The next chapter is up and ready for your reading enjoyment. Sorry for not updating last week. I had other things on my mind and didn't feel like editing and rereading this chapter. Hopefully, it was worth the wait. As always, thank you for your reviews, favorites, and follows. Keep sending feedback since your input helps me write a stronger story.
Now, onward to the chapter.
Chapter 7: Growing Fondness
Bardock growled to himself as he flew away from Gine.
He didn't know what was wrong with him. Gine was right that her actions were an act of treason and it was well within his right to execute her, or at least severely punished her. And even if her actions weren't treasonous, he could easily write off her death as the enemy's doing and no one would question it, especially since she was a reject. Her death would be seen as a benefit to the Saiyan race since he would be purging a tainted bloodline.
But he couldn't...wouldn't do it.
As long as he had led a team, he has never lost anyone. He took great pride that none of his comrades had died; despite the missions they tended to take. They weren't like every other crew who went through two to three members in less than a year, and by his pride he planned to keep it that way. No one dies on his watch whether by his hand or the enemies'.
And besides, he still refused to give those stuck-up elites what they wanted. They wanted her dead, so he would do everything within his power to make sure she lived until retirement. It was a petty kind of vengeance, but he really didn't care. Pissing up the elites was one of the few joys he found in life.
At the same time...those weren't his only reasons for sparing her.
Sticking it to the elites and keeping his pride intact were important, but he also felt a sense of...pity for her. Unless one was mentally prepared, it was extremely hard to kill in cold-blood, especially when dealing with those pleading for their lives. It took years to completely harden one's heart to it, even with the training they received in and out of the incubator. Although, he knew some who were naturally killers, who relished every kill they ever made.
Gine couldn't kill like that, no matter what was at stake or her orders. He should have known that and not guilt her into acting in a way that was against her disability. She was cursed with being born with a heart that could feel the pain of others. She was utterly unfit to be a warrior.
But why the hell did he care so much?
If he only cared about her as a way to boaster his pride, why did her mental wellbeing concern him? Why did he apologize for forcing her to do her job? He's never apologized to anyone or anything in his entire life. He spoke his mind and stuck to it, manners be damn.
He mentally growled.
That woman was confusing him. Maybe her softheartedness was contiguous or something. But that was just ridiculous. He never heard of a reject's mentality spreading to others like a virus.
Then, what was happening to him?
He rapidly shook his head. That didn't matters right now. He needed to finish wiping out this village. He's already wasted enough time. He couldn't let anyone escape to give warning. Not one person would leave this place alive.
It took less than fifteen minutes for him to finished clearing the remainder survivors. Although he couldn't be complete sure he got all of them since he didn't have a scouter and he really didn't want to ask Gine to scan the area for survivors. She's been through enough at the moment.
He knew he was taking a chance by not double-checking, but he decided that this was good enough for now. If any reinforcement came, he would just have to deal with it.
He flew to the top of the valley where Gine waited, looking lost in her own thoughts again. Her mind really did wonder too much. He needed to break her of that habit.
"We're finish here," Bardock announced as he landed next to her.
Gine nodded before activating her scouter. "No one escaped."
This took Bardock by surprised.
"I checked...no one is left in the village," Gine clarified. Her voice was completely emotionless. It was like the life had been sucked out of it. It was a little unnerving.
Bardock didn't care for this change. He knew that she was upset, but something this dramatic wasn't like her. It wasn't like her to sound so...defeated.
"Gine..." he started.
"We should get going. This smoke will get someone's attention," Gine said before running ahead of him.
He quickly followed, at a lost of what to do or say.
The trip was quiet, but it wasn't the peaceful silence they had before. There was a tension between them that was so thick that Bardock could physically feel it.
He kept trying to tell himself that it didn't matter. As long as Gine did her job and didn't spare anyone else, what happened in that village was in the past.
But he knew that wasn't true.
Gine went through a great trauma back there and he added to it. He killed people that she tried to spare. Whether it was careless or not, she acted with her heart. It wasn't all just to make herself feel better about what she was doing.
It was something he could respect.
Despite common belief, Saiyans were very passionate and acted on their emotions. When it came to matter of pride and conviction, he was certain that they were the most passionate race in the universe. There was more than few times where he acted recklessly because he got upset or let his ego get the better of him. It often ended with him in the healing tank and Tora teasing him. In Gine's case, in the heat of the moment, her emotions told her to pity those people.
"I don't blame you for what happened," Bardock spoke, growing sick of the silence.
Gine said nothing and kept her back towards him.
"You acted on your emotions," Bardock continued. "We've all done that at one point. I can't tell you how many times Shugesh got himself into trouble because he let his emotions cloud his judgment. Or Tora who went on a rampage when Fasha was hurt one time and nearly got all of us killed. It happens to the best of it."
She remained silent, which began to worry Bardock.
"But you guys didn't act on weakness," Gine suddenly spoke, startling Bardock. "I knew I should have killed them. My teachings were screaming at me to do it. But...I couldn't do it because I'm weak. …Just a worthless reject." Her voice was tight, like she was ready to cry.
"You can't helped how you are born," Bardock replied. "For as much grief I may give you for your being soft, I don't blame you for it. You were simply dealt a bad hand."
"Why was I even born?" Gine asked softly. "Why didn't my parents kill me when they knew I would be born like this? Why do I bother fighting to keep myself alive? I only slow my crew down. Even when I do leave the army, I have no future."
"What is this self-pity talk?" Bardock asked, now running next to her. "This isn't like you. You maybe softhearted, but you're not this weak."
Gine bit her lips. "This is different from my other missions. With my other crews, I fought in the background with people trying to kill me. I had to fight or die. ...But I never attacked a settlement that couldn't fight back. Where the people before me were helpless... It's usually the opposite when I fought all out. I was the helpless one fighting to live." She lowered her eyes. "That's how I failed my test."
Bardock looked ahead, gathering his thoughts. He knew the test she was referring to. "There's really nothing I can tell you. I mean...I did hesitate for a second when I took the test. I even felt a little sick afterwards. But once I got through with it, I never looked back."
Gine looked at him. "You never felt any guilty for killing those who can't fight back?"
"No," he answered bluntly. "The way I see it and how I was taught, if you get killed in battle, you were simply too weak to live. If you never trained to defend yourself, you're prey and can't complained about your fate."
Gine stared at him.
"In this universe, only the strong survives. The weak serves as our prey to be hunted and make us stronger," Bardock stated. "If the weak had our power, they would hunt us just like we hunt them. That is the way the universe works."
"I know that...those words were drilled into my head, too," she whispered. "But I can't help pitying those weaker than us. That they have the right to life just like us." She paused. "That perhaps...the universe isn't as simple as the strong living and the weak dying."
"And you're thinking too much about it," Bardock reprimanded. "Who's weak or strong rules this universe. Look at Frieza. He controls an expanding empire because he's powerful. It's his right to rule over others since he's the strongest. That's just nature."
"Even us?" Gina questioned.
Bardock sighed. "Unfortunately... Frieza was able to annex us because we're weaker than him." He then smiled. "But that won't last forever. Eventually, we Saiyans will surpass him, just as we surpassed the Truffles. Then, we will take our rightful place ruling this universe."
"I didn't think you cared about such things," Gine said.
"I don't. I'm just stating a fact," Bardock replied. "The potential of us Saiyans are unlimited. In time, we will have no equal even among the gods. But, I don't personally care about ruling anything. I just want to fight. As long as I can do that, I don't care about Frieza."
Gine turned away from him. "As hard as I try, I can't make myself believe that. But I guess that's why I'm among weak."
"Perhaps...but if you lived this long, I can't see you as weak," Bardock stated.
It was strange. Who would ever thought that he would sympathize with a reject. By the laws of nature, she was the weakest link and should be cut off. Yet, he couldn't see her that way. Not anymore anyway.
Dammit. What was this woman doing to him?
They ran in silence for another hour before their stomachs finally got the best of them. They were able to find a lake that Gine confirmed was safe using her scouter and he caught a bunch of fish for their lunch.
They couldn't make a fire; it would give them away to the enemy. So, they used their energy to cook the fish. It wasn't ideal. Cooking like this usually led to burnt food, but there was no choice. Safety trumped a tasty meal.
Bardock was quite unhappy since he hated fish. He had falling out with them after a certain incident. But he couldn't protest since they haven't seen or smelled any animals on the planet to hunt. Did this rock have any wildlife? What a lousy world.
He supposed he could eat his rations, but those were only for emergencies and he was saving them for after he turned into a Great Ape. That transformation burned through a lot of energy and he would need something to eat after transforming.
"We should reach our destination by tonight if we keep up this pace," Gine said, finishing her fish.
"Just in time for the full moon. Hopefully, the others will be there," Bardock said, forcing himself to eat his fish. "I hate to delay our plans waiting for them. We've already suffered enough setbacks."
Gine stared at the grass. "I wonder if they're alright."
"I'm sure those bums are fine. They're not the sorts to get themselves killed. Knowing them, they're probably already at the meeting sight and are itching for action," Bardock assured while choking down his fish. "Hopefully, they won't go too far and give the meeting place away."
"I guess you're right. The highest power level I've scanned so far was around two-thousand," Gine said. "Nothing to the others, but Fasha will have problems. Though, she's smart enough not to give herself away."
"I'm certain they're more powerful buggers around here. That's why I wanted to come here on a full moon. Wipe as many of them out at our stronger and clean up the rest," Bardock stated.
Gine leaned into her arms. "Can you control your transform state?"
"Not really," Bardock answered. "I mean, I can remember everything I do, but I can't actually control myself. When I'm a Great Ape, it's like another person takes over my body and I'm just along for the ride."
She frowned. "That sounds terrible. I mean, I just blank out when I transform. I don't remember a thing. I can't imagine what it's like to be fully conscious, yet having no control of your own body."
"It sucks," Bardock stated with a note of frustration. "I hate every minute of it, but it can't be help. The Great Ape is just too convenience for jobs like these. And...I'm trying to learn to control my transformation."
"Only the elites and the king can do that. It takes a very specialize training regimen and years of painful work to gain even a little control of the Great Ape. At least, that's what I've been told," Gine said. She paused in thought. "I've even heard that some elites can create an artificial moon or something."
Bardock snorted. "I wouldn't be surprise. The elites always keep all the good stuff to themselves."
If all Saiyans could control their transformed state on top of being able to make their own moons, they would be invincible. He hasn't come across a species who could contend with the power of the Great Ape, even among the elites in the Frieza Force.
Which was why he wanted control as a Great Ape. If he could learn to tame the monster who took over his body, he would be one closer to his dream.
"We should be leaving soon. As nice as it is to camp, we can still run into scouts," he spoke after several seconds of silence.
Gine nodded, just as her scouter beeped. She turned head towards the readings.
"What is it?" Bardock asked.
"Several strong power levels are closed to our location. Both seems to be in the low thousands," Gine stated.
Bardock stood up. "Are they heading in our direction?"
She shook her head. "No...they appear to be stopped near here."
"There could be as base nearby," Bardock said as he stood up. "If there is, we need to destroy it. Too risky to have such dangerous enemies at our backs."
Gine trembled, but it was so subtle that Bardock almost missed it. "Understood."
She got up and ran towards the source of those power levels. Bardock covered her rear and kept his eyes opened for any approaching enemy. He knew that Gine would detect them before him, but old habits died hard.
Dammit. He felt so naked without his scouter. He didn't really realized until now how much he depended on those things. Not only was he cut off from his crew without it, but he couldn't even tell where the enemy was. It was frustrating. He wished there was a way to sense enemies without depending on such fickle devices.
Within minutes, they came across another village. This one was much bigger than the last one and from what Bardock could see, more fortified. This wasn't just some peaceful town in the middle of nowhere.
"There are some weaker powers down there, but I'm detecting many powerful fighters. At least one in the high two-thousand," Gine informed. "Most likely this was an ordinary village that became a base for the military."
Bardock nodded. "Makes sense."
There was a short pause.
"You're going down there, right?" Gine spoke in a soft voice. "Not only are strong fighters down there, but it's another village that needs to be wipe out."
"You don't have to come," Bardock replied. "In fact, I want you to stay here."
"But..." Gine started.
"I can't have you hesitating again. Unlike last time, there are people down there that are capable of killing you," Bardock interrupted. "I'll fight much better knowing that I don't have to keep an eye on you."
She lowered her head. "Yes...of course."
"It shouldn't take me too long if the strongest power level is only two-thousand," Bardock said with a smirk. "They should give me a decent exercise before tonight's main event."
Gine didn't smile at that. Instead she turned her head.
Bardock growled to himself. He said the wrong thing. "I'm going now," he said before he could cause further damaged.
As he left, he wondered why he cared so much about saying the wrong thing to her. He put his foot in his mouth numerous times and it never bothered him. He has never been the subtle type.
Now, he was trying to be delicate and mindful of Gine's feelings. What the hell was this girl doing to him? Maybe softheartedness really was contiguous. That's the only thing that would explained what was happening to him.
He quickly cleared his head. It was battle time. He had no time to think about her.
He zoomed down and landed in the middle the city, gaining everyone's attention.
"Hello, there," he greeted with a grin.
"What...?"
Before they could finish their sentence, Bardock blasted them, leaving nothing behind.
"It's a Saiyan!" someone screamed in realization.
Bardock showed no mercy and proceeded to kill everyone within the area. Some tried to escape with their kids, but they couldn't escaped him. Once he set his eyes on an enemy, they never escaped.
He smiled as he felt the adrenaline rushed through him, increasing his senses and reflexes.
These were the moments he lived for. In battle, there were no political questions, no elite or commoner, no innocents, no right or wrong, just the battle of strength and wit against an enemy. It was in these moments that he felt truly alive. That he existed only for the next battle.
There was also the large sense of pleasure he felt when he brought down his enemies. Hearing them give their last scream or whimper of life, hearing them shout in terror as they realized that their death was before them, it was a wonderful, intoxicating feeling. He pitied Gine being unable to experience this. Any Saiyan not born with their bloodlust was truly curse.
"There he is!"
Bardock looked up to see several people landing around him.
"So, you're one of the infamous Saiyans," one of them sneered as they clenched their fist. "Damn every last one of you! You'll pay for what you've done to our planet!"
Bardock smirked. "Oh, we haven't done anything, yet. You all, after all, are still alive."
"Die!" one of the screamed as they attempted to blast him.
Bardock dodged the sloppy attack, but was taking off-guard when one of them rammed him from the side.
Clever. The blast was just a distraction. He underestimated them.
He kicked his assailant away and was nearly hit again by someone's kick. One of his attackers managed to successfully hit his back, sending him reeling forward.
These guys were good. They were much higher than a mere two-thousand. If he had to guess, given the amount of damage they were doing to him, he would put them around three to four thousand at least.
That was extremely unexpected. What were the chances of finding guys like these in the middle of nowhere?
Although a better question was, how did Gine miss them? She claimed that the highest power levels in the area were only around two-thousand. Either Gine lied, which he found highly unlikely, or these were the type who could suppress their energy. What a pain in the ass.
Well, it didn't matter. It was what it was. Besides, it's about time he had someone challenged him. Killing the helpless was only fun for so long.
He got more serious and charged the one he suspected was the weakest of the group given their fighting style. Better to start trimming their numbers.
Before the guy could reaction, Bardock mercilessly slammed his fist through his chest, impaling him on his arm.
The others were stunned and disgusted by the sight, but charged Bardock regardless.
Bardock smiled. True warriors. They didn't let the death of a comrade slowed them down.
They shot at him, but Bardock used his enemy's corpse as a shield as he fired back.
This seemed to really piss one of them off and they attempted to blindside Bardock.
Bardock reacted by throwing the corpse at his assailant, causing him to catch it instead of dodging. The lapse of judgment gave Bardock the opening he needed to release a powerful energy wave, utterly destroying the corpse and his enemy.
"Compassion for the dead won't serve you well," Bardock mocked as he looked at his other attackers.
"Damn you," one of them growled.
Bardock smirked.
Good, he was finally getting under their skin. An enemy that became emotional was easier to defeat.
An explosive in the distance got his attention.
He glanced in the direction. Why were they attacking over there? Surly, they should have detected his fight and come here. So why...
A suddenly pang of panic hit him. That was where Gine was!
Without thinking, he took off into the air.
He didn't get far before he was cut off by his remaining attackers.
"Going somewhere, Saiyan?" one of them asked sarcastically. "Are you concern for your teammate over there?" They smiled when they saw the surprised on Bardock's face. "We know about them. Our troops are taking care of them now."
"Get out of my way!" Bardock shouted as he attempted to shoot them.
He was kicked on the side, nearly sending him falling out of the sky.
"Compassion doesn't serves you, Saiyan," one of them teased, throwing his own words back at him.
Bardock growled. He was going to make them pay.
He raised his energy, which took his assailants off guard. Before they could react to this change, Bardock seemingly disappeared and reappeared behind one of his enemies. Without wasting a second, he gave a powerful chop to their neck, shattering it on the spot. The body winced once before falling lifelessly to the ground.
The others gave a battle yelled as they rushed to avenge their falling comrades.
For next several minutes, Bardock fought against them. Because he was so concern about Gine, he wasn't fighting at his best and was extremely reckless. He could see the firing in the distance and knew Gine couldn't last long against such an assault.
Every time he dropped his guard, he was punished for it. Bits of his armor were destroyed and he was bleeding from several places. Stuff that wouldn't have happened if he was paying closer attention.
Still, despite being distracted, he did eventually take down his enemies.
The last one standing, who was obviously the strongest of the bunch, took some time. He alone fought with the rage of an entire army.
"On my life, I won't let you demons destroy my world!" he screamed as he punched Bardock across the face, causing him reeling back.
Bardock sneered at the man. "That's a battle you've already lost. Nothing can save you or your species. So, why don't you die quietly!?" He thrust his arm forward and released his most powerful energy wave point-blank in the guy's face.
There was no time for him to dodge and within seconds, he was without a head. The headless body dropped to the ground, leaving a giant crater in its wake.
Bardock breathed heavily as he attempted to catch his breath. He cussed to himself. Despite their skills, they wouldn't have done so much damaged if he was focused.
Speaking of which...
"Gine," he whispered as he flew towards her location.
There were still blasts of energy, telling him that she was still alive. He had to give her credit for lasting this long.
When he reached the fighting, he saw Gine bleeding heavily from several places and she appeared to be limping. Still, it seemed like she was able to take down at least two fighters, seeing the bodies on the ground.
Without a word, he flew forward and shot at one of her assailants, putting a hole clean through their chest.
"Dammit, the other one is here!" one of them shouted.
Bardock could tell just by looking that they were small pickings. They had to be since Gine was able to last against them for any amount of time.
It didn't take long for him to wipe them. Some tried to retreat, but they didn't escaped. By the end, the area was clear.
"Bardock! Are you okay!?" Gine shouted from the ground.
Bardock floated down and nearly collapsed on his feet. "Never better."
She frowned. "You're hurt."
"No more than you," he said with a note of concern as he scanned her body.
Gine lowered her head. "It isn't too bad. Nothing broken, but I did sprain my ankle during the fight." She turned away from him. "I'm sorry you had to save me again. I'm just completely useless here."
"It's nothing. Besides, I was the one who was careless this time," Bardock said. "I got too ambitious attacking another village so soon after the last. Especially a village that had high power levels."
"I don't get it. My scouter didn't detect such high powers here," Gine said more to herself as she touched her scouter. "It wasn't until you started your attack that suddenly power levels of over four thousand started popping up out of nowhere. I tried to fly down and warn you, but I ended up given myself away."
He nodded. "It appears some on this planet can hide their battle power. That's why I tried to warn you about depending on your scouter too much."
"Lesson learn," Gine said before her scouter beeped. "There're reinforcement coming. We need to hide."
Bardock growled under his breath. He hated the idea of running with his tail tucked between his legs, but he knew it couldn't be helped. He took much damaged during that last fight and Gine was also hurt. It was better to retreat and stay low until they reunite with the rest of the crew.
"I saw some woodlands near here. We can used that for shelter," Gine attempted to walk, but nearly fell over. She grunted and tried again.
Without a word, Bardock grabbed her and carried her piggyback.
"Bardock..." she started to protest.
"You can't walk like that and it's too dangerous to fly," he said simply as he ran to the woodlands.
She put her head into the back of his neck. "Thank you."
He felt a surged of warmth spread throughout his body when she put her head against him. It was like the more he stood around her, the more he changed. Was he actually beginning to develop feelings that weren't those of a Saiyan? He's really starting to hate what she was doing to him.
Well...he thought he hated it. It was actually kind of...pleasant.
Dammit, he wanted this mission to be done with so he could get away from her. Once that happened, things would be normal again. He couldn't let this girl's softness affect him anymore.
Bardock is growing closer to Gine, rather he likes it or not. Hopefully nothing feels forced and everything is developing naturally. Until next chapter, take care.
