Chapter 12: Monster
"The secret side of me, I never let you see
I keep it caged but I can't control it
So stay away from me, the beast is ugly
I feel the rage and I just can't hold it."
Monster-Skillet
DBZ
Falmer saw them before they descended upon the ship. Beside him Diamond trembled nervously. He gripped her shoulder reassuringly as he stood up and hurriedly left the ship to meet them before they landed. He was still just a few meters from the ship when the Saiyans drew up before him warily. He smiled at them warmly and bowed his head slightly.
"It is so good to see you safe. You must be Seripa." He smiled at the green-haired female. She wasn't really what he'd expected from he'd been told. But the horizontal scar across her face was definitely an indication of battle.
"Actually no, I'm not. My name is Amotto." She turned her head and nodded towards the distant explosions. "Seripa went there."
Falmer blinked and then nodded slightly. "My mistake." He looked over at Turles and he smiled brightly. "You look just like your brother!"
Broco and Amotto winced and they both floated away from the teenager a bit. But to their surprise he merely shrugged. Either he really didn't care or he was just really worn out from flying.
"I know. A genetic trait for males to resemble their sires in my family. It'll probably die with me, too," he said with a hint of regret in his tone. He looked down quietly.
"Oh that's not likely. See, Bardock and Seripa's son, Kakarott is still alive and on a planet called Earth. There's also Raditz to consider, because he's still alive. And then Bardock—"
"Bardock's dead," Turles said as he lifted his head to give Falmer a startled look.
Falmer blinked again and then chuckled. "My apologies. Let me start from the beginning…My name is Falmer. I came here with Tettuce and Bardock who, I assure you, is very much alive. They are both currently where those explosions are coming from." He looked towards them and blinked. "They've stopped!" He frowned as he noticed a change in the sky over that area. It was steadily growing darker and it looked like the wind over there was picking up.
The Saiyans followed his gaze and they quickly exchanged glances. It hadn't been long since Seripa had left them so they doubted that she had made it there, yet. But something was definitely happening over there.
"Oh! What about Lady Aurah?" Falmer turned to them suddenly, drawing their attention away from the abnormality. He had apparently quickly forgotten about it.
"Don't know," Broco shook his head. "We were on our way to find her when we spotted the ship. We knew it wasn't a Ginyu Force ship, but we had no idea who it could have belonged to. I haven't seen any models that old in a while. I figured it had to belong to a private collector." He smiled slightly and shrugged.
Falmer laughed and nodded. "Yes, yes. I love my old ship. She hasn't let me down, yet, so I keep fixing her up. One day she'll die on me, but it won't be any time soon!"
Broco smile and Turles huffed in annoyance beside him. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for Gylderians?"
Amotto grinned at him. "You're right, but you should probably stay here."
"No need." Broco grinned and pointed up into the sky just as Falmer looked up, following his senses.
As they all looked up they spotted the group of five dropping down towards them. Within seconds everyone descended to the ship and Diamond came running out to embrace Sushinae.
"This is my wife, Diamond." Falmer explained as he, too, embraced the girl, his sister.
The Saiyans nodded and they glanced at Aurah as Falmer and Diamond broke from Sushinae and turned to bow to her.
Aurah stood before them with her head held high and her eyes burning. She grinned at them and pointed directly above them. "I think we should save the party until Zether gets here."
Falmer started and immediately looked into the sky. His eyes widened when he felt the familiar power of his brother approaching. His eyes widened more when he spotted a flash and small dot appeared, growing larger and larger as the vessel plummeted through the atmosphere.
"Geeze, he took one of those cruise rockets to get here so fast!" Falmer exclaimed as his eyes followed the descent of the vessel. As it drew closer it became apparent that it was, indeed, a rocket and it was plummeting nose-first at full speed. All eyes were on it as it slammed into the ground several hundred yards from them, causing an explosion of dirt and debris to rain down upon them.
The dust hadn't even settled yet when they heard a tell-tale sonic boom and a golden man suddenly came skidding to a stop in their midst. He was a tall man, standing easily taller than his brother. His eyes were glistening golden, as well as his short hair. He had a neat goatee that was obviously well-maintained. He was wearing armor similar to Falmer's, but it was glistening gold instead of silver. Draped about his shoulders was a crimson cape with the Glyderian stylized 'G' emblazoned across it. And he exuded arrogance. Hell he was smirking when he landed.
"Ah, Lady Aurah! You are well, I see!" The man, obviously Zether, beamed at her. Before she could respond he turned his back to her and gathered Sushinae up into a hug. He crushed her into his fancy armor, nearly smothering her. "I am so happy to see you alive and well, Sis!" He set her down and she staggered, sucking air into her nearly-collapsed lungs. Zether's hugs always left a lasting impression.
"It's good to see you!" she said breathlessly as she replaced her glasses, smiling at him fondly. She loved her brother. He was a good man with a big heart, but damn it he was arrogant. And cocky. He was the strongest Gylderian alive and he constantly boasted about it. Only Tettuce had ever beaten him in a fight, but that was hardly fair. Everyone knew how strong Tettuce was (save for those few that were currently finding out) and everyone had known Zether wouldn't beat him. But Zether had given it his all and the fight had nearly ended as a draw. But that had been because Zether had been clever and caught Tettuce with a very powerful attack (his most powerful in fact) and it had hurt him a lot more than even Zether had anticipated.
Aurah shook her head as she walked up to stand beside Sushinae. She smiled up at the tall, young man. "It is good to see you, General Zether." She looked slyly towards the still clearing dust. "The last I heard, Cruise Rockets were illegal. Just how much has changed since I've been away?" She turned back to him and cast him a mock exasperated stare.
He grinned sheepishly and scratched his bearded chin. "Well, they actually are still illegal. I, ah, commandeered one to get here in a reasonable amount of time. You can never have enough warriors I say, and I also could not let anyone other than I see Your Highness to safety."
Aurah shook her head again but laughed quietly. "You know very well that's a load of-" she caught herself and chuckled as she regarded the grinning General. "You were honest so I'll pardon you, Zether."
He winked and saluted. "Always a pleasure Your Highness. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must make my presence known!" And without another word, he shot into the air. Once he was clear of them, a golden aura burst to life around him and he shot away just as fast as he'd arrived.
"That man is always full of energy," Aurah said with a shake of her head as she stared after him, a smile gracing her silver lips.
"Especially since he got back from his Writ of Passage," said Falmer with a grimace. "He wants me to do it, too. I told him no."
Sushinae and Aurah laughed at the same time. Their combined voices were not at all unpleasant to listen to, the Saiyans noticed in surprise. It was almost like listening to music. Amotto smiled at the thought and glanced at Broco beside her. He smiled back at her, while Turles sighed wearily and sank to the ground. They immediately turned to him in concern.
He was still pouring sweat and his breathing had been growing heavier. His legs trembled on the ground before him and he looked up at them. "It's hard to breathe. I'm just going to rest here…"
Falmer turned to peer at the Saiyan in concern. "What's wrong?"
Amotto glanced back at him. "A guy named Coma-something, a Flazerian, shot a hole through his stomach. He cauterized the wound, but we think it's worse than he thought."
Turles scowled and closed his eyes. "It didn't seem this bad at first. Broco's right, though. It must've grazed my lung or something. It wasn't so bad at first, but the flying must've made it worse or something." He slumped forward wearily shaking his head back and forth to try and clear his fuzzy mind.
"Everyone's here," said Diamond suddenly. "And Tettuce said to take everyone up to his ship when they arrived. Let's take him to a rejuvenation tank."
Everyone murmured their agreement and Blythe stepped forward to assist Turles just as Broco knelt to lift him up. He blinked in surprise at the Glyderian man who smiled in response. He smiled, too, and the two of them picked the young Saiyan up and hovered up to the hatch of the awaiting black ship. The others followed behind them. But Sushinae and Aurah hung back, both staring towards the strange sight in the distance.
"You're worried about Lord Tettuce, Your Highness," said the blonde-haired woman quietly.
Aurah smiled slightly and nodded as she looked at the young woman. "As you are worried about your brother." She took the woman's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "We have to have faith. Besides," she grinned suddenly, flashing her short fangs. "Tettuce will mop the floor with everyone there!" Sushinae laughed with her and the two of them levitated up to the hatch finally.
With the hatch closed securely behind them and everyone seated safely, the black ship came to life. The dust beneath it was being blown up from the energy of the engines. It rose into the air and then rapidly shot into the sky.
DBZ
Recoome and Burter were standing at the end of an alleyway into which they had herded dozens of Jynn-jin citizens. Even a few Flazerians were cowering in fear before the two members.
"That was very easy, Burter. We didn't even get to fight anyone," said Recoome in disappointment as he put his fists to his hips.
Burter grinned. "We are members of the Ginyu Force. They've obviously heard tales of how fearsome and powerful we are."
"True. I didn't think of that." The red-haired man grinned. "So whatcha wanna do with them?"
"Don't know. The Major said to herd them into one area, but he didn't say what to do after that. I guess we could keep them here or kill them. What do you think?"
"I dunno." Recomme shrugged his massive shoulders and frowned. He suddenly perked up and turned to his blue-skinned partner. "I got an idea! Why don't we ask them?" He jerked a thumb towards the cowering group.
Burter looked the people and narrowed his red eyes as he smiled. "Okay!" He jumped forward and floated over to the group, touching down lightly just a few feet from them. "Now that we've all gathered you here, we're not sure what to do with you! So we're gonna be generous and give you the option of choosing what to do next!"
A Jynn-jin male cowering near the back stuck his head up and said, "Personally, I don't care what you do. Just please don't do anymore of those dances!" There was a widespread murmur of agreement around him.
Recoome touched down beside Burter and he cocked his head slightly. "Dances? You don't like our poses?" He pretended to pout and turned to Burter. "You hear that? They don't want us to dance!" He winked up at the taller alien who beamed down at him with pure malicious delight.
"That gives me an idea, then!" Burter immediately began to run in place, his arms spread out from his body.
Recoome grinned and dropped down, prepared to perform his own routine, when a small black blur shot close over his head and landed behind him. Blinking in surprise, he and Burter turned to see a tiny Saiyan female with violet eyes smirking at them. They exchanged glances then looked back at her. "Uh, who you supposed to be?" Recoome finally asked in bewilderment.
The woman's lips split into a fierce grin and she jerked a thumb at her chest. "I'm Seripa. And you are dead."
"Seripa! That's the female that Lord Frieza wants!" Burter looked down at Recoome who nodded agreement.
"Sure is. Let's get her." He nodded his head at the small woman and it was Burter's turn to nod agreement.
"You are mighty confident that you can take me. What's going to happen if you find that you can't?" she said to them sweetly.
Recoome grinned and dropped into a stance. "Missy, you don't stand a chance. We're the Ginyu Force!"
"I know who you are. I'm not stupid and I'm also not scared of you." She was still smiling at them. In fact she was giving off no signs that she was in any way afraid. In fact, she was more confident than they felt comfortable with. Sure she was just a Saiyan female, but they had been in this business far too long to take some warriors lightly. But even still, the two of them could take her simply.
"Then we'll have to change that!" said Recoome as he lunged at her. The cowering people behind them were completely forgotten.
Seripa grinned and lunged forward to meet him head-on. Her fist slammed into his cheek, but he kept plowing forward and slammed his shoulder firmly against her chest, sending her sailing backwards out of the alleyway and into the flaming building across the street.
Recoome skid to a stop in the middle of the street and he stared disappointedly at the quivering, burning building. "Phooey. That was a bummer."
Burter stepped up beside him and folded his arms across his chest. "Yeah, I didn't even get to fight." He gazed remorsefully at the flames devouring the building. He suddenly shrugged and turned back to the group at the back of the alleyway. "Oh well. We still have them!"
"True!" Recoome said enthusiastically as he turned back to face the fearful group.
"Not so fast!" The two warriors blinked and turned to see a soot-covered Seripa standing behind them with her hands on her hips. She was still grinning but now she was glaring at them, too. "Sorry about that. I'm still not quite used to my strength, so I used a lot less than I thought I was using." She laughed. "It felt like a lot at the time, but apparently there's still more strength in this body than I'm aware of!"
Burter looked at Recoome who met his gaze. "This woman is crazy."
"But she doesn't have a scratch on her," Recoome pointed out. He pointed at her and his blue-skinned comrade looked at her.
"Holy flagnar, you're right!" Burter grinned. "So she can take some punishment! We might both get to fight after all!"
"Oh you'll both get to fight alright. You'll both be fighting for your lives very shortly!" She jabbed her finger towards them fiercely and grinned just as fiercely.
Recoome grinned goofily. "I'm going first…"
"Oh no, I don't think so." Burter rounded on the red-haired warrior and glared down at him. "You already fought her."
"That didn't count as a fight!" Recoome protested. "I only hit her once." He nodded his head and folded his arms across his chest.
Burter frowned and mirrored his friend. "Hmm…Well then, I guess there's only one way to decide this." He narrowed his red eyes and stepped back.
Recoome blinked at Burter, but he caught on quick. He narrowed his eyes and grinned again. "Yeah, good idea..."
"On the count of three?"
"Yeah!" Recoome dropped down into an odd stance. One leg was stretched forward and his upper torso was twisted around so that he had both hands concealed. He was still grinning like an idiot.
Seripa quirked a brow and lowered her arm as she stared on. Just what were these two doing? Were they about to have a showdown just to decide who would fight her first? This was ridiculous! She rolled her eyes and shook her head. This was no way for such "elite" fighters to decide things amongst themselves. She started in surprise when she heard Burter cry "Three!" and she focused on the fight—
"Rock! Paper! Scissors!"
That turned out to be no fight at all.
Seripa could only stare on in utter disbelief as the two grown men kept throwing their fists at one another, over and over again while their hands shifted simultaneously between being open-palmed, tightly balled fists, or just two fingers making a cutting motion. She wondered how long this…madness could continue. She was tempted to just blast them both as hard as she could just to end it. She began to gather her ki just as Recoome cried out in triumph.
"Thank Kami," she breathed.
"Ah-ha! Yes, rock smashes scissors." Recoome gloated while Burter huffed and crossed his arms across his chest.
"Yeah yeah. Whatever. Just get it over with." He sat down with a heavy sigh. "I won't get to fight so just end it."
Recoome laughed and turned to face Seripa. "I'll try to save you some leftovers, eh?"
"Just get on with it!" This time it was Seripa who spoke. "Just stop talking and fight me!" She was getting tired of hearing their stupid yapping.
Recoome narrowed his eyes and grinned. "Oho, you will get your fight. I promise you that." He lunged forward, blurring out of sight almost immediately.
Seripa had just enough time to block the first blow. The second one she was more prepared for. The third one she caught and countered, delivering a powerful blow to the giant's exposed jaw, sending him backwards. He flipped around in mid air and peered at her curiously.
"Whoa, Burter. She packs quite a punch! She might actually prove to be a lot of fun!" He swooped back in without waiting for a response and swung his massive gloved fist towards her tiny, by comparison, head.
Seripa ducked just in time and jumped back as he swung his other fist around. She shot backwards down the street just barely dancing out of reach of his surprisingly rapid punches. She was almost afraid to actually let him hit her. Just as the thought crossed her mind, he closed the distance between then with a sudden burst of speed and she cried out as he slammed his forehead against hers with enough force to send her immediately crashing down to the street, the concrete collapsing in a vague silhouette of her body.
She grimaced and groaned as she sat up. She looked up in surprise as Recoome grabbed a hold of her battle-jacket and lifted her out of the hole. He lifted his other fist and slammed it into her stomach. The hit sent her flying from his grasp and she landed in the middle of the street, skidding to a stop just before she would have fallen into an uncovered manhole. She immediately flipped to her feet and she glared down the street at Recoome as he advanced toward her.
"I guess I'm just going to have to get serious then!" she cried out. She was honestly bluffing, but then again she really was not sure how strong she had become. Fighting the Flazerian had been easy, but Recoome hit back and he hit back hard, she thought as she rubbed her stomach with a wince. Nevertheless she quickly spread her stance and began to summon on her new strength. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to do anything at all. For all she knew she was already powered up to her max.
She knew she wasn't the instant she felt the wind around her body shift. It began to spiral around her at the same time flashes of red began to appear. She grit her teeth, grunting with the effort as her muscles constricted and bulged and burned. They ached from the onslaught of taking on the new strength, but they weren't as bad as she had anticipated.
Until with an explosion of power and red, she was suddenly engulfed in a swirling vortex that was her red aura. She threw her head back and screamed out as she lost herself in the waves of power that were crashing over her. Was this what Tettuce felt like all the time? As the power and ki flowed through her body and rose through the roof she imagined herself an all-powerful goddess. She couldn't believe what she was feeling! The ground was shaking beneath her feet and the sky was darkening as her power was rising. A building near to her suddenly came crashing down and she allowed herself a grin as she stared up at the sky through the swirling red haze that surrounded her. She was on her way!
Burter and Recoome, meanwhile, were staring in shock and horror, respectively. Their scouters were reacting wildly to her light-show and were showing her power reading to be higher than either of theirs. Burter was much faster than Recoome, but the red-haired warrior's power reading was 55,000, while Burter's was just under his. But this Saiyan woman's power had shot past theirs and was still rocketing up.
"60,000! This is impossible! She's just a Saiyan!" exclaimed Recoome as he continuously tapped buttons on his scouter. "This thing can't possibly be right!"
"63,000!" Burter groaned and turned to his comrade. "What do we do?"
"It's gotta be a malfunction!" Recoome glared at Seripa and ripped his scouter off. He crushed it as he watched the crimson aura burn around her body. "There's no way this woman could challenge us." He grinned again and took a deep breath. He had almost lost his cool.
Burter looked back at Seripa and kept his eye on the numbers his scouter was showing him. "65,000…65,500…66…67…67,500…67,500!" He glanced at Recoome as the aura vanished with a loud cracking noise and the shaking subsided.
Seripa took a deep breath as she stood up straight. Her entire body was tingling with electricity. Everything was clearer, sharper, brighter, lighter, cooler, softer, warmer; all of these things and more at the same time. She smiled slightly as she stared at the two warriors. They were bickering back and forth but she could've cared less what they were saying. All she cared about was the raw power that was at her fingertips. She narrowed her eyes and grinned as Recoome suddenly threw himself at her.
He closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, but Burter never saw him go flying when Seripa batted him out of the air. He blinked as the two of them vanished and he began to look all around. A flash of light out of the corner of his eye set him to spinning, but he saw nothing. He heard a boom and he turned again, but still saw nothing. He was just beginning to get nervous when he heard a gurgling cry and then another boom. He looked up just in time to see Recoome drop to the street in a bloody heap.
Burter barely recognized his comrade as he stared down at him in horror. Hardly anything remained of his battle-jacket and blood was oozing out of wounds that covered his body. One of his arm bones was jutting out of the skin and blood was pouring to the cracked concrete beneath his broken body. The tapping of boots touching the pavement caught his attention and he looked up to see a smiling Seripa.
"Hi there. Still want to fight me?"
Burter's eyes widened and he turned and sprinted away. About a hundred feet away he must've remembered he could fly because he took to the air and blasted away in an explosion of blue. Seripa grinned and blasted off after him, leaving a trail of violet in her wake.
DBZ
"Junior!" Ginyu bellowed, taking a brief pause in his power up. "Stop playing around and measure my damn power! I'm almost completely powered up!"
Junior paused in mid-punch, leaving an opening that Bardock exploited by driving his knee into the young Ginyu's stomach, doubling him over. He immediately sprang back and glanced up at his mentor, who was still staring at Ginyu but his impatience was growing. He glanced down at Bardock with a stern glance and he frowned back in response. Tettuce suddenly grinned and glanced back up at Ginyu as Junior, grumbling, hovered up and tapped the side of his scouter.
"You're over 70,000 now, Father."
"Good! Now call it out as it grows!" Ginyu laughed and his purple aura burst to life around his body once more as he resumed his power up.
Tettuce unfolded his arms and let them drop to his sides. He smiled maliciously. He had not fought anyone with such a high power in a long time. Not since he had last fought (was massacred by) Ginyu. He lifted a hand to touch the scar on his forehead and his eyes narrowed. Today he would beat Ginyu. He could feel it. Ginyu's power was steadily growing and Junior continued to call it out, but Tettuce didn't need him to. He could sense the Major's growing power much more accurately than the scouter. It was a high power level, but Tettuce could feel the power up slowing and it was still not as high as his.
Junior stared in awe as the numbers began to slow on the tiny screen of the scouter. He blinked his red eyes a few times. His dad was easily one of the most powerful people in the universe. 90,000 right now. There was no way that Tettuce could stand a chance.
Ginyu's aura suddenly exploded out from his body and vanished as his power up suddenly ceased. He looked down at his son with a grin. "Alright, what is it?" he asked smugly.
"100,000, Father!" Junior responded with a glance towards Tettuce.
Ginyu smirked. "What a reading. Tettuce, do you still want to fight me?"
Tettuce grinned and clenched his fists tight at his sides. "You bet I do…I suppose it's my turn to cut loose!"
Bardock remembered what Tettuce had said and quickly hovered backwards, putting plenty of space between him and the older Saiyan.
Out of nowhere a blue blur came to an abrupt stop in front of Ginyu. He blinked at Burter in surprised confusion, as did everyone else.
"Burter, what is the meaning of this?" he demanded. He glanced around. "Where is Recoome?"
Burter hovered back, trembling. His hands were on his knees as he sucked in gulp after gulp of air. He had flown as fast as he could to get away from the horrible female. "He's….He's dead, I think…I dunno…" He glanced fearfully over his shoulder. "She beat him so bad, Major!" He turned back to his leader, who suddenly slapped him.
As the blue alien recoiled, Ginyu clenched his fist tight. "I am in the middle of a fight with General Tettuce and you interrupt it with this…this news? Who is 'she?'" he suddenly demanded.
"Me!" came a cry from above as a violet-shrouded Seripa appeared. The aura vanished and she dropped down to Tettuce. She smirked at him as she folded her arms across her chest. "It's been quite a while."
Tettuce returned the smirk and glanced at Ginyu and Burter, who was busy telling Ginyu the full story. Looking back at her he responded, "Yes, it has. It is good to see you safe. And," he added with a chuckle, "to see that you have grown much stronger in the last year. I gotta say, I'm impressed."
Bardock was close enough to Burter to hear what Seripa had done to Recoome. He couldn't help but look on in fond pride as he stared up at his mate. She hadn't seen him, and even if she had she wouldn't have recognized him. He smiled slightly and slowly ascended towards her.
Tettuce spotted Bardock inbound from the corner of his eyes. "I think your Captain would be very proud of you right now."
Seripa blinked but smiled slightly. "I hope he is. I've done my best to make him proud."
Bardock couldn't stop himself. As he came up behind Seripa, he smoothly wrapped his arms around her tiny frame, which immediately tensed. He pressed his lips to her ear and, with a smirk, said, "Woman, you should know you've always made me proud."
Seripa's eyes widened as the familiar voice touched her senses and blocked out everything else around her. She forgot about everything else, about the destruction of her race, the last year, the meeting with Frieza; she simply forgot it all as she gently broke away to turn around to see if her ears had deceived her. Her eyes threatened to deceive her as she took in Bardock's new shaggy-haired appearance. Silently she reached up to catch a lock of it from his shoulders into her small hands. She stared at it for a second or two, but dropped it to look up at the scar on his cheek. As she touched it her violet eyes met his onyx eyes.
"Bardock…" she whispered as she reached out to him. "It is you!" She wrapped her arms as far around him as she could, burying her face into his chest. She clung to him tighter when she felt him embrace her.
"Of course it is," he said with a chuckle. He kissed her forehead, which surprised her because normally he wouldn't have done it. Too many things had changed for him to remain the same, and to be honest he never wanted to let go of her again. "I thought I lost you…" His voice broke as he whispered the words into her hair. "I saw Toma…he died in my arms. I saw your body…their bodies…I thought…" he trailed off, unable to say more. He never had been very good with words.
Seripa laughed into his chest. "I saw you die, Bardock. This has to be a dream, because I was there when you died. I saw the blast that killed you."
Bardock gave her a gentle shake. "It doesn't matter now, anyway. We've got some fighting to do and Tettuce still has to power up. We'll catch up more later. Besides, I have something to tell you later." He grinned and pulled her with him as he hovered back away from Tettuce, who immediately took a stance.
She returned the grin. "So do I." But they said nothing more as they both turned their attention to Tettuce. This was the first time either of them had seen the warrior unleash his maximum power. From the way everyone they knew talked, though, it was supposed to be hellish.
Tettuce's power up was different from Ginyu's. Whereas the Major's had been slow, Tettuce started out quick. His red aura sprang to life instantly and rage around his body as his power sky-rocketed. It had been such a long time since he'd unleashed his power. He was often reluctant to do so because of how easily it was to lose control of his temper when he was at this level of strength. But today he wanted that monster that lived in his soul. He needed it now more than ever, because he intended to make everyone on this planet pay for the last year of his life that had been wasted. Not just for himself, but for Aurah and the other Gylderians, and for the four Saiyans. And to reach that end he had to kill Ginyu first. The sky above him darkened and the buildings below them crumbled. A violent wind sprang up and tore at everyone watching the bizarre spectacle. Even the ones who could not sense his power or did not have a scouter could feel the massiveness of his ki.
Tettuce knew that today would change the views of certain people about him but it didn't bother him in the slightest. In fact it fueled his eagerness, making his power rise higher and faster, much to the dismay of Junior who was staring incredulously at the numbers rolling on the little screen. He could not honestly believe that a Saiyan currently had a power level over 100,000, or that it was steadily growing. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before swallowing and glancing at his dad. He winced when he saw the look of shock on his face. He couldn't blame him, really. The only other person that was supposed to be stronger that his dad was Frieza, maybe even Lord Ryo, but never a Saiyan!
Junior groaned as the numbers rolled past 110,000 without so much as slowing down. His father suddenly looked over at him questioningly and he winced. He hadn't been calling out Tettuce's power so his father didn't yet know what he was up against. He had to hope only that his father didn't ask hi-
"Junior! What's the scouter say?" his father suddenly demanded.
The younger Ginyu sighed in resignation. "F-father…120,000…and s-still growing…"
Ginyu smiled slightly. "20,000, eh? And he's putting on one hell of a light-show!"
"No, Father! I said 120,000! Now it's 130,000!" Junior cried just as there was a flash from Tettuce's direction that drew both of their gazes back to the Saiyan in question. What they saw they would never forget.
Tettuce was hunched over in his power-up and his muscles bulged and constricted, tightening and condensing as his strength sky-rocketed, his aura raging all around his floating body. His teeth ground together as his hair stood straight up from the force of his energy. The red aura that had consumed him from the beginning was beginning to have random streaks of gold through it, all around his body, from head to toe. The entire city seemed to be crashing down all around below them. The power that Tettuce was generating seemed to be—no, was shaking the entire planet.
But the worst part of the whole sight was Tettuce's eyes. His eyes seemed to have been swallowed up by a mixture of white and red. His dark eyes were no longer visible, and the more his power increased, the more his aura surged around him, and the more the Ginyu's gaped, the wider he grinned. And it was no normal grin. Tettuce seemed to have become a whole other person, as the feral grin covered his scarred face. It was like something they would have seen on a rabid beast shortly before he attacked.
The elder Ginyu glared at his son. "What is it now?"
"150,000! Still growing!" Junior all-but moaned as his knees trembled.
Ginyu gaped. "What? But…but that's impossible! There's no way that a damn monkey has surpassed me in strength!" Ginyu declared as he set his sights on the still-powering up Tettuce. "You are NOT stronger than me!"
Tettuce merely continued to grin at the two purple warriors.
Ginyu's eyes widened, the veins in his eyes swelling and burst leaving tiny red star-bursts all over the whites of his eyes. One of his fangs cracked and chipped as he ground his teeth together. He never even noticed as his own aura suddenly enveloped his body and he tried desperately to force more strength out off his body. The aura raged and raged, whipping madly about his body as he bellowed at the sky above…but to no avail. He couldn't feel his strength climbing anymore, not even minutely. But all the while, as he watched he could see Tettuce's body seeming to radiate with power and he vaguely heard Junior announced that Tettuce had passed 155,000.
But when he heard 160,000, Ginyu lost it. Before the words had completely left Junior's lips, Ginyu grasped both horns on the top of his head and let loose a magnificent howl of frustrated rage. With his aura still raging he suddenly shot straight up into the sky, vanishing from sight within seconds.
Bardock and Seripa stared after Ginyu, but they quickly turned their gazes back to Tettuce, who was powering up. His body had begun to hiss and steam as the moisture in the air instantly heated and evaporated as his power continued to surge. As they watched they noticed that he was beginning to pant a bit, so they both assumed he was nearing his peak. Bardock could sense it well enough to know that for all his own recent improvement in strength, it was still nothing next to his mentor's. But it only made him grin. It was just something else to strive for.
Tettuce suddenly began to cackle maniacally. Seconds later his power topped out with a shock-wave that shot out in all directions from his body. As he hovered there still cackling, his aura burned around his body in a mixture of red and gold flames. They pulsed and shifted, crackling around his body as his senseless laughing ceased. He looked up into the sky and everyone followed his gaze to see Ginyu dropping back down from the clouds, his purple aura still raging around his body. He continued his descent until he was hovering directly in front of the savage Saiyan.
Ginyu glared at Tettuce, but his face was otherwise devoid of expression. He continued to stare at him for a few more moments, but turned his gaze to his son. "What is his power level, Junior?" Even his voice was expressionless.
Junior turned his scouter off and looked apologetically at his father. "165,000. I don't think the scouter is malfunctioning…" he trailed off, wincing as he expected his father to berate him.
Instead Ginyu said, "Of course the scouter isn't malfunctioning…That really is Tettuce's power." His hairless brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He wasn't sure how he was going to beat this Saiyan, but he had to think of something. He would think of something. He had no choice, because losing was NOT an option. He was MAJOR Ginyu of the Ginyu Force. And besides, he did have one trump card left up his sleeve…
Junior stared up at his father in surprise. He had expected him to fly off the handle again. He looked up at the sky curiously. He wondered what had happened up there to cool his father off? He glanced beside him at Burter who was stunned into literal silence as he stared between the two warriors.
Ginyu stared at Tettuce and Tettuce stared at Ginyu. The purple warrior hadn't done anything while he had been flying around in a rage. He had merely blasted off to blow off his frustration and clear his head. Sure he was at a serious disadvantage in power, but if he kept a clear head he would have a better chance at fighting the overpowered Saiyan. He took a deep breath and slipped into a stance, his aura suddenly vanishing with a crack. He just glared across the sky at Tettuce.
Tettuce smirked at the purple warrior and dropped into his own stance, silently. His red and gold aura was still raging around his tense form. The feral grin from before reappeared and his blank eyes narrowed.
Bardock narrowed his own eyes as he watched his mentor in silence. He had never seen the man look so…depraved, before. Tettuce's body was there, but it seemed as if the man that had all but raised him had left it to some rabid beast. He glanced sideways at Seripa who met his gaze. They held each other's gaze for a few moments longer, before they both looked back at Tettuce and Ginyu.
DBZ
(Individual Lies here! I just wanted to say thanks again to all you wonderful readers and seeing how many hits this story has gotten...it just takes my breath away. lol Anyway, I hope ya'll liked this chapter and that ya'll continue to stick around for the next! Keep your eyes peeled, 'cause I've already started on it so Chapter Thirteen will be up soon. Thanks again everyone!)
