--- The Phoenix Chronicles ---
Chapter 08 - Unexpected Company
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It was here at last. His third birthday. As he awoke that morning, he knew, deep inside, that when the day was over, he'd never be the same again. He just had no idea how right he was.
The day started normally enough. He awoke as he often had since her second birthday, with his arms around her as she slept, in his bed, with her head resting on his chest. Ever since Pi had turned two their parents, all four of them, almost insisted they spend more time together. And while he may have been horrified at the time at the suggestion they share the same bed, as he idly stroked her hair this morning, as he often did, he found himself silently thanking them.
A loud crash from downstairs, followed by a cry of, "Damn it, be quiet! They're still asleep!" caused the raven-haired beauty in his arms to stir, finally awake, and she looked up at him, a slight blush on her face as she noticed where his hands were, before she chirped with a smile, "Good morning! Happy birthday Kaen!"
He smiled himself, replying, "I can think of no better way to start it than waking up with you in my arms."
Her blush intensified, but as the commotion downstairs carried on, she adorned a mild scowl as she said, "Come on. We better get down there before either someone gets killed, or they come and get us."
He smirked a little bit as she got up, saying, "Well, killing one, or both, of my siblings would make my morning complete."
She frowned as she hit him on the arm, saying, "Kaen, don't be so horrible! They're not that bad!"
His smirk remained as he got up himself, adding, "You didn't think so after their little prank the other day."
Her blush returned as she stood there embarrassed for a moment, before she shook her head and walked behind him, pushing him towards the door as she said, "Less talk, more walk."
The party was in full swing, and had been for some time now. Food had been eaten, and the giving of gifts had well begun. Everyone was there. His family, extended family, would-be family, and friends, both his own, and those he'd inherited from his late brother. Out of all the gifts he'd been given thus far, only one truly stuck in his mind. It was a necklace Pi had given him, one she said she bought from a visiting trader.
It was only simple in design, a circle broken into two parts, two separate medallions, one half white, that she would keep with her, and one half black, for him to carry. She said it would keep them together, no matter how far apart they were. They shared a laugh as he said, "You know we'll always be together!" but somewhere inside, he knew that before the day was over, this may no longer be the case, and once again, he had no idea how right he was.
His parents had opted to go last, and it was now their turn. As his father left to answer the knock on the door, his mother presented him with her gift, a new suit of armour. While his face showed little response, his mother, like his would-be mate, could already read him, seeing how he inwardly beamed, and she said with a smile, "Go on, try it on."
He did so instantly, getting a feel for it. He knew it would fit - all Saiyan armour did - and he took a minute to test its resistance before he noticed something, and asked aloud, "Hey, what's this insignia?"
Before anyone could respond, a new voice interjected, "That, young warrior, is the insignia of a First Class Squad Commander."
He recognized the voice instantly - every Saiyan should - and he spun around to face the speaker, falling to his knee upon completing the motion and bowing his head as he said respectfully, "Greetings Your Highness."
King Vegeta merely laughed, a hearty laugh, as he said, "There's no need to be so formal boy. While I may be here on business, this is your home, and your birthday no less."
Regardless, Kaen felt uncomfortable being anything but formal towards his king, and responded with, "Thank you Your Highness."
This time he ignored the formality, getting straight down to business. "Now then, young Kapskaen, I'm sure you're wondering why you have armour bearing that insignia. That is, in fact, the purpose of my visit." Kaen has assumed as much, but kept silent, as the king continued, "I have heard much about you, and about the potential you have. This is why I felt I had to come in person to deliver this. I have decided that now you are of age, it is time you receive your first mission, to purge the planet Hunaiya-Sei. Due to your great potential, however, I felt it would be an insult to your pride to start you off at the bottom, and thus, I have put you in charge of this mission. And while the mission may not be dangerous enough for a true test of your strength, it shall test your strength as a leader. Be proud young one." The king finished with a smile.
Kaen just knelt there, a look of awe on his face, before he managed to stammer, "It is an honour Your Highness."
The king nodded, and made a motion to leave, but before he could, Korin's friends, Kaen's surrogate brothers, rushed forward to kneel beside him, saying, "Your Highness, we respectfully request to be assigned to that team."
King Vegeta paused mid-stride, before turning back and facing Kaen, saying with much authority, "The final decision falls upon you Squad Leader Kapskaen. What say you?"
He raised his head, taking a moment to regard them, before turning to the king and saying, "Nothing would honour me more than to have them fight by my side, Your Highness."
The king nodded, saying, "So be it. Your request is granted," before smiling again and continuing, "Now then, you will leave in one weeks time. I look forward to the results."
Kaen took a moment to look at the boys again before bowing again and saying, in time with the five of them, "We won't let you down Your Highness."
The king nodded once more before turning on his heel and leaving, with an air of grace the whole while. It took the closing of the door to finally shake Kaen and his new team members from their stupor, but when they did he rose a new man, turning to face his family. The first to congratulate him was Pi, running forward and hugging him as she said, "Wow, congratulations. Squad Leader, on your first mission too." He could tell she wasn't looking forward to him going, a feeling he shared, but they both put on a brave face for each other.
After the rounds of congratulations had died down, his father spoke up, "Well, I guess it's time for my gift now. It's a little large to bring inside though, so it's sitting on the lawn outside." With wonder on his face, as thoughts of what it could be, and Pi's arms still around him, he followed his father outside, as did the others, and what he saw surprised all of them.
There, sat a single Saiyan-style space pod, a freshly built air around it. His father looked it over with pride in his eyes before turning to Kaen and saying, "So, what do you think? I built it myself especially for this after we received word of your impending mission."
With the thought 'So that's what they were going on about...' running through his head, he stepped out of Pi's grasp and walked forward to examine the ship, his ship. Running his hand along the outside, and looking through the window, he turned to his father and said, "You built this?"
A pride-filled smirk filled his father's face as he said, "Yup. It wasn't easy hiding it from you, I'll tell you that, but it was worth it. I've even built it big enough for two, although it'd be a little cramped." A teasing smirk replaced his prideful one as he continued, "Although, I doubt either you or the only person you'd ever share it with would be complaining much!"
Poorly hid laughter erupted from the others as Kaen and Pi, the innuendo-filled statement's other obvious target, failed to hide their embarrassment. Recovering slightly, Kaen slugged his father on the arm, hissing, "Dad!" but the man's smirk only grew as he saw how right he was.
He laughed, grabbing Kaen's shoulders and spinning him around as he said, "Now, now, there'll be plenty of time for that later, but we've got a party to continue, and I think your girl there would like a dance before the day's over."
Kaen growled, "Dad..." but his father just shook his head and pulled him closer.
"Look," he whispered, "You've got one week until deployment. I advise you make the most of it, understand?"
Kaen's voice was just as soft as he answered, "Yeah, I understand." As his father released him, he did something he'd only ever do for her. He swallowed his pride, ignoring all bar her as he walked towards her, taking her hand and kissing it at the end of a flourished bow. Tuning out the reactions from everyone else, he gazed up at her, torso still bowed, and said in a fake posh voice, "Would you care to dance m'lady?"
She simply blushed, giggled, and nodded, and as the two headed inside, the party began anew, this time with more to celebrate than before. Along with Kaen's coming of age, they had his deployment, promotion, and show of affection. And so they partied well into the night, stopping only when all involved were too tired and full to do much more. As they all retired for the night, Pi once again spending the night, Kaen's final act was to gaze at the girl in his arms, already asleep, and his final thought was 'I will come back for you. I promise.'
o-o-o
The ship sailed through the vast nothingness of space, the recovery of the third dragon ball still fresh, and an air of silence reigned over it's occupants, though each for different reasons. The Nameks were, as usual, meditating in their respective places, Flute at the control, and Viola in her seat next to him. The Saiyans, however, were silent for an entirely different reason.
Unlike the comfortable silence their green-skinned companions shared, theirs was uncomfortable. Pi remained in her own little space, sitting and looking out into space, avoiding Kaen after their last little revelation. Whether that was to avoid the subject or his ire remained to be seen. Kaen, for his part, just trained as he usually did, figuring that when she was ready to talk, she'd come to him. Despite this mindset, he found himself occasionally glancing at her, obviously paying him no mind, before shaking his head and continuing his warm-up.
The peace was rudely interrupted when the ship suddenly, and violently, jolted, as though it hit something. Kaen and Flute were the most prepared, the former taking to the air and using his ki to maintain balance, and the latter breaking his meditation to grab a hold of the command console. The females were less prepared, both falling from their seats, but while Pi was quick to react, managing to steady herself, Viola was caught unawares, thrown about violently with the ship.
As soon as it had started it was over, and Kaen, still hovering in the confines of the ship, looks around warily before barking out, "What the hell happened?"
From his place at the controls, Flute called back, "I don't know. Either we hit something, or something hit us, but I can't see a thing out here."
Wasting no time, the men used all means available to them to search for the cause. All their senses, normal, paranormal, or technological, searched everywhere as the ship hung in space, but all turned up nothing. In a voice almost low enough to be a whisper, Kaen remarked, "I don't like this..."
Pi looked out the window warily, before gasping out, "What's that?"
The men instantly looked in her direction, Flute turning the ship to face where she was looking, before asking, "What did you see?"
"I don't know. It looked like a glimmer or something, but then it was gone..." she replied.
Kaen growled softly under his breath, "Dammit... I don't like this..."
Viola finally managed to stand up, looking a little sore from the experience, and groaning mildly. Hearing her, Flute quickly went over and helped her up, asking, "Are you alright?"
She smiled weakly at him, a little more than embarrassed at her show of imbalance, before responding, "No, but I will be..."
Suddenly, Pi pointed at the window, exclaiming, "Look, over there!" and all heads snapped in her direction. Out the window, they could see a small shine, as if reflecting off something; off what, they couldn't tell.
Kaen's growl became more prominent as he said to no one in particular, "What is that?"
Flute just shook his head as he returned to the console, replying, "Whatever it is, I think it's better if we left it alone."
Kaen just stalked off, growling again, "I don't like this..."
As Flute sat down at the control and turned the ship around, attempting to continue on, he noticed that the ship seemed to be going in reverse, and gasped, "What in the name of Kami..." Kaen paused mid-stride as he heard this, turning to face their green-skinned pilot, as he cried out, "Something has a hold of us!"
o-o-o
Within moments they were inside what appeared to be a huge hanger, obviously belonging to a very large ship. Flute stood up, a grim look on his face, as he said, "Let's get out. I don't want anyone trying to force their way in here." After a quick stretch, just in case he needed to fight, Kaen nodded solemnly before leading the way out, watching Pi out of the corner of his eye. The others followed shortly, the females trailing behind, Pi being the last to exit.
At a glance, the hanger was obviously a receive and launch bay for Cold Empire space pods similar to Kaen's, and the moment he looked around and recognized the design, he started growling, his tail lashing around under his coat. Pi started stretching, preparing herself for a fight, while the Nameks looked wary, and slightly worried, but remained still.
A door opened nearby, and a small robot came out, scanning over the four of them, and announcing in a metallic voice, "Identification: Two Saiyans. Kapskaen, warrior first class. Pi, warrior first class. Warning, unknown sentients. Namek biology suggested." With a growl, Kaen raised his right hand, forming a ki blast aimed at the robot, which suddenly began to panic, stammering, "Warning, warning, high ki concentration detected."
An evil, Saiyan smirk filled his face as the thought 'So, they can detect ki...' ran through his head, and he increased the flow to the blast, causing it to double in size.
Without warning, the door opened again, allowing the entrance of another robot, similar in design to the first. However, the message this one had filled them with dread, as it announced, "All bow before the son of King Cold!"
Flute cringed, Viola gasped, and Pi was left mouth agape as she stammered, "Frieza! Here! This is his ship?"
Kaen, however, was more direct, firing the blast at the new robot, and it blew up with a cry, almost as if it could feel the pain the blast would have caused. Wasting no time, Kaen shed his coat, throwing it to the ground hard enough to send a resounding 'clang' through the docking bay and dent the solid steel ground, before dropping into a fighting stance, growling, "I have no intention of going without a fight!"
From the same door, he came. He walked in calmly, his demeanour relaxed, and his tail swaying behind him. At a glance, this man, obviously an Aisu, looked just like Frieza, but upon further examination, there were enough differences between the two to prove that this was someone else, like his different colouration. His voice dripped self-importance as he said, directed in Kaen's direction, "I hope you intend to clean up that mess."
Kaen just growled loudly before letting out a battle cry and lunging at him, fist drawn back and prepared to strike. The Aisu was fast to react, almost as fast as Kaen himself was to attack, and he managed to block the punch. "Hey, wait a second," the Aisu cried out, whether from fear or frustration it was unclear.
Jumping back, Kaen snarled again, growling, "What for lizard? I don't work for your kind anymore!"
With unbelievable patience, the Aisu remarked calmly, "That's all well and good, working for yourself is a hard task, kudos to you my friend, but why in the hell were you attacking me?"
Kaen growled again, replying, "I thought it would have been fairly obvious lizard. I don't like your kind! And you trapping us here isn't helping that view any!"
The air of calm remained as he spoke again, "Fine, you don't like my kind, that's my kind; I myself have done nothing to you. Also, I'm not trapping you here; you're here by accident. I was trying to figure out how this damned thing works when I ran into you, then the capture protocol was activated, whatever that is, and you're here."
Before Kaen could react, Flute cut in, saying, "Who are you anyway?" Kaen turned to glare at the Namek, noticing as he did how unusually silent the two females were, before returning his glare to the Aisu.
The Aisu in question just looked back, saying, "My name is Frost." He said it simply enough, but with enough pride from it to choke a small creature.
Kaen simply raised his right hand, again forming a ki blast, before saying, "Well Frost, give me one good reason not to blow your snake head off!"
With a smug look, Frost answered, "Because, I will be able to evade your pitiful attempt at an attack, and while this hangar has structural integrity, I am sure your blast will cause enough damage to suck you and your friends out into space. Last time I checked, Saiyans couldn't survive in space like my race can."
Flute looked over at Kaen, saying, "He's right, put it away."
Kaen just turned back to Flute, barking out, "Stay out of this!" After watching Pi for a few seconds though, he did follow his advice and reabsorbed the ki, more for her sake than his own.
Obviously feeling quite smug at this point, but wisely not allowing his face to show it, Frost turned to address Flute, "Thank you for making your friend here see reason. I have enough people trying to blast me because I look like my brother as it is."
Kaen started growling again around the word 'brother,' but did nothing. His hand, however, started clenching and unclenching as he resisted the urge to tear the Aisu's spine from his body and beat him with it, in an effort to keep the others, Pi most importantly, safe.
Pi looked thoughtful for a moment, before asking, "You're Frieza's brother?"
A sour look crossed Frost's face as he spat, "Try not to remind me, I really don't see the similarity. Besides, my brother is an ass."
Flute paused for a moment of thought before speaking, "You don't like your brother?"
The Aisu gave a short laugh, saying, "Half-brother I might add, and no I don't like him. In fact, I think 'loathe' would be an understatement. Although, I imagine he won't be too pleased with me now either..."
Having visibly calmed himself, Kaen spoke again in a more controlled tone, simply asking, "Why?"
This time, a smug grin made it's way onto Frost's face as he explained, "As you can see, this is a highly advanced ship, one of the most powerful in the galaxy, and the first of it's kind. The Prototype Destroyer Class, designated 'The Icebreaker.' Designed to be the flagship of the Cold Empire, replacing 'The Ice Queen' as Frieza's personal ship. That is, of course, until I stole it, and mere hours before the launching ceremony no less."
Pi couldn't help but giggle at this, while Viola, who would never let herself be quite that... girly, merely started smiling to herself. Flute, trying to remain impassive, was clearly trying to restrain a similar smile from gracing his face, and even the until-now angry Kaen was torn between remaining angry, and breaking out into a smirk, clearly leaning towards the latter. The humour he refused to show on his face was evident in his voice, however, as Kaen said, "You stole Frieza's flagship?"
Frost, finally noticing the two feminine figures towards the back of the group, approached them and answered in, what he assumed was, a confidant, alluring tone, "Yes, I did. Myself, and a group of others dedicated to making sure Frieza dies a slow and horrible death." He paused in his walk, donning an attempt at a sexy grin, as he continued, "Well hello ladies. And as you two ladies can see, I like to ride in style." He finished this performance by winking at them.
The amused looks faded from the Saiyan pair's faces faster than lightning, and as Kaen's growl returned, more prominent than before, Pi quickly glanced at Viola, silently asking her for her opinion. Viola merely shrugged, turning her back on the Aisu, silently answering Pi with 'Not my problem. Knock yourself out.' With a look saying she was less than impressed, Pi soon had the Aisu planted to the floor, a large hammer directed over his head, and before he could stop twitching a small blast, clearly a warning shot, landed mere inches from his head, barely strong enough to char the ground, but it's message loud and clear.
Frost recovered easily enough, getting back to his feet quickly; however his pride remained where it fell on the floor. Coughing slightly to compose himself, he continued, "Ahem, so since you seem to find my brother and his father's existence intolerable, how would you like to stay around for a while? We could use more power to back us." Frost obviously knew Saiyans had an ego to match their appetites, and just how to feed it.
The 'his father' did not go unnoticed by the group, but before anyone could comment, Kaen, still unimpressed from Frost's previous actions, barked out, "And why the hell should we?"
Frost paused for a moment, before the smug grin returned, and he said, "I have a fully operational training room designed for gravity training, that can absorb almost anything thrown around in it; it's impenetrable. Plus, this ship is undetectable by any scanner, faster than all ships in the galaxy, and has more features than everyone bar the designer himself knows about."
Kaen stern look started wavering around the words 'training room,' but he said nothing, either unsure of what to say, or not trusting his voice. Noticing his weakened resolve, Frost continued, "Did I mention my fully stocked cafeteria, with enough food to stuff an entire army of Saiyans with authentic food from anywhere in the galaxy of their choice?"
At this point Flute interjected, "Your offer is kind, and it is a worthy cause, but we are already on an important mission as it is."
Frost raised a hairless eyebrow, seemingly in equal parts curiosity and suspicion, before asking, "What kind of mission?"
Flute took a moment to regard the group. Kaen seemed lost in thought, and Pi just looked at her life-long crush, seemingly willing to accept Kaen's decision, whatever it may be. Viola, however, just looked at Flute, silently telling him to continue, and he nodded before turning back to Frost and saying, "I am trying to return some lost artefacts for my people. They are of great significance, and I am afraid we must decline your offer. I have already offered payment to the Saiyans for the task, but when they are done, perhaps then they can help you."
Suddenly, her eyes lighting up as an idea hit her, Pi smirked in true Saiyan fashion before approaching Frost in an alluring manner. Kaen, while inwardly shocked, kept his face stony, refusing to show any more of emotion.
Frost held his nose a little, giving her his best calm look, before saying, "Yes?"
Pi took her moment and put Frost in a headlock, saying, "Since you stole this ship, what's to keep us from kicking you out and taking it for ourselves?" Kaen fought to keep a smirk from his face. While he may not have approved of her methods, or the lizard touching any part of her, he had to admit to himself this was kind of amusing to watch.
Frost struggled to get free, well he tried to anyway, but being as close to her body as he was, the will only seemed to drain away, and he stammered out, "Uh, well, look, see, you can't, hey let go!"
She did so, letting him drop to the floor, before planting her foot in his back and saying, "Flute has been very nice to us, so how about you use this ship of yours to help him, and when he's done we can help you defeat Frieza. Deal?" This said, the smirk managed to make it's way onto Kaen's face now.
Frost squirmed a little more, before sighing and giving in, answering, "Okay, okay, but you have to do one thing for me, just let me up first." She let him stand, and he took a moment to regain what little of his composure he had left before looking at Pi with his best charming look, saying, "You'll have to spend the night with me." Before anyone could so much as blink, Kaen disappeared from where he stood, phasing in right in front of Frost, his tail thrashing violently, a loud, vicious growl emanating from him, and his right hand around the Aisu's neck, slowly applying pressure.
Pi looked at Kaen, the two sharing a smile for a moment as she said, "Thanks," before they looked back at Frost, her with a smirk and him with a glare. Being her diplomatic self, she answered, "How about we forget me spending the night with you, as well as every mention of it, and my boyfriend here won't tear out your spine and use it for tooth-floss?" To punctuate her statement, Kaen's grip started increasing by the second.
Frost managed to squeak, "Deal! Ack!" Flute, while extremely amused by the situation, simply shook his head with a slight grimace, muttering, "Saiyan negotiations..." telepathically, and in response, Viola allowed herself to laugh, also telepathically.
Kaen pulled the Aisu closer, until their faces almost touched, and whispered, "You keep that in mind." He drew back his left hand, let go with his right, and punched Frost in the chest, hard enough to send him flying no less than five metres before hitting the ground and sliding another five.
When momentum released him, Frost stood up, coughing slightly, and wheezing out, "Well, that's probably got to be my best encounter with a Saiyan so far..." He paused, turning to face Flute, before asking, "They always this polite with you?" His voice was dripping with sarcasm, to which, luckily, the Saiyans paid no mind.
Flute just shrugged, replying, "I may gain ire with them, but then, there wasn't any bad blood to begin with, so it's your problem."
Suddenly, a dry laugh resounded through the hanger, coming from the corner, and a shadowy figure cried out, "Shot down again." The group, though startled by the newcomer, refused to show it, and turned to face him. The man, assuming it could be called a man, couldn't have passed for human no matter how hard he tried. As if the wings weren't enough, they could see feathers, and what looked like a beak, clearly defining him as some species of birdman. He also had some kind of weird device on his upper right arm, but it was impossible to tell, from that distance at least, what it was.
Frost glared at him, barking, "You would do well to remember your place Avery!"
The man, revealed to be Avery, simply smirked, an action that looked rather creepy given his averian features, before walking off without another word. As he left, a girl, who appeared to be Saiyan, at least from that distance, came through moments before him, jumping out of his way with a startled cry, and looking over the newcomers with curious interest. The five of them turned towards the doorway upon hearing her, the Nameks looking wary upon seeing her, and Frost nursing his neck.
A look bordering on recognition filled her face as she saw Kaen, and she ran up to him, stopping less than a foot in front of him, and pausing, before giggling, "You're cute."
The Saiyan male's eyebrows shot up, almost to his hairline, wearing a look made up of equal parts shock, surprise, and fear, as he noticed a high ki spike behind him. For his own health, he took a very big step back, and she seemed to pout for a second, before she was knocked to her knees by a large hammer, Pi the wielder, who looked at the girl and shouted, "Mine!"
The girl just looked up, shouting indignantly, "Hey, what was that for?"
As she said this, Kaen noticed that she clearly didn't understand, and started smirking to himself. He opened all his senses, and spotted what was off about this new 'Saiyan' girl straight away. A little confused, Pi just raised an eyebrow as she said, "I just told you what for!"
At this, Kaen interjected, a smirk firmly entrenched on his face, "She clearly doesn't understand Saiya-Go, but then again, few cats do." A look of shock filled the new girl's face as he said this.
Frost shook his head, saying, "Kat, what are you trying to do? Get yourself killed?"
Before she could respond, Flute remarked, "She certainly seemed to know the right way to do it."
Dropping the illusion, and returning to a clearly feline appearance, as her ears and tail attested to, to say nothing of the fur covering much of her, she turned to Frost and said, "Well how was I 'sposed to know?" For a second, a flash of recognition came across Kaen's features, before it was hidden behind his usual expression again.
Frost simply smirked, saying, "Well, next time if you stuck around with me like I want you to, you'd know better." His statement was smacking with innuendo, so much even the romantically challenged Nameks could spot it. Kat just walked up to him, pausing a moment as she stood before him, before giving him a swift kick square between the legs. In response, he just gasped a last breath, grabbed his crotch, and collapsed to the ground.
Pi turned to look at Kaen, saying in a serious voice, "Don't complain about how I choose to punish you from now on." The man in question just winced almost sympathetically before nodding solemnly. Seeing this, she smiled and hugged his arm, as if forgetting instantly whatever prior animosity was between them, and missing the mild jealous look on Kat's face as she watched them.
Flute could only shake his head at this display, moving over to Frost and healing him, before saying, "Is there anywhere on this ship where I will be able to meditate in peace? It will make the task of finding my peoples' relics faster."
For the umpteenth time that day, Frost stood up, coughing a little, before replying, "There are a lot of free rooms on this ship, so please, feel free to take a larger one for yourself."
Viola just nodded and walked off, clearly intent on exploring, and leaving this circus behind, and Flute exited shortly after. It was only their enhanced hearing that allowed them to hear Frost's departing statement, after he'd regained his composure, "I need to go figure out what else this hunk of junk can do, so I'll be on the flight deck if you need me. The living quarters are down the hall, to the right."
Before he could get too far, Kaen called out, "And which way to the training and food rooms?"
With an amused look that went unnoticed by the Saiyans, he looked over his shoulder and replied, "Kat seems quite keen to show you around, so I'm sure she can help you."
The feline girl just jumped up, seemingly full of energy again, and chirped out, "Yes sir."
Frost shook his head, sighing, "If only you were this compliant when I wanted you to do me a favour or two." His voice made it sound innocent, but his face showed what he really meant, and he slipped out of the room before she could do anything more than glare in his direction. Obviously, her glare was nothing compared to what he'd already seen today, but the repercussions of sticking around weren't worth it.
After giving Kat a rather dry look, Pi turned to face Kaen and asked, "Hungry?" His stomach answered her before he could, and she smiled, looking towards Kat and saying, "Lead on please!"
After a slight smile, that she hoped didn't look as forced as it was, she turned away, calling, "Follow me!" over her shoulder, and beginning to walk to the cafeteria. The pair followed shortly after, Pi still latched onto Kaen's arm, as he gazed around at the ship, the engineering in his blood (from his father) kicking in. Pi, although she did look around the ship, kept a wary eye on Kat, who either didn't notice the scrutiny she was under, or chose to ignore it.
o-o-o
After a short amount of walking they arrived, and as soon as the smell of food reached his nostrils, all thoughts of machines, or much else for that matter, was forced from his mind. Letting go of his arm, she walked ahead to the order droid, asking for an old style Saiyan cuisine, which was served to her moments later. She tried a bit before scowling, and cursing softly to herself as she forced her way into the kitchen, and forced the chef robots out.
Kaen watched on with amusement on his face, and Kat with confusion, as one of the robots tried to protest her actions, and received a mild ki blast for its troubles. The blast sent it clear across the room, and as it lay there in a pile upon the ground, robotic cries of, "Why? Why was I programmed to feel pain?" could be heard.
Kaen started laughing heartily, and Pi poked her head back out again, looking at the robot and saying, "They can feel pain?" She looked to Kat for the answer.
Kat looked back, an amused smile on her face, as she answered, "Yeah. I'm not sure why, but I heard a few of Saiyans worked on this ship, so maybe they put that in as a way to relieve boredom or something. Either that, or Frieza wanted it to make himself feel big."
She smirked a little, looking back at Kaen and chirping, "Dinner will be ready soon!" No sooner had she said this than her head disappeared back into the kitchen again.
Kaen sat down at one of the nearby tables, a smile on his face, before he turned to study Kat for a bit. Feeling eyes upon her, she turned to him, noticing his look, and asking a little nervously, "What?"
He waited a moment, seemingly making sure he was correct, before saying plainly, "I remember you. I never forget a face. Now, would you mind telling me what you're doing here?"
She sighed, taking a seat across from him, but far enough away to not warrant her getting hit again, and said, "After you left, I decided I wasn't going to sit idly by while Frieza terrorized the galaxy. I lost everything that day, you know it as well as I do, and he is going to pay for it."
He just nodded, saying, "I understand that, but why are you here? I never would have thought you'd work with an Aisu, and Frieza's brother at that."
She sighed again. This was obviously not something she wanted to discuss, but she felt compelled to at least give him some form of justification. After a few moments silence, spent collecting her thoughts, she answered, "Truth be told, I'd hoped it'd lead me to you again. I heard the reports; you're not exactly subtle, and I figured Frost was gonna run into you sooner or later. I mean, I know you're taken, but I don't know, I just... couldn't let you go that easily..." She trailed off, seemingly unwilling to say anymore.
Even had she wanted too, it seemed their moment to talk was over, as Pi exited the kitchen with a satisfied smirk on her face, dusting her hands, and the kitchen robots began serving up the food, obviously having been put to good use. As she sat down next to him, that smirk still intact, she remarked, "They'll know how to cook properly from now on."
Kaen smiled at her, saying, "That's good to hear," and noticing the food now laid out in front, the robots poised to refill any empty plates, he silently thanked whatever deity deemed him worthy of such treatment, before starting to eat in true Saiyan fashion. Pi soon joined him, after making a small gesture for Kat to join them.
The young girl smiled shyly, still a little uncomfortable around her after what had happened in the hanger, but none-the-less she joined in, albeit much slower, after saying, "Thanks, I've never had Saiyan food before..."
o-o-o
After much eating, and the three had eaten their fill, Kaen leaned back, holding his stomach, before letting out a huge belch and saying, "Wow, that was good."
Pi smiled as she stood up, winking at Kaen before trotting off back into the kitchen. Kat watched her go for a moment, before saying to no one in particular, "So, that's her huh?" Her statement's intended listener was more than obvious, and he responded simply by nodding.
Before too long Pi came back with a large plate of true Vegetan-style custard slice, Kaen's favourite desert, and containing enough sugar to give an elephant diabetes, saying cheerfully, "I hope you saved room!"
He found it rather hard to resist the urge to drool, instead smiling appreciatively at her and replying, "Always." She placed it in front of him, after taking some for herself, and he was about to dig in when he remembered Kat. Clearly torn about the choice between food and generosity, a hard choice for any Saiyan, let alone one eating his/her favourite food, he looked at her again and asked, "Would you like some?"
Kat just looked at Pi, as if asking if it was okay, and Pi just smiled at her, quietly offering up some of hers so as to not take any from him. Kat smiled back in return, her eyes showing the depths of her thanks, but Kaen, deciding he'd already waited long enough, if not too long, began eating in earnest, savouring every bite. It had been over twelve months, four standard years, since he'd had it last.
Kat glanced at Pi for a moment, before casting her eyes down, and saying nervously, "I'm... I'm sorry about before... I... I know I did the wrong thing..."
Pi just nodded a little, saying, "It's okay." However, while her tone of voice was comforting, and understanding, the smirk on her face betrayed her feeling of superiority.
Seemingly over her nervousness, she cast a glance at Kaen for a moment, making sure he wasn't paying attention to them, before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially, "Do you think you could teach me that thing you did with the hammer?"
Realising that she clearly didn't want him to hear, Pi replied in the same hushed manner, "For Frost?"
Kat nodded, saying, "Yeah, it's mainly for him, but some of the other guys around here aren't much better."
Pi nodded and giggled quietly, saying, "Sure, no problem then."
Kat giggled a little herself, remarking, "Thanks. It looked quite effective."
Noticing the little giggle-fest, Kaen finished eating, casting a worried glance between the two before asking, in a voice that betrayed his nervousness to those who knew where to look, "What are you two up to?"
Pi just looked back, the epitome of innocence bar the smirk on her face, as she replied, "Nothing."
Hearing this, Kaen's eyes shot open, and he jumped to his feet, holding his hands out in front of him defensively and saying, "OOOHHH no, I know that look. Leave me out of whatever it is you're planning. I don't even want to know."
She giggled again, replying, "Okay, don't worry, I'm sure Frost will be more than happy to help." Saying this, she smirked again.
He was torn between protesting, and his gut feeling that whatever they were doing, it was something bad. Eventually, he trusted his instincts and stuck to his guns, trying to change the subject by saying, "Sure. Fine. Whatever. Which way to the training room?" He directed this last bit at Kat.
Pi nodded in agreement, and wasting no time Kat jumped up, chirping, "This way," again, and walking off. Pi followed behind, dragging Kaen with her, and he sighed quietly, whispering in a voice clearly not meant to be overheard, "Great, now there's two of them..."
o-o-o
After a short walk they arrived at the training room, and Kaen took a look around the room, trying to see what was so good about it. At a glance, it didn't look like anything special, just a large, empty room, easily large enough for a proper fight, but nothing to brag about.
Before they could do anything, a buzz over the intercom called Kat back up to the bridge, and she sighed, saying, "I better see what they want..."
Pi nodded, saying, "I'll show you some other time then."
Hiding his nervousness at whatever it was they were talking about, Kaen called out, "How does this thing work?"
Pausing at the doorway, Kat just pointed at a robot nearby, saying, "That robot can tell you everything you need to know. Well, I'll be back as soon as I can. I imagine you'll still be here." With this, she took her leave, grumbling under her breath, "I swear, sometimes it's like they don't want me to have any fun..."
Kaen waved goodbye lazily, already heading over to the robot to find out all he could, fast, while Pi began to explore the room. Upon finding another door, she cried out excitedly, "Hey, they have spare training outfits in here! I'm gonna change." As she disappeared inside, closing the door behind her, Kaen just waved lazily again, examining the robot, which seemed, in turn, to be examining him, waiting for something.
After studying it for a moment, he barked, "Tell me how to work everything in this room, now!" His tone made it clear it was an order, not a request.
The robot seemed afraid, and he could have sworn if it had pores it would have been sweating, but it managed to stutter, "All commands are voice activated. Would you like a list of commands?"
Kaen just glared at the robot, saying in a calm voice that inspired more fear than his growls, "Did I not make myself clear the first time?"
The robot backed away slightly before responding, "Prompt the training setting and command activate. For example, Gravity training activate. Training settings are Gravity, Duel-bot, and Temperature. Please specify amounts when calling activation. Please note, ki shields are constantly active to absorb ki shots that would normally breach the hull. Constant ki barrages may lead to shield depletion however, and cause failure, so please refrain from over taxing ki shields."
Kaen just nodded, barking out, "Gravity training activate, ten times." Within seconds, the gravity in the room levelled off at an equivalent of Vegeta-Sei, and he threw a few punches, getting the feel of the increased pull on his body. Satisfied, a smirk graced his face as he prepared himself for a proper workout. 'With a room as large as this,' he thought to himself, 'I can really let myself go. Well, more than I could before anyway...'
The door on the other side of the room slid open again, and as he heard Pi call out, "Wow, just like home," he turned to face her, taking a moment to admire what she was wearing. She held the new type armour in her hand still, wearing just the close fitting spandex body suit. However, unlike her last one, which covered her whole body, this one was cut short at the sleeves, leaving her forearms exposed, and cut short at the legs, fully exposing them. She put the armour on the ground for a moment as she began pinning her hair back with the dagger-like clasp she wore.
Kaen tried to refrain from staring, and tried to close his mouth, but he failed on both counts. However, it seemed Pi wasn't finished with her show yet, as she paused for a moment to run her finger along the collar, muttering, "It's too tight..." She took the clasp out of her hair again, causing it to spill across her shoulders, as she stretched out the body suit, cutting a v-shaped neckline into it. Satisfied, she slipped the armour over her head, which also hugged her form, and arched her back as she pinned her hair up again.
If anything, his jaw dropped lower, and she smiled at him, happy he was enjoying the show, and saying, "Ready to train a little?"
Trying to shake himself from his stupor, and failing rather miserably, he muttered, "Sure..." His voice still seemed a little dazed, and it showed on his face.
As she started to slip into her stance, she seemed to notice something, standing up again and saying, "Whoops, just a sec." She crouched down, taking a moment to tighten the strap on her boot, before rising again. However, as she rose, she lifted her legs first, slowly, and allowed the rest of her body to follow. While doing this, she allowed her hands to slide along her legs and thighs, her left hand continuing up her body to rest on her right shoulder, and her right hand extended to Kaen. She smirked, arrogant, determined, and alluring all at once, and used her extended hand to beckon him to fight, knowing that, with the show she put on, he wouldn't be able to.
Seeing she was right, she thought to herself, 'Sex is a weapon, and I wield it well.' Inside, she knew she'd never act like this in front of anyone, and would thoroughly punish anyone other than him who dared even think of her as such. Heck, she even usually punished him for it, but this time she decided to throw caution, and her usual reservations, to the wind, allowing her instincts to take over; as she watched him stand there, his mind clearly not on the impending fight, she couldn't help but be happy with the results.
With a smile on her face, she used her advantage to approach him slowly, even her walk adding to the effect. As she walked towards him, the one coherent thought that passed through his mind was how glad he was his outfit had been designed in such as way as to hide his excitement. She finally stopped just in front of him, resting her hand on his shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "Remember when we were kids?"
The thought, 'Obviously not well enough...' passed through his head, but all he could do in his current mentally clouded state was numbly stammer out, "Uh... yeah?"
"Never..." She laid her other hand on his opposite shoulder, "Drop..." She looked into his eyes, "Your..." She raised her right leg back, "Guard!" She punctuated her statement by driving her knee into his stomach.
In retrospect, he was glad she had attacked where she did, instead of his other obvious weak spot, but all he could do was drop to the ground, holding his stomach and cursing, before phasing out and reappearing several metres away, muttering, "That was cheap..."
She just winked at him, replying, "Just using my natural advantage," as she took her stance. Kaen just growled to himself, falling into his own unique stance, before closing his eyes, not trusting them at the moment lest she try and pull the same trick on him again, opting instead to rely on his ki sense to track her movements.
After a moment of silence which the two spend sizing each other up, Kaen smirked, saying, "Let's see how well you've trained..." before raising both his hands until they rest, crossed, at his forehead, and crying out, "Helios Flare!"
As the blinding flash erupted through the room, she quickly closed her eyes, waiting for it to subside, before retaliating with "Titan Burst!" but he phased out before the blast hit.
As he phased back in, they stared each other down, breaking the standoff as one.
Kaen threw his arms back, firing off his trademark attack with a cry of "Inferno Blast!"
At the same time, Pi fired back, shouting, "Titan Fury!" and the two beams collide, feuding for a few moments, before his started to be overcome, and he cut the flow to the beam, crossing his arms, and blocking the brunt of her attack.
Kaen just smirked as he lowered his arms, saying, "Not bad, but I've seen better."
She smirked back, replying, "Yeah, but I can't use my Disruption of Gaia in here. Besides, I don't wanna hurt you too badly." Saying this, she winked at him.
His smirk remained, saying, "Why do you think you're winning, hm? Don't wanna mess up that pretty face."
Her smirked again, remarking, "Compliments won't help you win, but they won't hurt either."
He fell back into his stance, smirk still firmly intact, and replying, "Are you gonna talk, or fight?"
"Sorry, don't want you to stress your weaker muscle," she taunted back, her smirk deepening as she mirrored his stance, but before he could respond she phased out, reappearing in front of him, and with a cry of "Rock Crusher!" swung her combined fists, covered in destructive green ki, in an arc, connecting directly with his chest, and sending him flying across the room.
Using his ki to stop himself before he could hit the wall, he hung upside down for a moment, regarding her, before calling out, "Hmm... That actually hurt." Righting himself, he hung in mid-air for a moment, thinking over his options. 'Hmm... I can't use my best attacks 'coz most of them are lethal... Damn, she really caught me off guard. I haven't been able to think properly since that little show she put on.' An idea struck him, and he smirked again, thinking, 'Well, two can play at that game...'
Without warning, he phased out again, phasing in behind her, and grabbing her by the base of the tail with his left hand, not enough to hurt, but enough to hold her. With his right hand, he grabbed her around the mouth, starting to drain her energy with his Heat Thief technique. Finally, in an effort to distract her, he used the hand holding her tail to lightly stroke it, still holding on to it.
She tried not to giggle, the sensation feeling ticklish at first, but as he leaned in, whispering, "You like that, huh?" in her ear, she quickly realised what he was up to.
'Shit, he's trying to use do to me what I did to him before...' she thought hurriedly. Fighting down the rising feelings, she decided to end this before it went somewhere she wasn't sure she was ready for, and drove her elbow into his ribs.
With his now free right hand, he fired a Blaze Cannon at her now exposed back, but, acting on instinct alone, she dropped to the ground, the majority of the blast sailing harmlessly over her head. She sent an elbow at his chin in an effort to put some distance between them, before raising a single hand over her head. With the thought 'This has gone on long enough.' running through her head, she formed her strongest attack, launching it with a cry of "Gaia Bomb!"
With a look bordering on panic on his face, he phased out, racing to put as much distance between them as possible, but as the attack exploded, the blast expanded rapidly, catching him in it's wake, and causing the entire ship to shudder from under the force of it. When the blast cleared, she could see him still conscious, and standing, although seeming to have trouble with both.
Smirking again, she asked, "Had enough?"
He simply smirked in kind, albeit a little painfully, as he replied, "You'll have to knock me out, and you know it."
She nodded, saying, "Always stubborn. Tell you what, we stop fighting now, and I'll kiss you better." She smirked again, although this time it was more alluring than boastful.
His face showed his inner war, as his pride at never calling a fight fought with his heart and common sense. Finally, he let his pride go this once, bowing his head a little and sighing, "...Fine."
Almost instantly, the hardened fighter was gone, and her face melted back into her childish smile as she giggled before trotting over to him, kissing him softly on the cheek. She helped him stand, saying, "Would you like a snack?"
In true Saiyan fashion, the pair either failed to remember, or chose to forget, the fact they had eaten a huge meal not one hour before, and he pretended to think it over, like he used to do when he was younger, before nodding, replying, "Yeah, why not?" And with that, the two headed out in search of food, the training room and all that went in it all but forgotten, and headed into one of the elevators, intent on heading towards the mess hall.
o-o-o
Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Flute headed in the direction of the control room, the location of the next dragon ball freshly in his mind. As he entered, he saw Kat, Avery, and Flute, all in places it seemed were designated to them, but no one seemed to notice his arrival. He looked about, feeling a little uncomfortable with the feeling he had no control of the ship, especially since the others asked so few questions. No one but Viola knew the true importance of the dragon balls they sought, and thus the greater burden of worry sat with them.
He stood there for a moment, wondering why they hadn't noticed his entry, until the answer hit him. 'Of course, most of the people of the Cold Empire are unable to sense ki on their own, and there's enough noise hear to drown out footsteps.' He cleared his throat a little to make himself known.
Kat spun her seat around, chirping, "Hiya."
The menfolk were far less responsive, Avery just glancing over his shoulder, and Frost turning around, asking in a voice that bordered on rude, "What do you want?"
Unsure of how to explain his situation, he paused in thought a moment before replying, "I have our next destination."
Kat's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed, "Really? Where?"
His face hid his nervousness well as he answered, "I do not know the place exactly, merely the direction."
With one, hairless, eyebrow raised, Frost said sceptically, "How in the hell do you figure that?
Viola chose this moment to turn up, obviously having finished exploring, and calling out as she entered, "That is not yours to question."
He turned his back to them, saying dismissively over his shoulder, "It's my ship, and I can ask what I like."
Before he knew what had hit him, she'd walked up to him, slamming his over the head with her own hammer, constructed purely of ki lightning, and saying angrily, "We will tell you what we feel you need to know, and nothing more. And until we finish our mission, you will do what we tell you, understand?"
Kat's eyes widened at the sight, thinking, 'Wow, she can do it too... I've really gotta learn how to do that...' Even the usually stoic Flute and Avery seemed to find the situation amusing, the former smirking, and the latter chuckling dryly to himself.
In a defeated tone, Frost muttered his reply from his place on the ground, "Understood."
Viola just smiled, a satisfied smile, and said, "Good," before turning back to Flute, nodding her head.
As Flute made his way to the command console, directing the flight crew in the direction he wanted, Frost picked himself up from the pile he lay in, muttering to himself about his poor treatment, his social status, and other nonsensical, and equally unimportant gibberish, but his complaining was cut short as Avery, overhearing him, started laughing louder.
He turned towards the birdman, directing an angry glare his way, as he spat, "I should pluck you bald." He paused as what appeared to be a barrel extended from the device on Avery's arm, and was pointed at his head, obviously naming the device as some sort of gun. His look turning nervous, Frost stammered, "But you have a big gun, and I like my head where it is."
With a dry "Boom!" from the Torian, the barrel retracted again, and his laughter resumed. Even Kat found herself giggling, despite her best effort to contain it.
As Flute, obviously done with his directions, peered over at Viola, motioning he was prepared to leave, she directed her gaze back to the Aisu, saying icily, "I take it there will be no further problems?"
Though it was phrased as such, her tone made it clear it was not a question, but he answered anyway, trying to hide his nervousness as he nodded and said, "I'll just be here trying to learn what these controls do. It didn't come with a manual."
She just raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else as she turned, and the two Nameks exited together.
As they walked down the hall, Flute looked onward, but began speaking, "I think it's vital we avoid telling the others what the dragon balls do at all costs."
She nodded solemnly, also keeping her gaze forward, as she responded, "I agree, especially that Frost. He's the type that would misuse them."
A hint of a smile graced Flutes lips as he said, "Indeed. Arrogant little individual is he not?"
The same almost smile appeared mirrored on her face as she replied, "Agreed. And if he's better than his brother, I'd hate to meet Frieza."
"Indeed."
They said nothing more until they reached the elevators. Flute pressed the call button, saying, "Let us find Kaen and Pi."
She smiled, an actual smile this time, and answered, "Yes, lets." After standing there nervously for a moment, she said a little hesitantly, "I hope you don't mind me stepping in like I did..."
He shook his head, as the vacant elevator arrived, and replied as they stepped inside, "It's quite alright."
Despite his reassurance, she still looked a little nervous as she continued, "It's just that... I... heard your distress..." She tapped the side of her head at this point, "and thought he might be more likely to listen to me, after Pi's little performance in the hanger."
Flute was a little silent before replying, "It's hard to remember how few people know to sense ki, or things such as that for that matter. Explaining it takes time we do not have."
At that moment on the bridge, Kat spied something glittering on the console in front of her. She watched it for a moment, noticing it flickering yellow, then orange, then off, before the cycle repeated itself. Her eyes lit up for a moment, and she looked around to see if anyone else noticed the shiny button, but it seems Frost was too bust nursing his bruised ego, and Avery was too far away.
She reached for it slowly, before quickly pulling her hand back, muttering, "I shouldn't..." However, the button just kept blinking, it's cycle never faltering. Yellow, orange, blank, yellow, orange, blank. She squirmed in her seat for a while, occasionally reaching for it and pulling back, twisting her head at times as though to watch it from different angles, her ears flattening back before standing upright again, and her tail swinging back and forth. If anyone were to watch her, they would notice she looked much like a kitten with a new toy.
Finally, it became too much for her, and she hastily pressed it. The lights in the ship immediately turned off, before returning in a red colour, and the air circulation becomes just a whisper. A computerised voice called out, "Main power conduit in self-repair mode. Please allow 120 minutes before reactivation. Minimal life support operational. Temperature control, offline. All elevators, locked down."
Frost immediately starts to panic, looking around frantically as he said, "How the hell did this happen? Oh man, someone's gonna blame me!"
Avery whipped around in his seat to face Kat, immediately suspecting her, and crying out, "What did you do?"
Her face one of total innocence, and seemingly offended at being asked, Kat shot back, "What makes you think I did anything?"
Catching wind of the conversation, Frost spun around, looking between the two of them before asking, "What happened?"
Without looking away from the Neko, Avery replied, "I think the kitten did something, but she won't admit to it."
She stood up angrily, shouting, "Shut up bird! You're always trying to get me into trouble just 'coz Frost likes me more than you!"
Avery stood up himself, shooting back, "And why do you think that is, huh? He only likes you more because he has it in his head that if he does you'll put out..."
Getting frustrated with the pair, and uncomfortable with where their argument was headed, Frost shouted over the top of them, "Calm down you two! At least it will fix itself in 2 hours. We don't die, things will just get warm. I just pity whoever happens to be in the elevators right now..."
In the elevator they shared, Pi looked around as it shuddered to a halt, saying, "What the...?"
Kaen just groaned, muttering, "I bet the lizard's behind this..."
At the same time, in a different elevator, Flute sat down as he heard the message, thinking out loud, "Looks like we're going to be delayed."
Viola made a sour face, muttering, "Probably Frost's way of payback..."
Flute looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking his head, replying, "I don't think so. It would end him in a great deal of pain and he knows it, so I doubt it is actually his fault."
She looked down at him, the sour face still on, before shaking her head and muttering, "You're far too trusting..."
Without looking up, he said, "There's a Neko-Jin on board. With all the lighted buttons on the controls, do you not think her instincts may take over?
She pondered this for a moment, before yielding, sighing, "I suppose... the Torian's probably not much better..." She sat down heavily, discarding her cloak, and grumbling to herself, "I am so going to hurt those two when we get out of here..."
Flute just smirked to himself, ignoring the glare cast his way, as the two settled into meditation to pass the time.
Over in the other elevator, Pi leaned up against the wall of the elevator to relax a little, and before too long Kaen did much the same, closing his eyes after deciding that if he must be stuck here he might as well get some rest. She shuffled over, resting her head against him, and he opened one eye, looking down at her, before adjusting his position to make her more comfortable, receiving a kiss on the cheek for his trouble.
o-o-o
Not more than 20 minutes passed, as the ship began to warm up, it's path having placed it near enough to the local star to be warmed by it's rays, and the diffusion of the power conduits heat energy made the air quite humid. Despite this, the male Saiyan seemed perfectly at ease with the temperature, resting calmly in the elevator without a drop of sweat on him. His female counterpart was comfortable enough, but even she still had to wipe sweat from her brow every so often.
In the Nameks' elevator, things weren't quite as relaxed. Flute had already discarded his cloak, and as Viola began looking more and more uncomfortable, telepathic grumbling could be heard.
Flute smirked to himself, conveying, "On Namek, we meditated with pure endurance, in blazing heat, to such points where the strain of our thought could shift mountains."
A glare settled on her face, one even conveyed telepathically, as she responded, "We didn't have that luxury. Quite the opposite in fact. With three moons the temperature often got to below freezing."
The ever patient Flute replied, "And yet it is a form of endurance."
With frustration rarely felt before, she said, "Well yes, but that doesn't help me much now, does it? I'm used to freezing cold temperatures. I can't handle the heat..."
With a voice like that you'd use to explain to a small child, Flute explained, "Remember back to those times. Remember what you focused on back then. Try to forget the temperature. Focus on the meditation."
She grumbled a little more before roughly severing the connection and returning focus, but she did manage to settle down once more, to which Flute just smirked to himself as he returned to meditating as well.
o-o-o
Another 20 minutes later, and things were getting hotter. Pi removed her armoured vest and tied her hair back, for what seemed like the tenth time. Kaen, however, still seemed perfectly relaxed, still without a single bead of sweat on him, although for his sake, he kept his eyes closed, knowing about her current state of dress.
He heard Pi giggling to herself a little, and without opening her eyes, he muttered, "What?"
"It was two years before you left," she answered.
This time, his voice conveyed confusion as he said, "What?"
"You were off training, and your mother told me to get you home for dinner." Though his face showed no change, she could tell he was showing interest in her story, so she leaned her head against him again and continued, "It was warm that season too. You must have gone for a swim. That's when I saw you." She giggled again.
An air of clarification filled the elevator as he said solemnly, "Oh," a thin smile forming on his face.
"It was so small then..." She paused, waiting just long enough for panic to set in, before finishing, with a smirk on her face, "Your tail I mean."
With his eyes still closed, he smacked her on the back of the head. Well, to anyone else it would have been a smack, but she barely felt it. She laughed again and hugged his arm, and in their relaxed state they failed to realise that his tail was coiled around her leg, and her tail around his.
o-o-o
A full hour had now passed, and things just seemed to be getting worse. Flute turned his back to Viola, stripping himself to the waist in an effort to keep as cool as possible. Viola merely squirmed in her seat, trying not to look behind her, or to let the heat get to her, but seemed to be failing on both counts. She also tried to keep her thoughts on her meditation, but was failing that as well. Luckily, with what was going on behind her, she did manage to keep her thoughts to herself, although only just.
Flute started poking about the crack of the elevator doors, mumbling thoughtfully, "So... These aren't sealed..." Viola, not hearing him, started mumbling to herself about the ramifications of using her electricity to power the elevator, but Flute shook his head, saying in a voice loud enough for her to hear, "You might damage it permanently, but I do have a temporary solution."
Without looking back, she called back in a tired voice, "Oh?"
Flute nodded and took back his coat, snapping his fingers, and from above them it began to drizzle, just a small amount of rain.
She sighed relaxingly, running her head under the light shower as she said, "Much better..."
He began to smile a little, cupping his hands, and drinking the water that collected. She followed suit, and it took her a moment to realise that she was now facing him, their faces only a couple of inches apart. She drew back quickly, trying not to blush, and his stoic expression hid his surprise.
It took her a few moments to calm her heart, the reason for it racing in the first place escaping her, but when she did she realised that her hand was wet. Looking down, she saw her top was now quite soaked and clingy, and she hurriedly folded her arms and turned away, her blush stronger than before. Unaware of why she did this, Flute just took a step back to give her some room.
Unsure of how to react, she just stammered, "S... Sorry..." before falling uncomfortably silent again.
"Uh... No, my fault," was the best reaction he could muster, and he snapped his fingers again, causing the rain to cease.
Back on the bridge, Frost was studying the control panel intently, trying to locate the reset switch to activate the power conduits again. Kat, still feigning innocence, just walked around the room, trying to find the coolest part, under the ever-vigilant eye of Avery, still unwavering in his opinion she'd done it. With an exclamation of, "Ah ha!" Frost hit a switch on the controls, and with a buzz the ship was awash with light, the air circulation resuming cooling the air rapidly.
With a sudden jolt the elevators sprang to life, and thinking quickly Flute used a small burst of ki to evaporate all the water. However, while the jolt wasn't enough to unsettle the Nameks, it did cause Pi to loose her balance, causing her to fall to the centre of the elevator. However, due to her firm grip on Kaen's arm, he was dragged down with her, and her centre of balance was thrown off by the same grip. The end result was Pi falling on her back on the elevator floor, and Kaen landing on top of her.
With a small bell, the doors opened, and directly across from them was Flute and Viola. After analysing how they were situated, Flute just closed his eyes in disgust, spitting, "Typical," and walked off down the hall, Viola following after a couple moments.
The Saiyans just looked at each other, shrugging simultaneously, before Kaen used his ki to lift him back to his feet, offering Pi a hand up. She took his hand, sticking her tongue out at him and she muttered, "Show off," in a good-natured voice, but he just shrugged again before pulling her up. Giving him a kiss on the cheek, she hurried off to the kitchen, but he just ambled behind her, knowing that it'd be a while until the food was ready, robots or no.
End Chapter 08
To be continued...
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Author's notes:
Neko/Neko-Jin: means 'cat person'
Torian/Tori-Jin: means 'bird person'
Not very original, huh?