What did everyone think of book 1? Was is great or just okay? Or was it horrible? You have to tell me these things you know!

The New Age Empire
Book Two: Quest for Agalar

New Character Bios: (so far there's only one)

Magori
Age: 7
Height: 3'5
Weight: 40 lbs
Eye color: Black

Description: He's the little Namekian boy that told Mia of the bars and hugged her when he was freed. After leaving Suk'dn-sei and returning to Namek-sei, he didn't want to leave her so Muri gave them permission to 'adopt' him. Magori is small and basically looks like your standard Namekian.

Hobbies: Playing with Jakina, hanging around Mia, hearing stories about what happened on Chikyuu long ago.

(Maybe if I can get it right, you'll have pictures for all of the characters. I have one for Jakina but...)

 

~Chapter One: The Ancient Ring of Suk'dn-sei~

Vegeta's subjects loved watching he and their commander spar every morning even if they couldn't see them half the time. There was just something about the way they fought, how concentrated they were on that task, that just took their breath away. Of course it would be better if the king won in those matches but they would take whatever they could get.

At first Vegeta was seriously annoyed at them watching. Why would he want someone to see him get beaten by Kakarott every single day? But as he became used to it, he used it as a time to show off just how strong and skilled he was. This also resulted in Goku beating him even faster because he wasn't paying close enough attention.

Every morning after their spar, Goku would go and find the kids and he would go and look at paperwork. He hated this even more than Trunks did. There was always some land dispute or some proposed law sitting on his desk waiting to be looked over. On old Vegeta-sei they had only one law: obey the king or die. Unfortunately this couldn't be put to use on Chikyuu.

Vegeta's royal office was sort of dark and gloomy. He had picked out the wall covering, the flooring, and the furniture himself saying that it would help him concentrate. Far be it from everyone to try and figure out just how his mind worked. Anyway, he was sitting in his office, the one with the dark wood panneling and equally dark wooden floor, staring at a rich, polished maple desk that was covered in paperwork and sighed.

"It's times like these that make me regret taking this job."

Just as he was about to write down a rejection -- The law was about making it legal to park your cars in the middle of the street if there wasn't a free spot around of all things! -- there was a tentitive knock on his door.

Vegeta prided himself on learning the distintive characteristics of all those around him. He knew how their mind worked almost to the point of knowing what they would say next, he knew all of their daily schedules just in case, and he knew how they walked and how they knocked on doors. Judging by the almost gentleness in how his door was being treated, it had to be none other that his youngest, Jakina.

"Come in Jackie-chan." he said. She poked her head inside and the rest of her body soon followed as she closed the door behind her.

"It's almost lunch time, Papa. Mama told me to tell you that."

One eyebrow raised itself on Vegeta's face. "Did she cook today?"

"No, Mia did. Magori and I helped."

He stood up from his black leather swivel desk chair. "Well, I guess that's better then." He noticed then just how sad she seemed to be. Jakina was hardly ever sad. "What's wrong Jackie-chan?"

She blinked, as if coming out of deep though, and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Remember what I told you two weeks ago," he raised her head with a finger, "It's okay to talk to me."

Jakina took a deep breath. "Papa, at school they call me a weakling."

"Why? You're my daughter and half-saiyan you can't be a weakling."

"I don't know how to fight at all. It doesn't matter how strong I am now if I don't know how to use it. Will you train me?"

This was news. Very good news. Vegeta kept his face carefully blank and picked her up. "We'll discuss this over lunch."

"Oh," she said, understanding, "you have to get Mama's permission."

"No I do not have to get your mother's permisison!" he said. "I'm the king here!" She simply stared at him. "Okay, so I do have to get permission. So what?"

She shook her head and snuggled closer to him. "Nothing. I think it's nice that you're going to at least ask. I'm her daughter too."

"At least you don't have her weirdly colored hair," he smiled slightly at her. "You look more like me. I like that. Let's go."

***

Meals at the Capsule Corporation were always noisy, argumentive affairs. If the children weren't fighting over the last bit of food, they were fighting over who's turn it was to load the dishwasher. But now, since there were so many people living in the palace, it was even worse. Mia and Bra brought out all the food to the dining room table (because the kitchen one wasn't large enough for everyone) and almost before they could sit it down on the table, Goten was grabbing at the rice.

"Will you just wait a minute!" Mia said as she slapped his hand away. "You're almost as bad as Tousan!" She sat down near him, on his right, to make sure he didn't steal anything.

Bra also sat down. "We have to wait until Papa and Jackie get here."

When five minutes passed Trunks and V.J. were irritated beyond belief. "If they don't get here soon," Trunks said, "I'm eating anyway."

A few seconds later Vegeta and Jakina emerged from the side hallway that didn't lead to anywhere besides Vegeta's office and a couple of official meeting rooms. He placed her down in a chair next to Pan and sat at the other head of the table, across from Bulma at the other end. He looked up and noticed everyone besides Bulma, Bra, and Jakina staring at him. "Nani?"

"When did you become so nice, Vegeta-ojisan?" Goten asked. "Bra's the only one I ever seen you so nice to."

Rolling his eyes Vegeta stood and walked around the table to hug V.J. and Trunks. Then he hugged Goten. Upon returning to his seat, he reached for the large covered bowl of rice. "There, are you happy now?"

"This isn't the real Papa," Trunks whispered to everyone. "The real one has been abducted." Goten snickered.

"Look at that," Vegeta said to his youngest mentally, "when I show emotion they laugh."

"Stop that!" Jakina said with a fierce frown on her face. "How could you laugh at Papa like that? And you wonder why he's never nice to anyone!" She suddenly fell silent and spread her napkin onto her lap. "Forget it. Let's just eat."

***

Bra was the one closest to a phone when it began to ring. Putting her shoes down she pushed the call button on the video phone. The screen blanked for a moment and then the face of a small green skinned man with small black horns and black spots appeared on it.

"Uh hi," she said to him. "Who're you?"

"I am Doctor Judek and you are?"

"I'm Bra Briefs. So, who do you want to speak to?" Quite suddenly a little window popped up in the left corner of the main screen.

"I got it Bra," Vegeta informed her.

"Alright. I'm leaving now Papa. Ja!" She pushed the call button once again to disconnect it and sat down on the carpeted hallway floor to put on her shoes.

Vegeta turned towards the phone and nodded for Judek to continue.

"Vegeta-oui, when your children and Commander Goku's children came to our planet to make their wish, there was a ring that we were excavating from some space ruins a couple of light years south from Namek-sei. Since then we have deciphered the language inscribed on the ring and discovered that it was once part of our planet, Suk'dn, that is between Chikyuu and Namek-sei."

Vegeta waited impatiently for him to get to the point. He had more work to do. Judek noticed this and sped up his call.

"Well, our Queen has given me permission to give you this ring as payment for your protection services. There is a map in this ring, a very old one, that points to the existence of ancient springs that do various things. We thought that these springs might help the Empire."

"Oh?" Vegeta said. "What do these springs do exactly?"

"We only know of a few but the latest images and reports from the planet indicate that there are at least one hundred. There is a Spring of Knowledge and a Spring of Power as well as a Spring of Longevity."

"Spring of Longevity?" His eyes lit up. "Do you know how long this spring adds to one's life?"

Judek shrugged. "We haven't a clue seeing as we've never been there. But you can probably test each one to see the short and long term effects. In fact, I recommend that you do."

"Well domo arigatou, doctor. I'll send someone to pick it up." he disconnected the call and sat back in his chair. "Now who's not doing anything important that I can call." It took him only moments to locate a someone and he spoke to him mentally.

"Kakarott, get your ass in here."

He felt Goku's amusement at being ordered into his office. "Can't you just tell me this way? I'm in the middle of a snack."

"Fine. I need you to go to Suk'dn to pick up something for me."

"How do you want me to go? Regular spaceship or Instantaneous Movement?"

Vegeta mentally rolled his eyes and Goku noticed. "What do you think? It'll take the round trip a week. Why do that when teleporting takes a few seconds?"

"Because it uses energy?" Goku said sort of sarcastically. "Anyway, it's an abuse of my power. I can't keep using it for stupid reasons."

"Kakarott," Vegeta said amusedly. "You use it to come downstairs in the morning for first pick at breakfast."

"Hey," Goku said defensively. "I'm a hungry Saiyan."

"So I've noticed. Anyway, go there and bring the ring that Judek gives you to my office. And hai, you can teleport into it."

"Oh arigatou your royal highness," Goku said with extreme sarcasm. "How can I ever repay you for your kindness?" Vegeta began to respond but he noticed that Goku was no longer on the planet.

"I'll give him three minutes tops."

***

The ring was exactly what Judek had said it was, a map. The thing had taken Goku ten minutes to retreive because he said that they offered him a meal. Vegeta knew that a free meal was just something that he couldn't resist no matter how strong his will was.

He and Goku sat there with the lights off looking at the projection from the ring. It was made of pure gold and there were two blood red stones set on either side of a small diamond. On the inside of the band near the jewels, there was a tiny button that was used to trigger the semi-transparent projection.

"What is this a map of?" Goku asked, curious.

"I have no idea," Vegeta frowned. "I need someone that knows areas outside of this part of the universe."

"That means no one," Goku sighed. "Not even you nor I have ever been outside of it. I've actually gone to one planet but I was tracking down Brolli at the time and I teleported."

"According to this it's in some spiral galaxy," Vegeta floated up a little and pointed to where he indicated with this finger. "There's sun at the center and at least three planets."

"Wait a minute!" Goku stood and grabbed Vegeta's arm. "I know someone who can help!" He teleported moments later.

They reappeared in the spirit realm next to the ever sleeping Kaio-sama.

"Wake up Kaio-sama," Goku said as he shook him. "Veggie and I have something to talk to you about."

Vegeta looked around at the ogres and spirits going about their rituals. "Thought I'd never see this place again."

Kaio-sama snorted and blinked. "Goku, what do you want now? Have you come to try and kill me again?"

Goku groaned. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm sorry about blowing up your planet?!"

He grinned. "At least another hundred. When you die again, I'll be waiting. Now, what can I do for you?"

"We're looking for a planet," Vegeta informed him. "It's in a spiral nebula."

"That information is supposed to help me locate it?" Kaio-sama asked in disbelief. "You're going to have to give me more than that."

"We think it's in the western part of the universe."

"Ah," he nodded. "Majin Buu and Brolli did utterly destroy the eastern and southern. What's on this planet that you want?"

Goku smiled sheepishly. "How did you know we wanted something?"

"Because Vegeta's here. He never does anything without wanting something else."

"Ha, ha," Vegeta said sarcastically. "They're springs that give you certain things. Like knowledge or power. The Suk'dn gave us this ring with a map for them on it."

Suddenly Kaio-sama sat up incredibly fast in his chair. He looked from Vegeta to Goku wit his mouth open. "You want to go there?! To the forbidden planet of Agalar!" Those two sentences halted all talk around them. All of the ogres and spirits looked at them both in astonishment. Then the whispering began.

"They're going to the cursed planet. They'll never make it back."

Vegeta looked at everyone and then rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! I'm not going, I have too much to do. But I was sending Kakarott here. What's so bad about Agalar anyway?"

But Kaio-sama would not answer as he wrote down the coordinates. "You'll find out, if you go there."