X Chapter 2 X
Warning: Language and very heavy, emotional themes.
The surface was drowned in light from the sun-like energy ball. Saiyans looked up, frozen in time, with terrified and confused expressions on their faces. Whis landed with a soft tap of his shoes. He stood in one of the many saiyan villages on the planet. He took a calm stroll through the streets; with his speed and power, he had generous time to sightsee. His lord's attendant wondered at the seemingly endless, stone pillars that stretched into the arid wilderness.
In the distance, he could make out the royal palace and spaceport. Their profiles stood tall above even the mighty pillars. Turning his attention back to the village, he eyed the marketplace. Stalls stood around the market, bearing assorted fruits, meats, armors, weapons, and numerous luxury items. Whis walked up to the fruit and chose a red and yellow striped, pear-like specimen. He bit into it. My god this is sour. He threw it over his shoulder, striking one of the frozen saiyans on the head.
Whis chose a different fruit, this time a green and purple apple. When he bit into it, it too was sour. I've either found the worst fruit vendor on this world, or the saiyans have the worst culinary sense of all the races. I'm surprised my lord did not destroy the planet the last time we were here. The angel dropped the fruit on the ground and began roaming the streets of the village once more, ignoring the frozen, jaw-dropped faces of the saiyans.
Aside from the palace and spaceport, their architecture is very primitive. Their homes seem to be constructed from little more than wood and mud, mud being the majority of the material. I suppose that's to be expected of a race so focused on prowess on the battlefield. As Whis rounded a corner, he came upon a burly saiyan woman holding a small child on her shoulders. They stood, still frozen, same terrified expressions as the others, staring into the supernova.
The attendant looked at them for a moment, before shaking his head and walking past them. It's such a shame, but I really can't test the rules any further. As he stepped out of the village, he began levitating and flew off towards the palace. In his perspective, it was a slow, casual flight. The supernova had seemingly not moved an inch.
After a few 'minutes', Whis landed at the grand front doors of the royal palace. Such impressive craftsmanship. I love these mahogany doors! Perhaps my lord would allow me to do some renovating around the house. He stepped through the doors, once more ignoring the dumbstruck saiyan guards, frozen in time. Oh and these marble floors are just exquisite! I must say, the king does know how to build a home!
The angel walked through the maze of hallways, studying the countless rooms and their beautiful architecture, before coming upon a curious room. The room seemed dark looking in. When he came inside, a soft light from the ceiling, permeated throughout the room. Rows and rows of incubation pods lay inside, in a circular fashion. An elevated platform sat in the middle of the room with a few pods placed on it; the saiyan mid-class. Scientists stood around the room, frozen in their daily activities.
Fascinating. There's over 50 saiyan children in here. I knew that most saiyans didn't care much for raising their young, but I didn't think they left them in a nursing pod for so long. Some of these children look at least 4 years old! Whis strolled around the room, studying the children. All of them were asleep, none the wiser to what was about to happen to them. He wasn't particularly moved by this fact. It wasn't his duty to look after mortals. He had his place, and he had to stay in it. Still...
It really is a shame. That Bardock got to send his son off before Freeza... What am I saying? This isn't about fairness. I'm not supposed to get involved with the affairs of mortals. That right solely rests upon my lord's shoulders... The attendant stared ever longer at the child in the pod in front of him. It was a little girl, no more than 2 years old. Her messy black hair, floated gently upwards, frozen in time. He sighed. Well, my lord never ordered Freeza to get rid of all saiyans, just the planet.
I really hope father isn't watching. Whis, using his staff, tapped the pod, which was sucked into the crystal ball of the staff. He walked to each pod in the room, doing the same with all of them. After doing so, he walked out of the incubation chambers and walked down a hall, and out onto a balcony. A woman stood on the edge of said balcony. Her black hair hung down to her waist. It was surprisingly well kept for a saiyan, except for the spiky mess on top and the two bangs that fell in front of her face. She wore a fine set of battle armor without shoulder pads, and a skin-tight, navy blue jumpsuit underneath. Her face had soft, feminine features, yet she bore a stern expression. Beautiful golden earrings adorned her ears, and on her left breastplate, the symbol of the royal house of Vegeta.
Whis walked next to the woman, frozen in place. He was preparing to fly off before he noticed the royal symbol. This must be the king's wife. No doubt, a supermodel among these saiyans. The cream of the crop. Judging by her face, she was one of the smarter ones that saw through Freeza's scheme. The angel smiled his enigmatic smile, and tapped her on the head with his staff, leaving her a parting gift that flashed through her eyes. In her perspective, she saw everything before vanishing in the supernova, with a smile of her own.
His lord's attendant levitated away from the frozen queen and took off for a nearby village, though, a different one from the one he visited. Using his staff, he located any saiyans below the fighting age, and gathered them inside it. He did so at several more villages, collecting any younglings he found on his way. After several 'minutes', he came to the final village. Whis had gathered an additional 30 children from his tour around the planet. In this village, he found 6 more; 1 girl, 5 boys.
Amazingly, I found very few females among these children. The females that I did find, had much less power than boys of the same age. Whis' expression became troubled, more troubled than it had in millenia. Perhaps the saiyans committed infanticide on the females that failed to fit a standard; seeing as how much weaker most of the females are compared to their male peers, I can only guess that most baby girls are snuffed out at birth due to subpar power.
As he gathered the last child, he had decided it was time to leave. Just when his feet lifted from the ground, he noticed something from the corner of his eye. That's the woman from that saiyan, Bardock's mind. She was his wife, or so it appeared. Whis touched back down and walked over to Gine, who was standing frozen outside her house. Tears were running down her cheeks, shimmering with the light of the supernova. I suppose while I'm here, I'll grant the same gift I gave the queen, to Bardock's 'wife'. The angel touched her brow with his staff. The 'gift' flashed before her eyes and she saw everything: past, present, future. When her gift faded, she turned to look at the giver, who smiled warmly at her. She returned the smile before closing her eyes and embracing oblivion.
X
The planet exploded with a great fireball that expanded countless miles into space. The tyrant responsible, sat in his hovercraft, and laughed maniacally. Whis tanked the explosion. Such an attack was child's play for him. He observed Freeza as the emperor boarded his ship and took off from the scene of the crime. Did he really need to act so gleeful and proud? If I had not been here, he would have destroyed the planet only seconds sooner. Whis laughed. Of course, he didn't expect anyone to even put a dent in his attack... or that just over 100 children would survive.
Whis took off for the edge of his universe. Now the question is what to do with 100 saiyan children without anyone to care for them. I can't exactly bring them to my lord's world, or I would be found out. The angel bolted across the cosmos at unfathomable speeds. Using his staff, he tried to locate suitable worlds in the quadrant for life. After many minutes, he coincidently happened upon the red swamp world from earlier. It wasn't completely covered in swamp; some hilly, grassy, plains occupied a part of the surface. This should do.
The attendant touched down in the grassy region. The area was almost completely barren from trees, aside from a small few, twig-thin trees with red leaves and white bark. The teal grass stood about knee high to Whis. He waved his staff, which cut the 'lawn' down to a more tolerable length. If I'm not mistaken, Bardock and his wife's house was constructed like so... Once more, he began waving his staff around, speaking an unknown language. A nearby hill began to disintegrate into slabs which further disintegrated into bricks of clay and sod. Like a finely tuned orchestra, they stacked themselves neatly into the shape of a house. With another wave of the staff, sand came from far away and transmuted into circular, glass panes, which neatly attached themselves to holes in the construction. He walked inside; the interior was cozy, and lacked the necessary space to house more than 10 children.
I'll need to make around a dozen of these dwellings for the children to live comfortably. And knowing saiyans, they'll probably end up wrecking one or two of them... Whis sighed, stepped outside, and got to work on the dozen dwellings. After an hour of construction and furnishing, the homes were complete. Each had a large bedroom with several beds, an open air kitchen with a wood fire stove, a cozy living room with a fireplace, and a storage room in the back. The dwellings stood in two columns, 6 on each, facing each other. He was proud of his work. Now all that's left to do, is let them out.
For the nth time, Whis waved his staff, and all of the children appeared. The ones gathered in the pod, still rested inside their pods, which lay on the grass. The ones not in a pod, stood in front of Whis, wearing their armor and jumpsuits underneath; expressing terror and confusion. They patted themselves down and looked at their hands. Unanimously, the older, pod-less children thought. Are... are we dead?!
"No. Fortunately, you aren't." The children looked up at the angel, terror renewed. "You can read minds?!" said a short, thin, welp of a child. Their guardian looked down at his pathetic charges. "Yes, I can. Now it's time to read my lips." The children stared, eyes the size of dinner plates. "I saved you from the destruction of your planet. You were supposed to die, along with your parents, but I broke the rules and saved you."
Silently, a few of the 30 or so pod-less, older children, began shedding tears. They did their best to hide their 'softness', lest they be made fun of. The rest of the children were shocked at the news, before their faces scrunched in anger. One of the oldest children stepped forward, she was at least 10. "That bastard! It was Freeza wasn't it?!" The emotionless attendant nodded. She clenched her fists. Her long spiky hair, which naturally fell to one side, began bristling. Her tail swished angrily. The other children backed away from her, fearing the girl that emulated the wrath of their mothers.
Whis walked up to her and knelt down, placing his hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away before leaping back. "Get your hands off me, creep!" Raising her hand, she shot a white ki blast that was impressively powerful for her age, at Whis. The angel raised his hand and effortlessly neutralized it. The other children cowered in fear while the girl huffed, still enraged. Whis looked at them sternly. "Please settle down. I didn't go through all this trouble just to hurt you."
The girl continued to breathe heavily, staring hatefully at Whis, until she fell to her knees and began sobbing. "They're gone… THEY'RE ALL GONE!" She had begun wailing, face and fists pressed into the grass. No one moved for a while. Whis watched her with a slightly perturbed expression, while the children all looked at their feet. Finally, a very young child, no older than 5, walked up to the crying girl. He hugged his sister's arm and rubbed her back. She turned and looked at him. He had pressed his face into her arm, closing his eyes. The girl wiped her tears away and sniffled, before picking him up and holding him in her arms. The king, her elders, even her own father, would be ashamed of such a display. But it felt so good.
The embrace between brother and sister, broke the floodgates, and all the other children began sniffling and shedding tears. It was a pitiful sight. Many of them didn't have siblings, all they had were parents, who had vanished along with their planet. They stood alone. The few that did, clung to each other. Reality had set in; they were the last saiyans left.
Once more, Whis stepped up to the girl and her brother. He spoke in a soft voice. "What are your names?" The elder sister looked cooly at the guardian, a trace of hate and mistrust still in her gaze. "My name is Ginge, and this is Arti, my kid brother." This freak is obscenely powerful to be able to grab all of us and escape before the planet exploded. How the hell did he even manage to carry us? I don't see a ship! "Ah, I see. You're a brave young woman, Ginge." Ginge shut her eyes, annoyed from the perceived patronization from him, though her cheeks turned red.
Whis turned to the rest of the children. "I've provided you with shelter on a habitable planet. The gravity is a little stronger than Planet Vegeta's, but that should not be a problem for you saiyans." The attendant began floating above the saiyans, waving his staff, freeing the pod-ridden saiyans and giving them battle armor just like their brethren. "I'm going now. Now that I've given you the tools you need to survive, I must return to my lord."
Ginge put her brother down and flew up to the angel, stretching out her arms to block his path. "You can't leave us here like this! We don't know how to feed ourselves! What if we run out of water?! What if we get attacked by giant animals?! What if Freeza shows up?!" The girl had begun hyperventilating half way through her tirade. Whis shook his head and smiled. "The fact that you're the only one asking those questions, proves to me that you're the only one to lead your new family. Freeza will never come here because there is no sapient life, or any civilization on this planet besides you all. As for giant animals, if you come at them with the same force you came at me a few minutes ago, it should solve that problem quite handily. It should solve your food problems as well." Whis turned and pointed. "That direction is south, and if you go that way, you should find a stream with plenty of fresh water."
The angel began to ascend again, but Ginge blocked his path once more, all of the animosity for her savior, gone. "Wait. Please don't leave us. We need you…" He sighed and frowned. Outstretching his hand, a small, circular device materialized in his palm. "I'm going to give this to you. It's a communication device. It will allow you to talk to me when you need to. Use it only when there's a problem you cannot solve, and need my advice. I cannot return to this world or you will all be in danger, as will I."
Ginge couldn't understand why he had to leave. Danger? What could possibly threaten someone like him?! She got in his way again. Whis shook his head and darted off into the other direction, too fast for Ginge to react. His angelic transportation technique initiated long before she could reach him. With a flash of light, he was gone, and the saiyans were alone.
X
Ginge descended to the ground, cursing. "What the fuck are we supposed to do now?! I was barely into training before this shit came along!" The other children, most of them many years her junior, stared at her with saucer eyes. She scoffed at them. "What? Are these grown-up words too harsh for you?! Well guess what, mommy and daddy aren't here to give me lashes!" The young woman huffed at the cohort of children. The infants, startled by the shouting, began to cry. The girls of the group picked up the babies and comforted them. Everyone else, who had turned to look at the infants, turned back to Ginge and flashed her dirty looks.
Ginge sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Look. I'm just a little mad because of… well, everything. I think everyone is. Let's just get the little ones inside and out of the wind. It's gonna be nippy tonight." The sun had slipped halfway past the horizon. As a chilly breeze swept through the columns of dwellings, the young saiyans herded into the shelters; the oldest children helped the infants and toddlers find a house. Ginge, with her little brother Arti, settled into one of the middle dwellings. When she entered the bedroom, she saw that the beds were thin, with blankets made of animal furs. The young matriarch peeled back the covers, revealing a simple fabric mattress. It was soft to the touch, and heaven when laid upon.
Before she could drift off to sleep, she felt a hand tugging on her arm. It was Arti. His head barely cleared the mattress and he looked at her with puppy eyes. "I'm cold. Can I sleep with you in your bed?" Ginge squinted at him. Can't I get some goddamn shut eye after a day like today? A moment passed; Ginge felt a chilling breeze. I guess it is kind of cold... and if I don't let him in, he'll gripe for the rest of the night and I'll never get any rest! She sighed and ruffled his short, upstanding, spiky hair. "Climb in, Arti." A grin stretched across his tiny face and he did as he was told. He nuzzled up next to his sister, burrowing his face into her chest. Ginge wrapped her arm over him and they fell asleep.
The next morning, Ginge awoke to shouting in front of her dwelling. She sat up abruptly; everyone else had awoken from the noise as well. She slid her armor on over her head and rushed out the door. Two children, both boys, were fighting in the middle of the dwellings. Tears were falling down their faces; a crowd had gathered to watch the brawl. One of the boys, the bigger of the two, pinned the smaller boy and started throttling him. "You killed my baby brother! I'll fucking kill you!"
Ginge sprinted to them, shoving spectators out of the way. When she got to them, she pried the bigger boy off and threw him away. "What's going on?! Why the hell are you fighting?!" The larger boy got up, panting. His eyes were locked on to the other boy in a hateful glare. "He's a murderer. My infant brother slept in the bed next to him, and when I checked on him, he was dead!" Ginge looked at the smaller boy, not believing the accusation, but not discounting it either. "Where's the body?"
The accuser pointed to one of the dwellings on the end, which Ginge started off towards. "Stay here, both of you! And don't start fucking fighting again!" She ran to the scene of the crime. When she came into the bedroom, all of the beds had signs of use, their covers pulled back… except one. A small lump occupied the center of the bed. The young woman pulled the covers back and gazed upon a tiny, lifeless corpse. She covered her mouth; a tear fell down her cheek. Her hand violently shook as she reached down to inspect the body. There was no sign of murder. The tiny boy had passed from hypothermia.