Dragon Ball: Untold IC

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Selene glanced over as Hugo asked to see the small infant in her hands. The princess noticed her brother's disapproving look, as well, but ignored him for a moment as she addressed the Solarian child and one of her playmates.

"She isn't a doll, 'ugo," Selene told the younger child lightly. "We need to be careful with her. Let's go show the others," she continued as she walked, somewhat unsteadily but very carefully, towards the commotion on the other end of the room, where the fight almost broke out between Magnus and Faust. Selene still held Malla tightly as she looked at Faust.

"Hi, I'm Selene!" the blonde girl told the demonic half-Saiyan. "And this is Malla," she indicated to the child in her arms, before making a gesture to Hugo. "And he's 'ugo. You're Theo's brother, right?" Selene asked.

In the middle of the room, Glacia used her telekinesis to move Alexia and Theodora into the air, so they were eye level with the Arcosian empress.

"It has been very nice meeting the two of you," she told the girls. "But, ah, much like your mummy I have some terribly important people to meet." Glacia gave them a slight smile. "I shall very much like to talk to you two again, but right now you best go and play with your friends," the Arcosian gestured to the confluence of children as she put them down, before making her way again through the crowd, stopping at a group of Earth politicians.

"And you are Prime Minister Yoshida," she said to Tora, with an almost cat-like grin. "I have heard much about you."

Meanwhile, Spicer turned his attention back to Anhcovy and Ovan.

"Oh, with Scallion back, I'm sure you wanted to see him," Spicer told the martial artist.

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

Now that tensions between the kids calmed down, Ikki placed Faust down to let him get back to everyone else, all while the Saiyan himself folded his arms and turned towards Nymph.

"Someone had to," he replied to the woman's thanks for preventing a fight. "Faust is a lot more cranky than I expected him to be, it seems - though, last time we met, he was barely a baby, so..."

Back on the floor, Faust was approached by Selene and Hugo, and a third child, an infant, in the girl's hands. Magnus, now that the risk of a fight receded, was now more inquisitive rather than frustrated, interested in the kid whom Ikki described as his cousin.

"Um, hi, my name is Faust..." the demonic prince muttered and briefly raised his hand, before withdrawing it back. "Theodora is my sister. She's... better at talking than I am, sorry."

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

"Faust," Selene said, almost to herself, in an attempt to put the demonic prince's name to memory. Something did seem a little off to the princess, though. Selene knew that Faust was younger than Theodora, but the two of them look almost about her age, maybe older, but as far as Selene was aware, Lizzie was only married recently.

In the midst of the half-Saiyan's calculations, though, Selene seemed to ignore the apparent contradiction--or at least, decided to shell it until she could ask Helios--the princess gave Faust a smile.

"So you live in a castle too? What's it like?"

[Naval Monte]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Nymphaea noticed Malla on Selene's hands and she couldn't help but to gush on the site. "Aww, that is so precious! I wish I had a camera with me." When Selene approached Faust the demonic queen looked at the kids.

"Huh, Danu actually had a kid? I wonder if the father is still alive?" she pondered. She looked over at Ikki when he mention that Faust was cranky. "Can you blame him? He was forced to attend this party and it's being here where he can see his father who he rarely sees. He probably wished to have seen you back home and you two being somewhere more fun than in here." she glanced at some of the Earth politicians glaring at her.

"I don't like being surrounded by vultures either." she took a sip from the glass of wine on her hand.

Theo and Alexia came by and the two's eyes fell upon baby Malla. "Oh wow. I really love your doll!" Alexia stated as she gave Selene a wide smile. "It looks so real." she complemented.

"That's because it is real. That baby is related to us." Alexia looked surprise to hear the news. "What! How do you know that!?" Theo placed her finger on her lips which made her sister frown.

"Oh come on Theo! Spit it out!" Alexia would stomp her feet on the ground but Theodora would shake her head.

"Oh Selene." Theodora turned to face the young girl. "It's nice to see you. Maybe we can have a chance to play before the man in The Room comes?" Alexia blinked her eyes. "What?"

However any questions the green hair half demon would get would instead be left unanswered as the doors would slam open.

"Hey, Hey! Lizzy, Nymphy, guess who decided to crash the party!" A very familiar voice rang out, one that made both Elizabeth and Nymphaea raise their eyes.

"No way. She didn't..." the two turned and sure enough standing on the door, standing besides a tall man in a suit was a very familiar short woman with long silver hair, yellow eyes, and a red coat. In the apparent flesh before a large audience was the dead grand mistress of the Order of Ancient Mysteries, Alexandria Ashwood

The taller man sighed. "I'm sorry for this everyone but she was very insistent on coming here." the voice was easy enough for the two witches to realize that it was Nergal in human form. The older witch would form a rift in front of her and step in. The two would see a new one emerge and Alex exiting from it.

"Oh my Kami. I get to finally see all of my adorable grandkids together." Alexia would beam with excitement as she shouted in joy in seeing her grandma appear. The little girl would grow out both tiny wings and a tail and fly up to give her grandmother a hug.

"Grandma is here!" she shouted in joy. Magnus and Sybille looked at the older witch with stunned awe. They heard stories about their grandmother but they also knew that she was no longer around and that she would not come back. But now here she was standing in front of them.

Sybille turned to face her mother. "Why did you lie about grandma mom? She is still here?"

Nymphaea cringed when she heard how disappointed her daughter sounded at the idea that she lied to her about her mother. "She was sweety. But well things happened in the demon well and I.." before Nymphaea can say anymore she would see her mother picking up Sybille.

"It doesn't matter if I'm a pile of ashes or not. What is more important is that I get to see you two with my own eyes in here instead of looking down at you like a peeping tom." Sybille disappointed faded quickly as she gave her grandmother a smile and hugged her.

Elizabeth saw her father stepping out of the portal. "Dad." she asked, getting a sigh from Nergal.

"I tried to make her mother see reason Elizabeth. I did. But when she heard that you and your sister will be here with your kids she refuse to take no for an answer. She wanted to see her grandkids together in the same place very badly. Enough that the guards I sent to stop her failed to do so. I had to pay off their medical expenditure."

Alex turned back to her husband. "So that was why those demons tried to stop me. You do realize you are sleeping on the couch for that right?" Nergal frown at the news.

He was going to retort to the sleeping arrangement when he felt a small hand tugging at his pants. When he look down he saw it was Magnus.

"Mom said you were a very tall and strong demon. Why do you look like a human?" the inquisitive boy asked. The former demonic king chuckled as he ruffled the warlocks hair.

"This isn't my true form. I just look like this so I can blend in with the humans. I don't think we would have gotten through the front gate so easily if I came here in my true form."

Alex chuckled. "Yet we still had trouble getting through despite that. Maybe you should have showed your true form to scare off the guards."

Her husband snorted. "I think the physical trauma is enough for them. I rather not break them mentally as well."

Elizabeth was going to pretend that she didn't hear her parents confessing on attacking Serena's guards while Nymphaea was conflicted on whether to follow through the same thing as her sister or ask them on that.

"Maybe if your mother is willing I can allow you and your sister to visit over in the palace to play with your cousins." the two half saiyans gasp in delighte surprised as they both turn to their mother.

Looking at the pure joy in their eyes the Saiyaness easily broke down. "Oh sure. You two can have fun in Maikai. But don't leave the palace. Dis isn't a safe place for little Saiyans like you two." the two hybrids were overjoyed at the news.

Theodora looked up at Alex. "Aren't you afraid the big red giant will be angry at you being here?" she asked the witch who responded back with a shrug.

"What's King Yemma gonna do? Scowl me? If he wanted to send me back to the other side he would have done so already. Trust me, I won't be sent back so easily. I even learned a few new things so no big bad angel can take me into his creepy dungeon and use me however he likes." Theodora looked at her grandmother with confusion at the statement while Nergal gave a fake cough, making Alex realize that her demonic daughter was glaring at her, her eyes glowing red.

Alex moved back in fear. "Sorry. That just slipped." the green haired half demon look between the two. "Mommy also has white hair and yellow eyes. So she got it from you?" she said.

Alex was very grateful to her grand daughter for getting her out of her current predicament. She gave the small girl a smile. "Yep. But when she was little she use to have black hair and her eyes weren't like mines. She changed sometime before she became queen." Alexia was now intrigued.

"How was mommy like when she was a kid." Alex could see a look of pure dread wash over Elizabeth.

"Well when your mother was in her age she..."

[Ranoria]

Arashi & Hugo
Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Hugo trotted alongside Selene and sulked for a moment at not being allowed to hold the baby - he was strong enough! - but his attention was soon diverted by a platter of cupcakes decorated in excruciating detail. Of course, the beauty of hours of labor was lost on his adolescent gullet, and after a quick glance to see if Arashi was watching, he swiped one.

Within seconds, his face was caked in what had been a beautiful arrangement of icing, and he pitter-pattered his way to catch up with Selene. Once he had rejoined the others, he spread his arms, cupcake crumbs littering the floor, "Yeah, I am Hugo."

Arashi risked a glance over to the kid, and snickered. At least he'd had the restraint to restrict himself to one sweet.

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

Faust was looking away to the side, holding the glass in his hands awkwardly and hoping that Selene would get distracted by something else - maybe Hugo, stuffing himself with a mouthful of cupcake. When the girl mentioned castles, however, he perked up a bit - she seemingly connected him his princely status with living in a castle without him even mentioning it, and immediately asked what it was like.

"Uh, yeah, it's... boring to live in, honestly. I'm not sure why we need that much space," Faust explained and took a sip from his glass of juice. "It's very big, and pretty, and shiny, and I guess Mom likes it looking like that, but we don't need that many rooms, even for Theo and Lexi... I only ever visit three - and... the courtyard."

In the corner of his eye, Faust saw his grandmother and Nergal appear. His sisters and cousins were already lunging forward to meet her, and Ikki silently approached the scene as well, stopping next to Liz - Faust, meanwhile, chose to stay behind and instead watch from a distance.

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

"My mummy and daddy work in the castle," Selene explained to her fellow half-Saiyan when Faust questioned when they lived in such a large palace in the Demon Realm. The young girl laughed a little as Hugo returned, stuffing a cupcake into his mouth as he greeted Faust and his two sisters.

"We also have a other castle we live in, on the moon," Selene further told Faust. "We mostly live there, though. I don't my mummy and daddy like the big cities on Earth very much," the little princess thought out loud, thinking about how reluctant her parents were to spend a lot of time in the bigger cities.

"Do you have a lot of friends at your home?" she asked Faust.

Helios, meanwhile, looked over at the other half-Saiyans but was more interested in fiddling with a small mechanical device than actually engaging them in conversation. It was then that Alex opened a portal and stepped through with Liz's father, causing quite a stir in the process.

Spicer winced as Alex started making a scene, looking over at Ovan and apologising.

"Sorry, about this," he sheepishly said, as he walked over to the deceased Grand Mistress.

"Alexandria," he told her, "I'm glad you could come," Spicer added, practically biting the inside of his cheek.

[Naval Monte]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

If Faust believed that staying in the background would help him hide away from his grandmother he was wrong. The young boy would see Alex turn her direction towards him. "Why are you being shy Faust? Come over here and greet your grandmother. I want to see how much you have grown." she beamed.

Despite the request for him to come over Alex would place both her grand daughters down and approach Faust. She would crouch down and look at him. "Aw, it wasn't so long ago that you were just a tiny thing warped around your mother's arm and that little blanket I gave her. Look how much you have grown." she would reach out and pinch both his cheeks.

Magnus was chuckling at the sight with Sybille actually joining in as their grandmother's antic was too amusing for her as well.

When Selene spoke Alex would turn over to look at her. "Oh my. Is that a tiny Serena? That's precious." she would approach the little girl, sparing Faust cheeks from more pinches.

She would kneel down and to be at eye level with Selene. "What's your name sweety?" she asked the princess.

It was at that moment Spicer approached her. The grand mistress looked up at him as she got up.

"Hi Spicer" she greeted with a smile. Unaware or not caring for the Saiyan's mood

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Selene recognised Alexandria Ashwood from the picture she, Helios, Magnus, and Sybille found in her mother's library that one time. The deceased witch's silver-white hair and piercing eyes, at least, were the hallmarks of the Ashwood Grand Mistress, but even without appearing in her human form, or at least human guise, Selene recognised traits Alexandria shared with her two daughters--and granddaughters--as well as stories her mother and father told her about the mage.

The Princess, for her part, smiled at Alex.

"My name is Princess Selene of House Avernus," she told the Grand Mistress, repeating the phrase with the deliberateness a child has when reciting something her parents told her. Even with Malla still in her arms, Selen gave Alex a curtsy.

"I am very glad to meet you, Grand Mistress Alexandria of House Ashwood."

Spicer, meanwhile, sighed.

"I see you made herself acquainted with everyone."

[Naval Monte]

---

Alex let out a squeal of joy at the sight. "By the gods she is so precious." Alex would reach down and pick up Selene, carrying her along with Malla. Alex turn around to face Spicer. "Can I keep her Spicer?" she pleaded. Alexia raised her hand. "We're getting a new cousin!" she seem excited at the idea of adding Selene to their family.

Theodora looked up at Spicer. "One of my friends met a very angry old man. The old man wants you to know that you are a filthy monkey and that your wife is a traitor to her kind." Alex look down at Theodora. "That is a very rude thing to say Theodora." the little girl looked up to her grandmother. "But the old man wanted me to tell Spicer that."

Elizabeth would ask her daughter on who is the old man. "I think his name has Bull in it?" she said as she pondered on the name.

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

"No..." Faust muttered under his breath in response to Selene, after a few seconds of hesitation. "Outside of my family, I only really have... a few." Demons were not exactly easy to befriend, especially when those who weren't ugly and terrifying would look at the half-Saiyan prince from below. And even of the handful of friends he did have, how could he be sure if they actually liked him or if they just pretended to for the sake of his heritage? Say, would Meroe treat him they way she did if he was just an ordinary boy from the street?

Immersed in thought, the little prince saw Alex coming his way far too late, and he barely got a chance to twitch before his grandmother caught up with her and started showering him with sweettalk. Not only that, but she was pinching his cheeks and pulling him in - the sudden intimacy, however genuine and innocent it was, really did not resonate well with the kid.

"Uh, I think you should tell your mother to-" Ikki was already speaking up, but thankfully, Alex did not annoy Faust for too long and instead moved on to Selene. He could already see sparks of ki shooting up from his kid's fingers, and had she lingered around for just a second more she might have gotten an energy blast into her face. Ikki hurried to the scene and picked Faust up.

"That won't be fair, Lexi, you already have a sister and a brother," the Saiyan spoke up as soon as Alexia announced her intent to privatize Selene for herself. "You'll leave Helios with nothing."

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

"Then you'll have to visit Earth and Luna more often with your sisters," Selene told Faust when he told the princess that she didn't have very many friends before Alexandria interrupted them. "Sybille and Magnus come over all the time, we can all be great friends together."

When Alex picked Selene up and asked if she could keep her, Spicer gave the witch a nervous laugh, before Theodora approached and told her about some things her "friends" told her. Spicer frowned, the Saiyan quickly inferring what the miniature necomancer was talking about, after Liz after her daughter for some more details.

"You don't have to worry about him," Spicer told Theodora, with a slight sigh. "But your friends should be more careful with who they talk to," the Saiyan warned Theodora. Spicer then looked over at Alex.

"Was there another reason you came, Alexandria?"

[Naval Monte]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

"Oh..." Alexia looked down as she placed a finger on her lips as she thought of how not to leave Helios alone.

Her eyes widen as an idea came to her. She would walk up to Spicer and would conjure a can of soda on her hand. "If you allow Selene and Helios to live with us I will give you a cola!" the girl said with enthusiasm as she believe the deal was a fair trade.

Elizabeth shook her head while Alex chuckled. Theodora would nod at Spicer's advice. "Also if you find yourself dealing with giant monkeys just throw raw meat at them and get away. It will be hiding above you." She stated before she turn to face her grandmother who was asked if she came here for other reasons.

Alex gave Spice a smile. "Of course I did." she would put down Selene.

Alex would crouch down to Selene's height. "Please close your eyes and open your hands." when the little girl did so Alex would open a small portal and a box containing an enchanted tea set.

"Now open them." she would get up just as Selene would see her new toy.

"I wish to give gifts to my grandkids, nice, and nephew. I even got gifts for your kids Spicer. Unfortunately I don't have one for the other kids. I will have to do it later."

Alex would approach Faust first. "I heard you are training to be a skilled swordsmen. I think this will help you out." she would pull out a dagger for him. "I found the best arcanists and metal smith to make this."

Nymphaea looked at the dagger. "Isn't that dangerous?" the older witch shrugged. "I let you two be exposed to magic and you two turned out alright didn't you?"

The two sisters glanced at each other.

"Besides I already bought these gifts and nothing will stop me. Not even the supreme kaishen himself." she would waltz to Alexia and give her a doll that was a slug like creature. "Try squeezing it." The green hair girl did as she was told and the slug would emit a terrible screech that echo through the chamber. "I love it grandma!" the girl beamed with joy. Alexia would squeeze the toy again and it would make the same horrible scream once more.

Alex would go over to Theodora and give her a jewel covered skull. "I heard you got into the same collection hobby your mother had when she was in your age. I hope you will treasure this one." Theodora pressed the skull on her chest as she hugged her, giving Alex a small smile.

Alex would give Helios a small mechanical clockwork golem. She would summon the construct and instruct it to walk to the blond. When it came to Sybille she would pull out a witch hat which the young girl loved while with Magnus she found a book that was filled with spells.

"No one can't say that I'm a terrible grandmother." she declared. On the background Pesu was on top of a small cleaning robot as the machine spun the shark around.

[Ranoria]

Arashi and Hugo
Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

""No one can't say that I'm a terrible grandmother."

The words pushed an already hurt Hugo over the edge, and the Solarian marched up to Alex and scowled, hands balled at his sides, "That wasn't nice!" He declared while some of his uncut bangs fell over his eyes. "You didn't get me any presents!" The tike was rather determined for one his age, but Arashi swooped in before he could continue. Snatching up and shooting the little guy a glare was all it took, and Hugo's obstinate façade quickly crumbled.

"What did I tell you about yelling at people?" The Tohran asked about as sternly as he was capable of doing, and Hugo's lip began to quiver. "Now, tell Alex sorry for me."

"Sorry," he managed before hiding his face against Arashi's shoulder. The Tohran shrugged.

"Sorry about that, little rascal's tuckered out," He offered with a small smile, and began to gently bounce him up and down in some attempt to calm the kid down. "He really doesn't need anything though, little dude's got more toys than I can keep track of."

[Naval Monte]

---

Alex took a step back when Hugo snapped at her for not giving him a gift. "Oh sorry. I didn't know Arashi can have kids. If I knew he was going to have a son I would have..." she stopped speaking as she realize that what she was going to say won't work. "Wait for a moment will you. I will be back shortly." Alex would create a portal and step through it.

"Where do you think mom went off to?" Nymphaea asked which earn a shrug from Elizabeth. A few minutes would pass until Alex return. She would give Malla a teddy bear and Hugo a toy rocket. "It was a last minute gift but I'm sure you two would love them." she placed her hands on her hips as she look proud at her accomplishments.

"I see you are taking advantage of the royal treasury huh?" Elizabeth teased. Alex nodded. "Yes but only for Spicer's and your kids along with your sister. I found those toys in a store near by and took them." Elizabeth was silent for a while.

"You did pay for those two right?" she asked, having a feeling what she would get from her mother.

Alex's silence on the question would cause Elizabeth to sigh as she rubbed her temple. "Of course."

[Finland SSR]

Prince Faust Ashwood-Kita

---

"I'll ask for Mom to bring us there every once in a while, I guess..." Faust muttered under his breath in response to Selene's invitation. Spending some time with other children than his sisters sounded like a good deal - while he didn't have any harsh feelings towards Theo and Lexi by any measure, their interests... simply did not align very well. And he wasn't going to play dress-up either.

When his grandmother approached Faust again, the kid flinched on instinct - thankfully, however, she did not pinch his cheeks or squeeze him this time. Instead, Alex pulled out an encrusted dagger and handed it to the kid - to the chagrin of his aunt, who immediately complained about the danger. It reminded him of Meroe back home, and the insistence to stay with training weapons for the time being. This, meanwhile, was the real deal, however small it was.

Faust flashed a smile, nodded and replied:

"Thank you, grandma!"

Already, he began lightly swinging the dagger, listening to the swish and getting the handful of guests standing near him to jump away in fright.

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Selene looked at the magical tea set Alex gave her. Already, the cups and teapot began to move on their own, pouring the young princess a cup. The little girl looked over at Alex and gave her a big smile.

"Thank you very much, Lady Ashwood!" she exclaimed. Meanwhile, Helios looked over at the mechanical golem as it moved around the room, even picking Squiggly up and helping to move the slime creature to a better spot on the table. Helios didn't make a reply, merely, he studied the device, trying to figure out how it worked and what properties--magical and mechanical--produced its locomotion.

Spicer, meanwhile, gave Arashi a sympathetic look as he tried to control Hugo. The Saiyan silently wondered if the Solarian child would start firing off beams from his eyes but he relaxed a bit as Alex returned and handed the toddler a toy rocket, before looking over at Liz and nymph's children playing with their new toys.

[Turkducken]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

"And you are Prime Minister Yoshida," she said to Tora, with an almost cat-like grin. "I have heard much about you."

The Prime Minister of Earth was entertaining guests of the opposition. Polite conversation and rubbing of elbows was enough to impress most shallow rung climbers. The quiet understanding is that no real favors were made in these polite talks. He knew that they were here for a myriad of their own intentions, and he was here for his. It was exhausting, and Tora-san had quickly grown tired of these games he had to play. A small child pushed past his group, Tora's face scrunched in a quiet look of disapproval. He had never been married, never had any children, and he frankly did not care for small children.

His attention was caught by excited murmurs coming from the back of his group. A frown formed as he noticed the King-Husband, entourage of children and friends in a swirling storm of people around him. There was another small child, "No, not a child." Tora corrected himself, seeing the horns, talons, and claws of the Acrosian floating with the crowd. He had seen her visage on all of the PTO news. There was a lot of it recently, something about a planet fairly distant to Earth, something else from his own intelligence suggesting something major had happened that the PTO at large had yet to disclose. Whatever it was, he decided, it might not be the best to question the Empress about something possibly scandalous in such a public space.

The Acrosian Empress finally approached him, effortlessly and gracefully moving through the air, she gave the Prime Minister a knowing and sly smile. "I could say the same Empress Glacia." Tora-san curtly replied, shooing the bubble of MPs from around him, "An invitation from Her Majesty I assume?" he gave her a perfunctory bow, extending his hand for her to shake, "The Sol System welcomes you, and so does the Government of Earth."

[Britanania]

Collab with Saint
Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

As the guests piled into the palace and its rooms, Serena was fulfilling her role as Earth's sovereign, serving as part hostess and part entertainer to the various guests who were invited to Glacia's first official visit to the Sol system, and the Earth in particular. It was exhausting work, or at least, would be for most normal people to juggle the planning stages and actual execution of these events but 6 years into her reign and Serena finally felt as if she was becoming a real pro. Plus, it helped her magic and her angelic heritage gave her more stamina than a normal person, of course.

Still, Earth's sovereign resisted the urge to sigh as she stood talking to a few politicians--or as Spicer loved to tease her, the vultures--about small matters of state. When more of her friends started to pour into the room, though, she could hardly contain both her relief and her joy. Outside of Nymph and Arashi, who of course came early to help, Liz and her growing brood were the first to arrive.

She greeted her Minister of Magic warmly, of course, grasping her hands tightly.

"Liz, it's so good to see you," Serena would tell the cambion. "And Ikki is coming too, of course?"

On cue, the Galactic Patrol representatives arrived, Ikki among them. Serena let the sheriff greet his children first, though, knowing full well how little he could see them, and feeling somewhat pained herself at the thought of not seeing Helios and Selene for months. She gave a smile, watching him hug his children, just as Ovan and Anchovy arrived with their son. Spicer apparently was handling that, just as Alex arrived, in her usual bombastic way, handing out gifts with pomp and circumstance. Serena did wince slightly, as Alex apparently stole some. With a sigh, the queen approached Alex.

"Alex, I'm glad you're...well," she said, unsure in a way at how to broker the elephant in the room regarding Alex's status as technically deceased. Indeed, it appeared there was already chatter about it from some guests, but Serena tuned them out. "And thank you for the gifts,"

Amidst the hecticness, Selene approached her mother and smiled, still holding Malla.

"Look mummy!" the princess told her. "Lady Ashwood gave me a tea set."

Serena smiled and knelt down, so she was eye level with her daughter, placing a hand on her head.

"Now you're a big princess and can have meetings like mummy," Serena told the smiling girl.

Spicer, meanwhile drifted through the crowd, noting Glacia and Yoshida talking, but he made his way towards Ikki.

"Officer," he said with a nod. "And how are things from the frontier. We don't get much news this far out," Spicer told Ikki.

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

Ikki watched Faust initially finally calm down and get a conversation with Selene going, and raised his finger in worry when Alex handed him a dagger as a gift, but left the child to his own devices. The kid was a bit rough, but wouldn't go around stabbing people and, if Liz was to be believed, was actually training in handling weapons, so he hopefully won't cut himself either. And besides, surely Liz will take that dagger away as soon as they return home.

The Saiyan turned his eyes to the side, catching Spicer's approach with the corner of his vision, and faintly nodded as soon as the other Saiyan spoke to him. The use of "Officer", instead of something more casual, did not leave Ikki all that happy, but he figured it was a lost cause to lecture Spicer on how to introduce himself to people. His upbringing was just that way.

"It's... going okay. Everything has been rather hectic for the past few years. After we defeated Floe, quite a lot of her forces escaped to the frontier and took up banditry - and the same later happened with those who followed after Fuar and Scall. The people living out there were being terrorized already, and now there's entire legions of Floe's former troops running around, pillaging and extorting from everyone in their tracks... We've been forced to clean them up."

After a long winded explanation, Ikki sighed, then flashed a faint smile.

"Still... it's been satisfying. You know well that this sort of... job, going out and helping people, is what I've always wanted to do."

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Spicer nodded as Ikki explained the situation on the galactic frontier, especially the areas that were once under Scall and Floe's direct jurisdiction seven years ago during and immediately after the end of the PTO Civil War. Of course, the Saiyan was aware of Glacia's two border conflicts against the Makyans, who used the chaos of the civil war to try and regain territory lost five decades ago, but Spicer also kept in mind the rumours that had filtered through, from what happened to Polara in the North-East as well as the rumours coming out of Tuffle Space.

Certainly never boring, the Saiyan thought, crossing his arms.

"And necessary, of course," the Prince Consort added to Ikki's last point. "There are many things we don't know about, even within the PTO's borders, but I am sure you're happy to spend time with your family," Spicer concluded.

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

"It's... certainly great to come down to visit every once in a while. Not just Liz and the kids, either - I only get to see everyone else in the gang so often. And the planet, too..." Ikki answered with a slightly more somber tone, his hands now shoved into the pockets of his uniform. "That's probably the biggest drawback of the job, all the time I have to spend away from everyone else."

The Saiyan stared off to the ceiling for a second, before continuing:

"And, it's just... the distance alone that draws such a huge wedge. It's nothing like the trip from Earth to Glacia's throne - the frontier is much farther out and the trip there is much more treacherous. I have to make that trip forward and back every time I have to drop by for a visit, so it's been... sporadic."

Ikki then faintly smiled. "But such is life. It'd be a lot simpler if I could just teleport back home with a ship in tow, but oh well..."

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Spicer nodded as Ikki opened up about what it was like not being able to see his wife and three children all that often. It reminded the Saiyan how fortunate he was, and he thought back to their period of training in the Chamber of Space and Time. Yes, Spicer was fortunate to have been with Serena, but the year--relative to them of course--of being separated from Selene and Helios was a grueling ordeal. Spicer glanced in the direction of his children--to Selene talking with Serena, and to Helios tinkering by himself.

Do I have the fortitude to leave them, for the sake of saving the galaxy? Spicer wondered, without any real answer, as he turned back to Ikki. The Saiyan's final words reminded Spicer of something.

"Is it not possible to use portals?" he asked. "I know Serena and Lottus can make the, surely Elizabeth can as well."

[Finland SSR]

Star Sheriff Ikki

---

The mention of portals got Ikki to snicker in light amusement.

"If I land on a planet which is able to connect to Maikai, then Liz does drag me down to her dimension, yes. That's how I ended up as her champion in a tournament to decide the fate of the throne, too," the Saiyan explained, reminiscing about the demonic tournament as he spoke. Much of it had dulled from his memory already, but a few of the moments were certain to last forever. Pushing himself farther than he ever could to defeat Doctor Tarragon, standing before Asmodeus to protect Liz and then evoking a new transformation in her... just those two alone.

"But such planets are rare, and I can't stay in Maikai for very long, either," Ikki continued. "I'm... sure a portal could help - but there's got to be limits in what Serena and Nymph can do, right? We're talking about huge distances, after all."

[Britanania]

Royal Palace, Central City, Kingdom of Earth, Spring 507 AU

Spicer crossed his arms as he considered Ikki's questions. The Saiyan general was certainly no expert on magic--his first experiences with the phenomena were when he first came to the Earth, after all--but he was also aware the magic Serena possessed was different than what Nymph and Liz could do.

"Well, Serena's magic seems...limitless, in a sense," he said. "She can seemingly teleport at will, almost anywhere, at least when she's using her true form. Lottus and Elizabeth I know can set up portal relays. If you remember, that is how Alexandria and Elizabeth rescued us when we first fought against Rads and her squadron."

Although given how much more powerful both of them are, even their limitations might have shrunk, Spicer wondered, as he looked down and saw Selene approaching them, looking up at Ikki. The princess gave the other Saiyan a curtsy.

"Officer Kita," she started, "Would it be all right if Theodora, Alexia, and Faust sleep over tonight?" she asked the star sherrif.