DBZ Story #4: "Berter Beginnings: A Ginyu Force Outlook"

Part 27


"Keep pushing, Neizu. You're almost there."

Her barely encompassing fingers gripped tightly to his hand as she bore down again, trying to force the product of that night out of her body. In the early morning hours when the sun first awoke, she sat there in the homey little nest she and her father had constructed, trying with all her might to expel the object.
Her husband, that Ginyu Force man, knelt right beside her in support, as a good husband should. Exhausted, she gave one last mighty push, and with a soft 'thud,' out dropped the egg into the feather-linen cushion. Neizu breathed a grand sigh of relief and rested her head on her mate's shoulder, taking in deeply the air as sweat bullets played around her brow and face.

"You did it, my Neizu," he whispered, forming a ring around her waist. "We are now at the halfway point to becoming nurturers." Berter scooped his drained Neizu in his arms and placed her gently on their bed. He looked down on her, glowing with sweat, and sighed wistfully. The gods must have loved him to give him such a gift as her. "Rest here. I'll go to pick some fruit for you." He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then exited the homestead to the Zipan tree grove.

Not more than a few minutes after his departure, heavy footsteps plunked themselves inside the house and towards the bedroom. Neizu, resting quietly, caught earshot of the sound and called out. "Berter?"

The footsteps stopped, and the figure, presumed by her to be Berter, stepped through the doorframe. "So, I am at the right place…"

Before she could react, the man advanced on her, placing one large hand over her mouth and pinning her to the bed with the other. Tired as she was, she struggled with what remaining energy she had, punching and clawing at the assailant's chest and neck. These actions only served to bring her more misfortune, however, as he took from his back pocket a hunting knife and slashed her face just below the eyes. She screamed in agony as the sharpened metal mauled her skin and her blood stained her clothing and bedsheets below, but her muffled shrieks did not sway the attacker. He turned her over and repeatedly stabbed her in the back and sides, the uncaring knife splitting her flesh, spilling red tears, again and again and again…

…He smelled blood, once again coming from the homestead. Berter dropped the Zipan fruits he'd collected and dashed home with Godspeed. The closer he got, the stronger the smell became. He grew more anxious by the second. Had another animal attacked? When he finally reached their plot, the structure was intact. Still unnerved, the male rushed inside the home, which reeked of blood. He moved down the hall like a charging rhino, trying to get to his—

"Neizu!!!" By the gods, what's happened?! He leapt to her bedside, sheets soaked in her life's blood, to find her pale and growing cold, her face, with eyes closed, drained of life. The male repeatedly cried out her name, hoping, wishing that she would stir, that her eyes would open, just… anything…

He got his wish. She opened her eyes, bruised and half-lidded, and forced her bloodied face to smile. "Berter……"

"Neizu..!" He blinked back his tears and clasped her hands in his. "I… I'm so glad…… Neizu, who did this to you..?"

She sighed. It was taking so much out of her… "I don't know… He arrived… just after you'd gone."

"Never fear," he breathed, preparing to gather her in his arms. "I'll take you to the medic, and everything will be fine."

"Don't bother," said Neizu with a melancholy smile. "I've lost too much blood already."

His jaw hung open slightly and his lip quivered. "No!" Berter protested. "You still have time! Please..! …Please, my Neizu…… I…"

"I'm so very tired, Berter, and I hurt. Just give me my peace… and let me die here."

He didn't want to hear what she had just said. He opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't. He just wasn't able to anymore. His throat choked itself and anything more he had to say would be trapped in its constricting muscles. She turned her head to him and breathed softly, "…Our child is safe."

He hadn't noticed. Berter swung his head in the direction of the laying space, the egg still sitting there, relatively undisturbed. Her heavy sigh brought his attentions back to her. With her eyes now shut and head reared toward the ceiling, she smiled a sad little smile and, barely above a whisper, said to him her final words:

"I wanted to tell you this… before you left… but I… was just so… tired…… Berter…. My Berter, I… I love…y--"

Her heart stopped, and her head fell.

He just knelt there, not fully grasping what had transpired. She was telling him something, and then she stopped just short. Now she wasn't breathing…

My Berter, I love you.

He gasped, the shock finally settling in. She was dead. His Neizu, that beast-woman he had talked with and fought with and lay with… was… dead…? He quickly removed his hands from her lifeless pair and looked around the room frantically, as if for an answer as to how to fix her. Whatever it was, he didn't find it, and to see her body lying there, knowing that she'd never fight or hunt or be there with him ever again…

"I was your Berter and you loved me… Neizu, I knew. You didn't have to tell me… I…I already knew…"

He buried his face in her rhythmless chest and sobbed quietly, his water mixing with her blood and dancing to stain both their skins. For this woman, whom he never wanted to be with in the first place, he was now pouring his heart out over. It wasn't fair. Gods shouldn't be able to take back their gifts. It just wasn't fair…..

"Do you like what I did to your wife, Berter of Kyôrusan?"

That voice…

He knew that voice…

As the steps of that person whom had just callen out faded, Berter dashed after him. He took chase to the outside, the person already coming up on the horizon. He wouldn't get away; he had Tokage speed, too. Pushing off, he bounded the distance easily, the ground below a blur as he flew in pursuit of his beloved's attacker. He caught the man by surprise by landing in front of him, striking quickly to grab his neck and slam him to the ground. Berter lumbered over him for a minute, breathing heavily through clenched teeth and face twisted in a sneer. The other party, a little jarred from the impact but fine for the moment, lifted his head and made eye contact, mouth turning slightly upward. "Hello, friend Berter," was all he said, and Berter's eyes widened in shock. There in the dirt, clamped in his fist, was that most hated rival…

"Jerin!!" He barked, his face streaked with tears. "You did this?!"

"Yes, sire," Jerin replied with a non-chalant air. "It would have been done sooner, with the Razher dino I captured then unleashed, but you came, to my annoyance. I killed Tage, too, the fat fool. Are you angry?"

Angry? He was seething. To kill his mate and his best friend? "I only killed Tage because I couldn't stand the thought of him violating my beautiful sister," the killer continued. "…Do you know what it's like to love a woman, Berter?"

"How…How dare you…" He clenched his fist so tightly that he drew blood from the back of Jerin's neck, its owner grimmacing a bit. As much as he wanted to rip into him, he couldn't budge, paralyzed with rage.

"I love Rico with all my heart. Since our childhood, all I wanted was to be her mate someday. Fate didn't deal me that card, so I decided to mark the deck. Aah, Berter, it felt so nice to finally be inside her, thrusting as she screamed her pleasure beneath me…"

"If she screamed, it was only because you were raping her," growled the widower.

Jerin did not take well to the comment at all. "What do YOU know?!?" He hollered, leaning forward to meet Berter's face, but was promptly put back in place and slammed to the earth.

"I know that if you hadn't hate us so, you could have had your sister..! Had you only thrown your match with Tage, you could have placed third to meet her! Everything that's happened, you've brought on yourself!"

"No… NO!! That's not true! It's your fault!! Everything is YOUR FAULT!!"

That was the straw that broke his back. Whipping out his knife, soiled with the blood of both Tage and Neizu, he plunged it into Berter's side, its owner crying out and relinquishing his grip on the assailant. Like a tiger, Jerin pounced quickly and without warning, going straight for the juggular and putting the other male to the dirt. He then began smashing his fists into his face mercilessly, recalling the days of Adulthood Camp and riding the nostalgic waves of the situation.

With each of Jerin's attempts to cause him more pain, he recalled every single time he had wronged him, from the beatings of years past to making an attempt on his life in the Regional Championships to killing his wife and best friend… Did he even know what it meant to hurt? He'd find out today.

Not giving him a chance to go any further, Berter bucked his head against his foe's, a sharp hiss escaping the latter's lips. Before Jerin could even lift a hand to comfort the pain, he plowed his fist into the murderer's face, the force sending him hard to the ground and his front teeth against the back of his throat. Jerin writhed in the dirt, his hands covering his face as he wriggled and groaned on the grass. Quickly, the Force member pounced on the disabled, successfully securing his arms and legs. The offender pulled every which way to try and escape his grip, but to no avail. "Tell me why," the Berter growled in his deepest tone. "Why did you kill them…?"

He spat out the enamel shrapnel. "I wanted you to hurt."

"But why? What have I ever done to you?!"

Jerin sighed and cast his head to the sky. "…My father abandoned us when we were children."

"What does that have to do with me?!"

"You both share the same name."

Berter's anger increased fiftyfold. Those years of torture at his hands, the murders of his wife and best friend, all because he had the same name as his irresponsible father..?!?! Roaring, he grasped Jerin by the neck and threw his body like a rag doll into the sky.

"RRAAAAAH!!!"

Forming a sizeable ki ball, he launched it rightfully to the airborne assailant, ending in a great explosion to add light to the early morning skies. As he watched Jerin's ashes fall from the air, he fell to his knees and began to cry. Even if he killed him, it wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't bring back Neizu, Tage, or his Marzipan, just another death by his hands… But he couldn't cry for long. His child— their child—needed to be taken care of. Berter looked at his hands, filthy with sweat and dirt and the blood of millions, and made the hardest decision of his life.



He placed the egg, still in its space, on their stoop, knocked on the door, and flew away, just like that. His mother had answered the door, looking about the area when she discovered noone on the other side. Then, just so happening to look down did come to her surprise: an egg with note attached?

Most Respectable Nurturers,

My mate is dead, my best friend is dead, but my child survives. Please, I have murdered millions, and my hands are too stained to rear mine own offspring. This is the last letter I will send to you, for I am departing from this planet, though not in death. Rather, I am departing for the sake of life. If, when the child hatches, it is female, name her 'Roderin.' Otherwise, 'Lôdenrok' is suitable. Forgive me for not meeting with you in person, but I pain already for my dead wife and my motherless child. I have already sent notice to my Neizu's nurturers of the situation, so please only worry about little Roddy or Lôden for now. …Think well on me, when you will.

Your Most Dishonorable Son,

Berter

The older female gaped. Covering her mouth and shaking her head in a devastated disbelief, she called desperately for her husband. Meanwhile, overhead, Berter prayed to his gods that his nurturers would forgive him for his actions, but they stopped listening to him a long, long time ago.

Space was all that was left for him at that point. He returned to 79 with a heavy heart, and dragged his feet to his quarters, much in the way he did every time he returned. And as always, Recoom was the first one he ran into.

"Hey, B!" Recoom raised his hand to greet him. "Whatcha doin' back so early? Trouble in paradise?" He laughed. Unbeknowst to the behemoth, he was treading on thin ice, and was steadily bearing more and more weight on it with each passing second. "Hey, Hey! What's the matter? Your girl givin' you the cold-shoulder? Tough break…" Recoom laughed it up again. When Berter still remained silent, he patted him on the back and said, "Aw, c'mon, buddy! Cheer up! At least you didn't get her pregnant, or maybe you did. No wonder you look so serious! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha—GRK!!!"

The ice broke. Without warning, Berter lashed out at the behemoth, clutching him by the neck. "You LOUSE!!" He slammed his body against the corridor wall, then knelt to the floor and began pummelling Recoom's face. "How dare you!!" He roared. "She was my mate!! You know nothing of what we had!! You know NOTHING!!!" Seething and angry and yelling unintelligible things, he let his fists collide with the behemoth's face again and again and again, taking an unconscious note that his blood matched his eyes. But he didn't stop there. Oh, no, this couldn't be forgiven. Grabbing a fistful of his hair, the Tokage repeatedly smashed Recoom's face against one of the violet-tinged windows, his face molding according and leaving a few spots of blood behind.

The members of the Ginyu Force were rarely far apart from each other. From the opposite end of the corridor came Jeice, Guldo, and the good Captain himself, back from the bar and looking for the behemoth. Soon, the sounds of fists fitting bone filled their ears, and to their surprise upon travelling further down, they found their Berter beating the crap out of Recoom.

"BERTER!!" The Captain cried out. The Tokage looked up sharply at his superior, the behemoth still in hand, with a mixture of fear and rage on his face, mostly rage. The behemoth seized this opportunity to get away before he got a chance to attack him again. Recoom, with split gum and broken nose, knocked away the larger being's fist, losing a few hairs in the process, and dashed to join the others. Instead of lunging at him again, Berter reared his arm back, preparing to deliver a ki blast.

"Guldo! Restrain him!" Commanded the captain. Telekinesis was indeed perfect for the situation. In the nick of time, he was rendered immobile. Try as he might, he couldn't budge, frozen in the attack position but unable to initiate. He was able to move his head just enough to look down in the frog's direction, his teeth fully bared and shot him a look that conveyed the message that if he had half the chance he'd kill him for this. The Bas-jin looked on, somewhat intimidated but remaining calm. "Berter…" Ginyu walked up to him, arms crossed and looking cross, and backhanded him across the face. If he didn't feel anything else, he certainly felt that. "What the hell is your problem..?"

The Tokage hung his head in defeat. "…None of you knew…" He spoke in voice choked with sadness. "Not one of you… We were going to have… a beautiful, little girl… a fine, young son……" His tears of sorrow and regret re-familiarized themselves with his face, and the other Ginyus looked on as he wept without shame.

Ginyu decided it best not to question what was behind his outburst, as Recoom came to him and explained that it was his fault. Something had obviously happened with his mate or his kid or whatever on Hachuurui, and when/if he was ready to divulge, he would: That's what he figured. Berter never told them, though, about that day, and even though he vowed never to return to his home planet, he did, anyway, once every year, on the anniversary of Neizu's death. He'd go back to that abandoned homestead and pay his respects, praying to deaf gods for her and Tage and even his Marzipan. To his surprise, he found several letters lying on his stoop, all from his mother, holding out hope that maybe, by chance, her son would return and happen upon them. They all held the topic of his little girl—the one he had wished for, his Roderin, to his complete happiness—on how big she had gotten and how mischievous she was, how she looked just like her father, and so on, and so forth. He had promised himself he'd write a letter to them all one day, when his hands were finally clean. But of course, that day would never come, not so long as he was in Freeza's ranks. And so, the years passed. One, two, three, four…

"Berter! 'Ey, Berter, get up, would ya!!"

He shot up from his bed, fist drawn back as usual. Jeice just chuckled this time, far away enough to not have to worry about a bunch of knuckles in his face. "Didn't you here the announcement?" He asked, though Berter obviously hadn't. "C'mon, we've got an assignment! Suit up!"

"Where're we headed?" The Tokage inquired while throwing his battle jacket over his head

"Meh. Some backwater place called Namek. Everyone else is already at the launching docks, so hustle up, brother!"

"Wait up!" Dashing, he mounted scouter to his face and ran off to face the awaiting frontier, just as always.

To My Most Respectable Nurturers and the Daughter I Hope to Meet Someday,

Greetings, my family. It has been many a year since that day I swore never to return to the planet, but despite myself, I've been coming back regularly. Many thanks to you, mother, for writing on the status of my daughter. Father, many thanks to you for being a father to Roderin in my absence. And to you, Roderin, my little Roddy, please don't despise me too much, for there isn't a day that goes by that I don't dream of the life that I would have liked to have with you and your mother, all three of us under our planet's red sky. Please don't ever think that I abandoned you. I wanted you to be with your family—your trueblood family—and give you a chance to live. Your mother on the Light Level loves you very much, as do I. When my hands are clean, I'll come and see you. Until that day…

Your Most Undeserving Offspring/Father,

Berter

He was glad that this year, he was able to send a letter. After Namek, he wouldn't be sending anymore.


FIN


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