A planet named Vegetasei was no more, it imploded and died due to an eerie white being. He was laughing maniacly. All these deaths with a flick of a finger.
--
The shockwaves hit Cress's little pod like a sledgehammer. She awoke as she was thrown against the window. When her brain registered that she was awake, her vision was bombarded with images of burnings and slaughter. A screeching winged being seemingly loomed in front of her, and she screamed, scrabbling back into her chair.
--
The small pod was going too fast, there was no chance for the ship to go into orbit. It punctured the atmosphere like a needle with skin. Cress was thrown backwards as the ship picked up speed. Her nails dug into the cushioning fabric as she felt the pressure inside the pod increased. She could only muster a small whimper as her vision began to fade into darkness.
The pod impacted into the wet ground, bringing down trees and vines along with it. The outer shell had shattered, leaving bits of white metal scattered around the jungle floor.
--
The figure couldn't see through the rain properly. He was merely sent to see what Frieza had sent in revenge. The Great Nest Queen had denied Frieza's request for the planet's energy rich oil.
It looked like a baby. A pale, naked baby. Chek-chereh couldn't believe it. He shook his head again, trying to see through the rain. He was definately sure that this was a baby, but what species?
The child seemed stunned from her crash, she was waddling around in random circles. Chek-chereh ruffled his pitch black feathers, he needed to get closer to see. His strong, clawed feet carried him swiftly through the old trees, illuminated only by pale moonlight.
--
Chek-chereh's keen eyes once again picked up the child, but what he saw made his blood run cold.
There was a furry tail coming out this child's back, wriggling excitedly.
The child wasn't stunned, she was drinking in the moonlight, her eyes were glazed and dull, the tail seemed to squirm and wriggle of it's own accord, like something inside wanted to break free. Chek-chereh opened his beak, a great CAW ! echoing across the jungle. A guard picked the sound up, and he almost tripped over himself to alert the captain.
--
Cress felt strange, like when she was inside Mama. She knew nothing, but everything. Blood boiled in her veins as her eyes glazed over.
Whispers erupted inside her head. Some soothing, but most screaming. Screaming so loud, loud loud loud!
The whispers and screams talked of the '' Night Sun '' They told of the power, of the emotion, of the Oozaru.
" Oozaru " Whispered Cress, the word was a promise, a promise of power. The whispers told her of the power inside her, waiting to be unleashed.
Cress closed her blank eyes. She saw everything, she saw the fall of the Tuffles, the reign of King Vegeta. But she didn't want to see this, she wanted Mama and Papa. All she saw was fire and death. A prone white ghost seemed to dance in the death-light.
Cress's little body began to shake. When Saiyans first transformed, they were shown their roots and all they stood for. Confusion and andrenaline ripped through her whole entire being, the Night Sun's gift roared and burned her mind, destroying Cress and creating Oozaru.
Muscle rippled and bone broke. Re-knitting and Re-mending.
Oozaru-Cress screamed and roared with power, swatting a bird like being that was a few metres away. It crumpled like a peice of paper, it's beak smashed and wings dislocated.
--
Wave after wave was sent at Oozaru-Cress. The females were easier to see, due to their plumed tails, but harder to beat. The males were smaller, but completely dull.
--
The Nest Queen was worried. She was alone, deep inside the nest. All of her subjects were dying, and she knew it.
The Queen was heavily plumed. Each feather represented a chick that she'd raised, all a different colour. The Nest Queen was known as the ' Jewel of the Jungle ', but with each child's death, a feather fell out.
The Queen reached out sadly with her foot, there was an ever growing pile of feathers, and the roars and squawks were getting louder. Black feathers soon became more obvious as the plumes died. Her heavily atrophied wings were soon apparent, flopping uselessly on her shoulder joints.
The matriarch hesitated, she knew what she had to do now, but almost couldn't.
Her long neck stretched out as she ate the coloured feathers, great masses of them scratching down her gizard. Her wings grew with the absorbed power, until they were full size. It was then that the Oozaru-Cress broke through the nest's walls.
The Queen looked sadly at Oozaru-Cress. She knew this monster was a baby, and knew Vegetasei's destruction. She'd heard the screaming songs and the white devil laughter. The mad insane laughter.
The ruler simply shot one sad look at Oozaru-Cress, and spread her wings for the first time in her life. But she did bestow Cress one thing. A stray red feather. The Oozaru simply roared, but the Cress side picked up the feather, and watched the Queen dissapear into the oblivion of space.
--
Cress awoke inside a big nest, that'd been destroyed. She sat up painfully, fire shooting up her spine. She was surprised at the huge hole in the wall, and the destroyed trees. She briefly wandered what manner of creature could do this. She came to the conclusion that this creature had struck her, and knocked her out.
--
Cress felt tears well up in her eyes when she finally realised the extent of the damage to her pod. It was completely smashed. Her supplies were spilt across the clearing, slowly being devoured by the bubbling mud. Cress felt panic streak through her, as she hastily gathered up her supplies. She didn't have anything to hold them all in, and then saw the sinking pod chair.
Cress tore the fabric from the seat, bundling her protein bars and scouter inside. She then went to pull off the anklet off her foot, but thought better of it, this was Mama's gift to her after all.
--
The baby stared at the jungle looming out in front of her, but she didn't feel scared. The wet floor sucked at her feet, so she had to run fast to stay on top of the ground
--
18 Years Later
--
Cress smiled, running at unsaiyan-like speeds across the ground. Her feet barely disturbed the wet mud. Her body had a softened look about it, uncharacteristic for someone of her kind. But she had a terrier look about her, strong and lightly stout and her legs were thick and strong, perfect for bursts of speed and endurance
The wind ruffled her wild hair, caressing the red feather that lay knotted inside of it. She'd twisted some of her hair around white tree bark, forming pretty plaits here and there. Her skin was dappled, some bits lighter than others, due to the huge ancient trees blocking out the sunlight.
Thankfully, the saiyan wasn't totally uncultured. She wore a rough white dress, woven from plant fibres.
--
The jungle was alive, Cress knew that. Everything was working or singing or screaming in perfect harmony. She was resting on a rock that was jutting out of the bubbling ground, crouched over her food. Her food in question was a monkey like creature, which she'd named after the noise it made. It was an Ah-Oo.
It was hard to start fires here in the jungle, since it was so wet all the time. So the female usually ate her food raw. She didn't mind, but cooked meat was a treat. The Ah-Oo was quickly devoured, there were predators here stronger than Cress, who were attracted to the scent of blood.
--
An animal raised it's bloodied snout from the slightly rotten carcass it had been slurping up, licking the congealed blood from it's nose thoughtfully. It wanted fresh and chewy meat. It wanted a beating hearty and a rich fatty liver. It wanted squirming and squiggling and screaming.
--
Cress soon felt hunger nibble at her not too long after the Ah-Oo. She'd been collecting a cactus like plant that helped seal wounds. But the jungle was Cress's larder, and she only had to look hard to find nourishment.
--
The Scree Wolf scented the air, it was following something, following the slight marks left in the bubbling mud. It could only see the toes, and the prints were light, so this creature was fast. But the Scree Wolf knew it was faster.
--
Cress happily sucked at the seeds she'd found inside an old rotten tree trunk. They were sour and creamy, and burst inside the mouth. She salivated heavily as she sucked and chewed, a powerful fruity sugary moment enveloped her entire being for a moment. She sighed when the last seed was devoured, it was hard to find such a sugar rich treat.
--
The Scree Wolf licked it's gleaming teeth in anticipation, it's reddish brown fur blended in perfectly amongst the tree roots and mud. It's crested feathery tail fanned and feathered, looking like a delicious morsel of sucrer vine. The animal began to shimmy into the mud, the nostrils were on top of it's snout, which it left protruding out of the mud, unseen.
--
The saiyan felt like something was wrong the moment she had stepped into this clearing. No birds were singing, no insects chirruping, and no Ah-Oos screaming.
She froze on a tree root, instinct screaming at her to stay and fight, but her brain telling her to run. But then she spotted something, and her stomach took over all functions; it was a sucrer vine.
Her tail twisted around itself as she grew ever more indecisive. If she ate the vine she wouldn't be hungry for a week, but there could be a predator around, she didn't care how much her body was screaming at her to stay and fight.
--
If the Scree Wolf had lips it would have smiled. The strange creature wasn't sure. But it could wait. The Scree Wolf had learned patience from its Dame. It remembered when she'd pushed itself and the littermates down down down into the mud, pulling their small muzzles above the oozing mud. If anyone tried to surface, they recieved a clout about the ears, and were pushed back down. But when it was all over, itself and it's littermates were rewarded with chewy fatty Ah-Oo heart.
--
Cress felt a cold sweat envelope her body as she carefully stepped toward the treasured root. Her eyes rapidly combing the clearing for any sign of danger. Some mud near the root did look slightly disturbed, it was a different colour, older than the surface stuff.
The female looked around wildly for a stick. She found one lying half submerged and pulled it out, wrinkling her nose in annoyance when some of the mud splashed onto her roughly hewn dress.
Cress leaned forward slightly, feeling curiosity pull at her innards, much like the awaiting predator wanted to do. She poked the stick in the mud, and a set of teeth appeared, followed by a wolf-like creature about twice the height of a horse.
--
The Scree Wolf was angry, he'd missed his prey! The strange animal darted out of the way, shimmying quickly up a tree. But Scree Wolf was faster, it grasped the creature's Ah-Oo tail in it's strong teeth, and it stopped moving!
He pulled the female down, and threw her across the clearing
--
Cress was pretty pissed, this creature had grabbed her tail, and she'd given it the opportunity! Her instincts laughed at her mentally, she'd have to fight now!
The female extracted herself from the tree she'd been knocked into, pulling a couple of splinters out of her hand. The Scree Wolf was loping toward her, it's jaws open and wide, ready to swallow her up with a snap and a gulp. Cress snarled menacingly, ducking underneath the beast and punching it in the furry stomach, but she didn't see the clawed webbed paw aimed at her face.
Cress got a faceful of mud and pain, and the wolf seemed to be laughing at her as she spat out a tooth. She snarled again at the creature, as it began to circle, moving with an almost feline grace. She wiped her bloody nose as the wolf licked the red fluid off its paw hungrily.
The animal leaped again, slamming Cress into the watery mud. It's paws pinned her arms above her head as it prepared to tear her throat out, but she squirmed about hurriedly, got her hands loose, and sank into the mud.
--
The Scree Wolf looked about in amazement, the female had purposely submerged herself in the mud. But it could feel her moving underneath.
The wolf twitched it's whiskers and readied its great mouth, biting into the sticky mud.
--
Cress screamed as teeth sank into her hip, but it only came out as a weak gurgle. She was heaved into the open air, as great clods of mud fell from her weakening body. She struggled with all her might, punching and clawing, until her hands met the creatures eyes.
The wolf screamed in agony, immediately letting Cress go. She grimaced through the pain, sawing in deeper with her nails as the animal cried and clawed. She bit her lip when she felt her hands touch a squishy substance, and she dived in deeper, wrist deep inside the animals head.
It made no noise as it died
--
Cress dragged the heavy body to her home, a sandy, hand dug hole, which was rather narrow, with a large drop, but it was spacious inside. She pushed the limp body through first, it landed with a heavy thump, but Cress was glad of the soft landing.
--
The wolf had been skinned, and the heavy pelt lay on a makeshift drying rack, Cress had rubbed it with salt that bubbled to the surface of the mud. The wolf meat was being boiled in a large pot, made from the metal of her old space pod. The smell permeated around her home, and Cress added some of the berries she'd found earlier to the pot.
The fire was starting to go down, so she added some of the black substance that lay deep inside the ground, whenever she saw this stuff, a raspy voice echoed within her head, the same voice that sang and danced in the death-light. She knew that this black stuff was valuable, she knew that's why the inhabitants of the planet died. Freeza had done something to this planet, and it must be awful.
--
Cress ate well that night, she was happy to say that every scrap of the wolf had been used, she was particularly pleased with the teeth, which made useful blades and decorations. Cress had strung a couple of the incisors onto the anklet on her foot, complementing the aged silver moon.
The female hummed a familiar song as she washed her only dress, scrubbing it with tree shavings and cleansweep apples. She liked this smell, this was what her house smelled like, what the jungle smelled like...home.
--
Turles panicked as his pod skipped the orbiting procedure, hurtling through the atmosphere of the planet, the weak outer shell ripping and cracking like an egg.
--
She awoke huddled in her little nest of assorted animal furs. An acrid smell met her nostrils as she sat up, batting away the sleepiness with each rub of her eye. She warily rolled out of her bed, flinging on her dress and running outside.
--
The air was on fire. Cress gasped in horror as she saw a flaming ball of twisted metal fall from the peaceful sky. It flung into the jungle, scattering birds and animals alike, all screaming in alarm.
--
Turles couldn't make anything out, his head felt fuzzy, and the smell of metal and fire wafted into his face. He dully noticed that his pod was heating up and getting redder by the second
--
Cress ran because she had recognised that ball of misshapen metal. She'd felt a strange spark of excitement when she saw it, her heart had even skipped a few beats. She hoped it was Mama and Papa, she couldn't remember much of them, not even their faces. But to her they were safety and warmth all rolled into one big huge feeling.
Branches and thorns whipped at her face as she ran, her breath coming out in great billows of vapour. The jungle was cold at night.
The female grit her teeth as her feet skimmed over the razor sharp teeth vines. They were scattered everywhere, dark and unnoticed until you tripped over them. The air was beginning to burn her lungs, and her muscles screamed for release. But all she could do was smile through the pain.
--
Turles had managed to crawl out of the burning pod, the wet mud was cool on his seared flesh, but it was too wet, it slowly sucked at his body, getting inside his white hot armour, an apparent sizzling noise reached his ears as the metal cooled, all the while being dragged deeper.
The mud was partially over his face now, his body almost fully submerged. He breathed in heavily through his nose, almost lazily accepting his demise. What as the point anymore? He'd lost his crew, his ship..the tree...everything.
......
A whizzing noise soon became apparent, accompanied by faint splashes. Turles hoped to God that it wasn't a ferocious beast ready to pluck his weak body from the mud, disembowl him and eat his dead glassy eyes. If his mouth wasn't full of mud he would of chuckled lightly.
The splashes grew closer and suddenly stopped, Turles could hear heavy panting now and rolled his eyes, just his luck.
--
Cress made it to the crash site, an stooped on a tree root, she only needed a second, oxygen entered her body and the lactic acid ebbed away slightly, allowing a burst of andrenaline to come hurtling through her veins.
She saw a prone body, well..hair. She reached into the mud, and grabbed whatever she could find. Cress braced herself against two conveniantly jutting rocks, and pulled. The mud did not want to give up it's prisoner, the nourishing plant growing prisoner.
With a huuge slurping sound Cress pulled Turles free. She had to act quickly. The armour was restricting his chest and her access to his wounds, so she ripped it off, storing it high in a tree. With the armour removed, he was a lot lighter. The male seemed unconscious, so Cress slung him over her shoulder, staggering under his weight.
Cress grunted and groaned, jumping from one rock to another to avoid the mud. The male seemed to stir momentarily, and muttered in an unknown (to Cress) dialect.
" I'm not that fat " The deep voice sighed, before his body fell limp again.
The female quirked her eyebrow momentarily. The word ' fat ' sounded familiar, made her think of milk for some reason.
" Faaht " She mimicked, twirling the word around her tongue
" I'm not " Argued Turles, still in his delerious state.
--
Cress stopped for a moment, at the mouth of a river. The female needed to get the diseased mulch off Turles body. The black underlayer he'd been wearing was like a second skin, so she knew that he wasn't dirty beneath it.
She slowly eased him into the water, and picked out some river weeds, cleaned wounds. Cress placed them in a new pouch she'd made for herself, it was previously known as the Scree Wolf's bladder, but it was useful.
The river current was strong enough to wash the dirty mud off of Turles's body, and also help with the burns. Cress smiled lightly, the jungle could kill you, but also heal you.
The female grinned as she climbed into a tree, collecting some sap and cleansweep apples, before jumping back down, landing heavily on the balls of her feet.
--
She'd finally gotten the heavy unconscious form home. She lay him on her furs, slightly annoyed that they'd get wet now. She shook off the bad thoughts, and lit a fire. She stalked over to Turles, and opened her bag.
Now that she had a good look at him, he did seem somewhat familiar. Cress began to heat up the tree sap, kneading it in her fingers slowly in thought. She shook her head, and decided to get on with the task at hand. Most of the wounds seemed to be on his back, so she heaved and flipped him onto his front. That was when she saw it.
A tail
An Ah-Oo tail
Just like hers
Cress's eyebrows rose, almost to her hairline, and a big smile broke out over her face
--------------
A/N : Hoo-rah the chapter is finito, I luuurve writing this story. I have no idea how long it's taken xD. Anyways, 'lil' baby Cwess has all groaded up now, I thought I'd end this one on an happy ( For Cress) note.
It wasn't a happy chappy ending for Turles :C (he's all dry and crispy at the moe)
Anyways, tell me what you think. Just flex 'yer fingers slightly, that eensy weinsy button down there xD
Oh!
MAJOR HUGZ AND WET SLOPPY GRANDMA KISSES FER:
MidlightDream
chezashinobi
Kiki Myou
xxx
-Devonshire_dumpling