. O .
With no further explanation as to how Vegeta knew the ladies were on their way other than an agreeing head bob from Gohan, the doctor again returned to his work. Everyone else drifted back over to the food, all except Vegeta, who returned to guard the playpen. Ray passed Archer a bowl of his own which he eagerly accepted and for a while the group ate in weirdly comfortable silence.
"Okay, I have to ask," Archer finally worked out, waving his chopsticks towards Gohan. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
It took the boy a moment to even register Archer was talking to him, his face slowly flushing with embarrassment. "I don't think so."
"You ever been to Borneo?"
"Huh?"
"No, that's not it. How about… Hmm… No, not Gstaad or the Wharf… ah! Have you ever been in a Budoukai?"
"What?"
"A, uh... World Martial Arts Tournament?"
"Me?!" Gohan coughed. "No, not exactly. My parents have competed, though-"
"That's it! You've got to be related to Son Goku, aren't you?" Archer exclaimed, eyes and smile wide, almost giddy at Gohan's very tiny but affirming nod. "Oh man, I took down a Son? God, high school me has such a boner right now."
Across the table, Pam choked on her chicken and rice, pounding a fist against her own chest until she could take a full breath. "Holy shit snacks! This kid is a Son?!"
"How do you possibly know or care about anything related to Kakarott?" Vegeta drawled, narrowing his eyes slightly, though he made no further move.
"To who?" Archer asked.
"My senpais, you know, when I got into bum fighting," Pam replied, less concerned with semantics than her partner, "they'd talk about the elite level fighters like they were gods. I mean, I was just doing it to pay for college. Those guys lived and breathed…"
Pam trailed off as realization hit her. Eyes widened to a comical size as she gaped at the warrior leaning against the wall by the playpen full of babies. "Hot damn. No wonder no one's infiltrated this place."
"What?" Cyril scoffed, waggling eyebrows at Vegeta. "Him?"
Ray rolled his eyes. "Cyril, he could kill you with a pinky- your pinky."
"Fifty different ways," Pam added.
"Blindfolded," Gohan piped up.
"Mmm…" Cheryl shuddered, eyes rolling back in ecstasy. "Sploosh."
. O .
Leaving was a simple matter of Bulma opening up the double doors leading out to their ample private patio, popping open an air car capsule, and everyone piling inside. Friend, foe, and baby alike, they cleared the hotel and were buzzing back to Capsule Corporation with far less fuss than Chi Chi expected.
"For the last time, Chi Chi, it's fine," Bulma reassured her as she piloted them along.
"No one's answering at home," Mrs. Briefs said, checking her cell phone before trying again. Behind her, Malory was doing the same.
"Nothing from any of the others, either," the woman muttered.
"If they're in the building, Dad or Vegeta may have set the call disruptors," Bulma said. "Now, I'm only slightly worried about Trunks, which means you're probably freaking out about Gohan and Goten."
Bulma assessed the other woman in the rearview mirror, who was surprisingly calmer than she expected. Chi Chi gave her a look like she dared her to expect something different.
"While we're on this topic, why haven't you freaked out yet?"
"Gohan will move heaven and earth to keep Goten and Trunks safe. And there certainly haven't been any signs of that happening... yet," Chi Chi said as she rubbed a hand over her face, focusing on her temples, "I've done what I can from here."
. O .
"Uh... sir, how do you know so much about my dad?" Gohan asked Archer hesitantly.
"Your father was fairly well known when he was younger, Gohan," Dr. Briefs inserted without looking up from his work, his voice going soft. "Between his dealings with Red Ribbon and all the Budokais, he made quite a name for himself without even realizing it."
"He did?"
The doctor nodded and he and the boy shared a small, sad smile.
"Sure, everyone knows that Son Goku won the 23rd Budokai," Archer agreed. "He was one of the last people the Turtle Hermit supposedly took on as a student. I dreamed of training under the Turtle Hermit, I mean, assuming he was real. You know, I tried searching for his island once."
"Seriously?" Gohan asked, eyebrows disappearing under his bangs in surprise.
"Yeah. During my gap year. Didn't make it past the coast though… uh… got a bit sidetracked."
Pam snorted. "By hookers and booze, right?"
"Port towns know how to party," Archer agreed with a laugh. "Damn. I am feeling fine! You guys should seriously consider marketing that rejuvenating bath thing."
"We're supposed to be stealing the specs to make it and everything else in here," Ray snarked.
"Oh. Right. So… uh… where are we on that?"
"Really, Archer, do you ever listen to what comes out of your mouth?"
"Only as much as I listen to what comes out of yours. And, let me reiterate for the umpteenth time, we need to bring phrasing back."
Archer stretched and looked around, eyes bright. "God, seriously, I need to let off some steam before I explode. Pam-"
"Now is not the time for a quickie, Archer-"
"-Fight me."
"What?" Pam questioned.
"What?" Archer echoed.
Ray and Vegeta both groaned, hands smacking shaking foreheads in tandem.
"There's got to be some sort of gym in this place with…" Archer gestured to Gohan.
"I don't live here."
"Oh. Then what are you doing here?"
"Did he not read my dossier?" Cyril asked Ray.
"Does he ever?"
. O .
"So… if we're not finishing the mission, what are we doing?" Archer whispered to Ray. "And how certain are you that we can't finish the mission?"
Archer waggled his eyebrows and gave Ray one of those wholly Archer looks that usually preceded him pulling off some completely unbelievable feat. But this time Vegeta's dangerously alluring profile loomed large behind Archer, sobering any thoughts Ray had of a Hail Mary.
Some forces of nature, otherworldly or not, just weren't meant to be conquered.
"We're waiting for the others to get here," Ray reminded him quietly. "We're waiting, patiently and amenably, to lower the odds of further harm befalling any of us once they arrive."
"But how do you know Lana didn't accomplish her part of the mission? She could be on her way here right now, ready to spring us out on a hostage exchange."
Vegeta let out an amused snort, and Ray wondered exactly how much of the conversation he'd overheard from across the room. From the curious look Gohan was giving him, and Pam's concerned expression further down the table, he guessed everyone had heard everything.
"For the last time, son," the doctor reassured, returning to the table and his own bowl of food, "you don't have to fear for you lives today."
. O .