By Tuxedo Mike
TSU-ZU!
A sound.
One single, air-rending sound.
It is the herald of my doom.
The beam it signalled has already hit my chest. Punched through my armour, the signal of my heritage. I know not why I wore it in the first place. Perhaps, it was a signal to Otou-san of my Saiya-Jin pride, and meant to show him I was worthy of being his son. Perhaps not. It all becomes moot as the I feel the charge press against my skin.
Otou-san… I realise now, what it was for you to die as you did… For what you did… I know you won't admit it to yourself… Let alone me, maybe even Okaa-san… But it wasn't just a matter of pride, making you fight. I know, deep in your heart, that you did it for us… The people you care about, but hate to admit you do… The only difference between me now, and you, back then… In the time before I knew you... before you could know me…
It pushes against my skin. At my best, prepared, I realise I could have stopped it. It's annoying, in a small kind of way. It's Ironic. From what I'm told, when Frieza killed my Otou-san, it was with something a little like this. Just a lot… smaller… Kuso. Death. It runs in the family. It's a bad joke Okaa-san made when Gohan-San died. She was bitter, and it showed. But It seems appropriate for now…
Ow. I feel my skin sear away, as if it was never there. I sense Otou-San turning, somehow, and he's looking at me with abject horror. Maybe he sees on my face something he recognises. It wouldn't surprise me. I'm more like him than he wants to admit. Right down to my death. "Like Father, like Son."
It burns. It sears my muscle, and breaks my ribs one by one. My perception of time is so warped, every break takes a eternity. I want to scream, but by then, I have only one lung, and my pride makes me keep the other in check. I'll remain stoic to the end, Otou-san. I know you would be…
I see the clouds move in, taking my last glimpse of you from me. As I never imagined you. Standing there, concerned for me… Ashamed? No. Not at all. Not now.
As I lose my spine, and feel the blast pass through me, I see Okaa-san, writing "Hope" on the side of my capsule, as I prepared to save a time past gone, and stop a future that we never wanted to come to be. I wince, realising I've disappointed you. Doomed Everyone. Goku-San, Kurirrin-san, Picollo-San, Gohan-San… Otou-San.
Otou-san. Okaa-san. No matter what else, I will make you as proud of me as I can, even in death. I will keep my dignity to the end. Even… Even…
Even though I have failed you…