~~Toyland, Toyland
~~Dear little girl and boy land
~~When you dwell within it
~~You are ever happy there!
.
~~Childhood Toyland
~~Mystical merry Toyland
~~Once you pass it's borders
~~You can never return again!
.
"I can't believe you agreed to help some rejects from a storybook," grumbled Tora to Bardock.
The stuffed animals leant them friendly fairy, Gardenia, to lead the way to the castle. More irritated then gratified, they followed the flicking pixie through the forest. "I'm really pleased that you decided to help us out! You must be very strong and brave! Either that, or equally foolish. The Puppet Master has been gathering followers since before I was born, and I know all of them are strong. They are some of the strongest of all races! For you to be ready to fight off hundreds and hundreds of them . . ."
As she babbled, Bardock hopped a little. The gravity of the planet was much less then Vegetasei. Not good for ground attacks, but ideal for aerial. He licked his finger and tested for the wind direction. Every detail had to be taken into account. He had no idea what he was going to be facing.
"Ulg," Tora groaned, holding his nose. "What the hell izzat!?"
Gardenia laughed. "Oh, that must just be Doggie." She pointed to a large pile of . . . what looked like dirt. Bardock pinched his nose. "That is one big pile-o-shit!"
"Wait'll you see the creature that MADE it! He's huge!!"
Bardock tried to picture Zucina's reaction to such a large animal. "No wonder she got captured! She's afraid of animals."
"Sorry I missed it," grinned Tora.
"Then she must have really been scared of Doggie. He's this big!" She did a flying turnabout forty feet wide.
"Gotcha," said Bardock. 'This might be more difficult then I thought.'
Tora made a gagging noise. "Can we move on now? I can't breathe!"
"Here," she giggled, pointed through the trees. "Candyland Castle is right over there!"
"Candyland," asked Tora. "Man, sounds like a bad name for a board game!"
He pushed aside the tree leaves and gasped. The large castle put Vegetasei's Imperial Palace to shame! Able to fit a small city, Candyland Castle was actually MADE of candy! Slick, peppermint sticks held fast the guard walls, the towers were lemon and cherry Jolly Rancher hard candies, the roofs were chocolate bars stretched with caramel, the windows colorful jelly beans, and the drawbridge was made out of peanut brittle.
"Beautiful, isn't it," cooed Gardenia. "I helped grow the cotton candied flower gardens inside. Teeheehee, a true tribute to our beautiful planet! What do you think Ba- Bardock? Tora? Where'd you go?"
She saw the Sayins walking toward it, mesmerized, mouths watering. "This is every Sayin's greatest dream," muttered Bardock.
Tora reached the sugary gates first. He caressed it, purring happily. But before he could get a good lick, a door suddenly opened underneath his feet. He yelled out as he disappeared from sight.
"TORA!!!" Bardock screamed out. He dropped to his knees and scratched around the place where the door opened. But the ground was now smooth, not even a crack showing. He searched for Tora's ki, and found he was alive. As he did, the bridge lowered. Gardenia darted to his shoulder, voice not laughing but serious. "Be forewarned, the prince may be small, but he is very crafty. He'll do everything he can to trick you into surrendering your power to him."
Bardock glowered. 'Kuso! Now Tora's gone! He should be okay, though.' "Let him try," he chuckled. "I'm ready." He stepped through the gates.
Inside was as glorious and rich in flavor as the outside. Gardens of mint and sweets of all kinds. Fountains of soda and snowfalls of sugar. If Bardock's mind wasn't so intent on the following battle, he would have been in heaven!
Trumpets blared from no where. Bardock's eyes shifted, searching for movement. A small figure from the top of the stairs zoomed to the banister and slid down. Out from the bottom popped a - was it a boy or an imp? The child before him couldn't have been older then six years old! His head ended at Bardock's waist, his skin was blue, eyes yellow with green slits for pupils, hair light brown and messy, four three-fingered arms skinny, and he wore a striped T-shirt with jeans. If his pointed teeth didn't show, Bardock would thought he was an innocent child.
**
**
Tora coughed through the dust cloud that hung over him after his landing. He looked up, straining to see the door he had fallen through, now the size of a stamp. "Gotta watch out for that first step," he joked.
As keen as Sayin senses are, Tora need light in order to find a way out. Searching quickly, he found an unlit torch on a nearby wall. Lighting it, he turned around. He was in a high chamber, filled with space ships of every variety imaginable packed into clear boxes, as if for display. There was a long corridor nearby, made of chocolate chips and peanuts in caramel, leading to a small, wooden door.
Not worried too much, Tora started walking down the hall, holding up his ki-lit blue torch.
**
**
"Welcome friend," the boy said in a small voice. "A Sayin warrior, if I'm not mistaken."
"You ain't," said Bardock, trying to smile.
"Glad you landed here," the boy said. "My name is Peter! I set up a banquet for you. Want some now?"
"No thanks," said Bardock with extreme difficulty.
Peter's face twitched. "A Sayin refusing a meal? Come now, its-"
"I'm here to take my friend back. Where is she?"
"Friend? I don't know what you are talking about."
"My friend an' companion. She's a head shorter 'n me, got purple hair, magenta leotard, and white armor. Now will you hand her to me, or do I have ta take her?"
The boy laughed. "Don't give orders here! Only I can give them! But, I like you! You look cool! How'd you get that scar, in battle?"
"Against my friend, as a matter of fact."
The Puppet Master's eyes narrowed. "Forget her for a minute. I want to talk with you. Come on! I want to show you something!"
If it not for the fact that Zucina may be in the castle, Bardock would have destroyed the little creature right then and there. However, worried Zucina may be under his control, he followed. The inside reflected the outside, rich in flavor and color.
"Nice digs," Bardock commented. He got an idea; a military procedure he learned at school that rarely failed came to mind: reverse psychology. "Ano, wanna play something?"
"Sure," Peter said, getting excited. "How about 'I Spy'? You like that game?"
"Never heard of it."
"It goes like this." He looked around the room and recited: "I spy with my little eye, something . . . fluffy! Now, you look for something fluffy!"
Bardock scanned the room. Maybe, with this minor distraction, he could search for Zucina's power level. He wandered around, keeping an eye out for anything fluffy. Unfortunately, he found a cotton candy flower before he got much of a chance to seek out for Zucina. "Here's somethin'."
"That was an easy one. Your turn!"
"Right. Find someth-"
"You have to say the rhyme," ordered Peter, stamping his foot.
"Rrrr. Okay, I spy with my little eye something . . .," then he gasped at what he saw in a window.
"Oh, that's just my parents," replied Peter with a giggle. "I had them decapitated because they didn't play with me." He smiled slyly. "You're pale, Bardock. Hungry?"
"Not really," chuckled Bardock nervously, a sweat-drop formed on his head. The statues of the headless royals forced his appetite to vanish. There necks spouted cherry soda, looking horribly like blood. "Uh . . . Let's play another game, okay?"
"Sure! How about 'Hide and Seek'?"
"Never played it."
"Man, that one is known all over the galaxy! What games DID you play when you were a kid?!"
"None." Bardock despised saying much else to the boy, but to avoid more questions later on while he searched, he explained. "My mother was an abusive drunk, my sister a cheap whore, and I was hated by all of my kind because I was born so weak. Satisfied?"
Peter giggled wickedly. "Why does power matter so much to you Sayins? You must have really been pathetic to be hated by 'all of your kind'! You tightasses should just have some fun!"
Bardock's eyes darkened. 'Remember, Zucina's hidden somewhere, an' Tora's downstairs, so don't kill the brat yet,' he ordered himself. "How do ya play 'Hide 'n Seek?"
**
**
Tora pried some candy off the wall and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm, chewy," he commented. As soon as the chocolate left the wall, the caramel slid down and replaced the small hole. "Cool, I could get used to this."
He reached the end of the hallway and opened the wooden door. It was pitch dark. He stepped through and closed the door behind him. For some reason, his nose twitched, as if warning him about something nearby. "Oh man! What's that smell?!" Raising his torch, he looked around for a door.
Six pairs of eyes, each about as large as his head, stared back from three huge, black, furry heads, along with three sets of sharp, long teeth.
An anime drop slid down the back of Tora's head. "Oh Mama . . ."
One of the heads snapped, and Tora took off. Moving with pristine accuracy, Tora dodged the thrashing teeth and tail. Each time Doggie barked, the air shook, but Tora didn't waver. Left, right, upright, down, up, leftup, down, etc. He kept his eyes on the Cerberus' muscles instead of his heads to predict his movements; a little trick he learned from Cole during training.
But nothing prepared him for what came next. His stomach gave a horrible lurch, and Tora plummeted with sudden pain. He crashed to the floor, scrambling out of the dog's way. Why did he have to eat that candy!?
**
**
"Its easy, I'll hide while you close your eyes and count to ten. Then, after you say, 'Ready or not, here I come,' you look for me."
"Great! Go hide!" He turned around and closed his eyes. 'Perfect! I'll find Zucina while looking fer him!' He counted, called out the familiar phrase, then proceeded to search.
After a minute of investigating the room, he started opening doors at random. Most of the décor reminded Bardock of a nightmare; a paradise for a child but sick and twisted. The kitchen had flowers, sweets, and was strewn with animal guts. Another room had toys of all kinds, some with all of their body parts, but most without. Various toy heads were impaled upon pencils lining the windows. Yet another toy room held toys dipped in blood, along with paintings smelling strongly of bodily fluids.
"Gettin' mighty graphic, ain't you Una?"
Don't ignore the fourth wall, Bardock!
Finally, at the end of the first floor hallway, Bardock came to a locked double-door with brass handles and strange markings. Stretching out his ki-finding techniques, he sensed great powers on the other side. A chill ran down his back. There were so many!
"Naughty naughty, Sayin monkey," said Peter, suddenly behind him.
Bardock prepared to fight if the boy struck first, but instead Peter grinned. "Wanna see," he asked with that creepy smile of his. "This is my toy chest," he said. "Open the door."
The great doors opened on their own. The inside was dark, even to Sayin eyes. The boy's eyes glowed like a cat's. "Wanna see my toys," he asked in his childish voice of anticipation.
Still worried about Zucina's safety, Bardock said, "Yeah, whatever."
The boy laughed, in his "innocent" way, and switched on the lights with a snap of his fingers.
Bardock found himself in a vast corridor. This one, not colorful like the last, was black, and stretched out for miles and miles. The walls were aligned with life-sized action figure boxes. Each box contained a living, breathing alien, all strong fighters, in a deep sleep.
Unable to hold in his awe, Bardock staggered down the pathway with his mouth open. The villagers said he gathered an army, but not even FREIZA had this many warriors!!
"Impressive, isn't it," boasted the boy. "It has taken my zurals to collect them all. It's not complete yet. I need some more Sayins first. Just think, Bardock, you could be the general! Yes, I know your name. I've known about you for a long time. My computer measured your power and finds that you are the most potential fighter in the universe! Oh man! I had to meet you! I want you! You've just gotta be my brand new-"
"Toy," Bardock spat. "You call this loyalty!?! They're in a deep sleep!!"
"Loyalty is what you make of it," Peter reasoned. "But, you seem different. You know what its like, not having parents who like you." His eyes darkened, and his voice turned to one that acted older, and lost. "My only comfort lay in stories. Fairies, damsels in distress, magical creatures, knights in shining armor, gingerbread houses . . . they were my friends. No one played with me when I got sick. My parents made sure of that. So, I had to make people my friends." His eyes lit up. "And they will help me make more friends. Its all a big game!"
Bardock took a step forward. "Sob stories don't work on Sayins, kid."
"They work on you," he said in a sad voice. "You are different then most Sayins. You can play in my ultimate role-playing game! You can't escape it; no one can. But will you be the knight in shining armor, or the evil villain trying to stop me?"
Bardock's stern face didn't change. "Fine," shouted Peter. "I thought I wouldn't have to try to control you. I thought you would understand! I guess I'll have to use force." He inhaled, Bardock was ready to fight anything he called. "MOMMY!!!!" He grinned with pointed teeth at the questioning look on Bardock's face. "My real mummy disappointed me, so I made a replacement."
Bardock's heart stopped. Zucina, dressed in a royal green queen's dress, hurried forward. Under it, Bardock could smell blood. In other words, she fought not to be controlled. Tied around her wrist was a black piece of thread, barely visible.
"Is anything the matter, my son?" She bent down and caressed him lovingly. "Can I do anything for you, Dearest?"
Each word in Zucina's sweet voice pounded into Bardock's heart. "Let . . . her . . . go!"
Peter played his part well. He hugged her and said, "Mummy, you love me, don't you?"
"Of course, my precious."
"Stop it," Bardock growled urgently.
"What about him, Mummy?"
Zucina turned to Bardock, as if noticing him for the first time. "Who is he?"
Bardock's blood boiled dangerously. His temper started getting the better of him again. "He wants to hurt me, Mummy," cried Peter, holding up a wooden marionette controller behind her back. The thread around her wrist was attached somehow. "Kill him for me."
"As you wish." Zucina's eyes glowed red, as did the thread, receiving the order. Before Bardock reacted, Zucina dove forward, punching him hard in the gut. Bardock grunted, but phased out before she followed up her onslaught.
He quickly phased in the air. The LAST thing he wanted was to kill Zucina, much less hurt her, but at this rate he had no choice but to fight. She jumped up, fists out, but Bardock caught them. He spun around and slammed her into the floor, destroying some tile-work.
"Wow," muttered Peter with glee. He wiggled his controllers. "This is a fun game! The damsel in distress is facing her potential captor!"
Zucina responded by blasting Bardock's stomach. Ribs cracking and coughing up blood, Bardock flew back. She phased out, in, out, in, out, and in front of Bardock, throwing a punch. Bardock ducked, so she missed, crashing right into the wall between two packaged warriors.
Trying to control his temper, Bardock reached for the thread, but Zucina jumped over, catching him with the skirt of her dress. Blinded, Bardock tried not to hit too hard, but smashed his fist into her jaw, cracking it.
Surprisingly undaunted, she tried grabbing his tail, but again, Bardock caught her. 'This is too repetitious,' he thought. 'Zuni-chan's never so boring! He must be controlling her completely!' He tried to rip off the thread again, but Zucina pushed him aside. The resulting force broke her arm again, contorting it oddly.
Bardock grit his teeth as if feeling the pain himself. 'She's gonna hate me for that!' The Sayin puppet simply landed, then rammed him with her damaged side. This didn't have much of an effect physically, but surprised Bardock.
"She feels no pain," Peter answered Bardock's unspoken question, laughing. "Not unless I order so. She'll fight until she dies."
'Monster," Bardock thought bitterly. He started punching and kicking, with Zucina trying to block. But the attacks were too fast for Peter to follow, so Bardock ended up forcing the girl to cough up blood in hefty quantities. With one powerful punch, he knocked her to the ground.
Peter laughed, swerved his controllers, and Zucina started blasting at him. Bardock cancelled each out, created a cloud around him. True to his assumption, Peter could not sense power levels like he could, and in the cloud, Bardock lunged at his friend. As if a puppet without strings, Zucina's body slacked, not fighting back. Quickly, Bardock untied the thread around her wrist.
Once the cloud dissipated, and the thread was free, Zucina collapsed, unconscious.
Peter roared with anger. "You took my best toy! Thief!"
Bardock almost felt like laughing in spite of himself. The kid was too delusional! Holding his aching chest, he stood up. "Yer mistake was controllin' her actions. If she fought for real, I'd not've won so easy!"
Peter took out a whistle with one of his bottom hands, and blew on it hard. The ground trembled below the wounded Bardock, the doors flung open, and Doggie, clutching a bloody and unconscious Tora in one mouth, bounded in.
"Holy shit," mouthed Bardock. His voice had vanished with the earthquake.
The dog bent its many heads to its master in an unmistakable bow. Peter only had to point and the dog growled at the two Sayins. Sooner than Bardock could possibly react, one head snapped at Bardock's legs. He jumped, clutching Zucina, paying attention to the one set of jaws. But another chomped onto his torso. Teeth piercing through the armor, the head shook Bardock violently, spilling his blood on the gleeful Puppet Master's face.
Struggling to breathe through the pressure, Bardock tried in vain to open the beast's jaws. The other free head snapped. Unable to take the lack of oxygen and loss of blood, Bardock passed out.
*
*
~~Dear little girl and boy land
~~When you dwell within it
~~You are ever happy there!
.
~~Childhood Toyland
~~Mystical merry Toyland
~~Once you pass it's borders
~~You can never return again!
.
"I can't believe you agreed to help some rejects from a storybook," grumbled Tora to Bardock.
The stuffed animals leant them friendly fairy, Gardenia, to lead the way to the castle. More irritated then gratified, they followed the flicking pixie through the forest. "I'm really pleased that you decided to help us out! You must be very strong and brave! Either that, or equally foolish. The Puppet Master has been gathering followers since before I was born, and I know all of them are strong. They are some of the strongest of all races! For you to be ready to fight off hundreds and hundreds of them . . ."
As she babbled, Bardock hopped a little. The gravity of the planet was much less then Vegetasei. Not good for ground attacks, but ideal for aerial. He licked his finger and tested for the wind direction. Every detail had to be taken into account. He had no idea what he was going to be facing.
"Ulg," Tora groaned, holding his nose. "What the hell izzat!?"
Gardenia laughed. "Oh, that must just be Doggie." She pointed to a large pile of . . . what looked like dirt. Bardock pinched his nose. "That is one big pile-o-shit!"
"Wait'll you see the creature that MADE it! He's huge!!"
Bardock tried to picture Zucina's reaction to such a large animal. "No wonder she got captured! She's afraid of animals."
"Sorry I missed it," grinned Tora.
"Then she must have really been scared of Doggie. He's this big!" She did a flying turnabout forty feet wide.
"Gotcha," said Bardock. 'This might be more difficult then I thought.'
Tora made a gagging noise. "Can we move on now? I can't breathe!"
"Here," she giggled, pointed through the trees. "Candyland Castle is right over there!"
"Candyland," asked Tora. "Man, sounds like a bad name for a board game!"
He pushed aside the tree leaves and gasped. The large castle put Vegetasei's Imperial Palace to shame! Able to fit a small city, Candyland Castle was actually MADE of candy! Slick, peppermint sticks held fast the guard walls, the towers were lemon and cherry Jolly Rancher hard candies, the roofs were chocolate bars stretched with caramel, the windows colorful jelly beans, and the drawbridge was made out of peanut brittle.
"Beautiful, isn't it," cooed Gardenia. "I helped grow the cotton candied flower gardens inside. Teeheehee, a true tribute to our beautiful planet! What do you think Ba- Bardock? Tora? Where'd you go?"
She saw the Sayins walking toward it, mesmerized, mouths watering. "This is every Sayin's greatest dream," muttered Bardock.
Tora reached the sugary gates first. He caressed it, purring happily. But before he could get a good lick, a door suddenly opened underneath his feet. He yelled out as he disappeared from sight.
"TORA!!!" Bardock screamed out. He dropped to his knees and scratched around the place where the door opened. But the ground was now smooth, not even a crack showing. He searched for Tora's ki, and found he was alive. As he did, the bridge lowered. Gardenia darted to his shoulder, voice not laughing but serious. "Be forewarned, the prince may be small, but he is very crafty. He'll do everything he can to trick you into surrendering your power to him."
Bardock glowered. 'Kuso! Now Tora's gone! He should be okay, though.' "Let him try," he chuckled. "I'm ready." He stepped through the gates.
Inside was as glorious and rich in flavor as the outside. Gardens of mint and sweets of all kinds. Fountains of soda and snowfalls of sugar. If Bardock's mind wasn't so intent on the following battle, he would have been in heaven!
Trumpets blared from no where. Bardock's eyes shifted, searching for movement. A small figure from the top of the stairs zoomed to the banister and slid down. Out from the bottom popped a - was it a boy or an imp? The child before him couldn't have been older then six years old! His head ended at Bardock's waist, his skin was blue, eyes yellow with green slits for pupils, hair light brown and messy, four three-fingered arms skinny, and he wore a striped T-shirt with jeans. If his pointed teeth didn't show, Bardock would thought he was an innocent child.
**
**
Tora coughed through the dust cloud that hung over him after his landing. He looked up, straining to see the door he had fallen through, now the size of a stamp. "Gotta watch out for that first step," he joked.
As keen as Sayin senses are, Tora need light in order to find a way out. Searching quickly, he found an unlit torch on a nearby wall. Lighting it, he turned around. He was in a high chamber, filled with space ships of every variety imaginable packed into clear boxes, as if for display. There was a long corridor nearby, made of chocolate chips and peanuts in caramel, leading to a small, wooden door.
Not worried too much, Tora started walking down the hall, holding up his ki-lit blue torch.
**
**
"Welcome friend," the boy said in a small voice. "A Sayin warrior, if I'm not mistaken."
"You ain't," said Bardock, trying to smile.
"Glad you landed here," the boy said. "My name is Peter! I set up a banquet for you. Want some now?"
"No thanks," said Bardock with extreme difficulty.
Peter's face twitched. "A Sayin refusing a meal? Come now, its-"
"I'm here to take my friend back. Where is she?"
"Friend? I don't know what you are talking about."
"My friend an' companion. She's a head shorter 'n me, got purple hair, magenta leotard, and white armor. Now will you hand her to me, or do I have ta take her?"
The boy laughed. "Don't give orders here! Only I can give them! But, I like you! You look cool! How'd you get that scar, in battle?"
"Against my friend, as a matter of fact."
The Puppet Master's eyes narrowed. "Forget her for a minute. I want to talk with you. Come on! I want to show you something!"
If it not for the fact that Zucina may be in the castle, Bardock would have destroyed the little creature right then and there. However, worried Zucina may be under his control, he followed. The inside reflected the outside, rich in flavor and color.
"Nice digs," Bardock commented. He got an idea; a military procedure he learned at school that rarely failed came to mind: reverse psychology. "Ano, wanna play something?"
"Sure," Peter said, getting excited. "How about 'I Spy'? You like that game?"
"Never heard of it."
"It goes like this." He looked around the room and recited: "I spy with my little eye, something . . . fluffy! Now, you look for something fluffy!"
Bardock scanned the room. Maybe, with this minor distraction, he could search for Zucina's power level. He wandered around, keeping an eye out for anything fluffy. Unfortunately, he found a cotton candy flower before he got much of a chance to seek out for Zucina. "Here's somethin'."
"That was an easy one. Your turn!"
"Right. Find someth-"
"You have to say the rhyme," ordered Peter, stamping his foot.
"Rrrr. Okay, I spy with my little eye something . . .," then he gasped at what he saw in a window.
"Oh, that's just my parents," replied Peter with a giggle. "I had them decapitated because they didn't play with me." He smiled slyly. "You're pale, Bardock. Hungry?"
"Not really," chuckled Bardock nervously, a sweat-drop formed on his head. The statues of the headless royals forced his appetite to vanish. There necks spouted cherry soda, looking horribly like blood. "Uh . . . Let's play another game, okay?"
"Sure! How about 'Hide and Seek'?"
"Never played it."
"Man, that one is known all over the galaxy! What games DID you play when you were a kid?!"
"None." Bardock despised saying much else to the boy, but to avoid more questions later on while he searched, he explained. "My mother was an abusive drunk, my sister a cheap whore, and I was hated by all of my kind because I was born so weak. Satisfied?"
Peter giggled wickedly. "Why does power matter so much to you Sayins? You must have really been pathetic to be hated by 'all of your kind'! You tightasses should just have some fun!"
Bardock's eyes darkened. 'Remember, Zucina's hidden somewhere, an' Tora's downstairs, so don't kill the brat yet,' he ordered himself. "How do ya play 'Hide 'n Seek?"
**
**
Tora pried some candy off the wall and popped it into his mouth. "Mmm, chewy," he commented. As soon as the chocolate left the wall, the caramel slid down and replaced the small hole. "Cool, I could get used to this."
He reached the end of the hallway and opened the wooden door. It was pitch dark. He stepped through and closed the door behind him. For some reason, his nose twitched, as if warning him about something nearby. "Oh man! What's that smell?!" Raising his torch, he looked around for a door.
Six pairs of eyes, each about as large as his head, stared back from three huge, black, furry heads, along with three sets of sharp, long teeth.
An anime drop slid down the back of Tora's head. "Oh Mama . . ."
One of the heads snapped, and Tora took off. Moving with pristine accuracy, Tora dodged the thrashing teeth and tail. Each time Doggie barked, the air shook, but Tora didn't waver. Left, right, upright, down, up, leftup, down, etc. He kept his eyes on the Cerberus' muscles instead of his heads to predict his movements; a little trick he learned from Cole during training.
But nothing prepared him for what came next. His stomach gave a horrible lurch, and Tora plummeted with sudden pain. He crashed to the floor, scrambling out of the dog's way. Why did he have to eat that candy!?
**
**
"Its easy, I'll hide while you close your eyes and count to ten. Then, after you say, 'Ready or not, here I come,' you look for me."
"Great! Go hide!" He turned around and closed his eyes. 'Perfect! I'll find Zucina while looking fer him!' He counted, called out the familiar phrase, then proceeded to search.
After a minute of investigating the room, he started opening doors at random. Most of the décor reminded Bardock of a nightmare; a paradise for a child but sick and twisted. The kitchen had flowers, sweets, and was strewn with animal guts. Another room had toys of all kinds, some with all of their body parts, but most without. Various toy heads were impaled upon pencils lining the windows. Yet another toy room held toys dipped in blood, along with paintings smelling strongly of bodily fluids.
"Gettin' mighty graphic, ain't you Una?"
Don't ignore the fourth wall, Bardock!
Finally, at the end of the first floor hallway, Bardock came to a locked double-door with brass handles and strange markings. Stretching out his ki-finding techniques, he sensed great powers on the other side. A chill ran down his back. There were so many!
"Naughty naughty, Sayin monkey," said Peter, suddenly behind him.
Bardock prepared to fight if the boy struck first, but instead Peter grinned. "Wanna see," he asked with that creepy smile of his. "This is my toy chest," he said. "Open the door."
The great doors opened on their own. The inside was dark, even to Sayin eyes. The boy's eyes glowed like a cat's. "Wanna see my toys," he asked in his childish voice of anticipation.
Still worried about Zucina's safety, Bardock said, "Yeah, whatever."
The boy laughed, in his "innocent" way, and switched on the lights with a snap of his fingers.
Bardock found himself in a vast corridor. This one, not colorful like the last, was black, and stretched out for miles and miles. The walls were aligned with life-sized action figure boxes. Each box contained a living, breathing alien, all strong fighters, in a deep sleep.
Unable to hold in his awe, Bardock staggered down the pathway with his mouth open. The villagers said he gathered an army, but not even FREIZA had this many warriors!!
"Impressive, isn't it," boasted the boy. "It has taken my zurals to collect them all. It's not complete yet. I need some more Sayins first. Just think, Bardock, you could be the general! Yes, I know your name. I've known about you for a long time. My computer measured your power and finds that you are the most potential fighter in the universe! Oh man! I had to meet you! I want you! You've just gotta be my brand new-"
"Toy," Bardock spat. "You call this loyalty!?! They're in a deep sleep!!"
"Loyalty is what you make of it," Peter reasoned. "But, you seem different. You know what its like, not having parents who like you." His eyes darkened, and his voice turned to one that acted older, and lost. "My only comfort lay in stories. Fairies, damsels in distress, magical creatures, knights in shining armor, gingerbread houses . . . they were my friends. No one played with me when I got sick. My parents made sure of that. So, I had to make people my friends." His eyes lit up. "And they will help me make more friends. Its all a big game!"
Bardock took a step forward. "Sob stories don't work on Sayins, kid."
"They work on you," he said in a sad voice. "You are different then most Sayins. You can play in my ultimate role-playing game! You can't escape it; no one can. But will you be the knight in shining armor, or the evil villain trying to stop me?"
Bardock's stern face didn't change. "Fine," shouted Peter. "I thought I wouldn't have to try to control you. I thought you would understand! I guess I'll have to use force." He inhaled, Bardock was ready to fight anything he called. "MOMMY!!!!" He grinned with pointed teeth at the questioning look on Bardock's face. "My real mummy disappointed me, so I made a replacement."
Bardock's heart stopped. Zucina, dressed in a royal green queen's dress, hurried forward. Under it, Bardock could smell blood. In other words, she fought not to be controlled. Tied around her wrist was a black piece of thread, barely visible.
"Is anything the matter, my son?" She bent down and caressed him lovingly. "Can I do anything for you, Dearest?"
Each word in Zucina's sweet voice pounded into Bardock's heart. "Let . . . her . . . go!"
Peter played his part well. He hugged her and said, "Mummy, you love me, don't you?"
"Of course, my precious."
"Stop it," Bardock growled urgently.
"What about him, Mummy?"
Zucina turned to Bardock, as if noticing him for the first time. "Who is he?"
Bardock's blood boiled dangerously. His temper started getting the better of him again. "He wants to hurt me, Mummy," cried Peter, holding up a wooden marionette controller behind her back. The thread around her wrist was attached somehow. "Kill him for me."
"As you wish." Zucina's eyes glowed red, as did the thread, receiving the order. Before Bardock reacted, Zucina dove forward, punching him hard in the gut. Bardock grunted, but phased out before she followed up her onslaught.
He quickly phased in the air. The LAST thing he wanted was to kill Zucina, much less hurt her, but at this rate he had no choice but to fight. She jumped up, fists out, but Bardock caught them. He spun around and slammed her into the floor, destroying some tile-work.
"Wow," muttered Peter with glee. He wiggled his controllers. "This is a fun game! The damsel in distress is facing her potential captor!"
Zucina responded by blasting Bardock's stomach. Ribs cracking and coughing up blood, Bardock flew back. She phased out, in, out, in, out, and in front of Bardock, throwing a punch. Bardock ducked, so she missed, crashing right into the wall between two packaged warriors.
Trying to control his temper, Bardock reached for the thread, but Zucina jumped over, catching him with the skirt of her dress. Blinded, Bardock tried not to hit too hard, but smashed his fist into her jaw, cracking it.
Surprisingly undaunted, she tried grabbing his tail, but again, Bardock caught her. 'This is too repetitious,' he thought. 'Zuni-chan's never so boring! He must be controlling her completely!' He tried to rip off the thread again, but Zucina pushed him aside. The resulting force broke her arm again, contorting it oddly.
Bardock grit his teeth as if feeling the pain himself. 'She's gonna hate me for that!' The Sayin puppet simply landed, then rammed him with her damaged side. This didn't have much of an effect physically, but surprised Bardock.
"She feels no pain," Peter answered Bardock's unspoken question, laughing. "Not unless I order so. She'll fight until she dies."
'Monster," Bardock thought bitterly. He started punching and kicking, with Zucina trying to block. But the attacks were too fast for Peter to follow, so Bardock ended up forcing the girl to cough up blood in hefty quantities. With one powerful punch, he knocked her to the ground.
Peter laughed, swerved his controllers, and Zucina started blasting at him. Bardock cancelled each out, created a cloud around him. True to his assumption, Peter could not sense power levels like he could, and in the cloud, Bardock lunged at his friend. As if a puppet without strings, Zucina's body slacked, not fighting back. Quickly, Bardock untied the thread around her wrist.
Once the cloud dissipated, and the thread was free, Zucina collapsed, unconscious.
Peter roared with anger. "You took my best toy! Thief!"
Bardock almost felt like laughing in spite of himself. The kid was too delusional! Holding his aching chest, he stood up. "Yer mistake was controllin' her actions. If she fought for real, I'd not've won so easy!"
Peter took out a whistle with one of his bottom hands, and blew on it hard. The ground trembled below the wounded Bardock, the doors flung open, and Doggie, clutching a bloody and unconscious Tora in one mouth, bounded in.
"Holy shit," mouthed Bardock. His voice had vanished with the earthquake.
The dog bent its many heads to its master in an unmistakable bow. Peter only had to point and the dog growled at the two Sayins. Sooner than Bardock could possibly react, one head snapped at Bardock's legs. He jumped, clutching Zucina, paying attention to the one set of jaws. But another chomped onto his torso. Teeth piercing through the armor, the head shook Bardock violently, spilling his blood on the gleeful Puppet Master's face.
Struggling to breathe through the pressure, Bardock tried in vain to open the beast's jaws. The other free head snapped. Unable to take the lack of oxygen and loss of blood, Bardock passed out.
*
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