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Goku watched Vegeta with a mixture of worry, amusement and apprehension. After crashing headlong through the window of the palace with Vegeta in tow, the Saiya-jin prince had yanked his arm away from Goku furiously declaring that he was perfectly capable of flying by himself thank you very much and had promptly tried to go back.
Eventually Goku got him to see reason, or rather the dozens of guards flying toward them had, and the two had flown at full speed to the relative safety of the middle of nowhere. There they had landed in a clearing in the dense forest, which circumvented the royal compound for miles around, and Vegeta had had a rant. He went on about the nerve of the advisor in particular and stupidity of the situation in general. The rant ended with Vegeta punching a boulder and, while smashing it to pieces, failing to disintegrate it as he had come to expect.
The Saiya-jin prince had gone very quiet after that and had sat down cross- legged on the ground but Goku could practically feel him seething from metres away. The younger Saiya-jin stood and watched him; on occasion he would scan the skies.
"They'll be looking for us," Goku pointed out after a few minutes.
Vegeta glared at him but did stand up and glance in the direction they had come from, "I don't get it," he fumed, "How did he do it? How did he even know I existed?"
Goku shrugged, "Maybe he used the Dragonballs," he suggested.
"It's possible," Vegeta agreed looking around at the trees with a faint frown, "But what was his wish? 'Take the weakest version of the king and switch him with-,'" He stopped and shook his head violently, "And he said switch," he muttered, "That means this version of me is in my body back home."
"Me too?" Goku wanted to know looking worried.
"I suppose..." Vegeta trailed off with a frown, "Wait a minute, I understand why Ranorik switched me but why you?"
Goku thought about it, "I don't know," he said eventually.
"He'd have no use for you," Vegeta went on, "He himself said the plan to make me out to be a traitor only occurred to him when he heard us talking."
"It doesn't make any sense," Goku agreed looking at the skies again.
Vegeta followed his gaze, "See something?" he asked.
"Not yet," Goku replied.
"They'll find us eventually," the Saiya-jin prince said, "We can't afford to hide out in the wilderness for too long, we need to get home if what Ranorik said about being switched is true. And he seems to be the only one who knows what's going on."
"You want to go back?" Goku raised an eyebrow.
"What choice do we have?" Vegeta asked rhetorically, "But we need to get Ranorik alone."
Goku nodded then frowned looking intently at the trees around them. Vegeta mimicked him almost exactly also feeling the presence. They shared a glance but before they could fly away from the perceived threat a person stepped into the clearing.
Vegeta corrected his initial conclusion, not a person, a child. A young Saiya-jin child, no older than ten years. The boy gave them a critical look expressing the arrogance Saiya-jins were born with. Vegeta was surprised to see his clothes were old and tattered and he needed a bath, desperately.
"You're the king," the child observed. He looked at Goku down his nose, "And you're a prisoner."
"Hey there," Goku said crouching down and enacting the pantomime that all people adopt when talking to young children. This however was not an ordinary child but a Saiya-jin.
The child ignored him and looked at Vegeta instead, "They're looking for you," he said conversationally, "They say you attacked your advisor when he tried to stop you from helping a prisoner to escape." The boy glanced at Goku as he said this.
Vegeta smirked, "I actually wish that first bit were true," he said flippantly, "Who are you?" he demanded.
"I don't have to tell you, you're a traitor," the boy shot back.
Vegeta glared at him, "You do if you don't want to spend the rest of the day looking for your arms," he said matter-of-factly.
The boy paled slightly but didn't look away. A true Saiya-jin, "Fine," he said as if he'd made the decision with out being swayed by imminent pain, "My name is Kaarn."
"I'm Goku and this is Vegeta," Goku introduced himself.
"I know his name," Kaarn said scathingly referring to the Saiya-jin prince, "We may live in the middle of no where but we're not stupid." The boy frowned, "Your name doesn't sound Saiya-jin."
"His name is Kakarot," Vegeta told him.
"Then why'd he say it was Goku," the boy demanded.
"Because it is," Goku interjected.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Kaarn looked at Goku with his arms crossed.
"Yes, he's an idiot," Vegeta told him impatiently, "Look, what are you doing out here. Did you run away from the city?"
Kaarn ignored Goku's attempts to explain and gave Vegeta a strange look, "I live out here with my parents, in the encampment," he said as if it were obvious.
The Saiya-jin prince frowned, "What encampment?" he demanded.
"The slave encampment," Kaarn said impatiently, "For the mines remember?"
"There're no mines out here, they're all near the city," Vegeta said shortly.
The boy gave him a suspicious look, "And he's the stupid one," he pointed at Goku who frowned, "Not the mines for armour materials," Kaarn explained, "The Amon mines."
Vegeta felt himself getting irritated, "We don't mine Amon, it's a soft useless metal," he snapped.
Kaarn laughed, "Not exactly mister current affairs are you?" he said, "We don't make anything with it, we trade with it."
Vegeta stared at him, "You're serious," he said after a long moment.
Kaarn looked at Goku in confusion who was looking just as baffled.
"Of course," Kaarn said a little uncertainly. Mount Vegeta was showing signs of eruption, "You didn't know?"
"I am sure your king is very aware of any trade agreements," Vegeta spat.
"Er, Vegeta?" Goku started, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, dammit!" Vegeta suddenly yelled, "I'm stuck in a weak body on a Vegeta-sei with a weak king who lowers himself to trading with other planets!"
"The Saiya-jins don't trade?" Goku wanted to know.
"Of course not!" Vegeta snapped, "Why pay for something you can just take?"
"Oh," said Goku looking down.
Vegeta let his lip curl derisively, "Don't you dare go righteous on me," he said lowly.
"Excuse me?" Kaarn said hesitantly. To Vegeta's surprise he raised his hand.
The Saiya-jin prince simmered down a little, "What?"
"What did you mean by all that stuff?" the boy asked, "You make it sound like you're not the king."
"I'm not," Vegeta told him shortly.
Kaarn regained some of his brashness, "Well you sure look like him," he pointed out.
Vegeta glared at the boy but didn't say anything. Instead he looked down at the armour he wore. It was simpler than combat armour, without upper arm or leg guards. But the chest piece, gauntlets and hip guards were all there covering a dark grey tunic. Attached to shoulders was a long dark red cloak and around his waist was a red sash the same colour as the cloak. The sash was there to cover and protect the tail during a fight and was only on this armour for emblematic reasons.
Vegeta paused then started to take the armour off.
Goku and Kaarn looked taken aback, "What are you doing?" the former asked in confusion.
"The boys right, I look like the king in this armour," the Saiya-jin prince explained taking off the cloak and sash and pulling off the gauntlets, "Without it I could be anyone."
"But you look like the king," Goku argued.
"No, people only know I'm the king because of the armour and the medallion," Vegeta said impatiently unbuckling his chest plate letting it fall to the ground, "Most of the guards looking for us have never seen me in... him in the flesh," he corrected himself, "Seen the king in the flesh. Without this armour they'll never recognise me."
Kaarn nodded, "I only thought you were the king from your armour," he supplied.
Without the armour Vegeta was left wearing a long sleeved dark grey tunic and black leggings with gold toed white boots. The Saiya-jin prince looked relieved to the have the armour off and scratched the back of his neck where the back plate had rubbed him. He looked at Goku critically.
"And you look just like a prisoner," he said.
Goku looked down at his grey loose fitting pant and top with bare feet. He scratched the back of his head characteristically.
"I could get you a change of clothes," Kaarn offered Goku, "By dad is about the same size as you."
Goku nodded slowly, "How far is the encampment?" he wanted to know.
"Not far," Kaarn said, "I'll be back before dark."
"All right," Vegeta agreed, "But if you tell a soul about us you'll wish you were never born."
Kaarn sobered suddenly, "More than usual you mean," he muttered half to himself, "I promise I won't," he said before taking off into the trees.
Vegeta watched him go with a deep frown, "Saiya-jin slaves," he muttered half to himself.
"No slaves?" Goku asked sounding as if this redeemed their race in a small way.
"Anyone weak enough to accept being a slave was killed off," Vegeta corrected him bluntly, "We have...had miners but they still had their honour."
"Stubborn pride is more like it," Goku muttered to himself.
Vegeta heard but merely smirked to himself. While the two Saiya-jins waited for the boy to return Vegeta got rid of the armour why blasting it with a ball of Ki. This raised his spirits somewhat. When Kaarn returned a few hours later the sun had just set and darkness was falling quickly over the land. The boy had brought blue jumpsuit and armoured vest with gold reinforcement and white gold tipped boots, not unlike the armour Vegeta had worn when fighting Frieza. Goku looked a bit appalled by the jumpsuit and gave the Saiya-jin prince's outfit a speculative look. Vegeta smirked as he realized what the younger Saiya-jin was thinking and pointed out that the armour would not fit him and the clothes the Saiya-jin prince wore would be too small for Goku. The younger Saiya-jin gave a sigh and donned the tight armour; he then destroyed the grey prison uniform.
"It's my dad's old armour," Kaarn explained.
Vegeta looked at the boy, "How did your father become a slave?" he asked.
"He failed the test," Kaarn said darkly, "His power level wasn't high enough."
"Test?" Vegeta looked disgusted.
"The king tested people at random to find weaker one's to work the mine," the boy explained scuffing the ground with his toe violently.
Vegeta swore under his breath and Goku looked at Kaarn sympathetically.
"Alright," Vegeta looked at the sky where the stars were just beginning to become visible, "You should go home now."
"Where are you going?" Kaarn demanded to know.
"Back to the compound," Vegeta told him shortly and looked set to take off into the night.
"I'll come with you," Kaarn said suddenly.
Vegeta snorted, "Go home," he repeated.
"Why should I?" the boy wanted to know.
"Vegeta's right," Goku told him, "You should go home, it's too dangerous. Thank-you for your help."
The two Saiya-jins took off and flew in the direction they had come earlier that afternoon. Kaarn watched them disappear into the dark night sky with a heated expression on his young face.
Goku looked over at Vegeta as they flew, "How are we going to get inside?" he asked the older Saiya-jin.
"Through the cooling system," Vegeta told him, "There's an underground river that runs beneath the compound. We...they have machinery that pumps in up through metal piping though out the palace. In winter the water is heated."
"How big are the pipes?" Goku wanted to know.
"Not big enough for us, but we only need to get into the plant," Vegeta replied a little impatiently, "There's a reservoir that the water is pumped into initially to regulate it's temperature."
"Won't it be guarded?"
"Of course," Vegeta said with a smirk.
They flew to the mountains behind the compound, giving the palace a wide birth, and found the river that Vegeta was talking about. Following it to the point where it disappeared under ground they found the caves and caverns it had worn through erosion. The split in the rock was just big enough to allow the two Saiya-jins to follow the river underground though Goku had a slightly harder time of it.
Underground it was dank and dark and the air was hard to breathe through the stench of damp and moss. They powered up slightly to emit some light at first but as they drew closer to the compound they had to suppress their Ki to avoid detection. After that they had to rely on their ears to follow the sound of the running water as it rushed beside them through the enclosed underground tunnel.
As they drew closer to place were the water was pumped up to the compound, the tunnel narrow until Vegeta and Goku were obliged to walk in the knee deep river. Having run off the mountain, from melted snow and ice, the river was freezing and not daring to use their Ki to warm themselves the two Saiya-jins were soon shivering with cold.
"There," Vegeta voice suddenly echoed in the darkness and Goku stopped abruptly peering into the dark to try and make out the Saiya-jin prince and what he was seeing. The younger Saiya-jin could just make out the outline of his friend in front of him with his arm extended but could not make out what he was pointing at.
"What?" Goku asked quietly, trying not to let his voice echo down the tunnel.
Vegeta's shadow moved forward slowly then stopped. Goku heard the prince's foot connect with something metal and hollow with a curse.
"Are you coming?" Vegeta demanded impatiently.
"Where?" Goku asked sounding more confused by the minute.
"This is the pipe that channels the water to the reservoir," Vegeta told him. Goku followed the sound of his voice and as he drew closer he could make out the shape Vegeta standing next to a large pipe which ran from the rocky wall into a larger and deeper pool of water in front of them.
The pipe was about a metre in diameter and Goku immediately understood Vegeta's intention, "We have to swim up that?" he wanted to know.
"Not really," Vegeta said a bit indistinctly as he moved toward the deep, dark pool, "The pump should just suck us up. There's a metal water wheel about half way up but that shouldn't be a problem for us."
Goku shook his head in amazement as he followed Vegeta to the pipe, "How do you know all of this?" he wondered out loud.
Vegeta gave a snort, "I never thought they would come in handy, the lessons I had as a child about...well, just about everything regarding the compound or the planet," he said wryly, "I despised them."
"But they were necessary?" Goku half asked.
"Necessary," Vegeta agreed, "But boring as hell."
The Saiya-jin prince climbed down into the dark pool and disappeared into the water up to his chest with a slight hiss due to the cold, Goku followed with a gasp of his own. The Saiya-jin armour Goku wore protected him a bit from the cold but the clothing Vegeta wore did nothing to shield him. The two waded toward the pipe already feeling the currents in the water that indicated the suction the pipe was creating.
Without a backward glance Vegeta abruptly took a deep breath and ducked under the water and swam toward the open end of the pipe. Goku hesitated only a split second before following. He immediately felt the pull of the pumps as he neared the opening of the pipe. It was not a pleasant sensation to be sucked up with the water and though he could easily have swum against it, Goku allowed himself to flow with the fast moving water.
They had not been moving along the pipe long before they encountered the mill Vegeta had mentioned. Not daring to use Ki this close to the compound, the prince twisted in the water so he struck the paddles feet first, demolishing them with a swift kick.
Not long after that Goku felt the welcome release of the strong currents and the two Saiya-jins were suddenly in open water. Goku's immediate reaction was to make for the surface but Vegeta grabbed his arm and beckoned. Following the Saiya-jin prince Goku swam to through the clear water and they eventually fetched up to a smooth metal wall. Vegeta swam up as soon as he touched it, staying as close as possible to the wall of the reservoir. Goku followed breaking the surface gratefully but did his best to breath quietly.
Looking around he noticed the reservoir was housed in a huge room lined with a multitude of different sized pipes. The reservoir itself was a hundred metres wide at least. The pipes seemed to disappear into the walls, presumably to line the walls of the compound. The metal reservoir's sides were high enough to hide them from the guards and their suppressed Ki was enough to avoid detection.
Vegeta looked around, presumably to get his bearings then beckoned to Goku again. The younger Saiya-jin swam after him a short distance then the prince flew out of the water slowly, to avoid making a splash, and over the side. Goku followed, landing on the slick metal floor behind the tank. There were no guards or personnel here but they could both sense them on the other side of the reservoir.
Vegeta shivered against the cold but neither of them dared us their Ki to dry off. The prince leaned toward Goku.
"There should be no more than three guards and two operators," he told the younger Saiya-jin in a low voice.
Goku nodded, "On three?" he whispered.
Vegeta nodded and mouthed 'One'.
'Two' Goku followed.
"Three" they yelled in unison before flying around the tank in opposite directions. The guards and personnel alike never knew what hit them.
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Wow, two chapters in one day. I'm enjoying writing this story so much I might even post another chapter tomorrow. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story and that the last two chapters answered any questions you might have had. More revelations to come. Thanks for the reviews :)
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Goku watched Vegeta with a mixture of worry, amusement and apprehension. After crashing headlong through the window of the palace with Vegeta in tow, the Saiya-jin prince had yanked his arm away from Goku furiously declaring that he was perfectly capable of flying by himself thank you very much and had promptly tried to go back.
Eventually Goku got him to see reason, or rather the dozens of guards flying toward them had, and the two had flown at full speed to the relative safety of the middle of nowhere. There they had landed in a clearing in the dense forest, which circumvented the royal compound for miles around, and Vegeta had had a rant. He went on about the nerve of the advisor in particular and stupidity of the situation in general. The rant ended with Vegeta punching a boulder and, while smashing it to pieces, failing to disintegrate it as he had come to expect.
The Saiya-jin prince had gone very quiet after that and had sat down cross- legged on the ground but Goku could practically feel him seething from metres away. The younger Saiya-jin stood and watched him; on occasion he would scan the skies.
"They'll be looking for us," Goku pointed out after a few minutes.
Vegeta glared at him but did stand up and glance in the direction they had come from, "I don't get it," he fumed, "How did he do it? How did he even know I existed?"
Goku shrugged, "Maybe he used the Dragonballs," he suggested.
"It's possible," Vegeta agreed looking around at the trees with a faint frown, "But what was his wish? 'Take the weakest version of the king and switch him with-,'" He stopped and shook his head violently, "And he said switch," he muttered, "That means this version of me is in my body back home."
"Me too?" Goku wanted to know looking worried.
"I suppose..." Vegeta trailed off with a frown, "Wait a minute, I understand why Ranorik switched me but why you?"
Goku thought about it, "I don't know," he said eventually.
"He'd have no use for you," Vegeta went on, "He himself said the plan to make me out to be a traitor only occurred to him when he heard us talking."
"It doesn't make any sense," Goku agreed looking at the skies again.
Vegeta followed his gaze, "See something?" he asked.
"Not yet," Goku replied.
"They'll find us eventually," the Saiya-jin prince said, "We can't afford to hide out in the wilderness for too long, we need to get home if what Ranorik said about being switched is true. And he seems to be the only one who knows what's going on."
"You want to go back?" Goku raised an eyebrow.
"What choice do we have?" Vegeta asked rhetorically, "But we need to get Ranorik alone."
Goku nodded then frowned looking intently at the trees around them. Vegeta mimicked him almost exactly also feeling the presence. They shared a glance but before they could fly away from the perceived threat a person stepped into the clearing.
Vegeta corrected his initial conclusion, not a person, a child. A young Saiya-jin child, no older than ten years. The boy gave them a critical look expressing the arrogance Saiya-jins were born with. Vegeta was surprised to see his clothes were old and tattered and he needed a bath, desperately.
"You're the king," the child observed. He looked at Goku down his nose, "And you're a prisoner."
"Hey there," Goku said crouching down and enacting the pantomime that all people adopt when talking to young children. This however was not an ordinary child but a Saiya-jin.
The child ignored him and looked at Vegeta instead, "They're looking for you," he said conversationally, "They say you attacked your advisor when he tried to stop you from helping a prisoner to escape." The boy glanced at Goku as he said this.
Vegeta smirked, "I actually wish that first bit were true," he said flippantly, "Who are you?" he demanded.
"I don't have to tell you, you're a traitor," the boy shot back.
Vegeta glared at him, "You do if you don't want to spend the rest of the day looking for your arms," he said matter-of-factly.
The boy paled slightly but didn't look away. A true Saiya-jin, "Fine," he said as if he'd made the decision with out being swayed by imminent pain, "My name is Kaarn."
"I'm Goku and this is Vegeta," Goku introduced himself.
"I know his name," Kaarn said scathingly referring to the Saiya-jin prince, "We may live in the middle of no where but we're not stupid." The boy frowned, "Your name doesn't sound Saiya-jin."
"His name is Kakarot," Vegeta told him.
"Then why'd he say it was Goku," the boy demanded.
"Because it is," Goku interjected.
"Is there something wrong with you?" Kaarn looked at Goku with his arms crossed.
"Yes, he's an idiot," Vegeta told him impatiently, "Look, what are you doing out here. Did you run away from the city?"
Kaarn ignored Goku's attempts to explain and gave Vegeta a strange look, "I live out here with my parents, in the encampment," he said as if it were obvious.
The Saiya-jin prince frowned, "What encampment?" he demanded.
"The slave encampment," Kaarn said impatiently, "For the mines remember?"
"There're no mines out here, they're all near the city," Vegeta said shortly.
The boy gave him a suspicious look, "And he's the stupid one," he pointed at Goku who frowned, "Not the mines for armour materials," Kaarn explained, "The Amon mines."
Vegeta felt himself getting irritated, "We don't mine Amon, it's a soft useless metal," he snapped.
Kaarn laughed, "Not exactly mister current affairs are you?" he said, "We don't make anything with it, we trade with it."
Vegeta stared at him, "You're serious," he said after a long moment.
Kaarn looked at Goku in confusion who was looking just as baffled.
"Of course," Kaarn said a little uncertainly. Mount Vegeta was showing signs of eruption, "You didn't know?"
"I am sure your king is very aware of any trade agreements," Vegeta spat.
"Er, Vegeta?" Goku started, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, dammit!" Vegeta suddenly yelled, "I'm stuck in a weak body on a Vegeta-sei with a weak king who lowers himself to trading with other planets!"
"The Saiya-jins don't trade?" Goku wanted to know.
"Of course not!" Vegeta snapped, "Why pay for something you can just take?"
"Oh," said Goku looking down.
Vegeta let his lip curl derisively, "Don't you dare go righteous on me," he said lowly.
"Excuse me?" Kaarn said hesitantly. To Vegeta's surprise he raised his hand.
The Saiya-jin prince simmered down a little, "What?"
"What did you mean by all that stuff?" the boy asked, "You make it sound like you're not the king."
"I'm not," Vegeta told him shortly.
Kaarn regained some of his brashness, "Well you sure look like him," he pointed out.
Vegeta glared at the boy but didn't say anything. Instead he looked down at the armour he wore. It was simpler than combat armour, without upper arm or leg guards. But the chest piece, gauntlets and hip guards were all there covering a dark grey tunic. Attached to shoulders was a long dark red cloak and around his waist was a red sash the same colour as the cloak. The sash was there to cover and protect the tail during a fight and was only on this armour for emblematic reasons.
Vegeta paused then started to take the armour off.
Goku and Kaarn looked taken aback, "What are you doing?" the former asked in confusion.
"The boys right, I look like the king in this armour," the Saiya-jin prince explained taking off the cloak and sash and pulling off the gauntlets, "Without it I could be anyone."
"But you look like the king," Goku argued.
"No, people only know I'm the king because of the armour and the medallion," Vegeta said impatiently unbuckling his chest plate letting it fall to the ground, "Most of the guards looking for us have never seen me in... him in the flesh," he corrected himself, "Seen the king in the flesh. Without this armour they'll never recognise me."
Kaarn nodded, "I only thought you were the king from your armour," he supplied.
Without the armour Vegeta was left wearing a long sleeved dark grey tunic and black leggings with gold toed white boots. The Saiya-jin prince looked relieved to the have the armour off and scratched the back of his neck where the back plate had rubbed him. He looked at Goku critically.
"And you look just like a prisoner," he said.
Goku looked down at his grey loose fitting pant and top with bare feet. He scratched the back of his head characteristically.
"I could get you a change of clothes," Kaarn offered Goku, "By dad is about the same size as you."
Goku nodded slowly, "How far is the encampment?" he wanted to know.
"Not far," Kaarn said, "I'll be back before dark."
"All right," Vegeta agreed, "But if you tell a soul about us you'll wish you were never born."
Kaarn sobered suddenly, "More than usual you mean," he muttered half to himself, "I promise I won't," he said before taking off into the trees.
Vegeta watched him go with a deep frown, "Saiya-jin slaves," he muttered half to himself.
"No slaves?" Goku asked sounding as if this redeemed their race in a small way.
"Anyone weak enough to accept being a slave was killed off," Vegeta corrected him bluntly, "We have...had miners but they still had their honour."
"Stubborn pride is more like it," Goku muttered to himself.
Vegeta heard but merely smirked to himself. While the two Saiya-jins waited for the boy to return Vegeta got rid of the armour why blasting it with a ball of Ki. This raised his spirits somewhat. When Kaarn returned a few hours later the sun had just set and darkness was falling quickly over the land. The boy had brought blue jumpsuit and armoured vest with gold reinforcement and white gold tipped boots, not unlike the armour Vegeta had worn when fighting Frieza. Goku looked a bit appalled by the jumpsuit and gave the Saiya-jin prince's outfit a speculative look. Vegeta smirked as he realized what the younger Saiya-jin was thinking and pointed out that the armour would not fit him and the clothes the Saiya-jin prince wore would be too small for Goku. The younger Saiya-jin gave a sigh and donned the tight armour; he then destroyed the grey prison uniform.
"It's my dad's old armour," Kaarn explained.
Vegeta looked at the boy, "How did your father become a slave?" he asked.
"He failed the test," Kaarn said darkly, "His power level wasn't high enough."
"Test?" Vegeta looked disgusted.
"The king tested people at random to find weaker one's to work the mine," the boy explained scuffing the ground with his toe violently.
Vegeta swore under his breath and Goku looked at Kaarn sympathetically.
"Alright," Vegeta looked at the sky where the stars were just beginning to become visible, "You should go home now."
"Where are you going?" Kaarn demanded to know.
"Back to the compound," Vegeta told him shortly and looked set to take off into the night.
"I'll come with you," Kaarn said suddenly.
Vegeta snorted, "Go home," he repeated.
"Why should I?" the boy wanted to know.
"Vegeta's right," Goku told him, "You should go home, it's too dangerous. Thank-you for your help."
The two Saiya-jins took off and flew in the direction they had come earlier that afternoon. Kaarn watched them disappear into the dark night sky with a heated expression on his young face.
Goku looked over at Vegeta as they flew, "How are we going to get inside?" he asked the older Saiya-jin.
"Through the cooling system," Vegeta told him, "There's an underground river that runs beneath the compound. We...they have machinery that pumps in up through metal piping though out the palace. In winter the water is heated."
"How big are the pipes?" Goku wanted to know.
"Not big enough for us, but we only need to get into the plant," Vegeta replied a little impatiently, "There's a reservoir that the water is pumped into initially to regulate it's temperature."
"Won't it be guarded?"
"Of course," Vegeta said with a smirk.
They flew to the mountains behind the compound, giving the palace a wide birth, and found the river that Vegeta was talking about. Following it to the point where it disappeared under ground they found the caves and caverns it had worn through erosion. The split in the rock was just big enough to allow the two Saiya-jins to follow the river underground though Goku had a slightly harder time of it.
Underground it was dank and dark and the air was hard to breathe through the stench of damp and moss. They powered up slightly to emit some light at first but as they drew closer to the compound they had to suppress their Ki to avoid detection. After that they had to rely on their ears to follow the sound of the running water as it rushed beside them through the enclosed underground tunnel.
As they drew closer to place were the water was pumped up to the compound, the tunnel narrow until Vegeta and Goku were obliged to walk in the knee deep river. Having run off the mountain, from melted snow and ice, the river was freezing and not daring to use their Ki to warm themselves the two Saiya-jins were soon shivering with cold.
"There," Vegeta voice suddenly echoed in the darkness and Goku stopped abruptly peering into the dark to try and make out the Saiya-jin prince and what he was seeing. The younger Saiya-jin could just make out the outline of his friend in front of him with his arm extended but could not make out what he was pointing at.
"What?" Goku asked quietly, trying not to let his voice echo down the tunnel.
Vegeta's shadow moved forward slowly then stopped. Goku heard the prince's foot connect with something metal and hollow with a curse.
"Are you coming?" Vegeta demanded impatiently.
"Where?" Goku asked sounding more confused by the minute.
"This is the pipe that channels the water to the reservoir," Vegeta told him. Goku followed the sound of his voice and as he drew closer he could make out the shape Vegeta standing next to a large pipe which ran from the rocky wall into a larger and deeper pool of water in front of them.
The pipe was about a metre in diameter and Goku immediately understood Vegeta's intention, "We have to swim up that?" he wanted to know.
"Not really," Vegeta said a bit indistinctly as he moved toward the deep, dark pool, "The pump should just suck us up. There's a metal water wheel about half way up but that shouldn't be a problem for us."
Goku shook his head in amazement as he followed Vegeta to the pipe, "How do you know all of this?" he wondered out loud.
Vegeta gave a snort, "I never thought they would come in handy, the lessons I had as a child about...well, just about everything regarding the compound or the planet," he said wryly, "I despised them."
"But they were necessary?" Goku half asked.
"Necessary," Vegeta agreed, "But boring as hell."
The Saiya-jin prince climbed down into the dark pool and disappeared into the water up to his chest with a slight hiss due to the cold, Goku followed with a gasp of his own. The Saiya-jin armour Goku wore protected him a bit from the cold but the clothing Vegeta wore did nothing to shield him. The two waded toward the pipe already feeling the currents in the water that indicated the suction the pipe was creating.
Without a backward glance Vegeta abruptly took a deep breath and ducked under the water and swam toward the open end of the pipe. Goku hesitated only a split second before following. He immediately felt the pull of the pumps as he neared the opening of the pipe. It was not a pleasant sensation to be sucked up with the water and though he could easily have swum against it, Goku allowed himself to flow with the fast moving water.
They had not been moving along the pipe long before they encountered the mill Vegeta had mentioned. Not daring to use Ki this close to the compound, the prince twisted in the water so he struck the paddles feet first, demolishing them with a swift kick.
Not long after that Goku felt the welcome release of the strong currents and the two Saiya-jins were suddenly in open water. Goku's immediate reaction was to make for the surface but Vegeta grabbed his arm and beckoned. Following the Saiya-jin prince Goku swam to through the clear water and they eventually fetched up to a smooth metal wall. Vegeta swam up as soon as he touched it, staying as close as possible to the wall of the reservoir. Goku followed breaking the surface gratefully but did his best to breath quietly.
Looking around he noticed the reservoir was housed in a huge room lined with a multitude of different sized pipes. The reservoir itself was a hundred metres wide at least. The pipes seemed to disappear into the walls, presumably to line the walls of the compound. The metal reservoir's sides were high enough to hide them from the guards and their suppressed Ki was enough to avoid detection.
Vegeta looked around, presumably to get his bearings then beckoned to Goku again. The younger Saiya-jin swam after him a short distance then the prince flew out of the water slowly, to avoid making a splash, and over the side. Goku followed, landing on the slick metal floor behind the tank. There were no guards or personnel here but they could both sense them on the other side of the reservoir.
Vegeta shivered against the cold but neither of them dared us their Ki to dry off. The prince leaned toward Goku.
"There should be no more than three guards and two operators," he told the younger Saiya-jin in a low voice.
Goku nodded, "On three?" he whispered.
Vegeta nodded and mouthed 'One'.
'Two' Goku followed.
"Three" they yelled in unison before flying around the tank in opposite directions. The guards and personnel alike never knew what hit them.
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Wow, two chapters in one day. I'm enjoying writing this story so much I might even post another chapter tomorrow. I hope everyone is still enjoying the story and that the last two chapters answered any questions you might have had. More revelations to come. Thanks for the reviews :)
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