Chapter 6: The Mercenaries
Over the course of the next week, the motley crew of the two saiyans and the young girl flew around the world. Collecting the Dragon Balls had been a lot easier than Bulma had originally expected. Though she had her doubts about the saiyans, running into Bardock and Kakarot had truly been a blessing in disguise. Bardock had already know many of the people who had the Dragon Balls, and just like Bulma, they all seemed much to scared to the warrior to protest. If they ever encountered any resistance, like the evil Oolong, Bardock or Kakarot would deal to it, often commenting on how it was a waste of their power. Bulma had quickly adjusted to the saiyans way of living, spending the few hours that she got to rest alone. Occasionally, after a horrific training session, Kakarot would come and sit with her. They never spoke, Kakarot wasn't much of a person for conversation, instead just basking in each other's company. Bulma knew something was wrong with the boy. She was often petrified by the wounds that Bardock would inflict on him during their 'training' but had never commented on it. During the rare occasions where Kakarot would talk to her, he explained the differences of his society and human society. He entertained her with stories of brutal battles and genocide. But they would never last long, either because of an interruption by Bardock or Kakarot doing some training alone. What really captured Bulma's attention was Kakarot's stoic father. He seemed friendly enough, though his jokes were always had an underlying threat. Bulma was mainly confused by him. Love on Earth seemed to be very different to love on Vegeta, the saiyan homeworld. Bardock constantly pushed his son through hell, having tens of brutal spars every day. But behind his cold exterior, Bulma could sense a hidden sadness. Regret. Frustration. But she would never talk openly to him about it. Conversations with the elder saiyan were short, cold, and infrequent. Bardock spent most of his time when wasn't training, deep in meditation. Though the reception from the saiyans was generally cold, they produced results. During the week, the number of located Dragon Balls jumped from merely 3 to 6. Only one more. Then Bulma could make her wish. She was broken from her trance as the fire died out. Sighing, Bulma pulled up the blankets on the bed within her capsule house. The next day would be important. Tomorrow, they would find the last Dragon Ball.
Like shooting stars, the four pods continued on their journey to Earth. Only one of the soldiers in the pods was conscious. He stared off into the black void that was space, only being knocked out his trance by the view of a planet. Though his body was motionless, his mind pulsated. Ideas, like sparks of lightning, shot and flared, formulating some sort of plan. His target wasn't someone to be scoffed at. A saiyan. The name left a bad taste in his mouth. Filthy brutes with no sense of morality, of justice, or of honour. When he would run into the brat Vegeta at the side of Frieza, he could barely contain the vomit that pushed on his throat. No saiyans should be left alive. When he was done with Bardock and his bastard of a child, the 'prince' was next. But only one thing at a time. First he had to kill Bardock.
"Wake up, Dad wants you."
Bulma sheepishly opened her eyes to see Kakarot standing at the edge of her bed. She screamed loudly before shouting back,
"You can't watch a lady while she's sleeping, Kakarot!"
The young boy gave no reaction before turning around and walking out her room. Shaken, Bulma climbed out from her sheets and changed from her nightgown into a pair of yellow shorts. She spent a few more minutes sorting through her shirts, finally settling on a red jacket. Making sure she was pretty, though it did nothing to the saiyans, was high on her priority list. Once she was dressed, Bulma plodded out of the front door. Her shoes sunk into the sand, allowing small rements to cling to her socks. Out of the corner of her eye, Bulma could see Bardock and Kakarot fighting up in the sky. She sighed and called out,
"Hey! I'm awake! You can talk to me now, Bardock!"
Bardock barely heard the blue haired girl's shout, having to be informed by Kakarot. She was really starting to get on Bardock's nerves. Her constant nagging was beginning to take its toll on Bardock's mind. It was almost as annoying as when Kakarot would cry nonstop. He also didn't like the way she treated Kakarot. She was going to make him soft. Lazily, Bardock descended down from the sky and landed in front of Bulma.
"Yeah, I found the last Dragon Ball," Bardock grunted. Bulma was stunned.
"Really? Where did you find it," She asked, barely being able to contain her excitement. Bardock motioned over to a of dead bodies interlaced with the scrap of 3 destroyed robots. Bile began to rise in Bulma's throat. She had never seen a dead body before, not even since she had been around the saiyans. Bardock noticed the fear behind her eyes and continued calmly,
"The weird dog thing and the girl attacked us during the night. Kakarot and I easily beat up their robots and forced them to tell us where they came from," Sadistically, Bardock let out a throaty laugh, pooling almost like oil in Bulma's chest. "When we got there, we killed their boss and found that Dragon Ball." He pointed at Dragon Ball sitting on the ground next to a small fire they'd made. Small flecks of blood covered the ball. Bulma whimpered,
"Why did you bring them back here, you monster?"
"I wanted to see if they were your friends or not."
Bulma couldn't hold here vomit any longer and threw up onto the floor. Bardock spat on the ground next to her,
"You're a weakling. Clean yourself up and stand tall. I can't stand to see you being so weak."
Before Bulma could respond with some biting comment, four shooting stars flew across the sky. Strangely, the stars pointed down at the ground and began to rocket down towards the surface of Earth. Bulma didn't know what to think anymore, the information overloading her normally calm mind. But Bardock knew exactly what was happening.
"Not yet. We needed more time."
The four soldiers left their pods and began to stretch in front of them. The rat, named Nabokov, was the first to speak,
"Man, I hate those pods so much."
It seemed the sentiment was shared by the rest of the group. After a few seconds, three of the soldiers lifted up into the air, attempting to get some idea of where they were on this mud ball. The fox fiddled with a machine that covered his eye and ear and said,
"Highest power level on this planet is... eight thousand. Not too shabby for such a backwater planet. Should I assume that that's our guy, Balmont?"
The only warrior that stayed on the ground, a wolf-like warrior, gave a small nod in response.
"Then what's plan?"
Balmont adjusted his armour. It was very different to the other soldiers that he had landed with. They all wore armour very similar to what Bardock wore when he landed on Earth. Balmont's armour looked a lot less technologically advanced as his comrades. It consisted of a black, skin tight suit with pieces of white metal lining his chest.
"The plan is to wait. The saiyan will come to us."
The other soldiers looked at each other for a moment before returning to the ground. Nabokov shielded his eyes from the sun and looked up into the sky. A massive grin began to form on his face.
"Speak of the devil."
After seeing the ships land a few kilometers away from them, Bardock dashed up into the sky. Some part of him desperately wanted to run away. Maybe he'd been hanging around the girl for too long. Fear wasn't something he was very used to. It stopped his body from moving. It frozen him in time. Kakarot stared at his father's scared and confused face, not being able to understand this side of his father.
"Kakarot, are you a saiyan?"
Kakarot was bewildered by the question.
"I don't understand what you mean, Dad. Of course I'm a saiyan.'
Bardock clenched his fists, to the point where his knuckles turned white.
"And do saiyans ever run away from a fight!"
Kakarot shouted back,
"No! A saiyan never runs away from a fight."
Bardock smiled. I guess that decides it then, he thought.
"Alright then, Kakarot. Let's go and fight!"
"Yeah!"
The two saiyans looked at each other before speeding off in the direction of the pods. Bulma just looked around, not sure what the hell had just happened. She wiped the vomit from her mouth and stood up strong, just like Bardock wanted. You want me to be strong, Bardock, she thought, I'll show you strong. Grabbing the Dragon Ball near the dead bodies, Bulma prepared herself. The wish was hers.
Just as Balmont had predicted, the saiyans were closing in on their position. The soldiers chuckled as Bardock and Kakarot landed in front of them. Bardock shouted at them,
"Who the hell are you guys?"
Bardock had been expecting to see someone like Zarbon or Dodoria step out of those pods. These new people weren't as strong as either of those two but they were new. New meant unpredictable. In this battle, predictability was key to their survival. Nabokov stepped forward and spoke,
"We're a band of mercenaries contracted by the gracious Lord Frieza. My name is Nabokov, this is…"
He was interrupted by Kakarot who shouted,
"We don't give a shit about your names. Tell us why you're here before we kick the shit out of you."
Fear spiked again in Bardock's chest. Though these people weren't as strong as Zarbon or Dodoria, Frieza wouldn't have employed weaklings to kill a saiyan. In response to Kakarot's outburst, a large bull-like soldier stepped forward and spat,
"You think you can beat us, brat. I'll kill you in one second."
"Did I order you to attack, Tolstoy," Balmont asked. Tolstoy stopped instantly in his tracks and began to step back, mumbling an apology.
"I assume that here to kill us," Bardock barked. These moments before a fight may seem unimportant but it was actually a delicate chess game. Let your opponent learn too much and you die. Being acutely aware of every movement you make, your breathing pattern. Everything.
"You're right on the money, Saiyan. Frieza has asked for your head and we are here to get it," the fox mocked. Tolstoy and him shared a silent laugh.
Bardock feigned a smile,
"You're welcome to try if you want to but I warn you that you'll lose."
All the soldier froze for a moment before breaking out into a fit of laughter, the only one not responding was Balmont.
"With a power level of eight thousand, there's no way you can beat all of us," Tolstoy laughed, wiping a tear from his eye.
Bardock and Kakarot both looked at each other and gave a signal. Both saiyans began to shout and charge the ki hidden within their bodies. Small rocks around Kakarot began to lift and near his father, the ground shook and began to crack. Sparks of white lightning flicked off their bodies, stopping just short of the soldiers. Once they were done, a weak white aura floated around them.
"Check your scouter again."
Nabokov lazily turned his scouter back on and locked onto the saiyans. After a second, fear flashed behind his eyes.
"B-B-Bardock's jumped up to sixteen thousand and his brat," he swallowed, "Three thousand."
Balmont's eyes opened wide for a moment. He wasn't expecting that. The rest of his soldiers looked at him before letting out a massive laugh.
"This is going to be fun."
Hello again. Sorry about this chapter being slightly late. I was recovering from a night of drinking yesterday and thought it would probably be better to write at my best. Like I said, I'm trying to make this a little interesting but I'm a little annoyed about having to use original characters instead of already existing characters but it's alright. If anyone can tell me what the names of all the members of the mercenary group link to, I will be very impressed.See ya later,-mAskMaN09
