Son Family Homestead
April 3, A763

Gine ehdl up her arms just as Nappa punched at her, the blow pushing her back. Gine continued to fly back, keeping distance from Nappa, who literally hissed at her and charged. Gine curled her legs, waiting for Nappa to get close, before kicking out and landing her foot on his face, causing him to flip backwards.

As he did, he reached out, nabbed her arm, and spun her around in the opposite direction, before allowing himself to fall. He threw her forward, and readied to begin an onslaught of punches.

Gine spun back to land on her feet. Nappa was not holding back, as he'd just been a moment before; whatever the bites had done to him, he no longer cared about anyone's safety. He had weight, and was attacking from a higher position; Gine was not going to be able to out-punch him.

However, the difference in what training they'd had came into play here. Nappa had trained with Mercenary Tao for over a month in a gravity chamber, and had picked up on the Crane School fundamentals, where Gine had been training with Chi Chi and Goku.

Their fight became a duel between schools as Nappa went for the precise killing blows favored by the Crane School, while Gine fell back on the fundamentals of the Turtle School, redirecting and pressing Nappa's weight against him. While Nappa over-committed trying to land his strikes, Gine paced herself, waiting for him to tire himself out and make a mistake.

Gine's real advantage, however, was in her footing. Nappa was so focused on trying to land a blow, he wasn't focused on her whole stance and the circumstances around them. He was also used to being the superior fighter in all his battles, and working in a team, an arrogance that, despite his accepting a more domestic life, he had yet to unlearn.

Gine, however, had spent her whole life trying not to die when surrounded by more powerful warriors.

She led him away from the ledge and towards the mountain, where the incline grew steeper. His floating above the ground and punching down at her became less of an issue as he followed her footing, rather than dictating the circumstances of the fight. As soon as Gine was at eye level with Nappa, she went on the offensive.

"I've never seen a fight like this," Sesamee admitted.

"It would seem that they have learned some of the Earthlings' fighting style. They seem...Reserved," Nion observed.

"Whatever you call it, it's taking too long, and they know how to hide their power levels, which means we need Nappa to talk so we can find Piccolo and Kakarot," Zorn said.

Instead of blocking or deflecting, Gine dodged Nappa's next attack, which put his offense off-balance. He went too far forward with his jab, allowing Gine to slam a fist in his face. Gine began to let out a yell as she started hitting back, striking him on the chest and face. He brought up his right arm to start catching the blows there instead, but it made an opening for her to slam her fist into his left side.

Nappa jabbed out with his defending arm, but Gine ducked under, and slammed her palm into his chest, sending him back. Nappa charged a white Ki ball in his arm, and fired a Bomber DX at her. Gine leaped up and forward, catching herself in the air well before the attack landed and left a crater in the ground.

She held out her arm and shouted, "Broiler!"

A fiery wave of Ki covered Nappa, and she could already smell burned flesh. Gine had learned to use painful fiery techniques to distract her enemies, in place of overwhelming them. For most circumstances, it worked; being on fire was an awful experience.

For the crazed, mind-controlled Nappa, however, pain was not an issue. When the flame and smoke dissipated, all she'd done was burn off Nappa's dirt-covered shirt.

Nappa allowed himself to be tossed back and land on the ground. He stomped, sending out a wave of energy around him, and stones began to float up into the sky. Nappa jabbed his finger up at Gine, and the stones began to melt and glow red.

On top of being taken out of his right mind, it occurred to Gine that it was Nappa who had taught her how to develop those kinds of attacks.

"They're only toying with each other! They're just getting to their real techniques! Why aren't they just trying to destroy their opponent?" Sesamee asked.

"Because they aren't trying to destroy each other, they're trying to defeat each other," Nion said, "If they just wanted to obliterate their enemy, they'd have already laid waste to the area around here. They're pacing themselves, and each other. Even with the power of the Black Water Mist taking over Nappa's mind, whatever he's learned here on Earth is still guiding how he fights."

"It's a waste of time," Zorn scoffed.

"I'm not so sure," Sesamee admitted.

Gine was dodging globs of molten rock being flung at her from below. It wasn't like dodging solid chunks of matter; the globs shifted shape and velocity as they flew, making them unpredictable; their relatively slow speed only meant that the attacks were closer together in a wide net, making it more difficult for her to dodge them as a whole. Charging Ki into her hand, Gine began to cut through them.

One of the globs split unpredictably, and instead of flying off to the side, it joined with another blob and wiggled, stretching and squishing as it flew, and caught on her arm. Gine let out a yell and quickly began to wipe it off her arm.

Below, Nappa powered up, held up his index and middle finger together, rotated it to touch his left elbow, and swept out, unleashing a wave of energy known as the Blazing Storm that cut through the blobs of molten rock straight at Gine.

She saw it at the last moment, and held up her hand in the same way. Instead of bringing it across to her arm, however, she curled so her fingers touched her hip, and swung out, casting a wider wave. When they clashed, Gine's wider Blazing Storm detonated, sending molten rock all over the ground.

Gine knew she was going to have to find a way to end this fight quickly; Nappa was only going to get more lethal, and Gine was going to need energy to deal with the other Saiyans, and whoever their master was. She was going to need help, but she couldn't lead them to Piccolo or her family, either. But first she needed to put down her numbed, crazed, possessed mate.

"Enough of this, Nappa! Finish her off, and let's go!" Zorn commanded.

Nappa let out a growl, and his mouth started to glow white.

Gine knew what was coming, and cupped her hands, "Ka! Me!

"BREAK CANNON!" Nappa screamed as he opened his mouth, and a yellow blast came storming towards Gine.

"Hah! Me!"

The blast was nearly upon her; if she didn't strike it correctly, it would envelope and destroy her; Nappa's Break Cannon was designed to obliterate its target, overwhelming all but the greatest of powers. Despite whatever power gap there may be between them, this kind of engagement was precisely what his Ultimate was meant for.

"HAH!"

The beams collided, and began to push against one another. The Break Cannon was meant to overpower in struggles like this, but Gine was giving the attack everything she could.

She cursed herself for her indecisiveness. Gine knew this wasn't her all. She didn't want to hurt Nappa. But she also didn't want to die.

That wasn't true; she did want to hurt him, but only so much.

"This is my problem!" Gine muttered to herself, "I can't focus!"

She wondered, for a moment, what Bardock would tell her. He'd yell at her for being pathetic and getting into trouble she couldn't handle.

"To hell with Bardock!" she hissed; the beams were getting closer.

She remembered the last time she fought Nappa. He'd been beating Brussa senseless. She'd been bloodied and was wheezing when Gine had stopped him. She'd punched him within an inch of his life. Then she cried, putting her sons into harm's way against Vegeta. She'd threatened Chi Chi, and allowed herself to go feral.

When it had come down to it, she'd permitted her rage to consume her. She had killed, and then had cowered.

Gine had begged for forgiveness for what she'd done, when if she'd stayed focused and in control, she might not have needed to be forgiven at all. Like an animal who'd bit its owner, and then whimpered when disciplined.

"I am not an ANIMAL!" Gine declared, pushing a reserve of energy into the struggle.

The results did not matter right now; the only thing that mattered was surviving, right now, and that meant defeating Nappa, no matter what it took.

If he died, he would be mourned.

But she would survive, and she would protect her family, even against Nappa.

Victory was all that mattered.

Gine stopped holding back.

The Break Cannon reached Nappa, and the Kamehameha consumed him. With no resistance against her attack, Gine let it go. When the light cleared, and the beam was cast off into space, Nappa was still where he'd been, his clothes burned off.

Nappa took two steps toward her, muttered, "Gine…" and fell forward.

She rushed to him, and felt at his neck; his pulse was weak, as was his breathing, but he was still alive. Gine stood, and looked up at the three Saiyans who'd been watching their battle.

"Pathetic," Zorn scoffed.

"We don't have time to deal with her," Nion said, "If Nappa survives, he'll find us. If we haven't killed Kakarot and Piccolo by then, he'll be an asset."

"I am in command here!" Zorn snarled, "Bite her, and she'll lead us to our quarry."

Gine picked Nappa up, and with a leap, jumped into the forest nearby. Once she hit the ground, she lowered her power level, and began to drag him through the woods, until she found a stream and some shade under a tree. Gine checked his teeth; they were still fanged. Whatever it was affecting him was still in his system.

"Maybe Kami will know a cure," Gine said. She poured some water into his mouth to give him a bit of hydration. She could hear the Saiyans arguing with each other above her as they searched the woods. Even with a suitably low power level, she could still lose them in the forest and be at Chazke village within a few minutes. She would have to leave Nappa behind, however.

"I'm sorry. I'll bring back help as soon as I can," she said, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mmm, yeah, more syrup, Gine," he muttered. She smiled, kissed him again on the forehead, and began to jump from tree to tree, remaining hidden under the canopy.