Chapter Five: Declarations and Revelations
Wednesday: 1432 hrs.
Goku offered Bulma a few quick and slightly gentle whacks on the back to aid the misguided piece of gum she had been chewing. Mercifully, she swallowed it, but had to down half a bottle of water to keep from coughing up a few tonsils. Trunks and Goten had finally been able to relay all that had occurred concerning the results of "Mission: Earth". The Z Senshi sat around, puzzled to say the least. They had had their fair share of evil bad asses wanting to get revenge against the warrior race that now resided on Earth. Still, it was odd that they could get a whole division of troops set against them.
"Saiya-jins, they said?" The two demis nodded. Vegeta stood and paced. "I can't imagine who would want to kill us this time. Any ideas Kakarot?" Goku blinked up at the ceiling, scratching the back of his head.
"Uh, no. I can't think of anyone else who would want me dead, that's still alive anyway."
"Figures," muttered the Prince, pinching the bridge of his nose. Pan looked around the room, listing all those that were present in her mind. Somebody was missing, who, she couldn't figure out. It was someone who took up a lot of space. Someone needed to be whining right now… "Hey, where's Yajarobi?"
Vegeta leveled a glare in her direction for interrupting his thinking. "Who knows? Who cares for that matter, we've got to deal with this—"
Said Samurai warrior and Mr. Satan came bounding in to the dinning room, apparently winded and tired. Yajarobi tried to form words, but could only manage a wheeze or two. Hercule, in slightly better shape than the former, sat up, wild eyes darting around the room. "News! Turn on the TV, you're not gonna believe what's going on." He collapsed in to a chair, Pan and Videl rushing to him.
Goku hopped over the two upturned chairs, flipping on the TV with a press of a button. All zoomed in on the screen. "War has broken out all over the world today as armies from different countries try to hunt down any dissidents to the new government taking place.
"Sources say that this new being will take charge of a new world government, in hopes of securing Earth for the human race. There are talks of certain destructive aliens that have been sent to destroy the planet. These persons are being searched for now, and if you happen to come in contact with them, please stay calm. Try to dial the nearest law enforcement center…"
A feminine hand slapped the TV off. Bulma whirled around in her seat, palms planted flat against the table top. "I have no clue what the hell is going on, but I don't like it one bit!" Trunks let out a small snort as he ruffled Veg's already tussled hair. The younger of the two swatted away the offensive hand.
"Now you know how we felt." A swift slap to the back of the head stifled any further remarks as Vegeta hovered triumphantly behind his son. "Don't be a smartass to your mother."
Ever the peacemaker, Goku stood at the other end of the table, gaining everyone's attention. "Look guys, I know this is weird, well, a bit freaky actually. But we've got to try to reason with this new president or king or whatever. We've been living here for over 20 years, some of us longer, and we haven't done anything to them. I'm sure they'll agree that we're pretty harmless." Vegeta rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the table as opposed to his chair.
"Let's face it Kakarot. They're not going to listen. Whoever this new ruler is has got them fairly brainwashed to believe whatever shit is leaking from his face. Reasoning won't do. We'll have to take out the brains of this uprising, or we'll have to resort to wiping out all the humans and start over again."
Bulma punched him in the thigh and promptly reminded him that she, as well as the majority of the other Senshi, were humans. "Tch, I know that Woman! My point is, is that we'll have to wipe their memory clean of this whole thing."
"Sort of like we did with Buu?" asked Krillin as he stuffed a cookie into his mouth.
"Precisely," Vegeta murmured, gazing out the window to catch billows of smoke from the other end of the city. It was a shame that this place he had died to protect, bled for, starved for, nearly lost his sanity for, would turn on him in such a way. It almost made him regret having ever saved it in the first place. But a glance at his family, both immediate and extended, squashed that thought away. He would be resigned to just go on protecting it. This mad man that they were dealing with would have to be exterminated, and soon. How, he wasn't sure. But it had to be done.
Bura continued to brush her shoulder-length hair. Her mind swirled from thoughts of her son, to her unborn child, to whether or not she wanted her hair long again, to finally this whole fiasco. Who knew that being half human-half alien could bring so much trouble? The news now crowed on about how it wasn't just the Saiya-jins, but any half breed mixed with alien—all needed to be gotten rid of. Why? Because they could destroy civilization, that's why! It was all a bunch of crap to her, and she couldn't believe that her fellow Earthlings were buying in to all of that. Fools.
She set her brush down and turned to find Goten out on the balcony, leaning against the railing. The way the moon shone on his face made him look like a little boy again. The pregnant woman allowed a small smile to grace her features as she walked up behind him. Her arms easily snaked around his waist, and he let out a low, sexy chuckle in response. "Thinking always gets you into trouble." He chuckled again, turning in her embrace to face her.
"Funny, I always figured that you were the one to get me into trouble." He let his arms pull her in even closer, gently avoiding squishing her to him. He had to think of the baby, after all. Bura buried her face into his chest, a habit she had picked up during the course of them being together, as she always seemed to be so much shorter than he. It was not as if Goten minded it, he found it rather cute actually. He had always seen her do it to her father when she was younger, as a means to find comfort, or to get him to do something for her. It seemed that all women in Vegeta's family held such a power. Sly little things.
Goten rubbed small circles on her back, feeling her anxiety and weariness seep through to his mind through the bond. He had never understood what Vegeta had meant by the oh so ominous "bond". If anything, he figured the older man to just be superstitious or paranoid or something. But over the years, Goten realized that the Saiya-jins possessed a way to be in contact with everyone they cared about—through the bond. It was a weird mind thing, to say the least, but it was helpful in times like these. War was breaking out, and this could potentially be the last peaceful moment they would share for a while. Funny how death staring you in the face makes you all contemplative and serious.
With his wife's body weight being pressed more and more against him, Goten figured it was time to head to bed. The next day would be a long day, to be sure, and the last thing he needed was to feel the effects of a bad night's rest. Swooping up Bura in his arms, he made his way to their bed, sleep soon after claiming them.
Rolling over in the overtly large bed left her grasping at an empty void. Her eyebrows, eyes still closed, furrowed as her fingers clenched around the ruffled covers. She groaned a long, loud, soul-disturbing groan. Annoyed as she may have found herself at the moment, she summoned the urge to sit up, rubbing at sleepy pools of blue.
The sun glared off of the mirror, reflecting into her recently opened eyes. She stifled a curse, never one to use such foul language anyway. It was the only difference that caused her parents to question if she really did belong to them—swearing was perhaps one of the many languages they proudly boasted of. Whatever. She opened her eyes more slowly, setting her feet on the carpeted area of the floor. The padding of her feet filled the room as she stepped out onto the balcony, eyes taking in the weird billows of smoke in the distance.
"Great," she muttered, folding her arms over her swollen stomach. Just her luck to have been left out of the action…again. The empty bed, the silence throughout the dome—yes, the others had probably already gone out to face the lunatic bastard that wanted them dead. Sure, she was pregnant, but she was a seasoned fighter. A useful one at that, with brains inherited from both parents that could prove deadly on the battlefield.
Stomping her way back in to the inner-sanctum of her room, she huffed her way towards her walk-in closet, determined to help in whatever way possible. Pulling on her gi, she mulled over the stupid actions she could possibly be taking. It would be impossible for her to fight. Months along, she would be slow, off balance, worried more about her baby. She could be taking risks that could cost her the baby, her own life, even the lives of those around her.
Blast it all!
But she couldn't help it. The sense of adventure and curiosity that she had inherited from her mother itched at her sanity. Anger at being regarded as weak because she was a walking baby machine definitely came from her father—not that he was a walking baby machine, but hell, you could never call him weak and get away with it!
Trotting towards her exit—the balcony, so much like her father—she stopped short of the French doors. Should she, shouldn't she, should she, shouldn't she? Her hands clenched into fists as her eyes fell back on the cold, empty space where Goten should've been. He had left her without even saying goodbye. A dark growl reverberated from her throat. Men. Yeesh. Did he think she would burst into tears? That she would plead with him to not risk his life to save what they know as Earth? Hysterics? Feh, he was a fool if he thought so.
"I will not be pushed aside!"
Their reception was expected, with soldiers immediately flanking around them as they walked further and further into the World Community Head Quarters. Vegeta trailed a bit behind the rest of the group—only a few steps or so. He, personally, had not had any desire to fly all the way here to reason with an idiot. Worse still, he had to listen to the idiot of idiots, who had convinced him to come in the first place. It was all very vexing.
"Aw, come on Vegeta," Goku chirped as he fell instep with the older man. "Violence isn't always the answer."
The Prince offered a glare. "It'll speak a lot louder than your useless words." Goku chuckled, grasping his fellow Saiya-jin's shoulder as they walked on. "I know this isn't easy…I've got to admit it has me pretty wigged out. But we've got to think of our kids, our grandkids! Sure, our fists have settled matters before, well, so have our energy blasts for that matter—but we need to set the example. We won't be around forever to save them every time they get into some trouble." Vegeta only grunted and crossed his arms, following their sons.
Once they had rounded the bend in the hall, they nearly slammed into two, large, mahogany doors. The doors seemed to open automatically, but further investigation on Goku's behalf resulted in a few shrieks and sweat drops. Goku vowed from then on to never peak behind mysterious doors again.
The room was sparsely lit, making Goku squint into the shadowed areas. He could see quite well in the dark, and was sure all of his Saiya-jin compatriots could, but the lights reflected off the shiny floor, directly into his eyes. Annoying? Most definitely. A chuckle, dark and familiar wound its way towards their ears. Goten and Trunks shared a look akin to disgust. They surmised the creepy sound to come from a maniac. The other three shuddered, barely suppressing the tingle of fear that wiggled into their minds.
The chair that had been placed so well in the shadows slowly began to turn, its back slowly facing the opposing wall. Eyes widened as the figure before them began another assault of diabolical chuckles.
"Welcome gentlemen! So nice to see you again," he purred, tapping dark purple nails against the arm rests.
Gohan was the first to make a sound, choked though it was.
"F-Frieza!"
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A/N: Long overdue…YES! Review please!
