X Chapter 20 X
Warning: Language, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes
Under blackened sky, at the battlefield where two titans had clashed... The tremendous craters produced by their melee, filled in; countless tons of dirt and rock materialized to patch what had been a series of scars on the world's otherwise even face...
Iseber awoke to the movement of soil and stone. His eyes snapped open as a great 'mountain' of the stuff threatened to bury him in an avalanche. Clad in saiyan armor, the tall saiyan instinctively rolled out of the way, narrowly escaping the earthen wall. He leapt to his feet and watched as the rolling 'mountain' that had almost crushed him, tumbled into the deep abyss of a nearby crater.
To his amazement, more and more of these 'mountains' compiled from rock and dirt. Their essence seemed to appear from thin-air and fall from the sky. They too moved along the surface and fell into the many craters, packing them in. The sky being pitch-black simply enhanced the eerie, dreamlike feeling that Iseber was experiencing. "W-where am I?" he uttered. Another odd sensation caught his attention. Iseber clutched his chest. "My heart!"
He held up his arms to study, rolling back the blue sleeve of his jumpsuit. Iseber's flesh was snow-white, but was quickly being darkened by the renewed presence of blood in his veins. The pounding of his heart filled him with a sense of power and vitality. He drew in a long breath. This isn't otherworld... Looking down at his waist, Iseber saw the hole where he had been run through. Hesitantly, he stuck his arm inside and felt around. To his great astonishment, he felt no pain; his wound was gone!
Iseber pulled his arm back out. Dried, crusted blood covered his hand. Aside from the hole in his armor, it was the only evidence that he had ever been hurt. ...I'm back. But... how? He had little time to ponder. Yet another sensation slammed into him like a truck. He felt something coming. Something dark. Something filled with malice and hatred.
That something wasn't just coming. It was already here. Iseber barely turned around in time, blocking a deadly chop meant to decapitate him. The tall saiyan caught the chop with his hand and held on tightly with a vice-like grip. The assailant struggled to get free, attempting to tug his muscular arm away. "You…" remarked Iseber. The attacker smiled vilely. "Yes... Me." With a mighty yank, Iseber's attacker freed his arm and backflipped away. He took a stance and snarled "Seems I get to kill you again. I don't know how... Or why. But I'll gladly use the opportunity!"
Tarro dashed forward, denying Iseber a chance to respond. "You're dead!" he roared. Just before he reached Iseber, Tarro leapt above him. His boot came crashing down towards Iseber's head. The young man just managed to cross his arms in time, blocking the blow. When it made contact, the stomp generated a shockwave that blew dirt and dust in a massive storm that rolled for many yards across the landscape. After lingering for awhile, the debris settled, and revealed that neither Iseber or Tarro had budged.
They struggled against one another, trying to push the other back. "Damn you, boy!" hissed the older male. Iseber kept silent. He was focused on not being outright overpowered by his opponent. Though they had both gotten a zenkai, the gap in their power had widened. This wasn't a fight Iseber could afford to let down his guard.
Finally, Tarro relented and retreated back a few yards. It was clear who the more powerful fighter was, but power had not been the decider in their last duel. Tarro knew firsthand just how skilled the boy was in combat. I can't let this punk work me over again! Think...
Iseber took his own stance, placing one fist at the waist, and holding the other out. Tarro studied the saiyan scrutinously, searching for a weakness, any weakness in his guard. The sound of Iseber's voice broke his concentration. "You died. And witnessed what's on the other side... Yet, you still want to end it this way?" The old mercenary growled lowly. "Yes... I would like nothing more than to rip your heart from your chest. To hold it in my hand!"
Iseber searched the man's feelings. Bloodlust had flooded Tarro's licorice eyes. Iseber could tell that behind them, he was daydreaming all the possible ways to kill him, like a macabre slideshow. "It's useless, isn't it?" he muttered. "...I can't change you."
The older, ruthless saiyan's mouth twisted into a devilish grin. "Now you're gettin' it, kid." Tarro raised his arm and began to gather ki into a brilliant purple orb. Iseber felt the devastating energy mustering in the saiyan's hand. Tarro intended to finish the fight with one shot, no matter the cost to the planet. The younger saiyan dropped his chin for a moment, closing his eyes. When they opened again, he brought his chin up and furrowed his brows. There was no running away from this. Iseber would have to take part in this deathmatch, whether he wanted to or not.
The young saiyan lowered his hand and began charging a Final Spirit Cannon; Bardock's signature that he 'borrowed' all those years ago, having watched the saiyan train. High winds were created by their aurae as their energy grinded and pushed against the other. A high screech signaled the completion of Iseber's ki gathering. "Well. This is it." he sighed.
As Tarro finished charging his own blast, Iseber couldn't help but be reminded of the time he and Pinach almost blew themselves up along with Ginge and the entire camp; the two scenes were all but too similar. A subtle smirk spread on his face. Tarro saw his smirk. A smirk of his own made an appearance. "What's so amusing, boy? Has the inevitability of your death finally sunk in?"
Iseber cocked his arm back, poised to unleash the devastating attack. "It's nothing... Just thinking about the good times." Tarro chuckled sinisterly. "Well, kid. Don't you worry. You'll have all eternity to have good times in the afterlife." Tarro's chuckling graduated into evil laughter. "As a thanks for helping me get so strong... I think I'll send those brats with you!" Iseber saw movement in the corner of his vision. He looked to the right and saw over a dozen saiyan children, standing just meters away. They were Tarro's victims from the previous battle. The children, most of whom were quite small, rubbed their black-haired heads, unsure of what was happening. Were they dead or alive?
Tarro roared as he threw his attack. It erupted from his open hand as a great purple wave. Iseber snapped his attention back to his opponent. No... He too threw his hand forward, gripping his forearm with his free hand. Iseber's attack shot out to meet Tarro's in the middle. The two giant waves, one purple, the other a deep blue, slammed into one another. The nearby fledgelings tried to take cover by diving to the ground. But this only amounted to limited success. The explosion blew everything away.
In a distant plain...
Komatsuna gently descended from the dark sky. Her boots graced the bottom of a big crater. Before her, in the very center of the depression, rested her attack ball. She brought her arm up, and fished a small remote out of her armor. Clicking a narrow button, the craft's door opened. The saiyaness wasted no time climbing in. Her rump fell unceremoniously into the upholstery seat. She pushed a button in the interior, and the door closed.
The former mercenary folded her arms and brooded, staring out of the door's circular window. From behind the red glass, the outside appeared even gloomier than it already was with the unnaturally blackened horizon. Minutes passed as thoughts came and went. I'm such a clown... Why did I have to start growing a conscience again? And now of all times?!
Her past flickered before her; her life as a Cold force member, her 'childhood' on Planet Vegeta, everything. It used to be so simple. Just kill and don't be killed. I was ruthless... I had to be. It was expected. By my parents. By my peers. By my king. They expected it of me. No. They demanded it!
Memories from her many, bloody campaigns washed over Komatsuna. ...And I delivered! Every last foe that I came across, I cut them down mercilessly! At first, for my king. But after our homeworld's destruction, I did it for saiyan pride, and most importantly: for myself!
I had everything I wanted... Leeck's, Iseber's, Celle's and Veeda's faces crashed their way into her mind. ...Or so I thought. "Damn it all!"Her fist slammed into the metal wall of the pod, causing a small dent, and the whole thing to violently rock back and forth. A hot tear rolled down her pale cheek. More soon followed, and she tucked her knees into her chest and sobbed into them. I hate you, Iseber! Damn your contagious softness!
A faint glimmering eventually caught her eye. Along the rim of the window, the refraction of a distant bright light, shone. It didn't take long for a mighty shockwave carrying innumerable tons of dust and soot to pass over. What the hell was that?! She snatched a spare scouter among several from a small compartment in the pod and put it on over her eye. Pushing the button to open the door, Komatsuna leapt from the pod and out onto the crater edge.
Beeping accompanied by scrolling numbers and information displayed on the green lens in an alien language, broadcasted the nearby presence of two great powers battling. "It couldn't be... Could it?!" After a brief bit of gawking, the saiyaness grabbed the scouter and harshly threw it on the ground. Why the hell should I care anymore? They don't need me... Or want me.
The beeping got louder as the two power levels soared. Over the horizon, two lights raged and danced like fire. One was purple. The other was blue. Komatsuna raised her white-gold boot and brought it over the scouter, preparing to crush it and rid herself of its chatter. Just as her foot was coming down, she was baptized in a white light. She instinctively moved her arm to shield her eyes.
An explosion followed. The blast directed itself upwards, as if a massive volcano had erupted. Winds from the event reached Komatsuna in seconds. She could barely withstand them. Though her eyes were closed, she could hear the screaming scouter blow away, back into the crater. The great winds kept blowing and blowing, and Komatsuna began to wonder if they would ever cease.
Eventually, they relented, and she pried open her eyes. In the distance, where the explosion had occurred, an absolutely massive mushroom cloud lorded over the landscape. Komatsuna stood, slightly quaking, having mixed feelings of fear and excitement. That had enough energy to do some serious damage to the planet! Just who is fighting over there?!
The mushroom continued to billow upwards as she stood thinking. A deep feeling of dread washed over her as she mulled over the possibilities of who the two powers were. She couldn't bear to think about the consequences if her hunch was right. The long-haired saiyaness jumped to the bottom of the crater and picked up the scouter, which had quieted down. She placed it back over her eye and leapt back out of the depression.
Komatsuna blasted off for the battlefield. Through the cracked lens, her eye was reading information about the fight. Her whole body shuddered as the weaker of the two power readings began to gradually drop. Come on! Come on! Come on! The saiyaness pushed her body as hard as she could, trying to reach him in time.
Soon enough, the battlefield came into view. Komatsuna stopped and hovered high above it. She gasped in shock. Below her were several people. Most of them stood off to the side of a huge trench in the ground. But two stood at either ends of the trench where an intense beam struggle had taken place. To her delight, she recognized one of the pair. Iseber panted heavily, holding his right arm, which was mangled. The flesh of his fingers had been rendered to the bone; there was little more than tendon still clinging to them. The young man had only just managed to deflect his opponent's attack away from the ground.
Komatsuna finally noticed his horrible injuries, ending her brief state of glee. Her vision snapped to the man responsible, standing at the opposite end of the beam-trench. The very sight of Tarro caused her to violently shake in anger, as memories of Iseber's and the others' deaths replayed in her mind. Son of a bitch! Why is HE back too?! She wanted to intervene, but knew it would do no good to carelessly charge in. Tapping her scouter, she scanned her former commander's power signature. The device chimed and chattered as information was displayed on its cracked, green lens.
PL: ~31,000 -WARNING- Target-User powergap exceeds 10,000! Withdrawal is recommended!
Taking the scouter in her hand, she crushed it. Damn! He's even gotten one hell of a zenkai! Komatsuna hovered in the sky, having no idea what to do. From her vantage point in the air, she saw Tarro dash forward at almost unfollowable speed. Tarro laughed maniacally as he began to beat the guts out of Iseber. Each hook and jab Tarro threw, connected.
Tarro relentlessly weaved around and under the young saiyan's guard. The power gap between them had grown too vast, and Iseber, in his injured state, was unable to do anything to protect himself. He could feel his ribs breaking with each strike; the young saiyan spat blood. After twenty seconds of beating that felt like twenty hours to Iseber, Tarro suddenly disappeared and Iseber felt the jarring sensation of a boot crashing into the base of his skull. Iseber's face landed in the dirt.
With his nose buried in the dust, Iseber heard Tarro preparing to finish him. The older saiyan coated his hand in blinding white ki, which formed a short blade. "End of the road, bastard." Iseber rolled over on his left side to face him, wincing in pain as he did. Tarro grabbed his collar and lifted him up to eye level. Iseber looked into his eyes one last time. They were nothing but bottomless black pools of hatred.
Tarro pulled his arm back, and prepared to make good on his earlier words. He intended to dissect Iseber's rib cage and pluck out his heart. Tarro licked his lips with a dark lust. Iseber closed his eyes, awaiting that second, bitter kiss of death. It never came. Tarro was struck on the side of the head and sent tumbling hundreds of yards.
Iseber was allowed to fall from the older saiyan's grasp. Yet, before he hit the ground, he was caught by someone. The young man's eyes first squinted, then shot open. "Komatsuna!" She didn't acknowledge him. She knew that she had only bought them seconds. The former planet pirate turned and screamed at the little bystanders nearby. "Run far away from here! Now!"
They turned to her, bewildered and frightened. "What are you guys doing?! Go!" shrieked Komatsuna. The fledgelings continued to stare like statues at her, frozen in their fear. She opened her mouth to scream once more, but was violently interrupted by a fist to her temple. Komatsuna dropped Iseber and stumbled to the ground.
Tarro lorded over both of them as they laid. Iseber held his mangled arm and tried to climb to his knees. Tarro kicked him in the chest, knocking him back to the dirt. The man sneered. "I'll be back for you!" he said, as he began making his way towards Komatsuna. She was on her hands and knees, shaking off the concussion when a boot dug itself into her side. Her arms gave out, and she slumped to the floor.
Tarro stared down coldly at his former subordinate as she writhed in pain in the dust. After a moment, he placed his white boot on her back and pressed with force. Her screams of pain cut through the air. Several agonizing seconds went by before he relented. Her former leader squatted down next to her, frowning in a mocking, pseudo-mournful fashion. "You know... It pains me to see you like this, Komatsuna. You were my comrade…"
Komatsuna dragged her face through the dirt to look at him. Hot tears ran down her pale cheeks as her eyes bore angry holes through his. "Cooler's dead!" she blurted out. Tarro's smug look became serious. "He's dead!" she repeated. Tarro continued to stare while in a deep trance of thought. Finally, he replied "So?"
The air from Komatsuna's mouth disturbed the dirt as she talked. "So?! So you're free now! You don't have to follow that prick's orders anymore!" Tarro fell back into deep thought. He snapped back to reality when Komatsuna cried, desperately pleading "Leave them alone! ...It's over!" The unemployed mercenary seemed to mull it over. He glanced back at Iseber, who just looked at them worryingly from his spot lying on the ground. Iseber's body wasn't having it anymore.
His gaze eventually made its way back to Komatsuna. "And what of Lords Cold and Freeza? What am I to tell them when I return without Lord Cooler or his killer's corpse?" he said. Komatsuna spat hatefully, keeping her eyes firmly on Tarro's. "You don't have to do anything. They think you're dead... I made sure of it!" Tarro stared back at her, brooding for a moment before turning to Iseber.
"No." he whispered, facing her once more.
The dreaded word rang endlessly in Komatsuna's ears. She became enraged and lunged to strike him in the face. Tarro effortlessly caught her fist in his hand and pulled her up to his level. "Tarro... Damn you!" Many more tears fell from her face; a product of her feeling of helplessness. "You bast-" Her profanity was smothered when Tarro's lips locked with hers in an apparently passionate kiss.
Komatsuna's eyelids slammed all the way open and remained that way even as Tarro pulled back. That kiss was the very last thing she had expected to happen. Tarro's eyes seemed to lose all of the hate and rage they had held before. She studied them as he spoke. "We both lost someone, you know? For me, it was my son... For you, your mate..." The wind blew through their messy black hair while he spoke. "I think I know why you betrayed Lord Cooler, why you betrayed me... You don't have to be alone anymore. We can have each other…"
His former underlings' hearts fluttered in a strange mix of excitement, fear, anger, and confusion; Komatsuna's mind raced. This is what she had wanted, what she had fantasized about all those lonely nights on the ship. And yet, it wasn't; the reality of it all wasn't anything like her fantasies. Komatsuna thought of Iseber, who had just witnessed everything with great shock. Her eyes momentarily met his. Iseber was looking directly at her, glaring with a face that expressed something a bit deeper than the physical pain that he surely felt.
"All you have to do is kill him. Kill him, and we can leave together. Just the two of us."
Her gaze snapped back to Tarro. Tarro eyed her carefully. He seemingly gave off an air of genuinity, which both angered her and threw her off. Did he really expect her to turn her back on Iseber and slay him right there, in front of his family? The saiyan pirate's eyes twinkled, anticipating her answer. Apparently, he did.
"...A-alright."
Tarro smiled wolfishly, helping the long-haired saiyaness to her feet. Komatsuna started dusting herself off, all while Tarro watched with piercing scrutiny. "Well?" he inquired. Komatsuna stopped and looked at him. She curtly nodded and turned her attention on Iseber, making her way over to him. She felt Tarro's eyes on her back the entire time.
When Komatsuna reached Iseber, who was still on his back, she halted abruptly and stood over him. He was in a pathetic state, unable to move let alone defend himself. He gave her a look of sheer bitterness and disappointment. "I thought you were past this." he muttered. She shrugged and frostily replied "You should have used the head that counts."
The children nearby bared their teeth in anger at her apparent betrayal. They looked to each other, then back at Komatsuna. As if communicating telepathically, they all came to the same ambition: saving their packmate. Komatsuna noticed them start to creep closer and thought to herself Shit! I can't let the rugrats get involved or he'll blast 'em!
She had predicted Tarro's next move to a 'T'. The saiyan male unfolded his arms and held out the left one, intending to kill them all in one shot, something he was more than capable of at his current strength. Just as the red ki appeared in his hand, Komatsuna aimed hers at Iseber's head. The young man gritted his teeth and swallowed. He didn't take his pain-filled eyes off her. Iseber wanted her to see into them as she killed him.
Sky-blue energy manifested in her palm. You have to survive. I won't let him take you again.
The beam spewed from her hand. It narrowly missed Iseber's face and hit the ground. A giant dust cloud was kicked up. Tarro's focus shifted from the little ones to the grey-brown plume. He immediately suspected treachery. "Traitorous bitch." The movement of children rushing in for Iseber caught his eye. His frown slid into a devilish smirk. "Komatsuna! They will all pay for your treachery! I'll kill them all! And make you watch!" Tarro began feeding even more energy into the blast he had prepared.
A narrow blue beam pierced out from the dust cloud that came straight for his head. The shot made contact, knocking his head to the side but failing to penetrate. The energy in Tarro's hand dissipated, and he stumbled to his knees. Tarro quickly recovered, hopping back to his feet. The bloodthirsty saiyan seethed, uncoiling and lashing his tail in fury.
Within the dust cloud, Iseber felt a hand grab his collar. Another one grabbed his left armpit, and he felt himself be lifted. Komatsuna's face came into view as he was brought closer. Through the haze, they exchanged a smile. Komatsuna's head craned forward, and she pressed her lips against his. Iseber's eyes shot open. As soon as they had touched, their lips separated. In that brief contact, Iseber scoured her mind. What he saw mortified him.
"No! Wait!" he shouted. But it was too late. Komatsuna swung him around and around.
Goodbye.
She released him, and he flew at supersonic speed from the cloud. His body careened high into the sky with a trail of dust following. Tarro saw him exit the cloud and poised himself to intercept. But Komatsuna was one step ahead. She dashed out from the cloud, swinging like a maniacal savage. If it wasn't the fury of her attacks, it was her sheer desperation that kept Tarro on the backfoot.
She forced him back several meters; long enough for Iseber's body to sail far away from the battlefield. The entire time, Tarro was unable to get a blow in. He was too busy stopping hers. Alas, Komatsuna began losing the momentum. Battling at that intensity was not something she could keep up. Tarro took advantage of her running out of steam. His fist collided with the very center of her chestplate. The power from that strike caused her heart to falter, and she felt much of her strength wane away.
Komatsuna fell on her back, sucking in air. Tarro lorded over her, abandoning his guard and adopting a casual stance. She was done, and he knew it. He placed his boot on her waistline, pinning her to the ground. He looked away towards the children. They were almost out of sight, chasing after Iseber. Tarro sighed and glowered down at the saiyaness. "Once again, you've allowed my quarry to escape." he said.
The saiyan's eyes filled with hate. "...And it's the last time you will. Your death won't be quick. I'm gonna send you to hell in a full body cast!" He pressed his foot down and an audible crack from Komatsuna's hip could be heard. She screamed in agonizing pain. His boot moved to the other hip. Again, his foot came down, snapping the bone like a pencil. Komatsuna's screams pierced the wind, winding down as she slipped into unconsciousness.
Yet, she was denied even the bliss of unconsciousness. Tarro jumped over her, flipped, and came down like an acrobat, right on her chest. The heavy blow jolted her back awake. Komatsuna spat and choked on her own blood. Tarro hopped up and down, stomping on her with unbridled force. Each time his boots came down, they produced sickening cracks. He migrated up and down the woman's torso, breaking each and every single rib. Komatsuna was forced to endure it in near-silence; her flooded airways wouldn't allow her to scream.
Finally, Tarro relented and began hovering above to admire his handiwork. She was utterly broken before him, sucking air like a fish out of water. Seeing her in that much pain made Tarro joyous with satisfaction. But there was something missing, something that needed to be done for his sadism to be quenched. Tarro knew just the thing. He stretched out his legs and aimed them straight for Komatsuna's stomach. Then, he held up his arms. Outstretching his hands, he fired a blast from each that propelled him downwards like a pair of jets.
His boots dug deep into her abdomen, rupturing organs and worst of all: breaking her spine. A faint, gargled moan escaped her lips as Tarro flipped back and off of her. Komatsuna at last drifted off into unconsciousness. Tarro smiled; he had his fill. The saiyan sadist knelt down next to her head. His finger extended, and he aimed it at her temple like a gun. A pinprick of red light appeared at its tip and he whispered in a jeering tone "Now I'll send you to Leeck. You two can catch up in hell with the rest of those failures... You can even introduce him to your new boy. Just give me a day. Two tops."
Tarro didn't get to send her off. He felt a jarring, show-stopping pain in his chest. The ruthless saiyan looked down to see an arm covered in blood jutting out through his chestplate. The arm looked rather feminine, and was enveloped in a swirling golden aura. How?! He looked down at the rest of Komatsuna, whose arms were motionless at her sides. "W-who?!" he croaked.
His attacker responded, yanking her arm back through the gaping hole in his armor. "Me." Tarro stumbled to his feet and turned to face her, clutching his gushing chest wound. When he saw her, for the first time in a very long time, the kill-happy mercenary was afraid. Before him, stood Ginge in her super saiyan form. Conch towered over her from behind, with a knocked-out Iseber draped over his shoulder.
Her legendary status was not lost on him; Tarro knew exactly what she had become. "As long as I breathe, you won't harm anyone else on this planet." she growled. Especially her. She's mine! Tarro stumbled backwards, tripping over Komatsuna and landing on his butt. Ginge began menacingly stepping towards him. The man ungracefully scrambled to his knees and bowed before the young, angry super saiyan, as if he were addressing someone of a higher rank.
"The super saiyan…" he murmured. "...Forgive my earlier insolence. It is an honor to kneel before-"
Ginge interrupted him with a swift kick to the mouth that sent him skidding back. Tarro struggled to sit back up. He held his chest wound with one hand, and his thoroughly broken jaw with the other. Ginge yelled "Don't you dare apologize! I want you off my planet!" Tarro sat there, paralyzed with fear; fear of the legend. When he didn't move, Ginge slashed her hand through the air. An energy blade went forth from her fingertips which sliced through the ground just in front of him, cutting an endless, bottomless trench in the space between them.
Tarro gawked at the damage for a few moments, then at Ginge. Her steely, ocean-teal eyes etched themselves into his soul. He shuddered and turned tail, taking off into the pitch-dark sky.
The super saiyan witnessed him blast off and away. Every fiber of her being itched to end Tarro then and there; she wanted to drown him in a sea of energy. Had it not been for Conch telling her about Iseber's final words back then, she would have.
As Tarro's body bumbled and faded over the horizon, Ginge powered down. Her breath was heavy from the transformation, which required copious amounts of ki to maintain. Conch looked her up and down. So this is the 'super saiyan' form? Impressive... Ginge reeled and smiled at the watchful namekian, who sheepishly exchanged a grin.
"Thank you, Ginge. He'll be able to rest easy now." said Conch while adjusting Iseber on his shoulder. The young woman looked back in the direction Tarro had flown in. "Good for him... I'm not sure if I'll be able to." she grumbled. Ginge stared off in the same direction in silence while Conch laid Iseber down next to Komatsuna. He began healing the both of them with his magic. "You're probably right about him, that saiyan. But I think we should trust in Iseber. He wouldn't have tried to get through to him if he thought it impossible."
Still facing away, Ginge replied "I wouldn't really care if he turned over a new leaf or not, he's not welcome here. Not after everything he's done." After a short pause, she briskly whirled around and shot a hostile glance at an unconscious and broken Komatsuna. "Which reminds me... He forgot to take his punching bag of a bitch with him. Stand aside!" Conch glared up at her from his spot kneeling by the wounded pair. "And just what do you intend to do?!" he said, eyebrow raised.
Ginge stuck out her arm; a silent confirmation of her intentions. "Move Iseber too." she ordered. The namekian didn't budge, instead arguing. "She's not bad, Ginge. Much better than that other fellow, really. Sh-" Ginge interrupted him. Her patience was razor thin in light of everything. "I don't care. I saw her attack one of the boys. She dies." Conch stood up, stepped between Ginge and Komatsuna, and spread his arms.
With the sternest of faces, he said "I'm not letting you go through with this. She's not what you think, Ginge. She even helped us defeat Cooler, the opponent you sacrificed your life to defeat, remember?! She doesn't deserve to die." Ginge stared him down, still aiming her arm in his direction. Silently, she lowered her arm and let it rest by her side. "Fine." she said, turning away and crossing her arms. Conch returned to his spot near Iseber and Komatsuna, resuming their healing.
Ginge stood, waiting in that windy plain for a few minutes. Wondering why it was taking so long, she looked back to see Conch focusing all his power on Komatsuna. Purple light flowed from his hands as they were held over her shattered body. Iseber slept peacefully next to her. His arm was fully restored, barring a nasty scar running up and down the length where the flesh had been burnt off.
"What's the hold up?" asked Ginge. Conch strained himself with concentration, utterly ignoring her. "Helloooo?" she called again. The planetary guardian snapped at the prying girl. "Isn't it obvious that I'm trying to focus?! Shut up and leave me to it!" The messy-haired girl fumed and lashed her tail. Who the hell does he think he is?! He's lucky I don't flatten him!
Eventually, Conch relented, taking his hands away. The namekian's breathing was labored because of his efforts. Ginge strutted over and got a look of his handiwork. "You finished?" she quipped. Conch staggered to his knees, answering between breaths "...Yeah…" Ginge smiled wide. "Great. She can fuck off the moment she wakes up."
Conch nervously scratched the back of his bald, green head. "About that... She won't be up and about any time soon." Ginge squinted suspiciously at him. "And why not?" Conch picked Komatsuna up, gently slinging the long-haired saiyaness over his shoulder. He turned and faced Ginge. "Almost every single one of her lower vertebrae were completely shattered. It would be a miracle if she ever walked again, let alone flew."
"I don't see why this is our problem. Let's just dump her in the ship she came in and send her on her way." said a frustrated Ginge. Conch blinked at her in disbelief of her callousness. "Look. I get that you two have some 'history', as brief as it was. But she's in no condition to be out by herself in space. No one is. Not with Cold and Freeza running around." He began levitating off the ground and beckoned for Ginge to grab Iseber.
"Whatever. I don't want her anywhere near my family. If you feel so compelled to take care of her, she can stay with you." retorted Ginge. The namekian sighed as Ginge lifted Iseber onto her shoulder. "Seriously? Did you not hear what I just said? She's crippled. She isn't a danger to anyone." he said. Ginge floated off the ground with Iseber, passing Conch. She stopped and looked back at him. "For now. But will that be true ten or fifteen minutes from now, when the dragon fixes her?"
A slight tremble ran up and down the namekian's spine. Ginge had sniffed him out. "I'm not stupid." she affirmed. Conch hovered in the same spot, giving off an air of silent embarrassment.
"...Right."
He stared at Iseber as he drifted away on Ginge's shoulder. The young man slept soundly, even as Ginge approached supersonic speed. Conch sighed once more. Using his telepathic powers, he spoke his thoughts to Ginge. "Ginge. Not even a super saiyan will be enough to keep those two apart when they wake up." The wild-haired girl sneered but ignored him. She picked up the pace, gunning it straight for camp. Conch didn't relent. He began flying after her. "You especially should know what I'm talking about…" He dreaded saying the next part, because no one had told her the news. "...since you feel the same way about Pinach."
That last comment was enough to cause Ginge to come to a screeching halt. She waited mid-air for him to catch up. Conch caught up in seconds, stopping just a few meters from her. He could tell by her calm, icy demeanor that she was beyond pissed. Her next words confirmed his hunch.
"Where do you get off, lecturing me about such things? Was it you that fed my family? Cried for them? Bled for them? No, it wasn't. Were you there when our planet exploded, and we were marooned on your shithole of a world? No, you weren't."
Ginge began to tremble part way through her tirade.
"In fact, you spent four years hiding from us. Not once did you reach out to help when we needed it... You even kept Iseber from us that entire time. Only when you 'discovered' that Pinach was what he is, did you come running. Even then, it was probably just because he threatened to destroy the ground beneath your feet!"
She paused, breathing with slight effort. The namekian guardian was silent; completely stunned by the outburst. The young saiyan kept pouring her frustration on him.
"You don't care about them like I do! If you did, both of us would have walked into King Yemma's office together! Both of us would have gone to hell together! Then, you would have seen the awful things I've seen... Every last saiyan that ever lived, is in hell. Every last one. I don't want that for the little ones."
She gestured spitefully at Komatsuna, who was still KO'd on Conch's shoulder.
"And her: She's the one person on the whole planet that can screw them over... I won't have it!"
Conch blinked in the face of her fury. They both just floated there for a while, high in the blackened sky. The long silence was finally broken when he parted his lips to speak.
"Ginge. There's something you need to know." He lamented having to tell her this now, but he saw no other way. Her eyebrow rose, sensing something was up.
"Pinach is gone."
All of the color flushed from Ginge's face. "...What?" she squeaked.
Conch, filled with remorse, looked away. "He's gone."
A tear trailed its way from the corner of her eye, down her cheek. Some of that former anger returned in her voice; it became shaky. "What do you mean he's gone?! Why wasn't he brought back with us?!"
Still holding Komatsuna, the namekian clenched his free fist. He didn't know if Pinach being alive would make this any easier to tell her. After all, Pinach was gone forever anyway. "He's still alive. That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?" growled a very ticked off Ginge.
Conch fidgeted for a bit, wanting for any excuse to get out of there. Alas, that ship had sailed the moment he opened this can of worms. He swallowed his anxiousness and told her the truth. "Someone took him. The god of destruction's attendant. The same being who rescued you all from Planet Vegeta."
Everything he said aside from the 'rescued' bit, flew over her head. He needed only mention their 'rescuer' to bring her to a high boil. First, that son of a bitch abandons her with over a hundred younglings on a strange planet, alone. Now the bastard shows up and plucks Pinach away just like that? Ginge didn't know where or when, but whoever that guy was, she was going to give him a beating to end all beatings.
The faint twitching of Conch's fingers drew Ginge's gaze to him, and with it, her ire. "Why the fuck are you just telling me this?! How could you keep something like that a secret?!"
A drop of sweat caressed his temple as he squirmed in place. Telling her seemed like a terrible idea in hindsight. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately shut it when he looked into Ginge's black eyes, which reamed with unbridled rage. He thought to himself: The only winning move here was not to play.
Conch awaited the seemingly imminent barrage of curses. But, to his immeasurable surprise, it never came.
"She can stay."
Those words ran circles around his eardrums. Despite having a sense of hearing far beyond any human's, he took his pinkie and cleared his pointed ear out.
"...What did you say?"
"She can stay."
The namekian blinked and briskly shook his head, bewildered by Ginge's 'one-eighty'.
"On one condition..."
There it was. He knew there had to be a catch.
"...We use the dragon's balls to bring Pinach back here."
Disregarding her incorrect nomenclature for the mystical orbs, Conch thought hard about her demand. "...I'm not so sure that's possible."
"And why not? It's a magic fucking dragon. If it can raise me from the dead, it can move one-hundred or so kilos of flesh across the universe." she shot back.
He bit into his thumb, thinking deeply. After a few moments, his hand fell to his side. "We could... But even if we did, the divine attendant who took him would return, seeking him."
"Perfect."
Conch grunted in agreement, thinking she was being sarcastic. His illusion was shattered when she loudly declared "I'm gonna kick his teeth in! He's earned it!"
The black-clad namekian rubbed the bridge of his nose. Saiyans. Why did it have to be saiyans? He took a deep breath and shot a stern look at her. "No. No you won't. If he was the moon, you wouldn't even be a pebble. He could literally sneeze and kill you."
Ginge rolled her eyes at him. Conch groaned at the hopelessness of it all. "I'm not joking. You should have seen what he did to Pinach. One hit! One hit was all it took from him to bring Pinach down. I've never seen anything like it."
Blatantly dismissive, she scoffed and said "Yeah-sure-whatever. Those are my terms. Do we have a deal or not?"
Conch couldn't believe the shit he was hearing. Did this girl just not listen to anyone? In that moment, he saw a smaller version of Komatsuna floating in front of him. Ginge was easily the second most abrasive person he'd ever met, second only to the mercenary. And the gap between them seemed almost non-existent.
"Fine." he said.
She gave him an arrogant smirk and turned away. Still carrying Iseber on her shoulder, she rocketed off towards camp.
The namekian floated in the same spot, holding Komatsuna. A smirk of his own appeared on his face. Using telepathy, he reached out to Squas. The boy was standing with the others around the dragon balls, chatting. Tarro's victims had arrived much earlier, causing a commotion not unlike when Ginge had been revived. He heard Conch's voice inside his mind.
"Squas! ...Squas!"
Squas turned his head to left and right, searching for the source of the voice.
"Squas! I'm in your mind! Please! You have to do something for me!"
"Who is this?" asked the boy out loud, causing everyone to look at him as if something were wrong.
"It's me! I was with you when Quash was revived! ...I need you to make a wish! Any wish!"
It didn't matter to Conch anymore whether Komatsuna stayed with them or not. He couldn't let Ginge interfere with the god of destruction's attendant. The risks were too great. After all, what if the destroyer himself came along this time? They would all be in danger.
The boy looked up at the glowing red dragon with fiery amber eyes. "Any wish?" he thought.
Conch answered "Yes, any wish! And don't tell anyone I told you to do it!"
Squas looked around at the other children. They had gone back to their conversations and banter. His eyes scanned around until he saw a pile of bones discarded by the side of one of the houses. They had belonged to a stag-like creature on which they all had feasted. He could almost smell the aroma of charred venison. His saiyan stomach growled ferociously.
Squas had his wish.