___Chapter 63___
~~ NOTE- if anyone's been wondering what "Oo" or "oO" are, they're not words- they're just little freaked-out faces (the O's being the eyes, one bigger than the other). Musical inspiration- "Magic's in the makeup", "Artificial sweetener", "New", No Doubt. ~~
Once again, the world zipped by below in a swirl of colors, like a five-year-old had been set free in a bare white room with all the paint they could ever use, and told that there would be no punishment later. Dabs, swirls, slashes, blurs- it was dizzying, the way everything blended together, enough to almost drive you crazy- it you were paying attention to it, that is. If he'd been doing anything else, he would- Lute was always fascinated by the tiniest things- but this was something not to be put aside.
He'd lost track of the other again.
For a moment he stopped dead still, keeping his ears perked, trying to search out the smaller chi...... THERE!!!
Blasting straight at a tree, he flushed it out like a startled bird and thrust his hand forward, snatching a part of cloth, causing it's wearer to yell out in surprise. Grinning, the emerald-eyes boy pulled his captive out of the blue foliage, and-
"Holy SHIT! Is that you???"
Dropping hold of the scarlet-colored pant leg, Lute's face brightened as Chan grinned at him, nodding.
"Who else did you think it was?"
---
Hmph.....
What exactly MADE a world, anyway? Just a planet? Feh, if so, this sure wasn't much of one. It was tiny, barely worth the room it took up. Of course....
Anything made it worthwhile now, for the victory it had afforded him. Finally, he could breathe in peace- the old bastard was never going to speak to him again, ever. If he could speak at all by now, that was...
Malicious, and a grin of that style lit the lips of the namekisan-jin man, staring out around himself at the light magenta sky interrupted by not a single cloud.
Feh.
Who cared about terrain? Who cared about anything? Certainly not he. Not at all. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even remember why he'd cared about anything... at all......
And in the back of his mind, unbeknownst to him (for if he'd known what was happening, he'd have fought it) something he'd been holding onto viciously ever since he first opened his eyes on this plane began to slip away-
---
This world....
As Lute blasted off into the distance in pursuit, fading even beyond her sight, Oboe allowed herself to fade into a meditative state, pulling into the recesses of her mind (where her thoughts would not affect her body's reactions). And that is the first thought that struck her.
What WAS this place?
It was not Nameksei, her homeworld- that had died long before Freezer ever was, nor was it the shell that had remained after the great storms. That world was dead. This was a new place- yet....
Why did it SEEM just the same? She didn't need to think far to come up with all the similarities, they were too blaring (sometimes frightening) to leave her mind for long. And it wasn't coincidence- it couldn't be- but...
{{Ah, damnit all.... If only I had some clue!}} she cried to herself, wishing she could just sit down, clench her hands over her ears and hum to herself until her lover would come take her away from all this madness- but obviously, she could not.
There was work to be done. That could not be done if she idled, or cried, or got lost in the past or the future. All there was, was now.
But, as she thought with a smile- there were always the pleasant surprises. When the man she'd asked for directions had tuned around and said that.... The words came back to her mind as she thought of it-
"Oh, and if you can hear me in there, anoco- I'm proud of you, we all are."
....
So, even at his relatively young age (for a namekisan-jin, at least), it seems her Swift-chan had a child....
As a voice calling to her from the outside world forced her to retreat from her inner world, she felt no regrets at leaving it- a sense of peace settled over her again as she opened her borrowed eyes.
---
What a weird world.
Spitting discreetly onto the ground, the prince of all sayia-jin drummed his fingers together, bored once again. That namek stopping in had made things interesting for a time, and trying to figure out what the hell 'tatacha' meant had puzzled him for a time longer, but he bored of it quickly, and instead occupied himself with whatever came to mind- from seeing how long he could hold his breath or stare, to counting the mud stained that remained on his armor even after all that scrubbing in the stream.
{{Euh, damn that namek woman sometimes.}} he murmured mentally, before remembering why he'd been left in the dirt and silencing himself. He'd deserved it.
Coming to think of it- he'd deserved alot of what'd happened to him on this trip. The only thing he hadn't deserved was the trip itself...
{{Damn them all, sometimes... especially you, Pic, it's all you're fault we're out here, you had to go die on us.... *sighs again* This sucks.}}
---
"Small world, eh?"
"Yeah! I didn't expect to see YOU here!"
The other young namek child grinned again, nodding in agreement. "So, where've you been?"
Lute dropped to the ground to sit, leaning his chin on a hand as he replied "Finding dragonballs. This is our second." with his typical toothy smirk.
After a few seconds with no reply, though, he cocked his head to the side, glancing at Chan to make sure everything was alright. But all his eyes met was silence.
However, it was broken again, with a question- "Um... why ARE you looking for them, anyway?"
He didn't know how to answer to that one.
"I mean, you'd told us at first they were for your dad, but elder says it was for Son Goku-san, and then I saw your dad standing there with you..."
Silence.
"...Long story."
A perked interest met his eyes, but Lute merely finished with "One I really don't want to tell."
A sigh.
Chan's face fell a little, but he let it slide, instead standing up, handing Lute what he'd earned, and gesturing towards the village, indicating it was time to go.
A nod, and the two of then jumped into the air.
---
This place sure was different than he was used to.
In the down-time, most everyone was waiting around for the return of the children, Gohan included. But he wasn't as idle as Oboe or Vegeta- an hour after things had died down, he'd felt a tug on his pant leg, and turned around to see a big pair of childish eyes belonging to a little namek, barely out of his hatchling age, beaming up at him.
The halfling blinked twice, confused as what to do, before another voice rose out behind him and said (in a deep namekian accent, but still understandable) "He wanted to see you."
Gohan's eyes pulled up, and settled upon the face of an older adolescent namekisan-jin, that special sheen in his eyes telling he was a warrior-type.
A smile spread on Gohan's part, and he folded an arm nonchalantly behind his head, scratching it slightly out of impulse. But soon enough, he'd gathered his wits, and smiled back at the small one, who's little eyes lit up as he laughed, before running back behind the other namekian, calling out something frantically in namek-go.
That only brought another chorus of laughter through the taller form, and puzzled, Gohan waited until the child had been shooed away before inquiring "What was that all about?"
"You certainly know you're all a form of hero on Nameksei, do you not? The children grow up here hearing of your exploits like you're mythological gods or something- some even DO consider you gods, including one of my brothers and his friends. *laughs* Chui's always been a nut, though- you're truly great people, but I wouldn't call you gods. No offence, of course."
"Non taken. And did you say 'Chui'? Is he, by chance, a tallish boy around your age, with a midnight-bluish cape and white gi?"
"Yes, the same. Have you seen him?"
"*nods* In the village of the elder Takusan, where we found our first dragonball. He was, well, a tad enthusiastic at seeing my... sensei. *sweatdrops* "
The other man laughed out loud, having to stifle it with his hand before he got too loud. "Holy.. what did he do, jump him?"
"As a matter of fact, he did."
"*grinz again* "
"*smiles* It's a weird feeling, though- I don't feel special at all, but everywhere I go, someone's staring at me..."
"Heh. Well, there's nothing I can do to help you on that, but you've got my best wishes. Have to go now, need to watch my little brother- HEY, GET BACK HERE!!!!"
As Gohan watched him run off, a soft smile lit his face- the namekians were such great people- but his head swerved around at a shout that went through the crowd-
Lute hovered above them all, face set in a toothy grin as he raised his prize, arushinchu held tightly in his little grasp.
~~ NOTE- if anyone's been wondering what "Oo" or "oO" are, they're not words- they're just little freaked-out faces (the O's being the eyes, one bigger than the other). Musical inspiration- "Magic's in the makeup", "Artificial sweetener", "New", No Doubt. ~~
Once again, the world zipped by below in a swirl of colors, like a five-year-old had been set free in a bare white room with all the paint they could ever use, and told that there would be no punishment later. Dabs, swirls, slashes, blurs- it was dizzying, the way everything blended together, enough to almost drive you crazy- it you were paying attention to it, that is. If he'd been doing anything else, he would- Lute was always fascinated by the tiniest things- but this was something not to be put aside.
He'd lost track of the other again.
For a moment he stopped dead still, keeping his ears perked, trying to search out the smaller chi...... THERE!!!
Blasting straight at a tree, he flushed it out like a startled bird and thrust his hand forward, snatching a part of cloth, causing it's wearer to yell out in surprise. Grinning, the emerald-eyes boy pulled his captive out of the blue foliage, and-
"Holy SHIT! Is that you???"
Dropping hold of the scarlet-colored pant leg, Lute's face brightened as Chan grinned at him, nodding.
"Who else did you think it was?"
---
Hmph.....
What exactly MADE a world, anyway? Just a planet? Feh, if so, this sure wasn't much of one. It was tiny, barely worth the room it took up. Of course....
Anything made it worthwhile now, for the victory it had afforded him. Finally, he could breathe in peace- the old bastard was never going to speak to him again, ever. If he could speak at all by now, that was...
Malicious, and a grin of that style lit the lips of the namekisan-jin man, staring out around himself at the light magenta sky interrupted by not a single cloud.
Feh.
Who cared about terrain? Who cared about anything? Certainly not he. Not at all. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even remember why he'd cared about anything... at all......
And in the back of his mind, unbeknownst to him (for if he'd known what was happening, he'd have fought it) something he'd been holding onto viciously ever since he first opened his eyes on this plane began to slip away-
---
This world....
As Lute blasted off into the distance in pursuit, fading even beyond her sight, Oboe allowed herself to fade into a meditative state, pulling into the recesses of her mind (where her thoughts would not affect her body's reactions). And that is the first thought that struck her.
What WAS this place?
It was not Nameksei, her homeworld- that had died long before Freezer ever was, nor was it the shell that had remained after the great storms. That world was dead. This was a new place- yet....
Why did it SEEM just the same? She didn't need to think far to come up with all the similarities, they were too blaring (sometimes frightening) to leave her mind for long. And it wasn't coincidence- it couldn't be- but...
{{Ah, damnit all.... If only I had some clue!}} she cried to herself, wishing she could just sit down, clench her hands over her ears and hum to herself until her lover would come take her away from all this madness- but obviously, she could not.
There was work to be done. That could not be done if she idled, or cried, or got lost in the past or the future. All there was, was now.
But, as she thought with a smile- there were always the pleasant surprises. When the man she'd asked for directions had tuned around and said that.... The words came back to her mind as she thought of it-
"Oh, and if you can hear me in there, anoco- I'm proud of you, we all are."
....
So, even at his relatively young age (for a namekisan-jin, at least), it seems her Swift-chan had a child....
As a voice calling to her from the outside world forced her to retreat from her inner world, she felt no regrets at leaving it- a sense of peace settled over her again as she opened her borrowed eyes.
---
What a weird world.
Spitting discreetly onto the ground, the prince of all sayia-jin drummed his fingers together, bored once again. That namek stopping in had made things interesting for a time, and trying to figure out what the hell 'tatacha' meant had puzzled him for a time longer, but he bored of it quickly, and instead occupied himself with whatever came to mind- from seeing how long he could hold his breath or stare, to counting the mud stained that remained on his armor even after all that scrubbing in the stream.
{{Euh, damn that namek woman sometimes.}} he murmured mentally, before remembering why he'd been left in the dirt and silencing himself. He'd deserved it.
Coming to think of it- he'd deserved alot of what'd happened to him on this trip. The only thing he hadn't deserved was the trip itself...
{{Damn them all, sometimes... especially you, Pic, it's all you're fault we're out here, you had to go die on us.... *sighs again* This sucks.}}
---
"Small world, eh?"
"Yeah! I didn't expect to see YOU here!"
The other young namek child grinned again, nodding in agreement. "So, where've you been?"
Lute dropped to the ground to sit, leaning his chin on a hand as he replied "Finding dragonballs. This is our second." with his typical toothy smirk.
After a few seconds with no reply, though, he cocked his head to the side, glancing at Chan to make sure everything was alright. But all his eyes met was silence.
However, it was broken again, with a question- "Um... why ARE you looking for them, anyway?"
He didn't know how to answer to that one.
"I mean, you'd told us at first they were for your dad, but elder says it was for Son Goku-san, and then I saw your dad standing there with you..."
Silence.
"...Long story."
A perked interest met his eyes, but Lute merely finished with "One I really don't want to tell."
A sigh.
Chan's face fell a little, but he let it slide, instead standing up, handing Lute what he'd earned, and gesturing towards the village, indicating it was time to go.
A nod, and the two of then jumped into the air.
---
This place sure was different than he was used to.
In the down-time, most everyone was waiting around for the return of the children, Gohan included. But he wasn't as idle as Oboe or Vegeta- an hour after things had died down, he'd felt a tug on his pant leg, and turned around to see a big pair of childish eyes belonging to a little namek, barely out of his hatchling age, beaming up at him.
The halfling blinked twice, confused as what to do, before another voice rose out behind him and said (in a deep namekian accent, but still understandable) "He wanted to see you."
Gohan's eyes pulled up, and settled upon the face of an older adolescent namekisan-jin, that special sheen in his eyes telling he was a warrior-type.
A smile spread on Gohan's part, and he folded an arm nonchalantly behind his head, scratching it slightly out of impulse. But soon enough, he'd gathered his wits, and smiled back at the small one, who's little eyes lit up as he laughed, before running back behind the other namekian, calling out something frantically in namek-go.
That only brought another chorus of laughter through the taller form, and puzzled, Gohan waited until the child had been shooed away before inquiring "What was that all about?"
"You certainly know you're all a form of hero on Nameksei, do you not? The children grow up here hearing of your exploits like you're mythological gods or something- some even DO consider you gods, including one of my brothers and his friends. *laughs* Chui's always been a nut, though- you're truly great people, but I wouldn't call you gods. No offence, of course."
"Non taken. And did you say 'Chui'? Is he, by chance, a tallish boy around your age, with a midnight-bluish cape and white gi?"
"Yes, the same. Have you seen him?"
"*nods* In the village of the elder Takusan, where we found our first dragonball. He was, well, a tad enthusiastic at seeing my... sensei. *sweatdrops* "
The other man laughed out loud, having to stifle it with his hand before he got too loud. "Holy.. what did he do, jump him?"
"As a matter of fact, he did."
"*grinz again* "
"*smiles* It's a weird feeling, though- I don't feel special at all, but everywhere I go, someone's staring at me..."
"Heh. Well, there's nothing I can do to help you on that, but you've got my best wishes. Have to go now, need to watch my little brother- HEY, GET BACK HERE!!!!"
As Gohan watched him run off, a soft smile lit his face- the namekians were such great people- but his head swerved around at a shout that went through the crowd-
Lute hovered above them all, face set in a toothy grin as he raised his prize, arushinchu held tightly in his little grasp.