V: Yeah, this will be the last chapter, I think. After that is an epilogue. And to Darth Nominatis, I will only say this once. I will never make a True and the Rainbow Kingdom fanfic. Now enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't have to repeat this.
Chapter 36: Dab Hands
Vegeta peeked around the next corner and was immediately set upon by two pairs of beady eyes. For a fraction of a second, he thought he had been found out, until he realised that the pupils and irises were of the paint variety. Another portrait of Red Jessica, accompanied by her white kitten, stood behind a trio of pedestals.
He directed his eyes away from theirs and smiled upon seeing what he had been seeking. Upon each pedestal lay treasures of red. The crimson valuables conjured up images in the agile pirate's head as to what other red treasure this woman has in stock. He imagined all the other red things she must love; beetroot, tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, red cabbage, red apples, red lobsters, red wine, red rum, red herrings, red robins, red bulls, red man, red leader, now he was just making up terms.
Vegeta couldn't get the word 'red' out of his head. Red. Red. Red. Say it a million times: you still get red. A lively color used used to portray danger, anger, warmth, and even love. Vegeta portrayed that color for blood, as that was the thing he saw the most red.
"This woman must love red," Vegeta said sarcastically. "I swear, if I find another red thing, I'm going to break it." He looked past the color of the treasure and finally saw them for what they were. Three objects lay on the pedestals: a crystal rose, a ruby pearl necklace, and a ruby heart – all of the same colour; at least it was a consistent obsession.
This was Red Jessica's art collection.
"At least she has some things worth of value."
All red had brought him back to earlier during dinner.
"This beast is delicious!" Vegeta said as he ate a leg of an octopus.
Everyone was really surprised at the amount of food Goku, Vegeta, Goten and Trunks were able to take in. Vegeta had explained everything about the Saiyans to them many months ago, including their appetites, but they still could get over it, as Jake and his friends only shook their heads.
"Man, this is really good!" Trunks exclaimed.
"Yeah, I can't get enough of this!" Goku cheered as well as he ate more and more.
Hook unfortunately was sitting right next to Vegeta, and he still didn't like being around him.
He then saw one of the tentacles hanging around, and Hook got an idea to make Vegeta angry.
He then pulled on the tentacle as hard as he could, which was another big mistake he made as Vegeta was sprayed with ink, all over his body, and stopped immediately.
Bulma, Goku, Goten, Trunks were now wide eyed, and scared. Everyone was confused as to what they were worried about.
"Uhh, Vegeta? Are you alright?" Bulma asked.
"Oh no, this is bad," Trunks moaned as he knew what Vegeta was going to do next.
He was standing up, with his eyes closed, and he opened them slowly with a glare.
"You, impudent tentacle bastard!" Everyone, besides the Z-Fighters were speechless at such language, and as Vegeta growled, windows cracked, plates and utensils moved and broke.
Bulma rushes to his side as he held him, as well as Trunks.
"Calm down, honey, just remember to breathe," Bulma said.
"Yeah, it's going to be okay. Don't flip out," Trunk asked as Vegeta still growled and snarled.
"Let's just get out for a few minutes," Bulma said taking her wife out, and sending a glare at Hook, knowing what he did. All the pirate did was grumble.
"Why did I agree to come here in the first place?" He mumbled to himself. "The only thing I find fascinating is this stupid collection."
He stood there for a moment and allowed himself enough time for his retinas to draw in every detail. The eyes from the painted dimension constantly stared forwards, frozen in time. He couldn't help but think that keeping a self-portrait of oneself was egotistical, but if she had one in her bedroom, well, that would've been the real kicker.
Vegeta couldn't shake the uncomfortable, nagging feeling that he was being watched, like a trillion teeny-tiny eyes peeped at him from the orifices of his surroundings.
Something swayed in his peripheral vision. Vegeta turned to look and found something lying on the floor, something that he swear he didn't see when he entered. He picked it up. It was a feather.
Vegeta then sensed something. It was faint, but he sensed it.
He drew his eyes to the ceiling. A falcon stood perched on the vine of the shiny chandelier. The falcon glared at him with narrow, unyielding eyes as Vegeta glared back at it.
"Go on, shoo!" He ordered jumping high as he tried to hit the falcon off the chandelier, and it worker as it went to a door in front of Vegeta.
All of a sudden, a hoarse laugh reverberated from high above. It sounded foreign, and like it came directly from the back of the throat.
Vegeta followed the sound, which came from somewhere upwards, but away from the mangy falcon. He located a high window and spotted a figure posed in its frame.
Vegeta didn't think it was possible for a bird to have a beak smaller than this person, but he had seen stranger things in his life before. She stared down with eyes that perfectly mirrored that of the avian witness present. Long, straight, black hair, longer and straighter than his, flowed from under her blue, skull and crossbones hat. The colour of her coat offered a much needed break from all the godforsaken red.
The big beaked stranger cast the first stone. "Bonjour, pathetic pirate," She spoke in a thick, French accent. "I hope you're enjoying ze party."
"First of all, I am not a pirate, woman. Second, I do not enjoy any of these ridiculous festives, and for your information, there's a door," Vegeta replied.
"Monsieur, I am not here to parade in some silly party." Her accent was so dense that one could imagine an accordion playing in the background. "Then amuse me, just who the hell are you?" Vegeta questioned.
"Who am I?" She said sarcastically. "Oh, but of course, you and your crew have not had ze pleasure of meeting me," She said while slowly advancing on the art. "I am Beatrice 'Sneaky' Le Beak. Le sneakiest pirate in all of Never Land." She reached the first pedestal holding the glittering rose and stepped past it. One second the rose was there, the next it was gone.
"I take what I want," She stepped past the ruby necklace, snatching it as if she had a third hand hidden behind her back. "And what better way to swipe some treasure," She made the ruby heart disappear. "Zan to take it from right under zeir noses when zey least suspect it."
"How very amusing," Vegeta said sarcastically.
"Maybe you haven't noticed," Le Beak gestured to the empty pedestals. "But ze treasure is not zere anymore. Now, I shall be leaving with it."
"And I'm guessing no one's going to be able to change your mind?"
Beatrice stepped forward until he was toe-to-toe with Vegeta. She stared down at him, her frame being a couple inches greater than his.
Le Beak leaned on his shoulder and bought her heavily pigmented lips close to his ear. "No sooner than you can part the Never Seas, petite man." She made her way back to the rope. "I'd love to stay and chat, but, it's time for me to escar-go. To moi, Fast Claw." She grabbed hold of the rope and placed her foot on the knot at the bottom. "Au revoir." The rope began to roll up, pulled Le Beak back up towards the window. As commanded, her pet falcon, now revealed as Fast Claw, flew to where she would be in a second.
Vegeta remained riveted to where he stood, making no attempt to chase the thief. His eyes followed her as she ascended like a raven, which was probably what she was in a past life. Dark feathered. Sharp beaked. Scavenger. Attraction to shiny things. It just seemed appropriate.
"Hold on, Le Beak. You're leaving so soon?" He queried.
"Oui, oui, but I might be tempted to stick around a little bit longer if you're willing to beg."
"Sorry, I'm too proud for that." Just then, Vegeta reached behind his back and presented something. "But I think you've forgotten these."
Beatrice Le Beak scoffed for a moment, until her eyes focused on the crimson objects in his hands: a heart, necklace, and rose. The treasure that she had just stolen. Shocked, her hand went to her back pocket. She rummaged around only to find it empty. Her cocky, conceited attitude disintegrated.
"How did you…?" Le Beak whispered beneath her breath.
"Not very fun, now is it?" Vegeta mocked.
She jumped back down on the rope, this time coming down with no light grace. Her smug attitude had taken a nose dive, pun intended. She approached Animal with quick steps.
"Give me zat back!" Le Beak ordered rather bluntly.
"No sooner than you can part the Frieza Force, grand-nosed woman." Vegeta took the necklace and rose, and placed them behind his back. He kept in his other hand the ruby heart. He held the heavy-looking jewel at the end of his twig for an arm, outstretched as if imploring the sneaky pirate to take it. "Although, if you want it back so badly, all you have to do is reach out and take it."
Sneaky Le Beak, with her nimble fingers and rapid movements, lashed out. The ruby ducked under her hand, lowered on the man's shrill limb.
"Sorry, muscle cramp, happens from time to time," Vegeta explained with the same smug expression Beatrice had adopted minutes ago. "Would you like to try again?"
The sneaky pirate made another grab for the art, but Vegeta pulled it behind his back, out of her reach and her sight.
"Gracious me, how windy it is today," Vegeta said before presenting his other hand to her, complete with the treasure that lay in it. "I did say you could take it, right?"
"Blasted midget!" Beatrice shrieked. "Stop playing with me!"
Sneaky Le Beak felt the rising pressure of frustration in her brain. She almost didn't realise that he had actually switched treasures; now, the ruby necklace was up for the taking, but only if she could swipe it from this dextrous character. Suddenly, she was met with a kick to the face from Vegeta as she fell to the floor.
Vegeta didn't take kindly to being called midget. If anything, Krillin was a midget to him, but he knew he had to hold back a lot of his power if he was going to play with La Beak.
"It seems you are struggling. It's okay not to be as good as me," Vegeta mocked with cockiness in his voice.
"Fast Claw!" She pointed at the precious jewellery. "Fetch!"
With a piercing squawk, Fast Claw launched from his perch and swooped fast and low, headlong towards the necklace. Before the bird could snatch it, Animal tossed it into the air. The necklace went straight over the falcon's head. Vegeta somersaulted back and landed in a handstand, using only one hand to support him. He held his other hand, still holding the rest of Red Jessica's art collection out beside him. He caught the necklace with his foot, clenching it tightly between his toes.
Acting faster, Fast Claw swooped around and head back. This time, however, he pinched the necklace and gave it to his master.
"Merci, monsieur." Le Beak regained a small part of her composure. "You're not fast enough."
Vegeta jumped back to his feet and charged at her. Taking the heart and rose in his hands, he tossed them both into the air. Time seemed to slow down as Le Beak gazed up and watched the treasure float and rotate without the aid of pixie dust. Suddenly, Vegeta leapt over her, taking back the necklace. He landed and caught the heart and rose.
He smirked and asked. "Was that fast enough for you, woman?"
With a head hot with anger, Le Beak pounced at him, lunging with the ferocity of a beast. Vegeta ducked back, pressing his art-filled hands on the floor for support. The lady was then met with a knee to the stomach, and once again, Vegeta held back a lot of power. He then picked her up and spun him around, for a few seconds and then threw her
Unfortunately, when she skidded to a halt, her foot touched the far-left pedestal. It tilted to the right, balanced for a few seconds on its tipping point, then came crashing down. The first pedestal hit the second, which in turn hit the third in a domino effect. Each base slammed into the floor, sending thunderous shockwaves through the eight corners of Crimson Castle. Three crashes of stone meeting stone, like three pops of muskets, almost burst the two's eardrums – it was that loud. In fact, Piccolo was outside, and he had to cover his ears as his Namekian hearing was more powerful than the normal Human and Saiyan hearing.
Vegeta and Sneaky Le Beak froze, both of them locked on the capsized platforms and neither of them daring to breath.
"…Whoops…" Le Beak breathed.
Damn it... Vegeta cursed in his mind.
The massive sound would have been heard not just from those within, but from anyone who was passing by the isle at that very moment. Everything was silent, not even the buzzing wings of a passing fly could be heard. However, that wasn't a good thing considering there used to be music playing from the ballroom. A patter grew from down the hall and only got louder and louder every second they waited. Footsteps, many of them, fast and frantic, racing towards them.
"I'll give you an option. You can either turn yourself in, or have a date with death," Vegeta offered.
Of course, Le Beak refused. Vegeta shook his head in disappointment.
"I see how it is, maybe you just want more and you'll be on your way." He decided not to kill her yet, but expose her by giving her as much things as he could.
Vegeta acted fast. "Here!" He quipped while he once again tossed the ruby heart, this time towards her.
Le Beak reacted and caught the ruby before it could smash on the ground. She wasn't thinking: she was acting, hardwired from years and years of stealing and pickpocketing. If she were smarter, she would have allowed the heart to smash into a million fragments, but her stronger side saved it for its value and worth.
Next, Vegeta tossed the necklace. Le Beak was unable to react considering her hands were full. She could only watch as the necklace landed around her hat and somehow slid down past her head until it rested around her neck. It was a good fit, but the colour was all wrong.
She finally realised what he was doing, too little too late. She opened her mouth to protest. "What in ze…!"
Her words were cut off by the final object: the priceless, crystal rose. He threw it sideways. The rose's length caught the webbings of her lips, causing her to clamp her teeth down. The rest of her words came out as an incoherent garble. The bud stuck out from the side; she looked like she was ready to salsa dance.
The split second the rose landed in her mouth was the moment the doors burst open. Red Jessica, First Mate Molly, Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, Goku, Jake, Misty, Winger; all of them flooded inside like water bursting through a floodgate.
"What in heaven's name is going on…?" Red Jessica started. She stopped upon recognising the intruder. "Le Beak!"
"You!" Captain Hook yelled, dribbles of saliva spat from his lips.
Vegeta slowly clapped He pointed at the woman. "It seems you've been caught red handed, grand nosed woman." Vegeta then pointed at her. "I caught her trying to steal your art collection."
Sneaky Le Beak stood there, bathed in Red Jessica's art. She wanted to yell out, but the stem in her teeth said otherwise. It wasn't what it looked like; well, it was, but she wasn't the only suspect here. She did the only thing that she could think of at that moment: she ran. She got halfway down the hall before Goku teleported in front of her, spun her around and grabbed her arms.
"Sorry, but you're not getting away," Goku said while standing over her as if he were a big game hunter.
He barged up and seized the sneaky woman. He hoisted her to her feet as Goten and Trunks tore the art away from her, including the rose from her teeth.
"Oh, phooey!" Beatrice grumbled, watching as her trusted falcon took flight out the window.
"Here's your art collection back," Goten said, handing it to the red-loving lass.
"I thank ye ever so much," She expressed her deepest gratitude. She faced Beatrice. "What do we do with her?"
"Allow me to deal with this," Vegeta said. He seized Le Beak by the beak. "Where I come from on Planet Vegeta, the thieves are met with a death sentence." He leaned in close to her ear. "You will be nothing but a pile of ashes by the time I'm done with you."
He looked deeply into her eyes. She stared back at him and detected a hint of fear in them. It would seem like this lady has led a rather easy life and that nobody has ever threatened her with words like those. Vegeta chuckled as Goku could only watch in disappointment. He knew Vegeta was going through with it. It was probably for the best. Goku has always been merciful usually, but some people didn't deserve to live, and who knows what Le Beak has done all her life. Goku sometimes, just couldn't stop Vegeta, and that was how it was.
Hook chuckled. "Yes. You… wha – wait." His proud personality turned a full one-hundred-eighty degrees as he fully realised what had been said. "You're not… you're not actually going to do that, are you?"
Vegeta faced the audience, puzzlement etched on his face. "Wouldn't any of you do the same if…?" His words trailed off upon seeing the shocked expressions on their faces. Hushed voiced darted between them, taken back by the words that hissed from his mouth.
"You're going to… kill her?" The Pirate Princess cringed. "Please tell me you're joking."
"You can't do that!" Izzy said. "That's terrible!"
Captain Flynn pointed a stern finger their way. "You have no right!"
"She may have done some bad things," Pip the Pirate Genie said. "But she doesn't deserve that."
"Twinkling tail feathers!" Winger glanced at Pip. "Nobody deserves that."
"What be wrong with you?" Sharky said. His face bore a look of disgust. "I thought you all be friendly…"
Vegeta couldn't believe what he was hearing. Pity among crooks? This woman and her falcon and her nose would have willingly stole the red-haired lass' art collection and not feel a pang of guilt, and not only were they showing her mercy, but they were siding with her and making him appear the villain.
Veins started to appear on his head as he started to get agitated.
"That's enough!" He yelled, but they were still protesting.
"ENOUGH!" A white aura appeared around him as he blew away everyone with his power. They were all shocked he would do such a thing. Goku however, was not.
His eyes were now narrow as he stared at everyone with disgust.
"You're all pledgers, aren't you? Believers of mercy, just like Kakarot. No matter what happens, you still believe they should live. Very well, let's say this person was Frieza. He slaughtered every single one of you. Would you still let him live?"
Everyone was silent. The thing was, no one was dark enough to actually commit murder. Not even Lord Fathom or the Grim Buccaneer were that evil.
"That's what I thought. You're all soft."
"Hey, Vegeta, you need to calm down a bit. You can't blame them. How about a spar, will that make you feel better?" Goku offered.
Vegeta looked back at his rival before staring at the crowd before him, and made his decision.
"Fine I guess. It beats getting stared at by these insufferable weaklings," Vegeta insulted as he walked away, with Goku following him smiling as he let go of Le Beak, letting them taking care of the situation from here.
Once the two were far away, in the real world on a deserted island, they stood side to side very far away.
"Kakarot, we settle this today! It's time to find out which one of us is the true Saiyan Elite," Vegeta scowled as the spandex of his gloves rubbed together, his fingers curled into the tightest of fists. He was shaking with excitement, adorning over his body the blue, one-piece uniform he was known to wear. His boots buried into the ground, trying to hold himself back. "Prepare yourself," He said with a smile.
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Vegeta. It's funny, isn't it? After all we have been through; we end up right where we began. The battlefield," Goku smiled to his opponent in return, his legs spreading along the ground as he stretched, alternating the lean of his body.
Goku's heart was pounding in his chest; he just couldn't wait to get started. He wore his traditional, orange gi uniform, blue wrist-bands and matching boots, just for this fight.
"Are you going to sit there and gawk all day? Shut up and fight me!" Vegeta laughed.
Goku sighed, but his smile refused to go away. "I'm ready when you are, Vegeta. It's all or nothing on this one, no limit and no restraints!"
A harsh, white aura surrounded the two, their bodies seeming to fade from place, meeting at the midpoint with a loud crash, their fists pushing against each other.
Growling, Vegeta kicked off of the ground, throwing his body away from Goku's, firing multiple blasts of golden Ki from his palms, each deflected by Goku's own blasts. Goku chased after Vegeta's steps, pounding a fist into his torso, sending his body to the ground.
They back away. "It's been a while since I had this much fun with you, Vegeta. Alright, no more holding back!" And with that, they both turned Super Saiyan Blue, and charged at each other like ther was no tomorrow.
It was silent since upon arrival at Pirate Island. This was one week after Red Jessica's party. Not one of them spoke a word to each other. The only thing they had said was what type of ice cream they wanted. As they sat beside each other, Jake finally spoke up.
"I can't stand being so silent," He said. Goku nodded in agreement. "I know. It's so awkward." The two of them stared at each other for another minute before Jake spoke up again.
"You know, Goku... this is gonna be a pretty sad night," He whispered.
Goku nodded again. "Yeah. I mean, we're leaving tonight. We had such a good time together. Hard to believe that it's all gone by so fast."
Jake sighed. As much fun he had, he just had to return as his duties as a pirate leader, without Goten and Trunks, which he enjoyed a lot. No matter what, Jake still could not forget him. Jake growled slightly when he thought of him. It was almost his fault that almost everyone nearly died. He almost killed them. But despite all of that, Jake really though he had a good time with his friends. Goku even got the chance to tell him about his entire childhood, as well as Jake being able to do the same.
"Goku... do you think we'll see each other again?" Jake asked. Goku grinned. "Of course we will, Jake. I'll visit you when I can. Who knows, maybe you can visit me." He replied.
"Hey, again, sorry for all the trouble Frieza caused. To be honest, I have no idea how he even got here."
"It's alright. As far as I know, he's the definition of evil. He has a heart of stone, and like Wendy said, anyone with a stone heart is evil to the core."
"So... what will you do when me and the others leave Never Land?" Goku couldn't help but also ask. "Surely you might be bored."
Jake shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe settle in before going on another adventure. What about you?"
"Well, might as well get back to training, I guess. Who knows, maybe one day, you'll stay in the real world and grow up. If you did, I'll visit you sometime," Goku said.
"OH! I'M GONNA MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH!" Goten wailed as he hugged Jake, Izzy, and Cubby to near death. He was hysterical at the moment when he heard that he and everyone else were leaving to go back to the real world in about ten minutes. And he had them in a hug of doom for about one minute. Cubby tried to comfort him. "It'll be okay, Goten. We'll see each other againm" He assured her. With that, Goten let go. "You promise?" He asked. Cubby nodded. "Yeah."
"Well... I guess this is goodbye..." Jake whispered. Trunks bit his bottom lip. "Yeah. I guess it is... but we'll see each other again."
"I know. I just wish I didn't have to leave soon."
"Me neither."
The two had stood in silence for a minute before Vegeta called for Trunks. Goku and Vegeta was walking outside the door, as everyone else had already left back home. The boy and teen followed them. Jake joined his friends at their sides as they were about to bid their goodbyes. That's when Trunks remember something.
"Hey! Wait a minute. We've got to take a group picture. I'll go get my camera."
That's when Trunks ran back inside the house, and upstairs into their room room. After retrieving his camera, he came back downstairs, and outside. Everybody had gotten ready for the picture. He set up the camera on a timer, so he could get into the picture, and Vegeta walked away, immediately not wanting to take any part in this.
"Okay." Trunks began. "Everyone looks good. Now say: Cheese!"
"CHEESE!" The gang shouted. The camera snapped the picture. Trunks told everybody he would get the picture developed soon.
"Well, see ya next time!" Goku called out as he flew away, with everyone else as Jake and his crew waved bye.
After a few moments, Skully spoke up. "I dunno about you guys, but I'm starving!"
"That's something Goten or Trunks would say. How about we go in and get something to eat, my treat," Cubby offered.
"You guys go on ahead, I need to talk to Iz," Jake said. Cubby and Skully nodded at what he said as they left, and Jake sat next to his girlfriend.
"So, these past few months, have been crazy, right?" Jake asked.
"Yeah, I still remember when you found out we were aliens, and you got that from your mother's book," Izzy said.
"Hey, you think we really will see them again?"
"Yeah. I know it." And with that, the two held each other in their arms and they just smiled as they both just looked out at the Never Sea...
B: FINALLY, I PASSED VANOSS!
V: Yeah, we get it. Do the outro.
B: So, after this is the epilogue. I know, it wasn't the best ending, but it was the best I could think off. So, see ya in the epilogue.