FINALLY! This chapter was easily one of the most irritating chapters I've ever written. You don't want to know how many times I re-wrote this thing. You also do not want to know how many sections I simply deleted because reading them bored me to death. No I am not and was not dead. This chapter was simply this hard to do for some reason.

Anyway, carry on.


Chapter 29

Chichi glared at Piccolo. "No."

They were standing a short distance into the woods that surrounded the woman's home. Gohan was inside studying as per his mother's command.

"Vegeta obviously has interest in him," Piccolo said. "He's not safe."

"You already took Gohan once," Chichi shot back. "Gohan has to be able to function in society and take care of himself. That's important too!"

Piccolo did not understand that line of argument. Gohan was strong enough to survive in the wilderness and had proven so under his tutelage. There was no necessity that Gohan would lack for his survival.

"Developing his power is just as important-"

"I said no!" Chichi snapped.

She turned around and stomped back toward the house, leaving Piccolo behind. The Namekian sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

It seemed he would have to settle for keeping guard instead.

[Planet Bahtu]

Raja walked into the throne room. It was a large open room with several plants, littered next to the pillars that framed the place. Between the pillars one could see the city far down below and the open sky above. A constant fantastic view.

On a large throne at the back of the room sat the self-proclaimed Queen, Shiva. Even sitting down, the queen was an imposing figure. Her body maintained an appearance so solid and heavy, that despite being relaxed she looked immovable. Golden skin shone with health, lustrious brown hair ran in waves down her back, finely sculpted features frowned as she observed Raja coming toward her. Even displeased, she looked stunning. Dressed in the rather revealing warriors garb, heavily toned muscles flexing beneath her skin were easily visible.

Raja came to a stop and bowed, before dropping the intruder at her feet.

Shiva raised shapely eyebrows. "What is this?"

"I found an intruder," Raja said.

Shiva examined the body and Raja turned it over with a kick so she could see the face.

"This would be one of Frieza's then, the female Saiyan," Shiva snorted. "And what is she doing here?"

They did tend to keep track of exceptional female warriors.

"I did not have the chance to interrogate her, my Queen. I found it safest to knock her out first." Raja gestured toward the unconscious girl. "That's part of why I brought her before you so fast. I do not believe our prisons can hold her and request that we drug her with something for safe incarceration."

Shiva did not bother asking why again. She simply stared at Raja, who understood it for what it was.

"She knew I was coming despite having no scouter," Raja explained, noting the look of interest now on Shiva's face. "It is possible that she is like me and able to sense the energy of others."

Shiva's look grew more intense. It was a skill she greatly coveted in her warriors, unfortunately it was also a rare one.

"She did not know that before," Shiva said, going through what little she knew of Frieza's forces.

"It is unlikely that she did," Raja agreed. "Which means she learned it somehow. She also had another skill of interest."

Shiva stared.

"She could control her power level."

Shiva scoffed. "The ability to reign in one's power is hardly special. I would never eat an egg if I could not manage such a paltry feat."

Raja shook her head. "No my Queen. I do not mean her control over her output per se. It was different. One minute she was stronger than all the guards and the next minute I could've mistaken her for a worm. She is not just controlling and directing power that she has released. She is actively controlling the power within her own body somehow. It is a completely different level."

It seemed to hit Shiva then, what the implications were. Being able not to just control attacks but your power level itself… how you could hide, for scouting… how you could stick to lower levels of power in order to mitigate the delicacy and control with which you had to manage the objects and people around you… This was the sort of thing that would allow her to raise her power level even higher without fear of one day destroying everything she touched.

Not everyone could rely on transformations to help them control their power.

If she was the type she might have drooled…

"You have my permission," Shiva said. "Take her to the Sevet and, from there, to the Lavek Prison. We will have those secrets."

Raja bowed. "Yes my Queen."

[Frieza Planet X-05]

Cel woke up face down in a small room, still trussed up alongside the others. The floor was cold and grey with dust, the walls so dark he could not tell what color they were supposed to be. There was a small black chair in front of a simple wooden door. He had no idea what room this was. Shifting noises alerted him to the fact that someone else was awake also. He turned to face her.

"Lery, are you awake?" he asked.

"Yes," Lery responded, wiggling to get comfortable.

"Who's talking?" another voice chimed in.

"Broc? You're here?"

"Next to Lery, yes. Is Dish here?"

"On my left," Cel replied.

"I was hoping he wasn't…"

The statement hung in the air between them, cementing their reality. They had lost and now they were captured, soon to be shipped off who knew where.

"I'm sorry," Cel said. "I should've been able to win. I had the advantage and I wasted it."

"Cel…"

"I'm the one with a fancy golden form or whatever," he continued. "But I couldn't do anything. It's like my strength doesn't even mean anything."

"That's not a fair assessment Cel," Broc said.

Cel resisted the urge to snap. "Isn't it? What other reason could there possibly be?"

"The high speed cameras could track you to a point, I was watching. You weakened yourself when you attacked him."

"I don't have the control to take him on without hurting Lery too," Cel said.

The girl in question shifted uncomfortably next to him.

"You might be right, I guess…" Broc said eventually. "It's just…"

He sighed. "We're all beginners and none of us have as large a power level to manage as you do, and we still struggled. After what little we've learned I just don't think it's fair to say it's your fault for not being good enough."

Cel could not see Broc's face, but he sounded tired.

"It's hard for you too isn't it?" Broc said.

Cel grew quiet at that. He was very glad Broc couldn't see his face at the moment.

The door opposite them opened and the man in black walked in, closing it behind him. He slipped onto the chair and raised one leg onto his knee. He took a deep breath and looked at them, lined up as they were.

"What am I supposed to do with you?" he asked.

Cel was confused. Lery spoke while he was still processing why their kidnapper would ask such question.

"Please, let us go," she pleaded. "What do you want?"

The man remained silent.

"What do you want?" Lery repeated. "Maybe we can give it to you."

He sat back in his seat, examining her, as if weighing her proposal.

"Can anyone tell me why I was able to defeat him?" The man pointed at Cel as he said this.

Now Lery was also confused.

"You don't know how you won?" Broc asked.

"That was not my question."

They all fell silent.

"He is the strongest. But he fell easily," the man elaborated. "It was disappointing."

"How about you take me on again without a hostage?" Cel spat.

The man looked at Cel. "Are you saying you could beat me if I did not have the girl?"

Cel did not even hesitate. "Easily."

The man cocked his head. "I see."

He reached up and took his mask off.

Cel stared in complete shock. Lery was stunned. There was sharp intake of breath from where Broc was lying.

Riku sat back once more, eyeing them with an unimpressed gaze.

Cel glared at him. "You! We thought you were dead! We thought-"

"That was the point," Riku interrupted, waving the outburst off. "And I did all of it for this moment here, so I suggest you close your mouth and start using your head."

Riku took his leg off his knee and leaned forward. "Why did you lose?"

"You don't get to tell me what to do after breaking our trust like that!" Cel roared, a golden aura starting to waft off him.

Riku's glare turned ice cold, his voice frigid, posture loose. "If you fight me one more time it will be the last thing you ever do. I promise you."

That last part put fear in Cel. He understood, on some level he couldn't quite place, that the older Saiyan meant exactly what he said. But he was perfectly willing to ignore that fear… Cel instead, held onto his anger letting it give him strength.

Riku remained relaxed, but the ice never left him. Instead the room was suddenly filled with a dark power, oppressive and unrelenting. It was heavy and cold, sucking all the warmth out of the room. Even in the midst of his rage, Cel shivered.

"Cel stop…" It was Lery. She was begging him.

Somewhere in the background, Broc was saying something too. But Riku had betrayed them… he needed to pay!

Riku's expression grew more and more disdainful. "Your arrogance precedes your sense. How long will you continue this foolishness?"

Cel growled.

"CEL STOP!"

Cel's power gradually settled even as he was in the middle of bursting free. He stared in shock at Lery.

She looked pained. "Just stop… please…"

"Why? Why should I? He's right there!" He glared at Riku.

The oppressive aura was gone now and the room was back at normal temperatures. Or was it all an illusion? Another one of Riku's tricks?

"The answer to that question was the purpose of this exercise," Riku cut in, closing his eyes as he spoke.

He opened them once more to stare at Cel. "I think you all need to decide whether you are students, or not."

"What does that mean?" Cel demanded.

"It means that, you cannot pick and choose the parts of the lesson that suit your sensibilities," Riku answered. "You walk out of my class when confronted with basic truths of the battlefield. If you cannot accept the mere foundations of combat, you cannot hope to fight anyone who knows them, except in the most skewed of circumstances."

He gave Cel a meaningful look. "And even then you might lose…"

"What does that-"

"Stop talking, start thinking," Riku interrupted. "You're too quick to flap your gums."

Cel resisted the urge to snap at him and reigned his temper in. There was silence now. Complete silence.

What was that comment supposed to mean? Arrogant? Him? When had he ever been arrogant? Riku was the one acting like he knew it all. He was the one talking to them like they were idiots. He was the one who tricked them and hurt everyone. He was the one who tossed out insults every chance he got.

"From the moment I first decided to teach you, you all have not changed," Riku spoke quietly, eyes settling on each of them. "One of the very first things I demonstrated to you was that your knowledge was worthless. As we trained I made sure to show you that you do not know what you think you know. But still, you challenge my lessons when you hear something you don't like."

"But if we don't ask questions, how are we supposed to learn anything?" Broc asked.

"I have you pegged for the smart one," Riku answered. "Do not make me change my mind. Do you not know the difference between analyzing information and challenging it?"

"Isn't this a bit extreme?" Cel answered. "None of that justifies this."

"I think it does," Riku answered. "Since words do not reach you. Even now, you are still trying to dictate to me what I should teach you and how I should teach it. The lesson, it seems, is not sinking in."

"Dish is the only one who challenges you," Cel snapped. "Don't try to twist this around on us."

"Oh sure, he's the most obvious about it but the rest of you are no better," Riku replied. "You Cel are content to hide behind the others. Whether my advice actually works or not matters little to you. You're doing it because everyone expects you to do it and you hope it works, not because you truly understand or care."

Cel's mouth opened but he had no response.

"Broc, treats my lessons like an intellectual," Riku continued, still staring at Cel. "A fascinating study in a field that interests him and nothing more. After all he has no intention of ever being in the vicinity of a battlefield. Surely, he doesn't actually need to know this stuff? Humor the pushy Saiyan, when it's over we'll be free of him. After all he has no say in how we, actually carry out our operation."

There was mockery in his tone as he said it. No one had anything to say to that…

"I said once that those who hang around battlefields must learn to fight or they are a danger to their allies," Riku said, glancing at Broc and Lery. "The idea was not one you seemed to care for. Perhaps you were under the impression I was sharing an opinion? Maybe I wasn't clear enough the first time I said it?"

Riku passed a disdainful gaze over them all. "You do not have to speak against me to undermine the efforts I am making to teach you. Your challenges do not have to be worded, merely acted upon. Because none of you truly see any value in the things I tell you, you don't take it seriously and the minute an idea becomes inconvenient, you pay it no attention and either don't practice it as you should or leave the lesson."

"This exercise was for your benefit," Riku said. "I did it to show you how easily a strong person can be taken down by targeting a weaker ally."

Riku nodded toward her. "The weak ally, in this case, was you."

"You can't blame her for this!" Cel snapped. "If I had better control I would've-"

"That is true," Riku said. "But didn't you say it yourself? You would have won if you did not have to hold back. Are you saying that didn't play a part at all?"

Cel fell silent, unable to argue otherwise.

"If I were truly a bounty hunter, you would all be sold already or worse, dead," Riku continued.

The three of them flinched.

Riku sat back once more, lifting a leg onto his knee and folding his arms. "Lery walking out was simply the icing on the cake. Your general attitude is one of unruliness and stubbornness. Moving forward, that cannot continue. Ask your questions, bring up your debates. But do not presume to tell me how my profession should be taught."

The word profession really made it sink in. This was a person who had spent more time fighting than all of them combined and was still alive and healthy.

"My problem is the way you treat us," Cel said. "It's not right."

"I treat you that way because you are stubborn. It is not enough to hear explanations why you are wrong, I have to demonstrate to get you to cooperate at all. Just as I have now demonstrated why all of you that are capable must learn to fight."

Cel went quiet now.

Riku remained silent for a time, simply observing them. Cel could not quite look him in the eyes. No one could.

"The problem is your attitude," Riku said.

He let the silence hang for a while longer before looking at Dish. "Any words to offer, Dish?"

Wait he was awake?

Dish took so long to respond that Cel almost thought Riku was simply being theatrical until…

"No."

Riku nodded curtly and stood up. "Good." He gestured and the ropes tumbled off them. "Feel free to tell Coli all about this. If she is angry, she knows how to find me. Enjoy the rest of the day. You may also have the next two days to yourselves if you wish. By the third day, we shall resume our lessons and I will teach whoever shows up."

He swept out of the room like he had never been there at all.

[Sevet]

Raja dumped Naya on the chair in the middle of the room, and the male attendants had her strapped in.

"Who is this?" asked the Administer.

Raja glanced at him, a short skinny man dressed in all white robes. Unremarkable brown hair, white skin and brown eyes. He had on a rather large pair of goggles that made his brown eyes appear especially large. This was easily his most defining feature.

Raja snorted. "She is slated for the heaviest combination you can muster."

He looked back at her, unsure. "That would kill even our strongest warriors."

"We can't risk her burning through something more mild," Raja answered. "Unless you suddenly have a distaste for your job?"

He frowned at her but wisely said nothing further.

He went over to a large table in the corner that was cluttered with glassware and began to mix together various concoctions. He poured the resultant mixture into a syringe and walked up the unconscious girl in the chair. He called for one of his assistants to swab her arm.

He paused, feeling her arm and tracing for veins. He found one and with careful aim, plunged the syringe into her arm and pumped its content in.

The straps proved unnecessary. There was no convulsing this time, only a quiet moan and a turning of her head.

"Where does she go from here?" he asked as he stepped back.

The attendants unstrapped Naya, and Raja pulled her off the chair. "Mind your business, Administer. If there are any complications I will be back."

She walked out of the room with Naya suspended gracelessly on one shoulder.

[Earth]

Android 20 leaned back on his seat and scowled at the terminal screen before him. At his back multiple containers remained open. The problem was simple, he could not design any finite energy models that could match the sort of output the boy had released. There was no material he was aware existed on Earth that could help him in this regard. Additionally if he and Android 19 stole energy from others, they could only handle so much.

He swiveled in his seat and glared at the blue cylindrical containers behind him. There were little glass panes in them that allowed him to see the faces of their occupants. A blonde girl and a black haired boy. Android 17 and 18, the infinite energy models. The problem with them was that so much of their programming was devoted to the infinite energy reactor that Android 20 could not reliably control them.

A shame too… their biologically viable artificial energy had been particularly clever. A waste if he ever saw one.

The Android's gaze shifted to the one container in the corner, left on its own. The one that reminded him that his name was not Android 20, no matter how much he would like to forget. Red hair, a large body and green armor. Perhaps not as clever a creation as the infinite energy bio-organic models, but most definitely the most powerful Android at his disposal.

A simple job. A body constructed with the toughest materials he could find, the entire thing powered by what one could essentially call a solar engine. Power to rival multiple suns, produced in perpetuity and used to reinforce the basic properties of the material that made up all components. That particular Android could likely take out a fair chunk of the Solar System itself with a single blast behind the right weaponry.

Technically that model would suffice. It had the power. Far more than the bio-organic models. His magnum opus really.

Not my boy… no…

Android 20 stared at the container labeled 16 for two hours. Then he got up and left the cave for the first time in years.

[Earth, Capsule Corp]

Vegeta stared at the moon. It was a new habit he had taken up. He had never really paid much attention to moons before, lest he lose his shape at an inconvenient time. Whenever he did look up at a moon, he was usually in a combat situation and his attention was allocated accordingly. Never had he looked at a moon simply for the sake of it. He could do so now and so he did. It was something new. Something to break the monotony.

He stood at the window to Bulma's room, simply watching. He was in a rut. He knew he was. His head came up with possibilities and reasons why he could still be the Saiyan Prince and become a Super Saiyan. A lot of them didn't make any sense and never really motivated him. This was dangerous he knew… His pride, the thing that had fueled him for so long had taken a serious blow. Now that his main form of motivation was crippled he was floundering.

Nothing held meaning.

The woman had taken to ordering him around and he actually obeyed. Him! Had someone approached him before his battle with Kakarot's spawn and said that he would do such a thing he'd have killed them. But now here he was…

Vegeta didn't even twitch when he heard the crying. She'd been doing that a lot lately. This was around the point where she would come and complain to him as if he was supposed to care.

Right on cue he heard the doors slide open and he sighed.

Was she ever going to shut up about this Yamcha?

Despite his frustration, a part of him could understand. His mind was stuck on Kakarot and his spawn continually, churning out unsatisfactory solution after unsatisfactory solution- or at least, solutions he did not particularly care to try.

She had been hurt and she was dwelling on it, same as him.

[Lavek Prison]

Pyf and Lyf both floated high above a large and sprawling hexagonal complex, keeping their power levels low enough that they could not be tracked. Naya's spirit had dropped very low while they were scouting and she had proved difficult to find until they had finally tracked her down here. Both were certain something was wrong… having such low spirit was not necessarily a red flag, but the way in which it was fluctuating was not good. Not good at all.

Teleporting directly in would be easy but they would also have no idea what to expect if they did so. They could be teleporting into anything. Acknowledging the problem, the two of them teleported behind one of the sentries watching the walls and promptly hid behind one of the rooftop exhausts.

Even with these obstacles finding Naya didn't take long. They were small and they could teleport, a combination that allowed them to find small spots in which to hide themselves as they grew closer and closer to the Saiyan girl.

She was in a large brownstone room with a giant cage in the middle. She was in the cage, lying on its metallic floor and shivering. There was a golden skinned old man sitting on a bench in the corner. His white hair and beard covered up most of his torso, and together with a single loincloth, served to shield his body. He seemed to be asleep.

Pyf and Lyf snuck up to the cage and tested it with their senses before teleporting to her side. Once next to her it was plain to see, what the problem was. Naya was hot. Very hot. She was sweating despite her shivering. She would twitch every now and again and her lips would quiver.

"Naya," Pyf hissed.

She didn't respond.

He touched her gently. "Naya."

"She won't hear you."

Both Yardratians whipped their hands up their heads and whirled to see the old man shifting in his seat.

"Oh, I am sorry if I startled you," he said, raising two rather meaty hands. He was particularly muscular for an old man.

"She's been infected with a controlled virus by the Administer," he explained. "They only do that to incredibly strong prisoners."

"This doesn't seem like a place that can hold anyone capable of the minimum she can do," Lyf answered.

Pyf nodded. "I could probably make a hole in these walls myself."

The old man shook his head. "These walls are mere brownstone but they are infused with the warden's power. There is no making holes in anything, unless you are stronger than the warden."

Lyf paused to process this while Pyf continued to speak. "Why are you here? You work for this prison?"

The old man sighed. "I am a prisoner, assigned to the care of this one in the cage. I monitor her to make sure that the virus does no permanent damage. Tools will be passed through the door every morning."

That didn't sound very smart. The old man could just keep the things for himself and let her die.

"What interest do you have in keeping her alive?" Pyf asked.

The old man blinked ponderously. "I will be executed if any prisoner dies under my care."

This wasn't his first time then…

"And where are you from, if I may ask?" the old man queried. He moved his arms as he spoke. His movements were slow and ponderous. A trained eye might have detected precision nonetheless.

"We'd like to keep that on a need-to-know basis," Lyf responded. "I do however promise you that we have no evil intentions toward anyone here. We came here looking for someone and he is not here."

At this the old man laughed, "You are attempting to placate the wrong individual. I have no power here. No male does. So long as you do not endanger the prisoner, you have nothing to fear from me."

Pyf nodded and asked, "Is there any way she might be cured?"

"The Administer would know how to counter his own concoction, I imagine," said the old man. "But if protocols have not been changed she has likely been drugged in order to weaken and not to kill."

He glanced from Naya to them and said, "I take it your friend here is an exceptionally powerful individual?"

Pyf and Lyf glanced at each other, not sure what they could or could not say.

The old man shrugged. "That's usually the procedure for people who might be powerful enough to break out as far as I am aware."

The two Yardratians slowly nodded. "She is among the strongest beings currently on this planet."

Pyf glanced at the shivering Saiyan with something like pity on his face. "At least she was, when we first landed here."

The old man seemed intrigued by this. "Oh really? And so young…"

He rubbed his beard thoughtfully and ceased speaking.

"How long will this take to pass?" Lyf asked.

"Usually a number of days," the old man answered. "I can't say I'm knowledgeable about the whole procedure but it could be a day, two, sometimes three, possibly more. The Administer does have to account for different physiologies with his mixtures."

Lyf bowed to the man. "Thank you for your assistance."

He and Pyf moved close to the opposite side of the cage to the old man.

"What do we do now?" Pyf asked.

"You stay and watch her," Lyf said. "I'll try and map the place. When she wakes up we'll try and break her out."

Pyf nodded. "Sounds good."

[Frieza Planet X-05]

I was pacing slowly in the small ravine where I had first obtained a ship from the children, staring at the walls and considering my response to the children, measuring if maybe I had come on a little too strong or not strong enough.

I turned and blocked a tiny fist from colliding with what would've been the back of my head. It was Coli, dressed in the same white uniform we all had to wear. She punched and kicked, swung her fists, spun into rather interesting moves and was generally doing her very best to overwhelm me. I dodged everything and caught her fist when she went for a slightly heavier straight punch.

She blinked as if realizing what she was doing for the first time but did not retract her fist.

"You can't decide if you're angry or not," I said.

"How would you know?" she said.

I smirked and let her fist go. "Magic."

"You're still giving me nonsense answers even now?" she said, straightening into a more natural pose. "I'm serious. What you did was wrong. I hate it."

"Why was what I did wrong?" I asked her.

"Because you hurt them."

"That's it?"

The girl frowned. "What do you mean "That's it"? You offered training-"

"And they are being trained," I broke in smoothly. "Fighting is not as simple as knowing a bunch of techniques. It is something you must ingrain in your movements, your routines, your mentality, your overall life style."

"There are less volatile ways to go about it," she answered.

"Probably," I admitted. "If there are, I don't know them. I find that life's greatest lessons so far are learned through pain. Without pain and without consequence, we can simply ignore outcomes we don't care for."

Coli looked unconvinced.

"It is a simple issue," I continued. "What you refuse to learn through discussion or instruction you will learn through experience, often painful. If I did not hurt them, they would not have listened to me. I delivered the second option in a controlled environment."

Ha, as if they couldn't just ignore that too!

Coli seemed uncertain.

"I believe you have similar experiences to draw on," I said, looking at her.

She stood straight now looking at the ground, absorbing the words.

"They always leave you out don't they?"

She glanced back up at me her gaze sharp.

"They don't listen to you either," I continued. "Because you're eight. To them, your age is synonymous with naivety or stupidity. Sometimes both. It doesn't help that a lot of the time that assumption is true."

For the first time, she showed weakness. A slight twitch, the beginnings of a sad frown, a tired look that simply did not belong on an eight year old girl.

"I mean no harm, Coli," I told her. "I promise you that everything I do has a purpose. Hold me to that."

She looked conflicted.

I waited patiently for her to come to a decision that I probably would have ignored anyway. No way was I going to stop here after investing all this time and energy.

"I will…" she said eventually. "What you've just said… I will hold you to that."

I smiled. "By the way, did you know you look like an old lady when you frown?"

"I DO NOT!"

[Frieza Planet X-05, Main Facility]

The meeting room was tense. The only table in the room was large grey metal, circular in shape. All the scientists were seated. Cloud rested his elbows on it, blue eyes seeming to glint with a malevolent light. Each doctor, pulled from their own projects onto the one led by Cloud as the project most prioritized by Frieza. The table had no head position, but there was no doubt as to who was the boss.

"Three weeks…" said Cloud intoned, resting his chin on interspersed fingers. "It has been three weeks and we have found no trace of Marshall 20. It is almost a month. Why is this?"

"He doesn't show up on the scans," a short, humanoid lady with blue skin spoke. "We have to send out a search party."

Cloud glared at her.

She shrugged, unfazed by his ire. "The Marshalls are not infallible, Dr. Cloud. If you want your little treasure found, you will have to let go of that pride of yours."

"But of course, solve the problem of losing one Marshall to unknown entities by sending more Marshalls," Cloud snapped. "Genius."

"They do say quantity has a quality all its own," another member spoke.

"Are you trying to sabotage me?" Cloud replied, staring at the grey jellyfish that was Dr. Flot.

Tentacles flicked back and forth as the doctor replied. "No. Simply saying that the idea does have some merit."

Cloud sneered at him. "Having merit and being tactically wise are not the same. This is why none of you have managed to succeed as I have. Military thinking is not your strong point."

A few looks of outrage were shared, but no one actively spoke up. Cloud simply had too much support from Lord Frieza.

Dr. Kut chose now to speak. "I could send my own project. You saw for yourself-"

"That will not be necessary," Cloud smoothly interrupted. "How many new Marshalls have you managed to spawn?"

This was directed at the blue skinned alien, Dr. Masa.

"Several, although the quality suffered," she said.

Cloud frowned. "Why is that?"

"I am still trying to find out," she answered. "They are still not too far off from the initial twenty. I do notice that with each subsequent Marshall the quality decreases. Production might not be sustainable."

"I have had no such problems with my work," Cloud said, eyes narrowing.

"It is what it is," Masa replied. "I don't tell the forces of the universe how to function, I simply learn how they work and manipulate them to my benefit. This is the essence of science. If you wish to help me then all you have to do is share your-"

"Send me your data after this meeting," Cloud interrupted. "I will look through it myself. For now, send out the lesser Marshalls. Arm them with tracking equipment. Monitor them at all times and record any that go missing along with date and time."

Nobody argued.

[Frieza Planet X-05, Medical Base]

Broc was tired but he could not sleep. He was angry but he had nothing to put his anger on. He wanted to think of Riku as overdramatic, as acting as if they were something they were not. But the thing was… Broc had indeed been thinking of the training in a purely intellectual manner. It was also true that he had no intention of joining any fights whatsoever, never mind that Dish had been the only one to say it out loud. While he greatly enjoyed the technicalities of combat, he did not enjoy combat for its own sake. It had never occurred to him, that his attitude might be visible in some manner.

Was it so wrong if he didn't want to fight?

Riku's disdainful expression rose up in his head once more.

I have you pegged for the smart one. Do not make me change my mind.

Riku was supposed to teach them to fight, nothing more and yet it seemed that he believed more was required. He was working well beyond the bounds of the agreement. He was supposed to train Cel and yet without a prompt he had roped them all in and somehow gotten Coli to push them into it. He did not simply teach them fighting moves either…

The way he explained things and the time he took to answer questions in detail. How he broke down the working parts of a technique and the principles that guided them, when he discussed how likely they were to work in the heat of battle, where aim could sometimes be a luxury and all five senses would not always be able to keep up or even be available to guide you.

The way he explained things was always based in how one could best transfer energy from one point to another within a given context. This was always the framing of his demonstrations. He was not teaching them techniques so much as teaching them principles of battle…

I am not a traditional teacher.

Broc sat up from his bed.

Tell me, how strong do you think this is?

Not just fighting principles either. Whenever someone complained, whenever someone was behaving contrary to what would be optimal in a given scenario Riku would crush them in demonstration after demonstration until they finally relented or admitted defeat. A brutal, demoralizing form of correction…

The problem is your attitude.

Riku was not interested in passing on fighting techniques, or at least not directly.

I wasn't taught that way, either.

No. He was telling them that in order to learn to fight well they must fully become warriors. Not a simple matter of passing on techniques, but a series of principles by which they should live in order to be successful. Riku was teaching something beyond mere technique.

Broc turned this reasoning over in his head. He was missing parts… he knew he was. Despite that he was certain that he was correct, that this was what Riku was truly after and why the older Saiyan employed the methods that he did. He was not shaping their skills. He was shaping how they think about and perceive combat and in that regard they were most certainly resistant.

The conclusion appeared sound. So sound in fact, the Broc was itching to confront Riku with it and see what the older Saiyan had to say. An itch so strong that he suddenly no longer felt tired. He sighed and got off his bed, rubbing his face as he did so. The surgery room was empty despite the late hour, no one was dealing well with the events that occurred earlier in the day. How Riku singlehandedly took them apart.

And what was that rope trick…?

Broc walked, taking lesser used paths in the base. Places they had never shown Riku through and would never. He moved through corridor after corridor until he finally reached a large metal door with a keypad on the right. He entered the password and stepped in-

He froze for a minute, surprised that someone was here but then he relaxed when he saw who it was.

"I didn't expect anyone else to come here," Broc said, eventually staring at the main object occupying all the space in the room.

Dish didn't respond.

"I think I've figured him out," Broc said.

Dish's fists tightened.

Broc sighed. "I don't know if I'm right or what it could mean…"

Dish simply stared without responding. Staring at the only thing that mattered. The woman in the tank who was dying, the healing liquids that could heal mortal wounds only managing to slow down the inevitable.

We can't let her die… mum…

Dish turned and left the room.

Broc watched him leave. He couldn't help but think that he had never seen Dish with such an expression on his face before.

[Earth]

Seph stumbled away from the concert, feeling his blood still pumping. He was slightly giddy. It was late. Very late. Unlike the humans who had vehicles he had run here, faster than they could drive. Now however, he was willing to take his time and bask in the glow of all the fun he'd had. A metal band, the screaming and the yelling. It was all so hype. He could still feel his veins pulsing from when he'd been jumping and pumping fists alongside all the fans crowding the parking lot.

City lights were on, cars moved quickly, the streets were less crowded. Most people were at home, sleeping or preparing to sleep. The moon was nowhere to be seen but the city lights were bright enough that Seph could see anyway. Seph's new leather jacket was zipped up and kept him warm in the cold air, and his jeans were comfortable. New shoes, sneakers some humans called them. It was interesting how they had so many different ways of saying the same thing.

He shuffled about two or three blocks before pausing to take a deep sniff. The air, now that the streets were mostly clear, smelled fresh. Nothing like the sterile smells of the Outpost, or the entrails and gore of the battlefield. The atmospheres of certain planets sometimes smelled different from others. He liked Earth's.

Most guides online said not to stay out late, but Seph was pretty sure there was nothing on this planet that could hurt him. And so he walked comfortably, despite the late hour and the odd shadows cast by the various lamp posts and window lights falling across each other.

The lights flickered and Seph looked up sharply. Around him there was still light, but further down the street all the lights were off. The buildings, the street lamps, everything. The city, was silent. The kind of silence that created a buzzing in your ear. Total and complete silence.

There is nothing on this planet that can challenge me, Seph reminded himself.

He let out a breath he did not know he was holding and contemplated how to proceed. In the darkness before him two red flames appeared. They glowed with an odd malevolence, seemingly innocuous, but uniquely red. Not blood red, they were too bright for that. No, this was red like rage. Red like pain. Red like slaughter.

It took Seph a moment to realize he had his fists balled up. He uncurled them and observed the flames. How they seemed to subtly twist and flare. He had heard of fireworks, maybe someone had come out of their house and was using them as a light. Sparklers maybe? Did sparklers even work like that?

Seph called out. "Who's there?"

There was wind picking up now, cold, relentlessly sapping the heat from his body despite the jacket. The lights seemed weaker somehow, as if retreating from something they could not bear to reveal. The shadows, grew darker as the light retreated, lengthening in Seph's direction like eldritch fingers.

Seph prepared to fight- nothing could challenge him, this was just in case- He squinted into the shadows and called out again, "Who's there?"

A particularly strong gust blew through, carrying a discarded wrapper- probably lifted from one of the many trashcans in west city- and scraping it along the street. It sounded an awful lot like laughter. A hissing, thoroughly unpleasant laughter. Mocking laughter.

Seph shivered. Maybe it would be wiser to leave.

Obviously no one was there. He would simply take a different route. Seph turned his back on the darkened street-

There was something breathing down his neck. A slimy tickling feeling. Cold moist air, accompanied by deep and guttural breathing. And it hissed-

Seph whirled, ready to start swinging!-

There was nothing. The street was empty, the lights were on.

Seph wrapped his jacket more tightly around himself and stood stock still. He was not sure how long he stood there, frozen.

Eventually, he decided to take another street and zipped up his jacket.

Wait, was that always unzipped?

Seph stared down his front. The wind must have loosened it somehow…

Doesn't matter. Home is more important right now.

Seph gathered himself once more and walked away.

He walked a tad faster than he did before.

[Frieza Planet X-05, Medical Base]

Lery was conflicted. She was angry but she couldn't justify why she was angry to herself. Even so she still felt justified and the fact that she couldn't justify it was making her angrier. She was angry with herself. Or was she? It was hard to tell.

All through breakfast she had been unable to speak, preoccupied with the thoughts in her head. The idea that even when she decided to do nothing she was a problem was tearing her up. Being a bad fighter made no difference. Her incompetence would follow her, even when she no longer fought. There was a message in the way Riku had looked at her. How he had shut down Cel so easily.

With that thrown in her face, the idea that she had no intention of fighting was no longer one she could cling to. As far as Riku was concerned it never was- and he had demonstrated it. She was a liability by association alone.

Lery sniffed and wiped her eyes as she leaned over the bathroom sink. What was she supposed to do now?

She couldn't… she couldn't be like them! It just wasn't in her!

She was starting to regret being born. "Maybe I shouldn't be here…"

"And where would you go?"

Lery spun and nearly fell against the sink, so wildly had she turned. Riku was standing at the entrance to the bathroom effectively blocking the way out. He was dressed in a larger version of the white uniform they all wore, an eyebrow raised. He seemed impeccably calm, unlike yesterday when he'd seemed all coiled up and tense. Like the Riku from yesterday was a different person entirely.

"When did you-"

"I gave you a few minutes before I followed you," he answered. He folded his arms and cocked his head. "Or would you have liked some more time to finish crying?"

"Why do you always have to insult me?" Lery asked. "Wasn't yesterday enough?"

Riku's expression did not change. "I meant exactly what I said. Do you need more time?"

Lery paused no longer sure how to answer. He was always doing that wasn't he? Pulling the rug out from under them. Seizing control of the conversation. Coming at them from angles they were never prepared for.

"Stop doing that," Lery said.

For the first time since she saw him, Riku seemed genuinely amused by something she said. "Doing what?"

Lery struggled to find the words. She eventually threw her hands up and looked way. "Just… forget it."

"So where were you planning on going?" he asked.

"Nowhere…"

There was silence between the two of them. Lery tossed a few glances his way but Riku seemed undisturbed by it. He even shifted position to lean on the wall next to the door. Lery was under no illusions that if she tried to get past him he could stop her before she made it a single inch through that door.

Eventually Riku spoke again, with his head resting against the wall and his eyes closed. He did that a lot now that she was really paying attention. He closed his eyes a lot. If you weren't careful you would assume that he was sleeping. It was like he only bothered to keep his eyes open when he was actually using them for something.

"Is there anything you would like to tell me?" he asked. "Anything at all."

That he was jerk. But he probably wouldn't care about that so there was no point. It wasn't like he was wrong either. He had exposed a way to take down their strongest using their weakest. Namely her.

"I've never been good at it… fighting." The words came out slowly, hesitantly. "Back when we were all living in the main facility Cel, Dish and Broc were all doing very well. My results were always compared with theirs as a benchmark. I was never…"

Riku remained silent, eyes closed, head resting on the wall.

Was he even still listening or should she try to sneak out the door?

But now she had started and she couldn't really stop.

"I failed every exercise I was put through. I had difficulty keeping track of my targets, I wasn't as strong as the others, my tactical choices were poor and I always needed help just to get to the medical tank after each session."

She looked at the floor. "They called me a dud. I understand that I'm supposed to be Saiyan, but I'm not built for fighting the way the rest of you are. I'm not even a real Saiyan. We're test tube babies. I can't do it. I can't fight."

Riku didn't respond for several seconds.

"The fundamental problem remains the same Lery, a weak defense is better than no defense at all," Riku replied.

She looked up at him. He was looking at her now, a small, knowing smile on his face.

"You need to look beyond your limitations," he said. "You are not good at fighting. That is fine. Not everyone can be. But your friends are going to get into a fight."

He waved a hand dismissively. "The reason doesn't really matter to me in the end. But even if you don't take part, your enemy most definitely has knowledge about all of you. You will be targeted whether you're even here or not."

His gaze turned heavy. "You're probably familiar with how that works out."

She winced and looked away.

"Your options are to run and hide," he continued. "To stay as far away from your friends as possible, or to be near them and to be as useful as you can possibly be. Each one has its advantages and disadvantages of course."

She felt his hand on her shoulder and she flinched in surprise.

"Tell me honestly," he said, voice turning serious. "Which do you think is better for you and the others?"

She didn't want to run away and leave everyone. Her knowledge of the admin systems was the reason everyone got as far as they did the first time. Mum had always had Lery up with her learning how to manage and direct resources as efficiently and effectively as possible. There was a reason why she was the one caring for the kids and serving the meals. Even though Coli had taken over, the girl was acting on patterns Lery had established as best for them. They needed her.

"I have to stay…" Lery answered.

Riku smiled. "Yes indeed. Hide in a bunker at the centre of the planet if you wish, but do not neglect any opportunity you can take to make a difference. It's the little things that build up to a victory."

Lery's lip quivered. She couldn't quite grasp why but she wanted to cry again.

This one's a dud.

Riku patted her shoulder twice, very gently but firmly. "I hope to see you when training begins again."

Those two pats, somehow made her feel warm in a way she hadn't felt since before their first disastrous mission to infiltrate the Main Facility.

Riku left the bathroom. Lery started crying again as a distinct reassurance now rested within her, not completely understood but present all the same.

You're not useless.

[Later that morning]

Now that training was canceled Cel was idle. Dish was off somewhere training most likely, Lery had gone off somewhere after breakfast and he hadn't seen her since, Broc was apparently looking for Riku and couldn't find him. He was dwelling on the events of yesterday. About how easily he had lost. He had no idea how to deal with the feelings it created within him.

There was no one he could talk to about them.

There was a loud crash as one of the kids he was supposed to be watching sent another flying against one of the walls of the playroom.

"Stop saying dumb stuff! There's no way he can be a duck and a booger and all the other things!" The attacker pointed dramatically. "You're giving up too easily!"

Coli glared at him. "What did I say about getting rowdy?"

All his fire died out immediately and he cowered away from her.

Coli walked over to Cel. "You're supposed to be prevent them from doing things like that. We can't afford any damage to the base."

Cel scratched the back of his head. "Sorry…"

Coli raised an eyebrow. "You're distracted."

Cel looked away awkwardly. The fact that even Coli could see it was kind of embarrassing…

Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her expression change to something he couldn't quite read before switching back to her normal, intimidating face of faint disdain.

"You should do something about that or you're not going to be much use here. Is this about yesterday?"

When she had been told what happened Coli had been livid. Then she had gone off despite everyone's warnings and came back later. When asked she said that had given him a piece of her mind. Coli was incredibly tough. That had always been the thing about her.

Cel nodded, passing his gaze over the room. One of the younger girls paused in the middle of smacking a boy when she saw him looking and started playing innocently with an eraser.

"You should go and talk to him then."

Cel looked back at Coli who was now also eyeing the children for misbehavior. She couldn't be serious.

"My last interaction with him was getting beaten into the ground and yelled at," Cel said flatly.

"Do you think he was lying about why he did it?" Coli asked.

Cel paused. Unlike the others, he had always paid a special attention to Riku when he watched the few combat videos they had of him. His reviews were not always good. Vegeta tended to chew him out for disobeying orders or only obeying parts of orders in a pinch. He tended to be sarcastic and speak in hidden barbs.

And yet from the beginning he had Cel's attention. Trying to understand what drove him to be so different from the others, it always felt like there was some puzzle there to unravel. When he watched how he talked and fought alongside Naya, it only seemed to confirm this idea. Naya seemed to understand some of the things he did in a way that left the others scratching their heads. Cel began to watch him, fascinated by everything he did.

His fighting style, his tactical choices, his behavior with his team… all of it. Cel wasn't quite sure when he started trying to be like the Saiyan he kept watching on those recordings. Meeting him in person, being on the receiving end of his abrasiveness was nothing like watching it being done to someone else in a monitor. But now that he was thinking about it… really thinking about it without his emotions getting involved…

Cel shook his head. "No…"

Coli nodded. "Then there's no reason to hang around here. Go on, I'll watch the kids myself."

Cel blinked. "I can-"

Coli waved him off. "Don't worry about it. He's in the Solar Engine Room."

"How did you-"

"I just know, hurry up before he moves."

Cel stared at Coli.

"Well?"

Cel got to his feet and left the playroom. He would have to ask her how she knew that later. As Cel walked he thought about what he would even say. How was he to start? What was he even supposed to start with?

Hey so about that beating you gave me yesterday…

The walk to the Solar Room was easily the most awkward walk of his entire, limited life. When he walked in found Riku sitting on the ground, eyes closed. The only sign he was awake was in the twitching of his feet every now and then. He was leaning backward on his hands with his legs sprawled out in front of him.

Cel hesitated just shy of reaching him.

"What do you want?" The question was asked without opening his eyes.

Cel froze up, drawing a blank. Riku did not move as he waited for an answer.

"Why did you do it?" Cel blurted out.

"I thought my reasons were clear enough," came the response.

He had been straightforward.

"I don't think we deserved any of that," Cel said.

Riku remained calm. There was none of the menace that he would normally exude when Cel was getting on his nerves.

"You are free to teach yourselves."

"I'm not saying that to challenge what you're trying to teach us," Cel said. "It's just, you didn't have to be so harsh with us. With Lery and Broc."

"I suppose that would depend on what you think I'm trying to teach you," Riku said, opening his eyes to stare at Cel. "I am no harsher than the battlefield."

And there he went again on and on about battlefields. They were interested in fighting skills.

"All we wanted your help with was a few moves, that was all. Lery isn't good at this stuff and-"

"Why are you so stubborn?"

"What?" Cel wasn't stubborn. He was the farthest thing from it.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Can you genuinely not see what it right in front of you? Even after I have forcibly dunked your head in it so many times now?"

Riku stood up and dusted himself off. "Perhaps it will be clearer if I showed you and only you…"

Cel was confused as to where this was going.

"You are free to take whatever option you please, including running away," Riku said.

Cel blinked. "What?"

"Cel."

The boy in question was struck by a sudden weight. Something about the way his senior said his name.

"Some things cannot be put adequately into words," Riku said, his gaze was calm but serious. "It is easy to say things about battles when you have not experienced them. Many a fool has bragged, 'I would do this', 'I would move here'… Many a martial artist has bragged about the merits of his art. Verbally, it is easy."

Cel was confused where the older Saiyan was going with this.

"Likewise, many a fool has laughed at the strength of others thinking his methods the best. 'I have walked battlefields before you were born', 'your skills are not combat tested, therefore they are useless', 'this technique is effective, this is not'."

Riku looked up for a minute. "In a sense, both are valid ways of thinking. But both are incomplete. What makes them complete cannot be captured in its entirety by words. I want you to pay close attention. I want you to reflect upon our first battle, our next battle… and this one."

Cel tensed as Riku took that loose looking posture he had learned over time to recognize as his senior's battle stance. A subtle change that anyone who had not been watching the soldier for years would not see.

Riku nodded. "Come, let us fight."


AN: So yeah, that's the chapter. Lemme know what impressions you have so far, critiques etc.