--- The Phoenix Chronicles ---
Chapter 07 - Saiyan Might
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One week. Just one week until his third birthday. His parents had been hinting about something very big that was going to happen that day. Something important. Something life-changing. Something he had to be prepared for. And so he trained.
It was a fairly normal day, all things considered. He and Pi sparred, as was the norm, while Oran and Lime, too young to train themselves, watched from the sidelines, cheering him on. Well, Oran was cheering him on anyway, while Lime was cheering on Pi, another normal occurrence.
"Come on big brother, beat her up!" The voice of Oran could be heard yelling.
"Go big sister, get him!" Lime's voice shouted moments later.
Oran, pausing in his cheerleading, turned to Lime, saying, "Kaen's gonna win!"
Lime, pausing and facing him in turn, said back, "Nuh uh, Pi is!" and the two fell into their own argument, seemingly oblivious to the world around them as they did so.
Kaen allowed a smile to grace his face, albeit a small one. The two had been like this almost from birth, constantly fighting for something or another, whether it be his, and their, mother's attention, or his approval, or anything else, they were always competing, and he had no doubt in his mind that they'd each be each others first sparring partner when they turned one, reaching the age whereby training was not only allowed, but expected.
Another thing they seemed to have done at birth was to 'adopt' Pi as their big sister, and ever since they could talk they'd call her as such. On some small level this irked him. It wasn't as if he didn't already have enough people on his case about the relationship he had with the girl currently trying to beat his head in, but they had to add to it by acting as though they were already mated.
'I suppose I can't really blame them, I mean she's been almost as big a part of their lives as I've have,' Kaen thought to himself. 'And it's not like they're wrong, exactly, just early...' His train of thought was derailed suddenly by the impact of something with his stomach. Upon further investigation it was revealed to be Pi's knee. Holding his gut, he glared at her, barking out, "What was that for?"
She simply smiled and stuck her tongue out at him, saying, "You always told me not to drop my guard. You should take your own advice."
The sound of children's laughter reached his ears, and he turned to the source. Oran and Lime, seemingly having finished their little verbal spar, had seen what happened, and seemed to find it highly amusing. Deciding that blasting them would be a bad idea, as his mother would be upset at him for it, he turned his ire on the next closest target. He smirked, saying, "So that's how you wanna play huh?" That infuriating smile never wavered, so he raised his right arm, gripping it's wrist with his left, as he cried out, "Well play-time is over! Blaze Cannon!"
She dived out of the way, avoiding the blast. The tree behind her wasn't as lucky, the blast tearing a hole straight through the decades-old trunk and out the other side. She barely had enough time to gain her bearing again when another blast shot towards her, and she hit the dirt again, the blast ripping through another tree. This time, however, the tree was young, the blast causing enough damage to fell the tree, and it fell to the ground in front of her, barely missing her.
Distracted by the falling tree, Pi failed to realise that Kaen had released his wrist, and now had both hands facing her. She also failed to realise he was charging a blast, and it wasn't until she heard him cry out "Twin Blaze!" that she realised it was too late to dodge, or even to block. The first blast slammed into her chest in a rather painful fashion, but before she could react to it the second hit her from behind, a classic pincer move, and she fell to her knees.
When the pain dulled she glared up at him, smirking down at her, and shouted, "That's not fair! You haven't taught me how to do that!"
He sighed and shook his head, saying, "How many times have I told you? Techniques like that aren't taught, they're discovered. Relying on someone else's techniques is weak, because their technique will never be as strongly suited to you as one of your own design."
She fumed silently, thinking, 'If that's how he wants to be, then fine, I'll do it myself,' before using his lapse in concentration to look inside herself, searching for a technique to call her own. It wasn't long before she found what she wanted, her inspiration hitting her, and she stood up, eyes still closed, moving her hands into a hither-to unused, and yet strangely familiar, position.
Kaen watched her, snapping out of his introspection when she started moving, with an amused smirk on his face. 'What is she trying to do now?' he thought to himself.
His question was answered soon enough, as her hands stopped their movement, seemingly having found the right position, and her eyes snapped out as she cried out, "Titan Burst!" His eyes widened in surprise at the seeming announcement of her new technique, then in shock at the size of the blast now fired from her hands, and before he could react the blast slammed into his chest, and it was his turn to fall to his knees. Pi stood in place, panting slightly from the effort of creating her new attack, as she said, "How... was that?"
A cry of "That was awesome!" arose from the two kids as Kaen stood, hiding the pain that blast had caused, and looked at her face, seeing an expression he'd seen many a time on his siblings, but rarely on her. She was hoping for his approval. He looked thoughtful for a moment, letting her sweat it out, as he mulled over her choice of attack. 'Titan Burst... Sounds ground-based... Great, even our elements seem destined to be together... Ah well, why fight fate?' With his trademark smirk, he replied, "Not bad, but I've seen better."
He might as well have said 'I'm really proud of you,' for Pi, already used to reading him like an open book, received this message loud and clear, knowing that he thought it, but his pride would never let him say it. She beamed back at him, blushing slightly, as she whispered, "Thanks..."
As the moment passed, and the cheers from the children resumed their assault on their ears, the same thought hit them both at once. 'We're both still standing... This match isn't over!' With matching smirks they lowered themselves into their respective stances, and waited, silently watching each other's form, searching for the weaknesses they'd both long outgrown, until, with some unseen, and unheard, trigger, they leapt as one, speeding towards the other to resume the fight.
o-o-o
The weeks have passed in peace, well as much peace as possible for four people trapped in a small space, as they employed their time mastering their new technique, the Fusion Dance. As their destination, the third of seven dragon balls, drew near, the ship came to a landing on a neighbouring planet. The reason for this abrupt landing was simple: the need to feed. Having spent almost two weeks without a full meal, the two Saiyans are almost to the point of eating the ship to gain sustenance.
Their pilot Flute was the first to disembark, noticing they'd landed in a busy port, and began asking the nearest local where a restaurant could be found. Viola was next off the ship, while Kaen, after collecting his coat, chose to wait for Pi, who was busy pinning her hair back, before the two left the ship and followed after their green skinned companions.
After a short walk they came to an inn, on a relatively quiet street, and, after passing the inspection of the ever-protective male Saiyan, Kaen, with Pi no more than two steps behind and smiling all the while, walked in. The Nameks followed shortly after, Flute chuckling a little as he held the door open for her and said, "If you think what you've already seen of their eating habits was bad, try not to be surprised as to what will happen, since they haven't eaten in a few days'"
Viola raised a single eyebrow in question, but said nothing as she entered the inn, blushing slightly for reasons she couldn't understand at his actions.
After taking a look around, Kaen sat at a table that could easily sit eight people and grabbed a menu, Pi taking her place next to him shortly after, still smiling. Flute, remembering Kaen's performance the last time they'd done this, chose to sit across from them, muttering, "I'd rather not loose an arm by sitting too close..." while Viola, again raising a single eyebrow in question, took his cue and sat next to him.
A waitress approached them and looked at the four of them quizzically, saying in a confused voice, "Are you expecting guests?"
Kaen just dropped the menu, obviously having not had to think too hard on his order, before barking out, "No. Just bring me one of everything."
A mild look of shock filled Viola's face, and the waitress looked a little taken aback as she smiled as best she could and asked, "Is that for all of you?"
Flute just shook his head slightly and said plainly, "Water."
Pi chirped, "I'll have one of everything too!"
A full blown look of shock on her face, Viola just pointed at Flute and numbly said, "Same as him..."
The waitress looked a little dumb-founded as she made her way to the kitchen to place the bizarre order.
As they awaited their long-overdue meal, Kaen turned to Pi and said, "Hope the food's good here, though I doubt it'll be as good as yours."
Pi smiled at him, saying, "If you like I can go make the food for us."
He just smiled back, shaking his head a bit and replying, "Nah, you deserve a break."
Pi blushed a little, and as the first wave of food was brought out a few of the younger waitresses smiled at Kaen, fluttering their eyes, as they served up the food. Pi, luckily, was too distracted by said food to notice, and Kaen allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief as he began eating.
Viola drank her water silently, her look of shock still on her face, as she watched the Saiyans eat, no, inhale, enough food to kill most creatures, at a rate that should choke them. Flute, however, managed to do something more constructive, and stopped a waitress to ask some questions, namely, "The second planet towards the sun, what are the people like there?"
The waitress looked more than shocked, replying, "You can't possibly want to go there!"
Pausing for a moment in his feast, Kaen swallowed and asked, "Why not?" He resumed eating the second the question left his mouth.
She managed to stutter out, "A long time ago the creatures there turned the entire planet into a giant city, and had robots to cater to their whims, but a virus of some sort wiped them all out. The virus died too after their weren't any hosts, but the robots were left with codes to attack anything that came to the planet without proper clearance. With the inhabitants gone, no-one can stop them, and they will kill whom or whatever that tries to get onto the planet."
Flute nodded, saying, "That would explain why there aren't any Cold Empire markings on the planet..."
Kaen looked a little disappointed at not being able to kill any Cold empire minions, but still was clearly excited about the fight he knew lurked in his future. Pi just nodded her head at the information, saying, "Well, robots aren't really a problem, they blow up easy enough."
The waitresses returned with more of the Saiyan's meal, which they ate like it was their last. And as this cycle repeated, Flute and Viola did nothing but watch on as they consumed more than 10 times their own weight in food, each, the latter wearing a look of both shock and mild disgust.
Pi obviously found a particular dish to her liking, and as she'd already eaten all of hers, quickly stole Kaen's portion of it to eat herself. Kaen, in response, shot her a glare, mild by his standards, and stole some of hers that he liked, to which she just poked her tongue at him and kept eating. He fought to keep his glare from turning into more of a smile, and mostly succeeded.
Flute looked nonchalantly at the Saiyans, but soon began to smirk softly. Viola, the only one to notice his look, asked telepathically, "What's that look for?"
"You should be able to hear the waitresses, correct?" Flute responded in kind.
She paused for a moment, listening in to the background conversations she had previously been tuning out, an automatic action her enhanced hearing had forced her to adopt, before smirking slightly herself, and replying sagely, "Ah."
The waitresses were huddled in the corner, quietly making remarks about Kaen's looks, which, for some unexplainable reason, caused them to forget about both the attractive young girl at his side, and his eating habits.
Waitress 1: "He's so cute, he must be a movie star!"
Waitress 2: "That meal will cost a fortune, he must be sooo rich."
Waitress 3: "They look similar, its probably his sister, so who cares bout her."
Waitress 2: "Yeah, she's only scrawny anyway, our job is tough you know."
Waitress 1: "Lets slip him our phone numbers when we give him the bill."
Waitress 3: "That's a great idea."
Viola, loosing her fight to keep from laughing, chose to do so telepathically so as to not draw attention. She received a response of "Wise choice." from her male counterpart, as he continued to sip his water calmly.
Kaen, noticing Flute's expression for the first time, glared at him with a look that clearly said 'say anything and die,' but Flute makes no reaction.
o-o-o
Time passed as it should, and the Saiyans finally finished their meal. Flute remarked dryly, "Let us pay for what we have each eaten. Seeing as water here is complimentary, Viola and I have paid our share of the bill."
Kaen glared at the Namek again, not an uncommon occurrence by any stretch of the imagination, but this time showing more amusement than anything else. One of the waitresses brought the bill over, 'accidentally' dropping it so she had to bend down, giving Kaen a clear view of her cleavage, which, unbeknownst to her was completely ignored, before dropping it into his hand, along with a second piece of paper.
Noticing this second piece, he quickly used a small flame to torch it before Pi could notice. Flute began to smirk as he saw this, realising that Pi had actually seen what went on, but neither said anything yet. The waitress, also noticing his actions but not showing any outside response, waited patiently for payment. Kaen reached into his jacket, producing a small pouch, and withdrawing enough from it to pay for both Pi and his meal, deciding that her attempt at flirting filled her tip.
Flute lead the way out, holding the door open for Viola again, and again she blushed for reasons unknown before hurrying out. Kaen wasted no time in following, eager to be away from 'prying eyes.' Pi began to follow Kaen out, but her attitude proved to be less than amiable, as she sent a small ki blast towards the huddle of waitresses as she left, leaving them singed but otherwise unharmed; clearly a warning shot.
Noticing this, Kaen began worrying internally, not allowing himself to show it externally, and when Pi caught up to him, looking him directly in the eyes, he feigned innocence, raising an eyebrow and saying, "Yes?" Pi just smiled and hugged his arm, continuing on with him in tow. Unsure of how to react, Kaen just accepted the gesture and allowed himself to be dragged.
Flute boarded the ship, Viola entering shortly after, and before long Pi entered with Kaen in tow, the man in question still internally confused and allowing himself to be towed, before detaching herself to find a seat. Within moments Flute had the ship in the air and under way, Kaen leaning against the back wall in true Saiyan male fashion.
o-o-o
Within an hour, the ship began it's descent towards the planet's surface, and within seconds of entering it's airspace the ships comm. system was awash with a robotic voice requesting - demanding - an authorisation code. Kaen quickly grabbed the remote control for his ship out of his coat, turning on it's force field, before putting it back and discarding his coat completely, knowing he'd need to fight from the word go.
As soon as the ship landed Flute called out, "Get out of the ship, and as far away as you can; if they destroy the ship, we'll have no chance to escape." Before the words had even left his mouth, Kaen was already diving out of the ship, Pi following shortly after, and after making sure the ship's shields were active, Viola and Flute took to the skies. Within seconds, eight robots, about half the size of a man, and bearing lasers, were upon them.
Viola raised an arm, creating a thunder ball, and hurling it with a cry of "Static Field!" However, the spirits were obviously not with her, as only a single ball was created, although it did completely annihilate her target.
Wasting no time, Kaen crouched slightly, clenching his fists, crying out "Rage Pyre, Fury Five!" before taking to the sky, now shrouded in flame, and throwing his hands back and forward for his trademark attack. "Inferno Blast!" His attack proved much more effective, as the raging flames consumed five of the robots.
Pi, in turn, cupped her hands and aimed the at the two remaining robots, firing her attack with a cry of "Titan Burst!" and turning them into scrap metal.
Flute nodded in approval, saying, "Good work, but this may get worse before it gets better. Let's find the dragon ball and get out of here as soon as we can."
Kaen nodded, reaching up to turn his modified scanner on, and setting into its electrical detection mode. As the readings hit him, only one thought came to mind. 'He has no idea how right he was...' The scouter had picked up several high electrical energy readings, the activation of several large robots. Quickly looking the group over, looking noticeably worried, or as much so as he would allow himself to, Kaen remarked grimly, "It just got worse."
No sooner had he said then when the robots, eleven in total, each the size of a building, rose from their underground storage areas, and a robotic voice called out, "All illegal aliens will be brought to justice, destruction of property will yield suitable punishment. Termination." After taking a moment to scan the group over, that same robotic voice continued, "High energy signature detected, activate defence shields," and the robots started visibly glowing.
Viola quickly took to the sky again, shouting, "Cover me," to the others as she raised both hands above her head and began collecting ki for her strongest attack.
Pi nodded, extending her arms outwards, levelling her aim directly at the mech nearest her, and with a cry of "Titan Fury!" four powerful shots blasted from her hands directly at it, but all were dissipated by the shields. Flute simply charged the robot directly, but despite its size it still managed to move fast enough to evade his attack.
Kaen, still shrouded in flame, raised his right hand, collecting his ki to form a large ball of intense flame, before yelling, "Let's see those fancy shields block this! Supernova!" and hurling it towards the robots, catching three of them entirely within the resulting blast. He smirked to himself, crying out, "Not so tough now are ya?" but as the smoke and light from the attack clears, the three robots were still standing; a little burned around the edges, and slightly melted, but very much able to fight. His smirk faltered, and he cursed quietly to himself.
The robots, seemingly ignoring the threat of the flame-throwing Saiyan male above them, chose instead to turn their beam weapons on Pi, sending a deadly salvo her way, but for all their strength it seemed they had bad aim, and Pi was more than able to defend herself against the onslaught. One robot, however, seemed to decide to be different, turning it's weapon onto someone who couldn't dodge, or block. Viola.
Realising that in her current situation she couldn't afford to be hurt, Kaen dove in front of her with a burst of speed, throwing his hands forward and creating a shield of his own with a cry of "Heat Shield!" However, instead of merely dissipating, the blast reflected back where it came, striking the firing robot, and further damaging it's already melted shell.
Exhaling a breath she didn't realise she was holding, Viola muttered, "That was close... Well, one down..."
Kaen, still in front of her, just growled, "It's not dead yet... These things are tough..."
Flute took his position beside her, aiming at the already heavily damaged robot, letting off his own trademark attack with a cry of "Demon Twister!" The blast tore through the robots head, destroying it completely, and with an irritated sigh Flute remarked, "Now it's dead. This is taking too long, we need to get rid of them faster."
Kaen nodded his head in agreement, thinking for a moment. 'Get rid of them faster? How? I mean there's only so much energy we can produce...' Suddenly the answer hit him. 'Of course! We've been doing it for about two weeks now. Now's as good a time as any to see if it works.' With a Saiyan smirk firmly on his face, he looked over at Pi and called out, "Care to dance?"
She looked confused for a moment, seemingly not understanding what he meant, before a matching smirk took it's rightful place, and she nodded her head, the two landing next to each other on the ground, the flames around Kaen dying down. He looked over for a moment, asking, "Ready?" Receiving a nod in reply, the pair went through the motions they had long since mastered with cries of "Fu-Sion-HA!" giving birth to the mighty warrior Kai in a flash of white light. The freshly fused being regarded Flute for a moment, saying only "Keep her safe," before taking to the sky, once again shrouded in blood-red flame.
Kai regarded his mechanical opponents for a moment, cracking his neck, before cupping his hands and reaching back on his right side, crouched in mid-air, and forming a ball of orange ki. Throwing his hands forward and crying out "Volcano Blast!" the smallish ball of ki erupted into a huge orange beam, at least half his height in diameter, but the robots seemed to assess the potential damage the attack would cause in time to get out of the way.
Kai, the Pi in him showing for a moment, looked remarkably miffed at missing his target. With a shake of his head, he returned to his battle-hardened self, and threw both of his arms out to his sides, hands flat and fingers together. With a cry of "Lava Blade!" a blade of molten energy formed over each hand. With no more warning then that he charged the robots, slicing one of them cleanly in two before they could react, and yelling out in a voice that dripped with satisfaction, triumph and pride, "TWO!"
The robots, seemingly in preparation of a counter attack, split themselves into two groups. Of the remaining nine, three of them decided to attack the Nameks, but found Flute's Solaris Guard too difficult to break through, and the other six chose to attack Kai, who merely danced between them with a combination of his speed and his Zanzoken, dodging every blow and crying out, "Too slow!" with a Saiyan smirk firmly entrenched on his face.
The robots, in an ironic display, decided to try and prove Kai wrong, attacking again in the exact same fashion, but once again the results were the same for both groups. Flute's Solaris Guard once again blocked every attack, and Kai's speed one again proved too fast for the robots to keep up with.
Kai's smirk only grew with each attack he dodged. Deciding he'd played enough, he charged them again, blades still formed, and lashed out twice. This time they were more lucky, one only loosing a limb, and another managing to dodge completely, but as he jumped back and formed a massive ki ball, hurling it with a cry of "Magma Death Ball!" two more robots joined the list of casualties, with "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," coming from the dominating fused Saiyan.
Flute, deciding he'd blocked long enough, levelled both of his hands at the nearest robot, the gathering ki more than obvious, and with a cry of "Tempest Wrath!" launched a ki wave large enough to destroy the robot where it stood, and knock the two near it to the ground.
With a flash not unlike lightning, a huge ball of pure electrical energy coalesced above Viola's hands, and with a cry of "Gigavolt Strike!" she hurled it at the robots that had been trying to stop her up to this point, figuring that Kai could take care of himself just fine. The resulting explosion not only managed to destroy the two remaining robots near her, but also reached far enough to destroy one of the other group.
Without warning, another seven giant mecha were upon them, and an audible groan could be heard from Kai. Flute started to become worried, and he looked over at the Saiyan powerhouse, saying, "This isn't good. Kai, can you keep them distracted while Viola and I search for the dragon ball?"
Kai's smirk returned full force as an idea hit him, and without looking back he replied, "Sure, just make it quick, or else there may not be much of a planet left to search."
Flute immediately signalled for Viola to follow him, beginning to fly down to the surface as he did so, and Viola wasted no more that a single glance at Kai, who seemed to be forming a white ki ball in his hand, before following. Glancing back, Flute remarked, "If he's going to do what I think he is, he'd better be able to get back to normal, or we won't be able to leave."
A look of slight panic filled Viola's face as she said, "What is he going to do?"
Flute's reply was simply, "You'll find out soon enough..."
o-o-o
Kai's smirk turned feral, and with a cry of "Let's see you bastards beat THIS!" he hurled the white ball in his hands skyward, where it exploded in a brilliant white light, forming the ultimate technique of the Saiyan warrior Bardock, the artificial moon.
The robots paused in their advancement to scan the light, their metallic voices proclaiming, "No threat, remain on target," but the change before them that this non-threatening light caused in their opponent caused even these soulless robots to feel fear.
Kai's eyes focused on the light, and within seconds they started glowing a blood red. His last conscious thought before the change overtook him was, 'It's been so long. I hope my training still kicks in...' With an unearthly roar, he began the change into the true face of Saiyan might, the Oozaru.
o-o-o
The Nameks, hearing the blood-curdling wail, paused in their search to witness the event taking place.
o-o-o
As all involved watched, Kai's body began to change, his face turning ape-like, his muscles expanding, and his power skyrocketing. As was the norm, his power levelled off at exactly ten times his maximum. The difference this time was that his maximum was exponentially higher than normal, the body of the fusion containing more power than the sum of his parts, and with his transformation, he found himself in a larger body than normal, his Oozaru needing to expand to contain it's new found peak.
As his Oozaru training kicked in - all true warriors taught to harness their war form - he levelled his gaze on the robots, now cowering before his eyes, and unleashed a ki-powered roar, causing structural damage to the surrounding buildings, and causing six of the robots to be thrown backwards.
Roaring in anger, Kai's giant fists rained down upon the fallen robots, delivering ki-packed punches, and completely obliterating all three of his targets, and causing huge craters in the ground where the shockwave of his blows continued on.
o-o-o
The Nameks, in the mean time, find their target, the seven star dragon ball, embedded into the wall as a sort of trophy, and Flute quickly retrieves it. Viola, looking back in the direction they can hear Kai's roars coming from, said, "Think he's ok?"
Flute's reply was grim, "I'm sure he is, it's us we need to worry about now..."
Nodding more to herself than anything, Viola replied, "So what's the plan?"
His reply was swift and to the point, "We get back to the ship, and be ready to leave."
She nodded again, and with no more words said the two flew back and made the necessary preparations for a hasty escape.
o-o-o
As Kai continued to battle on, the robots began to amass in greater numbers. For every robot that fell, two more would take its place. What's more, those not completely destroyed were being repaired on the spot. Kai lashed out a few more times with ki-packed fists before his conscious mind realised the futility in continuing, over-riding his animalistic rage. With one more ki-powered roar, again sending his would-be attackers to the ground, he cut the flow of energy to the artificial moon, changing back to his normal form, and taking flight from the battle.
o-o-o
Back at the ship, Flute indicated to Viola to take the controls as he headed to the door to await Kai's return, and to prepare a going away present for their hosts. Wasting no time, she took his place, awaiting the signal to start the take-off. Using all the speed he could muster, Kai raced back to the ship, flying backwards so he could fire blasts at his pursuers for distraction.
As soon as his eyes spotted Kai on the horizon, Flute raised his hands and began collecting ki. Noticing this, Kai used his, or rather Kaen's, Helios Flare technique to buy Flute some time before quickly climbing aboard. His attack complete, Flute launched it skyward with a cry of "Deathzone Storm Grenade!" The attack sailed over the horizon, and upon reaching it's zenith it exploded into a brilliant light, and then was gone. No sooner had it disappeared, dark clouds began to muster, winds began to pick up, and powerful bolts of lightning began to arc across the sky, shooting at the tall buildings at intervals. Hurrying inside and closing the hatch behind him, Flute yelled out, "Get going now!"
No sooner had he said this than the ship was blasting out of the planet's atmosphere with all the speed it could muster. And as the ship left the planet, it could be seen that a violent storm had now covered the entire planet. As he watched the destruction, Kai couldn't help but adopt a look of respect for his green-skinned ally. Well, about as much respect as any Saiyan would ever show to a non-Saiyan anyway. And he couldn't help but be reminded of his - Kaen's - Flames of Chaos attack.
Flute sat down to rest, and began to calm his breathing. After a few minutes, he said in a tired voice, "The storms should cause enough electrical damage to make sure those robots will stay down."
A smirk firmly on his face, Kai said out loud, obviously directed at Flute, "Well, I must say I'm impressed. And here I thought Nameks were pacifistic by nature."
Flute, in turn, looked back to the planet, his face stony, as he replied, "It wasn't something I learned on purpose."
If anything, the smirk only widened, as Kai said, "Ooh, you've caught my interest."
"I think you have more important things to worry about right now," came the answer from the Namek
The Pi in Kai showed through for a second as he seemed to visibly pout, muttering, "...Tease..." before returning to normal so fast one could almost think they imagined it.
Flute remarked at Kai quickly, "Tell me, you've been fused for, oh, 20 minutes or so now, correct? Perhaps a little longer?"
The man in question just shrugged, replying, "Thereabouts, but it's hard to keep track sometimes."
Flute nodded sagely, continuing, "Indeed, so you will return to Kaen and Pi soon enough, correct?"
Kai raised an eyebrow, saying, "That's the general idea. What's your point?"
Flute nodded again, finishing his thought. "And the fact that you will both be completely naked will have no bearing on the matter."
Kai looked confused for a moment until realisation hit him, and panic began warring with... something else on his face. While the trademark fusion vest had grown with his transformation, the pants had not. Suddenly realising the full implication of the statement, and why Viola was making sure to look out the front of the ship, the panic fully set in, and Kai disappeared from the room in a flash.
Suddenly, the two were split apart again, and Kaen makes sure to turn away, just in case. Luckily for all involved, the clothing state of the fusion had no bearing on their own, and they were both still fully clothed. Pi, now standing over Kaen menacingly, said, "Oh Kaen..."
Something in her voice making him cautious, he looked over his shoulder warily at her. His fear was founded, as within moments her hammer slammed into him, knocking him to the ground, and she stormed off. Picking himself up, he said, maybe too loudly, "What was that for?"
She came back, her face red, from equal parts anger and embarrassment, as she said, "You wanted to see me naked, and, I would have been that way in front of Flute and Viola."
Getting defensive, he retorted, "Your thoughts weren't exactly innocent either, and it's not like they'd care; Up until a few weeks ago they thought they were asexual. Besides, I made the right choice before it was too late."
Still a little embarrassed, she leant down to whisper in his ear, "But I've already seen you naked, so I don't need to again." Saying this, she kissed him on the cheek and trotted off.
Both confusion and mild embarrassment filled his face as he whispered, "When..."
Flute, having used his moment to escape back to the controls, set into his normal meditation. Viola eyed Pi as she re-entered the cockpit, mildly surprised to see her still in her normal clothes after what Flute had said, but said nothing as she sat down to look out the window. Kaen, meanwhile, decided they both needed a little space, choosing to stay right where he was.
End Chapter 07
To be continued...