Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Step-parent Saiyan Blues ❯ Heavy Reading and Heavy Issues ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Toriyama created DBZ, and Toei Animation Co and Funimation own it. I only own Fermi, Bohr and Stellari, my fancharacters. This is for entertainment only and I make no money writing this.

 

Heavy Reading and Heavy Issues

By Trynia Merin

 

Thanks to Butterfly V for reviewing this story. I hope some of those questions will be addressed in this next installment. This takes place before the 'hunting lodge' scene around the time Raditz first starts training the twins.

 

***

 

In the days that followed, Raditz wondered more and more about Stellari's 'history' and her past. She had mentioned a number of things that intrigued him, and yet he hardly knew how to read any of the books she had brought to his apartment. He found himself struggling to occupy his time when he finished his shift and waited for her to come back. The first week or so Vegeta had commanded him to take to acclimate to his new 'family'.

 

Stellari had a trip to attend, and had packed up her kids to take them with her on a weekend trip. Raditz had volunteered to go along, but she insisted it was better for him to sit this one out since he wasn't accustomed to human society yet. And there would be all manners of children there which might drive him mad. So he was left to his own devices in the apartment they'd come to share.

 

He was bored. While he could train, he felt restless and annoyed because everything he smelled reminded him of her. Grumbling he sulked in the apartment and tried to think of how to occupy his time. One logical thing seemed to try and read the books stacked on her many shelves. There were a vast number of them devoted to chemistry, and many more that was 'history'.

 

Raditz grabbed one of the books and opened it. To his horror the words were not the Japanese he had been introduced to by Bliss. What was worse was that the books opened from the WRONG direction. Grumbling he seized another, and then realized they were all the same. Yet one of them caught his eye because it contained pictures of various warriors. Raditz thumbed through the thing and saw he was reading it backwards. Other pictures in the book were of ruined buildings that seemed vastly different then the architecture he'd come to know. As he looked up he saw the photos and paintings on the walls. One of them matched that of the book exactly.

 

Gladiators. He blinked, realizing that the strange writing had evoked that image. She had said something about that word connected to 'coliseum'. It dawned on him that he had given much through their bond, but not allowed her culture to exude. Slowly he walked up and glanced at some of the other pictures. Stellari had mentioned she had grown up in a different place then here. But she had moved to this 'zone' because of her work. Grumbling he squinted at the other things in the apartment, including what appeared to be bits of statue she liked because they reminded her of 'home'.

 

He stopped to look at the pieces of marble statuary, and saw the theme of the whole furniture which she said was 'Mediterranean'. Unlike the ultramodern themes of most apartments, she preferred a historical one. Not even the typical Japanese, but something else she called 'Mediterranean' or 'Tucson'. He also stared at the maps she had hanging on the walls, including one of the places she called 'Italy'. She'd only lived there as a little girl till age 12, but had gone back often. Such things stayed with her in the strange images he'd see in her dreams. Whenever the word "Saiyan" arose she would evoke these images of ruined statuary.

 

"Venitia, Florence… Roma…" he mumbled, suddenly realizing he was able to read the strange writing that she had called 'Roman letters'. Languages like English; German and Italian used these letters. He knew she was reasonably good with earth languages, knowing English and Japanese. Usually she spoke in English or Italian when she was at home. And she used the 'roman' letters to write instead of Japanese characters. All Capsule Employees knew both Japanese and English. Yet he knew that the place he lived mainly spoke the language of the King, which was Japanese.

 

But many of the other inhabitants of West City spoke "English". A lot of the cities that were 'modern' were in fact build up on older cities. And there were others yet that still retained their own names, but had largely been left uninhabited since the last world conflict. But he recalled the bits of ruined things here and there when he had first come to Earth, and many of them in this part of the planet seemed to be similar to those he'd seen.

 

Stellari was an Italian given name. Most of her ancestors he knew were not from this region, but the Europe region of the Mediterranean province. What used to be called Europe but was now divided into a few provinces of its own. Cities like London, Berlin, Paris, Roma and Athens were all still major cities, but the 'glory days' of the individual countries was long past. It was mainly a tourist spot and an agricultural and historical center now. Most of the industrial and manufacturing jobs were in West City. West City had once had another name, but it had long since been forgotten.

 

Slowly the words on the page began to make sense, and he saw the words, "Ruins of the Coliseum, built by Emperor Vespasian… AD…"

 

"AD?" he wondered. A very different way of counting things. He glanced at the calendar on the wall in the kitchen, still carrying the book and realized the problem. The calendar used by those here was not the same as these books. It dawned on him he was holding a history book. He turned to see the title, "Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire."

 

Intrigued, he flipped through the pages. He wasn't accustomed to books that were printed on paper. Except for those on Vegetasei which did his father keep. Most of the inhabitants had burned their books or hidden them. Bardock had kept his. Yet Freiza…

 

Raditz grabbed the other volumes of the books and sat down. He started to tear through the pages when he realized that he could understand her language as much as she could his. Their mental bond was rapidly becoming two ways, and he found that earth history was much more interesting then he had imagined. Especially military history. Stellari was from the Italian part of the Mediterranean province, and that meant it had once been the seat of a huge empire. The one he now read about.

 

"Great Father Oozaru," he mumbled, rubbing his stomach. He couldn't believe he'd gone so long without eating. Quickly he made a stack of books that were the most likely candidates for telling him more about ancient Rome. Then he carried the stack into the kitchen. Raditz piled the books on the floor so he could open the fridge to pull out something for lunch. His stomach protested violently with an audible rumble.

 

"I k now I know… settle down," he complained. Still his stomach refused to listen. A quick trip to the fruit bowl provided several apples he could down before pulling capsulated frozen meat out of the fridge. Most of their food they bought wholesales then capsulated for easy storage. The capsules could then be stuck in the freezer.

 

Soon he was microwaving antipasti and stuffing his face with some enormous amounts of fettuccini that Stellari had made the day before. One thing he had to tell her was that she DID a good job feeding him. And the lady claimed she couldn't cook, for Legendary's sake! Raditz snickered and laid into the gargantuan dish he'd heated up. He balanced the book on one arm and continued to devour the history. So far he had finished volume three of Rise and Fall, then decided a more in depth study was in order.

 

"The legend of Romulus and Remus explains the fascination of the Romans with the wolf…" Raditz continued to read. Legends he could relate to. All the mythical stories rapidly spilled into his brain. The more he read, the more he couldn't put the book down. His mind spun with the vast technical accomplishments of a very warlike people who had conquered half the known European world.

 

Stellari was an Italian ethnicity name. Given to her by her father and mother. Yet her mother was not Italian but French. Another thing he had to read up on.

 

By the time dinner rolled around he had finished most of the ancient roman history and switched to that of France. To his shock the two were intertwined and the legends and tales of peoples such as Vikings, Gauls, and Goths really caught his attention. Wild warrior people who used a 'minimum' of technology got his blood going. The more he read about the Roman Empire the more he drew uncomfortable parallels between them and Frieza.

 

These Celtic people seemed almost like the Saiyans in some ways. As did the Vikings. The Vikings even moreso then the Britons and Gauls. Many had been subjugated by the Roman incursions. Then centuries later the Roman Empire had collapsed from repeated corruption and attacks from tribes who sacked and raided them.

 

"It is believed that the Vikings were the first Europeans to discover America… even predating Christopher Columbus…" mumbled Raditz.

 

"No wonder she comprehends," Raditz realized, blinking. He had no idea human history was so rich and varied. What happened on the erstwhile small blue planet was a microcosm of what he faced under Freiza. The Saiyans were like the Celts and other people the Romans had occupied. Many of the atrocities the Emperors committed paralleled those of the Cold family.

 

"Damn… I underestimated the human's capacity for violence," he muttered, shaking his head. By the time he snapped a book on the French Revolution closed, he was determined to find out about Napoleon. His head spun with history rapidly absorbed and filtered through the Stellari part of his bond.

 

What had happened to the present day was a wish made by the family of the individual who was now King of the World. That one wish changed the world into what it was now. Because his language was Japanese, that became the standard language of one world under one government. And the calendar was changed to reflect the time since his ancestors had first come into the world. Seven hundred years reckoning, and then some. For better or worse the loose confederacy of zones worked. Yet the old European and Asian cities had often changed names under the new edicts.

 

Since the time of King Piccolo many old cities were destroyed. Only ruins remained and seven great cities served as sub capitals of the 49 regions. Metro West was the largest population center where Capsule was headquartered. He knew that Kakkarot lived near Central City, where the King's palace was. Master Roshi's house was in a small island on the 'pacific' ocean. Continents and other things had shifted so much. What were once Rome and Italy was a small archeological zone of rustic villages and towns. As was the place called France.

 

Because most of the towns were mainly agricultural and artistic, Stellari had sought her fortune elsewhere in the sciences, then got caught up in the Red Ribbon army. Brainwashed and warped into a little soldier. Only to be liberated by the natural curiosity that defined her career choice in science. She and others protesting Red Ribbon directions had been almost wiped out if not for the liberated subject known as 72 Zed. Bliss Simms, or Saiyan Chablis. Slated to become Android 7. But since she had escaped, Violet had undergone the treatment instead. Her daughter became 23.

 

Raditz closed the book. He stretched out on the sofa, weary beyond words. His mind spun with the history he'd soaked up like a sponge. And like an overstuffed glutton his brain felt like it would leak if he didn't stop.

 

He blinked away from the pressure of small hands shaking his neck. "Mr. Raditz, wake up!" came a young boy's voice. Dark eyes fluttered open to focus on the face of one of the twins sitting on his chest. Judging from the slight scent he knew it was Bohr. Fermi was shaking Raditz dark boots.

 

"What?" he grunted, sitting up. He almost tossed Bohr off him had the boy not hung on by the long tendrils of Raditz hair half covering him.

 

"What's with all the books? You aren't doing a history report are you?" Fermi asked, picking up the stacks that were piled here and there.

 

"I er… wanted to know about your mother's family and ethnicity," Raditz admitted, sitting up.

 

"You sure read fast… I didn't think you knew English," said Fermi glancing skeptically at him.

 

"Is it that bond thing?" Bohr asked, scooting back to sit in Raditz lap. The Saiyan swung around to plant his feet on the ground, and then registered the familiar manner in which the one twin was regarding him.

 

"Yes… your mother learned Saiyan speech and writing the same way," Raditz yawned. "But this is one of the first times I've used the bond…"

 

"How?" Fermi asked.

 

"Well, it's a long process. Saiyan bonding is a sacred thing…"

 

"Like Marriage, right?" Bohr nodded. Fermi climbed up to sit next to Raditz and listen. He crossed his legs and folded his hands, resting his chin on them to listen.

 

"Marriage and mating…" said Raditz uncomfortably. "It's… it's both a biological and a mental bond."

 

"Mom and us share a bond," Fermi nodded.

 

"This is a deep one, huh?" Bohr guessed. "I can see it."

 

"You can SEE it?" Raditz blinked.

 

"See it. It's like a long rope in your mind," Bohr giggled.

 

"Hmm, right," Raditz blinked.

 

"Don't pry without permission!" Fermi scolded.

 

"I allowed him to see," said Raditz quietly.

 

"Why were you all fierce and mean and then you stopped when you met mom?" asked Fermi.

 

"Because Mom loved him and tamed him like in Beauty and the beast?"

 

"I was not… tamed," Raditz growled.

 

"He was in… hell," Bohr whispered quietly.

 

"Oh yeah… like Purgatory where you pay for your sins," said Fermi.

 

"That's perhaps what your religion calls it. But Hell was where I was for a long time. Doomed to listen to the voices of all the people that died…" Raditz said soberly, afraid the boys would be terrified. Suddenly the need to have them accept him was greater then his pride in his past.

 

"You did a lot of bad things," Fermi said softly.

 

"But you were nice to Mommy," said Bohr cheerfully. "Anybody who's nice to our mommy and hasn't hurt her is good inside."

 

"Deep inside," said Fermi. "Being in Hell's like being in prison, but coming back was like parole, wasn't it?"

 

"In a sense. I'm not a… saint by any means. I did some very bad things. Reprehensible. I will not lie or pull punches, boys. But I have no intention of ever harming you or your mother as I live and breathe. This I swear…" Raditz said.

 

"I know you're telling the truth," Bohr said quietly.

 

"How?" Raditz asked.

 

"Because your mind's open to me, and I can see your thoughts," said Bohr.

 

"So can I," Fermi nodded. "You're okay. But what do we call you?"

 

"I… perhaps it would be best to let you decide," Raditz said quietly. An uncomfortable silence filled the room.

 

"Uncle you said," said Fermi.

 

"But if you're married to Mommy, doesn't that make you a Daddy?" asked Bohr.

 

"Er well…" Raditz coughed. "I'm not… your biological father."

 

"Our birth father was a bad man," Fermi frowned. "He hurt mommy and other people."

 

"I see," Raditz said.

 

"And you're not Mom's brother, or the brother of any parent. You're a step parent," Fermi said.

 

"Stepfather's long and hard to say," said Bohr.

 

"If you wish it," Raditz said quietly. His next words were swallowed hard in his throat.

 

"Father's a hard word for you to say," said Fermi.

 

"My father was a brave warrior and a man who had high standards," said Raditz.

 

"Mom said we should ask you what we wanted to call you ourselves," Fermi nodded.

 

"I always wanted a Daddy," said Bohr quietly. "One that was a good man who was nice to mom. And who wanted us around."

 

"What does Saiyan society say?" asked Fermi pragmatically.

 

"In Saiyan society the children of the female become the property… er… children of the male she mates, if she's a widow. The whelps call him Father. And the wives of his sons also call him Father," said Raditz with an outward rush of air.

 

"Some people say Papa," said Fermi. "I think that's kinda weird. Mom and Dad work for me."

 

"Is that a less formal title?"

 

"I like having a Daddy like everyone else," said Bohr, leaning against his armored chest.

 

"Birth father and all are terms we don't always use in Saiyan society. Father is the mate of Mother," Raditz said.

 

"I'm cool with calling you Dad. Like I call mother, Mom. Less hard to say," said Fermi pragmatically.

 

"This is quite… an honor," Raditz said quietly, looking seriously at either boy. "Acceptance of the situation openly gladdens me. I have not contemplated a family and now…"

 

"You have one," Bohr said.

 

"You're pretty cool. But how well do you fight?" asked Fermi.

 

"Perhaps we should find out," Raditz smirked. "How would you like to spar and show me your skills?"

 

"How DO Saiyans fight?" asked Bohr.

 

"And how can you fight with all that hair someone could grab onto?" Fermi shook his head. He tugged on Raditz long dark mane.

 

"Nobody gets close enough to find out," Raditz threw back his head and laughed.

 

"You sound like a pirate laughing," Bohr chuckled.

 

"Er well… I suppose you could say I WAS a pirate… once upon a time," Raditz said with a faint flush to his cheeks. He wasn't sure of how to address this, but he guessed the boys could piece together what Saiyans did.

 

"Can you show us how to throw energy blasts like Uncle Yamcha and Krillen?" asked Fermi.

 

"I've seen you do it together. But there is much you must learn about focussing," Raditz said, gently picking up Bohr while he stood up. "Maybe we can take this discussion to a gravity chamber…"

 

"Mommy's still at a meeting. She sent us home with one of Ms. Bulma's drivers," said Fermi.

 

***

Stellari walked through the door to find nobody there. Fear pounded in her heart till she momentarily concentrated. Images merged and floated through her mind that reassured her. Some inner force compelled her to seek out the gravity chamber. Quickly she put away the items she had brought back, and dropped her purse. A quick step out onto the porch took her to the edge of the rail. Stellari had not flown for a day or two, but it seemed almost second nature to do so instead of taking the car.

 

Still wearing her business suit, Stellari closed the sliding door and locked it. She stuck the key into her pocket and took a deep breath. Shivers in her toes weakened her strength to stand while she climbed up to sit on the railing. A straight drop of several hundred feet awaited her. Focussing her breathing Stellari let go, and threw her forwards. Energy crackled around her body, arresting her fall to a slow hover. She opened her eyes then looked to her left and right. A smile crept over her face as she realized it was getting easier to do this each time.

 

Around Capsule she soared at a low cruising speed. Her violet ki envelope screened out anything but air to breathe. Once she reached the domed sphere of the Capsule 4 she slowly decreased her field's intensity. So far she could only drop to a running fall and tumbled over into a roll. Grass stains partly stained her blazer and her stockings were shredded, but Stellari had survived another shaky landing without breaking anything.

 

She walked casually towards the GR's first door. Bright shimmers in her mind's perception told her that her twins were there inside. While it was hard to sense ki's magnitude she could discern the presence of her mate and sons. The thrum of the GR chamber pulsed tangibly in the air with a low droning rattling her bones. Peeking through the glass she saw the indicator said 5 G's. Stellari was momentarily terrified, but the bright flashes of energy enveloping her two sons and her husband told her they were fine.

 

She watched Raditz stride up to the two boys and stand behind them. His motions indicated he was showing them how to hold their hands. Both Fermi and Bohr stood like mirror images, one hand held with the palm facing upwards arm slightly bent. Balls of violent energy swirled into being on either twin's palm. Raditz mouth moved, and she saw him motion to the twins to face forwards. Both balls levitated at the same time, slowly gleaming before they shot off and a bright purple flare almost blinded her from within.

 

Through her rapport she felt joy. While both of them had learned to throw beams like the Kamehameha, this was a new thing. Raditz stood opposite them, his palms held up at head level with arms spread wide. His lips mouthed familiar words. Both twins duplicated him, their palms glowing. Energy arced around Raditz's two hands, and then he threw them forwards to bring both beams into one inches before his face. Simultaneously Fermi and Bohr did the same. Four beams became two, pushing against Raditz' Double Sundae blast.

 

Sweat beaded on Fermi and Bohr's foreheads. Their lips were each curved into a smile of pride. The sort of expression that came over a boy mastering a technique that brought them one step closer to manhood. Perhaps the sort they would gain in learning to fish along with the older boys or watch a football game. Through the masculine art of sparring Raditz was struggling to find common ground. Stellari's heart leapt at the sight. As soon as the displays started the beams abated. Raditz stood there nodding his approval to the two boys jumping up and down in glee. Bohr raced forwards and threw himself against Raditz to hug him. Fermi raised his hand in expectation of the awkward high five Raditz returned tentatively.

 

Raditz cocked his head in her direction, his dark eyes fixing into hers. Stellari d Stellari ducked down, knowing he had sensed her arrival. Without a scouter he knew she was there. Probably through their bond that was solidifying every day. Her mind buzzed with the enthusiasm, and she rushed to the lock where the GR was. Something in her mind told her to stop and wait ten minutes so they could decompress to one G. It was half-normal for Raditz, and the boys seemed to screen the gravity well.

 

"Precious one, I'm glad you're back," said Raditz voice in her mind.

 

"You scamp you could have told me you would be here!" she said.

 

"Mommy you're not mad are you?" asked Bohr's voice.

 

"Hi Mom, you saw what Father taught us?" asked Fermi. At the sound of that thought Stellari shivered with an unknown expectation. She recalled the conversation they had before this whole thing started regarding what to call Raditz.