Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Happy Birthday Vegeta ❯ Odds and Ends ( Chapter 8 )

Author's Note:

Happy Birthday Vegeta

Chapter Eight

"Gentlemen?"

Krillin motioned the approaching lab tech to silence, so as not to disturb the meditating Namek.

"What's up?" Krillin inquired when they were away from Piccolo. The technician took a folded piece of paper out of his lab coat and handed it to Krillin. "You've received a page from Ms. Briefs. It only just came across even though it looks like it was sent hours ago."

"Why the delay?" prompted Krillin. The young man shrugged. "It happens all the time, all sorts of things interfere with the satellite ...Sorry it didn't come in sooner."

"No problem, thanks for bringing it down."

The assistant nodded and headed back to the lab, as Krillin unfolded the printout and read Bulma's cryptic message. "Let's make it 12 hours. I don't like this place. Bulma" A tendril of unease curled through Krillin's midsection.

"Piccolo?" His quiet voice had the Namek's eyes open, and they read the anxiety in Krillin's noseless face.

"What is it?"

"Bulma sent us a page about ten hours ago, the lab assistant said satellite interference caused a delay in receiving it."

"When do we leave?"

"Now would be good, I think it may take a couple of hours to get there."

"Did she give us anything specific?" Piccolo asked as he unfolded himself from his mid-air meditative position.

Krillin shook his head. "Just that she didn't like the place."

"She's with Gohan for Kami's sake! What could possibly happen that he couldn't handle?" sneered Piccolo arrogantly. Having spent many years refining Gohan's boundless abilities , Piccolo could not conceive of a challenge that his protege' could not meet.

"I have no idea." replied Krillin flatly. "But most of the twelve hours she requested is up, and they are not back, and have not been in contact."

"Unless there's been another delay." put in Piccolo.

Krillin frowned. It was possible of course that there had been a later transmission that they hadn't received yet...

"Either way, we need to go. If we get there and everything is fine, that's cool...but if we wait for another page, that we never get, it might be too late to help."

Piccolo agreed. "What did she tell you about the last locale?"

Krillin thought for a moment, wrinkling his burned brow. "Not a lot. General location, that it's inhabited...I'm gonna check with that Lab Tech, she has to have a detailed research file." He paused a few feet away from Piccolo, and asked, "Should we tell Vegeta?"

The Namek snorted a laugh. "Which frightens you more? Interrupting Vegeta's training time for what is probably nothing, or telling Bulma you ruined his majesties' birthday surprise?"

A shudder ran the short length of Krillin's body. "Oh-kay, I'll just go get that research file and we can leave."

"You do that." smiled Piccolo. As Krillin's footsteps echoed down the hall, the Namek heard the human mutter,

"You left out, facing Vegeta's wrath if something has happened to Bulma and we didn't tell him."

The smile, left Piccolo's face completely.

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Somewhere on the crescent island

"Brother! What are you doing? Mav said-"

The older man paused in his ministrations and glanced sideways at his younger brother before answering.

"I see no reason for the body to go to waste. Mav will have her trophy, and we will feast, truly." He hefted his blade in one hand, the light glinting off the slightly curved and crudely sharp edge. He twisted blue silk around his large fingers, and the knife flashed down, severing Bulma's hair from her head.

His younger brother swayed at the insurrection. His voice came out a harsh whisper as he said,

"For this blasphemy brother, I fear Mav will have our heads."

His brother fought to secure the hair with a leathered sinew strap. The lengths of hair curled up on themselves, and around his fist like writhing snakes. He stood there, panting, a huge figure of a man, with a handful of blue hair that seemed to have a life of its own, and a tiny drop of fear rose from his superstitious belly to leave a bitter taste in the back of his mouth. He grunted and thrust the mass at his little brother who fumbled to keep it from touching his body, as though it were dangerous.

"Take this to La el, tell her to weave it into Mav's headdress for tonight. I'm going to check on the fire pit...I think Queen Mav's mood may improve if we offer her the sweetest of meats, in her honor, of course."

"I hope you're right brother."