Chapter Fifteen: Monster (Part III)

"It's hiding in the dark
Its teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me
It wants my soul
It wants my heart
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Maybe it's inside of me, stop this monster!"
Monster-Skillet

DBZ

Fifty-three years ago…

Three cloaked figures moved silently through a quiet, rubble-strewn street. Amidst that rubble laid the lifeless bodies of men, women, and children. Also scattered here and there were the remains of invading aliens; aliens wearing the armor and signet of the Ice-jin Empire. The three figures were Saiyans, as well as the majority of the lifeless people around them.

One of the figures, the shortest of the three, lowered his hood. He was a young scar-faced man with cold, black eyes and a hairless head. He looked around in disgust. "Not's a single surviv'r. Them damned Ice-jinns beat us ag'in. Soon as we's find's 'em, they kill's 'em."

"What else would you expect, Turpin?" responded one of his comrades as he lowered his hood as well. He was a tall male with a mohawk of black hair that extended down his back into the depths of his cloak. His eyes were a dark green. "The Ice-jinns do not want our race to see its true potential realized again. They have all but wiped out any traces of our true origins into this galaxy. These small pockets of survivors," he gestured around at the corpses, "are becoming fewer and fewer. This group may even have been the very last of what remains of the true glory of the Saiyans."

The third figure lowered its hood, revealing the youthful features of a stern-eyed woman. Her eyes were magenta and she had short hair that spiked up in random directions on the top of her head. She cast a glare at the second man. "I sure as hell hope not. If that fool Vegeta's bunch is the true last of the Saiyans, then our race is doomed. Frieza has an iron-clasp hold on them these days."

Turpin folded his arms across his chest and snorted. "Yeh, more o' less. Veggie thinks ol' thunda lizard's gonna throw's 'im a bone. Speakin' o Vegeta," he glanced to the woman. "Try 'n keep this from 'im, hm? We all know's ya resen' 'im 'n ev'rythin'. But if he fin's out, Frieza fin's out there're still some o' us Clerics o' the Ol' World alive."

The woman scrunched up her nose and glared at Turpin as she hissed, "Can't you even enunciate when referring to our holy title?"

"Wha's the diff'rence? There's only ya, me, and Ka'biij left anyhow."

She scowled at him in silence for several moments before finally asking, "So what now? This lot is dead and gone, that's plain to see."

"No, Seluri," murmured the other man, Ka'biij. He was kneeling beside one of Frieza's deceased footmen. "Take a closer look. These corpses are fresh. We have arrived soon enough that there may still be some survivors."

"Guess again."

The three Clerics spun around, each dropping into different stances. But they immediately relaxed when they saw a young kid, looking just shy of his teenage years. He had thick shaggy hair hanging all around his face and over his shoulders. Several thick bangs were shadowing his eyes as he approached them, dragging the limp form of a young boy, looking about three or four years old, by the tail. Both were wearing rags and were covered in blood and filth. The teenager was staggering as he closed the distance between them.

"No survivors here. All d-dead," breathed the boy as he sank to his knees before them. He kept his eyes downcast, his hair hiding them from view. He suddenly tossed the young boy at their feet. "P-please, I can't do it," he said pleadingly. "Kill that…that…thing…I don't have the strength…and I don't…have the heart. I can't kill kin. I can't kill him…I c-can't k-kill my bro…brother…But…it has t-to d-die…" he finished quietly.

Seluri frowned as she stepped over the prone form of the young boy. She knelt before the older boy and reaching out a hand, she gently tilted the boy's chin up until she could see his eyes. She started visibly, her mouth dropping open in surprise as she saw the empty sockets gaping at her, blood and gore still trickling down his cheeks.

The boy smiled grimly. "Think that's bad?" He weakly grabbed her hand and moved it to his stomach. She nearly jerked her arm back when she felt a soggy nothingness beneath his ragged clothes. "Tettuce did this. He did all this." He lifted his free hand and gestured around vaguely. "When those…those bastards arrived and killed our parents, Tettuce lost it. I-I've never seen anything like it." His voice wavered in growing weakness, his sentence ending almost in a mumble.

Turpin looked down at the boy lying at his feet and frowned.

"I remember…I remember a golden light. And rage. Tettuce, he wasn't himself when it happened. He…became something else. A monster…It killed everyone, invaders and our people alike." The boy released Seluri's hand and let both of his fall to the ground, his head slumping forward suddenly. "He…it…carried…death…" He swayed and then fell over onto his side and didn't move.

Ka'biij looked dubiously down at the young boy. "How old is he? Three? Four? There is no way it is possible."

" 'Less he 'as the blood, o' course," mumbled Turpin as he stroked his stubbly chin.

"That's virtual heresy, Turpin. We three are the last!" said Seluri vehemently as she stood and turned her back on the dead teenager.

"We's are now," said Turpin gruffly. "Me brother surviv'd th' migration from th' South Galaxy. An' there's a good chance these boys 're his sons. I ain't seen 'im in 'bout forty o' fifty years. Good chance he's produc'd offsprin'. Hell, in tha' time, these mey'be his gran'kids fer all's I know." He grinned and glanced at his fellow Clerics. "I ain't gonna kill th' boy. I'd rather train 'im."

Ka'biij glanced around at the ruins of the city. Desolation surrounded them, the barely standing ruins of what had been a city casting stark shadows in the light of the half moon above them. "If he is responsible, he did not do this with a full moon." He nodded at the glowing half-orb overhead. "Maybe he does have the blood. His brother mentioned a golden light."

Seluri frowned. "But to think that he could possibly be a Super Saiyan, when not one of us has yet breached that wall? It's truly maddening."

"Na', I don' think he 'as. Mey'be tapped the res'rves a bit, I wager." He stroked his chin again as he regarded the boy.

Seluri moved closer to Tettuce until the three of them were standing in a loose ring around the boy. "It can't be possible, though. What if he's not your brother's kin?"

"Then's th' boy 'as serious p'tential. He migh' ev'n 'ave what it takes t' beat's Frieza."

"Bull shit," growled the female Saiyan. "Only Clerics have the capability to do so. You mastered the ancient scrolls as well as I, if not better. You should know that only we that have undergone the ancient training can possibly face an Ice-jinn." She cast her stern eyes down to the unconscious boy at their feet. "And besides, if what the other boy says is true, then we have nothing more than a potential threat on our hands."

"Oi, can it, will ya, Seluri?" Turpin twisted one finger in his ear in annoyance. "Yer harpin's gettin' on my nerves. List'n," he continued when he noticed Seruli getting flustered. "Tha' anci'nt trainin' wa'n't nothin' more 'n heavy trainin'. I c'n put th' boy through's tha' meself. An' I c'n get 'is ang'r un'er control. If'n it bothers ya tha' much, I will take full re-spon-si-bi-li-ty." He flashed a wide grin and winked at her.

A pink hue spread across her cheeks and she glared at him. "Don't you dare!"

"No, I think Turpin has a point," Ka'bijj said then with an amused smirk towards her, which only caused the blush to spread further. "If the boy does turn out to be a threat, the three of us still remain. Regardless of his strength, if we cannot handle him then we do not deserve to be called Clerics."

"Yeh, an' if it'll make ya feel's bett'r, how's about's we make 'im a Cleric, too?" Turpin stooped and grabbed the boy up and slung him across his shoulder.

"Are you crazy?" Seluri all-but shrieked.

"Yeh, mos' days," he grinned.

"Will you be serious for once, Turpin? He can't be a Cleric! The scrolls no longer exist. The training grounds are gone. And not a one of us is ordained to administer the rites!"

"There are three Clerics of the Old World in the entire universe, Seluri," said Ka'biij. "You are right that the three of us are not ordained, but that does not matter anymore. The Clerics of the Old World are dead," he paused and turned to face her with a slight smile. "Maybe it is time that we rebuild the Clerics…Clerics of the New Age, hm?"

"Ka'bijj, are you serious?" Seluri stared at him wide-eyed, her mouth gaping open. "This whole idea was crazy from the start! Now you are taken in by Turpin!"

"I am not taken in by anything, Seluri," Ka'bijj said sharply. "The Saiyans are a dying race as it is, and there are only three Clerics left. Three. Do you understand what that number means?"

"Don't you patronize me! I understand that we are the last! I want to rebuild the Clerics, too, but we need to do it right! We can't just take in anybody we come across. We have to know that they'll be able to handle it! That they'll be true Clerics!" Seluri stepped back and looked between the two of them. "If that kid really did all of this," she spread her arms out to indicate the missing buildings and dead bodies, "then he is the exact thing we don't want!"

Turpin narrowed his eyes at her, "Pickin's is slim, Seluri. Th' true Saiyans're dyin' out, so's it's not like we's 'ave much choice. I un'erstan' whad ya sayin', I really do. Bu' begga's can' be chooses, and like it o' not, bu' we's are begga's. This boy may 'ave wha' it takes, an' I'm willin' t' take a chance."

"I want no part, then." She glanced between the two of them slowly. "We took oaths never to take the unworthy or insane. This kid is insane and unworthy…and so is this idea. I can't take part in it; it goes against everything the Clerics stand for. This will come back to haunt you, Turpin."

"Na, I doubt's it. Like Ka'bijj says, we's are more'n strong enuff t' han'le th' boy. Come on, cool it, Sel. Ya're blowin' this outta pro-por-tion."

"No, I'm not. Turpin, this is going against our oaths! We vowed to keep the blood between only those of the blood! We can't alter it in anyway."

"You are upholding out-dated and ancient oaths, Sel," Ka'bijj said with a sigh. "Ever since we came to this galaxy, those few thousand that were leftover from the war with the Ice-jinns, our numbers have been dropping off drastically. Nearly a hundred years ago we were a strong and glorious race, capable of sticking to our ancient traditions. But now there are but three that remain of that race. Our pride in bettering ourselves replaced with a thirst to kill, thanks to the Ice-jinn's, and Vegeta's wayward ways." He stepped forward and rested his hand on her shoulder with a smile. "We have no choice but to go through with this. Tettuce will not be the last that we recruit. If we have any chance of facing the Ice-jinns now, then this boy will be our future."

Seluri brushed his hand off, looked down and didn't say anything at first. She closed her eyes and slowly shook her head before saying, "No. This will not be my future. This is a bad idea and I can't bring myself to go along with it. If you two are really serious about this, then I am done. I renounce my title."

"Ya can' be serious, girl," said Turpin with a frown.

"If you are, then I am, too," she said, looking back up at them.

Turpin and Ka'bijj exchanged glances. They nodded to each other and glanced back to Seluri, who nodded, as well.

"I see." She sighed, looking down again. After a moment she took a breath and looked back up at them. "We go our separate ways, then. Good luck."

"No, Seluri, wait!" But as Ka'bijj reached towards her, she turned and blasted away in an explosion of red, vanishing into the sky in an instant.

Turpin stared up at her for a few moments before scoffing. "Good rid'ance."

Ka'bijj rounded on Turpin angrily, "What the hell are you saying? Seluri just renounced her title as a Cleric!"

"So's? Ya sed it yer self: th' Clerics o' th' Ol' World are dead. We's shou'd do th' same, shou'dn't we's? B'come, Clerics o' th' New Age."

The other man looked silently at the boy resting across Turpin's shoulder. "You are right. But…" He fell silent and closed his eyes. After a moment he opened them again and looked up at his comrade. "Will it be worth it?"

"S'gonna 'ave t' be, Ka'bijj. Like ya's sed, we's ain't got's much choice."

DBZ

Fifteen years later…

Turpin, sporting black and gray Ice-jinn armor, hovered stoically over a city wrought with rumbles and scattered explosions. His head turned slowly this way and that, his black eyes searching amidst the chaos below him from behind a scouter with a red eyepiece.

"Gah, whar's tha' boy run off t'?" he muttered under his breath. "Did 'e fo'get why we's came 'ere?" His scouter beeped and he idly pressed the receiver button. "Whaddya wan'?"

"Turpin, King Vegeta orders you to return to Planet Vegeta immediately," responded a particularly angry voice.

"No c'n do, Nappa. Tell's 'im I's a lil' busy a' th' mom'nt."

"King Vegeta does not care what you have to say! You and your team are to return to Planet Vegeta without further dis…uh…diso…dis-"

"Dis-o-bed-i-ence?" asked Turpin as he arched a hairless brow, while at the same time scratching his stubbly chin.

"Yeah, that's the word. Return now!"

"Shut it, Nappa. Whar ya git off thinkin' ya c'n talk t' me tha' way?"

"You are a lower-class Saiyan, and I am elite. You are scum beneath my boots, Turpin."

Turpin suddenly threw his head back and burst out laughing. "Me? Scum 'neath yer boots? Nappa, yer th' scum." He laughed again. "Then agin, ya prolly wou'dn' know's true scum, wou'd ya? Scum neva knows it-self."

"Turpin! You will pay for your ins…uh…damn it." Nappa finished feebly, unable to remember the right word.

Turpin laughed again. "Fer wha' now? Me insults or me in-so-lence?"

"Why aren't you back anyway?" Nappa changed the subject, but his irritation was still apparent in his tone.

"Got's some unfin'shed bizness. Tettuce is a bi' busy a' th' mom'nt, so's we'll be a bi' late. Th' rest o' th' team's on th' way." He looked down and suddenly grinned. "I'll talk back lat'r." He killed the connection before Nappa could respond and dropped down into the city, landing in front of a teenaged Saiyan wearing similar armor.

"Turpin!" The boy frowned and scowled at the shorter man. "What do you want?"

"We's done 'ere, Tettuce. Frieza's men're done." Turpin folded his arms across his chest.

"No! I will never be done! There're still more of them to kill!" Tettuce growled back in response, his black eyes gleaming in the fading light.

Turpin frowned and slowly unfolded his arms. "No, we's done Tettuce. We's done wha' we's come 'ere t' do. We's can' keep doin' this. We's draw's enuff 'ttention t' ourselfs as it is."

Tettuce grinned and narrowed his eyes. "You think you can stop me?" He suddenly lunged into the sky, and blasted away.

Turpin stared after him with an arched brow before sighing and shaking his head. He sprang into the air and came to a stop directly in front of the retreating boy, bringing him to an abrupt stop.

"I c'n stop ya, boy. So's don' try meh. An' wipe tha' stun'd look offa yer face. I's tol' ya b'fore tha' I'm way's stronga than ya. Now git t' yer pod!" he said as he extended his hand toward the horizon and pointed at several distant craters.

Tettuce looked in the direction he was pointing for several long seconds, before turning to regard the older Saiyan. "No, I don't think I will."

"It's a'ways th' same wit' ya boy! Why can's ya git yer act t'getha? I's tirin' o' tellin' ya's all th' time. This is gettin' t' be an all th' time thin'." Turpin took a breath and leveled his eyes on Tettuce in a chilling glare. "I's won' says it a'gin."

"Good, 'cause I still ain't goin'!"

Turpin brought his hand around and backhanded Tettuce; blood flew through the air.

Tettuce stuck his hand against the bleeding wound on the side of his face and turned his dark eyes on Turpin angrily. "Look what you've done!"

"I's know wha' I's did. Drop yer at-ti-tude, and lis'en t' wha' I say! We's 'ere fer yer trainin', no' fer yer t' kill!" Turpin yelled back, veins popping up in his temples and his neck.

The boy lowered his hand from the new gash in his cheek and shook his head firmly. "I am tired of you always telling me what to do. I'm tired of you always giving me orders and treating me like I'm your son! My parents are dead and I don't need you tryin' to take their place! So leave me alone!" A red aura burst to life around his body and an explosive force rushed out from him, slamming into Turpin's chest hard enough to send him flying backwards a few yards.

"Ah, not's this shit a'gin, boy. Goin' full pow'r 'gain't me is askin' fer trouble!"

"SHUT UP!"

Turpin jerked in surprise when Tettuce yelled at him. He stared at the blank eyes that Tettuce was glaring at him with. He frowned, confusion marring his scarred features. "Wha's this now?"

At that moment the red became gold and Tettuce vanished in a blinding eruption of light. Turpin brought his left hand up to shield his eyes, but immediately regretted it. He opened his mouth and let out a howl of pain as searing heat washed over his hand and up his arm. He flared his ki and shot backwards, clutching his arm to his chest. He tore his gaze from the gold-enshrouded Tettuce and looked at his hand; his eyes went wide and his mouth fell open in shock. The skin of his hand was still bubbling and dripping from his now mangled hand and his fingers had already fused together in a grotesque fist of still hissing flesh. It had happened so fast, he had had no time to prevent it.

And Tettuce had done it with just a surge of power. He looked back at the boy still glaring across the sky at him, but he saw no recognition in the teenager's eyes.

There was a sudden flash and pain shot through Turpin's right eye and he felt hot liquid splatter all across his face as he immediately lost vision in that eye. Before he could cry out, however, he was already plummeting to the ground from a strike he never saw. He landed in the middle of the street, cratering the concrete from the impact. His vision swam as he struggled to keep his good eye open…

A shadow dropped from the sky and landed beside him, an instant before he slipped into darkness.

DBZ

Present day

"Zarbon, calling the Ginyu Force. Ginyu, do you copy? This is Zarbon…Major Ginyu, do you copy? This is Zarbon, calling the Ginyu Force on behalf of Lord Frieza. If anyone reads me, respond." Zarbon fell silent and frowned as he stared down at the console before him. It wasn't like the Ginyu Force to not respond to a hailing call. Frieza always wanted status updates and the Ginyu Force had failed to relay any information since they'd landed on Jynn-jin 13. What could be happening on that miserable mud-ball to so occupy all four members of the Ginyu Force that none of them could respond?

"What is the delay, Zarbon?" came Frieza's cold voice from where he sat in his hovering chair behind the green alien.

Zarbon jerked upright and stammered quickly, "I-I am not sure, Sire. I c-cannot reach them for some reason."

Dodoria snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "It's most likely because those fools are too preoccupied with tormenting those Jynn-jin weaklings."

"No, that's not it," Frieza said softly, his brow furrowing as he stared, seemingly absently, out of the front viewscreen into the black abyss of space.

"What else could it be, Lord Frieza?" asked Dodoria with a frown.

"I imagine they must have met with resistance." The tyrant smiled dryly and cocked his head at his fat underling. "Ginyu never fails to report in on time. I imagine that he is dead by now if this Flazamyn is as strong as they say."

"You think maybe Tettuce has something to do with this?" asked Zarbon as he turned to regard Frieza.

"Tettuce is a Saiyan, Zarbon. No Saiyan is strong enough to face Major Ginyu," Frieza smiled thinly. "No, this Flazerian, Flazamyn, must have been stronger than we anticipated."

"Sire, I thi-" Zarbon cut himself off when Frieza gave him a warning glare. He couldn't keep his thoughts from straying to that one possibility. He thought that Tettuce was strong enough to kill Ginyu. Twenty years ago he had been abnormally strong for a Saiyan, so who was to say that all these years later he wasn't even more abnormally powerful? Zarbon wasn't one to give Saiyans any kind of credit, but he had seen the aftermath of one of Tettuce's subjugations. He remembered that the planet involved had been utterly devastated and not a single survivor had been counted. Tettuce had wiped it clean of life by himself, without even using the power of the full moon. He had even reshaped the face of the planet as a bonus for the new owners, so that their new planet would look the part.

Zarbon repressed a shudder and looked back down to the console before him. Tettuce had wrought damage upon that world that all other Saiyans could barely achieve by transforming into those giant monkey forms of theirs. The worst part of it, though, was that Tettuce had had no recollection of doing any of it. It seemed that once he flew into one of his insane rages that he lost all sense and reason.

"Lord Frieza!" Zarbon snapped out of his reverie and glanced at the helmsman; he was an ugly blue alien with a large, elongated head.

"What is it, Appule?" demanded the diminutive emperor.

"We are coming upon our destination. We will be arriving at Jynn-jin 13 in less than ten minutes."

Zarbon looked at Frieza just as a cold smile split the ruler's lips.

"Good. We shall soon solve the mystery of Ginyu's continued silence."

Zarbon frowned and looked at the viewscreen just as the ship was approaching a large green and red planet. No matter what Frieza said, he felt that if Tettuce was on that planet then he did not want to be. The Ginyu Force was no more; of that much he could be certain.

DBZ

Seripa stared up at Tettuce with a slightly arched eyebrow. From what she could tell, Tettuce had just changed the color of his aura. Because for the last ten minutes (in which time, Ryo and Zether had reappeared and remained silent, oddly) Tettuce had just been hovering over them with his aura billowing around his body like living flames, regarding them all and seeming completely calm.

Beside her Bardock was trying to keep his cool, but she could tell he was nervous as hell for some reason. She'd wanted to ask him about it for a while, but she wasn't sure if he was willing to divulge information. He'd been silent ever since he'd first declared Tettuce lost to them, and she wondered what he had meant.

She frowned and glanced at her mate for a moment. Bardock always had declared himself fearless, but he was definitely scared right now. And the person he was scared of was Tettuce. Tettuce the Insane…The Harbinger of Doom. The dawning of realization settled about her and she jerked her attention back to Tettuce just as the most maniacal, sadistically gleeful, grin split his lips.

"Oh, shit…"

He vanished in an instant, and in that same instant Ryo's head snapped sideways and he was flying away and out of visible sight. An instant later Zether was flying in the opposite direction, and Seripa was struggling to locate Tettuce's position. She blinked in sudden surprise as her eyes finally caught up to him in time to see him appear before Bardock and drive his knee violently into his nose, sending him sailing upwards just as violently as he'd sent Zether and Ryo flying. Then he was on top of her, driving his elbow into her exposed gut, sending her flying backwards and through dozens of piles of rubble leftover from the destroyed city. And all she could think about was how it had all happened in the blink of an eye.

When she was able to think about her situation once more, tearing her mind from that terrifying thought, she realized that she was lying on top of a crumpled mass of metal that she was sure had been a vehicle just moments before. She pulled herself, groaning the entire time as her body protested the movement, to her feet and staggered a few steps before she caught her balance. She lifted her head wearily and using only her eyes (because her neck hurt too much to turn) she looked for Tettuce first and foremost.

He appeared right in front of her, still grinning. "So, you're the first to stand back up. I knew I took it too easy on you 'cause you're a woman." He sprang forward and slammed his forehead against hers and she was flying backwards again, her vision blackened and her head swimming from the pain.

A few minutes later she came to her senses again and she found herself lying on her back in a debris-strewn street staring up at a darkening sky through a haze of red. Wondering what had just happened, she levered herself into a sitting position and saw Tettuce enshrouded in gold high above her, with a large Flazerian and a black haired man trying to get a hit in on him. She frowned and it all came flooding back to her as a wave of crushing nausea.

"S-seripa!" She looked up as Bardock stumbled up to her, sinking heavily to his knees at her side. "Good, you're alive," he breathed weakly.

"He hit me twice," was her groaned response. "Why did he hit me twice?" she asked, weakly lifting her head to stare at Bardock in barely concealed fear.

Bardock grimaced. "He doesn't know us right now. I've never seen him like this, but this is what gave him his nicknames. Tettuce is literally insane, and for some reason he's lost his temper. He'll kill anyone he sees, friend or foe. It don't matter to him."

"What is he?" Seripa asked as she struggled to rise to her feet, her head swimming and pain coursing through her stomach, giving rise to an urge to throw up her intestines. She gagged and her body trembled with violent quakes.

Bardock stood with equal difficulty and tried to steady her. "I don't know," he admitted. "But right now he's deranged."

"Now, that's not nice."

They both spun, adrenaline flooding their veins, to see Tettuce standing behind them.

He grinned between them, his blank eyes settling uncomfortably on them in turn. "And I'm not deranged, thank you very much. I'm a Super Saiyan!" He lunged forward and struck them simultaneously, sending them both sailing in opposite directions.

Seripa crashed down to the ground and skid through and tumbled over piles of debris littering the ground. She finally came to a splashing stop in a pothole of muddy water, her chest heaving painfully as she struggled to maintain consciousness. Each time he struck her, it was like she'd been hit by a comet. Each hit took everything out of her, leaving her battered and helpless.

"Spirit Burn! Multiple Thrice!" She turned her head to Bardock just as his body was awash with burning blue flames and he was launching himself at Tettuce.

She watched as he delivered lightning quick punches and kicks, only to be swatted aside an instant later. But as she watched him flying away an idea began to form in her head and she wondered if the nanites in her body were still functional? Even if all of them weren't, so long as the repair-bots were working then her idea had a chance of working. Maybe. It was a risky idea, but she was the only one that could pull it off. And that was only if she could manage a Spirit Burn; she'd tried to learn it from Bardock, but it was a difficult one to control. Not even Bardock had mastered it.

She climbed wearily to her feet, perspiration dripping down her brow from the effort. As she drew in several heavy breaths she watched Zether zoom from out of nowhere to strike Tettuce with shockwave-inducing force, but with no effect. As Ryo came in for his own assault, she began to focus on her ki. She channeled what remained through her body, the flood of energy helping to ease her aches and pains.

Setting her eyes on Tettuce, they narrowed as red sparks began to burst around her body. She didn't have much time and she knew it. She focused her mind on the Spirit Burn technique, trying to recall the right way to initiate it. If this works, she thought glumly, it'll be the first time it ever did.

Calming her mind and taking a breath, she suddenly bellowed, "SPIRIT BURN!"

"What?" She heard Bardock's concerned tone, but she was already set on doing this.

"Multiple…" Huh, how do I multiply it by ten? Oh, to hell with it. "Multiplied by TEN-!"

"Seripa, no! That's too high!"

"EEEEYYAAAGGGHHHH!"

But it was already too late. Red flames exploded around her body and her power began to sky-rocket. But the pain that accompanied it overwhelmed her, and her whole plan was scrapped as she screamed at the top of her lungs, far too much power flooding through her body. Her tiny muscles bulged and constricted violently, seeming ready to rend her flesh from her tiny body. Her hair was standing on end from the force of the rising energy that was steadily being emanated from her small frame. Her arms and legs felt like they were on fire, but through it all…she also felt something else. Something too tiny to give a name to, but she could feel it slowly rising through the pain. It wouldn't overcome the pain, she knew that, but she felt a sudden surge in her power and she knew what was happening: the Spirit Burn was tearing her body to shreds, and the nanites were working to repair the damage. Her plan was working!

Her power-up was nowhere near complete when Tettuce appeared in front of her, his head slightly cocked as he stared at her with his empty eyes.

"Oh, shit!" was all she had time to utter before he soundly punched her with enough force to send her crashing backwards through what seemed like miles of piled up debris and a few random half-buildings that had somehow survived up to this point.

When she finally came to a rolling stop in the center of a street, her armor was barely clinging to her body and the underarmor was all-but gone, replaced by torn and bloodied flesh. Blood covered her dirty face and her ki was all but completely spent. She remained where she lay, her eyes closed in weak resignation as she barely clung to consciousness. She knew she was beaten. There was no way she could stand against Tettuce like this. She had just damaged her body using a risky technique capable of multiplying a user's strength drastically, and Tettuce had batted her away like an annoying insect before she could finish, in the process dealing more damage to her than she was capable of dealing to him with ten hits.

"Seripa?" came a sudden, concerned voice from above her.

She opened her eyes halfway and forced a smile at Amotto. "I-I'm a-alive." Her voice trembled with the effort and she chided herself for showing such weakness.

"Gods, barely," Amotto responded quietly, her eyes wide as she looked over her friend's injuries. "Gods…gods, you're bleeding everywhere."

"Wh-what are y-you s-saying?" Seripa frowned and struggled to look down at her body, but she was too weak to do even that.

Amotto gently lifted her body up, and Seripa let out an involuntary cry as she felt something tear and pull out of her back. She watched in surprise as the green-haired woman tossed a sharp, blood-covered rock away. That had been inside her? Gods, she must be bleeding to death.

"I-I w-won't die, A-amotto. I refuse," Seripa closed her eyes and focused her mind on her ki…but she felt nothing. She furrowed her brow in concentration, trying to call up any bit of it at all. All she needed was a little to stand. Just a little…Warmth spread throughout her body and she felt her fatigue slowly fade. She took a breath and, opening her eyes, struggled to her feet. She staggered sideways, but Amotto caught and steadied her.

"Where's Bardock?" asked Amotto as she looked up at Tettuce warily. From the fact that she was still standing easily, he had not yet gone after her.

"I d-don't know," Seripa stammered. She was weaker than she'd been in a long time and it was because of someone who should have been an ally. Moreover her plan had failed and she barely had the strength left to stand, let alone try it again. She was certain that most of her ribs were broken, and her body felt utterly ravaged from the tumble she'd just taken. Even if she wanted to anymore, she couldn't fight.

Beside her, Amotto gave her a worried glance. She was obviously worried that Bardock was already dead, but for Seripa's sake. She smiled to her friend, thankful that she still had one. Tettuce was out to kill, as her current condition clearly stated.

"Amotto, y-you n-need to g-get out-ta h-here," Seripa slipped from her grasp and sank to her knees, her head hanging wearily. She could no longer stand.

"No, I'm not leaving you," she said as she dropped to her side. "I can't."

Seripa laughed. "No, g-go get A-aurah. I'd g-go…but I can't…stand." She smiled slightly at her. "I'll be fine. We need her help, so go get her."

Amotto was clearly reluctant, as she stayed kneeling beside Seripa. "If he hits you again, he'll kill you! I can try and defend-"

"Gods-damn it, Amotto!" Seripa snapped. She glared and focused all of her ki into being angry, as it seemed to be giving her more strength. Enough for her to handle Amotto, anyway. "You can't defend against him! You see what he did to me? You think your measly power reading of 4,000 is going to help you against the Hand of Fate? The Harbinger of Doom?" Seripa barely could keep from grinning when she saw the fear in her friend's eyes. "Tettuce the Insane is your opponent. Now go get Aurah!" She sat back heavily, her chest heaving as she gasped for air.

Amotto stared down at her with just another moment's hesitation, before she nodded silently and then turned to run away.

Seripa smiled weakly as she watched her run, keeping low cover so that Tettuce wouldn't spot her escape. Maybe Aurah really could help against Tettuce; at least she might be able to calm him down, anyway.

She turned her gaze from Amotto to look for Bardock, briefly surprised that Tettuce had not come to attack her again. She found Bardock struggling to his feet about a hundred yards away and she let out a breath she did not know she had been holding. He looked in her direction for a moment before looking up to where Tettuce was still hovering. She followed his gaze to see Ryo flitting all around Tettuce, his fists and feet blurs as he delivered rapid-fire attacks to him that didn't seem to be fazing him in the least.

"Lord Ryo!" Flazamyn launched himself, seemingly from nowhere, up towards the Saiyan.

Tettuce knocked Ryo away and turned his blank gaze to Flazamyn with a malicious grin. "Small-fry!" He thrust his hand towards him and a blinding flash of light vaporized the advancing Flazerian in one, screech-filled, instant.

The light had barely faded when an explosion from behind Seripa drew his gaze to her, but that was her last thought as she realized that the explosion had come from the direction Amotto had been running. With a sudden burst of adrenaline she jumped to her feet and spun around to stare at a newly-formed crater that stretched about fifty feet across. Her eyes widened as she took off running, staggering and stumbling over scattered debris as she approached it, rubble raining down around her.

"Amotto!" she cried as she came skidding to a stop at the crater's edge. Immediately her hands flew to her mouth, her stomach twisting as she took in the sight before her: Amotto's arms and legs had been blown from her body, which was now in two segments having been violently torn apart in a diagonal-ripped angle at her upper torso. Blood was splattered all around her and it was clear from the lifeless eyes that stared up in eternal horror that she was already dead. Seripa sank to her knees as her legs gave out beneath her.

But who? Who had done it?

Laughter drew her attention skyward and Seripa rose instantly to her feet when she spotted the tyrannical culprit hovering high above them all, his finger still pointing down at Amotto.

"One fragile Saiyan down," said Frieza with an evil chuckle as he lowered his arm. He glanced sideways at the gold-enshrouded Tettuce and frowned as the gold began to fade away to be replaced with red.

Seripa glared up at Frieza in loathing, her hands trembling from a mixture of anger and weakness. Here was her target and she lacked the power to face him. And oh, how she wanted to face him down for what he did to Amotto, killing her like that. With no warning whatsoever, either. He could have killed any one of them, but instead he had killed the weakest of them all.

"So I see that it must have been you, after all," Frieza said to Tettuce. "You are the reason why my Ginyu Force does not respond."

Seripa glanced across the sky at Tettuce and watched as the blank-eyed Saiyan frowned, a flicker of recognition appearing briefly on his features.

"Ginyu Force?" The raging gold flames were dotted with red now, and the red was beginning to spread. After a few moments his aura had completely shifted from gold to red and then it slowly faded from around his body. He instantly began to breath heavily and retch, dropping slightly as he shook his head. "What…happened…?"

Seripa growled and frowned up at him. "Are you back to your senses, then?" she demanded angrily. "You nearly killed off your comrades and then you allowed Amotto to die!"

He jerked around in surprise and looked around at Zether, Bardock, her, and even Ryo. He finally leveled his gaze on the crater where Amotto's remains lay scattered and he looked sharply back up at Frieza. He was silent as he regarded the lizard, but the despondent look that came across his features was enough for Seripa to know that he couldn't fight Frieza; at least, not anymore. The power that he'd just had was long gone.

She looked at Bardock as he appeared silently at her side, leaning heavily on a bent piece of iron.

Tettuce unclenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at Frieza. "I only killed the Major. The rest of your precious Ginyus are still alive. Except maybe Recoome."

Seripa's frown deepened at the strained smile he gave Frieza and she narrowed her eyes as she focused in on his. They seemed clouded and distracted to her. But why?

Bardock looked at her before following her gaze. He frowned and looked back at her. "What is it?"

She glanced at him and nodded up at Tettuce. "He doesn't seem himself anymore. I know he wasn't just now, but he seems…he seems reserved now."

Her mate arched an eyebrow and looked up at his mentor. "Yeah, he seems a bit different," he agreed.

"Oh? So you might have killed Recoome, then?" Frieza chuckled.

"No, she did." Tettuce pointed down and the lizard looked right at her.

A shiver ran up and then back down her spine as he smiled at her. "Ah, my future pet! So you are alive and as tenacious as ever, apparently."

Seripa scowled up at him. "Tenacious nothing. I'm gonna kill you for what you've done to Amotto!"

"I think not." Frieza laughed and looked around as Zether and Ryo hovered up on either side of him. "Five little bugs to squash. An endangered Gylderian, three endangered Saiyans, and one soon-to-be-endangered Flazerian."

"Like hell!" exclaimed Ryo in anger. After going up against Tettuce for so long with him just shrugging off his attacks, it was obvious he was pissed. And then to have Frieza come out of nowhere to taunt him? As Emperor of the Flazerians he clearly couldn't stand for it.

Seripa watched on in silence as Ryo flashed across the sky at the under-sized emperor. He dove on him raining blow after blow on the Ice-jinn's unguarded head. But if his attacks had any effect, they didn't show. Frieza just remained motionless, smirking as Ryo flashed around him attacking him all-out. Finally moving, he caught Ryo's wrist and immediately twisted it around with a sickening crunch.

Ryo bellowed in pain and retreated back a few feet, cradling his mangled hand against his chest. His red and silver eyes were wide in what had to be fear as he stared at Frieza.

The next thing Seripa knew, a thin purple beam was bursting from the back of Ryo's head and he was falling limply to the ground.

Frieza lowered his extended hand and looked around at the remaining fighters with a twisted grin as Ryo's lifeless body smashed into the concrete.

"So, who's next?"

DBZ

(Individual Lies here. I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing. I've been writing Witness for well over a year now and it's come a long way from the one-shot it once was. It started out as a character development exercise I was trying to help get an idea of where Seripa had come from and where she was going in another story I was writing. Well, this one struck a chord with me and I completely scrapped my other idea, merging the better parts with this one. So it's still growing and though I had originally intended to end this story by chapter twenty, I see now that it'll be a while yet before Witness is done. I hope that you all continue to read, review, and enjoy. There's still more on the way!)