Sooooo ...

To save myself these stupid resolutions for the new year, I'll post the chapter this year. Yes, I still exist! Thank you very much for your support, even if it has not yet been reflected in the comments section. Ayame is now also available in the fanart area, as promised. Just take a look at my "arts" characters. I'd rather not look to see when I posted the last chapter, it's just too embarrassing! So excuse me very much and since I don't have any good excuses either, all that remains for me is to wish you a lot of fun with this chapter! Oh yes, I just wrote the last two paragraphs under the influence of possibly too much homemade sloe wine ...

Still: Enjoy !!!

No. 6 - Expect the unwanted and other fates

Life isn't fair. It's just fairer than death, that's all.
William Goldman

“Aaaargh!” Frantically blazing flames played around her body, suddenly grew larger and then flew away without spark.Crackling balls of energy formed in each hand and her muscles continued to tense. With very deep-seated anger, Ayame hurled the blasts away from him, instantly let new ones appear and fired them in the opposite direction. Only a dozen meters away they bounced off an invisible obstacle and raced back to the sender without braking. She blocked the ki balls, deflected them until they found their way again to the spherical barrier built around Ayame. She repeated the game several times, giving the blasts more energy and speed, adding new ones while trying to maintain cover.

Her muscles revolted and it was difficult for her to coordinate her movements. The blood rushed through her veins, deafeningly loud. Unbridled anger raged throughout her body, turning off her thinking and pushing her to the limit. Her ki rose immeasurably, but she couldn't take the decisive step - she wasn't getting any faster.This realization made her anger grow more than it should be. How was she ever going to defeat an opponent if she continued to move at a snail's pace? Days and nights of uninterrupted training were behind her - with no progress. Her body had reached its limits. With a sweeping arm movement, she tore a ki-blast from its path and at the same time had to grit her teeth in pain. She could feel every single muscle fiber excruciatingly. It got worse with every movement.

Far from logical thinking, Ayame fiercely resisted defeat. Her lungs screamed under the torture and for a single blink Ayame let go of her cover to stop the pain. That was clearly too much time, because instantly cascades of pain exploded in her left arm, triggered by an unerring blast. She lost the feeling in her fingers and at the same time lost control of her five senses.Before any worried thoughts could arise, she was hit in the back by a second blast. Ayame felt a few ribs give way almost silently and dig into her bowels. Her overworked body no longer responded to her commands, but she had long since lost track and was defenseless against the numerous energy balls. Two of the remaining ki balls hit her at the same time, rendering her unconscious.

Ayame felt empty, as if her mind had been neatly swept behind a wall that she could not break through or bypass. Her skull thundered relentlessly and in her left arm just below the elbow she felt a pulsating numbness. Her whole body seemed so far away, her limbs barely under her control, and the strangest thing was, it didn't even bother her much.

Only slowly did her senses pass on some information to her consciousness. She was lying in a bed that was much too soft, her body wrapped in a light blanket.With an effort, she opened her eyes and blinked, disoriented, into the dim semi-darkness that surrounded her. At this point at the latest she should have been restless, but nothing happened. Her thoughts crept through her head as calmly as before, her heart beating unimpressed and her breathing was regular. A big, black nothing yawned at her instead of a past.

She couldn't see very much over the edge of her bed, because her gaze was obscured in a strange way. A very narrow shadow rose to her right, but she could not see it more clearly. Her left arm was bandaged and splinted on the blanket. Still no feeling had returned to the fingers.

A strange, fine tug on the back of her hand drew her attention back to the right side. Her gaze caught on a cannula that disappeared into a vein in the back of her hand.[i]That's the reason, she thought almost indifferently.Whatever is in there, I have to get rid of it.

Using all her strength, Ayame raised her right hand and, for lack of alternatives, gripped the cannula with her teeth before lowering her hand again. With a slight movement, she wiped the needle off the bed.

This action alone had brought her to the limit of her strength. Thanks to the strong pain reliever and sedative that was apparently still having an effect on her body, Ayame sank back into the pillows and immediately drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Shuffling footsteps echoed in her ears, came closer, and fell silent. She heard a low cursing followed by a barely audible clang. Her thoughts became clearer and she remembered the strange bed in which she had awakened. With the memory she awakened something else: This something tugged penetratingly and very painfully at every single one of her nerves and she had damned many of them ... The pain omnipresent in her body tried to take possession of her and she into endless dark, terrifying abysses to pull.Ayame was still too strong. She could still resist. All her focus was on the person who had obviously just come into the room. With no sign of awakening, she followed his every move with her inner eye. He handled the cannula and the drip above it with the greatest care, then finally leaned down to her hand and started to sink the needle back into the back of her hand.

"No!" Ayame hissed, and faster than he was able to react, her hand found itself on his neck. Boundless surprise and the beginning of horror showed in his fear-widened eyes.

Ayame sat up with some effort and pain, while increasing the pressure around his throat. She moved awkwardly closer to the edge of the bed while she stabbed the doctor -or whatever he is- with her eyes.

"Never do that again!" she hissed dangerously close to his flushing face.He probably already had a certain experience with similar "patients" because, according to his facial expressions, he was just finishing his uneventful life. Ayame's Saiyan soul was filled with satisfaction.

Suddenly gray clouds crept into the edge of her field of vision, condensed to a solid black and fingered on for the rest of her eyesight. A short, intense wave of heat swept through her body, washing the energy from her muscles.

With the dwindling strength, her grip also loosened. The white-coat man seized the opportunity, hastily evaded her control and rushed back against the farthest wall. There his knees just gave way under him and he turned into a wreck, staring absently into the distance.

Meanwhile Ayame was no longer able to stay on the bed: Her only support had just decided to run away, her gaze was almost completely obscured by dark clouds and all tension disappeared from her muscles.The sudden movement had simply overwhelmed her. For a moment she completely passed out and slipped off the bed.

Black nothing surrounded her, lulled her mind and weighed her body in pleasant weightlessness. The vast sea of ​​oblivion buried their fears, hopes and memories in its depths, never to be released again. This state was almost pleasant - had it not been for that biting martyrdom in her skull, which licked her neck down to the base of her tail with insolent regularity in long, tormenting tongues of fire. She could no longer keep the pain out of her mind. With each new wave he got stronger.

Tormented, she struggled to the surface, to reality. Her nerves were so overloaded that the transmission of information almost collapsed when the senses suddenly resumed their work.

For some inexplicable reason, Ayame felt utterly exhausted.The wounds seemed to drain her energy. She blinked lazily into the vast darkness and straightened up. With every breath, a couple of obviously broken ribs burrowed deeper into her right lung and this was reflected in her painful face every time her lungs filled.

This time her memory willingly released the scraps of memory, but it couldn't clear the confusion. Thousands of questions buzzed in her head, but not a single one could be held for more than a split second. Fragmented images of turquoise hair, tirades and strong arms, which they had lifted back into the bed, flashed before her inner eye and did not seem to make sense. At least not at this moment.

Ayame tiredly massaged her aching temples. Casually she noticed the unknown, silk pajamas that covered her body. She postponed the outrage until later. At that moment she had to take care of her injuries.Obviously, these pathetic Earthlings did not have the ability or the will to heal them adequately. She grunted reluctantly at the thought of her situation.

She remembered her last attempt to stand on her own two feet well, but this time she gave herself more time so as not to fall victim to another sudden hemorrhage. Thanks to the lack of pain reliever in her blood, this time she felt every single nerve in her body even more clearly. With uncertainly trembling fingers she fixed her arm in its sling in the correct position. Several suppressed painful sounds and numerous, clear curses on her lips, she fought her way to the floor-to-ceiling window on the other side of the bed. The overriding thought in her head revolved around escape, which, however, was out of the question under the circumstances. So she had to be content with a not nearly as good interim solution.

The walls of the room seemed to move more and more in their direction and the actually generous dimensions of their accommodation were forgotten.[i]I