War
of Worlds
By B_Chan
Chapter
6: The Birds and the Bees; A Namek Sei-jin’s Pride is His Antennas…?
"Lady Kijo, where are you going?!" demanded Doc. Mono angrily.
"I’m going shopping," said the demoness with a sly smile.
"Like hell you are! You’re going to investigate the Saiya-jins!"
"Maybe I’ll do a little of that as well," smiled Kijo. They were in a docking bay before them was a small shuttle designed for only one person.
"I demand that you take me with you! I can’t study my subjects all the bloody way up here!" growled the doctor turning red in the face with anger.
"Perhaps another time," said the demoness flipping her long green hair.
"Lady Kijo!" screamed the doctor.
"You forget your place good doctor," said Kijo turning to glare at him her eyes flashed purple in a frightful way. The doctor backed up. She smiled again and gave him her back. "Remain on the ship that is my order, good doctor. Vegeta is mine keep your hands off him," she said walking into the small shuttle.
The doctor could only glare at her back.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Pan landed lightly on the lawn outside of Krillin’s dojo.
"Pan!" shouted Marron, running over to her. "Oh, thank Kami! You’re late, we were waiting for you!" she shouted again, grabbing Pan’s arm and pulling her around the building.
"I’m not that late, am I?" asked Pan, nearly tripping over her own feet in their haste.
"I was planning on flying there at a nice slow pace so we’d be well rested and not sweaty, but you had to have lead feet!" snapped the blond.
"Sorry!" said Pan as they rounded the corner and saw the rest of the group waiting.
"Alright, she’s here, let’s go!" shouted Marron, jumping into the air and dragging the unprepared Pan along.
They flew in silence, each carrying their own bag containing their weapons and gi until Marron spoke up.
"Okay, listen up, everyone, no cursing, no eating, no drinking, no chewing gum, you have to bow to show your respect to anyone that’s first degree black belt or up, bow to the lower ranks as well just to make a good impression. These people are expecting a lot from me, so don’t mess it up." Marron instructed tensely.
Trunks and Pan exchanged looks-boy, was Marron nervous! What was she so nervous about?! Her skill and kata were perfect!
"Marron, calm down you’re going to give yourself gray hair," said Pan.
"I am calm!" shouted Marron, increasing her speed and forcing the others to do likewise.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence with everyone wondering about the tournament and Marron’s behavior. It didn’t take them long to get to the designated gym for the tournament. When they landed, Marron breathed a relieved sigh as she looked at her watch. "Good, made it with time to spare. Okay, let’s get geared up!" she said with lots of energy.
"Hi!" called out a familiar perky voice.
"It can’t be," moaned Base, looking over his shoulder to see a smiling Bra. In a flash, the girl was gone and their bags disappeared.
"Bra! What are you doing, come back with those!" she shouted. The blue haired demi-Saiya-jin laughed and ran off. Marron tried to catch her, but Bra was long gone.
"Oh no! Oh no! My chucks! My gi! Bra!!!!" she screamed in rage.
"Calm down, Marron," said Goten, going over and patting her shoulder.
"I can’t go in there like this!" shouted Marron, pulling on her green t-shirt. "Ohhhh, what am I going to do?!"
The others watched as the blond had a panic attack, which was strange since she was normally a very calm and relaxed person. Of course, Bra did seem to know how to push her buttons.
"Marron! Catch!" shouted that same familiar voice right before Marron’s duffel bag flew into her waiting arms.
Marron looked up to see a smiling Bra with all their bags over her shoulder.
"Pan, Base, Goten, and Trunks," she said, tossing them their bags.
"What have you done?" asked Base in a far too suspicious voice.
Bra grinned. "Doing my part as part of Team Kame!" chirped Bra with a big grin. "I’ve got some surprises for you all," she said.
"That sinking feeling is back," muttered Base.
"I’ve got an extra surprise for you, Base-kun," said Bra with a wink. Base looked less then thrilled.
"You’d better hurry and get changed!" Bra yelled happily, going behind Pan and Marron and pushing them toward the women’s dressing room. "See you guys later!" she shouted before disappearing into the room with Pan and Marron.
The two guys and the Namek sei-jin exchanged looks.
Goten held up his bag and unzipped it. "What’s this?"
"Bra, I’ll never understand you," said Pan, taking off her shoes.
"I like to work in mysterious ways," said Bra, sitting down on the bathroom counter.
Marron pulled off her shirt and zipped open her bag. She changed into a blue sports bra that was laid out on top then reached in for the rest. "What the-Bra!" shouted the blond, holding up an orange top. "What did you do to my gi!" she cried.
Sure enough, the shirt wasn’t the familiar orange gi top that the Kame school was so well known for. It was a much nicer cut, sleeveless and still loose to allow completely free movement. The collar went up high on the throat and was held together with a brass button. The chest of the shirt was much different; a square was cut out of it that would no doubt show some nice bits of cleavage on a shapely female frame, and the whole thing was trimmed in blue. The logo was still shown on the front in a small patch and the back as a much larger version.
"You like it?! I designed them myself," grinned Bra, jumping down from the counter. "I paid a pretty penny to have them made in a rush, too. Look at he rest," said the blue haired demi-Saiya-jin, pulling out a blue sash, typical orange gi pants, bikini cut blue underwear, blue arm bands, and black flexible slip-on shoes. "I made sure they won’t hinder your movements at all. Now you’ll leave a lasting impression in more then just your kata as a woman that’s got style!" she beamed.
"Bra, how could you, I can’t wear this," said Marron, looking upset. "How am I going to make my father proud of me in his out fit? Sure it still follows the dress code, but Bra… it’s too fancy!"
"Nonsense," said Bra, waving her hand at her and going over to slip the shirt over her head. "It’s the same colors and the same basic cut, only altered to show just what a beautiful woman you are," said Bra, buttoning the top button. "And when you show a little spirit in those blue eyes of yours, they’ll see what I do."
Marron looked to the side, still looking upset with Bra’s present.
"Trust me, Marron. I’m not in any fighting school, but I know what gets the crowd going. You can thank me later," she said, patting her shoulder and handing Marron her pants. Marron silently began donning her outfit.
"Bra, are you sure it’s wise to do this?" asked Pan, looking at Marron. "Marron’s really nervous as it is for some reason."
"I know," said Bra. "And being who she is, I’m not surprised."
"What do you mean?" asked Pan, confused.
"You’ll see, come on, Pan, time’s a wasting!" Bra chirped.
"Right," said Pan. She opened her bag and the first thing she spotted was the blue bra sitting on top. She pulled it out and blinked at it. "Hey! How come you gave Marron a sports bra and me a wonder bra!" demanded Pan.
"Because Marron needs the support and you need the umph."
"Umph…" Pan repeated ruefully she rubbed her forehead. "I should have known after that talk with you in the car about matching underwear."
Bra only smiled brightly. "They don’t call me Bra for nothing, you know."
They both turned around as Marron finished tying her sash around her waist.
"Wow… Marron, you look great in that," said Pan in awe. Marron looked both cute and sexy, a hard to get mix.
"You think so?" asked Marron softly.
"You bet, I’m sure Goten will love it as well. Bra’s right, that really does get your attention."
A small smile graced Marron's lips before that worried nervous one returned. She shook her head and went back to a calm neutral look. "So what do the guys’ look like?" asked Marron.
"Pretty much the same, only without the open front. Oh, and the underwear, of course," she winked. She walked over to Marron and pulled two squares of cloth out of her pocket as well as several lengths of ribbons. Without a word she started brushing one of Marron’s pigtails with her fingers and twisting it up into a bun.
"You picked out underwear from them…" said Pan. "What kind?"
Marron and Pan looked at the blue haired demi-Saiya-jin with curiosity. Bra pulled Marron’s head back to straighten it so she could tie one of the blue cloths around the bun and hold it in place with some of the ribbons.
Bra laughed. "The kind they normally wear." She cleared her throat. "My brother is, of course, a boxer man. Goten, being raised by such a clean and devoted mother is a ‘whitey tighty’, and Base," she smiled wickedly. "Our dear Namek sei-jin friend is a ‘free to the breeze’ kind of guy."
The two girls blinked large eyes at her. "How do you know?!" they both shouted at once.
"I can tell," said Bra, going over to Marron’s other side to do the other tail. She finished and stood back to admire her work. "Perfect," she grinned. "I love my work. You’d make a great Barbie doll, Marron."
Marron managed a small smile. "Why are you always so fascinated by my looks? You freak me out sometimes."
"Don’t worry, Marron, you know I’ve got the hots for Uub-chan," she winked, making Marron blush. "It’s just that you’re blond haired and blue-eyed; I bet Juuhachi was an American. You stand out a lot more then Pan here," said Bra, pointing a thumb in Pan’s direction as the girl finished tying her sash.
"Well, sorry for looking like the typical Japanese girl," snapped Pan, crossing her arms.
"You’re forgiven," smiled Bra in a teasing matter.
"Why you!" said Pan in a threatening, also teasing, matter.
Bra laughed and ran to the door, tucking her own duffel bag under arm. "I’ve got to go, we’ll be cheering you on and I’ve still got a nice surprise for you all," shouted Bra before running from the room.
"We?" said Marron in confusion.
"She’s up to something," said Pan.
Marron nodded in agreement. "Well, let’s go met the guys and pay our respects." The two girls walked out of the room and into the gym to see it was packed full of martial artists from schools from every corner of the globe.
"Wow," said Pan. "Look at all these people," she breathed in awe, looking around.
"Some of the finest masters ever to live," said Marron. She bowed low to one ancient looking man who did likewise.
"Marron Chestnut," smiled the old master, walking over to her.
"Master Fudo," said Marron with respect.
"I’m so pleased to see the daughter of Master Krillin here. I’m looking forward to seeing you and your team perform today."
"Thanks you," said Marron politely. "Please excuse me, Sensei, I need to find my team," before they get into trouble, Marron added silently.
"Ahh, yes," nodded the master. "I understand, we should speak again, it is always a pleasure to see such youths so devoted to the arts and I have heard wonderful things about you and your school."
"Thank you," smiled Marron, bowing low. "We must indeed speak again," she added quickly, before turning to leave.
Pan was starting to figure out why Marron was so nervous as they continued to run into famous and well know masters all over the gym looking for the boys. It appeared that Krillin had not only made a name for his school but a quite famous name for himself. He was talked about with only the highest respect. Pan was in awe of the fame the little ex-monk had created for himself-who would have thought such as happy-go-luck guy like Krillin would be considered one of the most respected men of their art. Of course, Krillin was a master, considered the strongest ‘human’ on the planet till age started to catch up and Marron started displaying incredible skill. Krillin had been nothing but encouraging and proud of his only daughter’s skills. He couldn’t care less that she had surpassed him, it only seemed to make him prouder. Pan’s respect for her blond friend started to climb as well as master after master spoke so respectfully and kindly to her.
"My Kami Marron, they treat you like a master yourself," said Pan.
"Actually Pan, I am one," said Marron. "I’ve already proven my skills in many tournaments; this is the first one I’ve gone to without my father, though," she smiled nervously at her friend. "I have to admit it is a lot easier with dad here handling all the compliments and chit chat."
Pan smiled. "You can handle a dozen top fighters without breaking a sweat, but you turn into a nervous wreak when having to deal with some old man who only want to tell you how impressed they are," she laughed softly at that.
"Oh be quiet," laughed Marron, starting to relax but still looking a little uptight. "I wasn’t born in the spot light, like you were Mister Satan’s granddaughter."
"You’re just too modest, Marron," said Pan, lifting her head and smiling brightly as she finally spotted a familiar raven-haired, purple haired, and green boy standing together. "There they are!"
"Ah good, I was starting to think they’d gotten lost or something," said Marron as they started towards the group. As they walked Marron started to blush and Pan glanced up at her, seeing it and blinked.
"What’s wrong, Marron?" she asked.
"Nothing… I just can’t get the thought of Goten in his underwear out of my head for some reason. Grrrr, I’ll get you Bra," said Marron, slapping herself lightly on the face to try and get it back to normal.
To her side, Pan giggled and looked at Trunks. Soon her face turned red as well as the same thought popped into her head. Both girls shook their heads to try and clear the images, walking up to the group of three. They were all dressed in Bra’s new gi: sleeveless high-collar orange tops, with dark blue trim and brass buttons. Blue sashes and armbands, orange gi pants, and black shoes. The whole outfit gave them a broad shouldered, slender waisted, long legged look that wasn’t hard on the eyes at all; in fact, they looked down right good. The only difference in each of their gear was Base had on a blue bandanna over his bald green head and Trunks had a headband across his forehead to keep his long hair out of his face.
It took Pan a moment to realized that they were all staring at each other; (well, except Base, who couldn’t care less) no doubt the guys liked what they saw as well. Feeling a little shy, Pan tugged on the low cut of her shirt, trying to get it to cover just a little more than it was. That caused a blush to spread on Trunks’ cheeks and he quietly turned to the side trying to hide it, but failing miserably. Goten, on the other hand seemed to have turned into a deer caught in the headlights of a car. Pan had the impression that if she walked over to him and give him a little push he’d simple fall over and remain frozen in that position like a statue.
"Um well um…you two look… nice," said Trunks, still looking to the side.
"Um… yah…," said Goten. "Really nice," he added almost zombie-like, nodding his head rapidly.
"Bra’s doing," said Marron, managing to once again sound like her calm collective self.
"Really," said Goten, starting to recover as well. "Gee, I’m surprised we all didn’t end up in leather or something then," he laughed.
To Marron’s side, Pan choked, remembering the little sketch she’d spied in Bra’s notepad. If only you knew, Goten, just how close to the truth you are she thought, wincing at the errant blush that crept across her cheeks at the memory.
An announcer’s voice was projected across the room and as the first school was called up to begin their katas, the Z teens eagerly went to crowd around the floor to watch.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Vegeta was walking down the street wearing tight black jeans ripped at the knees, a loose red tank tucked into them, black leather boots, bike gloves, and his black leather jacket. He’d promised his mate that he’d met her for lunch at some new restaurant near the shopping district. He was all for expensive dining and food, but he hated having to put up with the waiters, other restaurant customers, and waiting forever for them to bring the food out. Really, was it ‘that’ hard to prepare 100 helpings of some dish? Sometimes he thought it was more trouble then it was worth, but Bulma really liked these dinner dates and he truly did like the change from the not-so wonderful food created by Bulma’s machines or herself. Of course, Bulma’s mother could sure cook a good meal, but she was getting old and slow.
Vegeta paused, his back straightening suddenly as a feeling washed over him-like he was being watched. Without turning his head, he glanced to the sides as he continued to walk. All he could see were lots of people going around shopping. Of course, a fair amount of them were looking and pointing at him, talking in quiet voices. They probably recognized who he was from the news, he was pretty sure it was the hair that gave him away. Of course, many young punks seemed to be trying to copy his trademark hairstyle. Stupid humans, he thought, still looking around. It wasn’t so much that he was being watched; he knew he was. More like some eerie force was looking at him with curiosity; he didn’t like that feeling at all. Nothing happened though, and he began to think it was just his nerves strung too tight.
Lady Kijo smiled through the window as she watched the Saiya-jin strut down the street, looking carefully around. He sensed her, his warrior instincts were quite impressive, but of course she looked just like any other human walking around and doing their shopping. Smiling, she lifted a blouse to her front, looking to see if it was her size. Deciding she didn’t like the blouse that much she put it back on the rack and picked up several shopping bags. She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Doctor Mono she was going shopping. She left the store and followed Vegeta silently, keeping out of eyesight, simply following his strong alien ki.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Vegeta entered the restaurant Bulma had told him to meet her at. "Briefs," he said simply to the desk clerk that gave him a look, then frowned. Obviously the man thought Vegeta was some kind of low life with his torn jeans and leather outfit.
"I’m sorry sir, but we don’t seem to have your reservation in here," said the clerk, pretending to look over the list.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the man. "It’s there," he said.
"I think you should leave, sir," said the clerk, snapping his fingers. Two giant men in tuxedos walked up to stand on either side of the clerk looking smug. "Or I’ll have you removed."
Vegeta frowned darker at the man and the clerk motioned with his hand for the two to throw him out. The two men grabbed a hold of Vegeta’s clothes and pulled. The Saiya-jin didn’t budge from his place as if he was routed to the floor. The two pulled harder and began to push on Vegeta’s solid form, but no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t move him an inch. Vegeta just stood there glaring at the clerk with hard black eyes, hands in pockets. "I suggest you look again," he said in a cold voice.
The clerk swallowed hard, looking more then a little unnerved. Behind Vegeta, the couple waiting in line for a table began to whisper.
"It’s him, look."
"It can’t be him, he probably just looks like him."
"No, I heard people whispering about seeing him as we walked by, it’s got to be him."
The woman’s curiosity got the better of her and before her husband could protest, she grabbed the back of Vegeta’s jacket and lifted it up, revealing a very nicely shaped backside and a furry brown length wrapped around his waist.
"My Kami-sama! It is him, it’s that alien prince!" said her husband, stepping back from Vegeta.
The clerk’s eyes nearly popped out of his head; of course, he knew who they were talking about, he’d have to have been locked up in a bomb shelter or something for the last couple months not to know.
The woman immediately got big eyes that seemed to say ‘I want I want’ as she moved closer. "You can share a seat with me," she all but purred. What do you expect when you just happened upon a rich, famous, drop dead sexy prince by chance?
Vegeta ignored her and continued to look at the clerk coldly. "Briefs," he said again in a slightly annoyed voice.
"R-right! Right away, sir!" said the unnerved clerk, making wild shooing gesture at the two guards. He grabbed some menus and started towards a table for two, Vegeta following him. The woman looked more than disappointed as the vision of every girl’s dream left without so much as a look at her. Her husband was less then thrilled with his wife’s reactions.
Vegeta sat down and folded his arms looking quite bored.
"Um… w-would you like s-something to drinks… sir?" asked the clerk.
"Beer," said Vegeta not even looking at him.
"What kind, sir? We’ve got quite a selection: draft, dark, light, imported from Germany, Sweden…" the clerk stopped as Vegeta turned to glare at him again with annoyed eyes.
"Beer," repeated Vegeta.
"R-right!" stammered the clerk, running to go get the drink.
Vegeta sighed and looked at his watch, wishing he hadn’t gotten here before his mate. Yes, this might be more trouble then it was worth.
Lady Kijo watched in amusement from a table not far away as the panicked clerk ran out with a beer for the Saiya-jin prince.
"Miss, what would you like to drink?" asked a young waiter.
"Wine, red," she purred softly, making the man shiver violently as she ran a nail over the skin of his arm making the hair rise there. "The best in the house," she said, leaning back. "And one for the gentleman over there," she added, lazily gesturing at Vegeta.
"Um…" blushed the waiter, taking it down. "Yes, miss," he said, leaving to fill the order.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow as a young waiter set a delicate glass full of red liquid in front of him.
"From the lady," said the man, gesturing at a woman with haunting purple eyes and long dark green hair. She smiled at him and raised her own glass of red wine as if to toast him before drinking it down in one swallow.
Vegeta narrowed his eyes at her; here it was again, that feeling of being watched.
"Sorry I’m late," said Bulma, causing Vegeta to snap his head over to look at her. "I lost track of the time talking to Juuhachi up in space. She’s just finished getting another ship load of alien scrap and now she’s preparing to set up the first satellite," said Bulma, sitting across from him.
Vegeta turned his head back to look for the green haired woman again, but she was gone; vanished! The only thing to prove that she’d been there was the empty wineglass. He frowned at the table she’d been seated at.
"Oh hey! You ordered me some red wine, how thoughtful of you," said Bulma, leaning over the table to kiss him on the check and take the glass. She sat back down, took a sip, put the glass down, then opened up her menu. "So what sounds good to you?"
Vegeta shook his head. Whoever that girl was, she was gone and he could feel no high ki around. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He looked down at his menu, deciding to dismiss her as just another stupid human girl that wanted to get his attention.
Lady Kijo smiled as she looked through the restaurant’s window at the couple. "Too bad, it looks like he’s got himself a woman he’s devoted to already. What a shame, I like his looks even more in person. Oh well," she said, starting to walk down the street. "I guess I’ll have to go about recruiting him in a more formal matter. It would have been much funnier to do it my usual way." she grinned, looking over her shoulder in the direction of the restaurant. "Soon, my Lord Lucifer will hold your leash, Saiya-jin prince." She laughed softly as she walked down the street. "Better enjoy your freedom while it lasts."
* * * * * * * * * * *
Doctor Mono grinned widely to himself. "There you are, demi-Saiya-jin," he said, looking at the screen before him. It’d taken him hours to find them, it appeared they were many miles away from the Capsule Corps building he’d expected to find them around. Even with his high tech machinery, the large island they were on was so populated it was ridiculous.
It appeared that the son of the Saiya-jin prince was at some kind of tournament. Everyone was dressed up in loose fitting matching outfits, mostly black and white; which worked great for him, since his subject was dressed in bright orange and blue.
"I suppose that the others wearing the same clothes are acquaintances of his, hmmm," he said, looking at Goten. "That boy, could he also be a Saiya-jin, he’s got lots of the classic characteristics of them. Sharp features, strong tall build, thick black hair…" As he said this he began to type on the control panel he was looking over. The microcomputers that were monitoring the group zoomed in on Goten, who was smiling widely at a cute blond talking to him about the kata they were watching. The machines began a silent scan checking Goten’s genetic material.
The doctor’s face brightened, then fell as he read the output. Yes, the boy had Saiya-jin blood, but he also had human blood to-he was another demi-Saiya-jin like Vegeta’s offspring. Doc Mono cursed. "Not a pure breed, just another demi-Saiya-jin mongrel," he looked at the output again and a thoughtful look crossed his face as he commanded the computer to display another reading. "Bio reading says that he’s not related to the purple haired one, which would mean…" The doctor smiled again. "There might be another Saiya-jin on this planet somewhere. I’ll have to look for it without the demon bitch knowing, she’ll most certainly try and get it as well if its ever on this planet any more." He leaned back in his chair and looked at the other members of the group. "Better check to see if any of the others have Saiya-jin blood…hmm, probably not the blond, but the other girl maybe," he muttered, typing in the order. He was less than thrilled with what he got-the raven-haired girl was Saiya-jin, but by only a quarter. The blond was human. "I hate this," grumbled the doctor. "I hate relaying on these pathetic machines. I want to cut them open, and see just what makes them run with my own hands." he smiled widely and patted the screen that displayed Goten laughing again with Marron. "It might be interesting to see the inside of a demi-Saiya-jin, especially this one. He appears more Saiya-jin like then the one with lavender hair." He frowned then. "If I can get permission from that alien bitch to do my research."
The doctor went over the readout, glancing at the screen every now and then. He paused, fingers hovering over the keys, when a creature that was definitely not human walked into the field of vision of one mini cameras and stood next to the purple haired demi-Saiya-jin. "A Namek sei-jin?!" said the doctor in pure shock, standing up so fast he knocked over his chair. "How?" he exclaimed, typing at the computer. "How can there be a Namek sei-jin on this planet? Could he be one of the few that survived the disaster that occurred on their home world by escaping into space? (that’s how Piccolo came to earth. Planet Namek had some kind of terrible disaster and a young Piccolo, the first Piccolo and Kami before separating, escaped it by taking a Namek ship and landing on earth. Supposedly the only Namek sei-jin to survive the disaster on Namek was Guru and he reproduced the other Namek sei-jins that were on the planet in the Freeza saga.) I haven’t seen one in years-I thought they’d all died out by now, so few of them left… Of course, it only takes one to reproduce a decent sized population, but still, didn’t Lord Lucifer order them to all be destroyed?" he looked at Base as the young Namek sei-jin, with a focused expression on his face, watched the students perform kata.
The doctor suddenly got a wicked look on his face. "The lady never said anything about any Namek sei-jins," he grinned. "And the only one I ever got to study was a mere hatchling. This one looks fully mature." The screen flashed to display images of Base at different angles. "Yes, I’ll just tranquilize this one and have a team go down and get him for me." He leaned over the keyboard and gave the command. "There’s no escape for you, Namek sei-jin. Soon you and me will have true heartfelt moment together." He laughed loudly at that and looked back up at the one screen that showed the whole group sitting down together. "And then," said doctor, once again touching the screen. "Then maybe I’ll get to see you, my little demi-Saiya-jin genie pig," the doctor laughed, tapping his finger on Goten’s image.
"Ah-ah-achoo!" said Goten, covering his mouth.
"You’re not catching a cold, are you?" asked Marron in concern.
"Nah, I must have just breathed in some dust or something," Goten said with a smile.
"I’m getting excited, it’s almost our turn," said Pan, getting a little jumpy.
"You nervous at all, Base?" asked Goten, rubbing him in the ribs. "We all know how anti-social and shy you can be."
"I think you’re mistaking me for someone else," said Base in a mellow tone. "I’m not so easily spooked."
"Base-kun!!!" shouted a voice from across the room.
Base’s eyes widened and he snapped his head in the direction the cry had come. No one noticed the tiny flash that buzzed by his forehead as the micro machines Doctor Mono had been using fired and missed its mark just barely, due to the Namek sei-jin’s shift in position. Well, it hadn’t completely missed… although, no one seemed to notice that something was now out of place with Base, not even the Namek sei-jin himself. Of course, what could be expected when an overjoyed girl with three eyes and long curly black hair sitting on his lap was squeezing him to death?
"Almuerzo…" wheezed Base with wide eyes, looking at the girl who was crushing him slowly in a bear hug.
"Base-kun! Oh, it’s been so long! I’ve missed you soooo much!" Almuerzo squealed happily.
"Almuerzo? I can’t believe it. What are you doing here?" asked Trunks, truly happy to see her after so long an absence.
The girl grinned and lifted one hand to point at the blue-haired girl that was now standing behind them. All turned to see Bra.
"Hi," smiled Bra. "Do you like my surprise, Base-kun?" she said in a teasing manner, using the kun that Almuerzo stamped on him.
The Namek sei-jin was obviously unnerved by the girl who was happily cuddling him like a big green teddy bear.
"Oh Base, you sly dog you," said Goten, grinning widely at him. "I didn’t know you and Almuerzo were…" he winked at the Namek sei-jin.
"What are you talking about?! I’m a Namek sei-jin!" protested Base. "I have no need for a female partner!"
"No need, that doesn’t mean you can’t," Goten winked at him again.
The Namek sei-jin looked at him, dumb founded.
"Will the first member of the Kame style please enter to perform their kata," a clear voice called out.
Almuerzo found her comfy green cushion suddenly gone, as Base seemed to dematerialize out from under to her to hurry over to the clear square of floor left for the students to do their kata.
"I’ll go first!" he shouted, not even looking over his shoulder as he all but ran away.
"Ah, Base-kun, you always seem to be in such a hurry whenever I find you," Almuerzo smiled, sitting back up and turning to looking at the green man as he reached the square and breathed in deeply to calm himself down.
"Bra," said Pan in a slightly chiding voice, turning to look up at the blue haired demi-Saiya-jin. "Don’t you feel even a little bad about doing that to him? You know he’s a Namek sei-jin. Why won’t you explain that to Almuerzo?"
"Because that would ruin my fun," Bra smiled.
Pan sighed and turned back to watch Base.
Doctor Mono cursed colorfully as he watch the Namek sei-jin flee. Damn! That stupid girl had ruined his first attempt to tranquilize him. Well, he’d just have to make sure that there was no way he could dodge his second attempt. He began typing at the computer, telling all the micro machines to take aim at the Namek sei-jin.
Base finally got his breathing back under control. Why did that silly girl have to be so familiar with him?! It really freaked him out, so touchy and feely, eek. He pulled out his caimans and got into his starting stance, his brows turned down some, something felt off…. Out of place, missing? He glanced down at himself to see if he could spot something wrong, but nothing seemed off. Hmm, maybe it’s just my imagination or I’m still unnerved by that woman. He glanced over at Almuerzo, who was waving at him, and sweat dropped. Got to be the girl, he thought, breathing in a deeply, feeling kind of awkward for some reason. He bowed and began his kata. He at once noticed that something was off-his balance!
Marron and her group watched in a mix of awe and shock as Base started his kata. It was completely different from the one he’d been practicing-faster, and had some wild turns and twists to it that were just mind boggling in the complexity of the moves. His movements were so hard to read that it was impossible to tell what his next attack would be.
"You know, it kind of looks like Base is a little out of control," said Bra, scratching the side of her face. "I mean, his style was always so smooth and he didn’t move so fast the last time I saw him practice."
"I know what you mean…it kind of looks like he’s lost his balance on one side and is just able to recover fast enough to turn it into another move before we can see it."
"Huh?" said everyone leaning forward to see for themselves. Marron had no idea just how right on she was.
Shit! Woe! Eeee! Thought Base as he fought to stay on his feet and continue to look like he knew what he was doing; but in truth, something was terribly wrong with him. His sense of balance had been turned upside down and he had little to no control over it. Just the fact that he was such a good fighter and could turn just about any move into a block or attack was the only thing keeping him from falling on his ass.
What’s wrong with me?! Base thought.
Doctor Mono’s mouth dropped in shock as the Namek sei-jin some how managed to deflect everyone of the darts aimed at him with those metal blades of his, twisting and turning so that it was impossible for his micro machines to get a lock on him.
"I don’t believe it!" the doctor screamed in a rage, pounding his fists on the computer. "How?! How could he possible sense them?! Even if he could how could he possible be able to dodge them all! It’s insane, mind numbing, is he some kind of freak genius or something!?"
The doctor could only stand with mouth open as the Namek sei-jin started destroying his machines. How could he do that?! He shouldn’t have been able to even see them, they didn’t even have ki! He screamed, turning red in the face as the last of the micro machines was sliced in half by one of the metal blades the Namek sei-jin was swinging.
Base finally managed to end the insanity of his movements and stood up straight, sweat dropping as he realized he need to bow, but how was he going to do that without falling on his face?!
"Hmm," said Almuerzo, looking down at something on the floor. She blinked her green eyes at it and picked it up.
"Oi, Base-kun! You dropped your antenna?!" she shouted, holding up the little green appendage and pointing at it.
"Ahhhhh!!!" Base screamed in sudden panic, tossing his caimans, the thought of bowing totally gone from his mind at he reached up with one hand and felt that yes indeed, one of his antenna was gone. How, he had no idea, but it was definitely gone!
Several people eeked and dove out of the way of the two flying Caimans and stared in shock as the green man swayed around on his feet, slapping his forehead in a panicked way.
Base stumbled over in an off-balanced fashion to Almuerzo, and promptly tripped and fell right on her.
"How could you do that!" shouted the Namek sei-jin, unaware of the interesting picture they made. "Don’t you know you should never! Never! EVER! Touch a Namek sei-jin’s antenna!" he shouted down at the girl that was smiling up at him.
"I didn’t do it, I found it," Almuerzo smiled. She reached up with one hand and played with the other antenna.
Base shivered violently at the light touch, eyelids dropping slightly in pleasure. He ran his tongue over his upper lip as he gazed down at Almuerzo like she was something yummy.
"That feel good?" asked Almuerzo, smiling happily.
Base snapped his head out of her reach upon hearing her voice, and then realized the way they looked. He flailed his limbs rolling off Almuerzo, to crawl away from her and then sat down hard on his rear.
"I told you, don’t touch the antennas!" shouted the apparently enraged Namek sei-jin.
Privately, Goten thought it reminded him of whenever girls thought he was doing something perverted when he wasn’t.
Laughing softly, Trunks got up. "I’ll go next, guys," he said, unsheathing his sword and walking out to the center of the room.
"Base? What’s so important about those antenna, anyway?" asked Marron.
"Yah, and why did you freak out when Almuerzo touched them, it looked like it was fun," smiled Goten, perhaps unaware of how odd that sounded.
Base got a blank look on his face then coughed, turning his face to the side. "Well… they’re really hard to grow back… and their kind of important, uh…" said Base, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Important for what?" asked Bra.
"Well, balance and…"
"And?" asked everyone in unison.
Base blushed. "And none of your business!" he shouted.
"Now I really want to know what they’re for," said Bra, staring at the one remaining antenna.
"Want me to find you some super glue, Base-kun?" asked Almuerzo, still holding the missing antenna.
"No!" shouted Base, snatching it from her. He frowned, looking up as he tried to concentrate and regrow the limb.
"So what else do they do, besides keep your balance and look cool in a breeze?" asked Bra.
"Shut up," growled Base.
"But I want to know," said Bra.
"No," said Base, brows forking downwards more.
"Please!"
"No."
"Please!"
"NO!"
"Please!"
"Damn it, woman, I’m trying to regrow a piece of myself here and you’re not helping!" barked Base, a vain sticking out on his forehead.
Bra fished in her purse and pulled out a tube of super glue. "I’m always prepared to help you out!" she grinned in a teasing manner.
Base growled and made a grab for her, but only ended up falling on his face with his lack of coordination.
Bra knelt down and poked at Base. "Ne, Base tell me, what are they’re for?" she asked curiously, poking him again. "Or I’ll glue your head to the floor," she threatened when she saw his reluctance, waving the glue.
"You wouldn’t dare," Base said, looking up at her from his tangled heap.
Bra grinned wider at him, showing her pearly whites, which gleamed.
Base paled and scooted away from her. "You’re insane."
Bra uncapped the glue.
"Okay! They’re for attracting a partner! There, you happy!" shouted Base, waving this hands at Bra to keep her away with the glue.
"So they’re kind of like the crest of a bird?" said Bra.
"You might say that," said Base, sitting back up.
"Wait a minute! A partner?!" said Marron. "But I thought Namek sei-jins were asexual!"
"We are… kind of," said Base.
Everyone stared at him giving him a look that said ‘go on.’ They didn’t even notice that Trunks had already finished his kata and was now standing over them, wondering what was going on.
"Hey, one of you need to go up and do your kata now," said Trunks.
"Goten, you go up," said Marron.
"But I want to know if Base is asexual or not!" said Goten.
"What?!" said Trunks, taking a step back. Gee, what had he missed…?!
"I’m the sensei, remember, we’ll tell you when you get back."
"Ah," said Goten, disappointedly getting up and leaving to begin his kata.
"So Base, spill it, just what are you?" asked Bra.
"Is this really any of your business?" demanded Base.
Bra moved towards him, glue tube held firmly in one hand.
"Ahh, go away!" Base growled, pawing at the air to keep Bra at bay. "Okay! We are asexual, but we can also combine our genetic material with another to pass desired traits to our offspring."
"How?" asked Trunks. "I mean, there are no girl Namek sei-jins, are there?"
Base sighed loudly. "No, we all pretty much have male type bodies, but if we take in DNA from something else we can mix genes. The species doesn’t even have to be Namek sei-jin. According to Mr. Popo, the first Piccolo created several children to fight against Goku by combining his genetic make up with those of different types of dinosaurs (by this I’m talking about Piccolo Daimaoh and his minions Tambourine, Cymbal, etc. who do seem kind of dinosaur-like in appearance. These are all evil villains from the first series, Dragon Ball)."
"You mean Piccolo and a dinosaur…." Pan blushed madly as a very disturbing picture popped in her head.
"No!" shouted Base, easily guessing what she was thinking. "I said take in, not…eek," said Base, shaking his head in disgust. "A Namek sei-jin only needs to eat something to be able to mix his genes with it."
"Eat something!" exclaimed Marron in shock. "Then why aren’t you popping out all kinds of weird kids left and right?"
"Baka!" growled Base. "I don’t eat, I only drink fluids, remember…! It’s not like I go around taking bites out of people." He added, looking faintly disgusted.
"Oh yah," said Marron.
Goten ran back then. "Done, someone else needs to go up, what did I miss?" asked Goten, sitting down next to Marron.
"Oh, not much, just that Base only need to take a bite out of someone to have a kid with them," Trunks supplied offhandedly.
"What?!" said Goten, looking at Base. He gulped and scooted away from the Namek sei-jin.
"I’m not going to eat you!" snapped Base, frowning and crossing his arms.
"Pan, you better go up."
"No, I want to hear the rest of this," Pan protested. "You go up."
"No, it’s your turn," said Marron firmly.
"But--"
"No buts, Pan," said Bra, going over and dragging the quarter Saiya-jin up to her feet. "Off you go now, I’ll tell you everything later."
"Nuts!" said Pan running over to start her kata.
"So Base how does that work, I mean I find it really odd, how you can ingest something and your offspring will have characteristics of what ever it is."
"I don’t digest," said Base. "I’m built very differently from you humans and Saiya-jins. I don’t have a stomach, no need for one. The space where one should be is actually where my reproductive organs are, so when I swallow a form of genetic material it goes there to be broken down and used."
"Wow, that’s incredible!" said Bra. "I never realized how advanced your species was, Base. I mean you can reproduce asexually, regenerate your anatomy with ease, and your species can instantly evolve to adapt to any condition simply by merging your DNA with another that can already stand those conditions. Hell, you can even spilt and merge yourselves together to increase or decrease your knowledge and strength. If there were ever enough of you, your kind could take over the universe," said Bra, wonderingly.
"Namek sei-jins are peaceful by nature, we have no such ambitions."
"And a good thing for us that you don’t," said Trunks. He shivered violently. "Imagine a mix between a Namek sei-jin and a Saiya-jin… so much strength combined with a Namek sei-jin’s adaptability…."
"That would be a big mistake," said Base. "Considering your race is aggressive by nature, Namek sei-jins might very well decide they should take over the universe if we mixed our DNA with Saiya-jin’s."
"Wow, it’s a good thing you aren’t interested in us in that way," Goten laughed, then sweat dropped, then laughed again rather nervously.
"Of course not, Base is a ladies’ man, aren’t you, that’s why he and Almuerzo make such a cute couple!" Bra grinned widely.
"We’re not a couple," snapped Base.
"Ahh, don’t say that, Base, you’ll hurt Almuerzo’s feelings," Goten warned teasingly in a low voice. Everyone looked over at the three-eyed girl to see her cheering Pan on.
"Go Pan, you're the best, girlfriend! Yah!" she cheered, waving her arms.
Everyone sweat dropped.
"Um, Almuerzo?" said Trunks.
"Huh?" said Almuerzo, looking over her shoulder at them.
"Did you hear a word we said?" asked Trunks.
"About what?" asked Almuerzo.
"About Base," said Goten.
"Oh yah," Almuerzo smiled. "You were talking about his antennas, right!"
"Yah," said Marron. "But did you hear what they’re for?" asked Marron. Everyone looked at her expectantly.
"Hmm," said Almuerzo, tapping her chin with her fingertip as she pondered. She smiled brightly, all of a sudden. "They make him sexy, right?!"
Everyone face faulted.
"She didn’t hear a thing," grumbled Base from the floor.
"No," said Bra, nudging him. "She heard the part about them attracting a partner. Oooowww Base-kun!" Bra teased, draping herself over his shoulder. "They really work, Almuerzo thinks they’re sexy," she sang.
"Owww," groaned Base, slapping his face with his hand. "Only heard the part of the conversation that won’t make her leave me alone," muttered Base. "Doesn’t she understand it won’t work?!"
"Sure it will, Base, I’m sure Almuerzo won’t mind you taking a bite out her-and it actually looked like you wanted to do the same a moment ago when she was playing with your antenna." Bra smirked gleefully.
"That’s just a reflex! Hey-!" Base protested as Bra’s rather selective hearing kicked in again and she jumped up.
"Oh Almuerzo!" Bra almost squealed, running over to the three-eyed girl and hugging her. "You’re so lucky to have found a guy that can do all the hard labor stuff for you!" beamed Bra.
"Huh?" said Almuerzo.
"Oh, my brain hurts," Base whined to himself. "Why can’t I make her shut up, why?!" he asked the air.
Pan came walking back to the group then. "Marron, you’re up," she said, pointing her thumb over her shoulder to the clear floor.
"Right," Marron smiled, getting up and gripping her chucks. "Remember to come out and bow with me when I finish, just like we practiced," Marron added as she walked gracefully to the center of the room.
"Almuerzo," said Bra, motioning with a tilt of her head. "Sorry, Base, I need to borrow your girlfriend."
"She’s not my girlfriend," said Base, glaring at her.
Bra only smiled and waved her hand at him. "Just concentrate on regrowing that antenna of yours, me and Almuerzo just need to go powder our noses," Bra grinned innocently, going behind the raven-haired girl and pushing her away.
"They’re up to something," said both Goten and Trunks at the same time with a sigh.
"Well, no time to worry about it now," said Pan, lifting her bow. "We’ll be up soon."
Base was finally able to regrow his antenna. He fingered the green limb and sighed in relief, standing up and testing his balance. He then looked around for his caimans.
"Oops," said Base, seeing them stuck in the walls. Looking a little sheepish, he went over and collected them.
Marron twirled in a circle, snapping one chuck out then back under her arm, doing the same for the other a moment later. She kicked high and kiaed, (short yell when blocking or attacking to tighten the muscles) turning around and into a left-foot-forward front stance, both chucks whirling in tight circles at her sides.
Another loud kia (pronounced key-I) sounded and Goten dove out on the floor with a roll, into his own stance by Marron’s side, posed to strike. Pan jumped out in a tornado kick, bow twirling around her. She landed lightly and snapped the bow defensively in front of her just in time to deflect Trunks’ front sword strike as he slid out silently behind her powerful move. The swordsman turned to the side and crouched low with his sword posed overhead and Base, the last out, jumped right over Trunks’ head, Caimans raking the air. As he landed, he held them out to his sides in a ready position. Once they were all ready, they kiaed as one and struck at the air. They were more then a little shocked when cherry blossoms and the sound of two sticks being hit together drifted into the air.
"Yaaahooowww," said Bra, very clearly, on the sidelines. To her side was a fan that blew the blossoms that she tossed in front of it. Almuerzo, beside her, struck the two thick wooden sticks a couple more times.
Sweat drops ran down Base, Pan, Trunks, Goten, and especially Marron’s head.
Marron was getting ready to beg forgiveness for her friends’ lack of respect when the crowd broke out in cheers. Several photographers for the event were snapping pictures like mad.
"Hey Marron, they like it," said Goten.
"T-they do?" said Marron, looking around and blinking.
"Yah, you’re a hit!" said Pan. "Go greet your public," she grinned, slapping Marron so hard on the back she staggered forward to stand in front of everyone. Everyone cheered louder, young and old alike, shouting out compliments for everything from her kata to her looks. Marron blushed brightly then smiled, laughing nervously and thanking them as the shower of pink petals continued to drift around her in an enchanting fashion.
The groups slowly retreated, leaving her as the center of attention to go join Bra and Almuerzo.
"Really, now you’re a kabuki theater, Bra," said Trunks, crossing his arms and looking at his sister.
"Yaahoooww," said Bra with a big smile. To her side, Almuerzo hit her sticks again. She tossed the rest of her blossoms in front of the fan and dusted off her hands. "Doesn’t Marron look happy?" she asked.
Everyone turned to see the blond waving to the crowd that continued to cheer her on.
"I can see her as a beauty queen that’s just won her crown." Bra began to wave and look emotional, like she would cry any minute, in an imitation of a Miss American beauty queen, blowing kisses and dabbing at her eyes.
"I guess this means she’s the Karate Queen," said Trunks in good humor, watching as Bra continued to play act, mouthing thank you in a sappy fashion.
Goten nudged Bra as Marron finally managed to get away and was know standing behind the blue haired demi-Saiya-jin. Bra turned around and spotted Marron with her arms crossed, tapping her foot on the floor.
"Ehh," said Bra and began laughing nervously.
"Bra," said Marron, lifting her eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
"Oh, just playing around, Miss Karate Queen," said Bra, curtsying to her.
"Karate Queen?" said Marron in confusion.
"Yup, that would be you, Marron the Martial Arts beauty-not only is she smart and drop dead sexy, but she can kill you in less then two seconds!" Bra practically shouted, clapping her hands like she was some sort of announcer for an obscure cartoon.
Marron snorted and shook her head. "Bra, don’t say that too loud, there’s actually quite a few reporters walking around and I don’t want them to get any weird ideas."
"Too late," said Base, looking over his shoulder at one man writing down on a pad of paper.
"Eek!" Marron freaked again, leaving the group to run over to the man. They could vaguely hear Marron trying to explain that her friend was only kidding around, that she never planned for the big display, and that her real gi was stolen by an alien weirdo and she had no choice but to wear the more flashy one. More reporters moved to question her as she tried to explain in a panic that it was all a mistake, although the reporters seemed to think she was just being modest.
Trunks laughed softly. "Think we’ll win?" he asked.
"I don’t know," said Pan. "I mean, there were lots of really good contestants."
"Plus Base here flung his Caimans, nearly cleaving one judge in half," grinned Bra.
"Not my fault, someone cut off my antenna." Then he frowned and looked at them. "Just who did cut it off?"
Everyone got thoughtful looks on their faces.
"Not me," said Goten.
"Or me," said Pan.
"Hey, don’t look at me," Trunks protested.
"Almuerzo already said she didn’t do it and I never got close enough to do any such thing," Bra said in a thoughtful voice.
Everyone frowned softly. That was very strange, antennas don’t just fall off for no reason.
"Keep an eye out," said Trunks. "We can’t be too careful, especially with constant alien threat hanging over our heads."
"Oh, come on, Trunks, you really don’t think those guys came down and cut Base’s antenna off, do you?" said Goten in a carefree manner.
"I’m not sure what happened, just be careful, okay? We have no idea what these guys’ next move will be, and I don’t want any of you being targeted like Bra was."
Everyone was silent a moment as Trunks’ words sank in. Once again they were reminded that despite the fact that they were living normal lives, any minute now that could all be taken away from them by this unknown enemy.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Lady Kijo smiled while watching the demi Saiya-jin girl, Bra, enter a changing room with a group of females. She’d had a crewman keep an eye on Doctor Mono and told him to report to her if he was up to anything fishy. Needless to say, she’d been interested when he’d reported that the good doctor had made an attempt to capture one of the demi Saiya-jin’s companions and failed. She’d had the crewman send her the group’s last known position and here she was outside a large gym-like building, waiting to get a better look at her targets. She glanced at the new watch she’d purchased today, hoping they didn’t take too long. She felt around with her sixth sense for ki and frowned-there seemed to be quite a few people around with higher then average human power levels. It made it impossible to find Vegeta’s offspring’s ki in it all since they seemed to be keeping their power levels pushed down.
Kijo sighed and turned to the side, only to have one human in a hurry run into her side, knocking her shopping bags to the ground. Kijo bared her teeth at the stupid human that continued on, not even stopping to acknowledge what he’d done. She had to fight hard not to kill the stupid human. She was Lord Lucifer’s second-in-command! People didn’t just bump her and run off! She breathed deeply, calming herself down. She wasn’t going to reveal herself over such a stupid thing, and she wasn’t one to let her temper take over. Lady Kijo knelt down to start collecting her things.
"Are you okay, miss?" asked a voice.
Kijo frowned darkly at the ground; not another stupid human, she thought. She fixed her face up in a civil expression and looked up at the speaker.
"I’m-…" she froze.
"I’m really sorry that guy hit you like that…really, some people are so rude. Here, let me help you with all this," said the young man, kneeling down next to her and gathering the spilled stuff and putting them back into their bags.
Kijo watched in total shock as the handsome youth with long silky purple hair and soft blue eyes fixed up her bags. It’s him! Trunks Vegeta Briefs! She could only stare at him. For once in her life, Kijo was totally awestruck. He’s beautiful… look at him, the way he’s built, his coloring, that deep sultry voice, I’ve never seen a man so perfect in all the universe…even his picture doesn’t do him justice.
"Here you go," said Trunks with a warm smile standing up with her bags for her.
Kijo shook her head to clear it of all the impure thoughts drifting around. "Thank you," she said sweetly, taking the bags.
"Sure, no problem," said Trunks, glancing over his shoulder as Bra and the rest of her female group left the bathroom. "Well, there’s my friends, nice meeting you," Trunks said cheerfully, turning to go towards the group.
"Trunks… Vegeta… Briefs…" whispered Kigo softly. She ran her tongue slowly over her bottom lip.
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Juunana," said Juuhachi’s slightly buzzed voice. (T.H… Eehehe! Juuhachi’s buzzed, man!)
"Yah?" Juunana spoke into his headset, checking all the ship scrap they’d collected, making sure it wouldn’t be tossed around when then they reentered the atmosphere.
"I’m going to set up the satellite now."
"Do you need any assistance?" asked the black-haired twin.
"No, just get everything ready to go so we can leave after I’m done," Juuhachi replied. She was outside the ship, floating next to the large hunk of metal and components that was part of Bulma’s satellite link up. "It shouldn’t take me long, I just need to adjust it so it catches the most sun and turns it on."
"Okay, don’t go outside of the ships sensors, or I may never find you again."
"Don’t worry, it’s not like there’s many other ships floating around out here. If you lose me I’ll find you," The blond android joked, going over to the satellite and beginning to drag it into place.
Juunana smiled as he passed a window and watched his twin sister through the thick plastic. Maybe he’d just been paranoid when he spoken to Bulma about hurrying to put the barrier up. There really didn’t seem to be any danger at the moment. Maybe they were starting to considering it too much of a waste of time and resources to spend on such a remote planet. He snapped his head to the side as one of the computer conceals started to beep, flashing a red light at him. Juunana raised an eyebrow and moved over to the station looking down at the screen which displayed a large object that had been hiding in the shadow of the moon. Juunana’s eyes widened.
"Juuhachi!" he shouted into the headset.
"Owe! Not so loud!" Juuhachi yelled back.
"Get back to the ship right now!"
"But I’m not done," she protested.
"Forget that, we’ve got company," her twin replied.
"What?!" came Juuhachi’s startled query.
Juunana ran over to another window and peered out, tilting his head to the side. He froze as he spotted a gigantic ship’s nose just barely sticking out from around the moon. "Oh… Kami…" said the raven-haired android, his mouth going slack. Several small dots left the ship and grew in size until Juunana realized they were fighters.
"Juuhachi," he shouted into the headset.
"Yah, I see them!" said Juuhachi. "Are you ready to go yet?!"
"Almost," said Juunana.
"Good, I’ll hold them off. You finished programming the ship; we can’t fight them out in space for long," she said.
Juunana cursed and ran for the controls, jumping and swinging himself into the chair, hands moving even before his rear touched down.
Juuhachi pushed off the large satellite and, using her ki to propel her, dodged to the side as one fighter whipped dangerously close to her.
"You want to fight?!" she shouted. "That’s fine with me!" Energy flared up in her hand as she drew it back and sent it flying at the ship that had almost run her over. It hit square on and broke the ship in pieces, completely destroying it.
Two more fighters zoomed in on her and began to fire short blasts at her. Juuhachi danced in and out of the way with small blasts of energy, her small size and speed making her a hard target. One ship headed straight at her.
"Now you want to play chicken, do you?" Juuhachi asked, not moving. She jumped up as the ship reached her, moving above its nose and widening her legs to sit on the craft. The force of the ship’s great speed caused her to slide forward till she was right before the cockpit of the ship, hands pressed against the clear glass-like substance to keep herself from being pressed fully against it. She couldn’t help the little smirk that alighted her lips at the look of shock she could see on the pilot’s face. With a shout, Juuhachi drew back her fist and slammed it through the glass that encircled the pilot. Red bubbles escaped the now open cockpit and Juuhachi pulled back her blood-covered hand. She jumped off the fighter ship as it started to weave out of control with its pilot dead. The fighter turned in disarray and finally sped towards the moon, where it impacted.
Juuhachi turned to meet the last fighter as it moved towards her, firing in a continuous string of ammo. Juuhachi charged up her energy and slapped the blasts to the side contemptuously, watching as the ship continued in a path-headed right for her. What’s with these guys, are they all kamikaze pilots? She thought wearily as energy lit up her whole form. The ship slammed right into her, thinking its greater mass and size would surely splatter the earth woman all over its front. The pilot was greatly surprised when his ship tore like tissue paper around the girl, who stood like a lamppost, unmoved by the attack at all.
"Hn," said Juuhachi, turning around and looking at the ship that floated past her now in two pieces. "Baka," she breathed, turning to look at the Capsule Corps ship heading her way.
"Juunana, hurry up and let’s get-"
The blond android’s words were cut short as a beam of light flashed from the large battle ship still mostly hidden behind the moon and struck her back, coming out her chest in a shower of blood. Her mouth opened in a silent scream of agony.
"Juuhachi," Juunana stared from his place by the window, watching at his twin go limp and hang motionless. "Juuhachi!" he screamed, pressing up against the glass. A fine tremor shook his whole body as he ran his hand down the glass over the image of his twin, fingers squeaking over the surface. "Nnnoooo!" he roared, tossing back his head, two wet trails making their way down his pale cheeks. "Juuhachi," he whispered softly leaning against the cold glass.
The ship shook violently as if it had been pushed and Juunana raised his tear-streaked face to look out the cockpit window where the large battleship he’d detected could be seen. A thick red beam of light went from it to his ship, dragging him toward the larger ship-a tractor beam of some kind.
Almost brokenly, Juunana looked back at his sister who
was slowly growing smaller and smaller as his ship was dragged away from her.
Hours later, the blonde android floated, unmoving, in the silence of space,
looking up as the sea of stars that shone down on her. To her side stood the
earth, big, blue, and beautiful. She shifted her blood soaked hand over her
gaping wound. Even in her condition she couldn’t help but think the earth was
beautiful seeing it like this. She didn’t know whither to be grateful or not.
Since she was an android, the massive hole in her shoulder hadn’t killed her,
nor did the vacuum of space. Without air pressure and things like gravity her
blood was only slowly being forced from her body by her own cursed heartbeat.
She wondered which would run out first, her blood or her oxygen-which was,
thankfully or not, sealed off from the main portion of her suit and only filled
in the helmet for her to breath. Why do I always get so sentimental out here,
she thought, snorting softly. The small sound echoed around in her helmet. I’ve
been around Krillin and Marron too long.
Juuhachi lifted her head and once again glazed at the earth. So peaceful, so quiet… she thought, closing her blue eyes.
Notes
All theories about Namek sei-jins are from my head; none of it is based off of any tidbits given to us by DBZ’s creator.
Also Marron’s last name "Chestnut" is not her real last name. I have no idea what it is, I don’t think they ever say. So I made Marron’s family name Chestnut because both Krillin and Marron’s names mean Chestnut.
Names mean:
Kijo- Japanese for demoness
(Doctor) Mono- Japanese for thing.
Almuerzo- Spanish for lunch
*~*~*~*~*