Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or Full metal alchemist.  Funimation brings us these master works of anime on DVD.  Toriyama created DBZ, and Full Metal Alchemist belongs to its own creators.  I can only claim responsibility for the plot and the character of Atomique, Parsnip, Fermi, Bohr, Merlot, Cabernet and other fan characters here.  The only pay I get is your reviews so please keep them coming! And my thanks to those who have already reviewed!  Kudos and hugs to you!

Payment In Full

Home the Heroes

By Trynia Merin

 

***

At first glance all the Saiyans that sat with fused lips were two minutes short of ravaging one another according to Atomique.  Then she remembered the disparity in customs causing her to reassess the situation. 

 

Second blush revealed male Saiyans sitting at the long tables with their females sitting either on one knee or across their laps crosswise.  Each fed one another or chewed the food first before locking lips to share the mouthfuls.  Other then clasped hands; there was no significant sign of anything else happening.

 

Though their mouths were occupied with eating or drinking punctuated by the drone of conversation few PDAs surpassed the simple act of sitting on a male's lap.  Saiyans did not kiss as humans did, she had observed.  Rather rubbing cheeks together or biting along the sensitive ears and throat were their ideas of a kiss.  Nevertheless there was the food sharing that occurred, the closest thing to a French kiss.  It wasn't seen as the ultimate preamble to sex that humans deemed it to be. 

 

Her breath caught short at the sensation of his tail wrapping around her leg, only to uncurl and flicker elsewhere.  At the same time her own new limb flailed clumsily to lash against his bare thighs. Then she realized the truth. Beneath the table, many Saiyans performed naughty deeds unseen by the others.

 

Chablis and Cellulose sat side by side.  Perhaps it was because he was third class and she second that she did not sit on his lap.  Other exceptions were those who simply had Idsarjin females for concubines.  Many of the ultras had their pleasure slaves or concubines feeding them without the food sharing ritual.  Strangely the seconds and thirds were on a more equal footing.

 

"What about mating for life?" she asked.

 

"Humph?" he asked.

 

"The elite don't have mates do they?"

 

"No, they have concubines.  Only after a rigorous selection they pick a mate to bear young during rutting.  The other times they rely upon other sources.  But we don't aspire to that 'standard' because many of them were influenced by Frieza's distortions," Bardock snorted.  "Just because Ultras do it doesn't make it Saiyan."

 

"I'll remember that," said Tomique.

 

"Despite what they might tell you otherwise," Chablis nodded.  "One mate is MORE than enough for any male."

 

"Except members of the ROYAL families," said Fasha, shifting on Tora's lap.  Celipa did the same, on her mate's as well.  They were opposite one another, a few seats down from where Bardock and his son sat opposite each other with Lyssra and Tomique.  On Radditzu's other side sat Cellulose, then Chablis.  On his left was Parsnip with his acquisition.  Across from his cousin was Tangelo with a female.  One of Radditzu's squad mates.  Nearby another couple she didn't know as well, but suspected were extended kinspeople by blood.  Sauvignon was at the extreme end, while at the next table over, was Nappa and Cabernet at the head nearby of the closest ultra table.  A few other 'seconds' of which Cabernet and Sauvignon were members were the 'middle' ranking sorts.   Just when she thought she had figured out the society, it threw a curve ball.

 

"So how did Master Brolli come to be?" asked Tomique.

 

"Humph that is a reasonable question," Radditzu mumbled.

 

"Indeed it is," Chablis said.  "You might as well know this, Third class. Brolli claimed the leadership of the Saiyan race shortly after the planet exploded or was destroyed."

 

"Unlike some, he listened to my premonitions," Bardock interrupted.

 

"If I may, Lieutenant continue the story?" asked Fasha. 

 

"I am capable, corporal," Chablis snorted.

 

"She meant no disrespect," said Bardock quietly.  "I think it's perhaps appropriate to hear the story from another third class to gain the proper perspective."

 

"Humph I suppose I can be appeased," Chablis mumbled.

 

"Always the silver tongued one, Father," laughed Radditzu.  "Do tell, Fasha, it is always so much MORE entertaining coming from you."

 

"Hearing that from you is a major surprise," mumbled Celipa. 

 

"What was that?" Radditzu asked.

 

"Nothing, it's just a surprise to hear that you actually enjoy my sister's stories," Celipa answered.

 

"It must be the end of the world," Tora said.

 

"They mean no disrespect," Cellulose quickly said.

 

"I'm in an amiable mood.  I don't need YOU to play mediator," Radditzu snorted at Cellulose.  "Let's just say that I have been far too occupied till lately to fully appreciate them, Fasha."

 

"Flatterer.  I guess you picked up that smooth tongue after all from your sire," Fasha said.  "But I'll let you get away with it THIS Time."

 

"Provided you continue to grace us with your occasional presence along with your new mate," Tora said pointedly.

 

"Point taken.  Previous actions were taken in haste.  Though some of us have been promoted to a superior rank, it is sometimes easy to forget wisdom and experience," Radditzu nodded.

 

"Wow, he's laying it on thickly," Lyssra whispered to Bardock.  Radditzu if he had heard was gracious enough to not acknowledge her comment.

 

"Give me a break," mumbled Idaho.

 

"Shh," whispered his father.  "This is a reasonably GOOD development.  Who cares if he's kissing his sire's tail.  Maybe he'll be remotely BEARABLE."

 

"I'll risk that," nodded Celipa, whispering to him.  "Anyhow, as you were saying sister?"

 

"As our leader said, Lord Paragus had listened to Bardock's premonitions.  So he gathered together the surviving Saiyans on a new world Alvegasei, formerly a Saiyan training planet in the same system," Fasha said.

 

"But aren't you aware WHO or WHAT caused the explosion?" asked Tomique. 

 

"Very painfully," said Bardock with a grimace. 

 

"Is that something I'm supposed to know?" asked Tomique.

 

"Just know this. Freiza has little love for us Saiyans.  He only leaves us alone because Lord Paragus swearing loyalty to King Cold.  Freiza was not allowed to touch Paragus or Brolli because their power and their bond was that of a Chilla's honor code.  They adopted the official Chilla bonding that could not be broken.  As such, Brolli was considered one of the sons of the Chilla dynasty, having replaced Cooler after a battle."

 

"So you know that Freiza is responsible?" asked Tomique.

 

"Yes, to our disgust," said Fasha.  "Freiza hates his adopted brother because he was Saiyan.  But he could not move against him.  That kept him in check.  Master Brolli's power was only activated when needed."

 

"So as long as Brolli rules us Freiza could tolerate their existence.  Still he was most satisfied that their Prince had been eliminated," Bardock mumbled.

 

"And you should know about the Prince.  You deserve to know why Master Brolli leads us.  He's the last Noble that survived," said Fasha.

 

"It's like this love.  He disappeared after an assignment with Bok Choi to purge Jhyweyl. While the planet was delivered, the Prince had gone missing," said Radditzu.

 

"Ugh," shuddered Atomique.

 

"Not knowing their true numbers, he let Bok Choi handle them.  Yet it would be a matter of time before they learned that Turles had killed Bok Choi himself, and had annexed his quadrant for Brolli's little alliance of Idsarjins and Androni.  Even the Androgen in the third zone had leant a hand, their tastes being very Saiyan in nature," snickered Fasha.

 

"So, you hate Freiza.  And you're just waiting for the right time to be strong enough to stop him?" asked Atomique.

 

"Yes," nodded Fasha.

 

"How does he keep from learning about this place?  Is that why you hid your true numbers from me?" asked Atomique.

 

"Special inventions masked our kis, so nobody knew how many there are," said Bardock.

 

"That you invented," said Lysrra, nipping his ear.  He blushed.

 

"I want to know how you raise children here?  Do you shoot them into space?" asked Atomique.

 

"We learned our lesson well," said Radditzu with a snort.  "Didn't we?"

 

"Instead of sending infants offworld, larger ships would perform 'purging' duties while the females and youths remained behind on Idsarsei or Alvegasei.  Their Legendary would protect them," said Cellulose proudly.

 

"Wait you still purge?" asked Atomique quietly.

 

"Only when it suits our purpose," said Radditzu quietly.  "And the time for such activities is merely a cover for finding the Prince."

 

Bardock glared at his son, who shut up.  "But nobody knows if he's dead or alive," Fasha quickly said.

 

"Apologies," Radditzu said. 

 

"You still… Purge?" asked Atomique quietly.

 

"That is under reevaluation," said Bardock.  "We don't needlessly slaughter the life forms that inhabit planets.  They are sold as slaves or servants to the customer.  It's more expedient to take worlds that are war torn and ravaged and on the brink of destruction.  It's the scout's job to assess.  Then purging teams are sent in to deal with the hostile party."

 

"So you don't just kill for the hell of it?" asked Atomique.

 

"If they are too weak to fight, we don't bother," said Radditzu with a snort.  "I like prey that fights, remember."

 

"You only kill if provoked or challenged?" she nodded.

 

"Absolutely," Radditzu said.  "Unless the life forms are far too damaged or diseased to live, or they have sufficiently wasted their planet's resources to deserve to live."

 

"Oh," she said quietly.

 

"But we digress," said Bardock. 

 

"She needs to know more about Bok Choi," Fasha interrupted.  "And what a drek sucking piece of whore's trash he is."

 

"Great," said Tomique, shivering in Radditzu's grasp.

 

"Attacking the Destroyer holdings in your dimension was the tip of the iceberg," said Fasha.

 

"Hmm," Atomique mumbled, feeling the cold overcome her.  She felt numb and simply lay back to listen to the tale that was spun.

 

"We followed the leads to informants of Freiza, who had revealed Bok Choi's treachery.  In response they had taken on the contract proposed by lord Pepperjack to purge at least ten of Bok Choi's planets so new Androgen and Idsarjin settlers could take back their holdings," said Bardock.

 

"Yes, and together with the Saiyans, the Idsarjin, the Androgen, the Zelbranian and others in the 'Third Zone' had struck back.  We're hoping to gain enough planets and wealth from their new customers, the Mantissans to counter Freiza and overthrow him," said Fasha. 

 

"And just for the record, the Mantissans were supremely powerful artificial life forms that colonized and studied worlds," said Tora.

 

"Yes, one of the Prince's first projects was to purge the native inhabitants so the Androni could take over the home world, and create the Cybernam as their warriors.  That meant purging the entire native civilization that threatened the Androni.  The Jhywelyians were their name," said Radditzu. 

 

"One of your first big time jobs that put you into Napa's good grace, eh?" asked Fasha with a nostalgic look.

 

"Mr. Big time Sergeant.  Nice that you're finally remembering everyone below you," said

Tora.

 

"Humph I'd rather remember this lovely female below me, in a few hours," Radditzu said as he purred into Atomique's ear.

 

"Huh?" she asked, jolting awake there in his lap.  Still the sounds of bones clattering into platters echoed along with laughter and booming voices. 

 

"You'd best hurry up and get out of here before they suspect you're bored," teased Chablis.

 

"Shut up," she grumbled.

 

"It's been quite overwhelming, being reunited with her mate, has it not?" he asked, giving her the out she desperately needed.

 

"How long do we have to sit here?" she asked.

 

"You not into a full fledged banquet, female?" Cellulose asked.

 

"I wish to be alone with him, if it's ANY of your business," Tomique glared at him angrily.  Something about that guy really crawled under her skin, so she had no reservations about staring him down.

 

"It IS late, and I don't think that there's any harm in going home.  The elite are going to brag for hours by the look of it," Bardock said, glancing at Lyssra with another hunger in addition to food.

 

"We only have to stay for the dedication, and that's already been said," Lyssra explained, leaning her head against his shoulder.  "Is that what you're worried about?"

 

"I don't want to piss someone off, but its getting pretty overwhelming being here," Tomique nodded, her head reeling with the various realizations.  "There's so much I don't know."

 

"Perhaps we should retire, eh, Father?" Radditzu said with a note of some respect.  "Knowing Nappa he won't shut up for hours, and they'll take no notice of their subordinates leaving early."

 

"Well, for ONCE I'm not too broken up about that," Bardock laughed deeply.  "Let these sods eat and drink themselves into oblivion while the rest of us get down to doing what really matters.  I say we all depart and make GOOD use of the time we now have."

 

"Hear here," answered a few of his squad mates.

 

"Stupid question number fifty bazillion, where exactly IS home, since we're NOT on the ship?" Tomique glanced.

 

"Details, details," Chablis laughed.  "Go on home thirdlings.  Enjoy yourselves."

 

The second class waved a dismissive hand, and the entire table pushed away to depart.  Other groups of third and second class Saiyans were already milling out.  Empty benches bore witness to the fact that most were already leaving the first and elite to continue without them.  At the main table, Pepper and some of the other females were clustered around Lord Paragus and Master Brolli.  Both powerful rulers listened between huge mouthfuls of food the females were feeding them to Turles and other high ranking commanders.  It seemed like groupies trying to get a piece of a rock star's attention.  Brolli seemed quite desirable in his hulking muscular way, but something about him made her sick to her stomach.

 

"Jerk," she thought. 

 

Radditzu's arm never left her waist while they exited after other squad mates.  She noticed they were following his father and Lyssra away to a side hallway.  They had separated from the main group.  Exit greetings were shot across the widening gaps from Tora and other members of his group.  Judging from the gleaming innuendo in the male's eyes Tomique could tell they were secretly congratulating him on the night he would soon have after a triumphant homecoming.

 

"Don't take TOO long," one of them whispered to the other.

 

"Shut up and get the hell out of here," he grunted to his squad mates.  They whacked one another on the shoulders just like males back on earth.

 

"Before I and the other females tear your eyes out," Lyssra added, far bolder than she had ever been before her modification.  Throughout training the fourth class scientist had taken to her new form well.  Tomique had pushed aggression to the forefront to get through their equivalent of basic training out of necessity, not out of eagerness.

 

Now it was anyone's guess as to what would happen next.  The most certain thing revolved around sexually pleasuring the male who clutched her close.  He had been without her and sex for a long time, so he probably expected a very long reunion.  Somehow that fact excited her, and that revelation frightened Atomique.  How had she gone from coupling with him out of loneliness and necessity to thirsting for him?

 

"This way, whelps," Bardock motioned his son and his mate and new daughter in law. 

 

"I know the way father," Radditzu laughed, his own arm satisfactorily filled.  Atomique exchanged a nervous glance with a besotted Lyssra.

 

"You'll like it.  Much nicer than shipboard quarters," explained Lyssra. 

***