It is the sudden stillness that causes him to cry out. Despite his extensive injuries he has yet to cry out in pain, no matter how many punches, kicks or energy blasts land on his body. His rage has not given him time to process the pain, but the sudden lull in the fighting finally exerts a small groan of effort from the saiyan. It is all he allows before he clamps his mouth shut through gritted teeth, staring at the creature floating on his throne less than fifty meters away, grinning like this was all expected, like he had just lured Bardock into a perfectly laid trap that had been ready for him all along.
His entire body screams for a moment of respite, and a moment is all he can give before his focus returns to the fight ahead. He cannot afford to dwell too much on his current situation, he has to push through, or he'll sink underneath the mountain of agony that is currently stabbing every inch of his body.
He is bruised, battered and burned from the hundreds of impacts he has received in the past few minutes. His armour is shattered in dozens of places and pieces crumble and break off from his body, revealing yet more injuries underneath. A cut on his forehead bleeds down the side of his face, which the artificial gravity pulls out, as if trying to squeeze the life out of him. And despite this Bardock has never felt more alive, more filled with power and focus.
His right hand closes into a fist that begins to glow with bright blue energy as he breathes in and smiles at the tyrant, sitting pretty on his elegant throne, his tail swinging by the side as if bored. A fresh flash of rage courses through him and he feels reserves of power surge through his body one more time. There is nothing after this. No sense in saving up energy for later, no sense in thinking about his survival beyond the next few minutes. He speaks, not because he cares if Frieza can hear him, not because he wants to explain himself to this creature that has betrayed him and his people in the most heinous way possible, no.
He speaks because he can feel the poignancy of the moment weighing down on his shoulders. He speaks because he understands that these are his final actions and words, and he has never been one to let just his actions do the talking. Saiyans do not die quietly after all.
'Frieza!' he yells in the thin atmosphere, his eyes narrowing on his target. 'We've done everything you and your father have asked of us, we've endured your humiliations and insults for your amusement, but no more! We are not expendable tools you can discard when you're done with us. You've never respected us but we've been loyal, and it all comes down to this! My fate, planet Vegeta's, Kakarot's... and yours too!'
The tyrant raises a single finger, almost lazily and Bardock tenses up as he draws his arm back. He doesn't feel indignation or sorrow as he lives his final seconds. He is a warrior and he has caused far too much pain to ever consider anything that occurs to him as nothing more than penance for the suffering he has brought upon others. He accepts that with no question, but his heart skips a beat at the thought of Gine on the surface, and he feels his arm growing taut and strong with the crazed might of desperation.
A final surge of power leaves his body through his hand, every muscle protests in agony as he throws the shining bright blue energy ball, rushing towards his most hated enemy. His eyes betray him for a split second, as a flash of gold glimmers from his attack before a chilling, maniacal laugh reaches his ears and the tiny, almost invisible energy ball floating atop Frieza's finger expands in an instant. A massive supernova that glows with sickly orange light suddenly exists before him and he watches as his attack is absorbed like a drop of water amidst an ocean of blood.
Frieza points, the merest flicker of effort and the massive moon sized energy ball rushes towards Bardock. Cold panic seizes him for the briefest instant, before defiance sparks inside of him again and he throws himself forwards, a second energy wave exploding from his hand, draining everything he had to give and more. A shining azure energy beam crashes against Frieza's death ball, and for less than half a second, Bardock holds back the doom of his people. His scream is ripped from his throat as the impossible becomes reality and he stands defiant. His muscles tear in a hundred places and blood pours from his wounds even faster as the strength bleeds from him. There is nothing but the laughter from a madman and the burning glow of death crashing against him. And still he holds, screaming until there is no more artificial, recycled air in his lungs.
Millions of eyes planetside turn upwards. Millions of souls, guilty and innocent, wicked and benevolent, wise and naive stare upwards in surprise as Bardock holds.
He holds for what feels like an eternity, his body strained well past the breaking point, his spirit burning brightly with the weight of his entire race, his every effort bent towards giving those on the ground just one more second. Against everything that should be possible, Bardock holds. With a cry that ripples past the physical realm and rebels at an uncaring universe, at uncaring gods and uncaring masters, Bardock holds.
But despite courage unmatched, despite might born from absolute desperation in the face of annihilation, it is not enough, and Bardock breaks.
The last of his strength finally leaves him. The burning energy ball pushes closer and begins by burning his armour off, cracking the feeble remains off his body. It touches his naked skin and the agony of his flesh disintegrating is everything Bardock can process.
The heat rises and his own voice is drowned out in the dying screams of an entire planet breaking apart. His thoughts are of a lifetime of war and combat, of bloodshed and destruction, broken by the shortest glimpses of the faces he cherishes. The soft touches on his battered body, the laughter with faces that quickly slip from his dying mind. The glint of black eyes underneath a starry sky. The brush of his fingers on his son's hair. The satisfaction of knowing he will be safe. This is the final thought forming in Bardock's mind, before the heat consumes him in hunger, and leaves nothing of the proud warrior behind. By the time the gargantuan energy ball collides with the planet, not even ashes remain of Bardock.
And as planet Vegeta dies in the cold grasp of space and the saiyan race is led to its coda, the tyrant's laughter spreads through his terrified underlings, a haunting warning that burns itself into those that witness the cruelty of their master.
There is a final push of energy against energy, and a buildup that spills over it's boundaries, and planet Vegeta explodes in a million pieces. Burning hot rock and gases rush in every direction. Earth-shattering crashes occur in the previous atmosphere as energy is scattered in all directions and desperate escapees that had briefly considered themselves safe are swatted aside without consideration.
Where there was life there is now nothing but the void, and the unheard dying screams of millions of souls snuffed in an instant.
It's quiet. Soft ruffling sounds are barely heard as wind rushes through the thick branches and bushes, ruffling and loosening stray leaves and pushing deeper into the forest. There are no animal cries anymore, those ended as soon as the crash occurred.
There, amidst the now burning vegetation lays a smoking machine, silver and bulbous in appearance, with scorch marks that tell of hundreds of re-entries into alien atmospheres. Its red crystal front allows outsiders to peer into it, and they would see a glimpse of a battered and broken woman, with wild brown hair dark enough to be perceived as black from afar. Her features hide her strength with a soft chin and gentle cheekbones that flow upwards, and a small, almost delicate nose. Her body is encased in battered pink armour, broken and shattered in multiple places. Blood pours down her body, soaking her slender, wiry frame. Her dark purple eyes flutter open and a groan of pain is heard as she wakes.
There is a beeping sound as the machine works in confirming the atmosphere around it, and after it is satisfied it lets out a hissing sound and the front of it opens forcefully, letting the fresh air flow inside with a rush.
Fasha reaches with a bloody hand and grabs the edge of the attack ball, forcefully pulling herself off her blood soaked seat with another loud cry of pain. The scorched earth around her has been lifted and dug with the impact, and small fires spread around her. The attack balls were never meant to be subtle tools.
With loud grunts and cries Fasha makes her way out of the crater, barely able to stay on her feet. Her fair skin is covered in bruises and scorch marks, and her usually stubborn hair has flattened and submitted from the amount of sweat and blood matted into it. It flows downwards, the tips brushing her shoulders, flickering and whipping around with the wind.
She looks around as she stumbles away from the pod, her senses searching for any means of sustenance that she can find. The rush of water can be heard from far away, and the sound of multiple animals returns to the forest as she get further away from the landing site. None that she recognizes, she has never heard of this planet before and her memory is hazy from her injuries and the suspended animation.
Slowly, stumbling and crawling, cursing and grunting, Fasha arrives at the source of the water rush, a knee deep stream of clear water rushing down the mountainside towards the visible valley below. With a grunt of effort she walks up to the edge of the river and drops like a rock inside of it, falling to her knees and earning another grunt as broken bones squeal in protest. She pushes her head under the water and drinks, letting the stream wash her matted hair. Thick clumps of red flow away from her, tainting the river and making the few swimming inhabitants scurry away from her in surprise. Fasha drinks mouthfuls, her desperation helping her suppress the pain of her wounds. She pulls back as her lungs start to burn with need and she lets out heavy gasps as she sits down inside of the river, her back against the bank.
She looks down at herself, and she feels a chill at the sight of her own ravaged body. She closes her eyes and thinks, her mind going over the last moments she remembers before she awoke here.
'Animals' she hears as her body is lifted off the ground. His voice is a distant call that snaps her awake and brings her back to the land of the living with a scream. 'I'm here! Fasha, calm down!'
She looks at him like a wild animal caught in a trap.
'Bardock' she speaks softly, swallowing painfully.
'Who did this? Who did this to you, Fasha?' he demands, his eyes filled with such rage that he looks like he would attack her if she didn't respond.
'Do...doria' she can only reply before her vision swims. She is falling, and everything goes dark. Voices follow her for brief moments, before she plummets into the pitch black void and she knows nothing else.
Her violet eyes open slowly, her gaze fixed forwards as she takes deep breaths and wraps her mind around what she knows. It takes her a while to notice the counter on her scouter and with a grim realization she moves her finger to the side of the device, and presses on the small red button that allows her to receive the messages.
Her face pales slowly as she listens on, her body frozen as a voice she recognizes very well calmly explains to her that her planet has been destroyed. That her people are dead. That a meteor has collided against planet Vegeta and that it is a tragic accident.
Hot, burning fury grips her at the casual manner in which the lie is delivered. Zarbon delivers the news in a hurry, as if eager to be done with it, as if the Frieza force had not just lost half of its strength, as if the extermination of one of the greatest parts of the empire was nothing out of the ordinary and just a petty task to be done with.
'That... was no... meteor' she speaks through gritted teeth as she removes her scouter, her hand almost crushing the device completely. Shards of metal, glass and plastic fall from her hand and splatter the river, flowing with the current and washed away in an instant.
Fasha lets out a howl of rage as her body is engulfed in an aura of pink energy that rushes outwards in all directions. Water explodes out of the river, soaking the nearby bank and trees and leaving fish flapping and fluttering around desperately before they are crushed by the heat and energy consuming everything around the saiyan woman.
As suddenly as the tempest began it is gone. The pink light dies with a bright flicker before she collapses to her knees, sobbing and screaming as she pounds the wet ground, breaking chunks of rock that are swept away as the water rushes back to fill in the empty space. She lays kneeling there until her bones ache from the cold water.
For a time there is nothing but the rush of water and her thoughts in her head and the pain from her wounds, until a loud rush of displaced atmosphere makes her look up.
Fasha jumps upwards and flies unto the air, desperately looking around for the source of the sound. With a grunt of effort she shoots like a bullet after the faint outline of blue and white left behind the pod, rushing down to crash into a deeper part of the mountainside. Her initial burst of curiosity soon leads to concern. Her eyes narrow as she holds her injured side and slows down, flying closer to the treetops.
She feels the exact moment in which the pod crashes against the ground. There is a powerful shock wave that rattles her bones and makes her eyes lose focus from the pain. She almost loses her balance and crashes against one of the trees, before she's able to regain her composure and follow the smoking, burning trail of destruction left behind the pod.
It's a scene identical to hers. A mixture of dead creatures, churned earth and burning vegetation surrounds a deep crater where a silver and white attack ball sits, still beeping as it verifies the atmosphere and that all systems are still operational.
She lands at the edge of the crater, her eyes wide as she stares at the pod. Unlike her own this is a much smaller variant, meant for infants, with additional life support and programming equipment, to instill newborn saiyans with all the aggression and instincts they are going to need to destroy all life on whatever planet they are sent to. Her mouth opens in surprise as the red tinted door opens and loud wailing explodes from the inside of the pod.
A grunt of annoyance slides through Fasha's lips as she makes her way down to the pod. She grabs unto the edge of the vehicle and grips it as she bends down to look inside, and her heart jumps in her chest as she stares at the child inside.
There is no doubt in Fasha's mind who the child is. He looks so much like his father that for a long time she can do nothing but stare and listen to him wailing and sobbing with hunger and rage. She reaches in and carefully grabs him from his waist, reaching in with both hands to stop him from punching and flailing in her grip, her eyes wide with shock. Tears flow down her eyes as she stares at Bardock's son screaming in her hands. The baby angrily punches her wrist and twists in her grip and Fasha reaches with one hand grabs his tail. There is a small cry of pain and surprise before the baby falls unconscious. She holds it him up with one hand as she examines him, looking him over for any injuries before she lets out a satisfied sigh.
This is the first time she's met him. They left when Gine was still pregnant and she hadn't visited Bardock's home ever since. There had been no time. She racks her brain for several long seconds until she finally recalls his name and a plan begins to form in her head. Too incomplete and abstract to even begin, but the pieces are there. Her grip on his tail remains firm as she lowers the boy and looks up at the stars, as if searching the sky above for her hated adversary. She nods once to herself as she takes a deep breath, her mind now made up. She reaches into the pod and removes the remote control for the ship, slipping it inside of her armour over her breast, adjusting her damaged armour before lifting the boy again and staring at his almost peaceful sleeping face.
'Well... we're a smaller crew, but it'll have to be enough, Kakarot.'
The crackle of fire and the smell of cooked meat finally stirs Kakarot out of his stupor and he starts crying as soon as he takes a deep breath, only for a clump of warm meat to force its way into his mouth. He chews on instinct, biting hard on the flesh of the animal before gulping it down, greedily opening his mouth for more.
'Finally found something that will shut you up' Fasha grins as she pushes another clump of meat into Kakarot's mouth and she takes a bite from the leg of a spotted feline that had foolishly thought she was easy prey because he was behind her.
She rips a chunk off and chews it slowly as she lifts Kakarot again, looking him up and down with a clinical eye. His armour is the same model Bardock prefered, and she knows it'll serve him well for many years to come. She sets him down and pushes another piece of meat into his mouth to stop him from crying again as she lets out a breath and thinks again on the past few hours.
She hasn't allowed herself to break down again, despite the bubbling, simmering rage that is threatening to explode with every action. With a somewhat more clear head she's able to think about her situation, and having the tiny Kakarot nearby allows her to voice her opinions and see what he thinks about them. He mostly looks around curiously or tries to reach for her or a nearby object on the ground but it's better than just thinking and saying nothing.
'For all we know it's just the two of us. I don't know where Bardock is, or if he even is still alive. Zarbon said most of the Saiyans were killed and I believe him. Dodoria nearly wiped us out by himself' she speaks with resentment now angrily ripping off another piece of meat with her teeth. 'Until I can figure out what happened and who we can trust, it's just us, which means we have to get stronger, very much so, enough to make sure we can kill anybody that finds out about this planet or that we're here' she explains as Kakarot grabs a stick and uses it to bash the ground, scattering dirt and leaves everywhere. The sight earns a small grin from Fasha as she picks him up and stands up, dusting her armour before doing the same with the boy. 'Don't think we'll be wiping the population, we don't want to make it more tempting for Frieza by making him think it's ready for sale' she muses as she rises into the air with Kakarot hanging from her arm. He looks around in amusement and lets out small sounds of contentment as Fasha flies around slowly, looking around for the direction of her pod, very slowly picking up speed to make sure she doesn't lose her grip on the child.
She finds her gaze drawn to him every so often, beaming up at her, reaching for her armour or her tail and she can't help but let out a small chuckle as she pulls her tail just out of his clumsy reach, making him grunt and struggle to try and catch it.
'You're alright, kid' she admits before tightly wrapping her tail around her waist again and picking up speed. 'We'll make Frieza regret the day he decided we were no longer worth his time. Mark my words Kakarot!' she states with a confident smile as she races towards her attack ball. 'Frieza will die by saiyan hands!'
Author's Note:
Wow. It only took around 7 years for me to come back to this story! Funny how time flies isn't it? I actually had forgotten all about this entire website for many years, and it was a random email check on my spam box that actually reminded me of this. After so long, I thought I wouldn't be interested in ever rewriting the story I had deleted (and lost all of the original files for, mind you), but in truth my interest in Fasha's character has only grown with the years and the abundance of new lore that has been released for Dragon Ball! The new Broly movie has absolutely blown me away and I can't stop watching Bardock's final scene, it was playing on repeat as I wrote this first chapter, and I hope I did it justice. The entire scene with Bardock and Gine sending Kakarot away brings me to tears every time, and I can't wait to retell my tale with all the new details and changes that have occured in the Dragonball universe.
One change I've decided on is that I won't focus too much on numbers when it comes to my character's power levels. They will be as strong as they realistically can be, and even more important, as strong as the story needs them to be. With some noticeable exceptions, such as Frieza's power in his first and second form, which is very well established and there's little debate or ambiguity over it.
Anyways I'm rambling, it was very fun to craft this chapter again and I hope I can settle into a new writing rhythm soon, because there is plenty of Fasha and Kakarot that I want to write, and hopefully, with my foolish teenage years behind me I can avoid some of the pitfalls that overtook me the first time.
Until we meet again!