The Price of Power 13
By: Kichi
AN: All characters in this story with the exception of Kishiro were created by Akira Toriyama and are being used without permission.
Vegeta and Nappa stared down at the sprawling city before them.
"What are we waiting for Vegeta?" Nappa asked, shifting back and forth anxiously. Vegeta gave him a sidelong glance and snorted.
"Calm yourself, Nappa. I'm just enjoying the calm before the storm." Nappa grinned at that. Vegeta chuckled quietly. "You take the northern half, I'll take the south."
"Okay!" Nappa yelled as he took off. Vegeta chuckled and shot straight down.
Radditz and Kishiro landed about two hours later near Vegeta's landing site. The city around them was totally destroyed.
"Eh, looks like they've been here." Kishiro sighed. She hated senseless killing. She knew that Saiyans purged planets, but it was just something she'd heard of. She had never actually witnessed it. Radditz wrapped his arm around her shoulders and levitated up to the edge of the impact crater.
The sight before them took her breath away. Buildings shattered, broken glass falling like melting icicles. Dark, thick smoke obscured the sun; the smell of burnt flesh filled her nostrils causing her eyes to water. Besides her Radditz gave a deep sigh of satisfaction, his mouth stretched into a wide grin. Kishiro covered her nose, grimacing in disgust.
"How can you enjoy such an awful smell? This place stinks of death!" she cried. Radditz turned to face her, his smile not wavering.
"True. But this smell always thrills a Saiyan. It is the smell of fighting, and triumph over the enemy." He said, turning back to gaze upon the carnage. Kishiro shook her head, she knew it would be a difficult transition; but she never imagined that the man at her side, who she'd secretly pined for for so long could be so cruel and revolting. She shuddered in his grasp. Radditz quirked an eyebrow as he felt the fine tremors race through his mates body. He glanced down at her and was surprised to see her covering her eyes. Immediately she could feel her sense of dread. He frowned and turned to face her and firmly grasped her shoulders.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Kishiro dropped her hands and gazed into his face. Her fear vanished as she noticed his concerned expression. She smiled briefly.
"I'm fine. I'm just getting used to my hyper-senses." She lied. Radditz frowned, not entirely believing her. He was about to speak when her head jerked to the side and she gazed off in the distance.
"What?" he asked. She frowned, concentrating.
"I hear cries." She began hesitantly. "Someone is crying... for help." before Radditz could utter a word she raced off towards the distressed sounds.
"What the hell?" Radditz murmured before going after her. What was she doing? Was she actually going to help this person? And why. He, Vegeta or Nappa was going to have to kill any survivors. But the time he caught up to her she was tearing through the rubble of a collapsed building, throwing massive chunks of stone behind her.
"What in the seven hells are you doing, woman?" Radditz snapped. Kishiro gave no answer, more concerned with finding the trapped person.
"Help me, damn it!" she cried as she flung more rocks in his direction.
"No!" Radditz snarled. Kishiro stopped digging and turned to gaze at him in shock.
"What?" she asked in disbelief. Radditz stared down at her scornfully.
"Are you a fool? We are not here to save lives; we're here to end them! Now stop this nonsense and come with me." Kishiro rose a bit unsteadily, when she spoke, her voice was quivering with rage.
"You bastard." She hissed. Radditz's eyes widened a bit and he took a step back. "How dare you be so callous? I'm a fool. How could someone as heartless as you possibly care for me?" Radditz scowled, how dare she?
"What?" he cried incredulously. "I can't believe I'm hearing this? What kind of Saiyan are you, and how could you say I don't care for you? Just because I don't give a shit about someone I don't know doesn't mean anything! What would make you think I don't care about you?" he bellowed, his face turning red with rage. Kishiro stared at him with wide eyes. He suddenly noticed that they were filled with unshed tears.
"Then why won't you help me?" she cried, her voice breaking.
"Because I can't!" he shouted, trying to ignore the tears flowing down her smooth cheeks. Kishiro reached down to grasp another boulder.
"Why not!?" she snapped. "Because Prince Vegeta will be angry." She spat sarcastically. Radditz felt his upper lip twitching; the damn woman had gone too far. He strode forward and grabbed her long, black hair, yanking her head back.
"No you fool!" he hissed. "It's all about Frieza! Everything we do is for Frieza! Everything you do is for him too, or have you forgotten?" Kishiro stared at him with wide, pain-filled eyes. Fresh tears began to spill down her cheeks. Radditz let her go and took off into the air.
Vegeta sighed as he felt his stomach growl. He blocked an incoming ki-sphere and tossed it aside with a flick of his wrist. He was getting hungry and he still had much to do. He had to admit, these cyborgs were more trouble then he'd imagined. They actually put up a decent fight and one had even managed to hurt him. He winced unconsciously as he thought of the deep gash in his side. The bleeding had stopped, but he was still surprised that on of the half-machines had actually broken through his defense and got a hit in. Worse yet, his armor had a large slice running across the side, which rubbed the wound uncomfortably, making concentration difficult. He grunted as a booted foot slammed into his mid-section.
"Damn it!" he curse and rose his ki-shied a fraction. The machine before him stared with a blank expression before charging forward with a cocked fist. He caught the fist in his hand and squeezed, grinning as he heard bones crunch and wires snap. Instead of the usual pain-filled expression Vegeta expected, the creature before him smirked and suddenly electricity raced up Vegeta's arm. With a pained cry he tried to pull free but the creature would not release him. Energy surged through his body, causing painful spasms. Vegeta gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out, but he still tried to extract himself from the iron grip. The creature before him cackled as it began to melt before him. He bit his lip t keep from screaming as the metal began to melt and drip on his hand. He pulled as hard as he could, ignoring the mind-numbing electricity and the pain in his hand. The creature hissed, trying to dig its metal claws into his palm. Vegeta snarled in fury and kicked it as hard as he could. The cyborg released his hand but stayed in the same position as Vegeta clutched his injured hand. It began to glow white and before Vegeta had time to back away there was a deafening explosion that flung him to the ground.
Nappa was having trouble. The damn cyborgs were surprisingly strong. So surprising was the fact that Nappa had nearly lost his arm, not to mention that half of what little hair he still had, had been burned to a crisp.
Apparently the cyborgs had gotten wind of his and Vegeta's attacks and were waiting for him. He cursed the metal and flesh creatures as he hurled another dead one to the ground.
"All right, who's next?" Several charged at once, he'd noticed that they preferred to attack in groups. Nappa, being accustomed to dealing with several fighters at once, dealt with them easily. But as soon as they were dead another pack replaced them. He delivered a sharp kick to the midsection of the nearest alien-machine, its entrails tearing under the force of the blow. Its eyes widened in pain, its expression clear; framed by fine cables of steel and silicon that covered the rest of its head and neck. It seemed that every inch of these beings' bodies was replaced by the amazing technology, save most of the head and trunk. It puzzled Nappa as to how creatures made of flesh; steel and silicon were able to move so quickly. He had to do something before he was overwhelmed.
"KAPPA!" he roared, a pure burst of chi shooting from his mouth, obliterating his opponents. * Finally. * he thought in relief. He dropped to the ground and began to gather energy. With a slow grin he brought two pointed fingers up and a huge wave of chi enveloped the rest of the city, totally obliterating it.
Radditz hissed in fury. * Damn woman. Why is she acting so crazy? She is supposed to be a Saiyan, but she doesn't act like one, that's for sure! * he flew as quickly as he could towards the Prince's location.
He didn't understand it. He'd liked Kishiro from the moment he'd met her. It was almost a year ago. He had just come from training with the Prince, and was pretty roughed up. He wasn't even paying attention as to where he was going; he just wanted to get to the infirmirary. That was when it happened. He bumped into something and heard a cry and the sound of glass shattering. He looked down to see Kishiro on her knees, picking up broken pieces of glass.
"Oh.." he mumbled, trying not to collapse at her feet. "Sorry." He heard her suddenly snarl in anger.
"Sorry?!" she yelled "This took three weeks to-" she glared up at him and her words caught in her throat as she saw Radditz nearly covered in his own blood. "Ohmigod!!" she cried, seeing him wobble. She dropped the broken glass and leapt to her feet, grabbing his shoulders as he pitched forward. If not for her races' great strength, she would never have been able to carry him to the infirmirary.
He saw her again the next day when he awoke in the regeneration tank. She was waiting for the tank to drain to speak to him. He blushed at his nakedness (for the first time in his life). Kishiro noticed and her pink cheeks turned deep red. She stepped out of the room to allow him time to dress before coming back in.
"Hey." She began, smiling lightly. "I was worried about you." Radditz lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Worried.. about him? He didn't even know her. He'd just bumped into her the day before if he recalled correctly. He had to admit though, she was attractive, even if her coloring was odd and she was a different race than he.
"Why?" he asked in confusion. She looked at him odd and replied:
"Because you were covered in blood! Why else?" she said. He smiled in spite of himself and she grinned back, her gold eyes flashing..
Radditz sighed. She wasn't a Saiyan even if she wore the appearance of one. She had the power; the scouter had read power level 4000. Which was all right. He shook his head in disgust. * Women are nothing but trouble! * Radditz thought as he flew towards his prince.
Vegeta plunged his burned and bleeding hand into the icy water of an old fountain in the center of the city. He gasped as the cold and the pain from the wound shot up his arm. His knees buckled and he crashed to the ground, his forehead striking the cold stone. His scouter blipped indicating an approaching ki. Vegeta pulled himself up and tried to control his ragged breathing. His hand began to shake violently and he crossed his arms over his chest, carefully cradling the damaged limb. Radditz dropped down in front of him and Vegeta snorted in anger. * What the hell is he doing here? * Vegeta wondered.
"Are you all right?" Radditz asked, seeing Vegeta cradling his arm. Vegeta turned away in fury.
"I'm fine!" he snapped. Radditz shrugged. He knew he was lying; he smelled blood and burnt flesh. He bit his lip and knew he was risking a pummeling by saying anything, but he had to try.
"My prince, I know you are injured. Please, just let me look at it." Vegeta turned with a snort and eyed him warily. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Vegeta lowered his gaze and held out his hand, palm up. Radditz stiffened in shock when he saw the wound.
"Holy shit!" he gaped. There was a hole in the center of his palm! He could actually see through it!
"Satisfied?" Vegeta snapped, wrenching from Radditz's grip.
"You should go back to the ship and get that taken care of." Radditz said. Vegeta looked at him as if he'd just said something unthinkable.
"Are you mad?" Vegeta cried. "Are you fucking insane? I will do no such thing! I'll be fine. NOW LEAVE!" he bellowed. Radditz turned and took off before Vegeta had time to turn and blast him.
Kishiro had just cleared away the last of the rubble when a tiny hand shot out of the debris and desperate wail made her ears ache.
"Mama! Mama!" the trapped child cried. Kishiro pulled the squirming toddler out of the wreckage, relieved to see that he was unhurt. Actually, she didn't know the child's sex. It could be either male or female. Its face was cherubic, tear-streaked and red. Kishiro gathered the wailing child into her arms and began to rock back and forth trying to comfort it.
Once the child had quieted, she had no idea what to do with it. She had never cared for a child before and didn't know what to do. She stood up and lifted the child to walk on its own.
"What is you name?" she asked, trying to determine the child's sex. Large pale blue eyes stared up at her.
"Ido." The child replied brushing back loose strands of pale hair. Upon closer inspection she could discern more boyish features, she sighed in relief.
"Come with me." She said, taking his hand and levitating off the ground.
Vegeta pushed the button on the side of his scouter. There was another large cluster of ki readings to the west. The pain from his hand had reduced to a dull throb, but he had to cover it with something so nothing got in the wound. He searched the destroyed area until he found a tattered shirt. He ripped a strip off and tied it around his hand with some difficulty. He finally got it after much swearing and kicking dust, and then shot into the air.
~~~~~*~~~~~~
Okay, it's not that much longer, but its okay. Anyway, I feel I should warn you all that I have to go back to school on Monday, so as if I wasn't slow enough all ready with coming out with chapters.. but I still have my days off and after work. I guess I'll just have to cram all the school work in before work ((sigh)). Oh well. I'll do my best to get this story done soon! (damn, I sounded like Goku!)
By: Kichi
AN: All characters in this story with the exception of Kishiro were created by Akira Toriyama and are being used without permission.
Vegeta and Nappa stared down at the sprawling city before them.
"What are we waiting for Vegeta?" Nappa asked, shifting back and forth anxiously. Vegeta gave him a sidelong glance and snorted.
"Calm yourself, Nappa. I'm just enjoying the calm before the storm." Nappa grinned at that. Vegeta chuckled quietly. "You take the northern half, I'll take the south."
"Okay!" Nappa yelled as he took off. Vegeta chuckled and shot straight down.
Radditz and Kishiro landed about two hours later near Vegeta's landing site. The city around them was totally destroyed.
"Eh, looks like they've been here." Kishiro sighed. She hated senseless killing. She knew that Saiyans purged planets, but it was just something she'd heard of. She had never actually witnessed it. Radditz wrapped his arm around her shoulders and levitated up to the edge of the impact crater.
The sight before them took her breath away. Buildings shattered, broken glass falling like melting icicles. Dark, thick smoke obscured the sun; the smell of burnt flesh filled her nostrils causing her eyes to water. Besides her Radditz gave a deep sigh of satisfaction, his mouth stretched into a wide grin. Kishiro covered her nose, grimacing in disgust.
"How can you enjoy such an awful smell? This place stinks of death!" she cried. Radditz turned to face her, his smile not wavering.
"True. But this smell always thrills a Saiyan. It is the smell of fighting, and triumph over the enemy." He said, turning back to gaze upon the carnage. Kishiro shook her head, she knew it would be a difficult transition; but she never imagined that the man at her side, who she'd secretly pined for for so long could be so cruel and revolting. She shuddered in his grasp. Radditz quirked an eyebrow as he felt the fine tremors race through his mates body. He glanced down at her and was surprised to see her covering her eyes. Immediately she could feel her sense of dread. He frowned and turned to face her and firmly grasped her shoulders.
"Are you all right?" he asked, his brow furrowed. Kishiro dropped her hands and gazed into his face. Her fear vanished as she noticed his concerned expression. She smiled briefly.
"I'm fine. I'm just getting used to my hyper-senses." She lied. Radditz frowned, not entirely believing her. He was about to speak when her head jerked to the side and she gazed off in the distance.
"What?" he asked. She frowned, concentrating.
"I hear cries." She began hesitantly. "Someone is crying... for help." before Radditz could utter a word she raced off towards the distressed sounds.
"What the hell?" Radditz murmured before going after her. What was she doing? Was she actually going to help this person? And why. He, Vegeta or Nappa was going to have to kill any survivors. But the time he caught up to her she was tearing through the rubble of a collapsed building, throwing massive chunks of stone behind her.
"What in the seven hells are you doing, woman?" Radditz snapped. Kishiro gave no answer, more concerned with finding the trapped person.
"Help me, damn it!" she cried as she flung more rocks in his direction.
"No!" Radditz snarled. Kishiro stopped digging and turned to gaze at him in shock.
"What?" she asked in disbelief. Radditz stared down at her scornfully.
"Are you a fool? We are not here to save lives; we're here to end them! Now stop this nonsense and come with me." Kishiro rose a bit unsteadily, when she spoke, her voice was quivering with rage.
"You bastard." She hissed. Radditz's eyes widened a bit and he took a step back. "How dare you be so callous? I'm a fool. How could someone as heartless as you possibly care for me?" Radditz scowled, how dare she?
"What?" he cried incredulously. "I can't believe I'm hearing this? What kind of Saiyan are you, and how could you say I don't care for you? Just because I don't give a shit about someone I don't know doesn't mean anything! What would make you think I don't care about you?" he bellowed, his face turning red with rage. Kishiro stared at him with wide eyes. He suddenly noticed that they were filled with unshed tears.
"Then why won't you help me?" she cried, her voice breaking.
"Because I can't!" he shouted, trying to ignore the tears flowing down her smooth cheeks. Kishiro reached down to grasp another boulder.
"Why not!?" she snapped. "Because Prince Vegeta will be angry." She spat sarcastically. Radditz felt his upper lip twitching; the damn woman had gone too far. He strode forward and grabbed her long, black hair, yanking her head back.
"No you fool!" he hissed. "It's all about Frieza! Everything we do is for Frieza! Everything you do is for him too, or have you forgotten?" Kishiro stared at him with wide, pain-filled eyes. Fresh tears began to spill down her cheeks. Radditz let her go and took off into the air.
Vegeta sighed as he felt his stomach growl. He blocked an incoming ki-sphere and tossed it aside with a flick of his wrist. He was getting hungry and he still had much to do. He had to admit, these cyborgs were more trouble then he'd imagined. They actually put up a decent fight and one had even managed to hurt him. He winced unconsciously as he thought of the deep gash in his side. The bleeding had stopped, but he was still surprised that on of the half-machines had actually broken through his defense and got a hit in. Worse yet, his armor had a large slice running across the side, which rubbed the wound uncomfortably, making concentration difficult. He grunted as a booted foot slammed into his mid-section.
"Damn it!" he curse and rose his ki-shied a fraction. The machine before him stared with a blank expression before charging forward with a cocked fist. He caught the fist in his hand and squeezed, grinning as he heard bones crunch and wires snap. Instead of the usual pain-filled expression Vegeta expected, the creature before him smirked and suddenly electricity raced up Vegeta's arm. With a pained cry he tried to pull free but the creature would not release him. Energy surged through his body, causing painful spasms. Vegeta gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out, but he still tried to extract himself from the iron grip. The creature before him cackled as it began to melt before him. He bit his lip t keep from screaming as the metal began to melt and drip on his hand. He pulled as hard as he could, ignoring the mind-numbing electricity and the pain in his hand. The creature hissed, trying to dig its metal claws into his palm. Vegeta snarled in fury and kicked it as hard as he could. The cyborg released his hand but stayed in the same position as Vegeta clutched his injured hand. It began to glow white and before Vegeta had time to back away there was a deafening explosion that flung him to the ground.
Nappa was having trouble. The damn cyborgs were surprisingly strong. So surprising was the fact that Nappa had nearly lost his arm, not to mention that half of what little hair he still had, had been burned to a crisp.
Apparently the cyborgs had gotten wind of his and Vegeta's attacks and were waiting for him. He cursed the metal and flesh creatures as he hurled another dead one to the ground.
"All right, who's next?" Several charged at once, he'd noticed that they preferred to attack in groups. Nappa, being accustomed to dealing with several fighters at once, dealt with them easily. But as soon as they were dead another pack replaced them. He delivered a sharp kick to the midsection of the nearest alien-machine, its entrails tearing under the force of the blow. Its eyes widened in pain, its expression clear; framed by fine cables of steel and silicon that covered the rest of its head and neck. It seemed that every inch of these beings' bodies was replaced by the amazing technology, save most of the head and trunk. It puzzled Nappa as to how creatures made of flesh; steel and silicon were able to move so quickly. He had to do something before he was overwhelmed.
"KAPPA!" he roared, a pure burst of chi shooting from his mouth, obliterating his opponents. * Finally. * he thought in relief. He dropped to the ground and began to gather energy. With a slow grin he brought two pointed fingers up and a huge wave of chi enveloped the rest of the city, totally obliterating it.
Radditz hissed in fury. * Damn woman. Why is she acting so crazy? She is supposed to be a Saiyan, but she doesn't act like one, that's for sure! * he flew as quickly as he could towards the Prince's location.
He didn't understand it. He'd liked Kishiro from the moment he'd met her. It was almost a year ago. He had just come from training with the Prince, and was pretty roughed up. He wasn't even paying attention as to where he was going; he just wanted to get to the infirmirary. That was when it happened. He bumped into something and heard a cry and the sound of glass shattering. He looked down to see Kishiro on her knees, picking up broken pieces of glass.
"Oh.." he mumbled, trying not to collapse at her feet. "Sorry." He heard her suddenly snarl in anger.
"Sorry?!" she yelled "This took three weeks to-" she glared up at him and her words caught in her throat as she saw Radditz nearly covered in his own blood. "Ohmigod!!" she cried, seeing him wobble. She dropped the broken glass and leapt to her feet, grabbing his shoulders as he pitched forward. If not for her races' great strength, she would never have been able to carry him to the infirmirary.
He saw her again the next day when he awoke in the regeneration tank. She was waiting for the tank to drain to speak to him. He blushed at his nakedness (for the first time in his life). Kishiro noticed and her pink cheeks turned deep red. She stepped out of the room to allow him time to dress before coming back in.
"Hey." She began, smiling lightly. "I was worried about you." Radditz lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Worried.. about him? He didn't even know her. He'd just bumped into her the day before if he recalled correctly. He had to admit though, she was attractive, even if her coloring was odd and she was a different race than he.
"Why?" he asked in confusion. She looked at him odd and replied:
"Because you were covered in blood! Why else?" she said. He smiled in spite of himself and she grinned back, her gold eyes flashing..
Radditz sighed. She wasn't a Saiyan even if she wore the appearance of one. She had the power; the scouter had read power level 4000. Which was all right. He shook his head in disgust. * Women are nothing but trouble! * Radditz thought as he flew towards his prince.
Vegeta plunged his burned and bleeding hand into the icy water of an old fountain in the center of the city. He gasped as the cold and the pain from the wound shot up his arm. His knees buckled and he crashed to the ground, his forehead striking the cold stone. His scouter blipped indicating an approaching ki. Vegeta pulled himself up and tried to control his ragged breathing. His hand began to shake violently and he crossed his arms over his chest, carefully cradling the damaged limb. Radditz dropped down in front of him and Vegeta snorted in anger. * What the hell is he doing here? * Vegeta wondered.
"Are you all right?" Radditz asked, seeing Vegeta cradling his arm. Vegeta turned away in fury.
"I'm fine!" he snapped. Radditz shrugged. He knew he was lying; he smelled blood and burnt flesh. He bit his lip and knew he was risking a pummeling by saying anything, but he had to try.
"My prince, I know you are injured. Please, just let me look at it." Vegeta turned with a snort and eyed him warily. They stared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity before Vegeta lowered his gaze and held out his hand, palm up. Radditz stiffened in shock when he saw the wound.
"Holy shit!" he gaped. There was a hole in the center of his palm! He could actually see through it!
"Satisfied?" Vegeta snapped, wrenching from Radditz's grip.
"You should go back to the ship and get that taken care of." Radditz said. Vegeta looked at him as if he'd just said something unthinkable.
"Are you mad?" Vegeta cried. "Are you fucking insane? I will do no such thing! I'll be fine. NOW LEAVE!" he bellowed. Radditz turned and took off before Vegeta had time to turn and blast him.
Kishiro had just cleared away the last of the rubble when a tiny hand shot out of the debris and desperate wail made her ears ache.
"Mama! Mama!" the trapped child cried. Kishiro pulled the squirming toddler out of the wreckage, relieved to see that he was unhurt. Actually, she didn't know the child's sex. It could be either male or female. Its face was cherubic, tear-streaked and red. Kishiro gathered the wailing child into her arms and began to rock back and forth trying to comfort it.
Once the child had quieted, she had no idea what to do with it. She had never cared for a child before and didn't know what to do. She stood up and lifted the child to walk on its own.
"What is you name?" she asked, trying to determine the child's sex. Large pale blue eyes stared up at her.
"Ido." The child replied brushing back loose strands of pale hair. Upon closer inspection she could discern more boyish features, she sighed in relief.
"Come with me." She said, taking his hand and levitating off the ground.
Vegeta pushed the button on the side of his scouter. There was another large cluster of ki readings to the west. The pain from his hand had reduced to a dull throb, but he had to cover it with something so nothing got in the wound. He searched the destroyed area until he found a tattered shirt. He ripped a strip off and tied it around his hand with some difficulty. He finally got it after much swearing and kicking dust, and then shot into the air.
~~~~~*~~~~~~
Okay, it's not that much longer, but its okay. Anyway, I feel I should warn you all that I have to go back to school on Monday, so as if I wasn't slow enough all ready with coming out with chapters.. but I still have my days off and after work. I guess I'll just have to cram all the school work in before work ((sigh)). Oh well. I'll do my best to get this story done soon! (damn, I sounded like Goku!)