The Midnight Run [Core]

[166,686 x12p : 2,000,232 ]


There were things in Core’s life that obvious didn’t wanted to change over time. For example, he was still not able to find good sleep, always disturbed by nightmares, most of them including the Saiyan Solar Empire’s attack that would could early than expected and he found himself alone to combat them, which always end up in his horrible death with millions of laugh around him and many ki-blast piercing his chest before he wakes up in panic, not screaming most of the time, but still having one of a hell hard time to go back to sleep. This time, this nightmare was even worst. He had seen Kay, in a saiyan armor, and it was she who killed him, not even a good bye, not even sorry, she just plain killed him and let him fell down, simply flying away to find someone else to kill probably… when Core woke up, he was never this glad that it was just a dream.

The arcosian would get up, there was no way he’d go back to sleep after that directly, he needed to do something until he’d forcibly fall asleep. Core would simply get out of his room on Beryl’s ship and would wander around it, trying to find something he could do, which wasn’t really that easy since everyone else was asleep or out.[Dammit… why can’t I simply sleep well? Is it simply never going to happen?!] Core would think as he passed the kitchen, taking an orange on the way before heading outside, if he was to make some noises, he was going to make it outside not to wake up anybody. Core walked out of the spaceship and went high in the sky instantly, closing his eyes and breathing in deeply to feel the breeze of the night, comforting and refreshing, it felt like it was caressing his cheek lightly, comforting him from his nightmare, Earth was truly a wonderful place to live.

There was another surprise that would come down the line this nigh, as he was awake at a time he shouldn’t, Core would hear something breaking the silence of the night, a voice he was always so happy to hear, and again this time, only in his head. Core smiled widely as he heard her message, though he’d blush a bit, what an odd thing to say, I need to talk to you, she was sounding all serious, then conclude her sentence by saying that if he couldn’t hear her, then it was okay, but it wasn’t the case. ‘’ I’m coming Kay… hope you’re not in trouble…’’ Core would think out loud before powering up and heading toward the lake, were he could feel she was.

A few minute passed before Core arrived, it wasn’t all that far from his ship so he wouldn’t even have to use his supersonic speed to arrive at this place. Core would land near Kay-El, smiling warmly at her as his feet touched the ground. ‘’ H-hello Kay… how… are you tonight?’’ Core would ask, a bit of shyness in his voice. One thing that Core didn’t realize though was that he was still wearing a pajama hat. The young Arcosian would sit next to her silently, waiting for her to say what she needed to. Somehow, Core had a bad feeling about this, but he refused to believe it, he was with Kay, nothing could go wrong right… and when he thought that, flashes of his nightmare would come back. [Please… don’t make this reality…] Core would think, looking at Kay.

Core would widen his eyes and laugh right at the moment when his friend would put his pajama hat on her own head, an honest and childish laugh as he wasn’t expecting himself to still be wearing that thing. ‘’ Ah! Was I wearing this thing the whole way here? Damn, I’m surprised it didn’t fell off… and don’t be sorry, I’m sure you have a good reason, and I wasn’t sleeping anyway… having trouble with that recently…’’ Core would almost tell Kay, but would keep to himself that his problem sleeping was more or less here since he first got on Earth, he didn’t wanted to make her worry about him after all. ‘’ But hey! It looks great on you! Maybe you should keep it uh~?’’ Core would say with a joking look on his face, it felt great to be here with Kay right now, it had been a while and well, he always felt good when she was around.

Core then heard his friend’s question, he would smile a bit concerned about what could happen and what everyone was discussing about recently. ‘’ Well… many people, including me, are expecting an assault on Earth from the Saiyan Solar Empire… so we’re kind of training a lot at the Patrol and getting ready for it… and I got to admit to you… I’m afraid… afraid of what could come from this invasion… I have this weird feeling that things could go so wrong… with what the saiyan queen has done with the previous planet, I can only imagine what she would do to a planet that has already beaten her once…’’ Core would admit to his friend, somewhat emptying his back and feeling better doing so, it was a weigh on him he didn’t had to wear alone from now on.

Then something Kay-El said stroke Core’s heart, a feeling similar to the one he felt when they first parted away, but this time, a lot stronger, he would look down for a moment before looking back up at her with a light smile. ‘’ I’m happy you found your brother finally! And I’m sorry I didn’t help you in the matter but… it’s not important now that you found him…’’ Core would first say, knowing full well what she didn’t wanted to speak to him, that she probably wouldn’t come back to Earth anytime soon. ‘’ S-so… this is a goodbye…?’’ Core would say, looking at her in the eyes as a tear would slowly make its way on the corner of his right eye. ‘’ Because if it is… I have something to give you…’’ Core would began, letting a bit of a laugh out. ‘’ That isn’t the pajama hat of course~’’

As Kay-El and Core would laugh together, Core would look at her, there was something more to their friendship that was slowly growing inside him, something he couldn’t identify at all, but it was there for sure, he knew this at least. The young Arcosian was innocent to what was going to happen tonight, he just though he would be able to have a funny moment with his friend, but saying that she had to go was making his heart feels weird. When he felt her nudge on his shoulder, Core would giggle softly, seeing her as she handed him the nightcap, he would take it and put it back on her head playfully. ‘’ I said keep it~ And I wear then so my horns don’t tear the pillows… but it’s also comfortable. Anyway, I want you to have something from me where you’ll go so you’ll think about it sometimes~’’ He would say in a lightly sad but innocent and childish voice, looking at her in the eyes deeply.


When the serious talk about the saiyan solar empire began, Core didn’t wanted to ruin the mood at all, and he felt like this could ruin it for both of us so he was wishing to go quickly out of this and keep it funny and friendly between the two of them. Core listened to what she had to say, but then shook his head a bit. ‘’ Well, that might be it, but… most of people I know on Earth, including many people that know the saiyan queen and people who were there in the first invasion, believe that there will be a second one… apparently her pride is incredible, many people doubt she’ll leave a lose without a revenge… then again, I hope it doesn’t come to it…’’ He would admit, he wasn’t the kind of person to tell his fears, but he was open enough with Kay to do so, she wasn’t going to betray him anyway, he knew it deep inside.

When hearing about his friend travelling, Core would smile widely, thinking of something funny that might happen in the future if she kept travelling to inhabited planet like she was apparently doing, he’d smile to her. ‘’ Well, if you ever meet an Arcosian who looks like me but with different colors, it might just be one of my brothers! I’m sure you’d like them fine they’re nice people~’’ He would tell her with a bit of a chuckle, the nice mood had come back after all, and Core was happy that it did. Core was smiling his brightest; his bio-gems were even heating a little bit, making them glow in the night a bit more than usual.

Then, Kay said that it wasn’t a goodbye forever, which would in some way relief Core a lot of a fear he was in fact having since this conversation started, it didn’t wanted it to be a goodbye forever at all, he was hoping to see her again, it couldn’t be the end after all, their friendship was more than that. ‘’ Yeah, I saw the ship! It’s quite nice really! It’s all pretty and everything, but I hope it’s comfortable at least, space-travel can take a lot of time… I’m well placed to know that…’’ He would tell his friend in an amused voice, thinking back at the time he was in his space pod heading to Earth, he would never know how many time passed in that thing anyway, there was just no way to know it at all.

The Arcosian would look at Kay, he felt like it was the time to give Kay-El what he wanted to give her for her travel. He would wave his tail and bring it in front of him were a bit of seaweed was attached to the tip, he would detach it, rip it in two. ‘’ This is from my adoptive mother, it’s blessed with some sort of luck charm…’’ He would tell Kay as he took her hand gently and attached one of the piece of it on her finger, a nice ocean smell would come out of it, he then attached the remaining part higher on his tail. ‘’ A little something we can share, I don’t need all that luck~’’ He would say, smiling warmly at her as he released her hand.

Core would notice that Kay-El wasn’t really comfortable with that hat on her head and would remove it from her head to take it back slowly, there was no reason for him to give her something if she didn’t liked it, after all, the goal of giving a gift to someone was especially for them to be happy about it and to make them think of you in a positive way whenever they see the gift. ‘’ Well~ I guess I’ll keep that thing then~’’ Core would say in a silly voice after he putted the hat back on his head, hiding his horns once more. When he heard Kay-El speak to him, saying he was her best friend and that she was thinking about him all the time, Core’s face would become all red and his bio-gems would glow slightly, making his read all the more obvious as he looked at her with a wide smile. ‘’ K-kay… y-you’re… you’re also my best friend, my first friend as well… what you are saying… t-thank you… it means so much to me…’’ Core would admit to her, his smile was bright and wide, there was not much things that could have made him happier than that at the moment.

After Core spoke up about his brothers, Kay-El’s reaction was amusing as she said she would like to meet them, the young Arcosian would look at her in the eyes and smiles widely. ‘’ If you even encounter one of them, just to make sure you’re not mistaken… call them by their bio-gem’s color name… it’s our old codename, and I guess they also got a real name when they arrived on their own planet. Who knows, you might befriend them as well! You’re such a wonderful person, I doubt anyone would not want to be your friend~’’ Core would tell her, his blush slowly going away as he was speaking to her, though he was still a bit shy to say everything he was, there was just something that was telling him that he had to tell her everything before she goes, who knows what could happen in space.

The young Arcosian of barely six years old would look at her ship as she kept speaking about it, making him smile widely, it wasn’t so rare to see Kay-El get excited about something, but each single thing was a bit different, and it was really nice for Core to see his friend so excited and happy about something, he could literally just listen to her all days speaking about her passions, and someday he would, when she’d come back, he would sure propose to spend a whole day with her when she’d come back.        ‘’ Three people is plenty of person! Especially if Pounce don’t count… which I hope he doesn’t, even if he’s really cute, I don’t think he can take much place, in the worst case, he can sleep on you right~?’’ Core would say with a bit of a joking intention, he was enjoying this fun talk about Kay-El’s ship much more than the stupid political talk about the saiyan empire, he felt silly that he brought the subject to begin with, it was so stupid and not interesting, for now, they could enjoy this moment, and if the invasion was to come, they’d deal with it, no need to stop living because of it.

As Core was attaching gently the seaweed to Kay-El’s finger and hearing her thank, Core would wave his tail next to her finger and giggled. ‘’ It’s like those stuff I saw at the store earlier… uh… friend bracelet? But those smell betters!’’ Core would say as a joke before hearing that she also has something for him, making him blush again a bit, he wasn’t expecting a gift more than the hug he have back to her tenderly like always, hugs were really becoming something he’d get addicted, and when squeezing Kay-El in his arm, his heart pounded a bit stronger than usual, enough for her to probably feel it. When Core saw Kay-El handing him a big shell and spoke about it, his eyes would get a bit endeared as he listened to the ocean while closing his eyes softly. ‘’ Y-yes… I hear it… it’s… beautiful~’’ He would whisper to her before he saw her second gift, making a bit of a tear trail go down his cheek as he went to hug her once more, this time, he would even leave a gentle peck on her cheek. ‘’ T-thank you Kay… and don’t worry… if you really want to do it in person, we’ll have the time to do so next time we see each other right~?’ Core would tell her, convince she’d come back at some point, they'd see each other. '' Next time we see each other, should it be you coming back or us meeting in space, we're to spend a whole day together~'' Core would begin, handing her his pinkie for a promise. '' Promise?''

Core had come to know Kay-El very well, in fact, her lies were easier to find out for him, not that they were easy at all, she could still rather easily lie to him and he wouldn’t see it, but this one just seemed a bit obvious. When she putted the hat back on his head, Core would giggle softly at her comment and looked up at her with a soft and caring look. ‘’ Thank you~ but it was really nice on you as well~’’ Core would say as a compliment to her, though he didn’t really had a second thought about it, it was simply a compliment that came there naturally. When the hug ended and she reached for his hand, Core would gently take her and softly hold it in his, something about that gesture would make him blush lightly, which in term, made him bio-gem glow lightly brightly, which was really the worst blush you could have if you didn’t wanted someone to notice it in the dark.

While she mentioned that if his brothers were all sweet like him, she’d get along with them just fine, Core would blush even brighter, another compliment from her and he’d be lighting the whole place in red at this pace, but he would try to ignore it and nodded softly to her. ‘’ Don’t worry, they are mostly sweet, I could say that Orange is a bit of a jerk sometimes, but he has a good heart, he don’t really mean it most of the time…’’ Core would tell her with a bit of a nostalgic chuckle, thinking back to his brothers, along with his goodbye with Kay, made him really emotional, his heart, for the first time, felt really light, like it was made of helium or something similar.

Core would rise his eyes for a moment toward the sky, so many stars, so many systems to see, a bunch of them hiding life on one or two of their planets… so many places to check for his brothers, so many chances that one of them would be missing… there was just something about this quest of his that just felt… well… impossible. Core would think, a promise to himself and his brothers, silently, he would smile up, hoping that somewhere, at some point, his brothers would see him somehow from the distant planet they were on, maybe Blue, he was always a genius so he might as well already built a mega telescope and found them already! This though made Core laugh and lower his eyes to look at Kay again.

When Core’s attention came back to his hybrid friend, she was speaking about how great her ship was, which she apparently called Lady, a pretty simple name, but again, a ship didn’t needed a name super-complicated that had a meaning that question the sense of life, and considering its color, Lady was a pretty good choice. When she agreed on what Core had said about Pounce, which was that he wasn’t taking much place in the ship, Core would smile, a bit amused. The more he was thinking about it, the more Core was starting to realize that maybe Kay-El was involved with the Saiyan Solar Empire, and honestly, he didn’t cared at all; if her friend wanted to join her brother, who Core figured was already part of the Empire back then, he wouldn’t care, if they could still see each other and never had to fight against each other, then there was nothing back about it, the young Arcosian didn’t understood why his vision of his friend would change for something this small, he liked Kay-El way too much to simply deny her for something political, they were friends and children, politic wasn’t their domain, not at all anyway.


Core would giggle softly and childishly toward Kay-El when she mentioned that the smell was good, it was truly something he knew, it wasn’t a simple part of seaweed; it was enhanced by Phae’s magic and was keeping the smell of the ocean shore at all time. ‘’ Eh eh, thanks to Phae’s magic, this seaweed is always hydrated and will always keep the smell of the ocean, no matter what happens to it, even if you have to shove your fist in some random smelly monster’s face, it will come back smelling good~’’ Core would joke about it in a playful and teasing way, he wondered if in fact there would be thing to block Kay-El’s path in space, but he figured that she was strong enough to beat him most of the threat that could come her way; just like him, despite the appearance, Kay-El would be a really strong fight if she’d come to it.

When Kay’s lips would touch his cheeks, Core would blush to a point where he was literally glowing brightly in the dark, well, his bio-gems was, but his cheeks were still deep red. As Core’s tears of joy would come down his cheeks, the hybrid would come to wipe it and ask him not to cry, which he would approve and smiled widely. ‘’ S-sorry it’s just… you’re always so nice, sweet and caring to me… those were tears of joy… as they call it on Earth.’’ He would admit to her before they joined their pinkies in their promise of spending a day together, he smiled brightly to her as her brilliant smile was lighting the place maybe as much as his blushing gems would. ‘’ I’m already looking forward to it… dammit!’’ He would say in a joyful and funny voice. When she said that she needed the go now, parting apart from their hug, he would smile a bit at her as he handed him her scouter, he would put it on his head, looking through the glass pieces and giggling. ‘’ Well, It must look silly doesn’t it~? A-also… can I like… visit your ship quickly before you go~?’’ He would ask her innocently, though he had a plan in his head.

The young Arcosian would let out a soft and honest chuckle when he heard her answer to his compliment, which was really something silly, simply telling her she looked great with his sleeping hat on, but it showed just how close the two of them were, at this point, anything they said to each other was bringing up a nice moment between them, a new proof of how they really liked each other, and for Core, there was , there was very little thing, if any at all, that were more important than Kay to his eyes, and just the thought that it would be a while before he see her again made this moment so heartbreaking yet with a beauty of his own, it was like one big promise, the promise that this wasn’t the last time they met each other, and that they would see again, whatever should happen to both of them, this wasn’t the last time they met, and understanding this made Core smile brightly, this wasn’t a goodbye forever, this was truly just a ‘see you again’ in his mind now.

At this moment, Core, against his usual habitudes, was really not using any part of his ki anywhere, just how relaxed he was, the only unnatural thing about him right now was the warm and comforting glow of his red bio-gem on his body, which was really not something he was controlling all that much, but more like a reflection of his feelings right now, and it was really confusing to Core to see that his light wasn’t stronger right now, because he was feeling something intense right now, this moment, it looked like it was stretching time, like time itself wanted to give them more time together, Core couldn’t see anything but Kay-El at the moment, his heart was growing with that new feeling he could feel grow inside of him.

Through the look in her eyes, Core could see that even if she knew she had to go, there was something inside of Kay that wanted to stay here, her eyes were shining with the desire of adventure as well, and probably this one was stronger, as Core knew she wasn’t going to stay on Earth, she was definitively going, and at this point, he didn’t mind at all, he just wanted her to come back, no matter how long it would take, just to come back to Earth healthy, not hurt in any mean. If she was to send him a message, saying someone had hurt and was holding her captive, Core wasn’t able to predict his reaction, but he was certain of one thing, the person involved would regret every second they kept her away from him at the thousand.

When his friend came with a rather good question, Core would smile widely, it was true that he never explained it to her, and telling half the story could get confusing sometime, so he would ponder for a bit, making sure not to miss any details before turning back to her, his eyes meeting hers and locking there like he was unable to escape her sigh. ‘’ Well, the name Core Stold was given to me when I came on Earth, some people wanted my creators down, though I was some kind of abomination, so I had not to keep such an obvious name… so the scientist sent a message in my space pod, giving me my new name… and I kind of liked it… so I decided to keep it even if it was given to me by their kind of people… I think it suits me well~’’ Core would admit to her a bit amused, it was true that he could have chosen a name for himself, but he also chose to keep this one, which was really not bad, fitting his power and his personality well at the same time.

At that very moment, when Core was looking deeply into Kay-El’s eyes, he was sharing her though without even having to talk, in this instant, Core’s wish was impossible to realize, alike the one of his friend, he wanted this moment to lasts forever, this feeling inside of him felt so good, comforting and re-assuring that there was no way he could ignore this memory of if after this moment together, he would have to live without it for a while, until Kay-El comes back at the very least, which of course, would have him to be strong, he was going to wait for her anyway possible, and he would allow nothing to change anything on Earth until she comes back, and as that though was growing in his mind, another one would grow out of it. [ Next time… I’m leaving with her…] He would think to himself silently.

When Kay mentioned Phae being awesome and a bunch of other compliment, Core would nod happily. ‘’ Yeah, since her and Celmaru adopted me… I feel like I finally have a family…I’ve been given love for maybe the first time from family since my brothers, and on a completely new level… I was finally able to be weak in front of someone without problems, I was able to have fears… to cry… to… love…?’’ Core would say to his friend, suddenly a slow realization would come to his mind, images of Celmaru and Phae together would make him realize, maybe THAT was the thing above friendship he was feeling for Kay.

Looking at Kay-El with a bright smile as she mentions that happy tears were okay, the young Arcosian would let out a soft giggle as he gently grabbed her hand and brought both of them together between his. ‘’ Make sure to leave me a message before arriving, I might have to gather some things for this day, even if the surprise of you suddenly being on Earth would also be great… uh… I can’t chose!’’ He would say with a fake sense of panic, when really, there was nothing to panic about, just a choice between two great things that were coming to the same happy conclusion, the reunion of both of them, which was something he could never be saw toward.

After the mention of Kay’s scouter fitting with Core’s bio-gem, the young Arcosian would nod a bit, it was true that everything red could look good on him, but he really never had a scouter before, he knew what it was mostly for, but that was pretty much it, he would have to play with it randomly in order to understand it, because now, he had no idea how to do anything. When Kay mentioned to have a tour to her ship however, Core’s eyes would lighten as he gently grabbed her hand and started to walk towards the ship, looking at her happily. A though would suddenly strike his mind as he tilted his head. ‘’ H-hey Kay… do you mind if I … uh… try something? I heard Phae say it’s really good…’’ Core would ask her shyly, speaking of the moment he asked Phae about what a kiss was when Celmaru and her did it in front of him.

The conversation between Kay-El and Core was going just fine, there was a light and playful ton to it alongside important information that was given to each-other, which was really the best thing you can ask for in a simple conversation between the two of them, or at least, Core though that way. ‘’ Well thank you Kay, I do think they picked my name just well too!’’ He would answer to her compliment, smiling childishly at her. When she mentioned to him that he had two families, Core would tilt his head. ‘’ Two families? I only have one… well… I guess I’ll have two if I happen to find one of my brother, but until then, I only have one, which is really okay if you ask me, I don’t need more families, though there is people making the family grow and that is really fun!’’ He would tell her since in his heart, he saw the Galactic Patrol like a group of friend, not a family, even though everyone in the Galactic Patrol was really nice and he wouldn’t mind knowing more about them and having them closer, some others he barely knew and were a bit weird.

Seeing into Kay’s attitude that his fake panic had done the right effect on the conversation, the young changeling smiled a bit, as they were walking toward her ship, the wind was slowly blowing toward them, bringing the nice scent of the night to both children. Even if it was technically Kay’s departure for probably a long time, Core didn’t minded, it felt just happy and nice, and he would still remember this moment as an happy one, no matter what would happen afterward, even if her going away from him wasn’t the happiest though, he knew she’d come back. ‘’ It’s okay~ even if you don’t call, try to give me a surprise! You could show up to my house, Celmaru rebuilt and ancient shrine for us and it’s truly great! It’s also surrounded by trees with pink petals, which is really nice to see!’’ He would say in excitement to his friend.

Core looked up at the ship as he was dragged in by his friend, whom was clearly over-excited about showing him the ship, good thing as she would be distracted and it would allow him to execute his little plan. He would of course listen to her closely as he was also interested in her ship, if there was a problem with it, she would be in danger and that was something Core didn’t wanted at all. ‘’ Wow! I didn’t expect this ship to have a ‘main hall’ I mean… as you say, it’s pretty small, I’d though all the space would be used practically, nice!’’ He would say as he left out a soft giggle when she mentioned the bathroom, having ever used such thing as he wasn’t rejecting any waste like humanoids were, but he still got the concept of it. When they stepped in the control room where the large window was showing all the surrounding, the light of the moon reflecting on the lake that was perfectly still, he would smile brightly. ‘’ you will have no problem catching every beautiful thing about space with this view, won’t you~?’’ He would joke to her amusingly.

Kay-El kept speaking to him about the ship as Core sat on one of the seats, seeing that they were in fact really comfy, but that wasn’t the point of him doing that at all. Core removed his hat at the moment Kay was distracted by her nanny and gave the hat gently on Pounce’s head, whom was simply walking around and looking up at this new person he had seen for a few times now, Core then give him a gentle pet as he would look up at Nana and smiled, hoping she wouldn’t call him on his plan. He would then turn back to Kay and look down for a moment before smiling up at her. ‘’ It’s okay Kay, it’s not a goodbye forever after all, we’ll meet again and it will be even greater~’’ He would tell her as he gave her a final hug and then left the ship, having suddenly another good idea.

The young Arcosian quitted the ship and flew up toward the sky. When he was high enough, he would suppress his power level to barely noticeable levels and would stand on the ship, waiting for them to get of; he wanted to do a bit of a funny goodbye in space, he was probably one of the only few people that could do that anyway as he could survive in space easily.