Reaching Out to the Truth

Sure enough, a voice soon called out to Taori and Alpinia, and they both turned at the same time to see a gaudily dressed Saiyan leaning up against a lamppost. As he addressed them, Taori nodded, and Alpinia shook her head. "I was, she wasn't," Taori explained as he gestured towards his wife. "I was his niece, though, so I'm still interested in hearing about this!" Alpinia quickly chimed in. The man, who Taori assumed must have been Yangcong, made an... Interesting maneuver, before he walked off into a nearby bar. He and Alpinia exchanged a glance before the latter shrugged and walked ahead, with Taori shortly behind her.

The place seemed to be closing up, but Taori did catch Yangcong paying off one of the staff to let them stick around. So, he was wealthy enough to hand out money whenever was convenient for him, huh? Taori snorted as he and Alpinia walked inside, and he led her and Yangcong over to a table where they could all have a seat. "Anyway, introductions," he began, "Uh, I'm Taori, this is Alpinia. You probably heard me back there, but yeah, I was in Garrick's squad." Alpinia then chimed in, "And you were a friend of his? Taori told me a little bit about you, but even then, I don't think he was able to find all that much. Though, between you and me, it isn't really like detective work is his forte-" "Alpinia!" Taori cut her off.

He shook his head while Alpinia chuckled to herself. "Regardless, I'm right about you two having some kind of connection, right?" Taori asked Yangcong. "I'm looking for... Answers, about things, so I was hoping you could lend a hand."

TAGS: Yangcong

As the waitress came over to ask them if they wanted anything, Taori shook his head. "No, I'm fine, thank you," he told her, though Alpinia quickly piped up, "I'll take a Hetap! You guys have those, right?" Taori glanced over at her with a raised eyebrows, and she shrugged. "What? Just cause it's an Earth drink doesn't mean it isn't still good." The waiter then left to get what Alpinia and Yangcong had ordered, and the man soon pulled out a photo graph of him and Garrick, which Taori carefully took to look at. That was Garrick, alright - the beard, the hair, the stupid shoulderpads, everything checked out. And that must have been Yangcong shaking his hand - the scar on the face was pretty damn distinctive.

"He looks happy," Alpinia commented as she leaned over to look at the photograph as well. "...Yeah," Taori replied. He seemed lost in thought, or perhaps lost in reminiscence for a few moments, until he looked up and handed the photo back over to Yangcong. Exclusive assassination contracts, huh? That seemed oddly out of character from what Taori had known Garrick to be. He always wanted to minimize casualties on both sides, and seemed like he favored peace more than fighting. Taori glanced over at Alpinia as he mused that the unusual tendency towards peace must've run in their family's blood.

"I was in his main squad for about four years," Taori replied. "Used to be in another squad called the Crusher Corps - caused a lot of explosions for the Tuffles until we all got wrecked ourselves. After that, I was able to worm my way into Garrick's group, and stuck there until he died and we disbanded." After he'd finished, Alpinia explained her own connection. "And yes, I do know Delia and Amara - they're both my cousins, actually. I'm actually supposed to link up with Delia again soon, but I haven't heard a peep from Amara since my uncle - her father - died. Do you know Amara? Is she safe?" Alpinia leaned in closer to Yangcong, a concerned expression on her face as she inquired about her cousin.

TAGS: Yangcong

"Earth? What's she doing there?" Alpinia asked with a tilted head. She couldn't fathom a reason for Garrick's daughter to go running off like that. Wouldn't she wanted to have stayed behind with the rest of her family? ...Actually, who was the rest of her family? Obviously, there had to have been a mother involved in Amara's, well, creation, but Alpinia could not recall them ever being mentioned. Perhaps she and Garrick had split up shortly after their daughter's birth? Alpinia made a brief, worried glance towards Taori as she hoped that'd never happen to the two of them, though Taori seemed more focused on getting as much information as possible out of Yangcong.

"You don't know anything, then?" Taori asked, his shoulders sinking and his eyes drifting down towards the table as he spoke. "All I know - All I've known for years was that he died in some big explosion in a ship. I don't know anything else, but Garrick Squad was toast after that. Here I thought you might've had something more substantial." Taori sighed and leaned back in his seat, while Alpinia placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. She then turned back towards Yangcong and asked, "Well, if you don't know many other facts about Garrick's death... What about any leads? Or, any theories you've had? We've been looking for closure on this for a while now, and... Well, I'd really like to close the book on this one. Like... What do you mean both Tuffles and Saiyans played a part in his death?"

Just then, the waitress returned, their drinks in tow as they placed them down on the group's table - Yangcong's black coffee and Alpinia's Hetap. "Thank you," Alpinia said with a nod as she took a sip of her soft drink, all the while eyeing Yangcong expectantly.

TAGS: Yangcong

Now that Yangcong mentioned it... It was a bit odd, wasn't it? Taori frowned and glanced down, deep in thought, his arms crossed over his chest while he leaned back in his seat. Who in the Saiyan military would want to kill one of their own like that, though? What good would it have done for their cause? Garrick was an incredibly effective commander. his casualty rates compared to his success rates were second to none, and even outside of the war effort, the man was respected by all who knew him. So why...? "Are you sure Amara would know anything?" Alpinia asked as Taori perused his thoughts. "She was quite small when Garrick died, if I'm remembering right. I haven't even seen her since before he died."

"What about this 'Cheri'?" Taori asked while he sat back up straight, his arms lowering to his lap. "That's not a Saiyan name. Who are they?" That almost sounded like the kind of name that might belong to a Tuffle. Why the hell would a Tuffle know anything about Garrick that his Saiyan brothers and sisters in arms wouldn't? It didn't make any sense - not one damn bit. He glanced up at Yangcong, who seemed as though he was getting choked up over his memories of his old friend, and sighed. "Alright, well... Thanks for the info," he said with a nod. "Unless you have anything else, I think we're done."

TAGS: Yangcong

A Tuffle? Taori's brows furrowed and he frowned. He couldn't imagine why a Tuffle would know all too much about Garrick - unless Yangcong meant to imply that this 'Cheri' had something to do with Garrick's death. Either way, it was something worth looking into for later, he decided. Though, just as it seemed that was the only lead they were going to be getting, Yangcong conveniently pulled out a new file, which Taori and Alpinia both eyed curiously. And then Yangcong pulled a name out of that file. Oregano. Some guy who used to work for the Saiyan military and resigned right after Garrick's death, huh? 

"Well, I'd say that's suspicious, but I withdrew from the armed forces not too long after Garrick bit the dust myself," Taori replied. Still, it was something, he supposed. "What, you think this Oregano guy had something to do with my uncle's death?" Alpinia asked with a worried frown. "But why? What Saiyan would have even had a reason to kill him? He never did anything that wasn't in favor of the Kingdom." Alpinia shook her head, and sighed. 

She wasn't ever extremely close with her uncle, but she knew him to be a kind man who looked out for everyone around him. To think that someone on their own side might've stabbed him in the back like that... Well, it was worrying, to say the least. She'd always assumed the Saiyans to be on a united front, working together to conquer the Tuffle enemy, but was the seemingly unified army more fractured than she'd realized? "What makes his guy suspicious, anyway?"

TAGS: Yangcong

Yangcong quite suddenly told Taori and Alpinia to 'come with him'. The two glanced at each other and furrowed their brows, though figured they were in this far and may as well see this whole thing through. Alpinia very quickly slurped up the rest of her drink as Taori paid the bill the Yangcong seemed to have shirked, then they followed closely behind him. Taori kept an eye out for trouble as he noted they were starting to venture towards the more... Rowdy districts of the slums of Sadala, though he felt fairly confident that most of the others around the area wouldn't be up to snuff to actually cause trouble for them.

He hoped, anyway.

"I don't know that I ever met him myself," Taori replied as Yangcong relayed a bit more info back to him and Alpinia about this Oregano guy. "Sounds like the kind of guy who just stuck to the background. I don't think we gave those mechanics any mind." Alpinia furrowed her brows. "What, you didn't even tip them for fixing the ships? Maybe that's why he sabotaged Garrick." "Yeah, totally," Taori replied, and the two of them shared a chuckle. He supposed they didn't know for certain that Oregano was guilty, though. Not yet.

Once they arrived at the garage, though, and the married couple watched Yangcong start to interrogate the man. Oregano seemed shaken up, that much was for certain. Seeing such a cowardly, sniveling Saiyan made Taori angry. This runt might have been responsible for Garrick's death? This weak, pathetic little man had caused the destruction of a great and powerful warrior? Now that he was riled up, Taori stepped past Yangcong and towards Oregano, then grabbed the man by his throat and yanked him up before he slammed Oregano against the wall and held him pinned.

"Taori!" Alpinia protested, but Taori was just a little bit too peeved to stop. "Tell us what the hell you did to Garrick," he commanded, "Now." After a moment, he paused and glanced back at Yangcong. "I'm not really one for subtle interrogations, if you don't mind." As he turned back to look Oregano in the eye, he added, "I'm more in the business of breaking bones until I hear what I want." As he spoke, he squeezed the neck of the other Saiyan harder. He assumed it should get the message across.

TAGS: Yangcong