Um… Hehe… Gomen?
(Side note: I polished this chapter a little.)
Chapter 17: Catharsis
'I'm going to kill Cold.'
A chilling reverberation within the walls of her mind, enclosed in the space of
her memory, with no intention of diluting into nothingness any time soon.
It kept coming back, refusing to let her forget, triggering a mist of
anxiousness and apprehension over her heart.
… to kill Cold…
In that detached tone… It had been a long time since she had heard him talk like that. Like the killing machine that, with the years, she had forgotten he was.
'But he's one of the good guys now'
A Z senshi, the mighty Vegeta; he who had left the dark path and fought
alongside them for years, even going so far as sacrificing himself for the good
of humanity.
Was it really for the good of humanity?
Or was it for his own selfish reasons?
Maybe. But although she prided herself of knowing Vegeta better than
anyone, sometimes she wondered if it was all a scheme of his to make her think so.
… to kill Cold…
Wasn't that Furiza's father?
Was his psyche so tainted that he could only lay it to rest by reprisal
alone? Was he still haunted by the fact that Goku had avenged his people
instead of him? Was he doing this to lift his ego? After all, he
never had a fight with any of them (and won) before, so it was only fair he
beseeched some kind of closure…
Maybe…
The fact was that he needed it. She didn't approve, but she had no say in
this. She knew he would never listen, not even if she managed to prove a
point. The man was stubborn, everybody knew that, but only she knew the
extent of what his pride could accomplish. This was not a caprice of
his. She could tell just by the look in his eyes, by the tone of his voice,
by the words he said to her…
It was a duty. His duty.
She sighed, shifting her weight as she leaned on the wall next to her balcony
doors. She had come out here after leaving Gohan's room. Bulma was
glad Videl had refused her offer to stay in her place. Kami knew she had
been wishing she said so, but just asked to be polite. She didn't know if
Videl noticed, but honestly, she didn't care. She needed to get her
thoughts together, to reflect on this… She felt so betrayed… She knew it
was not fair, but she couldn't help her feelings.
Bulma knew Vegeta had changed long ago, but today… he had almost seemed…
No. She shook her head. But she had to finish her thought to be in
non-biased peace and honesty with herself. For a while, as she regarded
him, she had noticed some sort of semblance with his old self; the one she had
seen on Nameku-sei.
She closed her eyes to the darkening sky, hugging herself while she felt a
slight strain between her heart and throat. She knew it was this place
that was affecting him. It was only fair. She had been happy when
they decided to come to Vegeta-sei, but now things were starting to disappoint
her. He had barely spent a couple of nights with her. He seemed so
distant. But it wasn't as if he'd never been distant before, he was most
of the time. But at least before he had bothered to get a rise out of
her, anger her, just to spite her, and rile her, and then confuse her and
seduce her, and then torture her and ravish her and send her soaring to the
heavens only to bring her back to Chikyuu, to West Capitol, to Capsule
Corporation, to their quarters and their bed, to look at those smoldering dark
blazes that seemed to consume her every time she looked at them, and find out
it had all been real, and he was real, and he was hers… for eternity.
He hadn't been exactly cold, best he hadn't been exactly there, at times, when
she missed him. But she could understand it. She could share him with his
people, even if she was starting to abhor that sharing. You've heard of
people "married to their jobs" before, but have you ever heard of
people "cheating with their jobs"?
A bitter laugh sounded on the balcony already cast in shadows, but she didn't
care. The darkness was welcome, as it brought a sense of solitude and
peace and individualism that let her mind be opened and reveal her deepest
secrets. She could be who she was, think what she wanted, no
inhibitions. She could be selfish, she could be weak, she could be cruel
and she could dream; and nobody would be there to see her as she cried, or as
she sneered, or as she smiled.
Vegeta was acting different. Was it because he was home? Most probably.
Then, she would hold. And wait… After all, they weren't staying for long.
~*~
A titanic battle of wills…
Lightning seemed to strike inside, the force of their stares so strong.
The tension in the room increased dramatically, as the pillars of might seemed
to wage an imaginary duel; inside their war-tainted minds, away in some other
plane that their bodies had no access to.
A smirk was spread across the aisujin's face, any semblance of disconformity
completely forgotten for the time being. That feeling of betrayal was
replaced by anticipation; the lust for blood and pain and terror overpowering
his senses, at the chance to finish the insubordinate monkey prince, who had
had the audacity of barging in his premises and left him with a hundredth of
corpses for an army.
The scouter beeped as it got the reading of the saiyajin's power level reaching
a plateau, this widening the smirk on his lips. He knew Vegeta was far
from reaching his max power and was just trying to coax him into a false sense
of simplicity. But Cold knew that the saiyajin was far stronger this;
proof of that were the soldiers he had killed; proof of that was his own son –
or better yet, his absence.
Cold lashed out at the saiyajin, making them both smash against the far wall
after demolishing all objects in their way with the power of their
energies. Surprisingly, the metal withstood their onslaught though not
without creaking dangerously close to collapsing.
Massive fists assaulted the smaller form of the prince only to be countered or
blocked. Vegeta's aura flared suddenly, the expelling of ki being enough
to send the aisujin king off him and into the wrecked ceiling. Crumbs of
metal fell stubbornly upon the newly carved hole in the middle of the lab as their
fight spread to the deserted hallways. The west wing of the underwater
structure was blasted away by a beam of red anger making Cold realize too late
the terrible mistake he had committed. Bitter purplish water rushed in
through the gaps in the building, making its way relentlessly through the halls
and filling every room within its pass.
Cold's form was outlined by a crackling red aura; his frustration reaching a
new level. It looked as if the stinking monkey hadn't even broken a sweat
yet! That was making Cold's blood boil inside him. Vegeta smirked
one more time, left hand poised in fighting mode yet. He slowly cocked
his head to the side, being highly satisfied upon hearing the pop of his upper
vertebrae. This seemed to turn up the heat in Cold's inner thermostat, as
the titan took it as a mockery of his abilities. He put his hands before him
and produced a ki ball that zoomed up towards the saiyajin prince, only to have
him deflect it skywards. The blast took the most part of the ceiling,
burning a hole through upper level of the base. The purplish liquid
filtered from the other levels, effectively flooding the hallway they'd been
fighting in. Vegeta took the opportunity to fly up to the surface, but not
before beckoning the aisujin in a fairly obnoxious manner. Cold followed,
launching multiple energy blasts at the compact form that swerved gracefully
through the tunnel, avoiding every single one of them.
All too soon, the violet firmament greeted them both, as they left their
underwater environment for the freedom of the sky. For a while, the
silence reigned on them, ominous, dangerous, until the loud rumble of Cold's base
crumbling in on itself, sucking in the strange liquid, causing whirls and waves
to break on the disturbed surface, became the background music that increased
the tempo in this relatively awaited battle.
~*~
No consolation…
Not the familiar room; not the soft light of the suns filtering through the
windows; not the warm thin shower pelting his hair and chest in the bathtub;
not the sight of the brown limb twitching lazily in his grasp. There was
an imperceptible chill running through his body; but it wasn't from cold.
It was of shame and guilt, of worry and thoughts that ran rampant through his
mind. It was angst and sadness that seeped through his amber eyes cast
down on the blue surface on which he stood, fixed on an invisible spot that only
he could see, as he replayed the scenes of two days before like a movie over
and over again.
He had crossed the line.
He had let his instincts take over and his anger cloud his judgment. He
had harmed another willingly and purposefully and he had enjoyed it. He
didn't regret it, and that's what troubled him. It was against his
nature, a nature that seemed to contradict itself more times than any.
"Gohan-kun?" Videl's voice sounded from the other side of the door.
"Gohan, are you done? Can I come in?"
The only answer was silence and she opened the door and came in the room
looking around for the boy. She caught sight of him sitting in a robe
next to the window. He had it open wide and the sunshine bathed the
chamber in a surreal red glow that inspired them more of a sunset than early
morning. Gohan was absent, very far away where the sky met with the land
and beyond, even if his body was still sitting there by the window, hugging his
right knee to his chest silently. She paused there in the threshold,
regarding him with affection and maybe a little bit of puzzlement. A
small smile came to her lips as she approached him daintily and buried her
fingers in his still damp hair from behind as she walked to the front to kneel
before him.
"Daijoubu ka*?" She asked softly, searching his eyes set on the horizon.
For some seconds nothing was said, but then he turned his gaze to her slowly,
letting her see [willingly?] the twinkle of his pupils. A shallow gasp
left her parted lips as he suddenly brought her close into a hug, not saying a
word, eyes closed over her shoulder in a needy expression of contact; contact
that she gave him, freely, sincerely, no questions asked.
"I couldn't help it." His voice sounded for the first time.
"Don't concern yourself with that anymore."
"I lost control. I became a monster." She shook her head softly as
she moved away from him, seeing his head bowed, his eyes looking down to his
lap.
"Not a monster, just angry. You're not a saint, just a man.
Everybody makes mistakes."
He looked up to her face, searching the light of her eyes that would tell him
she really believed those words, so that he could too. But what he saw
there made him frown. A purple bruise adorned her right cheek. She
also frowned at his look, infusing the questioning in her expression
immediately. Gohan raised his hand to the bruise and brushed it with a
finger, eliciting a wince from the girl.
"Who hit you?" He asked just as softly as before but his frown still
remained. Videl knew she couldn't deny him it wasn't a blow. He
recognized the physical trauma all too well to be fooled, but she couldn't
right out tell him it was his doing either; that would depress him even more.
"It was an accident." She half confessed and something in his eyes
shifted, his eyelids drooped and his head was cast aside as his hands fell to
his lap. It was incredible the degree of understanding existing between
them. She needn't say a word for him to know it had been he who had done
it.
"Gomen ne.*" He whispered.
Videl frowned. Now what happened to him? Why was he behaving in
such a way? He was getting weirder and weirder with every day they spent
on this planet. It was like he was waging a battle with some dark side of
himself that he didn't dare anybody know. But she knew. Somehow she
knew. And she wanted to help him so bad! He didn't deserve
this. He was too good for this. But what could she do? What
could she say to get him out of that gloomy state he seemed to immerse himself
into from time to time?
"Yamete*." She held his hand in both of hers. "Yamete. I told
you it was an accident. I don't care about a stupid bruise." He opened
his mouth to refute her, but she went on before he had a chance, "And neither
should you. Doushita*? What's got you so…? Damn it, why don't you
talk to me? I'm your friend, and I'm here aren't I? So why won't
you talk to me?" He bowed his head.
"Don't you trust me?" she asked as she remembered the night she told him her
secret. Gohan immediately looked up at her with a haunted look to his
eyes. His brow was furrowed and the corners of his mouth were down.
"You don't understand. You WON'T understand."
"Try me." She looked at him seriously. "And even if I wouldn't, at
least I'm here to listen, to show you that I care. At least you would get
it out of your system."
The boy breathed deeply and looked at their tangled hands, taking the time to
rub his thumb on her fingers in a hesitant gesture.
"I… I'm really not what everybody thinks I am." Videl rearranged herself
so she was sitting Indian style in front of his chair.
"They think I'm a pure soul that doesn't know anything about suffering, that
doesn't feel violence is an option. They think I'm just Gohan, naïve and
well-mannered, the boy that won't do wrong." He faintly snorted, as his
eyes gained a far away look and his words unraveled, like a knot untied off
piece of sewing thread.
"They seem to forget all the things I've had to witness in my life, things that
another child shouldn't have had to see at my age; all the battle and death,
all the danger galore, all the evil and vengeance. I had time to think
about it, after Vegeta-san and I fought out there in the forest. I lost
control of my temper. You said it yourself, I'm just a man, I make
mistakes; but it shouldn't be that way. My family was… cursed?
Blessed? With the responsibility of protecting the innocent. We
have the power to do it, to do it right. But there's a catch. We're
not allowed to lose control. It would be fatal. And that's where
the key lies. There is a monster inside of me, so that makes ME a monster
too. Only it's up to me to keep it at bay, to use its strength for the
right purposes. And that's what I failed to accomplish two days ago,
right there at Vest'har." Gohan swallowed the lump that started to
develop in his throat, while he saw Videl's eyes soften in understanding, in
compassion [pity?].
"I let the monster out, because the tension and the hurt and the pain had built
up and I just couldn't choke it back any longer. Because all my life I've
been taught that I belong, only to later see for myself that I don't.
I've always had to hide what I am from everybody, my powers, my heritage, my
past, all just to fit in, to avoid being rejected, to be part of something, to
BELONG. I barely could on Chikyuu, and even there I'm still a
misfit. And now here, where all those things I've had to hide wouldn't
make a difference, I'm attacked because of what I pride myself into. And
it's not fair! It's not fair!" He stressed as his voice got
hoarser. "So I snapped. I turned to the last resort when there were
still plenty of options available. And what bothers me is not even that I
did it! It's that I don't mind that I did it!" There was a tinge of
desperation in his voice and the guilt reflected in his face like in big bold
letters.
"I know it sounds contradicting but that's why I am so troubled. I feel
guilty that I don't feel guilty. I feel bad because I don't regret it,
even if I know I should." And then he stopped talking. The tree had
run out of fruit and remained blowing with the wind.
Videl cleared her throat slightly after listening to his every word. She
didn't know what to say and she wouldn't dare say anything fearing it would be
the wrong thing. She searched his eyes, making sure hers conveyed her
feelings along with her words.
"It's complicated, but I understand what you're trying to say. I can't
offer you advice yet though, but I can offer you my support and my company and
my understanding. I'll help you with everything you want," she took his
chin in her slim hand to keep his gaze on hers, "but get those spirits
up. When you fall, you must get back up. Don't let this win you
over. You're the most important person in my life… I care about you and I
hate seeing you like this."
~*~
He was never more grateful for his father's unwanted intromission in his forming years. He admitted he would have been overwhelmed had he not taken that tech job during his academy years. Granted he hated the job and preferred to be out in the taverns kicking it with his comrades instead of sitting in front of a console and run diagnostics on a stupid machine. His father had been the one to enroll him in the program, claiming gravely that "you never know what you'll end up doing in your life. Better be prepared for whatever". His father thought he'll end up as a technician or a purger, were he not able to pass the tests. What he never thought was he'd get to be one of the King's closest soldiers. It was a shame how the saiyajin never lived to see him become such an important figure.
Okay now, so he couldn't deny those long hours of boredom hadn't come in
handy. He'd been able to dismantle the mainframe and figure out how to
scan specific coordinates of the system. Well, Ouji had said he wouldn't
let him come with him, but he never said anything about watching. A
couple of buttons pressed and the screen blinked to life showing the gloomy
surface of Phrea. It was lonely and dark and there was no sign of life on
it. It wasn't only that he wanted to see Ouji in action, he also had the
responsibility of monitoring the system and keeping both of his companions
informed of any kind of setback.
While he tinkered with the machinery he had also been covering Commander
Cauli's back. He knew she didn't need to be babysat but it never hurt to
assure your comrades' security; the girl had moved exceptionally so
far. True, she had already had to kill a little too many but who knew
there was to be convention that day? Lettusu took his eyes off the Phrea
screen to fix them on Cya, more specifically the Parliament. It was
absolute mayhem. Black smoke drifted out of the windows and ceiling and a
myriad of little ants evacuated the card box. The video quality was poor,
but it was enough to portray the mission had been successful thus far.
"Oi, Lettusu… I have paridah matrixes here. Seven panels. One of
them connected to a Gen5 chip." Cauli's voice came through the scouter.
"Fine. Place the mirror plate between the mainframe and the first
terminal. Connect the plate to the second socket of the panel attached to
the Gen5. Then plug the terminal wire to the port in the back of the
plate. Ensure the plate is on. Go to the mainframe and log in as
default, then make an info transfer to the terminal you connected and
everything should be set."
"Yokai*."
"I thought you had finished your mission, judging by the chaos I'm watching on
the screen right now."
"I blew up the physical archive vault. Of course there should be chaos."
Lettusu could hear the young commander moving about in the room.
"Did you find the blueprints for the system?"
"Hai."
"Make sure all the panels are destroyed and locate a black box inside the
console. It has the backups for both data and programs."
"Transfer complete." Cauli announced. After some stirring and
explosions her voice came up the link again. "Data banks destroyed.
Mission complete. Following up with rendezvous."
"Yokai."
~*~
He rose to the sight of the short saiyajin hovering in his trademark stance, arms folded across his chest, feet squared with his shoulders. The upswept mane of the darkest brown swayed at the rhythm of the phrean breezes. Everything was silent as they stared at each other, except for the splashing sounds of the amethyst waves below them. Nature seemed angry then, as the winds picked up, the purple of the sky turning darker and the temperature rising a tad.
The saiyajin prince remained unusually calm, expecting the furious spark that
would send the aisujin king in an outraged fit. He didn't have to wait
long, since the large alien sneered at him and clenched his fists.
"You are getting bothersome, baka saru*." Vegeta smirked, looking down
and shaking his head imperceptibly.
"I went out of that phase already." He quipped. Then Cold made his
mind. The saiyajin was mocking him, but before he showed short stuff real
power, he would get answers.
"How did you survive?" It didn't take Vegeta long to realize he was talking
about the famous battle on Planet Furiza 101, the battle that had supposedly
taken both Furiza's and "his" life.
"That…" he began, approaching slowly, "is for me to know, and for you to die
ignoring."
In a blink, Vegeta's expression turned from calm to feral. He bared his
canines to the aisujin before charging him head on. The proverbial
barrage of punches and kicks didn't wait to make its appearance, the speed at
which they were delivered increasing with every millisecond. A black
booted foot connected with the large alien's head, only to have the other
follow afterwards. He pounded on all flanks with astounding accuracy, attacking
key spots where you could inflict the most pain without actually causing
damage. Cold retaliated with a knee to the stomach, bringing an elbow
onto his back to trap him in between and delivering multiple blows to the
unshielded spot. With a final thrust of his elbow, Cold sent the small
form of the saiyajin hurtling to the ocean, but he was disappointed as Vegeta
flipped over on the way down, trying to catch himself in a crouch and to slow
down as his knee plowed the water as he went and only causing high splashing
waves to rise around him. Without waiting another second, he burst up in
a flame of ki and rocketed to the floating form of the aisujin with a fist
prepared to punch his head off. Cold braced himself for the attack but
Vegeta stopped in front of him charging two glowing orbs in each outstretched
hand. Cold uncrossed his arms from in front of him at this turn of events
only to have Vegeta send one of the ki balls straight at him and the other
upwards, attacking him after the blast exploded to blow-ripen his singed form
repeatedly. All of a sudden, Vegeta disappeared and Cold felt the heat of
an energy source behind him. He turned only to be greeted by the missing
ki blast which caught him off-guard one more time.
A ki infused fist was swiftly hauled into the large male's solar plexus,
eliciting a sick gurgle which gave Vegeta such satisfaction that distracted him
enough for Cold to grab a hold of the tail wrapped around his waist. Despite
having had the appendage back for almost a year now, he still hadn't trained it
up to par with the resistance it originally had. He had forgotten how
painful it was to have your tail grappled with when it wasn't fully trained;
even if it didn't render him useless, it was still barely bearable. Cold
snarled and yanked angrily, finding mildly satisfying the grimace on the
saiyajin's face. But that didn't mean the aisujin had found a weak spot
he could exploit for long. While the saiyajin prince was treated as a
punching bag, he was also secretly gathering some ki in his right hand.
Cold's chilling laughter reached the warrior's ears, and Vegeta couldn't debate
whether to feel irritated or conceited at the aisujin's confidence when
suddenly the ki took a disk shape and slashed Cold's tail in half in a clean
cut.
~*~
He was angry. He was fuming. He was seething even though he knew it was against everything he stood for. Against the perpetual stoicism he had come to nurture as his fortress walls. The ones, impenetrable, that wouldn't leak any emotion for others to see.
He was angry and there was nothing he could do from letting it show.
He was angry at him. He was
angry because he hated him, loathed him and the other knew it and took
advantage of it. He was angry because all those terrible feelings from
his past came hurtling to the front of his mind. He was angry because he
couldn't hide the hatred anymore behind that mask of playful sadism, behind the
cool detachment of the situation. He had shown his enemy his true
feelings on the matter, giving him the upper hand for the first time.
He was angry… but it was alright, because he fed off the anger and embraced
it. Anger was his friend. It was his companion for as long as he
could remember. Anger had helped him when he needed it the most.
Anger had brought him to his feet after being struck down. Anger had
coaxed him into higher levels of power. Anger had kept him alive…
And now anger whispered in his ear…
Make him pay. Make him suffer. Slowly. Slowly.
Agonizingly slow. Humiliate him. Break him. Crush him.
Squeeze him of the last ounce of will. Make him beg for mercy. Make
him shake in fear. Make him cry out his pain and eat his own limbs and
drown in his own blood. Pound him until nothing akin to healthy bones
remains.
Don't just kill him… Destroy him.
A kienzan* slowly grew in his palm, slithering silently through the air to slice
the massive tail in half, delighting him with the other's pained vociferations.
The colossal satisfaction he felt spread through his taut being, bribing him
for more. It was so unfortunate that the aisujin decided to be arrogant
then. He would only taste what revenge was when one had the means to
exact it.
Their eyes met and the heat scaled, black met red and it was a storm of destructive forces. In less that a second he caught hold of his windpipe and squeezed, the flailing of the other's arms against him nothing more than mere bats. But it was too easy. Too simple. Vegeta let go with a shove and sneered down at him, watching the pathetic display of little resilience as the aisujin greedily gulped mouthfuls of precious air. Cold looked up at him to find a murderous look. The saiyajin prince hovered in front of the aisujin. He seemed to be pondering on something. It would be a good chance to attack him then. Cold charged at him with a burst of ki, the possibility of Vegeta absorbing the attack and countering with his own the furthest thing from his mind at that moment.
The black gloved fist embedded in his gut knocking the air out of him.
Almost as an automatic response, the aisujin looked up from his position at the
short saiyajin, trepidation suddenly trapping his innards for an instant at the
vicious smirk spread across the handsome face.
A knee then knocked him back with great force before he could do anything about
it. He couldn't believe how powerful the monkey prince had become. Those
saiyajins were amazing creatures. What he wouldn't do with the ability to
increase his power like that. Aisujins were born with a fixed power level, but
when they came to a certain age their power reached the limit at once and never
increased after that. That is why they had to rely on shape shifting to
access the different levels of power. And that was exactly what he was
forced to do to gain some semblance of control in the situation: go to
his third transformation.
A red mist-like glow started coursing the large creature's form, enveloping him
then to allow the body the ability to shape-shift. A thunderous bellow
resounded, strange, across the air, like a concatenated sound wave looking for
a solid surface in which to find desired rebound. He morphed into a
different shape, slightly hunched over in its grotesquery, the ominous horns
protruding from his head elongating backwards and spawning more of their
children across the length of his backbone, causing the swirls in the sky to
shift this way and that. The surface quaked, sending the water splashing
against itself, disturbed by the overwhelming power coming from the aisujin
king. The prince's visage broke into a disgusted grimace at the misshapen
sight.
"Enough of playing around. This ends now." Cold boomed in a strange
voice.
Cold snarled and disappeared. Vegeta found himself plummeting down at
tremendous speed. He veered around in the air, freefalling on his back
only to stop himself some feet above the liquid. He looked up at the giant,
a dangerously ferocious grin finding its place on Vegeta's face.
"Impressive…" a gruff voice suddenly drifted into the aisujin's ears from over his shoulder with evil glee. "But not quite."
Just then the saiyajin's image looking up at him began to dim and disappear
before his eyes. Cold turned to look over his shoulder only to find
nothing. Nothing behind him, nothing in front; he looked all around and
nothing. Where had Vegeta gone? How the fuck could the saiyajin
move so fast? It wasn't possible. It was… it was- a bone crushing
pain found itself spreading through his body from his lower back and he
couldn't stop the scream that came out of his snout. He lashed at the
space behind him and came to a halt as he saw the saiyajin holding the remainder
of his tail some distance away. His sneer fell off into a horrified mask
as he noticed the nerves jutting out of one end. Vegeta had ripped his
tail with his bare hands!!
Cold stayed rooted in place for an instant, feeling a vacant void, a nagging
sting, a throbbing cold; like playing with a sharp knife, not feeling any pain
until you actually catch sight of a cut. And then all his muscles seemed
to spasm as white hot agony engulfed him, making him lose control of his ki and
fall to the water. He felt himself sinking and sinking but the pain never
left. It was raw, cold, hot and unbearable all at once, like he was bound
to spend the rest of his days in eternal agony.
Everything was still, he didn't dare exhale the little air he'd been holding
only for not disrupting the peaceful environment around him. He needed
time, time to recover and then he could… he could… what? Kill
the saiyajin? Flee with what was left of the great aisujin king?
How? How did it come to this? How did he get so powerful? And
if he was more powerful… then why was Cold still alive?
Revenge…
Yes, that was it. He should know how that mind of his worked. His own
son had taught that mind how to work. Revenge. Such a beautiful
word – that is, when one was not the recipient of that revenge.
His vision started to change. Where a minute ago there was only purple
density all around him, now a small yellow light began to filter. Ah, an
energy blast. He didn't need a scouter to figure that out. Slowly but consistently,
the light began to grow, making itself more brilliant. His weightless
safe haven began to be disturbed by ripples of powerful energy. The water
began to shift and dissipate, making room for hot air; leaving him in the open,
vulnerable, as he lifted his eyes to the sky and almost had a heart
attack. He wheezed and choked and panted, almost hyperventilated as he
saw the incredible sight before him. Had Vegeta, Saiyajin no Ouji, just
go blond on him? Then, a sudden thought slapped him across the face: a transformation. That was
it. This was the power of the saiyajin. This was what
he had been fighting a useless battle against. Cold wanted to laugh, he
wanted to cry; he wanted to rage and wanted to flee…
He wanted to live…
But the beautiful sight… The golden light, like the power of the
gods. That thought made him laugh bitterly. A god-like saiyajin… 'I'll be
damned.' Cold's blood froze in his veins. 'He's the fucking super saiyajin! The monkeys hadn't been making it
up! He- he… the son of a bitch!'
And he was dejected once again.
Cold's body temperature lowered dramatically and he started to shake on the spot. Defenseless. He was defenseless. He was still in agony and the hard rocks sticking in his back weren't making it any easier. He looked around. It was all dry. The waters were kept at bay by something several meters away. It looked pretty. It looked like a water wall and he could see the fish swimming on the other side, peering at him with those jumpy eyes, opening their puny jaws to show their sharp little teeth, like laughing at him. 'How the mighty have fallen', they silently jabbed at him.
What? Was he going nuts? Oh, no fucking way! Was this
fear? I mean pure, raw and unadulterated fear? The kind that seeped
into your mind and made a playground out of it, and robbed you of yourself
without you even realizing it, without you being able to help it; the kind of
fear he himself had instilled in his victims either to keep them under him or
to get a kick out before killing them? Oh! How hard it was to be on
the other side of the coin! Oh damn, he was zoning out again! Where
was the blond ape!?
The saiyajin had slowly begun his descent towards the prone form, his
expression unreadable. Those eyes. Those cold and at the same time
smoldering emerald eyes that whispered a promise of torture and death.
That regal face alighted with the saiyajin's aura, those waving spikes of gold…
it was enormous power if even the dead cells of his hair caught a transformation.
And that small body… how could such a small a thing have so much power?
As the distance between them shortened, his skin began tingle. The water
around them rose like a living tsunami, tilting and growing like wanting to
engulf them. But he knew it would not engulf him, the golden male that was getting closer, and Cold started to
shake again.
And then he stopped.
And then he pointed a palm at him and shot a burst of ki, but the ki didn't
hurt him as he had thought; it did burn but it didn't kill him. It just
held him as Vegeta lifted his hand and with the hand Cold came up as
well. They were face to face now. What was he doing?
"Fight."
He almost couldn't believe the voice. So soft, so detached, so cold it
gave him chills. This was the super saiyajin. This was the one that
had killed his son. This was the little monkey cub Furiza had ensnared
himself into toying with. He could feel his gut clench at the uncertainty he
was feeling, the sudden images that sneaked into his mind, of possible things
the saiyajin could do to him; none of them at all pretty. But one thing
he knew, and it was that he wouldn't just stand there and let the ouji kill
him. With as much pride as he could muster, Cold steadied himself in the
air in front of the saiyajin and recalled all the energy he could. He
realized how awfully hard it was to do so after all the damage he had
sustained, but he was willing to go through with it, to go all out; he would
regain his title as the most feared warlord in the galaxy.
The red aura began to wrap him in warm arms, as almost immediately his form
began to shrink… the final transformation of the aisujin was due.
Retracted the horns were, smoother his complexion became, in white and gray,
grim like death itself; few had ever witnessed his true form, and none had
lived to tell the tale. He could already begin to feel more confident,
the power boost a welcome relief. Still, that wasn't enough to regenerate
his tail, but he was unwilling to let it faze him. Steeling himself, he took
a battle stance, looking up to the fair saiyajin in front of him for the first
time after getting up the floor. He was still regarding him with those
murderous emerald eyes that sent the proverbial chill running up and down his
back.
Vegeta followed suit and took a battle stance too, not waiting a second before
engaging in furious battle with the aisujin. Once again, punches flew in every
direction, alternating with dangerous kicks too close to vital spots for
comfort. The only new development being that Cold actually could hold his
ground against him now. A kick followed by a fist embedding in his
stomach forced him to grab the prince and haul him to the side before letting
loose a succession of energy dan* at his opponent. Vegeta swerved and flipped,
all the while avoiding his futile attempts to keep him at bay, until even that
action lost its fun and he zanzokened below the aisujin, getting a hold of his
foot and yanking down only to let his clenched fist collide with the
unsuspecting groin. You could literally see stars in front of his face
just before he began to fall. Vegeta once again extended his palm in his
direction as the invisible force of his ki disrupted the fall and it hit again
and again until blood was seeping from crude cuts on pale flesh and dribbling
from a black lipped mouth.
With as much energy as he could, the aisujin put his hands above his head and
produced a pulsating attack of three concentric ki balls of red. With a
yell, he threw it in Vegeta's direction with all the force he could gather in
his tired limbs. To his immense surprise, the saiyajin began to
laugh. It was an oh-so-cynical bout of laughter, so cruel and mocking and
downright cocky in its own true way. The determined expression on Cold's
face fell to pieces before his feet as he watched the saiyajin get a hold of
his attack and stop it with his bare hands – those same bare hands that had
ripped his tail off. He was prepared though for when the ouji sent the
energy right back at its originator and he deflected it, and sent it down to
the phrean surface. It exploded into a massive detonation of nuclear
proportions, producing tidal waves that made room for the hellish fire that
rose from the ocean in a mushroom puff. Vegeta disappeared then, and Cold
couldn't help but feel his heart fall to the bottom of his freezing stomach as
he was caught in a hook from behind by powerful, muscled arms. They choked and
squeezed, cutting air and blood circulation, and he could feel his
consciousness drifting away, and he felt like he was watching everything from
afar on top of them both, and he felt frantic and desperate and scared.
Then the hold steadied, it didn't tighten but didn't loosen either. And
then he could hear the voice again, the baritone with the low undertones that
made his alarm warnings go haywire as that same one breathed down his neck and
very calmly said:
"You know Cold? I'll let you in on a little secret. You are lousy
for choosing your allies. The Parlumnyan Parliament sold you Cold.
They sold you and your empire of fantasy, because that is exactly what it was:
a fantasy. After all, what is a ruler without subjects?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And you know that your bases from
Rak'uhm and Soreyda were completely destroyed?" the aisujin sucked in a
breath. "Oh yes, they are. So you see, you were living a lie, and
Parlumnya realized this, and they saw no gain in their alliance with you. You
were sold. You are nothing. No empire, no subjects, no power, not
even a title anymore." And Vegeta seemed to snarl that last sentence with
a bout of emotion, seeing himself in the cruel words he was spitting
venomously.
"So tell me now. Even if you came out of this alive, what would you
do? Were would you go? What would be of your life? Just a wretched,
miserable ghost of an existence. Not even a shadow of the being you once
were. Defeated… with no soil or seed. No line to carry on. A
shell… " the ouji could feel the tense form in his hold sag, and he smirked,
and Anger bloated, satisfied, sated for the time being. But it wasn't
enough, and he went on.
"So tell me. How does it feel? How does it feel to be on the other
side of the road called revenge?" He chuckled darkly, "Especially when
the path is made by saiyajins." Then he let go. But Cold didn't
move, he just stayed there, limp, blank and Vegeta couldn't fight the urge to
move in front of him, holding his hands behind his back like he used to when he
was a small child and he had something planned, a broad, merciless smirk
twisting his features.
"Now I must thank you. Yours and Furiza's teachings won't go to
waste. Ironic isn't it? How I get to use your own lessons against
you." The abstract temperature in the words dropped like water through
the drain, and a sharp blade seemed to have found its way in them. And he
circled and circled the aisujin, making him feel trapped and smaller than he
already was.
"Be proud Lord Cold, I'll show you what a great teacher you son was."
With that, he brought his hands from behind his back and released the energy he
had been holding there into four static ki rings that bound his opponent to the
algae covered butte now revealed from the water's veil. Once there, he
started to pound him ruthlessly in the face, in the torso, with his fists and
with his legs and with his head and with his tail; because it too had the right
to have its share, as it was its honor which had been defiled. One of the
strikes seemed to be too much, as Cold was sent through the rock formation and
flew back into the water wall contained by Vegeta's ki. Surprisingly, the
aisujin still seemed to have a little energy enough to bolt out and make a dash
away from there. He put all the speed he had left in it, while hearing
his ragged pants and feeling as if his heart would jump out of his chest.
He couldn't think clearly, the only whole train of thought he could get was to
run away. His body motions were uncoordinated, only the awesome speed in
one straight direction seemed not to waver. He looked back every second,
and looked around fearing the golden demon would catch up with him. He
had to get out of there, and fast, but how he didn't know. He hadn't even
thought of that, such hold had caught his fear.
Now he could see something in the distance, at first a mere dot, but now
revealing itself as the doom of his existence. In a frantic attempt to
escape he gathered every ounce of power he had left, this time not holding
anything back. If this didn't work, he was finished for sure. And
so he raised his index finger above his head and charged a small ball of magma
colored energy, making it grow and grow until it could compete with an
asteroid. He was going to blast the super saiyajin to hell, even if Phrea had
to go with him.
Vegeta stood by, his arms down to his sides as he looked at the amazing size of
the energy before him. He briefly wondered if this had been the attack to
obliterate his planet all those years ago. Calmly, much too calmly mind you; he
lowered his eyes to look directly at Cold, holding his gaze for an instant
before smirking cruelly and saying a last line:
"Omae o korosu*."
The tortured scream that followed was Cold's reaction at having been broken,
the desperation and fear almost palpable in its intensity as he hauled the
gigantic Deathball at the Saiyajin no Ouji in a last attempt to save
himself. Vegeta slowly spread his arms to his sides, beginning to gather
his powerful energy, as golden ki erupted around him and blue bolts surrounded
his arms and hands, he then brought them in front of him, producing a large
condensed orb of golden ki that sizzled and hummed dangerously before
him. A audible click seemed to sound among Cold's tormented shriek to
signal the attack was ready and then Vegeta released it with his own foreboding
yell.
"FINAL FLASH!!!!!"
The golden orb became an awful beam that zoomed towards the lava red Deathball,
being absorbed inside it just before the colossal mass of energy lit up like an
oversized light bulb, stopped its advance, once again flashing yellow before retracing
its way back to the aisujin king and swallowing him up while his howls were
lost in the boom of the explosion, as the last of the Aisujin Empire
disintegrated in the womb of the combined energy attacks. But it was
still too much energy to be neutralized, and it went on ahead, and then down in
the water until it reached the bottom and broke through the crust and layers of
rock and blew off a very large chunk of the Moon of Phrea, sending the
remaining debris to float as space trash around what was before the most
magnificent star system of the constellation.
~*~
"What is the status of Oujisama's mission?" Commander Cauli inquired as she stepped over a fallen soldier next to the entrance door of the control room in the space station.
"He has been down there for too long. I know nothing yet."
"You are eager to see some action, are you not?" the young woman asked as she
leaned over the console next to the screen.
"And you tell me you are not? I sure want to see Vegeta-ouji battle the
tyrant. He is such an intriguing character and besides having great power
we know nothing of his capabilities."
"Careful Commander. Such talk could be considered as treason."
"I want to see Vegeta-ouji's power."
"So do I."
There was a pregnant pause and they still held each other's gaze, as if in some
kind of unspoken challenge. Then the screen shifted as a whirlpool
appeared in one of the faces of Phrea. It was enough to catch both of the
saiyajins' attention.
"There he is. I am sure he was having his fun first." Cauli said
looking at the screen. "You are right. I wonder of his abilities.
Ousama used to tell me that the Prince was born with the highest power level
for a saiyajin infant. But I have noticed… there is so much more
about him. It may have been that place where he has lived. That is
the case of his sensing another's energy."
"Yes, I have noticed too."
"But it is not only him. Also the half-breeds and one of the ningen seem
to be able to do it."
Suddenly, they saw Vegeta come floating out of the water, Cold following suit. They both turned their complete attention at the fight ahead, keen to know more of their future ruler.
And they saw, and they wondered and they were amazed and prided themselves in
the worth of their Prince, in the passion of his fight, in the finality of his
vengeance, in the righteousness of payback. They could feel, they could
see, they could realize at last that that man, that saiyajin out there was one
of a kind. That he was worthy in more ways than any. A true
patriot. And their chests swelled, they had been given a new meaning to
the word pride.
Then the battle was over. And they stared as he remained there basking in
the significance of the moment. King Cold was dead. The Aisujin Empire
had been crushed. Saiyajin pride had been restored. They had been
redeemed before their ancestors.
Solemn silence stretched between both soldiers, then they turned face to face,
looking at each other. There was the glint in their eyes, a mutual understanding
that needed no words.
"We are quorum." Lettusu broke the silence. Cauli nodded. They held
each other's right forearm in a warrior gesture of kinship and as one recited:
"I vow, upon my honor and my name, this man has spirit, has power, has pride, has worth. I shall defend my statement with my strength and with my sweat and with my blood, in life and in battle."
~*~
Vegeta looked on, his expression still blank while he felt Cold's ki ebb away to nil. And he waited, waited for the aftermath of the final battle, as he had imagined it year after year after year with zealous eagerness in the past, as he had imagined it in his lonely nights of planet purging, as he had daydreamed on his long trips in a spacepod, as he had stubbornly clung to the image of their dead carcasses lying before his feet while he healed in the regen tank after one of his disciplining beatings. And he imagined it, and dreamt it, and changed it time and time again, like that teenager on the first date that spent the whole days before it painting countless scenarios within their eager little heads. The powerful rush of satisfaction, the warm feeling starting at his fingertips and spreading through his fingers and his palms and crawling up his arms like little spiders until reaching his chest, pacifying his heart, putting it at ease, chanting a lullaby to dear old Anger and biding it farewell, to be careful on the way and to write soon; then also reaching his brain and making it fuzzy with the overwhelming happiness of the wish come true, that brought the tears to his eyes and the grin to his lips making his cheeks hurt after grinning for so long that even Kakarotto would be put to shame. The urge to spread his arms wide and look up to the sky and close his eyes to savor the feeling as he spun around again and again until he was dizzy and vomited in front of his feet.
And he waited…
But it didn't come.
He remained there, watching the utter mass of destruction extending in front of
him as he waited. He was still, very still, just in case he missed
it. Any minute now, it would come and it would be like he had expected,
like he had imagined so many times before.
And then it happened…
He could feel it as thoroughly as the rain soaking you to bone, weighing on
him, on his body, mind and soul. He could feel it as clearly as the sweat
rolled down his body after an intense bout of hard training…
Disappointment.
Daijoubu ka? = Are you ok?
Gomen ne = Sorry (the ne is added at the end for effect I suppose : P)
Yamete = Stop it (female version of the expression)
Doushita? = What's wrong?
Yokai = umm. I really don't know the right way to write it. I heard it in Neon Genesis Evangelion and it means "Roger" as in military jargon (thanks to all those who corrected the first form I had here)
Saru = monkey
Energy dan = the rapid and numerous succession of small energy blasts
Kienzan = Destructo disk
Omae o korosu = I'm going to kill you
Now what on Earth was that? Do you like? I think it's kinda dark and creepy. Weird mood, weird mood… *sigh*
Oh, hello! How have you guys been doing? I am sooooo sorry for the delay of this chapter and I certainly don't have any excuse. I am not going to ramble. I am very tired and I'm sure you don't want to read authors notes. I only want to say that I'll do everything within my power to get the next chapter soon. Pray to the Writer Angel people! ^_~
Special thanks to:
Pia Bartolini,
Jurgen,
otepoti,
WeyrdSister (Ahh! Just love your reviews! ^^),
D-Chan3,
Emma the Mistress of Thunder (how many times are you gonna change your penname?),
Knight's Shadow,
Ryuuoojo (told ya it'd be within two weeks!),
Min Farshaw (Yokatta! Thank yous ^ ^),
CatDemon1 (You see? Writer Angel is very good, and if you pray, wonders will happen. Though… this wasn't the case now ^ ^),
vegito044 (*clears throat* No can tell. No no no),
BeyondLSD (oh, thankies! ^^ Now whaddaya think of this battle scene? It was the culprit for my excessive delay. I personally think it got a little boring after a while),
David6,
Hao's girl (changing nicks again -_-;),
Rosethorn3 (Hi! Aren't you the same Rosethorn from Raen's fic "The trust in lies"?),
Luna's Meow (I'll try! ^^;),
Psycho Ann (OMG, I'm so honored to read that, but… I've been nagging Sage for you both to update. What I got was freaking over a new anime she recommended. Now YOU should update!),
Phoe-chan (ooohh! Thanks. Cliffhangers? But that's Psycho Ann's job *looks innocent*),
JetForce9000,
animeObsessed (^^),
fhqwads,
BL (O_O;),
Prince Vegeta,
KKCoolio,
Inu-dude (yep, in due time),
Vineria,
Kuro Tatsu,
Ratty (another Cauli-hater? Man that girl is in for some bashing!),
Jaya,
daisukefan90/PanGoket4eva,
adbzfan2k03,
Spyrogue,
simba-rulz,
Silver Eyes Bright (this took longer :P),
aerogirl401,
Serenestorm (O_O YOU! I used to love your fic "Turn the Page"? Where is it!!!!????) ,
Silver Warrior (you too? Well, now you learned ne?),
Howlong,
dragonsfootballchick,
Florian,
Woah,
v son sayian (wait and see),
crazed fanatic anime fan,
Anthony,
terreo (what you talking about? I WAS there. It's only fair I tell the story like that)
and david (happy with this?)
Push there
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