Gone Native: Common Enemy (ch. 30) (Patreon)

In hindsight, I could admit to myself that this conclusion was blatantly obvious as a starbolt just barely missed my head and slammed into the dark orange, wind sheared stone, sending up a cloud of dust behind me. Things had started off decently enough. We arrived at the Pillars of Reconciliation. A sacred place amongst the Tamaranian people where disputes had been settled for generations.

The terrain was unique -- for as far as the eye could see, great pillars of orange rock stood tall with massive boulders stacked on top of them. Below the pillars was a deep ravine that I couldn't see the bottom of. Some of the pillars had collapsed due to time and a powerful wind that flowed through the odd mountainous region eroding the stone.

According to Komand'r, this place was perilous to those that couldn't fly. Whenever a dispute that couldn't be settled by other methods for one reason or another occurred, the two in dispute would be sent here. The journey was meant to be long and arduous, meant to prep their bodies for the task ahead. When they would arrive -- their task was to retrieve a talisman from the top of the tallest pillar, and they would be forced to rely on one another to survive. Through being forced to rely on each other to survive the treacherous terrain, the thought was that the two parties would reconcile.

Naturally, when I asked what happened when one decided to turn on the other after the talisman was retrieved, Komand'r had an answer. Both parties had to return or none. Meaning that if they failed to get along and settle their issues, the entire problem was sidestepped by banishing those with the problem in question. It seemed like a rather tidy solution.

Koriand'r had chosen her battleground well, even if it was a very different type of battlefield than I was used to. It was a place with a rich history and deeply ingrained into their shared culture. It made her intentions clear -- to reconcile with Komand'r or die trying.

However, there was one fundamental issue.

This place was only dangerous to those that couldn't fly. There was no danger of a crumbling handhold because you could just hover to the next. There was no exhausting challenge when you could lift several tons, so supporting your own body weight was no issue. There was no external pressure forcing you to rely on another, because neither Komand'r nor Koriand'r we're actually in any danger.

"This is going about as well as I expected," Robin admitted to me as we stood at the exit of the Pillars of Reconciliation. It looked similar to the entrance -- a massive stone arch that was completely covered in ancient carvings of the Tamaranian people. It had to be thousands of years old. As he spoke, one of the pillars collapsed, having been chipped away by the combined assaults of both sisters as they spiraled around the pillar taking potshots at each other.

"They just need to get it out of their system," Raven spoke, her legs crossed while she levitated in the air. "There's a lot of history between them. They need to air it out before they can move forward."

I still didn't like it, watching the crumbling rocks fall into the ravine while both sisters fought in the great plum of dust they kicked up. It reminded me far too much of the flight that I had with Vegeta. My every muscle was taunt like a coiled spring, ready to launch into action at the first sign that the fight was turning deadly. All the while, questions vied for my attention.

What ifs were the type of questions that I avoided when I could. I don't think that there was a more dangerous combination of two words than 'what if.' There were times when those questions were necessary, when planning an attack or an advance, but when applied to the past… everything was always so much clearer with hindsight. Painfully so.

What if Vegeta and I had just fought it out? What if Frieza hadn't been there? Our father wouldn't have died, and Vegeta wouldn't have gone Super Saiyan? What if I had stopped the bullet that murdered my brother?

It was so damn easy to lament about regrets and past actions. Especially when the smallest of changes could completely change the present. Would Vegeta and I have eventually reconciled after we were exhausted, beaten and bloody? After everything had been said, every argument made and point delivered? Would Vegeta listen to reason? Would he cling to his pride and his vow to either kill me or die at my hands?

Was that what that last fight had been about? The moment that Vegeta became a Super Saiyan… his transformation had been far more graceful than mine. At least, that's what I thought. Now that the memories were a little easier to bear, I could think of his final moments. The Super Saiyan transformation was a hellish one. Vegeta must have been every bit as devastated as Bardock and I.

Yet, he had been nearly calm in his final moments. Serene. He was going to sacrifice himself to give me and our race a chance to escape.

Had Vegeta intended to die at my hands when he started that fight? Right from the very beginning? Was he relying on me to give him a worthy death befitting a Saiyan prince? If so, I failed.

That was the danger of what ifs and the curse of hindsight. It was so easy to lament and brood over the past, convincing yourself that things would be different if you had done something differently, but you were fundamentally helpless to do anything about it. All you could do was convince yourself that things would get better while living with your mistakes.

A small sigh escaped me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Raven glance over at me. It was a frustrating thing to have my emotions so easily read by another, but by now, I knew that there was nothing I could do to stop her. And I could… trust that she would keep silent about what she felt.

"So… what are we going to do if they don't make up?" Beast Boy questioned as the fight between sisters dragged on. That, I had to admit, was a good question.

Robin looked to me, understanding that it was my call. "We go with plan B," I said, crossing my arms as my tail uncurled from around my waist to prop me up as I sat down with my legs crossed, mirroring Raven.

Beast Boy scratched at his head while he nodded, "And what's plan B?" he asked after a very long pause, a faint hint of suspicion in his tone.

I did have an idea. "Let me know if you come up with anything," I told him. I couldn't blame him for assuming the worst. I gave them plenty of reason to. They knew my history. They knew exactly what kind of man that I was.

"We could try something else. I don't think Koriand'r was wrong about this place. The idea behind it is a solid one -- nothing pushes people together like a common foe," Robin said, looking at me. I had a feeling that he had come to the same conclusion that I had. I had experience with it, after all.

Beast Boy cast me a doubtful look as he sat on the top of the stone arch, looking down at us. "I… don't think that's a good idea," he pointed out, also realizing what plan B was. "Tarble you're more of… well… bringing people together isn't your strong suit?" he tried, visibly swallowing down his initial statement. To that, I cast him a small shrug.

"I would argue the opposite. I've brought an entire galactic federation together," I remarked, making Beast Boy frown as he cast a look at Kid Flash, who had been walking a trench into the ground with his rapid pacing.

"Didn't they do that because they hated you?" Kid Flash pointed out, and rightfully so. The Federation did hate me. But that's not why they formed.

"Hated and feared," I corrected dismissively. "They were afraid that I would conquer them if they didn't."

"Which you were going to do," Beast Boy pointed out.

"Yes, I was. And then I conquered them anyway." The meaningless banter was a welcomed distraction, though it nearly ended poorly for Beast Boy as he almost took a stray starbolt to the back of the head. He avoided it by turning into a mouse, leaving it to fly right at me. I didn't bother to dodge, letting the starbolt slam into my body. I felt the impact like a half decent punch, but beyond a scorch mark on my clothing, I was unharmed.

I watched the two sisters. They had been fighting for hours with no sign of slowing down. If this didn't end soon, then it really might end with one of them dead. The Titans were worried, even if they tried to distract themselves from their mounting concern. They were a good team. They weren't used to doing nothing as one of their members fought.

"Will you do it?" Robin asked me, taking a step in front of me and blocking my view of the fight. I looked at him, my lips pressed together in a thin line. And, despite myself, I found myself glancing at Raven. Her ability to read emotions was far better than mine. It wouldn't be precisely wrong to say that I trusted her judgment over mine when it came to matters of emotion. It was easy to justify to myself -- she was an empath that was invested in the success of this plan, and I had proven how… inept my own judgment was when it came to gauging the reaction of others when not at war.

Raven looked at me, surprise in her eyes when she saw that I was waiting for her verdict. Her gaze lingered on me for a long moment before she closed her eyes and let out a small sigh. "I can't tell you what people will feel, just what they do. Those two… if you're going to make yourself a common enemy, then wait. They're not ready for it yet."

I chose to heed Raven's advice. The hours went by as we watched the fight unfold. The sun above slowly made it's arc across the sky, heading to the distant horizon. It wasn't a full day's worth of fighting, but it was close enough. The fight ebbed and flowed, sometimes pausing for an hour or two while both sisters recuperated. Komand'r would sometimes gain the upper hand and other times Koriand'r would. And sometimes the wind would carry their shouts as they screamed their grievances at one another in a way that was painfully reminiscent of how my brother and I argued.

The desolation to the sacred place was becoming increasingly clear. More and more stone pillars shattered underneath the blows from their fight, leaving only the tallest one that housed the talisman that they were supposed to be helping each other get standing, alone. As they fought above it, I saw that the damage wasn't just localized to the terrain. Both sisters were dirtied and bloody, yet clearly willing to keep going.

It was a stark reminder that the Tamaran people were warriors, just like my race was.

"I think they're ready," Raven spoke up, her voice soft with a tinge of sadness in it. I swallowed a sigh as I stood on my two feet. I could feel the Titans' gazes on me. They were trusting me, I realized with some faint surprise. Trusting me to see this through and help their friend. Beast Boy threw himself on the ground, acting as if he had just been beaten up. Robin, Kid Flash, and lastly Raven followed suit, all to convince Koriand'r, because them not interfering would have given the plan away. They were so good at pretending to have been defeated that it would have been amusing in any other situation. It made me wonder if it was something that they practiced on a regular basis.

I decided that I wouldn't give them reason to regret that trust. Floating up, I sailed towards the ongoing fight and took in a deep and bracing breath. This wasn't how I would have liked for this to have gone, but I shouldn't have expected anything less. Komand'r was a stubborn woman, and so was her sister. My mind shifted, my expression changing to a scowl, and I moved in a blur, blasting forward to intercept their fists as Komand'r and Koriand'r went to trade blows.

Grabbing them by the wrists, I saw both of their faces change to expressions of surprise before I hurled them both down, sending them into the stone top of one of the last surviving pillars with enough force that it shattered upon impact.

"I have had enough," I began, adopting a cold and familiar tone of voice. I crossed my arms and waited for the dust to settle, feeling their ki signatures drift down at the unexpected interruption. I… was a poor actor. I learned as much from a lifetime of starring in commercials or shows about myself.

So, I endeavored to just be myself.

"I've been generous enough to give you the time to settle your differences, but it's clear that won't happen," I told them both, my voice sounding cold to my own ears. "This will be decided the Saiyan way -- whoever survives rules." I spoke, descending down into the cloud of orange dust.

I didn't need to sense ki to find Komand'r. "You lied to me!" I heard her scream, the accusation ripping from her throat, and her tone was one of raw hate. It caught me off guard, almost to the point that I failed to dodge out of the way of her black starbolts. My head shifted, my expression tightening because she believed me. There was no doubt in her mind that I was serious. That I would lie to her that easily, and change my mind.

I didn't know if that said more about her and the doubts she held or her opinion of me.

My lips thinned as I darted forward, approaching Komand'r despite the hail of starbolts she blindly fired at me. As I neared, I saw her face was twisted into a snarl with her teeth bared, but tears leaked out of her eyes and streamed down her face. If I was a better man, the sight would have given me pause. I might have hesitated.

But I wasn't that better man. With no hesitation, I darted forward and planted a fist into her gut, folding her. There might have been a point that Komand'r might have posed a challenge to me, but that was a very long time ago. Even still, Komand'r didn't just accept the clear difference between us. She lashed out with a fist, a snarl escaping her throat. I leaned out of the way before uppercutting her with the same fist I punched her in the gut with.

Komand'r flew up, her head snapping back, and as she did so, I grabbed her by the ankle and flung her directly at her sister.

The two crashed into one another, flying through the dust cloud, and I followed them at a subdued pace. They crashed against a stone pillar, giving it a fatal crack before it began to crumble under its own weight. Both recovered quickly, and Komand'r lunged at me with a savagery fueled by betrayal. I don't think she even noticed her sister anymore as she started hurling starbolts, cursing at me in her native tongue.

This time, I let them crash against me. I wasn't in the Wrath State, much less Super Saiyan. My base form was more than enough to handle this fight now.

"Tarble!" I heard Koriand'r gasp, and I knew she spotted her friends lying on the ground, pretending to be unconscious. Her eyes flared green, until they were glowing so brightly UV light began to leak out, her lime green starbolts joining her sisters black as they sent a barrage at me. She too easily believed my sudden betrayal of my word.

I didn't like that. It felt… hurtful, I think. I didn't expect either of them to think much of me, but for them to believe so easily that I would just turn against them because of impatience didn't sit well with me at all. It reminded me too much of Frieza.

To that end, I darted forward, tanking the barrage of starbolts before lashing out at Koriand'r, my fist finding her cheek and snapping her head to the side. Komand'r made a sound that sounded like it belonged to a rabid animal before she tackled me. I let her slam me into a pillar, grabbing me by the throat as she slammed her fist into my face. It wasn't that I didn't feel the blows, I did, but I could see the damage done to her knuckles far outweighed the slight bloody nose she gave me.

"How dare you! How dare you," Komand'r bit out. Betrayal shone in her eyes in a way that I was distinctly uncomfortable with. I was forced to wonder how similar I had looked right before I murdered my team.

"Blame your own pigheadedness," I dismissed, speaking as I normally would if she were an enemy. The words tasted bitter on my tongue. I kicked out with a foot, catching her in the chest and sending her flying away from me. Koriand'r shot out, catching her sister as they both glared at me. I brushed some of the dust off of my shoulders as I floated back to the ground.

I didn't like this. I didn't like anything about this. I didn't like how easily they believed me, and I didn't like how naturally being cruel came to me.

However, I couldn't argue with results. The two sisters spoke softly to each other, leaving me unable to hear them as I extracted myself from the pillar. Despite the history and the divide between them, in no time at all they came to an agreement to unite against me. Koriand'r started hurling starbolts at me while her sister flanked out.

They knew they were no match for me, but I respected that they didn't just give up because of it. I allowed their strategy to unfold, watching Komand'r carefully out of the corner of my eye as I went on to attack Koriand'r. To my faint surprise, I watched her cup her hands together and the black UV light in her hands began to condense and swirl.

I nearly laughed at the sight.

Komand'r was stealing my techniques.

A surge of spiraling black energy raced towards me, a Spiral Buster. I reached out with a hand and caught the torrent of energy in the palm of my hand, and I quickly learned that I had underestimated its power. My hand inched back and I felt deep grooves being cut into my palm, blood trickling down my wrist. To compensate, I slipped into Stage One of the Wrath State, doubling my power instantly. With a flick of my wrist, I dismissed the attack, sending it flying into a stone pillar. Our fight had moved to a relatively undamaged section of the great forest of stone.

Komand'r was anything but pleased, glaring at me hatefully. The kind of hate that I wasn't sure could entirely be forgiven by revealing that this was just a trick. Koriand'r shouted as she sent a much more refined blast at me, acting as more of a bright green Kamehameha. This one, I dodged out of the way off before forming a small ki blast of my own and sending it up at her.

I held back, but Koriand'r took the blow hard, dropping like a rock after the explosion. Her sister rushed to cover her and I let her. For them, the battle was one of survival. To overcome me.

In a way, I had already accomplished my goal. The wording I used was the one that survived -- if Komand'r was as serious about being queen as she claimed to be, even at the expense of her sister's life, then she would have turned on Koriand'r, not saved her. And the lack of betrayal from her sister would convince Komand'r that Koriand'r was serious about not wanting to be queen.

It was for that reason that I did nothing as the two sisters adopted another tactic. They cupped their hands together while facing one another. I cocked an eyebrow as lime green light began to swirl together with dark light, forming a ball between their hands. It started off the size of a soccer ball, but it quickly swelled in size. I could feel the power in the attack as it grew and grew, quickly becoming the size of a car, before settling on the size of a hot air balloon.

I didn't know that they could make a blast that large. Komand'r's energy had never appeared to be as versatile as ki was. The fact that she had managed copy my Spiral Buster told me of the uncountable hours she had spent training her mastery over her power. The two sisters looked to me, their eyes glowing green and black. As one, they threw their arms down, sending the massive ball of UV light at me, it's surface a constant swirl of green and black. My eyes narrowed as I slid deeper into the Wrath State, reaching out with a hand and catching the ball on its surface. I felt it's tremendous power, barely restrained within. If this thing hit me in my base state, I think it would actually manage to kill me.

But I wasn't. Yet…

"I suppose you should be rewarded," I decided, letting the ball fall, driving me down. The UV light washed over me, and I felt a sharp sting across my body accompanied by a burning sensation. My clothing started to burn away, patches of it catching fire from the intense heat. My back hit a pillar, setting off a loud explosion that completely obliterated the surrounding area. From the feel of it, that was certainly a city buster level attack at the very least in terms of scope.

The light faded and I sighed. Right before I was tackled by Koriand'r who didn't restrain her speed at all, shattering the sound barrier as she traveled at FTL speeds.

"You let us win!" she cheered as I was forced to back off so she didn't splatter herself over me. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your deception!"

Ah, that was fast. I suppose me throwing the match at the end was a dead give away.

We stopped once we slowed down enough, letting Koriand'r break off her tackle hug. She gave me a wide beaming smile, radiating joy out of every pore. Komand'r trailer behind, giving a cautious amount of distance just in case. She sent a deep frown at me that seemed to grow deeper when I didn't immediately snap Koriand'r's neck.

"You lied," Komand'r accused me again, floating closer. This time, there wasn't the raw hate and betrayal behind the accusation. She sounded more exhausted than anything.

I crossed my arms over my chest and realized that the only thing that had really survived the blast was my waist cloth and what was under it. That, and my necklace. I wasn't sure how to answer, so I offered a curt nod. Komand'r's lips thinned, but Koriand'r laughed joyously.

"Sister, he lied for us. So we can be sisters again. Please do not be angry with him," Koriand'r said, reaching out and going for a hug. Komand'r instantly tensed, thoroughly dashing any hope that everything was resolved between them. However, instead of pushing her away like I expected, Komand'r very cautiously returned the hug with as little physical contact as she could manage. I don't think Koriand'r minded based on her just squeezing her sister to her even harder.

"Holy crap, they're hugging. It worked?" I heard Beast Boy question as he arrived, having transformed into a bird. He perched on Robin's shoulder, who was kept afloat by Raven. Kid Flash offered two enthusiastic thumbs up in my direction.

Komand'r extracted herself from Koriand'r's grip. "I… this…," she trailed off, a myriad of expressions crossing over her face. "I will… accept that my sister does not bear me ill will," she finally decided, and Koriand'r went for another hug, only to be stopped by a hand to the face. "But this does not resolve all of our problems. Even setting aside our… differences, there is still the matter of our people. They will not care if we have resolved our issues. They still want you as their queen and I have no intention of giving up the crown."

On that account, she wasn't wrong. Komand'r looked to me, "Thank you for what you did. And I… apologize for my temperament." she tacked on, and I simply nodded in response. "But something must be done about my people."

As much as I would have liked the issues between them to have resolved the succession crisis, I wasn't that lucky. However, now that Komand'r wasn't trying to have Koriand'r killed, we had more options.

"A co-rulership might work," I voiced, catching both of their attention. Instantly, I saw that Komand'r didn't like the idea, but she did appear thoughtful. "Komand'r, you would retain all of the power unofficially, but as far as your people are concerned, Koriand'r has a say in governing. Use their protests against them. Koriand'r can voice your more controversial decisions to soften the backlash."

Robin glanced at me, "That's… right. Not America. And you don't have laws against that." he muttered to himself, initially going to protest what amounted to deceiving the public. He didn't seem to be a big fan of it. Neither did Komand'r, though for very different reasons.

Koriand'r looked to her sister, "If it would make things easier for you, then I do not mind. But, I have no intention of ever usurping your throne."

Komand'r frowned deeply, mulling over the decision. Before, she had outright rejected the possibility. But there was a fragile trust between them now where there had only been resentment. Very slowly, Komand'r began to nod. "Details will need to be ironed out, but I… am not… completely against the idea. Nor am I willing to completely ignore any advice you might have." she added as an olive branch.

The two sisters hugged once again, initiated once more by an emotional Koriand'r, and I let out a small relieved sigh before a small but honest smile found its way onto my face.

I'm happy that they had gotten the ending that I wish I had the chance to get with my brother.