--- When Worlds Collide ---
Chapter 23 - Birthday Surprise, part 2
Disclaimer: see chapter 1
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He looked up from his computer as he heard the automatic door to his lab sliding open, turning his chair to face whoever was entering his domain. Before the door was even half open, a pair of blurs raced in, attaching themselves to his legs with a cry of "Daddy!" and revealing themselves to be a pair of small children, a boy and girl. In the standard calendar, the twins were entering what other races referred to as the 'Terrible Twos', making them six months in the Saiyan calendar.
Their mother followed them in soon after, sighing tiredly and saying, "Sorry for bringing them here, I know you're busy, but..."
He waved her silent with a smile; he knew exactly why she'd brought them to see him. Smiling down at them, and messing their hair playfully, he said, "Hey there you two; you been giving your mother grief again?" They just beamed up at him innocently, and he playfully cuffed the boy behind one ear, not even using enough force to tilt his head, and saying, "You're such a terror sometimes Rash..." Pinching the girl's nose, again with almost no force, he added, "And you, little Tama, have got to stop following your brother into mischief." Gently prying them off his legs, he knelt down to their level, giving each a quick one-armed hug before whispering into their ears, "Why don't you go find your Uncle Korin and annoy him for a while?"
With a wide smile, the two ran off again at the same speed they ran in, and his mate just sighed tiredly as she sank into the seat near him; it may have been his private lab, but he always had time for his family, and had room for them accordingly. "Thanks," she muttered, "They've been running me ragged, and it's hard to keep up with them in my condition..."
He smiled warmly at her again as he walked over, crouching down in front of her and placing a hand on her stomach; though most Saiyans found it hard to believe given her age, but she was pregnant, and for the second time at that. In the footsteps of his father, he'd set aside fighting in favour of science, but instead of taking up a mechanical science, he'd chosen biochemistry, and about nine months, or three standard years, ago he'd made a breakthrough; a chemical compound that made it possible for Saiyan women to bear children before they turned five, in Saiyan years.
Obviously, this was quite the discovery, because no longer did the Saiyan race have to worry about dying out as a result of all females being killed in combat before they could bear children. Now, they could bear children almost whenever they liked, assuming they were at least three years and three months old, or sixteen in standard years; before that, the risks were too great.
That's not to say there weren't risks with the formula as is, such as the inability to reproduce for roughly two standard years after the first use (in fact, if not for their Saiyan healing factor, the damage caused by the acceleration to the female reproductive organs would make them barren for the rest of their lives), but there were benefits too, the most obvious being the ability to conceive at an earlier age than normal, and, as they found out, the length of the pregnancy being reduced to a mere six standard months instead of nine, with no negative side effects to the child (the negatives were to the mother). Needless to say, many believed these positives far outweighed the negatives, including his mate herself.
She had been the first to try the drug, when it was still in it's experimental stages; he'd warned her of the possible dangers, but she'd just smiled and said she trusted him, and that was that. Now, after having recovered from the first time, she had opted to again be the guinea pig for the new version; this time, she rationed that, as they already had children, if anything did go wrong their line would still continue, however much she wanted a large family. He'd asked her once how many children she wanted, but she just laughed and replied she wouldn't know until she got there.
His thoughts were interrupted as he felt the baby kick under his hand. Correction, one of the babies kicking, because she bore twins, again; a quirk they'd found in the genetic make-up of his DNA almost guaranteed it. A few seconds later he felt another, and another, and he looked up to his mate's face wearing a look of awe.
"What is it?" She asked, instinctively afraid something was wrong.
"It... It almost feels like they're sparring in there," he replied in a mildly shocked voice.
She just laughed, "Well, they're their father's children alright." While fighting may not have been his livelihood, he still spent his increasingly less free time training, and as he always said you could never start too early, even Rash and Tama were getting some of the most basic of basics at their age. "So how's the family? I haven't had a chance to catch up with them for a while." She knew he worked on and off with his father, so could get updates then.
"They're doing good," he replied, still with a hand on her stomach, "The pests are getting stronger, and Korin seems determined to find a mate and settle down; I think he's jealous that I've managed to start a family before him. When dad has time, he and your pop help me try and work the kinks out of the formula, so we're slowly making headway."
"That's good to hear," she smiled. She opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off as he received a kick to the head from an unknown assailant, someone who's snuck up behind her and leapt over to attack her mate. She started to stand, preparing to defend herself and her unborn children if she had to, but before she'd gotten a foot, a blast was sent her way, one she didn't have time to dodge.
"You... You MONSTER!" he shouted, climbing to his feet, "How could you? She was..." He was abruptly silenced by another blast, as, for the twenty-second time across the Multiverse, Kaen and Pi knew no more.
--
His eyes widened in shock, and the red cloud fled from his mind as he was assaulted with his deceased double's memories; as often happened, the first memory to reach his mind was the surface thoughts of the newly deceased. No sooner had this memory registered than he fell to his knees, his body fighting to avoid throwing up the past ten meals he'd eaten. She had been pregnant somehow; how was he supposed to have known? He was almost used to killing himself and his mate over and over, but an unborn child? HIS unborn child. It was too much, and soon his body lost the fight, retching up on the cold lab floor.
Standing up, and wiping his mouth, the red fog settled back in as his sanity once again faded to bloodlust. There were just two more to go before he had enough power to bring his mate back, and nothing would stop him.
o-o-o
Kaen smiled broadly at he stepped out onto the stage, to the cheers of those assembled. Everyone that was coming had arrived, introductions had been made, and it was time for the show to begin; well, in truth, he'd left Pi to make the introductions, but he had to go through the final preparations with the guys, so... Looking around the club, he could see that, with a few notable exceptions, it was moshing room only; even some of the tables had been removed so that the club could hold more people.
In the throng of patrons, there were all of four pockets of space. One was were the rest of the gang sat, at two of the few remaining tables, the crowd held back by his mate's glare; he noticed idly that Gohan was there with Videl, and Kat was there with Leo, the two kids he'd rescued, an unknown pink-haired girl, an orange-haired man, and a strangely familiar green-haired woman. The second space was near the bar, held by a rather short man who's hair made up for his lack of height, and what likely kept the others away, despite his relaxed demeanour, was his eyes, which seemed to instantly label everyone in the room as vastly beneath him; Vegeta. One of the remaining two spaces contained a couple holding a table all to themselves, a very tall man, and his partner, who, despite the beautiful face and motherly appearance, seemed outwardly as prone to violence as her other half; Kellre and Raene. The final space was occupied by a slightly taller than average man with a voluptuous woman by his side, who, every time someone would intrude upon their area, would send them scurrying back with a glare; Truniz.
'So, they decided to come after all,' he thought to himself amusedly. Stepping up to the microphone, and gesturing for silence, he said, "Be thou welcome in the House of Chaos for this, the tenth anniversary of its birth." The crowd erupted again, and he waited for them to calm before continuing, "I see some friendly faces out there..." He pointedly looked at Kellre and Raene; "...and some unfriendly faces." This time, he looked straight at Vegeta, a grin on his face; "Some newcomers..." Truniz, and more importantly, the unknown woman with him; "...and some regulars..." Pi; "...but most importantly, I see the largest turn-out in the history of the House of Chaos, and I personally would like to thank each and every one of you for coming here and making this a very special night." The crowd exploded into excited cheers again, and he let them go until quiet reigned once more before finishing, "Now then, with no further ado, let's get this party START-ED!"
--
It was almost an hour later, the mini-concert having raged on, when the time they'd set for the 'intermission' came up. Gesturing for silence, Kaen took the microphone off its stand, holding it to his mouth and declaring, "Thank you, you've been magnificent. It's about time we took a break, but before we do, I'd like to direct your attention to the flame-haired man at the bar, who I assume a lot of you have incorrectly mistaken for my father." All eyes in the club turned on Vegeta, but rather than drive them away, the prince stared up at Kaen, question in his eyes. "This next song is dedicated to you Vegeta, in loving memory of your dear departed father."
Vegeta contemplated glaring at the boy on stage, noticing the strings of sarcasm lacing his words, but decided not to; it wouldn't affect him anyway, so why waste the effort? Besides, he wasn't really angry; he knew that many of the Saiyans harboured a deep resentment towards his father, and with good cause. If anything, he was curious as to what the song was. Turning to the guys, Kaen whispered, covering the mike so as to not be heard, "Prepare to drop everything and bolt if he turns homicidal; I'll hold him off."
Kaen started playing, the music slowly working its way up in volume, accompanied by the cymbals, and later, by the bass, drums, and second guitar, as the song truly got under way. A grin on his face, Kaen sang, holding the microphone with his tail for the umpteenth time that night, "Wish I may, wish I might, have this I wish tonight. Are you satisfied? Dig for gold, dig for fame, you dig to make your name. Are you pacified?"
Still grinning, he was joined by Hawk, "All the wants you waste. All the things you've chased. And it all crashes down, and you break your crown. And you point your finger, but there's no one around. Just want one thing, just to play the king, but the castle's crumbled, and you've left with just a name."
Smirking broadly, Kaen cried, "Where's your crown King Nothing?"
Were it anyone else, Vegeta reasoned, he would have flown off the handle and started flinging blasts around, but, try as he might to deny it, he respected his equally flame-haired sparring partner slash diplomatic representative. As it was, Vegeta found he actually enjoyed the song; he didn't enjoy the laughter he heard out of the other Saiyans he sensed in the room, but oh well, good with bad and so on.
When the song finished, Kaen was greeted with uproarious applause, and he was shocked to see that Vegeta, of all people, was joining in. Locking eyes with the man, he could read everything from the simple gaze alone, and no words needed be spoken; he just nodded respectfully once, warrior to warrior, and the prince did the same. With a final wave to the crowd, Kaen headed backstage with the rest of the band; he had about an hour to spend with his friends before having to get back on stage, and he intended to use all of it, firstly by finding out who that familiar looking woman was.
o-o-o
"Well, who are all they then?" Kaen asked good-naturedly, directing the question to anyone; Oran and Lime had gone to the bar to get a drink, under his order, and he noticed somewhat amusedly that Videl had gone with them, most likely to try and pump them for information, but everyone else was still present.
It was Kat who answered, "This is Leo's family: his sister Aeris, the twins Vincent and Gina, his father Tom, and his mother Tabitha."
Turning to Tabitha, Kaen stated directly, "I know you. I know I know you, but I can't place where from."
A look of wonder on her face, she replied, "You saved my life, Phoenix."
Rolling his eyes, he commented jokingly, "Well, that narrows it down to about half a million people, at least."
With a start, she realised that, by reflex, she'd assumed human guise, so shifted back, saying, "Does this help?"
Kaen just smiled, "Ah, right. Neko-Sei. Falling building. I remember now. Good to see you're alright." Something seemed to click in his mind, and he commented, "You know, I knew something was familiar about Leo the first time I saw him; his ki felt similar to Kat's. Small world huh?"
"It gets better," Kat added, "Tabby and I were friends way back when, and Tom had a crush on me when we were younger."
Kaen burst out laughing, and when he grinned at Tom, the older man actually blushed a little as he replied, "Yes, the irony isn't lost on me that my son could land the girl that I couldn't." Smiling at his wife, he added, "However, I wouldn't have it any other way, and as long as they're happy, I'm happy."
Still grinning, Kaen turned to his mate, stating, "You know, your folks are here." She nodded, but he needn't have said anything; she knew they were here the moment they set foot in the place. "Your uncle too," he added, "With a date no less."
Now this was news to her; not Truniz's presence, but that he had a date. Grinning herself, she stood, kissing him quickly on the cheek before saying, "I'm gonna go say 'hi'." In other words, she was going to go bother them. Chuckling at her retreating form, Kaen headed after the twins to the bar, Kat following him.
o-o-o
Vulture cast a wary eye over the two kids, turning the object in his hands over a few times before saying, "You say Kaen gave you this?"
Oran nodded, replying, "Yup, he told us to give it to you, and to tell you he said so..."
"...But he said we were 'sposed to call him 'Phoenix' here." His twin added.
The elderly barkeep nodded, "So that would make you two Saiyans." They nodded, so he grabbed two bottles out of the fridge, adding, "I assume he wants you to have the mixer because of your age, and if he believes you can handle it, that's good enough for me." Handing them the drinks, he asked, "So, is Kaen your father?" He honestly didn't know how old Kaen was, or how old these two were, so felt obliged to ask.
Oran opened his mouth to answer, but Lime cut him off, saying, "No, he's our brother, but he spent more time raising us than dad did..."
"...So we think of his as our second father." Oran finished her sentence, using the bond between twins.
"You do know that's illegal, right? Serving alcohol to minors," Videl voiced, walking up to them.
The twins just grinned at her, declaring together in singsong voices, "Diplomatic immunity." Obviously, Kaen had taught them that phrase.
When Videl levelled her gaze at Vulture, he just replied with a shrug, "Can't touch me either. I've been informed by the ruling body of New Saiya that he's decided to sponsor the club, and thus, for all matters concerning his people, I'm above reproach to any jurisdiction bar theirs, and this is well legal under their code."
With a sigh, Videl turned back to the twins, saying, "You do know that Kaen's diplomatic immunity doesn't include you, right?" She knew that it most likely did, but she wanted to try and trip them up.
Lime just shook her head, a smile on her face as she replied, "Doesn't matter. Our dad's one of Prince Vegeta's personal advisors..."
Oran scowled at her, adding, "...so you can't touch us girl!"
Videl was a little surprised by the young boy's attitude, saying, "Why are you so hostile?"
He shrugged, "My brother doesn't like you, and that's good enough for me."
"You don't like me because your brother doesn't?" Videl asked incredulously. When he nodded, she turned to Lime, saying, "And I assume you do like me because Pi does?" When she too nodded, the pig-tailed girl said, "Don't you think for yourselves?"
"You're wasting your breath," a female voice stated from behind her, "Trying to get those two to act different to Kaen and Pi is like trying to stop the tide." Videl spun around to face the speaker, and found Kat grinning at her, and Kaen scowling; she noticed idly that the scowl he wore almost mirrored his younger brother, or, more accurately, his younger brother mirrored him.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't interrogate my little brother and sister, Satan," Kaen stated neutrally. The girl just held her hands up defensively, backing away a little before turning on her heel and walking off; she admitted to herself that Kaen scared her, more so since she found out he was a killer alien from beyond the moon.
Kaen just watched her go until she disappeared into the crowd; he knew she wasn't done causing trouble yet, but he wasn't worried. He chuckled to himself at how excited Kat was to learn that she was finally being allowed to drink, even if it was something weak; well, weak was a relative term, and it might actually be strong for her, but in any case he wasn't going to let her get drunk. At least, not in public. Watching her leave out of the corner of his eye, and idly noticing that the twins had run off, he reclined against the bar, making himself comfortable; he intended on getting nicely buzzed before going back on stage.
o-o-o
"Mum, dad, you made it!"
Raene smiled at her daughter, replying, "Of course we did dear. What made you think we wouldn't?"
Pi just shrugged, "You never replied, so we assumed not."
"And this, dear daughter, is why you should assume nothing," Kellre replied sagely, before grinning and adding, "Besides, after hearing why you had your mother cover for you, I had to make time to come here."
She smiled at him nervously, before changing the subject, saying, "Hey, did you guys know Uncle Truniz has a date? I thought he was too much of a playboy for that."
Kellre just smiled, "Yes, I was beginning to lose hope he'd ever settle down, but he seems to have found a potential mate."
Noticing the glint in her daughter's eye, Raene stated, "Young lady, you will leave them alone. Don't go bothering him."
Pi mock-pouted, "Aw but why mum? Besides, it would be rude of me not to introduce myself." Raene just sighed, knowing that nothing she could say would change her mind; Kellre just laughed as Pi walked off, a slight spring in her step.
o-o-o
"You're Kaen's brother and sister, right?"
The twins turned in the direction of the voice, finding a lavender-haired kid in a green gi, and a black, spiky-haired kid in a red-orange gi. It was Oran who answered, "Yeah, that's us. Who's askin'?"
Grinning, the boy replied, "I'm Trunks, and this is Goten." The twins just nodded; they may not have met them yet, but they knew all about Vegeta and Kakarott's half-breed children.
"Nice to meet you Trunks," Lime stated, holding out her hand. When the boy looked at her warily, she rolled her eyes, muttering irritably, "Stupid boy, I'm not gonna bite you." He still stared at her for a few seconds before eventually shaking hands with her, but he recalled his hand as soon as was polite. 'I thought he was 'sposed to be the smarter of the two? He's as thick as a plank,' she thought to herself, 'Cute, but dense.' She wasn't sure where that 'cute' came from, but she'd think about it later.
The four kids conversed for a while, but Goten and Oran quickly got bored; Trunks and Lime were doing almost all the talking. Without a word, Oran walked off, intent on getting back to the table, and Goten just shrugged and wandered away, spotting a couple more kids and jogging towards them. Neither Trunks nor Lime noticed the two boys leave. Soon, the conversation turned to fighting.
"So, how strong are you?" Trunks asked.
The girl shrugged, "Dunno, ever since we stopped using scouters I couldn't tell you a number; not enough though. Our strength just doesn't seem to rise fast enough, so we focus mainly on speed instead; after all, a faster fighter can beat a stronger one. And I know you and Goten have already ascended."
"Shh," the boy hissed, looking around frantically to see if Vegeta was nearby, "Don't say that out loud! I don't want dad finding out. If he knew he'd make me train with him all the time." At the girl's blank look, he added, "Dad's idea of training is cranking up the gravity to at least two-hundred and beating me until I can't stand, then beating me some more."
"So?" Lime honestly didn't know what was so strange about this; that's usually how Kaen fought when he sparred with them, when he wasn't pulling his punches (which didn't happen often), and to the twins, Kaen, or Pi, sparring with them was a reward.
Giving her an odd look, Trunks asked, "What, do you like getting the crap kicked out of you?" When the grin on her face answered his question, he added, "How can you like being hurt a lot?"
The girl just shrugged, "Not like it doesn't grow back." Grinning, she added, "'Sides, if we come home really hurt after one of big brother's sessions mum and dad know we've worked really hard, and we get twice as much dessert, and occasionally three times as much."
Gaping at her in shock, Trunks commented, "You're crazy, you know that right?"
She just shrugged again, changing the subject, "I hear you're a bit of a prankster." When he nodded, she added, "Awesome! Me and Oran have run out of people to prank; we've hit everyone in the family so far, and Kaen's made sure we learned not to hit anyone twice." She tried not to shudder at the memory.
Trunks groaned, "I can't..." At her questioning look, he explained, "Dad said, as condition of me and Goten coming here, that we were not to cause trouble, or he'd force-feed us my mum's cooking for a month."
She snorted derisively, "Fine, if you're gonna be boring, I'm gonna go bother your dad."
Trunks stood there stunned for a few minutes as the girl walked away, before running after her, shouting, "No, you can't!" He may not have known her long, but he didn't want his new friend to get killed by his father.
--
Vegeta knocked back his drink, sighing as he felt the icy burn slither down his throat. There was something very satisfying about consuming his people's personal drink; Vegeta-Sei may have been gone, but he was pleased that some of it lived on even today. He hadn't been sure what to think when the Icebreaker had arrived on Earth ten years ago, bringing with it a half million of his formerly believed near extinct species, even more so when, thanks to his father, he was advised against taking his rightful place as King of Saiyans, but it was nice to know your race didn't end with you, even if they didn't need him as ruler. Besides, they had come to accept him once they realised he was different from his late father, thanks to his different upbringing.
That brought new questions to Vegeta's mind. How different might his life have been if Vegeta-Sei had survived? Would he have taken a Saiyan mate, or would fate have determined Bulma be his life mate even then. Would he have ascended to the throne by now, and if so, would he have been a better ruler than his father? Would a Super Saiyan have still killed Frieza, and would that Super Saiyan have still been Kakarott? He didn't know, and he hated not knowing, so he did the only thing he could do; he got drunk, to forget his questions.
It was refreshing to be able to get drunk, as normal alcohol had little to no effect on him, like normal Saiyans, but, because he'd only rarely had alcohol, he didn't really have a head for it like some Saiyans did; nonetheless, it amused him that the very first thing constructed when the Saiyans settled in was the Oosquai factory. So far, he'd put away a six pack of Oosquai, and he had no intention of stopping now; his mate had provided him with an unlimited Capsule Corporation credit card, 'for emergency use only', and he deemed being sober in a bar a dire emergency indeed.
Vegeta's buzzed mind turned to the topic of Kaen. While he'd never told anyone before, as a child, he had admired the 'Phoenix' he'd heard rumours about, but when he had disappeared, Frieza had claimed that he had dealt with Phoenix, and everyone had believed, even going to the length of re-invading the freed worlds. Now, Frieza was dead, Phoenix was back, and Vegeta was a little disillusioned at Kaen's power level; if he was right, however, and Kaen was indeed hiding the greater part of his power, then maybe the rumours had been true...
His musing was interrupted by something tugging on his pants leg; for once, Vegeta was not wearing a spandex training suit, instead kitted out in a denim jacket, jeans, and a blue t-shirt. Looking down, he was met by a pair of large black eyes, framed by a small, obviously female face, with black hair in a ponytail; obviously, to his eyes, the girl was Saiyan, and there was only one Saiyan girl he knew of that'd be here. "What do you want girl?" he growled.
The young girl just continued to stare at him for a moment, and quite frankly, it was getting on Vegeta's nerves. He was just about to tear into her when she chirped, "Is it true you're a prince?"
Not the question he was expecting, his reply wasn't as gruff as he'd normally give as he replied, "Of course I am girl, why..."
"But how come?" she asked, cocking her head to one side, "My mum always said princes grow up into kings; why didn't you?"
Vegeta honestly had no answer for that, and he was a little too buzzed to come up with one. Instead, he just asked, "How old are you girl?"
Lime just giggled, "Technically, I'm 47." At Vegeta's confused look, she giggled again, "I remember you, me and Oran playing together as kids. You were so much cuter back then," she scrunched up her nose, "You grew up ugly."
Vegeta held his head; he had vague memories of playing with other children, a few years his senior, when he was a kid, but the memory wasn't clear, and the alcohol wasn't making life easier. "Girl," he growled, "If I hadn't drunk enough alcohol to kill a small child, I'd be killing a small child about now." She just giggled again and ran off, and Vegeta returned to his bottle, never once noticing his son watching, an awed look on his face that she had done that and lived.
o-o-o
"Hi, who're you guys?"
The blonde child turned around, finding herself facing a mass of black hair, atop an overly cute face. "Hiya, I'm Gina. Who're you?" When the redheaded boy beside her said nothing, she supplied, "This is my brother Vincent; he doesn't talk much."
"I'm Goten," the young boy chirped, tilting his head to one side and staring at Vincent for a minute before asking, "Is he sick? Is that why he doesn't talk much?"
She shook her head, replying, "Nah he's just ant... uh..." She paused, closing her eyes as she tried to remember what her sister had called him. "Uh, an... anti... anti-social, that's it."
"What does that mean?" Coming from the mouth of anyone bar Son Goten, that statement would be rather annoying, but the sheer innocence, and ignorance, that one could practically taste in the air around him took the edge off.
Gina just shrugged, "I dunno, I think it means he just doesn't like talking." Smiling widely, she cried, "Your hair looks really neat. How do you get it to stand up like that? Hey, cool gi; that means you know how to fight right? Vincent and me are learning to fight too. Well, we were until our dojo burned down; did you hear about that? Saiyaman was there and everything, but I didn't get to see him 'coz Phoenix saved us. Where do you learn? Maybe we could all spar together one day; where do you live?"
The mass of questions came at blinding speeds, able to be matched by only a handful of people; fortunately, however, Goten was one of those people. "I dunno," he replied, "my hair's always been like this. I live in the 439 Mountain Area with mum and niichan, and niichan trains me sometimes, but ever since he started school it's just been me and mum, so she's been training me."
"Who's your niichan?"
Turning around and pointing, Goten said, "His name's Gohan. He's over there with that nice lady Videl." Turning around again, he asked, "Do you have a niichan or neechan?"
The girl nodded, "Both; my big sister's Aeris, and my big brother's Leo. He's hanging out with Kat."
The demi-Saiyan's eyes lit up, "You know Kat? Awesome! Did you know she can do this cool thing where she changes how she looks, and has these cool ears and tail?"
The girl grinned, "Like this?" Saying that, she changed back into proper Neko-Jin appearance.
Goten gasped, like he'd just found a pot of gold, "Cool! You can do it too?"
"Yup," She said proudly, "Mommy says that Kat used to be a friend of hers when she was a kid, so she's the same spe... uh... she's one of us." Noticing something, she cried excitedly, "Hey, you've got a tail too? Cool! Can you hold things with it?" The conversation continued, and, as was normal for anyone of the Son bloodline, especially Goten, the subject soon turned to food, and Goten was a little surprised to find that she liked food almost as much as he did; of course, it was physically impossible to like food more than Goten, unless you were Goku of course. Occasionally, the two would try to include Vincent in their conversation, but he just ignored them both, but Goten still made a friend either way.
o-o-o
"Hey, you're Oran right? Phoenix's kid brother?"
Oran spun to face the voice, the second such statement he'd heard that night, and found himself face to face with a redheaded girl about his own age. With a sigh, Oran replied, "Yeah, that's me." He was getting a little annoyed by the constant need to introduce himself, but this girl seemed nice enough, so he'd give her enough time to get on his nerves before lashing out.
Grinning, the girl replied, "Cool, I've been looking for you. I'm Faile."
Oran looked at her curiously, asking, "Why would you be looking for me ever?"
"Why not?" she replied with a shrug, "I don't get much chance to hang out with kids my own age, and from what I've heard about you and your sister, you sound pretty cool." Spotting something, she cried, "Hey, you have a tail too? Cool. Can I touch it?" Before he could answer, she reached forward to grab his tail, but he snatched it away in time.
Oran scowled at her, "Don't ever touch a Saiyan's tail without permission! It's a great dishonour."
"Sorry," she replied, sounding suitably meek. "I didn't know. I just thought it looked cool..."
He sighed; it wasn't her fault she was ignorant. "It's okay, don't worry about it." About that point, Oran realised that he still had a bottle in his hand, cracking it open and taking a swig. Absently, he held the bottle out to her, asking, "You want some?" For some reason, the girl blushed a bit, but she did take a quick drink before handing it back to him, coughing slightly at the strength of it; he grabbed it again using his tail.
"So," the girl began, "Kaen said he's teaching you to fight. You any good?"
He shrugged, "Don't know; all I've had to test myself again is Lime, my big bro, and big sisters. I'm stronger than Lime, and weaker than the others. That's about all I know."
"Well, would you like to spar with me sometime?" she asked, "I've been training for about four years now, so I'm getting pretty good."
He grinned, "You're on."
--
"I give them fifty-fifty odds," Kaen commented absently, from his position reclining against the bar.
"What do you mean?" The redhead next to him asked; Falcon.
Using his tail to raise the drink to his lips, he replied, "Well, we Saiyans strongly believe that everyone has a soul mate, and I've always had the ability to look at a couple and see if they're soul mates or not; for some reason though, I could never work out Pi was mine until I was about thirteen. Go figure. Pi's uncle Truniz and the woman he's with? They're soul mates. Gohan and Videl? They're soul mates too. Oran and Faile? No idea. I can't see one way or another. Maybe it's the fact they're totally different species or somethin'."
"What about me and Hawk?"
Taking another drink, he replied, "Eighty-twenty. Your souls match, but your personalities clash, and since, unlike we Saiyans who mate for life, you humans only stay together until you get sick of one another, it's not definite. The twenty is the odds he'll do something to piss you off enough to leave." She just laughed and walked off, and Kaen returned to his thoughts, not noticing the unknown girl walking up to him.
o-o-o
"Hey Uncle Truniz!"
The tall man turned away from the beautiful woman next to him to face his niece, grinning and declaring, "Hey there, if it isn't my favourite niece; I was wonderin' what took you so long to come see me."
"I'm your only niece," Pi replied amusedly.
"Exactly why you're my favourite," Truniz shot back, before adding, "I'd like you to meet Cherri. We met a few days ago in the city." He didn't need to mention which city it was.
"It's nice to meet you Cherri," Pi declared, holding her hand out, "I would like to be the first to tell you that you are way out of my uncle's league."
Cherri just laughed, showing she obviously had a good sense of humour, as she took Pi's hand, "It's nice to meet you too. Truniz talks about you so much I'd almost swear you were his daughter."
"Well, it's always been like having two fathers anyway," Pi replied with a shrug.
Grinning, Truniz stood, heading off to the bar after commented, "I'll leave you two to get to know each other." As Pi conversed with the older woman, she found that she quite liked her, and that she suited her uncle quite well. At the edge of her hearing, she picked up her uncle saying, "Barkeep, do you see how seriously not drunk I am? Fix it!" (1) Pi couldn't help it; she burst out laughing. She wasn't too surprised to find Cherri joined in. When Truniz came back, still grinning, he said, "Well, it's good to see you two getting along so well, but Pi, you'd better check on your runt; looks like someone's trying to muscle in on your territory."
Pi wanted to scowl at that, but she schooled her face to a smile, standing up and saying, "Well, it was nice to meet you Cherri; I can see myself calling you 'Aunt' soon enough. I'll see you later, hopefully."
--
"Hey, uh, can I get your phone number or something?" Asked a moderately attractive girl.
"Wha?" was Kaen's half-dazed response. He tended to tune out when the 'normals' were talking, and didn't even know she was talking to him until that question; he vaguely realised she'd been there for, like, five minutes now.
A very authoritative, very female voice growled, "You have exactly five seconds to get away from my boyfriend." The tone of her voice alone was enough to put the fear of God into the girl, but combined with the glare on her face, which was the sort to make small animals keel over and die, it was more than enough to cause the girl to flee as fast as her legs could carry her, proverbial tail between her legs. With her gone, the glare affixed itself to the next closest target; Kaen.
"Hey, don't get up me; I didn't do anything. Hell, I barely even knew the girl was there." Kaen didn't so much as flinch under the look; he was right, it wasn't his fault.
She just sighed; she hated when he was right. "I know. Sometimes you're just too pretty for your own good."
"Hey, I resent that," he remarked gruffly, still not bothering to move, "Dashing? Yes. Handsome? Yes. Pretty? Hell no."
Pi just smirked and shook her head, "Kaen, you like to think that your cocky attitude and bravado is what draws most of the attention to you, and while it does its part, it's time you faced facts sweetie; you're pretty." Kaen just looked at her with a flat stare, and she giggled a little before dragging him up and kissing him for all she was worth. After she broke away, she winked at him, "But you're my pretty boy. Now, wait here and stay out of trouble 'til I get back." With that, she turned and walked away.
While no-one said anything, the murmurs of choked-back laughter could be heard from the group, as well as full-blown laughter from one Son Gohan, and the occasional not-so silent 'pretty-boy' remark from someone. Kaen resisted the urge to retaliate violently, hiding in his drink instead; in fact, he shut everything out so thoroughly that he didn't notice Hawk, Eagle, Condor, Falcon, and Harrier had all disappeared.
In fact, he didn't return to the world around until he heard a familiar male voice announce over the microphone, "I have a special announcement to make." Turning towards the stage, he noticed his band all set up, along with Falcon and her keyboard, and Harrier, just with a microphone. Hawk continued, "Now, a little birdie informed me that today is our man Phoenix's birthday, his twentieth at that." 'Ah, I wondered what was so important about today...' Kaen mused to himself, but Hawk wasn't finished yet, "Now, here to sing a very special song for out birthday boy is that birdie herself. The newest member of the House of Chaos, I'd like to introduce: Roc, singing 'Taking Over Me'."
To Kaen's surprise, Pi walked out from backstage, the lights in the club dimming to darkness as she strode to the microphone, standing under a single spotlight, the only light currently on. Falcon started playing her keyboard, joined by the others ten seconds later. After about twenty seconds, the music dropped back to pure keyboard, as Pi began singing, "You don't remember me, but I remember you. I lie awake and try so hard not to think of you."
The other's joined in again, and the stage lights began brightening again, as she sang on, "But who, can decide, what they dream? And dream I do..."
The lights came on full, as the song increased in tempo, as the other girls joined in singing the chorus; "I believe in you. I'll give up everything just to find you. I have to be with you, to live, to breath. You're taking over me."
The song slowed down again, and the lights dimmed to match, as she continued, "Have you forgotten all I know, and all we had? You saw me mourning my love for you, and touched my hand. I knew you loved me then..." It was almost painfully obvious to Kaen that the song was about him; or, more accurately, about her four-year search for him; as if the words alone weren't enough of a clue, he could feel her emotions as she sang.
The lights and tempo picked up again, as the chorus began once more; "I believe in you. I'll give up everything just to find you. I have to be with you, to live, to breath. You're taking over me."
Pi stared directly at Kaen as she sang the final verse, "I look in the mirror and see your face, if I look deep enough. So many things inside that are just like you are taking over..." The music died down to just Falcon and her keyboard as Pi sang the chorus alone one time, before it was sung again by the group, and the song wound to a close. The performance was met by raucous applause, and Pi actually blushed under the praise.
The crowd parted as Kaen walked forward, and Pi fiddled with her tail nervously as he jumped onto the stage; she could read nothing, either in his eyes or through the bond, and that made her slightly worried. "So," he stated neutrally, "this is what you've been hiding from me." Turning to the band, he continued, in that same tone, "Replacing me already huh?"
Hawk seemed to notice something that Pi, in her state, missed, as he joked, "Well, she is prettier than you."
Eyeing Pi levelly, Kaen asked, "So, how long has this been going on, hmm? And, if you were so interested in music, why couldn't you tell me last week?"
Regaining her nerve once she realised that Kaen wasn't upset at her, she answered his question with two of her own, "Kaen, how long have we known each other? How much time did we spend together as kids?"
"Since forever, and as much as possible, but..."
She smiled, silencing him with a finger to his lips, "Honestly, does it really surprise you that we share such interests? I mean, you literally helped shape the person I am today."
Kaen smiled back, taking her into his arms as he said, "Well, I guess I should say 'welcome to the band' then."
Eyes flying open in shock, Pi asked, "Wait, you want me to do this with you? This isn't a one-time thing?"
He just smirked, "Well, you did say we need to do more things together. Say, if today's my birthday, than it would also be yours, wouldn't it? In fact," he paused, looking at his watch, "You would be nineteen in exactly three minutes and twenty-five seconds. I don't suppose you had another song ready for tonight I could join in, help you celebrate this momentous occasion right?"
She smiled, sending him all the information he'd need as she said out loud, "Actually, I did have one I'd love to perform with you." Kaen picked up the guitar offered to him by Hawk, who knew better than to question whether he could play a song he'd never known about before.
With a smile etched into her features, Pi looked her mate straight in the eyes, the lights in the club dimming once more as the keyboard started, courtesy of Falcon. Moments later, she started singing, "How can you see into my eyes, like open doors? Leading you down into my core, where I become so numb..."
The stages lights burst into show again as the guitar and drums started, Kaen joining in seamlessly despite never having known of the songs existence before, as she continued, "Without a soul. My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold, until you find it there and lead, it, back... Home."
Still keeping their gazes locked, Kaen and Pi began trading lines, with more precision than you'd expect from two people who had never rehearsed together:
Kaen: "Wake me up."
Pi: "Wake me up inside."
Kaen: "I can't wake up."
Pi: "Wake me up inside."
Kaen: "Save me!"
Pi: "Call my name and save me from the dark!"
Kaen: "Wake me up."
Pi: "Bid my blood to run."
Kaen: "I can't wake up."
Pi: "Before I come undone."
Kaen: "Save me!"
Pi: "Save me from the nothing I've become!"
The song continued flawlessly, until it reached a point where half the crowd believed the entire 'secret surprise' thing was a set-up, as there was no way those two could have worked that well together without practicing first, right? Eventually, 'Bring Me To Life' would to a close, and after the girls returned backstage Kaen declared, "Well, with that, I think it's about time we turned things up to eleven!"
o-o-o
The night began winding down, but before it reached its end, Kaen had one last surprise to spring on the people assembled. "Well guys," he announced into the mike, "It's been fun, but I think it's about time to call it a close. Before that, however, I have one final twist. It seems that tonight has been the night for guest performers, so I'd like to call on another one; my good mate Dragon. Dragon, drag your scaly ass up here.
Dragon, the newest name in a line of names for one Son Gohan, smiled to himself. Earlier in the evening, the gang had suggested giving Kat and him new names, to fit in with the rest of the group. Kat had been thrilled at the nickname 'Raven', but when it came to Gohan, everyone seemed stumped. Kaen had jokingly offered up such names as 'Chicken' and 'Penguin' – purely to piss him off of course - and the only thing that prevented Gohan from knocking his friend's teeth in, bar Pi's intervention, was the massive grin on the time traveller's face. Kat, or 'Raven', had ended up saving the day, suggesting 'Dragon', along with the explanation: "It's a flying creature, to show you're a part of the group, but not a bird, to show that this isn't the life you want all the time; you're not the type to spend every night here, or on the road, just when it suits you."
Gohan had to admit to himself that he liked the name; the fact he had a special connection to a certain green-scaled eternal dragon helped a bit. For the second time that night, the crowd parted for someone to approach the stage, like the Red Sea had for Moses, and Gohan, in a mood to show off, spun around and moon-saulted on to the stage. Kaen clapped dryly, mouthing 'Show-off', before unslinging his guitar and passing it over. Hawk raised an eyebrow sceptically, asking, "Are you sure about this man? He doesn't look like the type to..."
He was cut off by Gohan, or more accurately, by Gohan letting rip a massive guitar riff, a bastardly smile on his face at the look of shock the other three wore. Condor recovered first, instinctively drumming along when needed, and the others joined in soon after. Kaen, now instrument-less, just walked over to the microphone, yanking it off the stand and striding to the front of the stage; or, more accurately, the speaker set up on the floor in front of the middle of the stage.
Waiting for the right time, he unfurled his tail, latching on to the ankle-high railing on the front of the stage, and resting a foot on the speaker as he leaned over the crowd and began singing, "Wanna love ya, wanna bug ya, wanna squeeze ya, stupid girl. Wanna touch ya, wanna take ya, wanna shut ya, stupid girl." Getting into the spirit, Hawk joined in; "I... Can't... Take... This... Born... To... Break... This..."
Raising his free hand above his head, Kaen began egging the crowd on, getting them to join in the chorus; "She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? Stupid girl. Stupid girl."
Standing upright again, and releasing his hold on the rail as he walked around, he continued, "I'm a loner, I'm a loser, I'm a winner, in my mind. I'm a bad one, I'm a good one, I'm a sick one, with a smile." Again, Hawk joined him, this time grinning as wide as Gohan and Kaen were; "I... Can't... Take... This... Born... To... Break... This..."
Returning to the centre of the stage, Kaen got the crowd involved once more; "She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? (What's wrong with my life today?) She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today?"
The song dropped down to Gohan and Kaen alone, as Kaen began repeating, "Stupid Girl." Raising his hand again, the crowd, as one, raised their voices to join in the almost gentle hum of the lull, and again as the chorus began anew, for the final time; "She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? (What's wrong with my life today?) She's going away, she's going away. What's wrong with my life today? Stupid Girl. Stupid Girl. Stupid Girl. Stupid Girl."
A roar of approval came up from the crowd, and Hawk was the first to clap Gohan on the back, saying, "Man, I should've never doubted you. How come you've never come to practice?"
Grinning still, Gohan replied, "Well, for one, kaasan would kill me if I skipped school, and for two, I don't need practice."
"I hear that," Eagle cried, "So, you know any more?"
Kaen and Gohan shared a grin and a nod, and as Gohan started, the other's picked up the song soon enough, Kaen striding back to the centre of the stage. Shucking his shirt, he had a vague notion to fling it into the crowd, but figured that might piss Pi off, so decided against it, dropping it behind him instead as he began singing the final song of the night. "Bury the priest and burn religion alive. Baptised at birth with the black brush's wine. The uncrowned King Unholy. Forget about the crucifix, my rising sign is 666."
Leaning out at almost a 45-degree angle over the crowd, he continued; "Can't you see the way they twist and turn; watch 'em burn. Just sign right here and watch the tables turn. You want the world, I know the way, just raise your fist and let me hear you say..."
Extending his pinkie and pointer fingers of his free hand, and crossing his thumb over the middle two, he raised his fist to the roof, and was joined by almost everyone in the club as they cried as one "HATE! You want it; HATE! you need it; HATE! You want it. Come on, come on, come on, come on, get it, get it, GO!" He could hear Pi in his mind asking what the deal was with that gesture, but he didn't really have an answer to give; all he really knew was that it was something ingrained in human society, and had been referred to as 'devil horns' at some point.
The song continued from there, but when it was over, the night, yet, was not, as Kaen added, "Now, that was fun wasn't it? Before we finish, who here wants to see what Dragon can do with that thing?" There was a massive cheer from the crowd of mostly teens, but regardless Kaen said, "I don't think that quite cuts it. I want to hear some noise outta you; gimme a 'Hell yeah!'" He got his 'Hell Yeah', so, turning to Gohan, said, "They're all yours."
Forgetting himself for a moment, Gohan used his tail to drag over one of the nearby stools, and began playing that guitar with every trick he knew, even playing it strapped to his back, upside down, at one point. Videl, for her part, didn't even notice his tail-use, fortunately; she was a little more stunned by the fact she quite clearly saw a bite mark on Kaen's left shoulder, one she assumed was mirrored on Pi. She was even more stunned, however, by Gohan's remarkable guitar skills, muttering to herself, "I didn't know he could do that..."
"That's what happens when you interrogate instead of converse," Pi's voice cut in amusedly, "People tend to tell you no more than necessary. You want my advice? I've found from experience that you get more information from your boyfriend if you ask for it, instead of demanding it."
Walking away, Pi fell to the ground laughing as, no less than two minutes later, she heard Videl reply in a mild shout, "He's not my boyfriend!"
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
This is another one of those chapters that just didn't want to end, and, just like the last time, I feel I rushed the ending a bit, but given the size, I think I can be forgiven for wanting it finished.
Special prize to anyone who can work out the catch behind the twins' names in the alternate universe (Rash and Tama if you've forgotten). Remember, as twins, there's a link between the names (e.g. Oran(ge) and Lime - citrus fruits), and, in Saiyan fashion, it's food related. I've probably given it away, but meh. No idea what the prize'll be though, so, you can say something you want if you have a guess, and I'll see what I can do.
Incidenatlly, this chapter was the second last one to contain an alternate world mentioned, and I'm sure if you didn't hate the dimension-hopping Nijuushin Kaen (which means doppelganger, just so you know) before, then I'm sure you do now.
(1) This quote is from a web comic, which is down now for a while, and is now back again, called Squidi(dot)net. I highly reccomend it.
The songs mentioned/used in this chapter were, in order:
'King Nothing', by Metallica, the Gods of Metal;
'Taking Over Me' and 'Bring Me To Life', by Evanescence;
'Stupid Girl', by Cold;
'Hate', by Drowning Pool.
Now, ss7gohan managed to guess the more obvious of the two VG Cats references in the story, that being Leo and Aeris, the cat-people. Admittedly, when I originally named Leo, I did it because of the obvious link between Leo and cat. After all, the other cat people (Katrina/Kat, Tabitha/Tabby, and Tom) all have cat-themed named. The addition of Aeris was my beta's idea. Now, for fun, can anyone guess what the second, less obvious reference is? Keep in mind that both references are related.