Hi fan fiction lovers! Here is the next installment of my crazy story. A whole lot is going to start happening very quickly!
Once again I underestimated the length it would take to cram everything into this chapter that I had originally planned to so I cut it in half and retitled this one since the other title went better for the second half of the chapter.
All previous disclaimers apply.
Chapter 10: Doppelgangers
Vegeta sat at helm of the
ship, his eyes glued to the vessel leading him to the new mysterious base of
King Frigid. In typical illogical style
the baka lizard had set up his seat of government on a recently appropriated
planet rather than Tsirisei and likely had a ridiculous reason for doing so. Feeling a tug at his sleeve he looked down to
see his son gazing wearily up at him.
"What is it boy?" he asked
hiking up one dark eyebrow.
"Are we getting close to
the planet yet?" the child pleaded.
"We have another hour at
least and asking about it every 20 minutes will not make it come any faster"
Vegeta scolded "now go take apart one of the tin cans or some other nonsense."
"They're shut down,"
Trunks stated before continuing his excited barrage. "Why are you just sitting
there just watching the other ship?" Trunks asked.
"For the same reason you
are bugging me" he stated "I am bored."
"Oh" the boy said turning
his blue eyes to the floor before making a split second decision and climbing
up onto his father's lap.
"What are you doing!"
Vegeta exclaimed in surprise at Trunks bold move.
"We might as well be bored
together" Trunks said with a pleading smile.
Vegeta sighed in defeat
noting in the back of his mind how unsaiyaiin like it was to allow his child to
sit on his lap but at the same time welcoming the contact. He truly missed his mate's habit of boldly
cuddling up to him without notice. He
thought perhaps the child sensed this and thus took liberties he wouldn't have
normally taken.
"Father" Trunks
asked. "Do you really think this Frigid
guy will know where to find mother?"
"I don't know" he admitted
"but it is a lead and we must follow it."
"You said you used to know
him, right?" the boy asked leaning back in his father's arms inspecting his
fingernails for dirt.
"In a way" Vegeta answered
not liking where the conversation seemed to be headed.
"You knew him before you
came to earth and were a good guy?" the boy asked still staring intently at his
hands.
"Yes" Vegeta stumbled a bit. "He was a competitor of my former employer."
"Freeza?" Trunks
innocently continued still without making eye contact. "I thought you were a slave for him?"
"A slave! I was never anyone's slave" Vegeta snapped.
"But Mother told me that
he forced you to work for him, isn't that the same thing as being a slave?"
Vegeta gazed intently at
the back of his son's lavender head. He
was surprised by his child's temerity to bring up the subject of Freeza and
disturbed by his innocent and truthful conclusion. His pride had never allowed him to acknowledge how helpless he
had actually been against the tyrant who had raised him for a good portion of
his life. "Your mother told you this?"
"Yes" the demi-saiyaijin
answered still refusing to look at his Father's face. "She told me so I could understand how come you can be so mean
sometimes. She said that you were
prince on your own planet but you were taken as a little boy by Freeza who was
mean to you so it was hard for you to be nice because you never had a good
example growing up."
"What else did she tell
you?" Vegeta demanded.
"Nothing much" the boy admitted
shyly looking up into his father's face. "She said he forced you to do all sorts of bad things and before you met
her that you didn't know how to be anything but evil. That was all she told me though. She said if I wanted to know more I had to ask you myself but that you
might not like it if I did."
Vegeta stared down at his
son's down turned face in quiet astonishment. He honestly had no idea that Trunks had any knowledge of his past which
made him wonder at the boy more than before. How the child could have any affection towards him knowing he was once a
"bad guy" astonished him. Secretly the
saiyaijin prince had feared what the boy would do when he inevitably discovered
the truth about his past and yet all this time he had known because Bulma had
told him. Bulma…the thought of her sent
a fresh wave of mixed emotions through his soul but one was predominantly
etched into his heart at the moment, the same one that was echoed in Trunks
cyan eyes inherited from his mother. He
was afraid, he the mighty Saiyaijin no Ouji was afraid of failing to bring her
back, afraid to face the prospect of a life without her and afraid of being
left alone to be this child's sole provider and being unable to give him what
he asked. Immediately Vegeta shut
himself off from this line of thought not wanting the boy to sense his
disquiet.
"She is wrong," Vegeta
stated trying to shut-off the line of the boy's questioning. "I had some very good examples as a child
although your mother would probably disagree."
"Who?" Trunks asked his
face alight with curiosity.
"My father, my mother and
others I knew on my planet," he said almost sadly "my people's ways are
naturally harsher than her human ways however."
"What were they like?"
Trunks asked. "Your father and mother,
I mean."
"What they should be,"
Vegeta said gruffly hoping to end the subject. Unfortunately the child seemed to have a talent of picking uncomfortable
subjects. Vegeta was prepared to snap
at him but he made the mistake of looking at his son's face to see the silent
expectation of learning something of his heritage. "My father was a proud King that ruled with honor and my mother
was wise and beautiful," he said.
"I wish I could meet
them," Trunks said. "Do you think
they'd have liked me?"
Once again taken aback by
the statement Vegeta reflected. Of
course the child would have wanted to hear they would approve of him but that
wasn't exactly the truth. "My mother
would have liked you very much I think" Vegeta began. "My father would have been pleased that you are a strong
warrior." Before the boy could speak he
hushed him with a finger on his lips. "That is enough questions for now" Vegeta said, "you can only remain here
if you are quiet."
"Okay," the boy said
leaning back further onto his father's chest once again.
Vegeta sighed and tried
his best to relax but the unfamiliar contact was making him uneasy. Trunks always sat o his mother's lap like
this while she read to him and he generally was a bemused observer of the
sanguine ritual. He was so
uncomfortable with the human propensity for tactile expressions for affection
inborn in his son. Touch was something
very personal and private only to be indulged in between mates. He had, much to his own displeasure, adapted
quickly to these expressions with Bulma but he had never guessed how far he had
allowed his attachment for them to go until that first night without her. From the moment he had taken her he had
believed he could live very easily without her but in that first night without
her he had proved himself delusional. Ever since the Cell Games he had spent every night in their bed
surrendering to the impulse to pull her body close to his while they slept and
that first night without her warm body up against his had been unbearable. His arms felt empty and his body and soul
ached for her with a hunger so profound it was akin to physical pain. How had he come to depend upon her so much
he missed even her mere absence?
He went to gaze back at
the stars away from his disturbed thoughts but instead found himself perusing
his reflection and that of the boy resting on his lap. "What would they think of me?" he
thought. "They'd think I'd gone soft
polluting the blood of royalty with that of an alien woman. They would mock me for yearning for her as I
am and my father would surely turn over in his grave if he saw my half-breed
son" he thought perusing the lavender hair and blue-eyes of the child. "But they are dead and I am alive. Their blood will live on through Trunks and
his children and I am not ashamed of it."
"I hate to break up this
warm and fuzzy moment" 17 stated from behind the chair "but I'd really like to
know just what we're walking into."
Vegeta frowned. He should have known that the tin can would
turn back on and witness his moment of weakness. The funny thing was he didn't even consider extricating Trunks
from his perch because he knew that it would hurt the child's feelings a true
sign of how ridiculously emotional he had allows himself to become.
"What is there to know"
Vegeta grumbled "we are going to see a mad tsirijin clan leader."
"If I remember right
Freeza gave you a lot of trouble and if this one is anything like him then I'd
like more information" the android persisted.
Vegeta burst out laughing
as 17 spoke startling both Trunks and the Android. "You have absolutely nothing to fear from him in that way. He is a weakling and an idiot. He was a laughing-stock to his peers as a
warrior and gained his position by inheritance alone. Its his Shadow Sisters and advisors to look out for."
"You mean to tell me he is
no threat but he has somehow managed to conquer several planets and throw his
home world into an uproar?" 17 asked
"Exactly" Vegeta commented
"and I have no idea how he managed it."
"That's a comforting
thought" 17 remarked sarcastically.
"I know" Vegeta said
darkly.
************************************************************************
Bulma continued following
Wrench down the long corridors taking mental note of each and every turn. She took to heart each and every feature the
boy pointed out. She needed all of the
information she could get her hands on if she was going to formulate an escape
plan.
"So Bulma" he asked "any
questions?"
"Yes," Bulma said
pointedly. "Nothing you've shown me so
far has explained why you can be 50 years-old."
"Oh that" he said slightly
amused. "I was saving that for the
grand finale. Come with me."
Making a left down the
next corridor he happened upon Wrench led the bewildered woman to a large
security door. Reaching up he nimbly
punched in a code with an unnatural speed. The door slid open revealing an incredibly large open room with hundreds
of what looked of tanks each housing what appeared to something alive. Walking toward one of the tanks she gasped
as she saw the tiny being within. It's
arms and legs and tucked up against its tiny chest a fetus floated in the
strangely hued fluid of the tank. It
had a myriad of wires and tubes and a thick black looking rope or cable about
its waist attaching it to whatever manner of machines she could hear droning
away in the room.
"Master Wrench" a white
haired very human looking alien exclaimed nervously. "To what do I owe this pleasure."
"I'm just showing a
special new recruit around the facility" the biomech replied.
"Isn't that highly
unusual" the man muttered "and
dangerous."
"No more so than
questioning what isn't your place to question" the boy snapped at the man
instantly silencing him. Fortunate for
him, Wrench was far too occupied at the moment to take proper action against
him and turned back to the woman transfixed by the sight of the developing
projects.
"Dende!" Bulma
thought. Backing away from the tank and
taking note of the occupants of the other nearby tanks. "They're all fetuses,"
she gasped under her breath.
"Yes Bulma" Wrench said
startling her from her deep concentration "they are all babies conceived in a
petrie dish through the miracle of science."
"What does that have to do
with you?" Bulma asked.
"Seeing is believing"
Wrench replied with a baiting smile. "Come with me" he ordered once again.
Following the child they
came to another huge, hanger sized room. This room was filled with regeneration tanks, literally hundreds of
them, all along every wall, three-stories high. As they walked by Bulma glanced at the alien occupants of each
one within her line of sight. Some were
creatures she recognized from Freeza's ranks on Nameksei but most were
creatures she had never seen. Wrench
led her to one particular tank he stopped and smirked mysteriously causing
Bulma's eye's to dart up to the figure inside. It was a child, a blonde child, very young, probably about three and he
looked somewhat familiar but she couldn't see much of his small face. Bulma squinted at him for a moment and suddenly
shock descended upon her as her eyes darted back to her tour guide.
"That's right" Wrench replied "he's my future replacement. Meet Wrench # 4."
***********************************************************************
"Are you ready?" 16 asked
unemotionally.
"I am" 17's voice remarked
over the radio "but I'm not sure about Vegeta."
"We are both ready,"
Vegeta snapped.
Trunks giggled. He knew his father didn't like being in the
close quarters of the escape ship with the android. Vegeta had insisted that they use the small ship to touch down on
the planet because he didn't want to bring the entire ship to the planet's
surface lest he get trapped there. With
16 as his protector he was to stay on the ship where it was 'reasonably safe'
while Vegeta and 17 entered the base.
"Remember to leave the
transmitter on Father" Trunks reminded him. "That way I can hear everything."
"It is not for
entertainment" Vegeta barked. "At the
first indication of trouble you and the robot are to leave…"
"…immediately and go to
the coordinates you set" Trunks repeated in a bored manner.
"Remember that as well
android" Vegeta growled.
"Don't worry. I will be certain to get Trunks to safety if
anything occurs" 16 stated. "If you are
ready I will open the doors to the cargo hold now."
"Go for it" 17 confirmed.
The large android pushed
the button on the console and waited until he heard the metal groan signaling
it had opened. Trunks darted to the
door to the hold and vaulted on top of a box peering into the blackness. He grinned as he saw dark silhouette of the
small pod sliding into the starry abyss.
"This is awesome!" he
exclaimed. "Goten is going to be so
jealous when I tell him about this trip."
"This is not a game" 16
said "we must stay alert."
"Don't worry" Trunks said
"my father won't let anything happen to his son."
16's only response was a
frown and Trunks turned back to the window.
************************************************************************
Bulma stared in shock at
the boy floating in the tank before her. "This child is you?"
"Yes" Wrench replied. "He is my clone, or to be precise, another
clone of my original self."
"Then you are a clone
too?" Bulma concluded.
"Exactly" the boy said
with a laugh. "My original self has been
long dead but I lived on thanks to Dr. Kogou's genus. But I'm not the only one to have benefited from it."
"Dr. Kougou's a clone too
then" Bulma concluded. "That's why you
both are so young. You've cheated death
by somehow using your clone."
"Regrettably yes" Wrench
answered. "Unfortunately I was forced
to take this body while it still was so young, although it does give me the
advantage of being underestimated."
"How can you remember
everything though?" she asked. "A clone
should be a blank slate, a new being."
"Well" wrench stated
lifting his hair to display his module again "that's thanks to this little
unit. It was implanted in my original self shortly before his death and
has been transplanted into each of my subsequent selfs from that point on. It records and transplants all of my
memories into my new self ensuring that I remain who I am."
Bulma quickly looked
around herself at all the tanks surrounding herself in wonder. "Don't tell me that all of these things are
clones as well," she asked.
"They are but not in the
same class as the doctor or myself" he stated. "No genetic enhancements or mechanical implants are used for them. They are orders from our clients to ensure
they will not loose their most trusted advisors and loved ones in death. Some have even done so to insure they're own
immortality."
"Its absolutely insane to
try to cheat death like this" Bulma stated in partly repulsed wonderment.
"That's all I can show you
for now" Wrench suddenly stated. "It's
about time that I make sure you're ready for your dinner with the doctor. Follow me and I'll take you to your
quarters."
Bulma sighed and did as
she was told. Everything in this place
defied the imagination. The mechanics,
genetic engineering and now the clones were disturbing to say the least. The idea of millions of beings using it as a
means to cheat death was somehow unsettling. Dragon Balls were no longer needed for a half-crazed madman to live
forever. As they entered the first room
she gazed at the tiny babies in floating in the tanks realizing that they must
be clones as well. A new batch for some
'client' or another to use to replace their 'original self' as Wrench had
termed it. She allowed herself a second
scrutiny of the first infant she had encountered only to find it in the same
fetal position as before, however the tube around its waist seemed to be
missing. She next noted its tiny fists
seemed to be clutch something long and dark in its hands the tip of which waved
ever so slightly before its face. Bulma
gasped as she realized that it was a tail.
************************************************************************
17 braced himself as the
craft bucked and jarred. He glanced
appraisingly at Vegeta as he tried to steer the craft and was rewarded by being
jabbed in the face with the saiyaijin's elbow. Knowing there wasn't much of a point of saying anything since they were
in such close quarters he looked out the small window to his left. The scenery slowly coming into view as they
slid lower into the atmosphere was not what he expected. The sky was an eerie orange and the
landscape was not lush and green but bare and pot-marked with holes and large
tracks of dust blown plains. Basically
it looked like an environmentalist on earth's worst nightmare of what pollution
and misuse of the land would do.
"Frigid picked this place
to be the seat of his government?" he asked incredulously.
"I told you" Vegeta
replied "He's mentally deranged."
"So by crazy you meant
literally mentally ill not just in your charming, insulting way" 17 stated to
which Vegeta snorted. "And you think
this madman can help us?" 17 pried.
"Possibly" Vegeta answered
succinctly.
"Why am I not brimming
over with confidence?" the black-haired android asked.
Ignoring the android's
last cynical statement Vegeta busied himself by concentrating on the task of
landing the craft. The ground rushed
past as he approached the designated landing spot. He grinned as he watching the saucer-shaped craft touched down
making a mental note to demand Bulma install some kind of system to soften the
landing of their escape pads. Vegeta
attempted to slow their velocity further as the ground rushed up to meet
them. The saiyaijin gritted his teeth
as they impacted with a jolt sending 17's head smashing into his.
"Hey!" 17 shouted "Nice
landing!"
"Just shut-up and let's
get going!" Vegeta snapped back irritably trying to ignore his throbbing head
while he slammed his fist down on the door release. Grumbling Vegeta extricated himself from the tiny cockpit and
tried not to regain the use of his cramped limbs in too undignified a fashion.
In strict contrast 17 had
no trouble regaining his equilibrium or flexibility and consequently shot
Vegeta a significant look of superiority that didn't sit to well with the
saiyaijn. Fortunately, before they
could once again become hostile they were greeted by a small party of various
and sundry aliens and, what 17 could only guess was the true form of Snow. Her appearance looked a great deal like what
his databanks told him Freeza's final form looked. She was not terribly tall, the top of her head coming to just
below his shoulder, and her lithe, sleek, graceful and definitely feminine form
wasn't at all imposing lacking any plates of bone like her male counterparts
save a small shelf of bone around the back and sides of her head from which two
very small horns protruded. Her pale
pink skin was unmarred and by the looks of things she must have been without a
stick of clothing unless she had on a bodysuit the exact shade of her
skin. Seeing his obvious examination of
her she pulled her delicate features into an expression of acknowledgement, her
large violet eyes lighting up with interest, and her lips into a self-satisfied
smirk.
"Like what you see?" she questioned
with a seductive lilt to her voice. "If
you do I could show you some fun later and if you don't like this I can be
anything you want me to be, even that barmaid you found so attractive."
17 was to shocked by the
sudden nature of the proposition to answer. The idea of kinky role-playing was a bit disturbing especially coming
from this tsirijin.
"Feh!" Vegeta commented
"You haven't changed a bit tsirijin. You were always the most promiscuous lizard I ever met."
"Just because you were
such a prude and missed out is no call to deny your friend some pleasure" Snow
retorted sauntering up to the android. "What do you say?" she purred circling him predatorily coming up from
behind. "It would be an experience
you'd never forget" she fairly whispered in his ear.
"Uh" 17 fairly choked as
her tail brushed his thigh "I think I'll pass right now."
"Suit yourself" she stated
goosing him lightly before walking away nonchalantly. "Follow me gentlemen and I'll take you to Frigid" she said
stopping to glance over his shoulder.
17, highly uncomfortable
couldn't help but take nervous glances at the other people in the welcoming
party who seemed either amused or repulsed. His "partner" seemed equal parts of both opinions and he himself was rather
mortified to have allowed her overture at all.
"So tell me changeling why
aren't you in disguise in front of the riff-raff?" he said speaking of the
native guards.
"Its pointless to skulk
around in the shadows at your own base" she commented lightly "the whole
secrecy thing is pointless in front of allies."
"I assume these
kyouryuujin are pleased about your takeover and won't betray you to outsiders"
Vegeta replied snidely "it seems you have grown a bit to careless with your
people's best kept secret."
"New technology has made
secrecy only a bureaucratic tradition" she answered. "Just like the whole retiring to the harem thing it's a waste of
talent. I can do so much more out on
the front lines where my skill can be recognized."
"So you thumb your nose at
your people's tradition just like your master" Vegeta stated "a traitor to your
clan, your order, and your people."
"Best keep your talk of
treachery to yourself" she snapped wheeling around her eyes flashing with
anger. "How dare you, who betrayed the
man who raised you and gave you everything, condemn me for your ignorance. For all I know it was you who murdered
Freeza and my father."
"At least your family
loyalty remains intact" Vegeta said coldly with a smirk. "I'm sorry to report it wasn't me who ended
their miserable lives although I wish that it was."
"Disgusting mammal!" she
snapped. "You will pay for all your
crimes against the Cold Clan and I will see to it that both you and that other
monkey Goku suffer for all the indignities you have caused us."
"I'm sure your adopted
clan would be glad to hear you speak so warmly about its greatest rival" Vegeta
replied darkly.
Snow's threatening scowl
abruptly changed to a cold and taunting smile. "The Frost Clan soon won't have to debate over anything at all and then
me and my true clan will hunt you down Prince of a dead race. I swear it."
She wheeled around and
Vegeta smiled as he followed her. She
was hotheaded and easy to provoke just like she was in his youth, so unlike her
cold and calculating siblings but no less dangerous. He had gotten the information he had wanted though, it seemed she
still was working underground for Cold Clan, and thus added a third volatile
factor to the already dangerous equation. He was walking straight into the continuing feud of the two most
powerful tsirijin clans.
Vegeta wanted to take
nothing for granted so he commenced to study all of the members of their escort
party. There were various soldiers of
the people's he was familiar with connection with the Frost Clan but he was
surprised to see that so many of the locals in the ranks. He hadn't expected the kyouryuujin help
their invaders, but perhaps so many years under Freeza's thumb had finally
taken the fight out of Zarbon's people. Zarbon was one of a handful who had went into Freeza's service, the most
deciding to remain loyal to their home world. What was certain was that they found him interesting to say the least
especially one girl who he had noticed watching him quite intently, perhaps
someone he had met before. He looked
directly at her determined to see her only to discover her to be a stranger
with very notable differences between herself and any kyouryuujin he had ever
seen. Although she quickly turned away
and promptly hid herself from view behind a large kyouryuujin male he couldn't
help notice the unusual softer tone to her blue skin and the fact she had a
mismatched pair of eyes, one of the usual gold and the other a deep shade of
violet. The whom she was using as a
shield glowered at him for his scrutiny to which he gave an insolent smirk and
looked ahead towards the doors to the throne room and was shocked to see two
eerily familiar faces.
One alien was a dead
ringer for Recoom and the other Bata, the long dead members of the Ginyu force. The doppelgangers pushed open the doors and
respectfully stepped aside to admit them without making eye contact.
"What in the hell?" he
exclaimed under his breath as they drew closer.
17, hearing Vegeta's
exclamation, looked over at his partner to find his face pale with shock. He looked at the two beings they passed but
unfortunately had no data on them to understand Vegeta's reaction.
As they entered the
cavernous throne their footsteps echoed while they filed past the alien guards
that flanked either side of their path until Snow stopped short and dropped to
one knee. "t"
17 smirked at the
ridiculous speech of the female and took a moment to gauge Vegeta's reaction
only to see him more shook up than before as he looked wildly around the room at
the various aliens. This was not
something the android took lightly because he knew from experience it took a
lot to unsettle Vegeta. He looked
around to find to his surprise that many of the guards had the exact same face
as the two that had admitted them. The
one's that he didn't recognize also had their own duplicates. All of them seemed uninterested staring
ahead almost like zombies from horror films. Not able to find any answers as far as this strange spectacle he decided
to turn his attention to the back of the throne room.
Immediately he noted that
there was a female tsirijin, the exact duplicate of their escort, standing off
to the right side of the throne. She
didn't seem to act like the other doubles however, because besides her uncanny
resemblance she also seemed to share Snow's hatred for Vegeta by the way she
was glaring daggers at him. He then
looked up at the stylus upon which the throne sat eager to take in his first
glimpse of Frigid.
Ahh! Am I cruel to leave you like that or what? Okay I'd love to hear your reaction to this turn of events with the clone thing! I promise to reply to all reviews from now on. I decided it was the least I cold do for those of you faithfully following my stories.
Next time you finally meet Frigid in:
Chapter 1: Twisted Mind, Twisted Agenda
If you are expecting him to be just like Freeza then you are in for a surprise I think.