The Deadly Seven, Episode 2 : Envy of The World

[Raditz]

It had been almost two mind-numbing, painful weeks since coming back to life and he was thankful he had the freedom to flee from the madness that Capsule Corporation had started to become. The Prince's mate was growing weary of accumulating more monkeys then she really cared for and Raditz was more then happy to lighten the load, especially after her mother's latest fit over his turning the hedges into self-defending guardians. Besides, he had things here he was much more intrigued to deal with. Since it seemed someone had come along after they left and cleared out the vital equipment as well as a majority of the relics, there was nothing left to do but clean up house and proceed with purging.

No, not planet purging.

Instead of dealing with Vegeta and his father trying to throw him into the gravity chamber with Pepper, he opted for making himself scarce as he spent time around the remains of the Tree of Might. She seemed to object insistently to coming around the area, but that wasn't why he was there. He had started a steady purge process, blasting away most of the husk, and getting the Earth to cooperate in cleansing some of the taint. There was a considerable scar from which the original Tree had grown and the Saiyajin wanted to make sure nothing was hiding in the nook and crannies. By the middle of week two, everything was looking quite orderly.

From what he could sense, Earth was flawed, in several ways. The most glaring issue was it was still recovering from, well, being blown to smithereens. Of course, it was made whole as was every man, woman, and child. But there was some underlying damage. It wasn't particularly serious let alone immediately threatening, somewhere down the line it might pose an issue, but it left a persistent nagging sensation that was driving him insane.

If the steady work he had been doing while converting all of the negative energy buzzing within the tiny Might seeds had done any good, he figured he might be able to fix that. If the energy flow of the Tree were reversed from being a draining blight on a planet to an energy giving blessing like any normal tree, then the seeds didn't need to be destroyed. He sorely wished he had his uncle's notes on the whole thing, as the man surely knew the mechanics better then any druid. If it worked though, there would be several noteworthy perks. Earth would be much better off, if not stronger. Carbon dioxide in the air would lower considerably and the oxygen would be much cleaner. If he estimated the size, should the husk be anything to go by, then the Tree might even draw in moisture from beyond the atmosphere. Not to mention, if they decided to linger on the planet, it would make a viable home.

He pondered the pros and cons, weighing everything in his head, including the what-ifs. Raditz wasn't much for strategizing in battle, but he wasn't a complete brainless grunt. If his work failed and another Tree of Might sprouted, there would be huge, massive problems to deal with. Not to mention he would not hear the end of it. However, Kakarot defeated the old tree, and now they were much stronger then they were back at that point in time. Just in case, however, he told Pepper to come see him at the site. If it did indeed go wrong, then there would be some help dealing with it before it got out of hand, and when dealing with nature, his best option was an Ikikesan.

An Ikikesan.

The irony was remarkable. He was fairly certain she had yet to figure out the roles they played back on Planet Spice and he liked to keep it that way. Raditz had no plans on going back to Hell. That was another amusing perk, the Ikikesans probably felt the Earth's energies as well and perhaps this would provide some mild relief at best. It made him want to chuckle at the thought. Pepper might not particularly like his plan though, she might come to the idea that his work would fail or that he was even purposely planting a new Tree of Might, but whatever, he would explain after the seed was planted incase she got the wild idea to stop him.

While he waited for the weird girl to arrive, he surveyed the area one more time to make sure that it was all good. There were some fragments of husk left, but they were so utterly wasted, they posed no manner of threat. Once the roots sprang up and spread out, the remaining debris would disappear altogether. 'A Tree of Life instead of a Tree of Might.' He thought to himself in mild amusement. Boy, his uncle would be pissed if he knew. Smirking at that, Raditz took the seed he had nurtured out of it's negative energy and threw it into the scar, watching it fall out of sight. Now it was time for the waiting game...

[Sansho "Pepper"]

Truth be told, if someone had asked her how much time had passed, Pepper honestly would have been surprised at how short it was.

The slender woman, who in her formal changshan was often mistaken for a boy due to how she usually wore her breasts bound flat by linen wraps, shot through the air like a rocket, completely at ease with this method of transportation now. As she should be, since Mister Vegeta forced her to fly at heightened gravity until she could move normally like it was regular gravity. To make matters worse, the newcomers seemed to enjoy training as well. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. And Pepper found herself pushing harder and harder against her own limits, determined to try to catch up to their strength level.

They weren't even that bad. The one named Bardock, who looked like Mister Vegeta's friend, seemed fairly friendly, actually, and was always up for trying to get Raditz in the training room with him. The short female Selypa, who looked like the little girl that had been in the tournament, was abrasive and curt, but seemed just as determined as Pepper to keep up with the boys. Though frankly, she seemed to be doing a whole ton better then Pepper was.

Still, Pepper was determined to keep going. Grimacing, she twisted in the air, spinning to fly upside down before finishing the revolution. The Ikikesan had lost a battle to Miss Bulma, and was actually wearing real clothes today. Finally tired of Pepper wandering around in her training clothes all the time, the imperious woman had put her foot down and told her that she was going to dress like a normal person outside of training if she wanted to eat in her kitchen ever again. To silence the rampaging dragon, Pepper complied, and had used up the last of her savings from previous tournaments to buy a few new garments to her wardrobe. She wore one of those outfits now, as her training clothes and gi were being cleaned, as Miss Bulma refused to have anything 'stinking' in her home. The short qipao was cotton and plain, dark emerald trimmed in an orange, with a dark maroon obi around her waist. White shorts trimmed with emerald rested on her hips. Instead of the traditional slippers, she wore dark emerald boots that were matches to the usual white ones she wore in training, and weighted in the same manner. The bracers over the linen wraps on her wrists were dark emerald with the orange trim as well, and weighted like the boots. The obi was weighted in addition. She never went anywhere without something weighted anymore. A white wrap was tucked around her neck. Passing over the Diablo desert was nervous business sometimes, especially when something was stirring up sandstorms like crazy. A person could choke to death if they weren't careful. And for once, she didn't bind her breasts down, actually giving her a figure for once.

Though really, the food threat was a moot point since all she had to do was go over to the residence Supaisu had taken to get food. She hated to impose on him, especially since she knew he was probably living on limitted funds, but she- and even Kakiri- had to guiltily admit that it was wonderful to be around someone who wasn't so deaf to noises, or to the world around them. Ikikesans didn't just have long ears to be adorable or whatnot. The ears actually served to let them hear sandstorms coming, to hear movement from afar, and just a general heightened sense of hearing. Sometimes it was deafening in the Capsule Corp household, or even just the city in general. She knew Supaisu wanted to see her training her druidism more. To her complete shame, it was beginning to get rusty, causing her to cave on a few lessons. Mister Vegeta wasn't a complete tyrant. With Bardock and Selypa to occupy him, as well as other matters, she had bits of free time.

... Only bits, however. And she knew that Supaisu probably got on Mister Vegeta's nerves. When Supaisu decided something, he decided it. And he was pretty damn hard to keep away. A sigh escaped her as she spun again, heading north.

At the very least she was asked to go somewhere by Raditz, though it wasn't anywhere that she really wanted to go. Raditz was... Something else. At first, she had been- as Kakiri so eloquently put it- butt-hurt that he hadn't told her the complete truth. But she had gotten over it quickly. And now she could enjoy a weird sort of friendship. At least, she like to consider it a friendship. Raditz had abilities that reminded her of the druidic abilities of her people, but different at the same time. She gained her powers from the earth itself, and he from somewhere else. Either way, they still ran along the same lines.

If anyone else had asked her to go to the horrid site, and they weren't Mister Vegeta, she would strongly consider spazzing out and telling them no. She had rather reluctantly agreed to this, however, as her curiousity ate at her. Raditz refused to tell her what he wanted from her. So against her better judgement, there she was, flying during one of her brief breaks to find him.

Her green eyes searched the ground below her as she reached the site, seeking the form of the monkey boy. It didn't take long, and before long, she was descending through the air, twisting to land on one foot with ease.

"Hi Raditz!" She piped cheerfully, proving off the bat that it was her more cheerful, innocent personality rather then homicidal one that had chased Bardock around with a broken bottle for no discernible reason. Okay. Maybe it hadn't been that bad but she had at least one rage-filled moment.

"What did you need me for?"

---

[Outfit]

[Raditz]

Early in the week, Raditz had discarded the Saiya-jin armor as part of a means to discard the old warrior ways. It was a further step in the direction of being a little more embracing to what he considered his more appropriate calling. At least his father wasn't so tenacious in him being a warrior now.

As a testament to his intended path, he had gone on a little hunting excursion for dinner the other night and Earth's large, sharp tooth, razor clawed reptiles proved to be good for food as well as a source for armor material. Their horned heads were perfectly sized for spaulders and their leather was thick and heavy, making for a perfect tunic as well as leggings, gloves and boots. Their hides had been dark in color, a deep midnight blue. Their claws adorned the knuckles of his gloves and their rib bones plated over his sides for added (although rather pointless) protection.After he had fashioned everything together, he admired his handiwork, as staying with the others in that camp so long ago had taught him a good deal about working leather and of course, none of it had been pieced together before being properly blessed. In any case, it looked much more fierce then that assinine Planetary Trade uniform.

Unlike Ikikesans, Saiya-jins were more primal in their druidic practice. They were more about the unmitigated fury and force of nature, as well as enhancing the means to survive for them and their race. If one fucked with nature when a Saiya-jin druid was around...Well, you might as well kiss your ass good-bye.

The maned monkey turned his head, tail swishing from side to side in anxious arcs as he took note of Pepper's approach. He could also sense the seed below stirring and his surprise was veiled nicely. It was taking root and beginning to sprout faster then he expected. Distractedly, he looked from her to the chasm, tense and uneasy. So far he wasn't picking up any negative vibes...Hopefully Pepper's bitchier self wasn't out to throw his radar off.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd show...I needed you here to see my work...And assist if it doesn't exactly work out." Yeah, he was really going to have to explain that. But judging from her more light-hearted tone, it wasn't the evil half of the woman. That was a good sign, for now. He half-expected her to show up the minute he actually explained. "Now, I'm sure you're going to get pissy because you do that, but I have a very good reason for this-"

The ground trembled just slightly, giving him the mildest of headaches as the sprouting tree broke free of the chasm's darkness and began a long spiral skyward. Raditz felt amazed at how fast the damn thing grew, then somewhat concerned since such growth wasn't very natural. But all he sensed from the growing tree was nothing save good, pure vibes. So far, this was looking up, as was his project.

"That is what I called you here for." Like he really needed to point it out, but then again this was the ditzy Pepper he was dealing with so far. "Right after you revived me and I made myself decent or however Earthlings put it, I took several of the seeds from the machine as well as a plethora of plant samples. The seeds were from the original Tree of Might, which had once been planted here. It sucked Earth dry before my brother destroyed it. I, however, have been working this entire week with one seed to alter it and make it more of a blessing then a blight..I have to say it kicked my ass. So far, it seems like everything is in order..."

As he explained, the tree continued it's expansion, eclipsing the area in shadow after a short while. The temperature around them dropped slightly. He made a mental note that most plants dependent on the sun may not particularly thrive in this area again, but he could do some research on plants that didn't require such sustenance. He already new several Vegeta-sei specimens that would become quite lush in these conditions. Raditz wasn't all that worried about the local flora and fauna...The area was left barren and virtually lifeless in the wake of the previous beast. As his purified tree cemented it's rooting and spread out in the sky miles above them, he could feel life slowly but surely trickle back into the deadened area.

He ran a list of samples he would have to take and tinker with. Sap, bark, heartwood, leaves, check for budding fruit or flowers of any sort, check for seeds, take soil samples, explore the canopy...Then there was more information to gather. How the air quality was affected, would the energy of the tree sprout independent new growth around it, would the seeds travel on their own and plant as they did for some trees, to name a few. Yes, he had his work cut out for him however it was rather interesting. After giving the tree another glance, he looked at Pepper to gauge her response to the behemoth.

[Sansho "Pepper"]

It took Pepper a moment to realize that there was something... different about the site. Her senses were still hating the place, but it felt like... something was healing? Blinking her brilliant green eyes, her ears began to twitch rapidly as she looked around, tearing her eyes off of Raditz to study the landscape around them. Frowning, she turned her gaze back to the saiyajin. Then, he spoke, causing her to look back to him, head tilted.

"Well why didn't you think I'd show? We're friends!" The Ikikesan piped cheerfully, a smile on her features before she glanced around again, ears twitching with every sound that she heard. Something strange was going on... Sure, normally she'd never come here, but what she said was true. Raditz was her friend. Her gaze turned back to him, and she clasped her hands behind her back, bouncing on her toes for a moment as she listened to him.

"Pissy? Uh oh, did you do something ba- WHAT IN THE NAME OF GAIA?!" Out of freaking nowhere, a tree shot out of the chasm, spiralling upwards like someone had just fed it miracle gro and a team of druids. Jumping back in alarm, she stared up at it, eyes wide. If it hadn't been for the healthy vibes coming off of the tree, Kakiri would have been out in a split second.

"R-Raditz?!" She squeaked, staring up at it in shock before looking at him, her green eyes wide. "What did you do?!" As he spoke, she listened, though her gaze kept turning back to the tree, jaw dropped at just how fast the damn thing was growing and branching out.

It took a moment, and a few whacks from Kakiri, as well as a bit of thinking, to figure out what he had done. Awe actually replaced her trepidation as she stepped closer to the edge of the chasm, staring up at the behemoth that now eclipsed the barren area around them. "You... Wait. This tree... It was the same as the corpse of the tree that was here before? That.. evil thing? And you made it better?"

Any threat of Kakiri taking over was long gone. The tree was... giving back. Like a tree should, but on a larger scale. Beneath her, she could feel the earth hungrily drinking up the life given by the tree, so starved from the original tree that had been here. Her eyes grew distant as she sought out the gaian energies. Though they still felt far too weak, she could feel the strength in them growing with every passing moment.

Completely unaware that Raditz was watching her, gauging her reaction, she whispered something softly before shaking her head, her ears twitching like mad. "Amazing... I wouldn't have believed it myself... This... I can't believe it, Raditz. The area is still so very barren, but.. I can feel the tree feeding the gaian energies." Still in that trance-like state, she couldn't help but smile. "Kakiri can't even remember why she might have been mad at you. This is wonderful!"

Blinking her eyes, she came back to the present, turning her head to him. A grin split across her lips just a second before she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him tightly, narrowly avoiding skewering herself on the pauldrons, the scales of the armor digging into her skin.

Then, Kakiri decided to speak up in her head.

My god. I could fuck him right now.

THAT caused Pepper to turn an alarming shade of red and let go of him, bouncing back.

[Raditz]

Considering the location, that was why he figured she would not come but he didn't bother pointing that out as he watched her. The Saiya-jin let out a weary yet pleased sigh. So far, so good and he had yet to get his head ripped off. As expected, she seemed quite surprised. Like him, the rapid growth most likely had her thrown off while she tried to fathom what was going on.

"Yes. This is practically the same tree. Technically, you could say this is the daughter from the old evil tree. And yes, for now it seems I made it better." The Saiya-jin nodded, answering her questions simply as he continued to study her. It seemed she was really taking a good hard look and most likely she was feeling out the energies of the Earth as the tree buried its roots in. He watched her ears with a bit of intrigue, wondering if they were working like some manner of antennae. Hell, for all he knew they were. As she began to speak once she got over her initial awe, he was pleased with her words.

Yes! That was exactly what he was looking for. If the tree had any lingering energies of it's former self, Pepper would have picked it up better then him. But judging from her awestruck murmurs, it was doing exactly what he had intended it for. His pride swelled at the monumental task accomplished. Later on, he would have to do the same with the rest of the seeds though it wasn't likely they would get planted on Earth. He didn't want to overwhelm and over-energize the planet, resulting in his hard work backfiring. A good reason to do research in case the tree had a means to reproduce. At the very least, the damage from the old Tree of Might would be remedied over time and a little more to boot.

It was also a bonus that her darker half forgot being mad at him. He didn't feel like an ass kicking today.

"Great! This is just what I was hoping for. I can't quite feel as deeply as an Ikikesan so that was another reason I called for you to-" The maned monkey stopped mid-sentence, his expression one of disgruntled confusion and he blinked when she jumped on him for a hug. Okay, that was unexpected and yet it was not entirely surprising. He held his arms out, bent down slightly as he tried to wait out the weird action. Hugging was not really something Saiya-jins typically did. Then, just as quickly as it came, she was off and blushing profusely. Raditz leaned back, giving her a funny look as he asked what the hell was up with her without a word.

"Well..." Raditz scratched his head just above his ear. He couldn't say the contact was totally unwelcome, despite how odd it was. He was still a male after all, and one that hadn't been around women for a considerable time. Now that he actually thought about it, he had never really concerned himself with the idea even after being free from Hell. Being in that pit for so long, one worried more about staying out of trouble then when they got any tail. He couldn't say humans were all that appealing, but they had remains they could bring female Saiya-jins back with. And if that did not look so promising? Well, apparently there were Ikikesan and they were definitely a much better choice than a human. Compatibility for breeding might be questionable...The druid tilted his head, looking off to the side. That would be something to mull over for later. Right now, he still had some work to do as he looked back at Pepper.

"I take it this is a welcome change. The Earth may benefit from another tree like this. Once the next seed is ready, perhaps you can hand it over to your people. If it's like you said when that Shio showed up, perhaps something like this near them might help. It probably won't stop their ailments but it might ease them." It was almost an offering to make up for clearing them off of Spice. Almost. He was still also considering the benefits to the planet, which would do well with two, possibly three trees like this one. He looked in the direction of Diablo Desert. The Ikikesans were probably there, since it was a lot like Planet Spice. "I noticed there's quite a desert to the southeast, which I suspect is where your people are living. A tree there would generate quite an oasis I think, as well as offer some shelter from sandstorms."

[Sansho "Pepper"]

It really was a good thing that Kakiri had forgotten her anger towards him, as she could be a bitch when she really put her mind to it. In the eleven years that Pepper had lived outside of the colony, Kakiri had gone after more then one citizen for trivial insults.

Still, that was something to think on later. Bouncing back on her heels, she averted her eyes from him as she pushed some of the ragged black bangs out of her eyes. That thought from Kakiri, who was oblivious to the embarassment that she had just caused the sweeter half of their personality- or was just flat-out ignoring- was rather disturbing. Especially since the only other person she had ever had thoughts like that about was-

... Supaisu. Her fiance. And those she tended to suppress.

I don't want those thoughts at all.. She thought to herself, almost a bit desperately. Still, that didn't stop Pepper from glancing at him, at his muscular frame. Surely Raditz wouldn't pressure her into babies or anything immediately... Right?

Who the hell am I kidding? He and Mister Vegeta and everyone are trying to repopulate their race... It seemed like no matter which way she turned, the whole 'babymaker' thing was coming into play. Either the Elders wanted a child from her and Supaisu, or she'd have to have babies to help the saiyajin...

Where is my mind GOING!? Her face took on another shade of crimson as she shook her head free of those thoughts, taking a deep breath and focusing on what he was saying instead.

"Makes sense..." She piped up, bouncing a bit. She really couldn't help herself. That steady trickle of life into the dead area... It was seriously like finding a surprise oasis in the desert, one that hadn't been there before but miraculously appeared. The idea that Raditz proposed, however, made her pause in mid-bounce, her green eyes widening a bit, ears perking up. That... Was one of the best ideas she had heard in a long time! Still, something seemed.. Off. There was something that had been bugging her ever since Raditz had been brought back to life. Something that had been passing between him and Mister Vegeta.

And the comment about the desert just triggered her slow-acting alarm.

The delightedly surprised look faded from her expression as she studied him now, green eyes unusually guarded. Licking her lips, she took a moment before expressing the thought running through her mind, and Kakiri's.

"Raditz.. How do you know so much about my people? We will gladly accept the help of the tree, to soothe the pain brought by the event from ten years ago,-" Without realizing it, she had used the royal pronoun, "-but... Hardly anyone on Earth knows about us, at all. No one who doesn't regularly travel through the desert know about us. You know so much about my people's druidic abilities."

For a moment, she studied him before sighing and crossing her arms, turning to face the tree again, tilting her head back to regard it. "... You know what, nevermind. It's not important. Not right now, anyways. I'll get the answer later." Lifting her hand, she chewed on her thumb as she stared up at the tree thoughtfully. "Do you suppose there's any way to have one grow smaller? A tree that big will upset the entire ecosystem of the desert. And while the life trickling back in would be wonderful, there's far too much wildlife in the desert that would die without the heat and dryness that the climate provides." Turning her head towards him, she managed a tiny smile. "Don't get me wrong. One of these trees... It would be wonderful for my people. Something to help everyone, and maybe, over time, heal the ailments in our minds. But I don't want to mess things up too much."

Looking back up at the tree, she chewed on her thumb again. "I can send Supaisu back with the seed... Something like this, he won't argue with me.. And he's the best druid we... they have... Second to Shouga. ... Um. Prince Shouga." Slightly fustrated and annoyed at how odd it felt to say her brother's name, she blew at the hair in her eyes before shaking her head.

[Raditz]

'Okay, why is she blushing like that?' Unaware of what was racing through her thoughts, it made him wonder what she was thinking or whether it was her other half that was saying something. He had no understanding of the whole split personality ordeal, Saiya-jins who displayed such an instability...well, they were shipped off basically.

'Ah, here we go.'

There was the golden question finally. He suspected it would come along at some point, especially since it was hard to feign being clueless about Ikikesans. In expecting that question, he had pondered which route to take. Be honest and tell her what their connection was...and possibly deal with homicidal rage in retribution. Or...fudge the facts just a little. He wasn't sure all of what she had been told by the prince or what she might have been told by older generations of her own kind. If it wasn't much, it can simply be a matter of they had encountered the Ikikesans while roaming the galaxy and nothing more. It really depended on how much she knew that would sway the answer she wound up getting. Thankfully, instead of having to knuckle down and debate over which to go with in such a short time gap, Pepper had brushed the question aside for later. Her change from bouncy and air-headed to serious made him wonder if her other half took over or not.

Her other question helped move his mind onto more important matters. The size was a sort of issue. There had never been such massive trees on Vegetasei due in part to its own desert-like nature. Planet Spice had mostly been sand and rock if he could recall properly. He had yet to really look at Earth's desert region. The Saiya-jin tilted his head up, looking at the expansive size of the tree. "Thinking, thinking..." He muttered as he knelt down and started to rummage into the satchel he had with him. There was a clinking like small glass jars making contact with one another as he searched.

"I would have to look at what the deserts here have to offer...But I know I saw some Goldbell seeds in here. Passive, fruit bearing, fast growing...Of course, a druidic engineering plant by us. That was what we had to worry about while living in deserts while the Tuffles held the jungle areas. We had to develop plants that had bounty and speed." Raditz made a thoughtful grimace, lifting his head to stop looking in the bag. He wasn't sure whether Goldbell would mix with the tree or not, or what would come of it. Plus these were Ikikesan, not Saiya-jins. Then again, he wasn't sure how well they were doing as far as crops out in a desert. There was a little too much he didn't know to go making a solid decision yet.

"It could be possible tooooooo...crossbreed a tree sample with a cactus or some other sort of small desert flora to make a hybrid that can have similar properties on a smaller scale. The potency may be weakened to a degree, which can be made up for in numbers. But to be honest? I barely know anything about the tree myself. My uncle was the one who seemed to have discovered and cultivated it, using various parts for a number of reasons. He would know this better than anyone, but thankfully he's still dead. So I'll have to start from scratch." Raditz gestured for her to follow him as he closed the satchel and shouldered it. He would look for the Goldbell seeds later. He made his way closer to the ravine and jumped down, heading for where the seed had planted and taken root below. The maned monkey hopped from one gargantuan root to the other to head for the cavern-like opening underneath. On the way, he removed a small piece of rock close to where one root had burrowed into the rock face. He paused a moment to shove it into his satchel and pulled out a notepad to scribble something down. "Rock sample from day one..."

After that was done, he took the last jump down to the final landing. Once Pepper had joined him, he started to walk towards the vast open space underneath. "I'm going to take some samples, if you didn't already figure that out, and study what's here before I start on any crossbreeding projects and whatnot. I'm curious to see what parts of the tree do what now, especially since according to the others, the fruit was able to triple your strength and as you've seen, the extract was able to restore old remains and bring people to life. I reversed it's nature in a way, so it most likely affected the properties of different parts."