The Lookout
April 3, A763
"I'm going to show you the power of a High Class Saiyan," Zorn said, "Bardock, don't blink. You might miss me killing your worthless mate!"
Just as Zorn was about to charge Gine, Bardock punched him in the gut and hissed, "Don't you lay a finger on her. I'll deal with Gine myself. Deal with the others, or I'll rip your head off and you can watch me beat them to death with it firsthand."
"You!" Zorn choked, "Dare strike me!"
Bardock stepped towards Gine, locking his eyes with her. She shook her head, and sighed.
"I don't know what you think you're going to get out of this, Bardock," Gine said, "But you've already lost me, and the boys, and everything else. Garlic Junior can't give it back to you."
Bardock shook his head, "It's not about what I've lost. It's about what I can build from here. I'm sorry we can't build it together, Gine."
"I wish you knew how to build anything," Gine said, and she fired a Ki blast at him.
Bardock jumped over the blast, using the explosion to propel himself toward her, and he punched down at her, far faster and harder than she expected. Just the one blow was enough to put her off balance and stun her.
Bardock swung another punch, and Gine twisted her torso to catch it on the shoulder instead of head-on. The blow was hard enough to send her back, and the impact site felt numb for a moment before starting to hurt.
Gine gasped and clutched at the injury; Bardock was so much stronger than he'd been when they'd fought just a couple hours before. Gine managed to raise her hands and charge a blast, but Bardock was upon her in an instant. His next blow caught her in the sternum, and she dropped her attack, the Ki fizzling out into nothing. Gine rolled along the ground of the Lookout as the attack punted her away.
Pushing herself off the ground, Gine managed to get back to her feet and faced Bardock. She started to gather Ki around her, and it began to warm up. Even her aura began to warm up. When Bardock ran at her, he was faced with a wave of sudden, intense heat. Gine punched him before he had the chance to strike her, leaving a burn mark on his armor where she struck him.
The pain startled him, and she got a few more strikes on Bardock. He ended it by simply clubbing her across the face with his arm, sending her rolling across the ground again. Bardock let out a yell as his arm caught fire, and he patted it out. Gine managed to catch herself on the tiles, the heat of her aura being enough that her fingers melted the tiles of the Lookout. Using her hands to thrust herself forward, she led with a punch.
Bardock caught it, but the heat of her skin burned his hand, and he let out another yell. With her other hand, Gine began to punch him in the face, causing him to recoil, and the heat of her aura forced him to pant and sweat. Bouts of flame erupted around her as she stepped toward him.
Bardock punched at her, too fast for her to follow, and it was another powerful, stunning blow that knocked the wind out of her. He appeared behind her, and struck her again. Gine pushed her aura hotter and further, and Bardock actually caught fire when he struck her again.
Gine couldn't keep up the Baking Aura after she impacted the ground again; she hadn't even designed the technique, she'd just come up with it on the spot to force Bardock to feel pain and bridge the gap between their power. She she looked up at him, his hair had burned off, along with his red bandana, and parts of his armor had melted off. His skin was blistered and red.
"Where was this thirty years ago?" Bardock scoffed, "If I'd known you were capable of fighting like this, I'd have insisted you stay on the team."
"I learned to survive, and fight for others. Even with your team, Bardock, you only ever lived or fought for yourself," Gine said, "You're still as selfish and arrogant as the rest of them."
"I sacrificed everything to save you and Kakarot," Bardock said, "You're ungrateful."
"I'm free," she said, holding out her hands. Bardock reached out, and held her up by the throat.
Gine fired a Break Cannon from her mouth, catching him straight in the face. She wasn't proud of the cheap trick, but it was the most powerful technique she could use without setup and without her hands.
She gasped in horror when she realized that Bardock was unaffected.
"Good try," he said, and he lifted her up to begin slamming her against the ground, when something impacted with Bardock's face and caused him to drop her.
Landing on her feet, Gine looked around. Piccolo had been forced into the air by Fasha after she'd ripped off one of his legs, and had chucked it at him. Now he was trying not to bleed out while striking her with as many Special Beam Cannons as he could.
Yajirobe was straining himself under Kaioken to dodge as many attacks as he could, but Zorn was proving to be more than a match for the swordsman. Gine grit her teeth as Yajirobe turned to face the charging Zorn with his sword; she knew she was about to watch Yajirobe get killed.
To her surprise, Yajirobe smiled, and his blade began to glow red.
"Kaioken times twenty!" he shouted, and with a flash of movement, Yajirobe chopped and dodged just as Zorn came at him. When Zorn landed, he spun about to face Yajirobe.
"You're dead, Earthling!" Zorn announced. Yajirobe held out his sword.
"This was a gift from my friend, Bulma. You know what a Ki blade is, don't you?" Yajirobe asked Zorn. Zorn scowled at Yajirobe, and Gine let out a laugh as Zorn's top half began to slide off his legs, falling in two pieces.
"I think...I may have used...Kaioken...Too much…" Yajirobe said, the red aura dissipating. Yajirobe spat blood, and fell to the ground.
Most horrifyingly, however, was the object that impacted Bardock. Laying blow after blow was Gohan, screaming obscenities and threats at his own grandfather.
Bardock was unmoved by the attacks, and he shot out his arm, grabbing Gohan by the tail. Gohan let out a gasp and fell numb.
"Who's this? One of your brats with that fool, Nappa?" Bardock asked.
"Bardock, you don't want to hurt him," Gine insisted.
"You're right, I don't. We'll need all the Saiyans we can. That doesn't mean I won't put him in his place," Bardock raised Gohan up to start slamming him.
"He's not Nappa's son, or mine. He's Kakarot's," Gine said, standing.
"Kakarot's son? Who else is on this planet? There were no missions to Earth, that's why I sent him here!" Bardock said. Gine gave him a toothy grin.
"The boy is half human. Kakarot's wife is an Earthling. They're expecting their second child in a few months. That's our grandson, Son Gohan. He's the bravest boy I've ever met. He insisted we go to Namek to help defeat Freeza. He never so much as hesitated. I told him to run, and what does he do?" Gine stepped toward Bardock, "He disobeys,and comes to save me. Because he has the true heart of a Saiyan. He doesn't fight to win, or conquer, or gain. He fights to save. To protect. He wants nothing more than a better world."
Gine stood straight, and held out her hands, "A better world you're trying to take from me, Bardock. Happiness I've fought for, bled for, is right there in your hands. You want a legacy? That boy is your legacy. He is the future of our people, but you were too arrogant to even look, or think of the possibility. He is what I've been trying to protect, Bardock."
Bardock grabbed Gohan under the arms, letting his tail go, and studied the boy with a scowl.
"He looks like my grandfather."
"I think he looks like Raditz."
"Garlic!" Bardock turned about to face his master, "Did you know about this? About Kakarot's son?"
"Ah, yes, the brat. He was quite the nuisance last time, a disobedient whelp that made a fool of my men," Garlic Junior remarked, "I figured he would be a nice little bonus for you, Bardock, once you dealt with his father and Piccolo, but I suppose it's no longer a surprise."
Gohan awoke, and realized he was being held by his opponent. Wrapping his tail around his waist, Gohan pulled his arm back to punch Bardock, when, to his surprise, Bardock put him down.
"You knew that Saiyans could have children with Earthlings?" Bardock asked. Nion pressed her hands to her mouth, shocked at the revelation. Sesamee clenched her fists. Fasha continued to fight Piccolo, who was tiring out.
"What does it matter? There are plenty of worlds out there, I'm sure one of them has a compatible species. You're resilient and stubborn, you'll figure it out," Garlic Junior waved his hand dismissively.
"Nion was right! We should never have trusted you!"" Bardock took the stone out of his armor and chucked it aside. It skipped off the tiles and fell off the side of the Lookout. The 'M' on Bardock's forehead disappeared.
"Lord Garlic," Zorn called out, crawling towards him, "Heal me, and I'll deal with this recalcitrant fool!"
"No, I think it's past time I started to handle things myself," Garlic Junior shook his head, taking off his cloak. Garlic Junior began to change to a darker green as he took off his jacket, as well, and began to grow in size.
In a deeper voice, Garlic Junior spoke as he stepped towards Bardock and continued to grow, "I've been more than patient with you Saiyans. Including you in all this wasn't even my idea. But a deal is a deal, and you don't break deals with Demons."
Garlic Junior, now over ten feet tall, reached out and swatted Bardock away.
"All I asked for was two measly bodies, and you can't even get that right! Tien! Quit toying with him, and rip him apart!" Garlic Junior ordered.
"Happily!" Tien shouted, tearing King Vegeta's arms off, before turning to his legs, and then head.
Sesamee charged Garlic Junior, landing a series of blows to the side of the demon's head, but he opened his mouth and grabbed her in his teeth, shaking her about and sinking his fangs into her belly, before throwing her aside.
"Yes! Kill them! Rip them apart!" Fasha laughed at the sight. Gine raised her fists, knowing that she wouldn't actually stand a chance against him.
