Planet to Planet
Chapter Two
The medical center was in shockingly great shape with only a few stray cobwebs printed on the corners of the walls and furniture. The fluorescent lights worked just fine with the exception of the mini "thunder storms" that occurred every so often. With the lights on, both of the Saiya-jin easily noticed the specks of dust that lightly covered the tables and the domes of the rejuvenation tanks. It was not as bad as the outside and the other rooms; after all, a hospital, may it be tiny or large, was required to have sterile rooms. Perhaps that was what kept this room almost immune to the aging process.
Most of the vital medical computers had been air-vacuumed with a translucent sheet, and that included the rejuvenation tanks' computers. It would be useless if there was no more liquid, for without the curative water no one could be healed. It was not magic that controlled these machines; no one could get in a tank to be healed without getting wet!
Since there were separate water reservoirs for each tank, Toma could not be quite certain with testing. There were severe consequences, such as the fact that the test water is the only water there was left. If that was the case, then he would have just gone and made another fatal mistake for another. So while he was arguing aloud with Celipa, he had a serious debate in his head over what he should do so that he wouldn't make a single mistake.
He knew that having two separate arguments at the same exact time ranked as one of the top most difficult tasks known to the beings of the universe. Therefore the barbells of stress took a ride on his shoulders, and he hated for such things to have a free trip with him.
"I am fine," Celipa protested. A bonfire burned in her dark eyes, but that didn't take away the fact that she was lying. She stood with her back against the side of the counter to make it look like she could stand on her own. Toma knew better. He just wasn't sure if he should feel proud or annoyed that she was being persistent.
"Tell me, how many times will I have to listen to that poor excuse?" Toma snapped as he glared at one of the computer consoles. His irritation started to make its appearance, for his fingers drilled into the skin of his upper arms. Celipa did not seem to notice at all.
"Until you give up and let me just get some new clothing."
"I told you, Panboukin's taking care of that for us," he explained as calmly as he possibly could, but his low voice still trembled. "Do you really want scars all over your body?"
She just rolled her eyes and sighed out of exasperation. That only annoyed Toma further, since he was the one that should be in the state of verbal exhaustion. "I don't have wounds on every single limb," she pointed out. "It should be obvious, that. And they're healing already!"
"They're also infected," he retorted sharply. With that statement he loosened up a little too triumphantly, in the belief that he won that argument and could go on to continue the one in his head. To test, or not to test, that was the question. But his thoughts were interrupted by the young woman's incensed response.
"Damn you. Why should I be concerned with that?"
Toma rotated his head in order to face her, his eyes and mouth arranged of plead and aggravation. This time he sounded exactly the way he intended, and he hoped that it would convince her to get in.
"Because it's a matter of whether or not you can keep your limbs or if you receive worse scars than the entire Saiya-jin population put together," Toma waited for her response patiently, but when he received nothing he turned his attention back to the bubble in front of him. Right when he did, Celipa grunted in a high-pitched whisper. He knew then that he won. However, he couldn't help but to smirk and make one last comment. "You know, Bardock never complained whenever we put him in the tank."
"Bardock was always unconscious," Celipa snarled. "It doesn't count."
"Well, you would've been unconscious as well when I put you in if it hadn't been for the fact that we wanted you this tank as soon as possible. It would've been easier."
Silence followed the last sentence with no signs of any noise to come out of the female. Thus, Toma had time to decide what he was going to do to make sure that the rejuvenation tanks worked. When a couple minutes passed during his train of thought without any interruptions, he was relieved to know that he could contemplate over which was the best solution in a quicker manner. The questions that rotated in his head could not possibly be multiplied. For if they could, he would be standing in the same spot for hours!
If he didn't test, Celipa would be in and out quicker. That was important, no? But getting her healed was also important, so what if the liquid was contaminated? Or there was no liquid when he turned the machine on? She would be stuck in the tank for at least three hours! And what if the oxygen tanks were malfunctioning as well? Or rodents had tampered with the wires inside the computer?
Or what if he was worried for nothing?
If he did test, there was more of a chance for Celipa to get scars. Her skin was too perfect for her to get any at all! The 'losing a limb' part was merely a joke, perhaps to scare her a little. But who said it wasn't possible? Then there was also the possibility of the curative water being very limited, so that the test run would be the only run. Now the cycle of the mental argument started all over again.
After he tested the weights of both sides of the dispute, Toma knew what he had to do. Neither side won, but there was a compromise. It was much more risky than either of the previous choices, but he knew that this was the only way to do it if he were to get this done quickly.
Celipa would be the test and final run.
His eyes read content and worried, for he tried to look as reassuring as possible. She wouldn't give in to anything too easily anymore, so he had to be really cautious about his actions. He decided that the more trusting he appeared to be, the more she'd be convinced. After all, she never announced her agreement to even step inside the dome-shaped tank. Therefore she never promised. If he wasn’t careful that would be her next argument.
Toma spun on his heel to face the female Saiya-jin, and lifted a corner of his mouth up involuntarily. Her nose was scrunched, and the tip of her cheek covered a tiny portion of her left eye. Her scowl was directed towards the floor on the other side of the room, so he had a perfect profile view of her face. Awkwardly, he found her irritation at her earlier defeat entertaining, to say the least.
Just when he was about to open his mouth to speak, Celipa suddenly snapped. Her head shot to a ideal parallel stance in a sheer instant, and her eyes enlarged greatly. A couple seconds swept by before she was able to crack out three one-syllable words: "Oh hell no."
Toma furrowed his brows at her rapid mood conversion, and wondered if there was something that he missed a while back. On Meatsei? Involving the group's current separation? Something about the rickety condition of the headquarters? Or did she think of something that concerned only women? "'Oh hell no' what?" Toma questioned curiously.
She twisted her head towards his direction, her face once again transformed. There was a whole mixture among disgusted, annoyed, and disbelief. "You were going to put me in there? And you wanted me to get healed as quickly as possible? While I was knocked out?!"
The last two words had much more of an impact than the others, and it was those words that clicked something in Toma's mind after he pondered the words. It was then his turn to wear the disgusted mask.
"Celipa, I swear, sometimes you can be worse than all teenage males combined, you know that?" Toma snapped. It only took a couple seconds for him to grasp what she implied. What she implied what he previously intended to do was not correct one bit. In fact, it was just now that he realized that what she implied was actually what he had to do to allow her to get healed immediately.
"Oh, and as if the thought of you stripping me down naked never crossed your mind?!" She hissed through her gritted teeth. "I find that truly hard to believe, Toma!"
He rolled his eyes and let out a puff of air. "I am not a perverted freak!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms down in front of him. "If you want the truth I forgot about the whole stripping step before the tank. But you don't have to do it. You don't have to go in naked. In fact, I would very much prefer it if you didn't!"
"You know, that's-"
"Just get in," Toma commanded, in a tone much more calmer than previously. He slapped the side of his face and kept his palm there. He closed his eyes for a few moments in regret. They almost got into another argument. It wouldn't have been a big deal like the one on Meatsei was, as Celipa could not go anywhere on her own. He had much more will to stay and win the quarrel rather than storm off. Nevertheless, he knew that the companionship that they used to have between each other was now completely different.
"Are you sure I won't have to go in naked?"
"I'm damned sure," he confirmed, much more quietly than normal. If he sounded repentant, he sure didn't mean it. His true feelings of the moment were much more complex than that. "I'll help you in."
Celipa hesitated for a second before she agreed reluctantly. Toma was once again shocked at her sudden change of emotions, but dared not to ask anymore questions. They had wasted enough time as it is. There was no need to waste anymore.
"Strange looking building," Inu Taicho mused as he stroked his reptilian lime chin with his thumb. He lounged back in the traditional Butsudo-jin way, with his thick green tail that supported him like a chair, the blunt tip attached to the ground. Such a tail was quite convenient; it prevented any sleepiness to grow from his legs. And it was very much comfortable, especially after another long day of loading the Senchuu up with many goods from this building.
Taicho and the other two Butsudo-jin had been on this desolate planet for three days now, collecting what they could before the five day period was up. Five days was all the Pairetos ever had to 'rob', as some might say, a building or ship. The six of them were always on the run from the Colossal Police. Amazingly enough, the cops always caught up to them easily. Because of that, the five day period was highly enforced by Kone Shõgun, the leader of the Pairetos.
The building Taicho referred to was the one they had been scavenging from for the past three days. He never had the chance to stand back and observe the structure of the once-prosperous Planet Trade, and now that he did he saw that there were too many duck-shaped towers than necessary. Those beaks were just there for the design, after all. The Butsudo planet had only pyramids for towers so that the people could be more at one with their outside neighbors. The Planet Trade should have something like that, but stubby duck towers seemed to be all they could handle.
Ever since Taicho joined the Pairetos, he never returned home once. Shõgun never desired to go back, and the other Butsudo-jin, Rato Manaloto, had too much pride to even admit he was homesick. Taicho, on the other hand, asked again and again to Shõgun if they could go back to Butsudo for a vacation, to visit their family members and friends. Shõgun refused twice as many times as he was asked.
"It's too dangerous to go back," he always replied.
Why? Why was it so dangerous? Shõgun never gave an answer besides, "Because."
"Because what?" Taicho would ask, but never did. After all, the Butsudo-jin was known as one of the top ten strongest races in the universe. Shõgun ranked as one of the twenty-five percent of the strongest Butsudo-jin. Taicho was close into that range, but he knew that he would never make it in his life. Not that he was all that desperate; he knew that there were more important things to take care of first.
"Hey, Taicho!" A voice called from the ship behind him. "Let's get to work; Shõgun wants us to work until dinner."
"Or does he want us to work for dinner?" Taicho asked, standing upright so that his tail was no longer supporting him. He turned sideways just in time to see a forest green Butsudo-jin jump from the side of the ship. "And you do know that's an emergency exit, right? And that Shõgun will kill you if he found out?"
"Quit being such a goodie-goody," Manaloto snapped after he landed almost directly in front of Taicho's face. "And what's the difference between working for dinner or working until dinner. It's the same exact in Shõgun's mind. So come on; let's get to work. We might be able to get off this planet earlier than expected this time."
"Is Shõgun coming?"
"He said in a couple minutes," the darker Butsudo-jin replied, as if this was an every day thing. Well, it was, actually. "Now come on. We don't want him to catch up to us in a mere five minutes!"
"Fine then."
Silence was never a virtue, at least in Panboukin's impetuous mind. He never understood how and why others needed the lack of noise to think, and he never would. He hated isolation. Consequently enough, he started to miss the angry winds of Meatsei, despite that he never was able to concentrate well with the flying debris. He would rather take a riot over tranquility, especially since the tranquility had an eerie flavor pasted to it.
At least it wasn't total silence in the hall. The clapping of his footsteps ricocheted off the metal walls and produced hollow knocks. It was enough to help him continue his search for new armor and clothing without getting too frustrated, but he still had very little patience to open every single door. The only ones he even bothered to touch were the ones with ghostly plaques on them. The doors with no signs latched onto them he automatically assumed were living quarters for those who resided in one of these hellish buildings. Since most of the doors were just that, Panboukin had an extremely difficult time finding a storage area.
He hadn't been scavenging for very long, at the most half an hour. With his impatience he couldn't believe how unsuccessful he was so far. In fact, he started to regret that he even volunteered to find the scouters and clothing. He knew he would have been much more at ease if he were with any of the other three. When they last separated, the building of those Meatsei-jin punished them for their ignorance. Luckily, there was no disastrous weather that would harm any of them, so the ride here will go nice and smooth.
Panboukin still wanted to be with at least one of the other three. Not that he felt lonesome, it's just that he wanted to talk to someone. Socialize, something he hadn't done in a long while. However, he would be satisfied enough if he could just see Celipa in the rejuvenation tank. Although her persistence earlier indicated that she would be fine without the tank, he wanted to see all those wounds off her. The tank was the only way without leaving any scars.
However, he could understand her refusal very well. He had been inside of those tanks once or twice before and it was too overwhelming. Wires attached to the body while surrounded by sticky liquid inside a small bubble. If one weren't used to it, it would be hated. Especially for those who were even the least bit claustrophobic.
Suddenly he halted his footsteps and a stiff string replaced his mouth. "Bastard," he growled through his teeth. "You're going to overlook something if you don't quit thinking about things like that."
He held still for a couple seconds in an attempt to stare down the floor. His fingers eclipsed his palms while his nails curled to penetrate his skin. Panboukin couldn't stand feeling anything but remorse; after all, it was always his impatience and discomfiture that kept him from either saying the right things or saying anything at all. That was what kept getting everyone in trouble one way or the other.
It was not his past life's mistakes he was furious at. Oh no. Those mistakes were always resolved without anyone getting in deeper trouble than they deserved.
The horizontal surface under his neck dropped a centimeter, but his fists were still experiencing an earthquake. He never continued his walk --not just yet. He needed to take his anger out on something, and since this was an abandoned building no one would care too much. Unless the echoes carried out for over fifty meters, but that was impossible. There were so many abrupt or curved corners for any of the other three to hear anything. So he tightly gripped his thumb over his four fingers and whipped his fist into the wall that was right next to him.
Panboukin didn't expect a piece of the wall to topple down in front of him, producing a sound of a child beating pans over pans in the kitchen. To express his surprise, he just stood agape at the crinkled rectangle in front of him and moved nothing but his fluttering eyelids.
After he shook himself out of his trance, his exploring pupils shifted towards where the wall had torn. He let out one sharp and short chuckle once he saw a dimly lit opening. It matched the fallen segment of the wall perfectly --too perfectly. He knew pretty damn well that this was a room, a closet perhaps. He was reassured that he might have just found the items he was looking for. He wasn't surprised to find that he was right, either.
"I see!" Panboukin exclaimed as he approached the opening. "No hinges, no signs of a console to open this thing up. I guess the storage rooms were kept secret to protect it from pranksters. I wonder how people got this opened when the building wasn't so damned rusty."
Indeed, he had found the room that was filled with glass preservation cases stacked like building blocks. Inside each were jewels of blue, red, and green. At least, they were like treasure to him, for now none of the Saiya-jin had to go through a lack of communication. These little gadgets still worked; they had to! That's what the preservation cases were for! Especially since most Planet Trade members never had to go through more than four or five scouters during their entire careers.
"Well, I'd better go back and give these babies to the others," he muttered with enthusiasm as he knelt by a nearby box. "I know how they desperately they want these things."