Here's chapter 84! Thanks to SuperSaiyanKnight, UltimateGoham, Roxashadow, Son of Whitebeard, Diosa de la muerte, 15songoku,Dark Domination, Richardc269, Heseltine, Ryo-chan wolfgirl, Ceciliamarianamenezes, icewolf, Cadeus Vitiate, Amber, and peanutbuttergurl6 for all the reviews on chapter 83.
Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or any of its characters, Akira Toriyama does!
A/N: 951 reviews! THANKS EVERYONE!
...
One look at the stricken face of Daiz and Markelia knew something was wrong. She ran up to the Kabochan and began to fuss over him. Gohan winced as he took in the injuries he knew his crewmate had suffered from the hands of Turles.
"E's in good 'ands, Brat. Best be gettin' back ta tha ship," Gartoas sighed.
Daiz assured a worried Gohan that he was going to be all right and he insisted that he follow the Kardanagan's advice.
"Why would Turles treat Daiz like that? I thought everyone was worried when Daiz disappeared!" the little demi-Saiyan growled.
"Ay! Ya best be lettin tha grown-ups ta be settlin' their gripes. 'Sides Daiz threw tha firs' punch," Gartoas advised.
"Daiz wouldn't have done that without a good reason," Gohan pressed.
"If'n ya wanna keep Daiz alive ya don' be eggin' things on," the burly bearded pirate warned.
"Fine!" the son of Goku huffed.
When they entered the ship, Zailora sat alone in the bridge area. Her face was buried in her hands.
"Go ta yer room fer ah bit, boy," Gartoas instructed.
Something told the Earth-raised youngster not to argue. When he entered his quarters Ember was eagerly awaiting him. She barked happily as Gohan scratched her ears. It wouldn't hurt to give the Charladon a bit of attention while Gartoas tended to whatever was going on.
...
"Ya got yerself inna real pickle eh?" the beefy bearded pirate stated more than questioned the lone female in Turles's crew.
"You have no idea!" Zallora moaned.
"Yer gonna ave' ta make ah choice ya know," Gartoas went on.
"I wasn't supposed to HAVE to choose!" the she-pirate shouted in exasperation.
" Ah don' see tha two o'em bein' willin' ta share," the Kardanagan snickered.
"It's not funny!" the dark green-haired female snarled.
"Ah don'mean ta be makin' light o' tha matter. Ah know fer ah fact Daiz is hurtin. E' ne'er woulda bin' takin' on Turles ."
"Am I supposed to say 'Oops! Daiz is back! It's been fun but you know how it is. See ya around Turles!' ?"
"Wouldn' Turles be avin' fits if'n ya did," Gartoas mused.
...
"I am sorry you didn't have the happy reunion you imagined, Daiz, " Markelia said softly.
She lay her head on the Kabochan's right shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. He made no protest but gently stroked her hair. The ebony-haired female stepped back quickly.
"Daiz, I am happy to be your friend and I hope I can give you some comfort as such. But I will not be a substitute for this 'Zailora.' You would come to resent me for not being her and if you restore your ties to her I would be simply pushed aside," Markelia said matter of factly.
"I guess Gartoas was kind enough to fill you in on things," Daiz muttered bitterly.
"I could not understand if he did not. He thought it only fair to do so as briefly as he could," the Dayogien informed him.
"I guess it's not his fault all this has happened," the former prince snapped.
"But it HAS happened and you will have to choose how to handle the situation. The Saiyan has given you three days to decide whether you wish to remain part of his crew."
Daiz buried his face in his hands," How am I supposed to go back there?"
...
Artruay looked up from his desk to see a figure that filled him with absolute terror. He knew full well what lay beneath the black cloak it wore. Glowing red eyes regarded the gray reptile as he fought to keep from trembling under the creature's malevolent gaze..
"L-Lord S-Salzar, how pleasant to s-see y-you again," Artruay stammered.
"I h-hardly think s-s-ss-so! You tremble like a-aaah leaf in the w-w-wind," the serpentine being rasped.
"M-my apologies, s-sir!" the reptilian spoke up quickly.
"Where isss Turles-ss? You h-have not delivered h-him to me nor the half-breed s-spawn," Salzar hissed.
"I-I am expecting t-to hear f-from him anytime now," Artruay insisted.
"It h-had bessst be s-ssoon I grow impatient. Wassste my t-time and you will s-s-suffer unimaginable pain," the Sarhassan warned as he slunk out of Artruay's office.
'Of all the times for Turles to stay away. I'm sure Salzar would dispose of him easily and if he failed there's always Bulma's little surprise. Surely we'll hear from him soon if not my days are numbered' Artruay thought.
...
Turles looked over at the little half-blood and knew something was troubling the youngster. Gohan was sitting in his usual seat with a knitted brow and his arms folded over his chest.
"Out with it, Gohan. I know something is on your mind," the Saiyan ordered.
"Master Turles, why were you and Daiz fighting?"
"We had a difference of opinion and I will not tolerate being attacked by a member of my own crew," Turles declared.
"He had to have a good reason for doing that!" Gohan shot back.
"Do not forget who you are speaking to," the Saiyan pirate growled. "And do not concern yourself with matters that do not pertain to you."
"S-Sorry, Commander. I'm just worried about Daiz," the demi-Saiyan spoke up quickly.
"I'm going to see about Daiz right now," Turles informed him.
"Please don't fight him again, Master Turles" Gohan pleaded.
"I will try not to," the pirate commander said flatly.
Gohan bowed his head and stared at the floor.
Turles regarded the boy for a moment. For now the child still feared and respected him enough to obey even when he disagreed. But the day might come when Gohan feared and respected him no more. Of course the hybrid could also eventually surpass him in strength and power. But that was the way of things.
...
Turles grimaced as he stepped into the dimly lit pitiful excuse for a local drinking establishment. With his acute senses the smell of sweaty bodies and cheap alcohol was absolutely horrendous. He quickly found his crewman seated at the bar.
Diaz tapped the glass in his hand on the counter signaling the barkeep he wanted another drink.
"Make it a double," the Kabochan instructed the purple fish-faced being behind the bar.
"Is this really accomplishing anything, Daiz?"
The former prince looked up to see the last living soul he wanted to lay eyes upon giving him a disproving glance. He noted with some satisfaction that Turles still wore faint evidence of a small gash over his left eye.
"Maybe it's making me feel better!" Daiz snapped.
"It's been my experience that problems don't disappear at the bottom of a glass," the pirate commander declared.
"How'd you even find me? You don't usually frequent dumps like this," the dark green-haired pirate grumbled.
"That's why I knew to look for you here," Turles replied. The Saiyan's face wrinkled in disgust as a large beetle of some sort crawled up on his boot. He shook his foot and lowered it promptly ending the insect's existence.
"Ya gonna just stand there or order ah drink, pal?" the barkeep snorted at the dark-skinned Saiyan.
When the purple fish-faced barkeep heard Turles's drink order he burst into laughter," Ya really think this dive carries somethin' like that? That's real funny! Looks like we gotta rich fella here!"
A few of the bar's other patrons laughed but quickly fell silent at the evil smirk that suddenly lit the Saiyan's face.
"I'll take a double of Shikiris," Turles spoke up.
"Whoo-hoo! Rich fella knows how to order tha hard stuff!" the barkeep chortled.
The pirate commander downed the contents of his glass in one quick swallow. Slamming down the glass he ordered another.
"DON'T dilute it THIS time!" Turles warned.
"Y-Yes sir!" the fish-being gulped.
"Show-off!" Daiz huffed.
"Daiz, you have neither addressed me properly nor shown the proper respect. I have overlooked your conduct because of the current situation but do not continue to test me," Turles advised.
"Maybe I should have stayed in the desert on Daznicos, maybe everyone would have been better off...Commander " Daiz snorted.
"That will be enough sarcasm as well. Do you intend to return to my service or move on?" the Saiyan inquired.
"Master Turles, I want to see Gohan, I've even missed that overfed Kardanagan but how can I go back to that ship? How is anything ever going to be the same again? How can Zailora and I work things out..." the leather-clad warrior stopped mid-sentence as he noticed that the glass in Turles's hand had shattered.
"You don't intend on things working out for us do you? Admit it Commander! You want Zailora for yourself!" Daiz shouted angrily.
"This is not the place for such a discussion. But I will say that if I'd had an inkling that you had survived I would not have allowed events to progress as they did. Had I kept my rule of no females aboard our ship this situation would have never occurred. Did I not warn you of matters that could result? I should have taken my own advice. Are all the years we've worked together going to amount to nothing over a woman?"," the Saiyan questioned.
The Kabochan sighed heavily,"We do go back a ways don't we? I don't want us at each other's throats... but Zailora means an awful lot to me...Kami what a mess!"
Turles still held the remains of the glass in his right hand, he said nothing but his eyes were blazing and the muscles contorted in his face.
Daiz stared into his pale red drink. He wracked his brain trying to think of a solution...
"Master Turles, I'll return to the ship if you can manage to do something for me. Allow Zailora to decide what action she's going to take. But it has to be her choice and hers alone. Can you do that , Commander? I'll accept whatever decision she decides to make as long as she's allowed the freedom of choice," the former royal declared.
The dark-skinned Saiyan looked down at his boots and remained silent. It was several moments before he spoke.
"I will allow Zailora to decide her course of action but you must accept her choice whether or not it is in your favor, Daiz."
"So be it then, Commander," Daiz agreed.
'Wait a minute, why's he think things are going to go HIS way?' the pirate thought to himself. He shook off the niggling doubt.
A mischievous thought suddenly occurred to the Kabochan," Master Turles, do you remember that pretty little Aquelerite who thought you were really somethin' until she freaked out when she discovered you had a tail?"
The color that immediately flushed the Saiyan's face made it apparent that he remembered quite well.
"Shut-up, Daiz!" the pirate commander hissed.
"Yep, you remember all right," Daiz chortled.
"What do you plan to do with your little tag-along, Daiz ?" the spiky-haired Saiyan demanded.
"She's not a tag-along she's my friend, Commander. I need to find somewhere where she'll be safe I owe her my life," the dark green-haired pirate insisted.
"I suppose we can take her to Bernizarr of course that will delay our arrival at Arturay for four days.A certain ungrateful lizard needs to be dealt with,"Turles growled.
"So you know about Artruay's dealings to provide supplies to Frieza's ilk then?" Daiz asked.
The Saiyan cursed under his breath,"I was aware of some of his actions but not of his involvement with Frieza. Our little reptile's fate is definitely sealed."
'I'd hate to be in Artruay's place' Daiz thought to himself.
"Well Commander, since you're here anyway, why don't we show the fools in this dump how to put the drinks away?" the once member of the original Crusher Corps suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Turles snickered as he took the seat next to his crewman.
"Give my friend here another round and don't use a defective glass!" Daiz barked at the barkeep. "Aw, what the Hell..give the house another round!"
Cheers resounded through the bar as the Kabochan made his announcement.
The fish-faced tender of the bar wore a sour expression but he quickly fulfilled the pirate's demand.
...
"There's not much to do around the ship when we're docked once the daily chores are done unless you play a game, read or train," Gohan informed Markelia.
"Games do not interest me much. And I do not know how to read. Perhaps you could teach me, Gohan?" the Dayogien female asked.
"I guess I could try," Gohan replied.
"Daiz has told me how intelligent you are. I'm sure you'll have little difficulty instructing me," Markelia insisted.
Gohan blushed at the compliment but he grinned as well.
Markelia was stroking Ember's brilliant fur. She was fascinated by the Charladon and Ember relished the extra attention. Ember rubbed her head against the ebony-haired female's hand and wagged her tail furiously.
"She likes you!" the little demi-Saiyan giggled.
"Aren't they getting along well? She's quite the little charmer," Zailora remarked to Gartoas as she nodded toward Gohan and his companion.
"Yep, best be watchin'. Perty lil' gal might be swipin' Turles from ya!"
"Don't even go there!" Zailora fumed.
Gartoas laughed evilly.
"You know, you have all the personality of a Marcharian wart-hog but you manage to out-ugly it!" the she-pirate snapped.
"Watch yer mouth, Wench!"
Markelia suddenly looked quite serious, "Gohan, do you think you could teach me how to fight?"
...
"Something's wrong! Turles left hours ago!" Zailora exclaimed.
The door to the ship suddenly swung open the Saiyan pirate carried Daiz slung over his right shoulder like a slain animal from a day's hunt. Zailora and Markelia gasped simultaneously. Gohan's eyes went wide in horror surely Turles hadn't ....surely he wouldn't have...
Turles unceremoniously dropped Daiz into his usual seat. Loud snores emanated from the motionless Kabochan.Gartoas begin to chuckle as he walked over.
"Master Turles, Ahm guessin' e' tried ta out drink ya," the Kardanagan declared.
"Indeed!" the black and silver armored Saiyan replied with an evil grin.
"Ah'll put im' in is' bed. E' won' be feelin' so spry inna bit," Gartoas sighed as he easily lifted Daiz from the seat.
'When ya gonna learn ya can't outdrink ah Saiyan, Daiz. Least o'all that one,' the burly bearded pirate thought.
"So...so what happens now, Commander?" Zailora asked nervously biting her lip.
"That is entirely up to YOU, Zailora," Turles answered...
...
Until the next chapter! Please read and review!
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