An Amity Revived
Chapter Nine
Like a snail slithering across the plains, black became a grayish-red. Gradually very little light at a time was allowed in, causing the visibility to see the outline of the horizon and other surroundings. There was no semi-circle coming from either horizon yet, but that would come in a couple of hours. Even with the excessive amount of clouds, the sun shouldn't be difficult to view until the entire star was suspended in the sky. Only then would it be hidden from every rock and person on the planet by the evaporated liquids and the steam.
Meanwhile, the storms that had become bothersome to the Saiya-jin had died down to a mere breeze, producing only a roar heard from a distance while it bounced off of empty canyon walls. The temperature was still ranging from a hundred to a hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit, but if one were to be around for a while, he would be quite used to it.
It had been three hours of sleepiness; not a wink of sleep gained. It was nothing for the sub-leader; he had gone a week without sleep several times before. However, Panboukin found it extremely bothersome. He did everything he could think of to stay awake: paced back and forth, took out his anger on a few large pieces of debris, and most of all complained. It worked, but not enough for him to survive his languor.
Toma had been sitting in the same spot for the past few hours, arms folded roughly across his chest, eyes closed and head hung down. Whenever Panboukin shot out his thoughts, Toma always dismissed them with simple answers before going back into his state of deep meditation.
Once or twice Panboukin would ask why he had returned and what it was he wanted to tell him and the others. The only answer he received was, "I told you: when Totepo and Celipa returns. Now shut the hell up and be patient!"
"Telling me to be patient," Panboukin muttered this time, looking back to the distance. He kept blinking in a twice-than-normal speed, a sign that he was struggling to stay awake. It seemed he was trying to look out for one of the other two that were to return; however, he was too tired to actually have any concern for either of them.
He almost didn't notice a tall figure approach. Totepo had come calmly, not causing any surprise to either of them. Had it been Toma, and in some cases Celipa, Panboukin would have been irritated at their arrival since it always came too quickly. It seemed as if Totepo had been flying low to the ground the entire time as though he was acting like a plane: descending slowly with every unit of measurement. He landed on the ground softly yet with the same cold expression as always, except that this time his eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
Toma lifted his face to see the man who had just returned, and a smirk came across his face. He stood to get a better eye-to-eye view, although with Totepo's incredible height, it would be near to impossible. Toma's arms never uncrossed. "No need to tell me. Let me guess. You found it." Totepo nodded, a corner of his mouth tugging upwards. This only made the sub-leader's smirk go in deeper. Although he knew the answer already, he wanted to hear it from someone else, despite the fact it wasn't his nature to do such a thing. "And?"
Totepo let his head go down in a half nod manner, the corner of his mouth finally shooting deep into his cheek. "It seems as if our commander has left the planet alive and well."
"I knew it," Toma replied smugly. Not once did his confidence in the father of two males, the close friend to them all, waver. Never had it before, never will it for as long as he lives --the second time around.
"Well then, maybe now you can go ahead and tell us whatever it was you wanted to tell us," Panboukin cut in, his patience finally reaching its edge. He didn't show it. His face wore the run-of-the-mill smirk; probably as a sign that he was satisfied that he will most likely get the answer he was literally losing sleep over.
Luck wasn't on his side this morning.
Both Totepo and Toma heads turned to face him. Totepo, as usual, seemed indifferent minus the readable expression in his eyes, which gave the assumption that he was a little confused. Toma continued to look annoyed at Panboukin, and gave him a tiny "tsk" noise. He let out a breath of air, and then let his irritation show in his voice.
"Moron," Toma growled, scooting his foot so his body could be in the opposite direction Panboukin was facing. "What did I tell you?"
"You said when Totepo and Celipa returns. Totepo's back," the overweight Saiya-jin responded, jerking his head towards the Totepo, his thin eyes still locked on Toma.
"Exactly. That's why I'm not telling you right now," the sub-leader snapped. Totepo lifted an eyebrow only a couple millimeters in curiosity and, as usual, said nothing. His curiosity was not with what secret Toma had, but something a little more personal, which soon to came to a surprise that Panboukin had not yet noticed. "I think I should've put an emphasis on 'and' since you're so thickheaded to get it through your skull that I was speaking of when both of them returned. Not when only when one of them did."
Panboukin folded his arms in front of his mid-torso with the nastiest scowl that has ever been worn on him. Ever. "You may as well just tell us since Celipa won't be coming back for a while."
"Not unless we-" Toma began, but he cut himself off, remembering the "little" setback they had. It was the entire reason why he had to sit around and wait for them to return. They lacked a source of communication. Telepathy wasn't exactly something Saiya-jin were taught during their training sessions if they were to have any. It was too complex and no one wanted to waste his time on it. The scouters they had once worn over their left eye had been dissolved before their demise, so even locating each other would be difficult.
An uncomfortable stillness flew by, but not on swift wings. Panboukin kept giving Toma a triumphant glare. Totepo, too, was gazing at him, but skeptically. The sub-leader disregarded their stares, completely ignoring their presence while he entered the state of deep thought. Again. The other two did not disturb it with a sound or a physical movement. It wasn't that they were scared; they never were. It was merely for the respect.
"Alright," Toma muttered quite reluctantly. He let out a breath of air, a short one that sounded as if he gave out the last hard pant before going into softer ones that were not perceptible. "I have a plan about how we can shorten the time we have to stay on this worthless planet. Totepo, tell me where Bardock's landing site is."
Totepo's finally emotion-filled face had melted back into the state of hollow interest exactly at the point when Toma's head started to swivel towards him. It wasn't much of a transformation, but it was enough to block the sub-leader's knowing of the other's suspicions. To keep it that way, Totepo answered quite simply, "Only less than a hundred miles from the location of our expiration."
"Shouldn't be too far then," the murmuring returned, and Toma's pupils moved to the upper left corners with thought, but only a quick strand of thought this time. "Show me where it is exactly. Panboukin, you stay here and wait for Celipa. You know, in case she gives up."
"What was that supposed to imply?"
"She'll get tired eventually. If not, then she'll run into the crater in which one of us has to be there for," Toma explained patiently, returning to his old self again. "And just as you're determined for some sleep and to return home, I'm willing to get back in touch with Bardock again as quickly as possible. It's probably better if all four of us leave at the same time so nothing chaotic happens."
"Things may get chaotic enough once he sees us alive again."
"That's a good point," Toma agreed, before turning to Totepo. "So, let's go. We've wasted a little more time than necessary. Let's get Celipa and go home. Then," he shot a quick glance towards Panboukin, "I'll tell you what we should've thought of before separating."
"We're just doing it all over again," Panboukin pointed out gruffly, the lack of sleep creeping in further and further.
"This time it's to end the previous one. I hope that wasn't too complex to enter your brain," the sub-leader's ugly personality returned. Totepo saw this immediately and made a gesture to leave this time without entering an argument or explanation. Toma acknowledged the gesture with a sharp nod. "We'll be back later."
The two of them lifted into the air and blasted off, showing the white flare to indicate their trail and power. Quickly the figures vanished into the near dark light of the sky, the trails dissolving swiftly or slowly enough for them to be witnessed. The sound of a jet roared and turned soft at the same speed, only a few seconds slower.
When it became silent once more, Panboukin realized that he could finally get the sleep he had been longing forever since he had been awakened from the first nap. He grunted and muttered, "No one will give a damn."
He trudged solemnly to his crater happily. Sleep was the most important issue. After he got the rest, then he will be able to worry about the "secret" Toma had with him. Then he will be able to worry about the whereabouts of Celipa. Then he would be more than happy to return to Vegetasei and find out what exactly had occurred that caused the assassins to come and kill him. He knew it had something to do with Freeza, considering Toma's previous ramblings.
Could it be that Freeza...?
No, of course not.
Panboukin slid down the crater and settled back into his spacepod, quickly forgetting his previous thoughts as he drifted to sleep, the door closing in front of him. Some things were handled best once rest was achieved. Especially since there was no one to discuss these issues with at the moment.