"Wake up..."

Gine groaned as someone shook her body roughly. The shaking got more rough when she didn't respond immediately.

"Gine, please !"

"Hmm..." Gine groaned again. Together with her cosnciousness, a bad feeling returned to her gut. Her head hurt so bad from all the stress and emotion from the past days, she had to think for a moment to remember why she felt that way.

She opened her eyes, slowly, still numbed out from all the torment she had been through. The room she had stayed in for the past couple of days was completely dark, the shutters at the window made sure of that. The only light that came in from the bright hallway, showed the contour and the distinct hairstyle of the person standing to her left.

"Bardock ? Is that you ?" She whispered, unable to speak any louder. It was the first thing she'd said in over a day as she sat up on her bed.

"Uh-huh...I wanted to s-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Gine already flung her arms around him. The unexpected presence of her spouse gave her back some of her old energy. Her voice sounded muffled but thick with emotion when she spoke again, her face burried in the crook of his neck.

"They took him from me, Bardock...Our baby..." It felt like a dam broke inside of her when she let her tears flow freely. For the first time since the event she finally was able to let everything out. "They sent him away...!" She cried out. And as she let her head rest there on his shoulder, a distinct smell became more notable. Was that... blood ?

Right when Bardock murmered 'He'll be safe', Gine pulled away from him. "By the gods, are you alright ?"

She went for the shutters and pushed them open, letting in the sunlight and revealing his badly beaten-up state. Bardock was covered in blood and bruises, leaning against the wall now to try and find some support there.

Shocked at the bad shape he was in, Gine's jaw dropped. "What happened ? Last I heard, you followed the rest to Meat... Did those meatheads do this to you ?"

Bardock shook his head. "Dodoria..." He groaned. "The others...Tora, Fasha,... They're all..." He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes at the memory of what he had witnessed.

"No..." Gine shook her head too in disbelief as she noticed the blood soaked rag Bardock was wearing around his head. "They can't be dead...They can't... Please tell me it's not true..."

"It is... Frieza is planning to destroy us all !"

"But we work for Frieza ! Why would he possibly-" Gine gasped as she suddenly realised something. "What about little Kakarot ?! What if they go after him ? He's all alone ! We need to do something ! And Raditz ! Raditz is out in space with his friends !"

"They'll be fine, trust me !" Bardock took her wrists, trying to calm her down. Only now did she realise how cold his hands were.

"How can you be so sure ?! Besides, being an infiltrant baby can be very dangerous !"

"I JUST KNOW, ALRIGHT ?"

Gine was shocked at his outburst. It wasn't like him to be like that towards her, but it hadn't missed its effect. She nodded and kept quiet. Bardock in his turn felt bad for having to act this way, but he knew he had no choice. They just didn't have the time for discussions like that right now.

Gine's shoulders dropped and she lowered her gaze to the floor. "I only got to hold him once... They just ripped him from my arms after an hour. No warning, nothing. All they said was he was going to be shipped off..."

Knowing how much Gine loved their offspring, Bardock realized the amount of pain his mate must have been going through since their youngest son was taken from her. "He's safe...I saw his pod when I c- Ahh gods, not again !"

"Bardock !" Gine cried out as he dropped down on the bed, holding his head like he was having a bad headache. He toppled over to his side and for about a minute, he just lay there, mumbling incomprehensible things.

It felt like it took him forever to regain his consciousness, but when he did, he got back up on his feet. It looked like he could fall back over any second so Gine put his arm around her, trying to give him some support.

She was just about to ask him if he was okay, when he groaned : "He's here."

"What ?"

"Frieza. He's here. I have to stop him. If everything I saw is true...Then there has to be a way to prevent it. I have to change the future..." He grunted in pain as his free hand went to his painfull ribbs.

"What are you talking about ? And you can't take on Frieza all by yourself !"

"I tried to warn the others...They wouldn't...listen..." He started walking as he said that. Gine accompanied him up the stairs to support him, all the way up to the tower of the building, trying to talk him out of it as they went.

As they reached the balcony at the top, Bardock looked up at a certain point in the sky. "There he is..."

"Bardock please, don't be stupid... You know you can't do this alone !"

He looked back at his wife, knowing all too well this might be the very last time he ever looked at her. She stood there, her fist clenched around the only shoulderband of his armour that was still intact, and a determined look on her face. Though the tears in her eyes hinted at desperation too. "Please don't go... Not you too..." She said as she burst into tears again and pressed herself against him.

"Gine, what other choice do I have... Someone has to do something. I have to try." He said as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, a few seconds longer than the usual quick pecks he gave her. "I'll see you soon..." He whispered as their lips parted. He kept his eyes closed and turned away, knowing he would never be able to leave her there like that if he looked at her for a second longer. So without waiting any longer, he looked up and made a run for the balcony's balustrade. He put one foot on top of it and launched himself into the crimsonred sky, hearing Gine's desperate cries behind him.

"BARDOCK, NO !"

Bardock resisted the urge to look back at her like he always did when he left on a mission. This time he just shook his head. This was for the best.

With a deep breath, he focused his eyes on his target. It was time.

"FRIEZAAAAAAA !"