Cosmic Crisis 2 - The Return of Orion

Chapter 17 - Encounter with the Snake

Natalie awoke from a deep sleep on the hard, rocky path. She had obviously lain down to get some rest and fallen asleep on accident. She stood on her feet, stretching. Her neck was sore from sleeping the wrong way.

"Oh if only I could teleport like Goku. Then I wouldn't be doing this right now!" Natalie cried out loud. "Of course, complaining hasn't gotten me there, anyhow." She continued. After preparing herself, she shot through the air like a bullet, getting ever more close to King Kai's planet. "Hmph! At this rate I'll be there in no time." She said to herself as a smirk developed on her face. The wind whipped through her hair, occasionally blowing a few pieces into her eyes. On the way, she passed some sort of castle.

"Is that where King Kai is?" she wondered. She cautiously approached the building, leaning up against the side and then peering inside the large doors. Seeing nobody there, she walked in, taking slow, careful steps. There was no telling what could be around every corner. Suddenly, a young woman crossed paths with her. She had blue skin, and was wearing a green dress with a scale-like print on it. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail on the top of her head.

"Who are you? Where do you come from?" the girl asked defensively. Natalie took a step back and bit her bottom lip.

"I am looking for King Kai." She replied. Before the yellow-haired girl could reply, another woman came walking up. She had the same blue skin as the first girl, but she had a thick head of short, fiery orange hair and large, red eyes. She was wearing a dress similar to the green one, but in a shade of blue instead. She also had a white feather boa and round purple earrings.

"Now, honestly dear. Does it really take that long to-" she broke off when she noticed Natalie standing in front of her. "Now who might this be?" she asked, studying the girl. "A visitor? Too bad it wasn't a handsome young man. It's been a while since we had one of those stop by the palace."

"Oh, you see, I'm looking for King Kai. This is my first time on Snake Way, and-" Natalie started, but was broken off by the red-headed woman.

"Well you must stay for dinner. It's not every day that we get a guest." She said. <This girl may be of some use to me> she woman thought to herself. <She would make a great maid. I need a few more anyhow.>

"A-are you sure?" Natalie asked.

"Of course!" she replied. "Oh, I haven't even introduced myself. I am Princess Snake, and I live here."

"I see. Well I really must be going." Natalie said.

"No, I insist you stay!" Princess Snake said, startling Natalie with her unusual firm tone.

"Alright...if you insist." She replied.

"My maid will take you to be freshened up." Princess Snake said, and then walked off. The blonde-haired girl took Natalie to a room with a large, round, porcelain tub in the middle, with a fountain-style faucet hanging over the rim. On the far wall, there were several gold racks with white towels hanging on them. The floor under her feet was a pale pink tile with a glossy finish, and there were stylish overhead lights.

"Now let's get you out of these clothes." The maid said, and started undressing Natalie. Natalie, however, let her modesty get the best of her.

"That's okay, really. I can undress myself!" she said.

"Don't be ridiculous!" the maid replied, and continued. When she had finished, Natalie was beet-red while trying to cover herself up. The maid walked over to the tub and turned on the water. As it flowed into the tub, steam began to rise to the ceiling. She then poured some bubble bath into the water and bubbles began to fill the tub. "Just step in here and relax while I wash your clothes." The maid said. Natalie quickly got into the tub, but jumped up when she felt the heat of the water. After a few minutes adjusting, she finally settled into the water, which was just under her collarbone when she sat down. The luxurious bubbles surrounded her and made her feel totally at ease. As soon as the maid took her clothing and left, another maid came in. She looked just like the first one, with the exception that her hair was brown.

"Hello there. I'm here to clean you up!" she said cheerfully. Natalie was about to protest, but realized that it was useless. The woman walked over and took Natalie's brown hair down, causing her brown locks to fall over her shoulders. She then dunked Natalie under the water to wet her hair. When she surfaced, she coughed up a mouthful of water.

"What, are you trying to drown me?" Natalie cried, wiping bubble bath out of her eyes.

"Nonsense. I'm just getting your hair wet." The maid replied, rubbing shampoo in Natalie's hair vigorously. Natalie put up with the torture, only because she knew that she would feel much better afterwards. When the maid was finished rubbing in the shampoo, she dunked Natalie again, this time keeping her under longer to rinse her hair. When she surfaced, she again had to wipe soap from her eyes and spit out some water. After a few more minutes, she was finished and the maid handed her a towel to dry off, as well as a towel to dry her hair in. Natalie stepped out of the tub, covered in bubbles, and almost slipped on the tile floor. She dried herself off as quickly as possible and then wrapped her hair in her towel.

"Now let's see if your clothes are clean." The maid said to Natalie as she led her out of the bathroom and into the hallway. She then ducked into one of the other rooms for a moment, and then came back out. "They still need to dry. So while we're waiting, let's get you made up." The maid said, taking Natalie to the end of the hallway and into a new room. This one was a bit smaller than the bathroom, and had a large vanity on the far side. There was also a closet and thick carpeting underneath. The maid grabbed a gown out of the closet and handed it to Natalie to slip on. She did, and examined herself in the mirror. It was made of light blue silk, and was held in place by two thin straps that fell softly over her shoulders.

"This is nice." Natalie commented as she sat down in the chair in front of the vanity. While she sat still, the maid dried her soft, brown hair and styled it nicely.

"Do you wear makeup, dear?" the maid asked Natalie.

"No, not really. Just lip gloss." She replied. "Unless it's a special occasion."

"Well we'll make you up beautifully, then, won't we?" the maid continued, and opened a drawer full of cosmetics.

"A-are you sure about -"

"Don't worry! I'm practically a professional." The maid consoled Natalie. She began with concealor and then followed up with powder, which made Natalie sneeze. She then applied eyeshadow and kohl, as well as a nice shade of light pink lipstick. When she was finished, Natalie looked in the mirror.

"Wow." She said, studying her face. "This is a change."

"You look lovely. Now to check on your clothes." She said, stepping out of the room. Even though it looked really nice, Natalie really disliked too much makeup. It made her face feel weird. Just then, the maid came back into the room, holding Natalie's clothes, which were warm from drying. "Let's see what you have here." The maid said, holding Natalie's clothes up. "THIS is what you were wearing?" she said, studying her black tank top and navy blue nylon pants.

"They're just my training clothes." Natalie replied.

"Well I guess it'll do." She said, tossing the clothes to Natalie, who slipped into them quickly. She felt at ease in them. "Dinner is prepared. Let's go get you seated."

Natalie was lead to a rather large room with a long, rectangular table in the center. On top were a decorative red covering and two tall candles set inside silver holders. There was a great assortment of foods to chose from, ranging from rice to mashed potatoes, chicken to pork. Natalie stood in front of the table and gaped.

"Well don't just stand there." Princess Snake said, just entering the room. "Have a seat and help yourself." Natalie slowly sat down and looked at the food for a moment before serving herself. After a few minutes of eating, Princess Snake spoke up.

"What brings you to Snake Way, then dear?" she asked.

"Well..." Natalie said, pausing to swallow a mouthful of rice. "Dende said that I should go to King Kai's to train." She finished, remembering that she still had that golden halo above her head.

"Oh, I see. We once had a visitor who was in the same situation. But that was years ago. His name was Goku, I believe, but I could be wrong." Princess Snake said. Natalie jumped up in her seat.

"Goku? You mean Son Goku the Saiya-jin?" she said.

"Well yes. Do you know him?"

"Oh of course! Bulma and him are good friends. But Vegita doesn't seem to like him very much. He's a very nice guy." Natalie replied.

"Yes, indeed. Handsome too." The princess commented. Natalie smirked. Suddenly, she realized that she was supposed to be journeying to King Kai's planet, not dining with a Snake Princess.

"Well, thanks for the hospitality." Natalie said, getting up from her chair. "But I really need to be going now. I have to -"

"Why don't you stay a bit longer?" Princess Snake said demandingly.

"W-well..." Natalie stammered. "I really need to get to King Kai's planet. I only have a couple of months, and -"

"No I insist. Take your seat." The princess said. Just then, the two maids pushed Natalie into her chair.

"Hey! Look I'm sorry to eat and run, but I'm in a hurry!" Natalie cried.

"That's too bad, because I could use someone like you around here to help out." Princess Snake hissed, looking at Natalie with an evil glint in her eye. Natalie had about had enough.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Natalie screamed as the two maids grabbed her by the arms and dragged her into another room.

"We're just going to get rid of that dreaded memory of yours, and you'll forget all about King Kai." Princess Snake said evilly.

"No!" Natalie cried, struggling out of the maids' grip and making a mad dash for the door.

"I don't think so." Princess Snake said, and began to grow fangs. Suddenly, her skin was replaced with scales, and her eyes narrowed. Her body became elongated and sharp spike-like projections sprouted from her head and spine. She then chased after Natalie.

"Where did THAT come from!?" Natalie cried, soon forgetting the idea of running and jumping into the air. She shot out of the front doors and sped along Snake Way. "Whew. That was a close one." She said. Unfortunately, she looked back and saw that the Snake-Demon thing was still after her. "Damn I'll just have to expend a little more energy." Natalie said to herself and grew a brilliant white aura. She paused for a split second and then thrusted forward, leaving a sonic boom behind to blow the snake back. After about five minutes of this, Natalie finally slowed the pace a bit, but still maintained a good speed to make sure that she would arrive quickly. After an hour, she could see a tiny object ahead of her. From where she was it looked no bigger than a grain of sand, but slowly grew bigger. "That must be it!" she cried, and sped up.

King Kai sat on the hood of his car, watching the two Saiyans spar. Piccolo was still meditating on the side of the building.

"That girl should have been here by now. I wonder what's keeping her." King Kai thought to himself. No more than thirty seconds later, as if on cue, Natalie appeared in front of him. Just after she appeared, a tremendous gust of wind covered the entire planet, blowing the three warriors out of place and sending Bubbles and Gregory flying. King Kai barely managed to keep his grip on the bumper of the car.

"Well I see that you like to make an entrance. You are Natalie, I presume?" King Kai asked, letting out a snort.

"I am. Are you king Kai?" she inquired. "And MAN what is with the gravity on this planet? I feel like I weigh a metric ton!" she cried.

"I am King Kai. Sorry about the gravity problem. You'll adjust!" King Kai said with artificial cheer. "Your friends have already started training." He continued.

"Who said we were friends with HER?" a harsh voice said from behind Natalie. She spun around to see Vegita, crossing his arms, and Goku standing next to him with a grin on his face. Natalie's eyes lit up and she ran over to embrace them both. Vegita just stood like a statue, not even flinching, and Goku put his arm around her. She then stepped back and looked that them.

"Wow we have all missed you guys!" she exclaimed.

"We've only been gone for a day." Vegita said rudely. Natalie chuckled to herself.

"Well I guess HE'S back to normal." She thought to herself.

"Well, Natalie, before we begin ANY training whatsoever, I have one requirement." King Kai said. Natalie turned around to face him.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You have to make me LAUGH." He replied.

"Huh?" Natalie asked, puzzled. "Are you serious about that?"

"Yes." King Kai said.

"Oh...okay. Well, um..." she began, trying to think of something to do. "Okay, have you heard the one about the ham sandwich?" she asked.

"No." king Kai replied with a serious look on his face.

"Well, a ham sandwich walked into a bar and sat on the stool, preparing to order something. But the bartender said to him 'Sorry, we don't serve food here.'" Natalie said, trying to make it sound as funny as possible. King Kai didn't even flinch. "Yeah, I never liked that one either." She said, still trying to think of something. Goku and Vegita looked at her with sweatdrops.

"Don't worry, Nat!" Goku said, trying to console the girl. "It isn't that hard. I managed it in less than five minutes!"

"Yeah, thanks. Your naïve personality makes you naturally funny, baka!" She snapped. Suddenly, smothered giggles escaped from King Kai's mouth, until he couldn't hold it anymore and burst into a fit of laughter.

"Ha ha! I've never seen anyone insult ol' Goku so well!" King Kai said in between snorts. Natalie bowed and then walked over to Goku.

"Don't worry! You know I was kidding, right?" she said, slapping him on the back, hard.

"Sure! No hard feelings." Goku said, regaining his composure. Vegita showed his annoyance with a deep-throated growl.

"Well," King Kai said, "Let's begin."