*************Episode 14***************
**End of the Match? The King's Decision**
"So, you want to continue the beating?" Nipper snickered and strolled to the boy half his size. Bardock, severely injured, didn't put up a struggle as Nipper pulled the boy off the ground by the front of his collar. "Pathetic! All the fight's outta ya!"
Bardock didn't pay attention. Tora's motion played out in his mind. Fist, draw back, punch? Was it a punch or throw? A throw of what?
KI!!!!! THAT'S what Tora didn't tell him! His secret weapon!
Nipper threw Bardock into the air as hard as he could muster. Through the air, Bardock took his time to gather his ki. This would be it! The moment of truth!
Bardock turned around as soon as he reached the ceiling (a very long way up!). He launch himself, kicking his feet against the ceiling, and bulleted downward. The added momentum created a sonic boom that shook the stadium. The crowd hushed in awe.
"SOLAR STRIKE!!!!!!!" A blue-white beam shot from Bardock's hand, which he pitched like a baseball (get it now?).
Nipper called out his own beam, but it was lost in the forced down ki. Bardock gave an extra push to the Solar Strike, and finally it hit Nipper. The bully blocked as best he could, but was knocked unconscious from the effort.
When the smoke cleared, Bardock rammed face-first into the ring, knocking stones out of alignment. Rubaru appeared, and started to make the ten count. Nipper's clothes were smoking from the blast, and Bardock was now bleeding profusely from his head.
"1 . . . 2 . . ."
"What's going on," asked Fasha, just joining Tora in the locker room by the door. "You're blue. Haven't you been breathing?"
Tora had in fact been holding his breath, but still didn't bother to breathe now. 'Come on come on come on come on come on come on!'
"3 . . . 4 . . ."
Bardock's eyes opened. He blinked away some of the blood, trying to see straight. What was going on? Where was he?
"5 . . . 6 . . ."
"He's not moving," Fasha screeched in horror.
"He has to," muttered Tora. "There has to be a way to help him!"
"7 . . . 8 . . ."
"I know," Tora cried. He cupped his hands together. "Yo, Bardock! If you win, I'll treat you to some ice cream from the kitchens!"
"9 . . ."
Bardock's ears twitched. Ice cream?
Before the ref said ten, Bardock hopped on his feet and held up two fingers as a sign of victory! A grin spread across his face as he heard the count of ten for Nipper. "That was for Beanu, fucker!"
The crowd exploded into cheers. The room crammed with so much noise, Bardock felt he could have ridden it to the ceiling. It was a wonderful feeling, Victory. He won! He beat Nipper! And his classmates loved him for it! Not only was has accepted, he was LOVED! Beanu beat-down had been avenged, and Bardock proved himself stronger then Nipper!!
"MATTE*," Rubaru called over the crowd, rushing up into the ring. "BARDOCK IS DISQUALIFIED!!!!"
Boos echoed throughout the audience. Bardock stood stunned. "Why?"
"His Majesty King Vegeta saw you touch out of bounds," Rubaru declared. "Did you or did you not touch the ceiling?"
"Y-yes, I did," answered Bardock earnestly.
"According to His Majesty, that is considered out of bounds." He leaned down and grinned at Bardock. "Nipper wins by default."
"Bu-bu-but," the child stuttered. His perfect world had been broken. He looked up at the king, who stood and gave a thumbs down signal.
Bardock felt numb. "Your Majesty," Bardock whispered out of grief.
King Vegeta cupped his hand to his ear. He then mouthed so that only Bardock truly understood. "Nan-da? I can't hear you."
=========================================================== [Commercial Break]
* - Matte - Wait
Gee, I'm kinda mean, ne? ~Una
===========================================================
Bardock never will remember leaving the arena, with Fasha ready to lend him a sympathetic broken arm, with Tora spitting words that are too dirty for a rated PG story, with the other contestants clapping in his honor, especially the newly revived Beanu. All he knew later was that he ended up in the empty barracks, alone with his equally empty head and heart.
Slowly, the paddock mates filed in for bed, but no one disturbed him. They understood that he wanted to be alone. Even if he didn't no one knew what to say. Sayins suck at comfort.
Bardock just stared blankly at the wall, not wishing or wanting anything, just barrenness.
Later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "You okay," came Tora's voice.
"Congrats on winning the tournament," Bardock whispered in a far-off voice.
"How'd you know?"
"You VS Nipper? If I almost won-"
"You DID win!"
"Just leave me alone." He pulled the blanket over himself and pulled away from Tora.
Bardock didn't speak to anyone for the next few days. Even when people congratulated him on his match against Nipper, Bardock didn't respond. It made Tora uneasy.
Less then a week after the tournament, Bardock sat alone eating breakfast as usual, when an envelope landed on his plate. He looked up at the Sayin who delivered it, wondering if there had been a mistake, but there wasn't. The letter was clearly addressed to "Bardock, student class number 00564110".
Bardock held it as if it were a priceless gem. It took him several minutes before he opened it, very, very carefully, so as not to tear it.
The handwriting was of messy print (the author didn't write much), but very precise and clear:
"Heya Spikey!
I've gotten a few letters from STPHQ about your performance in the Tournament. It was announced in the papers. Got a good picture of your Solar Strike on Nipper (no mention of me though, and I taught it to you!).
Your friend Tora wrote to me and said that you were kind of depressed about the results. Why? From what I heard, you won the fight, and did it for a noble cause. In my book, technicalities don't count, so you oughta be proud of yourself.
You've come a long way already. I'll bet I won't recognize you the next time we meet (and we will, as soon as I can gather a team of my own, you'll be my lieutenant). Don't worry about Nipper and company anymore, they're history after that!
My uncle works at STP, and he agrees that you have a lot of hidden potential, so never give up reaching high! I can't get you out of there yet, but I will soon.
Your mentor and friend;
Cole
PS - Did you know Tora was offered a captain's position as first prize? He turned it down. His official reason was 'Alliance'."
Bardock stared at the letter, then scanned the table for Tora. Tora, like he, was sitting alone, picking at his food. Bardock picked up his tray of food and sat next to Tora. "Wanna race?"
Tora stared at Bardock. "Huh?"
Bardock grinned in his childish way. "Bet I can finish this oatmeal before you!"
It was as if nothing had happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hi everyone! Zucina here!
Surprised to hear from me? So is Bardock! Its almost time for the next tournament, but now he (and his readers) take a time out to find out what's happened to me for the past few zurals.
I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do! Next time on DragonballBC: Porcelain Doll Blues part 1
**End of the Match? The King's Decision**
"So, you want to continue the beating?" Nipper snickered and strolled to the boy half his size. Bardock, severely injured, didn't put up a struggle as Nipper pulled the boy off the ground by the front of his collar. "Pathetic! All the fight's outta ya!"
Bardock didn't pay attention. Tora's motion played out in his mind. Fist, draw back, punch? Was it a punch or throw? A throw of what?
KI!!!!! THAT'S what Tora didn't tell him! His secret weapon!
Nipper threw Bardock into the air as hard as he could muster. Through the air, Bardock took his time to gather his ki. This would be it! The moment of truth!
Bardock turned around as soon as he reached the ceiling (a very long way up!). He launch himself, kicking his feet against the ceiling, and bulleted downward. The added momentum created a sonic boom that shook the stadium. The crowd hushed in awe.
"SOLAR STRIKE!!!!!!!" A blue-white beam shot from Bardock's hand, which he pitched like a baseball (get it now?).
Nipper called out his own beam, but it was lost in the forced down ki. Bardock gave an extra push to the Solar Strike, and finally it hit Nipper. The bully blocked as best he could, but was knocked unconscious from the effort.
When the smoke cleared, Bardock rammed face-first into the ring, knocking stones out of alignment. Rubaru appeared, and started to make the ten count. Nipper's clothes were smoking from the blast, and Bardock was now bleeding profusely from his head.
"1 . . . 2 . . ."
"What's going on," asked Fasha, just joining Tora in the locker room by the door. "You're blue. Haven't you been breathing?"
Tora had in fact been holding his breath, but still didn't bother to breathe now. 'Come on come on come on come on come on come on!'
"3 . . . 4 . . ."
Bardock's eyes opened. He blinked away some of the blood, trying to see straight. What was going on? Where was he?
"5 . . . 6 . . ."
"He's not moving," Fasha screeched in horror.
"He has to," muttered Tora. "There has to be a way to help him!"
"7 . . . 8 . . ."
"I know," Tora cried. He cupped his hands together. "Yo, Bardock! If you win, I'll treat you to some ice cream from the kitchens!"
"9 . . ."
Bardock's ears twitched. Ice cream?
Before the ref said ten, Bardock hopped on his feet and held up two fingers as a sign of victory! A grin spread across his face as he heard the count of ten for Nipper. "That was for Beanu, fucker!"
The crowd exploded into cheers. The room crammed with so much noise, Bardock felt he could have ridden it to the ceiling. It was a wonderful feeling, Victory. He won! He beat Nipper! And his classmates loved him for it! Not only was has accepted, he was LOVED! Beanu beat-down had been avenged, and Bardock proved himself stronger then Nipper!!
"MATTE*," Rubaru called over the crowd, rushing up into the ring. "BARDOCK IS DISQUALIFIED!!!!"
Boos echoed throughout the audience. Bardock stood stunned. "Why?"
"His Majesty King Vegeta saw you touch out of bounds," Rubaru declared. "Did you or did you not touch the ceiling?"
"Y-yes, I did," answered Bardock earnestly.
"According to His Majesty, that is considered out of bounds." He leaned down and grinned at Bardock. "Nipper wins by default."
"Bu-bu-but," the child stuttered. His perfect world had been broken. He looked up at the king, who stood and gave a thumbs down signal.
Bardock felt numb. "Your Majesty," Bardock whispered out of grief.
King Vegeta cupped his hand to his ear. He then mouthed so that only Bardock truly understood. "Nan-da? I can't hear you."
=========================================================== [Commercial Break]
* - Matte - Wait
Gee, I'm kinda mean, ne? ~Una
===========================================================
Bardock never will remember leaving the arena, with Fasha ready to lend him a sympathetic broken arm, with Tora spitting words that are too dirty for a rated PG story, with the other contestants clapping in his honor, especially the newly revived Beanu. All he knew later was that he ended up in the empty barracks, alone with his equally empty head and heart.
Slowly, the paddock mates filed in for bed, but no one disturbed him. They understood that he wanted to be alone. Even if he didn't no one knew what to say. Sayins suck at comfort.
Bardock just stared blankly at the wall, not wishing or wanting anything, just barrenness.
Later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. "You okay," came Tora's voice.
"Congrats on winning the tournament," Bardock whispered in a far-off voice.
"How'd you know?"
"You VS Nipper? If I almost won-"
"You DID win!"
"Just leave me alone." He pulled the blanket over himself and pulled away from Tora.
Bardock didn't speak to anyone for the next few days. Even when people congratulated him on his match against Nipper, Bardock didn't respond. It made Tora uneasy.
Less then a week after the tournament, Bardock sat alone eating breakfast as usual, when an envelope landed on his plate. He looked up at the Sayin who delivered it, wondering if there had been a mistake, but there wasn't. The letter was clearly addressed to "Bardock, student class number 00564110".
Bardock held it as if it were a priceless gem. It took him several minutes before he opened it, very, very carefully, so as not to tear it.
The handwriting was of messy print (the author didn't write much), but very precise and clear:
"Heya Spikey!
I've gotten a few letters from STPHQ about your performance in the Tournament. It was announced in the papers. Got a good picture of your Solar Strike on Nipper (no mention of me though, and I taught it to you!).
Your friend Tora wrote to me and said that you were kind of depressed about the results. Why? From what I heard, you won the fight, and did it for a noble cause. In my book, technicalities don't count, so you oughta be proud of yourself.
You've come a long way already. I'll bet I won't recognize you the next time we meet (and we will, as soon as I can gather a team of my own, you'll be my lieutenant). Don't worry about Nipper and company anymore, they're history after that!
My uncle works at STP, and he agrees that you have a lot of hidden potential, so never give up reaching high! I can't get you out of there yet, but I will soon.
Your mentor and friend;
Cole
PS - Did you know Tora was offered a captain's position as first prize? He turned it down. His official reason was 'Alliance'."
Bardock stared at the letter, then scanned the table for Tora. Tora, like he, was sitting alone, picking at his food. Bardock picked up his tray of food and sat next to Tora. "Wanna race?"
Tora stared at Bardock. "Huh?"
Bardock grinned in his childish way. "Bet I can finish this oatmeal before you!"
It was as if nothing had happened.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hi everyone! Zucina here!
Surprised to hear from me? So is Bardock! Its almost time for the next tournament, but now he (and his readers) take a time out to find out what's happened to me for the past few zurals.
I guess I've got a lot of explaining to do! Next time on DragonballBC: Porcelain Doll Blues part 1