Rhyme & Reason 1:
[ E X T R O V E R S I O N ]


It was so easy to locate his roommate, who was ever the life of the party. The room six doors left of his own was the source of the cacophony named Craigie. The room was also the source of the pulsing bright flashes of light in stark contrast to the suffocating obscurity of the corridor. Standing in the doorjamb, he could hear shouts, laughs, and singing. He wondered to himself, What am I doing here, in this cold and lonely room, when I could be out there laughing and singing and yelling with everyone else? He shook his head at himself. He could be so silly sometimes! Craig had invited him earlier; surely the invitation was still there.

Well, whether or not he was still welcome, he was still going.



"Look over there. Is that who I think it is?" Stan Fotoshi indicated to the door. Craig looked also.

He grinned. "Hey, cool. The bastard came." He stood up. He honestly hadn't expected him to come. He had looked perturbed and unwell earlier, as if he was about to pass out.

A girl sitting with them said, "Who is that?" Craig winked and grinned.

"You wanna know, Leki? That's my pal Vejiita, I've told you about him before. Hey Vejiita!" he yelled.

"Oh, he's back?"

Craig waved his arm in the air. "Hey, you, get over here!" Vejiita glanced at him and shuffled over to their table.

"Hello," he said, waving awkwardly. Craigie laughed. He kicked a chair to him, which Vejiita gripped by the headrest.

"Siddown." He sat stiffly.

Vejiita glanced at the girl sitting across from him. She had very Saiyajin-like features, but that only meant that she just didn't look like some of the other aliens, with strange-colored skin and odd shaped skulls. She was just normal. She had been paying attention to him when he was first beckoned by Craig, but was now turned around in her chair talking to someone behind her. "Hey," he said sharply. She looked at him. "Yeah, you. Turn around! Be quiet." He scooched his chair forward and stood up so he was leaning over the table, his face closer to hers. "I haven't seen you before, who are ya?"

Leki studied this new person. Craig had told her about him before, but not that much. She was only told that he tended to be moody and quiet, but did have a sense of humor, and was great to be around if you caught him at the right time. Right now he was anything but moody or quiet; instead, he was reminding her more of Craig. Constant motion was the phrase that best described him. This person whom Craig called Vejiita was drumming his fingers on the table top, occasionally banging his fists as well, and he was rocking back and forth on his feet as well. He also had a bright look in his eyes, face open and friendly. Moody my foot, she thought. Craigie was horrible at describing people, she concluded.

She smiled at him. "My name's Leki."

"That's great." He nodded. His attention was partially on Stan Fotoshi. He was bringing a can of something to his lips. Vejiita snatched it out of his hand before the he could react. Stan Fotoshi didn't even bother to chew him out. He was about ten years older than him, and had long ago decided that getting upset over a kid stealing his drink was nothing but a waste of time. Fotoshi had been at every single one of these parties that he could since he came to work here, and Vejiita had been to a fair number himself. He usually stole his drink every damn time, but lately he hads stopped. Fotoshi supposed he saw it as some sort of inside joke, a tradition, to steal his drink. Certainly the boy didn't see as stealing and drinking the older man's beverage right in front of him as an award, that he should be idolized for getting away with it. He had just hoped that he was going to stop with this childishness for good. Fotoshi just thought, Kids, and got up to get a different drink.

Craig, whose attention had solely on Vejiita and Leki, stared at Stan when he got up. He leapt out of his seat and hollered, "Stan! Where are you going? Hey... Stan the man..." He followed him.

Vejiita smiled, first to himself then to Leki. "I've never seen you before," he repeated.

"Oh, yeah," she said off-handedly. "I've only been here for about four months, and you've been gone all this month." She paused. " I've only come off the floor where my room is lately; I suppose I'm shy about meeting new people."

Vejiita smiled. You won't be for long, he thought to himself, thinking of Craig. That boy was anything but shy. He voiced his thoughts. "How close are you with Craigie?"

Leki perked up at the name. "Very. Mona brought me down here first, and he was the first I really sat down and had a conversation with." She grinned.

"He's a great guy, huh?"

"He's crazy."



Even though he hated to leave, he had to admit that the ever-flashing lights and loud bass music were beginning to get on his nerves. Fortunately, Vejiita seemed to feel the same way, so when he got up and headed to the exit, Craig was at his side. They weren't the only two leaving the room; others were also leaving, couples, people in larger groups, and loners were beginning to spill into the hall and mingle casually. They walked down the dark corridor for a short distance, in the opposite direction of their room, away from the crowd. Craig glanced behind him, half regretting leaving the party. If he hadn't been developing a headache, it would had been one of the best raves he'd been to in a while. He thought maybe it was because Vejiita had come this time. Craig glanced at him. Vejiita had a vacant look in his eyes - he figured he was lost in thought - and was whistling softly through his teeth. Craig drummed his fingers on his thigh as the stopped and leaned against the wall simultaneously, as if an unspoken signal went off and they both resolved that this was the best place to rest.

Craigie dug in his pocket and emerged with a joint. He held it out to Vejiita, who, with a snap of his fingers, lit the end of it with a bit of ki. He took a drag then offered it to his companion, who accepted it with just a moment's thought. Then he gave it back.

"You're different tonight," Craig remarked after a few minutes of sitting in silence. Vejiita looked at him. He seemed amused.

"How so?"

He shrugged. He was hesitant to bring this up; he didn't want Vejiita to think he was stupid or crazy or anything if he had observed incorrectly. "I dunno... Your voice sounds less deep and less coarse. And, you came to a fucking party without me carrying you here!" Vejiita smiled half a smile. "And... Just stuff," he finished lamely.

"Yeah, well," Vejiita said.

Again they sat in companionable silence. Craig kept the cigarette to himself, not offering it to Vejiita and Vejiita not asking for it. He was watching the people down the hall. They were spreading far enough from the music and lights that he could join them and not be uncomfortable. But it wasn't every night Vejiita got out from under his black cloud; Craigie intended to make the most of it.

It is too quiet, he decided. He started talking. He was pleased that Vejiita actually talked back - actually having a conversation with him. A good conversation, more specifically, a light-hearted meaningless one. They still talked even when the crowd was treading on their feet, having spread thus far from the original party location. Craig caught a familiar face in the crowd. He stood up, Vejiita doing the same a moment later.

He was a child, more of a child than most of the kids occupying these rooms. Craig, however, didn't treat him like a little brother, just as a close friend. But the kid probably saw Craig as an older brother.

Craig greeted, "Hey, Devin." The kid looked up at him, green eyes flashing in the dim light. Craig smacked Vejiita's back. "This is Vejiita, be nice to him." Devin nodded. Craig knew Vejiita knew who Devin was already, and where he had come from. He thought he remembered Devin having his own older brother, but he wasn't sure. According to Vejiita, who knew a surprisingly lot about Devin and his brother, some of Freeza's men had picked the two of them up for an undetermined reason and were letting them stay here. But not totally for free, Vejiita would learn later. They did janitorial work, Craig told him, in exchange for free boarding and food, instead of actually doing what Freeza's soldiers were best known for. Craig guessed that Vejiita doubted he did that much.

Someone suddenly came up and scooped the small figure of Devin his shoulder. The small boy released a cry of surprise, looking around wildly and grinning. Craig knew he had never seen this guy before. He was tall, big. He had no hair on his head, but had long ears that were pointed at the end. He had dark skin; it looked black but when he moved into brighter light, it was actually a dark, dark green.

Craig stepped forward. "Hey, you put my friend down!" There, however, was no real hostility in his voice.

The man grinned, barring fanged teeth. "Make me."

In one smooth movement, Vejiita was in front of the man him in the stomach. The man moved Devin to the other shoulder then let him slide down his front safely to the floor. Devin looked a bit bewildered but was smiling brightly. He leaned against Craig who wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Vejiita asked loudly.

"Yeah, what's your name?" said Craig.

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head, "I ain't even gonna tell ya."

"Fine!" Craig yelled, feigning hurt feelings, "Don't tell us! Be that way."

Vejiita looked at Craig. "But we must call him something." Craig shrugged, faux tears gone from his expression.

"If you want."

Vejiita studied him. "Lars. I dub thee Lars!" he announced proudly. Devin smiled.

"Lars" gave him that look again, and chuckled.

"Wanna know our names, Lars?" said Craig.

"Whatever. No. Actually, I don't want to know your names."

Vejiita hit him again, this time lightly on the arm. "Well, you're not very friendly, mister! You're not getting many friends that way."

Lars shoved him against the wall. "Whatever, dog." Vejiita looked at Craig and grinned. "Actually," he continued, "I was just sent down here to babysit you brats. I guess they don't a repeat of the Tanako incident." Vejiita's face hardened. Craigie assumed that he didn't like to be reminded of it, no matter how popular it got him.

Lars never did bother to learn their names. For the longest time, they were just known to him as "you in the corner" or "you on the right". He was a very strange fellow, but Craigie did like him a lot. Both he and Vejiita came to know him as their "father" of some sort. They have him a hard time about that; they didn't think he liked being seen that way. He never disclosed his real name or where he had come from or his race ever. Never made a slip up, even when Craigie and Vejiita did their damnest to trick him. But it didn't matter. He was big, he was protective, and he took care of them, though grudgenedly. That was fatherly enough for them, neither of them ever remembering having a proper father.

Another night, another party, Lars had ended up in the company of the two young Saiyajin again. Craig had fallen asleep (he did that sometimes) and Lars had a chance to really study Craig's constant companion. He, like Craig, noticed something strange about him, too. He had drastic mood swings, and he would react drastically to some things one night and then the next shrug it off as if it was perfectly normal, depending on what mood he was in. Today, he noted, he was in was was unofficially dubbed, in a "good" mood.

The kid spoke first. "I heard that Craigie finally taught you his damn name," he said. "Ever consider learning mine?"

Lars thought a moment. "No. I'll just call you Chester."

He was shocked. "What?"

He gave him an annoyed look, "You heard me. I'm calling you Chester, and I don't want to hear another word against it."

"Dolt," he said. He made an effort of looking pissed off on the outside, acting as if Lars was too dense to even learn one person's name. But inside was swelling with personal pleasure. Such a stroke of luck!

This name - Chester - would distinguish him from everything he was not.



Chester Hardy hated doing these damn missions. He thought bitterly of Craigie and the rest back at headquarters. Probably getting drunk and getting high and having a grand old time without him. He often wondered if they even missed him when he was absent. He was always greeted warmly when he returned - it was their nature to be friendly. He scowled and tapped his finger against the cold glass of his space pod. At least he wasn't claustrophobic. But space still depressed him. It was so big, so dark. And the only people within millions of miles of him were a bunch of strangers. Even Radditsu, who looked down on Chester and his "childish" friends, would have been better.

And then there was the whole killing part. It was disgusting, the way that Freeza person made a living. Chester wrinkled his nose. He knew that he had little or no influence on Freeza's actions. If he should ever blatantly refuse to commit terrestrial homicide, he would just be killed himself and replaced with another more enthusiastic soldier. He sighed and rapped harder on the glass. And it was so cold. He despised the cold.

Chester felt a familiar presence tugging at his mind, and darkness beginning to wash out his senses. He melted into it without a struggle. It was best if he let someone else do this filthy work, and not let it taint his soul. Yes, it was better this way.