Shattered Souls
The Saiya-jins sat around the room in silence, their expressions broken. Bulma didn't know what to say or do. They had done so much for West City and Capsule Corporation, and here they were, the heart of who they were gone. In an isolated bunker, an energy field had been put in place, designed to suppress Raditz's energy level and to keep him sedated. At the moment, it was the only option they had. To do anything other than keep him asleep and isolated was nothing short of cruel. Vegeta rarely left him, his tail curled around his legs. He had no idea what to do. While Turles had agreed to take him, it was Raditz that had taught him everything about how to live, to laugh, to survive. He hated the energy restraints that had been placed on Raditz; Vegeta wanted to rip them off, but he couldn't.
Would they really have to kill him? He didn't understand. There was no mark on him or Pepper, so why had the severed link caused so much emotional trauma to Raditz? Like he was one to talk. They were all hurting, broken and lost. Kakarot was devastated. When they had first found him at the Tournament, he had no real connection to his family, and Raditz had changed that. In return, that boy had tried his hardest to live up to his older brother's expectations. With no one knowing what was going to happen to Raditz, it left a terrifying and empty feeling inside all of them, adding to the darkness that was smothering the heart out of their souls.
"Sir, we'll arrive on Earth in one hour."
"I'll take a space pod from here. Until further notice, I want you to find a remote location and await further orders. If you must, you can retreat back to the main fleet and help keep Frieza from reaching this sector."
"Yes sir."
He looked at the planet... It was so different than Planet Vegeta, and he could understand why a lot of the Saiya-jins didn't want to leave. It had a lot of memories for them, but it was also proving far deadlier than he had expected. "What a mess." While he felt the same darkness that the others did, he wasn't about to let it cripple him, not if he had a chance of saving Raditz. He was just as vital to the hearts of their war, that if they lost him, they would most likely loose Vegeta as well. The boy was too attached to him, especially after the recent incident with Pepper.
Upon arriving, he made his way to Capsule Corporation, a blue-haired woman coming to greet him. Spotting his black tail, she gasped, but she didn't seem afraid of him. "They're scattered throughout the facility," she explained, bowing in respect. Reaching for her, he tilted her head to the side...
"Which one marked you?" he asked. Bulma tensed. She was aware that mating had been forbidden on Planet Vegeta, but she had to trust that those laws were no longer being followed.
"Kakarot."
"I never considered that we were this compatible with your kind."
Stepping away from him, she watched him move past her, not asking for directions to the other Saiya-jins. There was something terrifying about him. While the others were strong, his strength was different. He knew despair... He knew pain... He knew regret... He refused to submit to any of it, and while the other Saiya-jins remained crippled with the loss of Pepper, he did not waver from the purpose that had guided him for so long.
Bardock was alone like he usually was, but this was not the twin he remembered, the commander of a rag tag team that had taken Karnassa. "I never thought of you as a coward or a quitter," Turles growled.
"Save it. I never agreed to protect those brats," Bardock replied, his tone empty. This was only a shell of the man Turles had leaned on... It was like their roles were reversed. When he was a child, in the hands of slave traders, Bardock had been the one to help him survive and fight for his freedom. "When I came here, it was to observe the end result of allowing them to live a life that was different than what we had known." Leaning his head back, he felt it thump against the wall behind him. "Why are we doing this? Prolonging the inevitable... it's pointless, and for a brief moment I wanted to believe in the impossible."
"Did you find a body?"
"No."
"Then is there a reason why you're not tearing this planet a part to find her?"
"Are you in denial? The link severed several days ago..."
Turles slammed his fist into Bardock's jaw, watching him crash through the outer wall of the building, his body skidding across the grass. "I've been wanting to do that for sixteen years. The state that girl was in was a result of you refusing to get involved until it was too late. Every time she tried to leave, you should have stopped her. She became out of control, wild, determined to fight a future that was beyond anything a child could handle on her own. Raditz was left to pick up the pieces... He needed the Commander that took Karnassa, not a coward that was too afraid to stand up and fight! Gina died! Your team died! Is this how you repay their sacrifices?"
Snarling, he slammed his foot against his side, Bardock still refusing to put up a defense or a fight. One-by-one, the Saiya-jins came running, Vegeta tackling Kakarot to the ground as he tried to rush Turles. "If you've ever listened to a word I've said... Turles is a ruthless killer, and right now... the last time he got this mad, he wiped out an entire division of Frieza's fleet with a single blast."
"But..."
"Bardock has the strength to counter his own brother. It's the fact that he hasn't that Turles is doing this."
Turles hit Bardock over and over again... They heard bones cracking and breaking, but the space pirate ignored it. "I guess you really did die... The Saiya-jin in front of me is not my brother."
Suddenly Bulma was between them, her hands spread wide as she stared down the enraged Saiya-jin in front of her. "Please... Is this what she would want? Her only desire was to protect them; unless I misunderstood what I learned from Kakarot."
"Get out of the way," Turles growled.
Kakarot felt the blood drain from his face, his mate inches from an energy blast that would kill Bardock and herself. He hadn't even seen her move or run out here. Kakarot tried to get up, but Vegeta applied more pressure. "Get off of me!" Kakarot roared.
"Yamcha, help me hold him down!" Kakarot went into a wild frenzy, desperate to get to Bulma.
Bulma had no idea why she always did this. Turles was nothing like the others, but she wanted to believe in Pepper, a girl that had fought for West City. If she could stand between Capsule Corporation and an invasion, then she would do this. "She loves them," Bulma whispered, tears in her eyes. "Did you know that none of them have cried? Vegeta won't eat. He wanders the halls of Capsule Corporation, and when he's done turning around in circles, he seeks out Raditz and curls up beside him. Kakarot lies on the floor of our room. He's confused... angry... broken. Raditz gave him a tie to family that Bardock hadn't been able to. Yamcha, while I don't know him that well stays because he doesn't know where else to go. Bardock is shattered... While he didn't love Kakarot's mother, he felt the helpless rage of not being able to save her. He lost the men that served at his side... Pepper and Kakarot had no real chance of survival, but he tried... It was for a brief time, and just when he had hope again... It's gone. Now he's faced with the hard reality that Raditz will destroy everything in his path if he wakes back up... He's dangerous, and to leave him alive is cruel. My heart is breaking... Other than Kakarot and a girl I've only met once, I have no connection to any of this, and yet I find myself wanting to save all of you! I'll find the answers to what she is! I'll keep Raditz in sedation until you find her! I refuse to give up hope that the girl that fought off a horde of robots for a week is alive. The link is gone, but I think it would have snapped regardless. Please... I'm begging you... She wanted to give the survivors a chance at something that was forbidden. I don't want to lose Kakarot, and I will if you take Bardock from him."
"Are you suicidal?" Turles asked, baffled by this woman.
"I'm starting to think that's a possibility," she answered honestly. "If you don't kill me... well..." One glance at Kakarot and she flinched. "...I'm in so much trouble after this," she sighed.
She waited... Turles would have killed them both if she had backed down, and he had to admit that while she was human, she had the spirit of his kind. "Fine," he relented, lowering his hand. Turning to Kakarot, he crossed his arms... "Let him go," he ordered.
"Turles," Vegeta questioned.
Turles fired two blasts, Yamcha and Vegeta jumping out of the way. Kakarot, as soon as he felt their hands release him, launched himself across the lawn. As his fist connected against Turles chest, he felt no give. Each successive strike after was the same... They should have seen it coming... Pepper was famous for using the attack that slammed into Kakarot, sending him flying and into a nearby pool, a black tail snaking around his thigh. "Vegeta!" Turles roared. "You've had eight years! He can't even withstand a simple tail attack! Are you seriously training him, or were you running a damn day care?"
Grabbing and lifting Vegeta off the ground, he slammed him to the ground. "Raditz never gave up on you! Are you wanting us to execute him? Damn all of you for this," Turles snarled.
He paused in front of Yamcha; "I'm not familiar with wolves, but I do know that they're pack animals. The last time I checked, they search for their own when one goes missing. Do they stop until they've found their missing pack mate, alive or dead?" Like a violent storm, he was already moving away, searching out his wounded and broken second in command. Finding a man that had a similar scent to the human female; "I want to see him."
Dr. Briefs studied the fighter in front of him. He hadn't agreed about the way in which they were dealing with Raditz, but he wasn't a Saiya-jin, and he didn't have alternative methods of helping Raditz. He deserved better after the fight of West City, and he nodded, Turles following him silently. Stopping in front of the shielded bunker, Turles had to force himself not to flinch or look away. "Open it."
"I'm sorry," the human said, leaving him alone with the unconscious Saiya-jin.
Turles hesitated... Bulma had been partially right, he was lashing out. While he had a reason for the female to live; Raditz, the perfect Soldier, had broken, his mind shredded to the point there was a possibility that they couldn't save him. Going to him, he could only kneel, trying to figure out what the right answer was. He had a fond affection for his nephew... This wasn't how a Soldier should die, pinned down and kept unconscious. A snarl broke him from his thoughts, and he looked into the red eyes of a Saiya-jin having lost his mind, an Oozuru grieving for the mate it had waited until she was old enough to claim. "I will find her... If she's dead... I promise to end this."
Pure rage stared back at him, and Turles felt as if he had already lost when his nephew slipped back into unconsciousness. He found no mark on him... This kind of trauma shouldn't have been possible, but Bardock had felt that the two were emotionally linked because of the fact that she was a silver-tailed Saiya-jin. Raditz had always been able to track her... no one else had been able to do it, not even her own brother. She followed his commands when given... Even though she didn't acknowledge the win from their fight eight years ago, she hadn't denied it either.
Finding Dr. Briefs, he was in the middle of translating several of the files that were found in the Saiya-jin space pods when Turles entered his lab. "I want the map and terrain data of where she was."
"Are you going after her?" He turned to see Kakarot's mate... She had more faith in Pepper than all of them combined. Leaving Pepper with them for so long had been a mistake, but he couldn't change that. All he could do is hope that she had survived and somehow salvage the giant mess he had strolled into. Perhaps Bulma not being a Saiya-jin allowed her to keep a clear mind, but she also allowed logic to dictate her decisions rather than emotions, something she was only now discovering because of Kakarot.
Turles nodded, and she handed him something, an electronic device. "I've stored the information of every creature that we currently know about on Earth. That will include Saiya-jins. If she's still alive, it will release a signal you can track. It isn't like the current scouter technology that I found on the space pods."
"Who were you making this for?"
"I was going to ask Krillan to go search for her... The Saiya-jins... It's hard to see them like this. Please save them. They shouldn't have to finally find themselves free to do as they want to have it end like this!"
"I had my doubts about a human and a Saiya-jin being together... Your will is strong enough to make up for your lack of battle power. Continue searching for any files on her... If we don't figure out what her powers are, why they've lost strength, and how we're connected, we will only continue to repeat this."
She watched him take off, alone, determined to save Raditz and the others. Kakarot didn't know him... What she saw was a fighter that who was just as strong as the girl that had stood against the Red Ribbon Army. He was the last remaining hope for the shattered souls of the Saiya-jin race.
I'll do it for them, for you... You lash out in anger, because it's the way you are. Kakarot doesn't know you, but he's heard the stories from Raditz, a brother that we don't even know if we can save. If you're anything like the others, the severed link has to hurt, and while you're still able to function, it isn't with any sense of rationality.
It's dark... Where am I? Who am I? I can't open my eyes... Why? She felt a soothing peace wash over her and she didn't try to struggle.
The old man helped her to sleep, an old technique he had learned when he was a young man. While it couldn't heal her many wounds, it would ease her suffering. All he could do is wait to see if she lived or died, a prisoner of her own mind. Somewhere, as she had tried to protect the people she loved, they were losing the will to fight. She had known this, and determined to let them make that choice, she didn't try to let them share the terrible burden he sensed surrounding her.
That burden had grown. She had watched the threat of the Red Ribbon Army grow over the years, had tried countering it several times, saved countless lives and slaves... She had needed the help of those closest to her, but because they had started to accept the peace around them, taking the future battles that she had no choice but face, less seriously.
"You've fought a long battle, with no end in sight... All I can do is to give you some distance and peace from it. It won't last, but perhaps it will give you a chance to recover." Taking a damp cloth, he dripped small drops of water or soup in her mouth. Each day was the same... He fished. He trained. He cooked. He waited. Even if he chose not to use his sleeping technique, her mind had fallen into a deep darkness. He didn't even know if she could climb out of it.
Her trail wasn't completely gone, and he had enough information to know where they had lost her. Because of Raditz's sudden and intense reaction to their severed link, they had assumed she had died. It was easy to make that mistake. If her injuries had been bad enough, he would go insane from that alone. The loss of their link added to the pain he was already in. The waterfall was over a 100 foot drop, but it was the top part before the drop that had proved the problem. It had several jagged rocks to throw her against, tree branches to pierce her flesh, and a rushing force of water that could suck and push her to the equally rocky bottom. It was safe to assume she had gone over. There had been enough blood on the boulder that she wouldn't have a lot of strength left to fly. Taking his time to descend, there were broken limbs on a large tree trunk, it's base sticking out from a cave.
While she never found the cave, she had been on the trunk for a long time before being forced over the edge. There were still stains of the blood that had spilled into it. Damn it... Have they really lost sight of what I sent them here for? Studying the wood further, he saw her nail marks. Unconscious or not, she had tried to hold on, eventually falling the rest of the way to the bottom. It was about a mile down that he found the spot where she had washed ashore. His eyes widened... There was so much blood. It would take a long time for the water to wash it away. There were drag marks. "Did something or someone find and carry her away?"
He almost lost the trail. With the kind of terrain he was now on, it was easily covered with thick vegetation. He came across another creak, and he came across an old man, a stick in his hands and a bucket of water beside him. He almost ignored him. However, he stopped when the old man turned and looked at him, noticing the tail around his waist. "And here I thought she was the only one with a tail..."
"Do you have her?"
"I'm sorry, a group of Soldiers came and took her about a day ago. To resist would have resulted in the destruction of this place, my death, and hers. While it might bring apprehension to you, it seemed the commander in charge recognized her. He chose to say nothing about finding her or that I was here."
"Why?"
"Because I handed over what they were looking for without a fight. It was the only way to save her. Although I might have just been prolonging the inevitable. She's trapped within herself."
"You speak as if you understand what she is," he growled.
"A guardian exists for a reason and those of us that exist in the martial arts world will understand. They serve as an example to those that he or she protects. If they lose sight of what she's protecting them for, then it's like snuffing out a candle. It was not her that severed the link, but those that lost their purpose, and as such, what guided her has pulled her into a depth of darkness that she won't recover from if it continues."
The Red Ribbon Army Commander couldn't believe this was the same fighter from several weeks ago. Even after they had acquired her, she had yet to wake up. "What do the medical teams say?"
"First, she's not human. Second, she's in a coma and most likely won't wake back up. The injuries she received were extensive, but they're not the ones that are preventing her from recovering. Should we inform Dr. Gero."
"About what? If she's unable to wake up, she's useless to him or us."
"Sir?"
"He only cares about the living that he can re-construct." The scientist left, leaving the commander alone. Making up his mind, he decided that he'd carry her away from this darkness. As a Soldier himself, he had no desire to see a hero like her turned into another one of Dr. Gero's robot army. He had seen what had happened to those that were ripped apart and remade into androids. "Order for her disposal. She'll die once she's off life sport. No need to waste any further resources." He watched as they pushed her through one of their disposal drops. He had no idea if she would survive, but if she didn't... She wouldn't die in such a disgraceful manner as becoming an Android.
She heard a sound. Opening her eyes, she saw only darkness. It was cold. It was lonely. Who am I? What was my purpose? The sound was close, beneath her fingertips, and when she closed them around the object, her mind exploded with pain. The darkness stretched across the universe, spilling into others. There was a sea of mechanical machines marching from planet to planet, destroying and reconstructing all life. Everything was gone... History connected to the object that the Army wanted, countless wars fought to obtain the power that it had inside of it. This was worse than Frieza. Her scream of anguish echoed, reaching through the darkness to the one that was relentlessly trying to find her.
"It's getting harder to keep him under," Dr. Briefs told her. "Those restraints aren't going to last and his hair keeps changing from black to gold."
Vegeta watched with growing anxiousness as Raditz fought to regain awareness; snarling and snapping at anyone that got close to him. If it weren't for the energy restraints he'd have leveled the entire facility. The ground constantly shook. Sparks of energy pulsed at his fingertips. Turning, he ran into Yamcha, his arms crossed. "If you're going, so am I."
Nodding, they didn't make it to the West City gate before they ran into Kakarot, his expression subdued. "I'm just as much to fault for what's happened to them... My unwillingness to fight any longer forced her to send me away with Bulma. I know why she did it, but my place... our place is to stand at her side."
"What about Bulma?" Vegeta asked him.
"Krillan will keep an eye on her, and they have some kind of device that prevents a radar from finding the two dragon balls that we have."
Raditz fought the drugs they were using to sedate him. When he felt the pain in her mind, his eyes snapped open and he roared, rushing the barrier that prevented him from leaving. He looked at the bands around his wrists and ankles... He had no concept of friend or foe... With his Oozuru in full control, he released another challenge. He had two objectives; to find Pepper and to destroy anything and everything that was keeping him from her. Dr. Briefs increased the level of barriers confining him, the entire bunker beneath Capsule Corporation trembling at the destructive force of his rising power.
