Destined by Icion

by Jeisre Ice

Icion Saga begin... On the outskirts of the Galaxy lies the lonely Planet Icion, where Frieza heads to visit his imprisoned mother Icia. But upon his arrival he finds Icia slayed by the mysterious assassins. The only person who survived the massacre is

2. Destined by Icion: Part 2

Destined by Icion
By Jeisre Ice

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Part 2: And There Were Warriors...

"All hail Lord Frieza!"

A unanimous shout came from the soldiers lined up on the landing field. Each saluted.

An impressive site: more than 3 thousand men, each loyal like a dog. Deirdre smirked as she watched from the window of the ship. Frieza stepped down on the boarding bridge. Well, hovered down, that is. He was using his little anti-gravity pod, quite an annoying device, which was just a waste of room, Deirdre thought. Another thing that annoyed her was Frieza's 1^st form: she didn't like it, maybe because it wasn't his true look. But who was she to have a say in the matter...

Another shout thundered in the air.

"Hail Frieza!!!"

The Emperor of Rome! Deirdre giggled to herself. The whole idea of 'working' for the tyrant was for some reason... funny. She wasn't sure why, but she was confident there was a purpose, the fate has brought her in the viper's nest to carry out a mission. What was the mission, she did not know yet.

Deirdre glanced at the lines of soldiers. Frieza told her to remain inside the ship until he makes all necessary preparations for the 'test'. He didn't say what the test was going to be, but she already knew. Somehow she got a glimpse of his thoughts, she wasn't sure how, but she knew she could do it again if she needed.

Her test was right before her eyes. Five men, standing separately from the rest of the soldiers. Their appearance was weird, maybe even comical, but behind this deceitfully goofy facade the greatest power of Frieza's army was hidden. These five men were the elite fighters of the Universe, The Ginyu Force. And her test was to fight them, one by one, until one of them defeated her... or she defeated all of them.

Deirdre sighed. This wasn't really necessary, but Frieza obviously wasn't going to believe her, until he sees the true extent of her power himself. Well, if it's a show he wants, a show he will get! Deirdre smirked again. She's done her homework: she has thoroughly studied all the available data in the ship's main computer, anything that had a "Ginyu Force" tag name on it. She studied her opponents in detail: style, techniques, strengths, weaknesses... especially the weaknesses. She knew where she stood.

A cheer sounded from the outside. Deirdre listened.

"... And so my intent is to test my new recruit," Frieza was finishing his speech, "For this job I have chosen my strongest men, the Ginyu Force."

The five men stepped forward and saluted Frieza.

"You will stay here, gentlemen," Frieza addressed his elite fighters, "The rest of you move to the sides! I want to see a ring-size clearing... now!"

The soldiers scattered. The next moment the battle field was cleared, while the soldiers became the spectators, eager to watch the fight of the decade. Not often did they get a free entertainment of such an epic proportion. Some spectators even started to make bets.

"Good," Frieza nodded, satisfied with the size of the ring, "Now, my dear Ginyu Force, I want a one on one battle, so establish a queue, would you."

"Est... qu... what???" Captain Ginyu stared, scratching the back of his head. His vocabulary had never included such complex words.

Frieza rolled his eyes.

"Sort out who goes first! Numb-skull!" he snarled at the Captain.

"Oh... right!" Ginyu nodded and turned to his team.

What happened next made Deirdre roll on the floor with laughter. The five elite warriors began throwing their hands forward, repeating the words of a children's game,

"Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors!! Rock, paper, scissors!!!"

A few muted laughs came from the crowd. Zarbon, who was standing behind Frieza, chuckled, covering his mouth. Frieza maintained his imperturbable expression, but a good eye could clearly see his cheeks blushing with a light pink color. Indeed this was embarrassing!

In about a minute the Ginyu Force finished distributing turns. As usual Captain Ginyu has taken the leading role, and was intending to go first.

Frieza was about to start the test, but suddenly Zarbon leaned down and whispered something to his master. Frieza became thoughtful.

"You're right, Zarbon," he said a moment later, "It it's not going to be any fun if Ginyu just finishes the fight before it even starts... Hmm... I think I'll re-arrange your order, gentlemen. You will battle in the order from the lowest power level to the highest. That's going to give us an idea of progression."

The Ginyu Force pouted, but re-arranged their alignment according to Frieza's wish. First up was a short chubby four-eyed alien, who had a remarkable resemblance with a frog.

Guldo stepped into the ring, stretching his hands as he walked.

Frieza smirked.

"And now your opponent," he announced, "A new recruit of my elite army, Deirdre!"

That was her cue. Slowly, she walked out of the darkness of the ship's main hatch. The whole army gasped in unison. Feeling her power over the crowd, Deirdre continued down the loading bridge, giving everyone a chance to have a good look at her.

"WOWZERS!!!" a certain red-faced member of the Ginyu Force goggled at what he thought was a dream, "WHAT-A KNOCK OUT!!! Tell me I'm NOT dreaming!!! Somebody pinch me!"

A kick followed.

"Ouch! I asked f'r a PINCH!" Jeice pouted.

"Shut up, Jeice!" Ginyu hissed, "One more word out of you and I'm gonna bury you alive! Every time you see a pretty face you start to drool!"

Burter chuckled,

"Provided that the pretty face is attached to a cute butt!"

"Keep asking, and ye'll get it, Burter!!!" Jeice hissed at his teammate.

"Shut up, both of you!" Captain Ginyu growled, "The next one to open his mouth will be off the team! Any questions?!"

The two just silently shook their heads in reply, the threat had a definite effect.

Meanwhile Deirdre reached the ground and approached Frieza.

"I am ready for the test, Lord Frieza," she said. Her voice was casual, as if she asking what time it was.

"You may begin whenever you're ready," Frieza made a waving gesture with his hand, "I have decided to determine your rank in my army according to your progress in the test. The more of them you beat the higher your rank will be, understood?"

"Yes, sir," she smiled and slightly bowed. However, she did not follow the usual etiquette that all soldiers had to obey: she didn't lower on one knee. Most of those present thought that this was the end of the "insolent girl", but to everyone's dismay Frieza didn't even pay attention to this disrespect. The fact puzzled the army.

Deirdre walked to the ring. When passing Zarbon she heard a quiet whisper.

"Good luck, Deirdre."

Surprised she slightly turned her head to him.

"Thanks... Zarbon," she whispered back and proceeded inside the ring.

Guldo smirked as he watched her approach. A sight of a fragile woman made him confident that he will gain swift victory. He even decided to mock his 'joke of an opponent'.

"I don't usually battle GIRLS," he gurgled, "But for you I'll make an exception... And don't think I'll go easy on you, just cos you have boobs!"

Deirdre assumed a battle pose and returned a venomous grin.

"I don't usually punish FROGS for being rude, but for you I'll make an exception... And don't think I'll go easy on you just cos you have an appendage instead of a normal dick!"

The crowd burst out laughing at that superb "kick below the belt". Deirdre obviously had a sharp tongue. Even Frieza's lips stretched into a smile.

Guldo turned purple with rage. The comment was even more humiliating, because largely... it was true...

"You're gonna SO pay for this!!!" he glared at Deirdre.

She only smirked in reply.

"You may begin," Frieza's voice sounded, "Whoever remains standing is the winner."

"And that's gonna be me!" Guldo growled, "I'll know your every move before you even make it, because I can... WHAT THE HECK?!?!"

Guldo froze, startled. He intended to read Deirdre's mind, but... failed. His attempts to glance at her thoughts ran into an unbreakable wall.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!" the frog-like alien cussed again, "That's a mind barrier! How..."

Deirdre stared Guldo in the eyes, paralyzing him.

"Game over, frogy!" she grinned evilly and faded.

Before Guldo could assess the situation, she reappeared behind his back and elbowed him on the neck. Guldo rolled, like a beach ball rolls over the sand dunes, and remained laying, face down, not moving.

A simultaneous gasp came from the audience. No one expected the battle to end even before it actually begun. Only Frieza and Zarbon weren't surprised.

"Just as I expected," the tyrant nodded to his henchman, "His power level wasn't a challenge for her. Although I hoped that his time manipulation would slow her down a bit, but it seems that our little Saiyan has done her homework. Using the element of surprise together with speed... Smart, move, don't you think so, Zarbon?"

"Indeed, sir."

"Finish him off and proceed," Frieza called to Deirdre.

To everyone's dismay Deirdre dared to argue,

"Killing him would be a waste. Why do you want to waste valuable fighters for no good reason? I may replace one of them, but what if I put down the whole team?"

That comment caused a new burst of laughter from the crowd and the remaining Ginyu Force. Even the thought of a puny Saiyan defeating all the elite fighters was ridiculous! But Frieza frowned at Deidre's words.

"That's a valid point," he agreed, "Somebody get him out of the ring. While you proceed with your next fight."

Recoome entered up to the ring. Immediately the soldiers commenced into furious ordeal of making bets. Most of the bets were made on Recoome, of course. However, there were a couple of brave-hearts who dared to bet on Deirdre. One was a short man with his black hair rising up like a flame. Astonished, he watched Deirdre, recognizing the blood of his race.

"Nice move you did there on Guldo!" Recoome gave Deirdre an ugly smile, "But it's not gonna work on me! He-he-he! I won't be so careless. Now, it's time to show you what the Ginyu Force is really made of! I'M RECOOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The bulky android proceeded with the usual Ginyu Force protocol: he performed a series of movements, that applied more to a bird courtship dancing, than a pre-battle stretch.

Deirdre tried to maintain a serious expression, but couldn't help chuckling.

"Are you actually here to fight or to give me a ballet lesson?" she inquired.

Recoome froze, speechless from such an insult. The rest of the Ginyu Force reacted the same way. Captain Ginyu was first to recover.

"WHAT?!?! SHE DARES LAUGH AT OUR STYLE?!?! WHY I'M GONNA..."

"Settle down, Captain," Frieza's voice stopped Ginyu, who was about to plunge at Deirdre, "You'll have your turn..."

"But..."

"I SAID: settle down!"

Ginyu was forced to obey. Defying Frieza was harmful for one's health.

Meanwhile in the ring, Recoome continued to blankly stare at Deirdre.

"Well, are you gonna fight, or do you wanna give up right now?" the Saiyan finally asked, getting irritated by the long wait.

"WHAT?!" Recoome snapped out of his surprise, "You'll regret those words, when I pound you so hard it's gonna make your ancestors dizzy!!!"

Without further ado, Recoome plunged at Deirdre. His fist ripped through the air and... met an empty spot. Deirdre faded and reappeared behind Recoome.

"Behind you," she casually informed the astounded android.

He growled and sent another punch her way. Again the punch didn't find its target.

"Now above you," Deirdre's voice cleared Recoome on where she had moved to.

Getting annoyed (lightly put), Recoome roared and started punching and kicking in all directions, hoping that at least one of the hits will land on Deirdre. Yet she dodge every one of them.

"Right, left, back, above, front, left... Good!" she mocked the bulky Ginyu Force.

In about a minute of this game of cat and mouse (Deirdre being a cat and toying with Recoome), she faded and reappeared at some distance, as if inviting an energy attack. Recoome immediately accepted the "offer".

"RECOOME BREATH BLAST!!!"

A huge force of the energy shook the air around. The blast was heading straight to Deirdre. She let it at the distance of the extended arm and then leaned forward and blew, as if she was blowing out candles on a cake. The blast made a sharp curve and disappeared in the sky. A gasp of astonishment followed. Deirdre used Recoome's momentarily confusion and faded again. The next moment she was standing a foot away from him.

"And now right under your nose!" she said and delivered a hard kick right into Recoome's abdomen. The elite fighter gasped for air, his eyes popped out. He groaned and collapsed at Deirdre's feet.

"Strong, but slow, and bad on defense," Deirdre addressed Captain Ginyu, "Perhaps, you should get your men to do some serious training, instead of abstract dancing."

"WHY YOU LITTLE!!!" Captain Ginyu roared. If something could get him ticked, it was making fun of (or, god forbid, criticizing) his beloved style. The insult was beyond humiliation. But the crushing blow followed, when Frieza smirked and too addressed the Captain,

"She's right about that one, Ginyu. I suggest you follow the advice."

Deirdre gestured her hand as if she was sweeping bread crumbs off the table. Immediately Recoome was flung out of the ring by the power of the force sweep she has created.

"Next, please," Deirdre spoke with a bored expression on her face.

A momentarily silence hang in the air. The soldiers gazed at the Saiyan woman in awe and quietly whispered something to each other. The remaining members of the elite fighting team simply stared at what they thought was their nightmare. Jeice was first to break the silence,

"Man oh man, just look at that! From what I see, she didn't even break a sweat! Now that's one tough chick!!!"

"Maybe so, but she's a Saiyan and Saiyans don't go beyond fifty thousand," Captain Ginyu commented, "She must be very close to that, otherwise she wouldn't have defeated both Recoome and Guldo. And it wasn't for them dropping their guard, one of them could have made a mistake, but both... I don't think so. The scouters are unreliable, she can conceal some of her power, like I can. But I can also feel that it's a very small amount of power that she's now concealing."

"Well, in that case, she about to get her bubble burst!" Burter stepped forward, "And this time not only she's going to break a sweat, but I'll make sure she breaks a leg or two!"

Burter stepped into the ring, chuckling evilly.

"Well, Zarbon, the best part of the show is about to begin!" Frieza rubbed his hands.

His henchman didn't answer. His undivided attention was glued to the ring. Meanwhile the crowd made bets and this time the number of Deirdre's "fans" has grown to about 30% of the population.

"You're about to regret your arrogance, you little pest!" Burter hissed as he towered over Deirdre.

She smirked in reply.

"Funny, your two unfortunate team mates said the same thing. I wonder why they weren't able to fulfill their threats?"

"Because they talked too much!" the blue giant bared his teeth.

"Well, you seem to be making the same mistake, my fishy friend!" she parried.

"You are SO dead!!!"

Burter skipped the traditional posing protocol and launched straight into action. He was already pissed off with both the swift defeat of his teammates and Deirdre's arrogance, so he decided to use his super speed to ensure a quick victory.

Deirdre cautiously watched Burter's manoeuvres, as he circled around her at his top speed, trying to catch her off guard and deliver a blow. The Saiyan was ready for this. Actually she was sure he was going to use this particular strategy. Well, she had come up with her own little move to counter this. Just as Burter was about to hit her, she used a fast dodge. Of course, fading and reappearing was hardly the best strategy to win the battle, but it proved effective against Burter's super speed. Even at his fastest Burter couldn't best the fast dodge. After a few unsuccessful attempts to land a blow on Deirdre, Burter realized his weakness.

"You can't keep dodging forever, Saiyan!" he hissed, "Go ahead and wear yourself down, and that's when I'll get you!"

Deirdre faded again and reappeared right above Burter.

"You're right," she nodded casually, "This is wasting my time and energy. What do you say we finish this now?"

Before Burter could respond, she thrust her left hand forward, sending a small sparkling energy orb into the ground near him. As soon as the orb touched the ground it run around Burter, surrounding him with a circle. Then the orb shot up directly above him, guided by Deirdre's hand. And finally, Deirdre made a sharp throwing motion releasing the orb, which rained energy down around the circle, creating a bubble-like dome and entrapping Burter within itself.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" the blue giant cussed. Furious at his own carelessness, he shot a ki-blast into the wall of purple energy. The ki-blast hit the force field and... dissolved into it. The dome didn't even shake.

"WHAT???" Burter screeched again, launching another attack at the wall that imprisoned him. Just like the last time the blast was absorbed. Enraged, Burter completely lost control over himself, plunging at the wall, punching and kicking it.

Deirdre levitated just above the bubble-dome.

"It's useless," she addressed Burter, "Once you're inside the Purple Dome, there's no way out, unless I cancel it. You're as good as defeated, so why not give up right now, and save both you and me the unpleasant procedure of striking you down."

In reply Burter roared like a wild beast caught in a trap.

"Give up?!?! Ginyu Force never gives up!!!!! And it's you, who's gonna be struck down!!!"

Deirdre shrugged.

"Oh, well... Don't tell me I didn't try..."

She descended, arms crossed. As her feet touched the ground, she slowly lifted her right hand with the palm facing upwards. Her index and middle fingers were extended towards Burter. She gave him another glance and then sharply raised the two fingers upwards. The ground underneath Burter exploded. Deirdre used an old Saiyan technique that was appropriately called Ground Blast. However, the original Ground Blast demolished the area for more than a mile around. Deirdre seemed to have mastered the technique and learned to direct its impact at the desired radius.

When smoke cleared the Purple Dome was gone and Burter lay motionless on the wracked ground.

Silence followed. Even Frieza thought that Burter's super speed would bring on Deirdre's defeat. They all watched, unable to believe. It was only now that the true nature of this deceitfully fragile woman became clear to them. Beautiful, but deadly. Actually, Deirdre wasn't THAT beautiful, she was rather a 7 on 1 to 10 beauty scale, but there was something beyond the looks that added to her charm. Something about the way she conducted herself, how she moved, how she spoke. That gave her power over the crowd.

With a swift move of her hand, Deirdre swept Burter off the ring, just like she previously swept Recoome.

Another moment of silence... Suddenly a loud voice called from the crowd,

"BRAVO!!!"

That triggered the explosion. The army drowned in ovation, cheers and whistles. Deirdre suddenly turned from a new Saiyan recruit into the army's hero (mostly because she was beating the crap out of the so-hated Ginyu Force).

The only two who weren't applauding were Jeice and Captain Ginyu. They were actually going through individual moral dilemmas: Captain Ginyu was enraged at the fact that a Saiyan rat beat half of his team without even trying, and Jeice was petrified at the fact that it was his turn to experience the power of the mysterious woman. Astounded, they both stared at the lonely figure standing in the ring.

Frieza looked at the remains of his elite team. The sight of their utter surprise brought a smirk to his face.

"Well, whatdda you know..." he said and lightly applauded. Encouraged by the positive reaction of his master, Zarbon too let out a cheer,

"Go, Deirdre!!!" he called, "Way to kick butt!!!"

"Zarbon, if my memory doesn't deceive me, she, (how did you say?) 'kicked your own butt' not so long ago?" Frieza inquired, rather amused.

Zarbon slightly bowed his head,

"Indeed so, sir. And that way I got more closely acquainted with her."

Frieza couldn't help chuckling at that.

"The best way to get to know a girl is to ask her out on a duel, is that it, Zarbon?"

The henchman nodded, smirking.

"Well, in that case, you're about to get some competition," Frieza nodded towards the ring, "Her next challenger is quite a ladies' man."

Zarbon jerked his gaze to the base of the ring. Captain Ginyu was giving the last instructions to his last 'conscious' subordinate. Zarbon couldn't make out the words, but instead he was shifting his gaze from Deirdre to Jeice. Back and forth, back and forth... Then he groaned as if in pain.

"What's wrong, Zarbon?" Frieza asked without any emotion in his voice, "Stomach pains?"

Zarbon groaned again, and replied,

"No, sir. Conflicting emotions."

Frieza ignored that, mostly because he wasn't sure what Zarbon meant. But neither did he want ask for clarifications, somehow he knew he won't like it.

Meanwhile Captain Ginyu has finished his 'strategy lecture'.

"Got that, Jeice?"

His subordinate gave him an empty look.

"Sir, this is absolute madness!" he spoke, stumbling on every word, "She caught Burter like a mouse in a mousetrap! And she not one bit tired!!! Her power level must be over a 100 thousand!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jeice!" Ginyu thundered, "She's a mere Saiyan! Saiyans don't have power levels more than 50 thousand! Burter was just careless. Now go up there and show that arrogant rat what the Ginyu Force are really made of!"

"But..."

The next moment Jeice saw Ginyu's clenched fist an inch away from his nose. The red-faced mercenary nervously swallowed and considered his options. It didn't take him long to decide that a Saiyan woman in the ring was far less dangerous than the enraged Captain. Jeice vividly imagined the beating he'd get if he refused to obey the order. He didn't like the thought one bit.

Jeice rolled his eyes and faced the ring. Deirdre was standing in the middle of it, like a statue. Only the wind slightly moved her long black tresses. Her face didn't express anything: no hatred, no compassion, only cold indifference.

I've seen that expression somewhere before, Jeice thought, slowly approaching her, But where?

He took another good look at her face. She was beautiful, at least in his opinion. But it was not the conventional type of beauty, there was something past the looks, and Jeice felt it. She had a mystery surrounding her, and there's nothing in a woman that attracts man more than a little mystery. Honey to the bee. Jeice felt like a mouse looking at a piece of cheese in a mousetrap. She draw him and scared him at the same time, he wanted her and was panickly afraid of her. When he met her gaze it made him sweat and shiver at the same time. Hot and cold. Fire and ice.

The mercenary swallowed hard and stepped into the ring.

"Well, are we ready yet?" her voice made him shudder.

"Almost," he replied. His mouth was dry. Knowing not why he was doing it, Jeice lowered on one knee and took a handful of concrete dust that covered the ring. Slowly he rubbed his fingers together, rolling the dust around his palm. Then he sniffed it. (Author's note: Jeice isn't crazy, he's just approaching the battle "Gladiator's" style!)

"A real warrior for a change," Deirdre commented his actions, "Perhaps, you won't be such a disappointment as your friends were."

He raised, yet avoided looking her in the eyes,

"Now ye're the one who talks too much," he said.

She smirked at him,

"You're smart mouthed, and cautious, I like that."

He didn't answer, but his eyes widened in surprise. He allowed himself to meet her gaze. For a moment they silently looked at each other.

Then Deirdre smirked again,

"Well, since you're not going to make the first move, allow me to do the honors!"

She plunged at him. Their hands mingled in a chaotic shower of punches. Then they caught each other's hands and pushed forward, trying to overpower each other. They both seemed be equal in power. None of the opponents moved from the spot, and only the strain of their mussels revealed how much power was involved in this game.

In about a minute of this motionless fight, both their faces were covered with a thin net of sweat drops. Their gazes peered into one another. The strain was enormous. Their wills were engaged in a mortal combat. And her will proved to be stronger, Jeice lowered his eyes.

Suddenly Deirdre's lips moved,

"Follow me!" she whispered and sharply flew up.

Unsure why he was doing it, Jeice followed her. She came with a punch from the left, allowing him to catch her hand.

"Repeat the routine for the Hurricane attack," she whispered again, "That way they won't be able to see or hear us."

As if it was the order coming from Frieza himself, Jeice obeyed.

Why am I doing this? Why am I listening to her?! he questioned himself, engaging into a sight-blurring speed. They flew in circles, creating a red-black whirlpool. Now those below could only see the shining energy disk. Only the opponents could see each other.

"Why?" Jeice asked simply.

"I felt your thoughts: you know that you can't win, but you won't admit it out loud because Ginyu will "bust your brains out' for that. Still you don't want to hight the battle which you can't win."

Jeice dropped his jaw.

"How... did... ye...??? How's that possible?!" he mumbled.

"I respect you for recognizing your limits," Deirdre continued, "At least you're not trying to fool yourself like the rest of your comrades. A real warrior knows when to quit."

Jeice mentally kicked himself to resist her "tricks".

"Hope ya don't think that just because ya read my mind and made that little speech, I'll be a 'good boy' and fall to yer feet admitting my defeat?!" he challenged.

"No, but you'd rather not engage into this fight, if given a chance. You only stepped into the ring because Captain Ginyu ordered you to."

Jeice tossed his hair.

"What's yer point exactly?"

"My point is: you know you can't win and you want to quit! I can arrange that without you having to undergo pain and beating."

That statement almost made Jeice freeze in the mid air. But he remembered just in time that if he is seen "having a friendly conversation with the opponent", he's sure to undergo some SERIOUS pain and beating.

Deirdre smirked and nodded, obviously having read his thoughts again. However it didn't take Jeice long to make his decision.

"Oh, alright!" he said, faking unwillingness, "I'll do it just to save ye some power, ya'll need it f'r the fight with the Capt'n. But f'r this, ya owe me big time! I bet I even know why ye're doing this..."

Deirdre's eyes suddenly sparkled with icy coldness.

"Think THAT again, and I'm proceeding with the initial plan of pounding you into the ground!" her stare made Jeice's blood freeze, "I always give my opponents a chance, and that applies to all, freaks or good-lookers."

Jeice gave a charming smile,

"But ye do find me... to yer likes?"

Deirdre smirked in reply,

"Get a haircut, use sun lotion, and improve that nasty attitude of yours... But that is totally irrelevant to the situation. I'm waiting: yes or no?"

Fiery! I like that!!! Jeice thought to himself, but then hastily chased the thought away, being afraid that she'll read his mind again.

"What's the plan?" he nodded.

"Just pretend to be in A LOT of pain, I'll do the rest."

The next moment Jeice felt that he was being swept away by a strong rush of energy. The numbers flickered on his scouter display, making him gasp in utter horror. The next moment the scouter exploded, unable to cope with the intensity of the power. Jeice felt a tiny stream of blood coming down his forehead.

A scratch. Good, now I'll have blood stains to present a convincing case, the mercenary thought, flying out of the Hurricane whirlpool.

As if appearing out of thin air, Deirdre's fist slammed into his chest. The armor cracked, but surprisingly Jeice didn't feel anything, as if he wasn't hit at all.

"Scream, you idiot!" she hissed, before pushing him away.

"Oh, right... EEEEEYYYYAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

He took a short glance at Ginyu's and Frieza's faces.

Good, they're buying it! Jeice confirmed to himself, and increased his screaming volume.

Oh, I should probably hold the 'wound' too.

That made his 'predicament' even more believable. The crowd began to roar with excitement.

Deirdre delivered another 'blow'.

"OWW!!!"

"Oww? You idiot! Can't you think of anything better???"

"Oh, ok... YOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!"

"Oh, brother!!!"

Deirdre sent a few more 'punches' at Jeice and then whispered.

"I'm launching an energy attack, once it passes, fall down. You can 'remain conscious', but you're unable to continue the battle... Got that?"

"Yep."

Jeice was flung upwards. As he was flying up, he felt the hot breath of an energy blast approaching him. He glanced down and saw an enormous beam flying at him.

Sweet Mother of Galaxy!!! Please don't tell me that thing is for REAL!!!

The blast swallowed him. It didn't hurt, but he felt a weird twitching all over his body. When the blinding light disappeared, Jeice began his free fall, according to Deirdre's instructions. He noticed one of his loose tresses move over his eyes. It was pitch black.

"SHIT!!! SHE CHARRED ME!!!" Jeice cussed out loud right before he hit the ground. His first impulse was to jump up and "punish the wretch" for doing that to the object of his obsession (the hair, people, the hair!). But then he realized that if he blows his cover, Captain Ginyu will permanently remove his hair, and a couple of limbs too.

Oh, hell with it! he thought and remained laying still.

Deirdre landed nearby. She was breathing heavily. This pretend fight has actually taken much more of her energy than she spent on defeating the previous three men. Besides having to watch her own power level, she had to control Jeice's energy too, so that the scouters in the area couldn't pick up the deceit. Again she checked that Jeice's power level was 'down', and swept him off the floor of the ring right at Captain Ginyu's feet.

Jeice made the most sour grimace he could and moaned,

"She drained me, sir..."

"I can see that, you disgrace and just for that I outta finish you off!" Ginyu snarled, but he had more pressing matters requiring his attention, "This is just not possible! A Saiyan, a WOMAN, defeated my elite team! Four of the most elite fighters in the Universe?! That's it! That's all I can stand. She's gonna pay dearly for this humiliation!"

Kami forbid... Jeice thought, watching his enraged commander walking into the ring.

Deirdre watched Ginyu approach. She quietly groaned to herself. This one will surely fight to the end. He was fresh and ready to go, and she was tired and partly drained. No way she had a chance now...

Deirdre raised her right hand, calling for attention.

"Lord Frieza, I would like to announce my formal surrender. I have done all that I could. This battle I can't fight."

The soldiers gasped. NO ONE in Frieza's army has voluntarily admitted his defeat before. Deirdre has done the unthinkable.

"Oh no, you don't, you little Saiyan bitch!" Captain Ginyu growled quietly, "You're gonna fight and you're gonna loose!"

"Your highness," Ginyu then addressed Frieza, "This is just a training battle. Besides the highest reading I got on her was 90,000, I haven't met such an outstanding fighter for a long time. This is the first time in years I can expect a good fight..."

"Silence!" Frieza spoke, and every sound within a mile died obeying the order of the tyrant, "There is only one way this test ends: when only one of the opponents remains standing. I think that's clear enough."

"Crystal!" Ginyu grinned evilly.

"However," Frieza continued, "Taking into account that Deirdre had already fought four opponents, she may take a short rest. The battle will resume in five minutes."

"Oh, shit!" Captain Ginyu swore. But he didn't dare argue. He decided to use the time to stretch before the fight.

Deirdre stepped out of the ring and sank down in the shade of some sort of construction.

"Thanks for nothing, Frieza!" she mumbled to herself.

The whole idea of fighting, having already declared that you can't win, seemed ridiculous. What part of the word "surrender" didn't they understand? It's not shameful to admit that you have a weakness, it's shameful to fool yourself that you don't. Anyhow, Deirdre's main problem right now was to figure out how to restore her power in short five minutes. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Deirdre, you ok?" a voice sounded over her, "I brought you some water."

It was Zarbon. Deirdre took the extended glass. Zarbon took that as a sign of her being in a good mood and immediately sat down by her.

"Persistent, aren't you?" she spoke after she had a good long drink, "But I must say your new approach is less disturbing."

He faked a laugh,

"If at first you don't succeed, try a different way of solving the problem. At least this time you won't have a reason to slam me into a wall."

"I don't have the power to do it either," Deirdre cast a glance at Ginyu, "He's gonna so clean my clock! And I only have about half of my power left."

"Anything I can do?" Zarbon sounded truly concerned.

Deirdre smirked.

"Yeah, order me a golden coffin, would ya? And arrange a mummification, please..."

Zarbon took her hand in his.

"I'll talk to Frieza. I'll find a way to convince him..."

"Wait..." Deirdre suddenly said, looking at his hand, "Wait. No need to talk to Frieza. If you really wanna help, give me some of your power."

Zarbon started.

"What?! But... I... I don't know how..."

"I'll do everything myself, I just need your consent."

Zarbon extended his other hand.

"Take as much as you need."

Deirdre turned the palms of his hands upwards and placed her hands over his. Almost immediately Zarbon felt his ki being drawn out. It felt like a he was a drink in a glass and someone was slowly sipping him through a straw.

"Where did you learn to do this?" he asked.

"Ever heard of energy vampires? They were quite a large race, before Frieza's Father destroyed their solar system. Icia had one of them serving her. He taught me a few handy tricks, including this one."

Zarbon hesitated,

"Was he... a close friend?"

She just laughed.

"Truly, your persistence is admirable!"

Zarbon was about to say something else, but another voice beat him to it,

"So this is where ye've disappeared to, I just thought I... HEY!!! What the heck are *YE* doing here?!?!"

It was Jeice. He figured that playing 'drained' was no real use anymore, no one was paying attention to him anyway. So he decided find Deirdre and give her a few pointers on how to battle Ginyu. Of course, the pointers were merely an excuse to start a conversation. And, of course, he planned it to be a 'private' conversation. Zarbon's presence had a similar effect on Jeice as a red rag has on the bull. His eyes became bloodshot.

Jeice could never stand Zarbon. Partly because the green-haired fighter was the only person in the army who could compete with Jeice in the matter of looks, manners and love affairs. But the main reason for the hatred was a little offer Zarbon has made Jeice a few years ago, and if it wasn't for Frieza showing up then, Jeice would have murdered Zarbon on the spot. After that incident Jeice avoided Frieza's right-hand henchman at all costs. His presence alone was enough to drive Jeice furious. They competed in everything, just to annoy each other. And a new opportunity for a competition just arose.

"I said: What the heck are *ye* doing here?!?!" the mercenary growled, slowly advancing forward.

Zarbon flinched. He knew the full extent of Jeice's wrath.

"Oh, Jeice, it's you," Deirdre's voice sounded casual, "Feeling better, I see. Sorry I had to char you up like that. No hard feelings, right?"

That attitude was totally unarming. Jeice suddenly lost all his eagerness to fight. He even caught himself thinking that he didn't mind Zarbon being here.

I must have hit my head or something! Jeice said to himself.

Meanwhile Deirdre finished drawing energy from Zarbon.

"But... I still have plenty left!" Zarbon protested when she draw her hands back.

"If I take too much, you might faint," Deirdre said, couldn't help grinning at the thought of Zarbon fainting, "I've already drained you reasonably well, try to get up and you'll see what I mean."

Zarbon followed the advice and realized that she was right. He did feel a bit dizzy and weak.

"Stay in the shade, ya'll be fine in 'bout ten minutes," Jeice suddenly spoke.

Surprised, both Deirdre and Zarbon looked at him. The mercenary was holding a small energy sphere in his cupped hands.

"This should be enough to get ya fully charged," Jeice said extending the energy to Deirdre.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she excepted it.

"How did you know how to do this?" she asked, absorbing the glowing ball.

Jeice flashed his pearly whites.

"My dad was an energy vampire."

That made Zarbon flinch. Jeice noticed his movement and grinned.

Mental note to self: get a pair of fake fangs to scare the hell out of this bastard!

"Time's up. Resume the battle!" Frieza's voice suddenly announced.

Deirdre got up on her feet.

"Wish me luck, guys. From the looks of it, I'm gonna need it!"

She slowly stepped back into the ring.

Jeice and Zarbon watched her.

"I dun care if she's ten times stronger than me," Jeice said determinantly, "She's gonna be mine!"

Zarbon gave him a venomous glare.

"Oh, puh-lease! The last person she's gonna pick is a rude ruffian like you!"

"What makes ya think that she'll prefer an effeminate clod like ye?!" Jeice parried.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Rapunzel!!!"

"Ya better watch yer mouth, Mr. Frog-Prince!!!"

"Shut up you royal kiss-up!!!"

"Well, at least I'm not a royal MATRESS like SOMEONE!!!"

Zarbon choked. Jeice was hitting below the belt, at the most painful spot, and he perfectly realized it.

"What's wrong? Ya didn't tell her that ye're a... oh, how should I put it... A FAG?!?!"

Zarbon growled like a grizzly bear who's been poked with a stick.

"For the last time, I'm not GAY! I'm a bisexual!!!"

"Right, and yer skin isn't blue, it's aqua... Of course, how rude of me to f'rget that! That makes SO MUCH difference! I'm sure Deirdre would be thrilled to hear the whole story..."

Zarbon shot a murderous glare at Jeice.

"3 o'clock today behind the landing field!" he filtered between clenched teeth, "I'll kill you there!"

"Wouldn't miss it f'r my life!!!" Jeice returned the hateful look, "And it's ye who'll end up a lifeless corpse!"

A contemptful sniff ended their verbal duel. They turned to the ring, totally ignoring the very fact of each other's existence.

Meanwhile the opponents in the ring assumed their positions. The crowd was making the final bets: the whole area turned into one huge gambling house. This time the bets were 50/50: half of the soldiers insisted that the Saiyan newcomer was only inferior to Frieza, while the other half argued that even if so, Captain Ginyu could still beat the crap out of any opponent, because of a certain ability.

"Begin!" Freiza snarled, growing impatient.

Ginyu grinned.

"Just before we do," he addressed Deirdre, "I don't think we've been formally introduced. And I'm a polite man, so allow me to..."

Deirdre interrupted him, rolling her eyes,

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill."

She then copied Ginyu's personal pose, standing on one foot and lifting her hands in a weird fist-lock. She even made a dumb face expression to give the pose more likeness.

"*The leader of the Ginyu Force, Captain Ginyu! Super Fighting Pose!*" Deirdre announced with the proper diligence, and then broke the pose, "Is that what you were going to say?"

A moment of silence, and the whole army busts in hysterical laughter. Even Frieza chuckled, holding his index finger at his nose. Only Captain Ginyu blankly stared at Deirdre.

"Astonishing!" he finally said, "Correct down to the finger positioning! You have a talent, woman, and a good potential..."

"Potential for what? Joining your cheerleading squad?" Deirdre smirked, "I'd rather not have a job at all!"

"That I can arrange!!!" Ginyu growled and plunged at Deirdre.

She dodged the blow, and accordingly sent one his way. Ginyu dodged as accurately as she did. They clashed, exchanging kicks and punches, yet successfully blocking and dodging the hits. Deirdre was fighting at full power now, but she felt that so was Captain Ginyu.

"You're too fast for a Saiyan!" Captain Ginyu said, between the blows.

"No, I'm too fast for you!" she smirked, ducking and kicking up.

Ginyu caught her foot.

"Gotcha!"

"Not quite!" she jumped up and smashed her other foot in his face. Ginyu howled and flinched back, letting go of Deirdre's foot. The next moment he recovered enough to throw a hard punch at her. Deirdre was barely able to move aside, still Ginyu's fist stroke against her shoulder. Although it was a brushing blow, Deirdre felt a sharp pain. Horrified she thought what the impact would have been if the hit was direct.

Captain Ginyu plunged at her again, this time attempting to pin her down with his famous Elbow Strike. Deirdre knew that this was a multiple attack, which came in periodical strikes. She pushed her power to the limit and whirled in a series of cartwheels, accordingly avoiding the strikes. When she reached the end of the ring, she turned and extended her left hand, holding it at the elbow with her right hand. A purple beam shot from her open palm.

"YIKES!" was Ginyu's only response before the beam slammed into him.

"Hmm... Short Fire Arrow..." Frieza mused to himself, observing the fight with obvious interest, "Yet another one of my favorite attacks... Looks like mom gave her the same lessons she used to give me..."

The smoke cleared. Captain Ginyu was standing on the demolished floor of the ring. Some of his armor and uniform was missing, and his body smoked somewhat. Ginyu sharply wiped the blood off his mouth.

"My turn!" he bared his teeth and raised his right hand over his head. A small glowing ball appeared in his open palm. He then thrust his hand forward, lowering it at the level of his face. The energy ball grew, turning into a dancing flame.

Oh, shoot!!! Directo Blast! Deirdre recognised the attack, It's no use dodging this one, it will follow me anywhere. I'll have to deflect it.

Ginyu roared in strain and released the blast. Deirdre stood her ground.

"What is she doing?!?!" Jeice gripped his head, "Why ain't she dodging it?!?!"

"She'll be wiped out!!!" Zarbon echoed with horrified gasp.

The blast approached. Deirdre threw her hands forward, catching it at the last moment. But the pressure of the blast was too strong to throw it away. It kept pressing, supported by Captain Ginyu's push. Deirdre clenched her teeth. Pearls of sweat rolled down her face. Her entire being turned into a struggle. The power of the energy pushed her back, her feet slipped over the concrete.

"A war isn't a game for a woman to play!" Ginyu gave another venomous grin.

Deirdre only clenched her teeth. Suddenly she exerted every effort and flung the blast into the air and out of view.

"On the contrary," she breathed out, "I find this game to my likes!"

Ginyu gulped, astounded, but then regained his composure.

"So you like it, do you?" he growled, "Let's see how you like THIS!!!"

The aura around Captain Ginyu began to burn in purple flames. His left hand with an open palm was extended forward.

"YYAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" he yelled as his power level surged to it's maximum.

Deirdre watched, wide eyed, still trying to catch her breath. Deflecting the previous attack took a lot out of her, and now she didn't have the power to deflect this one.

Why aren't you stopping it?! her mind gave a desperate cry, reaching the intended recipient, I have nothing to fight back with... this blast will finish me off... I'll die helpless, just like Icia!

The energy beam parted from Ginyu's hand. Along with it a desperate, almost insane shout parted Frieza's lips,

"NOOOOO!!! STOP!!!"

Yet the soaring energy obeyed no one. It ripped the air with a sinister hiss and found its intended target. A mushroom cloud of smoke rose over the battle field. As it began to clear, a sight of an enormous crater revealed. Dust and ash rained on everyone.

The smoke cleared. The crater and its surroundings remained motionless. No sign of life. Not a reading on a scouter either.

Frieza powerlessly sank into the seat of his antigravity pod. A mournful groan escaped his lips,

"Oh, God!!! What have I done!!!"

While the whole army lowered their gazes, Captain Ginyu was the only person who considered the occurrence a "good thing".

A heavy silence hanged in the air of Frieza 79. Suddenly it was cut with a shout,

"MY KAMI!!! LOOK!!!"

From the depth of the crater a hand reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall. A moment later Deirdre emerged. She was severely wounded, bleeding. Her clothes were now reduced to rags. But she was alive.

Astounded by her miraculous escape, everybody froze, lost in trance most like shock. So was Captain Ginyu.

Breathing heavily, Deirdre rose her right hand over her head.

"LIGHTNING BALL!!!" she yelled as a giant ball of fire appeared over her hand.

"HEEE-YAAAAA!!!!" she launched the attack.

The next moment the energy blast collided with Captain Ginyu. He drowned in the flash of bright light, and when it passed, appeared charred from toes to horn tips. Ginyu coughed out a puff of smoke and... collapsed, his feet flying over his head.

Another moment of dead silence interrupted by Deirdre's breath of relief. She turned her face to Frieza, and made a step towards him. Then suddenly her eyes closed and she fell on the ground as lifeless as Ginyu.

Dead silence again. Then Frieza 79 is shaken with the blood-freezing shout,

"AERA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And the whole army flees, leaving behind the devastated tyrant with a tear at his eye.

*********************************************************************

End of Part 2

Is this the end of Deirdre? Can Frieza bear loosing both his mother and her ward? And what about Jeice and Zarbon? All revealed in the Part 3!

Disclaimer: All the characters are copyright of Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation. Deirdre, Icia and Rime are copyright of Jeisre Ice. This story is copyright of Jeisre Ice. Permission is given by the author to copy this story for personal use only, providing no changes is done to the story or this notice. Special thanks to my good friend Furozen for letting me use the Icejin language she developed.