Chapter Twenty-Four: Deliver Us From Evil
"The tank is empty, let it dry
I'm suffering!
A passion ending, so the world ceases turning
The tank is empty, let it dry!
So now I hope you see!
I'm nothing more than human!
Making plans for enemies!
But here we go again!
Deliver us from evil!
Crawling back to insanity!"
Deliver Us From Evil-Bullet For My Valentine
DBZ
Falmer stared silently at Zether, that malevolent grin plastered firmly on his burnt-red face. His hands opened and closed continuously in anticipation at his sides. A powerful opponent worthy of testing his own power had finally appeared. And it just so happened that that opponent was a Gylderian! He could not have felt a greater joy!
"Get the hell off me!" Amotto screeched, shaking free of Diamond's grasp. She cast a glare at the other woman and then turned to Zether in anger. "No you don't! That bastard is mine to deal with!"
Falmer and Zether both glanced at the Saiyan woman at the same time. Falmer scowled as Zether sighed.
"Look lady, if you had the power to beat him I would gladly leave him to you. But the fact of the matter is that you just aren't strong enough to fight him. He'll murder you. Leave him to me and then you can claw my eyes out afterwards. Okay?"
"NO! It's not okay!"
Broco staggered over to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Amotto, listen to him. Just leave Falmer to him and rest. You've done enough. You did well against him, better than I could have, but you can't beat him."
Amotto ignored him, keeping her glaring gaze firmly on Zether. "Step back. I'll kill him. Not you."
"I actually don't plan on killing him unless I really have to, so I'll have to decline that offer," said Zether smoothly as he returned his gaze to his brother.
"IT WASN'T AN OFFER!" Amotto screamed in agitation.
"Amotto! Settle down!" Broco yelled.
That got her attention. She slowly turned her gaze to him and glared at him in silence. She slapped him, sending him staggering backwards.
Broco clutched his cheek and looked at the green-haired woman in surprise. "Amotto, what is wrong with you?"
She just glared at him, her anger radiating out like heat.
"Amotto?"
"Shut up, Broco." She turned her back on him and stalked away, leaving him standing there clutching his cheek in stunned silence.
Zether watched it all from the corner of his eye, an eyebrow arched slightly in interest. This woman was almost as hot-headed as Tettuce had been.
"Are you gonna just stand there all day? Do you plan to fight me at all?" The Beast suddenly demanded.
Zether focused his attention on Falmer and flashed him a grin. "Oh yeah, don't you worry about that. We'll be fighting soon enough. But how about I even the playing field first? What do you say?"
Falmer arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Zether shifted his stance so that his arms were at his sides angled up, and his legs were spread and bent at the knees. "You want to test your power, right? Well you're still much stronger than I currently am. Allow me to close the distance and give you a REAL challenge." His long hair suddenly began to wave in a light breeze and his golden eyes began to flash.
Falmer's eyes went wide and gleeful grin spread across his features. "A real challenge! Yes! That is what I want! I want a REAL fight!"
"Good. I'll give you a damn good one, brother…" Zether closed his eyes as black sparks flashed around his body. "You're The Beast…But I'm about to show you something from another legend."
The Beast furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side as the sparks around Zether's body began to flash quicker, flickers of black flames appearing randomly. "And what is that?"
Zether's eyes opened and he leveled blood-red eyes on his brother, a grin splitting his lips as the sparks merged and culminated in black flames around his body. His hair lifted up at the same instant the flames suddenly pulsed and then flared around his body into a roaring tempest. His hair flashed white, streaks of black appearing in the length between each flash until his flashing hair was solid black. Then streaks of red appeared as the flashing began to die down, all the while black flames roared around his body sending plumes of sand billowing out in every direction.
Diamond gasped and brought her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened. "The Kin Slayer!" she said in a hissing whisper.
Broco blinked and looked around at the woman in confusion. "The what?"
"The Kin Slayer. There's a second legend that goes with the first. The Beast was supposed to be an uncontrollable kinsman…The Kin Slayer was the answer to The Beast. Those who became the Kin Slayer were charged with stopping The Beast…because the Kin Slayers were reformed Beasts." She looked at the Saiyan, slowly blinking her eyes. "According to the stories, it was sometimes possible for a Gylderian that had become The Beast to overcome his primal state and regain his or her former consciousness. If they were successful, then they ascended to the Kin Slayer state."
Broco gave her an odd look before shaking his head. "You Gylderians sure have odd names for your transformations."
Falmer had been listening to the exchange. Upon hearing Broco refer to the names as odd, he was reminded of the Saiyan woman ridiculing 'The Beast.' He frowned and looked around until he spotted her, immediately resolving to kill her just as soon as he was finished with his new opponent.
Zether followed Falmer's gaze and he knew almost immediately what Falmer had been thinking. It wasn't difficult. He, too, had attained The Beast transformation. His own determination had allowed him to overcome the madness that came with it. But not before he had experienced what it was like to be The Beast. He had, after all, been stuck in that state during his Writ of Passage for the better part of three days. It had not been fun.
His gaze shifted back to Falmer just as Falmer looked back to him. His grin returned and his flaming aura settled down as he straightened up. "That's better. Now we can have a decent fight."
"Now we can have a decent fight," Falmer echoed with a wide, sadistic grin. "Until I kill you, anyway," he added, childlike glee in his raspy voice.
Zether smirked. "We'll see about that."
"No, we wo—" Zether's fist appeared imbedded in Falmer's cheek, and The Beast recoiled backwards, blood flying from his mouth. His feet slid through the sand for several yards before he dug in for traction and he came to a stop. He remained poised with his head turned away from Zether, a stunned look on his face.
Slowly his black eyes slid around until he was staring at Zether, a look of…awe on his face. Suddenly he grinned and turned his head so that he could stare straight at the other Gylderian. "Yes. THAT is power!"
Zether offered a cocky grin. "You don't know the half of it, brother. Wait until I really cut loose."
"No need to wait!" Falmer threw his head back and his arms up so his palms were outstretched towards the sky, and a red and black aura exploded to life around his body. Clouds of dust kicked up and were consistently blown away from his body by the pulsing force of his growing power.
Zether blinked in surprise and his grin faded as black bolts of lightning began to arc down from the sky, striking the ground around his brother.
Falmer stared at Zether with wide eyes and a wide, maniacal grin plastered firmly on his blood-stained face. And his power grew and grew.
"Well that was unexpected," Zether murmured to himself as he watched the spectacle before him. He knew that Falmer hadn't yet released all of his strength, but now that he was, he was releasing way more than Zether had anticipated. It wasn't anything that he couldn't handle, but it had certainly surprised him. But all it really meant was that he was going to have to expend more effort than he had originally wanted to. No big deal really.
But Falmer's power kept growing, the distance between his and Zether's shrinking rapidly. Zether frowned and folded his arms across his chest, his black aura fading into nonexistence as Falmer's suddenly expanded with a powerful surge in his ki.
"If this keeps up, I may have a greater challenge on my hands than I originally thought."
Falmer's aura suddenly exploded outwards, vanishing with a loud crack. He lowered his arms and lowered his gaze, his grin firmly plastered in placed, to look at Zether.
"Now the real battle begins…"
"Yes, as brief as it will be, it does begin now." Zether grinned again. Falmer's power had risen greatly, but it was still far below his own.
Falmer smirked and lunged forward, very nearly blurring out of sight.
DBZ
Diamond watched as Zether and Falmer exchanged blows, her thoughts clouded with awe. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. And even after seeing the things she had seen, she was still amazed by the fact that Zether was alive. She had been told that he had died along with Tettuce, his body vaporized by Frieza.
And yet, here he was. He looked incredibly different, and his power was beyond incredible, but he was alive. She was at a loss to how he had grown his hair and his beard to such lengths in such a short amount of time, but she was glad to see him. His power was far greater than Falmer's so he could subdue her husband and maybe bring him back to his senses.
"Oh…" Berik groaned from behind her and she turned to look down at the man. He was holding his head, his eyes still closed as he groaned.
"Berik…are you alright?" She knelt down beside him as he opened his eyes. He blinked them several times before focusing on her.
"I believe so. What happened?"
An explosion from behind Diamond caused her to look over her shoulder with a grimace. Broco knelt down beside her and they both looked down at the stunned Berik.
"Correction: what is happening?" he asked as he sat up quickly. Without thinking he reached to straighten his glasses, but paused when he noticed a distortion in his vision. He removed his glasses and held them close to his face to inspect the cracks that marred his vision. He shook his head with a sigh before he replaced them.
"Well…" began Broco. He quickly told Berik what had happened, what was currently going on, and finished up with Zether's sudden appearance.
Berik blinked up at the Saiyan before glancing around to see Amotto's back to them. "Well, I am glad to see that she has fully recovered. A bit quicker than I expected, and much stronger than I expected, too."
"Yeah, imagine our surprise." Broco offered a weak smile. He was still feeling the beating he'd taken.
"Yeah. She gave Falmer…" Diamond paused and glanced over at Amotto, then looked back to Berik. "She gave The Beast a good run for a while. She's very powerful."
"That goes without saying," said Broco with a chuckle. He glanced in Amotto's direction. He was glad she was back, but something had changed in her. She wasn't the same woman she had been. But what had changed? That was the question he wanted answered…
DBZ
Turles stood stoically before the viewscreen in his quarters with his arms folded, staring out into the blackness of space. Or, more specifically, at a giant blue planet surrounded with rings that criss crossed around it. Well, he was staring in its general direction, but wasn't really looking at it. He was still irritated that the others had left him with the Princesses. And after everything that he had done back on Jynn-jin 13, too.
He scowled, turning away from the viewscreen, and started pacing back and forth in front of it. His only purpose aboard this ship was to guard Blythe, but the Gylderian man hadn't yet awoken from the beating that he'd been given. There really wasn't much required of him.
No, Turles was going to rot away aboard this ship. The strength he had gained was going to go to waste.
"Aaarrgghh!" He grabbed handfuls of his hair and spun around in place to glare out of the viewscreen. He couldn't handle the silence! He couldn't handle not having anything to do!
Before the shit had hit the fan he had been constantly busy, helping his team subjugate planets for Frieza. He didn't want to work for the tyrant anymore. He didn't want to be a pawn in the Ice-jin's overall scheme. But he also could not stand being dead weight. Or being used as dead weight, anyway. He had no purpose, no direction; nothing to keep his hands and his mind busy.
Slowly he turned in place to stare in the direction of the bridge. He knew what he wanted, but he had been so busy lately that he had allowed himself to lose sight of what he wanted. Briefly he had surpassed his brother, but all-too quickly Bardock had passed him as if he were standing still. Seripa, too. He knew where he could go for a quick power boost: Planet Entide.
He could easily hijack this ship and plot a course there. By the time anyone realized what he'd done, it'd be too late. He would already be far too powerful for even Turpin to do anything about it. Maybe even Frieza.
He allowed a slow smirk to twist his features and he lifted a hand to pull idly at his chin. He wanted power and he could have it easily enough. He had tricked that buffoon Caul into helping him before. He knew there was no one aboard this ship who would willingly assist him; maybe Etapa, considering the girl seemed to have a serious crush on him. But no, his sights were set on Blythe. Idiot and traitor aside, Turles was still more powerful than the Gylderian. He could temporarily recruit the man's assistance and when all was said and done, he could dispose of him like he'd done to Caul. It wouldn't be overly difficult.
What did he care about the future of the Saiyans and the Gylderians? Not a lick, he knew. He didn't care about vengeance against Frieza. Sure, he'd like to eventually kill the lizard himself for the things he'd done, but that didn't change the fact that all he wanted was power. He had already had a taste of it and with the fruit from the Tree of Might back on Planet Entide…Well, Entide was very nearly a barren wasteland. But he knew of several planets where he could grow other trees and produce more of the fruit that would grant him the power he so wanted.
His eyes narrowed and he turned to look out into space again. This ship was never going to reach Earth. He would state his purpose. He would offer an ultimatum. He would give the people aboard the chance to choose between joining him and living…or refusing and dying. No one could stop him. The only people that could were light-years away…
"Turles…?"
He turned to the doorway of his quarters to see Etapa standing timidly just inside the room.
"What?" he asked gruffly.
"Um…I was wondering…well…"
Turles rolled his eyes. "Well spit it out, already."
Etapa stiffened and glanced away. She was quiet as she stood there fidgeting nervously. Finally she lifted her gaze to him again with a sheepish smile.
He arched an eyebrow and folded his arms. "Well?"
"N-nothing. I just wanted to thank you for what you did back on Jynn-jin 13. The way you saved us all. It…it was very brave…and noble of you." She smiled a little more confidently then turned and was gone.
Turles stared after her in silence.
"Well…She won't be joining me."
DBZ
Leta was deep in thought when Turles walked onto the bridge. She barely acknowledged his presence. If she had she might have noticed the dark look in his eyes as he walked silently around the bridge. If she had noticed it, she might have been able to prevent what was about to happen.
But by the time it happened, it was already too late.
Within seconds of his entrance he was suddenly on top of her, his fist crushing her nose into her skull. After that everything was a blur for her. Light flashed as hers and Surah's subjects attacked the Saiyan teenager. She was vaguely aware of lying on the dais in front of her throne, Surah's lifeless body lying only inches away. Her vision shifted in and out of focus as she tried to make sense of what was going on.
Her last conscious thought—her last living thought as her heart thudded to a halt—was to wonder why Turles had just snapped Lessbru's neck…
DBZ
Seripa stared into the blackness of space, her thoughts clouded with emotions. Confusion, anger, betrayal…She could name only a few of the dominant ones. She kept asking herself why Seluri had hid something so important from her. Then she asked herself why she even had to ask. Seluri had hid the fact that she had a sister from her for her entire life. Why was this any different?
She sighed and pulled her legs close to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and rested her cheek against her knee.
Turpin was her father. Seluri was alive. Leta was her sister. A demented Cleric wanted to kill them all. What next? Was Frieza going to suddenly declare himself her brother? Would he become a champion of peace?
She scoffed at the thought and sighed again. "What has my life become? A little more than a year ago I was completely oblivious to this shit. Day in and day out I just did what I was ordered to do. Now…" she trailed off and shook her head.
"Now things are complicated."
She tilted her head and looked side-long at Bardock as he suddenly appeared to her left. He was staring into the darkness beyond the viewscreen. She noticed that his hair was back to his original style.
"You cut your hair."
"Yeah."
She stared at him for a moment longer then returned her violet-eyed gaze to the stars. "Complicated is an understatement."
"Hmmph. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe it's an overstatement." He folded his arms across his chest and snorted.
"An overstatement?" She scoffed. "If you say so."
"You're over-reacting. You're stronger than this, Seripa. I know because I trained you. And yet here you are, sitting alone in our quarters pitying yourself." His eyes slide sideways as he looked down at her coldly. "I love you, Seripa. But this doesn't suit you."
"That's easy for you to say, Bardock," she said with an edge to her voice. "Things haven't exactly been easy for me this last year. I had to personally watch you die; I was forced to become a leader when I didn't want to; I led the people looking to me to their deaths; I'm partly responsible for Tettuce's death—"
Bardock rounded on her, stooping to grab her shoulders roughly and give her a shake. "Don't you dare do that! Tettuce died at Frieza's hands. He chose to stand and die so the others could escape. Stop pitying yourself this instant!"
She shook him off and stood up quickly, her violet eyes burning as she glared up at him. "Pitying myself? I'm only acknowledging the truth!"
"The truth? What truth? That your mother fucking lied to you? So what! What would knowing everything you know now have changed? Do you think that your life would've been any different? Maybe if everyone knew Turpin was your sire they would have treated you differently. But it wouldn't have been with respect! Turpin was hated by our people and you know that!"
"That's not what this is about!" Seripa screamed, nearly at the top of her lungs.
Bardock folded his arms again and arched an eyebrow. "Then what is your problem?"
"I'm trying to figure out why I even fucking care!" She spun around so her back was to him and folded her arms beneath her breasts. "That's all I want to know…" she said quietly. "Turpin has never been a part of my life. Seluri barely has. You're alive. Kakarrot is alive. We're well on our way to becoming strong enough to kill Frieza. I…I'm glad we're able to do something about what he did to our people. THAT'S what I should care about." She looked down and slowly turned around. "So why do I feel this way…?" She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. "Why the fuck do I care about things that don't matter? Why the fuck do I care about things that happened in the past?"
Bardock regarded her in silence as the tears dripped down her cheeks. His face was stony as he lifted his hands to gently brush her tears away with his thumb.
"We Saiyans are more complicated than we've allowed ourselves to believe, Seripa." His voice was flat and without inflection. "Which is stupid," he all-but spat. "The evidence has been there all along, but we've refused to see it. We do care. Despite what we've been led to believe, we do really care. About our children; about our parents; about our siblings." His gaze softened slightly and he stooped to look directly into her eyes. "About each other. We've always cared, even though we've never shown it. I may not be able to control my visions, but I have at least learned something from them: I don't want our future to include stories of how sadistic and uncaring the Saiyans were, because that's not who we are."
"But that's who we've been for so long," Seripa murmured as she lowered her gaze and closed her eyes.
Bardock's dropped and gently forced her to raise her head back up. "Look at me."
Seripa sighed and opened her eyes to look up at her mate. He was smiling down at her, his gaze softer than she'd seen in a long time. On very rare occasions she could get him to give her that look. And that was when she realized it. Her eyes widened and she blinked up at him in sudden clarity as he grinned down at her.
He was right. It had been obvious but they had ignored it. Yes, Saiyans were a race of warriors. But they were also capable of being a race of lovers. Why else did they take mates? Rear children? Care for family members that were ill?
Through all of her memories of carnage and death, Seripa recalled the few shining examples of what her race was truly capable of. She had seen Bardock with Raditz. She had seen him laugh and smile around the boy. She had also seen him scowl and look bitter whenever the boy's mother was around, but it was natural.
She had spent hardly any time around her own son, Kakarrot. But she still loved him more than life itself and would unquestionably sacrifice herself for him. She saw what Bardock saw…all-too clearly.
"Our strength ain't in ignoring the things that have happened to us," Bardock said firmly. "But in bein' able to rise above and conquer our emotions, and then use them to fuel our strength."
Seripa looked down and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she returned her gaze to Bardock's, he saw the flames of her inner fire burning bright once more, a fierce smirk gracing her lips.
"Which is the true reason why we are the Invincible Saiyans," she said proudly. Sometimes she hated when Bardock was right. But this wasn't one of those times.
DBZ
(Individual Lies here. Witness has been a lot of fun for me to write, but it is winding down to an end. Right now I estimate that it'll be finished in four or five chapters. Tentatively speaking, of course. Lol I have a bad habit of dragging things out. But for being loyal and supportive, I will try and wrap things up pretty quick. Once again, and as always, I thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read and review this story.)
