Disclaimer: … I do not own DBZ and I never will. Shani, Blaze, Kor, Tyson, Taja and Gunnar, are mine though, present to help me tell the story.
Shadows of the Past: Chapter 10
By the time they got back to their hall in the palace/dormitory, Vegeta and Shani had been in around, and even under almost every one of the other 8 buildings in the school compound at least once, and Vegeta was sure they were going to find something that would show her that this wasn't a school, but a prison. No such luck though… at least not yet, all they had really succeeded in doing was missing dinner, and getting filthy. All the same, it had been kind of fun, though. " Well, which one's yours? "
" The one down on the west end, right side. "
" Really, I'm the one right next to you. Oh, I've gotta show you something! "
" What now, can't it wait? "
" No! Get in here and shut the door. "
Vegeta sighed and followed her into her room. She went into the oversized closet… and didn't come back out.
" Very funny, I've seen closets before, Shani. They work best for holding clothes… "
" And secret passages. " She giggled, and came out of her closet carrying his red cloak.
" That's not funny. " He growled, about to take it back, when he looked past her and saw straight into his room. " That wasn't there this morning. Who put this in here? "
" Secret passages are in all the royal houses where we come from, Prince Vegeta. " Blaze said, glancing over at the two of them from her perch on top of Shani's vanity mirror. " Most likely this one was not an escape route, though. "
" Well then what was it, Blaze? "
" I shouldn't say. You're too young. "
" Bullshit, if it connects our rooms then it affects us, and we ought to know about it. And why it's here in the first place. "
" Well, putting it that way… " The little dragon shrugged. " These two rooms are good sized, command an excellent view but are not part of the old guest wing, or the royal apartments either. "
" So? "
" So… Shani your mother would kill me… well she wouldn't be happy if she knew I was telling you this at your age… but, I'd say this is the room built to house the mistress of the original owner of the palace. "
" You mean the queen? Or whatever? "
" No, I mean the lord's lover. Whether based on love, honor or just business, where palaces like this are built, Marriage among the royals is very seldom taken seriously for very long. "
Shani and Vegeta looked at each other and scowled " Eeeww! Blaze that's disgusting! When I get home I'm telling mom I'm never getting married. "
" No you're not, young lady… or, you can say it all you want, but you will get married eventually. " Blaze laughed.
" Why should she? I'm not getting married either, "
" Planning on ruling forever, without an heir, Vegeta? " Blaze said, practically rolling off the vanity with her hysterical giggling.
Vegeta said nothing, just remaining silent, not caring whether he had an heir or not.
" Hey Vegeta, I don't have class tomorrow or the next day, are we going to explore some more in the morning? "
" Yeah, but have you looked around outside at all? "
" Not really, that big tile square out there gives me the chills. "
" If you're scared you can stay here. " He shrugged.
She glared at him, making her silver eyes flash brightly. " I am not! I just heard that that's some sort of a grave or something. "
" Yeah right, " Vegeta chuckled, " We used to have some things like that where I'm from. Knowing Frieza it's more likely that it's a small arena, built before the coliseum. Two people meet in the center and fight… My father's favorite place to meditate was one of those… "
" And what about the picture? "
He laughed, " Maybe that's what happens if you loose. "
The two of them spent most of their time exploring and observing the other kids, over the next two days. Most of the others didn't seem to know that there was anything to the palace but a first rate school which, for the most part, was fairly relaxed, in atmosphere. Nothing seemed terribly wrong to Vegeta's keen senses, but he also knew that Frieza was not back yet from wherever he'd gone. The atmosphere would most likely change when Frieza returned. For the most part, even Zarbon and Dodoria stayed in the wings, apparently content to oversee things from the shadows, knowing Frieza's precious 'students' were trapped like rats and didn't even know it.
Monday morning rolled around and Vegeta was up and ready for his first day in class long before he heard Shani start to stir in her room at all. Wearing a black bodysuit and no armor or cape, he felt almost naked, but shrugged at least he was used to what he was to wear in class.
Shani on the other hand, had to wear a body suit too, but hers had a little wrap skirt,
like all the girls had to get used to. But she spent most mornings tugging on the tight collar of the bodysuits and couldn't seem to get used to it around her delicate throat.
" That outfit looks perfectly scandalous. " He heard Blaze say, from the next room. " Even your mother's leather armor never hugged her figure that way. I forbid you to go to any of your physical training or combat classes dressed like that… "
So she was in some of the athletics classes too? Vegeta found that surprising, since Shani had no interest in fighting. Still, he had seen enough of her magic to know that it could be very dangerous, if she ever intended it to be…
Shani knocked on the door of the secret passage linking both of their oversized closets, determined to ignore her dragon's incessant complaining about the school uniforms. She was still much too young for it to look indecent, but by the time it would be, Shani knew she'd would be used to it… and so would everyone else. " Are you up yet, Vegeta? "
" Of course I am. "
" Ok, " She giggled, and came bounding through. " Well your room sure is different than mine… Cool, your room is part of the old tower… what's this? "
Vegeta followed her over to the corner of the wall where the rounded edge of the windows met the wall lined with bookshelves. " A bookshelf. "
" Yeah right… no look, the shelves over here aren't as deep as the ones on the other side of the window. "
" So? "
" So, there's probably a hidden set of shelves behind this… hmmm where's the trigger? Gotcha… " Shani said, feeling under the shelves and along the tops of the books, until she found a small release trigger, and the wall of shelves opened to reveal a hidden set of shelves. On them was a lot of uninteresting, broken junk, until Shani saw a large silver key, lying under cobwebs and dust collected over decades of neglect. The key shimmered softly as she dusted it off, and picked it up.
For a while, neither said anything, just looking in shocked silence at the presence of a second secret panel in such an out of the way room. " Well, what do you suppose it goes to? " Vegeta asked finally.
" I don't know. With all the electronic locks, I haven't seen even one door that could be opened with an actual skeleton key, especially one this big. This key is four inches long; the door it opens is either really big, or really thick. There's nothing written on it or anything… what ever it went to might not exist anymore. " She sighed, and handed it to him.
" If it does, we'll find it. "
" Zarbon and Dodoria keep the palace too carefully guarded to really look around there during the day… We'll have to ask the other kids if they've ever seen anything weird in here. "
" I doubt any of them are as perceptive as you are. "
" Maybe not, but a few of them have older brothers or sisters who had to come here to, like Tyson… he knows all the stories about this place, and Taja; she's been in trouble twice for going into the science labs and the library basement. She's in seventh grade though, so I've only talked to her a couple of times. Uh-oh… we gotta go, or we'll be late. "
" So? "
" Vegeta we can't miss class today, there's a test in language, and math too. "
" I hate school. "
" You've never been in class before, you've just had tutors, come on, and it's not that bad. You and I are being put in the third grade, where they said you won't get to kill the teachers."
In spite of Vegeta's repeated protests, the two of them went to class and managed to pay attention until lunchtime, when they sat with Shani's other friends. There were a lot of other kids, Vegeta noticed, and Dodoria stood near the kitchen window, watching the dining room, and the chaos of at least 100 k-6th graders, talking, eating and giggling. Still in spite of the noise and the occasional food fight, it wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Shani was happiest talking to him and Gunnar and Kor, especially after the annoying bunch of girls across the table from them left. Vegeta glanced at Dodoria again. The fat pink blob was talking to a huge mountain of muscle that could only be Captain Ginue, and Zarbon; the three of them didn't look very happy.
" Uh oh, " Gunnar glanced at Frieza's men and tapped Shani on the shoulder. " I wonder what's got those three pissed off now? "
" Maybe Frieza's coming back soon? "
" Any of you know what the 10th vault is? " Vegeta asked quietly, remembering Zarbon and Dodoria's argument over the scouter a few days earlier.
" Shh, don't say that… no one really knows, but I've heard it's a room where people who piss off Frieza are put. "
" Why not call it a cell then? "
" I don't know, all I know is the last kid to get caught talking about it died. " Gunnar said softly.
" Where's Tyson? "
" Don't know, he didn't come down to breakfast either. Have you seen him, Kor? "
" Nope. "
Kor kind of reminded Vegeta of Napa, he was already huge, and going to be even bigger, and wasn't too bright, either. Kor seemed nice though, and very quiet too. Gunnar was short, and powerful, his girth and his height seemed exactly the same, and his hair was short and wiry. Shani had told him that Gunnar was something called a dwarf from her world, but he was older than she was, so he was taken much earlier. He and Kor were both in the third grade, but to Vegeta, Gunnar seemed old enough to be a senior... so did Kor, for that matter.
" Oh! Lookie what we have here… " Said an obnoxious voice from behind them. " Ha ha ha well if it isn't the prince of Saiyans. Damn, if they're all as short as you are, no wonder even your best fighters couldn't take my world. "
" Shut up, Blitz, leave the kid alone… "
" Make me, bitch, "
Vegeta just turned around casually and smirked at the tall, broad shouldered red skinned creature, which had just pushed an older girl with green skin and hair away from him." But Frieza still got you, didn't he, looser? "
" Why you little bastard! I'm gonn'a…"
" Gentlemen… " Came Zarbon's elegant accent, as he stepped between them. " We
wouldn't be fighting, over here, would we? "
" No, I was just telling the little runt… er Saiyan how nice it's going to be having him here. "
" Speaking of that, you know you aren't supposed to be here for two more days. None of you seniors are supposed to be back yet. " Zarbon said, leveling a golden glare at their leader. " You are also forbidden to socialize with the little ones. "
" But master Zarbon… " One of the kids with Blitz started to say.
" Do you think Frieza would be happy to know that his five top seniors were picking fights with a five year old? "
" But we… "
" Silence! Report to the Coliseum now and when I get there, you all be ready to be gentlemen toward anyone Frieza brings here! Dodoria! "
" Yes, Zarbon? "
" See these seniors to the coliseum and get them ready for a little… practice. "
" I could've handled those losers myself, Zarbon. " Vegeta growled as they watched Dodoria escort them out of the great hall.
" I am here so that you don't have to, Vegeta. " The handsome alien shrugged, his golden eyes glinted mischievously.
" What was that all about, Vegeta? " Shani wondered out loud.
Vegeta chewed thoughtfully on his bottom lip for a moment. " I'll be back later. "
" Vegeta! What are you going to do? "
" Nothing. "
" I'm coming with you. "
" Shani… "
" I'm coming with you. You might need my help. With whatever you're doing. "
" Not likely. "
" I don't know what you're up to, but you better forget it. " Gunnar said warningly,
shaking his head. " We can't miss classes around here. They punish the whole class if you get caught. "
" Like what? "
" Extra class work, tests. "
" You're afraid of a little extra work? " Vegeta laughed. " And I thought you were going to say something bad like a public lashing. Are you sure dwarves are great warriors, Shani? "
" On our world, they're the toughest and the strongest of all the humanoid races. " Shani shrugged.
" Well so far, I'm not impressed. " Vegeta grunted. And turned to leave, but found himself restrained by his arm. Let go or I'll make you, Gunnar. "
" You want a fight? You got one, but not in here. "
" Guys!! " Shani squeaked, following the two of them outside. " Don't do this! Vegeta, Frieza's gonn'a have kittens if you get hurt again! Gunnar, you know there is only sparring allowed, no fighting!! "
" So we'll call it sparring. Right, Gunnar? "
The dwarf nodded, his blue eyes deadly serious as he slipped a ring onto his finger and a huge battle-axe appeared in his hand.
" You use weapons? This ought to be interesting, but I hope you're faster than you look or it won't matter. "
" And I hope you're stronger than you look. "
Vegeta's dark eyes smoldered, as a cold little smirk settled over his features. For a moment, neither moved at the top of the outdoor arena platform. The two didn't remain still very long though, it was Gunnar that struck first, the axe lashing out for the Saiyan's chest with astonishing accuracy. He was fast too, Vegeta noted with pleasure, for all his bulk, the short little guy moved with no wasted motion, and he was strong as well. Gunnar's opening slash was well aimed and well timed, but Vegeta dodged easily, crouching low to study the other's next move. They were about the same height, but Gunnar weighed at least twice what Vegeta did. His lean build was deceptive, he was fast and light, but still strong, strong enough to catch the haft of the axe, and block Gunnar's attack.
The dwarf arched one eyebrow and chuckled, as he elbowed his younger opponent in the face. Vegeta was knocked back, but not down, and this time he took the offensive, going in low for a sweep attack. The dwarf simply picked up his foot to dodge, and as he stepped aside, attacked low, with the axe, which might have connected if it were not for Vegeta's superior speed. The Saiyan rolled out of the way, and chuckled as Gunnar's arc of attack took him too far, putting Vegeta behind him. Vegeta allowed his opponent to turn around and gave him an expectant look.
" Zarbon said you are five… was he serious? "
" Yes. " Vegeta smirked. " Are we gonn'a fight or not? "
" I had to make sure I wasn't gonn'a hurt you if I actually tried to win. "
" Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you. "
" You guys! Stop it, you're gonn'a get us in trouble! "
" It's ok Shani, we really are just playing now. " Vegeta smirked, and ducked a slash aimed for his head, as he got inside the weapon's arc, he chuckled and hit the dwarf with a vicious kick to the ribs. Gunnar released one hand from the axe and returned a punch. The two of them withdrew across the square and Vegeta and Gunnar studied each other for a moment before either moved again, neither really believing their blows had not fazed the other. Vegeta was especially confused, true he was still not attacking with his full strength, but he could see that Gunnar wasn't either. He didn't have to hit much harder that this to take down Napa, and his bodyguard was huge! He didn't have much time to wonder about it though, as Gunnar again took the offensive, the axe swept in for another headshot. Vegeta jumped back and then came back in with an elbow smash and followed it up with a hip toss. Gunnar didn't fight his momentum, and rolled to his feet, but Vegeta didn't give him time to attack again, striking his larger opponent again and again. Individually these attacks didn't seem to do much, but they were both still young, nowhere close to their full stamina and power, and eventually both were too tired to go on.
" That was really stupid you two, you could've killed each other! " Shani growled, coming up onto the huge tile square to sit with them. As she sat down, she punched each of them in their shoulder.
" Nah, that's why we were going easy at first. " Gunnar chuckled, he had taken the worst of it, but then, since he used an axe and Vegeta had gone weaponless, it was a fair trade. " You're so good now I almost dread what you'll be like as a senior. Damn, I hope you're on our team. "
" Team? "
" Yeah, I'm surprised you haven't been asked by Zarbon to be the leader. See, in every grade, the ten best fighters are ranked and put into two groups. These groups are called teams, and when all of it's members keep their grades and stuff up, if there is a mission and they want it, if they are good enough, Frieza might assign it to them. If they succeed without interference from Frieza's regulars, the mission is given a point value. Who ever has the most points as a sophomore, their leader is the team captain for the war games, against the juniors. Usually Zarbon watches over and advises one team, and Dodoria gets the other, but this year, it'll be Captain Ginue and Zarbon. Finally it'll be a fair contest, but I still say I'd rather be on Zarbon's team. His teams are always the best, and they win, although it's almost always his sophomore and junior team leaders against each other, he doesn't play favorites, at least not that I've heard about. "
" So he's got his favorites out of every class? "
" Yes. So… who's the strongest out of this class? "
" Me… or you. If Kor were a little brighter, he'd be right behind us, but… well, he's somewhere down around 8 or so. "
" And where am I? " Shani asked, curiously.
" I don't know. We haven't been tested since you two were brought in. They are probably waiting until Friday to test us again. Is it true that you actually fought a mature fire ooze and won, by yourself? "
" If that big ugly orange blob was a fire ooze, yeah, but what's the big deal? It was stupid, gave itself away. And how did you find out? "
" Word travels fast around the school, anytime one of Frieza's favorites does something, everybody hears about it whether they want to or not. In the case of the seniors we met today. Well I guess that means you're gonn'a be one of the kids everybody hates or really likes. Well, it's time for me to go, I'm probably late for my etiquette class. Hey, what's so funny, Shani? "
Shani couldn't help it. She was rolling on the floor with hysterical laughter picturing Gunnar in Mr. Poupon's etiquette class, and found it so amusing that she could hardly wave at him as the dwarf left. Next to her, Vegeta sighed, and remained quiet. " Well, don't worry, Vegeta, I like you. And I know Gunnar does too, and so does Blaze. "
He rolled his eyes and blushed a little, but stood up and dusted himself off. " Whatever. You really want to come with me? "
"Yeah! Where are we going? "
" Zarbon and Dodoria are in the coliseum, which leaves only one guard free to watch the Palace- and 6 other buildings. "
" You sure you're not an elf? " Shani giggled, as they headed for the immaculately kept palace.
Well, I never did find the missing disk, but here are most of the contents. I hope I have done a decent job of sifting through what little remained of my paper notes for this chapter. Anyway, I apologize if this chapter feels rushed, but I couldn't (in good conscience) wait another moment to get it up, though!! I will continue to search for my missing disk and if it turns up, I will post the real chapter, the way I intended it to be seen!! Well, thanks for sticking with me so far… you guys are the greatest, and you know who you are! Next chappy of Shadows ought to up and running in about three days!