When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was the soft velvety feel of whatever it was that she was lying on. It surrounded her entire body it seemed, like light fingers touching her all over. The second thing she noticed, when she was finally able to blink her eyes, was the glow of a nearby fire. It was crackling loudly, loud pops startling her out of her groggy state. Although she should have felt the warmth from the fire, she just felt nothing. No warmth, no coldness, nothing. She was beginning to hate how they lived here, shut off from all feeling. Opening her eyes all the way, she was startled to find Sukuashi sitting in a chair, very close to her.

She sat up quickly, and placed her hands in front of her body, as if to shield herself. Sukuashi smirked, and stood up silently, moving towards her so slowly that it seemed like he was floating. “ChiChi.” He said in a deep voice, and nodded once.

“What do you want?” She asked him quietly, leaning back slightly so that she was further away from him. She was on a bed of some sort, wrapped up in thick, red velvet coverings. The room was dark except for the fire, and fear was dancing in her heart.

He suddenly glared. “Now is that any way to speak to your mate?”

I’m not your mate and never will be your mate. Go to hell, you pathetic excuse for a Saiya-jin. And take your sick ideas with you. ChiChi thought, but merely said, “I am not your mate yet.”

Sukuashi placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Hai. You’re right. And you won’t be my mate until Koronu is taken care of. There are some….complications, but she should be out of the picture very, very soon.”

ChiChi’s heart sank. If Koronu died, she would have no chance of ever getting home. Koronu was her only chance. And also….She thought, suddenly remembering. My family, as well. Gokuu’s mother, after all these years I finally met her. It was odd the way fate worked. How she had ended up here, with Gokuu’s mother, by mere chance, by complete accident….It was incredible. She was beginning to realize that there was indeed a plan, sort of a mapped of version of life. And no matter how you tried to fight it, you would end up exactly how you were intended to end up. Whether Gokuu had been there or not, she still would have ended up on this snowy planet, fighting for her life.

Though Koronu hadn’t shown her any real kindness, and though she was scared herself, she knew that she had to do something to protect her. Gokuu would be proud. Everyone would be proud, if she could just pull herself together and accomplish this one thing. All the people that thought she was an awful nag, all the people that thought she was worthless and weak….She would show them all. A strength began burning in her heart, flickering lightly there, warming her entire body. It wasn’t the kind of strength that came with muscles and ki, it was the kind of strength that came from her soul. It warmed her all over, tingling into her limbs, and she closed her eyes slightly, letting the feeling take her over.

This is it. She thought, excitement surging through her. From now on, I am going to be strong. For now on, I am going to fight for my life like nothing else. I can do this, and I will do this. For me, for Gokuu, for our sons, for my father, for my friends, and for every other person that ever felt trapped and helpless. The watering in her eyes cleared, her shaking stopped, and she became solid and confident in seconds, as still as a statue.

“I will never be your mate.” ChiChi informed him, straight faced. “You had no right to take me, and no right to keep me, and you are going to get what you deserve.”

“You think so?” Sukuashi asked, raising an eyebrow. His features were drawn in anger, his eyes glaring steadily into hers. “And what exactly is it that I deserve?”

ChiChi stared him dead in the eye. “Death. Death in the most painful, humiliating fashion possible.”

Sukuashi tilted his head slightly. “And are you, a weak Earthling, supposed to carry out this threat?”

“Whenever, whoever. You will get what you deserve, I promise you that.” She threatened him, and anger swept through her like a wave. He really did have no right to take her from her home, to try and force her to be his. It wasn’t right, it wasn’t fair. “And even if you don’t, I will never, ever love you or obey or do anything you want me to do.”

He narrowed his eyes. “I think you’ve been spending too much time with Koronu. Since you’re new here, I’ll forgive you for your ignorance, but that kind of impudence is not tolerated. Koronu doesn’t have any voice here, and neither does anyone else. What I say is the law, what I do is everyone else’s example. If I want something, I’ll have it. If I want you, I’ll have you.” He looked her up and down again, in a way that made ChiChi’s skin crawl. “I am the leader here. I make the rules, I enforce the punishment, and I do what I want to do! And no one, no one is going to question my authority.”

Sukuashi turned suddenly, throwing the chair out of the way. It slammed into the stone wall with a crash, splintering pieces of it in every direction. “I refuse to have another insolent mate! You will obey me! If you don’t, you are going to die exactly the way she is going to die! I’ll kill you, don’t even doubt that I will. I could do it in seconds, with a flick of my hand!”

“If it’s so easy for you, then why isn’t she already dead?” ChiChi shot back, shaking her head.

He glared back at her. “There are some complications with the Council. It isn’t my doing. If it were up to me, she would be dead ten times over. But tomorrow the Council will be out of the way, and there will be no one to question the attack….” He trailed off, then seemed to gather himself again, smirking at her.

ChiChi paused. “What are you going to do?”

“Interesting, that you should ask.” Sukuashi smirked. “The plan has been in motion for a long while now, but will finally but put into action this very night. We just had to select the right victim, and I believe I have found him. It will be staged, blamed on someone else, in the most brilliant, perfect way. My Saiya-jin general, quite a loyalist himself, will be our lucky victim.”

She shook her head slowly. “I don’t understand.”

He snorted. “I couldn’t expect a lowly human like yourself to understand anyway.” His eyes met hers. “Koronu will die by blade, cut at the throat. And though this death will not be done the general’s doing, he will be accused of it, no less, and sentenced to death by the Council. And then two of my enemies will be out of the way. Tonight, after dark, Koronu will leave her room and go out to the snowy fields for her usual walk. And there, hidden in the snow, Pi will be waiting for her.”

She was silent, turning the plan over in her mind. She had to warn Koronu somehow, had to let her know that she was in serious danger.

“And then, once I’m rid of her, you will be my mate.” Sukuashi informed her. “You could pass for a Saiya-jin easily, once the injections are complete.” He paused. “Speaking of, as soon as the infirmary is free once more, you will be sent there again for the last part of your treatment.”

“What if I don’t want to be a Saiya-jin?” She challenged.

“You don’t have a choice.” Sukuashi met her eyes quickly.

“I would rather die than become one of you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Keep that attitude up and you just might.”

He started towards her, slow, angry, threatening steps, and ChiChi fought hard to keep her composure. She couldn’t possibly show any fear, let him know in any way that she was scared of him. She locked her jaw and tightened up her limbs, preparing herself to fight back. She knew she wouldn’t win against a Saiya-jin, the idea was absolutely absurd, but she wasn’t going to go without a fight. As he stalked towards her, powering radiating from his body, a knock suddenly sounded at the door.

They both paused.

“What is it?!” Sukuashi demanded, yelling at the door.

“Sir, the Council would like to see you.” A small voice came from the other side of the door. “Immediately.”

“Kuso.” Sukuashi cursed, and he glared at ChiChi suddenly. “Stay here. Don’t touch anything. Don’t let anyone see you.”

ChiChi did not reply, and he looked at her sharply. “Did you hear me?” He growled.

She still said nothing, forcing herself to remain strong and silent. He walked towards her slowly until he was inches away from her, nose to nose. “Did you hear me?!” He questioned, his voice on edge.

When she still did not answer, he suddenly reached down and grabbed the frame of the bed, flipping it over with ChiChi still sitting on it. She flew through the air, slamming into the stone wall, covering her face and curling into a ball just as the bed slammed into her and broke against the stone. Pieces of wood and velvet went flying, and the metal from the frame stabbed her in the side, drawing blood. She lay there for a moment, in certain shock, then put her head down on the stone floor, bleeding. She took one deep breath, then another, until she was certain that she was okay.

“Insolent bitch!” Sukuashi screeched from somewhere. “You’re lucky I have someplace to be, or you would be dead.”

There were heavy footsteps then a slam of the door, and he was gone, sucking the evil energy out of the room with him. It was quiet again, except for the occasional pop of the fire nearby. ChiChi choked back a sob and tried to move, but the bed was awfully heavy and she was pinned against the wall. She closed her eyes for a moment, then with shaking hands and all the power she had in her, she managed to push the heavy bed slightly away from her. She put her hand down to wear the metal had cut her, checking to see how serious it was, but she didn’t appear to be hurt too badly. Blood was streaming down from a cut above her eyebrow, and she put her other hand there, to stop it from dripping into her eye. Wearily, she stood on her feet and moved around the bed slowly, taking unsteady steps. She felt dizzy.

She plopped down on the stones in front of the fireplace, staring into the bright orange flames, trying to regain her sense of balance. Sukuashi is going to kill Koronu….tomorrow. If they’re planning to assassinate him, they’re going to have to do it soon. There’s hardly any time at all. I’m here by myself in his room….I should take advantage of it. Koronu said that the key to the code was somewhere in here, I just have to find it. She looked back from the fire towards the rest of the room, barely lit by the flames. There were no windows in Sukuashi’s room, no evidence of the snow outside. Except for the bed, the only piece of furniture was a large, dark piece of wood in the corner, which almost resembled a freestanding closet.

ChiChi stood up from her spot by the fire and waddled over it, running her hands over the smooth, dark surface. She found and handle and pulled gently, scared of what she might find inside. The door opened easily, with just a small creak, and ChiChi stared inside, squinting to see in the firelight. There was a glint of metal there, shining in the darkness, and as ChiChi stared closer, she found that it was actually a sword. A huge, threatening sword, with the handle enclosed in a velvet casing. She closed the door quickly, and turned so that her back was against it, startled. She hadn’t exactly been expecting to see weapons. Vejiita and Gokuu both relied so heavily on their own fighting skills that weapons seemed rather unnecessary. Especially such a deadly looking weapon.

“Where….” She said out loud, opening up the other closet door. A row of drawers were before, small, thin drawers with tiny gold knobs. She gingerly opened the top drawer, and stood on her toes so she could see its contents. There were several small knives, all placed neatly in velvet loops, glinting up at her. They didn’t look like weapons, more like sharpening tools or a collection, perhaps. Most of the other drawers held various articles of clothing and small pieces of armor, all in the same colors: dark red and black. A small object, which she thought might be some sort of scouter was in one of the drawers, sitting by itself in some sort of box. When she opened the last drawer, she found a neat stack of papers, which looked old and dry in the dark.

Her heart leapt, and she lifted the stack out, sorting through them. There was documentation there, several exact notes of what appeared to be an explanation of the Saiya-jin lifestyle and structure of their society, formations for battle, and a map of the planet. She looked at the map for a long while, turning it sideways and upside down, trying to get an exact location of where she was. The corkscrew building that she was in and several other small structures appeared to be the only buildings on the entire planet. The rest of it was pure snow, a vast area of uncharted land. To the upper right of the last building in the compound, there was a small line, which branched off into several other lines, taking turns and twists throughout a great deal of the planet. Next to one of the lines, in very small, very dark writing was written: ice tunnels. The next paper in the stack was a more exact layout of the ice tunnels. There were building plans and explanations of several weapons, including the weapon that they had shot Piccolo with when they first took her. The last few pieces of paper were labeled: history. She had a sudden inclination to read was written in the papers, but decided it would be better to put it back in the drawer. If they ever survived this, Koronu could tell her anything that she wanted to know about the history of the Saiya-jin race.

ChiChi gently placed all of the papers back in the drawer, careful to put them back in exactly the same position. She had never thought that the Saiya-jins would be so completely organized and structured. Gokuu wasn’t much for cleaning and organization, but glancing at the order in Sukuashi’s things, she guessed that he must be.

So organized and yet I still can’t find the key to the code. She pushed the last drawer into place and sighed in defeat, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

She slid down the front of the dresser and sat there with her knees tucked up to her chest, staring at the fire. The room was so bare and this was the only piece of furniture in it. If the key to the code wasn’t in there, then she had no idea where to look next. The fire flickered, and she turned away from it, staring at the bare stone walls. She suddenly longed for her home, with it’s clean, comfortable feeling, her plants and pictures and soft, worn furniture. She had always felt warm and safe there, always loved the view out of her windows and the way a breeze would float in on sunlight afternoons. Here there was nothing like that. There was no comfort in the bleak stone walls, no warmth from the fire, and no light in the darkness. It was just a vast, empty, cold and snowy place. ChiChi hated it, and she wanted to go home.

The fire popped again and she slowly turned to face it. It was an open fireplace, sort of, the stones on the floor meeting the base of the fire, tucked away into the wall. Pieces of the bed that Sukuashi had smashed were lying on the stones near it, turning red on the edges with warmth. The bed itself was merely a dark, broken form on the other side of the room, springs and splinters sticking out every which way. As she stared at the bed, a sudden bit of light caught her eyes. Stuck between the frame and the velvet coverings, very near the fire, was a small package. She cocked her head and squinted her eyes, trying to see it better. It was a tiny, flat paper square, wrapped in some odd type of string. It had obviously been hidden in the bedding.

ChiChi’s eyes widened and she scrambled to her feet, rushing towards the bed. She grabbed the package, ripping it slightly as she tore it away from its hiding place. She dropped to her knees in front of the fire and gingerly unwrapped the string, revealing the package. It was folded several times into exact squares, another strange example of Saiya-jin preciseness. And on the inside of the paper were dozens of symbols and explanations, written in dark red ink.

In the glow of the fire, her face lit up into a smile.

Chapter 42
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