he needed. A future generation, a child if you wish. Everyone across the lands valued their children, building foundations of prosperity with the ideal of the next generation taking over and making it grander. Any house would do anything to ensure their children were safe and if taken, returned in good condition. But which house? The Ribbon House held no such children currently as their newer members had just come of age. The Turtle house was in a similar position. The Monkey House…they might as well be written off just on principle. It would not be easy to take any such young, if they had one.
Yet, if one of their young was taken, it would send a message to all that the Demon House was not finished, not as long as it had legs on which it could stand. If it could render one of the most revered houses in history, then there was no telling what he could do. But did they have a child? Was there one they could use for such ends?
Let's see…Vegeta IV had a son just coming of age, Vegeta the V, and as far as he knew the younger Vegeta had not yet begun continuing his family line. That would not do. The General Nappa was a life-long bachelor with no illegitimates. The Lord Paragus was like Vegeta, the same with Lord Bardock and his two sons.
Wait, if he remembered correctly, one of Bardock's sons had been wed prior to his audience before the war. In fact, he believed they were expecting at the time. So that would making any child they had…around three. Yes, yes, they would do just fine.
"Servant!" he called out, one of his many appearing soon after. "Summon my son. I need his council."
"'Wait here' he says," Gohan grumbled as he sat in his cage. "As if I could go anywhere else. What's taking him so long?"
It had been quite awhile since the blond guy had run off. Gohan knew to gather some supplies and the stuff he needed to break him out would take some time, but if he were right, the guy was taking his sweet time going about it. The moon was already at the top of its path, about to begin its descent. If the blond didn't show up soon, Gohan was gonna have to come up with some other plan.
That was when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him. "Hey! You're still here!" he heard the blond's voice say.
Gohan couldn't help sweatdropping on that one. Seriously, where could he have gone? It wasn't like he could get out of his cage and get something to eat. "Yeah, I'm here," he decided on saying. No need to alienate his only chance of escape.
He watched as the guy walked to the back of the cage, holding something in his hand. A moment later and the young man heard some sort of rattling sound. "What are you doing back there?" Gohan asked.
A louder screeching sound was heard and the blond man said "Got it." Looking behind him, Gohan saw one of the wooden bars was missing, the bar itself in the man's hands. Dropping it to the ground, he began working on the next bar.
"You seem to know what you're doing," Gohan commented.
"Yep, I've had my fair share of stays in this cage. Always being framed for stuff, of course, but once you figure out what tools you need and the best place to carry them, it's easy as pie to get out of."
For a moment, Gohan's mind stalled on the "best place to carry them" part. "Uhh, what do you mean 'best place'?"
"Well, they check all the obvious places for anything that could get you out: your shirt, your boots, your pants. I found it best to keep a couple things up my butt; it's the only place they don't check."
Though he couldn't make out what tool the man was using, Gohan got the feeling he didn't want to know what it was. Just thinking about the previous sentence was giving him the willies. "Is that what took you so long to get back?" he asked meekly.
"Nah, I always have a supply of bran in my house. It was getting all that food and tool stuff you wanted. Found a place outside of town to stash it too. That way we can start my journey immed—"
The same screeching sound was made then, the wooden bar the man was working with coming out. "There we go. You should be able to fit right through." Eagerly, Gohan scrawled to the gap, slipping through it with a little trouble. However, his legs didn't seem to want to cooperate once he stood outside the cage; he even staggered once he put his weight on them. Yeah, they were asleep. Time to wake up legs!
Looking back at his new friend, Gohan saw him putting the bars back in place. "Alright, it's time for us to go Tom."
Gohan frowned. Why did this guy keep calling him that? "But my name's not Tom, its Gohan."
The blond looked at him oddly. "What a dumb name. I mean, if you want to be called something different Tom, that's okay, but at least choose something better."
Gohan could feel a headache working its way from the back of his head. Please don't let this be the whole journey for them. "What's your name?" he decided to say in an attempt to change the subject. "I don't think I caught it."
The look on the man's face was like a child getting a present from his parents—completely ecstatic. "I am the one and only Sharpner. But you can call me Sharpner."
Gohan blinked. And he said his name was bad? Really, who would name their kids…uhh…what was his name again? Sharper? Charmer? Well, who would name their kid that? Parents today, he swore. "Perhaps we should get going. We don't want anyone catching—"
"Hey, who's over there!" a voice called out.
Both men froze. This was not going to end well.
It had been a very close call, for both Gohan and Sharpner. Upon being discovered, the two had to flee a very large, very angry mob, pitchforks and torches included. They had spent the better part of the night running, hiding, and sneaking around until the villagers gave up, collapsed into heaps from exhaustion, grew bored, or were surprisingly attacked by wild animals. Yep, you couldn't script a chase scene like the one they had.
That's why the entire sequence has been edited out.
It was day once more, though a few days since their incredible escape. Once they had managed to find the packs of supplies Sharpner had stashed out there, the two were on the road, making their way to the beautiful princess that was in need of rescuing.
Unfortunately, there had been one small item that Sharpner had forgotten to pack. Being as they were two traveling men, they were prime targets for thieves and people of ill-intent. A couple swords would've been very lovely to have for protection, but as of yet, they hadn't had a run-in with the more unsavory people. If they were lucky enough, they would get to the next village and get something for future travels.
Gohan wasn't holding his breath that their luck would go so well.
And if that wasn't bad on its own, Sharpner seemed to have this need to talk for as long and often as possible. It wasn't like he had something good or important to say; most of it was all about him and how great he was, or how great he would be. Or what comprised the greatness that was himself.
"And that's how I managed to fend off not one, not two, but five men with a mere wave of my hair."
See what he meant?
"But…uhh, Shaper, I thought it was three men," Gohan said.
"It's Sharpner, get it right. And did I say three men? Sorry, I meant six," Sharpner said. "Yep, they were six of the most savage brutes I have ever met. They had raped, pillaged, and done all sorts of bad things until they met me. Why, if it weren't for me, they would still be doing all of that other stuff. You see, I am what they call a hero. It's a lonely way of life, but someone has to do it. But they aren't always alone! Some heroes even have sidekicks! And since every hero needs a sidekick, I've decided to make you my sidekick. How do you feel about that Tom?"
"That's…nice," Gohan said. And then there was that Tom name. Why was this guy so insistent on calling him Tom anyways? If it was payback because he kept getting his name wrong, then it was very childish. He couldn't help if he had a hard time remembering names! Moving around as much as he had, he only really needed to know Mr. Piccolo, sir, ma'am, and that was about it.
"Um, Sharpner?" (hey, he got it right!) Gohan said hesitantly. "Why do you keep calling me Tom? My name's Gohan."
Sharpner rolled his eyes. "Because that's what all the villagers were calling you. You were peeping after all."
Wait, peeping? Tom? Peeping Tom? Was he being accused of looking at girls dressing and undressing? "But I wasn't peeping!" the young man protested. "I just got to the village that afternoon and everyone just pointed a finger at me!"
Sharpner straightened out his posture, his mind working as fast as it could. "So you're telling me that you've been framed? That's not right! No worries Tom…I mean Gohan, when we get our princess, I'll help you clear your name! After all, what would a hero be if he didn't help out his sidekick?"
At first, Gohan felt relief that someone believed him. The next thing he felt was insecurity. Did he really want this blond guy helping him clear his good name?
"Now onward, Sidekick! We haven't a moment to lose!" Sharpner declared before he began running ahead. Unfortunately, due to the pack on his back shifting side to side because of his running motions, Sharpner soon lost his balance and fell face first into the ground.
Hmm, perhaps he needed to clear his name on his own.
To bvprincess23: To be fair, you could make an insult out of anything. All you need is the right imagination/And you doubt Gohan innocence? He's just a boy who has certain curiosities!/ I think Sharpner's getting over the Tom name, but with his self-centeredness, I'm pretty sure he'll come up with another name lol/btw, I'll be using the / so seperate responses to each of your remarks. Help to keep things organized, I suppose.
To nameless reviewing: Thanks!
RyRy tested; MaMa approved.
