"Can't we go any faster?"
"Don't rush me! We're going as fast as we can."
"But—"
KABLAM!
Goku turned sharply toward the sound, immediately bringing up an arm to shield his bloodshot eyes from the sudden burst of orange light that flooded the ship. The blinding glare subsided. The star-encrusted canvas of black, infinite space returned to focus, and he found himself staring into an empty void where a planet had existed only moments before. The ship shook violently as the shockwave of expelled atmospheric debris caught up to them. He closed his eyes and concentrated, searching for signs of life in the rapidly cooling wreckage of rock and oxygen-starved flames. Nothing.
No Gohan, no Piccolo, no Bulma, no Vegeta, no Namekians, and most importantly… no Frieza.
At least that was a plus. Come to think of it, he was fairly certain that he had stopped sensing everyone else's ki signatures well before Namek blew up. He guessed that someone had probably used the Dragon Balls to transport them back to Earth. Still… that didn't change the fact that he was now stranded in space, hundreds of billions of miles away from home.
"Well, I suppose you were telling the truth after all."
The remark came from the pilot, the same stubborn stranger who had reluctantly agreed to let Goku aboard his ship. He appeared to be a human in his late thirties, with a neat, ochre-tinged beard, a slick haircut and a pair of piercing grey-blue eyes. He was wearing what looked like a dusty beige dogī that was lacerated with long, singed streaks of burnt fabric, and a long brown cloak was draped down his back.
"Well, I said so, didn't I? You should be glad I found you when I did, or you'd have been toast!" Goku muttered. "Anyway, what do I call you, stranger?"
The pilot let out an exasperated sigh and turned his head to face him. "My name is Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am a Jedi Master on the Jedi High Council… well, I was, at least. I am fairly certain that title has little meaning now."
Goku raised his eyebrows in curiosity and immediately regretted it as a deep wound on his forehead creased painfully and squeezed out a tear of blood. "Jedi Master, huh? I gotta admit, I have no clue what that means. Sounds impressive, though."
The man called Obi-Wan looked puzzled. "You mean to say that you have never heard of the Jedi? You must really not be from around here."
"Nah, not really. I'm a Saiyan who was raised on Earth. I came to help my friends out but I ended up running into a bit of trouble."
"A… Saiyan? I can't say I've ever heard of, let alone met one of you. Are the rest of your species force-sensitive too?"
"Force-what?"
Obi-Wan shifted in his seat, fully turning his body to face him. "Force-sensitive. As in, your living cells are attuned to manipulating the Force."
"Well I don't know about 'the Force'… but I can use ki, if that's what you mean."
"Ki?"
"Yeah. It's kinda hard to explain. All living things have it, it's like a sort of… energy that powers life. If you have enough control over it, you can draw it out and manipulate it. It's kinda strange that you've never heard of it though, cause you—"
"Oh goodness! My good sir, you look quite ruffled! I would most humbly ask that you let me tend to your wounds at once!" A golden, humanoid robot suddenly peeked around the corner of the cockpit and interrupted him.
"Oh. It's fine, really. Besides, it looks like you've got your hands full at the moment." Goku said, turning to look at the motionless young woman at the other end of the ship. "I can hold out for a little longer."
"Well… as you wish, sir." The quirky robot bowed his head in acknowledgment and turned on his golden heels, waddling stiffly towards his patient.
Obi-Wan turned back around and focused his gaze on the vast expanse ahead. "Rest, now. You can explain yourself to me later… Goku. I sense much good in you, and I believe that you may be able to aid us in our efforts to preserve what little we have left. It pains me to say it… but many battles are still to be fought."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You will understand, Saiyan. In time."
"Ha. Haha. HAHAHAHAHAHA!
How poetic. One little explosion, and boom! Frieza and Kakarot are both out of my hair! That means I'm number one now, people. So get used to it! It was real nice of your dad, kid… getting rid of Frieza like that for me? What a guy! He served his purpose well."
"Y-you bastard! You're… you're nothing compared to him! He spared your life, twice!"
"Well he shouldn't have been so soft, should he?! Which leads me to the question of what to do with his brat… kill you now so you don't get strong enough to pester me some day, maybe? Ha.
Don't sweat it, kid. You're the only Saiyan alive besides me. And anyway… I need someone around to polish my boots all day and call me Lord Vegeta… AHAHAHAHAH!"
"He will come back! You'll see! And when he does… he's gonna kick your smug ass!"
"Tsk. Dream on."
Goku woke from troubled dreams to the sound of muffled panic.
The chatter of clicking, whirring machines and frantic shouting seemed far away, barely tickling the edge of his hearing. He breathed in.
Tasteless water filled his lungs. He forced his eyes open and a mixture of light and water flooded them, and he struggled, scrambling to swim upwards, but tautened wires snapped and strained on his tethered limbs.
"Crap! He's awake early! Lower the catalyst level!"
Suddenly, Goku was on his feet, no longer submerged. The wires on his wrists and ankles slacked and slinked away. He bent over in the cramped space and regurgitated a stream of blue-tinted liquid. It was a healing pod! The translucent cylindrical wall began to slide open up in front of him as he hastily wiped his mouth. Was he back on one of Frieza's ships? No, he couldn't be… why would he be in a healing pod? Then again, Zarbon did put Vegeta in one back on Namek, but that was out of carelessness. Goku doubted the same mistake would have been made again.
The narrow exit opened into a large, brightly-lit room, and the sounds of bustling people wracked his de-pressurising ears as he stumbled forward. An assortment of diverse and exotic humanoid creatures wearing white labcoats and face-masks criss-crossed between each other, pushing hospital beds that hovered above the ground and taking hurried notes on spectral clipboards made of light. The harder he focused, the clearer he saw the proliferating rows of corridors and automated devices that seemed to extend long into the distance. Suddenly, his trance was broken by the divergent path of a tall, soft-featured humanoid robot that quickly approached him.
"Patient 20263117: Goku. I see that you have concluded your medicinal stasis. I hope that you are feeling better."
Goku cracked a smile and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, you know what? I feel great! Those things get you healed up real good. But, one question… where am I, exactly?"
"Of course. You are currently in Therapeutic Bay 02264, on the asteroid of Polis Massa."
"What?! On an asteroid? But… but I thought that asteroids were supposed to be on fire and moving really fast!" Goku exclaimed.
The medical bot's programming did not encompass the scolding of stupid questions, however, and calmly replied. "Please do not worry. This particular body is in orbit of a planet, and has an augmented gravitational field to ensure the safety of all of our patients."
Goku shrugged. "I'll take your word for it. By the way, where is that Obi-Wan guy? Last thing I remember was falling asleep, and then…"
"Master Kenobi is currently with Lady Padmé. He specifically sent me to retrieve you as soon as you awoke. Lady Padmé is currently in a critical condition."
"Really? We'd better get going then."
"Certainly."
"Your majesty, we have located Lord Frieza."
"Bring him in. Now."
"Sir, he's in a critical condition. We need more time to find a way to retrieve him without—"
"Captain, are you disobeying my orders?"
"No, your majesty. W-w-we'll bring him in as soon as possible."
"My lord, we've found Lord Vader."
"Good. Get a medical capsule immediately."
"Yes, sir, right away."
"Lieutenant, contact the Augmentation Bay. Tell them to have life-support synthetics ready for our arrival."
"Understood, sir."
Goku swiftly followed the gliding robot across countless openings and corridors until they reached a secluded area, rather more neat and not nearly as bustling with patients as the previous rooms they had passed. In the centre of the cosy and poignantly-illuminated chamber behind a pane of glass, the same young woman who was with Obi-Wan lay on a hospital with a pained expression and her entire lower body covered with an opaque plastic sheath. She writhed meekly under the encouraging touch of another medical robot. Goku had seen a familiar scene somewhere before…
Of course! Chi-Chi had been in exactly the same position around the time that Gohan was born at their little home in the countryside. After much toil, Goku managed to put two and two together. The woman was giving birth!
But something was wrong. He closed his eyes. Although it was almost small enough not to even notice, her ki was fading, fast. If this kept up, she was going to die! And something else was off. Her ki wasn't receding into herself, as Goku knew to be the case when a living being died. It was escaping her body… dispersing into the surrounding air, the surrounding space. It was surreal, and unlike anything he had ever witnessed.
"Do you feel that, too?"
His eyes snapped open and he turned towards the familiar voice.
"She's dying." Obi-Wan whispered. "Her essence is returning to the Force."
Goku looked back at her. "So that's what that is? I've never seen energy fade like that before. What can we do about it? I can help! She's going to die if we don't try something!"
Obi-Wan put his face in his palms. "The medics are doing the best they can. We can save the babies, but… Padmé isn't likely to survive the birth."
Goku's eyebrows raised. "Babies? There's more than one at the same time?!"
"Yes. Had you never heard of that happening before? You really are a strange one." Obi-Wan looked woefully exasperated.
"I dunno, maybe? But how can—" Goku began to say, but a shriek of pain from inside the maternity chamber interrupted him.
"Master Kenobi. Your assistance is required."
The toppled tyrant awoke.
The turbulent nightmare fractured in an instant. His eyes snapped open, and artificial light tickled his retinas, forcing him to squint. He sat up with surprising speed, and what would have been described as unimaginable pain by any other creature was not felt.
A fist suddenly clenched by his side. Not his own fist… merely a piece of grubby metal that resembled it. And yet, the sensation of his knuckles bulging furiously in the frustrated gesture felt distinctly real. He began to take notice of the rest of his once-severed body, and the assortment of metallic parts that took its place.
His head creaked round slowly. The blank gaze passed briefly by the frightened and reverent faces of his loyal servants and came to rest on a tall, familiar figure behind a pane of shadowed glass above. His steel-clad brow furrowed as he contorted his composed face into a silent snarl.
"Father, set a course for Earth. We're going monkey poaching."
The Chosen One regained consciousness.
Charred skin crackled under his writhing body. His vision swam briefly, and soon his yellowed eyes focused on a shiny black frame floating ominously above his head, moving excruciatingly slowly towards his ruined face. He tried to flail his limbs in agony, expecting the cauterised stumps to barely move… but they were stumps no more.
Hands crunched into fists of black leather and carbon fibre, toes curled onto plastic rims infused with steel, and with every heartbeat the clank of twisting iron shuddered in his chest. The blackness began to consume his view, masking him from the incessant noise and naked light that assaulted his every sense. The mask hissed with gas and locked into place.
A single, rattling breath escaped his lungs.
"Vader. Are you awake? Can you hear me?"
"Yes, master. Where is Padmé?"
"It seems that, in your anger, you… killed her."
A long, terrible silence ensued, broken only by the rasping inhalations and exhalations that echoed around the tiny chamber.