Chapter 6: Verbal Detour

Kari had found her own pod to be devoid of her usual company, but knew full well where her mate had fled to. It wasn't just the common sense of how he'd demanded for Nappa to join him, before he'd stormed off, out of her sight. It wasn't like he had many places to escape her attention, on the cramped vessel. She only had to use her common sense to know that he had headed for the one and only training room that the battleship had to offer. These were all just excuses, because thanks to the sacred bonding they'd both shared; she didn't even need to see, hear or physically touch him. They would always find each other, eventually. So knowing full well what would happen when Nappa had been beaten to a bloody pulp and Radditz still hadn't quite contained his fury, Kari used her private time well. From the flat walls, a single, deep drawer opened out towards her. It was empty, save for a single, scrap piece of material. She lifted the dainty cerise folds, fixing it directly under her nose, to deeply inhale. It still contained the two, lost scents, held closest to her cold heart. Exhaling a weeping breath, the woman splayed the material back in the drawer, opening it out carefully to its' full width. Then, in the very centre, she laid the precious fistful of long, raven-black hair. Carefully, she tied the material into a knot around one end, and then proceeded to expertly plait the thick, black strands. Reaching the end of the task, a second knot sealed the weaved pattern in place. With a final look at her joint treasure, the woman closed the drawer, and begun to muse on the reality of her fateful choice.

Following the tribunal, Kakarot had been left in the sole company of Kari. He'd answered her standard questions dutifully, and was certain they'd be reaching Vegetasei within the next nine days at most; since they were making such good speed. Despite the way she'd tried to continue as though nothing had happened, he couldn't stop thinking about two, sole subjects: the exchange over the Earthling, and the effects this had all taken concerning his son. So it was no wonder that with so many questions already preying on his mind, he didn't take the next spanner she decided to throw in the works very well either. Without any explanation, Kari overtook the mission schedule, as she begun to re-programme the auto-pilot route home. Kakarot begun to lose him relatively calm stature; his ki levels rapidly rising with what was like the thumping drum pulse, echoing in his ears.

"Nine days is far too long. Activate maximum engine power," the female simply barked more inane orders, as she tapped fervently on the flat keyboard. "And inform the King immediately. In seven days, his four Elites will return Vegetasei, ready for the next -"

Before she could continue, she felt the sudden vice-grip of Kakarot's hand around her wrist then, and casually she lowered her gaze to the offending limb. She hadn't needed to have made her intentions more clear. There may have been five Saiyans onboard the vessel, but there were only four elites. Even Nappa could figure out who the odd one out was.

"I would remove that now, if I were you."

"I won't have you bark anymore orders over my crew. This was my mission dammit!"

"You forget your place, Kakarot." Calmly she retorted, but even still, his grip failed to loosen. It called for a firmer tone, "I won't ask you again."

In suppressed rage, he managed to merely brush her arm aside, with the force of his pushing retreat. Kari turned to fully face him in her chair, relaxing back and crossing one leg over the other, elegantly. She watched as the male turned his back on her, resting his palm over the back of his neck and lowering his chin in deep, stressed thought.

"You handled the mission so well. Did you think you wouldn't be rewarded?"

"He's not going to like it," he uttered in a low breath, ignoring her blatant sarcasm. "When he finds out what you've -"

"Don't you dare assume for a second that I don't know my own blood." On the contrary to her words, there was amusement in the tone, and Kari finished with a breathy, short-lived chuckle. "When he finds out? A-haha! …He already knows."

The wide-eyed Kakarot slowly turned to face the woman, his tail flicking behind him, twitching in constant, electric spasms. With rank came secrecy; even as a First Class Elite, he could never be aware of everything. Even the bonds of family ties, meant nothing.

"Well," Kari continued, toying with the idea of more riddles. Looking down at her splayed fingers, she begun to absent-mindedly pick the dirt from her nails. "He doesn't yet realise what he already knows, but will soon understand what he always did."

Kakarot frowned, shaking his head at this preposterous woman. She was making quick enemies, just like her family always had. Loyal subjects were always there to pick up the pieces afterwards, or give their lives for the gift of ultimate honour. But even they had their limits.

"My loyalties stand for the King alone, and he stands for no treachery." He shook his head, letting his tongue expel the many thoughts that clouded his skull. "Bloodlines make no difference."

"You poor thing," he couldn't understand the way she furrowed her brows in clear sympathy to match the tone of her voice. "Well, if that makes you feel so safe -"

"It's no feeling, Kari. It's a guarantee."

"Please," she fluidly rose from the chair, taking two steps closer to rest the palm of her unwanted hand over her opposition's chest. He sucked a harsh breath through the narrow slits of his nose. "We're family, Goku." And then, another breath, louder and more prominent with the expanding of his diaphragm. "That's what she called you. Wasn't it."

She'd hit a nerve she knew she shouldn't, but the damage was done, and Kari welcomed the results of her taunt. In seconds, her body was thrown backwards, straight into the unplanned path of the hanging communications screen. It shattered on impact, and she fell with the shards of thin glass and hissing sparks.

"Enough!" Kakarot cleared the space in an even pace; feet crunching on the littered debris. "You've gone too far Kari!" Before she could fully lift herself, the male was pinning her with a knee in the gut. With a hand at the neck, the combination made sure that her back slammed right back onto the floor.

"I'm not standing by anymore. You can endanger me, but you will not harm my son."

She laughed up at him, voice strained against the pressure around her jugular.

"More!" She literally begged, "show me more! Prove to me your -"

Her body lifted, only to once again slam against the white, barely cracked tiles. These newest ships were well designed for combat using the discovery of a near-indestructible metal. Kakarot was more than happy to test the truth of that fact.

"Where are you taking him?" He growled, though she only delighted further in the rough and domineering manner in which he handled her. Power wasn't always everything, as 'Goku' displayed his talented knack of knowing exactly how to keep limbs obstructed from any movement. He had learnt the skills from his older sibling, and Kari just loved it.

"I asked you a question onna!" Only at the sign of struggling strain in her face, did he lessen his grip. And only enough to enable her to feebly utter a surprising answer.

"G-Gel…-idus-sss."

Kakarot released her fully in a spluttering of coughs and hoarse breaths; his knee lifting from her gut, allowing her to rolled to the side lightly. Gelidus? He didn't understand. That was the name of the planet used for the trials. The last battle against the tyrant Prince Frieza had occurred there, where the changeling had met his end at the hands of the then Saiyan Prince. As the later crowned King, Vegeta had later deemed the planet worthy enough for the Elites to take their final tests, in memorial of the momentous battle he'd won there. If the trials didn't kill you, then the planet and its' 'inhabitants' surely did.

"You stated his trials were to be suspended."

"Postponed," she corrected. "And I lied."

The plan had been simple; get in, scrub, and get out. The pessimistic Videl had thoroughly convinced herself that she'd have minimal time alone; and she was right. Gohan didn't trust her, and to be honest, she didn't even trust herself. So Videl had stuck to the hasty theory; she'd swallowed her gut feeling, and descended down the metal grated steps. The moment she stepped into the entirely reflective, perfectly square room beneath a room, was the moment the plan instantly failed. There was a different kind of 'white' about it. The walls, ceiling, and floor, were plated completely in large square slabs of a perfectly reflective surface. Videl hadn't counted on seeing her own reflection for the first time in, Kame knows how many exact days. The last time she'd seen herself, had been in her own bathroom mirror, back in her little country-mansion just outside Earth's 'Central Capital' City. Now, she saw herself everywhere she looked, from every possible angle! Not that she had time to gawp at herself though, as without warning, the moment she stepped into the very centre of the box-room, was the moment that multiple sprays of ice-cold water, shot out at her. It was like massive, gold-sized hail stones, being hurled at her, over and over again.

"GAAAAH!"

Hopping around in an odd dance, it took a moment for her to recover from the initial shock to the system, before she retreated out of the line of fire, back to the steps. With no object for the sensory system to scan; the machine shut itself off. Videl blinked, though now that she wasn't even looking, she found the control panel, right at the bottom of the stairs. Typical. She'd been too infatuated by her own pure narcissism to remember that she was still in the lion's technological hell of den, even if the lion was no longer around. 'For now,' she brutally reminded herself. A moment of digital fiddling later, and the secrets of the room revealed themselves to her. By accident of course. One narrow slab opened towards her; a drawer of various soap bars and bottled liquids in varying fluorescent colours, all lying on a foam of pearl-white. Then another drawer slid out, filled with messily folded towels in marine blue. Dropping the now soaking wet dress, she tiptoed back into the middle of the box. At once, the nozzles activated, but her basic-technical knowledge had managed to change the programme to almost comfortably hot water, at a medium, lightly massaging pressure. For the first time since she'd opened her eyes to this repetitive nightmare, Videl relaxed. Reaching for a bar of lime-green soap, she began to massage it in circles over her skin. At once, she became far more pre-occupied with the true inspection of her skin, against what had to be the lies of her smooth reflection.

The image of the fall flashed through her mind again, as she bent over to inspect her knees. She was sure they both had been broken. There had been the distinctive, loud crack, of various bones simultaneously being crushed from the impact of her two-storey high descent, against solid concrete. Her hips must've cracked too, she added, running her hand across the lightly protruding, pelvic bones. Not a single scar. Not a single bit of evidence to prove to her that she wasn't just imagining it all. Frowning, she quickly lifted her left arm, and inspected the elbow. There had been a prominent scar across the skin covering the 'ulna' bone; a younger Videl had gained it from a lesser fall during her childhood, and worn quite proudly ever since. The nurse had called her very brave, as she'd stitched five threads across the deep wound in the left limb. Or, had it been her right arm? She checked both, over and over. There was no mark on either.

'What's happening to me?' She desperately asked herself, as her flawless body stared back. All except for her new hair, which she quickly diverted her attention to. It might as well have just been cut using a bowl. At least her pre-cut bangs gave it some style. More things were at stake than just pinning over her hair though, and Videl mindlessly just caved in to the desires of her own cleaning ritual. When all the soapy grime was washed away down a series of five, circular drains patterning the outer walls of the shower-cubicle, Videl ascended the steps again with a towel tightly secured around her freshly-scented form. Only now did she realise that unheard footsteps must've crossed above her, with the intruder contentedly sprawled over the bed. The Saiyan lay on his front, not showing any sign of registering her movement. A flat computer screen rested below him, fully occupying his attention with whatever image or words flashed before the illuminated shadows of his lit face. It surprised her that the savage might even be able to read, let alone enjoy the activity. His tail flicked the same way Kari's had, and Videl shuddered the thought away quickly, remembering how the cause had came from her mate's attentions.

Intent on declaring the only other object in the room her territory, since he had clearly marked the bed as his, Videl turned her attention to the sloping chair. Another bowl of the protein porridge had been placed there, along with deep, cerise coloured material. Digits curiously lifted the garment, as she rubbed her thumbs over the thick and stretchy, rubber-like and scale-shaped fibres, she also found that the one-piece split into two separate pieces instead. She'd thought it was already quite tight and undersized, but now, as she examined what looked like tiny boxer shorts, she wondered how she'd even get the item over her thighs. In fact, there was no possible way! Humiliated enough, Videl tossed the offensive garments at the bed. The shorts hit the Saiyan's face first, followed by the top half. He didn't flinch, or look back at her, as her fists found her hips.

"Forget it," she finally declared. "There's no way I'm even gonna try to put those on. I won't." He didn't bother to lift his gaze from the screen, or hasten to question why. 'Won't' wasn't part of his vocabulary, among others thing. More importantly, it shouldn't be part of hers either.

"We're going to play a game," he announced, brushing the blocking material aside to tap a fingertip against his screen. The human made a delightful sound of enraged agitation.

"And I'm still not wearing it!"

Gohan finally looked at her, his expression stoic and unchanged.

"Then we won't play the game." She stared back, and he just knew that despite her façade, she was still curious. So he gave her a little taste to sate her human intrigue. "I'm was going to ask you a question. You were going to answer it."

"Like hell I will!"

"When satisfied with your answer, I will then give you the chance to ask a question of your own."

The baiting worked. Once her glaring silence confirmed her further interest, Videl saw a blur of dark pink soaring towards her. She barely had time to lift her arms, to shield herself from the attack of the returning clothes. He'd made his point. Retrieving her 'game-piece' and taking it with her, the human descended beneath the floor again. With another anticipating flick of his tail, Gohan smirked. It took the Earthling nearly as long to emerge from the shower-box again, as it had to clean herself. But emerge she finally did, trying her very best to keep her head raised high and proud. The bodysuit had proven to be more stretchy than she first assumed. With minor struggle, the hot-pants had fitted around her waist, moulding over her rear and pinching around the top of her thighs. The sleeveless top wasn't any better; although the high neckline reached her collar, the rubbery fibres pressed against her cleavage and pinched at her waist, like a second skin cast over her. The effort to just get it all on had over-heated her enough, and now she felt completely supported, with the welcome addition of her own body heat very much self-contained. Odd that they hadn't thought to design the costume to protect the arms and legs either, and though Videl wanted to ask the meaning of it all, there were many other questions that took immediate priority.

In the time that it took her to fully step out from her cave, Gohan was sitting up on the edge of the bed, and fiddling with round, thin plastic objects, contained in a small card box.

"Sit," he demanded, without even having to look at her. "And then show me your arm. Either one will do."

"You said we'd be asking questions," she shot back wearily, eyeing the small discs. "So what's all this?"

"I need to make sure you're telling me the truth," he answered without fail. Videl lightly bit her lower lip. Her assumptive discomfort irritated him all over again. "You won't even realise they're there."

"That isn't fair. How do I know you're not lying?"

"Are we going to do this, or not?"

Cerulean battled against dark sepia, until the deep brown shade won. The human descended onto firm mattress, and extended her left arm. The Saiyan tried his best to lightly grasp hold of her wrist.

"Ow." The verbal sign of pain was grossly over-reacted, but nonetheless, his brows nudged together, and their eyes wrestled once more. Huffing a breath through his nose, the Saiyan re-focused on his task, using the pad of his thumb to find the strongest pulse at her wrist. One of the gel-like discs was then fixed there. It sucked at her skin, sticking firmly there as another one found the vein over her inner elbow-joint.

"Let's start with something easy," he announced. The console screen found his lap again, and unknowingly to her, he initiated the recording and scanning to commence. Blue lights flickered on her arm pads, and Videl blinked at all this advanced technology. "State your Earth name," then blinked at his next demand. Gohan just stared patiently, until her level voice awkwardly uttered the answer.

"Videl Satan." His stare lingered, registering her pronunciation of the word he'd known since he'd found the wallet in the pocket of her old clothes. He didn't need to check her statistics, so he continued in his own, level voice.

"Two years ago, your planet failed to return the cargo. Why?" Stern eyes watched her charts; the subtle skip of a heartbeat, and then the light rise in temperature. Videl searched her brain, remembering all the media headlines and the notes in history books. Was he testing her still? Surely he knew all these answers already.

"Two months ago," she corrected pointedly, though it was lost on him. Blankly, she continued, rolling her eyes at all these stupid questions. "We sent our scheduled resources. Right up until you guys didn't send the ship back." There was no evident sign of it, but there was a lie somewhere. "Now it's my turn."

"No," the Saiyan countered, tapping at his screen again. "I think you're lying."

"So do I." Immediately her voice rose to more, swift assumptions. "You were never going to answer my questions. This is all about you!"

"The two Saiyan warriors who were in charge of your planet," he continued evenly, as though their last exchange hadn't occurred. But he didn't need to continue with the question. Videl happily answered this one.

"We killed them. Don't believe me? One of their tails is probably still kept behind glass in the Capital Central museum." Her signals rose, but only through pride. "A souvenir. That is, if you didn't blow it up." Afterall, he'd managed to destroy just about everything else in the Central Capital, she mused to herself additionally.

"No Human could kill a Saiyan. You're trying to tell me the Earthlings defeated two?"

"How else do you explain why they both disappeared?" She had a point, and Gohan knew it. That question had been his own, and now, she fired it back at him, along with an advanced and equally ridiculous explanation. "My father and the EDF dealt with them, and that's that. Can I have my question now?" She took his silence as a yes. "Why did you bring me here? What was all that talk about projects and… abominations?"

Technically that was three questions, and Gohan wasn't about to let her cheat, or know that she'd already partially answered what was infact a joint question. Neither of them were truly prepared for the lengthy conversation and inevitable rule breaking.

"Earthlings have managed to avoid our attention. Two decades ago, we… studied them. But we found little interest in their potential, aside from the precious minerals your home planet provides."

"That doesn't answer my question. You say …we studied them. You mean, you've personally studied us before? You're some kinda, scientist?"

"No." At first he left it as just that, but the way she continued to stare with the interesting shade of her wide eyes… well, it brought more words rolling from the Saiyan's tongue. "I'd… I still was just a baby, back then. Until… nine days ago, I'd never even seen a human before."

"B-but …you'd heard of us?"

"Obviously."

"Then what do you want from me! What can you learn that you don't already know? Why are you -"

"Enough questions." Videl sat back as he interrupted her constant stream of vocal thoughts, with a deeper and more forceful tone. Abandoning the bleeping screen to the side of him, he strangely shifted to more comfortably face her. Apparently she'd intrigued him far more than she previously had, and both were undoubtedly surprised by their ability to actually hold an enlightening conversation. "My turn."

She swallowed at the attention in his eyes; so strongly focused on her own. Videl wasn't exactly a big fan of eye contact, but the Saiyans seemed to treat it as a necessity to everything. Nerves brought a hot flush of reddened colour to her ears.

"I want the truth." She held her breath, fearing he'd create the worst kinds of questions possible. "There were side-effects when we first came to your planet. Your kind adapted, didn't you?" Oddly, he turned away from her. An uncontrollable mental stream now cascading from his lips. "Of course! That's how you grew more powerful. You didn't have tails before. Shit… Why didn't I think of it? You're growing tails now. You're still evolving!"

Videl gaped. Before she knew it, an eruption of incredulous laughter spilled from parted lips, brewing straight from her fluttering stomach. He thought she was growing a tail? What a riot! The joke had her doubling forwards, clutching at her gut as she prolonged the moment for as long as she could, even if it meant faking her laughter. Gohan was not amused with the odd, misplaced display of emotion. How dare she laugh in his presence without reason. Was she… laughing at him? 'No… impossible.'

"Stop it," he at first ordered calmly. But the more she continued, the more deflated he felt. He'd thought he'd cracked the code, all on his own. Solved the brain teasing puzzle and advanced further with his project. Her laughter was a nasty slap in the face.

"Oh Kame!" The girl breathed hard, trying to get a hold of herself. It wasn't really all that fault, but she had to give herself credit. He'd kidnapped her because he didn't understand her anatomy? If he'd just asked someone instead of blowing things up and beating her half to death, maybe he'd already have the damn answer! Laughter turned to anger, as she turned to meet his scowl with her own frowning content. "You're a fucking baka! The living, breathing definition of the word!"

Videl didn't even see it coming. Somehow, she was pushed back and pinned by the light pressure of one hand against her shoulder. The other was balled into a tight fist, and pulled back, ready to strike her. But, and that was a large but. As if frozen in slow motion, the fist never moved past the back of his head, leaving her to stare wide-eyed in both shock and slow realisation.

"Don't test my patience, onna." His words meant nothing, when Videl was just repeating the single fact, over and over in her mind. 'He didn't hit me.' Testing the shallow waters, her eyes latched onto his, as she silently tried to work against the pressure at her shoulder. He was holding back as best he could, but as she fought against his weight, he slowly leaned backwards in magnetic repulsion.

"You didn't hit me," she exclaimed more openly. Apparently she wasn't a much better student than he was, Gohan noted to himself sarcastically, as she stated the obvious fact. Of course he hadn't hit her, even though she'd deserved it time and time again. Although he still had his fist raised and clenched, she had successfully regained her sitting position to smile victoriously back at his empty threat with the rhetorical question he feared she'd ask next. "You can't, can you."

The raised fist completely lowered, though his glare failed to shift. Videl used his attention to her advantage, daring to lean forwards slightly with clear intent in the depths of her eyes. Gohan swallowed hard at her sudden swift in confidence, and the clear change in who was now bossing who around.

"If you tell me the truth," she vaguely repeated what had been his words, pausing with the baiting to flick her tongue across slightly dry lips. The demi-Saiyans's brows flinched at the alluring sight; to him, her natural action was just part of the seductive bargain. "Then I'll tell you all about human's and their… 'tails.' I …. I promise."

How could he resist?

"You belong to Kari." His tone was flat and quietly uttered on a single breath. Videl narrowed her eyes with the light tilt of her head. "It doesn't matter who or what you are. Her…possessions, are to be respected. It's not my place to touch you. Not beyond what's required."

"You mean, as long as it's to benefit your research, then…-?"

"Yes."

She was a quick learner, but even though she'd managed to vaguely grasp the basics of how these Saiyan rankings worked, Videl still had many questions to ask. Gohan's nostrils flared, as she provoked his patience further.

"Am I ever going to see home again?"

"You're testing my -"

"Just answer the question." The bed shifted, as the human re-arranged herself to sit over her calf leg muscles. The Saiyan stared; he was used to taking orders, but not like this. "Please," she added, a strange, desperation in her voice. He could tell the question was important to her, but she wasn't going to like the basic truth. Surely she knew the answer already? Why was she demanding such pathetic facts from him? He was a warrior, not her translator or worse yet, personal servant.

"No," he spat flatly, and then his eyes rolled and he shook his head. "I don't know! There's no telling what Kari will want next." Her shoulders dropped, and before he knew it, he revealed just how connected their fates truly were. "Not with you. Not with me. Not with any of us. You'll only find out when she wants you to know. So don't even bother bruising your skull over it."

It was hard not to note the sudden desperation in the Saiyan's tone, as Gohan quickly changed the dire subject. He didn't like promised desires waved in front of his nose, only to be taken away from him. "You gave me your word. Now meet your end of the bargain. Tell me about the human tails!"

Videl inhaled a deep breath, re-wetting her lips in preparation for what could take her hours to fully explain. After all, maybe if she continued to co-operate like this, the aliens would grow bored of her species again? It was a worthwhile hope, even if it meant martyring herself for the sake of humanity's future. She was no science-nerd, and biology had been one of her weakest subjects. But she had to try to convince him that she knew exactly what she was talking about.

"It all began, with just a theory. An evolution that spans across thousands and…well, thousands of years. I guess that should be centuries but, anyway. We call it the study and the evolution, of the 'homo sapiens'. The connection between man, and ape… "

To be continued…