JANUARY COMMISSION-MILHA'S NEW POWER

-Saiyan Conqueror Quest Patron Epilogue XXI-

-THREE WEEKS BEFORE KARN INVADES CONTON CITY, TOWA'S LAB-

“Hey, Milha! You in here?” your half-sister Chaya shouts as she opens the door, despite knowing you are from being able to sense your ki. She reaches around on the wall for a bit to find the overhead light switch, you closing your eyes and bracing for the blinding light. Which comes a moment later, causing you to flinch a bit. You'd been reading in the dark, the words slightly luminous from an enchantment Chilli'd devised a few years ago using light magic and a crystal he'd embed in the book's spine. Allowing the crystal to absorb light, then radiate it out through the ink on the page, making the book readable even in the dark. “There you are. So, I was thinking, and I want to get your help with something.”

Which causes you to perk up, looking up from your book to her. She's never asked you for your help before, not after learning your magic wasn't as 'useful' or 'helpful' as your mother Towa's or half-brother Chilli's. This has to be something important.

“I've been rewatching some of Daddy's fight, and I realized something. Do you know why he always wins?” she asks you, to which you answer immediately.

“Because he never gives up. He always keeps fighting, no matter what.” you reply automatically, having witnessed him do so so many times. Your half-sister nods along, but then once you're done continues.

“Yes, but why is that? Or, rather, how. HOW he can fight through what puts stronger fighters like Goku and Vegeta down for the count?” she asks, you suddenly realizing what she's really asking. And you can't stop the smile that starts pulling at the corners of your mouth.

“You want me to use my magic on you too?” you ask her excitedly, bouncing up out of your seat and holding the book you'd been reading to your chest as you feel your heart skip a beat. You are Milha, daughter of Karn the legendary Berserker Saiyan and Towa, demon realm princess and an extremely powerful sorceress. Ever since you first got your magic, taking more after your mother than your father, everyone except for your mother acted differently around you. Everyone else except for her and your father and your half-brother Chilli, as they didn't fear you like the others or treat you any differently. You could see it in their eyes the moment you start talking about what your magic can do, how disgusted everyone else was. Treating you differently because your magic wasn't nice and happy, or super useful day-to-day. You remember when Chaya'd first asked you about this, when you'd first started using your magic on your father at his asking. But then quit after the first time, saying she couldn't take it and would “Try again later”, but later never came. Until now, he was the only one, aside from mother creating a bio android target that would usually die after a day or so that you could even practice your magic on, making you two incredibly close. “Training” he'd called it, saying that he needed to be able to stay conscious no matter what, no matter how bad it hurt. Because as long as he was awake and could move, he could fight. And as long as he could still fight, he would find a way to win. “Really? Are you sure?”

“Yes. My recent fight with Black Freeza made me realize that I'm still not strong enough. I need to find a way to break through my limits, to find an even greater power.” she says, looking from you down to her right hand, clenched in a fist as she talks. “The big battle with the Time Patrol is drawing closer, I know it. But I'm still not strong enough. Daddy's already fought that pink bitch and won, forcing her to flee yet I'm still not strong enough. So, I need your help. I need you to put me through hell, so I can fight through it and unlock the next level. Will you help me?”

“I'd love to.” you say with a smile, feeling excited only to see that same worried, fearful look in your half sister's eyes. Silently judging you, quietly afraid of what you're going to do to her. And while you want to help her, you remember what your father'd taught you about how he trains this and decide to try and 'ease' her into it. You don't want her to quit just after one time again, after all. “But you can't take it. You'll just quit again, if you try what Father did. So we're going to start really small, with just one spell, okay?”

“Really? That's it, just one?” she asks, sounding almost offended as you turn back to the bookshelf, flying up and putting the book back wrong so you'll remember where you put it later, then turn back to your sister. “I'm strong, I can take it! Give me your best shot!”

You don't know why she's suddenly angry at you, but you keep your father's words in mind to start small as you summon your grimoire to you. Flipping through the pages back to near the front of the book you find a good starting point, holding the tome in your left as you raise your gaze to her own.

“A-Are you really sure about this? Even with just a simple level one spell, it's going to hurt a lot.” you tell her, your sister making an annoyed face.

“Come on, I'm ready! Hit me!” she says, punching her left palm with her right. So, you take a deep breath, sighing out then conjuring the first spell.

“Curse Magic: Agonizing Touch.” you say, casting the simple sensory spell. One that turns every sensation of touch the target feels to one of searing agony.

“Is that it? I don't feel any di-” she starts as you reach out, giving her tail a simple flick. Your half sister immediately drops to the ground, screaming in agony as if you'd stabbed her a thousand times. But, of course, the touch of falling to the ground also hit her nerves as even more pain, her screams becoming worse. She writhes in pain on the ground, each movement making the pain worse and worse for her by the second. Tears start streaking down her face as she howls wordlessly, you start feeling a warm, fuzzy sensation all over, feeling your breathing quicken a bit at seeing your sister's face contorted because of you. You let it go on for a few seconds then end the spell, returning all her sensations to normal. And as you do she stops rolling and falls limp, chest heaving as she tries to catch her breath from the screaming, muscles twitching as small spasms travel across her body.

Seeing your usually so powerful and dominant sister like this makes you want to tease her a little bit more, walking over and sitting on her chest, knees up by her armpits as you grin, looking her in the eyes.

“Wasn't that fun?” you ask, feeling your smile grow wider as you can feel her body twitching and trembling beneath you. Her small movements against you making you even more excited. “That was only the first spell. Are you sure you don't want to quit again, just like before?”

“That...? Was ONE!?” she exclaims through panting breaths, sounding as equally shocked and horrified. “How-? How many does. Daddy power through?”

“Usually somewhere between fourteen and twenty, depending on which spells we're usi-” you start to answer, only to be interrupted by her startled shout.

“FOURTEEN?!” she exclaims, eyes suddenly wide with terror. “No, no way. That's impossible!”

“My father trained really, really hard to be able to take so many of my spells at the same time.” you say, feeling proud of how strong he is, as well as a little smug yourself. You can hit him with a whole bunch of high-level spells, ones that outright kill weaker beings on hit but he can take them. Your time together, just the two of you is the best time ever, but now you can see just how important it is. Your father works so hard for you, to be able to take so many of your spells. Something no one else can do, or even would TRY to do. But he does it for you. Not like your half sister, who gave up after a single day. “But you fell to a single flick from just one spell. All I did was make every touch feel painful. You didn't even get to any of the really fun ones.”

“Tch! I-I'm not gonna quit!” Chaya suddenly says, clenching her teeth and grabbing you by the waist, standing up and setting you on the ground before taking a couple steps back, clenching both fists. “Again!”

“You... You really want to go again?” you ask her, surprised. You'd thought for sure she'd have already called it quits after that one, making another empty promise for 'another time' that never comes. “You mean it?”

“Yeah. I'm not going to get any stronger without a little pain.” she says, giving you a look you think is supposed to be confident. But the fear's still there in her eyes, she's still afraid of you. “Let's go again! Same spell!”

“Hehe.” you laugh a bit, raising your hands then again cast your opening spell. She braces herself as if expecting the pain to hit her immediately, like an attack. But you don't immediately flick her tail again, instead you fly up to her face, looking her in the eyes. Then calmly, slowly you reach out, gently pressing your right hand to the left side of her face. You feel her entire body tense up, teeth clenching as she winces yet fights to stay still, to not scream out as she starts feeling the pain. And, as she fights against it, fighting to stay standing and not move, that same warm, fuzzy feeling comes back to your lower abdomen. Watching her squirm, struggling to not succumb to the pain lights up that same feeling in you you get when your father does the same, immediately making you want to push her even more. To see how far she can go before breaking again.

“Tch! Grrrh!” she seethes through clenched teeth, doing her best to avoid screaming on the exhale. So you reach out with your left hand, putting the tips of your first two fingers' fingernails on her shoulder, you again seeing her wince in pain. Then you start 'walking' your fingers down her arm, with each poke of your fingernail you feel her entire body tense. Tears start forming in the corners of her eyes, slowly streaking down her face but she keeps fighting to remain as still as possible. “Khhhhrrr!”

“Look at you. Struggling so hard.” you say, feeling yourself heating up as you watch her struggle. Then, taking your right off her arm you reach down, grabbing her firmly by the tail. Her eyes widen in shock, the pain so surprisingly overwhelming that she can't even scream before her eyes roll up into her head, body going limp. You let go as you fly around behind her, catching your sister and not letting her hit the ground. Instead you fly down slowly, laying her head in your lap as you look down at her now-relaxed, tear-stained face before ending your spell. “Oh. I guess that was still a bit too much for you to handle.”

You stay there holding your sister, stroking her hair as she sleeps for a while, losing track of time when she suddenly starts, waking and sitting up. She looks around, confused, clearly disoriented.

“It's okay big sis. You just passed out. Sensory overload.” you tell her, your older sister turning and looking at you with an odd expression. One that reminds you of your shared father, that look of mild embarrassment mixed with resolve. And before she speaks, you know what she's going to say.

“Let's go again!” she says, eyes full of determination that remind you of your father. “I have to be stronger; I need to be stronger. Like Daddy. And to do that, to beat anybody, even that pink bitch, I have to be able to take it! Let's go! Again!”

“Ehehehe, this is starting to get fun! But let's switch it up.” you say, smile widening as you switch spells for one that hits a little differently than the last one. You can see she was already braced for the pain she was expecting, faltering a bit at your words. You change from one type of sensory magic to another, one more devious and delicious. One that will hopefully get you an even better reaction! “Curse Magic: Agony of Boiling Blood!”

“Huu-GYUH-?!!” she exclaims, curling up on herself near-instantly and collapsing. From what your father explained, this spell makes your insides feel like they're melting, like you've being burned alive from the inside out, instead of on the outside. As every heartbeat pumps fire throughout her veins she tenses up, trying to avoid screaming in pain. And she does, for a few seconds at least, before the pain becomes too unbearable for your sweet sister. “GYAAAAAA!! KYAAAAAAAH!!”

“Is that all you can take? Are you at your limit?” you ask her, feeling your heart beating quicker, face heating up as you watch her writhe in pain. It feels different than watching your father fighting, clenching his fists and teeth against the pain and doing his best to remain standing upright and silent, to not scream in pain. Or even the times you broke him and he started screaming and writing like your sister, something about her screams just feel different. A good different, as the warm, fuzzy feeling in your abdomen grows while you watch her squirm. Her bloodcurdling screams, dampened by the soundproof walls of the library are only for you to hear and no one else. You drink them in, savoring the sounds until her voice starts to subtly change. And you end the spell, not wanting her to tear her throat screaming. Then she can't scream as pretty anymore.

The moment your magic ends her entire body goes limp, you walking over to see her eyes staring but not seeing, body twitching sporadically but no longer moving. It looks like you went a little overboard, she's out again. So, you roll her over onto her back, resting her head against your thighs before closing her eyes before you stroke her hair, softly humming to yourself. She remains that way for several minutes, you enjoying this time with her before she starts awake again, eyes shooting open. But before she can move you press down with your hand, making a shushing noise.

“Shhhh, shhhh, it's okay.” you tell her softly, still stroking her hair. “You're okay, it's me. Milha.”

“Milha? Wha....?” she asks, clearly disoriented. You sigh out, knowing that the fun's over. When she heard that you and Father had started doing this, she'd been observing closely to make sure nothing bad happened. Since he was too stubborn to quit and she knew it, your mother had instructed you how to spot when it was time to stop. And your half-sister Chaya's shellshock is exactly one such condition. But you had fun, even if it was fleeting. “Alright, let's go again!”

“No. You're in no shape.” you tell her sadly, wanting nothing more than to continue, but remembering your mother's warnings and taking them to heart. “After something like that, your body needs time to recover. If you want, we can do this again tomorrow, b-”

“Deal.” she says, pushing herself up to her feet despite your protests and holding a hand down to you. Which is odd, you don't need any help standing up. But you accept her hand anyways, letting her help you upright. “Same time tomorrow, let's do it again.”

“I'll be waiting.” you reply, no enthusiasm in your voice as you know she's just not going to show up. Again. She sees your expression and frowns, but doesn't ask any questions as she suddenly raises her hand to her forehead. And in a blink teleports away. You sigh, reaching out with your telekinesis, grabbing your book back before shutting off the lights, returning to your reading seat. You know your sister won't be back, just like last time. But, either way, you did still have fun. However, the next day, as you're sitting there reading, suddenly you feel your sister's ki appearing before you. The next instant she teleports to you, immediately disoriented by the darkness you're reading in. “Chaya?”

“Hey Milha. Why's it so dark in here? What, did you think I forgot?” she asks you, to which you feel a big, wide smile spread across your face as she turns, looking for the light switch. This is going to be fun.

“There you are!” she says, grabbing the switch with her telekinesis and flipping it as you close your eyes, the light stinging your eyes. Not as badly as yesterday, as you'd had the foresight to lower the brightness beforehand(just in case), but it still momentarily blinds you. But that's only a minor annoyance compared to the face she came back! You're going to have so much fun! “Now, you ready to get started?”

“Nothing would make me happier.” you say, closing the book and setting it aside, standing up with a happy bounce to your step. “Oh, this is going to be so delightful! Are you ready?”

“Heh, are YOU ready? I'm not going down so easy today!” she declares, you feeling your eyes widen as your grin grows even bigger, so wide your cheeks start to hurt. “Bring it on!”

“It will be my pleasure. CURSE MAGIC-!” you declare, once more using your magic on your sister. It goes much like the day before, your older half-sister's pain tolerance nowhere near your father's own. But she doesn't quit, pushing herself to the point she passes out once again. You hold her until she awakens again as well, this becoming your daily routine with her. Every single day she shows up, willing to take anything you've got for her, and you couldn't be happier. Sure your father lets you do the same, and he can go for much longer each session, but you only get him a week out of every month. Whereas now, with your sister, you get to use your powers every. Single. Day. As the days turn to a week, her tolerance has increased significantly, and by the second she's able to take more than two, sometimes even three curse spells simultaneously. But on the twentieth day, before you start, she asks you a rather odd question.

“Hey, Milha. I have a question.” she asks before you start, you cocking your head to the right in confusion. “Mind hearing me out?”

“Of course.” you reply, confused. What could she be asking about? She knows how many spells your father can take, as she's asked that more than once. “What is it?”

“So, you know how your curses cause pain, right?” she asks, you nodding a bit uncertainly. “I've been thinking. What else can your curses do?”

“All sorts of things. Why? Have you thought of something else that we could do?” you ask, wondering if she's thought up something that could be even more fun, that will let you see more sides of her she doesn't show anyone else. But her response is not anything like what you expected.

“You can make pain. But have you ever thought of taking it away?” she asks, your expression going neutral.

“Eh?” you ask, confused. What is she talking about.

“Like, all your curses can cause pain, or shut off senses like sight and touch, right? What if you just.... Take away someone's ability to feel pain?” she asks, leaving you even more confused.

“Why would I do that?” you ask her deadpan, but her sudden enthusiasm isn't diminished. Instead, she grins, leaning in and whispering.

“What if you can take away the pain of your spells? Then, put them all back all at once?” she asks you, your eyes widening in surprise. All of them? All at once? Taking away someone's ability to feel pain, only for all of the pain they're not feeling to crash down at the same time? Your sister might just be a genius. “Kind of like a 'Pain Bomb', or something?”

“OooooOOOOoooh, interesting!” you say, conjuring your spellbook and flipping through it. You flip to the section you'd written down a bunch of formulas. You also call another book to you off the bookshelf with telekinesis, opening the book of anatomy to read up on how the nervous system works, flipping through the pages until you find the passage you were looking for. Scanning through it, gaze flipping back and forth from magical tome to anatomy book, crafting the spell in your mind.

Chaya stands there silently, watching as you work to bring this idea to life. Muttering to yourself, you draw a needle from the front of your robe, pricking your finger and kneeling down, starting to write the formulas needed down in blood. Then, once you're ready and the formula is finished you flip your spellbook to another of your spells, turning to your sister with an excited grin.

“Are you ready?” you ask, catching her by surprise.

“Wait, that quick?” she asks you, eyebrows shooting up. “Just like that?”

“I never thought of it. But it seems to be easy enough, in theory.” you reply, excitement bubbling over. This is going to be so much fun.

“In theory? Hold on, will it work or won't it?” your sister asks, a hint of worry in her tone.

“Well, if everything works like it should, I do everything right, it will work exactly as the formulas explain.” you reply. “But, if I do it wrong, it could make the pain a lot worse. Or even temporarily shut down your nervous system entirely. Or leave you unable to feel pain forever, which would be a real tragedy. But don't worry, I've got this.”

“If you say so. I trust you.” Chaya says, taking a couple steps back and taking a deep breath, yellow eyes focused on you intensely. “Hit me.”

“Curse Magic: Agony of Boiling Blood! Curse Magic: Magma Bile!” you cast in quick succession, turning every pump of her heart to searing agony while turning her guts to a molten ball of pain. She groans in pain, dropping to her knees and grabbing at her guts in a futile attempt to stop the agony. You feel a shiver down her spine seeing her remain upright, not immediately falling to the ground after just two spells. So, leaving those going you double-check your work you'd written on the ground, nod to yourself and walk around her, pressing your right hand to her back as you begin chanting the words.

Speaking in the demonic tongue your mother taught you, saying the words of the spell while touching her spine, you busy yourself aligning the magic as you slowly bring your left hand to her. Pressing it to her left shoulder flat against her armor, you begin to 'draw' the sensations she's feeling out of her, watching as her pain is made manifest while finishing the incantation.

It takes the form of a dark violet orb of writhing, pulsating energy just a bit bigger than your head as you gently pull your sister's pain from her, Chaya gasping as the last strands of pain connecting the orb to her snap. Her back arches, nearly slamming her head into the orb you'd just pulled from her as if you'd stabbed her. But then she sighs out, slumping forward as you hold this orb in your hand. Curious, you look it over, examining a physical manifestation of your Curse Magic. Unlike Chilli's crystals or light and dark, or Caulifla's golden light, your magic never really had any visible indicators. Yet, somehow, this look fits exactly with what you picture the pain of your sister to look like.

“Woah.” you say, enamored with the orb, peering closer and closer into it as you hold the orb. You let go of your sister, holding onto this ball of magical power in both hands as you peer deeper into it. “I always wondered what my magic looked like.”

“That looks... About right.” your sister says, startling you so bad you nearly lose control and drop the orb. But you secure it quickly, looking up to her in confusion.

“You got all of it. I haven't felt this good in years!” she exclaims, thumping her chest with her right fist. “Look at you, using your magic to help someone! I'm proud of you, sis. Good job!”

And as your sister looks to you with a smile, a real, genuine smile, you can't help but smile too. You feel all funny from her praise, it doesn't feel like when you make her or Father squirm and writhe, but it feels good too. In a different way, but... As you feel your cheeks heating up, you think you like this feeling too.

-Saiyan Conqueror Quest Patron Epilogue XXI End-