Chapter Twenty-Five: Bring Me to Life

"Wake me up! (Wake me up inside!)
I can't wake up! (Wake me up inside!)
Save me!
(Call my name and save me from the dark)
Wake me up! (Bid my blood to run!)
I can't wake up! (Before I come undone!)
Save me!
(Save me from the nothing I've become!)"

Bring Me to Life-Evanescence

DBZ

Leta was deep in thought. Beside her, Surah was, too. There was no doubt in Leta's mind that her sister was thinking of the exact same thing she was: what to do once they arrived on Earth. They had a long road to recovery ahead of them. Both of their respective races had been reduced to mere handfuls compared to the great numbers they once possessed. The Gylderian Empire was nothing now. Leta was sure that there were survivors scattered around the universe. The whole race hadn't been situated on the home world, after all. The population was too great even for the great planet they hailed from.

The Saiyan race was another story. While there were surely some survivors other than the ones aboard their ship, the numbers were without a doubt far less than the Gylderian survivors.

The overall situation looked hopeless, to say the least.

Leta sighed and lifted both hands to massage to her temples. She hated stress and there seemed to be a never-ending supply of it these days. A man that the Gylderian champion had personally vouched for was currently residing in the brig because of the fact that he had betrayed them all to Frieza. That fact bothered her greater than she let on. It implied that it was possible there were other traitors amongst the Gylderian people. She highly doubted any Saiyans would do it due to the simple fact that Saiyans were such a prideful bunch. An attack on one Saiyan was an attack on all Saiyans. Their home world being destroyed was more than enough to ensure that no Saiyan would betray his kinsmen.

"Lady Leta," Etapa called from one of the consoles.

She looked up and to the woman curiously. She had not noticed her arrival. She had requested to be excused from the bridge a few minutes ago and Leta had not seen her return. She frowned and stood up to cross the bridge to the woman's terminal.

"What is it, Etapa?"

Etapa removed her earpiece and held it out to her. "Bardock is on the comm. He demanded to speak with you and only you."

Leta frowned and eyed the earpiece in confusion, before taking it and placing it in her ear. "This is Leta."

"Princess, this is Bardock. I'm not sure how much time I have, but I need to tell you something."

Her frowned deepened and she glanced around the bridge. So far no one was looking her way, but something told her it would not be long before the attention of the entire bridge was on her.

"Okay. What is it?"

"You can choose to believe the words I'm about to say or not. It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that everyone on that ship is in danger. I need you to understand that I can see the future and I had a vision a few minutes ago that bothered me. It didn't seem like the vision took place very far into the future, so I knew I had to contact you as soon as possible." He paused for a moment and then said, "Very soon Turles is going to kill everyone aboard your ship."

Leta's eyes went wide and she had to bite her tongue to keep from exclaiming. She swallowed back a sudden lump and glanced to the entrance of the bridge.

"What do we do?"

"You listen to me. Send someone to get him and tell him I need to talk to him. Make sure whoever you send relays that it is urgent! Otherwise he may ignore the summons and kill everyone and then contact me. Do this now."

"Okay." Leta glanced down at Etapa. "Go get Turles and have him come to the bridge. Tell him Bardock is on the comm and needs to speak with him now. Tell him it is urgent."

Etapa frowned but obeyed, vanishing from the bridge within seconds.

"What is your plan, Bardock?"

Bardock growled. "To give him the worst tongue lashin' the brat's ever had. I won't have him doin' stupid things. No one in my family is gonna make me look bad."

Leta allowed herself a small smile at that. "You think it will work to prevent a massacre?" She glanced around and then lowered her voice to a whisper. "There's no one aboard this ship that could possibly stop him. No one save for Blythe, but I would not choose to trust him even for an instant."

"Smart thinking. Don't worry about it, Princess. I've got a surefire way to prevent him from killing anyone. He wanted to come train with us but I wouldn't allow it. After I'm done talkin' to him, I'm goin' to send coordinates to your pilot. Ya'll will meet us there and we'll take Turles with us. And that idiot traitor you have in your brig."

"Wasn't he left with us to offer up some sort of protection?"

"Yeah, he was. But if he's walkin' the line that closely, then he needs to be under proper supervision. Namely mine. I'll shove a boot so far up his ass when I see him for even thinkin' about killin' anyone that he'll never think about it again."

Leta covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at that. She could plainly see Bardock doing that to his brother. She knew his history so it came as no surprise.

"Well then. I like the sound of that." The door to the bridge slid open and Turles stepped in, glancing around briefly before he spotted her. He made his way over and stopped before her. The look in his eyes was dark and she felt a chill run down her spine. Thanks to Bardock they had just barely dodged a bullet.

"Here's Turles," she said to Bardock and then removed the earpiece and held it out to the teenager.

Turles cocked an eyebrow and took the earpiece and placed it into his ear. "What's up, Bardock? Ya'll decide you needed me alone after all?"

"Somethin' like that," his brother growled into his ear. Then he let loose a string of obscenities which sent Turles' eyes wide and caused Leta to jump back in surprise. She more than close enough to hear so she put some distance between herself and the teenager.

Turles stood in open mouth shock, one eye closed in discomfort as Bardock yelled at the top of his lungs into his ear.

There was a pause and Turles said, "Wait, how did you-?"

"Did your stupid ass forget that I can see the future?! I'm learnin' to control the damn power and I've been usin' it to watch the futures of people that I can't keep a physical eye on! Of-fuckin'-course I would be watchin' YOU!"

Turles looked down sullenly and mumbled something.

"You foolish boy! Power ain't everything! If I'd known you would even consider somethin' so stupid I would've brought you with us! BUT only so I could make sure you wouldn't do somethin' stupid! Well congratu-fuckin'-lations! You're gettin' what you wanted, but not exactly HOW you wanted! We'll train you, too, but for the most part we'll be havin' to babysit your fuckin' ass! So pat yourself on the back! You've proven just how stupid you can be!"

Turles looked around the bridge darkly and felt heat rise in his cheeks as he saw that everyone aboard was looking right at him. He looked away quickly.

"You even listenin', Turles?!"

"Yeah, I'm listenin'." The teenager sighed. "Sorry for…well…Just sorry."

"You have no idea how sorry you'll be! Now I have somethin' else to deal with. Be expectin' my call soon." Bardock killed the connection.

Turles grimaced and slowly returned the earpiece to Etapa, carefully avoiding her gaze. He glanced around the bridge and then sullenly returned to his quarters. No, he wouldn't be committing murder today. He would just have to save his intent for when he fought against Frieza…

DBZ

Bardock came up behind Turpin, his brow furrowed. "Do you feel that?"

Turpin barely glanced at the taller Saiyan. "Ya. 'Nother power fightin' 'gainst da ot'er. Who's it?"

"That? That's Zether, the arrogant little prick. I'm not sure how, but somehow he survived. But that's not what I was talking about."

This time Turpin turned and looked up at him. "Wha' ya mean?"

"I sense three other powers. They're not as powerful as Falmer or Zether, but it feels like they're close by."

"Ah…" Turpin frowned. "Ya, ah feels 'em. Hm…Sel?" He glanced at the female Saiyan to his left, and then laughed. "Oh. Righ'. Ah f'rgot. Ya can's sense powers. Hm…Ah know o' dis Zether. An' j'dgin' b' dis…Ah thin' he c'n 'andle Falmer." He was silent for a few moments, lifting a hand to idly stroke his beard. "Ah don' see 'ny r'son t' 'nvest'gate 'ny f'rther. Ah thin' we's c'n g' on t' da Trainin' Groun's."

"What?" Bardock asked bluntly.

Seluri laughed as Turpin arched an eyebrow at him. "He said that he thinks we should ignore our previous mission to investigate what was going on as it seems that this Zether can handle whatever is happening. He thinks we should proceed straight to the Training Grounds." She glanced slyly at Turpin. "It is not easy to understand his accent when you first meet him. It takes quite a while to get used to it."

Bardock snorted and folded his arms as Turpin took on a look of resentment. "I'd imagine so."

"So," said Seripa as she joined them. "Exactly how long will it take to reach these Training Grounds?"

Seluri glanced at her daughter, pleased to see she had recovered. Of course she and Turpin had heard her yelling at Bardock earlier. It was a small ship, after all. "The Training Grounds are near where Planet Saintya used to be. Which is not in this galaxy. We will have to travel to the Southern Galaxy and that is going to take approximately three weeks through hyper space."

Bardock jerked his attention to Seluri. "Three weeks? Is it necessary to go to these Training Grounds?"

"Hm…" Turpin glanced at Seluri. "He 'as a poin'. C'n ya thin' o' 'ny ot'er place we's c'n go?"

Seluri frowned. "Why change our destination now?"

"Time. Da soona we's g't dese two train'd, da betta."

"What about Ka'bijj?"

Turpin grinned. "He'll fin' us. No doub' 'n ma min'."

Seluri rolled her eyes. "That is what I am worried about. He has always been the strongest of us."

"Ya don' thin' ah ain' been trainin'? Gi' m' mo'e cr'dit dan dat!"

"There is no doubt in my mind that you have been training, Turpin. Ka'bijj, however, has been a mercenary this entire time. You do not think that he has not been fighting against opponents stronger than him?"

Turpin blinked and then frowned. "Ya 'ave a poin' der."

"Of course I do," said Seluri testily. "My question is do you think we can fight against him?"

Turpin shrugged. "Ma'be. Ma'be no'." He glanced at Bardock and Seripa. "Dese two c'n pr'bly take 'im. Train 'em up a bi' and t'rn 'em to Supa Saiyans…Ah thin' dey c'n d' it."

"If you are confident, then I do know of one place we can take them that is nearby. The gravity there is only 15 times Standard, but that should be sufficient."

Turpin grinned. "A'righ'. Plo' a co'rse den."

Seluri grinned. "On it."

DBZ

Falmer struggled to free himself from the headlock Zether had him in. He kicked his legs out, flared his ki, and clawed at the other Gylderian's arm in frustration. Nothing did any good.

Zether made a tsking sound in his ear which succeeded in pissing him off even more. "You'll never get free, brother. Just listen to me. We don't have to do this. I know you're still in there, sleeping within that darkness The Beast brought out. Just hear my words and wake up; it's that easy."

"SHUT UP!" Falmer bellowed as he twisted and jerked in Zether's grasp, trying desperately to free himself. "Let me go and FIGHT ME!"

"No can do, brother. I have no interest in fighting you. Besides, wasn't our little bout earlier enough to show you that you can't beat me? And right now I'm overpowering you with relative ease. Just calm down and let the anger go. Leave the darkness behind and rejoin sanity. I don't really want to have to kill you."

"You'll never kill me! I am THE BEAST!"

"And I am the Kin Slayer, brother. You don't stand a chance."

"Let me go and I'll show you how much of a chance I stand!" Falmer threw his hands out to the sides and black orbs of ki appeared in the palms of his hands. He brought his hands back up to either side of his head, aiming at Zether's face. He released them point blank and they exploded against the surprised Zether's face.

The explosion threw Falmer forward, free from his brother's grasp, and he spun around to see Zether standing, shrouded in smoke, with his arms crossed and shaking his head at the other man.

"You just don't get it, do you?" he sighed and let his arms drop. "Even with all of your power, you just can't hold a candle to mine, Falmer. I'm trying to give you a chance here. I know you can hear me. Wake up, brother. I really don't want to kill you!"

"Shut up! Shut up and fight me!"

Zether sighed again. "I guess I'm just going to have to knock some sense into you…" He lunged forward and slammed his fist into Falmer's face with shockwave-inducing force, sending the older Gylderian sailing backwards.

DBZ

Amotto tried her best to follow the fight. But she was having a difficult time. The two Gylderians were fighting at a level far beyond her capabilities and it annoyed her to no end. Weak. That's all she had been and still was. It had been because she was weak that Frieza had almost killed her. It had been because she was weak that Seripa sent her away from the battlefield.

Her fists tightened into balls at her sides and she ground her teeth together in frustration.

She had the power to fight Falmer. She could feel it! But she couldn't reach it, no matter how hard she tried. Nothing seemed to be able to trigger the power she wanted and needed! But the madder she got, the more her blood boiled and she could almost feel a faint barrier wanting to break away and unleash a great torrent of power.

But she couldn't get mad enough to break it. Which made her even angrier, but it still didn't seem to be enough.

She cursed under her breath as she watched Zether pummel his brother into the dirt. That should have been her! This fight started out as hers! By all rights it should have been that she was the one beating the tar out of The Beast. But no, Zether was.

Saiyans were supposed to be the strongest warriors. But a Gylderian…no, two Gylderians were much stronger than she was. Granted she hadn't always been the strongest, but now…Now she was powerful enough to do something.

And she was going to!

Her blue aura suddenly exploded to life and she sprang forward with a battle cry, one fist drawn back. She made a bee-line towards Zether, closing the distance in just a few seconds.

The Gylderian must've sensed her because he looked in her direction in surprise an instant before her fist connected with his jaw, sending the stunned man flying away. Her feet hit the ground and she came to a stop, pivoting around and thrusting both hands down at Falmer, who was looking up at her in shock.

"Take this you hot-headed bastard!" Green ki erupted to life and flashed down, exploding with tremendous force against his bare chest and sending him and her both spiraling through the air.

Amotto fell towards the ground, but flipped around at the last second to land heavily on her feet with an eruption of sand all around her. She glared at Falmer as he landed face-first into the sand.

"This is MY fight! Come on BEAST! FIGHT ME!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, her aura reappearing around her tiny frame, burning with an intensity that contradicted her stature. Her muscles bulged to their limits, threatening to rip apart what little armor she had left.

Falmer gathered himself to his feet and looked at her with murderous intent. "You dare to interfere? You DARE to interfere with MY fight?!"

"This is OUR fight, Beast! I was fighting you first and I will FINISH what I STARTED!" the Saiyan woman declared angrily. "So let's finish it!"

Falmer sneered at her and narrowed his eyes slowly. "Finish it, hm? You got it…" He raised both hands to aim at her and black ki appeared swirling, becoming an orb just centimeters from his palms.

Amotto widened her stance and braced for the coming impact. She could take it. She just knew it! She could feel the power hiding just beneath the surface. This attack would bring it out. She was sure of it!

Falmer's sneer became a grin and his aura exploded to life around his body, more ki pouring into the orb which flashed and enlarged, becoming almost as big as him. With a yell he suddenly shoved it forward, firing it off with another burst of his ki towards her.

The green-haired woman focused her ki into her arms and crossed them in front of her, ducking her head down for better protection. She watched the incoming blast, her eyes narrowed as drops of sweat dripped down the sides of her face. She could take it! She COULD!

The blast was only a few feet from her when Zether suddenly appeared beside her. She looked over at him in surprise and his elbow crashed into her temple, sending her flying sideways.

Zether turned to the blast, but he had no time to shield himself against it…

His eyes narrowed. "Damn woman…"

It slammed into him and exploded violently, debris and smoke rising rapidly into the atmosphere, and a shockwave erupting outwards in all directions that slammed everyone within the vicinity and knocked them all from their feet.

Amotto tumbled through the air from the wave and then slammed face-first into the ground and was motionless. She was unconscious…

DBZ

Falmer watched the destruction with malevolent glee shining from his eyes. Chunks of rock rained down and the smoke billowed around him. So far, there was no sign of his brother. And that just made him grin.

Zether…no….!

His eyes narrowed and he looked around. Who had said that? He scanned the area around him, his eyes trying to pierce through the smoke that was slowly beginning to dissipate. He was sure he had heard someone. But who could it have been?

You have to stop this! Come on Falmer! Get it together!

He spun around, his eyes wide as he looked here and there for the source of the voice. It took him a few seconds longer to realize that he hadn't actually heard anything. He froze as the realization struck him that the voice he was hearing was coming from inside his own head. He narrowed his eyes and frowned. But before he could consider it any longer, movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and looked sharply to where Zether was struggling to pull himself out of a crater, his armor barely clinging to his body and his underarmor all-but destroyed. His arms, legs, and face were bloodied from the attack and his hair was golden once more.

The Beast grinned, completely forgetting about the voice as he lunged straight up into the air, and dropped heavily into the sand in front of the struggling Gylderian.

"I TOLD you I would win!"

Zether cringed and looked up at his brother with a faint smile. "S-so…you d-did. I c-call…inter-f-ference, th-though."

"Not my problem." Falmer extended a hand down towards him and black ki swirled and within seconds an orb was growing in his palm. "Now die."

"Falmer!"

He glanced around and spotted Diamond standing about ten feet away, glaring at him with her fists clenched tight at her sides. He blinked in surprise and then grinned at her.

"And what, exactly, do YOU hope to do against me?"

Diamond swallowed and held her head high. "I cannot allow you to hurt anyone else. As my husband you are my responsibility!" She stepped back into a stance, her gaze unwavering. But her raised fists were visibly shaking.

The black orb vanished and Falmer threw his head back and laughed out loud. "You insignificant little bug! You stand no chance against me!" He turned to face her, practically forgetting about Zether lying helpless at his feet.

"I'll break you in two, woman," he sneered as he started towards her.

"Yes, The Beast can break me in two. But not Falmer."

"You don't understand, bitch. I am Falmer!" He suddenly lunged at her, blurring out of sight as he brought his fist around towards her face.

Diamond never moved and Falmer was suddenly frozen in place, his fist hovering inches from her dull silver face. His eyes went wide as he stared at his motionless arm.

"What?!" He drew his fist back and shifted to thrust his leg out, but again it stopped inches from hitting her. He stood up and glared at her in frustration. "This. Is. IMPOSSIBLE!"

He suddenly lunged forward and launched into a serious of rapid-fire attacks, but none ever reached her. His strikes would stop just a few inches from hitting her every time.

Diamond just stared in surprise at the blur of motion that never did any harm to her. Was it the real Falmer keeping The Beast from hurting her? Was this proof that he was still in there and still aware of what was going on?

Falmer finally stopped his relentless attack and stood before Diamond, his chest heaving as he drew in heavy breath after heavy breath. Why couldn't he strike her?! With a cry of frustration he suddenly brought both hands and fired a blast at her, point blank.

Just before striking her the blast suddenly split in two, and the two beams veered away from her and vanished into the distance, exploding miles away. The Beast's eyes were wide as he stared at the young woman in stunned silence.

NO!

He suddenly clapped both hands to the sides of his head and closed his eyes tight as a roar of noise shot through his skull, resounding in an all-encompassing roar. Pain followed soon after and he dropped to his knees and roared at the top of his lungs in agony.

Zether stared on, his eyes wide as he struggled to a sitting position. He glanced over at Diamond to see the woman frozen in surprise, still holding her stance from before. He allowed himself a weak smile as he returned his gaze to his brother. It was looking like Diamond was going to succeed where he had failed…

{How can you see into my eyes, like open doors…?}

Falmer suddenly doubled over, his forehead touching the ground as he roared again. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

Diamond jerked in surprise and straightened up, taking an involuntary step towards her husband.

"Falmer…?"

{Leading you down into my core, where I've become so numb…}

"STAY BACK!" he suddenly cried, throwing a hand up to stall her. "STAY BACK!" he repeated, his eyes lifting to glare at her. They slowly flashed between black and luminescent red, while his hair faded back and forth between black and white. His burnt-red skin shifted back and forth to dull silver.

"Falmer…please…" Diamond whispered to him as she drew closer.

"NO!" He stood up and backed away, his form continuing to shift between his normal state and The Beast state.

{Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold…}

"Falmer, come back to me!"

{Until you find it there and lead it back home…}

"AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!" The Beast threw his head back again and roared to the sky, his black aura surging to life and flaring straight up into the sky. It flashed between silver and black, swirling violently in an unstable tornado of power. "NOOOOO! THIS IS MY BODY! I AM THE BEAST! I AM POWER INCARNATE!"

{Wake me up! Wake me up inside! I can't wake up! }

He suddenly looked down at her and his skin, hair, and eyes stopped shifting, reverting fully to The Beast state.

"NO! You can't stop me! No one can!" He spun around and made to lunge towards Zether, his hand drawn back and charging up his ki.

Diamond's eyes widened and she phased out of sight, reappearing as quick as she could in front of her brother-in-law, her arms outstretched as she blocked Falmer's path. "No! Falmer stop this!"

The Beast froze in place again, his eyes wide in what appeared to be fear. They began to flash again, his aura shifting once more from black to silver.

{Save me! Call my name and save me from the dark…}

He shook his head violently; his aura and eyes reverting back once more. "NO! Stop it! Damn it, STOP IT!" He spun around his eyes searching for something, anything, that he could wreak havoc on. They leveled on Broco and Berik and he grinned gleefully. His aura surged and he sprang forward with an explosion of sand in his wake.

{Wake me up! Bid my blood to run!}

Diamond appeared before him again and he skid to a stop a few feet from her, his eyes wide with obvious fear. "No! Leave me alone! I AM THE BEAST! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!"

{I can't wake up! Before I come undone!}

He spun around again, looking frantically for something to destroy! He spotted Amotto still lying unconscious and took of sprinting towards her, nearly blurring out of sight. His mind was chaotic, his thoughts racing. His power was dropping with each passing second and it was driving him mad.

{Save me! Save me from the nothing I have become!}

He was almost on top of her when Diamond appeared again, this time driving her fist into his face as hard as she could. His head snapped back, his feet shooting out from under him and his aura vanishing with a loud crack. He landed on his back in the sand with Diamond looking down at him.

{Now that I know what I'm without, you can't just leave me.}

While he was still stunned, she knelt down beside him. She cradled his face between her hands and looked right into his black eyes. "Falmer…I love you. Please…please come back to me…"

His eyes widened and she bent down and pressed her lips to his…

{Breathe into me and make me real…Bring me to life…}

He jerked his head away and shoved her back, scrambling backwards through the sand as his body began to flash uncontrollably. "No! You can't do this to me! Who the hell are you?!"

He sprang to his feet, his aura alighting as he took off. He came to an abrupt stop as she appeared in front of him again. "STOP THAT! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

{ Wake me up! Wake me up inside! I can't wake up! Wake me up inside!}

Diamond narrowed her eyes, her gaze firm as she stared at him. "Falmer. I am Diamond and I am your wife! Come back to me!"

{Save me! Call my name and save me from the dark!}

"Please!"

His hair brightened until it was white and he hovered away from her a bit. His eyes flashed briefly, but shifted back to black and remained that way. They narrowed and he growled at her. "Bitch! Leave. Me. Alone!"

"No!" she said as forcefully as she could. She was having an effect on him and she was not going to let up until Falmer was himself once again. "You will come back!"

"Gods DAMN IT WOMAN!" He thrust his hand forward and a shockwave rocked her backwards, sending her tumbling through the sky. It wasn't anything that could've hurt her, but it certainly knocked the wind out of her.

The Beast spun around in mid-air and shot towards Zether, his speed reduced to less than half of what it had been. His hair suddenly shifted back to black and he sped up, but he was still nowhere near where he had been. He had to kill! It was the only way to bring himself back to his senses!

{Wake me up! Bid my blood to run! I can't wake up! Before I come undone!}

But, yet again, Diamond suddenly appeared in front of him, cutting him off. He came to an abrupt halt and he stared at her, his eyes wide. It was…it was baffling! To think that with his awesome power, this insignificant nothing was outrunning him! Was stopping him at every turn!

He narrowed his eyes and ground his teeth together. He had to kill her. It was the only way!

NO! You will not harm MY WIFE!

{Save me! Save me from the nothing I've become!}

His hands clapped to the sides of his head again, his eyes closing tightly and he doubled over, suddenly dropping out of the sky to land on his knees in the sand. That voice! It was stronger than before! And the pain, oh the pain…He could barely stand it! He had to get a grip. He had to control it!

{I've been living a lie! There's nothing inside! Bring me to life!}

He opened his eyes and looked up to see Diamond kneeling before him, her eyes filled with concern. He growled and lashed out instinctively, the back of his hand striking against her face and sending her sailing backwards.

NOOOOOOO! DIAMOND!

The voice rang even louder than before and he was doubled over once more, his eyes closed tight as red and white flashed behind his eyelids. His head swam as a tidal wave of anger suddenly rushed over him from out of nowhere.

"What is happening TO ME?!" he threw his head back and roared again, struggling to contain whatever was trying to rise up within him.

{Frozen inside without your touch…}

Diamond! The voice was getting stronger. I'm coming! Hold on!

{Without your love, darling…}

"NO! Get out of my head!"

FUCK YOU! YOU get out of MY head!

{Only you are the life among the dead!}

"GODS DAMN IT!" His aura exploded to life, but without the power and force it had had before, and he sprang into the air and shot towards the stunned Broco and Berik. "Someone DIE!"

NOT TODAY!

And suddenly, as if he had been struck from the side, The Beast's head snapped sideways and he went crashing into the ground, sand flying out in all directions as he slid for what seemed an eternity.

{All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see!}

He laid motionless, face-down in the sand, as his black hair slowly brightened until it was white. He rolled himself onto his back and his eyes shot open wide.

{Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me!}

His eyes shifted until they were a bright luminescent red, seeming to glow in an almost pink hue.

{I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems!}

His burnt-red skin faded to a pale white…before suddenly becoming dull silver. His aura suddenly alighted, burning black with flashes of silver appearing sporadically.

{Got to open my eyes to everything!}

"NO!" He was on his feet in a flash and his skin slowly, with some difficulty, turned back to that burnt-red color. His hair shifted colors, but it didn't become completely black. Instead it was mostly white with random streaks of black that didn't seem to quite run the short length of his hair. One eye stayed luminescent red while the other reverted back to black.

{Without thought, without voice, without a soul…}

You're fighting a losing battle, Beast…The voice sounded taunting now. It was stronger and much more confident than it had been before. The Beast growled and narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing as the other eye shifted very difficultly back to black.

"That's what you think!"

That's what I know!

{Don't let me die here…There must be something more…}

Diamond appeared in front of him, a bruise marring her silver skin. "Abuse me all you want, Beast. I will NEVER give up on my Falmer!"

A losing battle, Beast…

The Beast growled and then roared out, his aura alighting with extreme intensity as he did, "SSSHHHHUUUUUTTTT UUUUPPPPPPP!"

Diamond closed her eyes against the sand that was blown her way, but was otherwise unmoved by the power emanating from her husband's body.

{Bring me to life!}

You lose…

"You lose, Beast…" Falmer whispered, his voice reverting from the raspy tone of The Beast, to his own normal tone.

Diamond opened her eyes in surprise and looked upon her husband as he suddenly dropped wearily to his knees, his hair becoming completely white, his skin dull silver, and his eyes red. The luminescence was dim, but it was there. His aura, still burning idly around his body, became silver…

{I've been living a lie…}

She rushed to him and dropped to his side as he tipped sideways, his eyes closing heavily.

"Falmer!" She embraced him tightly, tears filling her luminescent blue eyes.

Without opening his eyes he smiled weakly up to her. "Diamond…"

{There's nothing inside…}

Zether limped over to them and looked down at them with a grin on his bloodied face. "Welcome back, brother."

Falmer opened his eyes slightly and glanced at his younger brother. "You, too…Dead man." He grinned and closed his eyes again, slipping instantly into unconsciousness.

{Bring me to life…}

Zether sank heavily into the sand beside them, still grinning. "Now, I wonder how he knew I died."

Diamond smiled down at her husband as her tears flowed freely down her cheeks. "I do not care. My Falmer is back. That is all I care about…"

DBZ

(I know, I know. No, Turles didn't actually kill everyone. And yes, I know that I didn't italicize the vision like I have in the past, but I wanted it to be vague and for it to not seem like a vision until it was actually revealed that it was. Confusing, I know. But I wanted to have some fun. Lol I hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter! As always, thanks for reading and reviews would kick ass!)