Heart in his throat, Azher edged along the wall, silently and simultaneously cursing his captors, his weak limbs, his throbbing skull and whatever lunatic had designed Abeter's palace. He was sufficiently lost now to have panicked if only he'd had the energy. The harrowing trip, compounded by the fact that no one had seen fit to offer him food or water(and damned if he were going to beg for it)had taken more of a toll than it should have. Physically, his condition was barely adequate…it also looked quite likely that his planet was soon to be under siege. Geo, after Mordrig's insane rampage and the subsequent revolt, was simply unable to defend itself.

With that in mind, it was singularly difficult to summon strength of will to take the risk of escape.

Slightly more motivating was the thought that they wouldn't likely keep him alive much longer if he stayed. Lidivy had been questioning him whenever he was awake; the same sorts of questions over and over, as though attempting to wear down his resolve. Azher had found himself half-hoping that he had been a spy, just so he would have the satisfaction of having kept something from them. Their mindless persistence was just irritating…they undoubtedly felt the same about him. Gone now was the thin veil of cold charm they'd put up at his arrival; he would have found it amusing but for the fact that it meant they could attack him in clear conscience.

The decision was fairly simple: die when they tired of shouting at him, or die when he blundered into someone in this ridiculous labyrinth of halls. At least with the latter option, there was always the possibility he wouldn't see it coming. Why that was comforting was unclear and a touch unnerving, but Azher had neither time nor inclination to think further on it.

Movement around the corner, soft voices; Azher flattened against the wall, holding his breath. The sounds were getting louder now, drawing closer…and then pausing just short of the bend.

'Oh shit oh shit here it comes…' Clamping his jaw, Azher waited for the inevitable shouts and blasts to come flying at him. From the hall came a short conversation, too muted for him to hear, and then, incredibly…footsteps moving away again. A door opened and in a sudden waft of air Azher caught the scent of fuel.

'The hangar…I must have found it. If I can steal a ship, get back to Geo…I have to warn them…' Caution for the moment dulled, he bolted into the hallway, dashing for the door.

Lidivy had knocked Azher to the floor before the Roc had a chance to register his presence.

* * * * *

Several hours of circling the palace finally gave Goten the answer he'd wanted, as a small ship took off from one of the hundred nondescript openings dotting the sheer vertical wall. Ships, after all, tending to congregate, it seemed a reasonable assumption that where one was to be found, there would be more. With high hopes, Goten flew to alight just beneath the overhang.

No one in sight, no guards, nothing. It was almost disappointing, all his stealthy skills(honed and perfected under less dire conditions)gone to waste; Goten sighed, shrugged and began poking around among the pods, investigating. There was bound to be one with sufficient fuel and simple enough controls to serve his purposes.

Most of the craft were either too large, too complicated, or both. Either the smaller pods were kept at another level or they were all out. Frustrating…until, delving into the lesser-used quadrants(judging by the dust)he came across a ship that was usable, if a bit less than stylish. It looked old, but seemed to be in working condition, small enough to be maneuverable and efficient, but large enough to seat four comfortably. With a satisfied grin, Goten hopped inside, taking a moment to scope out the controls. They looked simple enough…probably shouldn't have fallen asleep when Bulma had tried to explain this stuff to Trunks and him…

A shriek and a sudden explosion broke his concentration. Half-crouched and tense, he eased over to the hatch to close it…only to be nearly smashed flat as a wild-eyed Roc came barreling into the ship, stumbling uncaring over Goten. With quick frantic motions he shut the hatch in the face of an angry shape-shifter and set course, either forgetting Goten for the moment or simply choosing to ignore him.

"Um…hello?" Goten said warily, pulling himself up off the floor.

"Sorry, boy," the Roc growled, deftly maneuvering the ship out of the landing bay and taking off at a bit more than the recommended speed for that particular craft. "You've probably got places to go, but we're making a stop at Geo first." Goten brightened up.

"Hey, I've been there! I wonder if…what's-his-name…Dolmit, yeah…if he'll still be there." Azher turned slowly to give Goten a very thorough visual inspection.

"Could swear I've seen you before…" he muttered.

"I'm afraid I don't recognize you. Have we met?" Azher grunted a maybe, and suddenly froze, eyes widening.

"We…yes, we did, but you…" Azher shook his head. "Couldn't be. You were dead."

"Oh, that." Goten shrugged. "Yeah, I was dead for a while. Now I'm back. So…you were on Abeter when my brother and the rest were fighting Denatu?" Azher nodded slowly, still staring.

"Mind telling me something, boy? Maybe I'm just a bit confused here."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"Call me narrow-minded, but where I come from, people die and stay dead." Another shrug.

"Yeah, that's usually how it goes. This was an exception. Shenlong brought me back."

"Friend of yours?"

"Not….exactly." Azher looked ready to ask another question, then sighed and slumped into the nearest seat.

"Maybe you can explain it to me later, boy…"

"Goten."

"Goten…but I'm afraid I have other things on my mind right now; how we're going to land on Geo is high on the list."

"Why? What's to stop us from landing?" Azher snorted and rested his pounding head on his hand.

"I have no idea, that's the problem. Ordinarily I'd contact Dolmit or Malak, but Malak, with any luck, isn't there."

"What about Dolmit?" Azher sighed.

"Long story short, he's dead. I realize that may not mean much to you."

"Well, of course it does. I'm sorry to hear that. I mean, I didn't know him well, but…"

"B—Goten," Azher murmured, rubbing his face tiredly. "I know this is your pod and I, essentially, stole it; and such being the case, I'm in no position to be making demands, but…I would be most grateful for some time to think. It's not an easy process for me just now." Goten nodded and sat, fidgeting, while Azher forced his reluctant pain-dulled mind to evaluate the situation.

Sharing a pod with a former corpse was doing little for his concentration.

* * * * *

Vegeta sighed and let his hand slip from Kaio's shoulder. Getting Takira's attention had been difficult—seemed that there was a great deal going on at her end of things—but the conversation had given both prince and god a great deal over which to mull. Scowling, Vegeta broke the silence first.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me I had a grandson?" Kaio gave him a chiding look.

"You knew about Kakarot but not Kabu?"

"Of course I knew about him," Vegeta snorted. "I just wasn't thinking about it too hard; didn't realize the brat was my…his…ugh, that's weird." Kaio smiled wanly.

"What's so weird about it, hmm?" Vegeta glared.

"I knew her…knew her, back when…and…"

"Yes?"

"…she…my own son?!" the Saiyajin sputtered.

"Genetically speaking, you should be flattered," Kaio chuckled.

Vegeta snarled then just as abruptly shut his mouth, crossing his arms and assuming his "don't wanna think about it leave me the hell alone" stance. The pudgy god rolled his eyes behind his glasses and sighed. Time to change the subject.

"So she doesn't seem to know where Goku is either. Interesting."

"He made it," Vegeta muttered shortly. "So what?" Kaio shrugged.

"Just…interesting," he repeated vaguely. 'He doesn't know yet…even Goku knew. As perceptive as you are, Vegeta, you can be blind as a bat when you want to be.'

"Interesting, huh?" Vegeta grunted. "Now you're going to tell me I should try some similar idiocy?"

"Dear heavens, no. I don't need to tell you what could come of that…" He shuddered. "I hadn't even been thinking of…gah, I'll have nightmares for a week now, thanks to you." The prince chuckled with just a hint of his usual malice.

"Glad I could do that for you. Relax, catfish, I have no intentions of pulling any stunt that demented fool would try."

"Um-hmm," Kaio murmured, lost in thought. Vegeta's eyes narrowed keenly.

"If you'll recall," he said smoothly, "you promised me an explanation once I finished this little assignment." Standing, feet apart, arms crossed and wearing a grim smile, Vegeta looked down at the squat deity with all the optimism of a man awaiting execution.

"Go ahead. And make it good. I've invested a lot of time in this."