Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ To Sway a Saiyan's Heart - Revamped! ❯ A New Home ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: Zorn revamped! LOL! Don't own `em, don't pay `em. R/r, please!

Chapter One - A New Home

The palace on Vegetasei was certainly well known. People of all ages flew by daily to eye its smooth stonewalls and blood red reflective windows. It was beautiful to look upon, but deadly for the inexperienced to explore; like a magnificent sword, or a beautiful snake. It was home to some of the finest warriors in the galaxy. Like me.

My name is Zorn. I'm one of the strongest of our race; second only to His Majesty. I've been the Captain of his Royal Guard for years and have loved every minute of it. I advise him frequently on everything.. You know, from military advances to shoe sizes and all that. He even asks me about the young prince from time to time. I'm probably the only person he trusts these days.. Since the poor Queen (may she rest above all) died a few months after Prince Vegeta's birth, the King has been on edge. He jumps to conclusions quickly, he overreacts more, he's colder, and he needs us more than ever.

I haven't always rubbed elbows with the best. No, my life, as well as the next man's, was hard, testing, painful, and humiliating. This is the story of how I had to work my way up from the bottom of the food chain, so-to-speak. This is the story of Zorn-sama, Captain of the Royal Guard of Vegetasei.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twin suns rose over a blood-red planet. Like a large river, the light swam its way through the branches of trees and over glassy plains. It flowed over rows of beat up houses and educational facilities, bouncing off of the windows and taking a better route. The crimson poured into a room where it then highlighted the lips and eyelids of a young soldier. Although he fought against it, with the light came consciousness, and consciousness fought a tough battle. His eyelids fluttered open gently, then squeezed shut as a small groan wormed its way through the tender lips of said soldier.

From the side of the low bed, a slender hand lifted and smoothed an unruly mop of black hair away from the fully conscious senshi. His eyes opened again, wider this time, and moved to squint at a small blue eyepiece on the side table. A small red light on the top of it was blinking angrily, as if it were unbearably impatient with him for not noticing it until now. He picked up the eyepiece and attached it to his ear, unfolding the lens as he did so. The teenager laid back down, and pressed an inconspicuous button near the side of the lens. The blue plastic-type material exploded into life:

"Zorn, you lazy bastard! Get your ass out of bed and get down here!" The bulky man in shiny armor laughed merrily and checked over his shoulder. Satisfied that nobody was listening in on the conversation, he leaned in closer, his voice low with barely contained excitement. "Shit, man, I think this might really be it! The King's REALLY impressed with the planet purging of Kahetsei! Com ON, get down here!"

The man winked out and all actions with the eyewear fell silent.

Zorn stared blankly at his bedroom wall, trying desperately to process the new information. The man in the video transcript had been Sullion, his closest friend. Zorn was less excitable than Sullion; he seemed more contained and mature than passionate, although he did have his moments.

Zorn got out of bed and smoothed on his body suit, which had been lying in a pool beside his bed. Why ha Sullion been so impatient? It was the weekend; it made no sense for him to be up so early.. Especially after such a planet purging! He drew his eyebrows together before pulling on his weighted armor. It was a very polished black on the breastplate and had a blue sort of stomach guard. The two shoulder straps were dyed to match the color of his stomach plate; his body suit was charcoal gray. They were his favorite colors and complemented his hair and tail fur, which he brushed lightly and fluffed out. His tail snaked around his waist. "Well," he thought to himself, "if the King is involved, I'd better get to the palace."

The light in his room had paled to a pleasant yellow-orange and, when caught on Zorn's scouter, cast a blue beacon onto his room. Stretching slightly, he opened his bedroom window and inhaled deeply, catching the scents of morning dew and a nearby cookout. His feet shoved off of his hardwood floor and propelled him into the light summer air.

The Royal Palace was not very far.. Maybe only ten miles or so. Considering this, Zorn wasn't concerned with being there on time (he was already late, anyway). He touched on the ground outside of the main gate and straightened with respect before the two stationed guards. Both were rough looking men with many scars. The one on the left sneered and growled at Zorn. "State your business, low-class."

"King Vegeta has summoned me on official business, sir. It is important that I see him as soon as possible."

"Is it now? And you might be..?"

"Zorn, Second Class Soldier of the Northern Squad."

The guard who had remained silent spoke up with a much silkier, softer voice. "Do you have an acquaintence named Sullion? He passed through here mentioning your name."

"Yes, I do. He's in my squad. We were called here on the same subject, or so I'm told."

The quiet guard nodded, looking pleased. "Right. Go through these gates and take the first stairway on your left. You should find a hallway with another man there. His name will be Kale, and he will guide you further."

"Right. See ya!" Zorn ran through the gates and into the palace itself. The Common Room was nothing special, since it wasn't even fully decorated. A few curtains hung around the windows and the walkway was swept, but that was pretty much it. The entire floor was severely scuffed and painted like an arena floor, for when the annual Choosing occurred. He didn't know what happened or who or what got chosen, but he DID know the name.

Turning down the stairs, Zorn began to feel a kindle of excitement. He and Sullion had worked their asses off to catch the eye of the King. Especially on this last planet purge, where they half-cleaned the planet and the crew was crushed. Zorn, Sullion, and Toma, being the only survivors, healed themselves and finished the purge on their own. His ankles were still a bit swollen, but did his power level ever soar! Zorn's fingers twitched with pride as he saw an ignorant looking soldier leaning against the wall. "Are you Kale?"

"Kale-SAMA to you."

"Fine. Kale-SAMA," he made sure to over-emphasize the "sama" part, making the guard growl angrily, "could you direct me to where I can meet with Sullion and the King?"

Kale seemed to consider it before saying, "His Majesty will not see anyone right now. As for this.. Sullion guy.. He'll be down this hall in the seventeenth room on the right." He grinned evilly through the entire monologue.

Zorn didn't trust him, but the guy had rank and he didn't want trouble. "Eh.. right.. thanks, I guess.." He saw Kale roll his eyes and lean against the wall. The hall was carpeted poorly, and smelled of burnt flsh, but he was used to both of these things and only thought about it briefly. 1, 2, 3.. he'd lost count around 9, and had to look back to count them again. They all looked the same!

Zorn did eventually come to room seventeen. Still suspicious of Kale, he took a reading on his scouter, only to find no powers inside of the room. The hell? He nudged the door open.

Sullion was indeed inside of the small room; head banging roughly to what was almost guaranteed to be acid rock of some sort. He grinned and mad a wide circle around the lost teen, sneaking up behind him and grabbing his shoulder tightly. "Don't jump!"

Boy, did he ever jump.. Sullion's body jerked with such ferocity that his headphones fell off. He whipped around with a glare and a growl, his hands instinctively coming up to throw a punch. Zorn caught the punch and grinned. "Boo."

"Zorn! You ARE alive!"

"Well, excuuuse me for sleeping in on my day off!"

"The King didn't send you a messenger?"

"Obviously not. Maybe he only wanted you?"

"No, his guard screwed up."

"Oh."

Sullion DID punch him this time. "You jerk! I've been here for three hours!"

Zorn frowned at him as he continued his rant.

"..and the only interesting thing that's happened is that some slug-thing got his ass fried for BEING an ass! I can't believe you! You just HAD to pick TODAY of all days, to sleep in! Geez, Zorn, I thought you-"

"Sull! Shut up!" Zorn clamped his hand over his friend's mouth and pressed his ear against the wall. "I think that Kale guy is getting' chewed out for something!" He removed his hand and grinned widely as Sullion joined him in listening. Kale was indeed being yelled at - by the King, no less! - and it was right outside their door.

Kale had somehow "screwed up his orders AGAIN" and was being threatened with death if he "didn't put his ass back in line". The two teens' mouths broke into wider grins and Zorn went to lean on the steel door to see if he could hear anymore of the scolding. Instead of feeling the expected cold metal against his cheek, he fell onto a very solid, warm chest. His eyes doubled in size and his body froze, the fur on his tail bristling.

Zorn looked over to Sullion to see the man's mouth wide open, stuttering to say something. Instead, deciding that his body worked better than his voice, he fell to one knee, his fist over his heart in royal salute. Oh, shit..

"Well, I'm flattered by your display of.. such affection.. but if you don't mind, you may remove yourself now."

Zorn immediately backed off of the body, but did so slowly. It was the King's distinctive voice; there was no doubt about it. He didn't look the King in the eye, just walked backwards painfully slowly and kneeled. Not ridiculously, mind you. Zorn could FEEL the King smirk.

"I'm sorry, sire. I wasn't aware of your presence."

"Apparently. This room shields ki signatures. You couldn't have sensed me had you tried. Although, that didn't stop you from trying to eavesdrop, now did it?"

Zorn didn't have an answer to that.

"I didn't think so. Hn. Anyway, you're here because I've heard of your purging of Kahetsei. Very impressive; I'd like to hear the details later. In the meantime, I've considered you worthy of the position of Royal Guard. Well, after some serious training, of course, but you should have expected that. Your new residence will be here, at the palace. Two of my guards will escort you to your new rooms. You will be able to decide whether you share a room when you get there. I trust you two won't let me down?"

Zorn and Sullion were speechless. They weren't sure who had stuttered out "No, sir!" first, but the King heard it from both and nodded curtly. After that, he turned on his heel and left.

When the door was fully closed, Zorn and Sullion stared at it. A royal guard position was one of the highest positions in the saiyan government.. and they were considered worthy. By the KING. The duo slowly rose, still not saying anything, and looked each other in the eye. Sullion broke first.

"Oh. My. Fucking. GOD! I can't believe he actually wants us on his guard! I mean, we're NOBODIES! We'll have MONEY and CHICKS and REPUTATIONS!" He ran up to Zorn and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking lightly. "We won't go home to empty houses, or be harassed on purging missions. Zorn, we have a warm home now! This is going to be so awesome!" He chuckled lightly and grinned, seemingly lightening up his entire façade. They started laughing. They knew it was unusual and out of character for them, but they were going to be elites now; who cared what anyone thought of them?

Approximately half an hour later, the two teens heard a knock on the door. Zorn got up off of the Spartan bed and slid the door open. Two tall men dressed in elite armor stood grinning on the other side. The taller of the two, a pale man with a shag of black hair falling past his shoulders, bowed at the waist. His accomplice, tan in complexion with tall, rust-red hair,, ,waved slightly and chckled. "I don't think you two realize what lucky sons of bitches you are! Anyway, the name is Chish, nice to meetcha. This here is my brother, Apio, and I believe we're supposed to escort you to your new rooms?"

Zorn and Sullion nodded and followed ash Chish and Apio led them back down the poorly carpeted hall. The smell of burnt flesh still lingered slightly; enough to just tickle the senses. They walked past Kale, who was now standing rigidly at his corner. His eyes were a lot glassier and his fingers twitched a bit, so Zorn and Sull moved away from him slightly when passing. They came to a very non-descript door that couldn't have been noticed had no one been shown.

Chish then turned to them and grabbed Sullion by the shoulder. He pulled forward, placing Sullion directly in front of the door. Chish removed his scouter (while motioning for Zorn and Sull to do the same) and pulled out a small high-tech looking gadget. After adjusting a few things, he turned back to Sullion. "Okay! I'm gonna have to get you two programmed into the security system, so you," he motioned towards Sullion, "repeat after me: A6507Y."

"A6507Y."

"You," he looked to Zorn, "same deal: X4079B."

"X4079B."

"Excellent. That, in case you were wondering, was a recording. This is door 1, to keep things simple, and from now on, you'll need to speak those passwords to pass through. There are records of them for you, but we'll get to that, later. Alright! Follow me!"

The quartet strolled noiselessly (they were saiyans, after all) down the next hall: a bleak, white walled walkway with a steel floor and no carpet. Zorn was just beginning to think that this was pretty damn shoddy for a palace when they slowed and turned to their left. Their next door was camouflaged into the paneling, and again couldn't be recognized under normal circumstances. This time, Apio came forward.

"This door requires a retina scan. If one of you will step forward...?"

Zorn did so. He watched unblinkingly as a small lens near the top of the newly found door peeked out from a tiny opening and emitted a thin, red laser. It quickly trailed over Zorn's left eye before dieing. The only evidence that anything had happened was that Zorn's left eyebrow twitched slightly. The process was repeated with Sullion and Apio, and they walked through the door. The two new recruits gasped.

"Holy shit. I guess this is where we get spoiled, ne?"

Chish chuckled. "Indeed. The beginning is to elude people.. though, the best is yet to come."

Zorn could only imagine! They stepped off and laughed lightly as the plush carpet squished under their boots. There was a long skylight in the dome roof; opened slightly to allow warm air to flood the hall. There were small, decorative trees here-and-there, and the walls were set with pictures of the Royal Family and other honorable warriors. They traveled the elaborate corridor to a sort of dead-end (there were two parallel rooms and another at the end). The 2 elites faced them.

"You two really DON'T realize how lucky you are. You've gotten the best rooms, as well! Hmph. Anyway, these two rooms," he gestured vaguely to the two doors facing each other, "will be yours. It doesn't matter who gets which, but decide now and make my job easier."

Still in awe at their new surroundings, Zorn looked up from the trim at the base of the wall. "I'll take the left," he replied quietly.

"Okay. Good luck, I know it's a bit much to get used to at first. The passwords for your doors will be remembered from the first time they are entered. When you find your information packets, write your passwords in them. Trust me, I'm talking from experience."

Apio stifled a laugh, earning a glare. After this, they left.

Zorn and Sullion admired the hall for a few more seconds before turning and entering their appropriate passwords. Doors opened with identical swooshes, followed by identical gasps.

"These rooms are bigger than our houses combined, Zorn."

And indeed, they probably were. There wasn't much decorum.. but who cared? The color scheme pretty much ran on a white, dark red, black scale. There was a kitchen, two bedrooms, a bath large enough for a man to swim in, a large living room, and a small inset (the walls were glass) with a table to serve as a dining area. They stepped into the rooms, exploring a bit, before grinning at each other and meeting back out in the hall.

"Shit, man, this is gonna be SO cool.."

"Yes, well.." Zorn tried to stop the grin that bubbled up but failed miserably. "Shush. Heh.. I think maybe we should find our schedules and whatnot.. It won't be so cool if we're dead on the first day, will it?"

"Zorn, you're far too serious in these situations."

"Shut up."

They grinned and entered their appropriate rooms. Zorn removed his armor with a well-practiced tug and set it on the couch. This really WAS a bit much to take in for one day, but what of it? He padded into one of the bedrooms, toeing his boots off and sitting down on the expensive bed. The promised chunk of papers was set neatly on the pillow. He flipped through it absently, looking for anything that looked like a schedule. Finding it near the end, he glanced over for the most recent date and sighed..

Training day? Tomorrow morning, of course.