Well, this chapter is pretty short. I was planning on making it longer, but decided just to cut it here and get this chapter out of the way. The next two, possibly three, chapters are going to be quite long and winded so there's no certain time when I will be able to get them out.
Gohan's Journey
Chapter XI
The sun was slowly setting over the horizon as animals moved to claim their resting spots for the night's coming presence. The vast array of plantlife swayed gently with a soft breeze that russled through the area in the evening sky. The blue backdrop was lost under a veil of red and orange, the day's closing coming nearer to its wane. Cool air filled where the sun had once warmed its presence, leaving behind a chilling scene as the sun slowly sank behind the mountains and into the furthermost reaches of the serene terrain. This scene, however, was spoiled. Littered and thrown aside as dust picked up in the distance, shifting and turning with the clank of metal. A ship, though seemingly not large in size but power, gingerly lifted from the ground. Dust stirred, wavering in the air and through the plains as the large hunk of metal began to ascend toward the air, picking up speed as it headed straight for the stars just beginning to line the sky. And as quick as it had taken off it was gone, lost in a speed of light as it headed off into the space's vast expanse, its destination unknown to the pair of eyes that watched it closely.
"He was telling the truth," said the voice solemnly, his head downcast and thoughtful. His fingers clenched into tight fists through his white gloves, his hands trembling at an unwavering thought. Perhaps he should have left sooner? Heed the words of the boy? No, he hadn't believed him then, it was no good. A sigh rang from Vegeta's lips as he watched the last glimpses of the ship's retreat, an un-nerved feeling coursing through his body. He stared, from the edge of a rocky cliff when he had felt the boy. He thought it was again one of his tries to get attention, or perhaps he was just training. But Vegeta had known something was wrong when he had felt the other ki levels in the area, high and power, though pushed down and subtle. It was a strange feeling, but it was there nonetheless.
That was the moment when the saiya-jin had decided that it was best to check things out for himself. It he hadn't been more than fifteen minutes on his way toward where he sensed the powers when he had first noticed the dust russling in the ground and the ki levels draining. It wasn't long before Vegeta found himself standing on the edge of the rock base, his dark eyes outcast into the horizon as he watched the ship take off into the air. He had never seen a ship quite like it before, quite odd indeed, he had mused at the time. He would have turned around and left that very moment when he remembered that the boy had been at the place, the Namek too…though he had only caught a glimpse of the ki before it had faded away.
"Great, looks like I'll be cleaning things up for those two again." Muttered Vegeta under his breath, his arms moving to cross over his chest before hopping lightly into the air and taking off into the direction of where the ship had taken off. His dark eyes trailed over the area around him, noting the battlegrounds where a fight had obviously been fought as he crossed above the spot where Gohan had fought with the androids. He stopped here, descending to the ground as his feet landed gingerly against the hard surface. His hands moved to rest at his sides, a smirk on his lips as his feet shuffled against the ground causing bits of dust to rise. "Nothing, just as I thought." Said Vegeta softly, speaking with a disgusted tone. He wasn't inclined to look for anything in particular, just wanting to see if his suspusions about a fight had been true. They obviously were.
His foot kicked lightly at a rock, sending it flying across the bare land before it cascaded to the ground with a light thump. The place was stripped even more of its plantlife, the once green patches burned over from the concentration of ki blasts. The smell of the area lingered of blood; irony and disgusting. "Well this was a waste of my time." Said Vegeta softly, annoyed that he had come so far from home only to find nothing of his interest. He sighed softly, his breath falling between parted lips as he turned to leave. His ki rose slowly before it quickly died away, a soft sound catching into his sensitive saiya-jin ears. "Who's there?" he called out carefully, his voice sternful and strong, though it betrayed his concern.
"Me you baka." Called out a whispery voice, his words barely audible to a human's ear.
Vegeta slowly turned around, a scowl written on his face as he saw the crumpled form of Piccolo leaning up against a tree. The Namek looked horrible, his green skin purple in many areas from hard taken blows, a small bit of blood trailing from the cover of his lips as his eyes stared determinedly, despite his situation, at Vegeta.
Vegeta merely snorted softly, his hands moving to rest on his lower hips as he stalked over to the Namek, his stride short and leisure as he bent down half way and looked at him. "Well you don't look too good. What happened? Get in a little fight with that gaki?" asked Vegeta, his voice mocking and tauntful. He loved being in so much control over a person. The Namek was helpless, he was not, and that made him the one in control.
"Don't call him that. He's a lot smarter and better fighter than you'll ever be." Hissed Piccolo softly, coughing and spitting up blood as he strained to righten himself against the tree.
"Shut up Namek. Now if you don't be nice I might not help you." Said Vegeta, a grin moving to spread across his lips. His arms slowly crossed over his chest, his dark eyes wide and almost gleeful. "So what exactly happened here?" he asked absently, only getting a soft growl from Piccolo. "Oh come on now, just tell me. I'll find out sooner or later." Continued Vegeta, wanting to get his answers first hand and at the moment. He wasn't inclined to waiting for getting what he had wanted.
"Well if you must know Gohan was right. There are androids here. And he was fighting them when I showed up." said Piccolo softly, his voice raspy to the ear and low. Moving his hands to rest on the tree behind he slowly stood, favoring his left leg slightly as he leaned his back against the base of the tree. His dark eyes stared at Vegeta's figure.
"And…?"
"And they took him. I wasn't able to hold them off and they got to him." Said the Namek slowly, his words simple, not really wanting to believe it was true though he knew it was. His breath fell between his lips in a loud sigh as his eyes lingering past Vegeta and toward the battlegrounds. He wasn't at all happy about what had happened and wanted to figure out why they had taken Gohan and not only that, he wanted to get Gohan back. He didn't even want to think about what Chi-Chi would think when he didn't come home.
"That onna is going to kill someone…" said Vegeta softly, practically reading Piccolo's thoughts as the Namek slowly nodded his head. "Well now what are we suppose to do? We've got some baka androids that kidnapped Kakarot's gaki and now we have to deal with the blasted boy's mother." Said Vegeta, his tone noting clearly that he wasn't happy about their predicament at all. His chest heaved in a deep sigh before his hands slowly left his chest, falling to rest at his sides. Tilting his chin upward slightly, Vegeta let out a deep sigh before holding out a hand to Piccolo, not at all happy about his next words though he knew they were necessary. "I'll take you back to Capsule Corp., but you owe me. I can't have you dying yet, especially when I need the information you have." Hissed Vegeta softly, a small glare working to form on his already narrowed eyes.
Piccolo merely smirked at the saiya-jin's attitude, his head slowly shaking as he took the offer for help and straightened himself out. His limbs felt weak and brittle, like the bones within his body were broken and his muscles torn, though he did not betray the look as he straightened himself out. "That's Vegeta for you, always thinking about himself." Muttered Piccolo softly under his breath before the two headed back to Capsule Corp., Vegeta leading the way as he flew slightly ahead of Piccolo. His arms were folded over his chest, his eyes staring back at the Namek every once in a while to make sure he was still conscious, though he really could care less.
Goku's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the Northern Kaio's words, his dark eyes wide and daunted. "What? You can't be serious…" he said slowly, his head shaking in disbelief. There was no way his son could…he hadn't died, had he? The thought plagued Goku's mind like a deadly virus seeping into his mind and jumbling his thoughts into a hubbub of emotions and commotions. His mouth lay slightly ajar, a befuddled look crossing his face until he slowly shook his head, his raven strands dancing in front of his eyes. His ebony eyes stared in disbelief toward the Northern Kaio, hoping-- trying not to believe his words could be the truth. There was no way…
"I'm serious. I can't feel his lifeforce anymore. This is terrible news." Said King Kai slowly, his hands moving to intertwine behind his back. His thick chin tilted downward, a thoughtful expression cast into his features. His antennae twitched slightly as his pointed ears caught the sound of Goku's chest heaving, the saiya-jin's breathing hard and heavy. "Goku, are you all right?" asked the Northern Kaio slowly, his voice taking on a hint of concern.
Goku's head slowly shook in response, his raven strands swaying above his head. His eyes were wide, mouth slightly ajar. He still couldn't believe it, King Kai's words had to be false. Gohan couldn't have…He had promised him this wouldn't happen…his thoughts trailed away from him, his vision lingering pass the Kaio as it rested on the way behind them. "I have to go talk to him," said Goku slowly as he began walking pass King Kai. His eyes lay focused ahead of him, his eyebrows fixed together in a confused expression as he hopped lightly into the air and began his way back to the biggest settlement that lay in the distance.
"Goku wait! Who are you talking about?" called out the Northern Kaio in vain, a sigh falling between his lips as he threw his hands up in frustration at the saiya-jin. "So careless, irresponsible…wait." King Kai stopped his talking immediately, his eyes going wide through the big, thick glasses that covered them. "Who's him?" said the Kaio aloud, voicing his confusion as he stared after the way Goku had left, his head shaking slowly. He had remembered a time quite some time ago when Goku had mentioned a 'him' before, though the name of the actual person never seemed to come up in the conversation, Goku always trying hard to neglect to mention it. "This can't be good," said King Kai aloud, his glaze moving to linger out at the vast array of clouds that spread out before him. "Not at all," he continued slowly, his head shaking at his thoughts and worries.
Vegeta arms moved to fold across his chest as he waited inside the living room within Capsule Corporation, his back leaning against a wall. A small sigh fell between the saiya-jin's parted lips, his dark eyes moving to narrow on Bulma as she walked into the room. "Namek will you hurry up!" barked Vegeta angrily, his voice rising steadily with his annoyance. He wasn't at all happy to wait for Piccolo while he tended to his wounds, having to wait for him heal with the help of a senzu bean. Bulma had made sure they always had a large supple of them at Capsule Corp. since Vegeta always seemed to hurt himself to the point of death when training everyday. The senzu beans were always a lifesaver during those times.
"Just a minute," said Piccolo calmly, downing the bean in one shallow. He let out a deep breath as it quickly worked to restore his strength. He could practically feel as his muscles untensed, loosened and regain their original endurance. No longer was his body covered in cuts and bruises, but instead back to normal as the bean's restoring power quickly healed him. "Alright, let's go." Said Piccolo once he knew he was well enough to leave. His cape and turban snapped onto his body with a flash; his torn up gi mended and no longer cut and ragged. The edges of the silky cape hit lightly against his ankles before settling down and only russling once he turned to look toward Vegeta. The two didn't normally get along at all, but now they needed to work together to find Gohan and figure out what the hell was going on. But first they had something else to do that wasn't going to be as simple…
"Wait a second. Where do you two think you're going?" screeched Bulma as she watched the two get up and prepare to leave after just arriving. "And what exactly happened out there? Sparring no doubt…probably hurt yourselves because of your big ass egos." Continued Bulma, smirk pulling at her ruby painted lips, her hands moving to rest on her hips in defiance to their leaving.
"We're leaving, what does it look like?" said Vegeta rather irritatedly. He absolutely hated when Bulma would question him about his actions, plus it wasn't like it was any of her business in the first place.
Bulma eyes narrowed dangerously close as she shot Vegeta a deadly glare, her mouth opening to hit him with a tirade of insults. "What did you say? That's it I'm rid of the gra…" Bulma's yelling was interrupted as Piccolo put up a hand, silencing the two's argument, though Vegeta couldn't help but snort at the Namek's actions.
"Will you two stop arguing for a minute, we need to figure out how to get Gohan back." Barked Piccolo, his voice edged with anger for the two's constant fighting. They never seemed to be able to agree on anything and it was really starting to become annoying, especially when they had something they needed to take care of and do.
"Gohan?" repeated Bulma softly, her eyebrows rising when Piccolo mentioned the boy. "What happened to him? I thought he was at home…" her light voice trailed off as she tilted her head to the side slightly, blue strands of hair falling carelessly against the side of her face with the movement.
"Gohan was taken," stated Piccolo singly, not at all in a pleasant mood about the situation and not wanting to go into details about something so foreign. His arms moved to fold over his broad chest as he let out an exasperated sigh at Bulma's expression.
"What? I can't believe this! Chi-Chi is going to be so upset…" said Bulma softly, her head shaking slowly at the tantrum the other women was mostly going to have when she found out her son was taken. Her eyebrows rose slowly as she looked up to meet Piccolo and Vegeta's glaze, a curious hint behind them. "Who took him?" she asked, her hands moving to rest on her hips with the question. A sigh fell between her parted lips at the snort she received from the two, her answer already known from their looks. "I hope you know that I am not going to tell Chi-Chi. Since you two didn't want to believe Gohan than you can be the ones to tell her." Said Bulma sternly, her arms leaving her hips as they folded over her chest in defiance.
"We already know that. We were just about to leave." Said Piccolo softly, his arms unfolding from across his chest as he began to walk for the exit of the room, fully intent on tell Chi-Chi and being done with it. He didn't want to drag the thing out any longer than he had too.
"Damnit, Namek, I hope you know what you're doing. I don't feel like listening to an annoying women's wailings." Barked Vegeta as he looked at Piccolo, his dark eyes narrowing on him as he unhappily followed after the Namek. There was no way he was going to be the one to tell Chi-Chi, he just wanted to see these so-called bio-androids and try his might against them. He had no doubt in his mind that he would be able to finish them off quickly.
A soft tap echoed down an empty hallway as Tinokoto walked down the hallways of the Star Nova. His tail swayed absently behind him, the metal clad tip tapping against the hard surface every once in a while to cause a ring to sound down the hallway. The smell was foul, actually it was much worse than foul in Tinokoto's case. The hallways were smeared with blood, sometimes the outline of a body, or maybe just a hand found among the crusted and dried surface. Tinokoto merely shrugged off the appearance of the walls, knowing it to be typical for this section of the ship. It was the place where their "guests" were taken, though usually it ended up the place of their death as well.
A small laugh escaped from Tinokoto's pale lips at the thought of Son Gohan finding himself in such a place. Sure, the brat was probably still asleep, in a little dreamland of his own for the time being. But that would eventually end and the boy would have to face the reality of his position. He was in their hands now and Tinokoto was going to make the kid's life hell as long as he could. He knew once they reached Mankin that Tinokoto would be done with his little "errant" that he resented with much anger, wanting only to kill Gohan for making him actually go somewhere to retrieve such a useless creature. There were by far much better people he could be finding than some brat and his father.
"But of course the dad is dead," said Tinokoto aloud to himself, a small chuckle rumbling in his throat at the thought. The kid seemed to hate when he talked about his father…ah, yes, this was the perfect thing to torture the boy with. The thought brought a cruel smile to Tinokoto's face; the look disgusting and unpleasant on the bio-android's features. Tinokoto almost seemed to hop with glee as he made his way down the corridor, his big feet thucking heavily against the ground with his movements. He stopped after going on for a while in front of a door, the number 54 written in bold above it. A grin spread across his lips as he stood in front of the door where Gohan was imprisoned. His tailed tapped lightly against the ground behind, the metal plates strapped tightly around it echoing against the otherwise silent hallway. His hand reached out slowly, unlocking the door as he punched in a few codes into the keypad by the door. It beeped lightly, signaling that it was unlocked before opening a half an inch, allowing Tinokoto entrance as the android pulled open the door and walked inside, letting it close behind him with a soft tap.
To be continued…