Smack
Crash
Loud strikes and slaps fill the throne room as the prince asserted his dominance. Zukki, although relentless in her pursuit, it wavered much like the other day when she fought Negi. The two of them were similar in age and nothing else. From the start of this uneven contest the Prince had kept his feet planted firmly in one spot.
The girl fought like a feral beast at best.
Bounding in from a dozen feet or so away from her target she charged in fingers first. Since her attacks kept getting deflected the next series of attempts were dedicated to anchoring her target down.
However, whether it was a grasping attack or a striking one they would be parried harshly. Vegeta whipped her arm to the side, ignoring the opening in favor of prolonging this bout. If he had eyes on the back of his head they would be trained on his father's reactions.
Her right hand slapped away at the wrist, with bone cracking force. The attempt to grasp with her left, dodged, leading her to fly past him.
She lands with reckless abandon, rolling on the arm that now stings. Kicking off the ground to retaliate without thinking. Coming in with her body facing sideways. Even though she had no idea what attack to throw out here.
("Punch..kick.. knee.. shoulder..") She thought only to decide on the last option. Drowning out the suggestions that flew through her ears.
Her flying shoulder check was stopped with ease. One hand like the attack was nothing, she felt like a Boulder, but Vegeta caught her like a pillow toss at his back. Gripping her by the body suit he wrenched her back in front of her.
Landing on the ground like a cat, on all fours, Zukki glanced at Hikari and the paralyzed Ringu. They were all paralyzed with something in their minds.
Their pale energetic comrade laid there with barely any light flickering beneath her eyes.
"Just going to stare at your failure" the prince mocked from his spot. "If you grovel, I may end this all now for you"
Zukki's attention shot back clearly angered by the outcome she least desired.
The girl did only what she knew until finally and desperately trying something new.
Flames ignited at her palms this time before she rushed in. Faster, hotter, and her screams were viscerally louder. Be it the pain or the effort.
Again she rushed forward to grasp at her target. Lunging with those flames surrounding her hands and stopping at the wrist. They stayed lit due to her haphazard and continuous ignition.
There were no protests by her family, just looks of concern. They understood what this meant for the girl.
Vegeta raised an eyebrow, both prince and King alike. It was the former who stood to not react. Deflecting in just the same way he had prior. Only this time he recognizes the flames grow in size as they approach his face.
Even as she reaches for his armor and her attacks range widens dramatically. The flames roared to life. Threatening to burn them both.
The prince's feet had remained in the same spot for the longest time, since he had floated high and returned to the metal floor. Now he dropped to the floor like his knees released, pure reflex to danger. He grit his teeth, not for the fact he was harmed, but because he was made to feel danger.
Pushing off the ground with his hands he crushed Zukki's wrist with a sharp left kick. The force blew away the flames and her concentration of them.
Zukki proved her resolve by rekindling a flame in her other hand after moving down slightly. Not just there, also her feet as well. Creating a sudden combustion of flames.
Again Vegeta reacted, although a second too late, he snapped to an upright position by turning his body in the air. Then trusting his fist fast enough to disburse the flames and send her flying back.
Vegeta flew back immediately mere feet away from the final step of the throne; of seven before the foot of the chair itself. His arms clenched at his side and feet out in front of him before settling in the suspended air.
Various cries rang out as the girl crashed in a living heap. Her chin pointed up while gazing at the blurry results of her actions.
"Kid!"
One blink
"Zukki!"
Two blinks
"Zu.."
Zukki was out of commission.
***
The King witnessed his son pushed back in an instant. Ignoring the fact that he saw a scenario where he would fall for the same strategy, however crude it may be. Not that it would damage him regardless.
His attention on his son did not waver even as an injured woman with tan skin barged into the room.
King Vegeta had a feeling this would be the outcome, some gnawing feeling that the saiyan were in a new generation. It was time like he stopped fearing it like his father.
("Don't fear the strength in your soldiers, we don't have the luxury to lead uncomfortable lives with a god frolicking around like a house cat") He remembers the words of a superior existence acknowledging its own helplessness.
"Bring emergency health transport in the throne room. Prepare four healing chambers for immediate use" the King commands while pressing his finger on the Scouter button.
The flame Squadron had little words to speak, just hopeful reactions.
The prince, however, deeply protested this. Denying his loss.
"Father I clearly defeated that beastly.." he starts before wincing and holding the burn on his cheek and arm.
"Don't pretend like you didn't fall for such trickery. Go take your healing pod, I don't want a scarred son before he's even seen his first warzone" King Vegeta declares with a finality to his tone.
King Vegeta watched his son fly off out of the room to shield the shame building on his face.
The prince cursed the girl who singed his arrogance as he did. The burn singed not just across his cheek and arm but past his eye. He memorized the girl's outline, her spikey haired silhouette as if her sharp locks were the identifying trait.
Moment's later in the tense silent room the aliens arrived with floating metal pads for the injured. While they helped the horrible injured, Jetto was resistant to the help.
"Just get on the dam pad and go heal." Karada, who felt utterly useless demanded of his comrade "That laser rifle wound is serious"
"Everyone, but Kappa, leave the room before exhausting my generosity for the day." The King demands, never once having left his seat. The purple energy ball was long gone, however the threat of it remained.
Kappa waved the rest off to go heal, especially to Ringu who was solely focused on Hikari's dwindling state. He should be worried about his loyal subordinate, as she should not have lived under normal circumstances, but all he could think of was Zukki and her state. Through his clouded mind he was able to steel himself and face the man behind all of this strife.
Once all had left the room the King answered that glare with amusement. Followed by a disapproving frown.
"That girl of yours shows promise. Yet you'll lead her down a path where she'll burn up like the sun before I ever collect what is owed to me. Tell me, I am still listening to those broken half breeds preachings. I still acknowledge your past achievements, even so won't let you ruin a perfectly good tool under my watch." His long winded admonishment of Kappa's actions cracks in the stoic man's demeanor.
The leader of the zealous flame squadron was frozen under the vast amount of self control. Yet the way he referred to the man's family caused him to clench his fists, making the fur on his tail stand at its end, and the unreadable heat surrounding his body to rise.
"I'm giving you one week out of every month to remove her from her confinement. She'll be trained by my elite warrior Negi who supervises the prison. When she's ready I'll have her set out on the front lines."
Kappa's eyes widened at this.
"You said she would stay by my side and join my squadron"
"That was before I realized the potential of this tool. She would be wasted under your squadron."
Again with the tone of finality. Kappa recognized protesting here might only worsen things with this petulant King.
With a lift of his chin he allowed the man to leave, it was clear in his eyes that he wished to see his daughter's state.
Once the room was empty the King pressed the button on his scouter, then another before he spoke again.
"It's time you up the intensity, whether he approves or not. My authority is with you, you have my blessing to beat the final lessons into him"
("You must be the legend, no one else, not that child nor paragus's brat.")
***
Several hours later Zukki found herself floating in a mysterious liquid. Her eyes fluttering open and hands grasping at the mask covering her mouth. Bubbles erupt from the edges as she exhales.
Her arms wave and she grasps at the liquid before only relaxing at the sight of her father.
"It's alright, little ember, everything will be fine" he placed his hand to the transparent material. When he noticed the bubbles were her response, Kappa continued speaking. "Hikari and Jetto got their own chambers too..."
Zukki could see the tension in her father's reaction. That stoic and ridged face, frowning, nearly something sharper than that. There was a battle of relief and stress behind those eyes.
("What is my father thinking?") She was forced to keep her immediate thoughts to herself.
"Rest your mind a little more. We'll go over what you did and where things will go in the future. You'll be released in just an hour or so from now" Kappa releases his touch on the chamber before turning slightly to face the doorway.
A skittish alien had a floating tray with replacement clothes, though it hesitated to push past the threshold. Kappa waved the alien in before turning back to Zukki.
Their eyes met with some sort of agreement because in the next moment the girl was resting her eyes. Clearly the events of the past day or so had built up some stress in her mind. That would have been a cue for him to check on the others, but he stuck around long after the alien's dropped off the replacement parts for her uniform.
Not until his daughter was at full health again. That is, until Karada arrived to relay a message from back at the base.
"Kappa, Sir, they found out about the attack and events resulting from it." Karada relayed the information without stopping, but hesitated to demand anything from his leader. Once his eyes glanced at the chamber ahead, he kept them on Zukki.
"Already?" He spoke more rhetoric than genuine as he only paused for a second. "Alright."
The second pause lasted for a long time. Karada hadn't had the words to push for a shorter silence. They both understood their future depended on the believers as much as the fighters.
When Kappa glanced one last time over at his daughter, their eyes met. She blinked once before he nodded. Leaving her to heal, although not alone. Karada agreed to stay here and wait.
Zukki closed her eyes once more. Proving she had more patience than Jetto through her acceptance of needing more time via the words of others. All the while thinking about all her fights until now.
"She really is going to remain like that," Karada mutters. He was standing straight up resting like a horse.
"..." Zukki had opened her eyes, she had heard what he said. One can only infer that the "she" that Karada was talking about had to be her. And so the logical conclusion was ("I'm going to stay like this?")
"Oh not you" karada corrected himself after realizing how that must have sounded. Not the best thing to say in front of an injured person.
"I am talking about Jetto. She rushed out of here the moment her leg healed"
Zukki's eyes widened yet they relaxed right after. She was getting used to the woman's antics. The young girl still felt some reverence in the older woman, honestly she even related to it.
With the silence growing, Karada decided to continue speaking about Jetto.
"Since we're here, Jetto and I go way back..."
Karada's mood lightened while giving Zukki some of the context of their background.
The girl only knew of them from their brief appearances during what she would now refer to as the calm days of her life. They were the small pictures into the future she craved to be a part of. The recognition her father gave them, it was what she looked forward to the most.
"We met pretty much right out of our pods, both of us had lost our mothers, and our fathers were war buddies." He explains with an audible chuckle through his nose. The sound carries in between the beeps going off in the room periodically.
"And our fathers wanted us to be partners from the get go, something about watching each other's backs. But Jetto did not want to have it. She wanted to go solo in the war effort and surpass her parents. I just wanted to meet my father's example."
He paused as he met the young girl's eyes. Thinking about his and Jetto's mothers first before remembering the sight of the sickly woman who is their matriarch.
"Hug your mom, ok? Just once or twice extra for me–and Jetto. Just don't tell her I said that" he suddenly adds. Zukki nodded in the healing liquids as vigorously as she could.
After that he properly gave his side of the Story.
"Shortly after I joined the frontier my father passed away." He looks through the healing pod as if focusing on the memory while explaining it. "Got out to the frontier hearing about how weak he was..how he gave out one day. Some said he avoided the weak and the strong. But I knew he fought everyone who came his way and challenged them all."
Karada explained that with the little time he had before his father left him again, the man he looked up to gave him some advice. Now, when he got advice it was mostly something insulting or a condescending critique. But before during those few days his father shared with him the means to achieve a great future.
"If you can take a hit and live, strike back twice as hard..or something like that" he tries to remember only to realize how dumb it must really sound. His father failed to survive one punch after all. "I want to be better than him. Don't you want to be better than the boss?"
("Better than father?") She thinks and fails to speak at about the same time.