Like a sunset, Kami's body faded gradually from view, until all trace of him was completely gone. Gohan gasped in shock, and Chi Chi began weeping, but Gine only felt numb. Kami had been in her life longer than almost anyone who wasn't family. It occurred to her now that he was family. She wished she had told him that. She wished she'd known it before now. The memory of him, smiling up at her with a flower tucked behind his ear, was almost more real to her than the blood that stained the ground where his body had been.
Chi Chi uncurled from around Gohan, tears still streaming down her face, and stood up, cupping her hands behind her.
"Ka… me… ha… me… ha!"
She thrust her hands forward and let loose an enormous beam of light straight at Nappa— who batted it away as though it were nothing. Gine threw herself at the other Saiyan, intending to tackle him to the ground, but he brought his meaty fist down on her back. She slammed into the ground, the impact knocking the wind out of her. Chi Chi sent another ki blade toward Nappa's face, but he countered it with a ki shot of his own, hitting her in the process and sending her flying.
Nappa surveyed the three of them, all lying incapacitated on the ground. Gine tried desperately to suck air into her unresponsive lungs, but she couldn't. Gohan was trying to stand, but something about one of his legs wasn't working right and he kept falling down. Chi Chi appeared to be completely unconscious.
"Which one first?" Nappa mused to himself. He sounded calm, despite looking deranged with only one ear and his face covered in blood. His eyes landed on Chi Chi and lit up. "Ah, yes, the wildlife. Your brat's pretty strong, girlie. Too bad you have to die. No one marks me like that and gets away with it."
He kicked Chi Chi until she was lying flat on her back and put his massive foot on her head. Gohan screamed. Gine punched herself in the stomach, trying to get her diaphragm working again. When it didn't, she ignored the weakness in her legs and tried to get them to bear her weight. But she knew she would be too late. Nappa raised his leg high, ready to stomp it back down on Chi Chi's skull, and Gine called up what little ki she could muster into her palm, knowing it would accomplish nothing.
Gine threw the tiny ki ball. Nappa slammed his foot down. The ki ball scattered across his back like rainwater, so weak he didn't notice. His foot made contact— but Gine heard no crunch of bone or squelch of brains. Nappa's foot had broken only rock. Chi Chi was nowhere to be seen.
Nappa lifted his leg in surprise and looked at the bottom of his foot as though the girl might be stuck to it. But Gine could feel where Chi Chi was, and to her overwhelming joy she could feel someone else with her: Kakarot.
He'd made it.
Nappa finally spotted his stolen prey, and noticed the bright orange gi next to her, but faster than thought Kakarot was gone. Gine saw him and Chi Chi reappear almost instantaneously next to Gohan, and then the three of them were gone again. She felt him move to Krillin, then Yamcha, and then the five of them were next to her, most of them balanced on Nimbus and all but Kakarot looking worse for wear. Gine felt her diaphragm start working again and she greedily sucked in air.
"I only got one senzu bean," Kakarot said worriedly. "But you all look pretty bad."
"'s nothing," Yamcha croaked. "Give it to Gohan."
"No, give it to mom!" Gohan protested. Gine smiled but shook her head.
"You should have it, sweetie," she said, feeling it herself but also knowing it was what Chi Chi would say. But Kakarot frowned.
"I can split it in half," he said, doing so. He gave one half to Gohan, and then looked around at the others.
"I don't need it," Gine said quickly, standing up.
"I'm good," Yamcha said with difficulty, though Gine noticed he did not move to stand. "You should probably give it to your wife."
"What's she doin' here, anyway?" Kakarot said as he slipped the senzu bean delicately into Chi Chi's mouth.
"She trained with us!" Gohan informed him. Kakarot turned to stare at him in disbelief, and missed Chi Chi's eyes opening.
"Kakarot!" she cried with joy, flinging her arms around him and tackling him to the ground. "You came back! I'm going to kill you for leaving! I love you!"
"I love you too," Kakarot said, lifting Chi Chi by the waist and setting her to the side. "But I gotta take care of these guys real quick. You can kill me then, okay?"
"'Real quick,' he says," Nappa snorted. "We got ourselves a confident one, Vegeta."
Gine looked at Kakarot, really looked, and found that he had reason to be confident. He'd been strong before he left, but the person that stood before her now was like lightning on a leash. He could take out Nappa. He would be much more than an annoyance to the Prince. But he was not stronger than him. Any battle they fought could only end one way: with the Prince injured and humiliated, and Kakarot dead.
And yet… surely Kakarot realized this too? But there he was, calmly ignoring the Prince and his lackey as though they were the annoyances. It gave Gine hope that Kakarot had something up his sleeve.
Vegeta seemed to sense this too, because he did not respond to Nappa's quip, only watched Kakarot carefully.
"Did Tien and Chiaotzu not come?" Kakarot asked. "I woulda thought they'd've been here."
"He killed them," Gine said dully. She saw Gohan's lip tremble, and Chi Chi's smile faded.
"Oh," Kakarot said faintly. Then he shook himself. "Well, we can wish 'em back when this is all over."
"No, we can't," Gine said, her chest squeezing as she thought of it. "Kami fought with us too. And now he's gone."
All at once the earth beneath their feet began to rumble. Gine looked in surprise to find Kakarot glaring murderously at Nappa, his energy rising to dizzying heights. Dust kicked up and small pebbles rose in the air around him, the very earth responding to the force of Kakarot's anger. She heard a familiar beep and turned to find Vegeta checking Kakarot's power level with his scouter. What he saw made him frown.
"What the hell?" Nappa demanded. "Vegeta, what's his power level?"
Kakarot got a hold of himself, and the rocks fell to earth again. Vegeta took off his scouter and crushed it in his hand, lip curled in disgust.
"You don't want to know," he said.
"But—"
"Gohan," Kakarot said, his eyes still on Nappa. "I need you to take your mom and the others and get as far away as you can."
"Y-yes, sir." Gohan slung Yamcha's arm over his shoulder and Chi Chi lifted Krillin in her arms.
"Give him hell, honey," Chi Chi said savagely, before flying away.
The second they were out of sight Kakarot shot forward so fast Gine lost track of him. Nappa did as well, and he looked as surprised as Gine felt when he gave a choking gasp and fell forward, landing heavily on the ground. Behind him was Kakarot, fist still extended. He lowered it, and looked down at the groaning heap in front of him with pitiless eyes.
"I hope Kami and the others forgive me for not killing you," he said coldly. Nappa was twitching, breathing in short, shallow breaths, but he did not get up. Gine looked closer and realized there was a fist-sized indentation in the middle of his spine. Kakarot's fury was a palpable thing, and it gave Gine chills.
It quickly passed, though, as Kakarot met her eyes and grinned nervously.
"Sorry, ma," he said sheepishly. "I shoulda asked if you wanted a turn."
"V-Vegeta…" Nappa wheezed. "Help… me…"
Kakarot picked up Nappa by his armor and tossed him at Vegeta's feet.
"If you go now, I won't stop you," he said.
The Prince glanced down at his minion like there was something on his shoe. After a moment he took Nappa's hand.
"Th-thank you…" Nappa sighed, but then Vegeta grinned nastily and flung him into the air, sending a ki blast after him that disintegrated him completely.
Kakarot grunted in shock, his mouth falling open. Gine… could not say she had expected it either. For all that she had spent the last year hammering home how nasty Saiyans could be, she had forgotten that even they had lines they didn't cross. This was one of them.
Nappa deserved to have the ribbing of his life at the mess hall later, definitely a humiliating nickname that would follow him around forever, and probably be shunned by his former teammates who would be embarrassed to be seen with him. But he also deserved a ride to a healing tank. At the very least, it would be pure madness to waste a zenkai like that.
But the Prince was mad, she realized. He was grinning up at the dissipating smoke overhead like he'd just done something amusing instead of something so monstrous even a Saiyan would be horrified. He was mad, and small, and not worthy of existential dread.
He might be strong enough to kill her, Gine realized. But that was all. There was nothing else to be afraid of, and right now, with her son standing there so strong and tall, Gine didn't even feel afraid of that.
Vegeta lowered his gaze, still grinning lazily, and opened his mouth to speak.
