Disclaimer: It's in chapter two.
There's a big hunk of college where my time used to be. Oh, and I'm 20 years old, now. One more year.
Yay. Ace is kinda back. I might have more than one reviewer on this story now.
Piccolo was still on Katatsu-sei, discussing with his grandfather. Gohan took it upon himself to ask Atsarute about what happened while she and his old sensei were traveling in the same ship. He sat before her desk in her study, where maps, calculators, grids, and different sorts of materials used for strategic planning existed in piles that separated him from Atsarute just enough to create a border but not to obstruct their view of each other.
Atsarute rubbed the bandage on her neck for the fourth time. "There's just not a lot to talk about, Gohan. I had trouble for a little while trying to figure out his reasons myself. They always end up being logical, but recently his logic seems really… emotion driven."
He smiled nervously. "Yeah, he does that sometimes. It's usually really rare, though… I could give a few guesses on why he's going that—"
"No need. I know already where it's coming from. He's already told me. And his decision to become a general himself is probably related." She rubbed her neck again. "Damnit."
"Why didn't you have the healer take care of your neck as well, Atsarute-san?"
She groaned. "It's not exactly something that should be healed. It's not from sparring, anyway."
"It's not? Then how'd you get it?"
There was a short hesitation. "Did you ever wonder why Nameks have fangs?"
Gohan didn't say anything; he just sat there with wide eyes through an uncomfortable silence.
She stared back at him skeptically. "Never mind."
It was almost as if a bubble burst over his head. "Ah! I'm sorry… I wasn't—I mean—"
"It's okay, Gohan. I have no intention of hiding it… however, it would be easier for my family not to know of it, so I would be grateful if you didn't go screaming it around the base."
"I understand." He lowered his gaze and blushed in embarrassment.
Atsarute raised a brow and squelched a chuckle to an amused grin. "Since we're on this kind of topic, how are you and that girl doing? …Videl wasn't it?"
The strong Saiya-jin man was still very much a shy boy. His cheeks reddened even more and his body shifted unconsciously away from her. "We're doing… fine…"
"Anything happening that your own mother would be concerned about?"
"Err…" Gohan easily had a skin tone that could rival a red oni now. "W-what gives you that idea?"
"Your attitude to the question only confirms it. And your mother probably sees it as well... if not hoping for it."
"Y-you really think so?"
"Well, it's been a while since I've interacted with Humans, but that's what I surmise."
He took a breath and kept still a moment to recollect himself. "You're very… maternal sometimes, Atsarute-san."
"Huh?"
"I didn't mean it in a weird or bad way! It's just… you seem to have those kind of qualities… I guess…"
"Oh." The general woman shrugged. "Some of my soldiers have been in my army since they were very young and regard me in that manner, so that's more than likely where it came from. Even Suraku once said that he respected me as much as his mother…" She smiled and pulled out a cup and pitcher of warm, brewed liquid, pouring the substance. "For a little while, when he was younger, he called me 'obasan'."
"I thought of Piccolo-san that way, too… I think you two would make great parents…"
"…" The cup hovered before her lips, and she stared off into space. "…Parents?"
"Eh—I mean—"
There was a knock on the door. Gohan nearly jumped and turned around.
Atsarute looked up from her drink. "Enter."
It opened, and a tired Namek came in, stopping not far behind Gohan. Piccolo groaned. "I've never been so fucking exhausted without actually being exhausted. That old freak of a grandfather put me through so goddamn many tests that I couldn't lift myself off the ground. Then he sends some healer to rejuvenate me for the second time today… I feel like I did after my first death."
"Wow…" She looked at a nearby clock. "Time went fast. I've been talking with your old student for the past several hours. What did Katatsu say?"
"I'm a general, decorated and powerful, burdened with responsibilities, remember to send my thanks to Atsarute for training you, blah blah blah… he might not be as annoying as my father, but I see the fucking resemblance."
"Didn't your father go with you?"
"Yes… and he bothered me whenever he could about—" He stopped and motioned Gohan to leave. He quickly obliged and left with a polite bow and valedictions to the two.
She laughed after the door shut behind him. "That wasn't necessary. He already knows and isn't going to tell anyone about it."
"You're the one that wanted to be careful about it."
"Yeah, yeah… and I am being careful. But the only Puroeriun on this base that would be any problem is Jako, and he's easy to fool. No complications… yet. So your father was being obnoxious about it?"
"Mhm. And it didn't help to have Son there to stare off at us completely clueless to what we're talking about. As if the situation wasn't awkward enough. Luckily, Father himself suggested to keep the knowledge away from Katatsu and the rest of the family."
"Heh, I guess there was some progress then. Well, I've got intelligence to review and calculations to ma—ah! What are you doing?"
"Just making sure that the experience in question wasn't confined to the ship." He rubbed the area he cupped and listened to the rustling scales.
"It wasn't, but I have work to do with Funzen and Komugiko pulling this nonsense out of their asses. They might not have been anything to worry about before, but combined, they've got potential to become something greater than the sum of its parts and—Ah! You aren't listening at all!"
Piccolo pulled her off the chair. "Did you say something?"
"Like you can't hear me! I need to… it's not like I don't want… ah, at least let me go lock the bloody door!"
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Bulma stood erect and wiped her brow after the last bolt was tightened and she looked on her latest achievement. She successfully reproduced the Three Twenty-two after studying the blueprints for multiple months. In the meantime, everyone except the Namekku-sei-jin have returned to their families on Earth. Atsarute had pulled away the training for the Earthlings and Saiya-jin to make sure she had enough resources to prepare her soldiers and insisted that they get away as soon as possible if they didn't want to be involved in the upcoming skirmish.
Of course, they wanted to help, so Bulma was soon put upon to build the machine (along with some prodding by Vegita to make the training grounds and Atlas orbs… which she doesn't intend to start on any time soon). Despite the difficulty, though, she did enjoy the challenge, and she couldn't wait to show it off, especially to her father. It would have to wait, though; she was in the living room before she noticed it was dark outside. A quick glance to the LED digital clock told her that it was after four-o-clock A.M. Wow… I've been working for 12 hours straight… but I don't feel tired. The pang of hunger hit her, and she decided to stroll into the kitchen before going to bed.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
"Ah! It's you!" Arufuredo waved and broke from the other Pasuko-jin to approach the Humans and Saiya-jin. "It's been a while! Such a shame that Atsarute refused to train you bunch as well… but it's not like the regimen is an enjoyable experience. Although, I have to say, I quite like the results. I don't think I've ever felt like lead vomit on Hell's floor to feeling like I'm drifting on atmosphere a week later. At least not so definitely… and almost literally, I should say.
"But I digress; how are you all? Bulma-san, I take it, then, that you've succeeded in recreating the Three Twenty-two? An amazing achievement! If I had the time, I would have done so as well, and we could have had a race to see who finishes first."
This spurred on a conversation between the two scientists (much to Vegita's dismay), which was quickly paused by Gohan. "Where is Piccolo-san and Atsarute-san?"
Arufuredo's eyes blinked behind his glasses at the question. "Oh… I'm unsure. Atsarute-sama often travels, and Piccolo-sama will follow sometimes, so they're usually together, but it is never certain. We've already had a few minor battles (I guess they would be minor battles on Atsarute's side, anyway) with our Empress' armies, but there's no damage to speak of yet. Despite that, Atsarute-sama is formulating more than ever lately… I believe that she suspects something major to happen soon."
"Has Piccolo-san been fighting along side her?"
"From time to time, Piccolo-sama's armies would assist Atsarute-sama, but it's, apparently, mostly to assist adaptation… to get their armies to work well together if need be. Since they're both experimenting with the strategies and tactics, those maneuvers are usually against smaller skirmishes as of late. I've only fought along side of them once so far."
"Oh!" Kuririn seemed to have a flash come through his mind. "How about Toniko-chan? Is she in Atsarute's army as well?"
Arufuredo smiled. "Toniko-sama already trumps me in rank. Resuma, Katatsu's wife, has allowed it with her blessing… despite what Katatsu himself has said. Atsarute-sama has promised him that Toniko-sama will be as healthy as she ever was when he saw her again, if not healthier."
"And Neil?"
The bright smile on Arufuredo quickly dimmed and fell into a solemn expression.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The group was escorted from the huge conglomeration of soldiers back to the Sui-sei castle then brought through the echoed halls to a room on a floor meant to house guest embassy members and ambassadors. A guard was stationed before the door, giving a salute to Arufuredo as he brought them in.
The room was kept dark, save for the lights that the nurses that scuttled nearby carried, and the air was thick with the cold humidity that characterized Sui-sei weather. A form shifted slightly under thick covers on a long bed against the far wall.
"That's him," Arufuredo whispered, "No one's quite sure what happened to him. He suddenly couldn't be found on any of the bases or on Katatsu-sei. Then some Namekkian respects, particularly Katatsu-sama and Mollosuki-san, received a ransom note from one of Funzen's associates to pull their interests form Atsarute-sama's military associations, with Neil-san being the object of ransom."
The group shifted, feeling uneasy to this new information. "What did they do to him?" Goku said finally.
"No one's really sure. Piccolo-sama went to rescue him using his forces himself instead of indulging in the demands. They said that he was already like this when they got to him… but he's having problem's keeping consciousness, and turns feverish from time to time. At first, we thought it was some sort of hang-back from the mania, but there are no records of the mania producing such effects after separation… seeing as there are few records to deal with these conditions as it stands, it's not surprising.
"Right now, they're maintaining his health by means of IV when he is unable to nourish himself manually. When he's awake, he can be perfectly normal for most of the time. But if his blood sugar goes down too low, or if he doesn't have enough of this or that in his blood stream, or if he's been exposed to a viral infection (although he never contracts the infection), he's down and out faster than terminal velocity. Because of that, Atsarute has ordered to keep him in top condition, given the circumstances, and keep blood levels stable."
One of the nurses must have decided that he was talking too much and too loudly, and they were quickly ushered back out of the room into the hall. Even though the torches in the hall didn't illuminate the area nearly as much as any of them were used to, the sudden onset of light irritated their eyes enough for them to squint and rub their lids. "Why is that room kept so dark and cold anyway?" Bulma grumbled.
"We have difficulty keeping the patient's levels steady when he is uncomfortable," the head nurse said as she motioned her subordinates back in, "and he seems to have the most difficulty sleeping soundly when in artificial atmosphere, including artificial light, so we leave the lights off and let the room keep cool and damp. You may not see him until he regains consciousness… even if the doctor—" She glared at Arufuredo. "—Escorts you personally."
The scientist sighed as she shut the door behind her, and turned to his friends. But of the group, the two full-blooded Saiya-jin had already wandered off, intending to go back to that training room from before.
Obasan – Aunt, ma'am… (Note: Gohan used to call Piccolo "ojisan".)
Resuma – "Lesma", Portuguese for "slug".
-shrug- Might as well put in some random citrus candies, or whatever you want to call them. This chapter took so long to come out because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to happen come the "third page".