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Shadow's Dance
By NinJinChan
Rated R
Chapter 9
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"Vegeta-sei not in existence?" he questioned in an almost frightened tone. "Impossible."
"On the contrary, your excellence, it's very possible. In fact, I do not believe I am in the same universe anymore. I think I time-traveled, without my knowledge of course, but I think I did." Goten tried to explain with the few facts he himself contained.
"Oh... I see." The boy said. "In that case, for now, you can stay with me and my mother at the palace. I'm sure you'll receive all the correct accommodations there." He continued in a curt yet friendly tone.
And with that, he turned, flourishing his cape, and walked quickly down the cobblestone street.
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Bra walked hurriedly down the hall toward her mother's lab. She had her plan all set out in her mind in a kind of psychological blueprint. Her mother's and grandfather's genes had finally come through for her, and her family's genius was showing through in this.
She opened the big metal doors to her mother's lab and walked right in, strolling straight across to her own section of the lab, which lay untouched since her mom had set it up for her in her younger years.
Rubbing her hand across the steel table to sweep off the layers of dust which had accumulated there, she grabbed a large sheet of paper and began to draw, laying out each section that needed to be done for her plan to work.
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Piles upon piles of crumpled paper lay in, on and surrounding the small waste basket next to the table where Bra had lain her head down in defeat after hours of working. A small puddle of drool pooled where it had dribbled out of her mouth when she had crashed and finally slipped off into sleep on the cold surface.
Her soft blue hair rested wildly across her face, covering her delicate features and touching her feathery lashes with its soft aqua tendrils. Her previous nightmare plagued her once again.
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Jouen crawled slowly over the edge of his luxurious crib and then dropped with a resounding plop to the carpeted floor.
He stumbled down the hallway to the metal doors where he sensed his mother. A half Saiya-jin, thanks to his mother's and father's genes and then also thanks to Vegeta's obsession with training, the boy's abilities were already well passed advanced.
With his childish innocence, he slipped through the giant metal doors of the lab's compound. Bra had carelessly left the doors open with just enough space for the tiny child to slide through.
He saw his young mother sleeping gently on the table and watched with awe as her face contorted in so many twisted emotions.
With some worry, he moved from his trance and made his way to his mother napping on the chair.
He placed his chubby thumb in his mouth and tugged with his free hand on his mom's pant leg in an attempt to acquire her attention and to get rid of those faces she kept making that disturbed him so.
Jerking awake, Bra peered down to see her tiny son looking up at her with real concern writ on his face.
Smiling gently, she reached down to pick him up and then placed him on her lap.
She pointed out the different sections she had planned out so far, showing and naming the advanced scientific pieces to her only son, not so much in an effort to make him understand what she was doing, but more so that she would have someone, anyone, to talk to about her plan.
Only he and she would know when the plan finally moved into effect.
Planting a kiss upon his porcelain forehead, she asked him, "How would you like to be king?"
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Goten followed behind the young heir quickly, mimicking, in an act of boredom, the steps of the boy in front of him, moving his feet at the same pace and in the same position as the heir. It was something Goten had done since childhood, usually copying his older brother, Gohan, in an attempt to be just like the crime-fighting superhero and hero of Goten's youth.
Still unsure of the child's actual name, besides "The Heir" as the town had obviously dubbed him, his mind wandered onto what it could be. The boy looked very familiar to him, yet he couldn't place his identity at all. It was too vague of a feeling to be named.
"What is this... Chikii... like?" The prince asked Goten unexpectedly, trying to fill the silence.
"Chikyuu." Goten laughed. "Well, let's see... It's nothing like this planet. It's gorgeous, the most beautiful place I have ever seen; full of exotic, bright colors and then the soothing tones of nature. It's perfect." Goten replied with a glazed look covering his normally bright onyx eyes. "...just perfect..."
The silence resumed as the future king mulled over the seeming utopia which his new guest had just described.
'One day, I want to go there. I want to see it.' He thought to himself in resolution.
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Dende lay snoring in the deep confines of Kami's lookout, the latest stack of papers resting on his lap in a messy, yet organized pile, totally unaware of the new presence entering his lair.
The chunky, husky white creature padded quietly on the damp stone floor toward the young god. This Namek-jin was but a child compared to him.
His stick tapped in a steady beat, its clicking pattern sounding in the silence of the dank cellar like room.
He scratched his furry arm with an old, worn paw and looking in amazement at the dedication with which Dende served his job. It was amazing.
'Too bad my assistant isn't as devoted..." He thought with a chuckle. The soft sound echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls, startling the intruder, but startling Dende more. The leathery green man awoke with a start, his eyes snapping open, and bounded out of his whicker chair, sending the papers flying as he sunk into an ancient fighting stance.
The invader also sunk into a similar stance and stuck his walking stick out as a kind of defense and offense in one.
Suddenly, they both broke out in laughter as Dende realized who the "intruder" was. He stretched and walked over to him, patting him on the back in greeting.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, old friend. How're things at the tower?"
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Dende gently guided Korin, his unexpected guest, over to the desk where his whicker chair rested, and then he gently guided the psychic cat into the soft, deep seated recliner next to his preferred chair, which upon he sat.
"So, by the looks of it, I'm guessing you still haven't found its location?" Korin requested, immediately getting to the point of his visit.
"Huh? What? How'd you--" Dende stumbled, only to have Korin respond with a lone finger tapping his forehead, reminding Dende of his psychic powers. "Oh... I knew that." he replied guiltily. "But yes, as you see, I haven't had any luck with my search. That stone is nowhere to be found! I've tried everything and I've looked everywhere, but still I've come up fruitless."
At that moment, Mr. Popo came down into the room with a tray of tea and crumpets for Dende's midday meal.
"Good afternoon, sir, I didn't realize you had company. I'll be right back with some more refreshments." Mr. Popo said as he turned on his heal and headed back up the stairs. Korin just stared after the succulent looking snack.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Dende asked, drawing the cat's attention back to the matter at hand.
"Ah, yes. That's why I came down to talk to you today--"
"I thought it rather strange since you haven't visited me at the lookout in so long. Is the tower doing as well as ever?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. As I was saying, I came down to talk to you today about the stone and its location. It seems that it has taken a trip with Goten, into the future, not an alternate universe, to which you sent him."
"The future? Is that really what it was? How?" Shocked, the green god blurted out.
"As of yet, I'm unsure of how it came to be the future, but we can't worry about that now. We need to figure out how to find the stone and get it back so we can open the Amai Safe-Hold."
"...the Amai Safe-Hold... Are you sure it really even exists? I haven't found the information on it in any of these old documents and records yet, and I've gone through most of them." Dende questioned.
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Bra set the child back down on the floor and placed a few steel balls in front of him so he could play with them like marbles.
Jouen giggled, shaking his dark curls about his head, and rolled the balls around, running them into each other and producing a metallic, yet musical, sound that echoed through the silent compound.
In the mean time, she began fine tuning her blueprints which lay sprawled across the large metal surface.
She'd be erasing vehemently one moment and then sketching with equal vigor the next.
Hours later, Jouen was stretched out across some furry ani-bot skin her mother had never finished, snoring soundly, with his tiny thumb still stuck inside his pouting little lips.
At that moment, Bra jumped in glee, spinning around with her finalized plans clutched close to her bosom.
'I'm done!' She cried to herself, still dancing in her joy.
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Goten and the young heir, after walking for a couple hours because the prince refused to climb onto a horse and ride, claiming the day was too nice to not enjoy its beauty, a rare moment indeed for royalty to say such, finally reached the castle.
Rising high into the clouds, with billowing banners covered with the royal insignia, a twisted vine, studded with thorns, wrapped tightly around the crest. It seemed incredibly familiar to Goten, as did the youth in front of him, yet once again, he couldn't seem to place where he had seen it before.
The draw bridge lowered in a slow but steady fashion, graceful in its wooden movements, and made a wide walkway across the peaceful seeming moat.
As they strolled across, he couldn't help but marvel at the clear waters below him. However, as he soon realized, the moat wasn't as placid as it first appeared. It was teeming with tiny piranha.
"Right this way, sir" The heir commanded in a gentle tone, making a sweeping gesture with his arm, implying that Goten should continue walking and do a little less staring. At the implication, however, Goten's features softened, and he complied.
'Something about that boy...' He thought, but trailed off and never completed it.
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He followed the youth down the darkened hallways, lavishly decorated, until he reached two sturdy oak doors, finely carved, and then with a light touch by the black haired boy, the doors silently opened to reveal an equally darkened room, also decorated to the extreme.
And in the middle, at the cherry wood desk, sat a lavender locked man.
Immediately, the boy dropped all pretenses of royalty and ran up to him, screaming out "Uncle!"
A smirk slid across the seemingly ageless man, a fire lit in his shocking cerulean blue eyes, as he raised his head to greet his only nephew.
"How're ya, Jouen?"
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Shadow's Dance
By NinJinChan
Rated R
Chapter 9
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
"Vegeta-sei not in existence?" he questioned in an almost frightened tone. "Impossible."
"On the contrary, your excellence, it's very possible. In fact, I do not believe I am in the same universe anymore. I think I time-traveled, without my knowledge of course, but I think I did." Goten tried to explain with the few facts he himself contained.
"Oh... I see." The boy said. "In that case, for now, you can stay with me and my mother at the palace. I'm sure you'll receive all the correct accommodations there." He continued in a curt yet friendly tone.
And with that, he turned, flourishing his cape, and walked quickly down the cobblestone street.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
Bra walked hurriedly down the hall toward her mother's lab. She had her plan all set out in her mind in a kind of psychological blueprint. Her mother's and grandfather's genes had finally come through for her, and her family's genius was showing through in this.
She opened the big metal doors to her mother's lab and walked right in, strolling straight across to her own section of the lab, which lay untouched since her mom had set it up for her in her younger years.
Rubbing her hand across the steel table to sweep off the layers of dust which had accumulated there, she grabbed a large sheet of paper and began to draw, laying out each section that needed to be done for her plan to work.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
Piles upon piles of crumpled paper lay in, on and surrounding the small waste basket next to the table where Bra had lain her head down in defeat after hours of working. A small puddle of drool pooled where it had dribbled out of her mouth when she had crashed and finally slipped off into sleep on the cold surface.
Her soft blue hair rested wildly across her face, covering her delicate features and touching her feathery lashes with its soft aqua tendrils. Her previous nightmare plagued her once again.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
Jouen crawled slowly over the edge of his luxurious crib and then dropped with a resounding plop to the carpeted floor.
He stumbled down the hallway to the metal doors where he sensed his mother. A half Saiya-jin, thanks to his mother's and father's genes and then also thanks to Vegeta's obsession with training, the boy's abilities were already well passed advanced.
With his childish innocence, he slipped through the giant metal doors of the lab's compound. Bra had carelessly left the doors open with just enough space for the tiny child to slide through.
He saw his young mother sleeping gently on the table and watched with awe as her face contorted in so many twisted emotions.
With some worry, he moved from his trance and made his way to his mother napping on the chair.
He placed his chubby thumb in his mouth and tugged with his free hand on his mom's pant leg in an attempt to acquire her attention and to get rid of those faces she kept making that disturbed him so.
Jerking awake, Bra peered down to see her tiny son looking up at her with real concern writ on his face.
Smiling gently, she reached down to pick him up and then placed him on her lap.
She pointed out the different sections she had planned out so far, showing and naming the advanced scientific pieces to her only son, not so much in an effort to make him understand what she was doing, but more so that she would have someone, anyone, to talk to about her plan.
Only he and she would know when the plan finally moved into effect.
Planting a kiss upon his porcelain forehead, she asked him, "How would you like to be king?"
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Goten followed behind the young heir quickly, mimicking, in an act of boredom, the steps of the boy in front of him, moving his feet at the same pace and in the same position as the heir. It was something Goten had done since childhood, usually copying his older brother, Gohan, in an attempt to be just like the crime-fighting superhero and hero of Goten's youth.
Still unsure of the child's actual name, besides "The Heir" as the town had obviously dubbed him, his mind wandered onto what it could be. The boy looked very familiar to him, yet he couldn't place his identity at all. It was too vague of a feeling to be named.
"What is this... Chikii... like?" The prince asked Goten unexpectedly, trying to fill the silence.
"Chikyuu." Goten laughed. "Well, let's see... It's nothing like this planet. It's gorgeous, the most beautiful place I have ever seen; full of exotic, bright colors and then the soothing tones of nature. It's perfect." Goten replied with a glazed look covering his normally bright onyx eyes. "...just perfect..."
The silence resumed as the future king mulled over the seeming utopia which his new guest had just described.
'One day, I want to go there. I want to see it.' He thought to himself in resolution.
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Dende lay snoring in the deep confines of Kami's lookout, the latest stack of papers resting on his lap in a messy, yet organized pile, totally unaware of the new presence entering his lair.
The chunky, husky white creature padded quietly on the damp stone floor toward the young god. This Namek-jin was but a child compared to him.
His stick tapped in a steady beat, its clicking pattern sounding in the silence of the dank cellar like room.
He scratched his furry arm with an old, worn paw and looking in amazement at the dedication with which Dende served his job. It was amazing.
'Too bad my assistant isn't as devoted..." He thought with a chuckle. The soft sound echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls, startling the intruder, but startling Dende more. The leathery green man awoke with a start, his eyes snapping open, and bounded out of his whicker chair, sending the papers flying as he sunk into an ancient fighting stance.
The invader also sunk into a similar stance and stuck his walking stick out as a kind of defense and offense in one.
Suddenly, they both broke out in laughter as Dende realized who the "intruder" was. He stretched and walked over to him, patting him on the back in greeting.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, old friend. How're things at the tower?"
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Dende gently guided Korin, his unexpected guest, over to the desk where his whicker chair rested, and then he gently guided the psychic cat into the soft, deep seated recliner next to his preferred chair, which upon he sat.
"So, by the looks of it, I'm guessing you still haven't found its location?" Korin requested, immediately getting to the point of his visit.
"Huh? What? How'd you--" Dende stumbled, only to have Korin respond with a lone finger tapping his forehead, reminding Dende of his psychic powers. "Oh... I knew that." he replied guiltily. "But yes, as you see, I haven't had any luck with my search. That stone is nowhere to be found! I've tried everything and I've looked everywhere, but still I've come up fruitless."
At that moment, Mr. Popo came down into the room with a tray of tea and crumpets for Dende's midday meal.
"Good afternoon, sir, I didn't realize you had company. I'll be right back with some more refreshments." Mr. Popo said as he turned on his heal and headed back up the stairs. Korin just stared after the succulent looking snack.
"Do you have any suggestions?" Dende asked, drawing the cat's attention back to the matter at hand.
"Ah, yes. That's why I came down to talk to you today--"
"I thought it rather strange since you haven't visited me at the lookout in so long. Is the tower doing as well as ever?"
"Yes, but that's beside the point. As I was saying, I came down to talk to you today about the stone and its location. It seems that it has taken a trip with Goten, into the future, not an alternate universe, to which you sent him."
"The future? Is that really what it was? How?" Shocked, the green god blurted out.
"As of yet, I'm unsure of how it came to be the future, but we can't worry about that now. We need to figure out how to find the stone and get it back so we can open the Amai Safe-Hold."
"...the Amai Safe-Hold... Are you sure it really even exists? I haven't found the information on it in any of these old documents and records yet, and I've gone through most of them." Dende questioned.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
Bra set the child back down on the floor and placed a few steel balls in front of him so he could play with them like marbles.
Jouen giggled, shaking his dark curls about his head, and rolled the balls around, running them into each other and producing a metallic, yet musical, sound that echoed through the silent compound.
In the mean time, she began fine tuning her blueprints which lay sprawled across the large metal surface.
She'd be erasing vehemently one moment and then sketching with equal vigor the next.
Hours later, Jouen was stretched out across some furry ani-bot skin her mother had never finished, snoring soundly, with his tiny thumb still stuck inside his pouting little lips.
At that moment, Bra jumped in glee, spinning around with her finalized plans clutched close to her bosom.
'I'm done!' She cried to herself, still dancing in her joy.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
Goten and the young heir, after walking for a couple hours because the prince refused to climb onto a horse and ride, claiming the day was too nice to not enjoy its beauty, a rare moment indeed for royalty to say such, finally reached the castle.
Rising high into the clouds, with billowing banners covered with the royal insignia, a twisted vine, studded with thorns, wrapped tightly around the crest. It seemed incredibly familiar to Goten, as did the youth in front of him, yet once again, he couldn't seem to place where he had seen it before.
The draw bridge lowered in a slow but steady fashion, graceful in its wooden movements, and made a wide walkway across the peaceful seeming moat.
As they strolled across, he couldn't help but marvel at the clear waters below him. However, as he soon realized, the moat wasn't as placid as it first appeared. It was teeming with tiny piranha.
"Right this way, sir" The heir commanded in a gentle tone, making a sweeping gesture with his arm, implying that Goten should continue walking and do a little less staring. At the implication, however, Goten's features softened, and he complied.
'Something about that boy...' He thought, but trailed off and never completed it.
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--
He followed the youth down the darkened hallways, lavishly decorated, until he reached two sturdy oak doors, finely carved, and then with a light touch by the black haired boy, the doors silently opened to reveal an equally darkened room, also decorated to the extreme.
And in the middle, at the cherry wood desk, sat a lavender locked man.
Immediately, the boy dropped all pretenses of royalty and ran up to him, screaming out "Uncle!"
A smirk slid across the seemingly ageless man, a fire lit in his shocking cerulean blue eyes, as he raised his head to greet his only nephew.
"How're ya, Jouen?"
--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- -=--=--=--