Jumping Sharks and Melody Pond
"Silver, I get it."
"Huh?"
Silver was taken aback by Cress' claim.
"Pain, Pride, Joy, Relief, Mourning. I get it. Isolation from emotions and alienation from absolution is the bread and butter of our life as Saiyans. We are forgiven from pomp and condemned for pain; we must conform to a diabolical existence that only seeks to hurt us and tear us asunder."
Cress understood how Silver felt, her mother – once considered a great warrior – had died in childbirth, something thought to be impossible for Saiyans, but considered disgraceful by proxy, nonetheless.
"What does that mean? Am I an idiot or did that not make a lick of sense?" Came a spiteful response from Silver.
"No, you aren't, I just… I can be bleak sometimes, but I've outdone myself. What I mean to say is that you did nothing wrong, neither did your mother. I know that won't change how you feel, and maybe my words may piss you off a little, in fact, I'm hoping they will."
"You want to make me angry? Damn, you gotta go that far too be a perfectionist nowadays? You can't think of a way to make me feel better, so you'd rather piss me off and have another win under your belt?!" Now standing up, Silver angrily spoke before glaring in search for an answer.
"Right, okay, to be expected. Now that your sadness has culminated into anger, how about we fight it out and then talk?"
Cress had done his job, enraged was a far more acceptable emotion to have on this planet, and pounding punks was a perfectly presentable pastime all the same.
'Maybe I should take my advice, I can't just sit around thinking about life anymore, telling myself I don't have the power to do shit. I'm done with that, I'm gonna do what I want from now on.'
The two had a short bout, with Cress dodging and weaving in punches until Silver finally dropped to the floor; exasperated and exhausted.
"Thanks for that Cress, I needed that."
"And thanks for using my name darling, I needed that."
"Huh? Why did you say darling like that?... Fuck it, I'm too tired. I'll take what I can get."
Cress paid no mind to his own words, nor to the words of Silver, for he was absorbed in the tune of music since the beginning of the battle. A tactic he realised helped him focus and play to the tunes of a battle, like a well-rehearsed ballet. So enamoured was he by the reliable and versatile beats of 'Another One Bites The Dust' that he subconsciously began to imitate the ever-charismatic Queen who had provided them to him.
'There's something about your music Freddie… makes me wish you had more time.'
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Kanassa, Age 725 (First day of the new year).
Four pods entered the atmosphere of the planet, covered in flames, began to stabilise, and propel towards a predetermined clearing. The planet had been analysed prior to the mission and its topography was well understood by the Saiyans undertaking the mission.
Moments later, the pods lay open, positioned at the bottom most point of the respective craters that had formed around them. The creatures that had inhabited the pods were now outside, stretching and generally acclimating to their new surroundings.
One of them - curiously enough – had a bandaged left hand with a specific spot on both ends being slightly reddened. As if the person's hand had been pierced.
This was Cress, he had taken his own advice and taken to supressing his emotions, and as such, had left on the mission without saying goodbye to his mother.
A feat that, as it just so happened, nearly left him a sobbing mess as soon as he was alone in his pod. He swiftly remedied his state of mind however, through injuring himself as a form of self-discipline.
'I have too much to accomplish right now, I have to be in control of my emotions, I'm fucked otherwise.'
"Alright, listen up. I'm going to repeat this once and only once. You have a maximum of 2 and a half years to eliminate as many of the sentient creatures on this planet as possible. The satellites and drones that we have launched in the airspace will keep track of the population and of how many you kill individually as a test of skill and ability." Said Magenta, taking a breath at this point before continuing.
"During this period, I will remain here and maintain contact with Planet Vegeta and Commander Paragus, as well as keeping this area clear as the main base for this mission. However, none of you are to come into contact with me or each other during this time, as any form of collusion is punishable by death."
Magenta groaned inwardly at this point; he knew that threats like this were barely effective against anyone but had to stick to the monotony of strict protocol like the puppet he had found himself to be.
"What if we run out of people to kill say: by tomorrow?" Broly said with a grin, he was confident in himself, but more than that, when had it ever taken the Saiyans more than a single lunar cycle to annihilate a population?
"Rules are rules. If you do manage to accomplish such an undertaking by tomorrow, I'm guessing you'll have a very boring time ahead of you. Do not forget Multi-Defence Force, the goal of this mission includes training both your combat skills and your ability to perceive and enact measures on tackling large populations. However, as you've so clearly demonstrated; vague instructions are not your bag. So, I'll make this clear…" Magenta declared in a loud and commanding voice, before leaning towards Broly with as straight a face as possible.
"Take the time to look at your target before you start flinging dung, okay monkey?"
"Disregarding the diminutive prejudice, how about we skedaddle Magenta? Leave you to yer Saiyan-slaying wet dreams. Really let ya get it out of yer system." Cress retorted, taking some offense at the low blow.
"Funny kid. You aren't wrong though, alright Monkey Death Force, your mission begins now. FUCK OFF!" Amused, Magenta got one last blow in before pulling rank and scattering the savage Saiyan youth under his charge.
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About an hour later.
Cress wakes up in a cave, his head fuzzy as he nurses a bruise to the back of his head.
"Who the fuck was that? And what do you want?!" Screamed the young Saiyan, noting that the fear he was entitled to did not manifest, and he was instead left with the seething rage that so often resonated with his people.
"You know, coming from someone who fully intended to participate in genocide… you know what, never mind, I'd be surprised if you weren't a hypocrite." Came a wizened voice, from a source yet to be identified by Cress.
"As much as I could use the speech, would you believe that I didn't have much of choice in the matter? Speaking of not having a choice; is there a reason behind my current circumstance? Or do you just get off on kidnapping napping kids?" Cress scanned his whereabouts but seeing that there was no clear escape from his surroundings, nor any sign of where the voice was coming from, he begrudgingly ascertained that his escape would be determined by wit.
"I get it, I'll do you a favour you never did me, and I'll cut the shit… what a vulgar expression that is, anyway, I know you know what we are. I know you know we can see into the future, and I know you. Full stop. Far more than you can currently imagine." Said the voice, clearly expecting surprise from Cress, but became silent when Cress merely sighed in defeat.
"I'm not an idiot, I know I'm in a weird situation, and I knew that shit would only get weirder on this planet. I also know that there is no way for me to completely understand my situation right now, I know that this is pathetic, but I am just going with the flow. Kill me, let me live, give me vague indications about the future, do whatever you want. I'll do what I know best and stick to the things I have come to love, not some paltry promise of fate that will deliver me to the whims of some arbitrary God. Fuck that. I'm me, and I'll be sticking to that thank you."
"…well put kid. I guess the whole Reggie thing makes more sense now. Oh wait, never mind. I'll just do what I came here to do kid; repay a favour to you, no more, no less." Retorted the voice, unable to help let slip something that was best left unsaid.
"I'm not even surprised anymore, just tell me your name so that we're even."
"Pretty presumptuous of you… again. My kind don't need names, we have a telepathic link and a shared understanding of chronology, but that didn't stop you from calling me Poke. So, stick to it."
"You have your fun? Fair enough, now I'm guessing it's Poke-sensei?" Cress calmed as the pain on the back of his head faded. Standing up now, now with a new vigour to grasp at the control he had yearned for.
"Bingo! I'm going to enjoy myself this time round. I'm glad I didn't let ya call me River Song like you wanted me to… what a stupid name."
"…oh fuck me!" Cress stood stunned.
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As Cress was suffering a mild case of bewilderment, a stroke of fate, also known as contrivance, made it so that a figure stood with the very same expression at the mission control in Kanassa.
"Excuse me Paragus… but what the fuck is wrong with you?"
Screamed Magenta, only for his query to be shot down by the laughs of what could only be described as a madman.
*END OF CHAPTER 6*