Author's notes (26/12/2020):
Yup. After a long and bumpy wait, I've finally revised another chapter. I ain't gonna explain what the Hell happened since that's gonna take a long time to get around. Any way, let's hope the new year starts off better. So I hope you guys enjoy what I've revised!
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North Galaxy - Planet Earth - Barren Wastelands
The hail from the grey sky pelted the ivory, scarred wasteland. The chilly winds howled amongst the white, heavy blizzard.
A rapid streak of gold crackled, sparking the sky golden for a moment.
Slug's black eyes snapped to his left. A burst of gold raced towards him. He whipped his head back, avoiding the blast. However, the frozen ground beneath him crumbled away into dust. He gritted his fangs and leapt back, evading several towers of lava spewing towards him.
How? How could anybody have summoned such a power? Or match the power of a Super Namekian?
"It's foolish to believe you are the one and only person everyone should worship and praise. By the heavens, Zalama will be disappointed with you."
Saichoro… that wrinkled fool!
Slug gritted his fangs tight. As a result, his lips bled from his anger. He hissed as a rapid light zoomed towards him. He thrusted one of his palms out, firing a volley of ki blasts at the incoming light.
The golden beam darted upwards and around Slug's volley, evading the whirlwind of dust and lightning-
-The crackling light vanished into the ivory atmosphere.
Slug widened his trembling eyes.
"HAH!" A loud and harsh voice snarled at Slug's ears. As Slug snapped his head back, a navy boot slammed into the Namekian's jaw, shattering the icy, stone ground with a boom. Hurled across the pelting blizzard, Slug crashed through several mountains and laid against the frozen land.
"Slug… the name of the planet you were sent to... to think you would grow to become a Demon- a heart so foul and unworthy of being recognised as a candidate. You returned to us, only to use what our ancestors blessed us with for your own selfish deeds."
Slug opened his eyes, his vision painted red by his own blood. He blinked with a scowl.
"You have no shame or honour as a member of the Namekian race. Be gone, take that evil heart of yours far from here, so far away so that not even the Destroyer acknowledges your presence."
Saichoro… as time went on, he lost his sharp words and became soft with age. Slug questioned how an old fool like Saichoro continued to have people- his children, so obedient and loyal to him? The old and withered should have perished!
Saichoro- why was he blessed with his power?
Slug scowled at his hands, his brown gloves riddled with holes. He dug his nails into his palms, causing his palms to bleed.
Banished and far from home… this planet was a rare jewel he refused to give up conquering- not even to the likes of the Galactic Emperor Frieza.
Slug rose to his feet, rubbing the sticky, cold blood from his lips. Before him stood the sparking, golden flame of the protector of Earth; standing tall on the ivory mountains within the howling jaws of the blizzard.
To think a Saiyan barbarian would actually harm a Super Namekian... that weakling- that savage will pay dearly. This rich and lavish planet will be Slug's, his to find and his to rule alone!
If only the Namekian knew how many others sought Earth for its resources and beauty... or for the man known as Son Goku.
Consumed by a vicious, golden aura, Goku's eyes were nothing but blinded fury, piercing into the Super Namekian that opposed him. How dare he- Slug! How dare he harm everyone! He refused to let Slug get away with this!
Goku darted towards the behemoth, leaving a trail of shattered icicles behind him. "DIE!" Goku yelled, throwing a fist towards the behemoth's face.
Slug blocked the punch, leaving a bruise on his arm. As Slug pulled back, a surge of ki collected in his mouth. With a surge of ki, a yellow beam consumed the enraged Saiyan and blasted Goku far off into the pelting, white world.
What an annoyance! Slug thought, clenching his fist. But, at least he's out of the picture. Now... His dark eyes shifted over to the crimson footprints imprinted in the white and raging void.
Raditz limped on his feet. He gripped his chest with one, shaky hand; sticky with crimson blood. He panted, his blood tainted his teeth. With a sharp gasp, Raditz hurled up blood, his ribs creaking from the cold.
Kakarot... Raditz thought as one of his quivering eyes squinted up at the oblivion laid before him. The edges of his vision faded to black as he watched a fierce and golden light spark in the white world afar. Don't let that power get to you. You must control it... otherwise you'll just explode with that energy; just like the Saiyan of legends.
As much as Raditz was proud of the growth of his little brother developing into a powerful warrior, he feared that power tearing the mental wellbeing of his brother to shreds-
To insanity.
"Looks like I'll have to get rid of you first." Slug sneered, twisting his focus towards the wild-haired Saiyan. "It's nights out for you."
"I wouldn't bet on it." Raditz replied, gritting his crimson teeth as a hiss left his lips. "Just because you're winning now doesn't mean you've won yet." He grinned, opening both of his eyes fully.
"What are you seriously going to do? Beg?" Slug grew a wide grin on his face. "You can't take up that offer anymore, it doesn't exist." One of his boots faced Raditz, preparing to squash the Saiyan bug.
"Don't underestimate what a Saiyan can do." Raditz grunted, his onyx gaze scowling at the towering Namekian. "Hah..." He drew his fists over his chest. He raiseds his voice. A fierce, purple ki crackled around him.
"By all means, use whatever you have left." Slug sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "But that dwindling power of yours will not save anyone, and certainly not you-"
Raditz's voice erupted into a fierce roar, his unruly hair lashed at the icy winds. The ice around him levitated, then sparked and shattered into dust.
Slug's grin vanished. He furrowed his brows. "Just surrender!" Slug raised his voice at the Saiyan. He turned his body away from the Saiyan, tightening his arms crossed over his chest. That increasing power- why did a bug continue to power up when his life was diminishing? What a fool!
If only the Super Namekian knew what Raditz had planned.
"HAH!" Raditz yelled up at the white and howling vortex above. "Kakarot! Don't give in to all that pain and loss- don't be blinded by that rage!" He clenched his trembling and pale fists. "Fight with a clear objective, a clear heart and mind! Being driven only by rage will cause you to lose everythi-"
-His fierce ki vanished into the freezing world. Raditz plummeted onto his knees, blood spluttered from his mouth. His shaky hands gripped his mouth, refusing to lose more blood. His pale form drifted, slowly but surely vanishing into the howling winds like that of a ghost.
Kakarot… Raditz thought, squeezing his weak eyes shut as Slug drew his foot towards the kneeling Saiyan. Please… you mustn't, I can't face our parents if I fail a second time- I've already brought shame to them once. He shifted his gaze to the white world above, searching for his little brother through the howling void. "PLEASE KAKAROT! DON'T DROWN IN THAT POWER!"
Another golden spark burst forth from the blizzard, shattering the ice into dust.
Slug's eyes widened. Goku's blinded eyes pierced into the Namekian's ones.
"YOU WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" Goku roared from the top of his lungs. He zoomed towards Slug and rammed his fist into Slug's chest.
With a creak, Slug's bones cracked. A surge of blood rushed out from his chest."NO!" Slug yelled, the shock forcing the Namekian to stutter backwards. However, he crashed backwards into the snow. He gripped his bleeding chest, growing colder from the arctic blizzard.
However, a grin grew on the wounded Super Namekian's lips. This was all going to plan.
Raditz rose up to his shaky legs, numb to the cold howling past him. He cleared the blood from his lips, yet he could not utter another word. If only there was some way of getting his little brother to listen to him...
As Slug laid on the ground, Goku cupped his hands together in front of him. With a blue spark, the enraged Saiyan drew his hands to his chest.
Raditz widened his eyes, trembling as he stood in the enraged Saiyan's line of fire.
"Ka..." Goku uttered, furrowing his brows as his blinded eyes scowled at the wounded Namekian. With the anger rooted in his veins, Goku swore to kill the Namekian at all costs.
"Do you honestly want to do that?" Slug sneered, pointing his thumb behind him. "Fire that thing at me and you'll erase the bodies behind me." He jeered at Goku, taunting the enraged Saiyan to strike.
Goku shifted his blind gaze from Slug to the rows of bodies behind him- bodies of his allies. The sight of their still bodies… Bulma… Krillin… Roshi… Chichi… everyone... if only he was stronger, maybe they would have still lived. "Ha…" Goku continued, his voice harshened into a trembling growl.
"Do you really want to kill your comrades?" Slug continued, rising up to his feet, yet his blood drenched the snow crimson. "Without them, getting the dragon balls on Namek will be impossible for you- not that the dragon balls will be of any use to you."
"Me…" Goku continued, his blinded eyes fixated on Slug, his ears hearing nothing but the howling blizzard surrounding him and his own searing breaths.
"You see, the dragon balls on Namek are inactive. Even if you were to get your hands on them, you won't be able to use them." Slug continued, raising both his hands up at Goku. "And that's not even the best part."
Goku gritted his jaws tighter, cupping his hands closer to his chest. "Ha…"
"Frieza may have already killed all the Namekians."
A blue ball of light grew from Goku's palms. "Me..." Goku continued, growling with every breath.
Laying on the freezing, hard ground, Bulma opened her eyes slowly. Though she caught Slug's towering form facing away from her, she witnessed Goku's collection of ki. She raised her hand to the light, using every muscle to call out to her life-long friend. "Goku..." Bulma called out weakly, her weak gaze observing the golden light lashing at the darkness surrounding him. The pure and laid back boy she once knew… she never imagined the flames of his hatred ignite once more. Those wrathful eyes when Krillin died to Tambourine's hands… to think he would be consumed in those flames once more.
From the ice-capped peak, Roshi laid, his body buried in the snow. "Sonny..." Roshi wheezed, feeling nothing but the ice submerging him. That cold and immense pressure… to think that feral side would re-emerge once more. How was a hermit supposed to calm his student when his student had far exceeded him?
From a lower peak to Roshi's right, Krillin gripped the crumbling ice with his numb hands. "Goku... old buddy..." Krillin mumbled, his face half buried in the snow. No… the monk refused to allow his life-long friend to descend into the dark path. He gritted his teeth and forced himself up with his trembling hands. "Raditz, please… if I can't reach my bud on time… I need you to do what you can to get your bro to listen to you…" he gritted his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut.
From besides Krillin, a small, arctic fox shook off the snow burying him. With a poof, Oolong appeared and coughed. "Talk about rough timing." Oolong muttered as he drew a capsule from his green pants.
From the depths of the peaks, Chichi and Gohan laid out from each other's reach.
"Gohan..." Chichi mumbled as her sullen eyes gazed up at the overhanging rocks where Gohan laid. "Please… help the others and get your father to listen to us-" she coughed. Blood left her pale lips as her numb body shivered in the cold.
Upon hearing his mother's weak words, Gohan opened his eyes. He then snapped open his eyes at the sight of blood pooling around his mother. "Mother!" Gohan screamed as he scrambled to his feet. His trembling gaze fixated on a large icicle, lodged deep in Chichi's stomach. As he reached the icicle, a small hand reached to the icicle. He followed the hands to see Okome; her dark hair clinging to her face with sweat and blood.
Yet, her left arm was soaked in blood.
"That bastard's going to pay." Okome hissed as she placed her right hand over Chichi's abdomen. "Gohan, I'm healing your mother first. She's in a critical state." From her hand, the water glowed a faint blue. "I need you to fend off any dangers, think you can do that?" She shifted her lightless gaze to Gohan, her eyes dark with a silent anger.
After a moment, Gohan nodded. He drew his fists close to his chest and shifted his gaze to the roaring vortex afar. Upon sensing his father's cold and furious ki, Gohan snapped his gaze to the growing, blue light in the sky. "Dad..." Gohan gasped as he gazed up at the growing, blue light colouring the skies. This cold and violent ki- this couldn't be his father's energy- it's nothing like him!
From the raging vortex consuming the battlefield,
Slug widened his eyes. Was that Saiyan still going to launch that attack? Even when the lives of his allies are on the line?
A purple light sparked for a moment from the white world below.
Thwack!
A sharp, burning sensation slammed across Goku's face, snapping Goku's face to one side.
"KAKAROT!" Raditz screamed with a scowl. His fist flew past Goku's face upon striking his little brother. "GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF! DON'T YOU DARE F* KILL YOUR COMRADES!"
Goku's black eyes faded back into existence as he met his older brother's sharp, black gaze. His golden aura faded as he fell from his pitfall of rage.
"Raditz?" Goku's voice quivered as he halted in the icy sky above. Dumbfounded. He ran one hand over his stinging cheek as his dull eyes watched Raditz plummet towards the white and jagged land below. His eyes snapped wider upon realisation. "RADITZ!" Goku yelled, racing to Raditz's aid.
Seeing an opportunity to strike, Slug raised his hands out towards Goku. "It's finally lights out!" Slug sneered, raising his chin up at the defeated warriors. "Farewell."
As a glint of crimson left his eyes, a black can flew past his line of sight.
That obnoxious blonde…
A fizzle of crimson fizzled from the can. With no time to defend his mouth or eyes, Slug screamed out. His eyes burned and his throat dried up from the burning chemicals he inhaled.
On a path of ice, Launch skated besides Okome, resting a bazooka on her right shoulder. "Think about that twice before forgetting about me!" Launch yelled, raising a fist at Slug as Okome morphed the ice into a clear path besides her. Okome vanished into the snow without a trace as Launch continued to race after Goku, preparing to aid the severely wounded Raditz.
With Launch's and Okome's distraction, Goku snapped his attention to the incoming Launch as he made his descent. "Everyone!" Goku yelled, grasping Raditz's hand and rested his arm over his shoulder. "Lend m-" A green arm lashed out from the crimson smoke bomb. Oh crispy bacon…
In a heartbeat, Goku tossed the injured Raditz to one side.
"Gah!" Goku gasped, caught within Slug's grasp.
From below, Launch caught Raditz, alongside a faltering Krillin and Roshi, supported by a metal giant. "Goku!" They exclaimed.
As for Gohan, he supported his mother and stood by Krillin's side, his brows raised at the sight of his father caught within the giant's grasp. As much as he needed to help his father, Gohan could not leave his mother's side, not when she was pale and shivering. If only he had a senzu bean!
"YOU THINK THAT BLINDING ME WILL DO ANYTHING!" Slug roared, showing his fangs at Goku as he tightened his grip on the tiny Saiyan. "My hearing will sense you all out! Now DIE!"
"I don't think so!"
Several bullets struck the back of Slug's head. With a hiss of anger, Slug snapped his attention up at the white sky, his hand still grasping Goku firmly.
Hovering on the magic carpet, Bulma stood by Popo's side and held a steaming gun. Her blue eyes scowled at the Namekian.
"Okome!" Bulma yelled towards the howling world below, "Do it!"
A row of icicles darted up at Slug. By the time Slug noticed the icicles pursuing him, several spears of ice pierced his left leg. As Slug hushed his yells as grunts, several more spears erupted from the snow and caged the Super Namekian in. Yet, this was not enough to pressure Slug to free Goku.
From a small peak, a white sheet drifted into the air and revealed Okome's dark smirk. With her hands planted into the snow, Okome shifted her gaze to the sheet, to which the sheet poofed into a little, blue cat.
"Nice job, Mei!" Puar cheered with a squeaky voice. "Goku!"
"NOW GUYS!" Goku yelled, shoving his hands against Slug's fingers with a grunt to escape.
The masters of the Kamehameha all grouped together, cupping their hands close to their chest. As their numb and shivering body stood against the cold, they refused to falter in the wake of the storm.
"Ka..." Roshi, Krillin and Chichi chanted all together as a blue light began to circle and radiate within their palms. Gohan stood besides his mother, raising his hands above his head. They all drew every last ounce of ki, their eyes burning with the sharp flames of determination. "HA!" They all yelled, thrusting out their palms towards Slug.
With a beam of blue and gold, the ki all swirled into a beam of blue and gold and zoomed towards Slug.
My chance!
Goku chomped on Slug's finger, causing the Super Namekian to snarl out in pain. As Slug's grip loosened, Goku wrested out from Slug's grips and plummeted towards the white vortex below, passing the fierce beam launched by his allies. Goku cupped his hands close to his chest. A maroon light sparked from Goku. "KAIO-" Goku yelled as a blue spark left his palms as he fell, "KEN," a fierce, maroon light crackled around Goku as the blue light grew brighter. "TIMES THREE!" He roared, thrusting his palms at Slug and launching the Kamehameha of his own.
As the beam raced towards Slug, Slug ripped himself free from the cage of ice. As a yellow crackle of ki left his fangs, he met a pair of dark eyes.
And in those moments, it felt as though time fell to a standstill.
"Don't ever dream of returning here." Okome spoke with a low tone. She swiped one hand across Slug's eyes, snatching the moisture from his eyes.
Slug's vision snapped black. Then the Namekian screamed out, unable to see and counter the incoming beam. As he fired the beam from his mouth, Okome widened her eyes.
However, an injured Raditz tackled Okome and dragged her down towards the white world below. With a nod as thanks, Okome swiped her able hand upwards, summoning an icicle spear. With a yell, she thrusted the spear into Slug's open jaw, piercing and dislocating the Namekian's means to counter.
"NOW!" Raditz screamed out, firing off a scarlet crackle of ki as he and Okome were both caught by a passing Launch zooming past on a motorcycle.
The warriors of Earth all cried out, pouring every ounce of their will into their final attack.
The spiralling beam rammed into Slug and blasted the Super Namekian into the sky.
"SAICHORO!" Slug yelled as his eyes glared with venom as the light overtook him. "MARK MY WORDS, I WILL BE THE RIGHTFUL HEIR TO ZALAMA'S POWER!"
With nothing but the whistling blizzard, the window of darkness shattered. With a view of eternal blue, the warmth of the nearby star reached Earth's cold atmosphere.
Finally, it was over.
From Earth's stratosphere, a lone Demoness held a white metre marked with a swirly "M" close to her chest. Her cold and lavender eyes gazed down at the ivory lands. She then shifted her head slightly behind herself, as though her annoyed gaze searched for something. She vanished into the whistling wind, without another trace.
If Okome refuses to die, then Saishi will have to take her place. After all, what more can a crippled mind do?
On the ivory mountains, submerged in the blizzard far away from the Defenders of Earth, he stood; observing the vast, jagged lands before him. His icy blue eyes shifted from the clear sky, sensing the darkness hidden in plain sight.
Was this distortion created by them? Again?
The lone warrior rested his chin on his palm. First; a Saiyan known as Turles appeared, and now the Super Namekian known as Slug appeared. And then there were other wild readings from another galaxy, the South to be precise. They all had one thing in common; malice within their hearts.
Except, Raditz's situation was the opposite of what he had anticipated.
For some reason, Raditz should have remained dead. But... he's alive in this timeline; fighting alongside Goku. Even if this may be a good change, it was still a distortion in history- a distortion Towa could manipulate and use to her advantage. Good or bad, these distortions must stop.
His icy gaze shifted towards the Defenders of Earth, namely to the navy-haired girl. Though she was just as injured and exhausted as everyone else, she smiled and celebrated their victory against Slug. With her hands clapping against Gohan's ones in cheer, the lone warrior's lips shifted a small smile- though his brows dipped up.
The past… It was once a happy place.
Gohan, Goku, mo- Bulma and everyone; their faces radiated with happiness and peace, not of fear and unrest. Though the likes of a smirking and exhausted Raditz stood by Goku, his coal eyes radiated with a slight warmth- with companionship and peace.
But Gohan… the sight of the young hybrid caused the silent warrior to shed a silent tear. This was another time and another life- a life his friend and mentor could live without being forced to live one he had to sacrifice for the sake of humanity.
But… Okome… was that truly her? Or another illusion by Towa? There was only one way to find out.
The lone warrior's trench coat fluttered in the arctic breeze. He pulled out a scroll from his coat and rolled it open. A white light washed over the lone warrior, soon leaving no traces of his presence in the ivory blizzard.
Glimpsing a tiny spark of white in the distance, Goku stopped laughing. What was that energy? Goku thought, slowly turning his head to the ivory mountains behind him, cautious of the light. That's the second time this happened. First Vegeta and Nappa, and now this. What's going on?
As for Okome, she caught Goku's anxious gaze. Aware of the situation, she shifted her gaze to Gohan's cheery smile. Eventually, she had to tell him and everyone of Towa- but just how? Her gaze then fell onto Raditz. Her heart beated faster at the sight of his gaze on her.
Raditz shifted his gaze briefly to his right, signalling Okome to follow him.
"Kakarot, I'm going to scout the area." Raditz spoke, patting his younger brother on the shoulder as he passed him. "I can't have something fly under the radar and create a bigger mess later on."
"Sure." Goku raised his thumb up to his brother. "But don't over do it." He chuckled and itched the back of his head. "I mean, we're all sore and aching,"
"I'll go too." Okome walked over to Raditz's side. "My ability to sift through the snow should make it easier."
"Sure, the more the merrier." Goku agreed. "Me and my pals are planning to get ourselves patched up." He chuckled to himself, though his ribs creaked from the aching cold and pains. Chichi stood by Goku's side and supported the Earth-raised Saiyan, next to Gohan and Krillin.
"Make sure ya don't do something stupid." Launch warned as she knocked her fist into Raditz's shoulder lightly. "We may have beaten that giant, but the cold can still knock you guys out."
"Don't worry." Okome waved her able hand with a slight laugh. "Without Slug's foot soldiers, me and Raditz should be back in no time-"
-"But your arm..." Gohan warned Okome, pointing at her left arm frozen with blood. "You're going to catch a really bad frostbite and infection with that wound."
Okome ripped the bottom of her purple gi and held one end of the material with her teeth. She then drew the material to her bloody arm. With a gentle, blue glow, the frozen blood began to drip. Okome tied the material around the wound, though her arm ached from the cold. Once Okome tied a knot, she chuckled, "Not if you're a healer." She shifted a smile to Gohan. "I'll be back to check up on your mother's wounds. So for her sake, watch over her health."
"Got it." Gohan nodded.
"You don't have to worry over my health Mei," Chichi spoke as she shifted her gaze from Goku. "Once we all take a senzu bean, we'll be good to go." She smiled to Okome.
Okome observed Chichi's soft smile. A smile like that and a worrisome heart... Okome remembered another individual with a soft and anxious heart.
Her mother.
Okome shifted her gaze from Chichi to Raditz, concealing her glimmering eyes. With a nod, both Raditz and Okome flew off into the clear sky.
Goku observed Raditz and Okome, pondering whether to pursue them. As he took a step towards their direction, Gohan, Chichi and Krillin raced to Goku's aid.
"Careful there bud!" Krillin exclaimed, standing in front of Goku. "You look like you're going to topple over at any moment from now."
"Honestly, guys I'm-"
"You need to get patched up." Chichi spoke over Goku as she inspected her husband's wounds. "I can't let you or Gohan get hurt, let alone dying on me." She softened her gaze. "I can't lose both of you." She drew one hand to Gohan's head, though she held a sad smile. "Okay?"
Aware of the worry in his wife's eyes, Goku stopped and turned to Chichi. "Don't worry Chi," he grasped her shoulders, "me and our son ain't going nowhere." Goku smiled to her, aware of the possible fears Chichi suffered as a result of his death. Though, as much as he wanted to question Okome and Raditz on other matters, his, and his allies', health always were a priority.
From the cliff's edge overlooking the ice caps below, Raditz observed the jagged, white world below.
"Before you start worrying, there's nothing to worry about." Raditz began as his arms were crossed over his chest. The arctic winds brushed over him. "I need some answers and I think you might be the only one who knows what's going on." He shifted his gaze to the navy-haired Earthling standing behind him. "Tell me, you seem to know the properties of that power boost Nappa, Vegeta and Slug gained- and you seemed to articulate a plan that an average five year old wouldn't be able to do." He narrowed his eyes at her, suspicious of Okome's true intentions.
Okome stood silent for several moments, pondering what Raditz's motives were. "I'm actually older than you think." Okome began, drawing one hand to her chest. "I look five years old, but I'm actually sixteen years old."
As Raditz opened his mouth to speak, he paused and raised his brow. "You're telling me you have a growth problem?" He tilted his head to one side. "It would make sense why you're-"
Raditz fell silent at the sight of Okome's dark gaze.
"No," Okome's brows twitched, "it's nothing of the sort." Okome relaxed her face. She sighed through her nose and looked to Raditz. "I wish it was that simple to explain." She raised her hands to Raditz with raised shoulders. She then slumped her shoulders and rubbed the nape of her neck. "I can't go into too much detail. Long story short, someone cursed me to be trapped in a weaker body as a means to stop me from intervening with her plans."
"...And this person you speak of…" Raditz drew one hand to his chin.
Okome closed her eyes. "It is her- I know it's her." Her voice harshened. She curled her fingers into her palms. "Me and her have some history," her eyes hardened, "Towa- she abducted my sister and I can't forgive her!" She raised her voice. She then closed her eyes and rubbed them with her able hand. "I'll never forgive her." She gritted her teeth and shook her head.
To lose someone valuable… Raditz observed Okome's angered and upset state. He clenched his fists tighter and gritted his teeth.
"I sense the betrayal and bitterness in your heart." Her gaze settled on the Saiyan. "I can aid you in regaining your Saiyan pride, and punish those who were your 'so-called' allies."
Those calm and unsettling words, Raditz shuddered internally at the sight of those cold eyes. He looked to Okome once more. "You're not the only one who's searching for a missing family member." He spoke with a calm yet sharp tone. "I'm in search of my father- and this woman's constant hiding confirms more of my suspicions."
Okome raised her brows, her fists dropped to her sides. "Towa must have found something in him for her to take an interest." She sighed. She then looked to the white horizon afar. "I can only hope your father hasn't be subjected to the same torture my sister had." She drew one hand to her chest, as though holding onto hope.
"Speaking of Towa," Raditz drew a purple scroll from the remains of his armour, "do you have any idea what this is?" He held the scroll up to Okome, concealed in a shroud of black and red.
Okome snatched the scroll from Raditz's grasp, her trembling eyes inspecting the corrupted scroll.
"How?" Okome snapped her gaze to the startled Raditz. "Only members of the Time Patrol can only have access to these." Her voice strained.
"Time Patrol?" Raditz's eyes narrowed on Okome. "Okay, where on Planet Vegeta are you from?"
Okome squinted her eyes. "I'm from Earth?" She replied, confused why an Earthling would be found on a planet roaming with Saiyans.
Raditz paused. He then sighed and rubbed his forehead.
"Oh…" Okome widened her eyes for a moment. "Right. Okay." She tucked the corrupted scroll under her arm, then drew a scroll from her belt. "Raditz," her voice became stern. "I need to let you know that this information must not be shared with anyone else." She held both the scrolls up to Raditz; one consumed with a wild and black aura and the other appearing to look like a normal scroll.
"And why's that?"
"Those of the Time Patrol work from the shadows to correct the distortions in time." Okome replied. "I hate to say it, but you're one of those distortions, and as a result, this corrupted scroll appeared."
"Okay…" Raditz rubbed his chin, "what happens to those who are a distortion?" Raditz raised his brow.
Okome fell silent. After a moment, Okome met his coal gaze. "They have to be removed by all means necessary." She replied, saddened at the thought.
Raditz widened his eyes. "You mean…" he drew his hand to his throat.
Okome nodded with a dull gaze. "But," Okome brushed her hand over the corrupted scroll. "I believe there must be another solution to this." She held the scroll to Raditz. "Keep this scroll safe. If Towa tries to target you, the people of the Time Patrol will know."
"But wouldn't I still be killed as a result?" Raditz pointed to himself. "I promised Kakarot that I would stand by him and protect his allies if harm came to them." He slumped his shoulders, "but, how can I do that if I have to stay in Hell for the rest of eternity-"
The ordinary scroll glowed a gentle blue. Raditz observed Okome rolling open the scroll.
The Namekian Dragon balls are active.
The words appeared like a swift scribe of a pen. Okome continued to read.
Don't worry. We're here to help you. We know what has happened.
Okome raised her brow. Both Raditz and Okome glanced to each other for a moment. For the same scroll that told Okome of Namek's ruin, Okome wasn't sure what to think.
You might not remember me, but you've grown into a great fighter. I just wish… this didn't happen to you. And… I want to aid you- especially for the search of your sister.
Okome widened her eyes briefly at the mention of her sister. Raditz continued to watch over the Earthling's shoulder, aware of her shaken composure.
I know, you're wondering how I know. Trust me, even though I was pretty harsh with you, I know what you were going through. As my close ally and student, I want to help you… and coming from someone who is also a younger sibling, I do wish to meet your sister someday.
Okome tilted her head. A teacher? As she searched through her fuzzy memories of the time before ending up in this timeline, she could only remember four things; her names, her sister, her techniques, and her goal to stop Towa. However she also had a blurry memory of sitting at a desk, surrounded by several other people- people of different races.
Okome, I know you're hiding your real name. You're pretty prepared for a Time Patroller.
Okome squinted her eyes. A vision of a lady in black skimmed past her mind. Then a male with lavender hair also skimmed through her mind.
Please, stay safe. Myself and Trunks are planning to meet you on Namek. Whatever you do, please avoid a man named 'Frieza'.
Raditz grasped the scroll, his eyes scowled at the word 'Frieza'.
Raditz, we know what predicament you're in as well.
Raditz raised his brows. His eyes trembled at the fact whoever observed him- or the events that took place, knew exactly what had happened. What were they planning?
We have made arrangements with Baba and we plan to meet at King Yemma's office. We need to discuss some urgent matters. Please, take care of yourselves.
And those words were the last words Okome and Raditz read. Okome rolled the scroll shut, sighing. As much as she wanted the answers now, it wasn't possible. Her mind felt numb to the questions she desperately needed to ask.
However, Raditz placed his hand on Okome's shoulder. He took the corrupted scroll from her grasp and patted her shoulder.
"Whatever the future holds, you must face them head on without fear." Raditz spoke with a calm voice. "As my final words to you, watch over Kakarot's son." His eyes softened. "He is Kakarot's legacy after all." He patted her shoulder again. "And watch over his wife and friends, they are truly people he can rely on."
As Okome opened her mouth to speak, she closed her mouth and placed her hand over his one. "I'll do my best." She spoke with a quiet voice. "To protect those that I consider as my allies and family is an oath I refuse to break." She drew her hands together, placing her palms against each other as a form of respect and promise. "All I ask of you is to be safe in your search for your father. I also hope you find allies who are just as loyal and good to you in your time of need."
"And I wish the same to you in your search." Raditz spoke as he drew his hand away from her shoulder. "Oh, and remember to keep your chin up." Raditz shifted a slight smirk to her. "Even if you're an Earthling, don't ever believe you're useless in a fight." He drew his fist to Okome. "If you do plan to face Frieza, you must not waver in front of him. The moment you waver will be an invitation for Frieza to make his move."
"I don't have the time to fret over Frieza." Okome raised her fist to Raditz. "He may have a galactic empire, but Towa is someone I fear more." Her burning gaze observed Raditz's stern ones. "With all of these abductions, I worry what she has planned for the future- especially when she has corrupted numerous timelines for her own gains." She bumped her fist with Raditz's ones. "Once I find my sister, I'll find out what exactly has happened to my sister so that I can pay Towa back in full."
"I'll join in." Raditz smirk widened. "If our paths ever meet again, we'll both make a pact and make sure Towa will pay." He squinted his eyes shut. "Agreed?"
Okome nodded. "Anytime-" her gaze darkened, "if you're not working under Towa."
Raditz laughed and patted Okome's back firmly. "Ha! Like as if I'll let her use me." He patted his chest. "I'm the son of Bardock, a Saiyan warrior who refuses to take orders from those above me." He raised his chin, "my father will beat the s* out of me if I became a puppet."
"Good to know." Okome caught herself, holding back her urge to yell out in pain.
With that exchange of motivation and determination, the Saiyan and Earthling duo could only imagine what the bigger threat was; a threat greater than a universe.
A whole timeline was at stake.
North galaxy - Planet ???
Further north from Earth, trouble brewed.
There was nothing else the Prince could do.
Thud!
Vegeta collapsed onto his knees, holding his stained, cracked chest plate. The corners of his lips dripped with scarlet blood, his nose blinded to the stench of iron. His blackened eyes shifted to the rows of boots before him, all similar to those worn by the Elites.
"Vegeta... is that all the mighty Prince of Saiyans can do?" A silvery voice sneered at the Prince, his amber eyes observing every action of the weakened Prince. "Tut tut... it's a shame... Lord Frieza adored you." He rested his hand on his waist as he continued to taunt the Saiyan Prince.
"Zarbon, why don't we kill him already?" A gruff voice spoke, punching his pink, spiky fists against each other.
"Ugh, there you go again, Dodoria." Zarbon flicked his green, plaited hair behind himself. "Remember, Lord Frieza wants him back; alive. Killing him won't do any justice."
"Bah... he's a nuisance." Dodoria cracked his knuckles as he shifted his head away from the grovelling Prince. "I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to steal the dragon balls from Lord Frieza."
A set of quiet, yet firm, footsteps echoed into the silent atmosphere. The scent of smoke and flames drifted from the nearby village, smoldering as his presence was soon made known.
"Lord Frieza does not need to worry about these matters of now." A positive yet stern voice brushed over from behind Zarbon and Dodoria. "The Prince will be delivered to Lord Frieza along with the dragon balls."
Zarbon and Dodoria snapped their heads back. It was the Captain of the Elite squadron; Ginyu.
Hovering next to Ginyu's head levitated an orange orb, set with a red star in the centre. The Namekian dragon ball.
"Ginyu," Zarbon spoke, "was it necessary to deal with such weakling?" He shifted his amber and disgusted eyes down at the kneeling sight of Vegeta. "Myself and Dodoria could handle him ourselves." For someone who was a part of the special Elite forces, Ginyu should be concealing his presence. Why was he, and his comrades, on some lowly planet pursuing the likes of Vegeta?
"Lord Frieza has requested for his capture." Ginyu replied, walking towards Vegeta with his head held high and his arms held behind himself. His hand interlocked with each other as his red eyes inspected the grimy state of the Saiyan. "As a proud and loyal follower of Lord Frieza, I gladly accepted his request. And besides..." He twisted his head at the duo. "You underestimate how difficult it is to capture 'Prince' Vegeta."
"Capturing him alive that is." A red-skinned Brench member, Jeice, remarked besides his jeering comrades.
However, a laugh left Vegeta's lungs, growing louder and soon washed over the jeering opposition.
"You honestly think that Frieza will have me alive?" Vegeta raised his voice, looking up at Ginyu with the widest grin. He spat to his side with a scowl. "Never! I rather be a dead man than be his lackey!"
"Oh, is that so? 'Prince' Vegeta?" Ginyu questioned, raising his brow at Vegeta. "Last time I checked, your entire race is dead. For that misfortune, Lord Frieza gave you a place to stay. A place that you can call home."
Home... what would that purple, horned pompous know about a home? Frieza destroyed and controlled the inhabitants without a thought to spare. If Frieza snapped his fingers, Ginyu would just do it; kill and clean the opposition and re-home those who follow that tyrant. And how dare he sneer at the title of a Prince!
"Ungrateful monkeys." Dodoria sneered as a grin grew on his crusty lips. As he raised his spiky fist at Vegeta, Ginyu raised one hand up and shook his head.
Vegeta's onyx eyes sparked with a deep and twisted fury. How dare he- that pompous! Treat him like some weakling! With an orb of ki sparking from his hands, Vegeta raised his hands above his head.
From behind Ginyu, a tall and blue-skinned alien, Burter, prepared to take action against Vegeta's next action.
"I won't stand for this!" Vegeta yelled, throwing the ball of ki down in front of him.
Though Burter took one step towards Vegeta, Ginyu raised his arm up, signalling all of his comrades to stay back.
A shockwave rocked the ground, soon washing over the quaking ground with a thick blanket of dust.
"Captain!" Several voices exclaimed as the dust consumed the battlefield.
"Drats!" Zarbon exclaimed as he and Dodoria shielded their eyes from the sudden whirlwind of debris.
As the dust settled, the group saw Ginyu facing the direction of where Vegeta was- though Vegeta was nowhere to be seen.
"Let him be." Ginyu spoke, remaining with a tall stance as he observed the trail of blood marking where the Prince once was. With a twirl of his finger, he drew a levitating dragon ball in his line of sight and observed the clear and smooth surface of the mystical orb. "He has no path of escape considering his Saiyan pod was destroyed by Recoome." He turned his head back at the squadron of four to his right. "And without his comrade's aid, and considering the fact he destroyed one of the villages on Namek, the chances of him finding anyone to help him is extremely low." He walked, soon passing his group and passing Zarbon and Dodoria. "But I suggest that if you truly intended to stop Vegeta, make sure you research what he was up to before trying to capture him." His voice became stern. "We can't fail King Cold's son after serving the man himself, understood?"
Zarbon pulled a face of disgust briefly. He closed his eyes and relaxed his face. "Understood, Ginyu." He opened his amber eyes, his gaze hardened. "With your aid, I'm confident that Lord Frieza's demands will be met."
"And I'll be ready to pummel that monkey into the ground." Dodoria cracked his knuckles. "Anyone in the mood to dine on monkey soup tonight?"
"Thanks for the invitation Dodoria," Ginyu spoke as he turned to the pink alien, "but we should save that exquisite cuisine once Lord Frieza achieves his vision." He laughed and raised his chin, "After all, what rush is there if Lord Frieza already treats his men well?"
With a cheer and jeer from the Elite soldiers serving the Galactic Emperor Frieza, they made their way back to their leader.
A few miles from the smoldering wastelands from where Frieza's Elites were stood a massive spaceship; the vessel for the Emperor. His crimson gaze inspected the blue and rocky lands afar, then to the empty, green sky above billowing with numerous streaks of black and heavy smoke. He swirled a cup of a deep and ruby coloured wine. He tapped his tail against the silver rim of his throne, then took a sip of the strong and exquisite wine.
The Emperor waited, waiting for his vision to come to fruition.
From the lower levels of the ship, a small and scrawny Saiyan raced down the dim hallway. Panting, his dark eyes sunk into the sockets of his skull.
Tick... tick…
The Saiyan halted, though his weak body hit the iron wall. Covering his mouth as a means to remain silent, he backed away from the wall at the sight of several shadows creeping up towards his direction.
Darn it!
The small and scrawny Saiyan retreated back up the hallway, his ribs rattling against his trembling lungs.
Vegeta… finding him was the Saiyan's only motive. King Vegeta mentioned Prince Vegeta will always be the pride of the royal bloodline. If he dies now… there won't be any hope left for the Saiyan race.
The Saiyan vanished into the dark hallways, clicking his red scouter with a shaky and gloved hand.
Hopefully someone heard his pleas for help.
- - - - -
South Galaxy - Planet ??? - Wastelands.
After the defeat of Turles and the Crusher Corps, life returned back to their normal routine- whatever normal meant here.
From the blue and barren wasteland, a thundering patter of rain soaked the jagged land. The smell of mud and damp lingered in the air.
In the wake of the humid downpour, training ensued between a Saiyan and an Earthling.
Sqlch, sqlch, sqlch.
Saishi raced across the damp and inky earth, her maroon boots marked with mud. She leapt back up-
"Gr-ah!" Saishi winced, knocked back down by a golden boot. Landing with a crouch, she panted. She squinted her lavender eyes as her soaked strands of hair stuck to her bruised and cold face. 'That' Saiyan... his confidence, how did he continue to laugh in the face of his opponent? She rubbed her face, drawing her hair away and collected her breaths- and composure.
Not one of her strikes landed on him. Even if they did, a simple strike would not faze the Saiyan. Breaking her limits was the only way to beat him, yet… she could only assume he had more to show.
This weakness… it annoyed her.
Broly gestured his hand towards himself, indicating for her to get back up. His dark gaze remained fixed on her small and swaying form. Surrendering was never an option, no matter how great the pain someone suffers.
Saishi sighed sharply. She rose up to her cold feet and raised one hand up at the towering Saiyan. Her black nails pointed at him, whilst her other hand remained close to her chest, glowing a faint purple.
"HAH!" Saishi leapt towards him. She thrusted her nails at the Saiyan with cold and sharp eyes.
Broly blocked her first strike, then blocked several flurries of her kicks before evading a rapid, over-head strike by her tail. Once Saishi landed, she swept her feet towards Broly's ankles- only to miss again.
As Broly dived from his leap, he raised one hand at Saishi, collecting a screeching ball of green ki in his palm. His dark eyes fixated on her, anticipating her next action.
With a booming shockwave, rocks soared and dust spewed into the humid training ground.
From the heavy whirlwind of dust, Saishi skidded back, her muddy boots screeched against the stone ground. With gritted teeth and a hissing wince, she lowered her arms from her face. Her body quivered from the shockwave, yet her eyes remained fixed on the towering Saiyan emerging from the torrent of dust and rain.
For someone who was bound to his restraints, Broly still proved to be a difficult opponent, and still had much to show. Just how powerful was he?
Broly smirked. He raised his hand to Saishi again, signalling to her to strike him again.
He's beginning to annoy me… Saishi thought as she squinted her lavender eyes. She clenched her right hand into a fist and raced towards Broly again.
"HAH!" Saishi yelled, thrusting her other hand and blasting the Saiyan in the chest. Upon landing, Saishi swung her foot at Broly's knees.
And as expected, Broly leapt up once more.
As a result of missing, dust spewed up into the humid air. An opportunity! Saishi concealed her form in the miniature dust storm. Silently racing through the shadows of dust, she dove towards Broly from behind, thrusting a high kick towards the Saiyan.
Yet, Broly's towering form vanished in the wake of the dust storm.
You've got to be kidding me! Saishi thought as she struck the ground with her foot, cracking it on impact. She searched for Broly, fast.
The wind howled above Saishi. With widening eyes, Saishi's heart beated against her chest. A large shadow from above meant one thing. Saishi snapped her head up.
"Above you!" Broly roared, his fist zooming towards Saishi.
Saishi's pupils thinned into slits.
Broly slammed his fist into Saishi's arms. With an Earth-shattering punch, the far and rocky mountains rocked in the distance.
However, such an impact wasn't enough to stop the red-haired Earthling.
"Grgh-" Saishi snarled slowly, her scarred and trembling arms defended against Broly's powerful strike, "HAH!" Saishi yelled, shoving Broly back with a sudden shove.
Broly landed, standing tall at the edge of the crater. He smirked once more, then guffawed up at the clear sky for a moment.
Saishi squinted her eyes at Broly again, sighing sharply at the Saiyan's sudden craze. Kneeling, Saishi collected her breaths, trying to ignore her aching muscles from obscuring her thoughts.
Broly's dark and sharp gaze fell onto Saishi once more, observing her burning gaze. Her wavering form, yet those burning eyes- no, he must calm his Saiyan blood. Yet her weak form and the faint scent of blood tainting her face, his Saiyan blood craved for more- for more blood and for more pain.
His smirk vanished from his lips and his laughter fell silent. The area around his eyes creased slightly, yet his dark gaze continued to observe her small and wavering form.
"Again." Broly said, flicking his hand at the kneeling Saishi. As much as he wanted to make her squirm, she still hid that power from him. That power… he craved to challenge it, even if it means to drag it out of her.
Saishi rubbed her reddened and damp arms, spreading the water, from the rain, on her burning skin. Soothing her scars, she rose up to her trembling feet again.
"Broly," Saishi clasped her hands together and bowed her head, "please, can we have a break now?" She panted as the rain dripped off her hair and patted against her skin.
Broly's eyes shifted slightly wider for a moment. "A break?" Broly raised his chin. "Do you want me to break your bones?" Broly sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Again." He narrowed his eyes at her.
Saishi closed her eyes slowly and sighed deeply. Of course… that was typical of him. She took her stance again, her breaths shook as the feeling of the damp rain sunk into her consciousness.
She raced towards the Saiyan again. As she swung her foot towards Broly's knees again, Broly leapt up once more-
Saishi leapt after him, thrusting her nails up towards his chin.
Broly swerved his head back. He flew backwards, dodging her downward slash to his head. He tensed his hands, his palms crackling with green ki as she passed him.
Great... Saishi thought, hissing through her gritted teeth. As soon as she landed, she dashed away from Broly by several meters as a row of green ki homed towards her. Once she created enough distance, she raced back towards him, dodging left and right through the storm of light and rain.
"Take this!" Saishi yelled at Broly, thrusting a sphere of violet ki at the grinning Saiyan. As she drove her fist at him, her ki expelled into a purple mist. Oh feathers...
In one, rapid strike, Broly slapped away her hand and gripped her wrist. He lifted her up to his eye level.
"Look at who's losing their temper." Broly taunted, meeting her cold and annoyed gaze. "Try again." He dropped her.
Saishi's face burned red. Her fingers dug into the damp soil before collecting the soil into her palms. She took a quick breath.
One... more... time!
Saishi raced away from him, her form vanishing into the heavy rain and humid mist.
Hnn... Broly narrowed his eyes, searching the dense, white mist before him. How amusing…
Aware of her scent and her footsteps concealed in the downpour of the rain, and her form hidden in the dense mist, Broly closed his eyes. He remained still. He focused on the smallest shift in her ki.
Behind!
Broly swerved to his right, evading a slash of purple ki- he leapt up, evading a slash of purple ki aimed at his ankles. As soon as he landed, he swayed his head backwards, dodging a slash to his shoulder and just missing the loose metal piece around his neck.
Above!
On impulse, Broly caught Saishi's fist swooping over his head. On impact, a boom rattled the ground around him, leaving a crater around him.
"You're kidding me!" Saishi hissed; narrowing her eyes as her face twisted with annoyance. She yanked her hand free and landed onto the muddy ground.
As soon as her boots touched the ground, Broly struck her knees. Saishi tumbled flat onto her face with a gasp. Fatigued and humiliated, she buried her face in the blue mud, refusing to look up at the Saiyan.
F* end me already… Saishi thought, her dry and pale fingers dug into the damp earth. "I can't continue." Saishi spoke, her voice muffled by the mud. Steam left her fingers, yet no flames emerged from her fingers. Her skin cracked more, like scales of a dragon. Damn it… if she continued using more of that technique belonging to a Demon, her form will waver.
Even worse, revert into that damned creature.
"You just took a kick to the knees." Broly lowered his foot to the damp ground. "You can take a break," Broly raised his hand at her again, then drew his hand to himself, "after trying one more time." He smirked at her.
Saishi stared at him with her cold eyes. After a moment, Saishi sighed."... fine." Saishi lifted her muddy face up and pushed her palms into the damp soil. "But, you need to hold your end of the deal too. You did say you were going to train me to fly with ki." She pointed her tail at him as she brushed off the mud from her face.
Broly blinked. He sighed, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger, annoyed he agreed to such a basic thing.
"Then here's another thing you need to know," Broly pointed his index finger at her, "you're going to eat-" as Saishi opened her mouth to answer, Broly squinted his eyes, "properly." He crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't care if you're not a Saiyan, those little scraps you eat isn't cutting it for the training."
"But-"
"You're a bag of bones," Broly continued as Saishi squinted her eyes at him, "and you know what bad ki control is linked to? Hunger."
Yeah, coming from someone who looks like a seven-foot seven giant. Saishi thought as her brow twitched, aware of his muscular build. "Broly, I can-"
"If that sentence ends with a can't or no, you're going to regret it." Broly narrowed his eyes.
"Try?" Saishi gritted her teeth and forced a smile.
"Good." Broly squinted his eyes shut at her. "Now," he raised his hands out, "don't disappoint me." His gaze hardened on her, anticipating her next actions.
Saishi raised her fists close and crossed over her chest. With a fierce yell, she stood up tall. A red and wild aura crackled around her.
It was time to test out what she could really do.
Saishi vanished. Only the trickling sound of the rain pelted the vast world of the navy mountains.
Broly widened his eyes for a moment. He searched the empty, barren wastelands, yet he could not locate her seemingly non-existent ki.
Drips of red sprayed into the damp air.
A thread's width of a scratch ran across the flesh under Broly's right eye, burning his flesh. His eyes cracked with seething veins, crawling towards his black pupils. Wounded... she purposely hid her ki- like those weaklings.
Broly dark gaze witnessed her small form passing him, her black nails dripping with blood- his blood. As he raised his fist at her, Saishi vanished into the humid mist, concealing her form once more.
A gust of wind rushed past him from his right. As Broly snapped his head to the right, Saishi's nails were just inches away from his face. His pupils shook slightly.
Those black daggers raced towards him.
That dagger… then that piercing ray of light.
Broly's hand crackled with a green ball of ki. With a feral yell, he launched the strike towards Saishi.
Saishi snapped her quivering eyes wide open. There was no way to dodge that! The whistling blast hurled her twenty metres away, until she slammed into a crooked tree with a loud boom.
Broly froze. Realising what happened, Broly drew his fist back to himself, his trembling gaze observing the damage left by him.
Mud piled up on either side of the trail of destruction, reducing everything in its path to nothing.
One second… two seconds… five seconds… ten seconds… no signs of movement.
Broly observed his twitching fingers. No… not again! It's been fifteen years, he couldn't wait that long for another challenger- and his father, if he killed her now, what would his father do? His fate would be sealed permanently under that stupid crown! Even worse, that shock from the damn restraint would leave him for dead for sure.
Crik...
From the deep crack on the crooked tree, Saishi's grey and scaly hands gripped the edges of her grave. She lifted her body, her face bloody and bruised from the impact. Her armoured tail lashed behind her and her wings outstretched to her side. For sure, she would have been a cripple- if not worse, dead without this power.
This power… how she hated using this foul power.
"Okay, okay." Saishi mumbled, swaying onto her feet. Her wings and tail cracked back into her spine. With a silent cry of agony, Saishi collapsed onto her knees. After panting for several moments, she shook her head side to side. "I think we should really take a break now, Broly?" She rubbed her forehead, making sure her head was not bleeding.
"You're really lucky, you know that?" Broly landed before the crouching girl with haste. "That blast would have killed you if I wasn't stuck under this piece of trash." He poked the crown resting on his forehead. Then his eyes widened, aware of the torture ready to tear into him.
The dark gem set in the middle of the crown erupted into a hue of blinding green for a few moments. Within those moments; a shock of pain paralysed the Saiyan, hurling the Saiyan into a frenzy. Broly staggered, unable to hush his urge to scream out, and control his ki from burning the area around him, and himself. He clasped his head with both hands, trying to shut out the pain from breaking him.
After several seconds, Broly fell onto one knee as his wild ki faded into the wind. He focused on collecting his breaths before opening his eyes once again. His weak gaze shifted to a small hand resting against his knee. He followed the hand, soon noticing Saishi knelt besides him.
"I guess we both don't have it easy," Saishi twitched a smile to him, "right?"
After several seconds, Broly scowled at Saishi.
Saishi averted her gaze from Broly. She lifted her hand away from Broly, drawing a strand of her hair away from her face. I guess he doesn't like being comforted. Saishi thought as she remained silent, aware of Broly's glare.
A few seconds passed in silence. The sound of the rain faded, giving way to the gentle warmth of the nearby star
Broly rose up to his feet, shifting his gaze from Saishi to the silver clouds drifting in the endless ocean of blue above.
"Go on." Broly spoke, drawing his arms over his chest.
"Hm?" Saishi tilted her head.
Broly blinked. "You said you needed a break," he shifted his dark gaze to her, meeting her confused gaze, "Unless-"
"Right!" Saishi nodded, hobbling up to her feet. Before Broly had the chance to finish his sentence, Saishi turned away from him. However, she stopped. She drew both her hands close to her chest. "Are you…" Saishi turned to him, her tail swaying side to side, "planning to…" Broly shifted his dark gaze to her. Saishi chuckled quietly, "take a break too?" She raised one hand to him.
"... no." Broly replied, shifting his gaze back to the sky above.
"Are you s-"
"Saishi!" A voice peeped from the drenched land behind Saishi.
As Saishi snapped her head to Samoe's cheery voice, Broly turned away from Saishi. His gaze fell onto his twitching hand, resting against the wrist of his other arm. He sighed silently and concealed his hand under his arm. "That should answer your question." Broly shifted his gaze to the trail of blood painted against the damp Earth. "Go on and talk to that little ' friend' of yours." He shifted his gaze to her briefly, aware of her wavering concern.
Saishi shifted her gaze from Broly to Samoe for a moment. She shifted her gaze back to the towering Saiyan's still stance, observing his overall form. His breaths, signalled by the vapour leaving his nose, they were unsteady- something wasn't right with him. As Saishi drew one hand to Broly, she froze.
"Why should I be your mercy when I struggled all my life?"
Those dark and twisted eyes, that silent yet destructive anger, and those words- words dripping with venom…
Saishi drew away from the Saiyan, reminding herself to keep her distance from such a crazed and dangerous individual. Yet the word 'struggled', that word didn't settle well for Saishi. 'Struggled'... it was difficult to believe that a blood-thirsty and destructive monster was once an innocent and harmless boy.
The thought deeply scared Saishi. There was no way Broly was innocent, it wasn't possible. Paragus even mentioned the Saiyan youths were known for having blood on their hands, just as bad as the adults.
No. What she feared currently was the fact her life belonged to that monster now. She had to find a way to break away from him, and make sure Paragus kept control. Yet… she questioned Paragus, namely the extremely high voltage used to subdue Broly- even possibly killing him.
No. She had to rest for now. Overthinking wouldn't do her much good right now.
"Oh," Saishi clicked her index finger and thumb, "Broly, where are you planning to-"
"I'll find you." Broly replied, shifting his dark gaze at her. As Saishi raised her hand to him, Broly turned away from her. He soared up into the sky, leaving without another word.
Saishi lowered her arms from her face. His dark eyes… she wasn't sure if she was seeing things because of her fatigue, but something seemed very off about that Saiyan today. Just what was it?
Saishi shifted her gaze to the lone Shamoian standing besides her, cradling a wooden basket in her arms.
"Terrible weather today, right?" Saishi laughed with a slight smile to Samoe and sat down besides her.
"Well…" Samoe prolonged her voice, "not really." She drew a wooden bowl from the basket, closed with a lid. "It rarely rains here, so I'm happy it rained." She held the bowl out to Saishi with a small smile. "It means a better harvest."
"Wait," Saishi shifted her gaze to the bowl, "you guys farm too?"
Samoe nodded, her face lit up. "I take pride in it you know. My parents were really good back in those days-" Samoe's smile dropped. "Never mind," she averted her dull gaze from Saishi, "I don't want to burden you anymore than you should be."
"It's not a burden if I can do something about it." Saishi opened the lid of the bowl. With a burst of steamy white rice filling the cold air, Saishi snapped her gaze to the bowl. A slight smile shifted on her lips. "Wow! This looks really good Samoe." She shifted her gaze to the child again. "I can't wait to dig in."
As Saishi drew her fingers to the rice, Samoe coughed. Saishi shifted her gaze, noticing the child holding a pair of chopsticks to Saishi.
"Oh… right…" Saishi chuckled weakly. "How rude of me." She grasped the chopsticks and stared at them with squinted eyes. Saishi's fingers wobbled. A bead of sweat trickled down her brow. How do I eat with chopsticks? Saishi thought, her lips twitching as her fingers struggled to keep a grip on the sticks. Her eyes flicked to Samoe, observing how Samoe held the chopsticks with her three-digit talons. "Speaking of your people," Saishi rested the bowl besides herself, "I'd like to meet them- you know, to get to know them better."
Though a chilly wind brushed over her fingers, she took no notice.
"Huh?" Samoe replied, snapping her garnet eyes up at Saishi. Samoe shifted her gaze from Saishi to the empty, circular spot besides Saishi. The child gulped the rice down. "Uhh," Samoe shifted her gaze to Saishi, "it's not the right time to see them just yet." She giggled, squinting her eyes shut.
"Oh..." Saishi's brows dipped up. She shifted her gaze to the rice bo- wait, where did the rice bowl go? Her eyes flicked left and right, drawing one hand close to her lips.
The rice was nowhere to be seen.
Noticing a twirling chopstick, Saishi shifted her gaze to Samoe.
"Sometimes the food vanishes without reason." Samoe mentioned, twirling the chopsticks with her little talons. She held one hand up and close to her face, lowering her voice to a whisper, "It's a Saiyan's thing. When they see food, nothing's going to stop them from gobbling it all up-"
Saishi drew her hands over her growling stomach, her face reddened. "That Kami damn glutton..." Saishi pouted, annoyed and hungry at the realisation. Samoe raised her brow. "Broly could have asked before snatching-"
A spiky, orange fruit caught Saishi's lavender eyes. Her eyes beamed.
"Considering you avoid the meaty options," Samoe held the fruit up to Saishi. "I thought you'd like eating these- and they're pretty nutritious." Samoe smiled up at her. "Eat up-" she lowered her voice, "before that monster gets back and knocks the wind out of you."
"Thank you." Saishi's voice perked up. She took the fruit from Samoe's hand and crunched into it. Her tail wiggled behind her, though she quickly stopped once Samoe looked at her. However, Samoe laughed, covering her lips at the random optimism Saishi had. Saishi chuckled, itching the back of her head in embarrassment.
At least Saishi and Samoe both had someone to rely on, someone who understood each other's pains and cheers of life- even if they were not of the same race.
From the nearby, archaic building, Paragus stood at the window side, his only eye shifting from the Shamoian to Saishi.
Comrades… what an old and tragic thing. True comrades stick by each other- through thick and thin, yet the burden of such loyalty and compassion was a heavy thing to bear.
Paragus shifted his only eye to the ring around his hand. His eye hardened. He shifted his gaze to the window, sighting Broly alone in the distance, resting on the worn rooftop far from anyone's reach.
"Please! You mustn't hate him for what he becomes."
"Kulira..." Paragus muttered to himself quietly. He clenched his ringed hand into a fist, "how am I supposed to watch over him when he has that deep-rooted hatred?" He closed his only eye, reflecting on the past; his treatment towards Broly during his moments of frenzied anger and the actions he took to protect himself, but also to protect Broly from his own destruction. "That prowess our son has, how am I supposed to quell that power when it gets too much for him to bear? Speaking to him is out of the question- and trying to get close to him…" Paragus drew one hand over his left eye, holding a scar from the past.
After several moments, Paragus rubbed his forehead with a deep and raspy sigh. He knew if he kept this up, he would suffer another migraine. And standing around won't solve anything.
Paragus turned his attention to Broly. It was time to check up on his son.
From the rooftop outside, Broly held an empty, wooden bowl with one hand. His dull gaze shifted to the blue sky, streaked crimson by the distant clouds. As he took in a deep breath, his body rattled with heat.
Why?
Broly shifted his gaze to his hand grasping the bowl, trembling. He closed his eyes and hung his head, grasping his trembling hand by the wrist. After another set of deep breaths, he shook his head side to side. Even after his battle with Turles, his seemingly invisible scars were still there, throbbing faintly at the back of his mind.
"Grgh…" Broly winced and dug his fingers into his wrist. He squinted his closed eyes as he searched for a way to sooth his deep-rooted pain.
Why did this 'gift' hurt so much?
Krik!
Broly snapped opened his dark eyes.
The bowl; cracked once more.
Broly raised his brows as his eyes quivered for a moment. His jaw loosened at the sight of the broken bowl in his grasp.
Maybe… his hands were only used for destruction, not to mend or protect anything.
Broly closed his eyes and shook his head once more. He tossed the bowl to his side, then rested his head in his palms, concealing his dejected gaze.
This birth-right... how was this power a gift? Why would any Saiyan sought to harness this power when this power brought only immense pain?
Broly turned his head to the sky, then hung his head and dug his fingers into the back of his head. His dark eyes quivered.
Those dark and twisted eyes; eyes of endless tears and dry daggers. Those forms; their fists raised and wavering in the heat of a raging wildfire from the ruins of their homes. And those words; spat with curses, shrieked with prayers and roars of anger.
"Stop it…" Broly snarled, gritting his teeth as those faint memories resurfaced again. "Enough…" he shook his head again.
"Accursed Demon!"
"Savage Beast!"
"Heartless Monster!"
And then those taunting and lifeless eyes...
"You were portrayed as nothing more than this bloodthirsty, uncontrollable monster."
Broly dug his fingers into his scalp, trying to shut out Turles's insinuation. "Why?" Broly snarled, yet his voice shook under his uncontrolled breaths. This pain… Where was the wound for this pain? His head throbbed, yet he could not find the heavy weight crushing his mind.
"Son?"
Broly snapped his head up, his wide eyes catching his father standing in front of him. Broly narrowed his eyes. A low snarl left his throat. What did that old and smiling wretch want now?
"Oh." Paragus's smile wavered for a moment. He stood still, aware of the heat from the silent anger his son's piercing gaze concealed. "What's the matter?" Paragus asked, gesturing his empty hand to Broly. His ringed hand remained behind him.
Broly twisted his head away from his father, gritting his teeth tight. "The Hell am I supposed to know?" Broly replied, growling lowly. "I refuse to let a cowardly traitor like you know what problems I have."
Paragus sighed and shook his head. "Broly, my son," he raised one hand to the angered Saiyan, "being alone up here won't do you much good." Noticing Broly narrowing his eyes on him, Paragus paused for a moment and drew his hand to himself. "Look," he softened his only eye, his voice quietened, "I have no intention of harming yo-"
The whites of Broly's eyes cracked red with veins.
"TO HELL WITH YOUR B*!" Broly roared at his father, his raven hair sparked silver for a moment. "YOU ALWAYS SAY THE SAME DAMN THING, AND IT ALL RESULTS IN THE SAME, DAMN-"
Broly fell silent at a glint of a silver light.
The controller.
Broly's eyes quivered at the sight of his father holding the controller in his line of sight. Broly staggered backwards, his dull and shaken gaze remained glued on the controller within his father's grasp. He shook his head side to side, keeping his distance from his father's reach.
"Stay away from me..." Broly spoke, his voice fell low and raspy.
Paragus shifted his gaze to his hand grasping the controller. Realising he subconsciously raised his hand at Broly, Paragus remained still, quickly thinking of a way to not provoke Broly any further.
That rage… it grew stronger, anchored deep within his son's blood and bones. Was this what the legend meant by 'untamed' hatred?
Paragus knew that if he didn't find a solution to quell that hatred, who knows how catastrophic that destruction and chaos will be as a result of that uncontrolled hatred. If the South Galaxy was just the surface of how terrible that power was- Paragus feared what his son could become.
"Broly, my so-"
"If all you're going to do is use that damned controller," Broly continued to speak with a low and quivering growl, "then you stay the Hell away from me!" He raised his voice, swiping his hand in front of him.
As Paragus took a step towards Broly, Broly stepped back. Paragus stopped.
"Broly." Paragus spoke as he drew his hands to himself. "Listen, I'm only asking what's wrong." He shook his head slowly side to side. "Yes I know you're not happy with me right now, but all I ask of you is to calm down and talk to your dear father." As Paragus raised his hands to Broly and approached his son, a crackling ball of ki sparked from Broly's hand.
"Take another f* step towards me," Broly narrowed his eyes on his father, "and I'll make sure you lose something-" he moved his hand towards the barren and damp wasteland below, "valuable."
Paragus snapped his only eye to the only duo sighted below; Saishi and Samoe. One, a powerful specimen, and the other… an ally who stood by her. He couldn't afford to lose the both of them.
"You even fear me."
Paragus glanced back to Broly, meeting his dark and twisted gaze.
"My son, stop-"
"I'm some sort of monster, aren't I?" Broly continued, scrutinising his father. "The South galaxy, right? You know what happened, don't you?" His black eyes widened. "Gone." A smirk crept on his lips.
From the barren land below, Saishi perked her head up, her pointed ears twitching from the slightest negativity. As Samoe opened her mouth to speak, Saishi raised her hand up to Samoe, signalling her to remain silent. Saishi shifted her gaze to the glowing and crackling light from the rooftop. Great… another invitation to get brutally beaten again...
Paragus froze. That again... The malice, insanity, and rage, it crawled deep within his son's blood.
"Broly, stop that behaviour at once!" Paragus raised his voice as the ends of his brows arched up. "You're a warrior of the Saiyan ra-"
-"What's the point of trying to defend a race that you knew tried to kill you?" Broly tilted his head to one side, his voice overwhelming Paragus's voice. "Where's the pride and honour in that?" His eyes narrowed, dark and empty of light. "That's what happened to Kulira," he noticed Paragus's eye trembling, "right, dad?" Broly's smirk grew across his lips at the sight of his father's growing horror.
Jeez… Saishi squinted her eyes as she overheard a father's and son's dispute. She took another bite from the fruit. I have no idea who Kulira is, but-
Samoe drew her cupped hands close to Saishi's ear. "Kulira was Paragus's wife."
Saishi blinked. She then widened her eyes at a thought.
"I wouldn't refer to my mother by her name like that!" Saishi drew her hand to her chest with a harsh whisper. "What the Hell Broly?"
"Kami knows." Samoe shrugged her shoulders. "But I'm not going to find out either because he is a crazy m-"
Saishi covered Samoe's mouth, silencing the child. She guided Samoe's gaze to the rooftop with her tail, indicating Broly's dark gaze falling on them.
Yet, Broly shifted his crazed gaze back at his father.
Saishi sighed silently in relief. Maybe now would be a good time to wrap up her break...
Paragus remained silent. His hands, balled into fists, trembled as his only eye gazed into the void of his son's lightless eyes. Why? Why did his son continue to curse Kulira's name? Why couldn't he move on and be proud of that birth-right gifted to him?
Where was that Saiyan child who was curious and optimistic about the world around him?
There was no hope trying to get his son to understand the difficulties from his perspective. Maybe the King was right... the King should have executed Broly if this was the untamable monster he foresaw.
Maybe in another time, just maybe his son wasn't so wild with hatred and bloodlust anchored in his blood and bones.
No… maybe there could have been a solution. Kulira. If she still lived, maybe, just maybe Broly wouldn't have turned out the way he did.
Paragus sighed. His saddened and fearful gaze fell onto his son; his son's gaze… dark with scarlet hatred.
"Broly," Paragus turned away from his son, "even though that hatred has allowed you to become more powerful, that same hatred will eventually kill you." He shifted his only eye to his son briefly, catching Broly's scowling gaze. "You are mine and Kulira's legacy, don't you forget that."
As Paragus departed towards the main building, the crackling ki ball in Broly's grasp vanished. Broly drew his fingers close to his face, his quivering and dark eyes peered through the gaps between his fingers. The further his father travelled away from him, the more he remembered the betrayal by his father's hands.
Those dark eyes staring down at him, masked with false confidence and false praise.
-"What's the matter, son?"
And then that lopsided grin.
Broly shook his head. He fell onto his knees, grasping his head, bowing closely to the ground. His breaths sharpened as those painful memories resurfaced again. He couldn't power up, he couldn't escape- all he could do was nothing and let that weakling of a father do what he wanted.
As he lifted his weak and searching gaze to the blue land below, he only met with silence.
No one. Absolutely no one.
And that broke him, once more.
A scream left the Saiyan's lungs from the rooftop. His agonising trauma rattled the building to the far, black and jagged mountains.
After several minutes, the Saiyan's screams hushed.
Broly laid his head against the stone tiles. His weak gaze fell onto his hand, his trembling fingers dug into the stone tiles. "Damn… it… all…" Broly growled quietly to himself, closing his quivering and dull eyes. "It's always… the same… damn… thing…" he turned his face down onto the ground, concealing his sombre gaze.
Beneath the stone-tiled roof where the Saiyan laid was Saishi, listening to his silent agony. Sat on an open window ledge, her soft and lavender gaze shifted to her hands, clasping a golden locket close to her chest.
If only there was someone out there who could truly care for him and love him- to treat him more human than a monster. Yet, how could one begin to do that if he only viewed himself as a monster?
Saishi drew her locker close to lips, before placing the locket close to her forehead. She tucked the locket into her maroon sash, concealing her only ties to her humanity. She sighed silently.
Even if she felt sorry for Broly, it still didn't change the fact that he was a murderer. Yet… that scream… her heart ached at the loneliness and agony that Saiyan must have suffered. That loneliness, she hated that feeling, a feeling of drowning in a heavy mist of silence.
Saishi slapped her face with both hands. No. Broly was never deserving of sympathy, no matter how 'well behaved' he was. Yet… after 'surrendering' her life to him, she wondered why his behaviour changed towards her.
Something wasn't right since that day.
- - - -
Several hours later, the skies blazed a bright blue and the grey clouds soared overhead; casting it's shadows over the rugged wastelands below.
Saishi sat in the wastelands by herself, watching the Angol soldiers flying in and out of the central building, namely Paragus's quarters. She slumped her shoulders as her tail laid still on the ground.
"I wish I could be home just about now." Saishi spoke to herself quietly. She gazed up at the passing, chalky clouds. Mother… father… she thought to herself as the cool winds passed her, I… I hope you're both alive and well. And you Amaya… I hope you're safe too.
Saishi concealed her face, then rubbed her eyes. Damn it. She sighed before gazing back up at the passing clouds and rubbed her scarred arms.
Several shadows of the Angols zoomed past overhead. That could only mean one thing.
Saishi leapt up to her feet as a familiar, towering
Saiyan landed. As she opened her mouth to speak, she fell silent.
It was those dark eyes again; unsettling and twisted with some form of strong emotion. But what emotion? Anger? Bloodlust? Or were they upset?
Upset… why would a monster like him be upset?
Saishi drew one hand to her clenched fist and bowed her head. "Sensei." Saishi spoke softly, briefly closing her eyes. "Shall we?" She raised her head and met his gaze.
"... don't do that." Broly spoke, his voice holding a sharp tone.
"No can do." Saishi shook her head. "I pay my respects to the teachings of a master. It's a habit formed by my parents, and I cannot disregard this etiquette."
At the mention of the word parents, Broly's ki fluctuated. Saishi froze for a moment, anticipating Broly's next action.
Aware of her sudden apprehension, Broly sighed silently through his nose. She still held that fear towards him.
"Eti- whatever and respect means nothing to me." Broly narrowed his eyes on her. "All I need from you is your honesty, and for you to stay alive." Broly closed his eyes briefly. "Now," he drew his arms to his sides, "before my mood goes off, you already know where ki originates from. Explain."
"Ki originates from the stomach," Saishi began, drawing one hand to her stomach, "and it is a measure of one's life. Ki can be directed to any part of the body, but its uses differ to each individual." She drew one hand to the mountains. With a sudden burst of ki, a harsh light taking form of a straight line, left her palms.
With a sudden explosion, several of the navy peaks crumbled into the chilling air.
Broly shifted his gaze from the mountains to Saishi. "Was that last past really necessary?" He crossed his arms over his chest and concealed both his hands.
"Yeah…" Saishi laughed, shifting a small smile on her lips with closed eyes. Yet, in that moment she shifted her gaze to Broly, she caught his hands twitching. Nevermind, at least manipulating her ki was much easier, considering Karu was silent for the last couple of days.
"To fly," Broly continued, "you must have enough ki to do so. But, this becomes second nature once you become aware of your ki usage."
"Ki manipulation and mastery, got it." Saishi nodded. "So to the feet, then work my way up." She drew her hands close to her chest and took in a deep breath. She then took her stance and focused on her ki.
"You'll have to control that ki while you're flying too; too much and you'll exhaust yourself, or lose control at the speed you're travelling, and too little means you're not moving anywhere." Broly reminded Saishi. With a sudden swirl of wind surrounding the Saiyan, Broly lifted himself into the air, his boots just a few metres off the ground. "Once you master that, then maybe I can teach you some mid-air maneuvers- if you survive long enough that is." He smirked. "Considering you have those wings, I'm sure you're used to-" he squinted his eyes at the sight of Saishi's face blushing a faint pink.
"Actually…" Saishi chuckled as she averted her gaze from the Saiyan, "I don't know how to fly even with wings." She raised both her hands out to Broly, "it's just one of those do or die situations- and I guess dying isn't on my list." She laughed up at Broly, her tail wiggled behind her.
Bemused, Broly blinked at Saishi. He drew one hand over his mouth, his brows raised at the fact Saishi laughed about a weakness.
"... were you always an idiot?" Broly questioned, pointing at her.
"... I never said I was clever." Saishi crossed her arms over her chest and puffed her cheeks out. "I could say the same thing about you being an angry giant twenty-four seven." Her tail flicked up in annoyance.
"... Shut up and fly." Broly squinted his eyes at her, "otherwise I'll make you fly." His voice dropped into a growl.
"Fine." Saishi spoke through gritted teeth. She took her stance and focused controlling her ki, channelling the ki to her feet. Her maroon hair and clothes swayed as the wind circulated around her.
This was a lot easier in my head. Saishi thought, gritting her teeth as she clenched her hands into a fist. If I relied on those wings, I'd probably flop around like a Kami damn pigeon.
"You're not supposed to raise your ki." Broly reprimanded her, his eyes closed as he sensed her ki. "Grr, weren't you even paying attention earlier?" He snapped his dark eyes open with a snarl.
He paused.
She was... flying... That weakling was actually flying.
A smile beamed from Saishi's lips. She hovered in the clear sky high above him.
"What you know?" Saishi hovered in the air, like a small bird in the vast serenity of a blue lake. She flapped her arms in the air. "Wahoo!" She dived down towards the rocky ground before taking a U-turn and zooming back up into the blue skies again. "I'm like a bird! Swift and free a-"
A red vein throbbed on Broly's brow. He gritted his teeth tightly shut and tapped the metal bands on his forearms.
"You… utter… IDIOT!" Broly raised his voice into a roar. His ki sparked around him before racing towards Saishi's swift form.
"Eh?" Saishi froze. Once she registered Broly racing towards her, she widened her eyes. "WAI-"
Crik...
Saishi's arms burned, her bones shattered as she defended against Broly's sharp strike.
"Gwah!" Saishi gasped, tossed through the sound barrier and high up into the blue sky, several kilometres from where Broly stood. After several seconds, her numbed body spiralled towards the jagged lands, her hands trying to reach out to anything to break her fall. "To Kami… what did I do to deserve this?" She pouted as she plummeted towards the stone ground.
"Don't get too ahead of yourself!" Broly yelled at her. "Otherwise I'll personally teach you a lesson about the consequences of being 'happy' during training!"
"But I-"
"You'll find your mangled corpse scattered across space the next time you act like an utter idiot!"
With an audible crack, Saishi slammed against the rock hard ground.
Yet her locket fell out with a silent thump. Broly shifted his gaze to the golden locket, engraved with what seemed like a dragon's head.
With a silent cry from the blunt pain, Saishi squeezed her eyes shut. Hearing a forced cough, she shifted her gaze to the giant looming over her. She smacked her face against the ground, refusing to meet his disappointed gaze.
"Well, look at that," Broly smirked as he rested his hand on his waist, "you can actually survive a fall from that height."
"Yeah…" Saishi lifted her head up at Broly with a prolonged sigh, "at the cost of breaking my arms-"
Broly held Saishi's locket, swaying side to side by the thin, gold threaded into the locket from one end. Saishi widened her eyes, her pupils thinning into slits.
The slow swaying motion of her locket, swinging side to side as those cold and violet eyes observed her, giggling at her misery. Those cold eyes…
Those cold and damn eyes!
"GIVE ME THE DAMN LOCKET!" Saishi shrieked at Broly as her eyes glinted crimson. She dove at him, her numb hands outstretched towards her locket.
As she leapt, Broly landed a sharp strike into her abdomen on reflex, knocking the wind out of Saishi. Whether if Saishi had the intention to harm him or not, the Saiyan refused to let her draw his blood again.
With a gasping cough, Saishi collapsed onto her knees, gripping her abdomen. Her shaking eyes fade back to lavender. She then retched, throwing up bile.
"Remember," Broly swung the locket and caught her locket firmly in one hand, "your life belongs to me." He shifted his gaze to the locket, inspecting the intricate details of the locket. His thumb brushed one side of the locket, noticing a little button as a means to open it. "I'm assuming that you would do anything to keep this little thing safe," his gaze fell onto her, "right?"
Saishi collected her breaths, trying to control her abdominal muscle spasms. She collected the dirt into one of her palms and hung her head.
"Please, give me back my locket Broly." Saishi spoke with a quivering voice. "Please, I don't want to fight over it."
Broly tilted his head to one side. "And what would happen if I don't?"
"... I'll lose my only ties of being a human." Saishi squeezed her eyes shut. "So please , I need that locket back." She raised one and violently shaking hand to Broly.
Broly shifted his gaze from her hand to the locket. Aware of the button on the side, he pressed down on it until he heard a small click. The locket opened, revealing its contents-
Yet, the moment he caught a glimpse of what the locket held, he closed the locket and shifted his dark gaze to Saishi again.
"Tell me," Broly spoke, his voice harshened. He squinted his eyes on her small and kneeling form, "why do you cherish them, even more than that bug you have as your slave?"
Saishi snapped open her eyes, her breaths shook. She lifted her gaze up at him.
"Before I ended up in this hellish world," Saishi answered with a dry and trembling voice, "those people were my family." She narrowed her cold eyes. "What could a person like you possibly understand by having that type of bond?"
If only Saishi knew the consequences of that answer.
A slight smirk shifted on Broly's lips. At the sight of his smirk, Saishi widened her eyes, her instinct blaring at her to flee.
"I have a lot more questions I need answers to," Broly spoke, crouching in front of Saishi, "but," he grasped Saishi's shaking hand by the wrist, "let's save those questions for later." He placed the locket in her hand. "Your life belongs to me, but I'm nothing like my father." His voice quietened.
"You'll learn soon enough the truth of the matter. Maybe then, you'll understand why the things you witnessed are not what they truly are."
Saishi's quivering and lavender gaze met with Broly's gaze. His mellow gaze, she didn't know why but… those 'tamer' eyes scared her.
It was like the events of that day all over again. It was just a matter of time before Broly forces her to admit to something- even worse, to promise something to him.
"Now." Broly spoke as he rose up to his feet, "the sooner you master the basics, the better the chances you'll have of surviving out there on your own." He raised his hand to her, offering to help her get back onto her feet, "understood?"
Saishi observed her locket with her shaking hands. After drawing the locket close to her forehead, as though uttering a prayer, she concealed the locket into her sash before standing up onto her feet.
"Understood." Saishi replied, her arms hung to her sides. "But for future reference, please," she bowed her head to him, "don't take my locket."
"... I can't pro-"
"If you're able to make the decision to let me live, then I'm sure it isn't that difficult for you to keep your hands off my locket."
Broly squinted his eyes on her. After a moment, he rubbed his forehead with a sharp sigh. "Fine. But," he pointed his index finger at her, "you have to promise to me that you'll answer everything about that locket."
"Understood." Saishi raised her head, relieved with that agreement.
Broly stood still, confused at her shift in her attitude. Whatever it was, the Saiyan wasn't sure why Saishi happily agreed to answer about something valuable to her.
And so Saishi continued to master her ability of flight under Broly's observant eyes.
Several hours later, the skies darkened into a navy blue, scattered with light from the nearby stars.
Saishi hung her head; drifting in the night air at only five feet off the ground. Her bandaged arms hung to her sides, swaying in the cool and gentle breeze. Her head rocked back and forwards, her eyes struggling to stay open.
How much longer? Saishi thought, her numb fingers twitching from the pain. She shifted her tired gaze to the Saiyan, resting within the branches of an enormous, crooked tree. I'm going to pass out any moment from now, and he's just lounging there.
Broly's dark gaze met with hers. "Five more minutes." Broly mentioned, holding up his hand to the inky skies. A glint of silver caught his attention. This wasn't good news.
Saishi squinted her eyes up at the inky skies. The crimson rays of the sun shone over the navy horizon, leaving an orange mist in the depths of the jagged mountains. But, something else caught her sight.
A white, circular sphere rose from behind the dark mountains.
A full moon.
"Question." Saishi spoke, shifting her gaze to Broly.
"Go on."
"Have you ever seen a full moon before?" Saishi asked, tilting her head to one side. "I mean yesterda-"
-"Are you a moron?" Broly snapped an eye open at Saishi. "No- Hell, do you even know what happens to a Saiyan when they see the full moon?" He sat up, raising his hand up to Saishi.
"They become giant monkeys?" Saishi replied, her tail swayed side to side.
Broly squinted his dark eyes. "... With the language barriers aside," he raised his hand to his head, "and for your simple mind to remember, it's called a Great Ape." He raised his shoulders for s moment. "Just like the word 'Super' Saiyan. You can't even remember that." He shook his head side to side, sneering at her bad memory. "My dad said countless times that he and myself are Saiyans, just place 'Super' before Saiyan."
"But, about the last point, apes don't have tails." Saishi continued, pointing her tail at Broly. "You kno-"
"Continue being a smarta* about it and you breaking your arms won't be the only other thing broken." Broly scowled at her. "Seriously, shut it."
After several moments of silence, Saishi yawned.
"What?" Broly prolonged his voice, annoyed at her antics. Why hasn't this idiot fallen asleep yet? She trained against him for several hours, survived a fall he assumed could have killed her, and now this. Just how much energy did she have?
"Why the Super Saiyan transformation over the Great Ape one?"
Broly blinked for a moment. He paused; no words left his lips. Of all the questions, she asks that? Whatever. Maybe she might fall asleep faster.
"Okay, for three reasons;" Broly raised his hand to Saishi, "slower, being a bigger target, and the need for self control." Broly listed, tapping each finger for each point. "Yeah, the Great Ape is powerful, but the Super Saiyan form allows myself to be faster and stronger." He raised his head, shrugging his shoulders. "If you were conscious during Turles's little pursuit, you would have known the toll."
"Well, since there's a full moon now, shouldn't you have some concerns being outside now?" Saishi tilted her head, squinting her eyes at Broly. "Like accidentally looking at the full moon?"
"How the Hell am I supposed to know?" Broly raised his voice. "I don't recall transforming into one. If I did-" he paused, drawing his hand over his mouth. "If I did, who knows what would happen." His eyes met her curious gaze. "But, I wouldn't sacrifice my own self control for something like that." He raised his hand to her. "The Super Saiyan transformation is much stronger than the Great Ape and much easier to control since I don't have to rely too much on my instinct." He leapt off from the branch and landed on the sandy ground.
"Okay..." Saishi nodded her head. "Has your father transformed into a Great Ape?"
"Who knows? He probably had full control since he did work closely with the Elites," he sighed, his shoulders slumped, "not that I know what he did as an Elite. Classed warriors are just titles, they mean absolutely nothing in a life or death situation."
Saishi yawned, though she tried to mask her fatigue by covering her mouth with her tail. "Does that mean you're technically an Elite?" Saishi tilted her head at Broly.
The Elites... that title made his blood boil.
"No, I'm just an outcast," Broly replied, narrowing his dark eyes at her, "and I'm sure you're the same." He walked towards her, observing her reaction.
Saishi snapped open her eyes. "I..." Saishi fell quiet. He wasn't lying about that. But to be seen the same as him? No way in Hell! "I may be an outcast; but," Saishi landed onto her feet, drawing her shaking and aching hand to her chest, "I'm nothing like you." She shook her head before scowling at him.
"What? A monster?" Broly arched his brow at her. "You sure damn know you can't run away from your Demons; from your past," a slight smirk crept on his lips, "the pain and blood you drew from those poor and helpless bugs-"
"You don't understand me at all!" Saishi raised her voice at the Saiyan. Yet she staggered, trying to fight against her fatigue. "For the sake of my family, I'm trying to make up for them!" She showed her fangs at him. "For someone who finds pleasure in torturing others," her dry and sharp voice wobbled, "you will never truly understand what it's like to be fully accepted by someone who doesn't fear you because of those flaws." She shook her head, concealing her wavering gaze. "Not all monsters are evil." Her voice quietened.
"No matter what, I'll save that rotting mind of yours!"
Amaya… if only she was here now.
"It's a mark that will never leave you." Broly spoke, drawing one hand to his chest. "Why bother?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Why try to play the hero when everyone already recognises you as a monster?" He narrowd his eyes. "When you have blood on your hands, everyone will forget all the good you've done. People will curse you, beat you, stab you, hurt you-" He fell silent and shrugged his shoulders, grinning at Saishi's philosophy, "it's so foolish."
"I'll rise above those people." Saishi gripped her maroon tank top. "And prove to them that I'm not the same monster that I was so many years ago-"
-Her pupils snapped wide into slits. Her lips fell silent. She collapsed onto her knees once more, gripping her abdomen as she gasped for air.
Broly drew his clenched fist away from Saishi, his dark and sharp gaze watched her kneeling form. He then gripped Saishi by her tank top and lifted her up and close to his eye level.
"We both know how dark, vile and twisted this world can be," Broly growled, his breaths scorching her face. "But in the end, they were all flesh and blood." He squinted his dark eyes; whether if it was anger or something else, Saishi could not make out how he felt.
"What are... you… trying to say?" Saishi's voice quivered as her arms hung in the chilly air.
"You know what I do."
Those dark and twisted eyes… as much as Saishi refused to remember those malice-harbouring eyes, she could not lift the fear paralyzing her. Just what did he want from her?
"Why should you change?" Broly furrowed his brows as a snarl left his lips. "You'll become a puppet; you're allowing them to mend you into something they want."
"But striking fear isn't the way to set things straight-"
Broly released his grip from Saishi's shirt, then grabbed her by the throat.
"This world is sick and so damn twisted," Broly scowled at her, "and you think trying to prove those bastards wrong will solve anything? You're delusional to even think that."
"No…" Saishi squinted her glimmering eyes. "You're delusional to think that everyone is against you."
Crik…
With another sharp strike to her stomach, Saishi threw up blood, the lights in her eyes wavered.
"Look at you trying to be the voice of reason." Broly tilted his head at her. A smirk left his lips, his face streaked with her blood. "That weak mind of yours sickens me." He released his grip on her, letting her fall from his grasp. "And your power, you have no faith in your own abilities. You make me question if you were worth keeping around." He turned away from her, his smirk vanishing from his lips.
"...It's not... my… power to control." Saishi replied as blood tainted her teeth red, "I've explained this before; I hate fighting." She lifted her head. "I hate having blood on my hands. I don't know how you find pleasure in something so malicious-"
"Then you have a very little understanding of who I am."
Saishi snapped open her quivering eyes. She lifted her gaze to Broly, noticing him standing in front of her.
And it was those mellow and dark eyes that scared her.
"You don't seem to understand what I've endured to become what I am now." Broly continued, observing her kneeling form. "I am a Saiyan, a race who's certain to have blood on their hands, but," he shook his head, falling silent for several moments, "when you've suffered because of;" he fell silent for a moment as he recollected his memories. He shook his head, "because of some bastard trying to kill you at birth," he continued, "the abandonment and isolation from my own race, and others, because of my blood and history, and also living every moment of my life under someone who I thought I could trust…" he curled his fingers into his palms as his voice dropped into a low growl, "you end up becoming the very thing they feared." His coal eyes narrowed on her, as though disappointed her lack of understanding-
Or the fact his dark eyes hid pain, pained at the fact that no one wished to understand who he was.
"The difference between me and you, Broly, is the fact that I cherished all life," Saishi shook her head, "and that I still do." She drew one shaking hand to her chest. "I was forced to kill against my will- and those faces…" she closed her eyes briefly. "I find those same horrors pursuing me. I begged them every single night to forgive me-"
"Yet you still do not find peace." Broly closed his eyes, aware of the nightmares she spoke of.
"Please! I had no intention of harming you!"
Those screams, it made sense to the Saiyan.
Broly shifted his mellow gaze to the inky sky, filled with glistening stars in the vast sea of the unknown, yet also aware of the full moon hiding in the corner of his sight. "You can hear their last words; their curses and pleas." He closed his eyes and sighed. "But the 'gift' you received is their blood on your hands, for as long as you live."
Saishi opened her dull gaze. Yet, a little glimmer of light flickered from her eyes.
"Why is it that you choose to do good," Broly shifted his gaze to her, "even to a monster like myself?" He narrowed his eyes on her.
After several moments of silence, Saishi's brows dipped up. "I guess…"
Those howls of pain as a result of his crown. That voltage… to think Broly suffered a shock so severe to leave him unable to stand, let alone breathe properly.
Saishi's glimmering gaze softened at those aching memories. "It's because of what I've seen." She continued, "I understand why you could have ended up the way you did." She shifted her gaze from Broly. "And the fact I don't know how long I'll live."
The mellowness from Broly's eyes vanished. He crouched in front of her, his dark and sharp eyes focused on her.
"What do you mean by that?" Broly spoke with a sharp tone. "Are you telling me that-" his gaze faltered for a moment.
Those black scars… and that inhuman, feral form… and those crimson, glaring eyes.
Broly had his assumptions. Yet, now those assumptions seemed to hold some truth afterall.
"Even if my former masters deny me of death, the damages they have done to my body has caused my body to deteriorate at a faster rate." Saishi spoke softly. "I'm stronger… but at the cost of shortening my life. And the scars…" she shifted her numb and bandaged arms.
Broly grasped her right arm and ripped away the bandages.
Her arm was nothing but a mishmash of black flesh extending up to her elbows. Those scars, have they always been this bad? And the scent; rotting and burnt flesh-
Broly snapped his dark and quivering gaze back to her. Yet, her soft eyes met his gaze, as though she knew her fate was sealed with such a slow and agonising death.
If only he knew she faked her smile as a means to keep him away from her, from her own darkness.
"As a new-born," Saishi spoke softly and drew her scarred arm away from Broly's grasp, "the King tried to kill you." Her brows dipped up. "But, as you stand now, you were left with a grievous wound up until today." She drew her right hand to her upper abdomen, just below her chest, and placed her hand over the red material with a gentle touch. "Here, wasn't it? You were stabbed weren't you?"
Broly remained silent.
"It's alright." Saishi slowly rose up to her feet. "What can a weakling like myself do to harm you anyway?" Saishi smiled at the Saiyan, though her legs trembled. "I've been ill for a long time." She ran her hand over to her stomach. "Unlike you, where yours is still able, mine can give up at any given time-" her voice wobbled. She took a breath, though her throat felt heavy. "I'm a failed experiment, stuck with a rotting body while yours is still able to develop and grow more powerful." Her voice dipped quieter. "You grow stronger while I grow weaker every single day." She turned away from him, rubbing her glistening eyes. After taking another breath, she shifted her gaze to him again. "You seem awfully quiet today."
Broly observed her, meeting her glistening eyes. Yet, instead of lashing out at her, he remained silent and continued to listen to her wavering words, discerning her true intentions.
A failed experiment… then just how long did she have left? And would she hold out long enough for him to challenge her at her full power?
Her circumstance… she was thrown away like trash and left to rot by her former masters. Just what were the reasons for her former masters to find her again for her to be of any use?
The Saiyan covered his face. His hands slipped down to his eyes as he observed her wavering form, slowly drifting in the darkness of the night. He observed her arm, scarred black from her injuries, and possible memento of her time as an experiment.
Thinking about it caused his head to hurt.
"Once I become nothing of use to you, you'll kill me," Saishi drew her bare arm to her side, "am I wrong?" She softened her gaze.
"Saishi," Broly drew his hands away from his face, his voice stern yet quiet, "to kill you will mean for me to ignore the fact that you and I are similar," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "similar at the fact that we are the result of what has happened to us."
Saishi's lavender gaze quivered. We? When did he ever use the word 'we' or 'us'? Something was wrong. He only lived for himself, not for anyone else.
"You were used because those masters of yours wished to use you as a weapon." Broly continued. "I was also used by my dad as a tool, and to some extent, a weapon for his to use." He rose up to his feet. "Both of us have been in that situation where we had no control, no freedom, over our own body and power-"
"But even if you were not under control, you still enjoyed killing people!" Saishi raised her voice at Broly, her tail stiffened against the stone ground. "Don't ever put me in the same category as you, I'll never become someone so brutal like you."
Broly shifted his eyes wider at her sharp and angered answer.
"Just because you've recognised me as your student, it still doesn't change the fact you've killed so many damn people." She opened her glistening, lavender eyes, "Samoe did not deserve to have her parents ripped away from her because of you, and I wouldn't let you anywhere near my family-"
"SAISHI!" Broly yelled, clenching both of his hands into a fist. His lightless gaze glared at her. "Just listen to me for one damn minute!"
"What? So that you can beat the shit out of me like last time?" Saishi yelled back at him. "My life may belong to you, but for the time I live for isn't in your control." She gritted her teeth, "when my time is up, I hope to never see your-"
A pair of crimson eyes blazed from within her mind.
"You poor and foolish mortal… to think a primitive Saiyan should be something you should fear…"
Karu!
-"Gck!" Saishi gasped, her lavender eyes snapped wider. She staggered, gripping her chest and her breaths fell short. She collapsed onto the blue sand, gasping for air.
That negativity… the anger, the hatred, the sadness and tears, it fed that Demon within, making her grow much more powerful to contain.
Saishi hung her head. Her tail writhed against the ground as a black flicker of ki sparked around her. Yet she shook her head, refusing to let her human husk break again.
Yet a crack of black scales formed on the right side of her face.
"I'm not a monster!"
Saishi squeezed her mismatched eyes shut. No… not this episode again, anything but this episode again!
As she drew her hands to the back of her neck, Broly grasped both her wrists firmly and pulled them away from her neck.
"Get a grip on yourself." Broly spoke with a stern voice. "If you kill yourself now, then there will be no one left to protect your Shamoian allies."
Saishi shifted her crimson gaze to him, her eyes quivering. Boiling tears rolled down her cheeks as she met Broly's dark gaze.
"Just tell me," Broly spoke, raising his brows as he met her tearful gaze, "why do you have to resort to lies and deceit?" The skin around his eyes creased, "why can't you tell me the truth?"
The truth… just what was the truth?
"BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHO TO TRUST ANYMORE!" Saishi screamed, closing her eyes. She wrested her hands away from Broly's grasp and turned away from the Saiyan. She clasped her head and shook her head, her fingers digging into her scalp. "I just don't know." Saishi whispered to herself, opening her teary eyes. She clasped her face, concealing her entire face as the scales continued to form across her skin.
From within Saishi's mind, Karu roared with laughter, her blazing, crimson eyes blinded with rapture. Oh how her despair was as sweet as honey, clear and thick with agony and darkness.
"You utterly pathetic mortal… begging to a blood-thirsty animal won't change the fact he craves to kill you-"
Karu fell silent.
A pair of lavender eyes, and a familiar gothic attire that those of the Demon Realm wore… a lone and petite woman observed the dragon from within the world of shadows.
"To think she was able to create such an unholy creature…"
As Karu's crimson eyes glared, like those from the fiery depths of a volcano, she bared her fangs at the Demoness, cursing the tiny individual.
Yet a fluent incantation angered the dragon further.
"Accursed creature born from shadows, begone and let this soul rest," the Demoness held what seemed like a black scepter towards the angered dragon, "SOTERIA'S PORTAL!"
The moment Karu swiped her claw at the small Demoness, the impact of the swipe slashed Karu instead, shattering the scales on her face. With a roar, Karu clasped her face, her claws drenched in luminous, crimson blood.
"Dolos's Mirror: Gwydion's Incarceration."
Formless chains darted from the shadows, then constricted the dragon by her throat, claws and torso. With a sharp tug, Karu slammed against the formless ground, unable to move her body.
Once Karu snapped open her blazing eyes, she searched for the tiny individual.
Only shadows lurked.
"Curse you." Karu growled, "CURSE YOU!" She roared again, writhing her head as the magic bounded the dragon to one place.
As for Saishi, she collapsed onto her knees, her crimson gaze faded to a weak and wavering lavender. The scales formed on her face cracked and clattered against the stone ground.
"I don't know… who to trust anymore." Saishi spoke, whispering as her breaths wavered. She hung her head as she knelt in front of the Saiyan, her trembling fingers dug into the stone ground. This weight in her head… this felt like Towa's magic, yet… something was off about this magic.
"Then tell me, why can't you trust anyone?" Broly asked, raising his hand to her. Her ki, it fluctuated for a moment. Surely, it must be that creature she spoke of, tormenting her from within.
Saishi slowly shifted her gaze to him, her weak and wavering gaze just able to make out his form. "You and Paragus... I can't trust either of you." Saishi spoke quietly. "Paragus, he speaks of how he plans to take vengeance against Vegeta, but my question is how?" She shook her head side to side, "if the situation with Turles is going to repeat itself with Vegeta… then I can't go through that again. And you..." she met his gaze, "what exactly do you want from me?" Her numb and trembling fingers curled into her palms.
"Do you hate me that much?" Broly asked, shifting his gaze from her trembling hands to her wavering gaze. "Because even if you did, it doesn't matter-"
"I never said I hated you." Saishi interrupted him, "but your anger and hatred, that's what scares me."
Yet, whether she told the truth or not, she wasn't sure if it mattered now.
Saishi collapsed, her head striking the stone and cold ground. Her quivering eyes closed slowly, her conscious fading from her grasp.
Maybe now… she could finally rest.
Or so she thought.
"How many times have I told you not to die?"
Saishi snapped open her lavender eyes. No longer feeling the cold and rough surface of the ground, she felt a gentle warmth against her scarred skin. Her face reddened as she soon understood what happened.
"You gave your life to me, and I'm not letting that same person responsible for helping me die on me." Broly replied, observing her small form in his grasp.
"Why?" Saishi whispered, her glimmering eyes squinted.
"Why?" Broly tilted his head as he walked on. "Hmm… I don't know how many times I'm going to have to repeat myself." He brushed his hand against her forehead, checking Saishi's temperature. "You and I are similar." He drew his hand down to her chin, shifting her head to look up to him. "But for some reason, you rather side with a man who will eventually find a means to control you, rather than side with the son who is a result of what that man has done."
Saishi remained silent. Her weak gaze closed as she fell drowsy in his arms.
"Paragus has told me everything about you." Saishi mumbled quietly. Broly drew his ear close to her, listening to her quiet words. "Your birth, it was both his happiest and most tragic day of his life… and the events… after… the King… Frieza… you fled… all your life…"
"Paragus told me of a story of a happy boy, and he wishes to see that same boy once again."
Broly came to a stop. He shifted his gaze to Saishi, yet she remained silent, her head resting against his chest.
A happy child… no, that child was no longer around. That once curious and optimistic child became the product of his circumstances.
And the Saiyan chose to ignore the fact that such a weakling existed.
"Saishi," Broly spoke with a quiet voice, "if you hear this, then tell me," he traced the raw scars on her face as a result of her scales, "you fear me, but you don't hate me. Why?"
Saishi opened her weak and sleepy gaze, "Because… you remind me that… we are similar." She closed her quivering eyes. "I understand what you… possibly… endured." Her numb hands, resting close to herself, clenched into a fist. "Hatred will only hurt more… and leads to nowhere… I just want to understand… not hurt anymore." She drew her hands close to her face, concealing her scarred face.
After a brief moment of silence, Broly shifted his gaze from her to the black mountains ahead of him, the path of stars hid behind the jagged forms.
To understand more… yet at the cost of the fear of being hurt.
Broly drew his hand over her head. "Do you remember the truce we made?" He brushed his hand through her blood-stained hair.
After a few seconds, Saishi opened her tired eyes and nodded.
"Then breathe and stop scaring yourself over nothing." Broly patted her head. "I want you to live. You have some people waiting for you, and you can't abandon them like that." He drew his hand to her chin and turned her head to him, "I don't understand why, but you can't let those idiots win either." He drew his head lower to her, his dark gaze fixed on her. "That Towa person- and whatever the other guy's problem with you was, are bad news. I can't get a clear reading on how powerful they truly are."
Saishi met his dark and stern gaze. Her heart rattled against her chest, scared at the fact his eyes held a strong resolution.
No… it was the fact he began to get involved with matters beyond his own power.
"Broly, please!" Saishi exclaimed, grasping the golden piece hanging around his neck. She shook her head side to side as her glistening eyes quivered. "Don't get involved with them, you don't understand how terrible they are!"
"But Towa did," Broly replied, observing Saishi's trembling fingers holding his neck piece. Aware of the sudden fear Saishi had, he drew Saishi's hand away from him, "Towa discarded her trash over here and forgot that there are other people out there who can change trash to treasure." He traced the scars on her arm. "You have to remind yourself that even after two years of being under her, you are no longer hers. She made that mistake of throwing you away, and now she needs to live with the fact you're no longer hers to keep."
As Saishi opened her mouth to speak, Broly drew his hand over her head and brushed his hand through her hair, gently.
"Live. You are a survivor."
Saishi froze. Then she squinted her glistening eyes. Hot tears streamed down her face. Her fingers gripped into his arm, her teeth gritted together to silence her distressing screams. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of his slow heart and drew closer to his warm embrace.
"Whatever happens to you is my problem now." Broly continued, "That's what the situation is now." He walked on, towards the archaic buildings to his right, basked in the silver light of the moon. "But, you're still 'free' to choose to follow my dad," he drew his hand away from her head to his chest, "or me." His voice fell mellow.
"Why do you still give me the freedom to choose when you already own my life?" Saishi asked, hissing through her teeth. "I-"
"Why do you ask questions when you already know the answers?"
Saishi fell silent. As she averted her gaze from him, Broly rested her head close to him. Though Saishi attempted to move away from him, she could not escape his firm grasp.
This warmth… as much as Saishi fought against her fatigue, she soon fell asleep in his arms- hands that were responsible for ending countless civilisations.
"Rest that mind of yours." Broly shifted his gaze to her scarred arm. "You need to look after yourself better if you plan to face those masters of yours again." He drew his hand over her scarred arms, tracing her scars with a saddened gaze. After a moment, he shifted his gaze to her face. "You're lighter than that Shamoian friend of yours, and that's saying a lot." He sighed, diverting his assumptions about her currently weak state. "You're not skipping meals are you?" He slumped his shoulders at a specific memory.
"... only fruit-"
"You need meat," Broly squinted his eyes at her, "and that tiny portion isn't cutting it. Actually," He laughed for a moment, his eyes gleamed at an idea, "I have an idea. Meet me over some food tomorrow-"
"I'm sorry…"
"I'll…" Broly fell silent at her apology. He shifted his gaze to Saishi and stopped.
Saishi rested her head close to his chest. Her fingers barely grasped the golden piece hanging around his neck.
Broly remained quiet, aware that the wounds and fatigue tired the Earthling out. He brushed his hand through her hair, his dark and mellow gaze observing her peaceful form. "Saishi," Broly drew a strand of her hair away from her face, "I hope you know that you are more valuable than what you seem."
Broly ran his hand over her scarred arm. He shifted his gaze to her torn bandages hanging in the cool, night breeze. With one hand grasping Saishi, and the other he held the strip of bandage, one end held by his teeth, he wrapped the bandage around her scarred arm. With a yank, Broly tied the bandage.
"Thank you…" Saishi spoke, opening her worn and dull eyes briefly. "I… I didn't mean to-"
"I'm used to those assumptions." Broly spoke, walking on towards the archaic building in the distance, basked in the silver light of the full moon. "But, I need you to tell me the truth from now on. No more of this lies and deceit nonsense, understood?" He held his finger to her, namely his little finger.
Saishi remained silent for a moment. "Then I ask you to not get involved with Towa." Saishi raised her little finger to Broly.
"Not possible." Broly shook his head.
"But… Towa can-"
"No."
"But-"
"I'm beginning to think there's more going on here that I don't understand." Broly laughed, shaking his head side to side at the thought. "Seriously, are you that worried over my wellbeing?"
"... yes." Saishi averted her gaze from Broly, her face blushed a faint pink. "I don't want anyone to suffer the same thing I have-"
Broly drew Saishi by the chin, turning her head to face him. "You have a good heart Saishi," the Saiyan spoke with a mellow tone, "and someone with that and a fierce resolve is a rare thing to find these days." He squinted his eyes shut as a slight smile shifted on his lips. "Hmm?" He drew his face closer to her.
Saishi's face reddened more at the sight of the Saiyan's smile. Dear Kami, what on Earth have I done? She thought, her heart beated faster against her ears.
Whether or not if that was a compliment, Saishi fainted.
Broly blinked, his smile faded from his lips. "Saishi?" Broly asked, not sure how Saishi fell unconscious in an instant. Hearing no response from her, yet she breathed, Broly sighed. At least she was still alive, and not in some comatosed state.
Though a Saiyan and Earthling began to move on with better terms, Paragus was struck with an ill stroke of fate.
"Oh... a Saiyan. Lord Cooler will be mildly interested."
Paragus observed three people from the window side, his only eye trembled at the sight of a familiar crest marked on the luminous green armour of their chest plate.
The Armoured Squadron descended from the crimson streaked skies, snickering at Paragus's visible fear. Their Lord will be amused with this news...
- - - - -
Ever since this revision, I have changed a lot of stuff, a major one being Broly's and Saishi's interactions. Tbh, it was… bad. The pacing and characterisation was off so I altered a lot of stuff. Oh and Okome and Raditz have some more involvement with the Time Patrol, so I hope for you guys who wants a Raditz redemption thing, I'm working to improve that for him.
BUT, for you people who kinda want them to end up together (I ain't conforming anything XD), I have saved their more "intimate"/"Fluff" for the later chapters. Imo, it works better that way since there's a tragedy planned and would pay off better.
Any ways, be safe people and be positive!
-ClumsyPigeon signing out
