Disclaimer: Take a guess.

Author's Note: You thought I'd abandoned this, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU! … (cough) It only took me, like, half a year to come up with another chapter. Oi. I have to work on that. I actually had most of this chapter done, but then I realized how many holes were in it and I wound up pretty much rewriting a majority of it. Sigh. I hope you enjoy, and I hope to get more of this story rolling over the summer.

Chapter Fourteen: The Last Place You Want to Be

"My beautiful princess!" Goten exclaimed. He bent down and hoisted Paresu out of her chair and into his arms. The two had been sitting in the control room watching the stars go by, but Goten had soon gotten bored. "I shall take you on my white space horse to our satellite palace!"

Bra's eye twitched as she watched the adorable display. She couldn't stand this anymore; she couldn't even continue her idle sketching. Ever since Rattep, the couple had been constantly together. She supposed it was because they had almost lost each other. As if had the covert measures to rescue the brunette failed, they couldn't have resorted to more forceful means.

Paresu giggled as Goten spun around. "Oh, my handsome prince!"

Bra rolled her eyes as she went on her way out the door. As she chewed the last chunk of the sandwich she'd brought from the kitchen after a training session with her father, she stared at the floor bitterly. She swallowed, and the masticated clump of bread and cheese and meat plowed into her stomach like a brick. She knew she was only jealous. She suddenly wished she had someone to talk to. Of course, Serive was the only one who knew about her love for Goten. She didn't want anyone else to know about it. It just seemed so childish compared to the danger they were facing. She supposed she could have tried to confide in Serive if she hadn't insulted her back when the ship was still damaged. But Serive had revealed herself to be rather bitter about love anyway during that conversation some nights ago.

Bra cursed herself when she felt her eyes prickle. She headed to her room where she could have a good cry in solitude. She closed the door and was ready to let the tears loose.

"Oh, am I graced with your presence?" Serive said coarsely.

Bra looked up. The princess sat on the floor, surrounded by stacks of coins: their reward for returning Tradvenuer… sort of. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying to steady her breathing and glancing in the mirror to see if her mood was obvious. She had expected the woman to be on the bridge.

"Counting our reward," Serive answered, then added, "which we didn't get by your helpful suggestion."

Bra glared. "Oh, so you can talk like that to other people, but you can't take it?"

"That girl was being stupid," Serive snapped as she completed a stack. "I can't believe you would even defend her. I thought you hated her."

"I don't hate her!" Bra retorted.

"Oh, yes, you look at her with such fondness when she's with that boy."

"That doesn't mean you have the right to suggest that we whore her out for money."

"You're being rather un-catty for someone who wouldn't mind taking her place."

"… I don't think I could replace her."

Serive looked at her with surprise, then went back to the money. "It's best that you leave them be anyway," Serive muttered.

Bra flopped on her bed. "They are in love," she assented sadly.

Serive laughed. "For now." She snorted and started another stack of coins. "It's ridiculous to put that much faith in another person."

Bra watched Serive count the money. "Did he really betray you?"

The Wycanian woman showed no reaction. "Who?"

Bra sighed. "You know who I mean."

Serive looked up from the money. "Why do you insist on hearing about him?"

The girl shrugged. "Just curious, I guess. I mean, since you're so hurt, you must have been in love. So I don't understand how he could turn against you."

"He's a fool." She returned her attention to the money. There was only a small pile left.

"Are you really going to kill him?"

Without missing a beat: "Yes."

Bra hugged her knees. "That's so sad," she said softly.

Serive sighed. "You're such a silly girl."

Bra huffed and looked away indignantly. "Well, excuse me if I still believe in love."

"Silly girl."

The next few minutes during which Serive finished counting their reward were in silence. Then the princess set about scooping the metallic currency back into its sack with a firm frown on her face.

Bra looked over at her roommate. "I want you to know that I am sorry about what I said the other day," she apologized. "But… but even though I'm trying to be your friend, I can't just let you treat everyone the way you do and then act like it's fine!" She braced herself for another argument, but Serive just kept refilling the sack. "Hey!" Bra snapped. "Are you listening to me?

"Whatever," Serive said sharply. "I have more important things to worry about than forming a bond with you." She hastily finished filling the bag and drew the drawstring closed. "Come on. We need to get to the bridge."

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While the purpose of the crew's trip was dire and they had run into trouble on the way, there were frequent intervals where MARC's residents didn't have much to do with themselves. After a mental training session with Bra (in which she had shown satisfactory progress), Vejita had filled up some time with a shower, and then reclined on his and Bulma's bed to consider the whole situation, as he often did. Worn from the practice session, and not having much else to do, the prince inevitably fell asleep. He woke up when straps flew out from the sides of the bed, snapped around his body, and held him in place. Instantly alert, he was ready to snap them off, but he quickly realized that they were landing somewhere. He growled to himself. Couldn't they have woken him up?

But there was little he could do about it now. He waited until the ship landed and settled, and then the straps rewound back into the frame of the bed. Vejita got up and made his way to the control center. With annoyance, he noticed that everyone else had made the landing on the bridge.

"Hey, sleepy head," Bulma said when she saw him.

Vejita stretched in the doorway and cracked his neck. "Where are we?"

"Ijuecia," Serive said, getting out of her seat.

Vejita froze with his arms over his head. He stared at her. "You're joking."

Serive frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me we were coming here!" Vejita growled, throwing his arms down to his sides.

She returned his severe expression. "Who says I have to tell you anything?"

Vejita covered his face with his hands and said something in another language that sounded quite colorful

"What is your problem!" Serive demanded.

"I killed Kui, you moron!" Vejita snapped.

"You… You killed Kui!" She was nearly aghast. "Why would you do that?"

"He pissed me off."

Serive snorted. "Oh, everybody pissed you off."

"Hence why a lot of individuals are dead," Vejita said snidely.

"I don't understand," Bulma stepped in. "Vejita, I thought you told me that Kui was just an annoying soldier. Who cares if you killed him decades ago?"

"Kui," Serive explained, while glowering at the Saiyajin prince, "was a close cousin of the prince of Ijuecia and a world role model. That prince is now King of Ijuecia. If they ever found out that it was Vejita who killed Kui and anyone sees him, the King will surely cause a lot of trouble for the murderer of the most ideal Ijuecian citizen to ever live!"

"He really wasn't that great," Vejita muttered. Then he shook his head. "Look, let's just get out of here!"

"The next planet that'll have the amount of supplies we need that we can get in this currency is too far off our course!" Serive retorted.

"You and your goddamn course!" Vejita snapped. "At this rate, we'll die and not even make it to your fucking planet!"

"Look," Trunks interrupted, "as usual, you two screaming isn't helping anything."

"We'll just have to disguise him and bring him with us to the market and my contact," Serive sighed.

"Contact?" Vejita repeated warily.

"This money isn't going to be enough to last us the rest of the trip," Serive admitted.

"Especially if we want something to survive on the way back," Bulma added.

Serive glared at the interruption, but went on, "I know an Ijuecian who's owed me a favor for quite some time now. After we buy what we need, I'm going to track him down while you all load the ship."

"Sounds like a plan," Gohan said. "But what are we going to disguise him with?"

A beeping noise interrupted their conversation. A screen popped up from the control panel. "Welcome to Ijuecia!" a voice said. "We hope you enjoy your stay, and that you'll assist us in apprehending a recently reemerged felon." A picture of Vejita with Ijuecian text blinked onto the screen. "If you have any information, please contact the Ijuecia Justice Commission." It was pretty obvious that the large text underneath the photo said something along the lines of "WANTED."

Vejita shoved past everyone to scowl at the image. "Fuck." After another moment, he said, "That damn picture." He hated that picture. He remembered the day it was taken; Freeza always liked to have thorough records of his employees.

Bra peered around him. "Wow, I didn't think you could look younger than you do now, 'Tousan," she commented. "What does it say?"

"It says he was spotted at a refueling station in the North Quadrant," Serive said, reading the text above and below Vejita's scowling photo. "Elufer. One of those bastards must have ratted us out." She read further. "This reward is nearly twenty times what we got from Rattep!" she noted, impressed.

Vejita sneered at her. "Don't get any ideas."

"Don't worry. I need you, remember?"

"Hey," Gohan spoke up. "I think we should get what we need and get the hell out of here."

"I think you oughta hide," Bra said to her father.

Serive nodded. "It's too risky to have you with us. Stay behind with Bulma and Paresu."

Vejita hated being ordered around. He wasn't sure if he hated it more that he agreed with her. The last thing they needed was more people who wanted his head figuring out that they were here. If he wanted to get his family back in one piece, things needed to start going more smoothly than they were turning out. "Fine," he grunted.

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Using nearly all their reward money, Serive purchased all the available supplies in the Ijuecian market, which turned out to be not as large as she hoped. She fumed at the thought that they might have to stop on another planet if they ran out of supplies again. That led to the issue of her contact.

She ordered Gohan, Goten, and Bra to take the boxes back to MARC. She kept Trunks behind to help her ask around about her contact. After the two spent some time making inquiries to the booth holders at the market, Serive got the information she needed from an Ijuecian who was trying to sell her some cheap jewelry. She had Trunks accompany her to the south side of the city, where she led the way to a small building among a plethora of apartment buildings.

As they walked in, Trunks realized that it was a library. It was similar to those on Earth, except for that instead of books, the shelves were filled with thick metal tablets. A row of rusting metal tables and chairs took up the other half of the room. Dim lights hung from the low ceiling. One flickered occasionally.

At the head of the room was a circulation desk, and sitting behind it was a dark purple Ijuecian. Like all Ijuecians, he resembled something like a catfish with mandibular barbels on either side of his wide, oval, thick-lipped mouth. There was an indentation between his heavy brows that extended up and over the top of his head, splitting the thickness of the upper portion of his skull to the center of the back of his head. His ears lay under this overhang on either side of his head, and it was the glasses that hung over them that made him aesthetically different from his brethren. On either side of the fore part of his skull, were the usual large cylindrical protrusions. To the Ijuecian's left on the water-damaged wall was a freshly-printed poster of Trunks' father, just like the image they had received on the ship.

Serive approached the desk. "Where's Nuenes?" she demanded.

The worker shrank back from her tone, but pointed at a door in the far wall. "In his office," he answered.

Serive nodded. She turned round and marched straight to the door, opened it, and disappeared inside. A male voice yelled something in a panicked tone. Then there were muffled sounds of Serive shouting. Trunks and the librarian stared at each other uncomfortably.

"So…" said the purple humanoid.

Trunks nodded. "So…"

The Ijuecian looked him up and down. "Mind if I ask what species you are?"

"Hm?" Trunks shifted. "Oh, I… uh… I'm human." It probably wasn't a good idea to mention any Saiyajin heritage.

The librarian frowned, tapping at his desk. "Human… I actually don't know much of anything about humans."

Trunks shrugged. "Well, not many of us get around the universe."

"From Earth, right?" The purple creature frowned. "I would probably know more if the databases here weren't such a joke." He smiled to himself. "One day, I'll make it to Keldowneg. Then I can know everything and anything."

"What's on Keldowneg?"

The other looked at Trunks with surprise. "You humans don't get out much, do you?" He shook his head and explained. "Keldowneg has only the most vast and accurate databases in the universe."

"And you want to study all of it?"

He nodded. "As much as I can. I can't get enough of culture and history. That's why I got a post here." He rolled his eyes. "But I should've known it didn't mean much. As you can see, education isn't exactly Ijuecia's number one priority." He gestured to the sparse number of shelves and the generally poor state of the room.

Trunks glanced around. "There certainly isn't much."

"These idiots are more concerned about action than intellect." He jerked a thumb to the crisp poster. "They eat junk like this up." He laughed. "That guy killed the king's cousin way back when the Kold Empire still existed. You know about the Kold family?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, okay. Well, Kui-- the cousin-- was an important guy, the ideal Ijuecian, so his killer shows up again out of the blue and everyone is up in arms." He snorted. "But what they seem to have forgotten is that most of the cretins who served under the Kold family forgot their roots. They pretty much just cared about themselves. They didn't give a shit about the rest of us." His gaze fell slightly, and the gleam of his lenses hid his eyes. "You know, this planet was scheduled to be purged not long after Freeza's death? Those traitors would have helped him destroy us. If Lord Kold or his other son had decided to take up the task, they would have followed their orders too." He looked up again. "Heh, of course, the public doesn't know much about all that."

"How do you know?"

He smiled. "Since this library is crap, I've ordered books from intergalactic suppliers." He shrugged. "I can't exactly afford as much as I'd like on this salary. But if I were to get to Keldowneg, I might be able to land a position as a researcher or something if I'm lucky. They don't really like to employ outsiders, but they don't have a very large population, so sometimes they'll make exceptions."

Trunks chuckled. "You seem to think about this place a lot. Why haven't you gone yet?"

"To Keldowneg? I can't really afford to leave." His enthusiasm faded. His brow furrowed, and he looked back down at the papers on his desk and started scribbling. "I get such shit pay that it's a real stretch to afford a commercial flight there. And what if I didn't get the job? Who knows what worse position with even lower salary I'll wind up with when I get back here? And my apartment. Oh, man. I was lucky in a lottery to get that mudhole."

"But you seemed so happy just thinking about Keldowneg," Trunks pointed out.

The Ijuecian stopped writing. He sighed. "Yeah." He fell quiet, thoughtful.

Trunks thought about when he would get horribly bored at work and just play hooky. He knew that he would be in it deep later, but it was always worth it compared to the dullness of the office. "If you're really that desperate to leave, sometimes you just have to forget all the consequences and just go for it, you know?"

The librarian was silent for a bit longer, brow creased in deep thought. Then he looked up at the young man over the top of his glasses. "What's your name?"

"Trunks. You?"

He raised his head. "Sharloc."

Trunks smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Can I go with you?"

"What?" Trunks replied, taken aback.

"Well, if I can't afford to get there commercially. So hitchhiking is my best bet, right?" Sharloc put his hands together and brought them up to his chin. "For the love Glartob, don't leave me here. I hate this job. I hate this planet. I'm bored out of my mind! I'm going insane!" he finished, digging his fingers into his head.

Trunks nervously rubbed the back of his head. "I really don't think you want to come with us. We're kind of involuntarily on a life or death mission," he said, hoping to discourage the pleading alien.

But Sharloc's excitement only rose at his statement. "Really?" he said, eyes wide.

"You don't get out much, do you?" Trunks commented.

"Please let me come along! I won't be too much trouble. I don't even eat that much! I can make a fire with two sticks!"

Trunks shook his head. "I really don't think-"

"I have money!" Sharloc interrupted. "And I'm very knowledgeable! I can help you learn what to do and what not to do on each planet so you don't make some ridiculous etiquette error and get your head blown off!"

Trunks sighed. "Look, I don't even know if we're going anywhere near Keldowneg. And I'm not really the one you have to ask. You'll have to deal with my friend in there." He pointed to the door in the far wall. At that moment, there was a loud feminine growl and a terrified yip from the back room.

"I really don't care." Sharloc was nearly hopping up and down with excitement. "You're right! I have to just… just go! I mean, who says I have to come back at all if things don't work out, right?"

Trunks sweatdropped. "You haven't really given this much thought. Are you usually this impulsive?"

"Not at all," Sharloc replied, staring at him with wide eyes. "That's why I should act on this now before I chicken out."

The door far behind Trunks smashed open and Serive stomped out angrily. She slammed it shut again before either of the male beings could get a good look inside. "Freaking useless! Everyone! I swear!" she snapped, stalking up to the circulation desk.

"This is Sharloc," Trunks said, while the purple being looked up at the princess meekly. "He wants to come with us," he added.

Serive glared at him accusingly. "Oh?"

Trunks gestured to the hopeful Ijuecian. "He'll help us pay for supplies as long as we take him to a planet called Keldowneg."

Sharloc offered Serive a anxious grin. "My money's in an interplanetary bank, so it's accessible in many places," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Has Trunks here made it clear that we are not on vacation?"

Sharloc stared at her. "I don't care," he deadpanned.

Serive pondered for a moment-- his desperation had apparently made an impression on her-- then sighed. "Fine. Since your dingbat supervisor back there is a gambling idiot, it's a deal. But you'll have to figure out where to sleep. And I don't care if you die."

"So we are passing Keldowneg?" Trunks asked. Behind him, Sharloc was an example of what a catfish would look like if it was capable of showing utter elation.

Serive nodded. "It's on the way." She glared at Sharloc. "We're leaving soon. So get anything you need and get your ass to the space port." She nodded at Trunks again. "Go with him so you can lead the way. I'm going to check on the ship."

"Alright," Trunks said to her back as she left the library.

"Alright," Sharloc echoed to himself. "This is it. I'm leaving. I'm taking life by the--" A booming voice called from the back office, and Sharloc was startled from his thoughts. "My supervisor!" he exclaimed, pulling Trunks out of the building. "Hurry! This way!"

They slipped down an alleyway and came out on the other side into a rather squashed neighborhood. Trunks supposed this was a lower class residential area, and was rather depressed that the library was thought of by the Ijuecians to be on the same level as the impoverished.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Trunks asked as they walked.

"Completely," Sharloc affirmed.

Trunks shrugged. "Alright. So Keldowneg on the way to Wycan, eh?"

Sharloc stopped and stared at the half-human man. "Wycan?" he repeated. Trunks nodded. "That place has been ridden with civil war for going on six years now!"

"Well, we're going to fight with the rebels to stop it." Trunks sighed. "We're not exactly willing."

Sharloc resumed walking. "Good old Wycan pletels, eh?" he snorted. "One of the reasons the Confederation won't go into that war is because of that. Too easy for soldiers to be taken advantage of by the other side. Well, the other side of whatever side they'd fight on."

"And the other reasons?"

"Oh, political crap, you know. Not to mention that ever since the Kolds the Confederation has been very up on leaving planets their independence. A civil war is a dispute among a planet's own people, and the Council doesn't see it right to decide who is correct. If the triumphant side emerges as corrupt and horrible, then they might attempt interference."

"They don't think that Kouruji is corrupt?"

"Between communications, that man has claimed to be liberating Wycanians from a caste system and unaffectionate government. And no one can prove that such isn't true."

"But Kouruji is butchering the rebels-"

"And they butcher his men right back," Sharloc pointed out. "Look, Trunks, this civil war isn't the only one in the universe. The Council can't create total peace. All they can do is their best to prevent another Kold reign." He stopped in front of a large building. "This is my complex."

A small, dilapidated building where the windows to each room were far too close to one another. Trunks looked up at it and frowned.

Sharloc laughed. "I think looking in the face of death would be much more rewarding than staying here for the rest of my life."

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Vejita realized how hungry he was, so he decided sinking his teeth into some food wasn't a bad way to pass the time. His stomach was killing him. He should have eaten after his training session with Bra. He always got hungry after a fight, whether mental or physical. When he reached the kitchen, however, Paresu was already there. She stood at the counter with bread and meat and cheese all set out in front of her. She turned around before he could leave.

She smiled cheerfully. "Would you like a sandwich?"

Vejita hovered in the door and hesitated.

"I'm already making one for myself. I could make you two if you like. Or three," she laughed.

"… Alright."

She smiled at him and turned back to the counter. "How many?"

"Three, I guess."

"Okie doke."

The prince didn't know much about the human woman. Only that she was cheerful like her boyfriend, a quality that wasn't magnetic to him by any means. This was the first time he'd been alone in the same room with her. It was awkward. Whenever he looked at her, all he could think of was what she said to Goten on Elufer.

Vejita frowned. She didn't seem afraid now, though.

Paresu finished up the sandwiches; she put one on one plate and the other three on another. She set one on the table across from her elder shipmate. "You surprise me," she said, setting the other plate in front of him.

"What?" Vejita deadpanned, avoiding her gaze and taking his first bite.

"After all I heard about you at the gas station planet," she said, sitting down. "I can't picture you like that at all. But Goten says it's true."

"I'm sorry if it bothers you," Vejita grunted.

"It doesn't," she insisted.

Vejita glared at her. He remembered the look that had been on her face. "You're lying."

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, it did at first, obviously," she admitted.

"So why shouldn't it now?"

"I think a person can change," Paresu said, taking a bite of her own food. "Of course, I don't know you very well, Vejita-san, but you've never given me a reason to think that you would do any of those awful things, at least not now. So it doesn't bother me."

Vejita didn't know what to say.

She smiled at him again, this time apologetically. "I'm sorry if what I said before made you feel bad."

The intercom buzzed to life and Bulma's voice said, "Hey, they're back with supplies. When you two are finished eating, come down to storage and see if you can help."

"Goten's back!" Paresu chirped. She picked up her sandwich and put the plate in the dishwasher. Taking another bite, she mumbled, "See you down there!" She left the room.

Vejita finished eating. He felt better.

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A short time later, Trunks arrived back at the space port with Sharloc. The Ijuecian had a duffel bag over his shoulder, and was looking around apprehensively.

"This is our ship," Trunks said, leading him over to MARC.

Bra suddenly walked past them, carrying a large box. "C'mon, Trunks!" she snapped. "Let's get this show on the road, eh?"

"Bra!" Trunks called out to stop her. "I want you to meet Sharloc."

"Oh!" Bra's face was intrigued when she spotted the Ijuecian accompanying her brother. "Hello!" she greeted with a smile. "I'm Bra, Trunks' sister!"

"Uh…" Sharloc stared at her blankly, eyes focused on her bright blue eyes, her shining aqua hair, her-

"Are you okay?" Her expression was one of concern.

Sharloc blushed madly, realizing he had been staring. "I'm sorry!" he blurted out. "Hello, I'm Sharloc," he introduced himself bashfully, looking down at the ground.

"He's coming with us," Trunks explained.

"Yeah, Serive already told us." She looked over at the Ijuecian. "Well, nice to meet you." Bra shook her head and laughed a bit, before taking the box into the ship.

Sharloc dazedly watched until the last of her boot disappeared within the ship. He felt eyes on him and finally noticed Trunks looking at him suspiciously. "SO!" the librarian chirped, hoping to clear himself. "When's take-off?"

"Now!" Serive growled. She had appeared at the top of the stairs. "We've finished loading. Come on!"

The two hurried onboard. Trunks led the way into the main room, where Bra had already informed the others that their new shipmate had arrived. Vejita was the only one absent from the room.

Bulma looked nervous. "Serive, is this such a good idea, considering that…"

Serive held up a hand to stop her. "We'll see in a second. Where is Vejita? Get him in here."

"V-Vejita?" Sharloc sputtered.

The prince appeared in the doorway then. He leaned against the frame. Sharloc stood dumbly in the middle of the control room. The Ijuecian and the Saiyajin stared for long moments. Vejita was his usual imposing self. Sharloc's face was shocked.

"I hope this won't be a problem," Serive said.

To most of the crew's surprise, the newcomer just laughed, albeit warily. "No problem at all," he said, shrinking under Vejita's gaze.

"He doesn't like Kui anyway," Trunks said, offering his support.

Vejita scrutinized the Ijuecian, apparently considering this, as if he had some say on whether or not Sharloc could accompany them. "Good," the prince grunted. He took his seat for take-off.

As everyone got themselves settled, Sharloc grinned happily. He'd been dreaming of leaving Ijuecia his whole life. At the moment, the presence of a wanted felon just wasn't a concern.

Bra set a hand on his shoulder. She pointed out the door. "Down the hall in the kitchen are some emergency landing seats. I'll get you strapped in and we'll be on our way." She smiled brightly at him. "Welcome to the MARC crew, buddy," she chirped.

Sharloc's face went a deeper shade of purple. "Ah… Yes." He laughed nervously and smiled at her. "Thank you."

In all seriousness, this chapter was a pain in the ass. Hopefully the next one will turn out more fun. Oi. Please review.