Hi everyone,

Eight chapters in eight days! I think the streak will break tomorrow. Busy day. Of course that's probably the third time I say that. We shall see what happens.

Thank you for all the reviews. These last two days have been chock-full of compliments. I'm glad you like it :)

-Kanotari


Chapter 9: Don't Tell Vegeta

"Impossible," Vegeta spat. "You're dead." The silvery syreni ignored him; she only had eyes for Nappa. It mattered not, he tried to assure himself. His mother was gone. Table's birth had been too much for her. Besides, this was only a copy created by Tethys to stop them from finding the vox.

"Bannan," he ordered. "Take the others and go find Nappa. Get to the pods. We'll regroup up here."

"I love to sir," the cyborg started, "but there's a problem." His comm began to move. It panned to reveal a horde of furious piscis.

"Prince, perhaps we had better leave Nappa for a while," Radditz suggested.

"He does sound happy with his syreni," Cale chimed in.

"Dammit!" Vegeta swore. "We are coming back for him. Understood?"


Argden... Nappa remembered. This was Argden, capitol of the Tuffle empire, the garden oasis of Planet Plant. As much as he hated the tuffle cowards, he had to admit that their capitol was like walking into a dream. He wished he had time to wander, but he saw Ambassador Shitaki shuffling toward him. The man was long-winded and full of ideas of a 'peaceful utopia'. Nappa glanced upward, wishing for the full moon. He would dearly love to knock some sense into the foolish ambassador, particularly in giant monkey form. He had promised Vegeta that he would be on his best behavior, and one doesn't break promises to the king and expect to live, even if the king is an old friend. So, he took a deep breath and braced himself for the unpleasant, one-sided conversation approaching. It never came.

A delicate, yet capable woman smiled at him from across the courtyard. Seleri! His heart leapt as she winked at him and gave him a little wave, an indicator to run. She embraced the ambassador genially and engaged him in conversation.


Variations of 'yes, sir' were heard as the saiyans dived for their abandoned pods. Now saiyans, while perfectly capable of swimming, come from a planet of mostly deserts and badlands. They could swim and dive, but not like an army of sea creatures. Bannan hollered as an octopus piscid entwined a reaching arm around his foot. He reached back and punched the suckered tentacle with his mechanical arm. The electric current that kept shocking the cyborg was unleashed upon the octopus, who screeched and let go.

It wasn't just the piscis army. The creatures of the deep rose to aid their brethren. A school of sardines attempted to bar the saiyans' way. A swarm of jellyfish surrounded Cale, stinging her hands, the only uncovered skin she had. A shark and a shark piscid tag-teamed Radditz, who blocked their serrated teeth by deftly keeping his limbs perpendicular to the clashing jaws. It only worked for so long. The shark clenched around his forearm, spilling blood into the water. The creatures went crazy at the scent of blood. It was a feeding frenzy. Cale was not immune to the effects either; it was her mate's blood. She ignored the jellyfish, despite heavily swollen and lacerated hands, firing ki blast at the oncoming wave of attackers.

"Don't stop!" Vegeta hollered into the headset. "Make it to the pods!" They obeyed; he was right. Bannan was the first to notice the increasing pressure. His mechanical arm began to warp, squeezing the artificial nerve endings and causing him to gasp in pain. The others noticed as his breathing became labored and the horde began to gain on him. Ears popped as the pressure continued to rise. Bulma began to worry that they would be crushed long before the fish-people reached them. The glass on Radditz's helmet cracked, and Cales' followed shortly. The pods were in reach. Radditz kicked the door open, dragging Bannan, now unconscious, in with him. Cale shot a final ki blast, clearing room for her door. All three were safely inside their pods, but so was the water. Radditz sucked in one last breath.

"Come on, you useless hunk of junk," Cale muttered, as she forced her pod to rise. If they could make it to the surface, through the furious piscis and free from the wrath of Tethys, they could drain the water from the pods and helmets and get back to the ship. The cracks in the helmets gave way with a final crunch, and Bulma and Vegeta heard the rush of water. Their friends were drowning. The surface was still far away when the comm links twinkled out. They weren't water proof. The light increased as the two pods struggled upwards. The earpieces died as the helmets filled completely.


"Thanks for the save back there, Sel," Nappa laughed, gratefully.

"Anything for you, Ambassador," she teased back. She knew he hated being an ambassador. Nappa had joined the ambassadorial team because King Vegeta was an old friend. He would have been much happier leading the border defenses or training young saiyans in the ways of combat. Nappa and the king had fought together against the desert animals and rival tribes many a time. Both were experienced warriors and inexperienced politicians. In fact, they both hated and distrusted politicians. When contact was made with the tuffles and an ambassador was needed, the king would trust no one else with the position. Nappa accepted for his friend, but also for Seleri. She had been promised to Vegeta practically since birth, but had never shown any real romantic interest in the future king. They were friends of course, but nothing more. Nappa knew that it would destroy what he had with the king, but he still hoped that Seleri would throw caution to the wind and choose him. She just wasn't that kind of girl.

"How's the mate?" he asked.

"Veggie is fine," she giggled. The king would be furious if he knew anyone called him 'Veggie'. Nappa chuckled appreciatively. It was their inside joke. "He's a little grumpy that the tuffles are so reluctant to share their technology. I can't blame them though."

"Terrible strategy," he nodded. "If your enemies are physically stronger than you, beat them with tech."

"Yes, well hopefully this won't come to war," she prayed. The tuffles generally saw the saiyans as invaders, although they inhabited areas of the planet that the other species couldn't.

"And of course there are the rumors," Seleri continued in a hushed voice. "The slave trade."

"So it's true then?" Nappa asked. "The cowards are enslaving us?"

"Only one rogue one," Seleri responded. "We can't condemn them all for the actions of one."

"No, but one tuffle could poison the minds of many. Make them all think we are less than them."

"Keep your pride in check, Nappa," Seleri cautioned.

"Sorry, my lady," he replied apologetically.

"You have a point though," she amended.

"So now what?" he asked. "Do we keep negotiating, or do we wait for a full moon?"

"Neither," she said with a mischievous smile. "You and me, Nappa. We're going to find them. We'll free the slaves and demand that their captor be put to trial."

"Tonight then," he said, a grin stretching across his face.

"Tonight," she agreed. "Let's not get caught."


Cale broke the surface and kicked her pod's door open, gasping for air as the water flowed back into mother ocean. She looked around in panic, but Radditz and Bannan's pod surfaced a few feet away. The female saiyan helped them get the door open. Radditz stuck his head under the water, long hair obscuring his vision as if flowed about his face (That was for you KimiruMai).The piscis were nowhere to be seen. His coarse black mane trailed behind him as he floated on his back, sighing in relief. They were safe for now.

When the two pods docked with the saiyan ship, Bulma rushed to hug each of them. Even Vegeta gave an uncharacteristic smile. They were safe for now, well... except for Nappa. A quick check of his comm link showed he escaped the dangers of piscis. They swam harmlessly around him as the syreni Acequia dragged him onward. His eyelids were closed and he kicked feebly. Bulma guessed he was in a deeper state of trance than Radditz had been before Cale rescued him.

Prince Vegeta was back to business. "Listen up," he called, forcing the ship's population to look at him. "If you were a crazed ocean, where would you keep something you wanted to hide?"

"At the bottom," Cale mused. "But that's no use. The pressure would kill us."

"Some secret underwater cave," was Radditz's thought. Bulma took the longest to answer.

"On dry land," she said carefully. "Who would think to look there?" Vegeta pointed at her, eyes flashing.

"Exactly!" he remarked. "Anyone searching for the vox looks in the water and is led astray by the syreni, disguised as their perfect woman. Your presence threw them off, Cale."

"Aren't the vox aquatic?" Bannan asked.

"Check the file," Vegeta ordered, wearing a villainous smile. "I'll save you the trouble. There's no data on it. Ladies, gentlemen. We are looking for an island."


Nappa met Seleri on the roof of the embassy. The mounted turrets were making him feel uneasy. Things would go badly for their race if they were caught. The future queen took his hand. He tried to subdue a blush. She was his friend's girl. She was the king's girl. He should make her stop this foolish raid, but the roguish part of him was having way too much fun. Stealthily, they flew down to the ground in the shadow of the building. From there it was a short sprint across a street and down a dark alley. It wasn't difficult for them to cross town. The queen led him behind a building to a pair of twin hatches leading into the ground below.

"My sources said they are being held in here," she whispered. He nodded, keeping noise to a minimum. They each took a hatch and hefted them open. They shouldn't have worried about noise. The tuffles were warned of their approach. A dozen tuffles, armed with plasma weapons, opened fire on the two stunned saiyans. Seleri reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of dust. She blew it gently from her fingertips toward the attacking aliens. Their weapons ceased firing.

"Police grade polaron powder," she explained, both to the tuffles and her fellow ambassador. "Your plasma weapons are no longer functional."

"That is a controlled substance!" a tuffle at the front shouted. "Contraband! We can't let you go." He must have been in charge, for the twelve tuffles charged at them, small knives drawn.

"Try not to kill them, Nappa," Seleri warned. He did try, though it was difficult being outnumbered six to one. One tuffle split his head on the corner of a table. He would not survive. The other eleven were shortly unconscious. Seleri checked their pulses and bandaged their wounds. Nappa, meanwhile, searched for the slaves. It didn't take him long. They were in the next room, a laboratory, and they were not as lucky as the tuffle ambushers.

"A new test subject, how wonderful" a voice sneered. Nappa cracked his knuckles. This scientist was presumably the one who had violently studied his kin. He would see how 'wonderful' it would be when this 'test subject' got a hold of him. A tiny tuffle in a giant mechanical suit stepped into the light. "I am Doctor Malus Sylvestris," it explained. "And I will be dissecting you today." Scientists were one thing. Mechanical scientists brandishing buzz saws were another entirely.

"Sel!" he hollered into the other room. "Company!" The metallic doors clanged closed behind him. He could hear her clawing at them from the far side.

"Foolish monkeys," the doctor laughed. "I designed those doors specifically to keep your kind in." He charged at Nappa, mechanical weapons roaring. The suit was fast, but Nappa was faster. He climbed up into the rafters with the dexterity of his primate ancestors. Doctor Sylvestris couldn't reach him, but he had more than melee weaponry. Guns sprouted from his shoulders, spouting flame. Nappa leaped from beam to beam just barely ahead of the doctor's attacks. The beams themselves were not so agile. They blossomed into flame. The saiyan began to run out of options as more of the rafters joined the blaze and collapsed to the laboratory floor below. The one he stood on gave way, and he fell into the waiting arms of Doctor Sylvestris. The suit pinned him to the floor with one oversized foot. Seleri had ceased her attacks on the door. She was a saiyan whose prowess in battle was due to brains, not brawn. The future queen launched herself through the wall, weakened by the fire. Destroying his lab had allowed the doctor to capture Nappa. He had nothing else to destroy when he was faced with a furious woman. She pounced on the robotic suit's head, ripping the hatch open and pulling the helpless doctor out. With no pilot, the suit stood inert. She carelessly tossed the doctor into the flames. "You did this to yourself," she spat, kicking the suit off of Nappa. Seleri carried her friend from the burning building. The doctor had no such luck.

"Thanks, Sel," he laughed, breathing labored. For a minute, it didn't matter who she was betrothed to, where they were, or the deaths they had just witnessed.

"I thought you were dead," she sobbed. Then it happened. She seized his lips in a furious kiss, and he kissed her right back. "Don't tell Vegeta," she whispered in his ear.


Nappa spluttered and coughed. His helmet was gone. He was far from Argden and Vegeta-sei. He was miles beneath the waves on Planet Riparian, and that was not Seleri. He stared at the syren in shock. She blushed bright red. The saiyan looked around in a panic, hoping for some source of air. All he saw was his helmet sinking into the briny deep as spots began to dance before his eyes. The syren took his hands and kissed him again, gently. He felt better; the spots retreated. Gills fluttered on the sides of her neck. Of course! She was saving him. The syren pulled him toward the surface as they kissed. After several long minutes, he broke the surface. A rocky island was just a short swim away. The syren floated below, careful to stay submerged. She beckoned him back under the water. He took a deep breath and stuck his head back below.

"Mother protects her children from evil. Perhaps you are not so evil," she smiled. "My sisters are on that island. Do not listen to them. Their songs are lies."

"Thank you," he burbled, forgetting his helmet was gone. He gasped and choked as the water poured into his lungs. He reached up for the air, taking a moment to regain composure. With his head safely above the salty water, he continued. "Thank you, Acequia, for letting me see her again." She smiled back sadly.

"Thank you for letting me into your mind, but it is time for us to part. I know why you are here. Take my sisters and go."

Nappa felt his heart break. The little syren had seen that he wasn't a heartless monster, but Frieza was. The vox would suffer terribly at his hands, but Nappa forced himself to swim away. The vox were the price he would have to pay for his planet's safety.

Searching for the only island on a water planet was about as difficult as searching for a glow stick in the dark. It took mere minutes.

"I don't believe it," gasped Bulma. Nappa waved happily from the shore.

"It might be a trap," Vegeta cautioned. "Doesn't matter. We've got to get him and the vox." He tossed Bannan's headset to Radditz. "You're staying on board."

"Cale, Bannan, time for fishing," he finished with a smirk.

The pods landed on dry land for a change, and Nappa rushed over to greet them, fingers in his ears. "Don't listen to the song," he shouted. Vegeta raised an eyebrow.

"What song?" he demanded. Cale and Bannan didn't seem to hear it either. Then the haunting melody began to flow over the waves...


Doctor Malus Sylvestris comes from binomial nomenclature. It's the scientific name for crabapples. Argden is an anagram of 'garden'.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of Planet Riparian.