The Ballad of Neo-Serenity
"..."-Portrays speech
"What are you looking at?!", he growled. "Nothing", Serenity said softly. He pushed a number card into her hands and walked to the next person in her line. Being in line 1, Serenity had number 7. She took this opportunity to look around her a little. In all the lines, were women of all colors and nationalities. To her left was a beautiful dark-skinned woman about 22 with hazel eyes and full pretty lips. Her hair was black and wavy and came down to her shoulders. To her right was a Korean woman with dark brown almond shaped eyes, ivory skin, and long black hair down her back. Looking around more, she saw a redhead with greenish blue eyes and luscious pink lips. She also didn't miss the small Mexican woman with tan skin, brown eyes, and long chestnut brown hair.
Serenity came to the conclusion that everyone (including herself) had three things in common: they were all young, beautiful, and had a look of absolute sadness and despair in their eyes. Serenity looked around in wonder, she had never seen so many people of different nationalities in one place before. *Did they actually scour the world for us?* Serenity swallowed a cold lump in her throat and tried to be brave. She hated the number she held in her hands with all her heart. It portrayed her as nothing but a thing, nothing but merchandise to be sold at any whim. Serenity wanted to break it in half and scream at the loss of everything she had.
Celipa stood two feet away from the lines of slaves, looking for number 7: Bardock's mate number.
*So your number 7, huh?* Celipa was surprised by the beauty of the girl when she spotted her. Celipa snarled and marched up to Serenity with fiery hatred and green eyes of jealousy. Serenity swooned at feelings she got from the woman in front of her. Jealousy and hatred seemed to seep through the very pours of Celipa and into Serenity blood stream. Serenity began to back away knowing this woman was very, very dangerous as she picked up random thoughts from this woman with a boyish haircut.
Serenity silently gasped, *She wants to kill me! Why? Why is there so much anger, pain and jealousy in her? I don't know this woman at all!* Celipa grabbed her by the arm and pulled Serenity towards her. She was almost deathly calm, which frightened Serenity even more.
"Listen you bitch, Bardock is an exceptional warrior and doesn't need a slut like you staining his family name. Just the thought of your half breed bastards running around makes me sick!" Serenity gritted her teeth, she was confused as to what Celipa was talking about, but she obviously hated aliens.
"I don't know who Bardock is!"
"He's your master, whore! Weren't you listening when everything was explained to you or were you to stupid to comprehend?!"
"I was told I was for the Ou."
"The Ou himself just assigned you to Bardock and that's the only reason why I haven't blown you to pieces yet." Serenity would have sighed with relief if she hadn't been so upset. She was happy she wasn't going to the harem, but on the other hand, she still had to bear an unknown man's child. "I know for a fact the Bardock wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole, so if he somehow winds up between your legs, I'll know you're the one responsible. Then suddenly the Ou won't matter so much anymore, if you catch my drift." Serenity understood perfectly and won't challenge Celipa's authority or her vow.
"Yes I understand, I'll be good Ma'am."
Celipa smirked, *Chikyuu women, what a bunch of spineless tramps.*
"Ahhh," rang a high-pitched shriek. Everyone turned their heads to the scene unfolding before them. Kazoto grabbed Hino Rei by the arm roughly, yanking her back to him as she tried to walk away.
"Don't touch me! I hate you, you raping son of a bitch!", Rei screamed. Kazoto turned red with anger and embarrassment. A mouthy slave was a sign of poor discipline and a weak master. What happened next made Serenity's stomach turn, Kazoto hauled off and punched Rei in the face like she was a man. The force turned her whole body around as she fell to the ground. Rei screamed in pain and clutched her face, blood could be seen seeping through her fingers. Kazoto reached for Rei again and with one thought, she set his hair on fire. Everyone laughed at the sight of the frantic Saiyan yelling for someone to put him out. He was finally able to put it out on this own and set after Rei with a vengeance. Serenity could only watch as Kazoto brutalized Rei in front of hundreds of people, humiliating and hurting her beyond belief.
It's when Kazoto began to stomp on Rei that something inside of her snapped. Her blood began to boil and her heart thumped in her ears. She became blind and deaf to everything else around, focusing only on her best friend and the crazed Saiyan. Every cell in her body seemed to throb with energy, growing stronger with every blow Kazoto dealt Rei. On the outside she as angry and helpless as the other slaves, but on the inside, no one knew the psychic battle she was raging. The Saiyans seemed bored and impassive as if this were an everyday occurrence. She prayed something would happen as she began to channel her psychic energy to Kazoto forcefully. Before long, Kazoto fell to his knees, screaming in agony as he held his head. A friend of his came up to him, "What the hell's wrong with you Kazoto?" But he couldn't speak, his brain was being shocked by an unfathomable power. After an agonizing few seconds, Kazoto lay dead before Rei's feet.
Saiyans surrounded Rei and blamed her for Kazoto death, saying if she could kill Kazoto she could kill them all. Suddenly a huge shadow swallowed up Rei's, looking up she saw a giant of a Saiyan about 3 inches taller than Kazoto. His entire bulk dwarfed those around him as he stood over her. She saw that like the others around him, he wore a eyepiece with a green lens. His hair only grew around his head with none on top and she quickly decided he wasn't as handsome as Kazoto (however looks weren't everything). Shuddering at the thought of this giant hitting her, she knew that one blow from him would break her neck and kill her or give her a concussion. The strong man picked Rei up and cradled her in his gigantic arms like a child. He quickly made his way to woman with a boyish haircut who had watched the entire scene, beating and all, with disinterest.
She quirked an eyebrow at him and asked, "Totepo, what are you doing?"
"I want this one.", he said firmly. Celipa's jaw dropped, "That one?! Are you kidding?!" Totepo shook his head sternly. "She just set her master's hair on fire!"
"He was beating the shit out of her, Celipa." Celipa put her hands on her hips.
"So what?! A slave should stay in a slave's place." Totepo held Rei even tighter.
"I still want her!"
"No Totepo, it will screw up all my calculations. Your mate number is 134 and that's what you're gonna get. Look at her, she's pretty enough." Number 134 was a small shorthaired, blond girl with green eyes.
"She's prettier and has a better spirit.", he simply replied.
"Rrrrrr! Being pretty isn't the issue! She's bad mannered and ill tempered! And there's a big difference between a strong spirit and out right defiance! You deserve better, Totepo." The giant of a man stood his ground, showing he would not change his mind.
"Come on, Celipa. If it were the other way around, I'd do it for you." Giving a long sigh, she finally gave in.
"Alright, take her. I'll switch her number to 134 and your assigned mate to the next guy waiting in line." Totpeo smiled, which was a rare thing to see on his face, he usually showed no emotion at all.
"Thanks, I owe you one." Rei had listened to the whole discussion and shook with fear. She didn't want to be taken away by another one of these monsters. She wanted to fight and get away, but Kazoto had beaten her to the point of immobility. Rei couldn't even shriek as the man known as Totepo shot off into the sky with her in tow.
Bardock looked around the launch pad for the slave lines, wandering a bit further he came upon a cluster of Saiyans. Most had come to see the new slaves and claim their mates, others were either supervising or on guard duty. He saw Celipa there and smiled in her direction. She gave him a hard look before turning her back on him completely, pretending to be busy. Bardock's smile had fallen long ago and he silently wondered if Celipa would ever forgive him.
Then Bardock spotted her, number 7; she was most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Her facial features were soft and almost child-like, but her body portrayed her womanhood. Long, sliver, unpinned tresses went down to her ankles and reflected the orange sunlight like a mirror. Full pink lips were pouty and soft, almost begging to be kissed. A curvy, figure with large full breasts was barely contained by a thin, ivory dress. Her dress came to her thighs and showed off her shapely legs. She was not chubby in any way, but she had no muscle like a Saiyan woman would. Her tiny 5'5" body with a fair milky complexion was lighter than his own. Something that did not fit her goddess-like appearance were the worn sandals on her feet and Bardock made a mental note to buy her some. Wide, innocent, Chibi-like blue eyes suddenly looked at him and he felt himself almost drown in them momentarily, before he regained his senses.
Walking up to Serenity, he saw Celipa staring at him again. She was sneering at him and looking the beauty in front of him up and down with disgust. Bardock turned his face away in embarrassment, realizing Celipa probably saw him look at this woman in desire. Serenity looked at the man in front of her, *Is this my mate? He's kinda hot.*
The man had a tanned complexion with huge, sinewy muscles. His legs were thick and strong and rest of his body looked to be made of pure muscle, a thin layer of sweat had coated his skin due to heat. He had serious, angular, obsidian eyes and thick black hair stuck out in separate places with a few spiky bangs. A single crisscrossed scar lined his right cheek along with a few subtle lines of age. His body looked so perfect, it was if some had sculpted him to perfection. He wore a green eyepiece like his comrades and his armor was black with silver plates. Serenity could tell this man was much older than her, but that didn't seem to make him any less handsome. She silently wondered if Mamoru would look the same way when he got older.
*But I guess I'll never know.* She was so deep in thought, she hadn't even noticed he had walked up to her.
"So you're number 7?", he asked in a deep, husky voice that sent shivers down her spine.
"Yes. I'm Serenity, are you my mate?" He eyed her strangely.
"Of course I'm your mate, why would I speak to you if you weren't?"
Serenity bowed her head, "Gomen nasai, it's just that a woman talked to me today and I thought you were here to question me." Bardock's eyebrows furrowed.
"Woman?"
"Yes, that one." She pointed to Celipa who had her back turned, Serenity began to shudder about the woman's threats. "She threatened to kill me, if I touched you!" Bardock narrowed his eyes, Celipa had always been the vindictive type, he's have to keep an eye on her.
"Don't worry, she'll do no such thing, forget you ever met her. I'm General Bardock of the third class army, let's go."
"Go where? To your house? Are we gonna fly there?" Bardock sneered at the childish questions, *How dare they dump this child into his lap.*
"You ask too many questions, little girl.", was all he said before he wrapped his arms around her waist and flew to his estate.
~Estate of Bardock~
Serenity and Bardock touched down on a vast plain of bluish green grass and an acre away was a seemingly endless field of flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes. A huge white mansion of beautifully polished stone loomed in front of Serenity. It was two stories high and largest mansion she had ever laid eyes on. It's sheer size dwarfed all the Earth mansions she had seen and reminded her more of an ancient castle she and her family had toured, while vacationing in England. The mansion design was alien to her, but seemed close to the Colonial mansions on Earth, except more modern.
Bardock grabbed Serenity by the arm and steered her towards a white, beautifully crafted, wooden door with Vejitasei's insignia engraved on it in pure silver. Serenity watched Bardock punch in a pass code on a control panel, to the right of the door. Silently walking in once the door was unlocked, Serenity looked around in awe. The walls of the main room were a soft off-white with a brilliant ivory floor. Various white doors with glass windows led to extravagant rooms and a wide, polished, white staircase with an ivory carpet led to a second story. The main room was plain, but its vastness and spotless interior made it incredibly beautiful.
"You brats get down here!", Bardock bellowed. A young man about Serenity's age came down the steps followed by two young children. The trio came and stood almost at attention in front of their father while Bardock introduced them.
"This is my eldest, Radditz. My middle, Turles and my youngest, Kakarotto. Radditz is 21, Turles is 13, and Kakarotto is 9." Gesturing to Serenity, he said, "This is Serenity, Radditz show her to her room." Then Bardock exited through one of the many doors to his left.
Kakarotto ran up to her and asked, "Are you really a Chikyuu-jin?" Serenity smiled, she always had loved little kids.
"Yes, I am." Turles walked up and crossed his arms.
"All you Chikyuu-jins are weaklings, no wonder Chikyuu fell so easily." Serenity kept her cool even though his words tore at her heart.
"Well, we all can't be as strong as you. There are those of us who are fighters and others that are peacemakers. That's what keeps the universe at balance, what good would it be if we were all fighters and tried to kill each other every chance we got. There would be no one left to rule." Turles narrowed his eyes.
"I guess you're right." Kakkarotto tugged at the hem of her short dress to get her attention and looked at her with angular, chibi-sized eyes, "I'm hungry, make me something to eat."
Radditz stepped forward, "Not now Kakarotto, I need to show Serenity to her room." He looked to Serenity, "Come on."
After walking up the staircase and what seemed like an endless corridor, they arrived at a thick white door. "This is your room," Radditz said as he opened the door. The room was bigger as her living room on Earth and much more luxurious. It was simple, yet elegant and held all the necessities she needed. The walls were white with random silver designs and tiled white floors. Huge glass windows gave a wonderful view of the acres below as sunlight lit every crevice of her room. A white walk-in closet was filled with brightly colored dressed of all lengths. A large white bureau was at the far end of the room with an equal amount of clothing. To its left was a full-length mirror that reflected her image from head to toe. Six fluffy pillows in sliver pillowcases with the Vejitasei insignia were at the head of a King size bed. While a warm silver comforter also bared the Vejitasei sign in ivory embroidery with silvery sheets.
"It's beautiful.", was all Serenity could whisper. Radditz snapped her out of her trance.
"Yeah, I guess it is. Otoussan spent a lot of credits to fix it up for you."
Serenity looked at her feet, "What am I going to do here?"
Radditz shrugged, "I guess be a serving slave for now."
"For now? Aren't I...supposed to have your father's babies?"
"Not until he's ready." Serenity seemed puzzled by this.
"Ready? Is he already mated?"
Radditz shook his head, "Our mother died when..." Radditz trailed off as Serenity leaned over and began to look through her bureau. Radditz had got a glimpse of her panties when she bent over to far.
*Get a grip on yourself, Otoussan needs her more than I do.*
"Radditz, what were you saying?"
Huh? Oh yeah, she died on a purging mission shortly after Kakarotto was born." Instantly feeling guilty, Serenity apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it. How old are you?"
"Nineteen, why?"
"Just curiosity, that's all. Well, I'll leave you to get adjusted and I'll find out what Otoussan wants you to do." And then he left her to get better acquainted with her surroundings.
In Chapter 12, Serenity chats with Bardock.
