Blood War

Secrecy

"They're sending me to Earth. I need to find my brother, I don't even know if he's still alive..." His voice was low and gruff, but there was a melancholy undertone that stammered through the final words of his sentence, he took a fragmented breath that hung in a cloud in the air and dissipated into the ether of the small, dark room where they shared their only moments. She held him close, wrapping her arms around his large, muscular shoulders, he trembled beneath her embrace and she struggled to pull a smile to her face, he was tired and she was exhausted, tired of hiding, running and pretending, one day… one day it'll all be over.

"Be very patient; remember your training, my love. If he is alive, they cannot find out why you are there, play along with that bastard's war games, get your brother and get home safely. This child is due next month and the only way I can get through this by myself is knowing that we're building a better future for our baby. For our family." She pauses, draws breath from deep within her to fuel her strength, "I love you." He wrapped his large hand around her face, allowing his fingers to trace her cheekbones and jaw line, the tears form in her eyes; she closed them and tried to turn away from him. He smiled, admiring her spirit, never wanting to show weakness, the cracks in her façade show and the tears rolled down her face, he wiped them away with his thumb and murmured a hushing noise soothingly,

"I love you too; I'll be back before you know it and we can finally stop hiding! Things will be better, we will finally have that life together that we've been dreaming of, just you, me…" he took his other hand and ran it over her belly swollen with pregnancy, "…and this little guy."

She smiled tenderly; wrapping her fingers around his and stroking her stomach with her other hand, she shook quietly, she couldn't remember the last time her hands didn't tremble. Their life hadn't been easy, they could easily go moons without seeing one another and although they had always planned to start a family together, they'd hoped that they would at least be living on the same planet, never mind under the same roof. Silence fell over the dark room in which they lay, naked and frightened, he pulled her closer to him and kissed her, his lips were so rough and hers were so soft, his hand ran from her stomach to her spine, stroking the vertebrae with his fingers, she moved her hand to his hips, fingertips tracing scars – the memories of the battles that had kept them apart and tears stung her eyes once more, as if sensing her sorrow he kissed her harder, her tears trickled onto his nose and he felt the prick of sadness burn at his own tear ducts, his back buckled and his breath cracked as he kissed her, he was terrified that he wouldn't make it back or that by the time he did someone would've found her. He would've found her, would he know who he she was? Of course he would, he would kill her… or worse, keep her as some sort of pet like he did her brother. He trembled and broke their kiss, his breathing was ragged and they held each other, sobbing quietly into each other, lost in their fears.

"He won't get you - they won't take you from me. We're going to be fine, if I don't make it back-"

"Don't talk like that, you'll come back to me, you always do, you are one of our race's greatest warriors." Her voice was calm but her insides were on fire, if that tyrant caught wind of what he was doing he would have her husband murdered, made an example of. It wasn't worth thinking about but their lives were a secret their love must pay for. The world was changing, but their lives must remain if there was to be any prosperity in what had become a dark and dangerous world for their people. "You have to do what he asks of you, just for the time being. Then when he falls, we can finally emerge from the shadows, no one will stop us. We can rebuild." Her voice was a roar wrapped in a whisper, he stared into her eyes, they were deep and loving, but they had seen such terrible things, such horror that no soul should bear. He nodded and she replied with a smile, she held his face and kissed him once more, only his kiss could stop the fire that raged within her.

A figure quietly entered the room, the door creaked under the entrant's weight and the shadows shrouded their identity. Their hearts skipped a beat, dread became them. Surely no one knew he was there? What was to become of them? He wouldn't allow his love to be taken easily from him, not whilst his son slept peacefully in her belly.

The warrior moved quickly from the bed, uncompromising love caused his brow to knit and his stomach to knot, in a matter of nanoseconds from his palm came a pulsing energy, he was prepared to do anything to protect them. As the pulsing energy grew stronger it illuminated the room and the visitor's face was revealed, their hearts still pounding they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shit guys, are you ever not fucking?" He exclaimed jokingly, the warmness of friendship was evident in his laugh, he turned his gaze from the male to the female, and she smiled and wrapped the bed linen around her as the warrior's arm defenses lowered and he grabbed a pillow to hide his genitals,

"I wasn't expecting you so soon. Apologies for our state of undress, we didn't get much of a honeymoon last time I visited!" the warrior smiled, he hugged the visitor who returned the gesture with gusto, "These days pass so quickly, as much as I love your company I was hoping for a little longer with my wife." The visitor smiled and bowed and the woman returned his smile and tipped her head to greet him,

"It's good to see you ma'am. You're looking radiant, I had no idea you were expecting!" His voice was warm and comforting; he turned his glance to her husband, "I'm only sorry I had to come so quickly." She tied the bed linens into a knot and stood to meet her guest, her pregnancy made her small frame appear smaller and her dark hair was tousled into knots from spending the last few hours in bed, she hugged him he smelt of space and war, his fascist armour was cold against her skin,

"Thank-you for coming, I know these times are hard for you, my friend. Your loyalty and protection shall be rewarded; we can only pray to the Gods that when you return it is under better circumstances and that you're ready to become our child's god-father." The words that escaped her lips were almost a whisper; she knew it was time for her husband and her dear friend to leave, when and if she would see them again was a question of fate that she would rather not chance her hand. The visitor left them to dress and say their goodbyes, as her husband pulled on his uniform the woman flinched, the armour that he wore was a constant reminder of their pain and suffering, it was a symbol of their struggle, of their secrecy and of the bastard that caused it. She garnished her soft curves with a dress her mother had made her and they forlornly made their way outside, the people of this planet were kind and sympathetic to their situation, so they need not hide their solemn in their goodbyes.

He turned to her, anguish in his dark eyes, there was so much that needed to be said, so many ways he could tell her how much he loved her, how much he cared about her and how sorry he was to miss the birth of his child. She wished to tell him so badly how she longed for him just to stay, but that bastard would find out and they on top of all of those they were protecting would be killed, this sacred place destroyed and she couldn't live with that thought, almost as much as she couldn't live with the thought of losing him, it had been eight months since they had last seen each other, their child was due in little under a month, she had hoped he might have been able to stay to see the birth before he had to return to become a pawn in war games and planet broking, dealing in death that was far from noble, far from the ways of their kind. Her eyes creased and glistened with tears, she placed both hands on her stomach feeling the gentle turning of her baby soothed her.

"I'm so sorry, baby I wish things were different. I need you to be strong; I need you to be all that you can be. I know that you'll be an amazing mother, you have given me the greatest gift any man could ask for, you have given me a son, and you grow more beautiful each time I see you. I need you to know..." his voice cracked and he reached for her hand, his dark gaze fell to his feet and took a deep breath to quiet his racing mind, "I need you to know, that I love you more every day and not a second goes by where I am not dreaming of you, you are the moon of my life."

Her heart pulled, with every breath she took she her insides ached, she did not fight her tears, she was so tired, they painted her skin, her voice trembled and her arms shook, grief gripped her it quelled her fire, it replaced it with a deep, black sorrow as it dawned upon her, the love of her life was being sent to a far away part of the galaxy, her child was almost due, their futures were uncertain. Their visitor called to them, he could only keep hidden for so long and they were relying on him to keep their secret safe, the secret that their people depended on.

"I love you too, just promise me one thing"

"Anything, my dearest."

"Promise me you'll come back."

It was once told that the galaxy used to be a utopia of thriving planets and sparkling stars where parents of all races used to gaze upon, and tell their children to wish upon them. It was a simple time, pleasant in comparison to the present. This all changed after the blood-thirsty tyrant Frieza, under the guise of a Planet Broker wiped out life on thousands of planets throughout the universe, harvesting the occupant's lives to slavery and death. They used to tell stories of my race, a proud race, a warrior's race. The Sayian. We promised to die an honorable death; we yearned to die like warriors. But like our brothers and sisters, the other helpless races, we were slaughtered. A handful of us lived to tell the tale; we had to make our own twisted existence in this galaxy with no King, no order and foreign laws amongst aliens who cast us out. We were lost, what are the people to do without their King, their families, friends and honor? We were tormented by madness, desolation and anarchy. We sought resolution and retribution. I was left waiting, wondering…surely this can't be it? Surely we can't be the only ones left?

One Man's Treasure

It was the dawn of winter, and the air was cold and harsh, under the cover of dusk the world slept. No one suspected the tranquility of the Earth would be jeopardized so soon after their unsung heroes returned from their battle on the planet Namek, quiet and still, the inhabitants of the planet were at peace. For one young hero this tranquility seemed like a fleeting moment.

Goku bolted upright, that all-familiar jolt of oncoming danger shot down his spine. He ran his hand through his dark hair, and turned his gaze to his sleeping wife, he had spent too much time away from her, all he wanted to do was pull the duvet back over him and wrap his arms around her soft body as she slept, smell the perfume of her shampoo in her ebony hair and bury his face into her shoulder – waking up to her kiss before a day of absolute normality. But, that fighter's instinct kicked in and it seemed that normality was not to be on the agenda for the sayian. He felt that instinct tug on every fibre of his being, try as he may he could not deny the thirst of the fight brewing within his soul it was the burden of his race, but this morning something felt eerily different, although Goku was unable to identify just what was different about the feeling radiating from gut, he knew that it was familiar. Unable to resist temptation he silently crept out of bed and pulled on his clothes, it was getting closer, something deep down inside him that he'd long since forgotten, but the question was, what could it be? He couldn't understand why he was drawn it. With his boots in hand he made his way through his home, if he could even call it a home, he was never there. He stopped briefly outside his son's room, he mused whether or not he should wake the sleeping child, Gohan had become so strong, he had grown-up so fast, his son was a warrior just like him. No. This time he let his son be, he let him sleep blissfully unaware of what could be another threat to mankind. He pushed his weight against the front door and it let out a moan beneath his weight, the air was crisp and cool as it hit Goku's skin and nostrils, he could feel it hit his lungs with every silent breath he took. He closed the door behind him and scanned his surroundings, the sky was dark and the universe lit up the sky with stars and magic. He pulled his boots on and pushed his power level down. His body filled with electricity as another jolt shot through him, 'What is that?' he thought, his brow knit, he wasn't going to wait for whatever it was to make its way to him, he had to find where it was headed and fast, he was certain the other Z Fighters would've sensed whatever was approaching and would be on their way. He took a deep breath and pushed off into the air, there was an unrelenting cold feeling stirring in the pit of his stomach. Something was definitely different about this oncoming threat, if it was even a threat? Why did whatever was out there seem to call to him? He had never felt like that before, so drawn to an energy he'd never felt. It wasn't even that long since he'd returned from Namek, he wasn't even sure that he had another fight in him if that's what whoever owned the energy approaching the earth even wanted. All Goki could do was pray that the visitor was peaceful.

"Goku."

The voice was a low, almost a growl. Goku knew immediately who it was, he spun himself around in the air, slowing down he was greeted by the Namekian Piccolo. "You sensed it too then?" Piccolo's voice was calm; he didn't seem to be reacting too badly to the energy approaching which set Goku's mind racing.

The two warriors stopped to discuss what was approaching and witnessed the vessel crash landed a few miles from where they were, when they flew to investigate they were joined immediately by Vegeta.

"What do you think is going on here?" Piccolo asked the two sayians, he'd noticed both of them seemed distracted. It wasn't a concern when Vegeta was quiet, however Goku's silence was intimidating. Vegeta turned to Piccolo, his arms were folded and he seemed off-colour by still typically ignorant and aggressive,

"If we knew we wouldn't be here, would we?" he spat, "It's taking them long enough to emerge from that wreck of a ship that I'm starting to wonder if perhaps they died on impact."

Goku nodded, his eyes scanned the crater for any signs of life there was something there, but it certainly wasn't a strong presence, the bizarre urge that Goku was feeling had been replaced with a morbid curiosity to put a face to feeling.

"I think you're right, Vegeta. I think we should go take a look." The sayian's eyes were focused, his brow was knit with intensity, Vegeta agreed with Goku and they immediately made their way into the crater. The craft was old, it looked like it had at least seen three or four decades in space, it was worn from travel and battle. It was a decent size, enough for three or four people, Vegeta kicked the craft a couple of times and it rattled loudly back at him, he grunted disapprovingly. The two sayians searched for the entrance to the craft but didn't have any luck.

"Maybe we should just blast the damned thing, Kakarot." He said angrily, Goku shook his head, he placed his hand on the ship,

"I don't think so, Vegeta. I've got this weird feeling… there's just something so familiar about this. It's like I've seen this before." The young Sayian mused, the older Sayian was taken aback he'd felt the same but pride kept him from saying he'd also felt a familiar presence. Goku knocked on the cooling metal, "Hello in there!" he yelled. There was a stirring in the craft, they heard the murmuring of voices, the metal of the craft was too thick for them to hear the words. The two stood in awe as a 'u' shaped beam of light erupted from the ship, there was a hiss of oxygen as a door appeared and opened fully, the two sayians took a step back and waited for the light to fade, shielding their eyes with their forearms as a rush of hot air blew past them stirring up dust and debris from the crash site, their hearts began to pound, they stepped back further all they could sense was a diminishing power level. The namek stood and watched as the sun began to rise, unaware of the two sayians quickening heartbeats. When the dust finally settled the two exchanged a glance, they eyes met in confusion and a bizarre sense of familiarity. "Should…we look?" Goku asked quietly, his fellow Sayian nodded. They gingerly approached the open vessel, inside the battered remains were whirring, a computer was frantically trying to repair itself, the two went inside and began to explore the equipment inside the ship looked like it had seen better days, what was worse was that there was blood on the floor, it seemed fresh – perhaps an injury the alien had received on impact?

"Vegeta – look! Oh my god…" Goku's voice trailed off as his were drawn to the corner of the room where the trail of blood finished, there was a woman and child in the corner, the woman lay on the floor and the child sobbed over her body, the child looked up upon hearing Goku's voice, there was fear in its young eyes as it darted across the ship to where the two sayians were, the child bared it's teeth in an almost animalistic way, Vegeta and Goku were taken aback by the child's animosity, Vegeta was more concerned by the child's striking resemblance to someone he knew,

"Boy! Who are you and why are you here?" the Sayian prince snapped, he approached the young boy, maybe only about three or four years old, the boy backed away fear evident in his large dark eyes,

"Who are you and where is my dad?" the boy snapped, his voice was full of fear and anger, he glared at Vegeta, Goku looked at the two of them, there was certainly a resemblance between the two of them, surely they weren't related in some way? Had Vegeta fathered a child somewhere deep in the Universe before coming to Earth? The Sayian Prince seemed oblivious to the boy's striking resemblance to himself, he was still fraught with the bizarre sensation of familiarity that gripped him prior to the vessel crashing.

"Vegeta, the kid – he has a tail!" he spluttered, his eyes were wide with shock, he scanned the boy's tail protruding from his loose fitting navy tunic, could the child be a Sayian? It would certainly explain the boy's warrior looks that the Sayian Prince shared. Vegeta shot Goku an aggressive look and rolled his eyes,

"Don't be absurd, Kakarot." He retorted, folding his arms. The boy's ears pricked, and he turned to Vegeta a feeling of anger and valor swept through his tiny body,

"I do too have a tail! And how did you know my name?" the boy growled, his voice was strong and defiant, it seemed proud. Vegeta and Goku both gasped at the child's words and sudden change in demeanor, Vegeta blinded by anger grabbed the boy by roughly his shoulders, he looked at his tail and then directed his gaze back to the boy's face, the child upon feeling the Sayian Prince's aggression suddenly reverted back to being very pale, bruised and frightened, intimidated by the older Sayian's strength and disregard for his safety he began to clam up, his tiny palms began to sweat and he trembled in Vegeta's hands. He began to not only fear for his mother's life but his own, the inhabitants of this planet were not as hospitable as she had promised.

"Now then, boy. What do you mean 'your name'?" Vegeta spat at the boy, his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed into a tight, uncompromising scowl, terrified the boy frantically cast his gaze over to a very perplexed Goku, clearly identifying him as the softer of the two warriors, Goku stared back at him, he ran his rough hand through his mess of thick black hair. The boy's words shook him.

"My name is Kakarot." He said softly, he swallowed his fear with the lump in his throat, his small cheeks flushed warm as he began to fear where the warrior's interrogation was going, he had to force the words past his lips, "I'm here to find my dad and my mum is hurt, she needs help."

"Are you a Sayian, boy?" Vegeta demanded tightening his grip on the child's shoulders; the boy yelped out in pain and squirmed in the Sayian's grip thrashing his long black hair, the pain shot through his small body like electricity from Vegeta's steely fingers.

"Yes I am!" the boy snapped fervently, Vegeta was taken aback, in the back of his mind he knew the boy was just another half-breed probably mixed with some sort of ridiculous humanoid alien similar to the inhabitants of Earth, Goku and him were the only pure Sayians left in the universe, this he was certain of.

The child's words made an impression on Goku, and unable to allow someone who had done him no wrong to die the Sayian made his way towards the back of the ship towards the boy's mother. Through the flickering emergency lights and faulting consoles glow she lay illuminated on the ground the bleeding was coming from her upper abdomen, Goku scanned the woman taking in her bizarre attire, her face was so familiar - who was she? He was also shocked to discover that the woman had a tail too, remembering the child's answer to being asked if he was a Sayian he felt it only necessary to alert his comrade,

"Uh, Vegeta. I think you may want to take a look at this." Goku extended his arm to the woman that lay bleeding out in front of him and gently shook her, he was careful not to cause the woman any further harm, her wounds were severe enough even if she had come here to fight she was in no condition engage in combat, her life hung by a thread. He was alarmed at the scarring on her face and arms it certainly looked as if she'd been in battle in the recent past, but Goku just couldn't understand why her face was so familiar… she looked almost identical to someone he knew, but who…? She looked similar ages to Goku and Vegeta, but how could that possibly be? The rest of the sayians were dead, wiped out by Frieza in fear. Vegeta still with a firm grip on the boy approached Goku, his eyes widened and he went limp, releasing the boy who ran to his mother's aid the boy stroked his mother's hair and spoke quietly to her, she responded to her child's concerned whimpering, the voice that escaped her lips was quiet and cracked with pain,

"Kakarot, my son…" her eyes flickered open, pained irises scanned her child's face, she managed to pull a smile to her scarred features, the deep scar across her eye from battle had damaged her pupil and iris causing it to discolour to a paler her green than her right eye, she shakily lifted her hand and placed it on the trembling boy's face, he sniffed as he blinked back tears, the woman with the dark hair's smile disappeared as her eyes scanned the room she spotted the two sayians and growled pulling her soon closer to her,

"No mum! No you're hurt! You're too weak!" the boy squealed, she hushed him as she pulled herself to knees, hissing under her breath from the searing pain in her abdomen, she never took her eyes off of the two warriors as she shakily made it to her feet, her attire was a navy blue skintight sayian combat suit with a white armoured plate across her torso, there was a symbol obscured by the blood loss, she tentatively touched the wound, a piece of metal stuck angrily from her flesh, tearing the blue material across chest, a drying blood stain splattered across her clavicle and up towards her neck and left shoulder, she ushered the boy behind her, her lips parted she struggled to catch her breath, never removing her glare from the two strangers before her.

"You." She gasped, accompanied by a cough, "Who are you?"

The two sayians exchanged a worried look, they were unsure how to approach the woman, and she clearly had the fatal combination of a sayian's temper accompanied by the maternal need to protect her child. Vegeta took a step towards her and her tail flicked angrily, she stood her ground baring her teeth at the Sayian Prince,

"I am Vegeta, Prince of the Sayians. If you are who you say you are, you should kneel before me." The Sayian scoffed, his voice was dripping with an ignorant pride, the woman's glower turned into a smile, she licked her lips and slowly a throaty laugh erupted from her, the sayians were stumped.

"That is the biggest pile of shit I've ever heard! Vegeta wouldn't be this far away from Frieza; as if that bastard would let him out of his sight, his little token from a father trying to preserve his race, I'm not even sure he's still alive." She sneered, her body was heavy and her head was too light, her vision was blurring, Vegeta snorted at the woman's insolence, her inability to believe that he was the Prince of all Sayians was insulting,

"Blast you woman! I am Vegeta, I am Sayian Royalty!"

She threw her head back and laughed harder causing a searing pain to rattle through her entire body, it took every ounce of energy in her to instinctively lift her hands to the wound in her abdomen she needed to apply pressure before she bled out, warm liquid coated her fingers and the copper smell filled her nose, her head was spinning and her feet seemed to be unable to keep her steady as her body began to sway, despite her pain she continued to laugh at the sayian's comments. The room begun to spin quicker she felt herself lose her footing and her vision blurred to the point of blindness, in that moment there was no pain. Her body hit the floor and the sayians watched silently, their breathing quick and minds racing. There were more of them, Vegeta struggled to quiet his mind, he must know more – she couldn't die, not until she told him everything he had all of the information he needed. The boy ran to her side, he desperately tried to stop the bleeding with his hands; he felt the panic rise in his gut as he prayed his mother wasn't dead.

"Let's take her to Kami's place."