Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Time & Tide ❯ Prelude to War ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven

Later that afternoon, Sdhoirm was shut up in the bedroom he shared with Vaya. He was still trying to make his decision on whether or not he should leave his home planet...he desperately wanted to go, but there were so many things telling him to stay.
However, he was preparing himself, just in case. Sdhoirm didn't like to visit the same place twice, so he had taken half the palace library back with him. There were hundreds of books piled on the bed and on the floor around him, filled with information about faraway places. Sdhoirm studied each one and wrote down a few facts that he thought might be important. But there were so many to choose from...
Sdhoirm sighed as he closed the book in his lap and reached for another. "All I can say is that when this is over, I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I've worked for it, I owe it to myself, and no one is going to deprive me of it."
Suddenly, the door to the bedroom opened slowly. Sdhoirm looked up to see his daughter standing in the doorway.
"Dad, can I talk to you for a minute?" Vaya asked, looking a little uncomfortable.
Sdhoirm shrugged. "Of course. Here, sit down." He shoved a few books aside and patted the bed next to him.
Vaya hesitated, then strode over and took a seat. She didn't say anything for a few seconds. Sdhoirm waited silently. Suddenly, Vaya said very quickly, "I know about you and Queen Zafira."
Sdhoirm gave a start. Whatever he had been expecting, it certainly wasn't that. "Oh."
Vaya nodded. "What was that all about? I saw you guys kissing in the infirmary..."
Sdhoirm didn't blush, but he ran a hand through his wild black hair and exhaled heavily. "I should probably explain that, right?"
Vaya said nothing. She seemed to be very embarrassed.
Sdhoirm stared at the ceiling. "Well...Zafira and I are both mature adults, and lately we've been growing closer and developing strong feelings for each other. I'm not sure what else you want me to tell you. I can't help the way I feel."
Vaya rubbed her neck. "But...what about Mom, and King Vegeta?"
Sdhoirm leaned back. "Ah. Is that what's bothering you?"
"Sort of. I mean, it's not like I'm uncomfortable with you being involved with someone besides Mom...I guess it's because I never knew her. But wouldn't King Vegeta have slit your throat if he knew about this?"
Sdhoirm grinned mischievously. "I have never been afraid of King Vegeta, and I never will be. I do not doubt that he would not have approved of this...But somehow I think that if he was still alive, things would have been different. Vegeta was a good friend of mine...a very good friend, and I knew him much longer than Zafira did. I would not have done anything to steal what was rightfully his. And, of course, if the feeling wasn't mutual I would have backed off completely."
Vaya seemed to accept this response, and grew more relaxed. But Sdhoirm could see that there was still something else she wanted to say, and he was pretty sure that he knew what it was.
"Are you afraid that this will break up our family?" he asked his daughter.
She nodded.
Sdhoirm smiled. "Vaya, you have nothing to worry about. You are my daughter, and nothing can ever take your place in my affections. But you must be willing to share them now with someone else," he added teasingly.
Vaya managed a smile. "I just don't want you to forget to make time to, I don't know, train me or something."
Sdhoirm raised an eyebrow. "You want training? I'll give you training." He grabbed a pillow from behind him, hitting Vaya with it and sending the girl flying off the bed. "There. That was lesson one. Always be wary of pillows, they pack a punch," he smirked.
Vaya jumped back up. "Daddy!"
She, too, grabbed a pillow and started beating her father with it. Sdhoirm jumped up off the bed to get away, and the feathers started to fly as the father and daughter engaged in a wild pillow-war. They jumped on the beds, bounced over furniture and knocked over tables, laughing and shouting mock insults at each other the whole time.

~*~
When Vaya and Sdhoirm met up with Vegeta and Zafira for dinner later on, the prince and the queen questioned the presence of feathers in the other two's hair. The father and daughter just looked at each other and cracked up, causing the mother and son to sweatdrop.

~*~
Halfway through the dinner, in which Vegeta had challenged Sdhoirm to an eating contest and almost turned it into a food fight, a young female servant humbly approached the long table in the dining room.
"Your Highness, there are two young men here to see Master Sdhoirm and Madame Vaya. One of them claims to be related to them."
She had hardly finished her sentence when Sdhoirm and Vaya made a mad scramble over the table, disappearing into the hallway. Zafira raised an eyebrow quizzically and looked at Vegeta, who shrugged. Then they both got up to follow the other two.
When they reached the main entrance hall, they saw the happiest reunion ever witnessed.
Turles had returned. Sdhoirm had him in a headlock and was messing up his hair proudly, as Turles laughed and pulled himself out again. He had brought Raditz with him, and Vaya was giving Kakarrot's older brother a hug.
Vegeta twitched when he saw this, but didn't say anything. He and Zafira just watched from the doorway for a minute.
Sdhoirm grinned at his son. "What are you doing here? Got bored of life as a space pirate already?"
Turles smirked. "Raditz was homesick."
"I was not!"
Turles sniggered. Then he turned to Vaya and gave her a big grin.
"Hello, baby sister," he teased.
"How are you, depraved older sibling?" she replied lightly.
"Can't complain, rotten-to-the-core cherished one," he answered smoothly.
"Glad to hear it, malevolent older brother," she finished with a smile.
"Oh, for crying out loud," Sdhoirm sighed. "Can't you ever talk without insulting each other?"
Turles hesitated. Then he opened his mouth and a series of incoherent gurgles issued forth. Vaya giggled. "Guess not."
Vegeta and Zafira looked at each other, then walked over slowly. Vegeta went over to Vaya first and put his arm around her. Turles saw the prince first, and his eyes lit up. He jumped over and grabbed Vegeta in a neck lock.
"Hey, Bush-head! Long time no see!" he snickered, violently rubbing the top of Vegeta's head the same way his father had done to him.
"Augh! Turles, get off!" Vegeta growled, trying to pry Turles' muscular arms from around his shoulders.
"Turles. Let go," Sdhoirm commanded.
Turles instantly dropped his arms, but gave Vegeta a superior grin. Vegeta pretended to look angry, but this only made Turles more amused. Sdhoirm just sighed.
Zafira had been watching with a mild smile, but she cleared her throat to get their attention as Vaya gave Vegeta a sympathetic look and hugged him.
Turles gave a start when he saw the queen. He had always been slightly embarrassed around her, for some reason or another. He tried to act as proper as possible, to give a good impression.
He held out his hand solemnly as though he and Zafira had never met and said, "Queen Zafira. How nice to see you."
"Hello, Turles," said Zafira, trying not to laugh.
"I hope you're well?" said Turles pompously, shaking hands. It was rather like being introduced to a mayor.
"Very well, thank you--"
"Queen Zafira!" said Raditz, elbowing Turles out of the way and bowing deeply. "Simply splendid to see you, old girl--"
"Marvelous," said Sdhoirm, pushing Raditz aside and seizing Zafira's hand in turn. "Absolutely spiffing."
Turles scowled. Zafira muffled a giggle.
"Cut it out, guys," said Vaya with a sigh.
"Vaya!" cried Sdhoirm as though he'd only just spotted her and seizing her hand too. "How really corking to see you--"
"I said cut it out," Vaya hissed, giving her father a nasty look. "Leave Turles alone, would you? He just got back."
Then she turned to Vegeta and Raditz, only to see them fighting to restrain their laughter. "Oh, for goodness' sake, don't hurt yourselves," she sighed.
The boys burst into hysterics.
Vaya gave Zafira a pleading look. Zafira nodded and said, "We were right in the middle of dinner. Did you two want to join us?"
Turles and Raditz looked like they would have loved to do this, but they declined. "We're only staying for a little while," Turles explained apologetically. "We have to report back to the captain, and we'll be leaving in an hour or two. There's still some more people we have to visit."
"Yeah. I wanted to see Kakarrot. Where is the little pipsqueak?" Raditz asked with a snicker.
"Training," Vegeta replied. "He and Chi-Chi are Junior Elites."
"Junior Elites!" Raditz cried. "The last time I saw those two they couldn't even fly well!"
Zafira and Sdhoirm looked at each other, deciding with their eyes who was going to inform the boys of Frieza's attack. Finally, Sdhoirm flicked his head towards the dining room, letting Zafira know that she should take the kids back to eat, and he would take care of it.
"Well, we're going to go, then. Vegeta, Vaya, I want you to finish eating before you go off and run around anymore," Zafira said sternly, ushering the teenagers back.
Vaya quickly ran over and gave her older brother a hug. "See you around, Turles. I was glad to see you again."
"Yeah, me too, baby sister. You sure have grown," Turles replied with a smile. "Later, Vegeta."
"Bye."
With that, Vaya and Vegeta followed the queen into the dining room. They finished eating their dinner rather quickly, and just before they were done, Sdhoirm returned.
"Well?" Zafira asked.
Sdhoirm shrugged as he sat down. "They were pretty upset. I had to tell Raditz that Bardock was killed...He took it surprisingly well. I think he was in shock, though...Once he talks to Shiva and Kakarrot it might be easier on him."
"And Turles?"
"Turles..." Sdhoirm shook his head. "Turles never cares about anything. As long as we're still alive and all right, he thinks it doesn't concern him. He'll forget about it in a few days. That's just the way he is."
Zafira nodded. Vaya and Vegeta were silent, and they quietly got up from the table and left their parents alone.
"So they aren't going to help us fight the war," Zafira said as if stating a fact.
Sdhoirm nodded. "They think we're insane for even trying. Turles says that we should just forget about it and live life anyway. Raditz says we shouldn't sacrifice our warriors for this."
Zafira frowned. "Well. I have to disagree with them on this."
Sdhoirm nodded. "So do I."

~*~
Frieza's eyes scanned over the millions of soldiers standing before him. They had all been trained mercilessly for this day. Today would be the day they would wipe out the saiiyan race. Ever since the "energy ball" incident a year ago, he realized that the queen was getting a lot more powerful than he would've liked. It also made him realize that that one saiiyan, Sdhoirm was much more powerful than he was letting on. That would be a problem. He was certain that Zafira was training her elites and soldiers to be prepared for more attacks like that one. This would be a fight to remember, and if by some chance, the war went in the saiiyans' favor, he'd just use his trump card.
"Today men, today will go down in history as the day we exterminated that infernal planet of monkeys and apes! Today is the day we destroy the saiiyans, once and for all! If any of you are smart, you'll know not to return until every last saiiyan is dead," Frieza said with a chuckle as all of his soldiers remained silent and perfectly still.
While Frieza was giving his "inspirational" speech, Zarbon and Dedoria watched in the shadows of the hall. This battle meant nothing to Dedoria, though he was actually happy that he would never have to look at the ugly mug of a saiiyan ever again. Zarbon, on the other hand, was thinking differently. This war meant nothing to him either, he was just the queen as his consolation for winning. Unfortunately, seeing as how the king was dead and Zafira was now the reigning monarch, it would be extremely difficult. She'd be too busy trying to slice his head off than allow him to abduct her. And frankly, Frieza was losing his interest in Zafira. He would say things like "she's betrayed us to her accursed monkey people" and "she's a traitor". Frieza probably wanted her dead for managing to destroy his energy ball. No one in all his years of living, had ever been able to knock back one of Frieza's attacks, much less destroy one. Sure Frieza still had a fondness for her and liked to tease her, but he would probably kill her for defying him.

~*~
"Just relax. Clear your thoughts. Remember, this exercise is essential if you plan on going into battle," Sdhoirm said as he walked through the rows and rows of elite soldiers that sat, Indian-style on their mats on the ground. They were in the palace's backyard, so to speak. It was a beautiful, peaceful day, birds were chirping and flying by while the sun shone down at a comfortable temperature.
"Sensei! I still don't get why we have to do this? Shouldn't we be training in the gravity room or sparring or something?" one male spoke up, gaining the attention of all the others. Sdhoirm shook his head. This man, Keleris, was a proud and ignorant saiiyan. He thought of nothing else besides food, fighting and females. He sighed and walked over to the sitting elite who looked up at him.
"Let me explain again, Keleris: these exercises help you to maintain focus and keep a clear head when in battle. If you charge in without a plan, or worse, are angry while in battle, it'll cloud your sensible thinking and your opponent will easily use that to his advantage," Sdhoirm explained and Keleris sighed, closing his eyes again. As he continued to walk through the rows, he smiled, spotting his daughter and the prince sitting near each other, both in deep meditation. Because of their exceptional and mature skill, his daughter, the prince and their two friends had been promoted to elite. The youngest elite ever at 17, with the exception of the prince.

"M-Master Sdhoirm! Master Sdhoirm!" Sdhoirm sighed. What now? He turned around to see an alien servant rushing over to him, nearly tripping over his slightly over-sized pants. This man's outburst had broken each elite's concentration, and they all glared at him in annoyance. The alien noticed and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Yes?" Sdhoirm asked, turning to face him.
"I-It's urgent. The queen requests your presence in the control room. Something about a ship," the servant said. Sdhoirm's eyes grew wide.
"Everyone run 20 laps and then head to the showers," Sdhoirm ordered, resulting in groaning from the soldiers. But he didn't have time and quickly ran back inside the palace.

~*~
"It has to be him," Zafira said as she bent over the man at the control panel to look at the monitor.
"I certainly hope not, my queen. That ship is humongous. Imagine how many soldiers that ship could harbor..." As the servant said this Sdhoirm came rushing in. Zafira turned around, relieved to see him.
"Is it?"
"Yes, get the troops ready. We're going to war."

~*~
When they were first told that they would be going to war, not one of them uttered a sound. This would be the defining moment. They would finally be able to put an end to Frieza's reign, once and for all!
"...I won't lie to you, I can't guarantee that we will all live through this, but I can guarantee to you that I will never surrender our troops, our planet, or our will to Frieza, ever again!" as the queen spoke, standing there in her gold and black armor, her black cape blowing in the breeze, the soldiers all looked to her with pride. This woman would purge them out of the ridiculous Planet Trade and free them from Frieza, forever. Or die trying. They all yelled and cheered and whooped, ready for battle.

~*~
"Ready, aim."
The ship's laser cannons aimed for the large, lustrous and green planet before them.
"Fi-," Frieza's command was interrupted when the ship began to shake as if caught in a vortex.
"What the hell is going on?!" he yelled angrily.
"My lord, it's the planet's moons."
"What?"
"Their defense systems."
"Since when did Vegetaseii have defense systems?!"

~*~
Zafira smirked. He wasn't expecting that one, now was he? Zafira immediately set out to ensure the planet's safety by setting up planetary defenses on the planet's neighboring moons. Vegetaseii had four. She had just received news about the first strike from her scouter. She turned to her troops, a proud smirk on her face. She looked to Sdhoirm and then to her son who stood by her side, a look of determination on his face.
"ATTACK!!"
And with that, they all flew out into space to encounter the enemy.