The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
They both tumbled through the portal and started rolling down a steep rocky incline. Frieza was able to slow himself down to a stop more easily, but Christina kept on rolling. The jagged rocks dug in rather painfully and were scratching her up with each roll. When she saw there was nothing else ahead of her a mere couple meters down, she tried to dig her hands and feet in to stop her descent.
Easier said than done, when many of the rocks she grabbed were loose. Christina was in full blown panic when she realized she was about to go over the edge. Some thick roots were jutting from the rocky ground. She started grabbing for one of them. Her foot snagged on one and twisted her ankle a bit, and she finally grabbed a thick root around the same circumference as her wrist and lower forearm. She was now just mere inches from going over the ledge.
Christina turned onto her back breathing heavily from adrenaline and exertion. She didn't want to even bother looking over the ledge. All she knew, it was a drop that most likely would've seriously injured her or kill her. Her whole body throbbed and her ankle had a burning sensation to it. She really hopes she didn't break it.
A shadow moved into her line of sight, making her open her eyes to see what it was. Christina gasped when she realized Frieza was slightly hovering over her. To her luck, the little bastard didn't have a scratch on him from their tumble.
"Well, that was quite a surprise. I would've thought for sure you would've rolled right over. Such a pity." He said.
His gaze darkened, "And most unfortunate for you, because it gives me the opportunity to kill you instead."
Christina quickly sat up and tried to shuffle away from him. She hissed in pain when she put her left foot down on a loose rock and it rolled her already injured ankle. It still didn't stop her from trying to get away from the clearly pissed off tyrant. His scowl deepened and he floated closer to the young woman.
"You have any idea what you have done? You have wreck everything and sent us to an unknown location! Who knows where we are or how far we are from my ship! For all we know, we could be in another Universe!" He said, each sentence that came out; ended with him yelling.
"As long as I got you away from Earth, it doesn't matter. You Heartless Little Bastard!" She yelled back.
Frieza lunged forward and wrapped a hand around her neck, lifting her up. Christina let out a startled yelp and started clawing at his hand.
"Doesn't matter, you won't see Earth again either way." He growled, inches from her face.
Her eyes started to get glassy and he could tell he had her terrified.
"Killing me...won't make you any less lost. For all you know, you could be trapped here." She said, between breaths.
Frieza clenched his jaw in anger. He doesn't believe he is trapped here, but he won't deny the truth behind her words about him being lost. He could simply leave the planet, but he hasn't a clue on where he would go from there. If this really was another Universe, he wouldn't know how to navigate it, least of all find a way back to his Universe.
He knew it was possible for mortals to transverse through other Universes. It was seen during the time before the Tournament of Power, during his not so welcome back committee. Even then, mortals usually had help from higher beings like the deities and kais of their Universe. He certainly didn't have any kai or destroyer's aid on the matter. Nor would he know where to locate them. If there was one thing all the Multiverse had in common, is that they were all large and vast. One thing was for sure, he didn't know what kind of beings or creatures dwelled on the world they were currently on. That made it even more dangerous.
His anger melted away slightly and a small smirk came to his face.
"You know, maybe instead of killing you; I'll just leave you out here to rot. It would certainly be more fitting to watch you flail about on your own as you slowly die from starvation and exposure. That is; if none of the beasts that reside here don't get to you first. It's definitely a more fitting punishment for you ruining my plans." Frieza stated.
All Christina could do was stare into his crimson eyes with fear and shock at his words, seeing as his face was still mere inches away from hers. It made him chuckle, and he harshly shoved her back down into the rocky ground. She moaned in pain as her back hit the jagged rocks. Then she gasped again, when she noticed Frieza was levitating further up into the air and away from her. The smirk never leaving his face.
"Good Luck, Human. You will definitely need it." He said.
He gave her one last glance, before he took off, and flew over her, back towards the way they came. That's when the tears finally came, and she covered her mouth to stifle a sob. He did it, he really left her out here. She was officially alone. On top of that, she was injured.
Christina turned around and looked back up the steep side of the rocky cliff. It would be extremely challenging to climb/crawl back up there. Especially, with her injured ankle. Still, she definitely couldn't stay where she's at. Right now, her only way off that steep incline of a cliff; is to climb back out. So that's exactly what she was going to do.
She carefully rolled onto her front, placing her palms down in front of her, and came up onto her knees. Unfortunately, she couldn't really crawl up on her hands and knees. The sharp rocks were already digging into her knees and her palms.
She took a few deep breaths and pushed her knees up, until she was on the balls of her feet. Already, the weight was proving strenuous on her injured ankle. There was nothing she could do about it though, she had to get out of there. Christina placed one of her hands above her, followed by her right foot, and slowly pushed forward.
It certainly was awkward, but she was wondering if maybe she didn't need to stay on all fours. Perhaps, she could hunch forward slightly, and walk back up. Assuming she didn't slip on anymore loose stones, then she'd be fine.
"Fuck, why couldn't we have stumbled onto level ground." She mumbled, as she took another step forward.
Each step she took that involved putting weight on her left ankle, was making the trek rather difficult. At the same time she was relieved. It maybe just a sprain. If it were in fact broken, she wouldn't be able to walk on it; period. Still, it will definitely slow her down, even on level ground. Either way, she wasn't looking forward to this trek.
The ground dipped in places, so she had to watch her footing. About halfway up, Christina pulled her sore palms off the ground, in favor of walking the rest of the way. She had to lean over quite a bit. If she were to stand straight up though, she will loose her balance, and end up tumbling back down. Next time; over the ledge completely.
Christina still tried to keep less weight and pressure on her bad ankle, as she clumsily made her way back up. She was surprised at how far they tumbled down. It had to be a good forty-five feet, give or take. A distance she could've easily cleared in no time. If it weren't for the fact she was on such a steep incline and with a sprained ankle.
About ten minutes later, she finally made it to the top. To her relief she was met with grassy, level ground. There was also a tree line another few meters away from her, past the small field of grass. Christina found a large rock and eased herself down onto it. Then she carefully picked up her leg and crossed it over her knee to inspect her ankle.
It was a bit red and pretty swollen. She slowly rolled it with a wince and carefully flexed her foot up and down. It certainly hurt, but she was confident that it was indeed only a sprain and not a break. Christina looked up and around at her new surroundings. To her dismay, she didn't see any signs of civilization around. A forest and mountains in the distance seem to stretch on for miles. It sadly appeared, that she was truly in the middle of nowhere.
'Great, what the hell can I do now? I'm a bit limited on outdoor survival skills as it is and it's been a while since I've reviewed them.' She thought.
After a few more minutes, Christina stood back up, and took some slow shaky steps towards the woods. She really didn't want to go in there, but that was her only option. Seeing that the cliff was behind her and like the forest; seemed to stretch for miles. So she had no choice but to go forward and enter the forest. She limped all the way to the tree line and briefly paused.
Christina looked up again to find the position of the sun. Though she's not sure if it will help her much in this matter. She wasn't even on Earth. The area looked rather similar to Earth, but she knew it wasn't. When she randomly pressed the touch screen on the switchboard, she watched as the image in the portal slowly changed from showing Earth to showing someplace else.
She was startled, when she heard something quite large; flutter it's wings above her. Christina looked up and was stunned to see the strangest looking bird she has ever seen. Not only that, but it was huge! The bright blue bird was perched on a branch in a tree not far from where she was standing. She could see if it were to stand next to her, it probably come up to her shoulder! Maybe even a little higher than that.
The large avian paid her no mind, as it stretched out one large wing and started plucking at it's feathers with it's sharp, curved beak. At the base of a tree to her left, there was a rustling sound coming from a nearby bush. Moments later, two strange furry creatures ran out of the bush and around the other side of the tree. They were a bit fluffy and around the size of a Yorkie Dog, with long, bushy tails. They kind of reminded Christina of oversized gerbils a little.
Yeah, she was definitely not on Earth. For she doesn't recall ever seeing such animals before. Christina could only hope there weren't any bigger, more dangerous animals out here. She had nothing on her, save the clothes on her back, and no means of something to defend herself with. Plus, a busted ankle made her fair game to any potential predators in these woods.
She continued forward, further into the woods. Her ankle was really starting to bother her. Christina started looking around on the ground for something she could use to take the weight off as she limped along. About a half hour or so later, she found a rather sturdy branch on the ground. She picked up the fairly thick branch, it came up to her chest, and was as thick as her arm.
She carefully applied some weight to it, to see if it would help support her. She was relieved that it did hold her quite well. Now she could finally take most of the weight off her sprained ankle. Christina leaned on the stick as she walked. It certainly made a difference and her ankle didn't feel like it was screaming at her in protest anymore.
The weather here so far was quite pleasant and warm. Which was good, seeing she was only in a sports bra, light cotton capris, and sneakers. Christina was glad she threw on her sneakers back at the house after dancing. Ballet slippers were definitely not suited for this kind of environment otherwise. Though a part of her wish she grabbed her shirt before running out of the cell after she ambushed that soldier with it.
It was warm and pleasant now, but who knows how much the temperature may drop once the sun goes down. Worries started building up inside her with each step she took. Just how was she to make it out of here, and alive for that matter? She had no food or water and had no idea where she could go to find some. Christina worried about that and kept harping on the events that brought her here.
She found herself wishing that she didn't stumble upon the men in Bulma's Lab. She regrets not going with Bulma and her family when she was offered the opportunity. She wished that her dog was in the home with her, instead of insisting that Bulma take the large dog with them to stretch his legs. Christina feels that maybe if Anubis was there, that he could've protected her from the alien men in Bulma's home.
Who was she kidding, they had weapons and would've just shot him and killed him. Still, none of it stopped all the 'What Ifs' running rampant in her mind. All it did, was further upset her, and brought fresh tears to her eyes.
By now, the sun was setting. Christina didn't even know she had been walking that long. Especially, since she took breaks quite often to rest her ankle. Within that time, she unfortunately didn't pass any streams or lakes. She was thirsty, hungry, tired and most of all; Scared. She still didn't know what she was going to do either.
An hour and a half later, and it was completely dark out. The only source of light that broke through the thick canopy here and there, was from the two(Yes, Two) large moons in the sky. Had she not been in the situation she was in, Christina would've found the sight breathtaking. Two full moons, surrounded by millions of twinkling stars. Definitely not a sight you would see back home.
Just as she predicted, the temperature dropped a bit, and she was starting to feel cold. Christina wanted to push forward a little longer. At least until she found a safe place she could sleep for the night. Hopefully, she could find somewhere soon, because she felt like she was just about to pass out. Having no food or water in her stomach didn't help, it just made her feel more groggy, and weak.
Finally, after what felt like hours later, she found a spot. It wasn't her first choice, but she can't afford to be picky. It was in a ditch under some large bushes. At least they would provide her with some cover and protection from the elements. After all, she didn't feel safe sleeping out in the open. She hasn't seen anything dangerous as of yet, but still wasn't taking any chances.
Christina already saw evidence of large animals out here. Several hours earlier during the evening, she caught a whiff of something that smelled putrid. It made her gag and cover her nose and mouth. She pinpointed the smell coming from her left where the odor seemed strongest. Out of curiosity, she limped over to where the smell was coming from.
She pushed aside some shrubbery and her face crumpled in disgust. She saw a rather large; nasty pile of shit. By large, the animal that made it had to be a rather formidable size. That alone labeled it dangerous. Christina made sure to try and go in the opposite direction from that area, not wanting to risk a run in with it. Though it's wishful thinking that she won't run into any large beast out here.
She carefully dropped to her knees and crawled into the shallow ditch under the thick shrubbery. Once Christina was all the way in and felt secure, she pulled her walking stick in with her. She scooted further back, as far as she could go away from the entrance, and out of sight. Then curled up into a ball in an attempt to get warm.
Eventually, she fell asleep.
It was still dark when Christina found herself awake. She didn't wake on her own either, she heard something. Worst of all, it sounded big, and sounded like it was above her. She heard heavy deep grunts, followed by footfalls, like it was shifting from one foot to another. It wasn't simple walking by her either. Whatever it is, it's still lingering or standing right by the bushes she was laying under.
Those thick bushes were the only thing separating 'It' from her. The situation instantly brought up a childhood memory. One of the few times she took a vacation from Ballet Training. She went on a camping trip with her parents and cousins. While they slept in tents, during the night, her and her younger cousin awoke to something moving about outside of their tent. Judging by the large furry shadows and heavy breathing, they knew right away it was a bear.
This felt eerily similar if not; scarier than the bear encounter as a kid. It made Christina shake in fear and she found herself wishing whatever it is to go away. She didn't move nor make a sound as it lingered above her position. It wasn't until several minutes later, that it finally left, and she let out a small sigh of relief. A relief that didn't last long, as tears made their way to her eyes again.
While Christina silently cried, she almost found herself wondering where Frieza could've gone. It may sound crazy, but at the moment; she actually preferred being stuck with him than on her own. She may even say she found herself wishing he were here. That was how afraid and desperate she has become since the start of her trek. At least he could defend himself from whatever wild animals are out here, but she was a sitting duck.
Before crying herself to sleep, her last thought was her hoping that the tyrant may come back. Christina tried hard to ignore the fact that he wasn't. He left her here to die after all. He said it himself. 'Is this how it's suppose to end for me? Is there really no way of getting home?' She thought, as sleep finally took her once again.
I know the interaction between Frieza and Christina was rather brief this chapter. Some of you maybe even wondering why he didn't just kill her outright, because that is what most would expect from the Galactic Emperor. But we also need to remember, Frieza is not that impulsive, and prefers to think things through. Because as we know; He actually thinks before he acts rather than vice versa. Wouldn't put it past the Evil Emperor to let her die a slow painful death, lost in the middle of nowhere. Even he knew killing her upfront would've been letting her off too easy. For single handedly ruining his plans, he intends to make her suffer instead; by leaving her stranded and alone. Don't worry though, Christina won't be alone for that long. I promise he will make a reappearance next chapter. And there will be much more interaction between them in the coming chapters as well. Until Next Time ;)