Disclaimer 1: I do not own anything from the Dragon Ball universe. That privilege belongs to Akira Toriyama
Disclaimer 2: I do not own the videos this story was inspired by those privileges belong to Rising Fist and Prince Vegeta
Um... some unsavory content, fighting, prejudice, and sick fucks saying sick and fucked up shit so mostly the same as the rest of this story had already had in nearly every chapter... I never thought that when I started this story that Vegeta would get the first wholesome chapter in the entire story.
Bee's breath caught in her throat at the sight of Inigmo's home. The canopy of wide, thin, and flat cactus plates stretched out, shading the earth underneath, but left them exposed to the sun where they stood, on the ledge, fifteen meters above the ground but still only a third of the way up the steep canyon wall.
Laid out before them was a landscape that only in her wildest dreams had the female Saiyan ever seen. The wind-carved pillars, the same in every canyon they had been in along their journey, were different for now, they were coated in lush green vines with yellow ferns intermixed throughout the lower half. Pale green and reddish-brown succulents took over as the flora reached the top. On the plateaus, a top of each pillar, there were huge, orange plate cactus trees that spread out between the pillars to create a type of canopy. Real, living trees of moderate heights grew in the shade cast by the enormous cacti, their leafy fronds came in blues all the way to yellows, with the occasional indigo thrown into the mix. Underneath those trees were a wide variety of plants, shrubs, ferns, and water-loving cacti in every color imaginable. Birds flew and sang among the flowering trees, while large insects and small lizards roamed the fernlike palms. The forest teemed with vibrant life, life that was vividly different from the city where she had grown up.
"This is what every canyon used to look like, back when my grandfather was a small boy and his grandfather guided our people." Inigmo said, noticing the awe in her expression. "Come, you must meet them all."
"Who?" Bee demanded but he wasn't listening and had already turned around and begun to scale down the cliff. He didn't answer and when Bee peered over the edge he was leaping off the wall to land in the grass.
Sparing her one glance he turned and approached the forest slowly.
Bee sighed, this guy was a pain in the ass, but she followed, not really wanting to remain on the ledge. Leaping down, she landed on the hard ground. The small tremor from her impact shook the nearest trees and several varieties of large colorful insects with brilliantly colorful wings and exoskeletons. The only bugs she ever saw that were still alive were the typical run-of-the-mill cockroaches. Bee watched them fly away, completely taken in by the wonder of the creatures.
Distracted by the beauty she never knew existed in the world, Bee didn't notice the approach of her travel partner. Marching over to the ignorant ape, Inigmo smacked her in the back of her head. "What did you do that for?" He demanded.
"Do what?" Bee asked, rubbing the spot his hard scales had come into contact with her skull.
"You frightened them all away!" Ingmo snapped, anger rolling off him in waves.
"The bugs?" Bee didn't get why he was so upset, they were just a bunch of bugs, they would be back in a few minutes.
"No you fool, my people." he hissed and turned back to march towards his home.
"Um… I didn't see any people like you around here. Are you losing it? And I thought I was the delusional one." she commented, recalling the way she had salivated over his tail.
"Shut your mouth and follow me." Inigmo snapped, glaring over his shoulder at the annoying alien girl.
"Jeez, you are a real jerk. Ya know that?" Bee shot back.
"I said silence." he rasped, his patience thin as a spider's silk.
Bee hesitated in her steps, the strange graveling hiss in the Oscerian's voice giving her pause. Not knowing much about him or the terrestrial life of this plant, it was scarce within the walls. Most being half Zaffarian or more; like Beda, or Elio, an image of Castor flashed in her mind sending shivers up her spine and her tail to bristle. Quick stepping, she followed him into the forest.
Her stomach began to growl again and every time Inigmo looked over his shoulder scornfully, Bee would stick her tongue out at him. The last thing Bee needed was someone else making her feel self-conscious about her body when she was already concerned something was wrong with her. Not that she would ever tell this asshole, but she felt stronger than ever before, but could tell that her body was eating its own muscles because she was constantly hungry. Then there was the plaguing question of why her stomach had turned into a bottomless pit. Lost in her thoughts and fears, Bee didn't notice the clearing up ahead until Inigmo stepped out into it.
"Wow." she breathed out, ignoring the Oscerian when he glared at her for still not being silent.
It didn't look like a village to her, more like a square standing all on its own in the center of the clearing, but it was completely deserted. Located at the back of the canyon, a fall of crystal clear water cascaded down the rocks in the sunshine. She knew instantly they had to be at the North Plateau, the only water source not tampered with or polluted. The mist from the falls billowed up and kept the temperature moderately cool compared to the scorching sands. The turquoise water of the river ran around the edge of the clearing, just before them, and disappeared into the trees and undergrowth downstream. Three towering pillars stood in monolithic formation within the open area that was the span of hundreds of meters long and quarter width, reaching all the way to the opposite wall. Each had the same vines, ferns, and succulents growing on them, and the same massive orange variety of cacti on top, casting a thick shade between the pillars, and scattered shade along the exposed wall all the way to where Kolrabi stood. Unlike in the forest lichen and moss clung to the vines that wrapped the pillars, it hung down and swayed in the breeze. Scattered along the bank and near the pool under the cascading water, were more of the undergrowth from the forest. Teal and chartreuse fuzzy moss grew on the ground under each pillar, the edge of the river, and along the wall of the canyon adding to the other-worldly feel of this particular canyon.
In the open area between the pillars were dozens of structures that all seemed to have different uses, and had simple timber frames. Each one had set purposes for all manner of things needed to run a village of several hundred people; from essential items like tools, weapons, food, and textile productions, to decorative crafts, and jewelry. Closest to where the river met the forest stood a long structure covered in fern fronds, and was the only one that even remotely resembled a dwelling. In the center of everything, there was a large fire pit where coals still smoldered. Whoever had been here hadn't been gone long.
Bee jumped, almost clean out of her skin, when Inigmo made a strange call that sounded like the gears of an engine falling apart while it was running, then he chirped and gave a low, quick horn sound.
"What the hell was that?" Bee asked, forgetting his rule about silence.
Instantly Inigmo was on her, gripping her shoulders and shaking her roughly. "If you do not wish to die where you stand, be silent."
Bee threw him off by swinging her arms and the lizard man stumbled backward, nearly falling on his ass several feet away. Surprised at her strength, both looked at each other for a moment. Bee worried she was some demonic beast and not truly herself anymore. Inigmo wondered if bringing this girl here had been the right decision-she had saved his life and he felt obligated to help her-now he just worried she would destroy their peace with her loud mouth and unheard-of strength. Neither were able to voice their concerns when they heard the voice of a child shout from near the waterfall.
"It's Inigmo! Inigmo has returned! Papa, I missed you!" The child shouted and came running to the adult Oscerian.
Inigmo looked towards the voice and knelt down to receive his child into his arms. Bee watched with a bitter expression. No one had ever held their arms out for her like that in her entire life, her mother was usually in too much pain when she would return to their cell. The Saiyan watched as more Oscerian's climbed down the wall covered in moss, their coloring blending in perfectly and making the wall look like it was crawling. A female with a toddler on her hip walked up to Inigmo, their free arms wrapped around the other's neck and they rested their foreheads together as the smaller of the children touched his face. Bee felt increasingly uncomfortable with the tender scene and tried to recede back into the forest.
Taking a step backward she froze when stone spear tips poked her in the back and several Oscerian's surrounded her, holding their weapons to her throat and torso.
"Stop!" Inigmo shouted, setting his child down and breaking his embrace with his mate. "Do not harm her."
"Why have you brought an outsider here, Inigmo?" one of the men holding a spear at her neck asked.
"I had no choice." Inigmo argued.
"You know the law, Inigmo. We should just kill her now before she brings more of them here and they kill us all." the warrior said, poking her with his spear tip.
"I told you to stop!" Inigmo said, pulling the other man back by his shoulder, and his spear from his hands.
"Let go of me, Inigmo. Unless you wish to fight me again." Seeing them all together Bee realized Inigmo was of an average height for his kind, shorter than the man he was facing and Elio, the cook from the tavern.
"My son returns and already he is fighting with his brother?" A wise voice came from within the group of villagers. The gathered crowd parted and Bee watched the owner of the voice approach her.
A female Oscerian, with Inigmo's child at her side, walked past the man's mate and nodded to her. This woman wore a sleeveless knee-length dress made of beetle scales that changed their iridescent hues of greens blues and purples. Her neck was obscured by many beaded necklaces, around her waist was a belt made of Mogwil hide with pouches crafted from skins, shells, and leaves. Her lower legs and arms were bound with thin strips of brightly dyed leather and around her upper arms were twisted metal cuffs that glinted in the sun. Her orange featherlike hairs were long down her back and held a variety of insect wings, shells, and beads in it. She walked with pride in her slow and determined gait, carrying her own spear that was adorned with colorful leather strips, shells and beads as well. This heavily decorated woman scanned the young Saiyan with scrutiny.
Bee tried to swallow, but her mouth and throat were too dry, she felt like some of those giant insects were trapped in her stomach and fighting to be free.
"Tell me, my eldest son, why have you brought this girl here?" The woman spoke with a commanding presence and both Inigmo and the man he had been about to fight with stopped their squabbling and bowed their heads to her.
"Mother, she saved my life. I could not leave her to share the fate of the other girl, the same fate that undoubtedly met Inigo." The man beside Inigmo gasped and looked down at him, Inigmo only nodded solemnly.
"Can we trust her?" The woman asked, looking over Bee as if she were a wild animal.
"Yes, she is an ignorant grease monkey, they tried to make a whore. She had immense strength and a voracious appetite, if we can keep her fed I doubt she will try to eat anyone." Inigmo said, looking at Bee.
"Excuse me asshole, I didn't ask for this. I-" all the spears still held against her person closed ranks and someone behind her, kicked her in the back of her knees. The attempt to get her on the ground failed and Kolrabi squatted and spun around, knocking the Oscerian's feet out from under him. He landed on his back and Kolrabi pounced on him, her eyes glowing red as she let out a deadly growl and slowly raised her hand to strike the one that had thought to force her to submit.
"Kolrabi stop!" Inigmo shouted, and glared at the fool behind her. It didn't work, Bee looked intent on killing something.
"Enough!" Inigmo's mother ordered the warriors to stand down, and she walked up to the ape-like alien. "Kolrabi, you will stop this, child. No one will hurt you here." The woman said, holding out her hand to the young woman.
At those words, Bee snapped out of her rage and looked straight into the yellow-green eyes of the wise-woman before her. Hesitantly, Bee took the woman's offered hand, and was surprised at its warmth.
"Come girl, let's get you cleaned up and some food in you, that will help your temper. You may call me Celima, I am the spiritual leader of this tribe, and mother to Inigmo and his younger brother Elio." the woman said, leading Bee away from the forest's edge and through the crowd.
Bee snapped her eyes to the man still standing beside Inigmo. He met her gaze and scowled at her instantly. He had the same pale-green eyes as the other Elio she knew. Was it a coincidence? How common was this name among these people?
After her bath, Celima led Kolrabi down the side of the river, her four guards caging Bee in and making her jumpy. Skirting the open area between the falls and the main thoroughfare, there were strange patties with tall reeds growing. Bee saw a small group of children gathered around one, a child in the knee-deep waters pulled a beetle larva out and held it up over his head triumphantly. The yellow grub was bigger than the smallest child there and wriggled out of the youngin's grasp flopping onto his head leaving a thick slime covering the child. Two of the guards chuckled at the scene as the laughter of the other children filled the air. Bee observed them, longing for such a life filled her and she turned her attention to the river and the far bank.
The undergrowth on the far bank seemed different from her walk through the forest with Inigmo. Her attention fully shifted and the negative feelings forgotten Kolradi squinted to pick out the differences. There was a strange grey substance along the bank and a black sludge on some of the plants closest to the dappled light. Unsure what it might be, the Saiyan girl hurried her pace to be closer to Celima but was blocked by the spears of the two guards that flanked the Oscerian woman.
"Do not approach our Vudau." the man hissed in the same gravely call Inigmo had made when she had pissed him off.
"It is fine, Lempri." Celima said, turning to see what was going on. The outsider looked scared and wary of the armed warriors around her. "What was your question, young one?"
"Um, I was wondering about that grey fuzz and the black sludge in the forest across the river. Is the forest sick?'' The warriors around her snickered over her ignorance until Celima cleared her throat and they all fell silent.
"No child, that is the remainder of the fungi that grows near the waters of this river." Bee blinked, not understanding how that was any better. Fungi grew on rotting food that, sometimes, made her sick when she ate it as a child. "Come, Kolrabi, I will show you." Celima amended taking the girl by the wrist and all but dragging her towards the now bustling square.
The colors, smells, and sounds on the only road in the village threatened to overwhelm her senses, she had never been in such a place. Looking excitedly at all the stalls, Bee vibrated with her enthusiasm. The first stalls on both sides had crafts, trinkets, and jewelry, farther down one side of the street, stretching in a crescent around one side of a large fire pit was all manner of foods. On the other side in a mirrored structure to the connected food stalls, was a place that had different parts of animals and bugs, ones not used for food, hanging from nets and screens to dry and be displayed. Bee was caught in rapture at the process of the creation of most things that had to be crafted, more interested in the tools and how they were used than the finished products, her hunger forgotten.
Celima smiled and left as Bee entered the tool maker's hut and began questioning the old man and his apprentice about all the different things they were making. Leaving the guards behind with the inquisitive young woman, the Vudau went to the group of adults and children preparing food at the large fire pit that had a good bed of coals burning in it. Selecting the largest bowl she could find she had the platter piled high with all different kinds of food and returned to where Bee was now in the old man's seat as he instructed her how to use the stone hammer to shape the other stone held in the large leather padded clamps. Three of the guards watched her take interest, quietly bantering about if she would be able to make the correct strike, while Lempri stood guard as if the girl would turn the hammer onto the toolmaker at any moment.
"Lempri," The man flinched and looked up to meet the eyes of his spiritual leader. "Go and get us something to drink, please." Celima ordered.
"But Vudau, this outsider is-"
"Engrossed in learning, she is not going to hurt anyone here. Unless an overbearing and armed man decides he doesn't like her. You still have much work, not all other beings are like the Nisoites, now go." Celima pointed out of the workshop towards the deep lidded basin near those cooking food for everyone.
Bee licked her lips in concentration and loosened her grip on the hammer, the conversation held in hushed tones behind her still reached her ears and she had gripped the hammer tight enough to feel the wooden handle dent under her newfound strength. Taking a calming breath, she swung the hammer down against the other rock at the same angle the old man had instructed and watched as a large flake of chalky yellow rock broke off to reveal a teal-colored core.
"Well done girl, you're a natural!" The old tool maker said, patting Bee on the shoulder. Bee flinched away from his touch but still beamed up at him for the praise.
"Tepso, it looks like you might get yourself a second apprentice." Celima said with a smile. Noticing the heaping dish of food Bee's eyes dilated until the blue irises nearly disappeared and her mouth began to water. "You were hungry, no?" Celima said, offering the plate to her.
Bee ate five plates piled high with food before she finally began to feel full. A small crowd had gathered to watch the tiny female put back enough food to feed ten of them. Many of the children brought her more things to try, curiously asking what she thought of each. The majority of the village found her interesting, even Inigmo's mate and children came to see what all the commotion was about.
"Mama Vudau, what is your assessment?" Inigmo's mate asked, coming to stand beside Celima.
"Ahh, Drasil, she is a curious one. She has suffered much and is wary of men the most. I sense much fear in her, her freedom is so new I do not think she understands what she is or what she is capable of with it."
Inigmo said she flew them to safety after throwing them out of a window at the top of the plateau.
"I do not doubt it, there is a great power residing within her."
"Should I prepare a ritual?"
"We shall wait, allow her to rest in your home. Once she gets her strength back, then we will guide her to her path."
"Of course, Mama Vudau."
That night Bee was invited to stay with Inigmo and his family. The interior of the cave dwellings were far nicer than she had imagined. The dwellings were used for sleeping and resting when the suns made the humidity oppressive outside. The carved walls were coated in a cobb style coating to leave them smooth and add support for the wooden beams embedded in them for supporting the bed structures. The beds were simple wooden frames jutting out from the walls, wrapped in sturdy cloth woven to make a firm yet flexible support. On top of that was a thin mattress made of grass stuffed cloth, overlaid with hides and furs. While the furnishings were not as modern as what was found in the city, they were well crafted and the bed was the most comfortable she had ever laid upon.
Bee fell asleep the instant her head touched the pillow. The Saiyan slept deeply and without dreams for the first time since before her mother had died. Not even the mysterious dream ghost haunted her slumber.
Nash blew the dust laden snot from his nostrils into the corner of the cave they had taken refuge in for the night.
"Four days and still no sign of that little bitch!" he spat.
"We are nearly to the North Plateau, that is the most likely place that lizard took her. If he didn't just eat her and move on to another city."
"You didn't say this would take over a week, you told me it would be days."
"Weeks are made up outta days, aren't they. What's got you so upset, Nisoite?"
Nash sneered and grumbled about overpriced, incompetent, and dishonest mercenaries as he settled into a corner of the cave. He was sick and tired of this trek through the desert.
Over the next three days, Bee got to know more of the villagers. Using her strength she helped to haul rocks down from new cave dwellings, filled barrels of water, and helped fix the roof on the longhouse the people referred to as the Lodge.
The many cooks had tried to teach her to prepare food but she was much better at eating it than cooking it. Bee did harvest lots of food for them in return and found joy in the simple tasks when it was a communal effort and not being forced upon her.
Her newfound freedom provided her with the ability to roam freely and she practiced understanding her new strength that seemed inexhaustible as she barely needed sleep anymore, only sleeping around four hours a night. During that time while everyone else slept, Bee would explore, committing daring feats of agility and strength as she raced through the trees.
The first night she stayed in the village and watched those that had woken up early. There seemed to always be at least one group awake, working on a task. Guards in their posts, keeping watch at the tops of the pillars, dressed in heavy furs and skins to retain the heat they absorb from the sun.
The second night she couldn't sleep and snuck out of the village into the forest where she ran until the oasis met the desert. The vastness of space laid out before her in the wide-open sky. Ecstatic over getting to see the night sky so clearly she treated the forest as a playground, swinging through the trees, pillars, and large cacti. At one point feeling like she was flying through them, but that feeling ended when she burst out of the trees and onto a pillar over the village. Bee found herself on the end of spears and several very angry villagers.
On the third day, Kolrabi awoke before dawn. As she emerged from the cave she scaled the wall up to the rim, she wanted to watch the sunrise in the desert without the other buildings and the settling dust clouds obscuring her view. On the top of the plateau, she sat and watched as the sky in the distance glowed a phosphorus blue, from the dwarf star as it rose first. The light of this star turned the sky lavender as it grew closer to cresting the horizon and the place it would emerge turned a pinkish-orange. As the blue star breached the edge of the globe the sky began to change to an olive green around it, the rest of the sky took on the peachy pink color it normally had during the day. The shadow of the globe was chased away and the diurnal creatures emerged to harness the energy from the suns.
Bee remained up there while the canyon was still cast in long shadows. The mornings were always so calm and quiet down there, the majority of the Oscerians didn't rise until the sun touched the openings of their cliff dwellings. She waited to watch the sky turn a brilliant red as the tiny slice of the giant started rising over the horizon.
When she shifted and looked down before she began her descent a strange movement in the shadow of a rock caught her eye. Straining to focus, Bee honed in on the shapes within shadows. The edges of her sight blurred as her vision zoomed in until she could make out the figures of several men. Her heart plummeted, these people were approaching the canyon rim, hundreds of feet below.
They were using the dawning stars to cover their approach. The guards on watch couldn't see them, allowing them to get close to the rim that led to the secluded forest across the stream from the village. The people were outsiders, and they were armed with large blasters, the village below would not be able to hold them off. In her panic, Bee dove off the ledge without thinking. She hurtled towards them as she dove through the sky.
Kolrabi stamped down the voice screaming at her that this was suicide. She was finally trusting her instincts and allowed them to control her trajectory. While she had fallen out of the sky she had already allowed her flight instincts to take over. Just before she hit the ground she slowed enough to land with force, throwing dirt sand, and bits of rock into the air, startling all thirteen trespassers. Her fledgling confidence in herself was wiped away as a larger figure pushed past the others before him.
"Look at that, boys. She came right to us." Nash said as he came to the front of the group. "Come willingly and we won't slaughter the whole village of sleeping scum beneath our feet."
Bee froze when she heard the voice of her former master, she began to shake when he pulled out the controller for her device. She knew he couldn't hurt her but still checked the pouch around her waist for her GPX. Taking a calming breath, Kolrabi stood to her full height and raised her chin with defiance. "I won't go anywhere with you. Leave now, if you value your lives."
Nash watched her check the pouch on her hip and was instantly suspicious of its contents with her change of attitude. He knew Bee had to have created something capable of blocking her implant. Such technology could not be allowed to be replicated, it would ruin the slave trade and his livelihood. Testing out his theory Nash pressed the button on his control and…
Nothing.
The whoremonger hit it again and again and still, nothing happened. His frustration boiled over and he threw the control into the sand. "You little bitch! What did you make in all your free time? I knew I should have broken you in, years ago. I don't know why I ever agreed to Juyu's demand I let you mature."
Bee took a step back, the years of torment this man had put her through were not so easily washed away, she still feared him on a very base level. Her instincts screamed that she was stronger but her mind refused to allow her body to cooperate.
"She's scared, Nash." One of the men pointed out. "We can take this tiny thing, I doubt she killed the boss on her own, just look at her." He gestured towards her with his massive shoulder cannon he had pointed at her.
She seethed as she looked upon them, the warning call sounded in the canyon and she felt only a fraction of relief. "If you don't want to end up like that pervert, Castor, then leave. Now. While you still have a choice." Bee mustered up a bit more bravado to try to send these men away.
"I don't think you get it." Said a large Nisoite that stood a head taller than Nash, as he stepped forward from the posse. "There is a high price on that lizard's head. He helped you escape, and kill Castor, you really think we will walk away and let him and his filth off the hook? I'm gonna take my time butchering every last one of the men and we'll be having our way with the women, and even a few children."
The group of men all jeered and snickered. Bee felt her blood run cold as a burning hatred bubbled up within her. She felt it start in her tail, it tingled and the hairs stood on end. It seemed to feed her information about the air around her, the wind speed, pressure, humidity. The sensation of heightened awareness spread up her spine, setting her brain on fire. Her pupils dilated, her nostrils flared and she could smell what each of them had had for breakfast and knew two were intoxicated. Kolrabi's eyes picked up all their subtle movements and she could almost see what each of them were thinking. The tension rose and she readied herself to let her instincts take over to win the impending fight.
The big guy holding the cannon made a noise and the atmosphere changed. The others all stepped back and Bee felt the air catch on fire, the warning shooting straight up her spine from the tip of her tail. Before she could register the meaning of the shift, the massive gun was fired at her.
Without knowing how, Bee caught the projectile, but it still sent her hurtling backward towards the canyon. She flew over the forest and into the stone wall between dwellings, rubble and dust was ejected into the air in a towering plume, sending the Oscerians still near the wall scattering into the forest and valley, away from the site. The impact formed a crater that went deep into the wall where the dwellings were located, destroying five of the Oscerian homes in the process.
Just before she impacted into the wall, Bee threw the still burning rocket up into the air where it hurtled towards the stars and exploded in the upper atmosphere. Her skin burned, her back and legs ached from the many cuts she got as a result of the sharp rocks that shattered against her body. She was blinded from the intense light of the rocket while she held at bay, and she coughed dust out of her lungs. Spitting the bits of rock and sand out of her mouth and blinking her eyes several times, Kohlrabi tried to gain her bearings.
Screams of terror sounded through the debris and forced Kolrabi to blast out of the rubble, straight toward the intruders. She flew across the valley, sending rocks and dust flying across the village. More screams erupted from the remaining Oscerians as they ran for cover and Bee flew over their heads.
Without slowing down Kolrabi collided into the biggest of them, the man with the cannon, and obliterated his head, faster than any of the others could see. The men behind him had bits of his shredded skull and brain splatter across them as the headless body stood there for a few seconds. Before they understood what happened, blood sprayed out of the severed veins and arteries of the deceased man as his corpse collapsed onto the ground and his weapon. Bee stood on the rock behind them as they all looked around for the culprit.
The one that noticed her first, opened his mouth to warn the others, but Bee was faster. She tackled the man to the ground, squeezing his body in the process. They all heard the cracking of his bones, the poor creature's gargling cries of pain sent shivers up each one man's spine. Two of them started to run for the distant hills as Nash shouted for them to return and fight for him. Bee released the broken, dying man she had crushed and ran at Nash.
Nash fired his blaster at her, draining the power gem. Koradi stopped in her charge and raised her hands to block the laser beams. One made it past her guard and grazed the side of her left temple, removing the hair in a six centimeter long by two centimeter wide section and badly burning the flesh. Nash laughed as Bee hissed in pain.
While she was distracted by her first true injury the others rushed at her, hoping to take her down now that she bled heavily from her head wound. Grabbing the one that reached her first by the arm, the Saiyan swung the man into three of the others, breaking bones in their backs and legs, dislocating the helpless man's arm and shattering his pelvis with the force of the impacts. She released him and his body flew through the air to hit one of the ones that had run away earlier.
Nash hesitated to join the nine men attacking her. He watched, as she grabbed one of them, nearly thrice her size and swung him into others hard enough to shatter bones. The loud pop of the dislocating shoulder of man-turned-ragdoll, made Nash flinch. When that screaming form flew over his head he couldn't believe her aim and watched the other two be engulfed in the crater that formed with the impact. Never in his life had he witnessed such strength, and he wondered if Juyu had known about this power before he sold him the child.
Now only five more men remained, three of them managed to tackle Kolrabi as she released her man-flail. The unexpectedness combined with their sheer mass forced her down into the dust and sand. The other two joined in and one took each of her limbs while all of them kept a portion of their mass over her body. Once flat on her stomach it was difficult to get her limbs under her again to push herself up.
Nash came over, confident that this time they had gotten her. "You've caused me a lot of trouble." He sneered as he crouched down to dig into the pocket on her pants and pulled out her GPX.
"Don't touch that you fucking pig!" She growled as she strained against all the men holding her down.
Nash inspected the device. There was a small screen that showed her location in the center as a blue dot, his location beside her as a red dot, and the location of his controller several yards away as a white dot. On the top there was a single button that glowed green. He reached his finger towards the button to press it, and smiled a sick, evil smile when Kolrabi whimpered.
An arrow suddenly embedded itself into Nash's wrist and he dropped the GPX. All seven of them turned to look towards the canyon. Several dozen meters away they could see a group of thirty or more Oscerian warriors running towards them. Another arrow killed the man holding down her left arm. All five of the remaining invaders released her and began firing their blasters at the men, hitting three of them.
The smell of the Oscerian blood sent Kolrabi into a killing rage. She felt hot all over as her tail lashed in the air and she pushed herself off the ground with the same energy she had felt building up inside. The force of it sent two of the men flying and she pounced on Nash, her fists flying as she ruthlessly attacked him.
The remaining two men turned their blasters on her and fired at her back and legs. One of the two that went flying from the eruption of her ki had fallen on his neck and died from the impact. The other was now engaged with the warriors coming to her aid, his death knell rung with his dying screams.
When Nash went limp Bee turned her attention on the others and charged after them. They drained the rounds of their firearms and in desperation ran back towards their speeders. The Saiyan leapt into the air and landed before them, crushing half the speeders in the process.
The two men shifted directions and ran towards the golden dunes. When she gave chase, toying with her prey, she turned her back to the scene of mayhem below. At the top of the first crest in the dunes a final shot rang out and Bee looked back.
Nash had regained consciousness and was running for the speeders. He had shot another Oscerian, looking closely Bee made out the features of Inigmo where he lay bleeding into the desert sands. She wanted to fly over and kill her former master, but knew that if she did that, her and all of his slaves would die as well. Crushing the neck of the man who's throat was in her hand she threw him hard enough to take down the other one and raced down the dune to Inigmo's side.
The remaining two dozen warriors pointed their spears at her to keep her away as two of them made a stretcher and a third tried to stem the bleeding of their leader's wound.
"Stay back, beast!" Barked Lempri as he jabbed at her with his spear.
Inigmo tried to speak, there was no need for them to fight now that all the invaders were gone or dead, but he coughed up blood instead. Everyone froze and watched as the three attending him lifted him onto the stretcher and ran with him back to the canyon. Despite the victory, the atmosphere was very solemn with the loss of their comrades.
"Lempri, stand down. She does not mean us harm!" Elio said as he came back to the group with what supplies he had salvaged from the bodies of the dead men Bee had thrown nearly three hundred meters.
"She is a monster!"
"Kolrabi is just not like us. She is an alien, from another world, and she fought on our side. Therefore she is not your enemy!" Elio got right into the other man's face and tore his spear from his hands. Looking around the group he could tell many of the warriors and guards felt the same as Lempri. With a heavy sigh he approached Kolrabi. "They are not happy with the destruction you wrought in the village. Go, now!"
Bee flinched at his harsh tone and retreated back to the village after retrieving her GPX from the sand near the pile of bodies. She received the same treatment in the village, many of the people were wary around her. Feeling uncomfortable, and scared, Bee went to hide on the bank of the river between the irrigation channel and the fishing grounds.
The place wasn't very well secluded but not many ever went to that spot in the river. It was a place she could watch over the village and stay out of everyone's way. She wasn't ready to let her guard down because Nash had gotten away. Bee knew the warriors would be on high alert and everyone was carrying a weapon now, but still felt protective.
After a few hours, Celima approached Bee. She found the girl sitting near the river bank, her arms wrapped around her knees as she cried softly. The Vudau held a blanket, towel and the same dress Bee hated so much under one arm. In her other hand Celima held a cup of tea. Setting everything down on a stone not far from Bee, Celima took the blanket and draped it over Bee's shoulders.
Her larger, tearful, azure eyes looked to meet Celima's, the question the young woman wanted to ask was clear on her face. "Inigmo will be just fine. The wound was not fatal."
Kohlrabi released a shaky sigh of relief. "I wanted to come and see for myself but…" she trailed off as she looked behind Celima towards the village and the many people that had followed their Vudau at a safe distance.
Celima looked back and frowned at her people before shooing them to go about their business. "They do not understand, that is why they fear you. All will be well child, we will seek the answers. Come to the lodge tonight, at moonrise, my room in the back. Drasil and I will guide you to the answers we all seek." Celima handed the young woman a cup of steaming tea and stroked her filthy hair back, and away from her face. "Bathe, then rest. I will have someone bring you food."
Celima walked away, Bee watched her and tightened the blanket around her with her free hand. She could feel others watching her, many of the gazes felt scrutinizing and hostile. This feeling was worse than when she had first arrived, or when she had been shunned by the whores because she didn't have to do the same work as them. Sipping her tea she tried to hide inside her blanket.
When Nash finally returned to his home, a week after Castor's murder, it was late in the evening, the dust was already flying from the storms. Xeon made sure she was clean and waiting for him. She had been expecting him to return with a beaten and bloodied Kolrabi, but he came in haggard and covered in dust.
"Master, yer hurt! Where have you been?" Xeon tried her best to sound submissive and concerned for him as she approached him to stroke his chest. "Where is that filthy monkey girl?"
Nash smacked her across the face with the back of his hand like he was swatting a fly, knocking her to the ground. "Go make me money you useless whore." He snapped and stepped over her to make his way to the bar.
"Sir, where have you been?" Tentara asked from behind the bar as he deftly poured beers, wiped up a spill and selected a bottle of strong liquor for his boss. "Where is the girl?"
"She's fucking dead." Nash hissed.
"Sir?" Tentara asked as he set down the bottle and a clean glass, not following what Nash wasn't saying. Nash looked to the stereo and discreetly made a gesture to have the volume raised so no one could overhear him as he explained the situation to his most trusted employee, as he poured his first.
Xeon picked herself up off the floor and went into the hall near the kitchen to the mirror that hung there. No one wanted a beaten whore. It was also the only place where she could eavesdrop the conversation being held at the end of the bar. When Nash was finished and went up stairs to shower Xeon snuck into the kitchen and caught Celion's eye before nodding to the back door.
"The girl found some way to bypass the device. Now, she is living with those savages at the north plateau. She killed all the mercenaries, I barely escaped with my life." Nash spoke to the Mantis over the top of his cup and threw back his second.
"What's the next move, Boss?" Tentara asked. He watched Xeon, and Elio exchange a look through the kitchen doors. He had noticed the two had grown close over the past month, and needed to tell Nash about this development. Too much had happened, there was panic in the city and Tentara had had enough difficulty just making regulars keep paying their tabs. Without Castor the power structures that kept the peace were in chaos.
Nash didn't have the faintest idea of what to do next. She had thoroughly defeated the dozen heavily armed men. Normal blasters didn't work on her, and his only access to military weapons had jumped off the planet the night Castor had died. Nash wanted his revenge, but with the power of the Saiyan girl Kolrabi, he didn't know how he would be able to take her down.
Tentara waited and when Nash was not forthcoming and only slammed another two drinks, he decided now was as good a time as any to inform his boss of the new developments. "Boss…" The mantis waited for Nash to look up at him before continuing. "The cook is getting a bit chummy with Xeon. I don't know for certain, but I have smelt her on him."
Nash sneered at the kitchen doors. This was the last thing he needed, a rouge whore and a misbehaving employee. Slamming one more drink down his gullet Nash stood and headed for the back door.
Inside the room at the back of the longhouse, Bee sat down on the green reed mat with the purple hide spread across the floor between her and Celima. Drasil sat to the side with a smoldering bundle of dried herbs in one hand and a giant dragonfly wing in the other. She stood and walked around Bee, wafting the thick white smoke towards the Saiyan in billowing clouds to cleanse her body while she began to chant in the ancient Oscerian language.
"Drink." Celima said, offering the small yellow clay cup filled with a greenish liquid.
Bee sniffed at it, the aroma was sweet, with an undertone of the cacti buttons she had helped harvest the other day. Bringing the cup to her lips, she drank down the cool fruity juice. The residue from the powdered cacti left a strange texture on her tongue, and she rubbed it against the roof of her mouth to get the feeling to go away.
After the girl had clicked her tongue three times, Drasil handed Bee a small cactus fruit. It's acidic qualities would help remove the film from her mouth and also act as an excellorant for the mixture and begin the guided dreams. Returning her attention to the paint mixture, Celima continued chanting as Drasil fanned the smoke to billow about the small hut.
Bee took the fruit and bowed in thanks to the medicine woman. Enjoying the juicy texture of the fleshy fruit, Bee listened to the women chanting a song that spoke to long-dead ancestors to help guide them. Rocking in time with the rhythmic grinding of the stone pestle in the wide basin mortar. The almost blaze orange clay and dried cactus rinds were crushed into a fine powder, before Celima poured in several drops of water and mixed it with a stick into a paste. Adding a few drops of a thick liquid from her multitude of tiny jars and bottles, she stirred it to be a thick paint. It came from the venom sacks of the large spiders that lived deep in the forest, it was a neurotoxin and would help keep the powerful alien docile and imoble during the journey into her soul.
Bee watched the women as they both chanted and applied the paint to each other's eyes, with two fingers, reaching from temple to temple the stripes framed their eyes. Bee tried to focus on them as her body felt sluggish and the walls began to melt in a twisting turning fashion. Unbenounced to her, her tail was swishing across the floor, her head had fallen back and uncontrollable tears streamed down her face. Colors erupted from every dark crack in the thatched ceiling and she couldn't take her eyes off the nebulas forming in the kaleidoscope of colors.
Turning their attention to her as she stared at the ceiling, tears streaming down her face, Drasil helped to lay Kolradi down on the mat. Celima carried over the basin filled with paint, they began chanting again as both picked up brushes and started painting intricate patterns on the young Saiyan. Bee's eyes drifted closed, the strokes of paint sent her nervous system into overdrive. The paint felt warm when first it came into contact with her flesh but as soon as the brush moved away, it felt cold for a moment then it dried. The gentle stroke tickled and also soothed while the dried paint pulled and itched before the area went entirely numb. As the numb feeling spread, Bee drifted into unconsciousness.
Blackness encompassed her, cocooning her in its abyss. Kolrabi wasn't sure how long she floated in the infinite dark. Slowly, she began to feel aware of herself once more and as the awareness spread, lights began to flicker on in the darkness. As she watched them spread she felt a damp warm earth coated in grass, soft enough to sleep on, materialize beneath her. She felt a cool night breeze sweep over her skin and heard it rustling through the trees. The lights became stars and far off galaxies, larger lights appeared and took the shapes of planets. A large moon hung in the sky, it and the planets were all washed in an angry reddish hue, altering the colors of the other worlds she could see.
"It won't be long now, soon the sun will expand and Sadal will be sucked in and destroyed. Are you ready to find a new home, my love?"
She looked to the woman laying beside her and could feel her mouth spread into a wide smile. Bee had never seen this person, but she had dark green eyes, short Violet hair curled tightly around her head. She had lovely brown skin and was easily twice the size of Bee. She felt her own lips spread to speak and the voice that came out shocked Bee to her core.
"I am ready to start a home with you . This is just a setback. Although, I do wish we were on the same transport, but at least we will be in stasis for the journey. Then, when we wake up we can start the rest of our lives, together."
The voice was her mother's.
As she shifted closer into the woman's arms and they snuggled up, intertwining their tails, Bee wanted to scream. Her mother sounded young, healthy, and happy to be in the arms of this large burly woman. If this had truly been her life before the transport was lost, it made much more sense why she had grown so ill from the hate she felt with her predicament. As the woman peppered her mother with kisses, Bee understood why her mother had been so bitter.
"I love you, Eshallot."
"And I you, Kolrabi." Bee couldn't stop the body she was inside of from melding into the other woman's in a passionate and tender embrace.
Flashing forward to the next day, Bee, still in her mother's body, stood at attention in her black suit and her green and gold armor while a tired old man spoke. There was a sea of people in a militaristic formation, all had tails and wore similar armor with varying suits in blues black, and greys.
"We are the proud Saiyan race, a race of warriors, descendants of the gods, protectors of the galaxy. Although our star is dying, we have located a nearby star that has a habitable planet. Today we embark on our relocation mission to build a new and better society where we can branch out into the stars and bring others under our cloak of protection. Go, board your transports, and survive my fellow Saiyans. May the gods smile upon us all." The man standing above the crowd spoke with an air of authority and Bee looked up. As he finished he stood tall and all of the people below saluted him. Then, the leader of the Saiyan race, his long red-lined, indigo-colored cape, with shining white and gold armor and black body suit, turned with a snap to his cape and climbed aboard his vessel. His family and soldiers following behind him.
The forward ranks of elite soldiers all broke apart in perfect formation to board their vessels. She stood on her toes to see the head of purple curls in the forward right group. As the rest of the ranks began to file into their respective transports she kept looking over her shoulder to spot her lover, Bee's own namesake, the elite warrior Kolrabi.
When she began climbing the stairs she turned back and finally saw her love standing at the entrance to her transport waving to her. Bee felt her mother's mouth turn up in a big smile that made her eyes squint. She tried to fight against her mother climbing those stairs and entering the transport that would never reach its intended destination. As her eyes closed and she sunk into stasis Bee wanted to cry.
Again darkness enveloped her. The young Saiyan floated in empty space until she gasped for breath and opened her eyes, before them rushed eons. The Saiyans that landed on their new home, the Tuffles they allied with, the way the species changed through the generations, the expansion and violent militaristic way they conquered other worlds. Until finally, the Colds, the end of planet Vegeta, super Saiyans, super Saiyan gods. Then a void where a man stood with his back to her. His skin tight black bodysuit reminded her of the one her mother wore. His hair that stood up like a flame of black, reds, and purples ranging into near blues. He stood like a statue in his golden armor and striped collar. The golden bands on his person seemed to glow with untold power.
Bee reached for him, tried to call out to him, but the image fell away and time seemed to melt away. Until she was looking down at herself inside the room at the back of the lodge. Celima sat to one side of her and Drasil the other. Shock rippled through her when she found herself staring into her own eyes. Her life rewound before her eyes as Bee fell deeper into the guided journey.
"Who are you?" pierced the haze of her visions and instantly she stood in a blank, white void.
Spinning around, she came face to face with a woman, she was the only other thing in this empty plain. This mystery woman stood a few inches taller than her. She had a slimmer build and creamy white skin. She wore red heels making her even taller, and a deep indigo dress. Her long, straight cerulean hair was held back from her face with a red band. Her heart-shaped face was practically a mirror image of Kolradi's, save for the Saiyan's darker-toned skin.
"Are you me?" The woman asked, and Bee instantly locked eyes with her.
The exact replica of her own azure depths sucked her in and Bee fell into the black abyss of this woman's pupils. On the other side, she found herself standing face to face with a man that had flame-like black hair. Bee tried to recall where she had seen him before but the woman she had become, the same one she met in the void, raised their delicate hand and started jabbing the man in his naked chest. She shouted at him until he grabbed the hand and pulled her flush against him. Bee wanted to struggle and free herself but the body she was in reached around him to grab a handful of his tight backside. She watched through seductively lidded eyes as the man's ears and cheeks reddened and his eyes widened to mirror how she felt grabbing his ass so boldly. His lip pulled up and he growled at her with eyes narrowed like a predator's. He leaned in nipping at her lip and then she dove in to capture his teasing lips in a hot, passionate kiss.
The scene rushed away to show glimpses of the life the two built; the fights, the sex, their son, the struggles, their wedding, the highs, the lows, her despair at losing him, their reunion, him opening up, their daughter, the happy years they spent together, until at last she was actively part of the reel again and time slowed to a normal pace. She stood in her jeans and long white coat, her long grey hair tied at the back of her neck, in the gazebo where they had exchanged their vows; arms folded with worry. He had been gone for weeks without a word.
"Bulma?" she heard the strange name said in a deep raspy voice and turned to see the man. Only now he was young again, younger than in the first scene she had lived through. He stood in the grass at the bottom of the stairs, his hair once again jet black, he wore cuffs of gold on his neck, biceps, and wrists. Loose-fitting purple pants with a long sash down the front. He was bare-chested, save for the strange collar that rested over his shoulders in purple and black stripes with an orange diamond in the middle. She could feel the woman's heart plummet right before the image blurred and twisted, and in a flash of white, it was gone.
She drifted asleep through space and time once again. Echoing in the abyss was his voice again.
"Even if it takes a million lifetimes, I will be with you again, my Bulma…"
Bee sat up out of her sleeping trance, the drugs still not fully worn off and making the room spin and the walls dance. She grabbed her head and balled up into her own lap before she started crying. Why had she been shown this other person's life? Why did she remember the man, and all those experiences they had like deja vu? What had the woman meant by asking if Bee was her?
Drasil put down the fan and went to Bee's side to console the girl. Celima opened her eyes with a sigh and shared a look of concern with her son's mate. Both of them had followed Kolrabi into the ethereal plain and laid witness to her visions. The first had been harmless, a window into her past and what she was, the second had been more. The vision of her past life had been of little consequence until the final image. A glimpse of a true god, one of the destroyers, and it did not bode well for anyone, least of all those that would stand in his way. The young woman crying on the floor was the reincarnation of his mate and from the conversation the pair had, he would not give up on her.
"Drasil, bring Inigmo here." Celima ordered as she went down to offer Bee some water. There was another matter they needed to discuss.
Bee's cries subsided and she looked up to Celima, "Why does Inigmo have to be here?"
"Hush child, calm yourself." Celima wiped the tears from her azure that shone like amethyst crystals in the firelight. "What has you so upset, child?"
"My mother, what became of her." Bee spoke around hiccups, "It was terrible, the worst fate for her imaginable. Why would that happen to someone so good?" It wasn't right, her mother wasn't even a warrior, she had been an apprentice scientist.
"The universe can be a cruel, unjust place. We have had many young people taken from us, forced into labor and places like the one you came from. There was a man in your visions for a brief moment, one that worries for your safety back in that place of oppression." Bee sniffled as she tried to think of who they might mean. "He bears a strong resemblance to my sons."
"Elio? The cook?" Bee asked.
"His name is Elio?" Inigmo said from the doorway as he and Drasil returned. His ribs were bound in light dressings with a thicker swathe bound underneath. His mate supported him and Drasil brought Inigmo to rest on a stool in the corner. He sat back and listened while holding onto his wound.
"Yeah, as far as I know. A lot of people that have worked for Nash changed their names to draw less attention to their private lives. Elio was always kind to me. He told me he didn't have much of a life, he had been put out on the streets as a small child. His mother had been a slave, but she was one of your people. He told me a couple of the stories she used to tell him, of the people in the north. He said her favorite was the tale of the spider god, um..."
"Isnana." Inigmo said with a broken look on his face as he looked at his mother.
"Yeah! That's...right" Bee trailed off as she watched the pain fill mother and son, she didn't dare speak another word as the tension in the room built to a breaking point.
"You must find him, bring him home to his people." Celima ordered her son as she began to cry and wail for the fate of her child.
"Who is he?" Bee asked Drasil in a hushed voice as the woman offered her a plate of food.
"This Elio, he is the son of Inigo, Inigmo's twin sister." Drasil answered, the pain of the truth like a knife in her heart. "She was my dearest friend. She was taken from us many seasons ago, long before Inigmo and I became mates."
Bee let this information sink in, she remembered the first time she had met Inigmo and how he had demanded to know the fate of the girl on the slab. He had said the name Inigo then, but too much had happened she had forgotten to ask him about it. "I will come with you." She said, jumping up to her feet.
"Are you sure you wish to return to that place?" Inigmo asked, his mother weeping in his lap as he stroked her hair with his free arm.
"Yes, there is something there that I need to get, I cannot allow it to be destroyed. It's the only thing I have left from my mother, and now that I know what I am, I can help you into and out of the city without getting caught. I can also fix up those speeders and we can get back in two days." Kolrabi would not sit this one out, Elio had been her friend for the past year and she would not let him suffer that lonely life when he had family and a whole tribe that would welcome him with open arms.
Inigmo nodded, the determination in the young woman's eyes brokered no argument, after all he would be grateful to have the assistance of a person who could fly him in and out of the city, with the strength of twenty.
Outside, behind the kitchen and saloon, Celion inspected the damage on Xeon's face. Her cheek was swollen and despite the concealer she had put on, a nasty dark purple bruise was forming. He clicked his tongue angrily, he wanted to murder that bastard Nash for striking what Celion saw as his.
"It's okay, Cel." Xeon said in a small and shaky voice. "I've had a lot worse." She placed her slender hand over his, where it was holding her jaw gently to angle her face into the light.
Cel sighed and pulled her into a hug, he held her a little tighter when she snaked her hands around his waist. Cel bent his face down to nuzzle into her silky, golden locks and breathed in her intoxicating scent. He never wanted to let her go.
"I wish I could steal you away. I hate that you are trapped here as his slave. You are my woman. I am sick of sha-" Cel said.
As he spoke Xeon tilted her face up to his and kissed Cel before he could finish saying what she knew. What she now knew was the reason he had been such an asshole to her in the beginning. What she too felt, but couldn't act on, even though it was causing her earnings to drop. Many of her regulars had noticed her lack of interest lately, she knew that soon Nash would have something to say about it.
Cel deepened the kiss, sweeping his long forked tongue into the depths of her mouth. He wrapped it around her tongue and possessively gripped her ass to press her tightly against him. When she moaned, he made a strange clicking sound on his throat and Xeon gripped him tighter. He was in heaven with her in his arms, he tried not to think about if she ever reciprocated any of her jons attention this way and just enjoy the moment they had together.
"That's gonna come outta your pay, boy."
The angry voice of their boss from directly behind Celion, burst the bubble the young couple was immersed within. Both of them froze. Cel's blood boiled, he wanted nothing more than to murder this foul being. Xeon shook, afraid they would try to kill each other. There was nothing more that either of them wanted than for her to be free, but either of the men dying would not end favorably for them.
If Cel died, Xeon would be devastated from losing her lover, and she would still be a slave. If Cel managed to kill Nash, Xeon would die along with all the other slaves inside when their tracking devices self-destructed.
"Let go of that whore, boy. She has some earnings to make up for rutting with you, and you got lots of work to do to make up for all her time you stole."
Celion turned around to face Nash, shielding Xeon from the other man's view.
"I want to buy her freedom!" Cel declared, a murderous glint in his eyes.
"She ain't for sale." Nash stated with finality.
"I don't care what it will cost, I only want her!" Celion argued. He would not give up on them, not now, not ever.
"Are ya deaf, boy?" Nash smashed his fist into the side of Celion's head, knocking the lizard man across the alley.
"Cel!" Xeon screamed and moved to go to her lover's aid, but Nash grabbed her, his big meaty hand encircling her waist and threw her into the door.
"I told you to go make me money, whore." Nash boomed as he marched over to her crumpled form laying upon the ground. "That boy ain't got no money, he doesn't even have a job anymore, and soon, he won't even be breathing. If I can't get my money back, I'll make you earn double for a month, and I'll sell his organs to Lord Juyu." Nash said gesturing with his thumb to where Cel had landed.
"No! Please, I'll do anything. Just please don't kill him. Please!" Xeon begged for mercy even though she knew this monstrous man would never grant it. Still, she had to try.