. A Story with No Name .
One More Day
AN – Hello again. Well, nothing much happened last chapter, and the same goes for this one. Sorry about the exceptionally boring places, for some reason I had a blast. O.o; anyway, here's the next chapter. O.o; Any suggestions, comments, or anything at all are welcome.
Silence tightly consumed the room once more as every pair of eyes fell upon the cold-hearted prince. His eyes were still focused on the same far wall as his normally rugged and hateful voice quietly spoke, as though he felt he were molesting some boundary of social order in the group.
"Yes, well, from the sounds of your story, I think you left out a few details that could prove more important than you believed. The 'drug' that you described was something that was being tested before I left to Earth all those years ago. Many people were becoming desperate to not be so easily found by the scouters that had been invented, so several groups had come together to invent something that would mask the life ki that scouters detect. I know that there were several drugs starting to emerge, however most of them had yet to be tested to fit the standards of the…"
He paused for a moment, though it wasn't due to his lack of knowledge as to what it was called. He had paused through cautiousness in how he should describe it, since he knew the name wouldn't mean a thing to the Earthlings before him.
"It would be sort of like an organization that regulated trade, basically. To sell something to another planet, your product would have to pass certain guidelines. Of course, new drugs like that were rarely passed by the TARC, but there are other ways of selling something without abiding by the law. They call it the Market, which you mentioned, and it's basically like a massive group of smugglers that get their hands on rare items that you can't just sell in the normal market. Things like rare weaponry, antiques, drugs, natural resources, people, and scalps."
"Scalps, Vegeta? As in, human scalps?"
Krillin's voice interrupted his explanation, and Vegeta paused at the reactions he received.
"Yes, I said scalps and I meant it. But they weren't from just any random person. It was sort of like a status symbol. If you and your rich friends got together, you'd bring your rarest, most valuable items to show off your wealth, and after a few centuries, it became popular for them to have the scalps of kings or generals from across the universe. It's why Saiyans got along so well without having to do anything but fight. Scalp the king of the planet you just purged and get away with an extra thousand."
He paused again to recollect his thoughts.
"Anyway, I have no doubt that the drug they took was one of the prototypes that actually worked. I'm sure that it wears off eventually, and if what you said was true, then I'm sure that we'll be able to sense Gohan soon enough. Things like that never linger in the system of a Saiyan for long. So, that'll solve our immediate problems…"
Vegeta's voice suddenly fell soft, and his eyes fell to the ground with a slight worry flickering momentarily within his eyes. Piccolo arched his eyebrow, watching the speaker carefully. Vegeta knew a great deal more then he let on, but it was to be expected from someone that lived so long in space. Vegeta put the slightest amount of emphasis on his first word to give more passion towards what he was about to say.
"However, there is…something that is disturbing me deeply. You…"
His eyes flickered towards Tien for the first time throughout this whole ordeal.
"Could you describe the man you thought was Kakarot?"
Tien blinked as he watched Vegeta, not really understanding what he meant but thinking it better to answer the question. Vegeta was acting a little more unnerved the usual, which meant something had to be wrong.
"Well…he…uh, looked like Goku. Through and through. His hair, his face, his eyes, just everything. I mean, his eyes looked a lot angrier, and he acted a bit more sophisticated then usual, but besides how he was acting, there wasn't a damn thing that was different about him."
Vegeta studied Tien carefully as the three-eyed man spoke, and his eyes closed in thought at the reply.
"Did…did he have any scars? Like, around his neck?"
Tien raised an eyebrow as Vegeta spoke, then looked down to the ground as he tried to remember details of that precision. He stayed quiet for a long time while every soul in the room waited his reply. Tien slowly lifted his gaze, barely remembering something queer that snaked itself along the Saiyan's neck. He couldn't picture it, but he could just barely detect it, like a rock on the waters edge in a thick fog. Tien nodded weakly, and Vegeta snapped his eyes to the ground.
"So he did."
He lifted his right arm and drew it to the left side of his neck, placing a finger upon his flesh and precisely drawing it down to just above his left breast.
"About like that?"
Tien blinked, making eye contact with Vegeta in shock and everyone instantly began realizing the familiarity that rang within Vegeta's actions. Tien nodded cautiously.
"I think so…why?"
Vegeta nodded at the verbal cementation of his accusations, although he had known whom it was from the moment Tien's story introduced the fifth party.
"Then I suppose I should explain that as well. The person that you thought was Kakarot, as I'm sure all of you know by now, was not. It was a man that I've dealt with in the past by the name of Turles."
Everyone snapped up at this, easily recalling a fight they had taken part of with a Saiyan by that name. A Saiyan that looked unmistakably similar to Goku. Goku's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly, staring towards Vegeta in pure shock. Vegeta, however, looked around the mass of unbelieving faces with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. After he had completed several scans, his irritation towards their reaction grew.
"What? Did you all think that Kakarot was actually the guy who did it, or are you blown away by the fact that other Saiyans have names too?"
Piccolo calmed himself quickly, realizing that Vegeta had no knowledge of the Tree of Might episode that they had all taken part.
"Vegeta, a Saiyan that looked like Goku came here once. He brought with him a massive tree that sucked all energy from the Earth and produced a great fruit. He was amazingly powerful, and ruthless as hell."
Vegeta turned his head to the Namekian with his face contorted only the slightest measure in surprise.
"The Tree of Death? He brought it here? Then…"
Vegeta's eyes snapped more harshly towards where Goku stood, and a darkness bent his eyes to a hateful glare.
"Oh, and I'm supposing you killed him too?"
Goku nodded meekly, too bewildered to think straight. At this, Vegeta allowed his head to fall back in exasperation and he closed his eyes closed tightly as his hands covered his face.
"Oh dear God, Kakarot, do you have to kill every single member of…gah…"
Vegeta quickly regained his composure and sighed, knowing that the others were completely confused, and he resituated himself into a calmer posture.
"That was your brother."
Goku made a sort of 'gawk' sound and he stepped forward.
"What! I had another brother?"
Krillin grinned, looking towards Goku, and laughed lightly.
"Hey, don't sound so amazed. You guys looked so alike, I mean, you had to have been brothers."
He chuckled a bit when Vegeta's harsh voice interrupted his merriment.
"Not just a brother. A twin, obviously."
Tien blinked, quickly raising his voice in protest before the group could ignore him.
"But Goku killed him, didn't he?"
Vegeta closed his eyes, tilted his head down slightly and made a small nod.
"Yes, but I know that was him."
Piccolo turned his head towards Vegeta, his eyes narrowed with an intelligent air.
"But…"
The Namek suddenly understood and his eyes shot open at his realization. Vegeta looked towards him and nodded to solidify whatever Piccolo suddenly knew. Piccolo looked to the ground and shook his head.
"But it doesn't make any sense. Who would do that?"
Vegeta shrugged lightly, although his mind was burning with worry, fear, and in the deepest portions of his heart, excitement.
"Not too sure. Maybe someone just likes them."
Piccolo scoffed at that, and Vegeta chuckled at Piccolo's reaction. Krillin stood up quickly waving his arms around in hopes of catching their attention before they continued confusing everyone else present.
"Yo, guys. What's up? You know, we aren't all as smart as Piccolo over there."
Vegeta looked to Krillin, his face taking on a look that would be seen upon the face of a parent when their child asked where babies came from. He looked to the ground, about to speak when Piccolo took up the opportunity.
"Someone brought Turles back to life."
Krillin coughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Heh, uh, thanks, but I knew that one. Who's 'them'?"
Piccolo closed his eyes and softly gave the answer.
"Saiyans."
The group withdrew, yet again, in shock and disbelief. Many voices rose above the crowd, speaking many different reactions to what Piccolo had just said.
"What?"
"You lie!"
"Why?"
"A what?"
Everyone turned to look at Goku, who stood blinking dumbfounded, and Krillin exploded into laughter.
"Saiyans, Goku. You do know what a Saiyan is, don't you?"
Goku rubbed the back of his head and joined in the laughter.
"What! I didn't hear him."
Several people chuckled, but a bout of harsh glares from Piccolo and Vegeta quickly brought silence once more. Krillin's pleasant chuckles faded as he lifted his arm and scratched the back of his head.
"So, what does that mean for us?"
Vegeta, who had been growing more and more irritated towards their merriment, suddenly exploded at the ignorant question, his powerful voice booming throughout the entire house, enough to make the two boys who were playing in Trunks' room come out of hiding to see what had angered Vegeta so. The Prince's eyes burned with a powerful hatred.
"You fool! Do you not know what that means? They came to bring Kakarot before the Council of Leaders on Planet Vegeta! He is to be executed and you don't see its importance!"
Everyone withdrew from fear, cautiousness suddenly burning within every pair of eyes, and Krillin squeaked in surprise of the sudden outburst.
"But…uh…even if they wanted to kill him, they couldn't. I mean, they've been dead for years, and Frieza was able to kill 'um all off easily, so I highly doubt that they'll be able to get Goku."
Vegeta's lip rose and his eyes snapped to the ground in what seemed to have been defeat.
"Besides, what has Goku possibly done? I mean, if anything, they should make him King for killing Frieza. Am I right?"
Vegeta had calmed himself as Krillin spoke, though he lifted his gaze to fall upon the small monk.
"You don't get it. If they are alive, then every one of them is back. And that includes Radditz."
The others settled back down again, feeling another bout of explanations coming.
"And, as strange as this may sound to you, he'll instantly go to the Council and tell them how he died."
Goku stood suddenly, a desperate tone lying beneath his voice.
"So, even though I killed Frieza, they want to kill me because I killed Radditz when he, in the first place, had kidnapped my son and was threatening to destroy the only planet I've ever found to be a home?"
Goku's disgust at the situation was evident in his words, and Vegeta only grunted.
"Kakarot, you don't understand. The Saiyans honor family much more then you ruffians think. They look down upon people who kill their family as it is, but they loathe situations when a younger brother takes his older brother's life."
"But why? He was threatening my life, I had no other choice!"
"It doesn't matter! You, the second-born son, killed your older brother. A primal hatred burns between the two, but it is against every single code and law that has ever existed on my planet. You broke a tender law, and not only did you kill Radditz, you killed Turles as well. It's a double-hitter Kakarot. Two of your family members died by your hands, and the only reason you didn't slaughter the rest was because they were already six feet under!"
Vegeta's great voice boomed once more as he pointed to Goku with a sudden hatred burning in his eyes. Goku withdrew, surprised that Vegeta would speak to him in such a way, let alone believe it enough to say it to his face. Vegeta paused suddenly, as though he had just realized what he was saying, and he shrugged lightly and leaned back against the wall.
"Primal, Kakarot, purely primal. I could care less if you killed every member of your family, but, at the same time, something about it disgusts me. Nevertheless, that is one of the bigger reasons as to why they've come."
Krillin shifted slightly, partially out of nervousness and partially out of curiosity.
"Well, uh, if it's the Saiyans that want Goku dead, and you're the Saiyan Prince, then can't you just say 'Ahahaha, I love Kakarot, you will not kill him'?"
Vegeta glared darkly towards Krillin and sighed, shaking his head.
"It's not that simple. First of all, I don't know who has all been brought back to life. My first guess is that every Saiyan that died since the day Frieza destroyed the planet has been revived. And, if that's the case, then Lord Vegeta has been revived as well…"
His gaze lowered as a mass of confusion and dark thoughts suddenly exploded within his mind. He shook away the thoughts and continued.
"So that means that he outranks me enough to override any and all of my wishes. Of course, that will change the instant I meet with him, don't you worry about that, it's just that it takes time for things like that to play out properly, and by then Kakarot's fate would have been sealed."
Krillin coughed, hoping to stop Vegeta's explanation, and when the Prince lifted his gaze to fall upon the small monk, Krillin spoke sheepishly, feeling awkward that he had to bring this to topic.
"Uh, Vegeta, how can guys that were easy to kill 10 years ago be any match to Goku now?"
Vegeta grunted, knowing the true answer but not wanting to speak it out-loud. He sighed, and after picking a believable white lie, lifted his gaze to fall upon Krillin's face.
"Bald man, don't think I'm that much of a fool. I know that even you could kill some of the lower ranked, but that doesn't mean a damn thing. They have technology, Kid, and that same technology gives them the power to infiltrate the most secure and protected files of the universe, detect the position of a mouse from a galaxy away, and even snatch something from right under my nose without even the slightest thought."
Vegeta was making some sort of point with his last statement, but no one caught it and simply dismissed it as they had his other boastful declarations. Vegeta scoffed indignantly but turned his gaze to the ground.
"To make matters even worse, although you buffoons obviously don't see the situation for what it really is, someone out there had to have used the dragon balls to bring back the Saiyan race, and to the best of my knowledge, there are no dragons that exist who only grant one wish."
Realization struck hard. Everyone suddenly understood why Vegeta and Piccolo displayed so much distress. More then one wish had been granted. The group stayed silent for a long while when Krillin's head suddenly snapped up. His eyes gleamed with a realized hope.
"Hey, you guys are forgetting! Perunga can only bring one person back at a time! That…uh…means that…"
The monk blinked as the wheels in his shiny head kept on with their toils, and he watched as Piccolo's wise head lifted from its previously lowered position.
"That means that there is at least one other dragon out there that none of us know about…"
Vegeta straightened up.
"Or someone came without our knowledge, just as Turles had, and stole away with the dragon balls. They could have taken them somewhere else to invocate the dragon, to ensure that we wouldn't be alarmed."
Nods of agreement bounced throughout the group, and silence filled the air once more. Suddenly, a squeaky voice from the second level of the house entered the conversation.
"The dragon balls, huh?"
All eyes lifted to see the young boy Trunks and his best friend Goten sitting on the second floor near the stairs, obviously having been eavesdropping on the whole conversation. A weak surprise twinkled barely within the eyes of few, and Piccolo nodded to answer the young boy's question. Trunks, who was sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded across his chest, grinned and nodded.
"If they're some place else, then Mom's radar can tells us where."
With this, he stood up and spun around with a child-like agility and ran down the hallway out of sight. Goten watched his friend go, still sitting quietly near the railing at the top of the staircase, and suddenly stood and jumped down the stairs until he finally reached the bottom. He cutely smiled and walked over to a chair and sat down just as Trunks suddenly fell from the sky (having made a shortcut by jumping from the hallway railing instead of walking an extra five steps to get to the stairs) and landed firmly on the ground. He held out the hand-held device, presenting the yellow dots that blinked on its surface. Krillin leaned over to get a better view and expertly counted all seven dots that were scattered randomly across the screen.
"Huh…well, they're all there, and untouched too. That wish woulda had to have been made at least a year back."
Everyone nodded again as Piccolo spoke.
"Then there is another dragon…"
Goku's eyes narrowed as his heroic instincts began kicking into gear. He stood up, his eyes still focused upon the ground, and his clear voice demanded attention.
"I don't know about you guys, but I think it's useless to talk about this. We know two things. The dragon wasn't Shenlong, for one, and for another, Turles just stole our friends and has them captive somewhere out in space. I don't care if it was Perunga, I just care about getting my son back. I suggest we do that before they are all killed."
All eyes fell upon the orange-hued man as he spoke, and noble smiles of agreement shown upon everyone's faces (except for Piccolo and Vegeta). Vegeta sighed silently and leaned back against the wall, his head turned away from the group and focusing on a skyscraper that stood outside a window. Piccolo looked down to the ground and nodded indiscreetly, for he was too worried for Gohan's life to think straight anyway. Krillin smiled and stood up, his excitement for the new adventure glistening within his black eyes.
"Then let's go!"
Goku smiled towards his old friend, and shouted a 'yah' in joy and his son jumped up from the couch and cheered. Piccolo allowed his feet to touch the floor (he had been levitating in the air with his legs crossed) and had a simple smile resting upon his lips, showing his own form of enthusiasm. Krillin and Goku, characteristically, lunged towards the nearest hallway, carrying on and on about 'whooping their butts', 'saving the day' and, 'coming home with the ladies'. Goten quickly followed after his dad, skipping down the hall without taking any heed to the strange look Trunks was giving him. Piccolo followed the blind duo while Vegeta just stood watching their march down the hall.
Vegeta rolled his dark eyes and straightened away from the wall. He walked a few steps after them but stopped and folded his powerful arms across his chest, waiting for them to realize that they had no idea where they were going. Total morons, the whole lot of them. He still didn't understand why he wasted his breath on them. Goku and Krillin's voices soon faded as their journey took them deeper into the labyrinth of Capsule Corp. Vegeta calmly turned his head to gaze upon his only son.
"How long 'till someone screams?"
Trunks looked up to his dad and smiled.
"30 seconds, max."
Vegeta grinned and turned his attention back to the hallway before him. His son had definitely become so much more mature then Kakarot's boy, and had a much better head resting on his shoulders too. Within 10 seconds of the finishing of their conversation, a shrill screech resonated throughout the household, of which was followed by a faint, yet distinct, voice.
"Ah! Holy shit! Goku!"
Vegeta shook his head amusedly and followed after the screams, and soon stood before quite the sight. Goku stood backed against the wall with Krillin in his arms (the other three were a good distance away from the stressor), their eyes wide with a terror that brought a smile to his calm face.
Krillin clung onto Goku, trying to crawl closer to his friend for protection as he watched the most peculiar creature. Goku squeaked and tried to step back only to be met with failure. Vegeta pushed his way forward and calmly looked to the ground to see what creature had caused such distress. It was a small fuzzy creature with large, wet eyes and a cute body shape. Vegeta stared at its abnormally large eyes as it sat fiddling with its human-like hands and blinking stupidly towards him. He blinked, staring at it dumbfounded, when Goten laughed and stepped towards the small creature. He bent down and picked up the brown animal, laughing the whole time.
"He's so cute! I wonder what he is. I'm gonna name you Blinky!"
Trunks finally came and weaved around his father to see what had caused such commotion. He stared at Goten and rolled his eyes at his friend's simplicity, and he quickly walked forward and snatched the creature out Goten's hands.
"Goten, you dork, this is a sugar baby. And her name is Sugar."
Krillin, who had finally calmed down from his previous fright, jumped out of Goku's arms and landed firmly on the ground.
"Oh, a sugar baby. Huh, aren't those like, exotic or something?"
Trunks nodded, holding the large-eyed creature to his shoulder.
"She's straight outta Brazil, so Mom paid a lot to get her. It was a Christmas gift for Grandpa."
The small mammal crawled onto Trunks shoulder and sat blinking towards the array of people. It lifted its small hands and began cleaning its face calmly, obviously not in the least bit alarmed. Krillin laughed and shook his head.
"Man, I bet. I thought exotic pets were illegal, but I guess you can do anything if you have enough money."
Trunks grinned for a moment, and suddenly diverted his attention to his father. Vegeta stood bent over slightly, staring at the small creature perched upon his son's shoulder with a curious fascination sparkling within his eyes. Trunks turned to face his father and gently took the animal off his shoulder.
"You wanna hold her?"
Vegeta straightened up, unable to say anything before Trunks pushed the small mammal into his father's chest. Vegeta looked down at the small, large-eyed creature that now cuddled against his palms, and slowly brought it closer and closer to his face.
"It…it has hands…"
Trunks blinked, but soon laughed and nodded. His voice was mockingly slow, although his form of mockery was undoubtedly playful.
"Yeah Dad, it's a primate. Congratulations, you get a gold star."
Vegeta snapped a harsh, reprimanding glare to his son, and without saying a word, Trunks lowered his gaze and whispered a soft apology. Vegeta, satisfied with his son's reaction, calmly turned his gaze back upon the small beast and softly lifted a finger to pet the side of Sugar's head. He then lifted his head and threw it back towards the living room.
"You're not going to get anywhere if you just keep wandering around that way."
Vegeta turned smoothly and started walking back towards the living room. Everyone followed him, Goku and Krillin mumbling and occasionally breaking into a bout of giggles, as he led them back to the living room and turned down another hallway to begin the short journey towards room where Bulma kept her capsules. When Vegeta finally stopped by a door, he handed the sugar baby back to Trunks.
"Take her back to wherever she's supposed to be."
Trunks nodded obediently and instantly bolted down the hallway, quickly disappearing around a corner as Vegeta opened the door. He stepped inside and flicked his gaze around the room. The group followed him closely inside, having always been curious to see exactly how many capsules Bulma had, and were stunned to see what lay within. Open shelves, display boxes, cabinets, and a single, overloaded desk were neatly arranged within the small room. From what they could see, only about ten capsules were within sight, however, Vegeta opened a rather small floating cabinet to reveal their false accusations. That cabinet alone had at least 100 capsules, all placed neatly next to one another in numerically ordered rows, and the group could only begin to imagine the possible minimum. Vegeta's eyes expertly skimmed over the mass of technology, then appeared to have spot the one he had been so calmly searching for. He waited, however, until Trunks reappeared in the doorway.
"Come here, Boy."
Trunks weaved throughout the mass of bodies and soon stood next to his father.
"Yeah Dad?"
Vegeta pointed into the cabinet.
"Could you get number 33-B?"
Trunks floated up and reached inside, quickly picking out the specific one his dad had asked for. He held it out towards him, and Vegeta nodded to affirm that he had gotten the correct one. Trunks floated back down to the ground as Vegeta looked up to the rest of the group.
"Go on, get yourselves prepared. Don't bring more then two suitcases per person, anymore will only clutter the ship. We'll depart in the morning, if the old man has it ready by then."
Vegeta shrugged and waved his hand as though in dismissal, quickly forcing his way through the group and walking into the hallway. Trunks quickly followed after his father, disappearing around a corner as Vegeta headed off to speak with Dr. Briefs. The group stood blinking, and Goku looked down to Krillin.
"So, what's happening?"
Krillin chuckled and walked out of the room.
"Goku, we're going out into space to kick Turles' ass and bring Gohan and the girls back."
Goku laughed lightly and scratched the back of his head.
"I knew that."
Krillin paused and looked around as the other three finally made their way out. Goten ran over to his dad, sticking to him like a magnet, and he looked up, watching his dad. Tien looked down the ground.
"Hey, I'd really rather stay here then go out to space with you guys. Not like I have anything against space or anything, I just don't want those guys to come back here without someone standing in their way."
Goku looked up to his friend and nodded, completely understanding his wishes. Goku looked down to his son and placed a comforting hand upon his head.
"Come on Squirt, we gotta get ready for tomorrow."
Goten nodded and followed his dad to the door. Krillin walked outside as well, watching as Goku and Goten flew off with a bout of waves and farewells. He sighed and closed his eyes as the sun warmed his smooth face. The ghost of a smile lightened his face the slightest measure as he shook his head gently. He reopened his eyes to watch his oldest friend shrink to nothing among the vast sky of blue.
"What are we getting ourselves into, Goku?"