Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ characters, i'm not making any money of them. I created Fire Clan, though.

Warnings: Yaoi - Gk/Vg.

Note: My Goku can't IT to the place where he hadn't been before or if he doesn't feel any familiar ki near it.

Come Together

by chayron (lttomb yahoo com)

Part 3

"Don't go Super Saiyan, unless there's a really serious situation," Vegeta said, giving some last minute instructions as they landed. As predicted, his arrival was met with enormous uproar. After long consideration, the Queen agreed to meet with them. Vegeta was surprised that they weren't blasted on the spot. He guessed that was because of Kakarott standing beside him in the view screen. The Fire Clan avoided killing innocents. "And try not to piss them off," he continued. "They already aren't happy about our little visit."

iThat's a good one!/i Goku thought. He was sure Vegeta would try and kill all the members on the spot if they refused to help.

"And don't raise your voice at me. I'm your Prince after all. What's more, they think that I am the strongest of all Saiyans; so let them think that. If they think you weaker, your true power will be a huge advantage if need be. If you suddenly feel your mind cloud up, blast everyone in a ten mile radius. That's how it feels when they try to control your actions."

"You've told me that about five times," Goku complained.

"That's because I know how your mind works!" Vegeta shook his head.

"That wasn't necessary," Goku pouted, sighing. He looked at the growing planet through the thick glass material. "And I have something to say, too. If they try to kill us or refuse to help, we leave immediately! We go home! You hear? We won't try to kill them. We simply go home!"

"That won't be so easy. If they pick the fight, we simply won't have any other choice but to fight. They won't let us leave. And do you think for one second that they wouldn't follow us to Earth? That isn't a good idea. They probably already want to get rid of all Saiyans."

"Yeah, you said that already, too." He paused to think. "I can feel some kis at the planet near this. I could IT us there if we were attacked. From here we might have a better chance of escaping."

Vegeta nodded his head. "Yes, it's a good chance. And the best choice we have - to escape before they find out where we are." He turned toward the tall warrior. "One day you'll have to teach me that move of yours."

"I will. If this crazy trip has a good ending, I'll do whatever you want."

oOO-oOo-Ooo

There was a fair-sized army waiting for them on the landing field. Goku scratched his head and took in the crowd, preparing himself for the battle that seemed evident. He glanced at Vegeta, who simply stared at them openmouthed.

"I think we're in trouble. I didn't realize they would reproduce so quickly," Vegeta whispered, studying his surroundings and calculating all the possibilities. They had landed in plain sight but not on the landing strip. There weren't any other ships around them. Vegeta could tell they were somewhere beyond the city. Except for the hard surface they had landed on, there was only greenery around them. The Fire Clan had taken all the necessary precautions.

"Why are they mostly women? And why do some of them look the same?" Goku asked knitting his brows and turning his attention back to the troops. They looked just like humans. Most of them had white skin, black hair, and large blue eyes. Goku wasn't able to tell one from another. The only thing that was different was their height. It varied from one meter sixty to two meters. There was a group standing before the crowd wearing blue uniforms.

"You really forgot to tell me something…" Goku muttered.

"Yes." Vegeta felt the urge to slap himself on the forehead and pushed the thought aside. Any sudden movements might be seen as a threat. "Their genetic make up is slightly...weird and very...dominant. They mature very fast. The women you are looking at might barely ten years old or as old as five hundred years. The oldest I know of is somewhere over a thousand years. When a girl is born, she inherits some abilities and memories from her mother. If a boy is born, he is similar to his father and inherits almost nothing from his mother. Many men aren't even considered true Fire Clan members."

Goku scratched his head again. "Like amazons, aren't they?"

"You could say that."

"If you have finished your little talk, Prince Vegeta…"

The Saiyans turned a startled look on the short blue-clad girl standing before the troops. Vegeta was surprised to hear her talking their language. She was definitely young. And if even he could see the difference between her and the rest of the crowd, it meant she was ivery/i young. The prince growled inwardly at how she stressed his title. He knew perfectly well it was not out of respect.

"…we should proceed to the Queen, as I am instructed," she continued.

Vegeta looked the girl up and down. "And who are you?"

"You do not have the right to question anything. You came here with the white flag, so simply follow orders." The girl raised her eyebrows at him. "Otherwise I might see your disobedience as an attempt on the Queen."

Vegeta snorted at that but restrained his temper. He was sure he had never seen this insolent girl before. He watched her closely. She was good-looking just as the other members of her clan. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail. There were some loose strands on her forehead. Of course, she had the same large blue eyes and finely arched eyebrows like other women. Her small pointy nose gave her a tough image but was subdued by the full lips.

Goku watched as the girl turned to the troops and said something in their language. There were some murmurs heard from the crowd, but the girl's voice took on some higher vocals, and the throng went silent. The crowd unwillingly and slowly began to drift apart.

"What's going on?" Goku asked Vegeta, suspiciously observing the crowd.

"They didn't want to wait. They wanted to kill me right now."

"That doesn't sound good," Goku muttered. "At least their leader is on our side."

Vegeta snorted at that. "Yeah, right. She said she wanted to strangle me with her own hands and it was a pity she needed to follow her orders." He paused for effect. "But she promised that they hopefully wouldn't need to wait too long."

"Does she think you don't understand their language?" Goku wondered, beginning to dislike the short girl.

"She isn't speaking her language. She speaks the language of the people on this planet." He turned to Goku, smirking. "But she really thinks I have no idea what they are talking about."

Goku listened to the girl's prattle. Then he saw something. There was a sword fastened to the girl's back. The same sword Future Trunks had! The sheath was different, but he definitely recognized the handle. Goku looked at Vegeta and realized that the prince had already noticed the resemblance himself. Then Goku peered more closely at the dispersing crowd and saw that many of them had swords of the same design.

Vegeta noticed Goku's interest. "Their warriors like swords, and don't even think about taking one. If you have it and you are not a member, you either stole it or killed one of their members and then stole it. It would only cause trouble carrying it around." He turned back to the still dispersing crowd. "Sometimes they show their respect by giving one as a present. When I saw my future son, I thought that must be the case," Vegeta commented.

"Follow me." The girl's attention finally returned to them. "And try not to lag behind. As you see, you have many 'fans' here."

Goku simply stared at her mouth. From the sound of it, he realized she was speaking Saiyan, but he couldn't understand a word. He was impressed by the girl's knowledge of languages. Goku turned to Vegeta who translated her orders. The girl's eyebrows rose.

"Which language would you prefer?" she asked Vegeta, motioning for some soldiers to come closer. Goku waited for her to mock him because he didn't know his own people's language, but she didn't say a word.

"Terran," the prince answered, following the girl through the aggressively murmuring crowd. He noticed that some blue dressed Fire Clan members stayed to guard their spaceship.

More than twenty blue uniform clad Fire Clan members surrounded Goku and Vegeta, isolating them from the crowd. Luckily no one tried to do more than shout or show rude gestures. When the crowd began to follow them, the short girl apparently lost her temper. She barged through her blue dressed soldiers and took up an arm-crossed stance behind the protective circle.

"I said…" She lowered her head at the suddenly silent crowd, "Get the hell out of here! Or are you deaf? Want me to clean your ears?" she asked, threateningly reaching for her sword, her other hand forming an orange ki ball. Her soldiers stopped and took up fighting positions, too.

The crowd started to disperse unwillingly. Goku didn't understand a word she said, but was impressed by the girl's power level. He and Vegeta met each other's eyes uneasily. If her soldiers were anything like her, they might be in trouble.

The crowd had nearly drifted apart, and the girl returned to her position at the beginning of the circle and began to lead them forward. Soon they came in sight of the city walls.

Vegeta recognized the city immediately. Even after fourteen years it hadn't changed much. The city was much bigger now, but many of its previous marvelous buildings were untouched. He watched as Kakarott looked around in admiration.

They walked through busy streets and even busier people. No one even cared about them. Goku comprehended that their little circle must be a common occurrence here. In fact, the place was very different from that he had imagined. He was expecting castles, maybe even people with magic sticks or flying carpets. But surely not this! It reminded him of any ordinary city on the Earth. Just add various alien races and more imposing architecture, a lot lighter and a lot cleaner streets… He could even hear drivers cursing on the streets. He didn't understand what they were saying, but it was definitely cursing. He wondered why their group was walking and not flying or riding. At least they could be driven to see the Queen.

"The population is much than I saw the last time," Vegeta said loudly, observing crowded streets.

"Yes. After that 'family of coolers' disappeared, many turned to us, thinking we would protect them from any other possible threats. Thus the planet population grew. After we hunted down most of Frieza's and Norayn's soldiers, many of those people settled here. Our Clan is associated with security and peaceful life, so we have problems with newcomers. Actually, we don't allow new residents here. It's already too overcrowded for our taste," the girl explained. Suddenly she raised her hand, indicating a stop. "We have company. Maxa and about twenty warriors on our left," she announced for her soldiers. "Prince Vegeta a has right to defend himself," the girl informed her squad. "No revenge for the warriors he kills! And I expect your full defense if he is attacked!"

Vegeta heard some soldiers cursing and murmuring that he wasn't worth their clan splitting, but saw them taking their fighting stances. "Get ready," he warned Kakarott. "That oncoming crowd seems thirsty for our blood. We have been given permission to defend ourselves if we are attacked." He studied the oncoming blue huddle. They all were from the Fire Clan. That didn't seem good.

Goku was stunned at how fast the streets emptied. The two forces stood before each other on the wide and suddenly empty road.

"Hello, Ahrae," the woman greeted, observing the opposite team.

"Maxa," the girl answered. "What do you want?"

"You know perfectly well that I want his head," Maxa calmly answered, rolling her big blue eyes and motioning to Vegeta.

"I know you want him dead too, so simply accept the situation."

"You should respect the white flag, Maxa," the girl sighed, shaking her head at the suggestion.

"He didn't show any respect for our hospitality! He is a sneaky and defiant bastard. Why should we trust him now? Let's end it here." Maxa motioned for her followers to come closer.

"You forget that I'm your superior," the girl hissed, stepping closer to Maxa, who took an instinctive step back. "I won't tolerate this! I really don't want to kill you or those women you had dragged into this, but I will if I must!" Now the girl turned her attention to the troops, standing behind Maxa's back. "And you…how dare you turn against me? Is this a mutiny?"

"He killed my mother! I want revenge! You cannot take it from me!" Maxa shouted angrily.

"Revenge won't bring her back! Now get lost before I arrest you all for treason!" Ahrae watched as most of the women behind Maxa's back began to walk away.

Maxa snarled at Ahrae. "So be it. One on one. If you lose, his head is mine. If you win, you can arrest me."

Ahrae cursed under her breath. "You will be arrested whether you win or lose, you idiot. You know perfectly well that I don't want to fight you! Just get lost and I will forget this incident."

"No."

"Shit, Maxa! Don't do this!"

"After you lose, your troops will obey my commands."

Ahrae rolled her eyes. "For about ten minutes, until the Queen hears of this." She shook her head. "And you know I won't lose."

"What's going on? I heard rumors that our clan members were going to fight each other." A strong voice carried from behind Ahrae's troops. Everyone went silent.

Ahrae bowed her head in respect before the small female coming toward her. "Erm…no. We were just discussing the Prince's protection,"

"Don't lie to me, Ahrae! Maxa, you are reduced to the fighting ranks!" The Queen flashed her icy blue eyes at the other woman who simply nodded her head, turned around, and began to walk away. "And you will be punished for this!" the Queen growled at several of the women who were still left. "Ahrae, end this sightseeing tour and create a portal!" the Queen ordered. "Prince Vegeta, we will meet in two hours," she finished, nodding her head at Vegeta and again disappearing in a green flash.

"Create a portal to the castle's gate," Ahrae ordered one of her warriors after the Queen disappeared.

"And why you didn't do that earlier?" Vegeta asked, watching as one of the soldiers began to create a green rippling passage, which was getting bigger and bigger.

"I overheard that your minion has no idea what it means to be Fire Clan, so I decided to show him the city." She paused. "And I also hoped someone would succeed in quickly killing you." The girl shrugged her shoulders. "What a pity." She had answered in Terran so Goku felt the urge to strangle the girl. He opened his mouth, but Vegeta motioned for him to be silent.

"Okay, you seven." She motioned to a section of her warriors. "Go first." They complied immediately and walked through the finished portal. She turned to Vegeta. "Now your minion."

Goku shook his head at her. "We won't split up!"

The girl rolled her sapphire eyes at him. "Prince Vegeta, tell your minion to obey my orders. Otherwise you both can turn around and go back to your ship. Without my protection, of course. I'm sure Maxa and some others would be very happy to make delay departure, though."

Vegeta turned to Goku. "Kakarott, do as she says."

Goku's brow furrowed, but he nodded his head. He turned to the girl. "But if you do something to him, I'll find you."

The girls eyebrows rose, but she didn't say anything, motioning for him to enter the portal. Goku slowly walked to the portal, looking at it closer. He tried to touch the green substance with his fingers. Nothing, as if there wasn't even anything there… The girl cocked her head to the side and sighed after Goku finally entered the green portal. Then she and Vegeta followed, entering the portal at the same time.

They appeared at the massive gates to the castle where Goku and the seven warriors were standing. Goku let out a sigh of relief and immediately moved to stand back at Vegeta's side. In the blink of an eye, the remaining warriors appeared. They were let through the gates and preceded further into the imposingly tall castle.

Goku smiled to himself. Finally he was getting to see what he expected! The castle was built from dark material. It had lots of towers and pinnacles with flags and seemed somehow gothic to him. But the huge rectangular windows contradicted that impression.

"We didn't build it, if you're curious," Ahrae explained to Goku when she saw that he was fascinated. "We took it over from its previous master. The people of this planet were very happy when our clan disposed of the tyrant."

They paused as they came to an extremely large door that was made of some strange material and seemingly very resistant.

"Welcome, Prince Vegeta," said one of the guards, standing at the heavy door.

TBC