Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Legacy of Ansai ❯ The Rebels will... uh, it varies ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4: The Rebels will…uh, it varies.

(See the title? Now we travel back a whole lot of time to right after Bardock left. (Well, maybe a bit after that.) We will spend about a year with the Rebels while Bardock's away. (Hence the previous title.) Vegeta will…I can't say that. Kislia's going to…that's classified information. Spacital is…I can't tell you that either. (Well, now that we've got that figured out, let's get on with the show!) So what the DO the Rebels do for 'fun'? Kill a few of Frieza's henchmen, or get drunk? Beat the you-know-what out of everyone, or make out? Hang in the Regen tanks, or increase the population? Like the title says: it varies!)

"Spacital, you've got to try! You've got to push your hardest!" Voin yelled as encouragement to the young Saiyan. "I AM!" Came an angry reply, while his blast nearly doubled in intensity. Voin, who was 'blocking' the blast, was forced to take a step backwards, sweat glistening on his bald head. Spacital took a step forward, sweating like mad as he drained himself of energy. He held the blast at its max intensity for a few seconds before finally falling to his knees, gasping for air. Since they were outside, Voin discarded of the blast in the conventional way...sure hope there weren't any inhabitants on that planet, heh, heh. He walked towards Spacital briskly; it wasn't that hard to block a blast. Bending down, he offered his hand to Spacital. The boy scowled, taking it as a mocking gesture. He thrust Voin's hand away, rising to his feet unsteadily to look his temporary Sensei in the eye. "That was very good, Spacital. You're getting much stronger." Voin said truthfully, giving a slight smile. "Don't you dare smile at me like that. I don't find it appropriate for a Sensei to mock his students. Or temporary students, at least. I won't tolerate it much longer. Then you'll have to watch your back." Spacital growled threateningly before pushing angrily past Voin, heading inside. Voin could almost see the storm cloud floating above his head. He sighed, thinking to himself, "Such disrespect is what should not be tolerated. But the Leader has ordered not to provoke Spacital, and we do not argue his decisions. I'd sure like to teach that kid a lesson, though." Cracking his knuckles, he also returned inside, heading for the cafeteria.

"Krovozhadny! Krovozhadny, do you read me? Answer, this isn't a joke!" Vegeta yelled into the comm that was on the frequency of Kro's ship. He had been trying for nearly 3 hours to contact that Saiyan, with no luck. "There are three possibilities of what he's done. Number one, he's tuned into that classical whatever it is again. Number two, he's sitting in the back room with a pillow stuffed down his throat to stop me from hearing his laughter and number three, he's drunk and asleep. Number three is the most likely, and if that's true, than I won't be able to contact him for at least 24 hours. I can't get through to Bardock, and from his course, I'd say it's because he just passed within 3 light years of a black hole, therefore cutting off all chances of communication for a least a week. What am I going to do?" Vegeta mumbled angrily to himself. A short technician with round glasses beside him stuttered cautiously, "L-l-lead-d-der, y-y-ou could go -s-s-s-superv-v-vise the t-t-training s-s-ses-s-ssions." Vegeta glared at him and the technician shied away. He scurried off down the long hallway, weighing so little that he did not make any sound at all on the metal floor. Since he was not Saiyan, he was not very well respected, though he was very good at what he did. (Fix broken stuff.) Vegeta placed a hand on his chin, saying, "That's not a bad idea. I should thank him. No, that would probably give him a heart attack. Perhaps I could send him a transmission…" Vegeta muttered to himself, beginning to stroll down the hallway, "No, that would probably give him heart failure. Of course, I don't really care, but we have few enough technicians as it is and we don't need any of them dead. Maybe I should just raise his rank, get him some more respect. Then again, that would probably make him pass out, but that's not serious and he would recover within a few hours. Yes! That's what I'll do!" Vegeta now made a mental note to advance Moshqua's (which was the technician's name) rank. The Leader strode down the hallway, heading to the anti-gravity training rooms, located in the Southern Quadrant.

"This is really pointless. If we don't have any chance of beating Frieza, why do we even try? It would be so much simpler just to listen to him and follow his orders!" Kislia mumbled as she pulled a dark gray training shirt over her head. Her tail, which was sometimes smarter than the Saiyan herself, replied sternly, "You don't really want that. I know, I can tell. All Saiyans wallow in battle and would never willingly admit defeat. That includes you and you know it!" "I really hate it when you argue so well! Did you know that?" Kislia retorted, slipping into tight black training sweats. "Naturally." Her tail in a know-it-all tone, "Now, you'd better get going, or you're going to be late and the anti-gravity room will go to someone else!" "I'm going already! Sheesh, give me a break!" Kislia said angrily, closing the door to her room behind her. She often carried on long, elaborate conversations with her tail like this; she ad no one else to talk to. She ran down the hallway, booted feet clomping and leaving an echo behind her. She turned a corner and crashed into to someone…or so she thought. "You're supposed to slow down before turning a corner. I could have decapitated you thinking you were…well, you get the point, don't you?" Said a slow, mocking voice. Something had grabbed her by the shoulder from behind, yet she still had the eerie impression she had crashed into this. "Let go! Who are you, anyway?" She shrieked, pulling forward and trying to turn her head to see who this person was. "You do not need to know who I am. Who are you?" The voice replied, still monotone. "Why do you care?" She demanded angrily, still struggling. She was thrown forward, the grip being released, and the voice caustically said, "I never said I cared. I simply wanted to know." Footsteps heading in the opposite direction could be heard. "Hey! Get back here, I'm not through with you!" Kislia yelled, her pride bruised. "Don't you know that it would be rude of me to slather this hallway with your blood? Besides, I only fight outside. Coming?" The voice returned mockingly. Kislia growled, picking herself up and running back in the direction from which she had come. Exiting from the East Quadrant doors, she saw a lone figure standing on a cliff facing her, yet you could not see the face for it was lost in shadow. The figure was on the short side and, though there was no wind, hair appeared to be blown to the left. "So you decided to come?" It was that same voice, now in a somewhat mockingly amused tone, "Bad choice. I cannot kill you, for we are on the same side. But I can put you in the Regen tanks for a few months." "Sure you can! Like some nameless person is going to put me in the Regen tanks for months! That's the funniest thing I've heard all day! Except for the one about the" "Me? Nameless?" The voice cut off Kislia's words, continuing in that same tone, though now tinged with anger, "Would you like me to remain nameless, Kislia? Or would you like to know of the opponent you face?" "How do you know who I am?" Kislia demanded angrily, for she was sure she had not told this male (for he surely was) her name. "That is of no importance. All that matters is that you have challenged me. I am" The voice suddenly stopped, the head whipping to the left, "Someone is here. They should not be. It is one of Frieza's. Dodoria, by the power level. Are you coming with me?" "There is no way I'm staying here!" Kislia exclaimed, flying over to the male, eager for a fight. She too, had detected the power level, but she was amazed by the speed in which he had picked it up. Of course, his claims were ridiculous; no one could detect exactly who it was from this distance. "Come on! And stay silent!" The male whispered, sliding to her left into the shadows of another cliff face. "Hey! Wait up! I still don't know who you are! Why should I trust you?" She asked moving forward with deliberately cautious steps. The shadows gave the impression that the male stopped and turned to face her, saying, "You are smart to think in such a way. Keep thinking that way, and you will stay out of much unneeded trouble. You have no need to question trust, for as I said before, we fight on the same side." A hand protruded from the shadows, right palm face up marked with an 'X'; the insignia of the Rebels. There was a line to the left of the 'X', marking him as trusted. Kislia sighed in relief; he was the same rank as her, and did not seem much younger than her either. "Come on!" The male hissed, his hand grasping her wrist and pulling her into the darkness, towards their foe.

Vegeta, with his arms folded across his chest, was very bored. Watching the Saiyans train in difficult gravity was amusing at first, but soon grew tiresome after the realization of the fact that you could do so much better than they could. He strolled back and forth, back and forth, never ceasing. (This was one of the reasons steel floors were used. They don't wear away.) He had an eerie feeling; like something was tickling the back of his neck. There was nothing there, but it put him on guard and made him irritable. Even his tail 'avoided' him when he was like this. (In other words, his tail did nothing wrong, did not speak to its owner, and basically made it seem as if he didn't exist.) "Something's wrong, I know it." Vegeta muttered, forcing to hide a small smile as a seven year old walked into a 35 year old's training room set at 150 times normal Ansai gravity, and was pulled flat on his face.

"What's Dodoria doing here? We haven't done anything to attract Frieza's attention! Maybe he still wants to check here, just to make sure we're not alive planning some rebellion. I hope he hasn't found any of the other bases…our numbers are far few enough as it is." Spacital whispered, making a small joke, but still remaining solidly serious. "What? We've got other bases?" Kislia returned in a hushed voice, sounding confused. "Well, where do you think the Leader disappears to?" Spacital said caustically. "I never noticed he was gone. Ever." Kislia replied innocently. Spacital rolled his eyes, muttering, "Amateurs!" under his breath, but Kislia didn't notice. Her eyes were glued on Dodoria, watching as he walked back and forth, scuffing the earth with his boot's toe. "What are we going to do with him?" She asked Spacital, though she was fighting the strong urge to run out and yell at the alien to get off their planet. "Well, since you're here, I'll have to find something for you to do." Spacital replied, thinking for a second before saying, "You'll stay here. I'm going to the other side. Don't come out of cover until I signal for you to do so. When I'm on the other side, I'll light a small Saiyan Flare, and that'll be your queue to attack. But you've got to attack at the same time as I do. We'll both fire small energy balls with a medium explosive power charge. If we're lucky, we'll catch him in the stomach on either side. Otherwise, just hit the ball back towards me. I'll hit yours back and we'll continue like that until either he catches one or we hit him. Got it?" Kislia was amazed that he could think up such a tactical plan so quickly. She nodded her head, and Spacital vanished from her side. (His order in the armies is 'Stealth'; the 'Stealth Fighters', as they're called, specialize in speed, silence, stealth and surprise. (The four 'S's! Funny!) The other orders are…I don't have time for this right now! I'll tell ya later!) A few seconds later, he appeared exactly opposite of her on the other side of the barren rock valley. She saw the tiniest Saiyan Flare she had ever seen in her life light up. It resembled a flame, glowing reddish-yellow. It could be whatever size the Saiyan wanted and was a basic teaching from Bardock. The one Spacital had created was barely larger than the flame of a lighter, illuminating only his features, and his other hand which was raised to his face, holding up three fingers. Kislia blinked, confused for a second, but quickly remembered. She nodded quickly, hoping Spacital could see, or at least detect the movement. He must have, for a finger dropped and a near-invisible light flickered in the palm of his hand. He had begun to gather energy for the attack. Kislia raised her hand to position, also collecting energy for her ball. The second finger fell. The glows of both attacks became more pronounced now, Kislia's being yellow tinged with red and Spacital's being blood red with bluish tints. The final finger came down, along with a curt nod. Kislia fired with suprising ferocity, while Spacital had dead accuracy. Dodoria, who had been facing a different direction from both of them, suddenly realized that 2 Saiyan attacks were heading straight for him, an attack that would be classified as crossfire. This being processed in his amazingly slow brain finally informed him that he should move out of the way. Taking at step back at the last possible second, Dodoria stared around for those who had assaulted him. Kislia had trouble hiding her frustration. They had been so close! Just one more second and that…thing would have been history. She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she barely remembered that she was to return the red and blue ball of energy. The unmistakable sound of energy whistling towards her brought her back to reality. She brought her foot up and, with a cry of frustration, kicked it back towards Dodoria. Her yellow and red ball had already been returned, now traveling at twice its original speed. As Dodoria turned to block it, the red and blue attack nailed him in the back, burning through the thick armour, and causing the odeur of burnt flesh to rise into the air. It was faint, however, and Dodoria wasn't through yet. Though Spacital's attack had burned his hands and his back was severely wounded, he wouldn't quit that quickly. Another blast bolted from Spacital's side of the valley, so swift that Dodoria had no time to react and it engulfed his head. Kislia made to exit her hiding place, so that she could physically assault the creature. Spacital nearly panicked, yelling, "Stay back! It's not time yet!" He avoided using her name, for that information could be costly. Dodoria had had trouble deducing exactly what was said, but he knew where the sound came from. He turned almost blindly, facing in the direction of Spacital. Wiping his eyes clear of blood, he began to fire a barrage of green coloured bolts. It was now Kislia's turn to nearly panic. How was she supposed to beat this freak on her own? Dodoria stopped firing, taunting, "Come on out, little Saiyan monkey! I've killed your partner! I won't hurt you!" The latter was completely unbelievable and not true, as he cracked his knuckles while saying this. Kislia steeled herself to walk forward when Dodoria began to continue, voice tinged with happiness, "No? I thought that Saiyan scum had more pride than that! Well, if you won't come, I'll just have to report that this whole planet is infested with monkeys, and then you'll all be dead!" Cackling evilly, he produced a comm device from his pocket. Lifting it towards his mouth with deliberate slowness, enough to drive anyone mad, he scanned the area, hoping to get some revenge on those who dared injure him. Suddenly, a grey coloured flash erupted to Kislia's and Dodoria's left, heading strait for the monster. The comm was snatched from his hand and pieces of it could be seen falling to the ground, the flash still moving at incredible speeds. It circled around the valley once, slowing near the end so that it was facing Dodoria. It was Spacital! He had a nasty grin on his face and was holding the last piece of the comm device in his hand. Kislia could have cried out in relief. She didn't though, and watched the scene carefully, waiting for some kind of signal or opening in which she could reveal herself. When Spacital began to idly toss the last bit of the device into the air, then catch it again, then repeat the process, she grew annoyed. But when she looked closer, she saw he was pointing; a signal for her to silently move behind Dodoria. He would distract the monster and she could get a surprise attack. She nodded and stealthily began to move in the indicated direction. Meanwhile, Spacital had begun to speak. "Don't you know it's rude in to invite others when you weren't even invited yourself?" He taunted in a mocking tone. "Master Frieza will be informed of this! You can count on it! Then you will all die!" Dodoria growled angrily, taking a step towards Spacital. The boy stood confident, not even flinching at the threat. "Frieza-Schmeza! Let him come! We'll be ready!" He yelled in return, completely sure of himself. "Don't get him too riled up, Spacital. I need to get this surprise attack in." Kislia prayed silently as she slunk closer and closer, until she was less than ten feet behind the monster. She peered out from over his shoulder, indicating to Spacital where she was. He nodded, saying to Dodoria in a completely fake apologetic tone, "Oh, how rude of me. Allow me to introduce my accomplice…" He trailed off as Kislia's booted foot collided with Dodoria's left shoulder, sending him flying into the right-hand side of the barren valley. He crashed into the rocks, sending them shooting out violently in all directions. Kislia didn't celebrate her small victory, though. She knew this fight was far from over and blasted into the rubble, reappearing with Dodoria's enormous gut being pummeled by her fists. She made to kick him on the other shoulder, but he grabbed her ankle. Grinning menacingly, he twisted it viciously. A huge 'CRACK' echoed through the valley as Kislia's ankle broke. She hovered in midair, furiously chewing her lip. "Ok, so that means no more standing and a severe disadvantage. Darn it! And it had to be my good leg too!" Kislia muttered to herself, ignoring the stabbing pains rising from her right ankle. Dodoria, who had not let go of her ankle, pulled her forward to deliver a punch to her stomach. Kislia brought up her good foot, doing a wonderful job of dislocating Dodoria's jaw. Unfortunately, she still received that punch and, as Dodoria had released her ankle, was sent flying backwards into the heap of rubble from which she had emerged a few seconds ago.

Vegeta turned his head sharply to the East. "Something's happening. A fight." He muttered, pushing past a teen who had just exited his anti-gravity room. Reaching the Eastern Quadrant doors, he began calculating who was fighting. "There are three fighters. It can't be Rebels training together. No one except Spacital will take on more than one foe, and yet Spacital will not usually settle for less than five. What is going on?" He cursed, heading outside slowly. There was no emergency; not right now at least. He would approach silently and watch from the sidelines, entering only if needed.

Kislia blasted away from Dodoria, but he was gaining, fast. She had to attack him somehow. Rolling over in the air so she could see him, she fired a barrage of red blasts. Dodoria dodged them easily and, putting on an extra spurt of speed, closed the gap. Kislia gritted her teeth and rolled over again, only to find herself nearly kissing a mountainside. She stopped for a split second, but that was all Dodoria needed. A piercing scream echoed throughout the valley as Dodoria's nails slid down and into Kislia's back, cutting it wide open and tearing off the back of her shirt. The front remained stuck to her only by her blood. Since she was not wearing chest armour, this was a costly hit, causing massive blood loss and clouding of the mind. Dodoria grasped her shoulders as she floated there, trying to remain conscious, and twisted them violently. Kislia had no energy left to scream as her right shoulder broke and her left became severely dislocated. Dodoria dropped her, and turned around calmly, only to find Spacital's boot becoming embedded in his face. The monster was sent spiraling into the air, and Spacital followed it, blasting dark blue energy balls at him. Dodoria was out of control, with no way to defend himself, and every blast hit home. The remains of his chest armour were burned off, leaving the slightly charred flesh exposed. Spacital, catching up to Dodoria, grabbed his leg and swung him towards the earth violently. Dodoria barely managed to turn his body and land feet first, creating a huge crater that was at least five times in diameter to his girth. "Never forget about the second when you're fighting two Saiyans!" Spacital yelled mockingly, rubbing some of Dodoria's blood off his chin with his fist. Dodoria angrily gritted his teeth and shot a huge energy blast behind Spacital. The boy watched it, accidentally turning his back on Dodoria. This was exactly what the monster had planned on. A fist collided with Spacital's ribs from behind, causing about four of them to break. He turned, face contorted with fury at being tricked. His foot swung with such velocity that Dodoria had no chance at all. The monster's massive body was nearly cut in two as he was sent flying towards the earth once again. Spacital's anger was nearly uncontrollable as he fired a silver bolt of energy, decapitating the monster and ensuring its death. Spacital sunk slowly to the ground, clutching his ribs. He was covered in blood, hardly any of it his own, and the agony of his collapsed ribcage was nearly unbearable. There was the body of Kislia, the poor girl. Spacital felt the tiniest tinge of pity for her. She had never had a chance at all, and she was almost surely going to die. And in the other direction was the headless corpse of Dodoria, the severed head lying next to it, eyes rolled up into the skull. Spacital felt some anger flare up inside and he tried to raise his hand to destroy the disgusting thing with one final attack. But exhaustion overtook him, and he fell to the ground, dust settling about him.

Vegeta exited his shadowy hiding place, staring at the battlefield in slight shock. He had arrived to see Kislia drop from Dodoria's hands and Spacital begin his attack. One look had told him that Kislia needed to go to the Regen tanks immediately. He flew over to her, his black hooded cloak that he always wore when he did this, fluttering behind him. Studying the body, he found that her ankle was twisted at an odd angle, that her left shoulder joint appeared to be next to her left breast and slightly noticed that the front of her shirt was torn in many places. He stole a glance at her face, and a strange expression crossed his face. Such an expression is inexplicable, something like confused pity but different from it. Sliding his arms under her knees and shoulders, he carefully lifted the body from the ground. Noting that he had a maximum of five minutes to get her to the Regen tanks for her to have a fifty percent chance of recovery, he briskly walked into the nearest shadows he saw, his cloak hiding the fact that he carried a body. Less than a second later, he appeared in the rafters of the Regen room. There was one other Saiyan recovering, but the doctors only checked this room once an hour, unless their automatic emergency detector paged them. Vegeta knew how all these devices worked, and that Saiyans recovered best with no clothing. He glanced at the remnants of Kislia's shirt, practically glued to her body by blood. Shaking his head slightly, he stripped her of clothing and put her into the nearest Regen tank. He input the data, filling it with the bluish liquid that would heal her and traveled by shadows to the battlefield once more.

"I want to see." Spacital thought feebly. "You're too tired." His body protested, forcing him to keep his eyelids shut. "I'm not that tired." He told his body, attempting to lift his eyelids. They were too heavy; it was too hard to open his eyes. "Well, maybe I'm a little tired." He told his body, which agreed with him by staying limp and avoiding to cause more pain in the diaphragm. Suddenly, he felt his body being lifted from the hard ground, and a new cause of pain arised. Two of his broken ribs pinched one of his lungs, causing him to begin to gasp. The person carrying him shook his body slightly, and Spacital felt the ribs slide off of his lung, causing some pain but it was less than before. Besides, he could breathe easily now. He felt the movement of a person walking and could tell he was being taken somewhere. He attempted to open his eyes once again, and he found his vision blurred red; blood covered his eyes. He blinked slightly, vision now simply blurry as he was only half-conscious. A shadowy cloaked face came into his line vision. Closing his eyes once again, he would have smiled in understanding, but that hurt too much. He felt his clothes being torn from his body and felt a liquid substance surround his body. The liquid was greeny-blue and felt very comfortable. He opened his eyes slightly, just to see a black shadow leap into the rafters above his head, and the door open. Doctors rushed in and the last thing he remembered before losing consciousness was one of the doctors saying, "How in the world did they get here? No one's been through this door in the past hour!"

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"Leader, sir! A ship is attempting to land. It's one of ours. Should we let it through?" A technician spoke through Vegeta's comm link device. "What? No one's scheduled for landing. Unless…oh no." Vegeta dropped off his reply, causing the technician to become worried. "Leader, sir? We need to know if we can let him through!" He said in a slightly panicky tone. "Yes, let him through! I want to see him the second he gets off the ship!" Vegeta yelled, leaving his office and striding down the hallway, fighting the strong urge to destroy something. "Yes, sir. We'll hold him here." The technician replied and closed off the transmission. "What's got you so frustrated?" Vegeta's tail demanded, speaking in his head as tails always do. "It's Krovozhadny. I can tell. And he didn't bring anyone back with him. Let's see what excuse he's got this time." Vegeta replied, not speaking aloud. "Ohhh. So that's what it is, is it? Oh well, he's always good for a laugh anyway." Said his tail optimistically. It didn't help. "I don't need laughs, I need fighters! If I wanted laughs, I would have manacled Krovozhadny to wall and put cases of vodka and whatnot in front of him! Now that would be funny! Or how about this?" Vegeta continued, entering a state of slight craziness, "Tell Bardock that we're going to destroy the cafeteria! Or tell Spacital that Frieza's already dead and we did it without him!" He began to laugh like a madman, nearly walking into the wall. His tail saved him by 'yelling', "Vegeta! Get a hold of yourself! You're going to go crazy! You're scaring people! Me included!" Vegeta stopped laughing; barely, mind you, and stood up straight. Coughing, and telling the Rebels who were staring at him in confusion to get a move on, he continued to the landing bay with what was left of his dignity in tact.

"Is he ready to get out?" "Any minute; uh second now. "Are you sure he'll be ok?" "Look! His recovery rate is 100%, and estimated left recovery time is 5-10 seconds! Does that sound 'ok' enough for you?" "I guess so. But won't the Leader be mad if he's not fully recovered?" "HE IS FULLY RECOVERED, YOU NINNY!" "Okay! Don't yell, the other one isn't anywhere near recovered and she needs to rest!" Voices. Outside. Where I want to be. "Look! His mind is racing and his breathing is normal!" "Get him out of there! We need as many Regen tanks as we can possibly keep!" Liquid drained from around Spacital's body. Fully conscious, he walked out of the tank, staring at the doctors with a glint in his eye. They offered him a towel, but he walked over to a clothes bin and pulled out a gray sweatshirt with pants to match. Pulling them on, he glared at the doctors and walked over to Kislia's tank. He began to look at the readings, when he realized his hair would drip on them, perhaps endangering the machine's function. Backing away, he shook his head furiously, spraying the doctors and anyone in the vicinity of ten feet with the blue recovery liquid. That finished, he returned to the tank's readouts. Recovery Rate: 3% Chance of Recovery: 26% Breathing: 43% Heart Rate: Low Estimated Recovery Time: 1-2 months. "Not good. We don't need people dying because I didn't step in early enough. On the good side, if she recovers, she'll be one of the strongest in the Base." Spacital thought to himself, watching through the corner of his eye the doctors backing away from him. He smirked. Turning around, he said in a childlike voice, "What? I won't bite!" The doctors jumped three feet in the air (literally!), whirled around and left the room running. Smirk still on his face, Spacital turned from the machines and left the medical room, heading outside. While heading down the hallway, he asked a technician shuffling past him what day it was. The technician squeaked in surprise; that made two really important Saiyans that had talked to him in the last week! "I must be getting taller or something!" he thought to himself. This was, of course, a very proud Moshqua who had been promoted the day before. Clearing his throat so that he wouldn't stutter, he replied, "It is the 7th day of the 3rd week of the 4th month of the year 625." He had been taught to give full information, which he did. "Hmm, a week in recovery. That's not good. I guess that took more out of me than I thought." Pushing Moshqua out of the way, Spacital stormed off down the hall, muttering to himself. Moshqua, glasses hanging from one ear, wasn't hurt, but slightly shocked. An important Saiyan had actually touched him! He was in heaven! So happy was he, that he bounced into walls all the way down to the technicians' rooms.

"Krovozhadny! What are you doing back so soon?!" Vegeta demanded as the Saiyan staggered off the ship. On glance told Vegeta that Kro had been drinking again. Kro stared at his face intently, then began to speak, sounding like he was half-asleep, "Hullo, uh…what was your name again?" His half-drunken features creased into a frown, as the Saiyan tried desperately to remember who this important person was. "Leader." Vegeta replied blankly, attempting to avoid an overload of frustration. "Oh yeah, right! Lea-der! I 'member you! So what do you want?" Kro replied extremely rudely, something Vegeta did not approve of. "I... want... to… know… how… your… recovery… mission… went." He replied in very calm, measured tones. He did this for two reasons, the first was that if he spoke any faster he would have to repeat such a 'long, difficult' sentence for Kro, and the second being that if he talked any faster... well let's just say not many people in the vicinity of the Base would be left alive. "Mission? I was on a recovery mission?" Kro said, blinking confusedly. Vegeta was very near to going all-out and blasting anything in his line of sight. So frustrated was he becoming that he nearly crossed his eyes. "Yes, Krovozhadny, you were. You went to Drinsh, remember?" Vegeta lost his old tone, replacing it with an angry one. Kro's face clouded over in what seemed to be happiness. "I remember there. Drinsh, with the spectres, right? They've got good whiskey…" He said, eyes misted over as he remembered the taste; the liquid smoothness in your mouth but the same drink that made your throat burn and smoke pour out of your ears. (Exaggeration, maybe. I've never tried whiskey…hey mom! We got any whiskey, or good alcoholic drinks? Really, oh wow, it's straight liquor! (Kidding!)) "I don't care about their whiskey! Did you retrieve what you were sent for?!" Vegeta yelled, still not laying a hand on Kro or blasting anything; barely, mind you. Kro's face returned to normal. (Well, as normal as a drunkie's face can get…) "Whut?" Was all that he could say. Vegeta snapped. He had had enough. Remaining as calm and poised as a royally pissed off Saiyan Prince can, he raised a hand and punched Kro straight in the nose. The drunken Saiyan went flying backwards, crashing into the outer wall of the ship he had previously exited. Vegeta had not punched him hard, yet the ship was slightly dented, having being hit by Kro's rock-solid head. This was all the half-drunk needed, since he had simply been sobering from the previous while's alcohol rush. Blood rushed out from his now broken nose, spilling all over his black shirt, and running onto the floor. Vegeta walked over to him, grasped his hand and pulled him to his feet. Though he was about half the size of the considered-mental Saiyan, he was much more powerful than him and could kill him without hesitation easily. Kro began to explain, whimpering slightly as he tried to save his sorry skin, "Sorry, sir. You know how it affects me, and I have no self control." Vegeta nodded, annoyance still flaring high. "Now, do you remember the questions I asked you less than five minutes ago? Or must I repeat them?" Vegeta demanded threateningly. "Yes, sir. I mean, no sir. I mean, I went to Drinsh, and met up with the person we had detected on there. But as it turns out, he was not a Saiyan, only the spirit of one hoping for some living company. Well, I couldn't be rude and just leave him with no one to talk to. Except that there were hundreds of other spectres there, but he wanted to know of the recent events. We got to talking and I discovered he had been dead for nearlyseven hundred years! He said that the planet he had lived on was called 'Kilang' or something like that. After a while, some of his spectre friends brought out the drinks and we had a round… or two or three… that part is kind of vague. All I remember is that they loaded the ship with drinks, and I had gone back there to sleep. I don't remember setting the ship on automatic leave, but I must have because the next thing I was half-aware of was that had landed here." Kro explained, not sounding happy at all. Vegeta had listened patiently through all this and was now thoroughly sick of it. "Give me your right hand." He whispered lethally, voice quiet but deadly. Kro gulped loudly, and produced the hand, dreading what was to come. A beautifully encrusted jeweled dagger glittered in Vegeta's hand. It was very old, in the ancient style of the Saiyans. The bronze/gold hilt was decorated with strange symbols; the ancient language of the Saiyans. The only Saiyan alive that could read it was Vegeta. Roughly translated, it said, "The bearer of the dagger must use it for a cause worthy of its great power. Its bearer is of royal descent or relation" The remainder of the text had either been worn away or not finished. The rest of the hilt held jewels, one of black onyx, in the shape of a star; another of green jade, handily crafted to resemble a hand; one of pink quartz, shaped like the opposite hand; and the last a diamond, a simple circle between the hands. The star was higher up the hilt, diagonal to both the east and west points where the hands sat and directly above the diamond. Vegeta carried this dagger with him everywhere, though he never used it in any battles, not that he needed to. He only used it to mark Rebels, which was what was going to do now. "Krovozhadny," Vegeta began, lowering the dagger to immediately above Kro's palm, "You are now marked as a failure. Everyone will be aware of this. You will be mocked in the hallway, jeered at in the training rooms, and others with spit at your feet. You are still an Elite, if you choose to be so. Bear this punishment with no argument, defense or excuse, and you will keep your title. Should you hide away in your room, however, you may face execution or loss of your tail." This statement finished, Vegeta pierced the skin directly in the center of Kro's 'X'. He was not gentle, yet Kro bore this without so much as a flinch. Rotating the dagger in one full circle, causing blood to pour as if from a pitcher onto the floor, Vegeta still said nothing. He knew the pain was greater in silence, and that's what he wanted. For he did not punish with pity or mirth; he had lost those traits long ago. Slicing a straight line radiating out from the center of the circle for each of the Nordic directions, he withdrew the dagger and wiped the blade on the shoulder of Kro's already blood-soaked shirt, removing the blood from it. "You are now scarred for life." Vegeta said quietly, as the dagger disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Turning his back, he left the landing bay. The technicians who had been present at the time had all frozen, staring at the exchange between the two warriors. The Leader having left, they exited their trance, one of them calling for a mop, another yelling for someone who could fix the dent in the ship. Kro, standing in the middle as activity erupted around him, was dejected and forgotten.

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"How long was I in there for?" Kislia asked, rubbing her head with her palm and stretching. "2 and ace, "I doubt it. He has been training while you were in recovery. He left two months ago." "Oh, darn! Well, I guess I'd better get to it then!" Kislia said optimistically, making to leave. "Take it easy! You only just got out of recovery!" The doctor warned urgently, but Kislia was already out the door, waving a carefree hand, "Goodbye!" She ran down the long hallway, resisting the urge to jump with joy. She felt so alive! So powerful! Ecstasy was not a feeling Saiyans had often and when they did, the results could be near disastrous. Slowing before she rounded the corner, she plastered a look of solemness on her face so she wouldn't get scolded. She entered the training room where many of the graduates of Bardock's classes were training. Spacital was there as well, but he was having no trouble with the other three he was fighting. Kislia weaved through the crowd, ducking once as someone was thrown over her head and dodging a miscalculated punch. She finally found her partner, a 13-year-old named Filay. It was also then that she noticed that it was very quiet, for a training session. "Filay! Why's everyone being so quiet?" She whispered, standing next to her partner. Filay turned from her solitary training to find Kislia standing there. She smiled lightly, and replied also in a whisper, "The Leader's observing the class. Where have you been?" "Regen tanks. Long story. Not the time nor the place for it." Kislia muttered softly. "Agreed." Filay replied, using an extremely hushed tone. "So, what have I missed?" Kislia asked, now slightly aware that the Leader was watching them with an annoyed look on his face. Filay noticed it too, and it put her on edge. "Um…not much…Spacital took out half the class yesterday 'cause someone made him really angry, so I think that's why the Leader's here." "You there! Get to work!" Vegeta's voice suddenly rang out above the sounds of battle. Everyone gasped and stopped fighting. The words were aimed directly at Kislia and Filay. Filay, being mild for a Saiyan, and also supremely respectful to those greater than her, squeaked and melted into the crowd. Kislia, however, would do no such thing. She was a ticking time bomb, and if you set her off, watch out! Tossing her head, she yelled back to him, "Why should I?" Another gasp echoed through the crowd, which was syncronizingly glancing from her to the Leader and back again. "You're just standing there watching us do all the work! La-di-dah-di-dah, I'm the Leader! Look! Someone's not working! I'd better yell at them!" Kislia continued, doing a crude impression of Vegeta's voice and making faces. No one laughed, for fear of getting killed. Spacital pushed his way to the front of the line, just as Vegeta began to walk forward. The crowd parted, knowing that Vegeta was angry and not wanting to be in his way. Some even trickled out the door, until the room was about half full. "So, you've finally decided to do some labour, eh? Come on, I can take you!" Kislia challenged, Vegeta still approaching, still saying nothing. Spacital rolled his eyes, thinking, "That's a laugh, Kislia. I can't even challenge him, and you're half as strong as me!" (In reality, if Spacital was mad enough, he could kick Vegeta's derrière, but let's not go into details now.) Vegeta walked right up to Kislia, staring her in the eyes. Though Vegeta was two years older than she was, Kislia could easily stare back, being tall for her age. Spacital was prepared to turn his head so he wouldn't see this, when Vegeta spoke. His voice was soft, but lethal at the same time, "We don't need disobedience here. I suggest you do as I say." Kislia, sweating but keeping her cool, "Why?" She challenged him yet again. Spacital knew the Leader could not take such provocation, and would punish her. Before anyone could tell what had happened, Kislia had a huge bruise across the side of her face and had crashed flat into the wall to her left. Vegeta was walking away, taunting her with one last threat, "Next time, I suggest you are more powerful before you sound off to your superiors. Than maybe you'll last more than a few seconds. Or perhaps there simply won't be a next time. It's your choice." Kislia growled angrily as he left the room. Fuming, she pushed past multiple people before reaching the door and exiting, heading in the opposite direction Vegeta had gone. Spacital watched as all present turned their head to watch her depart. Barking orders to get back to work, he swiftly slipped out of the room. He had a good idea where Kislia was going, and he was going to meet her there.

"I hate him! I hate him, I hate him, I HATE HIM!" Kislia howled, punching and kicking the adult power wall with all her strength. This was the best way she could vent her anger without hurting anyone who didn't deserve to be hurt this badly. "Who, the Leader? Yeah, he can get on your nerves, can't he?" A voice said, as the head and shoulders of a person dropped down behind her. Kislia nearly screamed. Whipping around, she saw Spacital hanging there with a peculiar expression on his face. This expression was very hard to describe indeed, it seemed as though Spacital knew something Kislia didn't, but should. That nearly drove her crazy. "Don't DO that!" She yelled, punching the wall once again. Spacital flipped over and landed crouched on the ground behind her, saying softly, "Stop that. The wall doesn't deserve that, and you know it. Besides, you've bruised your knuckles and created impressions of them in the wall." "I don't care! I DON'T CARE!" Kislia yelled, still punching away with suprising ferocity. Spacital, seeing that the easy approach wouldn't work, stood and grabbed her wrists from behind. "I said to stop." He spoke harshly, firmly gripping her wrists. Kislia attempted to throw him off, yelling, "Let me go! I don't care!" She seemed very close to tears, another thing Saiyans did not experience often. She also seemed very near to hysteria, kicking and failing like a child. Spacital let go of one hand and used his free arm to catch her in a headlock, forcing her to her knees as he nearly kneeled on her back. "Calm down!" He still spoke calmly, now holding her captured arm behind her back and pushing her cheek onto the ground. Kislia began to breathe deeply, calming enough to speak rationally. "Sorry, Spacital…I don't know why I was so angry, but I'm so… so confused. I was really mad when he… when he hit me and I… I don't know why." She stammered, a few tears staining the ground beneath her cheek. Spacital nodded, releasing her from the inescapable grip. Leaning back on his heels, he began to mutter unintelligibly. This aroused Kislia's curiousity. "What did you say?" She asked softly, sitting up and turning to face him. To her surprise, Spacital's face glowed scarlet and he struggled to get his words out, "What? ...Oh …nothing." He seemed to be holding back full-blown laughter. "What?" Kislia demanded, wondering what was so funny. "Don't you get it? Or are you that well beaten into shape?" He began to gasp, having been holding his breath to stop himself from laughing and spilling the beans. She needed to figure this out on her own. "Get WHAT? Come on Spacital, tell me!" Kislia demanded, trying to grasp his shirt collar. (Not that there was much of one, but oh well!) "Oh, would you look at the time? And me leaving my training partner, correction partners, without anyone to train with. Gotta go!" Spacital pushed her back, jumping to the door and slamming it behind him. Now, he was usually very serious, but this kind of thing amused him. (What kind of thing? I sure as HFIL won't tell you…yet.) Kislia stared after him, hearing his strange laughter echo down the hallway. She sat back, leaning against the wall, and basking in her solitude, began to distract herself with very confused thoughts.

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta demanded his tail, pacing in his office. "You know what I mean!" His tail retorted, tone somewhere between laughing and annoyed. "No I don't!" Vegeta yelled back. "Well then, I guess you're very ignorant." His tail's tone changed to be indignant. "WHAT?" "Well, It's screaming in your ear and you're ignoring it!" "WHAT'S SCREAMING IN MY EAR, BESIDES YOU?!?" Vegeta nearly began to tear out his hair. Fact is, he would have, had it not been growing upwards. (So THAT'S why Royals' hair grows like a carrot's top… funny, I never knew!) "I can't tell you! I'm not allowed! You've got to figure it out on your own! Sheesh, and they call the tails stupid…" Vegeta's tail faded off, still slightly muttering, but not enough to distract Vegeta from his thoughts. Vegeta collapsed on his sofa, furiously rubbing his forehead. "What is he talking about?" He muttered, looking at the knuckles on his right hand; the one that had punched Kislia. "She deserved it. She really deserved it." He muttered, punching his fist into the other's palm. For some reason, he felt somewhat bad; one might even go so far as to say guilty. But that didn't make sense, did it?

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