Chapter Twenty-Five

Donpara peered into the bleak doorway of the old hostel and said, "Are you sure it was Pan who told us to meet her here? I've heard rumors of powerful telepaths who can imitate other peoples' minds."

The cobwebs hung so low, even the tiny Sonpara found himself tangled in them. "And I gotta be honest, brother, it doesn't look like she's been this way. It doesn't look like anyone's been this way for a long time."

Bonpara grimaced. "You two should have told me you were having surgery to get your spines extracted, so I could have sent flowers. You know very well she could have come in through another door or one of the windows, and that it'd take a telepath of considerable power to fool us. You don't see Ember and Gelata going on like this."

"True," Gelata said, "But that's because we're trying to sense Pan's energy and so far, neither of us have found it."

"She'd be disguising it if she were smart," Ember said. "I just don't understand why she didn't teleport back into town."

"She said she'd found some new allies who'd helped her out of that scrape Cooler got her into, but that they weren't the kind of people she could walk into Blendarr with," Bonpara said.

In the shadows of the hostel, Pan listened, pressed against the wall. She sympathized with the brothers' caution; so much so, she wanted to wait until she could see them, confirm they were who they sounded like before she revealed her presence. She didn't lack hiding places in this old squat place. It was one of the few places from Blendarr's days as a resort that still stood, but just barely; two stories, with most of the second's floor gone and the apartments missing their doors.

"My guess," Bonpara continued, "Is that one of Cooler's elite got a sudden attack of conscience and helped her escape."

The blue face and red jumper came into view, so Pan stepped into the hall.

Bonpara grinned and pulled her into a half-hug.

"That's the second time in a week you disappeared and left us certain you were dead," He said.

"You were almost right this time. I got away from Cooler, but stumbled into a town overrun with these hungry wraiths. I couldn't have fought them all even if I'd had a clear head, and once the Vile Wave crested and I couldn't find shelter, I didn't. I was completely helpless."

"Are you trying to give us a heart attack now?" Donpara said.

"No, I'm trying to impress on you how desperate a situation I was in. The men you're about to meet could have left me in it and they didn't, so please, keep that in mind while we're talking to them. I know you aren't going to want to believe them. I wish Incendria were still here. She might have been able to smooth things out a little. Where is she? Did you catch her?"

"That's a long story," Ember said. "The short version is, she ran away after Cooler left with you."

"What about Flint? The other people Cooler's men attacked?"

"We had to lock ourselves in the hospital overnight to ride out the Vile Wave. While we were there, I led the other Prismatists in healing the ones that weren't too far gone to heal, including your artist friend, Flint. He's fine. Casualties were low and the town's still standing; against the Planet Trade Organization that's practically a victory. Enough about that. Take us to your mystery heroes. I want to know what all this secrecy is about. I don't like it one bit, and that's an opinion I've formed from experience."

"It's this way," Pan said. "I left one in what I think was a cafeteria."

The lamps on the wall were old gas-powered lanterns, and walking under their light felt like walking through mist, especially in the too-even prismatic dawn light. Pan wasn't naïve. She knew things could go very sour from here. Even the heavy atmosphere seemed to be slowing their progress.

They reached the cafeteria door. Pan opened it. The creak sounded earth-shattering.

Frieza sat at the table with his arms crossed. He slid to the floor when they entered. Pan saw shock on the Para Brothers' faces and horror on Ember and Gelata's, and she knew theirs were appropriate reactions.

"There's an explanation," Pan said.

"There had better be," Ember said. "The last time I saw him, his hand was sticking out of Gelata's back. Officer, do you remember that sentry you found stuffed in Char? How much influence do you think it had over him? Could Frieza have infected Pan with one of those things? Can he control her mind with that Vile Wave of his?"

"It's a possibility, sir, but a slim one. The sentry we found embedded in Char was primarily a means of communication. It could influence him, as in goad him into doing something he was already inclined to, but it couldn't have forced him to go against his nature."

"Mind control is not the explanation," Pan said.

"Agreed," Gelata said. "It's more likely Frieza has simply tricked her."

"Saiyans aren't famous for empathy or gullibility," Ember said.

"Maybe not Saiyans," Bonpara said. "But her grandpa? Most soft-hearted mug this side of the North Quadrant."

"That's not it, either," Pan said.

"Allow me," Frieza said.

Then he fired a death beam right down the center of the room. All five of them had to jump out of the way. A swipe of pink energy brought down the door and blocked them from going back the way they'd come; now the only way out was through Frieza. He lowered his hand.

"Now that I've gotten your attention, I've heard so much about you from Pan, but I'd like to ask you a few questions of my own. Humor me, won't you?"

Nobody spoke.

"Excellent. I've just realized how long it's been since I've seen that look on another's face. Not since I stole those dragon balls from the Namekians. I killed them all. In fact, that ties neatly with my first question: are you aware I could do the same to you, right now? That Pan couldn't save you all, just as her grandfather at the height of his power wasn't able to stop me from killing his best friend?"

Bonpara glanced to his brothers. Gelata edged towards Ember. They knew the answer to that question.

"Right you are," Frieza said. "Then did you know I've studied the notes Chilled made on the use of his mirror and I've mastered it nearly to the extent he did? Of course you didn't; you weren't aware he'd left instructions. Do you even know where the mirror is?"

More silence.

"Now that we've confirmed I'm holding every card, one final question: if I meant you harm, why do you think I would need to deceive you? I grant I've been known to toy with my prey in the past, but I've had as much fun with the lot of you as I expect to, so at this point, if you had something I wanted, I'd take it, and you'd have no means of stopping me. That I have not should be all the proof you need I do not intend to."

"Then get to the point and tell us what you do intend," Ember said.

Another death beam hit the wall, this time so close to Ember's face the smoke stung his eye.

"Don't take that tone with me, you old butcher."

That shut Ember up faster than anything Pan had ever seen.

"When I first found myself in possession of the mirror, it was fast asleep," Frieza continued. "With each use, it woke a little more. When it's fully roused, according to Cooler, the Vile Wave will eclipse the rest of the Prismasphere and cause a planet-wide backlash. I don't so much care about this world. However, I suspect someone has been using me to get that very result and I do not appreciate it. For that, and for personal reasons I am not inclined to disclose to you, I want to be rid of that thing just as much as you do. You can't trust me to do what's right. You can't even trust me to do what's good for me. You can, however, trust me to defend my pride. I, the mighty Frieza, will not be made a puppet. I am Emperor of the Universe!"

"You speak of this mirror as though it's sentient," Gelata said.

"It is, and that makes discarding it impractical, if not impossible. If it released me, it would only be to find a more compliant user," Frieza said. "That's why I propose we destroy it. Quickly, too, before it finds out what we're doing and moves to stop us."

"What's it going to do to stop us?" Pan asked. "Malicious or not, it's a mirror. If it could attack on its own, it would have. Grandpa didn't believe there was such a thing as an unbeatable foe. If the mirror was made, it can be unmade. We just need to figure out how."

"You said you had notes," Gelata said. "What do they say about it?"

"Nothing at all, I fear. If Chilled had that information, he kept it to himself," Frieza said. "We could always detonate Ketchyn's core. The Prismasphere would spin off into space like any other atmosphere would, and then there wouldn't be any Vile Wave to Backlash. Given the constitution of Asphodel's inhabitants, it shouldn't kill too many of them."

Pan gave him Chi-Chi's best "really?" look.

"Bad idea?" He asked.

"Points for trying, Frieza," She said. "What about you, Gelata? If we went back to your laboratory in Asphodel, do you think you'd have anything in your archives that might point to a weak spot in the mirror? How about Flare's personal collection?"

Ember snorted. "Forget the palace. We need to go to Colander."

"Colander?" Pan asked. "Why?"

"Remember I told you Incendria ran away?"

"You said it was the short version," Pan said.

"Here's the long version," Ember said. "After Cooler escaped with you, she panicked; thought he meant you some diabolical harm and had fooled her into helping him. She offered to give herself up. I was suspicious so I threw her power pole out of reach, and while she was walking to me…"

"…the power pole blew up," Bonpara said. "Shattered like someone had stuffed it with plastic explosives."

"Which wasn't too far from the truth," Gelata said, reaching into her armor. She pulled out a tissue. "It was sabotaged, but with this."

Inside it was a tiny sliver of glass, just like the one Pan had squeezed out of her bug bite. "Is that…"

"A shaving from the mirror's surface," Frieza said. "Most clever. The staff's designed to work with the Prismasphere, so it wouldn't have activated until she used it; but once it did, the Vile energy would have gradually overtaken it, acting as a timer. There are only two people who've had access to that mirror. I'm one of them and I know I didn't do this. The other is whatever fool dragged me out of the mirror to begin with."

"Incendria didn't just run away after the explosion," Ember said. "She specifically said she had to get to Colander before 'he' did. Which means…"

"Incendria knows. She knows who handled her staff last. She knows who's behind all this," Pan said. "That's why I didn't feel her energy. Of course she's going to be hiding it, trying to take them by surprise."

"We need to find Incendria," Ember said. "It's our best bet right now."

That decided, Pan made for the door, then she remembered Frieza had destroyed it and opted instead for the window, hoping the others would follow her. For the most part, they did.

However, once they reached the forest outside, Bonpara hesitated.

"There's just one thing bugging me," Bonpara said. "When you brought us in here, you kept referring to your rescuers, plural. So far, you've just introduced us to Frieza, and I get why you'd want to do that separate and all, but where are the others?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

It wasn't Pan who'd answered. It wasn't any of the warriors on the ground. Instead, the voice issued from the trees.

Dropping to the forest floor, the Ginyu Force presented themselves.

ooo

The branches twisted overhead. The wind howled. Leaves glided to the ground like dirty rain. And in black silhouette, one mountain of a figure spread his arms.

"Recoome!"

He was joined by lithe streaks of blue and red lightning. "Burter!"

"Jeice!"

They were obscured… from the knees down, anyway… by a rotund green man with four eyes. "Guldo!"

Last of all Ginyu himself stretched his hand towards the sky. "Ginyu!"

"Together, we…"

"Want to cut you," Guldo giggled, brandishing his rusted knife.

The other four stopped and stared at him.

"Yeah!" Jeice said.

"Oh, give it a rest," Burter whispered. "He's going to keep screwing up until lord Frieza fixes him."

"He's supposed to go back to normal on his own eventually. In the meantime, I'm not going to let him ruin a perfectly good pose," Jeice whispered back.

"I hate to break it to you, but this one's already ruined. We should have taken the environment into account."

Ruined might have been an overstatement, but the wind had swept the leaves over them, and now Guldo was so covered with prickly maples he looked like a shrub, and enough had stuck to Recoome's left that he looked like he'd side-slammed into a raked pile. He was big enough to have mostly shielded the others, though.

Bonpara tapped a button on his spacesuit. "Cool those cannons, Captain Ember, they won't do you any good. I'm getting massive readings from these beings. Computer, do you have anything in your databases about them?"

The voice issued from the speakers on his suit. "Life forms identified as the Ginyu Special Forces, Emperor Frieza's cruelest and most prolific mercenaries…"

Recoome stomped so hard, the ground cracked. It at least knocked some of the leaves off, but Jeice and Burter had to jump out of the way to avoid falling into the fissure. "And the most stylish. Your computer forgot that part."

Ginyu crossed his arms. "Besides, there's only room on this planet for one captain."

Ember cracked his knuckles. "Feel free to leave. I'll even help you out the door."

"That's a smart mouth you've got. Maybe I should help you shut it."

Gelata stepped between them, but Guldo stepped between her stepping between.

"I'll feed you to the worms whole," Guldo said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Gelata said. "True worms are rare in this part of the moorland. You'd have much better luck looking for arthropods than annelids."

Jeice sighed, eyeing Donpara and Sonpara. "And once again, Burter and I are stuck with the twerps. Fine, but I want a second helping of dessert at dinner."

"What makes you think you're going to be around that long?" Donpara said.

Frieza tried to hide that he was blushing. He didn't do a very good job, but happily, Pan was also blushing and trying to hide it, so she didn't notice.

"Should we say something?" Pan asked.

"You'll forgive me for not foreseeing this. I never imagined you had some, too," Frieza said, "But no. I think anything we say would only pour gas on the fire, so it's best not to interfere unless they actually start trying to kill each other."

"Kill each other?" Pan asked. "I think it's worse than that. I think Bonpara's about to start singing."

In the time that short conversation had taken, Recoome had struck his Ultra Fighting Bomber pose. Bonpara switched on his speakers again; this time, it was not the computer's voice that issued forth, but music. He mimed Recoome's every flourish, at least until the last twist, when he struck off in a different direction… and Recoome found himself unwillingly dragged along.

"You've got the moves down and you've got the style, now give it a spin, and don't forget to smile!"

Which were instructions Recoome would have been better off not following, but he couldn't help doing it; and he ended up twisting straight into Bonpara's oncoming fist and hitting the ground. Bonpara didn't have much time to celebrate the victory, though. He hit the ground a second after Recoome, chopped to the back of the neck by Burter.

"Apparently, your computer forgot to tell you Burter is the fastest in the universe!"

He sped away again, leaving a series of afterimages behind him.

Guldo circled Gelata. "This isn't even a contest. I'm the most powerful telepath on record, and seeing beyond the abyss and living to tell the tale has only increased my power."

Gelata tried to dodge, but one second she was clear of Guldo and the next, he was throwing her into a tree with a tree.

"I can do better than predict your every move. I can rip your next move straight out of your head."

"Good," Gelata said. "I'm counting on it."

He launched another tree at her, and she dodged again. He froze time once more, thinking to ambush her a second time, but instead he fell through the thin layer of leaves that had covered the fissure Recoome had made.

Gelata stood at the ledge and laughed. "As I suspected, you were too focused on me to pay attention to where your feet were going… or would end up, if you followed me. It just goes to show that all the power in the world benefits you nothing if you have no strategy."

"I agree," Burter said, and then he knocked her right into the fissure after Guldo, leaving a blurry line of afterimages.

Blurry lines of afterimages were something Burter was used to leaving, so he didn't think anything of them, until one of them didn't fade with the others; and when he figured out what that meant, not even he was fast enough to stop it. His own afterimage picked him up and tossed him into the fissure after Guldo and Gelata. They scurried out of the way to avoid being hit, but only Gelata made it, and even her tail got smashed.

The afterimage faded, leaving Donpara. "If you had a computer, it could have told you about our holographic camouflage capabilities. But you don't, so it didn't."

From the sidelines, Frieza said, "They're falling like the universe's stupidest set of dominos."

"This isn't going how I wanted," Pan agreed, "But at least Ginyu and Ember are having a proper fight."

They were, too. Their punches exploded mid-air, flashes of light that sent splinters and dirt spinning into the atmosphere. Strike for strike, they were evenly matched.

Ember must have been getting sick of it, too. He landed and folded his hands. "Red Wave Paralysis!"

That was the move Ember had used on Pan. Before she'd found a way to deflect it, the Paralysis had worked instantly and perfectly on her; and it worked that way on Ginyu, too. It forced him to the ground, feet from Ember and yet unable to reach him.

"I have to admit," Ember said, "It's been fun, having an adult conversation with a mature enemy for once. But it's gone on long enough."

Ginyu had more control than Pan did. He managed to lift his head and smile the wickedest looking smile she'd ever seen.

The morning was clear, but lightning flashed, or something like it. Everything went white and faded to normal. Ember grabbed Ginyu's collar… only there was something very off about his expression… and pulled him out of the field of Paralysis he'd just put him in.

"A funny thing happened to me on the way out of hell," Ember said, only Pan realized with horror that was not Ember; his voice, his mannerisms, were all Ginyu's. "I came back stronger, too. Do you know I don't even have to say the password to swap bodies anymore? I just have to hold your gaze for at least ten seconds and will it to happen, and it does. If you'd worn patches over both your eyes, I might have been in trouble. But I don't see any reason to stay like this, so…"

There was another bolt of not-lightning, and Ginyu (in his own body this time) grabbed Ember by the wrists and threw him into Donpara.

"It looks like it's just you, me, and the Captain," Jeice said to Sonpara. "Two against one, those are good odds. Good for me, that is. I don't want to tell lord Frieza his business, but how are the sorry lot of you supposed to be protecting his girl if you can't even get past us?"

Perfect stillness reigned. Everyone stopped fighting, astonished.

"Oh, crap. That was supposed to be secret, wasn't it?" Jeice said. Then, completely unable to put down the shovel, continued, "He didn't want her to know he was in love with her 'cause he didn't know how she'd take it."

"You idiot!" Ginyu yelled, so loud that Gelata and Guldo, who'd called a truce long enough to use Burter as a ladder to crawl out of the fissure, both fell back in.

The silence was split by a loud slap, but that was just Frieza slamming his face into his palm.

"It's okay," Sonpara said. "He doesn't need to worry about that. Pan feels the same way about him, too. I'm pretty sure. Just the other day she had this 'hypothetical' conversation with Donpara, from that transparent I've-got-this-friend angle, and the 'friend' was 'hypothetically' in love with Frieza. She was really upset Donpara said he didn't think it would work. I wondered why, and why she was being so specific, but it all makes sense now."

"You idiot!" Bonpara yelled.

Pan didn't bother with one palm. She buried her face in both hands.

Both Ginyu and Bonpara reached for them, looking murderous; and the others weren't far behind (except for Gelata, Guldo, and Burter, who were still stuck in a crack, although they were making marvelous progress towards remedying that). Jeice and Sonpara had managed to do what nothing else could. They'd united the Ginyu Force and the Para Brothers, even if it was just towards the common goal of shutting them up.

Before they could do anything, Frieza himself stormed into the center of them, and they scattered.

"Well? Did you catch all that?" He asked Pan.

"Yeah," She said, wandering to his side. "You?"

"I didn't miss a word."

"I must sound like a silly little girl to you."

"What does that make me?" He relaxed his hand, trying to keep his voice even. "Right now, we have pressing concerns to deal with, so I suggest we continue to Colander. That's the best course of action, isn't it?"

"I think so, too," Pan said. "Come on guys. Don't fight anymore."

In a daze, Pan began to walk into the forest. She was confused and in thought, and honestly, not sure what had just happened was even real; and then she couldn't go any further, because Frieza caught her by the hand, pulled her back, and kissed her.

It must have been an impulse on his part, because he tried to break it off and back away, but this time she caught him and kissed him back.

"Does this mean I'm not in trouble?" Jeice asked.

Ginyu rapped his knuckles on Jeice's head. "You're in trouble. Also, be quiet."

At least for the rest of the way out of the forest, nobody fought.