11-18-2017, 03:16 AM
A dimming fire crackled by Koola's feet. He grabbed a thick chunk of wood at his side and threw it into the flames. Slowly the orange tongues licked and climbed over its new fuel, cracking with spurts of glowing embers. He clawed at the cooling sand with his toes and poked the unconscious assassin with his finger right in the ribs.
Hard.
His body rolled and flopped back.
Koola looked up at the stars. Not long ago he was floating through the inky expanse, devouring planets for his own sustenance. He had always been a world-ender but not on a scale that required it for him to live. As much as he loved having sensation back, he missed the overwhelming power that the Big Gete Star imparted to him. He glanced at the assassin. He would have fallen much faster. A stab to the shoulder would have been instantly repaired. He rolled his scalded shoulder. It still ached.
Koola filled his lungs and jetted air out his nostrils.
How would his brother handle this situation? The assassin would likely be dead, possibly dismembered for the sake of it, and Frieza would be on his merry way, believing any future assassin would share a similar fate. Maybe if another attempt on his life was made, he would go to greater lengths to find out the one paying for the hits, but probably not. His rage and indignation knew no bounds and easily overrode his intelligence.
A groan escaped the lips of the assassin.
Koola stood and slammed his heel over his captive's throat. His three-toed feet clasped the neck like a hand, strangling him enough to labour his breathing without outright suffocating him. His middle toe slapped directly over the assassin's mouth and nose.
"About time you woke up."
Hands grabbed for weapons, but Koola had disposed of them into the sea a few hours ago. Instead they came for the changeling prince. The assassin balled his fists and hammered on Koola's legs. The hits were firm but powerless. Maybe he was choking the human too hard. No matter. It was more incentive for him to come clean before he passed out for the last time.
"I've wasted an inordinate amount of time waiting for you to regain consciousness," Koola said, leaning over to stare the assassin in the eyes. "Now I'm a reasonable emperor. I know you were only doing your job. I can respect that. I don't pass judgement on what you do. My own line of work has led to the death of trillions. But they were all insignificant. They were road blocks, obstacles to my objectives. As, I'm sure, were most if not all of your past targets. Unfortunately for you, you've encountered someone much more significant than you could have realised."
The assassin stared at him with bloodshot eyes, his fingers trying to dig beneath Koola's toes. He could feel the rasping breaths brush over the skin of his foot.
"But, as I said, I'm reasonable. You took a contract and you didn't know anything about the target. How could you? I'm brand new to this dimension. So if you are willing to give me the information I am politely requesting, you can go back to killing people for profit without any ... disabling injury. I don't care how you get out of my contract. Fake your death, change your name ... it's up to you. Use your imagination."
"But if you don't respond to my request in the affirmative and to my liking ... well, I'm sure the carnivorous creatures of the sea would love to dine on a half alive, fully conscious meal. That's assuming I don't decide to take you apart myself." Koola straightened his back and lifted his middle toe. "So, how do you respond, human?"
The assassin took in a gasping breath. Koola allowed him time to regain his composure.
"If I give that away, I'll never get another contract. Assassins need to be secretive for a reason."
"If you don't give it away, you'll never get another contract for an entirely different reason," Koola said, baring his teeth. "And the longer you make me wait, the more likely I'll change my mind and torture the information out of you instead."
The assassin scowled. "You don't get it."
He grabbed a handful of sand and flung it in Koola's eyes.
"You bastard!" Koola growled, taking a step back. He frantically rubbed the grains out of his eyelids and blinked back the pieces that clung stubbornly to his lashes.
Focusing his sight, he spotted the assassin sprinting deeper into the palm tree jungle. The black of his costume hid him well in the dark of the night and shadows but Koola could still see him.
Koola exploded from the ground like a bullet and weaved through the palm trees, his purple aura blazing around his body. The flaring light illuminated the trees as they approached and shone on the fleeing assassin. Koola laid down a burst of speed and shouldered his quarry in the back, sending him tumbling over the ground.
Scowling, Koola landed by the assassin and coiled his tail around the human's neck. He lifted him to eye level.
"I was reasonable!" Koola yelled, slamming a fist into the assassin's stomach. "I gave you a way out!" Another punch to the gut. "All I asked for was a name!"
Koola hurled the assassin into a palm tree, shuddering the trunk. He stalked up to him, his body slumped. Reaching down, Koola grabbed the human's hand, the one that threw the sand.
"The remarkable thing about humanoid biology is that it tends to be the same across many alien species," Koola said, his voice low. "As long as you have a skeleton, muscles, bones and nerve endings, they will typically be uniform as others who share your attributes. It makes it tremendously easy for people like me who need to inflict pain."
Koola twisted the hand in a jerking motion. A crack sounded from the human's wrist and he cried out.
"Now that hand won't be useful for a while. If you'd like to have a left hand into the future, answer my question now. Otherwise you'll be fitting a prosthesis."
Blood ran down the assassin's chin. "F-fine. I'm not going to d-die for the fat prick. His name is Godfrey Rolsin."
"Finally. You had to make this hard on yourself, didn't you?" Koola said, though the name didn't ring any bells. "Where can I find him?"
"He runs the Rolsin Trading Company. It's based out of Costa del Sol. Look up the company and you'll find him."
"Why did he want me dead?" Koola could guess; maybe he was someone the changeling prince killed in his home universe, got a second chance just as Koola had and looked to even the score.
The assassin shrugged, cradling his broken wrist. "Reasons don't matter for hits. I just ask for the target name and description. Don't care what you did to him."
"That makes two of us," Koola said. He sized up the assassin for a long, quiet moment. "I can't decide if I'll kill you or not. You openly defied me and definitely have a grudge against me now, but you did capitulate, even if it was after I snapped your bones."
The assassin eyed Koola. To his credit, he didn't beg for his life.
Koola spat into the sand. "Get out of here. If we cross paths again, I will kill you."
The assassin stood shakily using the palm tree as support. His lips parted, but if he planned to speak, he thought better of it. He turned and limped away.
Once Koola saw the assassin's form dissolve into the black of night, he hovered into the sky, the leaves of the palm trees brushing over his shoulders. The day had taken its toll. A violet aura engulfed him and he sped towards Costa del Sol to spend another night in a luxury hotel at the expense of his mysterious benefactor.
Hard.
His body rolled and flopped back.
Koola looked up at the stars. Not long ago he was floating through the inky expanse, devouring planets for his own sustenance. He had always been a world-ender but not on a scale that required it for him to live. As much as he loved having sensation back, he missed the overwhelming power that the Big Gete Star imparted to him. He glanced at the assassin. He would have fallen much faster. A stab to the shoulder would have been instantly repaired. He rolled his scalded shoulder. It still ached.
Koola filled his lungs and jetted air out his nostrils.
How would his brother handle this situation? The assassin would likely be dead, possibly dismembered for the sake of it, and Frieza would be on his merry way, believing any future assassin would share a similar fate. Maybe if another attempt on his life was made, he would go to greater lengths to find out the one paying for the hits, but probably not. His rage and indignation knew no bounds and easily overrode his intelligence.
A groan escaped the lips of the assassin.
Koola stood and slammed his heel over his captive's throat. His three-toed feet clasped the neck like a hand, strangling him enough to labour his breathing without outright suffocating him. His middle toe slapped directly over the assassin's mouth and nose.
"About time you woke up."
Hands grabbed for weapons, but Koola had disposed of them into the sea a few hours ago. Instead they came for the changeling prince. The assassin balled his fists and hammered on Koola's legs. The hits were firm but powerless. Maybe he was choking the human too hard. No matter. It was more incentive for him to come clean before he passed out for the last time.
"I've wasted an inordinate amount of time waiting for you to regain consciousness," Koola said, leaning over to stare the assassin in the eyes. "Now I'm a reasonable emperor. I know you were only doing your job. I can respect that. I don't pass judgement on what you do. My own line of work has led to the death of trillions. But they were all insignificant. They were road blocks, obstacles to my objectives. As, I'm sure, were most if not all of your past targets. Unfortunately for you, you've encountered someone much more significant than you could have realised."
The assassin stared at him with bloodshot eyes, his fingers trying to dig beneath Koola's toes. He could feel the rasping breaths brush over the skin of his foot.
"But, as I said, I'm reasonable. You took a contract and you didn't know anything about the target. How could you? I'm brand new to this dimension. So if you are willing to give me the information I am politely requesting, you can go back to killing people for profit without any ... disabling injury. I don't care how you get out of my contract. Fake your death, change your name ... it's up to you. Use your imagination."
"But if you don't respond to my request in the affirmative and to my liking ... well, I'm sure the carnivorous creatures of the sea would love to dine on a half alive, fully conscious meal. That's assuming I don't decide to take you apart myself." Koola straightened his back and lifted his middle toe. "So, how do you respond, human?"
The assassin took in a gasping breath. Koola allowed him time to regain his composure.
"If I give that away, I'll never get another contract. Assassins need to be secretive for a reason."
"If you don't give it away, you'll never get another contract for an entirely different reason," Koola said, baring his teeth. "And the longer you make me wait, the more likely I'll change my mind and torture the information out of you instead."
The assassin scowled. "You don't get it."
He grabbed a handful of sand and flung it in Koola's eyes.
"You bastard!" Koola growled, taking a step back. He frantically rubbed the grains out of his eyelids and blinked back the pieces that clung stubbornly to his lashes.
Focusing his sight, he spotted the assassin sprinting deeper into the palm tree jungle. The black of his costume hid him well in the dark of the night and shadows but Koola could still see him.
Koola exploded from the ground like a bullet and weaved through the palm trees, his purple aura blazing around his body. The flaring light illuminated the trees as they approached and shone on the fleeing assassin. Koola laid down a burst of speed and shouldered his quarry in the back, sending him tumbling over the ground.
Scowling, Koola landed by the assassin and coiled his tail around the human's neck. He lifted him to eye level.
"I was reasonable!" Koola yelled, slamming a fist into the assassin's stomach. "I gave you a way out!" Another punch to the gut. "All I asked for was a name!"
Koola hurled the assassin into a palm tree, shuddering the trunk. He stalked up to him, his body slumped. Reaching down, Koola grabbed the human's hand, the one that threw the sand.
"The remarkable thing about humanoid biology is that it tends to be the same across many alien species," Koola said, his voice low. "As long as you have a skeleton, muscles, bones and nerve endings, they will typically be uniform as others who share your attributes. It makes it tremendously easy for people like me who need to inflict pain."
Koola twisted the hand in a jerking motion. A crack sounded from the human's wrist and he cried out.
"Now that hand won't be useful for a while. If you'd like to have a left hand into the future, answer my question now. Otherwise you'll be fitting a prosthesis."
Blood ran down the assassin's chin. "F-fine. I'm not going to d-die for the fat prick. His name is Godfrey Rolsin."
"Finally. You had to make this hard on yourself, didn't you?" Koola said, though the name didn't ring any bells. "Where can I find him?"
"He runs the Rolsin Trading Company. It's based out of Costa del Sol. Look up the company and you'll find him."
"Why did he want me dead?" Koola could guess; maybe he was someone the changeling prince killed in his home universe, got a second chance just as Koola had and looked to even the score.
The assassin shrugged, cradling his broken wrist. "Reasons don't matter for hits. I just ask for the target name and description. Don't care what you did to him."
"That makes two of us," Koola said. He sized up the assassin for a long, quiet moment. "I can't decide if I'll kill you or not. You openly defied me and definitely have a grudge against me now, but you did capitulate, even if it was after I snapped your bones."
The assassin eyed Koola. To his credit, he didn't beg for his life.
Koola spat into the sand. "Get out of here. If we cross paths again, I will kill you."
The assassin stood shakily using the palm tree as support. His lips parted, but if he planned to speak, he thought better of it. He turned and limped away.
Once Koola saw the assassin's form dissolve into the black of night, he hovered into the sky, the leaves of the palm trees brushing over his shoulders. The day had taken its toll. A violet aura engulfed him and he sped towards Costa del Sol to spend another night in a luxury hotel at the expense of his mysterious benefactor.