Disclaimer: Check out chapter 2.

I'm so close to the end of the semester, now. I have 2 finals left, which I'll start studying for immediately. But, what's important, things are winding down. I can afford to put some recreational writing in (as opposed to the required formals, informals, and Latin verse to English verse).

Arufuredo didn't waste time re-selecting the group (it was essentially the same group, but there were changes in positions and duties; while most were kept, some were omitted and some were added). Their shuttle was changed to something a bit more compact and fuel-efficient. He spoke very little more than his orders, and only waited as everything was transfered between the ships so that they could leave.

Goku brought in the last of the luggage; an old briefcase that Chi-Chi insisted on bringing. To be quite honest, he never saw it before in his life. The thing showed damage from years, and was probably older than Gohan. Curiosity kept him rather close to it, waiting for the moment where Chi-Chi might not be around to scold him for snooping (he already attempted several times and was briskly pummeled with each instance). He still didn't get the chance; Chi-Chi was right behind him, rushing him into the shuttle.

"Aww, c'mon, Chi-Chi! What is it? You said that it wasn't yours, but you insisted on bringing it, anyway."

She shook her head. "It might not be mine, but its very private. Do you want to invade someone's privacy?"

He tilted his head. "Is it underwear?"

"There's nothing important about that ragged box, Kakarotto," Vegita growled, "The only thing you should be interested in is why the good doctor is being so fucking quiet." He glared back to the side, towards the corner that Arufuredo seemed to be still trying to regain his composure.

"Manners, Vegita! He just saw a friend of his get executed by his queen! That's enough to shake anyone up and regret their position!" Bulma fumed a bit at her husband.

The room would have been completely silent following her statement if Arufuredo didn't begin to chuckle.

"You're right. I'm shook up; still frightened; questioning the system to which I serve... but not for those reasons." He waved a still-trembling hand for all of the soldiers to be at ease, implying that he had to share something important. "The queen noticed my fear and my joy. She noticed the fear elevate a bit when she called upon me. I feared that she knew why I feared and rejoiced. I could care less about that pompous bastard Rabiori. My fear began much earlier-- when she mentioned the 'walking fiend'..."

Gohan thought for a moment. "I suppose hearing that your greatest adversary is still fighting even after you killed him would be unsettling..."

Arufuredo gestured otherwise. "In a sense, it's the opposite. Being a walking fiend requires Atsarute to have died. I wanted Atsarute to survive our attack intact and no longer be a target of the army. I may love my benevolent queen, but I wish to serve those forces instead. In short, I am a traitor."

.----------------------.

Kami-sama and Neil screamed at him through the whole thing. He would have killed each and every man in the tower had their voices not rung in his ears each time he tried. Regardless, it was easy to get the information that he wanted from the personnel. His "fame" of being a destructive figure on the planet required little effort or negotiation to get through to these people. They also "volunteered" one of their ships to take him there, with a preset course and everything so that he wouldn't have to pilot it himself.

Piccolo threw his few belongings that he had been dragging around over into the nearby closet and sat, about to go into meditation. The two were no longer screaming at him, but still projected their discontent at the events and the blatant attempts at keeping them in the dark about it.

"Look," he said aloud, "You know that there's something wrong happening here. It's one thing for mine and Kami's personalities to meld to an extent, but for the melding to cause so much stress between us... This didn't happen when I merged with Neil. Not only did our personalities and minds stay separate, but there was no tension; just existance."

Are you suggesting that I'm the cause of this? Kami-sama shouted.

"Your's as well as father's..." He looked idly over at the bag he brought, soaking with blood on the bottom. Almost unconsciously he mumbled several things, most of which didn't make any sense to Neil or Kami-sama, until he said, "Hantoparu Ganab Siolofajih..."

The two were so struck with the Namekku-sei-go phrase that they made the host body shiver. Mania of the tearing seams, Neil echoed, I didn't think that it was possible. Fuck...

Why didn't you tell us this earlier?

Piccolo wasn't listening. Something about how that burlap bag containing Uwaki's severed head leaked brought back a memory, but it's full value was still obscured and locked away by the madness. He strained to get to this tantalizing information, feeling that it somehow holds importance, but he could touch upon nothing.

.----------------------.

The soldiers weren't at all surprised; they already knew and agreed beforehand. But the Earthlings were stunned and didn't know who to make out as the enemy or as the friend in this universe, and this admitted treason didn't help their outlook in any way.

"I wasn't drafted into the army," he continued, "but I didn't come in by choice, either. I went through a series of promotions and transfers that ended up in the military, and kept going up... After a while, you begin to see all those figures and lists that are kept from the public. The Puroeruin-- or rather Atsarute's legions (as General Atsarute owns the major forces and it is not confined to a single race or rule) commits atrocities that our armies do not; that is true. Men, women, children; nothing is left. Everything is pillaged and burned. The only thing that doesn't occur during their crimes is the ravaging of women; Atsarute calls it a waste of looting and killing time.

"However, no matter how much moral our armies could be, the death counts are staggeringly one-sided. The Pasuko casualties are almost the entire roster of the participating legions, and the only figures that we have of casualties in Atsarute's legion are 'subjected numbers', meaning that they're going purely by how many of their guys are lying on the ground, and even this broad scale yields a number that is remarkably small."

"So that's why you want to serve that army? Because they have better odds?" Bulma stared at him in disbelief. "That's not why someone should fight. You should--"

"--Fight for something I believe in?" He finished her comment. "Trust me, it does have to do with that. Although my queen is an excellent leader and much kinder than Atsarute to others, she's set up a political tariff against the 'Puroeruin Empire', which is really a series of planets that are often more economically associated with Atsarute than politically. Atsarute owns planets, and is royalty to the home world, but does not set out to simply take every planet in grasp. Many of these planets have their own very capable armies. It's not uncommon for them to work in conjunction with Atsarute's army, but the same can easily be said for any assault/defense ally.

"So, the tariff alienates too much to help our society in any way, and the Pasuko Empire (which is an empire to the core) will stretch out our own resources too taut to work properly, and it will collapse by the people's expense."

There was a pause. "And... when you say that you're queen is 'benevolent'..."

"Well, perhaps benevolence is a subjective observation, but you certainly didn't feel threatened by her during the encounter, did you? She was, if nothing else, rather conciliatory to you and your cause, correct?"

The others reluctantly nodded. Although she was surprising and even frightening, she was amiable to them, perhaps even fond of them. This brought up another question.

"And that... um, 'treasure' that she spoke of..." Kuririn coughed out, "..Would that be--"

Arufuredo finished, "--Her hand in marriage? Yes, that's exactly what she's talking about. It might unsettle you a bit, but it's actually quite normal... past the idea that she doesn't mind marrying someone that she hasn't really met. You see, Namekku-sei-jin are... how should I put this... aesthetically pleasing to our race. Hell, even I'm rather partial to Namekku-sei-jin women..."

Bulma smirked. "We could tell by how you described them to us earlier."

He adjusted his glasses and coughed. "Anyway, Komugiko-joou, I've heard it told, is very fond of your friend particularly. No one's quite sure why, but ever since she saw a photograph of him, instead of wanting him arrested or executed, had preferred the idea of having him joined. I don't know; perhaps she knows something that we don't..."

Vegita's face curdled a bit. "Thank you for that absolutely disgusting image, doctor. Do you have anything to treat a Saiya-jin with nausea?"

.----------------------.

"May I speak of a question on my mind, my Empress?" The lone guard turned towards the shadow before the glowing tank. The room was dark from the night, but he could tell that she wasn't sleeping. The shadow shifted somewhat to the enquiry.

"Proceed."

He lowered his head in thanks and reverence to her. "I heard from outside, while those people were here with the doctor and Rabiori, you speak of giving your hand in marriage to that Namekku-sei-jin that's been running through the villages of Sutorin 5. Why? What good will it bring you to marry a man that you've never met and has no status?"

A chuckle came from her. "Are you certain that he has no status? Are you sure that I have not met him before?"

"Well..."

"I know who he is, what he is, and why he's here. I can feel it through the streams. You might not think that I will gain any more good than a husband that I find pleasing to the eyes and a fighter in my ranks, but its much more, and I have more to offer him than I've been saying. I'm leading him here as we speak. I know more about him than he knows about himself." She laughed again. "Piccolo will be here soon. You'll treat him well, I hope."

Chapter was a lil' extra long this time.
I'll let you guys in on a secret: although I have quite a lot of this fic planned out, I have no idea how long I'm going to extend it or how I will make it end. That means that the feedback will probably affect the story much more than it did in the past. That just makes reviewing all the more importent, eh?