--- The Phoenix Chronicles ---
Chapter 11 - A Moment of Rest, Part 2 - Revelations
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A small ship, more of a pod than anything, sails through the emptiness of space on silent wings. It's engines are still, dead, as it continues on through momentum alone. The pilot lay inside, unconscious, his body broken and bleeding. The ships regenerative machinery has long since stopped healing him, as the ship is reduced to minimal power output, only the most basic of life support.
As it's pilot, the Saiyan warrior Kaen, fades in and out of consciousness, his mind contemplates just how surreal everything can seem when one dances the razors edge between life and death. He vaguely remembers his ship warning of an upcoming electromagnetic storm, but doesn't remember the storm hitting. He remembers the ship auto-plotting a course, but not it's destination.
He remembers the ship approaching its destination, but not how it got there, or how long it took to do so. His last conscious thought before darkness claims him for the last time is one of thanks that his ship had sent him in a direct line to the nearest planet.
He glared at the man before him, showing no fear despite the fact the other man was armed, as he said, "You didn't intimidate me last time Teki, and this time will be no different."
The man simply smirked in response as he raised his weapon, replying, "I didn't come here to intimidate you Ishi, I came here to kill you." He paused a moment before laughing and continuing, "Oh, don't look so shocked. I know you've seen this coming for a while now. You've stepped on my toes for the last time."
"You sonofabitch!" a third man yelled, running towards him, but the appearance of a gunship, Teki's gunship, stopped him in his tracks.
"Oh no you don't!" Teki warned, "You are going to stand there and watch as I blow your father away, or you're going to join him."
"Stand down Musuko!" Ishi ordered.
The third man, Musuko, glared at Teki a little longer, before stepping back, growling, "Mark my words, you're going to get yours someday."
He laughed, a short, evil laugh, as he trained his weapon on the older of the men, saying, "Who's going to give it to me, huh? You? Not likely. Now say goodbye old man, the time for your death is now."
A gasp from a bystander was the first clue something was wrong, followed shortly by another, and another, but he thought nothing of it. That was until he heard a noise, like a fire, steadily increasing. He heard a hushed cry of, "An asteroid," and he spun around, but it was too late to do anything bar witness his impending destruction.
A ball of fire, easily the size of a man or larger, tore through the upper atmosphere, heading directly for him. He didn't even have time to scream before it tore through the gunship with a massive explosion, and collided with the ground, the very ground he stood on, reducing it to a massive crater in a shower of earth.
A look of disbelief on his face, Musuko muttered, "Look's like that day is today after all..."
The people around just stared in equal parts shock and horror; many people had wanted to see him dead, but no one expected it to happen any time soon, let alone see him killed like this. As the fire started from it's passage through the atmosphere died down, another gasp came from those witnessing, as instead of the rock they expected to see, a spherical ship rested in the centre of the crater.
Wasting no time, Ishi dove into the crater, running up to what appeared to be the front. Taking a look in the window, he cried out, "There's a man inside!"
Taking that as his cue, Musuko, and a few other observers, followed him into the crater, and helped him open up what looked like the hatch. He was not, and may never have been, prepared for the sight that lay inside. He had seen some horrible sights in his time - his father was a doctor, it was par for the course - but he had never seen anyone hurt this badly, and it almost made him lose his lunch. With great effort he swallowed, before saying shakily, "There's no way he can still be alive..."
Feeling around for a pulse, and finding one, albeit very weak, Ishi turned around with a look of disbelief on his face as he replied, "Well, he is, but he may not be for longer." When his son failed to reply, he continued, "Are you going to help me bring him into the clinic, or are you going to stand there and watch him die?"
Shaking himself from his stupor, he helped his father carry the unknown injured man inside to begin the long, arduous process of saving his life.
As consciousness returned to him, the first thing he noticed was a high pitched beeping. At first, he thought it must have been some sort of warning from his ships controls, but as the haze of slumber began to dispel, he realised that it wasn't incessant, like an alarm should be. It was more rhythmic, almost like... A heartbeat!
With this realisation, he began to notice other things. First, he was lying down on something soft, probably a bed of some sort, so he wasn't in his ship anymore. Second, he seemed to be wearing what he guessed was a hospital gown instead of what was left of his armour and bodysuit. Third, there was more weight on his right arm and left leg than normal, and there were several other points on his body where unknown pressure was being applied, which he assumed were bandages. All three points seemed to indicate he had, somehow, reached the help he needed.
Opening his eyes slowly, he allowed his eyes to readjust to the light, made up of equal parts artificial and actual solar lights. That done, he looked around the room around him for anything that might tell him where he was. The room was rather small, with several other beds, he assumed, like his. The walls were painted white, and the floor was slightly reflective; everything looked very clean and sterile. All together, it looked like an ordinary hospital room, which didn't help him any.
Raising his arms to help him sit up, he noticed just what the weight around his right arm was, his right forearm to be exact. There, in plain sight, was a cast, indicating just how hurt he had been. He realised that a similar cast must've been the weight on his lower left leg. A sharp hiss escaped his lips as he pulled himself up. His tail hurt, a lot, and when the pain dimmed he realised that extra padding had been placed on the bed there, to compensate for him having had to lie down on his injured tail. For a moment, he expected to see a cast there as well, but as he noticed the bandages wrapped around it he realised just how unlikely that was.
"Oh, you're finally awake." An unknown man, a doctor by the looks of him, said as he walked in. "I take your tail still hurts."
He nodded slowly, stopping and holding a hand to his head as his vision began to swim.
"So, how do you feel?" the doctor asked.
He just glared at the doctor in response, well, where he assumed the doctor was, a glare that screamed 'How do you think I feel?'
Chuckling a little, the doctor said, "I take it by your look that was a stupid question."
He nodded once, slowly, before saying, his voice dry, "Where... Who..." He stopped, holding a hand to his head again as dizziness took him.
The doctor chuckled again, saying, "Sorry, guess I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Doctor Ishi, and you're in my clinic on Ichiba-Sei. So what's your name?"
Coughing a bit, he replied, "Can't..." trailing off once again as the room seemed to dance around him.
Unfazed, the doctor nodded, before saying, "You can't remember? Well that's not unexpected; you did suffer a serious head injury. Don't worry, it'll all come back..." He trailed off as the unknown patient raised his right, cast-covered hand as if to say 'Stop.'
Taking a moment to collect himself, and swallowing several times to wet his dry throat, he said, "I remember, but I... can't tell you. Too dangerous..."
Now slightly confused, the doctor asked, "Why can't you tell me your name? How can knowing it be dangerous to you?"
Laughing a little, but stopping as he broke out in a fit of coughs, he replied, his head now clear, "It's not dangerous for me, it's dangerous for you. The man who tried to kill me knew my name, so it's better for you if you never met me."
The doctor raised an eyebrow, be it in question, amusement, or wonder, he couldn't tell, but otherwise made no comment. Right up until the point the still unnamed patient started to get out of the bed, when he started stammering, "Look, sir, you really shouldn't. You need your rest. You've been asleep for three days straight so far, and you're not ready to be up and around."
He got up regardless, and shooting the doctor a look, he said, "I've slept long enough. I thank you for your help, but I can't really pay you. Now, you can either bring me my clothes, or I can walk out of here dressed like this, it's up to you."
The doctor looked at him sceptically for a moment, before walking away and coming back with some clothes in his hand. At his patients questioning glance, as he noticed the garments weren't his, the doctor replied, "Your clothes were too damaged to be saved. I actually had to cut many of them off you to fix your wounds. The boots are pretty much all I could save, so I had to give you some of my son's old clothes. You're about his size, and they're loose enough to fit over your casts. On that note, you'll need to come back in a week or two to have them removed. And as for paying me, you needn't worry about that; this is a free clinic I fund with the profits from the adjoining hotel I own. In fact, I should probably pay you."
Pausing in dressing, he raised an eyebrow in question, asking, "Oh? How so?"
Chuckling again, the doctor answered, "Well, when you landed - a nice dramatic landing I might add - you crushed a man who was just three seconds away from killing me, and thus saved my life. While I doubt it was your intention to do so, I feel I should reward you anyway, so I'll give you a few nights stay in my hotel next door, free of charge, all inclusive."
Laughing a little himself as he pulled on his left boot, silently thanking it's maker that, being stretch-fit, he could wear it with his foot in a cast, the man replied, "You might just regret that, but okay, I accept. Now, I don't suppose you can point me in the general direction of my ship?"
Letting out an exasperated sigh, and muttering, "I said you'll need to come back in a week or two..." under his breath, he said out loud, "I had it put in storage, you can get directions from the lady at the reception desk of the hotel. I'm letting you leave against my better judgement; you barely survived, you know that right?"
He just shrugged, replying, "I'm not scared of death. Hell, the closer I come to it, the stronger I get. Thanks for everything doc, and I hope you won't be offended if I say I hope we never meet again."
And with no more than that, he was gone, his identity still a mystery.
o-o-o
The Icebreaker hurtles through the vastness of space on silent wings, it's destination the fifth mystical dragon ball. After spending a day recuperating from their last venture, and recovering the fourth ball, it seems its business as usual again for the unusual group of travellers. The Aisu Frost sits at his controls, flanked by Kat and Avery, all under the watchful eye of the stoic Flute. Well, his watchful third eye anyway, as, in the muted silence, Flute sits in meditation, floating partially in the air.
Frost and Avery appear, at least at first glance, to be busy at their controls, but every so often one, or both, of them turns towards Kat, trying to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't do anything. For her part, she either doesn't notice their scrutiny, or doesn't care, as she sits at her terminal silently, pouting over their treating her like a child yesterday.
In another part of the ship, the Saiyan Pi stirred from her rest, sitting up wearily and yawning, stretching a little as she did so. Her partner Kaen, noticing her awakening from his current location in the training room, greets her telepathically with a simple, "Morning."
She appeared a little miffed as she responded, "Why didn't you wake me?" her mood showing through the bond.
To his credit, he managed to resist the fear he knew he should feel at having her angry at him as he replied, "You looked too beautiful lying there, I just couldn't bring myself to wake you."
His response made her blush furiously, and feel giddy to boot, but she managed to keep this to herself as she said, "I wanted to do some training with you, and you know it."
He sighed before responding, "I know, and you know as well as I do that I'd love that, but I also wanted to get in some training with my new form and... I didn't really want you to feel what I was going through at the time..."
She shuddered a little as she felt a little of his after thoughts on the matter filtering through their bond; she only had a vague idea of what had happened, and everyone was being tight-lipped about it. "I'm tough enough to deal with it Kaen, I have to be, with you as my mate," she joked.
His smile was evident even from their different locations, and his mental voice sounded more light-hearted as he replied, "I know, guess I'm just trying to save you unnecessary pain. Don't worry, you know I'll come around eventually." He laughed a little as he added, "Just may take me a little while, but what else is new?"
She dressed herself and shook her head a little. "Just remember Kaen, anything you learn you need to show me too."
His 'smile' broadened as he replied, "I wouldn't have it any other way. What sort of teacher would I be if I kept things from my best student?"
"A Saiyan one." Her response came swiftly as she headed out of the room, and he just shrugged mentally. At that she let their conversation end, heading into the hall in search of Viola.
The woman in question was currently just wandering the ship aimlessly, deciding to just now explore the places she'd yet to look at. At least, that was her excuse; truth be told, she was trying to get as far away from Flute as possible until she could work a few things out.
Pi spent a few minutes trying to find her, sensing her out and tracking her down. Noticing the attention, Viola stopped in her exploration and flared her ki a little to help her track. She soon caught up, smiling as she asked, "Having fun?"
The Namek woman smiled a bit herself, saying, "Yeah. This ship is so huge, I could probably spend a week searching and not find everything."
See nodded, replying, "Sure is a big place. Oh, I meant to ask you, were you feeling okay yesterday?"
Turning away in an attempt to hide the rising blush with forced curiosity, she replied, "Yeah, more or less..."
Surprised by Viola's reaction, Pi prodded further, "You and Flute looked like you were drunk..."
She shrugged, saying, "I wouldn't know exactly, but I know that drink made me feel better than I have in a while now."
"Just the drink?" Pi asked in feigned innocence.
"Of course." Viola replied a little uneasily.
A broad grin broke onto her face, "You and Flute were getting very friendly before Kaen and I left..."
Forcefully turning away, Viola just flicked her hair over her shoulder as she replied stiffly, "I have no idea what you are talking about."
Realising her current approach wouldn't work, Pi switched tactics, making her voice a slightly pleading one as she said, "Oh please Viola, I thought we were friends. You can tell me anything, I promise to keep it secret." As Viola's only reply was a soft, defeated groan, Pi knew it was working, and pressed on, "So what happened Viola, tell me, please?"
Viola slumped her shoulders in defeat, thinking to herself 'Now I know why she always gets what she wants' as she crouched down and mumbled something under her breath, too soft for even her own ears to pick up.
Pi frowned slightly, somehow still managing to sound pleading, and yet sounding disapproving at the same time, as she said, "I can't hear you Viola. I promise I won't speak a word of it to anyone, really."
Looking up at her, she said, still softly, but now loud enough to be heard, "He kissed me... or I kissed him... or both, I don't know now..."
An excited look flooded Pi's face, and like a sister she grabbed hold of Viola's arm, giggling, "Well, what was it like? Did you enjoy it? Did he slip you his tongue?"Blushing madly, Viola was stuttering too much for any coherent reply to be understood, but her face said much her voice could not. Pi smiled, and stopped acting so childish, well, as best she could anyway; this was exciting news, and it was the first time she'd been able to have real girl talk for almost four standard years, and the first time ever since she and Kaen had become mates. Still smiling, she asked, "So, did Flute say anything?"
Managing to calm down somewhat after Pi's outburst, she replied, "We both said a lot of things... I'm not sure what you'd think was important though..."
The young Saiyan woman's tone became suspicious, "What did you say then? To spark his reaction enough to kiss you?" A smirk grew on her face.
Her blush returning, Viola managed to get out, "I don't remember exactly... I guess you could sum up what we both said to 'I'll be there for you if you need me'."
She smiled, sighing a little, "How romantic. Who knew?"
The green-skinned woman just blushed again, whispering, "I just wish I knew where to go from here..."
"Have you spoken to him about it at all?" Pi asked rather blandly, as if it were the most obvious step.
She just shook her head, saying, "I don't know what to say... That was one of the reasons I was down here, to try to figure things out... And as you said, we were both drunk... I'm not sure if he'd even remember..."
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Pi said determinedly, grabbing her arm again and more or less dragging her into the nearest elevator, hitting the button to take them to the control room. Viola struggled as best she could, but she knew it was futile; Pi was stronger than her after all, and seemed she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer - not that she often did.
Acting on her own impulse Pi smirked, relaying the information to Kaen telepathically, knowing both that Viola would never know, and that doing so wasn't breaking her promise - she promised never to say a word; she said no such thing about thinking them.
His reply came quickly, sounding very amused as he said, "Oh this I gotta see."
"Come to the control room, I'll delay it." She hit the button to let them out near their rooms, and dragged Viola out. The Namek woman's struggles became more desperate the closer they came to their destination, and were she not so concerned about what would happen when they got there, and finding ways to stop it happening, she would have noticed Pi was taking the long way, and wondered why.
Wasting no time, Kaen quickly left the training room, not even bothering to collect his coat, and hurried off to the control room as fast as he could without it being obvious he was hurrying. Even at a fast walking speed, for him anyway, he still arrived in the control room minutes ahead of the women, in part thanks to Pi's delaying.
When he arrived, Flute paused momentarily as he walked in, and Frost looked as well, both seemed to raise an eyebrow, in unison, in question of his presence.
Glaring at them, he answered their unasked question with, "What? I need something to do while the training room resets, and I figured that finding out how this ship worked would kill a fair amount of time, so I came to see it in my own eyes. Is that a problem?"
Flute returned to his silent meditation, but Frost kept his gaze on Kaen a while longer, saying, "Not at all. Oh, while you're here, I've got something I want to show you, as soon as I find where I put it," before turning back to his console, and starting looking for whatever he wanted.
Kaen just leant on the wall, trying to hide the rising smirk behind a bored expression, as he replied, "Take your time," in a similarly bored voice.
Before too long, Pi entered with Viola, the former still dragging the latter. Flute looked a little unhinged, to say the least, and Frost looked up at their entrance too, saying, "Well, well, well, looks like the whole gang is here."
From his position against the wall, Kaen called out, still in a forced bored voice, "Seems that way..."
Viola looked twice as nervous now, seeing everyone gathered there, as she did before, especially at Kaen being there. Pi smiled and released her now that she was in too deep to back out, and walked over to stand next to Kaen. After leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, she lay back against him, urging Viola on with her eyes. Trying her best to tune out everyone and everything else from her mind bar him, Viola slowly walked up to Flute, who still looked shell-shocked, and, after a few tries, managed to say, "C..Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Flute peered uneasily at the ground and nodded, but replied telepathically, "I won't say no..."
Fighting down the urge to speak either telepathically, or in her, their, native language, she wet her lips, suddenly drier than she ever remembered them being, as she asked, "Do... Do you remember... what you said yesterday?"
He blocked out the others around him as best he could, but still sounded slightly nervous as he said, "...Yes."
Looking directly into his eyes, both to help block out the others, and to help calm her nerves, she said, "I just... wanted to know where we go from here... I've... never felt like this before, and I've been in a... situation like this, so..." She trailed off, seemingly unsure of how to finish.
From his spot against the wall, Kaen tried valiantly to hide his knowing smirk, and Pi, still leaning against him, with her head resting on his chest, watched on silently, but excitedly.
Flute returned her gaze, and fumbled through his thoughts, trying to order them correctly, before eventually arriving at, "I do not know either, this is very... different. But I mean what I said, I will be here for you if you need me, other than that... well... who knows?"
She smiled, suddenly feeling braver than ever before, as she walked closer, saying in almost a whisper, yet one that, in the unusual quiet of the control room, was still hard by all, "Let's just make it up as we go then..." before kissing him. His shock, both at the show of affection, and the showing of it in front of their audience, was severely outweighed by his desire to wrap his arms around her an return it.
Pi sighed excitedly, stars almost visible in her eyes, and wrapped her arms around Kaen as best she could from her position; he, in turn, wrapped his arms around her, a smirk finally breaking it's way through, his tail snaking it's way around her waist. Kat sighed just as dramatically as Pi, while Frost's jaw almost dropped all the way down to the console he was looking over at the scene before him. Avery, however, just grunted sourly, a noise unheard by the others, before turning away.
Breaking the kiss, and after staring into Flute's eyes for a moment, Viola suddenly remembered the others, and started blushing heavily, but prided herself on the fact that she made no other reaction. Flute, on the other hand, simply gave an indignantly gruff "Hmph" towards the others.
Noticing the moment seemed to be over, Kaen called out from his position, to no one in particular, but loud enough for everyone to hear, "Guess I was right after all..." Pi jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow to knock some wind out of him, but he just held her closer, saying nothing else.
Still holding Viola, Flute had no idea what to do now, but he did know that whatever happened next, he wanted it to happen away from everyone's gaping view, so he offered his arm to Viola, making motions as though to leave. Still blushing, though the amount had lessened some, she smiled and accepted his offer, and the two left the room with a quiet amount of dignity.
As the two left earshot Frost shook his head slightly, saying, "Well, that was different to say the least, especially from a race considered practically galaxy-wide to be asexual."
Kat sighed a little, an excited and utterly girly sigh, with a trace of wistfulness that would go unnoticed to all but the most observant of people, as she said, "How romantic... It just goes to show there really is someone for everyone..." Everyone bar Avery, the only one not still looking out the way the Namek couple left, missed the quick glance she shot Kaen as she said this, including the man in question.
Shaking his head again, Frost aid, "Well Kaen, I suspect you came for the show, but the fun isn't over yet."
Still smirking, the Saiyan male remarked, "Am I that obvious?"
Frost smirked, replying good-naturedly, "As subtle as a brick."
"But better looking," Pi added.
Smiling down at her, he laughed, "I should think so."
Frost gave a short laugh at her comment and shook his head one more time, waiting until they were done before saying, "Well, like I said, the fun isn't over yet. Remember how I said I stole this ship from Frieza?"
Kaen nodded, replying, "It's kinda hard to forget."
The Aisu turned his chair to face Kaen, holding some sort of disc in his hand as he said, "Wanna see his face when he opened his hangar to find nothing?" He made no effort to hide the superiority etched onto his features
The Saiyan male's face lit up as he almost shouted, "Hell yes!" Despite his excitement, he still managed to keep his voice low enough to not hurt Pi's ears, which were currently in close proximity to his mouth, although it was only by a small margin. She only giggled as he did, but still elbowed him affectionately. Excited, and a little impatient, he picked her up where she stood, without disturbing either of them, as he levitated closer to the console.
Frost shook his head good-naturedly as he watched them, saying, "No need to be so close," before swivelling his chair towards the front of the ship and adding, "Play back, on main screen." The larger viewing port became obscured as the footage began to play, of Frieza's ceremony, the doors opening to reveal an empty hangar, and the mayhem that followed.
Kaen burst out laughing, making no effort to hide his amusement whatsoever. Frost simply smiled to himself, saying, "I've watched this over twenty times, and that never gets old," and adding quietly, too quietly for even the Saiyan's ear to pick up, "That's what you get for making my life a living hell you bastard."
Managing to hold his laughter in for a moment, Kaen blurted out abruptly, "Wait. Pause it a second." Frost deftly hit the console to freeze frame, and Kaen took a moment to properly examine the image before him before muttered in a semi-awed voice, "I don't believe it... No way..."
Their interests peaked, the others, minus Avery - who couldn't care less if he tried - turned to look at Kaen in silent question, but it was Frost who voiced the question first, "What?"
He pointed towards the screen, to a particular spot in the crowd, and replied, "That's my father, right there."
Pi looked excitedly, saying, "It does look like him... Can you make it bigger Frost?" The Aisu nodded, and pushed the required controls to zoom the image in at the spot Kaen had pointed out. The image clearly showed two older Saiyans, one male, one female, wearing barely resigned smirks mixed with shock, and two younger Saiyans, also one male, one female, in fits of laughter.
His voice excited, Kaen said, "That is them... Father, mother, and the midgets too..."
Pi gave him a defter blow than before, in defence of his siblings, chastising, "Be nice."
Raising an eyebrow in amusement, he retorted, "I am."
Frost paused in thought, seemingly oblivious to their actions, talking softly to himself, "Your father you say hmm?"
Looking back at the screen, Kaen said, to no one in particular, "Oh man... If they found that fall-down amusing, just imagine how they'd react knowing I'm on that missing ship right now..." Pi nodded, and giggled a little as well. Laughing a little bit as he noticed something else, he added, "And it seems like the little prince found it just as entertaining."
Frost nodded, saying, "Yes, King Vegeta was equally amused I assure you. Hell, I'll bet everyone in the crowd was amused, but those three kids were the only ones game enough to show it."
Kaen just laughed again, saying, "Yeah, they don't seem to be trying very hard to shut the kids up."
Giggling a little herself, Kat remarked, "So that's your family, huh? What are the odds?"
Frost shook his head, replying, "Not really much of a coincidence actually. I remember him now, your father that it. He's the one who designed this ship at Frieza's request."
The awed look returned as he took another look around the control room, as if seeing it for the first time. 'Why didn't I see it before?' he thought to himself. Now that he knew, he could see his father's particular brand of humour and style everywhere. The training room, the holo deck, the cafeteria, the pain-feeling robots; they practically had his old man's name scrawled across them in big bold red letters. He muttered, "No way..."
Pi smiled a little and stroked his tail absently as she took another look around as well, and gazing into her eyes he could see similar thoughts running through her mind. Looking down for a moment, he sighed wistfully, "I wish I could tell him I'm on his ship..."
"As soon as I figure out the long range communications I'll let you know," said Frost.
"You do that," Kaen replied; translating his words from 'Saiyan male' to 'Basic' you'd get something along the lines of "Thanks. I appreciate it." Grunting annoyedly, Kaen added almost bitterly, "I've already got a perfect way to contact him, one that would reach him directly, but the mongrel thing's fried." Looking at Pi for a moment, he continued, still speaking to Frost even if he wasn't looking at him, "See, my father built my pod especially for me, and a lot of the stuff in it, but most of the equipment was trashed by an electromagnetic storm."
"I could have one of the repair-bots take a look at it," Frost suggested helpfully.
He sighed again, "It's worth a shot, but I doubt they could do much. I've repaired most of it already. Cost me a packet too, I spent at least a month just getting it to usable conditions again, not to mention how much the parts cost. Problem is, if he couldn't find a part to do what he wanted, my dad tended to make a custom piece, usually one-of-a-kind. The comm-system had such a piece..."
Frost shrugged, "One-of-a-kind huh? Hard luck with that."
Laughing a little, although it seemed a little forced even to Frost, Kaen said, "You wouldn't believe how many people I had to kill just to repair it to as-is... I guess that was half the problem, I couldn't stick around long enough to get the custom parts built. There were other systems more important at the time... I could probably build it myself, but I'd need the materials, and they're expensive as hell..."
Shaking off the bad memories and musing before they could set in, he asked curiously, "Don't 'spose you've got the plans for this thing anywhere? If I know my father half as well as I think I do, he's loaded this thing with surprises."
Frost just shrugged, replying silently 'I don't know' before adding, "Once Frieza and Cold are removed from existence, I intend to go back to my home world and rule in Frieza's stead; owning the galaxy was never my thing. After that, I have no real use for this ship, so you can do with it what you want."
Kaen smirked again, saying, "Wonderful..." before taking another look around, adding after a moment of quiet, "I've tried to reproduce his work myself, but I guess I'll always be a warrior first."
At this point, Pi piped up, "Not until we finish helping Flute! Remember?"
Frost visibly cringed, his daydream of ruling temporarily crushed, as he replied, "Yes, yes, I remember."
Her mate just grinned again, saying, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten. I always finish the jobs I take on."
She paused for a moment, before asking thoughtfully, "I wonder why he needs the dragon balls... And if they're Namekian, how come they're spread out over the galaxy so far?"
Kaen just shrugged, replying, "Who knows? First thing I learnt as a mercenary was that people only tell you what you need to know to get a job done, and only when you need to know it. If it was important I'm sure he'd tell us."
Pi nodded a little, but persisted in a sweet, almost innocent way, "But aren't you the littlest bit curious about what they are?"
He shrugged again, saying, "'Course I am, I'm curious about most things I don't already know about, but the second thing I learnt was not to ask questions you don't expect an answer to."
"How do you know he won't answer?" Frost asked, curious now himself.
Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "I've been doing this for four standard years now, and for at least three of them I've been considered galaxy-wide as the best in the business. You can't work as a merc that long without learning to read your boss' expressions and personality; what they're not saying is often as important as what they are. It becomes obvious who's willing to talk and who isn't after a while."
Pi shrugged, then grinned and said, "Maybe Viola knows..."
Kaen grinned a little himself, replying, "Probably, but the question is, will she betray Flute's confidence?"
Frost found himself grinning despite himself as he added, "I don't think so, not after that little display."
Kaen laughed a little to himself, looking at Frost for a moment before saying, "Do you have any idea how amusing it was to watch that play out?" Pi giggled a little in agreement.
Frost nodded a little, commenting, "Certainly was an amusing little build up. So why'd you spike their drinks Kat?"
The feline girl, who'd up til now been silent, suddenly exploded into shock, spluttering, "But I didn't... I mean I never... I mean how was I 'sposed to know..."
The Aisu commander rose an eyebrow, saying wryly, "You mean to say, plain old carbonated water, sugar and caffeine got them drunk enough to do that?"
Kat nodded vehemently, replying, "That's right. I didn't touch their drinks, so unless the robots screwed it up it was just plain old Neko-style cola." She paused a moment, before adding a touch bitterly, "Besides, how would I get my hands on anything to spike the drinks with when I'm not allowed anything even resembling alcohol?"
Everyone seemed to either ignore, or not hear, the second statement. Pi paused a moment in thought before saying, "That might have done it by itself. Since Nameks only need plain water, and nothing else, to live, their bodies wouldn't be designed to handle much else."
Kaen just laughed again, saying, "Relax, this has been coming for a long time now. I knew almost from the moment they laid eyes on each other they'd wind up together."
Pi grinned a little, saying teasingly, "Really? I thought you were too distracted about me knocking you down with my hammer to notice much else. You always were a little think-headed at times, especially when you ran away, knowing full well I could, and would, find you again."
Frost choked back his laughter; now that he knew just how strong Kaen was he didn't want to earn his wrath. Kat, however, had no such fear, and laughed freely.
Kaen just glared playfully at his mate, replying, "One: When Viola turned up I'd long since recovered. Two: Yes I knew you'd follow me, but I didn't think you'd catch up that quickly. And three: my 'thick-head', as you put it, has only become that way because of your frequent attacks. I think I'm immune now."
Pi smirked at him, saying casually, "Well, that just means I'll have to use the stronger version." Frost shuddered at the thought.
Highly amused, Kaen replied, "Stronger version? I think you're bluffing..." He then smirked again, the half smirk, half cheeky grin he always bore as a child when he was either doing, or about to do, something that would get him in trouble with someone, usually her; and he wondered why his siblings were such terrors. He was just as bad, if not worse, than either of them when he was a kid, the only thing that made them worse was that there were two of them, but only one of him. With this expression firmly on his face, he finished his thought with, "...girl."
She shot a fierce glare his way before summoning up a hammer, not of energy this time, but seemingly of solid stone, before lashing out at him with it with a cry of "Baka." However, it went straight through the leftover image of him as he phased out, phasing in behind Frost. "Missed me-" he began taunting, only to get slammed from behind the second 'me' escaped his lips. True to her word, this was indeed a stronger version; however, true to his word, he had become immune to her original hammer, and thus this one didn't hurt him as much as it would have otherwise. Basically, they were back to where they'd started from, and he fell to one knee.
She stood behind him, arms crossed sternly, "You're becoming predictable. Besides, I have more to use against you than just the hammer now."
Hiding the pain well, Kaen just grinned up at her, that cheeky grin/smirk again, and said, "Was that supposed to hurt? I mean, it was a surprise, sure, but I've been hurt more by insects." Her glare hardened, and he just laughed and sped away, crying out, "Catch me if you can."
Frost watched in mild amusement as Pi sped after him. Even he could tell she wasn't really all that angry, and they were both just playing around, but it was amusing to see a pair of grown adults, and warriors at that, acting like a couple of children.
The two sped through the halls, Kaen randomly flinging weak blasts, and Pi dispelling them before they hit anything, but neither slowing. Finally, however, Pi grew bored of their game, and gave up chase, heading back to their shared room instead, and sitting down on the bed amicably.
Noticing their game was at an end, Kaen started heading her way, his mental voice semi-amused as he said through their bond, "I don't suppose saying 'I'm sorry' will help me any?"
"That depends. What are you sorry about?" She replied in kind.
This time he seemed very amused as he answered, "The same as usual, for making you angry, and for doubting in your abilities."
She shook her head slowly, smiling all the while; however much she denied it, she had as much pride as he did sometimes. "I always hated when you did that."
His reply was swift and to the point, "I know, that's why I did it so much. You always got stronger when you got angry."
She was still smiling at the memories, and nodded a little, both gestures sent through their bond, before she mused, "I really should punish you still..."
He smiled again, replying good-naturedly, "You usually do..."
The mirth was hard to keep out of her message, but there was still a very real, very cruel undertone to it as she said, "Like I said before, I have more to use against you than just my hammers now."
He forced himself not to shudder at the thoughts that single statement conjured up; she could be very cruel when she wanted to be. However, as bad as he might have been at lying, he'd grown very good at bluffing - it was a useful skill in battle after all - and his bluff now was that or the man without fear as he replied, "Well, I'm sure whatever you decide to do will be fair. I'd hate to think of you abusing your powers..." He made sure to emphasise the important points, namely the words 'fair' and 'abuse'.
She shrugged, saying, "Hardly, but let's see what my not sleeping by your side for a few nights will do to your attitude, hmm?" She smirked to herself.
He fought down two warring emotions, depression and amusement; amusement at the fact she'd try and use that against him, and disappointment because, as loath as he was to admit it, he'd grown used to sleeping with her laying against him, and knew he'd never get any real sleep without her there. Eventually the amusement broke through as he responded, "I seem to remember you chasing after me, not the other way around."
"And I remember how much you enjoyed leading me on," she retorted.
He shrugged again; he knew that he was going to lose this little discussion, bluff or no, but he wasn't going to cave in and change his story now, not even with the love of his life. Instead, he just said without really thinking it over, "Be that as it may, as much as I love you I spent twelve months without you, so I think I can survive a little longer if I must."
And with that statement, he hit her right in her sensitive spot, seemingly without realising it, and making her melt and ache all at the same time. She blushed terribly, couldn't stop smiling, and grew quiet, as the same thought kept running circles through her head, 'He loves me.' Sure she knew it in her heart, but hearing him say it meant so much more.
Having taken his time getting there, their conversation taking much of his attention, he walked, at last, into their room, leaning against the doorframe. He had long since prepared himself for whatever she might do to punish him, and vowed to take it like the warrior he was. Noticing the distant look on her face, and bracing himself for his punishment, he said out loud, "Care to share those thoughts?" However, nothing he'd done could have prepared him for what she did.
She just walked up to him silently, causing him to stand up straight, and just wrapped her arms around him, laying her head against his chest and whispering, almost too softly for him to hear, "I love you too..." While inwardly shocked, and wondering where all this came from, he wasn't about to argue the point, just wrapping his arms around her and holding her close. And through all this, the Icebreaker sailed on through the darkness of space, ignorant of the two romances on board, towards its next destination.
End Chapter 11
To be continued...