Berter Beginnings: A Ginyu Force Outlook

By Son Rhandi

Part 18

"I really didn't know you were like that, Jeice. Comes as sort of a shock, having known you for so long…"

"Sorry you had to find out like that…"

"Don't apologize. Wasn't my business t' begin with…" The behemoth ran a hand through his matted red hair. "So, is Zarbon, uh……?" Jeice shrugged.

"Dunno. It'd be nice, though." The Kaijin put his hands behind his head and sighed wistfully. "Wait. Why would you be asking me about something like that?" He asked, feeling a bit offended.

"Well, I just assumed that you might have known..."

"Don't you know what they say about assuming? It makes an ass out of 'u' and me."

"Right. So how about the Cap'n? Does he know?"

"…Yeah. He knows…" Actually, he had taken advantage of the fact several times...

You're a good boy, Jeice. Choosing this over being beaten again? You're really great. …Mmm… A little harder… and slow down a bit. I'd hate to be accidentally bitten down on…

Jeice shuddered. It was better than being beaten again, wasn't it? "Let's not bring up the Captain anymore, okay?"

"Right. Sorry…"

Jeice settled back up against his spot on the wall and crossed his arms. "So, how long will he be in there for..?"

"Doc says about five or six hours. He was beat pretty bad, y'know..?"

"Yeah, I know. Sucky thing is, I can't do anything about it." Jeice leaned forward a bit. "If only it wasn't the Captain…"

"I just can't believe he would do something like that… "

"Of course you can't. You've never felt how cold his eyes are or how much it hurts to have his fists strike your bare flesh… or to even have him touch you… You had better appreciate the fact that you didn't grow up to be pretty, you damned lucky son-of-a-bitch," he finished up half-jokingly.

The larger man stood a bit confused by the Kaijin's words. "…Somehow, I don't know whether or not to feel offended by that..." Recoom scratched his head. "Anyway, let's go have a round."

"What?!" The Kaijin shouted in disbelief. "I know you don't like him, but how can you even think of drinking when he's—"

"A nice quiet round," interrupted the behemoth. "You look like you could use it. Come on."

The Kaijin hung his head low. "…Fine. Whatever."

But when they arrived…

"Men…" Ginyu raised his glass to the behemoth and the Kaijin, who were standing in the doorway. "What a pleasant surprise. Bartender, one blood half and one without ice." He turned back to his men. "Come. Sit."

The two exchanged glances and took their places next to their captain. "It's a nice night for drinking, isn't it..?" He took a sip of his brew and exhaled. "I don't normally do the bar scene, but tonight I felt like I could use it."

The Kaijin clinched his fist and started toward Ginyu. "Yeah, I'll bet you could use it, you sick f—"

"Jeice!!" Recoom took a massive arm and held him back. Ginyu looked mildly surprised but then turned back to his drink. "Jeice, that's no way to talk to your captain. Do you need to be disciplined again..?"

The Kaijin shrunk, knowing all too well what he meant by that. "N-No, sir… I'm sorry. It won't happen again…"

"Good boy." He reached out and petted the snow-white hair of the smaller man, who stiffened under his touch. "But I think you and I should spend some time together, anyway. After this, why don't you come with me?"

The fear Jeice had held was out in the open now, and he began to tremble. "Um… With all due respect, Captain," the behemoth started. "Jeice and I had some other things we needed to take care of. We just stopped in here for a quick drink. Er… Would you mind… canceling..?"

Recoom knew it wasn't in his best interest to speak against his captain, no matter how passively he went about it, but he couldn't just let him… Ginyu narrowed his eyes and glared menacingly at Recoom, whose eyes darted back and forth nervously from his captain to his glass. Seemingly amused by this, the Captain snickered and said, "Alright. Go ahead and do what you need to do." With that, he gulped down the last of his drink and hopped from his seat.

"Bartender, put the drinks on our tab." Those were the last words he uttered before disappearing from the bar.

Most Respectable Nurturers,

Good morrow. Things fare not so well on my side. My mate is… beast-like, to be kind. She is as vicious as a Razher dino and just as quick to bite my head off. She won't permit me to share her space during the day hours, and during the night condemns me to the floor. I am beginning to wonder if conditions will improve… Of better (or worse) news, a strange-looking fellow called Ginyu has inducted me into his task force of the same name. I am to receive fight training of sorts on tomorrow's morn. On a lesser scale, the Ridre dino you purchased for me, father? I have finally given him a name. I call him 'Marzipan' now, for the fact that he so enjoys the fruit of the Zipan trees. I hope to receive a reply from you both soon, as I'd like to know how you fare, as well.

Your Offspring,

Berter of Kyôrusan

"There. I'll have a courier send this when I leave to return to that place." Berter teetered back on his chair. Just then, in barged Neizu with a freshly killed dinosaur carcass slung over her shoulder.

"Hmm? Ah, Neizu. You've returned, and with fresh meat? Why, I was struck with the belief that you knew not how to hunt."

"I knew not how to fish, o presumptuous husband," she sneered at the last word. "But hunting I knew, and still do." 

"Please excuse my ignorance," he quickly said, as not to irritate her any further. Aiming at having a somewhat tolerable day, the young man took a chance and started up conversation again. "Ah, but it is of nice size. The goddess of the hunt was good to you."

"Perhaps…" Not really in the mood for talking, especially to him, she made her way to the kitchen, but paused about halfway. "Wait. Did I not tell you to keep from my space?"

"Why, yes. Yes, you did," Berter replied, not bothering to turn to her. "I'll show myself out, I suppose. Until tonight, then, Neizu." The male shut the door behind him. She looked back at that wooden door for a few moments, then went back to the business of preparing her meat.

The following day, on Hachuurui's sixth hour…

"To be a part of the Ginyu Special Force is to be a part of a family. Not just any family, mind you. A family of the soldiers of God is what we are."

"God?"

"Yes. The god, Freeza. He is the one true god. He controls what lives and what does not."

"I'm not sure if I understand…"

"It would be better for you to abandon that polytheistic faith of yours. It will only complicate matters in the future. Just know this: Freeza is the mortal God. Obey him, and he will let you live in his good graces. Disobey him, and all that will be left for you is damnation. I am at the right hand of the Master and I can kill you, too, if you misbehave. Is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Good man. Let's commence with the fight training, then."

"Your first few days of training will be conducted with me. You'll be developing ki attacks as well as your sense of style. You should feel fortunate. I don't normally waste my energy with this sort of thing. It's good for you and your people that Freeza's found a positive use for this planet." The young man wasn't sure he wanted to know the full meaning behind that and decided it best to leave it lay.

"You Tokage folk have trained with energy attacks, right?" The good captain inquired. Berter nodded. "Great! Now, I want to see your power. Pick a target and fire a small blast. Just be sure not to damage the ship or anything."

"Alright." He looked about the surrounding area for a moment, scanning for an ideal target. A small boulder seemed satisfactory. Doing as told, he released his ki and decimated the rock. As the debris cleared, he turned to Ginyu and asked, "Was that acceptable?"

"Well, that was good, but… I only wanted you to fire a small blast…"

"Hmm?" The Tokage turned back to his former target to find that it wasn't the only thing he had destroyed. He had also taken out the surrounding trees, as well. "Oh. But that was a small one…"

"Wha..? You mean, you weren't putting adequate power behind it at all?"

"No, sir. Was that wrong of me?"

"No, not at all. The rest of your peers… Would that have been considered a small one for them, too?"

Berter shook his head. "No, sir. I was not permitted to train with the rest of them in that area. My demonstration explains the reasoning behind it."

The good Captain, for once in his life, was speechless. Could he really be like the rest of us..? He had to find out. "That tree there…" Ginyu pointed to a thick and healthy looking specimen resembling Earth's oak. "Go to it." Not bothering to question why, Berter made his way to the tall tree, and awaited further instructions.

"Punch it."

"Do what, now?" The young man looked at him, obviously confused. "As hard as you can," Ginyu continued. "With all your strength, punch a hole in that fine-standing timber."

"You jest," the blue one said in deepened voice. "I'll surely fracture my fist." Ginyu waved a finger at the Tokage's protest. "Now, now," he scolded. "If you're going to be on this Force, you'll have to learn to do as I say. Always. And believe me, if you're as strong as I think you are right now, you won't get hurt."

He looked to the tree, then back to Ginyu, who uppercutted the air and gave the young man a grizzly sidelong smile. Berter turned back to the tree and took a deep breath, formed a tight fist and reeled back, slamming his fist into that mighty object. The tree seemed to moan as its bark split and gave way to the power of the Tokage's fist. It broke straight through, and the timber toppled over. Berter couldn't believe his eyes. Was that my doing? He thought.

Captain Ginyu, on the other hand, was expecting such a thing to occur. "You shouldn't be surprised," he began, while strolling over to the young man. "You're strong, stronger than all the rest, but I bet you already knew that. Tell me, have you been holding back the bulk of your strength since that day?"

Berter did not reply, but the expression on his face said it all. "As I thought," Ginyu continued. "Well, you won't have to worry about holding back any longer, not as long as you're with us. By the way, have you learned to fly?"

Berter raised an eye ridge. "But… would that not require wings?" The good captain chuckled at his newest addition's ignorance. "I guess that answers my question. We'll work a bit more with controlling your energy, then I'll give you the basics on flight."

The day had been a successful one, in Captain Ginyu's mind. The youth learned quickly, he found, as he was apt in his control and had even managed to hover by the end of the day. He would have to be sure to request a demonstration of his race's speed come tomorrow. It would be interesting having a fastball on the Force. He still had a long way to go; desensitization would be the main thing to accomplish, posing would take place later. The Captain was now making his way at a casual pace to report to Freeza, as he was one who kept on top of the interests of his empire.

"Master Freeza," he called from the outside. "I have today report as you requested."

"Enter," came the muffled confirmation.

The automatic doors whooshed as they granted Ginyu passage inside his master's quarters. Farther back sat Freeza in a most embellished chair that appeared to be trying to swallow him up. The Captain chuckled softly to himself and approached Freeza, saluting him when the appropriate distance had been reached.

"At ease," commanded the small tyrant, to which Ginyu immediately obliged. "So, you have a report for me, correct?"

"Yes, sir," the lavender warrior replied. "The progress report for my new recruit."

"Mm. Begin."

"Sir, even though we had high expectations of the Tokage to begin with, this particular one is exceptional. I'm beginning to think he could be a mutation, like my men and myself…"

"Oh?" Freeza sounded with a bit of interest. "Well, wouldn't that be something, a task force full of anomalies… What are the chances?"

"However," he continued. "He is rather young, barely into manhood. My only concern would be when the time comes for him to kill. That could prove to be a bit of a hurdle…"

Freeza didn't appear concerned by this in the least. "Yes, having such a youth among experience soldiers could prove to be troublesome… Well, if he doesn't do what is expected of him here, you must simply… eliminate him. A simple solution to a simple problem."

"Of course, sir," Ginyu bowed deeply. "As always, you have the answers."

For Berter, on the other hand, the day had been a strange one, indeed. Talks of power levels, flying and posing? They were all such foreign concepts. He was still completely oblivious to what was in store for him in his training. Day at an end, the young man returned to his home. Upon his return, he found a letter attached to the front door addressed to his person. Dismounting from his Marzipan, he reached for the letter and began to read.

Most Humorous Son,

I really am rather amused by you. Did you think things would just start off great between the two of you as soon as you started living together? In comparison, things between your mother and I weren't exactly a bushel of Zipan fruits when we first started, either. Oh, I could tell you stories—OW!! Please excuse the interruption, as your mother has just assaulted me for my last sentence. Bother… Pain aside, it's best if you don't do anything to get her angry. It would be safer to wrestle a tri-horn than to try your luck with a woman enraged. That segment aside, your mother and I are faring quite well. She misses you terribly, though, and has been dropping hints for the want of another progeny. It would be in her best interest if you were to give us a visit once you are all settled. Perhaps that will get her mind off of such nonsense. And what is this about a task force? I can't say I am pleased with this, as it is not the sort of fighting we, as Tokage, would deem appropriate. However, if it is mandatory, you should do your best and become stronger. Fare you well, son.

Your Nurturer,

Kyôrusan