Dragon Ball ZGX Rated T: Blood, Cursing, Suggestive themes.
Description: The conflict between Bardock and the Elite Assassins is over, and Turles has met his end at the hands of his most trusted ally, Tundra. With the knowledge that Gine is still alive, Bardock is bound and determined to find her. But how? Without any clues, Bardock feels the search could take years. However, he receives a willing hand from an unexpected ally. The adventure continues, now.
Act 4: Reunions Saga
Chapter 44: Eye Contact
xXxXxXx
Planet Vortano: Tarble's Palace
A large portion of the bottom floor of the palace was the security room. There were several large consoles all over, computers, phones, the works, and everything was manned by a mixture of Vortanians and Saiyans. This was one of Tarble's most staffed divisions on account of its importance, and how much security they've implemented to keep themselves safe. Among those security measures was the deployment of several satellites to various points of space around Vortano.
After the revolution, the Vortanians elected Tarble to be their leader. The surviving Saiyans were allowed to settle and integrate into their new society. In return, Tarble wanted to keep Vortano safe, and ordered the development and deployment of several satellites. The satellites numbered in the thousands, each one monitoring a large chunk of space. The satellites were armed with weapon systems. If an extraterrestrial body large enough to severely damage or destroy the planet were on a collision course with Vortano, the satellites would destroy it. If they detected spaceships heading towards Vortano, they would send alerts back to the security team.
At the front of the room, there was a large oval screen with a digital render of space displayed. The satellites were highlighted in green to differentiate them from the stars. And the purple highlight in the center of the map represented Vortano. There were four people sitting at the desk below the screen, each in charge of one fourth of the satellites. Several of the satellites on the right side of the map would frequently turn yellow, but that was usually normal due to the range these satellites covered.
They called this specific area the "yellow perimeter". However on this day, a bunch of satellites behind it lit up. The guy in charge of the eastern satellites was a younger Vortanian man with light-blue skin and spikey orange hair, wearing white armor with yellow straps over top of a purple jumpsuit. He saw this and turned around in his chair.
"Uh, hey commander?" The young man said.
The commander, a shaggy haired Saiyan in a similar outfit, walked up next to him at the desk. "What is it, Ray?"
"A line of satellites inside the Yellow Perimeter just lit up." Said Ray.
The commander's eyes widened a little as he looked up at the screen. Sure enough, a line of satellites from the east was lit yellow inside of the perimeter. The commander scratched his chin.
"That's odd. Have we gotten any images from the satellites?" The commander asked, turning back to Ray.
"Uh… sir," Said another member of security from beside the commander, a taller Vortanian man with short brown hair and a goatee. "I think it's moving too fast to capture anything…"
The commander looked at him, then up at the screen again. Significantly more satellites had lit up, and more were lighting up before his eyes.
"Fast is an understatement…" The commander said in awe. He looked at the man to his left. "Get Lord Tarble down here."
About half an hour passed, and the security staff started getting restless and nervous over the situation. Finally, the automatic doors of the security room opened up, and flanked by Paragus, and in a rare instance Broly, Tarble entered the room. He immediately headed down to the front of the room with his party in tow. He walked until he was right next to the security lead and looked up at the screen. What he saw left him in awe. Several more of the satellites had lit up, and that whole line had changed from yellow to orange.
"What the hell?" Tarble exclaimed. He looked at the commander with a scowl. "Why the hell didn't you send for me sooner?"
"Sir, this is happening in real time." Replied the commander.
Tarble's head snapped back at the screen, and he just quietly stared for a few moments. He was right, the clock in the upper right corner of the screen was displaying current time, and the satellites were lighting up one after another, which made Tarble sweat.
"Whatever it is, it's coming here. Look at the trajectory. Directly for Vortano." Tarble said as he pointed at the screen.
Paragus walked up next to Tarble and studied the screen. "Judging by the rate at which they're lighting up, I'd say we have about an hour before it gets here."
The commander looked over at Paragus and nodded. "The system predicted the same thing. This doesn't look good."
Neither Tarble or Paragus replied, then the commander glanced at Broly briefly before averting his attention as Broly looked at him. He waited silently for someone to say something, this situation had the whole security team stressed out, and Broly's presence made him more stressed out. He looked at Tarble once again.
"We have no way of knowing where it'll land…" Tarble said as he rubbed his chin. "But… if they have a ship that can move that fast, then they'll probably be able to detect our power levels too."
Paragus looked at Tarble. "Gallance and the surrounding towns and villages all have Saiyan residents. They'll come here first on account of the volume of higher power levels in the area." He then looked to his other side at his son. "Then there's Broly."
Broly didn't react, he just stared at the screen. Paragus cleared his throat, then looked at Tarble again.
"Paragus. Head over to Fort Zero and gather up the soldiers. I'll join you there shortly." Said Tarble. He looked up at his number two with the most serious look Paragus had seen on him in years. "There's something I have to do."
Paragus nodded. "Yes sir."
xXxXxXx
Gine's Homestead
Afternoon was always Matto's least favorite time of the day because of chores. Thankfully for him, he and his sister were almost finished. Gine was in the yard to the left of the house, hanging laundry to dry on clothes lines hooked to a few rows of poles sticking out of the ground. It was the perfect day for it too, not a cloud in the sky.
As she hung up the last of the laundry, she looked to the sky and took a deep breath. "Such a beautiful day."
From around back of the house, Matto and Luffa came running, and were greeted with a brief smile.
"You two get your chores done?" Gine asked while placing her hands on her hips.
"Yeah!" Matto exclaimed. Luffa simply rolled her eyes, but with a smile on her face.
Gine hmm'd at this. "Luffa?"
"Yes, Miss Gine. We've finished everything you wanted us to." She replied.
Gine smiled again and took a deep breath. "Alright then. Go ahead and have fun, but don't be too long. I have some errands to run, and we have a fight to attend afterwards."
Matto smiled widely and could barely contain his excitement. "Alright!"
Matto started running and soon took to the sky. Luffa smiled again and shook her head, then took off after him. Gine turned and watched them fly off towards the lake, and she chuckled.
"Those kids."
She made her way around the front of her house to the other side, where she had a large garden. It was both a floral garden, and a vegetable garden. Full of flowers of all different shapes, sizes and colors. Vines wrapped around wooden archways that made up paths through the garden. And mixed in throughout were berry vines, rows of vegetables, and fruits ripe for picking throughout. There were benches placed around the garden as well, it was quite large.
Gine and Luffa had designed it together five years prior, and it flourished. They had help putting in the sprinkler system that kept it properly watered. The sprinklers were small and laced throughout the archway, and they kept the whole garden healthy and alive.
She sat down at one of the benches and just enjoyed her garden. None of it came without any work, Gine had been a big part of the Saiyans resettling twice in the last thirty years. And both times, coming with situations that could've potentially killed them. This house and property had been abandoned for years, and after the Vortanian Revolution, Tarble had offered it to her as a thank you, so she had a place to raise Matto and Luffa.
The kids didn't have memories of their parents. Their mother died giving birth, which was rare for Saiyan women. And their father died defending the Saiyans while they were fleeing the PTO on their previous settlement. Gine was their guardian, their teacher, their motherly figure. But there was always a piece of the puzzle she wished she could have.
I wish Bardock could see this. She thought.
She took a deep breath and leaned forward, resting her head in her hands with her elbows on her thighs. She sat in that position on the bench for a while, but then heard a loud knocking coming from the front of her house.
"I wonder what that is." Gine said.
She got up and made her way out of the garden. As she got closer to the house, she could hear a faint voice. Soon, she recognized who it was, then made it a point to hurry up.
"Miss Gine! I need to talk to you!" Tarble said frantically as he knocked loudly on her front door. Soon, he gave up and sighed heavily. "Great, of all the times for her not to be home."
"Tarble! What are you talking about?" Gine said as she rounded the corner of her house.
Tarble looked over and saw her standing on the ground next to the porch, and a sigh of relief escaped him. "Gine! Thank god you're here."
Tarble rushed over and hopped over the railing and down to the ground in front of Gine.
"Wow, you seem stressed out. What's up?" She asked playfully.
Tarble shook his head. He was trembling, and she could tell that whatever it was that was bothering him was dire. Gine placed her hands together in front of her and cocked her head slightly.
"Tarble?.."
Tarble took Gine's hands into his own and sighed. "Someone is on their way to Vortano, Gine."
"What? All the way out here?"
"Yeah. And I only know it's a someone and not a something is because of how fast it's moving. Our satellites can't even capture pictures, it's moving so fast."
Gine's eyes widened and her mouth fell slightly agape. She looked up at the sky worriedly, then back to her frantic friend. "Do you think it's… Frieza?"
"Maybe. But we have no way of knowing for sure until it gets here. Paragus is rallying the troops at Fort Zero right now, and I need to go address the situation before word gets out and everyone starts panicking." Tarble paused and squeezed Gine's hands tightly. "Gine, I need you to hide somewhere."
"Hide? Tar-"
"Yes, Gine. Hide." Tarble said, cutting her off. "Please, take Matto and Luffa and fly to the other side of the planet as fast as you can. We have less than an hour before it gets here, and I don't want you to be in danger."
Gine stared at him with wide eyes for a few moments before chuckling and shaking her head.
"Gine?"
"Tarble, if it's Frieza, then what good will it do me to run away? If you can't beat him, and he blows up Vortano. What good will running and hiding do?"
Tarble just awkwardly stared at her for a moment before letting out a dejected sigh. "Dammit, you're right. Oh man…"
"Tarble, buddy." Gine said, gripping his hands tightly and holding them up between their chests. "Get over to Fort Zero. I'll meet you soon."
"You'll what!?" Tarble exclaimed. "No! I don't-"
"Tarble," Gine said, cutting him off this time. "I may not like to fight. But I don't suck at it anymore, and I'm not gonna sit back and wait while Frieza, or whoever it is, ruins everything we've done here. We're not just protecting ourselves anymore, we're protecting the Vortanians too."
"Gine…" Tarble said in a partial sigh. He shook his head, but then looked at her and nodded. "Fine, just please be careful. I'll see you at the fort."
Tarble and Gine released their grips, then Tarble quickly took off and headed to Fort Zero. Gine looked around. Matto and Luffa weren't back yet, and she knew it would be a while before they got home. She went inside, found a piece of paper and a pen, then wrote a note for them and taped it to the front door. Gine sighed as she read the note back to herself, then turned and flew off. As she got further away from the house, she looked back, and felt a lot of anxiety creeping up on her quickly.
Please stay home…
xXxXxXx
Fort Zero
Several miles north of Gallance was Fort Zero, high up in the mountains. The fort itself was made up of strong Vortanian materials that made it nearly indestructible. It was shaped like a large octagon with a courtyard in the middle. The walls served as walkways as well, and the six points that made up the octagon were tall watchtowers. The fort was heavily staffed, having the highest volume of royal military soldiers out of the various forts surrounding Gallance and its neighboring towns.
In the courtyard was a stage, on which was a podium with a microphone. Paragus had already arrived and gathered them there to await Tarble's arrival. He was waiting on the stage with Broly right beside him. The soldiers were a mix of Saiyans and Vortanians wearing black armor with yellow shoulder pads and hip pads, and either a blue jumpsuit or black trunks. They all talked amongst themselves confused about the situation while waiting. Soon, Tarble arrived and landed directly on the stage.
He hunched over forward while gasping, and his hair was a mess from how fast he was flying. Paragus approached him from across the stage and patted him on the shoulder.
"Ready whenever you are, sir." Paragus said.
Tarble took a few more breaths, then straightened out and ran his hands through his hair. He walked up to the podium and looked around at the packed courtyard of soldiers. Paragus walked back to the other side of the stage where Broly was standing silently. The noise died down as they awaited his address.
"As you all know, we've had several years of peace here on Vortano." Tarble said to start his speech. "After aiding the Vortanians in their revolution efforts, we Saiyans have provided leadership, protection, and aided in the rebuilding of many Vortanian towns and cities that were destroyed by the evil empire that came before. However, that may all be in jeopardy."
The soldiers all began looking at each other, confused and worried, talking amongst themselves again, and Tarble continued.
"One hour ago, our central security team detected an anomaly heading towards the planet on our satellite system. It passed through the Yellow Perimeter, and by the time I got to the security team thirty minutes later, it was entering the Orange Zone. I can only deduce that this is an enemy force that found out our location."
The soldiers became a little rowdy and loud, and things like "Frieza" and "PTO" were being said throughout the crowd.
Tarble cleared his throat and scowled briefly, and the soldiers quickly hushed and refocused on him. "I can't say for certain who they are. But it's moving way too fast for our satellites to capture any images of it. So we won't know what we're dealing with until it gets here. What I do know is this, and this part is specifically for the Saiyans here… We've spent years running for our lives. The first time we thought we were in the clear, the PTO found us, and several of our friends and family died. It's been thirteen years since we landed on Vortano, and to be honest, I'm still unsure about how we got here so fast considering how far out in the universe we are. But we have a responsibility to protect our wonderful hosts, the Vortanians."
Tarble looked around at all the faces in the crowd, then glanced up at one of the wall walkways and saw that Gine had arrived and was leaning against the inner rail. He smiled briefly, then turned back to his soldiers.
"For allowing us to settle here, and for entrusting this planet's leadership to me, it is my duty to protect Vortano. I desperately wish I could keep Vortanians out of whatever's coming our way, but the fact is, we're the minority. In joining the royal military, you've pledged to protect Vortano with your lives, Saiyans and Vortanians. We need your help to fend off this threat. Now… I have considered the possibility that whatever's coming could still change direction, and that it may not be a threat at all. But… at the speed it's moving, those possibilities are slim-to-none."
Tarble sighed and took one last long look at his military. "Once we know where it's going to land, we'll meet them on the ground. It'll have to slow down in order to land without destroying itself. You need to be ready to attack on a moment's notice. With that… stand by and await my orders."
The crowd started talking amongst themselves again, the white noise from it returning. Tarble glanced up at Gine again, who was holding her right hand over her heart with a loose fist. He then turned and walked over to Paragus and Broly.
"So… we're looking at what, fifteen more minutes?"
Paragus nodded. Tarble looked up at Broly, and more specifically, the collar around his neck.
"Sir?" Paragus said curiously.
Tarble looked at him again, then glanced at the gray holster on his hip which housed the controller for Broly's collar.
"Look," Tarble said in a near whisper. "If things get bad… do not reign him in until I say so."
Paragus nervously glanced between his son and Tarble. "Sir, I don't think-"
"That's an order, Paragus." Tarble said sternly.
Paragus reluctantly nodded. "Yes sir."
xXxXxXx
Capsule Z
"Exiting hyperspace in: 3… 2… 1…"
Capsule Z, after a little over a month in space, had finally arrived. As it exited hyperspace and slowed to a halt, Planet Vortano was sitting directly in front of the ship. Bardock, Gohan, Piccolo, Sheamus, Gummo and Trunks were all together, looking out the windows at the purple planet.
"Well… there it is." Bardock said as he placed a hand on the glass. He'd changed into one of the green and black gis that were made for him, holding the cloth with Tora's blood on it in his other hand. He sighed, then started wrapping the blood stained memento around his head.
Piccolo hummed ominously and he looked out the window. "I'm sensing a lot of ki signatures down there. It seems like the highest ones are coming from there." He pointed left out the window.
Everyone but Gummo was able to sense it too. And Bardock chuckled. Then, Vegeta entered the room in his white and blue combat armor, in the midst of pulling his gloves on. He joined the group, to their dismay, and looked out the window.
"So this is the planet they've settled on." Vegeta said while searching for ki signatures. He looked to the left where Piccolo had previously pointed. "There's a lot of Saiyans over there. That's where we need to go."
"Who died and left you captain?" Gummo said with a snarky tone.
"No, he's right, Gummo." Bardock said, drawing his attention away from Vegeta. "That's most likely where Gine and Tarble are. That's where we need to go."
Gummo sighed, but he knew Bardock was right. And he knew that Vegeta was right, which annoyed him. But he walked over to the control terminal and set a course to land the ship. And soon, the ship was descending through Vortano's atmosphere.
xXxXxXx
Gine's Homestead
Matto and Luffa had returned home to find that Gine was gone. They found the note on the door, which they thought unusual of Gine. The note read as follows: "Hey kids, I'm heading to the palace to meet with Tarble. I'll be back tonight, so stay out of trouble. I love you, Gine." Ordinarily, Gine would've found them and let them know so they weren't surprised by an empty house. This was odd and suspicious to them. They were sitting on the porch, both kinda bummed out about it. It just didn't make any sense.
Luffa sighed, then looked over to the right side of the house at the drying laundry. "Hey, I'm gonna go check to see if those are dry."
Luffa got up, walked down the steps and headed over to the side yard while Matto just sat quietly. He stared at the sky and just pondered on what could possibly be so important. Tarble and Gine were the best of friends, but she didn't have a job or role at the palace. Her work for Vortano was largely out of generosity. It really just didn't make much sense. Then, Matto saw something in the sky.
"Shooting star?" Matto thought aloud.
Luffa was on her way back to the porch. "Hey, most of it's dry. Can you help me fold?"
Matto didn't respond, he kept watching the shooting star. Luffa tilted her head slightly, then looked at it as well.
"Shooting star? In the middle of the day?" Luffa said in confusion.
"I know. Normally, you can't see anything like that until it gets dark." Matto said as he scratched the back of his head.
Luffa quietly watched it descend for a few moments, then a lightbulb went off in her head, and she ran into the house. Matto watched her curiously.
"That was weird…" He said. He turned around again and watched it fall. As he did, he started talking to himself under his breath. "We never see shooting stars during the day. So, either it's a really big rock, or it's close…"
Because it didn't look like any space rock he'd ever seen before, he was wondering if it was just really bright. But then, a bunch of red flags rose in his head. That's about when Luffa stormed back out of the house with Gine's new scouter on her face.
"Do you think…?" Matto said.
Luffa turned it on and focused on the shooting star. The scouter didn't pick up any power levels, which put her at ease momentarily. However, she came to a few realizations that left her scared. She looked at Matto with wide, fear struck eyes.
"It's heading towards Fort Zero…" Matto said.
Luffa's head snapped back, and the shooting star was behind the mountains in the distance. Then, she gasped. "That's where Miss Gine went!"
Matto shot up out of his chair, realizing that Luffa was more than likely right. "No! Luffa, let's go! Now!"
Matto then took off like a rocket, creating a wind gust and leaving a cloud of dust behind him. Luffa coughed a bit as she had inhaled some of the dust, then she huffed.
"Matto!" Luffa exclaimed angrily. Matto was already too far away to hear her, and she just sighed. "Dammit bro! You never think!"
She too took off and flew rapidly to try and catch up with her brother.
xXxXxXx
Three Miles North of Fort Zero
There was a flat clearing north of Fort Zero, and Tarble had led his soldiers there. There were several hundred soldiers deployed to the area, and Tarble, Paragus and Broly were standing front and center. Gine was nearby, standing in the front row of soldiers behind Tarble and co, much to Tarble's dismay. But she was stubborn, and she wanted to do as much as she possibly could to protect Vortano, her friends, and her kids.
Gine sighed and fell into thought. I hope they don't catch wind of this. They don't need to be part of a war.
The whole troop was collectively looking at the sky. They had seen the "shooting star", and this was about where it was gonna land based off of Paragus' prediction. He wasn't often wrong about things like this, one of the many reasons he was Tarble's right hand man. They could all see it, and they realized it was a ship. As it got closer, Tarble realized that it didn't look like a PTO vessel, and was momentarily relieved. However, because of this, he didn't know what to expect.
"Paragus…" Tarble said nervously.
"Yes sir?"
Before Tarble could speak again, the ship slowed down and eventually stopped, hovering over the clearing. A large white and black spherical ship with "Capsule Z" written on it in bold black lettering. As it started to land, Tarble stiffened up.
"Soldiers! Surround it!" He commanded.
The soldiers all spread out, running into position and forming a circle of battle ready soldiers around the ship. Gine stayed where she was, and wasn't as blended in with the soldiers anymore. She had on her classic armor from her time on Planet Vegeta, while everyone else had updated battle armor based off of those old designs. And while standing there, she realized that she forgot her scouter at home.
About then, Tarble's scouter went off, detecting two power levels to the left. He looked up and saw two people he desperately hoped wouldn't catch wind of the situation.
"Dammit!" Tarble exclaimed.
"What? What is it?" Gine inquired worriedly.
Tarble sighed and looked back at his long time best friend. "Your kids are here."
"WHAT!?" Gine shouted loudly.
She looked up and saw Matto and Luffa cautiously hovering beside each other in front of the purple backdrop of the sky. They were staring at the ship, and hadn't realized they'd been caught yet.
"Hey! Go home!" Gine shouted at them.
Matto and Luffa could just hear her, and knew that they were in a world of trouble. But they couldn't find it in themselves to leave. They were just staring at this alien ship, scared to death for both their lives, and the life of Gine.
"What do you think it is?" Luffa said nervously.
Matto shook his head slowly "I don't know… but if anyone in there even tries to hurt Miss Gine-"
Luffa placed a hand on his shoulder, which cut him off. He was getting angry, and Luffa didn't want him to fly off the handle unnecessarily.
"Hey! Can't you hear me?" Gine yelled again. She aggressively motioned for them to head back. "Go home, or you're both grounded!"
"What the hell good is that gonna do if we all die?" Matto shouted back.
Gine's eyes widened in shock and fear. Matto was right, and she felt hypocritical because she basically told Tarble the same thing. But her motherly instincts were screaming at her to make them leave. However, before she could say anything else, a sound came from the ship which stole her attention.
At the ship, the ramp was coming down from the doorway, and gently hit the ground. A few moments passed, and the door started to slide open. Everyone tensed up, they had no idea what to expect, and soon, a small group of people walked through the doorway and down the ramp. Seven in total, which relaxed Tarble a little bit. But still, they didn't know whether or not these people were a threat to them.
On the ground around the ship, Bardock, Gohan, Piccolo, Sheamus, Trunks, Vegeta, and Gummo all stood together, looking around at the vast army that was surrounding the ship.
"Well, isn't this quite the welcoming party." Vegeta said with a few chuckles.
"They had to have detected our power levels or something. Maybe even the ship itself." Bardock said as he scanned the area, panning around and seeing a mixture of alien and Saiyan soldiers. "Yeah, this is definitely the right place."
Piccolo, with his advanced hearing, could hear talking directly ahead. He looked and saw four people standing together, ahead of the rest of the soldiers. They were talking amongst themselves, and as they did, he heard the word "Gine".
"Hey, Bardock." Piccolo said.
Bardock looked at Piccolo. "Yeah?"
Piccolo nodded his head forward. "Over there."
Bardock looked and could also see them. He couldn't make out all the faces he saw, but he did realize that one of the four was a woman. And as he studied her; hairstyle, body figure, shape of her face, he slowly started to realize who it was.
"Grandpa?" Gohan said, looking at him, then looking forward at the group.
On the other side, Tarble was talking to Paragus about who they could be and what they could want. Meanwhile, Gine was staring at the group of seven in front of the ship. But in particular, the man furthest forward. She studied him for a bit, and while the clothes were different, his frame and his hairstyle were very familiar. She gasped, her heart started to thump, and she clasped her hands together over her chest.
"Is that..." She barely whispered, catching the attention of Tarble.
"Gine?" Tarble said curiously.
Gine didn't respond to him, she didn't even hear him. She wasn't sure if this was real or not, she could see that he had some facial scars, but couldn't make them out right away. Then, he started walking towards her, and she soon realized that her mind wasn't playing a trick on her. Gine's heart beat faster, her eyes slowly opened wider, and she just stared in awe.
Bardock's eyes widened slowly as well. He walked a ways forward, and his allies were all watching curiously. Soon, he could make out all of her facial features, and he just froze in place. There was no question about it anymore. They were making eye contact, both of their hearts beating fast like hooves on a horse track, both of them trembling nervously, both of them having subconsciously shut out everything else around them. While they both couldn't fully believe it at first, they knew in their hearts that it was really happening.
"Gine… it's you."
"Bardock?"
To Be Continued...