Berter Beginnings: A Ginyu Force Outlook

By Son Rhandi

Part 4

Many days passed since Berter had arrived in the Rahzer Outlands. He had gotten used to his new yet monotonous life. Day in, day out, all the same sights: Sands, sun, trees, and the usual wildlife. Yet he learned a little more with each passing day.

".....And this makes.....day 42." Berter wiped the sweat from his brow. "Finally.....one month completed."

A lot had happened over the course of one Hachuurui month. Berter's body had finally managed to catch up to his growing intellegence. He had filled out quite considerably, some noticable muscles shining through, and was beginning to develop a different key than before. (In other words, his voice was starting to change) Also, he had turned into a skilled hunter, setting elaborate traps for prey he desired, whenever he desired such. But in any case, two months still remained.

"Oh, man.....I can't believe it. One month gone....I thought it'd never arrive. And the next month starts tommorow. So that means...." Berter stretched and let out a short growl. "I have to track a Dino. But there haven't been very many around lately..."

He flopped on his back and sighed. "I'm begininning to wonder if I'll be able to complete this challenge..." Berter flopped on his back and stared at the stars glistening over head, his eyes darting between each star. "Hmm. Constellations......"

Like Earthlings, the Tokage, too, had placed shapes in stars, naming them for their gods. "And on this part of the planet, most of them are visible. Let's see.....there's...Gorgon, the Dragon and the God of Fire," he says while pointing it out. "Who else is up here.....We have Mano, the Sea Serpent and God of the Waters, and then there's Cotta, Goddess of Green and Fertility...."

Berter paused for a moment. Goddess of Fertility....Taking a mate.....Hmm.... The prospect of having a female was becoming more and more appealing to Berter these days. He gave out a little sigh, wondering what his mate would look like, considering the fact that the only female her ever saw was his mother. And who wants to think that way about their mother? He shook his head free of such thoughts and eased into a light sleep.

"Okay. Today's the day I track a Rahzer dino." Berter said while cleaning the knife given to him by the Riizard, Mesan. "But first, some breakfast." He ran to the usual place: The dense bush to gather some fruits and to the river to fill his canteen full of water. While coming up to the river, Berter noticed a small group of three mock bird dinos (kind of like ostriches) on the other side drinking the river water. Slowly, he waltzed up to the water and carefully kneeled to fill his canteen so as not to be noticed.

How perfect! He thought. Mock birds! Easy to kill and light enough to carry. And their claws are just sharp enough to scar, so this should work out better than expected!

Berter waited until all of the mock birds finished quenching their thirst and went along their way before tracking them at a safe distance. He followed them for many hours, not once being noticed by the mock bird dinos. After what seemed like an eternity of walking for Berter, night fell and the small group of dinos retired until the next morn.

"Well, it's about time," said Berter, resting behind a bush, in a not-so-pleasant mood. "It looks like this tracking business won't be as easy as I had anticipated."

Many days passed and many miles passed. The group of mock birds were now an official herd, and Berter, who had soured in disposition, was still in pursuit of his elusive quarry. Twenty-one days....It's been half a month now. And, now, I think it's about time I made my move. Berter lay on a small cliff over looking the herd of mock birds. The sun was setting, and the dinos were about to retire. That's when he made his move.

Berter stood, backed up a considerable distance from the cliff's edge, then ran as fast as he could, jumping off the cliff. He landed promptly on his feet with a loud THUD, he charged at the herd, letting out a short but loud roar: first big mistake. The mock bird dinos looked up to see the source of the noise. Berter drew back his fist in which the knife was held, and as soon as he was close enough, slashed at one of the dinos: second big mistake. He missed, tumbling right in the middle of a herd of some very displeased Razher dinos surrounding him completely.

The mock bird dinos tried to intimidate him by making low growls and gnashing their teeth at Berter, but to no avail; Berter only gave them the same in return. Then, from one of the dinos came a low, gutteral sound. The rest of the mock birds stepped back as the biggest mock bird dino stepped forward, teeth bared and tail lashing.

Uh-oh, thought Berter. He must be their dominant male. Suddenly, the mock bird charged at Berter, who barely managed to dodge it. The dino turned around and charged again, this time catching Berter in the back. He tumbled his way to the sidelines, where another dino kicked him right back into the center with the dominant male. All the mock bird dinos began to unleash short roars, almost as if they were cheering the fight on. Berter stood and used the speed his race was graced with and literally ran circles around his opponent, confusing him greatly. And before the dominant male could even realize it, Berter had stopped running, jumped up, and stabbed it in the head. The dino stood there with his mouth hanging open for a bit. Then, it's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, fell over, and died. The rest of the herd took a look at the body of their leader and swiftly ran away.

Berter stood there panting, admiring his work, when it hit him. "Blast it... I forgot I needed a scar. What am I supposed to do now?"

Just then, a swift and unmerciful pain struck Berter's back. He fell to the ground, writhing. A roar that sounded much like that of an Oozaru was given off right above him. Berter managed to turn on his side and see the creature from which the sound came. It was something he had hoped to never come across, but, unfortunately, he did. Sure enough, it was a sycthe-clawed Razher dino. A very hungry, very angry, scythe-clawed Razher dino. Apparentely, it was extremely upset over the loss of such easy prey, and although there was freshly killed meat right next to it, sycthe-claws do not eat anything that wasn't killed by themselves. But it wasn't about to go hungry just yet......

Berter quickly pulled the knife out of the dead mock bird's crainium, and rolled out of the way as the sycthe-claw plowed its powerful jaws toward Berter, although it hurt his back greatly. The sycthe-claw ran toward him as he staggered up to standing position. Once again, Berter darted out of its way. Berter lept at the beast, who promptly struck him back to the dirt with a backlash from its tail. Before Berter had the chance to get back up on his feet, the sycthe-claw raced toward him, and lept up into the air, lunging itself at the wounded Tokage. Reacting on pure instinct alone, Berter pushed himself off the grond and plowed the knife directly into the heart of the beast. The sycthe-claw paused for a moment to look at the object that was about to cause its end. In an almost sad display, the dino throws its head back to give a final roar, then falls on its side, dead.

Berter just stood there for a minute, staring at his now dead enemy. Breathing heavily, he fell onto his back, which only caused him greater pain, but he didn't care. He layed there sprawled out on the ground, just trying to get his swiftly beating heart to calm down a notch. It had been a long and difficult time for him, indeed, but it would finally be over. He could finally end all the nonsense of the challenge and return to camp. To see his friend, Tage, and return home to his nurterers. But at the moment, he wasn't thinking about any such things. All that he was thinking of now was sleep.....

Glorious, glorious sleep.