Well, what can I say? I've been a fan for a long time, but here's my first Dragonball fanfiction. I was always a sucker for the doomed-to-die, final-but-futile-attempt kind of character, so Bardock, or as I shall refer to him, Burdock, especially appealed to me as a character. Many fans have speculated as to who Goku's mother is, but the only canon female Saiyan is Fasha, or Seripa, so that would have to be the logical conclusion. Illogically, there are a lot of funny plot holes if this were to happen, such as her fighting on Kanassa directly after (supposedly) giving birth, or the way she refers to Burdock and Kakarot/Kakkarotto in the original special. As such, I tried to come up with reasonable rationale in the following story as to how and why this could have happened. I hope it makes sense, but it takes a few things into the realm of guesswork, such as when Goku's birth occured (I take it to be a few days before the special, say a week). On that note, I'm not so sure about this fic, as it uses a lot of cliches, but maybe there's no such thing as too much of a good thing. Apparently, at least according to the character-based search engine, I have written the first BurdockxSeripa fic. Huh. Anyway, please review, and enjoy!

Elegy of a Warrior

He ran swiftly down the halls, his blood-soaked war boots making loud, rapid taps upon the floor's cold surface. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, leaning against the banister and cursing under his breath. "Damn it all," he growled, banging his head to the wall. "Why won't they understand?! We're all going to die, and they're laughing and drinking their heads off! Damn it!"

He took off again down the empty halls, screaming in rage all the way. "Toma! I'll avenge you, just you wait!" He tore past a couple of surprised sentries, stumbling, but not bothering stopping to regain his balance. Reaching the outside, he gazed up at the setting sun, and the giant ship in orbit with it. "Freeza!" he yelled, vaulting with one arm over the balcony and charging through the streets.

He shoved aside a few guards, running through a gate and into another facility, rushing past endless halls and doors. A sudden cry slowed him to a halt. Through a window, he saw a small child, bawling, waving its arms around wildly. He twitched: he had never liked noise. He was prepared to blast it just to shut it up, but stopped himself while charging because of a chance glance at the name plate under the window.

Raditz… That was his own son, wasn't it? He laughed a hollow laugh at the irony. "Sorry, kid…" He turned and began running again, but an intense pain went shooting through his mind, causing him to collapse in a heap on the floor.

Burdock… Burdock… Please, hear me…

His eyes shot open and he struggled up, wincing and ignoring the searing pain raging in his head. "S- Seripa…" he croaked. "Impossible… Who- How- Where are you?!"

Despite his hurting brain, he heard her voice as clearly as if she was right next to him. Kanassa… I'm still alive… D- Doesn't the planet have psychic-endowing powers…? He blinked, then chuckled: just a few hours earlier he had been weeping over her unconscious body.

"Don't talk," he said, observing her cracked voice. "You're hurt and bleeding. You need rest right now above all." He sat in silence for a few moments, listening to the rough sound of her uneven breathing.

Burdock…she began slowly. I'm sorry about the other day… How I gave the impression that I was unrelated to you and Kakkarotto… But…

He blinked, recalling the events of the day in question, twisting his head to the side in thought. "Oh, that? Nah, it's nothing. I think it was better off this way, actually. Don't worry about it. Actually, I should be the one apologizing. I acted pretty rudely back there. Guess I overdid it… But I do wish we could thank Toma. He acted pretty well, too."

She breathed an audible sigh of relief. Thank you for understanding, too…But there's no need to apologize, either. She noticed his also uneven breath with a slight gasp. Burdock, you're hurt, bad… What happened to you?

He grunted, shrugging it off. "It's nothing. Freeza's lackeys did a number on me, but I'm fine now. Worry about yourself instead, alright?" She sighed again in exasperation, slumping back and allowing herself a small smile.

Our son, Kakkarotto… I haven't had a chance to see him yet. What… What is he like?

He scratched his forehead, getting both dried and fresh blood under his fingernail. "I dunno. Just like any other typical Saiyan, I guess. Nothing really special. He has my hair, if that's any consolation. But he cries like a food-deprived Pambukin."

She laughed, wiping away a stray tear on a distant planet hundreds of thousands of miles away. I'm glad. He sounds just like you.

He twitched. "Wow. Thanks a lot." He sighed, gazing out the window at the blood-red sky. "Listen, Seripa… I have to go. Freeza's tyrannical rule ends now, I promise you."

There was a pause, as if she was thinking. With a gasp, her voice instantly become much more forceful. Burdock, no! You can't! Lord Freeza's far too powerful, you'll be annihilated! Please, think this over!

Chuckling, he got up, grunting in slight pain. "Sorry, no can do. Freeza must be stopped, no matter the cost- I have to save the future," he replied, hardening his gaze at the gigantic warship in the distance.

She was getting desperate- he could hear it in her voice. Despite her tough frontal demeanor, she really was quite caring underneath. If only she didn't apply her aggressive façade so often. Fine, I know there's no stopping you when you have your mind set to something. But at least get a medical pod back here first. Take me with you. I want to be there with you.

"No. I have to do this alone," he responded firmly. "The truth is, I don't have anyone else. It's just me. I'm going to die, I already know that. And after he kills me, he's going to massacre our entire race. You need to be somewhere safe." She tried protesting, but he quickly silenced her. "And even if I did have an army, you just gave birth. I don't care how advanced our healing technology is now, I wouldn't let you out there no matter what. I was against you going to Kanassa in the first place."

"Besides," he added with a grin, "Who else is going to look after Kakkarotto?"

Silence.

"I have only one last request. After Freeza calms down, go to Earth and seek out our son, and hold him for me. Please, that's all I ask." She nodded, choking back tears.

"We've slaughtered too many innocents to go to any sort of paradise. In that case, we'll meet again in Hell. It's a promise."

Don't leave me, Burdock! Please!

"Goodbye, Seripa."

He leapt over the balcony, igniting a blue aura around him. He rocketed off into the sky, blazing a red-hot trail of energy behind him as he fought off hundreds of Freeza's minions. One by one they flew at him, and one by one they fell aside him in a desperate, bitter gambit for a tyrant as he flew like a bullet into the heart of the sea of soldiers.

They piled up and surrounded him, but he was still able to see to the top, and that was all that mattered. His eyes locked into the eyes of a deranged intergalactic emperor, and he let out one last, bloody war cry that would haunt the dreams of the survivors of that final Death Ball for years to come.

Toma… Seripa… Kakkarotto… I love you all…

"Freeza!! I may be going to Hell, but I'm going to drag you down with me if it's the last thing I ever do!!"