***********Episode 11***********
**All Out Battle Royal! By Myself**
Bardock kicked into the air, imagining the face of some random Sayin in its place. The face was laughing at him. How dare he! How dare he!!
What do I do to ignore what's behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride and wait for these bad dreams
To give into sad thoughts that are maddening?
Do I let it go and try to stand it
Or do I try to catch them red handed?
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness
Or trust nobody and live in loneliness
Bardock panted from exhaustion. He couldn't stop. It didn't matter to him that every muscle in his body was throbbing. It didn't matter that his eyes burned for sleep. All that mattered was winning. Winning the tournament. Winning respect! Winning peace! It all depends now!
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily facade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
By myself
By myself
I can't hold on
Its all too much to take in
I can't hold on
With thoughts of failure sinking in
He punched the training bag rapidly. Tora's cold glare, Zucina's face before they fought, Cole's pushing hi on . . . they didn't understand. They don't know what its like to be alone. To be hurt, to be mad, to be afraid, to be angry all the time!
If I turn my back I'm defenseless
But to go blindly seems senseless
If I hide my pride and let it all go on
Then They'll take from me 'til everything is gone
If I let them go I'll be outdone
But if I try then I'll be outrun
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer
By myself
Bardock sent a course of ki through his body and sent it skyward, forcing it down on him. He blocked the ball of white ki, forcing it up inch by inch. No one around to hear him struggle. No one to know how hard he tried or what this fighting meant to him. All they cared about were results! No one cares about trying. No one! No one!!
Don't you know
I can't tell you how to make it go
No matter what I do how hard I try
I can't seem to convince myself why
I'm stuck on the outside
After the ki crashed against the ceiling, Bardock fell face first on the ground. He got back up, tried a round-house kick, and landed right back where he started. More tired then hurt, Bardock stared into the darkness, sweat dripping from his face. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did he have to torture himself to be accepted? Should he stop and just remain an outcast? Why? Why!?!
By myself
I can't hold on
Its all too much to take in
I can't hold on
With thoughts of failure sinking in*
============================================================================
[Commercial Break]
* - lyrics from Linkin Park's "By Myself"
============================================================================
Something tickled his nose. It was fuzzy and soft. Bardock rubbed his nose, not opening his eyes, but it continued. Unconsciously, he sniffed. The dust bunny only came closer, until the young Sayin sneezed. He finally opened his eyes and looked around curiously. He had fallen asleep in the training arena!
"Uh? Wha-? Huh?" Bardock mumbled, trying to fully get his bearings. "I was trainin' and -" It dawned on him: The tournament was today!
His eyes went as huge as dinner plates and he let out several colorful words. "How long did I sleep!?!?!" He checked the arena clock. Four minutes to 10. The tournament's third class division started at ten!!
Screaming and running to the point were his legs blurred and a smoke trailed him, Bardock sped to the barracks, put on a clean uniform, and sped to the sign-up sheet.
Tora sighed. The sign-ups closed in two minutes and Bardock still hadn't showed. 'Maybe the runt chickened out,' he thought, 'or over-slept. Serve him right!' Still, even as he thought it, he couldn't help looking back at the clock and down the passage anxiously.
"One minute," called Turnook, who was in charge of sign-ups. He smiled. There was no way the Low Level Loser would get there in time.
The seconds hand ticked louder then usual as time passed. Bardock had thirty seconds. Then fifteen. Then ten . . . . nine . . . eight . . .
A gray blur crashed into the table, causing all of the paper to fly. Turnook called out in surprise. Two girl next to him scrambled away, caught off guard. In the confusion, Bardock grabbed the pen, the paper, and held it up. "TIME," he cried in jubilation!
Turnook stared in disbelief. There was no WAY the kid could have signed his name so fast! But sure enough, the word "Bardock" was scrawled at the bottom in ink splats. And the small Sayin grinned in savage triumph.
The preliminaries were simple enough: Be the last two left in the ring when time was called. The areas were in a large, but confined room. The real competition wouldn't take place here, only the elimination rounds. Bardock was assigned his area. "Phooey," he said aloud. "Nipper ain't in mine. I coulda gotten rid of him early."
"Good luck, kid," one of the girls said as she passed by.
Bardock memorized her face. Whenever someone talked to him on their own accord, he wanted to make sure he knew what they said.
Tora also passed by to another area, but they both said nothing. Bardock was still sore on Tora abandoning and betraying him. Tora wouldn't have minded quite as much . . . if Bardock hadn't pick-pocketed the access key from him!
The referee blew his whistle. Bardock scanned the fighters in his ring: 45 of them, and not one looked that strong. Frustrated with being thought of as weak once again, Bardock simply sat down on one side of the ring and waited.
He kept his eyes open to watch for possible opponents. 'That big one is strong . . . kuso! He just got booted off by that girl. Maybe he is . . . no, he fell out. Idiot! How about that guy with a mustache? Naw, he's too much of a push-over. That girl was able to . . . Waitta sec! That girl! She's pushin' out almost everybody!'
It was true. The same girl who wished Bardock luck earlier cleaned house! With nothing more then a few kicks, she moved from here to there knocking everyone out of the ring. Unfortunately, she was moving right at Bardock!
'So much for waiting,' Bardock thought. He jumped over her head, did a couple of well placed round-house kicks, and domino-knocked all of the rest of the fighter in the ring, save the girl.
"Wow," she said. "That was a nice move. What's it called?"
"You mean those silly round-houses? They're called Clean-Houses**'. My friend Tora . . ." but he trailed off, almost forgetting he wasn't speaking to Tora, much less of him. It didn't feel right. "You're good, too. There aren't that many female warriors around."
"That's because there aren't as many females as males anymore," she replied without emotion.
"What's your name?"
"Fasha." She winked at him. "See ya in the next round!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
** - Clean-House Kick - think of a domino effect; this kick takes a lot of concentration and planning, but Bardock can do it effortlessly!
Hey! I'm Bardock!
Numbers are drawn, and I have to fight a totally gay opponent! But if I win, I'll get to face Nipper in the next round! But this guy is a lot stronger then he looks! Then again, so am I!
Start the first round next time on DragonballBC: Round One Go! The Song of the Squash
**All Out Battle Royal! By Myself**
Bardock kicked into the air, imagining the face of some random Sayin in its place. The face was laughing at him. How dare he! How dare he!!
What do I do to ignore what's behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride and wait for these bad dreams
To give into sad thoughts that are maddening?
Do I let it go and try to stand it
Or do I try to catch them red handed?
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness
Or trust nobody and live in loneliness
Bardock panted from exhaustion. He couldn't stop. It didn't matter to him that every muscle in his body was throbbing. It didn't matter that his eyes burned for sleep. All that mattered was winning. Winning the tournament. Winning respect! Winning peace! It all depends now!
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily facade but then
I just end up getting hurt again
By myself
By myself
I can't hold on
Its all too much to take in
I can't hold on
With thoughts of failure sinking in
He punched the training bag rapidly. Tora's cold glare, Zucina's face before they fought, Cole's pushing hi on . . . they didn't understand. They don't know what its like to be alone. To be hurt, to be mad, to be afraid, to be angry all the time!
If I turn my back I'm defenseless
But to go blindly seems senseless
If I hide my pride and let it all go on
Then They'll take from me 'til everything is gone
If I let them go I'll be outdone
But if I try then I'll be outrun
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer
By myself
Bardock sent a course of ki through his body and sent it skyward, forcing it down on him. He blocked the ball of white ki, forcing it up inch by inch. No one around to hear him struggle. No one to know how hard he tried or what this fighting meant to him. All they cared about were results! No one cares about trying. No one! No one!!
Don't you know
I can't tell you how to make it go
No matter what I do how hard I try
I can't seem to convince myself why
I'm stuck on the outside
After the ki crashed against the ceiling, Bardock fell face first on the ground. He got back up, tried a round-house kick, and landed right back where he started. More tired then hurt, Bardock stared into the darkness, sweat dripping from his face. Why? Why did it have to be this way? Why did he have to torture himself to be accepted? Should he stop and just remain an outcast? Why? Why!?!
By myself
I can't hold on
Its all too much to take in
I can't hold on
With thoughts of failure sinking in*
============================================================================
[Commercial Break]
* - lyrics from Linkin Park's "By Myself"
============================================================================
Something tickled his nose. It was fuzzy and soft. Bardock rubbed his nose, not opening his eyes, but it continued. Unconsciously, he sniffed. The dust bunny only came closer, until the young Sayin sneezed. He finally opened his eyes and looked around curiously. He had fallen asleep in the training arena!
"Uh? Wha-? Huh?" Bardock mumbled, trying to fully get his bearings. "I was trainin' and -" It dawned on him: The tournament was today!
His eyes went as huge as dinner plates and he let out several colorful words. "How long did I sleep!?!?!" He checked the arena clock. Four minutes to 10. The tournament's third class division started at ten!!
Screaming and running to the point were his legs blurred and a smoke trailed him, Bardock sped to the barracks, put on a clean uniform, and sped to the sign-up sheet.
Tora sighed. The sign-ups closed in two minutes and Bardock still hadn't showed. 'Maybe the runt chickened out,' he thought, 'or over-slept. Serve him right!' Still, even as he thought it, he couldn't help looking back at the clock and down the passage anxiously.
"One minute," called Turnook, who was in charge of sign-ups. He smiled. There was no way the Low Level Loser would get there in time.
The seconds hand ticked louder then usual as time passed. Bardock had thirty seconds. Then fifteen. Then ten . . . . nine . . . eight . . .
A gray blur crashed into the table, causing all of the paper to fly. Turnook called out in surprise. Two girl next to him scrambled away, caught off guard. In the confusion, Bardock grabbed the pen, the paper, and held it up. "TIME," he cried in jubilation!
Turnook stared in disbelief. There was no WAY the kid could have signed his name so fast! But sure enough, the word "Bardock" was scrawled at the bottom in ink splats. And the small Sayin grinned in savage triumph.
The preliminaries were simple enough: Be the last two left in the ring when time was called. The areas were in a large, but confined room. The real competition wouldn't take place here, only the elimination rounds. Bardock was assigned his area. "Phooey," he said aloud. "Nipper ain't in mine. I coulda gotten rid of him early."
"Good luck, kid," one of the girls said as she passed by.
Bardock memorized her face. Whenever someone talked to him on their own accord, he wanted to make sure he knew what they said.
Tora also passed by to another area, but they both said nothing. Bardock was still sore on Tora abandoning and betraying him. Tora wouldn't have minded quite as much . . . if Bardock hadn't pick-pocketed the access key from him!
The referee blew his whistle. Bardock scanned the fighters in his ring: 45 of them, and not one looked that strong. Frustrated with being thought of as weak once again, Bardock simply sat down on one side of the ring and waited.
He kept his eyes open to watch for possible opponents. 'That big one is strong . . . kuso! He just got booted off by that girl. Maybe he is . . . no, he fell out. Idiot! How about that guy with a mustache? Naw, he's too much of a push-over. That girl was able to . . . Waitta sec! That girl! She's pushin' out almost everybody!'
It was true. The same girl who wished Bardock luck earlier cleaned house! With nothing more then a few kicks, she moved from here to there knocking everyone out of the ring. Unfortunately, she was moving right at Bardock!
'So much for waiting,' Bardock thought. He jumped over her head, did a couple of well placed round-house kicks, and domino-knocked all of the rest of the fighter in the ring, save the girl.
"Wow," she said. "That was a nice move. What's it called?"
"You mean those silly round-houses? They're called Clean-Houses**'. My friend Tora . . ." but he trailed off, almost forgetting he wasn't speaking to Tora, much less of him. It didn't feel right. "You're good, too. There aren't that many female warriors around."
"That's because there aren't as many females as males anymore," she replied without emotion.
"What's your name?"
"Fasha." She winked at him. "See ya in the next round!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
** - Clean-House Kick - think of a domino effect; this kick takes a lot of concentration and planning, but Bardock can do it effortlessly!
Hey! I'm Bardock!
Numbers are drawn, and I have to fight a totally gay opponent! But if I win, I'll get to face Nipper in the next round! But this guy is a lot stronger then he looks! Then again, so am I!
Start the first round next time on DragonballBC: Round One Go! The Song of the Squash