Nameksei: Before Freezer
Chapter 7
By Cremrock
Neru searched frantically, looking like a disturbed insect as he darted through the air one way, stopped suddenly, and flew off in another direction. Somehow, in the past few hours, the ancient valley, where he had taught Dende how to fly earlier, had gone insane. Neru could still feel the humming around him, making it easier to control his ki, but it seemed to be having an adverse affect, making explosions of ki all over the place, which, while invisible, were confusing his senses in his hunt for Dende. He thought he sensed the child's ki to the east, but upon arriving it disappeared abruptly, and when Neru arrived he found nothing. He shouted then, his frustration and concern echoing throughout the valley.
"DENDE!"
He perked his ears up, hoping for a reply, but found none. The child wasn't anywhere in this section of the area, or he surely would have heard that. His vest fluttered around him as he hovered in mid-air and closed his eyes, trying to distinguish real ki from fake ki. Normally this was the sort of thing that would Neru would have tried to investigate, as the only other time the valley had done something like this was when he had made the mistake of training here years ago. It seemed the expenditure of large amounts of ki had made the place seem to "echo" with the power, confusing the senses. He had had an extremely difficult time finding his way back to the village that day, and he was worried Dende might be frightened and going through the same thing. He frowned.
"Assuming he's in this area at all, although I would have sensed his ki if he was anywhere else…"
Neru didn't want to tack on to the end of his thoughts, "Unless he's unconscious." Muuri was searching the village for Dende right now, and had said he would contact him telepathically if he found the child, but that didn't help him right now, and he had doubts that Dende was in the village, or the elder would surely have found him by now. True, the ability to fly would greatly protect Dende from much of the area's wildlife, but he was worried about the child's condition. What if he was still hurt, or woozy, or careless or… Neru shook his head. Worrying wasn't getting him anywhere, he had to keep searching!
He thought he felt Dende's ki a few minutes later, but it turned out to be yet another echo, although this one was smaller then the rest. Then it hit Neru as he thought of an idea. If the ki was echoing, then it would surely weaken as it got further away, so all he had to do was follow the weaker ki echoes up to the stronger ones, and with luck he would find Dende, assuming that the child's ki was causing this. He didn't know exactly why it might be causing it, as he had expended much more ki then Dende ever could while flying, but there was always a chance. The valley still held many mysteries. Shouting Dende's name again, Neru sensed a very weak ki and flew off in its direction, hoping that his hastily created plan would work.
Dende flew at top speed, the landscape below him a dizzying patchwork of blue and brown. Tears stung his eyes, but he kept flying, even though Karacol's scream continued to echo in his mind. He hated to see almost anyone in pain, and though he was worried Karacol was still mad at him he began to have second thoughts, realizing that the older Nameksei-jin had saved his life. Could it be that Karacol didn't really hate him? Dende didn't know, but in his young, three-year old mind a bond that had been severed began to open up again, as he found one brief thought enter his mind, before he remembered when he had last seen Karacol, being pummeled by those two awful monsters!
"Maybe he'd be fun to play with."
But that thought didn't matter, as he realized that it was no time to be thinking about playing. He had to find Neru, and… and… a dull throbbing began in Dende's head, and though he didn't realize it, it meant that his ki was weakening, in layman's terms, he was overextending himself. What normally followed that was a loss of senses, and usually exhaustion, followed by unconsciousness if it was kept up for too long after that. Dende continued flying, not realizing the danger of the situation. He tried to ignore the sensation of heaviness in his arms, legs, and eyelids, and kept flying. He had to find Neru.
Karacol dived away as a ki blast tore apart the ground he had been standing on. In front of him, the pink alien, Smetllack, hurled another ki blast, which sizzled by and missed Karacol by mere inches. In the corner of his eye, the smaller, purple alien was trying to maneuver behind him, whether to attack or grab him, Karacol didn't know. Their intent was obviously hostile anyway. He had been forced on the defensive nearly as soon as the battle had started, being outnumbered, and…
"Outclassed." Karacol thought bitterly. Part of the problem was his fighting style, and he now wished he had paid more attention to Neru when the older Nameksei-jin had tried to show him his own personal style. When sparring, Karacol had normally taken the offensive, relying on his finely practiced ki attacks and his speed to defeat his opponents before too much damage had been done. But against Neru, this fighting tactic had never succeeded, because, as Neru had explained, he used a combination of defense and offense in his fighting style. What Karacol would normally dodge, Neru might block and quickly retaliate with an attack of his own. Neru was much better at playing "mind games" and doing what was unexpected then he was. And it was why he was losing horribly. Any time he had tried rushing one of the aliens, trying to take the offensive, the other one had attacked and knocked him away. Persistence clearly was not going to prevail in this case, as he was already beginning to feel a good deal weaker then when the battle had begun. Fortunately he was still relatively unscathed, and he felt he could keep on dodging for quite awhile.
Another yellow-orange blast struck the ground in front of him, a cloud of smoke blinding him for the moment. About two seconds later two hands wrapped around his arms and chest, trying to squeeze the life out of him. Karacol struggled to get free, but couldn't and started fighting desperately even while the purple alien laughed in victory. A moment later his wide-mouthed laugh turned into a howl as Karacol rocked his head back and smashed the alien right in his open mouth, breaking one tooth in half and knocking another out. The grip immediately loosened as the alien clamped two appendages over it's mouth, giving Karacol one second as he whirled around and, with a satisfying CRACK, roundhouse kicked the purple alien across the jaw, who yelped as he flew back about ten feet and lie there, dazed. Karacol barely had time to acknowledge the small victory as a blur behind him materialized into the pink alien and a vicious two-handed blow to the back of his neck knocked him to his hands and knees, screaming in pain. Before he could react in retaliation the pink alien suddenly appeared in front of him and booted him with a savage kick to the chest, sending him flying through the air before crashing to the ground several yards away. The pink alien laughed and went to pull his ally up, believing Karacol to be unconscious.
Karacol felt like he was going to die, even though he knew his injuries probably weren't as bad as they felt. He had landed on his left shoulder hard, and it was probably dislocated. His chest felt as if it was on fire, and considering the sharp crackle he had heard as the alien's last blow had connected, he figured that some of his ribs were broken. He wanted nothing more than to lie down and forget the world, but he knew that if he did that he would die, because these aliens were obviously merciless. Willing his tired, aching body to its feet, he glared in the alien's directions, which stood about twenty yards away. The pink alien laughed upon spying Karacol's battered form. Then he grinned, showing most of his teeth.
"Since you're going to die, weakling, you might want to know the names of the people who will spell the end of your race! I'm Smetllack, and this fellow that you busted up over here is called Ideo." Ideo glared at Karacol but said nothing, still cradling his wounded mouth. Karacol grit his teeth, hoping the aliens would continue speaking for a moment, because he knew this was going to hurt. He grabbed his left arm with his right, and in one sharp pushing motion, jammed it back into place, screaming in pain despite his precautions. A moment later he windmilled it around in a circle and frowned. It still hurt more then anything he had ever experienced, but at least it would move again. The aliens seemed sure of themselves; maybe he could buy himself more time.
"What are you doing on this planet?" Karacol demanded, raising his hands to ward off an attack he knew would be coming soon. "What do you want?" The pink alien, Smetllack, grinned.
"We're here to kill your people, take your technology, and get off this horrid planet of yours. Satisfied?" Karacol's eyes narrowed as a gentle wind swept around the combatants, sending dust everywhere. Karacol had one last card to play, perhaps the aliens could be reasoned with. He was not acting out of cowardice, only trying to see if there was any way to avoid further bloodshed.
"Maybe we can come to an agreement. We are a peaceful race." The pink alien grinned and nodded, and for a moment Karacol thought he might be swayed.
"You'd have to be a peaceful race, as weak a fighter as you are. It's good, because me and my companion are tired. It'll be nice having an easy race to," His face grew into more of a sneer as his voice escalated into a much louder tone, almost a shout. "DESTROY!" And with that, he leapt at Karacol with blinding speed. Karacol dived to the left, cursing himself for letting his guard drop that crucial instant. Before he could roll away and leap to his feet, the being called Smetllack was upon him again, trying to strangle him as two hands wrapped around his throat, choking the Nameksei-jin. Smetllack grinned, watching Karacol make a hollow throated, gasping sound, trying desperately to get some air. Karacol tried desperately to use his eye-lasers again, but Smetllack craned his neck to the side, avoiding them as he laughed.
"Oh no. That won't work again! Now you're going to die!" And he put more pressure on Karacol's neck, knowing that in a moment it would likely shatter from the stress. Karacol had only one thing left to try, as he braced his hands against the ground and expelled as much ki as he could out of them, tearing the ground below him apart and catapulting both alien and Nameksei-jin into the sky. Not pinned to the ground anymore as Smetllack's face contorted in surprise, Karacol grabbed one massive pink arm with his two weakening hands, and pulled, pivoting in mid-air and hearing a surprised snarl as he hurled the massive alien back to the ground with all his might.
Karacol felt light-headed, but he knew he had to finish the battle there, or he might never win. Taking a calculated risk, he dived down at the stunned alien with his fists outstretched, relying on his own power and the momentum of his fall in hopes that he would be able to drive his hands through the alien's chest. He didn't even get halfway when a bluish ki blast ripped through the ignored Ideo's hands and exploded in his face, altering his trajectory and sending him flying into a nearby cliff.
Ideo grinned as he watched the green alien emerge, half of his face was charred black, one eye burned shut, and purple blood streaming from many wounds where the rock had cut him. And his foe still wouldn't quit, easing himself to the ground, and raising his hands again, even though he was off-balance. For a moment, Ideo registered a small inkling of respect for the foe, because a lesser enemy would have remained inside the cliff, nursing their wounds. He clicked his scouter's communicator on so he could whisper to Smetllack, who was staggering to his feet.
"Sir," He barked, "Let's double-team him! I think we can finish him off if we work together!" A harsh voice replied,
"If you'd give me a second, I would finish him! His power level is a lot lower then mine now, I just checked it. Still, we can't waste all our power playing with this gnat. On the count of three we'll charge him! One… two…"
On the count of three, the aliens charged, and Karacol realized that this time, he would not be able to delay the inevitable, now that the two were working as a team. Surprisingly he found himself okay with the fact that, without any assistance, this next series of attacks was probably going to kill him. He clenched his fists, resolving to depart this plain of existence inflicting as much pain as possible.
Neru sensed the next ki echo, and soared off to the right. He was going roughly east, but he had to keep altering his flight slightly to follow the larger ki's, that likely meant Dende was on the move. Still, the ki was getting very close to Dende's level of ability, so he found it likely that he would run into the child in the next few moments. That was when a green blur crashed into his side, as he gasped in surprise and brought his fist up instinctively, about to punch whatever was attacking him. With a start, he recognized almost too late the tear filled, tiny child face of Dende, and his fist stopped mere centimeters in front of his brother's eyes. What surprised Neru was that Dende wasn't happy to have found his favorite grown-up, but that the child WAS crying, which instantly put Neru on alert. Dende sobbed, speaking so quickly that his voice was almost a blur.
"Neruyouhavetohurryorelsehe'lldie!" Neru could scarcely understand what the child was saying, as Dende was obviously very upset. He grabbed the child and held him up to his face, only recognizing a few words, but they were big ones, hurry and die. He found himself grinning though.
"Whoa! Slow down, Dende! What's going on?" Dende demeanor didn't change at the adult's showing of happiness, and that was when Neru started to truly worry. He had initially thought Dende was crying because he hadn't been able to find his way back to the village, but…
"Neru, you gotta hurry! There's two monsters nearby and they tried to hurt me!"
"What?!" Neru exclaimed, "Where are these monsters? How'd you get away? Are you okay?" Dende nodded his head sadly in response to the next question. That was when Neru had yet another shock for the day. Dende sniffled, recalling the painful thoughts from a scant few minutes ago.
"He… he… was squeezing me, I couldn't breathe! "But then Kar-Kar came out of nowhere and saved me! And now they're… I don't know!" Dende sobbed. "He told me to run away!" Neru nodded. Clearly, there wasn't a moment to lose. Neru pointed to some mountains in the distance.
"Dende, listen carefully. You see those mountains? The village is right over them. Tell me where these monsters are, and then go there, okay?" Dende looked into Neru's eyes.
"But Neru… what if something happens to you too?" Neru smiled.
"Nothing's gonna happen to me, now we have to hurry or else Kar-Kar," Neru looked uncomfortable as he pronounced Karacol's nickname, "Might not be around when I get there!" Dende sniffled and nodded, jabbing one tiny finger to the far horizon.
"That's where they are, Neru!" He exclaimed. Neru nodded, and soared off in that direction, flying as fast as he possibly could. He wasn't sure what was going on, but if there were monsters attacking Nameksei-jin, it was his job to investigate. Not to mention that he was concerned for Karacol's life, most of the animosity he had with the younger Nameksei-jin had vanished, now that he realized everything he had done to Dende was a complete accident. Steeling himself for what he might see, he mentally prepared himself for battle.
Dende watched Neru fly off, and after a moment, he followed. He didn't want to disobey Neru's orders, but he was concerned for his friend and wanted to follow. Maybe he could help! The child had no idea his life was going to be in jeopardy, yet again…
They attacked, with ki shimmering all around them, and this time Karacol knew he wasn't going to get out of the way. Two large fists cracked against his jaw and temple, while two others smashed into his abdomen, knocking the wind out of him. He scarcely felt the next blow, stunned as he was, as a massive uppercut smashed against him when he bent down after the hit to his abdomen. He was only half-conscious, just struggling to fight back in anyway he could as he flew up into the air. A moment later the blurred form of Smetllack appeared above him and drove a fist into Karacol's chest, sending him crashing back down to the ground. He hit the ground hard.
Blood streamed from several gashes, and Karacol wasn't even sure he could move now. But he had to try. He managed to stagger upwards into a kneeling position, despite the sharp pain that he felt in his left knee. He gritted his teeth. It was definitely broken. There would be no more kicking with that leg. He stood up, his legs wobbling, and his eyes widened with shock as he realized that neither of the two aliens was in sight. He didn't even see the energy attack that slammed into him from behind, but he sure felt it, as it burned his back to a charred crisp, he wailed, getting knocked back to the ground, every nerve in his entire body exploding with pain. He had a moment to reflect then that he was very lucky. Normally a blast with the intensity he had felt would have gone clean through him, and death would have soon followed. He tried to rise again when a massive hand grabbed him by the back, purposely squeezing it, making the ruined flesh crackle, pop, and tear. The pain was unbearable, and Karacol screamed again and again, unable to talk, drowning out the thunderous chuckles from Smetllack, his torturer, who was enjoying watching his opponent suffer.
Hot, purple blood ran from Karacol's destroyed back, oozing over Smetllack's hand. To anyone else, even his partner Ideo, the screams coming from the dying Nameksei-jin were horrible. But they were music to his ears. He was glad that his foe was so tough, because it meant he could listen some more. He flipped the being around, making sure to provide just as much pressure on the creature's back, raising him so that their eyes locked. He grinned, reveling in the look, as he had a million times in the past. This being was in so much pain that it wanted nothing more then to die, and die it would. But… He laughed harshly. Not a quick and easy death. Those screams were just too tantalizing. He'd give him another five minutes at least. He was so wrapped up in the sheer joy of torturing and tormenting what little of this being's existence remained that he didn't even hear the Nameksei-jin battle cry. What he did notice was a large, purplish blur fly over his right shoulder and smash into the nearby rock face, before bouncing off and landing facedown on the blue grass. That was when he realized that, amazingly enough, the screams of his victim had stopped. He looked at the being he was crushing and caught a small, barely noticeable grin through blackened flesh and purple blood. His eyes widened.
"What are you so happy abo-" He gasped in mid-sentence as something very hard struck him in the back of the head, causing him to drop Karacol and tumble forward, rolling a few feet before stopping.
Karacol glanced up at Neru from his prone position on the ground, his teeth clenched. He was obviously doing his best to keep from screaming again, or perhaps he was so far gone that he just didn't have the strength. Neru peered down at him, his face wearing a stern expression.
"Are you okay, brother?" He quipped. Karacol winced as pain shot through his back for a moment, then nodded, his sense of humor showing through, despite the wretchedness of his situation. When he did gather up the energy to speak, his voice was hoarse, and very, very weak.
"I… thought you were going… to kill me?" He gasped, but the tinge of humor in his voice was still there. Neru grinned for a brief moment.
"I think you've done a good enough job of that yourself. Who are these people, anyways?" Karacol groaned then spoke again, and for a moment Neru worried that despite his efforts, the younger Nameksei-jin was going to die anyways.
"I don't know," Karacol winced, shuddering, and then continued. "They said they were here to… to kill all of us…" Neru's eyes widened, as he glanced up at the pink alien struggling to stand up. He tensed. That was all he needed to hear, and given Karacol's current state of health, they definitely weren't going to want to talk things over. The pink alien approached, and stared at Neru, his pupils bulging.
"How dare you hit me from behind! I'm gonna kill you slowly for that!" He rasped. Neru glared at him.
"Leave this planet now, and never come back." He said sternly. Smetllack laughed, and clenched his fists.
"Is everyone on this planet as cowardly as you? Your charred friend over there tried to talk things over and look where it got him! You're just lucky because you hit me from behind, that's all. In a moment I'll be listening to both of your dying screams. It'll be a duet!" Neru reached over his shoulder and tossed his long dark vest off with a single flick of his wrist.
"This is your last chance to leave this planet without getting harmed." Neru admonished. Smetllack smiled.
"This is your last chance to put that hand of yours to your own neck and snap it, so you can spare yourself the agony I'm going to put you through." Smetllack said ominously. Neru glanced down at Karacol, whose eyes were half-closed, his breathing becoming shallower by the minute.
"Hang on, Karacol," He whispered gravely, "I'll finish this quickly."
Smetllack made the first move, charging at Neru, attempting to crush the Nameksei-jin warrior under the bulk of his weight, hoping to end the fight before it had barely begun. Neru jerked to the left and dodged a blow that would surely had been strong enough to crack open his skull. His opponent was strong, but he knew that he was much stronger. He couldn't just sense it, he knew it, and finally after all of his training, the day he knew would one day come had arrived. Something was threatening Nameksei, and the beings had already defeated Karacol. If he lost, then the Saichoro, Muuri, Dende… everyone would die, and he simply wouldn't let that happen. This simple fact alone motivated him to fight as hard as he could, and he did, dodging two more incredibly powerful blows, watching for the opening he knew his opponent was going to leave. A moment later, Smetllack made the mistake of not focusing completely on the fight.
"Hold still, runt! I can't kill what I can't catch! You can't even hurt me if you run away!" Neru grinned so slightly that Smetllack couldn't see it, darting under one massive pink arm and punching the alien so hard that his chest armor cracked, stunning the alien, but only for a moment. Neru kicked the monster hard between the legs (Ouch) sending him flying up in the air, and then he blurred out of the spot he had been standing in and appeared above the surprised alien, who was totally off-guard now. A moment later he locked his legs together and planted them both squarely in the alien's back with tremendous force, sending him screaming and crashing back to the ground, hitting so hard he created a rounded, fairly large crater. Neru hovered above it, scowling. A moment later the ground exploded outwards as Smetllack rocketed into the air, minor cuts and gashes all over his face, some bleeding slightly. He spat out a clout of blood and then stared at Neru, who was unscathed. The Nameksei-jin wasn't smiling or showing any sign of victory. Instead, he crossed his arms and frowned.
Neru's calm demeanor aggravated him, and feeling his rage begin to intensify, Smetllack charged again. Neru screamed and ripped through the air himself, as the two clashed head on. Smetllack landed a few punches on Neru, but Neru was used to punishment. Smetllack changed his strategy and lunged for Neru's neck, trying to strangle him in what was obviously his preferred method of attack, but Neru brought his knee up hard, smashing it into Smetllack's chest again, and this time the armor shattered, as pieces of the material fell to the ground. The armor had helped block some of Neru's blows before, but with it gone, Neru saw his foe's weak point, and slammed a fist into his chest before chopping the monster in the neck and tossing him to the ground. This time, Smetllack did not rise, only lying prone and moaning weakly. A moment later there was a terrified shriek, and then Neru spied the other alien dashing for his spaceship. He smiled inwardly, glad he wasn't going to have to harm the other alien.
Ideo charged through the battered remains of the ship, terrified beyond belief. He had been glad to see the braggart Smetllack get taken down, but now he was worried that the huge green alien was going to hurt him too! He already had his plan in mind, he would leave this accursed planet, and hope that the ship's damaged engines would be enough to get him to one of master Freezer's planets. He sighed. At least he had managed to refill the oxygen tanks during their short tenure on this planet. He finally came across the bridge, scrambled into a chair, and pushed several buttons, pleased that he was alive and was going to escape from the place.
Neru landed next to Karacol and watched in disbelief as the huge metal structure, which Neru assumed was what the aliens had arrived in, flew into the sky with a thunderous roar. It began twirling around, several yellow and purple lights began blinking, and then in the blink of an eye, it was gone, flying away from Nameksei with incredible speed. Neru glanced down at Karacol, and reached down and pulled his wounded body to it's feet, smiling slightly. Karacol stared at him.
"I'm sorry Neru." Neru quirked an eye ridge, wondering what his wounded brother was talking about.
"What?"
"I'm sorry I pulled that prank and hurt Dende…" Karacol said forlornly, with a twinge of sadness in his voice. Neru shook his head.
"Don't worry about that now, it's in the past. Besides, Dende told me you saved him from that alien. I overreacted and let my emotions control me when I told you I wanted to kill you," Neru chuckled. "Hope you didn't take it too personally." Karacol grinned.
"Neru! Neru!" Karacol and Neru turned their heads and saw Dende scrambling towards them, grinning. The Nameksei-jin boy stopped about five feet away and glanced around, surveying the crater, noticeable lack of the alien spaceship, and the fallen Smetllack, who was still lying about ten yards away from him. He sighed. "Well, I guess you didn't need my help…" Dende's eyes went wide as he spied Karacol's wretched condition.
"Waaah! Karacol! Are you okay!" Karacol smiled weakly, trying to make a joke, and genuinely surprised that Dende was concerned for him. He managed to get to his feet and stagger a few steps closer towards the brightly smiling child.
"Yeah, never felt better. The important thing is, are you okay?" Dende grinned and nodded his head. That was when the unthinkable happened, as a grunt from the fallen Smetllack occurred, and he got on his hands and knees with incredible speed. From that moment on, as traumatizing, intense moments often do, the world seemed to slow down for Karacol, as he saw the critically wounded alien smile through a blood filled mouth, and point a single finger at Dende. Neru, caught off guard, didn't have time to react, and Dende screamed, startled by the alien's sudden movement. He felt his own eyes grow wide with shock, as Smetllack seemed to glow, and a small yet deadly ki bolt lanced towards the child. Karacol's body hurt as he twisted awkwardly, his mouth wide open in an expression of horror that conveyed some determination, as one thought rippled through his pain-filled mind.
"I won't let him hurt you!"
With a catastrophic effort, Karacol summoned what little energy he had and pushed off the ground with both his feet, ignoring the sharp crack of his wounded knee shattering into several smaller pieces. Dende threw his hands up over his eyes as a blinding flash and a pain-filled scream filled Neru's eyes and ears. A moment after that, smoke billowed around where the ki blast had struck, and Neru couldn't see.
He screamed then, a scream of pure rage, as his ki shot up almost unintentionally. What happened next was both fully intentional and, in an evil way, fully satisfying, as Neru turned his open right palm towards Smetllack and extended his ki into an incredible wave of energy that was unfocused yet insanely powerful, making an eardrum-shattering high pitched screech that continued for several seconds. When Neru finally relaxed, releasing the power, all that remained of Smetllack was a smoking black hole in the ground. He struggled to contain his rage then, and gazed up at the sky. He had done it. Nameksei was safe, for now. But then he turned back to the billowy smoke behind him, and his heart raced with fear..
He could only gaze at the smoke in shocked silence, mouth wide open, silently mouthing a single word multiple times,
"No… no! Dende?! Karacol?!" He cried urgently. A moment later he heard a high pitched wail, and his antennae perked up. Only a living being could make that kind of sound, but he still couldn't see through the smoke… mercifully, a breeze blew away, and as it cleared he spotted Dende, rubbing his eyes and crying, although he appeared to be unhurt.
Neru glanced down and saw the most pitiful sight he had ever seen, and he recoiled in horror, even as Dende continued sobbing. Lying there, with one leg completely burned off, the other was twisted at an angle so acute it could only mean it was broken at the knee. It was attached to a badly beaten Nameksei-jin, if the body could even be called that. The arms were badly burned, and a scorched, 4 inch wide ragged hole perforated most of his chest. His face was the worst, with one eye actually BURNED shut. A six-inch gash marked the Nameksei-jin's forehead, and his face was literally bathed in blood. Adding to this were a number of minor cuts and gashes that gave him a very haggard appearance. Dende glanced up at him through tear filled eyes, as they both stood over Karacol.
"You… you can fix him, can't you Neru? Someone can help him… right?" Dende stammered. Neru said nothing as a pang of emotion rippled through him. Karacol had goofed before, and had caused both he and Dende grief, but… he had sacrificed himself not once, but twice for Dende. He felt his strength go out of his legs as he fell to his knees at Karacol's side. He pounded the ground in anger.
"Curse my strength! I shouldn't have let my guard down! And now… look at it." Dende's eyes widened as he looked up, but Neru wasn't speaking to him. He wasn't speaking to anyone actually, just letting his voice pass through the empty, burnt smelling air. "It should have been me! DAMN IT, (There it is folks, the one swear word in the story! I'm so proud of me! And not one reference to pissing off the god of- D'oh!) IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MEEEEEEE!" Neru's voice got hollow as he bowed his head down, surveying his brother again. "Now you're dead, Karacol. And it's my entire fault, this time. You always played pranks, but this was real… and I failed. You're not the failure, you did everything you could, you saved Dende, you held those aliens off… I'll admit, I treated you harshly, but… in the end, you proved me wrong. You didn't kill Dende, you… you… saved him. You're… you're a much better Nameksei-jin then me… rest… rest we-" Overcome by emotion by now, Neru's voice trailed off. Then a hoarse, ragged sound rang in both Dende and Neru's ears, as Neru's tear filled eyes shot open. A mouth, a mere line covered by a smattering of purple blood, inched upwards ever so slightly.
"I… I… never knew you… cared… brother." Karacol whispered, his chuckle sounding more like a ragged cough. Neru glanced up at Dende, as suddenly both child and warrior hugged Karacol. Then Neru quickly let go of him, antennae inching up above his eyes in shock.
"You… you… YOU WERE FAKING IT! YOU SON OF A…" Karacol somehow found the strength to reach one charred hand up and slam it in front of Neru's mouth.
"Neru… not in front of the kid." Neru glared, and lightly pushed Karacol's arm away. He stood up and grinned, even as Dende continued to hang onto Karacol. He picked up the Karacol and slung him over his shoulder, even while Karacol winced. Neru glanced at Dende, who was holding Karacol's hand, despite the wounded Nameksei-jin's position. Karacol had slumped back into unconsciousness.
"C'mon Dende. It's time to go home."
In a moment, the trio had already vanished on the horizon, heading for Muuri's village.
It's not over yet, folks! Just one more chapter to go! Thanks to Tomo and Dendeshe for some much appreciated feedback! ~Cremrock