Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Shadow in the Twilight ❯ Chapter 42 ( Chapter 42 )

Chapter 42

Everyone was waiting, hanging on anticipatory tenderhooks, for the inevitable to come to pass. A leaden gloominess had settled in with the realization that Prince Vegeta's life force was gradually slipping away from this mortal world towards death's door. Even the ones who'd secretly wagered for Lluvia's victory knew full well that her life would also be snuffed in retaliation for killing him. But out of all who had given themselves up to despair, only one stood optimistic.

Bending her head down, Lluvia gently closed her eyes and folded her hands together, palm-side in, holding them between her breasts.

Perhaps, thought many, she was offering up a final prayer to the gods on behalf of the fallen prince?

Suddenly, a tiny glow began to radiate in the space between her chest and her enfolded hands. As she slowly pulled her hands away from her chest and moved them forward, the iridescence grew increasingly brighter, spreading outward in refracted shades of gradient pinks and purples. Sporadic outbursts of "ah's" and "oh's" blossomed through the crowd at the amazing sight. A shining orb, no bigger in diameter than a little finger's length, rested in her cupped hands and cast its rays in playful, dancing bursts over both combatants and the inner walls.

As she stretched out her arms, the glowing object was pulled taffy-like between her hands into a long, wire-thin tube, roughly the length of Prince Vegeta's body, from head to toe. Mustering another ki surge through her hands, she rapidly twisted her palms a few times in opposing directions. This torque motion, combined with the ki surge, caused the stretched tube to burst into a glittering curtain of shimmering dust. The tiny pieces slowly showered down, covering every part of Prince Vegeta's skin, hair, and clothing. The second they made contact, the particles blazed just a little brighter then disappeared altogether.

A mesmerized Captain Apio had nearly forgotten all about his scouter's display, until the unit began to emit a couple of hesitant beeps into his left ear. In an automatic gesture, his left index finger came up to hit the reset button.

"Mother of Kami," breathed the captain, not yet believing the visual evidence even as it scrolled right in front of his eye. The refreshed readout had arrested its numerical descent and was ever-so-slowly climbing back up, digit-by-digit.

"Apio! What is it?" asked the king, alarmed by the stunned look on his bodyguard's face.

The Saiya-jin captain turned to face his king, with dark eyes wide and filled with surprised wonder. "Nothing, sire," he replied in a reverential whisper, "just a miracle."

Lluvia returned her arms to her sides and breathed out a huge, tired sigh. She felt secure that she'd only relinquished enough of her life energy to stabilize him.

The outside audio feed had been restored just before the audience had retreated off the deck. Although she was speaking down towards the defeated royal in the softest of tones, they could all make out her words coming through the speakers.

"You will die someday, Saiya-jin no Ouji. But, it won't be today…and it won't be by my hand."

When she saw one of his gloved fingers begin to twitch, followed by a second, and then a third, Lluvia knew that the prince would recover. She noted that the underlying tone of his tanned complexion was starting to pink up, as well.

It was time to exit, stage right.

I'm so friggin' pooped, she thought wearily, as she made her measured way towards the entryway, taking the pins out of her "battle-bun" and shaking out her loosened hair. And I hurt all over…

She winced as she took a mental tally of her injuries - multiple deep bruises all over her body, pulled muscles in her shoulders from the dislocations, and most likely hairline fractures in the bones of her forearms.

Lluvia was not expecting accolades of any kind for what she'd done. Kami knows, it would be the last thing she'd ever expected from the likes of them. At times, it almost seemed that Saiya-jins only lived to laud strengths and to ridicule weaknesses, but beating the living daylights out of their prince would hardly win her any admirers. The stubborn ringing that had lingered in her ears throughout the battle had finally gone away and she could hear normally again. Now, the only echoes inside the dome came from her booted feet shuffling across the debris-strewn floor. All of a sudden, she heard a lone, male voice call out from above:

"The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath.

It is twice blessed--
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes."viii

It was a vastly foolish and dangerous thing to do, but Puerro felt it was important to let her know that at least one person was deeply appreciative of her sparing the prince's life.

I recognize that distinctive voice, she thought. It belongs to that Saiya-jin warrior who remembered me as Ultra-Violet from my street-fighting days.

Lluvia paused in her walk and tilted her head to look directly up at the Saiya-jin sergeant. To him and him alone, she raised her right hand to flash a jaunty little salute and a tired, but immensely thankful smile.

Puerro felt Cebolla lean in to whisper into his ear. "Say, hey, pal-y boy, looks to me like that ningen babe's warm for your form! I'll bet she's a real tiger in bed, too…OOF!" An irritated Puerro jabbed back into his companion's already bruised ribs with his elbow. "What'd you do that for?" wheezed Cebolla, doubling over with the renewed pain and starting to cough.

"You…dipshit!" Puerro thundered as his fellow Saiya-jin gasped for air. "You just don't fucking get it, do you? That female had the prince down for the final count and had every right as the victor to finish him off permanently; but instead, she chose to take part of her own life force and restore him to us!"

Cough! "Says you, Puerro!" Hack! "Showing mercy of any kind to an opponent during a battle is a fatal mistake! You know there can only be one outcome to an extreme duel like this!!"

The voluble argument going on between the two Saiya-jins easily pulled everyone's attention away from Lluvia, for which she was grateful. All she wanted to do was to put this behind her and begin her new life with Bardock. She turned to resume her slow, scuffling amble towards the exit and her faithful weapon. The katana had remained where she had left it, embedded in the wall, patiently awaiting reclamation by its mistress.

A few more steps and the Dragon's Kiss will be back in my hands, she thought, relieved that this bizarre episode had been finally put to rest. And then I can tumble into the nearest bed, and into Bardock's wonderfully warm embrace. My darling Saiya-jin, it won't be long now…

Lluvia was wrapped up in idyllic thoughts of her bondmate as she casually reached for the katana's emerald hilt.

((LLUVIA! BEHIND YOU!))

The psychic alert made her instinctively retract her hand and spin around on the balls of her feet, but either the telepathic warning was too late or her reaction time was too slow. The ki blast was upon her before she could summon her ki shield and, although it was rather anemic in comparison to the earlier ones, the thrown beam contained enough juice to send her brutally crashing backwards into the wall.

At the other end of the training room, Prince Vegeta drew his breaths in heavy pants, briefly winded from the exertion. He didn't have sufficient energy to stand up all the way, so he braced himself with one knee on the ground and took a swift, clumsy aim at his enemy's retreating back. The fatigue and pain made his right arm tremble like mad, but he managed to get off that single, obviously undetected shot at Lluvia. Not what he'd mark as one of his more spectacular attacks, nor what he'd call a "clean" coup either, but after everything that ningen dancer had done to him, he'd take this victory in any way he could.

"VEGETA!" "NO!" cried out several voices from above, with the loudest shouts coming from Puerro, King Vegeta, Apio, and Zarbon. Upon his restoration, the prince's hearing had also returned to normal, but he was too busy basking in his apparent triumph over Lluvia to pay heed to the numerous disapproving and angry shouts coming at him.

"I told you I'd defeat you, dancer!" he gloated in satisfaction, watching as her blast-battered body pitched slowly forward and landed face-down onto the floor. "A fool like you had to learn her lesson the hard way: Don't ever turn your back on a Saiya-jin warrior!"

Inwardly, the prince was rather surprised that he had defeated her with that last attack; he had only hoped to salvage his damaged pride a little by wounding her. After all that had happened in the battle, he had fully expected her to sense the attack before it left his hand, or turn and block it in time. Striking from behind like a coward stabbed into his pride, and winning in such a fashion would hardly serve to elevate him in his subjects' eyes; yet, he had won, even if it wasn't a victory he would ever brag about.

King Vegeta had never felt so furious and ashamed of his son. Flanking the monarch, Zarbon and Apio hovered in stunned stupefaction. Puerro shook his head, feeling a strange combination of embarrassment and shame come over him.

That was a bit of dirty pool, your highness, he observed in disgusted silence. She didn't deserve that!

All around him, the sergeant heard similar, unhappy mutterings coming from his fellow warriors.

"It's all over for her, Puerro," remarked Cebolla, placing a consoling hand on his friend's shoulder. Puerro shook his head harder in denial.

"No," he replied woodenly. "I can't believe it."

"Believe it, chum. She gave the prince a true run for his money, better than either one of us could've done…Hell! Better than anyone I've ever seen! But, you've got to face the facts; in the end, he won…just like he always does."

viii William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice)