Breaking Free

King Vegeta wasn't surprised when a guard informed him about the nursery. There was nothing left, not even the handful of babies that might have been in there. If their mothers had cared, they shed no tears. Rumor was that a few had smiled. In their eyes, what his son had done was far more honorable than ripping them away from their mothers and turning into savage monsters years later.

What surprised him though were the reports of suicides that filtered its way to him. Every pregnant female, after his son had destroyed the nursery, took that as a signal. They had had enough and if the Saiya-jins would die as a result of their choice, they were fine with it. They would not add to the future ranks; nor would they allow their sons to become like the Soldiers that raped them and they would not allow another female to know that fate.

King Vegeta sighed. He had a choice; he could set an example of Prince Vegeta, or allow the rebellion his son had started to escalate. Either way, the minute Frieza discovered the fate of every pregnant female and any child under the age of one, he realized that they were destined to die anyway.

"Sire, your son was reported in the launching area. With him are two babies, but we're uncertain if they're the two that were recently born. What are your orders? Do we arrest him?"

"If you can find a suicidal idiot strong enough to do so, then they're more than welcomed to try," King Vegeta suggested. "Prince Vegeta is simply acting out... Would you like to take his place tomorrow?"

The guard paled, saluted, and left. It was no secret that Frieza was supposed to take the boy. Some wondered if killing him was a better alternative, but King Vegeta hadn't had the will to save anything or anyone. It seemed that his son was far stronger than him... it wasn't a physical strength, but a mental one, and he was displaying that as he tried to find a way to save two babies that would simply die regardless of what he did. Prince Vegeta would learn... The Ice-jins would break any will to fight.

Bardock groaned. What am I seeing? There had been a powerful explosion. Was that the Planet Vegeta? It wasn't that he cared. As far as he was concerned, the Saiya-jins were just as evil as the Ice-jin Empire. It hadn't always been like that, but how much blood was on their hands because they lacked the will or strength to ignore the orders to slaughter innocent races like the Karnassans. The images changed. He saw a boy with a black tail, a female beside him. Does she have a silver tail? Impossible. Her eyes were like rays of golden sunlight and pure. There's something special about her, but what? Bardock saw several possibilities and almost all of them resulted in the annihilation of most or all of the Saiya-jin race.

A black rift separated the two. The boy would have a lot of influences and people in his life, and like the girl, he was also different than the others of his kind. While savage, he lacked the desire to murder without reason; he didn't have the same instincts that all Saiya-jins had, beaten and tortured out of him. The girl on the other hand. She was alone, walking down a path of sacrifice and suffering. He saw no major influence in her life... except one, but there was also a painful rift between them. It was his oldest son, but to his knowledge, Raditz was out on assignment and he wanted nothing to do with females.

Why was she alone the way she was? It made no sense. One, she was a female. Second, she had the expression of a lone wolf. That would never happen. What the hell is she and why do I suddenly give a damn? If she's alone, then that means she won't have to suffer like the others.

Another image appeared, and like the other female, she too had a silver tail. Who are you? What's happening to me?

You are a link to a past that has been buried and forgotten by the Ice-jin Empire and you are right; the Saiya-jins of your time are nearly beyond salvation. That girl in your mind, whether she lives or dies, will determine the path that the survivors will take. The wheels are already in motion and destiny depends on the choices that you make. The woman faded, and then he saw images of another child, Prince Vegeta. He was taking two babies and trying to place them in a space pod; they were the black-tailed and silver-tailed infants. While she didn't reappear, he heard her voice in his mind. You have seen the end of your kind, but not all of you will die. The legends will determine if the survivors will have a future or not.

He couldn't stay here... He needed to wake up. Frieza was coming and it wasn't for a social visit. Those children, they were the only chance his kind had and that was exactly why he was going to destroy them. If they survived, then what was happening on Planet Vegeta would continue and, as far as he was concerned, it was not a future he wanted to protect.

The glass around him began to crack and with an explosion of power, he woke up and broke free. Prince Vegeta was going to send them to a distant planet, marking them as low level fighters that no one would go after. While he understood what the boy was trying to accomplish, what would sending them to another planet do other than keep them out of Frieza's reach? With no one to guide or train them, the results were just as bad as if they had stayed. And yet, he didn't know how, but the girl would learn how to fight.

No... The Prince needed to kill her... Anything was better than what the females of their kind had to endure... If the boy wouldn't or couldn't do it; he would. Looking around, he quickly put on his armor, his scouter the last thing. "Did my crew make it back?" he asked.

"Yes commander, but they were sent back out a couple of hours ago."

"Under who's orders? I'm their commander!"

The tech trembled, too frightened to move or answer. Another guard entered and bowed... "Commander, King Vegeta was following Frieza's orders. Two hours ago, they were asked to report to the Planet Meat."

"Frieza? Why would he want us to go there? That's a low level assignment. We haven't done one of those in over a year."

"Be that as it may, commander... King Vegeta signed off on the orders."

Bardock had a brief image... his crew... lying dead. If what he was seeing was true, then arguing further was pointless. His head still hurt and he had to concentrate to stay conscious. First things first; he needed to get to the loading docs... if he was quick enough, he could stop Prince Vegeta and kill both the brats with him. It wasn't something that he wanted to do, but it was necessary. One of them was perhaps his own son, and that's why he was going to do it. Raditz... his first born... he had never seen the boy, and he doubted that he ever would. He couldn't make up for what the boy had suffered, but he'd not let it happen to another of his blood.

"Commander... Where are you going?"

"What concern is it of yours?" He growled, his dark gaze a warning. The guard backed away. There wasn't a Soldier alive that wasn't aware of the missions Bardock had taken lately. While some had laughed, they weren't doing it now and they were afraid of him. "King Vegeta... he wanted to see you. You're to report to the throne room immediately."

"No."

"Commander?!"

"If he wants an audience, he can track me down. For years I've done what I was asked... However, traditions are made to be broken. Red tail or not... I will not serve a traitor and a coward. I will find my first born... I will do what King Vegeta has failed to do. Now... if you're wanting to die... continue standing in my way!"

The guard jumped aside. He had no idea what to do... If he appeared before King Vegeta, he was going to die. If he didn't appear and report Bardock... Suddenly, life seemed very short and meaningless.

Vegeta was almost done when his scouter went off. It was almost too late, and he rolled out of the way, the control panel a spark of smoke and melted wires. Bardock didn't stop there; he blasted every console and ship, leaving the ones with the babies for last. He didn't have to ask. Bardock was just as determined to save his son and the only way he knew how to do it was to kill him. There was anger in his eyes... hate... and he lifted his hand to fire at them.

He briefly thought of jumping between them, but he was equally curious to see if that barrier would stop him? Staggering to his feet, he took a terrifying step and found himself staring at a pulsing, white light. Vegeta couldn't believe he was going to protect something as small as two babies. It wasn't something they did, but it was as instinctive as breathing. He couldn't figure out what color Bardock's tail was... yes, he had heard what Gina had told his father, and it was hidden behind a dark sash. "I don't give a damn if you're King Vegeta's son... If you don't move... I will kill you," he promised. "On the other hand, perhaps killing you would be doing you a favor. Frieza doesn't exactly throw out a welcoming party for his newest members."

"I won't move, commander. If I do, then I'm just like my father. While I understand why you feel killing them is necessary, I feel that it's just as necessary to save them, and that's by sending them to another planet!"

"What will that accomplish? They will have no one to teach them how to fight or survive; the result is just as bad as leaving them here to become a part of the 'Great Cycle' of life. You're just delaying what I can do right here, right now, and they won't have to suffer when I do it!"

"Do you really want to kill them?"

"No. However," Bardock's energy grew and the scouter on Vegeta's head exploded, unable to keep up with the increase. For a brief moment, he saw regret in the Soldier's eyes. "I'm tired. Our race has no purpose and if we're going to die, then those two will do so at my hand, not Frieza's, and not a spineless coward that thrives on hurting our females."

Vegeta didn't realize he had backed up until he was pressed against the open door of the space pod. He felt a tail circle around his wrist and with terrifying accuracy, he watched Bardock fire. The blast was a lot stronger than the one he had used in the nursery, but just like then, a silver and gold barrier sprang up. However, there were hints of red as well. Glancing down, he saw his sister staring at him, reaching for him, and without thinking he picked her up.

Bardock didn't stop and with a wave that could decimate entire armies, he unleashed it at Vegeta and the babies. The thing about Saiya-jin babies were that they were unique to other races. They were intelligent, alert, and she proved that when she touched his hand, and the barrier expanded until the entire space pod was protected. The landing doc trembled and he had no idea how long the barrier could or would last, but he watched in baffled amazement as the attack redirected towards Bardock. He almost didn't dodge in time, and bracing himself, he felt the sting of his own attack as his feet were pushed backwards.

He had to stand there a moment and stare at the shield that started to fade, the girl glaring at him. He had never seen anything like what she had done or her; if she hadn't been with Vegeta or his son, there wouldn't even be a landing pod to find their remains. Snarling, he phased out of her sight, and before Vegeta could stop Bardock; she was snatched from his hands, dangling in front of him.

"Can you do that again, brat?" Another energy blast began to form in his hand, aimed at Vegeta and his son; however, before he could fire, he felt a painful blow to his face. Stunned, he tried to figure out what had struck him when it happened over and over, Bardock forced to drop the snarling female. Rubbing his jaw, he had to admit; she intrigued him. His son wasn't normal either; he was glaring at him with hateful intensity, crawling towards the girl and taking her hand. Neither baby was crying; they should have been, and the fact that they weren't had him hesitating.

"Now you know why I don't want to kill them," Prince Vegeta said, placing them back in the space pod. "I tried... twice... she protected him both times. It seems, however, this time was slightly different. When she protected Kakarot, the shield only absorbed an attack, but when she protected both of us, your attack was reflected instead.

"I have to admit... I don't know anything about a silver tail Saiya-jin other than that the black tails were protected by her."

"She protected all the Saiya-jins; it wasn't just the black tails," Vegeta corrected.

"You know about them?"

"My mother said she was a descendant; I've never told anyone, but considering what my sister is, I can't hide that fact any longer."

Vegeta hit the button that closed their space pod. Kicking it off the landing doc, he already knew the programming would kick in as soon as it got far enough away to launch. Their space pods were designed that way and this time Bardock didn't try to stop them. "Whatever," he growled.

The Prince tried to hide his growing fear, but he glanced over his shoulder at the commander anyway. "Are you a black tailed Saiya-jin?"

"How do you know about that?"

"I heard a woman tell my father. She challenged him to keep your son alive, daring him to be something other than a coward."

"What a stupid woman... He could have killed her."

"She was already dying." He saw a flash of pain in Bardock's eyes. No, he wasn't foolish enough to think that the commander loved her, but he hadn't hated her either. He had just tried to give her some measure of peace and safety by giving her a child so other Soldiers wouldn't touch or hurt her for awhile. Bardock hadn't really wanted another son... He didn't even know the first one.

"So she did it... she chose to carry him to full term?"

"It was the only way out for her... I respect her for it; just like I respected my mother. My mother was never given an option to carry us to term. King Vegeta ordered it and towards the end they restrained her... She didn't want to have my sister..."

Bardock didn't bother to apologize. It was pointless, and it wouldn't change anything. Life was cruel and unfair and they had no choice but to accept it. Curling his fingers into two tight fists... "If you're so concerned that they won't survive; join them." Prince Vegeta challenged.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm challenging you to raise and train them."

"Like hell I will! Do I look like a babysitter?"

"Consider it like a bodyguard assignment. If nothing else, you can sit back and let them do as they want, but I promise that those two are destined for something that neither of us can see."

Bardock wanted to argue that point, but no one knew about what had happened on Karnassa. "I have no intentions of saving either one of them, Vegeta. However, if you want a witness to what happens, fine. It's not like I have a reason to stay here."

Damn it... just as he had promised to not serve the royal family any longer, he was going to do what Prince Vegeta wanted. Heading to a space pod he hadn't destroyed, he locked on to the two babies... "If you want to defy your father, my brother might agree to take you. Word of warning; he hates the red tails more than I do. You'll be lucky if he doesn't try to kill you instead."

King Vegeta watched the video feed. it seemed that Bardock was definitely a lot stronger than any of the reports had mentioned. The attack he had unleashed should have taken out the entire landing area, but the silver, gold and red barrier had protected almost all of it, as well as Vegeta and the other baby. In the end, Bardock had chosen to leave with them, his brother watching until they were no longer in sight before making his way to another landing area. It was where the pirates came and went... a dark part of their society that few dared to venture, not even the elite.

"Lord Frieza..." The Ice-jin emperor didn't look at the pink blob that waddled through his doors. He thought the commander was disgusting; however, he was the third strongest in his entire military. To his right, was Zarbon, the second strongest, and he was the one that turned to address the approaching commander. "As you ordered; Bardock's team is dead."

"Did Bardock put up much of a fight?" Frieza asked, curious despite the Saiya-jins being a bunch of inferior monkeys. It was Bardock that had started to concern him. He had received the same reports that King Vegeta had seen, but something wasn't right. As a third class fighter, he shouldn't have been able to take Karnassa, and he wondered if there was something he had missed. The Ice-jins had destroyed the moon and black tailed Saiya-jins, ordered that they were not to follow their ancient mating rituals... those rules had never been broken... he had seen to it, and those that had tried to disobey it... he had made a terrifying example of the female and male respectively.

"Well..."

Frieza turned cold and hateful eyes on his commander. Dodoria was suddenly afraid... "My lord... he wasn't with them!"

"Then you should have waited until he had joined them!" Frieza screamed. "How hard is it to follow simple instructions? What was the point of setting up an ambush if we couldn't even figure out if those filthy monkeys were hiding something. I refuse to believe that Bardock is a third class fighter! I've seen the photos... he never shows his tail... Why? I want the commander brought to me! Now! If he is not in front of me within one hour of arriving on Planet Vegeta... I will have your head Dodoria!"

Dodoria quickly left; Zarbon glanced at the angry Ice-jin. Something was bothering him... Frieza feared very little, but something about recent legends and stories had caused him to start investigating the Saiya-jins. "Didn't King Vegeta have a third brat today?" he asked Zarbon.

"From what I understand, Prince Vegeta went on a rampage in the nursery today."

"Did he kill it?"

"That's unclear, my lord."

"We'll deal with him soon enough... I believe it's time to thin our ranks a little; what do you think Zarbon?"

"If that's what you feel is necessary my lord; then your wish is my command."

He had had a feeling that the Saiya-jins were proving to be quite the fighting force, but they had never shown any signs that they would turn on Frieza. After everything the Ice-jins had done to the Saiya-jins, there was none left that were stupid or brave enough to fight Frieza. Something the Ice-jin had learned had triggered an urgent need for the Ice-jin to eradicate the lot of them. "Sire, did you still want us to acquire the prince?"

Frieza hesitated, his tail flickering back and forth in irritation. One child didn't frighten him, especially one with a red tail. It wasn't really Bardock that he feared, but the legend of the black and silver tailed Saiya-jins. He had read the last reports. Planet Karnassa had been in the job pool for months, and not a single elite team had made it back alive. Bardock's team had not only taken it, but had used the full moon to do it.

It was his intelligence and combat abilities that had put Frieza on the offensive. Allowing the Commander to get any stronger was dangerous and the decision to destroy some of his best fighters was a sacrifice he was willing to make.

A guard handed King Vegeta a letter, his son's emblem on the outside. "Leave," he ordered. The guard nodded, King Vegeta waiting until he was alone before opening it.

My actions will seal the fate of this planet, but it is beyond salvation. I cannot feel the pride or honor that my mother spoke of, and in the end she hated us. You striped her of the right to die with honor, forced her to have a child that she was desperate to keep from coming into this world. I almost killed her; that girl... she's our saving grace, but at the same time, we don't deserve saving. Bardock has turned on us, but I do not see him as a traitor. The black tail Saiya-jins have always served and protected us.

I hate you... I've hated you from the moment that I learned that you sold me to Frieza. You know what they do with the males... what Zarbon does. You're a coward and I'm ashamed that you are the one we have to look to for leadership and guidance. You've destroyed any hope that we might have had... I found it... surprisingly when I tried to kill my sister. She wasn't even an hour old... I've never seen that kind of power... Bardock tried to do the same, his will and determination far greater than mine. While he hasn't agreed to keep them alive, he won't try to kill them either. He's curious about her; we both are.

Frieza will arrive, and I won't be here. If Turles agrees to take me, then I will gladly serve as a member of his crew and not as the son of a cowardly King. If he refuses, I will find a way to take my own life. I will not become a slave to that freak and I will not have that bastard shame me like we have done to our own women! Damn you! Curse our race! If we die... then it's what we deserve! You will never see me again... Good-bye, and perhaps one day you will find courage in that blackened heart of yours.

King Vegeta slowly rolled up the letter and tossed it into the fire, watching as the paper turned black and vanished. The boy was ten years old, but already making decisions that he himself would have never made. He should have been angry. He should have issued the command to arrest and detain Prince Vegeta. King Vegeta did nothing... It was his way of supporting his son's choice. He wasn't the one his people needed... Prince Vegeta was the leader he had envisioned, and he patiently waited for the end.

Like that dying female had said... They were already destined to die... What would it hurt to wait and cater to the whims of an insane and cruel emperor?