X Chapter 12 X
Warning: Language, Sexual Themes, Violence
Komatsuna slipped out of camp under the cover of darkness. She matched the flickering shadows of the bonfire as the children partied around it; her form was concealed. Hopping over a snowbank, she took to the sky. The saiyaness was almost out of sight when her sharp eyes spotted a figure in the snow, several yards from the camp. Squinting, she could make out the girl who had bit a chunk out of her wrist. That little wretch.
Bolts of blue lightning snaked around her fingers. She so badly wanted to make the little wretch pay, but also knew that it would mean her end if she failed to finish it with one shot. With iron willpower, Komatsuna suppressed her anger and took off into the pitch black. She knew generally where her pod was, but finding it in the moonless night would be a tall order, even with a saiyan's excellent vision.
For two hours, she flew over the frozen landscape. The saiyaness threw light blasts around, desperately trying to illuminate the spot where she had landed. She cursed her carelessness in letting the scouter be destroyed. It would have made this task ten times easier, unnecessary even. She could have called in backup remotely with it instead of having to search for the blasted space pod.
Suddenly a flash of light lit up the sky. Komatsuna looked up to see the clouds part and two fireballs crash through the air. Both landed with colossal shockwaves that blew a tsunami of snow towards her. She was completely buried. Rapidly, the snow melted, then boiled away as her skin heated up from her energy. The saiyaness leapt from her icy tomb, landing on solid ground.
She stood at the edge of one of the two craters created by the fireballs. Far below, she could see the signature white ball of an attack pod. But there was no noise. Komatsuna waited for several moments to see who would step out. Tarro? Is it you? A loud and stern voice from behind, spooked her. "Komatsuna. What are you doing here?"
She spun around into a battle stance. To her delight and terror, Tarro stood before her. He didn't look too happy to see her. "Well?" Komatsuna gulped. She knew this look all too well. He only bore it when one of his subordinates disobeyed or failed him. "I-I was looking for my ship. M-my scouter was b-busted." The saiyan commander scoffed at this pitiful excuse. "I've had many cowards play that card with me before."
Komatsuna stammered while Tarro squinted. "You know the punishment for desertion in Cooler's army, yes or no?" She shakily nodded. "Good, then I don't have to explain to you what's at stake here if you don't answer my question. Why were you searching for your ship before the mission was completed?" She was absolutely terrified. Tarro was well known for executing traitors and deserters, even if they had been long time teammates.
The saiyaness had to shove the words out. "I-I found a saiyan here, multiple saiyans. One of them is powerful, unbelievably powerful. I fought him. He unleashed his power and it broke my scouter. That's why I haven't been in contact with anyone... Please you have to believe me!" Tarro unfolded his arms and prepared a ki wave to kill her. "I don't."
Her heart was pounding. There was no way for her to win, no way to escape. Her power was only at 4,400 while Tarro's... was at 10,500. His hand cocked back, poised to strike. Just before her end came, Been's voice raggedly called from behind her. "Wait! Tarro what are you doing?!" The saiyan commander and his traitorous subordinate looked at him. "I'm getting rid of this trash who would betray Lord Cooler!" The rotund Been caught up to them and stood between, panting. "No! She hasn't betrayed us! Her mission was to discover the source of that anomalous power signal, not fight to the death!"
Tarro's ice cold glare snapped back to Komatsuna. "Her story makes no sense. No saiyan would have spared her in a fight." Been objected. "Sure they would! There's so few of us left! Why would we drive ourselves extinct like fools?!" After a harsh staredown with the female saiyan, Tarro begrudgingly put his hand down. "Whatever. I suppose there could be more softies like you two out there, as ridiculous as that is. Do yourselves a favor and extinguish such sentiments." He cast a cool glance at Komatsuna. "The only loyalty either of you should have is towards Lord Cooler."
The saiyaness turned her head and muttered. "Yeah... loyalty to the guy that would blow this planet from orbit without telling us…" Tarro snapped at her. "What was that?!" A long pause followed. He marched over to her and stood in her face. "I'm this close to dusting your ass. If I even hear you speak without being spoken to for the rest of our time here, I guarantee it will be your permanent end. Now, tell me where to find these saiyans."
She pointed her finger in the direction she had come from. Without another word, the saiyan trio took off.
The bonfire in the center of camp was reduced to a large pile of smoldering embers... The children were inside sleeping...
Pinach lay on the bed neighboring Iseber's. He and Iseber talked while the furnace flickered in the corner. "...And that's why I'm staying here tonight." Iseber chuckled. "Naturally. Ginge is as high strung as they come. And with everything that's happened in the past week... It's a lot for someone to take in, especially her."
A thought crashed into Pinach's mind. "Speaking of high strung, where the hell is your bunkmate?" Iseber scoffed. "Oh her…" Pinach looked over with a raised brow. "Seriously. She shouldn't be walking around camp with Ginge on the loose." As 'serious' as the situation was, they both laughed at the comparison of her to a ferocious animal. "I honestly don't care anymore what she does." Pinach looked back at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "Ok. But if they start ripping each other apart out there, you're the one breaking it up... What made you start hating her all the sudden, anyway? You were making an embarrassment of yourself over her and now you can't stand her?"
Iseber pulled the covers over his face, and spoke muffled through them. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Pinach's eyes stayed shut. "Shoot." A sigh seeped from under the blanket. "Well, we sort of... kissed." Pinach's eyes shot open and his head snapped to look at Iseber. "What?!" Another sigh came from the blankets. "Told you." Pinach blinked several times. "No, I believe you. It's just after what she said... nevermind, that's not important. Why exactly is this a bad thing?"
"Well after, we started getting hot and heavy. She was feeling me up and whispered in my ear 'third time's the charm'. Then she clocked me in the dick!" Pinach sat straight up, almost breaking the bed. "Holy shit! Are you for real?!" Iseber pulled the covers back and nodded. "What the fuck... And I thought Ginge was a pain in the ass…" Iseber could sense the nuance in his voice. "Wait, don't tell me she hit you in the dick too." Pinach muttered. "Yeah. Cracked her fucking tail like a whip on my nuts when I stopped her from raising hell."
Iseber began to laugh. "That's so like her. I guess we both had to deal with crazy tonight." Pinach laid back down and shut his eyes. "She's not crazy... just a little broken. It's like you said: a lot of stuff has happened. I'm different. You're different. Her brother just died the other day... And... *sigh*... I don't think she's forgiven herself for what happened between us."
The smaller saiyan laid his head on his hands and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. "Pinach?" The bigger answered his name. "Yeah?" A long pause followed. "...Do you think it's possible for a saiyan to truly feel love?" Another pause followed. Pinach was at a loss for words. Why would any saiyan ask that? His thoughts went to Ginge, how she had taken care of everyone for all these years. For otherworld's sake, she had fed dozens of infants mouth to mouth so they wouldn't starve and changed them. The girl gave up much of her dignity and pride to keep everyone fed and safe. Half of the camp referred to her as 'momma' and yet none of them were her children.
She sometimes went overboard and roughed someone up, but that was just in her nature as a saiyan. Even still, her heart was always in the right place. Ginge would give anything for them, blood, sweat, and tears. He continued to ponder the sacrifices that she had made... until his own mother entered his thoughts. The giant had his answer. "No." ...I don't know.
Iseber turned his head to Pinach. His massive chest softly rose and fell. It was apparent that he'd fallen asleep. Iseber looked back at the ceiling. Minutes passed as his mind wandered.
You're wrong about that, buddy… He fell asleep with a smile on his face.
The flame in the furnace dimmed as the wood turned into glowing coals... The bedroom became pitch black and soft snoring could be heard from the two saiyans…
Loud, feminine screaming pierced the walls of the house from outside. Both Iseber and Pinach leapt to their feet in a panic. Both looked at each other briefly and then rushed out the door. Upon stepping out in the snow, what they saw appalled them. In front of her house, Ginge was being held in a headlock by an unfamiliar saiyan man. She was only wearing her blue jumpsuit. Next to them stood Komatsuna and yet another unknown saiyan male.
Iseber started shouting at them. "Let her go! What are you doing Komatsuna?!" The saiyaness flicked her wild hair and laughed maliciously while Been just smirked. Tarro's ice cold face never changed; his grip on Ginge's tail only tightened. He answered Iseber's question. "Lord Cooler has business with that saiyan standing next to you. He's coming with us, or I'll snap this cunt's neck." Ginge squirmed in pain. "I'm s-sorry, Pinach."
He glared sternly at the trio. Even with his power, there was no way to safely get her away from them. A vein appeared on his temple as his teeth clenched. Komatsuna spun and ferociously kicked Ginge in the ribs, digging her shin deep. Ginge spat blood. "What's it gonna be, handsome? Your life, or your girlfriend's?" The giant didn't immediately answer. Finally, he sighed and looked hard at her. "I'm disappointed in you... Fine. Let's go." Komatsuna growled and huffed.
Iseber hissed, protesting his friend's decision. "Pinach! You can't listen to them! This is clearly a trap!" The giant put a hand on Iseber's shoulder. "I know. But what other choice do I have? They'll kill her if I don't." Iseber shook his head. "You can't! They'll just kill her anyway!" There was no swaying him, Pinach marched towards the trio. "Let's get this over with. Lead on."
The four saiyans lifted off the ground with a fifth as a prisoner. They cut through the air and into the night, leaving Iseber standing alone in the middle of camp; no one else had been awakened by the racket.
Deep in the black, frozen wilderness...
Pinach and the other saiyans touched down in a field near the two giant craters created by their arrival. The trio stood several meters away from Pinach in a staredown. "So what happens now? Did you bring me out here just to stare at my 'handsome' face?" For the first time, Tarro's ice cold face twisted into a sneer. An elegant, but oddly ruthless voice sounded off from behind Pinach. "A 'handsome' saiyan? Now that's a new one." He turned around to see a tall, almost reptilian being standing behind him. It was purple and white; the white parts of it looked almost like armor. "F-F-Freeza!"
It chuckled and shook its head. "No, saiyan, that would be my brother. I am Cooler, Lord Cooler." Pinach was a bit shaken. He had heard of Freeza's brother... and of his even greater might. Cooler beckoned to his saiyan subordinates. "Release the girl." Komatsuna and Been protested, but Tarro just stared sternly at Cooler. "Do it." Tarro nodded and let Ginge fall to her knees, gasping.
"Tarro. Take your subordinates and leave us. Go roundup some more recruits. Eliminate anyone who refuses my generous offer." The saiyan saluted his lord and beckoned for his team to follow. Komatsuna stepped hard on Ginge's hand before taking off with the others. When the saiyans were long gone, Cooler turned to Pinach and looked smugly. "Alright, then. Before we get down to business, saiyan, I have questions for you. First off, how is it that you've amassed such power. Don't bother lying to me, I've learned the technique for sensing energy."
Pinach just glared at Cooler, unwilling to speak to the tyrant. Cooler sighed. "Fine. I suppose it doesn't really matter. Moving on to my second question: Why are there so many saiyans on this miserable rock? How did you get here?" Pinach could sense Cooler's impatience growing. "We really don't know. Someone brought us here. A being of a race I've never seen before."
This caused Cooler's brow to rise. Hmm... "That's quite the tale, saiyan... Well, I really didn't expect to meet any more saiyans. Not after my brother destroyed the lot of them along with their entire world." The lack of surprise on Pinach's face shocked Cooler. "Are you not surprised to learn of my brother's treachery?" The giant saiyan shook his head. "We were there. We saw the attack." Cooler pinched his chin. "And yet you're still alive?"
This intrigued Cooler immensely. Whoever this being is, they'd have to be countless leagues mightier than my brother or even myself... There is only one such being in this universe... Beerus... "I've had a revelation, saiyan. It seems that fate has thrown you a lifesaver, so let's get down to business. How about you and your cohort of survivors swear fealty to me?" Pinach stood silent. "In return, I'll protect you from Freeza and give you all much better accommodations than what this… dirtball can provide."
The burly saiyan hesitated. In the face of uncertain death, his deal sounded pretty good. But remembering the circumstances that got them in this mess originally, he just knew he couldn't trust Cooler not to betray them later on. "No deal. Your brother is a piece of shit, and you're no different!" Cooler appeared in a flash in front of him. "Is that your final answer?" The pair engaged in a staredown. "Yes." With the utterance of that single word, punches and kicks began to fly.
Ginge was blown far away by the force of their clash, landing on her ass hundreds of meters from the battle. She couldn't stand up; the shockwaves were too strong. Her arms came to her eyes' defence, shielding them from gale force winds. Slowly, they acclimated, and she could see what was happening. What she saw amazed her. Pinach was actually winning. Winning against a member of the Cold family.
A punch to the gut knocked the wind out of Cooler. A second to the nose sent him tumbling across the landscape. The ice demon picked himself up from the frost, seething. Impossible. No saiyan should be this powerful... unless... Yes. He's the super saiyan! Pinach began lumbering towards him. I need to finish this with my ultimate form! There's no telling how strong this barbarian can become if the fight drags on!
Cooler stood in a charging stance. His white 'armor' bits morphed and warped. A white mask formed around his face, covering his mouth. A white, horned 'crown' was created on his head, and he grew overall to gargantuan size. Pinach stopped to gawk at the ridiculous form that Cooler had taken. "Are you done fluffing yourself up like a peacock? You look retarded!" Pinach barely dodged Cooler's beam; he'd hardly even followed it.
He looked back at the ice demon in terror. At last, he could sense the raw power emanating from him. "It never hurts to put a little showmanship into something... so long as you can back it up with action!" With that, Cooler plunged forward, striking Pinach in the jaw. The tyrant unleashed a beatdown on the giant saiyan. Pinach just couldn't follow his movements anymore. Each strike knocked him back and produced a grunt.
Ginge watched in horror as Pinach had his face dragged along the ground, tearing it up as they went. Cooler then kicked him high in the sky, teleporting above him and slamming him back into the dirt. Pinach tried to get up, but the tyrant was already on top of him before he could. Cooler smashed his knee into his back; a sickening crack rang out. The saiyan cried out in pain. His friend could only watch helplessly as he was mercilessly beaten.
Each strike from the monstrous ice demon produced a crack and a scream from Pinach. Each scream was like a hammer and gong in Ginge's ears. She covered her ears as tears streamed down her face. What could she possibly do to someone more powerful than Freeza? Her fear paralyzed her until she reached a breaking point. She couldn't listen to that awful screaming anymore. I have to do something! Anything!
The girl blitzed across the field with all her strength. It took a fraction of a second to reach them. Her fist connected with the side of Cooler's head, causing him to stumble off her friend. She attempted a hard kick to the chest, but her foot was intercepted. The massive purple hand that caught it, crushed it. Searing waves of pain shot up Ginge's leg. Before she could scream, his fist smashed into her teeth. She was sent skidding along the ground.
Cooler turned his attention back to the male saiyan. He picked him up by his collar and held him at eye level. "Oops. Looks like I killed her… Ugh! Why am I even bothering? You're unconscious!" The tyrant tossed him in the same direction as Ginge. He muttered to himself. "Don't worry. You'll be seeing her again." His feet lifted from the ground.
Pinach's eyes fluttered open to see the ice demon charging a massive energy ball over his head; it shone like the sun... just like the same attack Freeza used to destroy his home... A movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. Ginge was limping over to him; her crushed foot was a bloody mess. She stopped in front of him and turned to Cooler's attack. "Pinach... You have to live on. You're the only one who can protect them now."
The giant's eyes widened as the girl channelled all her power into her fist. She looked sternly back at him. "Promise me you'll live." Pinach gulped. "Yeah." Her mouth stretched into a smile. "Don't rush to follow me. Live out your life... I want to hear all about it." His shaken expression never left him as she turned back to the supernova. With a mighty roar, Cooler unleashed it on them. The ground tore as it traveled towards them. Ginge let out a ferocious cry and released her attack. It traveled in the form of a blue wave. The two attacks met in the middle.
A blinding light was created. Ginge's attack stalled the supernova briefly before being pushed back with ease. She looked back at Pinach for the last time and mouthed something he didn't catch. Her attack pierced the supernova and a catastrophic explosion was generated. He saw a warm smile on the saiyan girl's face as the light consumed her.
The explosion was visible from space. Its shockwave ripped through the land, destroying everything in its path. Pinach was left lying part way in a crater with no visible bottom. Lava burst from the crater's black bottom. Lightning flashed around for miles. The lad struggled to sit up. When he managed to get up, he saw something that changed him forever. Ginge's tattered gloves and boots lay before him. His shaking hand picked one of the gloves up. Ash poured out from the holes and rips.
Cooler stood on the other side of the cavity, illuminated by the rising lava. He hadn't killed his opponent, but he'd done the next best thing: kill his spirit. The tyrant laughed a vicious laugh that echoed through the artificial canyon. When he'd had his fill, Cooler lifted off the ground and floated over to Pinach. His massive feet announced his arrival with a thud. "Tsk tsk tsk. All of this could have been avoided, saiyan. If you had joined me…"
Pinach looked up at him with wet cheeks and eyes, his mouth forming a scowl. The tyrant laughed as Pinach looked down and away, defeated. A moment of silence passed. Cooler's finger rose to point at the saiyan's head, a brilliant pink light was created at its end. "It's time, saiyan." He made no sign of defiance.
The light became brighter and brighter. Just as Cooler was going to fire, he was interrupted by someone. "Lord Cooler, sir. I've gathered the others as you ordered." The ice demon's head snapped around to see Tarro and his squad standing in front of dozens of saiyan children. "Ah... There's this many of them?" Tarro answered his lord's question. "Yes, my lord. Just over 100, sir." Cooler's eyes scanned over the crowd. They came to rest on a tall saiyan standing among them. Iseber's head hung low in shame. "That's a rather hefty haul… how bothersome…"
Komatsuna wore a smirk at first when she arrived. The saiyaness saw Ginge's tattered clothing and ashes piled in front of Pinach. Yesss! Yessssss! That bitch is finally gone! Her smirk grew into a wide grin as she reveled in her attacker's death. But the saiyan sitting next to the remains caught her attention. Is he crying? What the fuck? Every second spent staring at Pinach was pissing her off. She wanted to knock his block off for being a disgrace of a saiyan. The saiyaness was about to indulge in this desire when her mind came to the first time they had met, at the river.
This motherfucker really meant it... Her fist clenched. It's his fault. He shouldn't have spared me! A little voice whispered in the back of her mind. But he did. Komatsuna stared off into space, oblivious to the happenings around her. "Komatsuna... Komatsuna... KOMATSUNA!" She snapped back to reality. Tarro was yelling at her. "Komatsuna! Didn't you hear what Lord Cooler ordered?! The saiyaness shook her head. Tarro growled lowly at her. "Take your head out of your ass and help us kill half of these welps! There's too many to accommodate on the ship!"