Little Note: This wasn't originally going to be the fourth chapter. This was going to be the fifth chapter. Although, when I looked at my story as a whole, I felt that this chapter was better suited to come first.
Another Side
"Your majesty, are you sure this is a good idea? Even if you do find your son, how do you know that he will even care? He might feel a bit of resentment towards you after all he's been through," a man with spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and fancy blue and silver soldiers' uniform said. He sat at a large, rectangular, cherry wood table along with five other men dressed just like him seated beside and across from him as well as the King himself at the head of the table.
The King, a tall man with spiky salt and pepper colored hair laughed jovially at this remark. "He's my son! Of course he'll want to see me. It's been more years than I care to know since I last saw him."
"How can you be so sure it's him?" the same man asked, still not totally convinced.
The King sighed and turned to the man on his right. "Lord Asperigon, would you be so kind as to demonstrate yet again what the Mapcim seeker does?"
Lord Asperigon nodded and smiled politely to the King as he stood up from his seat. "Yes, your Majesty, of course." Lord Asperigon was a handsome man who looked to be in his mid-forties. He had short and spiky (which seemed to be the trend at the table) dark brown hair and warm hazel eyes. He was of average height for a man and was muscular, but not bulky. He walked very smoothly as made his way to what looked like a projector and screen. "Now if you would all turn your attention toward the screen…" he began, with a tad bit of irritation in his voice.
Seats began to shuffle as the King and the members of his royal council situated themselves so they could see. Voices could be heard whispering back and forth about how a fifth viewing off the presentation wasn't needed and how it was ridiculous that Lord Cumberland couldn't just let the King go on this one. He had already kept them two hours longer than expected for what should have been a very short meeting.
Asperigon took out a series of disks from a case he was holding and placed them in the projector. After a few minutes of fumbling, he was ready to give the half-hour presentation on the Mapcim Seeker again. A picture of men working in a laboratory with a telescope-like machine was displayed on the screen as he began his talk. "In top-secret labs in the royal house, our finest scientists have been working on a mechanism that can trace blood. Any blood of any being throughout the entire galaxy as long as we have a sample or parent of the subject's blood." A new slide appeared with the machine. This time it showed a man putting a little disk that held blood into the machine.
"That's my blood," the Kind stated proudly. However, it wasn't as if they hadn't already known that. He had been sure to point that out every time that slide appeared that last four views.
Asperigon smiled at the Kings comment and continued. "After a lot of experimentation, it is believed that we have found the whereabouts of King Vegeta's son, Princes Vegeta…" A pretty blue planet was the next slide. "On this planet called earth."
"It is said that somewhere, Vegeta is currently residing on this small little planet. We know this because we sense his blood here. There's a very strong presence." Asperigon changed the slides again. "So we propose that we send some of our people there to check it out with these handheld mini Mapcim Seekers, which are in the final stages of being completed."
"You can stop there," King Vegeta instructed. Sighs of relief came from the other council members. The rest of the presentation was just about how the Mapcim Seekers worked compared to the mini ones. "I want to have our people go to earth. I want them to find my son."
Cumberland rolled his eyes. "This is a very unrealistic proposal. No offense, my Lord, but I feel that you've gotten a bit too weathered these past years. You've been through a lot, too. You've died and come back to see the drastic changes that have taken place within your people. We've let go of the past. We are no longer a warring people who kill for sport. True, we are still the best warriors around, but we have formed alliances with other planets… we are a new people with new ideals. If you get Prince Vegeta dragged into this, you'll just bring back bad memories - memories that have been stored away for years and that don't need to be brought back out."
King Vegeta frowned. Cumberland was right in almost all ways except for one. He hadn't let go of the past. So much was lost, and sometimes, it felt as if he were lost. "But I need an heir," the King protested. "Who is to be heir?"
"Well, you have your grandson…" Cumberland stopped talking to receive several icy glares from the rest of the men. The King's grandson was a complete lunatic, he was twenty-nine and immature beyond belief. He wasn't very rational and always jumped to conclusions. It didn't help that he was also extremely headstrong. Everyone dreaded the fact that he could be the future King, which was the only real reason everyone was putting up with the King's idea.
"Yes, but still, your majesty. It isn't wise to get yourself so set on this man being he. I'd hate to see your disappointment if it doesn't turn out to be Prince Vegeta." Cumberland sighed. "I guess it's not such a bad idea after all."
Expressions of relief fell upon the faces of everyone else in the room. Asperigon gave the King a quick nod, quickly turned off the projector, and walked swiftly to his seat.
The King looked at his advisors and friends. "Is it settled then? May we go through with this plan?"
Everyone agreed.
"Well, then. I suppose you may all go home."
King Vegeta watched as the men promptly filed out of the meeting chambers – all men but one.
"For a while there, I didn't think Cumberland was going to let up," Asperigon laughed.
The King shook his head. "Cumberland… has quite a mind on him. But he's also a pain in the butt."
"Imagine what would have happened if he hadn't let up and found out that we've already put the plan into action."
"Oh, I don't want to know!" The King looked Asperigon up and down. For the last twenty years, he had served him as a noble, a friend, and... e a son. If it were up to him, Lord Asperigon would take his place on the throne. But there are rules even the King shouldn't break, even if Asperigon was like well deserving. He was grateful, he felt, that he would be getting his son, but he hoped he could still have the relationship he had with Asperigon. If he honestly had to choose one over the other, he had no idea whom he would pick.
Asperigon rubbed his stomach. "My am I hungry. I think I'll get something to eat before I head back home. Would you like to join me, your Majesty? There's this fabulous new restaurant just a few blocks from the castle."
King Vegeta shook his head approvingly. "That would be nice."
Asperigon grinned. "That's great. It's not far, so do you need your body guards?"
"Nope. I may be getting old, but I can still handle myself quite nicely. Although, it's not like you couldn't handle anything that came our way."
Lord Asperigon rolled his eyes. "You give me too much credit. You were, after all, my best teacher."
King Vegeta sighed. His teacher, but never his father.
