To AnonymousDBZFan,
I'm glad you enjoy the author's notes! Especially because I have an extra-long one at the end of this chapter, lol ; I just love delving into background stuff and talking inspirations. I sometimes wonder about adding them, but then I figure people can just skip if not interested.
You make me smile so much! It is fantastic to hear that this story is inspiring you with all sorts of what-if's in the Dragon Ball world. And I'm glad you're liking my take on Bra! Since Bra is not a very established character (aside from GT and a couple panels from Super where she shows herself to be a genius in the making), I found I had a lot of creative freedom. I had a lot of fun contrasting her innocence against Touketsu Vegeta's darkness.
Their argument in the Necropolis was one of my favorite scenes to write. Bra's innocence and her father's dark past is something that has fascinated me for a while, and I loved being able to tackle that here (even if it's painful).
Vegeta does indeed have some kind of connection with his demonic other half, albeit a subconscious one. As Touketsu Vegeta has been getting glimpses of Vegeta's life through dreams, so too is Vegeta himself. I allude to that in "Discoveries", when it's noted that Vegeta's sleep had been plagued with dreams of 'battle with no honor'.
I know I've said this a bunch of times, and I'll say it a bunch more, but I'm so grateful for your readership and for reserving some of your time to review, AnonymousDBZFan! I'm so happy to hear about all the things you're getting out of this story. Thank you, thank you for reading!
Painful Truths
The princesses lounged in the opulent, circular living room, its domed ceiling a magically conjured night sky that flashed with the northern lights. It was furnished with gorgeous, upholstered sofas and chairs in varying shades of iridescent blues and greens. Book-lined shelves were built into the walls of sculpted black onyx, and the floor was of rainbow moonstone. Connected to the living room were the princesses' separate bedrooms, each decorated to their individual tastes.
It may as well have been a prison. The princesses all knew they'd crossed the line with their mother, but being grounded indefinitely was not something they'd anticipated. Ever since Touketsu's arrival there'd been a change in their mother. It was subtle and not at all bad at first, but it had since been darkening and intensifying like a gathering storm.
The double doors opened, and a small group of Marenna's attendants entered, a white corvid woman at the fore. "Princesses," she announced with a bow, "A message from Queen Marenna. She was recently informed by Lord Zeygorn that Prince Vegeta had been captured outside the Necropolis." The sisters' mouths dropped open in shock.
Zeema cupped her hands to her mouth. "Oh no," she whimpered.
They all looked at each other. That liar, he said he was leaving Nav! They'd tried to save his butt and spare their mother grief, and the idiot went and got captured. Their brows furrowed, their eyes casting down. Touketsu was a dead man.
Likha bit her lip. "Has, um, the execution been scheduled yet?"
"No. Queen Marenna has called for a deferment on his execution while questions are answered. It was ascertained that Prince Vegeta was trying to escape Nav with a young mortal girl. How and why she was brought here is being investigated."
"A…girl?" Likha asked. The attendant nodded.
The sisters looked at each other. Touketsu had to have left at some point, and for some reason returned with the girl. Whoever she was, their mother knew full well that she'd crossed using the effigy. They could take her back easily! What lengths was their mother willing to go through to keep this quiet? It was of no use pointing out any of this to Marenna's attendants. Conjured of Nav and their mother's magic, they hid what she did. Communication with them was largely a farcical dance.
"Please tell the queen that we're deeply sorry for our transgressions," Kuma said as she stepped forward. "She can trust us to help the little girl get back home."
"We will pass along your apologies, princesses, but we're sorry," the attendant said as she and the others backed up out the door. "The queen has commanded that you remain under house arrest until she says otherwise." The door closed, and Marenna's magic again imbued the walls to seal them in.
"What the heck is Mom doing? Has she completely lost it!?" Likha exclaimed. "She'd let a little girl die? And what was Touketsu thinking!? Why did he come back, and why did he kidnap a mortal girl?"
They fell silent, not wanting to consider their adopted brother may in fact be as evil as his energy implied. "You don't…you don't think he was going to drain her energy, do you?" Zeema asked.
"From a little girl?" Likha shook her head. "It just doesn't seem like him," she muttered.
"We thought we knew, Mother too," Kuma said somberly. "Touketsu exudes more negative energy than any male we've ever come across."
"That Zhernobog person is attached to his soul, you don't think that has something to do with it?" Likha asked emphatically. "Touketsu's not purely evil. You saw him on that planet. He was ready to kill himself to protect his wife and son." Her sisters reflected on that.
"Wish we knew what was going on right now," Kuma murmured before snorting. "Guess I can see why Mother put that surveillance spell on the effigy. Great way to stay in the know."
Zeema's brows drew together thoughtfully. "Will plus personal energy…"
"What?" Kuma asked.
Zeema looked up. "You said a charm is will plus personal energy. Touketsu probably had the effigy at the time Zeygorn captured him. Unless Mama negated our Obfuscation Charms, they should still be on it."
"How does that help?" Likha asked.
"Well," Zeema began, "we used our energy to create the charms. We should have some influence over the effigy, right?" The youngest sister seemed to mull that over. "Kuma, could you like, connect with our energies and put a spell on the effigy? Make it so we can hear and see through it like Mama did, but regardless of who's holding it? Maybe we can find out what's going on."
Kuma blinked. "I…you know what, maybe. If this is going to work though, it will take all three of us. Come here," she motioned as she got on her knees on the floor. "Make a circle and hold hands, we'll need to sustain the spell together in order to tap in. Now each of you focus on your own Obfuscation Charms...
Touketsu stirred as he regained consciousness, a low grown escaping his lips when pain flooded his being. Drawing in a labored breath of stiflingly hot air, he broke off coughing when his expanding lungs pushed against broken ribs. He winced as he brought the coughing fit under control. The heat was absolutely oppressive. If he was in Nav it sure didn't feel like it.
Head lowered, his eyes cracked open and blinked several times. He'd been stripped of the makeshift robe, his naked chest coated in a sheen of sweat that trickled down to the tattered wrap around his waist. It was so heavy with dampness it was fairly hanging off his hips. His toes were barely in contact with the floor. It was then he registered the uncomfortable strain on his arms. He weakly raised his head and saw that he was being suspended by his shackled wrists.
His normally spiky hair was wilted and plastered to his shoulders and back, several errant strands sticking to his sweaty forehead. He looked around. It was dark, but his surroundings glowed here and there with blazing oranges from numerous forges, the light captured by the steam and smoke. Where am I? he thought, dazed. What happened? His half-hooded eyes snapped wide when the previous events rushed back. Bra.
He began struggling against the binds, and he bit back a cry of surprise and pain when they flared with heat. He stilled, and the heat faded. That's when he heard and felt someone approaching. An instant later, his nose confirmed who. His body darkening with Shadow Cast, he resumed his struggle. The shackles again blazed with power to burn right through his protective shadow. Gritting his teeth, his Berserker aura flared as he continued to tug futilely, the now white-hot shackles searing through hair and flesh.
"Fffffuck," he hissed in pain, his desperation growing as Zeygorn approached. "Damn it!-" He stilled, his body going pale and his aura extinguishing when he felt a sword point sink into his back. The burn in the shackles receded.
"You're awake," Zeygorn's three heads greeted him in unison. Touketsu winced when the blade at his back became searing. He flinched when the hot blade moved to rest over his right wrist just below the shackle, and he glanced up. "If you want to escape, I could relieve you of your hands," he said in amusement. "Apparently, you can just grow them right back, demon."
"Says the freak that can reattach his heads."
Zeygorn chuckled as he withdrew the blade. "No worries. You won't be going anywhere. Queen Zarkala reserves the right to dismember your body."
Touketsu swallowed as Zeygorn stepped around to his front, the firelight reflecting off the dragon's shining black scales and armor. "Where am I?" he demanded quietly.
"This is the kingdom's subterranean forge, Hekla, located deep within Nav's volcanic underground. This has been my quarters since given the position of Nav's Executioner, and until recently I was quite at home here. After all," he said resentfully, "no one but the queen's family has the privilege of living in the palace."
"You've been placed under arrest," said the Jozop head on the dragon's left. "Queen Marenna has commanded that your execution be deferred until she speaks with the girl that was with you. While she interviews her," he smiled, "I'm taking it upon myself to do the same with you."
"Everyone is quite curious as to how and why you kidnapped a mortal child," spoke Ajadzo's head. "Before I question you about that, however, I have some questions of my own."
Jaw flexing, Touketsu watched Zeygorn press the point of the sword into the circular scar over his heart. "These scars," Yudoch's head began, capturing Touketsu's attention. The dragon pulled the weapon away and leaned in. "Allproudly earned in battle?" Touketsu glared. He quietly suppressed a cough when a puff of smoke was blown in his face.
Zeygorn chuckled. "I'm familiar with your kind," he said as he pulled away, tossing the sword aside with a clang as he walked behind him.
"Arrogant chieftains, self-proclaimed 'kings' of tiny, insignificant countries, unwilling to bend the knee to their true kings. In life I united my entire planet and ended all wars. Those that refused to recognize the Uniting Trinity were killed or enslaved." His huge hand grabbed Touketu's long mane and yanked it up.
Touketsu winced when his head was roughly shoved forward until his chin touched his chest. He tensed when he felt Zeygorn's large, scaly hand brush over the scars on his back, examining them. "I'll have you know, Vegeta, that I can tell the difference between a scar left by a sword blow…and one suffered at the end of a whip," he sneered with a shove of Touketsu's head, releasing his hair to let it fall back down like a curtain over his scarred back.
Touketsu's head remained lowered when Zeygorn walked back to his front. "The Water of Life can erase scars only temporarily and after complete immersion. Those are from old wounds. So. 'Is a king flogged like a slave when his loyal subjects fuck up?'" the Jozop head quoted. Touketsu slowly raised his eyes as the dragons chuckled.
"Yes, I watched you that night from the Fire Realm. I watched you every night, studying your moves, seeing you pander to the audience and gain their support," growled Yudoch's head.
"You had uh, quite a rant in the arena," smirked Ajadzo's head. "You worked for an emperor named Frieza, yes? Now. What kind of royalty serves another, hm?"
Touketsu raised his head. "Is there a point to your rambling?" he growled, his eye twitching. The dragon's three heads drew close to surround Touketsu's face.
"You."
"Are no."
"Prince," they spoke in turns.
"You're just someone's runaway slave," the middle Yudoch head hissed with a flick of his tongue. Zeygorn straightened, his heads withdrawing to leave Touketsu glaring at nothing.
"You went through great lengths in your quest for freedom, didn't you, slave?" asked Ajadzo's head.
"What did you do?" asked Jozop's. "Transform your Saiyan body into that of a planes-crossing demon in order to evade your master's capture?" All three heads began interrogating in turns.
"How did you do it?"
"Did you steal an artifact of the gods?"
"Did you make a pact with dark forces?"
"TALK!"
"What do you care?" Touketsu sneered.
His head snapped to the side when he was backhanded hard across the face, a mist of sweat flying through the air. "You're a drifter. An unnatural beast! You arrogantly walk onto this planet under a false identity, and then you dishonored me in the arena."
"You manipulated the Familia."
"You changed our sacred laws."
"You took advantage of our virtuous queen and her ignorance of your true origins."
"YOU DON'T BELONG HERE!" All three heads roared.
"Touketsu spat a gob of blood on the floor and chuckled. So that's what this was about. Simple, jealous fool. "She doesn't want you, Zeygorn," he grinned up at him, his right eye beginning to swell shut. "That's why the great 'lesser god', doesn't live in the palace with her."
Zeygorn grabbed Touketsu roughly by the jaw and wrenched his head forward. "You're not dead, you're not a god, yet HERE you are in Nav," he snarled as he gave him a shake. "You're going to tell me just how you manage to cross planes." Zeygorn reached into his armor and pulled out an object that looked positively tiny in his massive hand. "Care to tell me what this is?"
Touketsu cracked an eye open, and it widened slightly at the sight of the effigy. "What's it look like? It's a fucking doll," he said, his words garbled under Zeygorn's tight grip.
"The great Prince Vegeta has a doll?" Zeygorn laughed as he shoved his head aside. "Did you cuddle it after the tournaments? Did you suck your thumb, too?" Yudoch's head cooed mockingly into Touketsu's seething face. The dragon's upper lip curled in a sneer. "I imagine your little dolly gave you great comfort the night I took your hand."
Touketsu's eyes flashed purple. With a snarl he brought his forehead down over the center head's scaly snout.
Zeygorn flinched and pulled back, his six eyes likewise flaring purple in rage. They faded back to their fiery orange, and he snorted. Chuckling, he gave Touketsu a congratulatory slap on the face before running a hand over his cheek and into his hair. "Such SPIRIT for such a little man," he said, gripping his hair to give him a patronizing shake. Zeygorn smiled. "I shall enjoy breaking it."
He swiftly gathered up Touketsu's sweaty mane and draped it over one of his shoulders. "Time to add my signature to your back's written history," Zeygorn said pleasantly as he straightened. His tail snaked behind Touketsu, stretching to become longer as it rose behind him. Each of its three, barbed ends exploded with ki. Zeygorn held the effigy up, his smiles abruptly dropping. "Now. what is this object for?"
The flagrum tail laid hard into Touketsu's bare back before he could answer. His eyes widened, and he grit his teeth as he bit back a cry of pain. Zeygorn's three heads each proceeded with their interrogation.
"Did you steal it?" He was struck again.
"Did you use it to transform?" Touketsu's back arched and his eyes screwed shut when the three tails came down a third time.
"Is this how you've been crossing planes?" Touketsu betrayed a hitch of breath when he was flogged again.
"Yes," he gasped.
Zeygorn paused. "Oh?"
Touketsu glared vengefully up at him, his eyes burning a steady purple. His pride demanded he crush Zeygorn's spirit and throw his vindictive, crazy queen under the bus. "Yes. I've been using it to access Nav's hotspots and travel between planes."
His eyes narrowed. "Where did you get it?"
Touketsu smiled, his eyes returning to red. "It was a gift. From your beloved queen."
Zeygorn stared blankly as smoke began curling out from his nostrils and ears. "What?"
"She gave it to me after that court hearing to ensure I could get whatever I needed from the Physical Plane." He chuckled. "Seems your noble queen is a bit of a cheat."
Zeygorn cracked his barbed tails across Touketsu's back again. "DON'T LIE TO ME, VEGETA!" his three heads roared. "Queen Marenna would not break her own laws and aid an Inimicus. This has been in your possession," he yelled, shaking the effigy at him. "You used it to enter Nav that first night!"
"Wrong," he gasped though a smile, his eyes shut in pain. "Your queen opened a passageway for me so that I could travel from my world to hers. She invited me to stay in the palace because she wanted me. Touketsu opened his eyes to gloat. "And unlike you, she offered me kingship."
The smoke was now billowing around Zeygorn's heads like storm clouds. "Liar," he hissed. "You are not worthy. It was I who was selected by the gods to stand by the queen's side."
"What, in the Imperial Box?"
"As king! The gods recognized my worth!"
"Sounds like a certain female god didn't." Touketsu smirked a little at Zeygorn's expressions of outrage. "Marenna never intended to make you king, and neither did the other gods. Oh, you want it though, don't you? The princesses shared an interesting little tidbit about you proposing to them on the very night they were born." He chuckled. "Trying to work your way into the royal family, huh? It was never going to happen, Zeygorn. You're just a glorified Inimicus."
Zeygorn grabbed him by the back of the head and wrenched it back. "Inimicus are chaos incarnate, rapists and murderers," his heads sneered into Touketsu's face. "Not me. I created order. I killed in battle to unify my planet. I put lawbreakers to death. I married my women before I took them. Everything I did was legal."
"How convenient that you were the ones making the laws."
"The gods' laws. My rulership was divinely ordained."
Touketsu scoffed. "That's what they told you? Or is that what you three told yourselves? What you continue to tell yourself even after death?" His smirk broadened into a grin, a knowing look on his face as his gaze seemed to delve into Zeygorn's soul. "Can't imagine you three were ok sharing your 'divinely ordained' rulership for long. Got ambitious, did you? Seems your assassinations were successful. Congratulations."
The dragons' six eyes widened, unnerved and enraged that this demon had seen right into his heart to judge him.
Touketsu's devilish grin broadened. "Must have spent a long time stuck together in your hells, considering how well you three now get along. You may have moved up to Nav, Zeygorn, but it's no reward - you'restill in purgatory." He chuckled. "Get a clue. You are no longer kings. You are literally beneath Nav's royalty. You killed each other, Yemma sent your asses to Hell like the next loser, and now you three are just servants!-"
Touketsu's eyes bugged out when Zeygorn punched him in the stomach with a gargantuan fist. The dragon warrior stepped back, tucking the effigy back under his armor as he watched Touketsu vomit a gout of blood and bile as he swayed from his shackles. "Time to wring another confession out of you, dog. What were you doing with that mortal girl?" Taking in a wheezing breath, Touketsu didn't answer. "Were you going to eat her, beast? Or something else?" Touketsu's head jerked up. "That's it, isn't it? Inimicus are infamous for such acts, after all-"
"No!" He shouted, disgust on his face.
Zeygorn's three heads each raised a single eyebrow at his reaction. "Care to tell us why she was with you, then?"
Touketsu swallowed and choked down a cough. "I was taking her to the hotspot in the Necropolis to bring her home," he wheezed. "That's all."
"How did she get here?"
"She got her hands on the doll. She opened a hotspot to Nav and followed me-" His shredded back arched when the ki-laced tails laid into him again with a whoosh and a crack.
"Lies. You said you needed the doll in order to access hotspots."
"Yes, well I made my own door to Nav that time!" he ground out in pain.
"You made. Your own. Your story isn't exactly adding up, Vegeta. If you could create 'personal' hotspots why did you not do it again and send the girl back?"
"Doubtless it was your queen's blasted magic!"
His eyes narrowed. "And you brought the girl to the Necropolis because you wanted to bring her home, hm?"
"Are you deaf? Yes!"
"Charitable. Tell me, 'Prince' Vegeta. Is she yours?"
"Oh please," he snarled, a fresh wave of sweat breaking out over his skin. "I just wanted to get the brat out of my hair. The last thing I needed was to be saddled with a weak, whiney girl."
"Could have just left her to die."
Touketsu's sneer faded as his mouth dried up. Zeygorn crossed his arms. "So why didn't you leave her to die, Vegeta?" Yudoch's head asked. The demon prince worked his jaw, but he was drawing an alarming blank for a convincing response.
"Why?" asked Jozop's head. Touketsu bit his lip when Zeygorn laid his three barbed tails into his back.
"Why?"
Touketsu sank his teeth into his own arm to stifle a cry when he was flogged again. His back was completely flayed at this point. Eyes screwed shut and panting in pain through his nose, he could feel Zeygorn's three heads snake in close to scrutinize his trembling form.
"Oh, how deposed royalty cling to their little legacies," Yudoch's head said quietly. "Those I conquered were willing to do anything to preserve their lineage. In my mercy I fulfilled their wishes and spared their children…if they were female." Touketsu's eyes cracked open, and Yudoch's head leaned in until he was an inch from Touketsu's profile. "I'll hear your confessions, Vegeta. In the meantime, I'm content to hear your screams."
Touketsu drew away from his arm to speak, a thin ribbon of bloody saliva on his lips. "You'll hear neither," he rasped.
Zeygorn's three faces smiled. "Hm. We shall see."
The flagrum tail raised.
Queen Marenna sat upon her throne of scintillating diamond, one elbow propped upon the armrest and her chin gently resting over the top of her slender fingers. She'd lost contact with Touketsu the moment he'd dropped the effigy, but she'd seen who he was up against. She wasn't surprised when Zeygorn telepathically informed her of his capture and Queen Zarkala's impending arrival with the girl.
Through her magic, Marenna had made the announcement of the festival's deferment until this important matter had been dealt with.
She shook her head. Touketsu had created so much trouble for her. He and her daughters both. The executioner had announced his intention to question the prisoner, to which she of course permitted. It would have looked strange if she hadn't. She brooded. If Zeygorn had picked up the effigy, she could find herself being questioned as well.
That was a concern for later. She had no choice but to maintain public appearances and continue her duties. Marenna straightened on her throne when she felt the energy signatures approach, and the pale jade doors slowly opened. Flanked on either side by her attendants, Zarkala, her sons, and Bra entered. Marenna stood from her throne and descended the dais to meet them.
"Hello, my dear child," she said, bowing her head. "My name is Queen Marenna, the ruler of the Kingdom of Nav. Are you alright?"
Bra nodded stiffly before remembering her manners. She bowed deeply at the waist. "Yes, I'm fine. Pleased to meet you, your highness."
Marenna smiled. "My, what lovely manners. And what unique and gorgeous hair! It is like the color of the sky in spring." Bra smiled shyly. "What is your name, my little enchantress?"
"Princess Bra Eschalot Briefs."
"You are a princess? Just like my three daughters. Pleased to meet you, your highness. You must be terribly hungry." Her staff appeared in her hand, and a whirl of snow spun around the small group. They were instantly transported to a table inside Susmir. In the next instant, Bra's favorite foods appeared…much of which were sweets. Bra gasped in delight before looking at the queen questioningly. "Please eat, dear child. Whatever you'd like." Her face lighting up, Bra went for the strawberry mochi.
They watched her eat rapidly for a bit, and when she began to slow, Marenna resumed her inquiries. "So how did you travel all the way to Nav, Princess Bra? According to a report filed you were kidnapped."
Bra looked up from her cheeseburger. She put it down and wiped her hands on a napkin before folding them in her lap. "Well, no. Mr. Touketsu came to my room, and he left his dolly behind. I followed him to give it back."
"Mr. Touketsu?" Marenna asked, glancing at Zarkala. She tsked. "Well that was awfully careless of him to forget his doll. And that was very selfless and responsible of you to try to return it. Uh, that is what he told you his name was? Touketsu?"
Frowning, Bra nodded. She slumped over and planted her cheek on a fist before picking up a french-fry. "Uh huh," she said, idly poking the fry into a blob of ketchup. "Mr. Touketsu said he was my mama's and brother's monster. Then he told me he was the God of Travelers and Crossroads, and then…" Her brow furrowed, and her face began to crack. She dropped the fry and covered her face before breaking down crying.
"Oh, my sweet child," Marenna cooed, coming around the table to draw her into a hug.
"He's a liar!" Bra sobbed against the queen. "He said my daddy's going to Hell!"
"There, there. Mr. Touketsu can be very cruel. I'm sure your father is a fair and just ruler, Princess Bra."
Bra wiped away her tears. "Well," she sniffled, "my mama is the boss of our company, but my daddy is a good man. He could have been a king, but his planet got blown up a long time ago and he was never…cur…car…carnationed?"
Marenna pulled away from the little girl, studying her with new eyes.
"Coronated?"
"Yeah, that." She sniffed. "My daddy's a prince - Prince Vegeta the Fourth." The Luscepian family's mouths dropped open. "And Mr. Touketsu is telling everyone here that his name is Prince Vegeta. He is such a liar! His name should be Pinocchio," she pouted as she crossed her arms.
"Princess Bra," Zarkala said with a forced smile. "You said he was going to take you home this evening, and then he left with you. Where did you go?"
"Well…he took me to some kind of graveyard. He said he was taking me home, and we went to a red gate." Her voice lowered to a frightened whisper. "He left me. I saw him dragging me away, but he left me behind."
The Luscepian family looked at each other. Whatever Vegeta had done to bring his daughter here, it was evident that he couldn't take her back without separating her soul from her body.
Marenna's placid expression hadn't changed. "I'm very sorry for all of this, my dear," Marenna said softly. "We will do our best to right his wrongs."
Bra's stomach flipped with anxiety when she thought of how he looked when she saw him last. "Is…is Mr. Touketsu in trouble?"
Marenna affectionately tucked a strand of Bra's hair behind her ear. "Some, Princess Bra," she said softly.
Bra was so, so mad at him, but she still cared about him. "I hope it's not too much. I saw him do bad things, and he yelled at me sometimes and said mean things, but most of the time he was really sweet. He kept me safe and treated me nice, and he taught me how to fly and use my ki for fighting and stuff."
"He was training you to fight?"
"A…a little." Bra's eyes drooped.
"You must be exhausted, little one," Marenna said quickly. "You may stay at the palace and rest while we get everything fixed, alright?"
"Ok," she said quietly. A white swan attendant carefully scooped her up, and Marenna lay a hand on top of Bra's head.
"Rest well, Princess Bra." A flurry of sparkling magic like delicate snowfall surrounded Bra, and she immediately fell asleep. Her entire body quickly paled, her hair frosting over. "Please take her to one of the palace guest rooms." The attendant nodded and took Bra away.
Marenna turned to the Luscepian family. "The food helped strengthen her spirit and reverse some of the effects of being on this plane, but her body will resume wasting away so long as she's here. Even the Water of Life cannot stave off her body's inexorable decay. My magic will keep her in a state of suspended animation and halt the process while we decide what can be done."
"The poor child," Zarkala murmured. "The girl's mother must have told her of Vegeta, possibly shown her pictures and filled her head up with lies about him to protect her innocence. She didn't recognize her father, so she could not have met him until now. He must have taken that hideous new form after her conception." She huffed. "Disgusting creature. He clearly impregnated a woman and left, then returned to kidnap his daughter."
Marenna looked at Zarkala, silent for a moment. Her eyes ticked down. "Yes. In fact, he could well have raped her mother." The Luscepians' eyes snapped to her, appalled, and she looked up at them. "Princess Bra said he referred to himself as 'her mother's and brother's monster'."
Zarkala seethed at the implications. "A rapist…and a hypocrite! That fraud had been judging and executing Inimcius just like himself as though he was above them. Now he's condemned his own child to death. He must answer for this!"
"You are right, Queen Zarkala. Which is why I believe a new trial is in order."
"What?" Zarkala whispered. "He has avoided punishment long enough!"
"These new crimes that have been brought to light must be addressed. If he did rape this woman, do you not think he should answer for that?" Zarkala looked conflicted. "It is important that we obtain answers. The child's life may well depend upon it."
"Mother, I agree," said Izo. A new trial could save the little girl's life." His younger brother nodded in support.
Zarkala wanted to see Vegeta chopped to pieces as soon as possible, but she also wanted him to answer to these new crimes. She looked at her sons for a moment before nodding. "Very well."
"Further testimony from Princess Bra would help," said Marenna, "but subjecting the girl to a lengthy trial will shave precious time off her lifespan. For her own safety, she must remain in her suspended state. I will use the information she's supplied thus far to help us get to the bottom of this."
"Thank you, Queen Marenna, we trust your judgement," Zarkala said with a bow as her sons followed suit.
Zeygorn entered Marenna's throne room, his large, taloned feet falling heavily over the hematite floor. "You sent for me, my queen."
"I did, Lord Zeygorn. How is the prisoner?"
"A bit roughed up, milady." He shrugged a shoulder. "Resisting arrest. I tried to gain some answers from him as to what he was doing with the girl, but he is a stubborn one. You spoke with Queen Zarkala and the child?"
"Yes. The girl claims that Prince Vegeta is the name of her father. However, she refers to Vegeta as 'Mr. Touketsu' and does not recognize him as her father."
"Hm. That alias of his," Zeygorn said, the left head squinting in thought as the right head looked away with a raised eyebrow. "I'd assumed she was his daughter. Did the girl say anything more?" the center head asked.
"She said she followed Vegeta to Nav. Prince Vegeta has proven capable of existing on either plane, and it's obvious that he can travel between them. Whatever he did to bring her here, he can't take her back, however. The girl said that when he took her through the Necropolis hotspot, her spirit had been left behind."
Zeygorn mused, idly tapping the front of his armor as he looked away. The doll. Ajadzo's head glanced over to her, his scaled brow pinching together. Was that lying snake telling the truth? He didn't want to believe it…
"I've decided to hold a new trial for Prince Vegeta. The kidnapping of this mortal child is a grave crime, one that he must be tried for."
Zeygorn cleared his throats. "My queen. The prisoner in fact…mentioned something. About how the girl got here."
Marenna's face was expressionless. "Yes?"
Zeygorn hesitated, visibly conflicted. His massive shoulders drooped, and he reluctantly pulled the effigy from his armor. "I found this on him. He claims that he's been using it to access hotspots, and he said it enabled the girl to cross into Nav." Marenna took the effigy from him. "Now, uh, I don't believe everything this criminal has said, but…" he looked at her intently, hoping it wasn't true, "he told me…you gave it to him."
Slowly, Marenna's oceanic eyes rose from the doll in her hands. "Do you believe this Inimicus?"
Zeygorn's three throats bobbed when he swallowed, and his six, fiery eyes dulled when he accepted a truth he didn't want to see. "I believe, milady, that you care for that man. Unworthy though he is."
She continued looking dispassionately at him. Then, her deep blue eyes began to well with tears.
"M…milady?"
She completely broke down and sank to her knees.
"My queen!" Zeygorn gripped her by the shoulders as he dropped to one knee. He had never, ever seen her this way. "What has he done to you?!" She just shook her head once, her face twisted in pain. "Queen Marenna, please listen to me! It is his influence that brought you to this. It is his fault that you've compromised your morals and duties to save his undeserving hide. You are just and generous, and he took advantage of that. If you want vengeance upon him, I'll deliver it. If you want…him…" he paused, his eyes casting down as he grappled with his jealousy. "I'll ensure you have him."
She looked up at him, her sapphire eyes glistening as her brows drew together.
His six eyes looked at her intently. "I am devoted to you. I serve you. I support you, my queen. Whatever it is you want, whatever it is you need, I'll ensure you get it. Even…even if it's not me you want." Her eyes widened a little. "I've always cared for you. I proposed to your daughters only because I wanted to be a part of your family, to be closer to you, milady."
"Lord Zeygorn…"
"Do you recall when I asked for a promotion? I requested that I be allowed to live in the palace as your confidant and advisor. I told you that if you ever needed to unburden yourself, you could tell me in absolute confidence. You told me you'd consider it. Have you considered it?"
Her blue eyes were almost in a trance. "I…I have."
"And?"
"…I hereby make you Royal Counsel and Advisor, Lord Zeygorn."
He nodded his three heads slowly. "Now tell me, my queen. Anything. Everything. I give you my word that what you share with me will be shared with no one else. What burdens you? Tell me, and I'll do what I can to alleviate the weight."
Her sapphire lips pulled up into a small smile. "Very well, my dear friend."
The princesses released their hands, exhausted. The ephemeral image in the center of their circle disappeared. Zarkala and her family had seen the effigy, and their mother had confirmed that it would be presented to the jury as evidence. Marenna had underestimated her daughters' combined talents. She'd never suspected that they could tap into their Obfuscation Charms and create a new spell together. They had witnessed everything since Touketsu's interrogation…and they had witnessed their mother's confessions. They looked at each other, silent. Their world had been turned upside down.
Zeema was fighting back tears. "Mama," she whimpered.
"If only she'd…told us," Likha said, her face cracking. "We would have let him be…"
"Mother and her secrets," Kuma whispered, her eyes tearing.
The door gently opened, revealing Marenna's attendants. "Princesses, the corvid woman said with a bow. "An important announcement. Queen Marenna has called for a new trial for Prince Vegeta, but she has decided that your bias for the defendant has rendered you all unfit for jury duty. You will be notified of the verdict, by which point you will be offered a plea bargain. If you accept, your house arrest will be shortened.
The girls were stone faced. Likha nodded. "Thank you for informing us." The attendants nodded in turn and gently closed the door.
Zeygorn's volcanic lair shares its name with the real volcano Hekla, located in Iceland. Meaning "hooded cloak", Hekla was so called because of the clouds that gathered over its summit. Aside from being a volcano, I thought Hekla a perfect name for Zeygorn's hidden, subterranean quarters. I researched Hekla after listening to one of my favorite tracks (called "Hekla") from the movie "The Northman".
I wrote a loose background for Zeygorn's mortal life, but up until pretty recently I'd kept it vague about how he died, because I wasn't sure. I will say this: I was always a bit afraid that the notion of 3 kings sharing power wasn't quite believable.
I recently finished the series "Devs", and in the penultimate episode one character asks another if he'd ever heard of Mark Antony. I was like, "Yeah, what was his deal again?" So I looked him up. Turns out, he had joined forces with fellow Romans Lepidus and Octavian to form the Second Triumvirate, a magistracy that gave them near absolute power. It worked for a while, but predictably they began squabbling among themselves and a civil war nearly occurred. No assassinations, but they inspired me to get specific about the dragons' deaths (side note, I came up with "The Uniting Trinity" long before I learned of the Second Triumvirate).
Touketsu Vegeta's judgement of Zeygorn was a nod to something I'd kept vague but alluded to back in "Touketsu" when he judged both Yamcha and himself. I referred to Zhernobog and the Kagemazoku as judgement demons, and Touketsu Vegeta was created by them. As Vegeta was influenced by Frieza, I felt it only natural that Touketsu Vegeta also be influenced by the Kagemazoku and become a bit of a judgement demon himself.
Bra's grumbling that T. Vegeta's name should be Pinocchio was another little reference to the Japanese God of Crossroads Sarutahiko: Sarutahiko is considered the original model for the tengu, a type of Japanese demon with a long nose. :D Thank you for reading!