Chapter 01
Loud music played in the brightly lit ballroom of King Vegeta’s palace, the orchestra leading off a large party thrown by the royal family full of all the nobles and royal relatives of the land. An eight-year-old Torankusu rushed down the staircase towards the ballroom, trying to convince the servant behind him that his hair did not need brushing and that his outfit was fine. Chichi the servant was not impressed however and continued to fuss over Torankusu as she moaned to herself about making him late.
“You’re so late, and it’s all my fault! I’ll be fired, then I’ll have to work all day and my son will feel neglected, so he’ll join a gang and become involved in crime and…”
“Don’t worry Chichi! No one will notice or care! You’re not gonna get fired for making me a little bit late this once,” Torankusu assured her.
At this point, the dark haired servant spotted a small knot in the prince’s hair and immediately attacked it with the brush, resulting in a very loud `owww’ form the purple haired boy. All eyes turned towards Torankusu, making him smirk in a manner very much like his Vegeta’s as he realized the attention of everyone in the hall had focused on him, before strolling down the staircase in a very proper manner making his relatives smile at the resemblance to his father.
As soon as he reached the main floor, Torankusu dropped the royal act and ran across the room towards the thrones, to sit himself next to his father and newly arrived mother who were watching the nights activities with some vague interest. Vegeta turned his attention to his son, the only person in the room he was related to by blood, the rest were all from his wife’s side and as much as they tried to befriend him he never felt completely comfortable with them.
“Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“Can they play better music?” Torankusu asked, not feeling too enthusiastic about the current waltz being played by the orchestra.
“I’m afraid not. Just go and dance, it takes your mind off it a little,” Vegeta mumbled, making sure he didn’t let his wife hear being as it was she who had ordered that the orchestra play this night.
Torankusu nodded and ran down onto the main floor, and immediately searching out his sister to dance with him, both young boys trying their best to copy the adult around them but failing miserably and making their own dance moves instead. The immediate family of the pair laughed while the Orchestra leader, looked down at the pair and sniffed wondering why the parents were allowing the children to play about so much at such an important event.
Unknown to everyone attending the party, under one of the long tables kept to the sides of the room, a black haired boy was crawling along, looking enviously at the dancing couples and the ruler of the kingdom in their colorful outfits, laughing and joking with each other. His staring was interrupted however, when a smartly dressed man walked over to the table close to where he was hiding and deposited a tray of exotic fruit just out of the boys reach.
Torankusu, who was still dancing, looked over to the table and spotted a dark haired head peeking over the table and staring hungrily at the fruit, while trying to inconspicuously reach for it. The purple haired Prince made a quick excuse about needing a drink, before running over and giggling to himself as the head disappeared from view.
He quickly poured a drink and glanced around to make sure no one was watching too closely and picked up a piece of fruit and throwing it over to the other side of the table, grinning when he heard a quiet yelp as the apple collided with it’s targets head. The dark haired boy looked over the table again to see the Prince drinking from his glass while looking straight at him, making him blush and then wonder if he was going to get into trouble.
Torankusu gave him a thumbs up sign before finishing his drink and running back into the crowd, leaving Gohan grinning to his back and then turning his attention to the apple. He wasn’t prepared when a hand pulled him out from behind the table and brought him face to face with Gero, the head servant who promptly pulled the younger man into an open wall Panel and back towards the kitchen yelling at him all the way.
“You’re a servant boy! Never forget that! You’re never going to live like that, you were born here, and you’ll die here!”
“Will not! I’m gonna get out of here sooner or later and then I’m gonna make myself rich!” Gohan yelled back.
“You and your wild dreams! You’ll soon learn,” Gero mumbled as he threw Gohan through the kitchen doorway.
Finally tiring of dancing, Torankusu let his sister go back to her friends and ran back up to the thrones to sit beside his parents once again. He looked back up at his father who was still watching the scene below them, pretending to be interested for a few minutes before he turned back to his son.
“What made you late tonight hmm?”
“I was showing Chichi something.” Torankusu said as he looked down at the floor, not wanting to give his father any chance to catch him out.
“That something was?”
“Well, I was finding some of my old school books for her to give to her son and teach him to read as well as a few other ones so that she could learn some more.” Torankusu admitted sheepishly.
“I thought I told you not to do that anymore,” his father answered.
“I know, but I had to.” Torankusu looked back up at his father, who despite his cold voice was wearing a small smile, telling him that he didn’t need to explain.
Father and son sat in silence, watching as Bulma left to go mingle with her relatives before Torankusu decided on a change of subject.
“Dad? Why do you have to go away to Paris?”
“Because I have business there that needs to be seen to, I’ll be back I always am,” Vegeta answered.
“Well yeah, but I miss you! It’s not as fun round here with just mum and Bra, they enjoy shopping too much!” Torankusu replied, pouting slightly.
“Don’t pout, but since I hear this same argument Every time I bought you something.” Vegeta stopped; making sure his son had ceased pulling faces, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a thick silver chain with a small bar across the front which was framed on either side with a small strangely shaped spike, which bore the inscription of “Together in Paris”
“You mean I get to come to Paris with you?” Torankusu asked excitedly, voice rising with every word.
“When you’re older, yes. Right now though, you have to stay here and finish your education. I’ll be here a lot of the time; I just have to make these trips every now and then,” the King replied as he continued going through his pocket.
“Why is it everything is always `when you’re older”? Why not now?” Torankusu asked, folding his arms and looking very much like his father.
“Because you’re eight years old. Here’s the other present,” Vegeta pulled a small silver box out of his pocket and holding it in front of Torankusu, and then taking he necklace and inserting one of the spikes into a keyhole.
Torankusu watched as the top of the little box lifted up, revealing nothing inside. Torankusu was about to ask about this when a quiet tune started up, barely audible above the music already being played, but Torankusu recognized the song immediately.
“Cool! I remember this! You used to sing it to me when I was little!”
“I did, but remember, you’re still little now, but I’m not singing it for you, especially not here!”
Torankusu laughed and closed the small box up again, looking up at his father with a grin.
“Thanks dad!”
“No problem, now you don’t have to be so depressed when I go away!”
“True,” Torankusu pulled the necklace over his head and slipped the music box into his pocket. Suddenly the lights in the hall began to flicker, causing everyone to look around bewildered as the looked for the cause of what was happening. Screaming started as a whirlwind started up in the middle of the dance floor, quickly becoming a small tornado and sending people off the dance floor while injuring others as it threw them against the palace walls.
As the wind reached it’s peak, a small explosion caused the center of the room to be filled with a thick, grey smoke, making the guests of the party retreat even further away to press up against the walls. The smoke quickly dispersed, not needing any wind to clear it away, leaving the lone figure in the center in full view of the crowd.
“Cell! You’re alive.” Vegeta said, mainly to himself, but through habit making it loud enough for everyone in the silent room to hear him. Moving down onto the dance floor, he kept his son behind him and walked calmly towards his wife and daughter, ushering them behind him as well.
“Yes I am, despite the fact that you had your men shoot me, poison me, throw me in an icy river and try to cremate me when they found the body, yes I feel fine!” Cell hissed, advancing on Vegeta and his family.
“I had nothing to do with it!” Vegeta replied.
“How else did your men take it into their heads to try and kill me?”
“I don’t know, but if I had wanted you dead I would have done it myself!” Vegeta half shouted, beginning to feel edgy with the strange looking man making it’s way closer to him and his family.
“After all I’ve done for your family! You try and kill ME!!”
“I just told you if I had wanted you dead..” Vegeta stopped as smoke began to collect around Cell once again, followed by dark shapes and moaning coming from inside the grey mass, making several people flee the hall and others crush themselves against the walls to keep as far away as possible.
“Your whole family line ends here Vegeta! You! Your wife! Your kids! And everyone else dies within the fortnight!”
The tornado of smoke started up again, faster and thicker than before, and then another explosion sounds, signifying Cell’s exit. As the smoke cleared, Vegeta and his family began to try and make themselves look composed again, before Vegeta notices the absence of his son behind him.
Looking around frantically, he soon found him stood on the spot where Cell had been right before he disappeared, fists clenched and head bowed in anger. Vegeta walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder, instantly calming the young Prince down.
A few days later, Vegeta and Torankusu are being rushed down a hallway amidst the screams and gunshots coming from the hallways behind them as an angry mob stormed the palace, looking to kill the main occupants. Torankusu stopped dead in his tracks outside his room and quickly rushed inside to fetch his music box from his room, ignoring his father’s shout from behind him.
Vegeta followed him in, not wanting to leave his heir alone and unaware of the dark pair of eyes that watched from the other end of the hallway, clearly tired and confused until some more gunshots sounded out not far behind him. He rushed up the corridor into the room the King and Prince had gone into and closed the door behind him.
“They’re coming up the corridor! This way!” without another word he threw himself at a wall panel, and letting it open to reveal a passageway.
“You can escape through the servants quarters! Go!”
Vegeta is the first to go in, and is quickly followed by Torankusu who is pushed in by Gohan, knocking the music box out of his hand. Torankusu reaches for it, but upon hearing the mob right outside the door, the dark haired boy shoved the Prince into the passage and closed the wall panel leaving barely a second before the mob broke through the door.
“There’s no one in here, lets try the next one!”
The crowd of people accept the boy’s words and leave the room, storming down the corridor and checking in each room they passed. Gohan picked up the music box, studying it for a moment, before slipping it into his pocket and leaving the room.
At the train station, two separate crowds of people mingled together, each with opposite goals. The Royalists, who were all trying to board the already crowded train to escape and other members of the mob who had been left outside, who were trying to stop them. As the train begins to pull away a car stops right on the tracks behind the last cart, leaving Vegeta and Torankusu to climb out and run after the train, both feeling thankful for the shouts of “The King! Make way!” which cleared some of the frenzied crowd.
Vegeta reached the train first, quickly spinning around and reaching out as far as he could to try and get hold of his son’s outstretched hand. Running as fast as he could, Torankusu managed to get hold of his father’s gloved hand, feeling his legs beginning to tire but refusing to slow down.
“Don’t let go dad!”
“I’m not!”
Watching his father instead of the track, Torankusu failed to notice where his feet were landing, making him yell out in shock as his toe caught something, ripping his fathers gloves off his hands and sending him flying to the ground.
“Torankusu!” Vegeta tried to leap off the train, but was held back by members of Bulma’s family, leaving him stuck on the train as it sped up leaving his son behind.
