Severed Link


When Vegeta, Yamcha, and Krillan returned to the Lookout, they were surprised to see Kakarot in a much calmer mood, but sitting beside him, his tail firmly wrapped around her waist, was the genius of Capsule Corporation, Bulma Briefs. "Kakarot," Krillan asked. "Do I even want to know how you met her?"

"Pepper... She asked that I join her in West City; speaking of which. Where is she? If she had known about that Army approaching West City, why didn't she say anything?"

"She didn't know... not until after Bulma showed up looking for the book that you gave her," Bardock interrupted. "Recently Pepper's mind has been silent. Ever since Raditz brought her back that last time, there was a change, and she hasn't figured out why. While I can still see the upcoming battle with Frieza, she cannot. The Red Ribbon Army, it was never our main objective; this planet, the humans, she's so determined to save the innocent, and it's quite possible her primary focus shifted and we need to deal with it."

"What happens if she dies before the battle with Frieza?" Yamcha asked, leaning against a pillar. If she was in danger, he didn't understand why they were standing around instead of going after her.

"I don't know." Everyone gasped. With this kind of a change, they should have been made aware of it. "Make no mistake... A Saiya-jin will stand against Frieza, but which one and how that battle plays out depends on the events here on Earth in the next two years. A silver-tailed Saiya-jin hasn't appeared in over a thousand years and I've been trying to figure out what's happening to her, but there's a lot we don't know about her, the visions, or how they're connected to the rest of us."

"So she's like a queen bee or ant?"

Bulma had been quiet as they spoke, using her link with Kakarot to catch up on everything. It had been a lot to process, but because of imagery, it went by a lot faster, and it helped that he was highly intelligent and could think several steps ahead. "Worker bees go out and collect honey for the hive, they even protect it from intruders. Every bee or ant is connected to their queen. You can kill off as many ants or bees as you want; they will recover. As long as the queen survives, so does the colony or hive. Have you felt any changes with the link?" The Saiya-jins had to think about it and when they concentrated on the link, they had to admit, it was fragile, as if it were about to snap at any moment.

"If I'm allowed to ask, what happened to the silver tails?"

"There's only ever been one and she always served as the guardian to the rest of us. A thousand years ago, the Ice-jin empire found a way to destroy her, but we don't know how. While I have visions like her, they only focus on the future and not the past and present."

"Is there a reason why you both have that ability?"

He normally didn't like to discuss anything about their powers or talents, but Pepper had felt strongly about this human. It was one of the few visions she had had since they had started going silent and he couldn't dismiss that fact, regardless if he understood or not. "Her power was given to her at birth, while mine was acquired."

"Do you have any data or historical files on them?"

"Only what I've told you. If there is anything else, it's not in a language we're familiar with."

"I have technology back at Capsule Corporation to decode and translate anything. If you want, I can work on that while you guys work on the Red Ribbon Army and the dragon balls they're after."

"Why are you so willing to help us?" Vegeta demanded. "I realize that Kakarot saved and brought you here; and while the mating bond is accidental or instinctive is neither here nor there. You have no reason to do this."

"Actually, I have two," she snapped, meeting the Saiya-jin's icy glare with one of her own. Kakarot found himself smiling... He had spent three years in the Time Chamber with this woman. She might not appear like much, but she had an iron will that surprised even him. It was perhaps as strong as Pepper's; regardless of the challenge, she would face it. "Pepper saved my life; even though she had an odd way of going about it, if she hadn't brought Kakarot with her, it would have been impossible for her to stop that Army and get the Dragon Balls away from there. Second, because of her, my parents are alive. It's my fault that those dragon balls were in West City, and I even if it takes the rest of my life, I will help her!"

Bardock snorted... It was the second time they had caught him laughing, clearly amused at something that shouldn't have been funny. "It seems Pepper wins over even the weakest of creatures... and yet they have their own power. I'm starting to understand why she wants to save this planet; everything about this place... It has a lot of traditions that once mirrored our own, and at the same time, there are forces that threaten to suppress it... just like Frieza. Very well, Bulma, we'll relocate to Capsule Corporation, and make it our temporary base of operations until Turles gets here."

"Is there a reason that we should go there? Why can't we go back to the island?"

"We cannot defend such a small area and it's too easy for the enemy to sneak up on us and grab either Bulma or the dragon balls. As for why we should make Capsule Corporation our home... It managed to withstand a full scale invasion for over a week while Pepper fought against the Red River Army. Humans, physically, cannot match our battle power, but they make up for it with their technology. We saw proof of that as the battle endured. In the beginning, Kakarot and Pepper had no problems destroying their robots. That wasn't the case towards the end, and if we hadn't teamed up, West City and the Lookout would have been wiped out."

"If she's having problems seeing the future; why is she trying to go after them?" Kakarot demanded. "She's always been like this! Why doesn't she trust us to help her?"

"It has nothing to do with trust," Bardock said. "She goes her own way because her one desire is to protect us. It's been some time since she stopped trembling in fear of Frieza; she would rather that she fight and die alone than to risk any of us. That is the nature of a Moon Saiya-jin."

"She's not from the same planet?"

"Not originally," Vegeta answered. "The Moon Saiya-jin came from one of the four moons that surrounded Planet Vegeta. It was destroyed a thousand years ago."

"Was her power tied to that Moon?"

"I have no idea."

"What are the dragon balls?" Krillan asked. "It's obvious the army is going to great lengths to find and obtain them. If they had wanted to take West City, then splitting their forces the way they did was a bad decision."

Reaching into her bag, Bulma placed two orange balls on the ground, both with red stars in the middle. Kneeling, Vegeta picked up one, turning it over and over. "It doesn't look like much. People are dying for this thing? How many are there?"

"There are seven," Kami answered, joining the small group that was gathered. "While I had hoped that the legends of the dragon balls had been forgotten, it seems that there were still a few copies of the tombs that hadn't been burned or locked away. Bulma has one of them."

Bardock tensed, barely paying attention to the conversations around him. His link to Pepper snapped, the other Saiya-jins jumping to their feet. They had felt it, even Turles. It was like a dark void stretched out before them... She had felt blinding pain and then nothing. "Krillan," Kakarot growled, "stay with Bulma!"

"We need to go; now!" Vegeta roared. He didn't wait to see if the others were behind... It hurt... First their arms and legs, then their head, and then their back.. and then there was nothing... nothing at all.


Pepper sank into the mud, careful to make sure her tail was completely submerged. She had known Raditz was good, but he hadn't taken a hunt as seriously as this one in a long time. She had barely made it out the gates of West City when he came rushing after her, but she was just as fast, and she knew better than anyone how to hide. If he knew half of what she did every time she took off... Well that was probably a good reason to prolong this. Not only would she have to evade Raditz, but fight the Red Ribbon Army at the same time.

She hated mud, it sucked you down and latched on, making it hard to crawl or move. Pepper didn't have to worry about the others; Bardock knew what they needed to work on, and she felt relief when she felt Kakarot's and Bulma's mating bond lock into place. Vegeta had seemed shocked, but now there was a brief flicker of hope that he too could have the same thing. The three knuckle heads that she needed to convince that they were allowed to let go of the past were Bardock, Turles, and Raditz. Pepper wasn't going to let him find her, not until his Oozuru was in complete control.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Raditz growled, almost snatching her out of the mud. "Are you trying to get caught on purpose?" Startled, she pulled herself free, spinning and coating him with large clumps of mud. A lot of it landed in his eyes and she tapped his nose with her tail before taking off again. That worried her... he shouldn't have been able to get that close, but that was the second time in two weeks that her visions hadn't worked. Damn, this wasn't going to go as simple as she thought.

Ducking into an underground tunnel, she ran, crawled, and ran some more. She didn't even know what tunnels she was taking, or if there were dead ends. Why weren't her visions working? Her mind was going dark... as if there was no future at all. At least with Frieza there had been one, regardless if they failed or not. What was it about this Army that shrouded her mind and soul in darkness? It didn't matter; it didn't change what she had to do.

Taking a sharp turn, she gasped, trying to skid to a halt and failed, the ground beneath her collapsing. Unable to fly, roots and rocks tearing into her flesh, she descended into a dark hole until she shot out and into a fast moving river. Coughing and choking, she tried to keep her face above the water, but every time she thought she had control, she felt herself being slammed into some kind of object. A brief image of a water fall was the only warning she got before a branch hit and knocked her out.


Raditz knelt, reaching for some of the fur from her tail. It was recent and he saw hints of blood along the collapsed walls. She should have known about this. He knew something had been off when he had found her as easily as he had. Now this. It's like she's not able to tap into her abilities; why? While that gave him a definite advantage, it concerned him at the same time. He needed to know what was happening to her and why; it was too dangerous for her to take on the Red Ribbon Army if she wasn't able to see or know what was going to happen to her. Holding on to broken roots and rocks, he made his way down where she had fallen. There was more blood the further he got; when he got to the end of the collapsed tunnel, he saw the raging river, followed it, and came to the water fall. "Did she go over that?" He almost missed it, but just before the water cascaded over a large drop off, was a large boulder, and on it was a body print of blood. He took a step to go after her when he roared in pain... The next time he woke was with the other Saiya-jins standing or kneeling over him. The link... Was she... Roaring, he tried to reach for her, looking, searching... There was nothing. His power began to rise and just as he started to unleash it in a giant explosion, Bardock struck him on the back of the neck.

"Dad?" Kakarot asked, watching as he lifted his unconscious brother.

"Search the river banks... Unless we find a body, there's a slim chance that she's alive. Why are their differences in your visions? Shouldn't you have seen this?!" Vegeta demanded, shaking with rage and grief.

Bardock didn't have an answers while he still had visions, she wasn't in them any longer and while he thought he had accepted a future where she could or would die... It left a bitter taste in his mouth and he looked at his oldest son. This wasn't what he wanted. Would he have to destroy him? Raditz, unless that link was restored, would never regain his sanity, and to prevent the destruction of the planet... Vegeta saw the pain in Bardock's face, the knowledge of what he might have to do, and it was ripping the Commander apart.

Pepper was vital to them all, and losing her meant that they would no longer having a unified link or purpose. Yamcha was with them because she was considered a pack mate. Bardock shared a common trait with his ability to see the future. Vegeta was her brother. Kakarot had traveled to Earth with her. The humans that knew her rallied behind and loved her with unwavering intensity. She was a symbol of strength, courage, and hope.


What's wrong with me? Why can't I see anything? Lifting her hand, she felt disconnected, blood dripping and sliding from her fingertips. First Frieza... then the Red Ribbon Army... The only thing that I've learned from these stupid visions is that I'm always afraid... afraid of failure... afraid of being alone. I'm so very tired... Perhaps this is okay... Raditz... I'm sorry. It's okay... It's quiet... It's dark. She thought she heard something calling to her, felt the brush of gentle hands, but all of it drifted further and further way. I can't feel anything... Why?