Chapter 21- Of Chaos and Kings (Part 2)
By Earth's standards, a prince should be skilled in the art of diplomacy. He should be knowledgeable in politics, eloquent in speech, and above all up to date with current affairs.
Vegeta could manage fairly well in several of these areas, but he had to admit that he was glad that he wasn't the one negotiating. Vegeta could practically smell Midori's anxiety, and for a moment, he was thankful to have been sent to the viewers' balcony, far removed from the actual proceedings. His position high above the negotiations also gave him an excellent view of the Tik soldiers who'd just walked in.
There were twelve Tik soldiers in the room. In the flickering light coming from the strange fire-like substance in the wall-sconces, Vegeta could just make out the Tik soldiers' ranks.
Three of them were elites. The leader was standing nose to nose with Midori saying something very low and evidently very hostile. Midori's lips were pressed tightly together, but she kept her head held high and didn't respond.
Vegeta glanced askance at Prince Trintrin. The young Loup was staring wide-eyed at the Tik soldiers below. Vegeta was glad that, for once, the young prince was being silent.
Finally, the Tik leader turned away from Midori and addressed the council. "It appears that we arrived just in time." His voice was clearly audible throughout the chamber. It was slightly mocking, as if he knew that his battle was already won.
"Yes, you did." Midori said, and from the decibel of her voice, it was clear that she intended for the entire assembly to hear her. "We had just begun talking." She surveyed the Tik soldiers behind him with a critical eye. "And I see you brought an army with you. That doesn't seem very fitting for a peaceful negotiation, though, does it?"
The Tik commander frowned, and when he didn't immediately reply, Midori continued. "Although it would be fitting if you planned to subdue the planet and make off with its Minassium. That's what you came for isn't it?" She cocked her head. "You and I both know that The Tauran Empire lost its main source of Minassium when it lost planet Bonul."
"It is no secret that the Tauran Empire wishes to make use of our Minassium." Kohol, the oddly-vested Loup, that Vegeta had pinned as the main supporter of the Tik among the council, said again. "They have promised us technology in return for our resources."
"Did they now?" Midori cocked an eye at the Tauran commander. "That was nice of them. Usually, they just take what they want. Though that's not out of the question yet either."
The oldest Loup, who had earlier been leaning toward alliance with the Krimzon finally spoke up. "You seem to be certain that the Taurans have come to use force to make us part with our resources." He said eying Midori.
Midori laced her fingers subserviently and turned fully toward the elder Loup. "The presence of a military squadron rather than corps of diplomats seems to suggest that this is the case."
The old Loup nodded. "But are you not accompanied by the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta." The Tik commander's eyes widened at the mention of Vegeta's name and his head whipped toward the balcony where he sat. Vegeta locked eyes with the man, and for a moment he saw something that reached beyond fear and annoyance. The old Loup did not notice the exchange between the commander and Vegeta, and continued. "We have not forgotten his past deeds. How can we know that you did not come here for the same purpose?"
"The Krimzon Empire does not want your Minassium." Midori stated flatly. "We understand that the Loup nations need it more than we do, and will not ask you to part with it." She stopped and looked around at the entire council of Loups. "Many of the Loup nations are in alliance with the Krimzon Empire, but we have seen the devastating effect that a split alliance can have on a planet. Luva has already lost too many children to fighting between nations loyal to the Taurans and those loyal to the Krimzon. I was sent here to try to negotiate an accord between the Loup nations. It was our hope that by the end of these negotiations, you leaders of the Loup nations will have reached a peace agreement among yourselves. Empress Kurenai believes that it is time for Vegeta to learn the subtle art of negotiating, and so she has sent him along to watch and take note."
"Is that so?" Council member Kohol asked skeptically.
If Midori heard the disbelief in his voice, she gave no indication. "It is. We had no idea that the Taurans were sending an army here." She smirked at the Tauran commander. "But perhaps this turn of events is lucky. We can all talk this out amongst ourselves."
The elder Loup turned his eyes to the Tik commander. "And what have you to say to this?"
"I believe that I am in agreement with Miss. Midori." He said, though his voice seemed somewhat forced and agitated. "We in the Tauran Empire do not wish to cause undue hardship on the Loup people, and it pains us to see Loups killed when fighting each other. We also wish for the Loup people to form one, united front before the rest of the universe."
The Loup council members were already whispering to each other by the end of the Tik commander's statement.
The Elder Loup stood after several minutes of whispering. "I believe that the majority of the nations here are in agreement that the Loup nations should come to a consensus on how to respond to the war that is being waged in the universe. However, before we can do that, we must bring an end to the wars we are waging in our homeland. I believe that these peace agreements are some that the Loup people should find on its own."
Midori bowed. "Of course."
"Someone will show you to your rooms for tonight, and we will fetch you when we have come to an agreement."
Midori bowed lowly, and turned to head toward the doors. The Tik commander and his squadron were right on her heels.
"I guess it's time for us to go too." Trintrin said, leaning toward Vegeta.
Vegeta was still staring in confusion at the council floor, and didn't reply. That's it? We come all this way to negotiate, and they tell us that they want to do it without us? What have they been doing for these past hundred years? You'd think that if they could figure this out on their own, they would have done it by now.
"It's almost dinner time. Maybe I can show you to a place to eat."
That finally caught Vegeta's attention, and his head whipped toward Trintrin. "Yeah." His stomach growled loudly. "That would be good."
Through the groggy haze of sleep, 17 could feel a weight on his chest. He shifted slightly, and the weight shifted as well. He groaned, and suddenly, the four paws of some rather heavy animal were walking up his chest. A moment later, a small, cold nose pressed itself to his face. It was soon followed by a playful paw.
His eyes fluttered open, and he was immediately met with the sight of a rather fat gray cat. The cat made a curious purring sound, turned around, and curled back up on 17's chest.
17 blinked blearily at the animal wondering where it had come from. A moment later, the events of the past few days came rushing back to him. He sat up quickly, and the fat cat made a loud yelp as it rolled gracelessly off of him.
17 jumped out of his bed, crossed the room and jerked the door open. The smell of a hot breakfast greeted him, and he felt his mouth water. Quietly, he crept out of his room and toward the kitchen. His two house guests had made themselves right at home during the past few days despite their promises that 17 wouldn't notice that they were there.
New flower beds had suddenly appeared around the cabin and on the windowsills, and the attic had apparently been turned into a makeshift laboratory. Something that looked suspiciously like a vegetable garden now covered a rather large portion of his woodland clearing. A small fluffy dog had appropriated his favorite armchair as well. 17 had not seen the dog anywhere other than the chair since his guests had arrived.
The first morning after their arrival, 17 had woken up to discover that Mrs. Briefs had removed all of his curtains and took them outside to wash them. The next morning, all of his clothes were missing, and he'd wandered around in confusion wearing nothing but pajama pants until he discovered them hanging outside on a clothes line. How the clothes line had gotten there, he had no idea, and the idea that Mrs. Briefs had snuck into his room while he'd been asleep to collect his dirty laundry made his blood run cold.
The third day, he'd been awoken by the sound of a small explosion in his attic. He'd raced up the stairs to find Dr. Briefs covered in soot and mumbling about crossed wires and needing new glasses. He'd quietly slunk back out of the attic without offering assistance before Dr. Briefs had spotted him.
It was true enough that he hadn't seen them much despite how small the house was. The doctor generally remained holed up in the attic, and aside from that one incident 17 had seen neither hide nor hair of him. Mrs. Briefs usually flitted around outside in the mornings and evenings and disappeared to who-knows-where when the bright noon sun made being outside unbearable.
For his part, 17 remained in his room until late morning, and then usually found some excuse to leave—usually hunting—until after nightfall. The day before, he had killed a rather impressive wild pig, and if his suspicions were correct, that delicious smell that was drawing him trance-like toward the kitchen was bacon.
"Good morning!" Two cheerful voices greeted him as soon as he made it to the doorway. He didn't dare take a step further into the kitchen. Some part of him wasn't entirely sure that this was his kitchen. It was clean…spotless. Immaculate. A large breakfast was set out on the table.
The room that had always seemed so dark and cluttered was now bright and cheerful.
A small monkey suddenly appeared at his feet, babbled something angry, and scooted by him looking disgruntled.
"Don't mind him." Dr. Briefs said. Dr. Briefs had somehow procured a newspaper—17 had no idea how—and was busily reading it while sipping coffee. "He's just eager to get outside. It's been a long time since he's been able to play in a real forest."
17 stared after the monkey for a moment before deciding that weirder things had happened.
"Come sit down, dear." Mrs. Briefs said, taking him by the arm and leading him to the table. Wide-eyed, he just obeyed.
"There's nothing better than a lie-in and a big, hot breakfast, don't you agree." Dr. Briefs said amiably, smiling at 17 over the top of his newspaper.
"You poor dear. With all this nasty business and those long hunts, you must have been tuckered out." Mrs. Briefs added, grabbing a plate and literally piling things onto it. 17's mouth was watering. She placed the plate in front of him.
17 glanced at the clock. It was only 10am. That was still pretty early in his opinion. Still, he didn't feel like explaining that to the two Briefs, and so he just mumbled a "thanks" and dug in to his breakfast.
This situation might not be so bad.
Why Chichi Son chose to wash dishes by hand when she had three saiyans to feed, Bulma couldn't figure out. Even with the two of them and Videl, it was taking forever. She felt obligated to at least help with the dishes, since Chichi was nice enough to cook for her and Shiro. But at times like these, she wondered if it would be better to use what little material she had left to build Chichi a dishwasher.
"Videl, honey, what does your father think about this?" Chichi was saying, scrubbing angrily at an invisible speck on one of the plates. Bulma had been keeping out of the conversation. Chichi's temper was nothing to mess with, and Gohan's education was a very hot topic. "He can't be okay with it."
"No, he is okay with it." Videl argued, and from her voice, Bulma could tell that she was far beyond annoyed with Chichi's questions. "And it's not like I'm completely dropping out. I'm just taking a break until it's safe to be in West City again."
"But…Videl…"
"It makes sense, don't you think? I mean, what good is an education if I get blown up before I can get a job?"
"But you could just transfer to another school instead of—"
Videl cut her off. "I told you. I'm not dropping out. I'm taking a semester or two off until this whole thing blows over."
"And if it doesn't blow over?" Chichi argued.
"Then a degree would be useless anyway."
Chichi exhaled sharply. "Well if you think that Gohan—"
"I didn't say anything about Gohan." Videl snapped. "And anyway, he's a grown man and can make his own decisions without either of us."
"He is not a grown man!" The dish that Chichi had been furiously scrubbing dropped back into the sink with a clang, as the older woman rounded on Videl.
"Now Chichi." Bulma tried, bringing herself to stand between the two. "Videl has the right to take a semester off if she wants to, and if she says that she didn't pressure Gohan to do the same, then we have to take her word for it."
"But Gohan will quit school too, I know he will!" Chichi lamented, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. "And West City University is such a good school! It's all because of her. Gohan said that he will leave if she does, and she's leaving." She hitched a sob. "She wants Gohan to leave school so that he will spend more time with her!"
Bulma sighed. Chichi's arguments weren't entirely logical, but Chichi was a good friend. Videl, too, was a nice girl. Bulma sent an awkward glance to Videl. The younger woman was standing, fists clenched, and glaring at Chichi. "Well…Chichi…" Bulma continued cautiously. "The way this is going, there might not be a university left to go to. And you wouldn't want to put Gohan in danger by sending him to a city that the Tik might target, right? And besides—" The sound of the scouter beeping in her pocket caused her to cut herself off mid sentence. Without an explanation to the two women, she whipped out the scouter and answered it. "Vegeta?"
"Yeah."
"Where have you been?" She nearly yelled. Chichi and Videl had stopped arguing, although they were still giving each other dirty looks.
"Huh?" From the way that his voice sounded far away, she could tell that he had pulled the phone away from his ear at her scream. "I'm on planet Luva. I told you that I was being sent out."
"That was days ago, Vegeta, why haven't you been answering?" She considered leaving the kitchen to continue the call, but Goku and Gohan, who had apparently been listening outside the doorway, had just walked in. Goku began miming with exaggerated movements that he wanted to talk to Vegeta.
Bulma waved him away. "Well, it took almost four days to get here. I was probably asleep."
"Asleep?" She swatted Goku away again.
"Hypersleep…You know all this. Onna is something wrong with your head?"
Goku tried to reach for the phone, and Bulma slapped his hand. "Goku, back off!" She snapped. He didn't back off. Instead, he just quickly snatched the phone out of her hand.
"Hi, Vegeta. I just need to talk to you real quick and then I'll hand the phone back to Bulma, so don't start yelling yet."
"Kakarott…" Vegeta didn't really know what was going on. "You have three minutes."
"Have you been filled in on our situation?"
"You mean that the Tik are attacking? Yes."
"No, I mean that Capsule Corp and all of Earth's other major technology and weapons manufacturing places have been destroyed."
Vegeta didn't answer straight away. "No…no. I hadn't heard that. What's happened? Are they screening yet? How many Tik soldiers are there? What are the Earth's forces doing about it? Is…how many were killed?"
Goku read clearly between the lines. "Oh…well, heh. Bulma's alright. Mr. and Mrs. Briefs are fine. The entire compound is gone along with about three fourths of Bulma's research and technology and stuff. There was a pretty high death toll the day they attacked Capsule Corp. Bulma's staying in a capsule house here—near my house I mean—but we don't have a lab anymore. The Tik haven't started screening yet. We managed to get rid of two ships, but there are still four more in space. They've just been attacking from space. Earths' space ships can't get near them. All we've got left is the Androids. Is there any chance you can ask Kurenai to send us some more stuff…like…a space ship? And have you figured out where Hui is yet? Ouch, Bulma! That really hurt! Why'd you pinch me?"
"Because you're not going into space, Goku!" Bulma snapped, grabbing the phone back from Goku.
"Hey! I wasn't done yet. I still had two more minutes!" He pouted childishly.
"Oh grow up." She said to him before putting the scouter back to her ear. "That was why I've been calling you, Vegeta." Bulma said. "Can you do anything?"
He was silent for a moment. "I don't know." He said finally. "I can talk to Kurenai, but she doesn't like going over the heads of planetary leaders. If King Furry asked, I know she wouldn't hesitate to help. But King Furry has already told Kurenai that besides the three Krimzon officers stationed there now, no other Krimzon will be allowed to set foot on Earth. If she sent more without his permission it could be considered an invasion. Before you ask, she could do it, but it would cause her to lose a lot of support here, and so she won't."
"But…" Bulma's face fell. "King Furry is still…He…He's afraid of the Krimzon almost as much as the Tik."
"We're having that same problem here." Vegeta mumbled, and then paused thoughtfully. "I'll give her a call. If there's a Krimzon fleet in the area, I can maybe convince her to send them over. Don't get your hopes up though. Earth really is in the middle of nowhere. Oh…" He paused for a moment. "I've got to go. There's an entire Tik squadron in here, and we're supposed to have dinner with them as a show of…of…oh I forget. I'll call back later."
"Oh…okay. Goodbye." She hung up staring at the scouter with an odd look for a moment before turning to Goku. From her expression, her old friend could clearly tell that they would not be getting much help from Vegeta.
"In ancient times, the inhabitants of the planet Loup and those of the planet Luva used to be one in the same." If one thing could be said of Prince Trintrin, it was that he knew his planet's history.
Vegeta picked at the rather small meal that had been placed before him, trying to focus on it rather than on the conversation he had just had with Bulma. He somewhat resented the fact that Trintrin hadn't left him alone for his conversation with his mate. Trintrin had insisted that he would be shirking his duty if he left Vegeta to wander about on his own and so had only moved a small way down the hall for the duration of the call.
If his food had been better—or at least more plentiful, he might have had more luck distracting himself. It was more than enough for a human, but to him it was nothing more than a light snack. Midori had given him a stern look when the plate had been placed in front of him. It couldn't have been clearer if she'd yelled it that asking for more food would have been considered rude. After hearing about Luva's ruined environment and struggles to farm and maintain life outside, Vegeta figured that it was hard for the inhabitants to find enough to feed themselves, much less a hungry saiyan.
However, he'd learned to go for days—even weeks—without a proper meal when working for Frieza. A few days wouldn't be so bad. He glanced around the table to see how much everyone else had eaten.
If Midori or the Tik soldiers were uncomfortable eating at the same table as one another, they didn't show it. Trintrin carried most of the conversation himself, but Midori occasionally asked the Tik commander to pass her something. Vegeta imagined that she was enjoying interrupting the Tik commander at ill-timed moments. Still, the commander was maintaining a perfectly cordial attitude, and had taken to frequently repeating to Midori that he appreciated women with healthy appetites and low blood pressure.
Vegeta didn't really care about what the two were saying to each other. He was focusing on pacing himself with the others around him. The Tik soldiers were nearly finished with their meals. Midori's meat was gone, and she was slowly eating her vegetables. Trintin spent most of his time talking, and had hardly touched his food at all.
"We used to be larger, more wolf-like." Trintrin continued, holding his hands up to show the size he imagined his ancestor Loups would have been. An image of the wolf-like commander that had captured him and transported him to Iro flashed through Vegeta's head. "But the planet divided into two clans. Those two clans warred against each other for centuries. In one clan, the people grew larger and stronger. In our clan, however, we got smaller. That was when we learned to harness the power of technology. Eventually, the war got so bad, that one clan—our ancestors—left planet Loup to found a new planet, Luva."
Vegeta looked down at his plate, only to realize that there was nothing left in it. He momentarily had the urge to glare around at everyone else to try to weed out the person who had taken his food, but then, he realized that he most likely had eaten it all without realizing it. There hadn't been very much to begin with after all.
Trintrin finally stopped talking and loaded a pile of vegetables onto his fork. He brought the fork halfway to his mouth before stopping and dropping it back to his plate. "Oh, I was supposed to ask." He turned toward Vegeta. "Prince Vegeta…and…you all as well." He looked a little embarrassedly at the Tik soldiers there. "Would you like to join a hunting party tonight? With the entire council here, we can use all the extra hunters we can find."
Vegeta blinked at him. "Sure."
Vegeta honestly had no idea why Midori had followed him into his room after dinner. It was a scandal in the making. Doing his best to ignore her presence by his door, he strode across the room to where his bag had been laid. If he was going out in the cold again, he was definitely putting on an extra pair of socks.
He somewhat regretted agreeing to go on the hunt. His bed, draped in dark maroon silk, looked incredibly soft and warm. The stone walls were warmed by thick tapestries hanging at various intervals. The floor sported a vibrantly colored rug. There was a circular "fire pit" in the floor. That same fire-like energy was glowing brightly in the pit, and undoubtedly keeping the room a comfortable temperature. Despite the fact that the entire room was carved out of stone, it looked and felt warm.
"If you want to bitch at me about something, you're wasting your time." Vegeta mumbled, digging through the bag. "I was on my best behavior all day, and there is no room for improvement.
Midori finally pushed off of the door and crossed the room. "Here." She handed him something wrapped in a napkin.
Vegeta looked up from his bag and hesitantly accepted the object, noticing the light blush that had spread across Midori's cheeks. His superior sense of smell already told him what was inside, but that didn't lessen his surprise when he pulled the napkin open.
"Don't think that I saved it especially for you." Midori clarified, going back toward the door. "I don't really eat a lot of meat, and I didn't want it to go to waste."
The corner of his lip twitched slightly and he quickly gobbled down what she'd given him. "Thanks." He said sincerely before turning back to his bag. He finally found a pair of socks and began pulling them on.
Midori hesitated again. "So you're going out with the hunting party right?"
"That's the plan."
"Good. Remember that the Loups respect—"
"Power." He finished for her. "I got it."
"Right, but don't get too crazy. They don't have enough resources for you to go blowing things up."
He just stood and began fastening his cloak.
"And keep an eye on the Tik too. We don't need one sneaking off and turning on a Myomoshu."
"Or a Meiyochi." Vegeta nodded. He pulled on his goggles.
There was a knock on the door. "Prince Vegeta?"
Midori glanced at the door. "It's Prince Trintrin." She informed Vegeta.
He crossed the room to the door. "I know." He said before pulling it open.
He gave one last glance to Midori before following Trintrin out.
Trintrin led Vegeta through the labyrinth-like mountain fortress. He knew that he was going higher. He'd gone up several flights of stairs already.
Unlike most times, Trintrin was oddly quiet. Vegeta had expected the young Loup to be telling him some story about his esteemed ancestors' past exploits. "Through here." Trintrin said, breaking the silence. Vegeta followed through yet another twisting corridor and up a flight of stairs. Unlike the other times, however, these stairs continued upward for quite some time.
"Where are we going exactly?" He asked.
"To our ride."
Vegeta cocked an eyebrow at Trintrin. "I don't need a ride. I can fly."
"It will be difficult to fly through the blizzard. And in any case the suka have evolved to fly through snow storms."
"Suka?" Vegeta asked. "Like from the story?"
"Of course."
"I thought they were wild, and rare."
Trintrin glanced back over his shoulder. "They were. About…seven hundred years ago."
"Uh…huh."
"Here we are."
The two emerged in a large cave. Scattered around the cave were various large lumps of feathers. There were already about a dozen Loups and Tik soldiers already in the room. Vegeta recognized the commander among the Tik, and he again found himself locking eyes with the man. Vegeta knew that this would be no ordinary hunt.
Trintrin headed straight toward one of the lumps and stroked a hand down it. A feathered head emerged.
Vegeta found himself almost awed by the animal's beauty—a rare event indeed. The silver bird was easily larger than a car. Its sharp beak and slanted eyes belied a sharp intelligence. Its feathers were of the purest silver.
"Her name is Wya." Trintrin informed him, his eyes carefully studying the suka's reaction to Vegeta's presence. "She's one of our kingdom's best flyers. She belongs to my father. She only lets those with a noble heart ride her." Trintrin paused and smiled a somewhat relieved smile. "She will be your ride."
Vegeta stared at the suka with a frown. There's no way. I'm not getting on that thing.
Vegeta clung white knuckled to Wya's harness as the large bird soared through the storm. His cloak was whipping wildly, but at least his face was mostly protected from the freezing wind. All around him, more Loups were riding other sukas, looking significantly more at ease than he felt.
Vegeta was a natural born hunter. He would have been in his element had it not been for the snow storm and the fact that he was riding an animal through it.
To his amusement, the Tik commander was having a much harder time of it. The suka on which the commander rode apparently did not like him and had not stopped thrashing since he had mounted it.
To Vegeta's left, Trintrin rode with ease, huddled down close to his bird's feathers as if seeking warmth from it. Suddenly, Trintrin twitched, and brought his head up, smelling the snow. Upon looking around, Vegeta realized that most of the other Loup hunters were doing the same. They'd caught the trace of something.
Vegeta sniffed the air as well, and he could just make out the musky stench of some animal. He turned his head, sniffing again, trying to determine from which direction the smell came. He needn't have bothered, for the hunters in the lead banked left, heading toward the smell.
His sharp eyes spotted the animal before the Loups did. Vegeta couldn't make out just what the animal was, but he could see the white blur as it ran from the hunting party, dodging through trees and trying to make it to the shelter of a nearby mountain. He pointed the animal out to Trintrin. With a grin that told that Trintrin was truly impressed by Vegeta's skill, he leaned over to see the white blur running across the landscape. He grinned again and took a dive toward the animal.
Suddenly, a loud rumble could be heard over the whipping wind. The sukas panicked.
Vegeta heard someone yell. "Saxum!"
The mountain before them appeared to be moving.
Someone shouted again. "Saxum! Get back!"
What the hell is a saxum? Vegeta wondered, before another question dawned on him. And where is Trintrin? Realizing that if he was partly responsible for the deaths of one of the Loup kings' sons, his and Midori's mission would be ruined, Vegeta leaned forward and spoke to Wya. "Find Trintrin." He said in a calm voice. "Take me to him."
The bird obeyed, diving downward toward the moving mountain.
"Prince Vegeta!" He heard someone yell behind him. "Where are you going? It's too dangerous!"
He saw Trintrin on the ground. He's apparently fallen from his suka. He appeared to be uninjured, but without his bird, there was little chance for escape.
And at that moment, Vegeta saw what had put so much fear into the Loup hunters. A giant creature had emerged from the mountain. It appeared to be made of stone, but Vegeta suspected that it may just have thick gray skin. The creature towered over Trintrin, who had dropped down to four legs and was running through the snow. His quarry and ride were apparently forgotten.
Then Trintrin made the amateur mistake of looking behind him. And he stumbled, falling face first into the snow.
"Go." Vegeta spurred his Wya on, diving through the wind and snowfall toward his guide. He dropped off of the bird before she'd even landed. His feet sank knee deep into the snow, and he waded clumsily through it to get to Trintrin.
"Trintrin!"
"Prince Vegeta!" Vegeta could see frozen tears on Trintrin's face. "I didn't see it!"
Vegeta just nodded in understanding.
"We're going to die!" Trintrin wailed over the wind, pulling himself up and latching onto Vegeta's cloak. "Do you know how many Loups are killed by saxums each year?" He turned away slightly and looked to the sky as if asking for intervention. "My father told me not to come out with the hunters! He said that in these conditions, it's too dangerous. He warned me about this."
As Trintrin continued to lament their situation, Vegeta glanced toward the stone-like creature. It was large, true, but it was nothing that Vegeta couldn't handle. Trintrin's suka was flying around the saxum's head, apparently trying to create a distraction. The saxum was swatting at it, ignoring the two hunters and suka down below.
"We have to get back to the hunters!" Trintrin said. "They can kill it!" But he seemed uncertain of that.
Vegeta rolled his eyes, grabbed Trintrin, and bodily hauled him onto Wya. "You get back to the hunters. I'll take care of this thing."
"But—" Vegeta ignored him.
He just leaned close to Wya's face. "Go." Vegeta said, and already, he was pulling off his goggles. The intelligent beast looked at him knowingly, and Vegeta wondered just how much the suka understood of what he was about to do. A moment later, Wya shot into the air carrying the screaming young Loup away from the dangers zone.
Vegeta turned around, searching for the moon through the blizzard. He couldn't find it. Frowning, he looked around again.
This won't work. Crap! Why does it snow so much here?
With and angry snort, he flared his aura. The snow ceased to reach him, either being melted upon contact with is aura or being blown away by the wind he was kicking up. Vegeta smirked. Now there's an idea. He flared his aura out even more. The snow beneath his feet melted, and he levitated so as not to sink down in it. The wind began to swirl around him. He regarded it calmly, the eye of the storm.
The strange stone-like creature screeched in confusion and anger as it was buffeted by the wind. Through the swirling snow, Vegeta could see its hulking form looming toward him.
The clouds above were being driven away by the wind he caused. The black night sky was more and more visible through the breaks in the clouds. Finally, a beam of light broke through. Vegeta turned to look at it, throwing his cape to the ground.
The full moon. Perfect.
He felt his body begin to grow. The familiar transformation, once a favorite of his but now long disused, felt right. He grinned, showing his elongated canines, and then hunched over as fur sprouted on his back.
In less than a minute it was done, and he was standing in his oozaru form. He could feel the power within him, raging, waiting to be released. Unlike Kakarott, however, Vegeta had no problem keeping his power and bloodlust under control.
He turned again to look at the strange rock creature. What had they called it? A saxum? The creature stared at him in confusion. It had obviously never seen a full grown oozaru before.
"Prince Vegeta!" Vegeta glanced over his shoulder to see that the hunters had all landed atop the cliff from which the saxum had emerged. The hunters were all staring at Vegeta with expressions of awe. The Tik soldiers looked more or less constipated. Trintrin, however, was clearly fretful. "Be careful, okay?" Trintrin called. "I'm supposed to be responsible for you!"
Vegeta snorted and turned back to the saxum. He didn't know whether or not to be offended by Trintrin's remark. He didn't have time to think about it anymore because the confused saxum charged him.
It didn't take long for Vegeta to neutralize the saxum. He dodged the creature's first swing, ducked another, and caught the third. Then, still holding on to the creature's arm, he jumped and sent a spin kick to the saxum's head. The sickening crack that followed could be heard all the way from the cliff-top, judging from the way his audience gasped. The giant creature dropped to the ground, dead.
Somewhat regretful that the fight had ended so quickly, Vegeta stepped away from it and let his battle aura drop. Trintrin called his name again. Vegeta glanced toward the cliff to see that Trintrin had already hopped on his suka and was speeding toward him.
Vegeta closed his eyes willing the clouds to return and cover the moon again. In a few short minutes, they did, and Vegeta's body shrank to its normal form. For the first time, he noticed that his clothes had stretched to accommodate his form. Kurenai had promised that they would.
The way his limbs ached was a quick reminder that it had been years since he'd used his oozaru form. He knew that the aches would be worse in the morning.
By the time he found his goggles and cloak and put them back on, the rest of the hunters had returned to the area and were trying to figure out how to haul the saxum back to the mountain labyrinth.
The Tik soldiers were all standing to the side, eying Vegeta with expressions that Vegeta found discomforting. Vegeta found himself growing slightly uneasy.
True, he'd just saved the son of one of the council members of Luva, but he'd also just demonstrated his oozaru transformation for the Tik officers in attendance. No doubt the Tik commander had been tracking his power increase with his scouter the entire time.
From the nervous look on the face of the Tik soldiers, Vegeta assumed that they'd all been watching.
The Loup hunters had finally decided to tie ten sukas to the saxum and have them carry it back. The hunters would just have to ride double on the remainder of the sukas.
Vegeta didn't argue as Trintrin hopped onto the back of Wya with him. He was ready to be inside out of the cold. Images of his warm, silk covered bed, the flickering not-quite-fire, and the soft rugs danced before his eyes. He hugged his cloak tighter around himself and spurred Wya back into the air.
"I'm sorry, Gohan, but it's just so frustrating." Videl was slumped in Gohan's chair, her arms wrapped around her knees and her chin resting on top of them.
Gohan nodded and ran a hand through his hair as he sorted through his books. He already had too many to fit on his bookshelf, and Goten had already forbade him from trying to store them in his room. So Gohan was put to the task of sifting through his books and picking out which ones he wanted to sell. "I know, I know." He really hated getting rid of books. He always felt like he would need them later. If it were up to him, he would get a giant bookshelf that covered his entire bedroom wall. The trouble was, he didn't have the money to buy one. "I'm not blaming you. It's just…she's my mom. You have to understand. She's really stressed right now. Ever since I was little, she's always had to worry about someone taking me away. Heck, when I was only four or five, Piccolo took me into the desert to train for an entire year. I didn't see my mom that whole time." He thumbed through a large physics book wondering if he would need it again.
"It's not that, Gohan, it's just…" Videl sighed, and kicking the desk, spun herself around in Gohan's desk chair. "I don't know! I mean, it's just a semester off! Lots of people do it! It's not a big deal!"
"It's another one of her worries, is all. She's afraid that I'll drop out altogether. Well…" He dropped the book into the ever-growing "keep" pile and finally looked up at her. "You've seen how my dad is. He's never had a job…never tried to get one. Doesn't do much except fish and fight and lay around. Mom just wants to make sure that I…well she loves dad and all…"
"I get it, Gohan." Videl said. "I'm sorry. I keep forgetting that your childhood was so much different than mine." She stopped spinning and looked down at him. "It's just that…it's stressful enough trying to get through college and find a good job without all these extra pressures."
"Tell me about it." Gohan finally finished sorting through his books. He looked over to his "sell" pile. "What? How did that get in there?" He picked up his old geometry book and looked through the well-worn pages.
"You already know all the formulas in it remember?" Videl prompted.
"Well…yeah, I think I do, but what if I forgot one?"
"That's what the internet's for."
"But we don't have the internet here. Or at least, I think we don't…Trunks might have secretly given Goten a handheld computer last year, but I haven't found it yet."
"Well, if you don't have the internet, you can just ask me."
"But, I'm better than you in math." Videl narrowed her eyes dangerously, causing Gohan to emit a nervous chuckle. "Just kidding."
Videl crossed her arms and swiveled away. "Or you can ask Bulma."
"Hey, there's an idea!"
She swiveled back. "What idea?"
"Bulma!"
"Umm…" Videl stared at her boyfriend as he scrunched up his face in thought and began mumbling to himself.
Finally, he straightened up and grinned at her. "So we need to keep mom satisfied, right?"
"Right." Videl raised an eyebrow.
"And Bulma needs help working on her projects now that Capsule Corp is gone and her employees are scattered around Japan. So…we do an internship with Capsule Corp!"
Videl grinned. "You think she'd go for that?"
"Sure! Why wouldn't she?" Gohan shrugged. "And you're already staying in the spare room in her capsule house."
Videl thought about it for a moment. "Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to ask."
"Right! It's settled then." He glanced at the clock. "Oh…it's kinda late. We'll ask first thing tomorrow."
Vegeta awoke the next day with feeling that it was very late. As he'd predicted, his muscles ached with each movement. He wished for nothing more than to stay in bed, but he knew that that was out of the question.
After a quick bath, Vegeta dressed and headed down the hall to knock on Midori's door. She wasn't there. He tried Trintrin's door. The young Loup wasn't there either.
There was no one in the hallway. Where the hell is everyone? He wondered, continuing down the hall. He felt out Midori's Ki. Oh…in the great chamber. Of course.
He followed the maze-like hallways toward where he believed the great chamber would be. After two wrong turns, and endless frustration, he finally emerged in the hallway that led to the visitors' gallery that he'd sat in the day before. He was just about to open the door when it opened on its own.
"Finally!" Midori said, slipping out of the door and closing it quietly behind her. "When Trintrin said that you needed your rest, he wasn't kidding. You're lucky. The kid wouldn't even let me try to wake you up."
"What are you doing here?" Vegeta asked, ignoring her comment. "Shouldn't you be down with the council?"
She shook her head in that exasperated fashion that told him that he was behind the times.
"What did I miss?" He asked with a hint of resignation.
She grinned at him. "King Kohol, the main supporter of the Tik, changed his tune today. He is now in full support of the Krimzon."
Vegeta furrowed his eyebrows. "How did that happen? He couldn't have possibly changed his mind so quickly."
"Well, he did, and the nations allied with him are falling in line. They have agreed to commence negotiations for adhesion to the Krimzon. I have to call Kurenai. There are still Tik on the planet, and we are going to need troops to ensure that they don't attack."
"I…so…" He blinked at her. "Is that it, then? Are we going back to Iro?"
"Of course not." She sent him an expression that told him that she clearly worried for his sanity. "We're going to stay here until the rest of the negotiators and our reinforcements arrive."
"You're kidding!" He said. "How long will that be?"
"Just until tomorrow." Midori said. "Kurenai figured that they would come to our side, so she has troops stationed nearby."
That was a relief. He had no desire to stay holed up in a mountain or trek through blizzards for days on end. "Good thing." He said. "The Loups change their minds so easily. If we wait too long, they'll probably switch sides again."
"No, I don't think so." Midori said, pulling out her scouter and flipping it open. "The council seemed pretty firm about siding with us. They said that recent evidence has shown them that we are the more worthy ally. Don't ask me what that means, though."
Vegeta too wondered what that could mean. And what evidence could the Loups have found so quickly.
Vegeta would get the answer to his question the next day when he and Midori were saying their goodbyes. If it were up to Vegeta, he would have gotten into his pod without saying a word, but Midori had stressed the importance of a formal goodbye.
As Midori finished saying her farewells to the councilmembers, Trintrin approached Vegeta with King Kohol at his side.
Vegeta stared between them. Midori, coming to his side, stared as well, clearly surprised by the situation.
"Prince Vegeta," Trintrin greeted him somewhat more formally than usual. "I would like you to meet my father."
Vegeta blinked.
The King nodded in greeting to Vegeta. Vegeta nodded back.
"I would like to express my gratitude to you." King Kohol said somewhat stiffly. "My son tells me that you saved him, if not from death, then certainly from serious injury. For that, I am eternally grateful." Then, nodding again, the King turned and began walking away.
Trintrin leaned close to Vegeta with a grin. "I felt really bad when the council members and my father sent me to spy on you. I was worried that father would be right and you Krimzon were trying to cheat us out of our resources. But the other council members—the ones that have always supported the Krimzon Empire—were sure that I would find your cause to be noble. They thought that my testimony of that would be enough to convince my father too." Trintrin grinned. "I'm glad I did it, because otherwise, I would have never met you. I hope that we can work together in the future." He backed up and bowed lowly. "Thank you, and good luck, Prince Vegeta." As he turned and hurried after his father, Vegeta just stood, mouth hanging open and blinking in surprise.
A spy? Trintrin was spying on him the whole time?
Then he put all the pieces together.
A smug grin lit his face, and he turned it full force on Midori. Midori just glared, snorted, and began walking away. Still grinning, Vegeta followed after her.
A/N: First off, thanks to everyone who's been following this story and who's dropped me reviews! I love to hear that you're enjoying it. Just to answer a question that was posed to me, I do read all reviews, even ones for old chapters.
I hope you enjoyed this one! Lemme know what you think.
Translation:
Saxum- (Latin) rock