Chapter Twenty: Never Again

"All that I have left inside is a soul that's filled with pride

I tell you never again!

Their depraved society didn't end up killing me

Scream with me never again!

Not again.

For the countless souls who died

Let our voices fill this night

Sing with me, never again!

They aren't lost you see, the truth will live in me

Believe me, NEVER AGAIN!"

DBZ

"Ah, if it isn't my little brother…"

Frieza, having just stepped foot onto the bridge of his father's ship, paused and scowled sideways at a tall, silver and purple Ice-jin with a smooth, hornless head.

"Coola…Why are you here?"

Coola grinned and shrugged, but didn't answer. He looked pointedly away and to the center of the darkened bridge where a massive dark purple Ice-jin was standing with his back to them. He resembled the form that Frieza had briefly taken to fight against Tettuce as an Oozaru.

"It matters not why your brother is here, Frieza," said the tall Ice-jin; their father King Cold. "He is here for another reason entirely. You, on the other hand," he continued as he turned to face them. He glared across the bridge at the diminutive tyrant. "You have done questionable things as of late. Explain to me why you have destroyed Planet Gylder and why you have killed Lord Ryo of the Flazerian Empire."

Frieza frowned as he regarded his father. "I merely destroyed our enemies, father." He glared at his brother as he snickered behind his hand.

"You have destroyed the balance in the universe. Three empires reigned supreme, keeping their distance from the others. The Flazerians had their territory as well as the Gylderians," said Cold with a scowl to his youngest son.

"I have freed up their territories for us to claim!" exclaimed Frieza. "We are the only Empire left and now—"

"SILENCE!" Cold's roar echoed about the bridge. The multitude of aliens under his command jumped at the sound of his voice and did their best not to look towards him. He glanced around at them and snarled, "Leave us." No one made a sound as they rushed to leave the three Ice-jins to themselves.

Frieza watched them leave before returning his gaze to his father. "I don't understand."

"Of course you don't, you foolish boy." Cold snapped angrily. He stepped off the dais where his massive throne was mounted. "You don't understand a thing about the balance of the universe."

"Then explain it to me," Frieza huffed in annoyance.

His father sneered as he approached the two of them, stopping just short of Frieza so that the shorter Ice-jin had to crane his neck to look up at him. "You may have freed up their territories but that does not mean they will be ours for the taking. Neither the Flazerians nor the Gylderians would allow for their people to fear us. If we try and take control now, even with the fear of their planets being destroyed, the people of those territories will actively rebel. You have succeeded in doing nothing but raising an army against us! The remaining Gylderians will gladly side with the Flazerians before they side with us!"

"Then we will destroy them, father! We are the three most powerful Ice-jins in the universe. No one can stand against us!"

"That is where you're wrong, Frieza," Cold said quietly in a dangerous voice. "Power means nothing if we are outnumbered. Our forces went from being equal to the other two Empires to being massively outmatched nearly overnight! What do you have to say for yourself?"

Frieza scowled at his father. "I say you understand nothing, Father. I understand clearly the fear the Northern Galaxy has for me. For the entire Cold Empire. I, alone, destroyed our ancient enemies, the Saiyans—"

"A pointless endeavor! You know nothing about the ancient wars with them, because you are too young to remember!"

"Father, I am over 200 years old! I understand plenty!"

"Apparently not…" the massive Ice-jin snarled. "I am well aware that you failed to destroy them all. Even a handful of Saiyans is more than enough to stand against us. Do you know nothing of the legend of the Super Saiyan?"

"It is but a legend, Father. Nothing more."

Cold stooped down and snatched Frieza up by his neck, lifting him so that his son was eye-to-eye with him. "A legend based in fact! As you are over 200, I am well over 1000 years old! I have seen a Super Saiyan with my own two eyes. I have fought against a Super Saiyan and now stand here to tell the tale! Super Saiyans exist! And we do not want even a single one to appear today." He threw Frieza roughly to the floor of the bridge.

Coola snickered again but otherwise remained silent.

"Super Saiyans exist, Frieza!" Cold repeated, seething. "And if even one were to appear…The Ice-jins would be doomed. It is because of the Super Saiyans that there are so few of us today! Do you not remember what I have told you about the Clerics of the Old World?"

"I remember, Father," Frieza mumbled as he gathered himself to his feet. "I remember that they are the ancient priests and priestesses of the original Saiyan home-world. But they no longer exist, so why do they matter? They were the only ones with the blood to become Super Saiyans!"

"Again, you are wrong!" Cold roared in anger. "Clerics were the only ones that were allowed to become Super Saiyans. They were the only ones that were trained and taught in the ancient ways. It was the Saiyans' way of making sure that only a handful could become Super Saiyans and to ensure that the power of a Super Saiyan would never be used against them!"

Frieza blinked up in surprise at his father. "I don't…I don't understand."

Cold growled and then roared as he suddenly backhanded Frieza across the bridge, his eyes following his trajectory as he slammed violently into a wall; the entire ship shuddered under the impact. "You foolish foolish boy! You have learned absolutely nothing! NOTHING!"

Frieza climbed to his feet and glared at Cold. "What do I have to learn if there exists not a single Saiyan that can stand against me? I killed Tettuce, the Harbinger of Doom as he was called. I defeated two Oozarus without even using my full power!"

"Oozarus do not have even a fraction of the power of a Super Saiyan, so that means absolutely nothing to me!" Cold turned his back to Frieza and stalked back to his throne. He turned sharply with a whisk of his cape and glared at his youngest. "With the monkeys under our thumb there was no threat of them rediscovering what they're capable of. Now that you have foolishly destroyed Planet Vegeta…You may have set into motion cataclysmic events."

"Surely, father, you don't truly believe that." Frieza gaped up at Cold, who merely glared back.

"You have single-handedly upset the balance of the universe! Of course I believe that! The Super Saiyan will rise again. And it will be because of you, Frieza!"

Coola snickered again, which quickly became a laugh, drawing the attention of Cold and Frieza. "Way to go, little brother. The whole universe is doomed and it is entirely your fault!"

"That is enough Coola!" snapped Cold. "This is no laughing matter. Frieza," Cold looked down at Frieza again, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I can see that you still do not understand the gravity of the situation we now find ourselves in. Either way, I want you to seek out the last of the Saiyans and eradicate them from the universe! Before it is too late. Now go! Coola and I have other things to discuss."

Frieza bowed his head wordlessly and turned to stride quickly from the bridge. A murderous glare came across his features as the door slid closed behind him.

DBZ

Berik, having just awoken from his much needed nap, stretched and blinked his eyes against the weight of fatigue. With a yawn he stepped toward the tiny porthole looking out into space. In mid-yawn and mid-stretch it quickly occurred to him that his ship was no longer moving. Mainly because he was staring at a battered Imperial Cruiser drifting dangerously close to his ship. If it wasn't for the fact that he recognized the ship, he might have panicked and rushed to the bridge. As it was he did recognize it as Tettuce's ship and it was with confusion that he left his quarters and went to the bridge.

The door slid open and he blinked in surprise to see a shaggy-headed Saiyan standing talking with Seripa. Of course he immediately recognized the man as Bardock but he had been certain the man still had at least a day or two left before he was ready to emerge from his chamber.

The door slid closed behind him as he stepped through and he briefly glanced at Falmer's chamber to see the man still unconscious within. He looked then to Amotto's chamber and nodded in approval to see that the gash on her chest had almost completely scarred up.

"What did I miss?" he asked as he turned back to the small group gathered at the front of the bridge.

Seripa looked from Bardock to him and grinned. "Well we caught up to Aurah and her entourage. But apparently," she said with a sudden frown, "Aurah no longer exists. But that's kind of a long story."

"Spare me the details," Berik said with a laugh. "I know the story behind Leta and Surah's merger." When the other three gave him perplexed looks, he grinned. "I have my ways. More importantly, I need to work with Amotto as soon as possible. Before her wounds heal and I cannot reattach her limbs."

Bardock grimaced and cast a glance to the unconscious Saiyan woman at the back of the bridge. "She's a tough one. To be as weak as she was and to survive an attack from Frieza…" he trailed off and shook his head. "I'm anxious to see how powerful she'll be once she's healed. How long do you think it'll take?"

Berik turned to regard Amotto with a frown. "I'm not sure. Maybe a month at the most. Could be sooner, though. Only time will tell," he finished as turned back to them. "Anyway, what is going on? Why are we stopped?"

Diamond spun around in the pilot's seat, a grin on her usually stoic face. "Broco is working on their hyper-drive engines."

"Oh. Well why don't you see if he could take a look at ours? Darn things have been out of use for so long, I was nervous about activating them."

"Two steps ahead of you, Berik." Seripa grinned apologetically as he looked at her in surprise. "We tried to activate them a while ago to see if they would work. They won't, to answer your question. Once he has theirs back up and running he's going to board and take a look at ours. He thinks, though, that the power cells may just need a jump."

"That would be nice. Well I'll leave you all to it then. I am going to tend to Amotto." He turned away and strode to Amotto's chamber to begin draining it.

Bardock quirked a brow and then looked to Seripa who grinned up at him. "Straight to the point, eh?"

"Yeah, he doesn't dilly-dally. Anyway, Bardock, don't change the subject. Tell me what you know about Turpin."

He grimaced and sighed. "Damn it, Seripa. I keep tellin' you that I don't know nothin' about him. Just what Tettuce told me and I've done told you that!"

Seripa narrowed her eyes and smiled slightly. "Okay then. Well tell me about these visions of the future then."

"What's to tell? I can see the future." He shrugged. "Not much to say other than that."

"Well, tell me what you've seen!" she demanded with a sudden glare. "Quit beatin' around the damn bush!"

Bardock laughed and narrowed his eyes down at her. "Fine. I saw Vegeta being destroyed before it happened. I've seen what becomes of Kakarrot. And I've…" he trailed off as he thought of what he'd seen for Raditz. "I've seen what happens to Raditz…" he said as he looked down to the floor.

Seripa had been about to ask about Kakarrot, but the way Bardock's whole mood shifted when he mentioned Raditz couldn't have escaped her notice. "What do you mean?"

Her mate blinked and looked up quickly. He frowned and looked away. "He's goin' to become a cold-blooded and insane murderer. I…watched him rip the heart from a defenseless alien's chest. And he laughed about it."

Seripa blinked and cocked her head slightly. "That ain't no different than anything we've ever done."

Bardock growled. "I know that! That's why I can't stand it!" he snapped angrily.

Seripa flinched and frowned slightly. "My point, Bardock, was that that is what happens under Frieza's rule."

"And we're no longer under his rule. And Raditz ain't gonna be for much longer if I have anythin' to say about it!" he growled under his breath. He stepped away and stormed to the other side of the bridge. Considering the size of the bridge he didn't have more than fifteen feet to put between himself and her.

She frowned after him and glanced towards Diamond who quickly twisted around in her seat to continue her conversation with Sushinae via the screen set into the dash. She looked back to her mate and walked over to him. She touched his arm and he tensed at her touch. "Bardock, what's bothering you?"

He was silent for a moment before sighing. He looked down at her, his eyes dark with a sorrow she had never before seen. "I've seen…I've seen what becomes of Kakarrot. And compared to what's goin' to happen to Raditz…I can't allow that to happen to him. Kakarrot is goin' to grow up to be a kind-hearted and powerful man." He wanted to tell her about him becoming a Super Saiyan, but he had already decided to keep that to himself. For the time being anyway. "And seeing the way Kakarrot is as an infant…I can't help but to feel that we Saiyans ain't meant for the death and destruction we've caused."

Seripa frowned in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

Bardock looked away and out into the darkness of space. "Kakarrot was laughing and happy as a total stranger picked him up. He didn't try to bite him; he didn't try to hurt him in any way. What are we supposed to be like? You and I have grown up used to this shit. But for a kid who's never seen any of it…Well Kakarrot pretty much proved to me that Saiyans are supposed to be peaceful…" He sighed. "Well maybe not peaceful but not cold-blooded murderers anyway. Frieza…he…" he trailed off, shaking his head. What could he say?

"He ruined our lives, Bardock." He looked down at her and she smiled up at him. "But we see the error of our ways now. And for what he forced us to do we're going to kill him. Him and his entire family, right?"

Bardock stared down at her in silence for a moment before smirking and nodding. "Yeah. We'll make him pay ten times over."

"Hey, Seripa?" Diamond suddenly called from the front of the bridge. "Turles wants to talk to you. He insists." She arched an eyebrow as she turned to look at her and Bardock.

Seripa raised her eyebrows. "Really? Okay…" She and Bardock both walked to the front of the bridge and Seripa took Diamond's place as she moved out of the seat. She smirked down at the image of the boy looking up at her. "Hey brat. What do you want?"

Turles rolled his eyes. "I want you to stop callin' me a brat for one. For two," He glanced over his shoulder and then leaned in conspiratorially. "Have you seen Leta, yet?"

"Um, no. Why?" She frowned. What could he possibly mean by asking that? She hadn't had the opportunity to yet speak with the Saiyan woman or the Gylderian woman known as Surah.

"Because the woman looks damn near identical to you!" he said in a hissing whisper.

"Huh?" Her frown vanished to be replaced with a look of surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Gah! Here, look for yourself!" He moved away from the camera and Seripa leaned in close to see a Saiyan woman sitting next to a Gylderian woman at the center of the bridge. Her eyes shot open and she gasped aloud.

"Holy hell! She looks just like my mom!" she exclaimed in shock. She suddenly frowned. "But that can't be…My mom didn't have a twin…" She glanced up at Bardock but he just shrugged. He was obviously as confused as she was.

Turles reappeared in front of the camera as she looked back down to the screen. "Whatever. She looks just like you. She's gotta be related somehow, right?"

"Not necessarily," Seripa growled in annoyance. But even she couldn't deny the resemblance. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought that Leta was her mom.

"What was your mom's name?" Turles suddenly asked.

Seripa blinked and then frowned. "Seluri…" she ventured cautiously. "Why?"

"I'm goin' to ask what Leta's mom's name was. Be right back!" And before she could stop him he hurried away across the bridge to Leta.

"Grr…damn brat." Seripa mumbled under her breath. She honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to know who Leta's mother was. What if she said her own mother's name? Then that would mean that her mother had had secrets…

"Seripa?"

Seripa looked down sharply to see violet eyes looking up at her from the screen. She jerked back in surprise and gaped at the mirror-image looking up at her. "Um…yeah."

"I see. Turles was right: we do look alike. He also told me your mother's name was Seluri. Is that right?" asked the princess.

"Um…yeah." Seripa could have smacked herself for the way she was acting. But what else was she supposed to do? What else was she supposed to say?

"I see." Leta was silent, a frown creasing her forehead as she lifted a hand to idly chew on her thumb. "I see," she repeated as she lifted her gaze to meet Seripa's. "Then you and I must speak soon. I believe that we have much to discuss." She suddenly turned and walked away. Turles stepped into view, his back to the camera as he watched her walk away.

Seripa looked up at Bardock to see him frowning in confusion. "What?"

"She looks just like you, Seripa. I would've thought she was you if you weren't sittin' right next to me." He looked down at her and arched a brow.

"Now you know how me and Broco felt when we saw her. For a second I thought she was you. It was creepy as shit." Turles laughed but it faltered when Bardock cast him a glare. "Seriously. I don't mean nothin' by it. Just you should have been there, I guess."

"Yeah, I guess," said Bardock coldly. "Anyway, you have yet to explain to me why our father is dead," he suddenly said, changing the subject. "Yes, Seripa told me what happened."

Turles' eyes widened and he quickly looked away. He was silent as his expression slowly changed and then he sighed. "Look…I'm not proud of what I did, okay? I shouldn't have done it, I admit. I just…I got so pissed at him. The way he kept goin' on and on about you. Then when he found the fruit and said he wanted to bring some home for you…I don't know…somethin' just snapped." He shrugged and met his brother's dark gaze. "I ain't askin' for forgiveness. But I am sorry."

Bardock glared down at Turles for a few moments before suddenly smirking. "Good. Father was an idiot anyway. And to be honest, I never liked him. He only liked me because of how strong I was. But either way, you shouldn't have done it. Not that it matters anymore considerin' but so long as you're sorry."

Turles blinked up at Bardock in stunned silence. He shook his head and then peered intently up at him. "Are you serious? That's it? You jump my ass for a second and then all is forgiven?"

Bardock shrugged as his mate giggled. "What's done is done. And I would've killed him myself eventually. He was just so damn annoying," he sighed as he shook his head. "Trust me, Turles. You did us all a favor."

Turles frowned and scratched the back of his head. "Um…okay, I guess." He blinked and looked intently at Bardock, as if he were seeing him for the first time. "What the hell? What happened to your hair?"

Bardock rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine. Soon as I find out I'll let everyone know," he said sarcastically. He was getting tired of people asking him how his hair had grown. He had no idea. He just wished everyone would drop it.

"Geez. Touchy about your 'do?" Turles laughed as his brother scowled at him. "Okay, I have another question then. How are you alive? Seripa told me that she watched you die against Frieza when he destroyed our planet. But here you are talkin' to me. Can you answer that question?"

Bardock looked away and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm alive; that's all that matters." He glanced down at Seripa and narrowed his eyes at her as she frowned up at him. "What?"

"You may as well tell him what you told me. You're alive alright, but it still doesn't make sense," she finished, confusion weighing heavily in her tone.

He sighed in response and lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck. "Okay. Fine." He looked down at Turles. "Back on Kanassa there's somethin' called the Pool of Life. Accordin' to local legend the Pool is a sentient being that can grant life to anyone it chooses. And apparently it chose me, but I ain't figured out why, yet."

"Maybe something to do with your visions, Bardock," Seripa suggested.

"Visions? Pool of Life? Did Frieza scramble your brains?" asked Turles with a wary expression.

Bardock scowled down at him. "Not as bad as I'm gonna scramble yours! Just listen, alright?" When Turles didn't say anything in response, he continued. "While we were on Kanassa I was attacked by a lone Kanassan. It was shortly after we'd finished wiping the planet clean of life. But one had survived and he struck me at the base of my neck." He indicated the spot he was referring to. "Ever since then I've been able to see the future. It was why I raced back to Vegeta to try and stop Frieza: I had seen our planet's destruction in a vision."

He sighed and lifted a hand to run over his face. "Obviously I failed. But the Kanassan that did this to me is still alive; he lives in me through my visions. Anytime I have a vision I can speak freely with him. Strange as it is, he offers advice and helps me to understand my visions. I've seen Kakarrot in them and I've seen Raditz."

"Wait, Kakarrot? I thought he'd been incinerated? That's what pops told me."

Seripa rolled her eyes. "Now who's got scrambled brains? I told you about this back on Jynn-jin 13; while we were in the cells. He's still alive."

"Ah, yeah, that's right. I forgot," Turles said unnecessarily.

Bardock smirked and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, according to my visions…" he trailed off and glanced away. He had been about to tell them both that it was Kakarrot's destiny to destroy Frieza. He frowned and looked back to the screen. "According to the visions we're gonna fail in killin' Frieza. But I'm dead-set on changin' that future."

Turles quirked an eyebrow and sat back from the camera, folding his arms across his armored chest. "Well that sucks. You think you can change the future?"

Bardock shrugged. "I don't honestly know. But I sure as hell ain't gonna give up without tryin'." His eyes narrowed and he looked down. "I owe it to the people I've killed…"

Turles blinked up at his brother in surprise before shifting his gaze to Seripa. She was looking up at him, as well. He frowned and returned his gaze to Bardock. "Damn you've changed. Not in a bad way," he hastily said when Bardock's cold eyes leveled on him. "Just…you've changed."

His brother sighed and shook his head slowly. "I know. But…we'll all have to change to fight Frieza. I see the past as clearly as the future. And I loathe myself and all other Saiyans for the things we've done. Tettuce had to right of it: we should've abandoned the treaty with Frieza ages ago."

"Then Frieza would have destroyed Planet Vegeta a long time ago." Seripa and Bardock turned to see Berik standing behind them. He smiled apologetically. "Forgive the eavesdropping. Seripa," he said as he turned to her, "Could you assist me with Amotto, please?"

Seripa glanced at Bardock and then Turles, before standing and following the Jynn-jin to the back of the ship. Bardock watched her walk away before looking back down to Turles.

"He's right, you know," said Turles with a lop-sided grin. "Tettuce may've had the right of it, but he would've gotten us all killed before our times."

Bardock frowned and looked down before sighing. "Yeah, maybe so. Either way I'm goin' to make sure Frieza pays. One way or another, Frieza will die."

"No doubt in my mind," said Turles with a smirk. "Not a doubt, at all."

DBZ

Broco cursed and jerked his hand away from the turbine of the hyper-drive engine. He glared in frustration at the fresh gash on his index finger as it started to ooze red. "Pathetic." He shook his head with a sigh and straightened away from the engine. His eyes roved over the cylindrical portion that connected to a massive open turbine; most of the engine was shielded from view by a metallic cover. The only open portion was the turbine which, as it happened, was all he needed to check. He was surprised to find that while they had been nonresponsive, for the most part they were undamaged. A few parts had been knocked loose by the attack on the ship but they were otherwise unharmed.

"You alright?" asked Blythe from where he was leaning against the wall, his arms folded across the chest plate of his black and silver armor. He had offered to assist Broco but it had quickly become apparent that the young man was more hindrance than help. He arched an eyebrow as Broco turned to scowl at him.

"Just fine. Radio up and have Lessbru activate Hyper-Drive Engine One."

Blythe flashed a grin and pressed a tiny button on a speaker box in the wall beside him. "Hey, Lessbru. Activate HD-E1."

"Roger."

"Blythe."

"No, roger means…ugh, nevermind."

Blythe chuckled and released the button. Broco rolled his eye and turned to the engine just as the turbine kicked on and began to spin. The massive cylindrical engine hummed and sparks flashed from the turbine. He smiled appreciatively and turned back to Blythe. "Okay, good. All four engines are ready to go."

"So I see," remarked Blythe dryly.

"Well, radio up to Lessbru and let him know." Broco frowned at the strange look that suddenly came across the young Gylderian's features.

Blythe smiled and pressed the button. "Hey, Lessy. All four engines are good to go. Kill HD-E1."

"Rog—" Blythe released the button before Lessbru finished speaking and straightened up from the wall as the engine shut down.

"Broco, did you know that I was Zether's most prized protégé?" He grinned and unfolded his arms as his luminescent green eyes flashed over the Saiyan. "I'm easily stronger than you, you know."

Broco arched a brow suspiciously. What does he mean? Aloud, he said, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Blythe grinned and shrugged. "I'm also stronger than that brat, Turles."

"Again, what does—" Broco began.

"And," Blythe interrupted, "I've been working for Frieza this entire time." His grin broadened as Broco's eye widened.

Broco glanced towards the open door quickly. He looked at Blythe and then suddenly lunged for the door, but Blythe appeared in front of him and drove his fist deep into the Saiyan's gut. He gasped for breath as he stumbled away from the young man, collapsing to his knees. He looked up at Blythe, struggling to suck in air. "W..w…" He wanted to ask why but the Gylderian had collapsed his lungs with a single strike.

"Why? Because…" Blythe's features darkened and he knelt down to glare into Broco's eye. "I've been tired of living in Zether's shadow. I've been working for Frieza since before that bitch Seripa stranded us on Jynn-jin 13. In fact," he grinned again and lifted a hand and touched his index finger to Broco's forehead. "Frieza knows exactly where we are and where we are heading. He'll get to Celestine Prime before us…and he'll blow it out of space, Turpin included." He laughed and then flicked the Saiyan in his forehead; there was enough power in the strike to knock him back into the engine, but not hard enough to damage it.

He stood up and towered over the injured Saiyan. "And, because I know you're wondering, I volunteered to assist you so I could kill you. And then destroy the hyper drive engines. Why? Because…I knew it'd be fun." He chuckled evilly and narrowed his eyes.

"Well, that's good to know."

Blythe spun around to see Turles standing in the open doorway. "Good thing I decided to come down and check on the progress, then." His eyes narrowed dangerously and he scowled as he clenched his fists tight. "Get away from him. Now," he hissed quietly.

Blythe grinned and straightened up. "Or what? Surely you don't think you can stand against me?"

Turles smiled slightly. "You're a weakling. I ain't stupid. You may be stronger than Broco but you sure as hell ain't stronger than me."

The Gylderian laughed which made Turles raise his eyebrows. "You seriously believe that, kid? I can feel your power plain as I can see you standing before me. You are insanely powerful for a Saiyan. But you are not as strong as me."

Turles' smile broadened as his eyes narrowed to mere slits. "You shouldn't have called me 'kid.' Before I kill you for the insult I'll let you in on a little secret…"

He vanished and almost instantly reappeared immediately in front of Blythe. The Gylderian had barely enough time to register the fact before a powerful fist drove deep into his stomach, shattering his armor on his stomach and on his back. Blythe gaped in airless horror as he felt numbness spreading from the point of impact; the pain would register soon. He forced his twitching eyes to turn and look at Turles. How was the boy this powerful? He had a power reading of 35,000! The boy had last been measured at 27,000! He shouldn't have been damaged this much!

Turles grinned at the look of horror on the Gylderian's face and stepped back. "I can suppress my power level. Few Saiyans have the ability, but guess what? I'm one of those few." He looked past the Gylderian as Broco coughed violently and struggled to his feet shakily.

"T-turles…Take this trash to the princesses. I have to get to the other ship." He stumbled and then ran wobbly out of the room.

Turles stared after him for a moment before looking down at Blythe who was glaring daggers up at him. "I'll take you to the princesses. But first…" He brought his fist up and then drove it down into Blythe's face.

DBZ

Leta looked at Surah and Surah looked at Leta. After a moment they looked down at the bloody, bruised, and battered Blythe lying at the foot of the dais. As one they looked up to Turles, but it was Leta who spoke, saying, "Now what exactly happened again?"

Turles smiled and folded his arms. "This punk here tried to kill Broco. You can contact him over on Berik's ship if you want to make sure I ain't lying. I can wait. And so can Blythe," he said as he glanced down and nudged the unconscious man with the toe of his boot. He had beaten the living daylights out of him. He hadn't meant to be so rough but once he got started…well, it had been pretty difficult to stop.

"I see." Leta glanced at Surah again.

"Highnesses?" She and Surah both looked at Sushinae standing behind Turles; the Saiyan turned with an arch of his brow.

Sushinae was looking down at Blythe, her eyes displaying the anger she was obviously feeling. "Is it true? Did he really say that he was working for Frieza?" Turles had arrived just minutes before carrying the unconscious Gylderian across his shoulder. After unceremoniously depositing him on the floor, he had proceeded to tell Leta and Surah what he had overheard before making his presence known to the Gylderian. Of course they had been wary of his claim considering his past. But also considering the way he had defended them with his blood draining…well, it was just kind of difficult to deny the truth.

Turles glanced at Sushinae and nodded grimly. "Unfortunately. Wish it wasn't true, but I know what I heard."

Sushinae frowned and looked down. "I sensed the disturbance. But I didn't know what to make of it."

The door to the bridge slid open and everyone turned to see Seripa and Bardock walk onto the bridge. Seripa looked immediately to Blythe and frowned.

"Broco told us what happened," said Bardock as he looked down at Blythe, as well. "We figured it best to go on ahead. Berik said they would catch up to us soon. If this…trash really did tell Frieza, then we need to go. Now."

Surah nodded and glanced to Peppa. "Are we still docked with Berik's ship?"

"We won't be in just a few minutes." The long-haired woman immediately set to work.

"Good. As soon as you are finished, put distance between us and the other ship and then go immediately into hyper-space. We must reach Celestine Prime before Frieza does." Surah looked then to Seripa and then to Leta, her eyes widening as she noticed for the first time that the two women looked nearly identical. "Oh my…"

Leta glanced at Surah and then looked at Seripa. She grimaced as she realized that just about everyone aboard was looking between her and the other woman.

Seripa lifted her gaze from Blythe and looked at Leta. She frowned uncomfortably and then looked at Bardock. He met her gaze and smirked. He could tell she was bothered by the resemblance.

Leta sighed and stood up. "I suppose you and I should speak now. Come with me, Seripa. I would rather do this in private." Without another word she strode to the door and exited the bridge.

Seripa stared after her and then looked to Bardock. "I'll be back soon." With a sigh she hurried off the bridge.

DBZ

Broco watched as the Imperial Cruiser suddenly vanished in a bright flash and he allowed himself a slight smirk. Even if Blythe had been telling the truth about Frieza knowing where they were going, with the Hyperdrive engines working again Seripa and the others would make it to Celestine Prime far ahead of the Ice-Jin. Or at least far enough ahead to grab Turpin and hightail it out of there.

He sighed and turned to regard Berik as he was carefully positioning Amotto's right arm to the unhealed stump he was going to attempt to attach it to. He grimaced as he turned his eye to look at her still form lying on a metal table beneath a blanket.

"Can you repair the damage, Berik?" he asked with a slight catch in his throat. He hated seeing Amotto like this. He was glad to see that she had survived but to see her in such an injured state…He approached the table and looked down at her surprisingly peaceful face. He smiled and slowly lifted a hand to gently brush his fingers across the soft skin of her cheek.

Berik lifted his gaze and regarded Broco with an arched brow. He looked back down at Amotto and then back to Broco and he smiled slightly. "I am confident that she will be whole once more. As I've said to Seripa, it is a miracle that she even survived. But I do not work in miracles and I do firmly believe that I can make her, aside from the scars, as she once was."

Broco did not take his eyes from Amotto's face as he nodded. "That is good."

"You care for her, don't you?" asked Berik suddenly.

Broco jerked his hand away and looked up at Berik in surprise. The Jynn-jin smiled and lowered his gaze back to his work.

"Forgive me if I overstepped any boundaries. It is quite obvious, though."

The Saiyan male smiled slightly and looked down at the green haired woman. "Yes, I do. More than I was originally aware."

"I suspected as much. You two did spend countless hours in your cells talking when the others were asleep. I believe I saw it then, and I am willing to wager that she did as well." Berik paused and glanced up at Berik over the rim of his glasses. "You know, Saiyans never struck me as the types of beings to show compassion. Watching you two, especially, has proven me wrong in my first assumption."

"We Saiyans are a complicated race." Broco smiled and stepped away from the table. "If we're to make any actual time I need to go have a look at your Hyperdrive engines." He looked down at Amotto one last time and smiled again. And without another word he left the bridge to begin his work.

Berik stared after the man with a slight smirk and then glanced around at Diamond sitting in the pilot's chair. He smiled and gestured at Falmer's tank. "Would you mind checking his vitals? I am sure they are fine, but I do like to stay on top of progress."

As Diamond nodded and stood up, Berik returned to his work. He reached to a small stand beside him and picked up a gun-shaped tool as he made one last adjustment to the alignment of Amotto's arm.

DBZ

(Individual Lies here. I apologize for the wait on this one. The chapter has been almost done for quite a while but my computer fried a few months back. A week ago I bought a new one so the chapters should be rolling out now. Also I finally know how I am going to end this story. I am glad that it is as popular as it is and that it is being enjoyed by so many people. I really don't know what to say regarding it. It makes me…well, for a writer I am sometimes lacking in words when I need them. Lol Anyway, I recently got a new job and as I am working in the oilfield once more I will have a lot more time off. Two weeks on and two weeks off. Beautiful schedule. I would've had the chapter up sooner but these days off have been hectic. I actually had to come home early for a funeral and there's been a lot of family drama surrounding that. Not to mention other personal issues I've been having. Anyway, enough about that. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and as always please continue to read and review!)