Hiya! And thanks for reading Brothers in Blood! Really, you guys and gals are awesome! You're all just a lovely audience! I'd like to thank daughterofrisingsun for the reviews and comments on Chapter Nine, Ten, and Eleven! And I'd like to thank Guest for their review on Chapter Eleven! I'm happy I decided to join; you guys coming back to read each new chapter keeps me wanting to continue writing them!
In the last chapter, it is revealed in a conversation between Frieza and Zarbon that Turles has secret orders to destroy Dodoria, and Dodoria has orders to destroy Turles! Can Turles overcome this great obstacle?! And the Z Fighters received yet another magnificent beating, this time by mere phantom Saiyans of an age long past; but this only renews Kakarot's desire to become stronger! And now, only a couple short months away, Lord Slug is planning to land on the Earth! What will the Z Fighters do?! Find out as the saga continues!
CHAPTER TWELVE - BATTLEGROUNDS
"That's the last of 'em." the large burly Saiyan Nappa says, clapping his hands together in a 'job well done' fashion. "Guess all that's left is to report back to Frieza."
"We don't need to report immediately." the short Prince replies from his seat above on the remains of what was once an exotic government structure. "We deserve a quick belay, I think."
"Are you sure, Prince?" Raditz asks, pushing over a chunk of debris, checking the area with his scouter for any signs. He turns to look at his comrades. "Frieza wouldn't like it if we just skipped out on a vacation, no matter how short."
"What, you scared the runt'll be offended?" Nappa laughs, placing his huge hands on his hips.
"More like he'll refuse to pay us again..." Raditz grumbles.
"Don't sweat it." Vegeta hops down from his perch and approaches his subordinates. "We'll just say we were pursuing a remnant ship that escaped. Frieza hates it when a purge goes incomplete. It's bad for business if some survivor goes to the Galactic Patrol with a complaint."
"HA!" Nappa laughs. "That's for sure!"
"Well, where do you propose we go, Prince?" Raditz asks quizzically.
The Prince of all Saiyans looks thoughtful for a moment, stepping past his comrades and touching his forefinger and thumb to his chin. A humored grin appears on his face.
"Didn't you say you left your little brother, Kakarot, on that planet... what was it called... Earth? With Turles?" Vegeta inquires, looking back at Raditz.
"Ah, yes sire." Raditz nods in agreement. "I left the planet and sent two pods back. But I haven't heard anything from Turles since then."
"What do you want with those two, Vegeta?" Nappa asks, tilting his head to the left slightly. "Turles is a suck-up, and from what Raditz told us, Kakarot's a waste."
"Maybe, but I'm curious about Turles' plan." the Prince admits. "I don't like Turles, but if he's got a plan to take care of Frieza, I think we should go and hear it out for ourselves."
"Wait, do you really think he is planning anything?" Nappa interjects. "He's been more loyal to that blitzball head than to his own people!"
"Maybe, but you forget that he's also the strongest of us alive." Raditz reminds the former general. "If you think about it; he's made certain to stay on Frieza's good side, getting closer and closer. Watching Frieza closely ever since our homeworld was destroyed."
"Or maybe he's just as Nappa says; either way, it's something worth checking out." Vegeta says with finality.
"So then, we're heading to the Earth?" Nappa asks, just to be certain.
"If Turles is still there, then yes, that's where we're going." Vegeta acknowledges with a sly smirk. "And if he is planning a rebellion, maybe we can figure out a way to use that to our advantage. After we kill Frieza, I'll kill Turles and claim my rightful place as ruler of the universe!"
"Ha ha! Now that sounds like a plan!" Nappa joyfully concurs.
Raditz, however, wears only a false smile. To him, it was not a good idea to cross either Frieza or Turles. But he stands silent, letting the smug prince bask in the glory of his idea. If only Vegeta and Turles could put aside their rivalry, perhaps, Raditz thinks privately, they really could challenge Frieza...
PLANET BRENCH - WASTELANDS
The bright neon-green sky looms high above Turles, Dodoria, and the other squad members. Turles looks around on his scouter, staying focused and alert.
"Nothing here. You said intelligence reported a rebel base at these coordinates." Turles says to Dodoria accusingly. "Looks to me like a serious lack of intelligence."
"No, the reports are correct." Dodoria replies, his tone matching his growing sneer. "Lord Frieza said he wanted a serious problem dealt with at this location."
The other squad members begin to chuckle darkly, joining in with Dodoria's. The slowly surround the lone Saiyan.
"Sorry, but it seems like you've managed to impress Lord Frieza. Too much so, it seems..." Dodoria cracks his knuckles together, his eyes bloodthirsty. "It appears that he wants you dead!"
Much to Dodoria and the other aliens' surprise, Turles begins to chuckle, and then breaks into a whole-hearted laugh. The sound sends a chill up the henchmens' spines. Turles continues to laugh for a moment, and returns to a mere, chilling chuckle.
"What!? What's so funny!?" the tallest soldier asks angrily.
"Oh, it's nothing much." Turles chuckles, slowly turning to look at Dodoria. His eyes, filled with an evil, almost humored blood-lust, meet Dodoria's. "Frieza's mind just works in funny ways, that's all."
"You think so? Well then, you can have a good laugh in HELL!" Dodoria roars. The pot-bellied commander takes a deep breath, and leans forward. The instant he opens his mouth, an enormous stream of ki surges forth at Turles. The ground beneath the blast crumbles and burns away, leaving only a red-hot trail of ruined rock in its wake.
Turles smirks, and bursts skyward, evading the blast. As the blast detonates below, the other alien soldiers quickly close in on Turles. Turles parries and ducks under the tall alien's assault. From above, the small fish-faced alien swoops down with a heel-drop kick at Turles' head; but the crafty warrior quickly blocks the tall alien's punch with his right knee and stops the attack from above with his left forearm. Turles curls the fingers of his right hand, quickly forming a crackling purple ball of ki in his palm, and fires it past the tall alien, catching the long-skulled soldier by surprise. The hapless henchman is completely blown away by the sudden blast.
"P-Parnap!" the fish-faced alien yells in horror. It glares furiously down at Turles, who merely returns the look with a smile. "You-! You'll pay for that!"
The two soldiers break away from Turles, and the fish-faced alien's body tenses. Curious, Turles faces the soldier.
"Alright then! Bring it on!" Turles taunts confidently.
"GLADLY!" the fish-faced alien screeches back. It begins thrusting its hands back and forth, firing hundreds of small ki blasts at the awaiting Saiyan. All too late, Turles realizes his mistake.
Turles readies himself, but is shocked when the small blasts begin to arch around him in all directions.
"What is this? Can't aim?" Turles taunts. But his smirk vanishes as the blasts turn again, coming at him from all angles! Silently cursing himself, Turles attempts to bat away the blasts; but there are just too many, and there is no where to go. The volleys crash into him, creating a series of small explosions, building and building into one great, ground shaking blast wave.
Dodoria and the tall alien shield themselves from the resulting shockwave. A plume of smoke and debris fill their view.
"Hahaaa! That was perfect, Kreem!" the tall alien yells triumphantly.
"Ha ha ha ha! Serves you right, you filthy monkey!" Dodoria laughs. His smug smile disappears when his scouter suddenly beeps in warning. He swings his head up in shock. "Gaarlik! Above you!"
The tall soldier blinks in surprise, and looks upwards; just in time for his nose to be crushed by an elbow. With a howl of pain, Gaarlik rushes towards the ground, crashing hard. Turles, bruised and bleeding, turns his attention to Kreem; and vanishes, phasing behind the stunned soldier in nearly an instant. Turles wraps his left arm around the soldiers neck, and holds it tight with his right arm.
"That was pretty good!" Turles congratulates the strangling alien. "I really should be more careful..."
The plume of smoke blows away behind Turles, who stares daggers at Dodoria. Even from his distance, Dodoria could hear the echoing crack of Kreem's spine, and watches furiously as the fish-faced alien drops to the ground with a light thud. He glares down at the dead soldier, and looks angrily back up at the Saiyan. Why?! Why is this happening?! His eye twitches as he sees Turles pat off some dirt from his cracked armor.
"You know, Dodoria..." Turles calls out to his foe, nonchalantly cracking his neck and knuckles. "You should know, before you die... that we have pretty much the same orders."
Dodoria flinches, stunned, but quickly recuperates.
"As if!" Dodoria growls back, raising a shaking fist at the Saiyan. "Lord Frieza ordered your death! Don't think I'll fall for your simple little tricks!"
"Your problem, not mine." Turles chortles.
At this point, every fiber of Dodoria's being is shaking with rage.
"I'll show you!" Dodoria screams, charging at Turles, who smiles and readies himself.
"Yes, that's it!" Turles rockets at Dodoria, meeting the commander head on. "Show me what you can do!"
The two warriors clash, creating a mighty, thunderous sonic boom, making the very ground below them shudder. The two soldiers of Frieza throw nearly matching blows, disappearing and reappearing all over the sky in hard bursts. Seeing through Turles' defenses, Dodoria sinks a rotund fist hard into the Saiyan's gut, causing Turles to cough up blood and spit in surprise, emptying his lungs of air. Capitalizing on his opportunity, Dodoria rams his elbow hard into Turles' jaw, and seizes the Saiyan's armor by the scruff to pull him into a vicious headbutt to the face. Turles' head swings back, and Dodoria presses his offensive, clasping his hands together and bringing them down hard onto Turles' chest. Unable to resist, Turles falls hard, and crashes into the ground; forcing what little air remained in his lungs to come sputtering out.
Dodoria breathes heavily, smirking down at Turles as the Saiyan gulps for air. A wicked smile appears on the pink, spikey commander's face, and he flies fast at Turles. Turles manages to turn over, but only just in time for Dodoria's knee to ram neatly into the small of his back, making the Saiyan cry out in pain.
"Ha... ha ha ha... HAHAHAHAAA!" Dodoria laughs in triumph. "Yes! This is how it should be! You Saiyans are a disgrace! You should all die!"
In a swift, fluid move, Turles whips a leg around, kicking Dodoria's feet out from under him. Having caught the commander off balance, the half-cocked Turles shoves himself off the ground and delivers a furious right hook to Dodoria's cheekbone. The obese soldier falls to the ground as Turles gets back to his feet, showing clear signs of exhaustion. Battered and bleeding, Turles takes his scouter off and drops it to the ground, not wanting to damage the expensive hardware, and starts towards Dodoria as the latter scrambles to his feet.
Dodoria wipes blood from his mouth, staring at Turles with unspeakable hatred.
"You... like to laugh, eh?" Turles huffs. "Me too... but why don't you... save the victory dance for after the battle?"
"Y-you... little..." Dodoria clenches his fists hard, gritting his teeth in fury. "You're dead! You hear me?! DEAD!"
Turles replies only with a cocky smile. Once again, the two crash together, trading one vicious blow after another. In a surprise move, Turles crouches, and suddenly stands up fast, slamming the top of his head into Dodoria's nose, making the latter fall flat on his back. Turles raises his hands fast, charging a large ball of ki in his palms, sneering in triumph.
"Looks like I'm not the one to die after all!" Turles roars with a wicked laugh. He pushes his hands forward to release the blast, but from seemingly no where, a foot slams hard into his jaw, making the blast dissipate. Turles falls, and skids across the ground on his side. Furious, the Saiyan stops himself and look up to see the bleeding soldier, Gaarlik!
"Commander!" Gaarlik calls out to Dodoria, taking his eyes off the battered Turles. "Now's your chance!"
"Why you-!" Turles roars furiously. He thrusts a hand forth, and fires a large ball of crackling ki at Gaarlik, who only has time to turn and scream for a brief instant of pain as the blast disintegrates him. "Of all the stupid-!"
Furious with himself, Turles turns his attention back on Dodoria, who scrambles to his feet, looking frightened. Now he is all alone with this murderous Saiyan! Turles takes a step towards Dodoria, and in a fit of fear, Dodoria raises his hands defensively.
"W-Wait! Hold on a second!" Dodoria pleads suddenly.
"Oh, I don't think so!" Turles replies, wiping the blood from his eyes. "I finish my jobs!"
"Hang on, I said!" Dodoria takes a step back from the slow approaching Turles. "Just hear me out! I-I've got something you'll want to hear!"
Curious, Turles stops and offers Dodoria a quizzical look, but doesn't lower his fists.
"It's a huge secret! It's about Lord Frieza, about Planet Vegeta!" Dodoria offers in a panic. But his expression becomes even more frightened as Turles laughs.
"Oh, I already know that big secret." Turles reveals. "Frieza blew up Vegeta. No surprise. He was scared of us Saiyans. He still is! So if that's all..."
"N-No! Wait, I have more! About your father!" Dodoria pleads, taking several more steps back. This catches Turles' attention.
"Bardock? What about him?" Turles inquires angrily. "He died with the rest on that day, I already know that!"
"But that's not all!" Dodoria tries to reason. "It was because of your father that Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta!"
Turles blinks in surprise, letting his fists droop slightly.
"What are you talking about?" Turles growls, angered but intrigued.
"Your father, Bardock, he and his squad were becoming strong! Too strong for Frieza's comfort!" Dodoria sputters, frantically trying to keep a good distance between him and Turles. "You're right; Frieza was growing worried! He ordered Bardock and his team destroyed; but the mission failed! His team died, but Bardock survived!"
Turles' chest suddenly grows cold and heavy.
"He's... alive?" Turles mutters, shocked.
"No... He still died with Planet Vegeta, but not before he attacked Lord Frieza himself!" Dodoria explains, slowly lifting off the ground. "Bardock challenged Lord Frieza, alone above your homeworld! He died standing between Frieza and Planet Vegeta!"
Turles expression becomes nearly blank, and he feels a surge of pride rush through his every bone, through to his very soul.
"Your father was almost as powerful as King Vegeta, maybe even more powerful! But he died for nothing." Dodoria hovers farther away from Turles. "He failed to stop Lord Frieza, the one you serve so readily, so willingly! Ironic, if you think about it!"
Turles bursts out into a pained fit of laughter. Dodoria watches Turles, wary and fearful. Turles finishes laughing, and looks at Dodoria.
"So... it runs in the family." Turles chuckles. He fully faces Dodoria, and slaps his hands together in front of his abdomen, tensing his body as he gathers his ki. He pulls his hands apart, and a sphere of gold, sparking ki appears, growing wider as he pulls his hands further apart, and finally over his head. "Thank you for the story Dodoria! I appreciate it!"
Dodoria, horrified, screeches and rockets away from Turles as fast as he can. Turles merely laughs maniacally and swings his hands down, taking aim at the retreating Dodoria.
"Here's my gift to you for the story! A KILL-DRIVER!" Turles roars triumphantly. The blast races after Dodoria, the wide hole in the center of the attack crackling with crossing streams of electricity. Dodoria proves too slow to outrun the attack, and has only enough time to yell out in horror and agony at the blast envelopes him. The blast detonates with an unholy, thunderous roar, filling the sky with a blinding flash of light, and rocking the ground below.
All that remains after the flash, is an enormous mushroom cloud of smoke and debris. Dodoria has been completely annihilated, much to the triumphant Turles' amusement and pride. Despite the terrible pain in his chest, most likely due to a broken rib or two, Turles laughs into the air. "Soon! Very soon! Your dream, my ambition, father, will come to fruition! The Saiyans will have their revenge!"
Suddenly, Turles falls to his knees, and flops lifelessly onto his face, drained of his energy and unable to remain conscious any longer.
"What... what was that?" Zarbon asks himself out loud. He had only just landed on Planet Brench, and already the place seemed to have gone to hell in a hand basket. What was that huge explosion? Zarbon presses the button on his scouter, and squints at the readings. "There's a faint signal... distance eight thousand and four hundred south west. That's close... am I too late?"
Zarbon shakes off his wonder and blasts off through the sky. Within a few minutes, the right hand of Frieza reaches his destination, and marvels at the sight. There are very clear signs of a great battle having taken place here. Zarbon visually scans the ground below, and spots something laying in the dirt. With a quick burst of speed, Zarbon flies down and lands deftly next to the unconscious Turles. He squints down at the bloodied Saiyan, and then takes another look around.
"Looks like I was too late." Zarbon smirks. "Well, good riddance. Dodoria was everything except beautiful. Horrid looking, really." he looks back at Turles. "Better you live than that worthless blob; I'm sure Lord Frieza will agree."
Zarbon pushes the long braid of his jade-colored hair back and presses another button on his scouter.
"This is Zarbon. Yes, I need a medical team sent to these coordinates immediately. Top priority, consider them Lord Frieza's orders." Zarbon looks back at Turles. "Be grateful, monkey."
*DEEP SPACE*
'So, back to the Earth, eh?' Raditz wonders silently. His thoughts rest uneasily on the future. 'Turles... I hope you know what you're doing...'
Zooming fast through space, the eldest brother of Kakarot heads towards the Earth alongside his comrades, Prince Vegeta and Nappa...
Hiya readers! I hope you enjoyed Chapter Twelve - Battlegrounds as much as I enjoyed writing it! Things are looking grim for the Earth as not only Lord Slug heads for Earth, but also the ruthless Prince Vegeta, Nappa, and Kakarot's eldest brother Raditz! What will happen when these three opposing forces come together?! Find out in CHAPTER THIRTEEN - WARZONE!
