Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball (Z/Super/GT) or its characters.
- Chapter 20 -
When this day started no one expected the outlandish event that transpired early in the morning. Surely most working staff of Capsule Corp is already used to the craziest things to happen at the eccentric family compound, it has always been that way.
However, not even the casual-mindboggling stunts Mrs. Brief's husband and her friends pull on normal occasions has prepared them to a silver-colored meteor to land right outside their main building, weirder yet when they discovered a man lying in the crater that such explosion made.
Then again, as soon as Bulma and Trunks appeared on the scene and took over the commotion happening there, they all went back to their business. Everyone is more than trained in the thought of leaving such disturbing incidents to that family's care.
"How is he doing?" Bulma walked out from the house carrying a tray with snacks and a jug of juice, a few cubes of ice dancing in the orange liquid.
"Same as before." Trunks shrugged, his blue eyes watching their new guest with the focus of a hawk. "He gave me quite the scare before with all that shouting and ki spiking, but now he doesn't carry that bad energy with him."
An attentive hum escaped the blue-haired woman. "Did he said anything?"
"Nop, not at all." The teenage boy said with a frown. "He is just sulking over there in the corner. Sometimes he glances over to dad's broken gravity machine but that's it."
Gaining a frown of her own, Bulma stepped over to the edge of the floor of her veranda, getting an even closer look at the quiet Saiyan resting with his back against a palm tree. Seeing him now she can at least nod in satisfaction, knowing that they helped him get in better shape.
She can still picture perfectly in her memory how messy that young man was. His clothes a complete mess, his arm broken, and his body full of bruises. His arm injury was their priority, seeing as they don't have Goku available at the moment to get any Senzu Beans, they had to go the more normal way of treating people, with medicine and science. Then with the help of Trunks, she treated his less serious bruises. Then her son, much to his distaste, helped the young stranger out of his battered pants and what was left of his shirt.
Looking at him now, she can scarcely believe that he was in such a pitiful state. Saiyan and their abnormal bodies she guesses. After his agitated awakening, the royal outlander requested an opportunity to clean himself; and Bulma still giggles at the way he spoke to her, so formal and regal. In a way, he remembered her of Vegeta when he first came to her house. Well, a way less aggressive and much more polite version of that.
With his clothes in ruins, they had to lend a few pieces to him. As funny as this may sound, the only shirt laying around that fit his physique, was a very colorful one with the words 'Badman' written in the back.
"Mom!" Trunks called out to his mother in distress, taking her by surprise as Bulma was way to entertained by her own thoughts. "Is this a smart thing to do?" The boy leaned closer and whispered to his mother, peaking with his head to the side to continue watching the other man.
Doing a mild spin, Bulma glanced at her son. "Don't be silly, Trunks. I've dealt with far more dangerous situations than a recluse Saiyan in my backyard." Taking her gaze back to the silent young man sitting at the grass she giggled lowly. "Poor thing must be hungry."
Trunks didn't look very convinced, but the boy knows too well that there is no changing his mother's mind once she is settled on something. So, instead of putting some sense on her head about the danger of approaching a powerful stranger like that, he just shrugged and rolled his eyes, quietly following behind his mother just to make sure that nothing could truly go wrong.
Getting close enough to draw the Saiyan's attention, Bulma cleared her throat ever so tactfully, truly taking Asparus' eyes onto her without startling him away completely from his tranquility.
"You've been sitting here for quite some time. If my life experience with Saiyans taught me anything, you must be famished." She took a few steps closer, crouching in front of him as she laid the tray carefully on the uneven surface of the green grass. "We didn't know what you would like, so I brought you a couple of different snacks." With a sparkly smile, Bulma pointed to the colorful treats.
Asparus stared at the blue-haired woman with a slightly disturbed look. It's not like he has something against Bulma or anyone here, but after his encounter with the other Bulma from his universe, this rather extreme change of behavior is disconcerting, to say the least.
Looking down at the pristine tray, he zoomed in onto the square-shaped pears, masterfully peeled and cut into these smaller bits. "I…"
"Ah-Ha, don't even start." Bulma raised a finger at him, giving the young Saiyan a soft frown. "I will not hear any excuses about not being hungry. There are a lot of Saiyans in my life, family, and close friends. Not one of them passes on the chance to eat delicious food."
"I am not a glutton…" Trunks mumbled behind his mother, earning him a spirited grin from her. "She will not leave you alone until you eat. Take my advice and comply, it's a lot easier. Even my dad learned that."
At the mention of the boy's father, Asparus glanced at him. His gaze staying on Trunks for more than a few moments before it went down to the food again, yet this strange glance made the teenager quirk an eyebrow.
Looking intently at the onyx-haired stranger, Bulma watched as he picked the tray she brought to him and started to eat slowly. Smiling in contentment, she clapped her hands and hummed in approval. But then she gasped and brought one hand to her mouth.
"Oh right, Vegeta is your father too right?" She commented with a mixture of amazement and a mild shock.
"WHAAA-" That little bit of information made Trunks jump back, his eyes getting large as saucers. His startled gaze jumping from Asparus to Bulma, his head going a thousand thoughts for a minute.
Bulma giggled at her son's reaction. "It's the Vegeta from the other universe silly." She explained vaguely but was enough to bring Trunks back from his utter shock. "You saw him too, Trunks. When we went to that beautiful wedding in the Saiyan world. I have so many memories from those days." Bulma reminisced dreamily.
"It was my friend's wedding." Asparus spoke properly for the first time in a while. "He is very attached to his master. That's why I asked a favor to the God of Destruction, for him to bring you all to Sadala." He munched a fresh fruit, the joy of the day getting slightly overshadowed by the 'price' he had to pay for that favor. Champa was very specific in his demands.
"I'm glad you did that. It was an amazing experience, for all of us." Bulma said warmly. "Vegeta will never admit it, but he was sparkling the entire day. Even if his grumpiness hides it well, he still misses his people. Seeing a world full of Saiyans made him very happy."
"I remember bits about the place… it was crazy fun, but a bit scary too." Trunks jumped in. "In here, I am used to being so strong that everyone else feels like they are made of paper, there is only Goten that can handle me. But there it was like I was surrounded by strong people all the time, their presence everywhere and one ki stronger than the other."
Hearing the strange compliment towards his people softened Asparus' stiffness. Humming a friendly and warm tone, he nodded and chuckled. "We are the peacekeepers of the universe…" Then his serene expression hardened up again. "Sadala, no, we Saiyans as a whole need to keep pushing ourselves further and further beyond. There is always a new threat in the shadows waiting to snuffle our peace away."
An understanding nod was Trunks' initial reply. "Believe it or not, we can relate quite well to that." The teenager still remembers the whole ordeal with Majin Buu and how they almost got wiped out by the pink menace.
"Oh, I know!" Bulma exclaimed with an excited clap of hands. "Trunks, please be a dear and go get the photo album I made from our time there." Jumping on her feet, she clapped her son on the shoulders and turned him around.
"W-Wha—Which album is that?" Trunks protested with his arms in the air.
"The one with a golden case and a red string as a page saver." She explained properly and then give a light push on the boy's back, forcing him to jog his way into the house. "Now that we are alone…" Bulma turned to Asparus with a solemn look in her eyes. "Want to share with me what is giving you so much trouble?"
Mid-nibbling the piece of snack in his hand, Asparus tilted his eyebrow, then sighed. "I'm that transparent?"
Bulma giggled again. She stepped closer to him but now taking a seat at the ground next to the young Saiyan. "Let's say that I've got a lot of experience with a brooding Saiyan man that is not so good in sharing his thoughts. So, what is eating away at our mind?"
"Are you always so bold to try and pry onto a stranger's affairs?" Asparus asked in an overly formal and serious voice.
Yet his attempt to distance himself only made the woman grin at him. "Only with the cute ones."
By the glint in her eyes Asparus could see how relentless this woman can be, it is almost exhausting just imagining an argument with her. Sighing in defeat, he laid the tray to his side and glanced down at his legs. "I… I am a completely useless piece of trash."
"A bit harsh and not what I was expecting." Bulma said in calm contemplation. "Can you share what arranged such degrading feelings toward yourself?"
"You may be aware of this or not, but I am the Saiyan King. People look at me for guidance and protection, they idolize me way beyond what should be normal." Asparus began with a tired tone. "However, I don't blame them. Most Saiyans spend their life without ever meeting their sovereign face to face. It's normal to create such an idolized image of me."
"Doesn't sound so bad." Bulma said in a playful tone, her hands hugging her knees closer to her.
"It's lonely and dehumanizing." Asparus said sternly. "When everyone starts treating you more as a thing instead of a person, you start to see yourself in that light too."
"Oh…" She hummed sadly, her sparkly blue eyes falling to the side.
"But it makes all the more special when someone looks at you for what you are. When that one person gives meaning back to your life." A velvet tone came over Asparus' voice, the memories making his heart melt in his chest. "I would never trade the love and attention that I receive from my wife for any other thing in the universe. When… when she looks at me with a smile on her lips, nothing else matters."
His mannerism and way of speaking suddenly caught Bulma off guard. She stared at the young man with a look of awe and a bit of envy. The way Asparus spoke about his wife, made her realize how much like Vegeta he looks and sounds, and these similarities made her wish that her husband would speak that way about her too.
"My wife… My Kale…" In a harsh swift from his sweet tone of voice and peaceful expression, Asparus façade grew colder again, his eyes getting darker in its gloom. "I almost lost her… hell maybe I did lose her forever, and what was spinning inside my head?" He spat angrily, punching a small hole in the grassy ground. "Power!? An urge to embrace this cold darkness that is brewing inside my chest." A few trails of hurting tears slipped down from the corner of his eyes. "I piece of shit like me don't deserve her."
An unease tension flashed on the blue-haired genius, being close to someone admitting to having lurking darkness inside them will make anyone wary. However, to a woman like Bulma, it takes a lot more than some awkward confession of flaws to push her away. Looking Asparus' figure from head to toe, she watched the anguishing Saiyan with scrutiny.
"You know…" She started. "I don't believe you are as bad as you paint yourself to be. Evil and bad people don't tend to care about other's feelings, and you clearly care deeply for your wife."
With a tilt of his head, the young king spared a glance to the spirited scientist at his side, the shade of a smile gracing his lips.
Before true silence could settle in between the two of them, a stream of hurried steps came from the back entrance of the large round-house. "While I was looking for this," Trunks waved the book in his hands in front of him. "I've been thinking. If your dad is a different version of my dad from another universe, then that makes you another version of me?" Despite the overreaching and awkward question, the boy's voice is as serious as it could be.
Asparus eyed the teenager with a mixture of bafflement and self-indulging curiosity. "That's quite the stretch of the imagination, isn't it?" He replied with a quirked eyebrow.
"If you are me then that doesn't sound too far-fetched." Trunks said back with a grin. "I've met another version of me before, that one came from a different future."
Bulma chuckled behind her hands. She has a very good idea that this proposition is way too out there to even consider, but the playful side of her decided to let her son believe in this wild conclusion he came for himself.
"Come here, Trunks." She said beckoning the boy to sit next to her, and with the first opportunity to reach it, she snatched the fairly thick album from his hands. "Let's see, let's see… Ah, this is the one." She cheered with a clap of her hands.
From there on out, the conversation steered completely by Bulma's fascination with the pictures and the memories they brought her. At the start, she flipped through the pages with giggles and laughter, barely explaining the context to the numerous pictures she took with Chi-Chi and Videl on their exploration of the Saiyan planet's capital.
Then she slowed down the pace a bit when the photos came closer and closer to the big event of that evening. Even then, she had sneaked a few pictures of some side activities, including their exploration of the Royal Palace and even a few stray ones she managed to take of the previous King and Queen in a lovely spare time in their luxurious garden.
"From the little Vegeta shared with me about his planet, I would never guess you Saiyans are so fond of high-class etiquette." Bulma commented with a glint in her eyes as she carefully examines each photo of the rich decoration. "I wouldn't mind being their Queen if Saiyans were actually cultured."
The young king repressed a chuckle at her reaction. "From what I heard about the Saiyans of this universe, we share very little in common in that regard." He said in a solemn but careful tone, it wouldn't do well to insult their hosts, he even glanced at Trunks to gauge the boy's reaction but the teenager just grinned at him.
"You can say that again!" Bulma said in exasperation. "Universe six has upper class, chivalrous, peacekeeper Saiyans. We get space pirates and planet raiders."
That comment made Asparus frown in contemplation. "Space pirates… I couldn't fathom a reality where my people would behave like that."
"Hey! We're not that bad." Trunks fervently protested the accusations pointed at his race, well part of his race. "Dunno about any other Saiyans, but every single one I know is a good person. Even dad is a cool guy despite his temper."
Giving her son a sheepish smile, Bulma laughed and waved at him. "Your father was not always as sociable and kind as he is now, and Son is the only other pure Saiyan left. I guess we have to count our blessings, at least we can say that we are happy to have Saiyans here on earth."
"Jeez, mom… you're almost hurting my feelings with that." Trunks made a fake pout as he crossed his arms on his chest, turning to look to the other side.
Letting out her happy giggles again, Bulma jumped and latched at Trunks from behind, wrapping her arms against his chest. "You know that mommy loves you, right?" She said in a teased tone, making the boy's cheeks take a faint tint of red. "Trunks is my hero, my knight in shining armor. Just like your father."
Knowing full well where to press to mess with her lavender haired son, Bulma could just laugh away as Trunks squirmed in an uproar trying to break free of her teasing embrace.
Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the scene, Asparus took the golden-colored album in his hands and buried his total attention on the pictures. He flipped through a few pages until he landed on the photos of Cabba's wedding, most precisely the party that they held after the ceremony.
Given that he had tired himself into a deep slumber after teleporting everyone to the open-ceiling celebration, Asparus found a newly discovered curiosity about the party itself as he missed the entire thing.
Eyeing page by page carefully, he watched the events unfolding in the form of static images. He saw Cabba and Caulifla sharing a dance while everyone watched them. Then he saw the other version of his father and the man he remembers by the name of Son Goku making a ruckus in their table as they chewed on towering dishes of food sitting in front of them.
Without realizing a sheepish grin had appeared on his lips, it felt as if he was felling the blanks he had for such an important day. This serene moment lasted until he found a very peculiar picture, one where every single one of the visitors from the Universe Seven was standing in a pose, together with Cabba and Caulifla behind what looks like a snoring Asparus sleeping while sitting in a pristine white chair.
Lifting the heavy book in front of him and turning it to the other two in front of him, Asparus asked with a strained voice, a frown appearing on his face. "Hm… what's this?"
At the first moment, Bulma was ready to let out a playful laugh, but she snorted the urge quiet as she noticed the serious stare she was getting from the young man. "That's a funny story actually." She started shyly. "This happened almost at the end of the party, mostly everyone had left and the bride saw us taking a few photos of them and she asked if we could take a photo with you."
Asparus' eyebrows twitched, even in universes apart he still felt the urge that Caulifla was messing with him.
"Chi-Chi and I weren't very sure about it, but Son rallied everyone in the snap of fingers." Bulma explained. "Something about being a gift to the newly married couple and all that. Well, the bride looked very happy about it."
"I'm sure she was." Asparus replied drily. "And Kale allowed this clownery?"
"The young queen?" Bulma questioned with a pensive look. "If I remember it right, she was giggling all the while, she didn't look upset at all."
Now Asparus was cranky again. It was not like he was upset about taking a photo with the visitors, it is more about the situation itself. He looked like a buffoon, like a waisted drunkard sleeping the booze away while everyone was enjoying the party.
Flipping to the next page, the young king puffed a gush of air from his nostrils in exasperation. Then, all his nerves melted down in a puddle of fluffiness.
"T-This…" He said in a stutter, his eyes widening in surprise.
The Saiyan's strange reaction poked at Bulma's curiosity, prompting the genius woman to slide over next to him. Her sparkling blue eyes followed his gaze to a picture sitting at the bottom of the right page, a photo of a sole person. "Is that…?"
"Kale." Asparus said in a daydreaming voice. His gaze followed every trace of his beautiful wife's features; her gentle eyes, her pretty smile, and the look of happiness in her eyes. "This is my wife… my golden rose."
"She really is pretty, huh?" Bulma said with a grin, making the young king smile back at her.
Curious about the commotion about this photo, Trunks sneaked his way next to Asparus, his blue eyes landing on the picture in question. "Wow…" The teenager felt his mouth hang open at the image of this Kale. "That's your wife? Damn, you hit the jackpot there, me."
A stifled snort escaped the young king again, he shook his head at the mention of this silly theory that the boy has about him.
It was in this moment of carelessness on their part that the blue-haired woman attacked without mercy. "Oh Trunks don't be jealous." Bulma said with a leer, her son instantly shivered at her tone. "I am sure your wife will be very pretty too, right?" She winked at Trunks, making his cheeks flare up with a wild blush.
After having fun at her son's expense, Bulma turned back to Asparus just to catch him in deep and silent contemplation, his eyes never leaving the image of his wife.
"You can have that one if you want." She offered with a smile.
Tapping the sides of the hard paper, Asparus considered her offer for a few good seconds, but in the end, he shook his head and closed the album shut. "I rather see her smile in the flesh than through this small memento."
Giving him an understanding nod, Bulma took the heavy book back on her hands. And just as she was ready to stand up and say something, a ringing noise came from within one of the pockets of her white lab coat. "Excuse me for a second." She waved a hand at Asparus and then took the small cellphone from her pockets. "It's Bulma…. What?! But I said that it would take at least three days more to—No! I will handle that." Giving an angry press of a button she ended the call and looked at the two Saiyans with an apologetic look. "Sorry guys, I need to go to my office. Something urgent came up."
Jumping back on his feet, Trunks promptly dusted his pants and called his mother. "Need any help?" He asked more than ready to charge into the Capsule Corp. and tackle any problem they are having there. The young master, as they call him there, is already more than a reliable helper in the offices as he can handle any work and excel at them with ease.
"Thank you, sweetie, but this is something only I can do." Giving Trunks a warm and thankful smile, Bulma patted her son on the head and began to jog toward the house. "Sorry for leaving so soon, but have fun you two. Let's hope Son and Vegeta come back today." With that the blue-haired woman jumped inside the house, getting ready to charge to her offices again.
As soon as the spirited woman left the spacious backyard, an awkward silence befell the two Saiyans. Asparus staring at the trimmed grass at his side and Trunks looking up to the sky while brushing the back of his head.
"Soo… mom asked me to keep an eye on you. But I'm already bored out of my mind, and I really don't want to spend the rest of my day standing here in the backyard." Trunks glanced down at Asparus, noting that the other Saiyan was looking back at him with a blank facial expression. "I thought that maybe instead of sitting here for the entire day, I can take you out and show you the place. Consider this payback for when you showed us around your planet."
"I…" Asparus started, a soft rejection at the tip of his tongue. Yet the eager look in the teenager's eyes changed not only his tone but also the words that soon came out from his mouth. "I would appreciate that."
"Cool!" Trunks said with a shining grin. "Just let me call Goten and we can go to a few places we usually hang around." Pulling his cellphone from the left pocket of his pants, Trunks quickly dialed his friend's number and slowly began to walk away.
Taking that as a cue to get moving, Asparus rose to his feet and dusted his pants with a few slaps. As much as he wants to close his eyes and fly back to Sadala, he is stuck in this place and as stuck as it gets without his sword and without being able to draw his ki properly.
At least for the time being, he has Trunks to keep him busy. With the little he got to see of the lavender-haired teenager, he felt the nostalgic feeling of being near Lettu. Taking this feeling into consideration was what pushed him to accept the kid's offer. Because, if this boy is even remotely alike Cabba's younger brother, there should be no problem in following him for a few hours.
Right?
"W-What… is this?" A baffled Asparus stuttered away in his confusion, his eyes bouncing from a crowd of people to an even bigger crowd.
With one eyebrow perking up, Trunks stared at the other Saiyan with a scrutiny look. "An amusement park." He stated as a matter of fact. "The way you're sulking and brooding around, I thought would be a nice change to bring you here." A sheepish smile crossed the boy's lips. "Is this place really so surprising? Is hard to imagine that your entire planet is lacking even one spot to unhinge and have fun."
"Of course there are leisure places in Sadala." The young king replied with a tiny bit of indignation in his voice. "However, I am the sovereign of my people. Imagine the scandal…. The Saiyan King, strolling around food stands with a flock of candies in my hands."
Trunks chuckled and then laughed at him. "Good for you then. In here you are just a dude." He casually stepped over towards Asparus and slapped him in the back. "Time to let go of that stiff back of yours and learn to have some fun." The teenager smiled happily at him, not registering the glare he was getting from the other Saiyan for his pushing friendliness. "Sheesh, I never thought I would meet a version of me that is so serious. Well, it just proves we have the same dad."
At the mention of his new title as Trunks' doppelganger, Asparus rolled his eyes and sighed. Sadly, said rolling of eyes made him glance back to the sea of people wandering around the gigantic open park, making his skin crawl and his limbs shudder. From a very early age, he has been very averse to cluster and agglomerations. Now the feeling is twice worse than before, seeing that he could easily harm any of these people should he not tread carefully around them.
"Trunks!" Another male voice called out from behind, making both Saiyans turn and look at the newcomers.
"Goten!" A huge smile crossed Trunks' lips.
Sure, enough from within a thinner crowd standing in the parking lot came a happy looking boy with spiky raven hair, dressed in a casual white T-shirt and long blue pants. Holding Goten's hands is a small pale girl with short boyish black hair and owner of two large and round dark eyes, for some reason she is wearing the orange gi of the turtle as if she was ready for martial training.
"You brought Pan with you too." Trunks nodded to the little girl, who just smiled at him.
"Sorry, I promised Gohan that I would look after her for today." Brushing the back of his hair, Goten gave his friend an apologetic small smile.
"Hey, nothing to apologize for. Is good that you brought her, Panny sure loves to have fun, right?" Showing his sparkling grin, Trunks looked down to the little girl already waiting for a cheery reply, but instead, he got a quiet hum as she is currently hiding behind her uncle's legs but still holding her arms crossed as to show that she is clearly not afraid of the stranger next to Trunks.
Patting his niece on the top of her head, Goten smiled at Trunks and then let his gaze trail to the taller man at his friend's side, not very soon after Pan did the same thing, watching the stranger with curious eyes.
Seeing the unspoken question, Trunks readily took a step forward, giving a subtle glance to his guest. "Asparus, this is my best friend Goten. And the pipsqueak behind him is his niece Pan." Goten chuckled at the presentation, while Pan pouted at the nickname. "Goten, Pan… this one here is Asparus. He is an older version of me FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE!" The boy said with fanfare, his arms shooting into the air.
Goten eyed his friend with a questioning gaze, but quickly he sighed. "Another one?" The raven-haired teenager said in exasperation. "He doesn't look very much like you though."
"Of course he doesn't." Trunks shot back. "He is from Another Universe. But he is me enough." A strangely proud huff escaped him, his thumb pressing against his chest.
From there took little to no time to the two friends to get locked into a hasty but mostly meaningless dispute of words. Trunks thrusting his elated opinion of this other him and Goten dismissing the idea with equal vigor but in his eyes the glint that shows that he is only doing it to mess with his friend.
Besides the two boys, a pair of bubbly and round black eyes stared at the stranger with newfound curiosity. "Trunks?" Pan pointed a finger to the tall man.
If any other person had pointed at him and asked the same thing, Asparus would have a hard time holding a long sigh of exasperation from escaping him. But looking down at the little girl he could only smile and crouch next to her.
"My name is Asparus." He extended his hand to the girl, tapping the tip of his finger against her little one pointing at him.
Pan looked back and forward between him and his hand, then she wrapped her small hand on his finger and shook it in a friendly way. "I'm Pan." Right then and there Asparus felt his lips parting into a thin smile, but a sincere one. Anyone would be hard-pressed to not smile a such cute little girl.
A surprised yelp escaped the small girl as a pair of strong hands swooped in and raised her from the ground. "I know this is a little hard for you to get Panny." Trunks said playfully, placing the girl on his back, her little legs resting from his shoulders down to his chest. "Just think of him as my brother."
Placing her hands at the top of Trunks lavender's hair, Pan tilted to the side to look at Asparus and nodded. "Okay."
"Okay!" Trunks mimicked her words, but much more vividly and louder. "Enough of standing here doing nothing. Where should we start our adventure today?" He shot his right arm upwards, prompting the small girl in his back to do the same.
"How about the spinning cups?" Goten chimed in, pointing to the very mild attraction on the left side of the entrance in front of them.
A disgruntled growl came from above Trunks. "Nooo… I hate the spinning cups." Pan cried out with a frown.
"Spinning cups?" One playful chuckle came from the boy holding her, he quickly shot his friend a jesting glance. "Panny, when did your uncle became so lame?"
Pan giggled at the joke, but quickly hid her mouth behind her hands, giving a few spare glances to her uncle. Goten was not very amused by their teasing, but instead of frowning, he got an equally jesting look on his face. "I am lame, am I?" He challenged. "Then the Mega Twister of Death it is."
Pan squealed happily, throwing her hands in the air. Her uncle and his best friend chuckling at the girl's reaction. Asparus, however, is very confused about the ruckus. It escaped him as to why a little girl would cheer for something called Mega something Death. In his silent contemplation, he noticed the glance he was getting from his self-proclaimed brother.
"Don't tell me you're scared of a little ride?" Trunks asked him, clearly teasing.
Asparus could only scoff at the ludicrous accusation. "I am a Saiyan." He stated all dignified. "I doubt there is anything on this planet that could put fear in my heart." Then he scoffed again.
The young king could only laugh internally at the stupid question thrown at him. How in the gods' names he could ever get scared of a few toys made to amuse children?
There is a saying that goes as is: If one could eat his word out of regret only, most people would get fat from their cockiness alone.
Right now, If Asparus could redo his decision from minutes ago, he would eat a mountain size of words. His senses are all over the place, his eyes tumbling from left to right in a desperate struggle to get orientation, his hearing almost useless with the amount of screaming going on around him. His tact… it's best to leave that out for the moment.
"YYAAAAYYYY!" A very excited high-pitched voice echoed from his left side, forcing him to glance at the source.
"IS THIS CHILD INSANE- Ugh…" The decision to open his mouth and yell at Pan, proved to be a very regrettable one as he almost gave back to the world the breakfast the had just earlier.
The so-called Mega Twister of Death is a construct of pure malice, made purely to torture the soul out of someone; or at least is that how the young king sees it. The toy, as he had put before, is a long round board almost resembling a tube sawed in half. The thing is littered with seats from left to right, each made with security bars and even security belts attached to them.
Now the functionality of the ride, the half-tube is attached to a larger structure, thin and tall metal bars raising as far up as the clouds in the sky. The mechanism working at these bars brings the longboard up to the top in a steady and calm rising, to only them drop down in spiraling chaos of spins and screams.
Before, when he stood in front of the oversized toy, Asparus even laughed at the silliness of the humans screaming for dear life and some even throwing up as they got out. Now, sitting at one of these dreading seats, he himself is a few spins away from screaming for the person responsible for this monstrosity to stop.
"Trunks!" Goten called out with a trembling voice, his arms flailing around as the board spins wildly in another dive. "I-I think your other you is ready to barf at any moment now."
From the seat row above the one where the other three are sitting, a thunderous laugh echoed from within the sea of screams. "So much for being a Saiyan, huh?" Trunks taunted with glee, another burst of laughter exploding from him.
"I-I… Ugh… hate you..." Asparus pressed his chin down to his chest, doing his best to hold the urge in. He will not let this thing beat him… The Saiyan King doesn't barf, goddammit!
- Chapter End -
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VcArchangel chapter 19 . Jul 11 – Not giving much spoilers in this one, but the Potara Swapping is directly tied to Asparus and the strange situation happening with him and his silver colored ki.