~Raze's Journey Chapter 14~
~Another Happy Landing;Unfortunate Meeting~
Roarin: Hope you all enjoy this chapter!
The planet was coming ever closer as the ship began to tilt toward it. Raze witnessed it in the full glorious view of his main outer shell of a window. He was in awe of its majesty as Thaumaturge took over the hull of the ship. Roaring into the upper ozone layer, the ship began to shake suddenly. Raze panicked a bit, jumping toward the controls and cutting off the auto pilot. He began to steer the mechanical wonder manually.
Struggling with the controls, Raze pulled just a bit tighter while pushing a few buttons to try and steady the capsule corp's pride. All his concentration was focused on making sure that things didn't spiral out of control. Gritting his teeth, he felt the ship beginning to lurch back into its usual orientation. The sweat that was manifesting on his forehead poured while Raze fought to keep control and prevent a crash landing.
"It really looks like you're struggling." Brass said out of nowhere, causing Raze to let his grip slip in shock.
The ship began to shake again as it failed to remain steady, "Don't do that!" Raze shouted back while reaching out for the controls again. The ship's shaking began to die down as he regained control.
The ship passed down through the stratosphere as it began to light up becoming a ball of fire. Then it started to cool. The fire dissipated leaving the shining ship flying down. Brass wasn't letting this go despite the excellent piloting Raze was doing.
"I thought you were always paying attention." He said as Raze frowned.
"I'm trying to make sure we don't die here! Piloting a ship is incredibly difficult without focus." He retorted as Brass just grinned.
"Then just turn on autopilot." Brass shot back at the saiyan.
"That's a cheap way out! I'm a great pilot!" Raze said, pushing a few more buttons and steadying the ship, breaking through the cloud cover, and finding a large town at the bottom of it all.
As the saiyan and the namekian looked through the giant glass like shield of the capsule corp ship. They saw lush greenery heading up the westside of the town. A large farm was seen as the ship cruised past and many townsfolk just making their daily rounds. It was definitely a different change of scene compared to the desert world they'd been in just days ago.
"Wow! Those trees are huge in that direction!" Raze exclaimed as Brass adopted a shocked expression.
"Woah! Pay attention!" He yelled as Raze turned back to looking straight ahead.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Raze yelled continuously while shifting the ship back and away from a potential crash landing.
Dipping low, Raze prepared for a full on landing. Making sure to find a perfect patch of grass, he clicked a few buttons to stop the ship just above the spot. The landing shifted out from the ship and it lowered. The fauna and grass blew in the opposite direction of the ship until the thrusters finally began to taper off. Once it was done, the area settled into a nice calming peace.
Raze slumped back in his chair in relief, "Well, that was close…" He slowly trailed off as he recovered a bit from the near explosive end to their adventure.
Brass rolled his eyes, "Idiot."
The near death experience had made enough noise for all of the children to awaken on the ship. Brass could hear them all yawning as they flew up the at one time, heavily used ladder with their newfound ability to fly. Raze smiled, getting up to greet them and pass the news about finally making it to Thaumaturge. They seemed calmed by this revelation.
The last children to float up were Kira, Cloud, Ken and Kiryu who seemed a bit disheveled themselves. Ken and Kiryu had been flying back and forth inside the healing pods thus being forced to wake up regardless of if they wanted to. For the record, they didn't. Even still, Ken and Kira shared a healthy bit of excitement. This would be the first time they had even seen home in about a month for Ken and longer for Kira. To say that they were homesick would be an understatement.
Brass addressed them all, "Alright, so here's the deal. We're going to drop everyone who is going to end up staying a while at the shelter in town." He turned his head to Raze, emphasizing that he should say something
Raze got the memo, "Yeah, it's going to be a bit difficult at first, but I've been here before. The caretaker is a great person. She's done a lot of good work in the past." He looked over all the kids in the group with a smile on his face, "This planet is ideal for a nice quiet life." Raze added to try and keep the calm.
Some of the children looked a bit concerned. They had been through hell for a good portion of time, so having to live somewhere they weren't accustomed to was going to take some time.
One voiced their concerns, "Are you sure about that? What if someone like Athena is still around?" He asked them both to which Brass stepped up.
Brass wasn't one to alleviate discomfort, but in this case. He decided to try, "She isn't a threat to you in any capacity, so don't let that idea scare you. You'll all be taken care of." It sounded more off than he had expected it to be. An awkward sweatdrop appeared on his forehead.
The child was still unsure about Brass's words, but was also willing to try and believe him. So, he reluctantly nodded with a partially enthusiastic look on his face. The other children seemed a bit scared still.
Raze just nodded at the response, "What he said!" With a grin, he continued, "Is everyone ready?" He asked the group.
Some gave small murmurs, nodded, or even said, "Yes." And, "Let's go." Raze moved to open the main hatch and let the kids run down the bridge. Brass looked at the others that were still on board. Ken was looking forward to this. Returning home was going to be nostalgic for sure and this time with Kira in tow. His only wish was that something was waiting for them. Maybe that nice lady who visited their parents' old home on the outskirts would have checked on it like she'd done for him till he left to search for Kira.
He felt his hand had been grabbed and turned to see Kira giving him a warm smile, "Big bro, les go home!" She said cheerily to which he couldn't help but smile.
Ken nodded, returning the grip, "Yeah… I'd like that." He said as he felt another hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Raze giving him a grin.
"Told you I'd get you back. I'm just glad we got to her before… Well, let's not think about that." Raze finished as he saw Brass pass by.
Kiryu laughed as he walked, both his arms behind his head, "You guys are too sappy. We mostly made it out…"
Brass shook his head while looking out at the other children who were playing with their newly earned flight ability, "You'll learn as you grow about just how lucky you got. Things could have been so much worse…" He couldn't have emphasized that enough. The amount of raw luck that they had been there when they were was just a one in a million chance.
Kiryu felt like he'd been hit with a thousand pound block in the head. He was about to retort in frustration, but Cloud smacked him on the head, "You gotta back down, Kiryu. That's not a battle you can win." He seemed to have taken a rather active approach to Kiryu's rambling and tried to bring him back down to earth whenever possible.
Kiryu, though stronger… Wasn't one to go against his buddy here. So, he reluctantly sighed, "Thanks, Cloud even though it wasn't needed…" He still gave Brass a defiant glare which the namekian appreciated.
Brass merely smirked at the kid as he turned away, walking down the bridge. Raze knew that Brass was either taunting Kiryu or was genuinely impressed with the kid, there was no inbetween. Kiryu could only seethe away in frustration while Cloud whistled and walked off behind Brass. Raze pat Ken on the back and then followed the rest of the group only stopping to turn back, obscuring the light from outside.
"Are you ready?" Raze asked Ken and Kira who both nodded, stepping forward. What they found was familiar looking grassland surrounding them in a sea of green. The wind carried with it a smell of change. Ken felt Kira's grip tighten on his hand. He couldn't help but let a tear slip from his eye. They were home and it was hitting all the right chords.
Ken hadn't even realized it when more tears began to flow. Kira was unable to resist it either, beginning to cry alongside him with sobs and sniffles becoming abundant. Raze could only scratch his head, watching this was kinda tough. Brass turned to watch the other kids play to avoid the interaction entirely.
Cloud smiled, happy to see them being able to enjoy this serene place. Kiryu just shook his head, wanting to also join Brass in his avoidance despite his own suspicions of the namekian. Ken could smell the scent of the forest, the town, and even the lake giving him a sense of tranquility as he finally let go of his sister's hand much to her surprise. He turned to her, a nice warm smile on his face.
He wiped the tears from his face with his sleeve and sighed happily, "I'm really ready this time!" He exclaimed as Kira nodded in agreement, quickly wiping her own tears away to make herself look stronger for her brother and newly found friends. The other children cheered for them both as Raze gave them a thumbs up. Even Kiryu had a small smile on his face from Ken's declaration.
Cloud spoke up, "Hey! I've been ready to see this place for a bit. I'm bored!" He moved on ahead, happy to be off the ship for the time being leaving the others behind. Kiryu decided to go on ahead to try and catch up with Cloud.
Raze chuckled to himself, " I do agree with them. We should probably get a move on. That orphanage isn't too far into Town. It's right close to the edge of civilization." Pointing everyone in the right direction, he led the group onward, but just as he had. Raze noticed that Brass was still standing in the same place.
"Uh, you coming, Brass?" He asked the tall blindingly white namekian who shook his head.
"I'll stick around here for a bit. Don't forget, we have a few unwanted guests on our ship right now." He said to the saiyan who widened his eyes and slapped his own forehead.
"Oh yeah. I didn't forget. Thanks Brass." He thanked the namekian who waved it off.
"Just protecting an investment. You get them to where they need to be. I'll be here." Brass said as Raze nodded and left him there. Ken, Kira, and the rest of the children followed Raze onward.
~Athena~
She struggled in her bonds, but to no avail. Trying to activate her hidden cufflink to make the drones on the outside of the ship come and free her so she could take this vessel underneath Raze's nose. She lamented everything that had happened so far. That insufferable saiyan only being matched by that equally horrid Brass. She wanted to scream, but also noted to keep herself just calm enough to not attract attention.
A voice echoed over the intercom, "You're really still struggling in there? You may as well give up. I can see and hear everything you do." That got her to stop, Athena begrudgingly noted that the voice was Brass's alone.
"What do you want?!" She hissed at the Namekian.
She could almost hear the smirk on his face as he replied, "Well, you could save yourself some trouble and stop making that racket before I give you a reason not to." Brass finished with his rather snarky reply.
Athena sneered at the camera pointing at her, "How dare you imply that anymore will happen! This is… IS!" She had definitely lost control of her motor functions at that moment because Brass ended up finishing her sentence.
"The worst outcome or is it reprehensible? Before you say anything, consider your case. It's just a hole you started digging too early on." Brass seemingly relaxed with a sigh and she pictured him just leaning back without a care in the world, "Did you really think your business would last forever? Just because you convinced a bunch of weaklings to work underneath you? Come on, be realistic. This is the only outcome that deserved attention." Brass seemed more lackadaisical in this approach like he was just enjoying himself this much.
Athena hated the taunting, especially since he had interrogated her not too long ago already. This Brass was different from how she thought he'd have turned out. He was nothing like his father, but still looked like him. Oh, the amount of bullshit Athena would hear about this if Sebastian ever asked her about the decisions they'd made before he left. She wanted to avoid allowing him to see her without achieving something great like he'd wanted Athena to.
Athena finally gave up on the idea of getting free, for now anyway, "So, you stuck around just to taunt me?" She asked him.
Brass chuckled, "Yeah, fun right?" He questioned her back to which she turned to the side in abject anger.
"Leave me alone." She simply returned as he grinned from behind his front row seat.
"Sure, just don't do anything I wouldn't do. Or… Regret doing that is." Brass said as the intercom cut out, leaving Athena alone in the dark cell like room.
~In town~
Raze, Ken, Kira, Kiryu, Cloud, and the rest of the children walked in a group through the busy streets of Diviner. The populace moved around in strange ways or floated around in most cases. Raze took notice of several weird contraptions that appeared to move around with no energy being given to the devices at all. This impressed most of the kids including Kiryu and Cloud but especially Kiryu.
"Wow, it's incredible to see this kind of machinery not needing a sustainable energy supply!" He said while Cloud nodded.
"This place must be its own kind of marvel." Cloud added while the other children nodded.
Ken spoke up, "It's always been like this since we've lived here. This place was one of the first human settlements to have been made in the West Galaxy when the expansion from Earth happened." He looked around at the familiar surroundings, "It's a case study in both modern and old architecture as half of the city is layered brick while the other is capsule homes. Not only that… But magic is used a lot." Raze had been listening while holding his head in his hands and leaning back.
"Ah, so you mean aliens like Babidi or Bibidi?" He asked Ken who stiffened up slightly, eager to give his hero an answer.
"Yeah! Just like them, but not evil." Ken said quickly.
"You must've studied a lot, Ken." Raze said as Ken nodded.
Kira jumped in, "My big bro has da bestest teacher! Auntie Lyral!" She spread her arms out wide, "She knows lotsa things!" She exclaimed as Ken agreed with her.
Kiryu looked away, "If she is such a great teacher, why doesn't Kira form full sentences correctly?" Kira frowned and even started to tear up slightly while Ken comforted her with a pat on her shoulder.
Cloud smacked Kiryu on the head to which he shot back, "What was that for?!" He held the back of his head in his palms, trying to rub the pain away.
"You have no tact, Kiryu!" Cloud said as Kiryu gritted his teeth.
"Oh yeah? I let you get away with the others, but not this time." Kiryu launched himself from the ground, but he stopped midway when he realized that the back of his shirt had been grabbed by Raze.
Raze sighed, "Settle down. If you two wanna train later, that's a fine way to let out some stress." He dropped Kiryu to the ground as he continued, "We've got things to do first here before that. So, act civilized for now." He finished while getting ready to continue on the path.
Ken turned to get ready to follow Raze, but he paused. There in his vision looked to be an older man with a decently long beard. The man had dropped his cane in what appeared to be shock. His eyes were wide in surprise.
"K- Ken?!" He then turned to see Kira as well, "Kira?!" He hobbled over to the two who immediately rushed to him, hugging the older gentleman with no qualms. Raze arched an eye at the man who seemed to be filled with joy and astonishment.
"Oh my goodness! I just can't believe this! We thought little Kira had been killed and then Ken just disappeared afterward! I'm so happy to see you both!" The man said as the Twins agreed with him.
"Yeah! Good to see you as well Time-Turner!" Ken said while Kira leapt in.
"Yeah! Uncle Timey!" Kira exclaimed while Kiryu watched the reunion, trying to hide his smile.
Cloud seemed to be happy for them as the aforementioned Time-Turner looked up at Raze, "You must be responsible for their safe return!" He bowed to Raze immediately, "Thank-you! Ms. Lyral will be most pleased with this turn of events!" He then slapped his hand over his mouth quickly.
Raze chuckled, scratching his head in embarrassment, "Heheh… It's no big deal. I'm just glad that we were there." Raze finished as the Older Man shook his head in disagreement.
"No! That won't do. I won't have modesty in this situation. You're a grand hero! I will have you all come eat at my place!" He said earnestly trying to get Raze to agree, but he started shaking his head.
"No, I can't impose like that, we have all these children here! Since you know Lyral… Do you have a way to contact her? We really do need to get in touch…" He finished slowly as the old man bopped him in the head with his walking stick, "He- Hey?! What was that for?!" He exclaimed while rubbing the top of his head through the large amount of hair.
"It's for your rudeness! A hero should accept a reward for his courageous actions! Besides, there's plenty for everyone here." Time-Turner said as Raze prepared to object again, but then he heard the tell tale signs of stomachs beginning to rumble. Turning around, Raze noticed that most of his little group were indeed starving. Raze wanted to help them out and he knew it had been a bit since he cooked. (Not that they had much more food left on the ship.)
Raze, still rubbing the little bump on his head, decided that sure, they could go eat. Maybe he could find out some more things about this planet or if there was any news he needed to know. Reluctant, Raze decided to nod and give his assent.
"Oh, fine." He turned back to the old man, "Yeah, we can eat, but you better have enough like you said or you might regret it. These kids can eat you out of house and home." He said while Kiryu shouted back.
"Hey! We don't eat that much." He said indignantly to which Raze brushed it off.
"You didn't act that way the other night when I cooked." He returned, which made Kiryu pipe down for once.
He grumbled a bit, "Yeah, sure… Rgh!"
Cloud was just happy to be along for the food, "I hope it's good!" He said while drooling slightly.
Ken smiled, "It's going to be great! He always cooked for us." He looked back at the rest of the children, "It's definitely worth it." He finished as they all nodded, slightly peckish themselves.
Time-Turner nodded, beckoning to them to come along before turning to Raze, "I have a very decently sized home just to the east. I'll show you the way." He said while shifting back and walking forward. Raze, though unsure of this man, was also ready to trust Ken and Kira's judgment. Though, he would stay on guard should anything shifty start happening.
Raze looked laid back, keeping up appearances, "Time-Turner?" He asked as the man acknowledged him with a small nod without looking back.
"Yes, my boy?" He returned while the kids seemed to be following Ken and Kira rather than the older man.
Raze was a bit curious about this man despite the distrust, there was something oddly familiar about him, "I wonder if perhaps I know you from somewhere?" The old man stopped, smiled and still without turning back, began to continue walking forward.
"Raze, I know you in at least three ways… One of them wasn't very pleasant." Time-Turner said very methodically, "You definitely have an interesting history, even some things that you or this you won't know." Raze was confused by these words..
"Uh, What does that mean?" He asked, trying to make something of what he said.
"Ahhh… I can explain a bit more later. Let's just say that we've been friends for a long time." He said while Raze listened as if mesmerized, "Wibbles and wobbles, I miss those days." He finished nostalgically as the background noise of the kids seemed to disappear for Raze.
He felt something prickling in his mind, but just as soon as it was felt. It left. Raze didn't understand that, but it was almost cathartic. He felt at this moment that he was speaking to someone who truly knew him at some point. A him he would never know. It bothered him, but those questions that were surfacing in Raze's very mind were ones he'd rather not ask. It was strange nonetheless.
"That's different." Raze was at a loss for more meaningful words.
Ken and Kira were leading the charge by this point. Kiryu and Cloud were close behind, readying themselves for a feast. The lot of the children being paraded on were just as ready as the saiyans. Raze was trying to figure out what had just happened and Time-Turner was brightening up at seeing his home just within a short distance.
~Guerdon, A Bar?~
A figure walking in the dark of the night could barely be seen. Each careful step relayed that it was aware of the surroundings in the area from the mightiest tree to the smallest ant. The cloak that caressed the figure swept to and fro in the wind. Out here, anything could happen.
"So, you finally got here. Took your time, Sensei…" The cloaked person seemed to have a look around before relenting and dropping the hood.
"Sushig, you know better than to leave yourself so exposed. Why did you send me that message?" He asked his former protege who smirked.
"I just thought you'd be interested in hearing about your quarry after such a long drought of information being available, Strife." Sushig said while his mentor arched an eye at that, 'Got him interested… Let's reel him in.' He thought while inviting the demonic man to follow him into the massive bar.
As the door shut behind the two, they noticed a large man sitting at the front of the bar, 'Kronos? What's he doing here?' But it seemed like Sushig was ignoring the large and in charge presence. That bothered Strife ever so slightly. Sushig seemed different and where was Tisho? That little upstart always had something to prove.
Walking toward the back of the bar, Sushig pointed to the table at the back, "We can chat here uninterrupted. I met a certain saiyan that you've been chasing for the last nine years." The demonic man opposite of him sat down.
"You've basically said that over the text. Get to the point if you want my attention." Strife said while making marks on the table.
Sushig nodded, "Yes, I guess that I have said that. Okay, I have a great deal of faith to believe that he will end up here soon. He has more than likely captured my old boss and is looking to cash in." A waitress approached the pair.
"Can I get you boys anything?" She asked earnestly, holding a notepad out and looking between them both.
They both glared at her for a moment and she started to shrink back before Sushig shook his head, "Actually, I could go for some scotch. Get some ice in there too. You?" He asked, looking at his even older boss. He didn't get a response so Sushig sighed, "I'm buying."
Strife turned to the waitress, "Same as what he got." Once the waitress was gone after promising to get their drinks quickly enough, Strife continued, "When do you think he'll be on his way?" He asked curiously.
Sushig looked around before saying, "Not too much longer. This is the only place willing to accept such a high profile prisoner. Just trust me."
"Trust? What kind of trusted individual just happens to leave his old master high and dry to go play kidnapper." That struck a chord, Sushig wavered only slightly, but this opening was what Strife looked for, "Oh? You're ashamed now? But the money was good. It's great to know that morals is something an assassin can adopt nowadays."
Sushig looked about ready to speak out, but he was stopped by Strife, "Yes, you would be an easy kill if anyone were to target you with those kinds of emotions weighing you down." Strife relented though, "Regardless of that, I find it intriguing that you bothered to contact me after all was said and done. So, I'll work with you. We'll kill Raze together." He finished, holding a hand out while Sushig looked at it almost warily before reluctantly reaching out to grip his former boss's hand and shake it.
Sushig, was waging war in his mind as he looked at the demonic man, "How do I know you won't just betray and kill me when we're done?" He asked his boss who just grinned maliciously.
"You'll just have to figure that out when you can. Or if…" He trailed off as their handshake ended ominously.
~End of Chapter~
Roarin: Please leave a review, tell me what you thought and we'll see you in the next one!