"Dragonball AS: Destroyer Saga"
Chapter 17- "Berge's Past"
By- Tiny
High over the desert plains in Earth's mountainous regions, a single golden blur zipped over the land at speeds that would boggle the normal human's mind were they to see him. That in itself was only assuming that they could see him, for this man moved faster that was possible for most people on the planet to follow, his punches and kicks cracking mountains and shattering boulders just from the energy he put out. Sweat poured off of the young man's body in buckets as his blood course with raw, Saiya-jin power during his intensive training.
Stopping for a second, the young man's golden blonde hair waved through the cool breeze as it brushed past his face, his jade eyes fixated almost longingly towards the northern region. The snowy wastes virtually called out for him to return to them, his blood longing to be in that cold and unforgiving region that some still managed to tame and call their home despite knowing how hostile it was. A smile of longing spread out over his face as the young man dropped out of Super Saiya-jin for the first time in many days, allowing his brown hair to wave freely in the wind as it blew by.
Tears were streaming down the young hybrid's face as he thought back on the northern regions of this world, memories that he hadn't reflected on since his childhood rushing back to him like water in a broken dam. Everything he had ever known was in those regions, everything that had come before he left for space, and he had so carelessly and foolishly thrown all of that away. All because he thought that perhaps he could find and resurrect his father, reuniting his mother with the man that she had allowed to take her so many years ago, but alas it had not been meant to be.
"I was a fool back then, and it has nearly cost me my very soul many times since then," Berge sighed, wiping the tears from his face, "I wonder...if they are all still there in the north..."
Before he even realized what was going on, Berge had taken off for the frozen wastes of the north, the snow whipping past his bare arms and face as he maneuvered through the snow-capped mountains. If felt almost euphoric and incredibly relaxing to be amidst the snowy wastes again, despite the bitter winds and freezing temperatures, as Berge landed with a soft thump in the freshly fallen snow. It was exactly as he remembered it being in this, the most freezing time of the year, and a small smile crept over the Saiya-jin's face as he charged up to Super Saiya-jin.
The golden aura warmed his chilled body so much that he was actually able to walk comfortably through the frozen winds, stopping short when he came to the edge of a large, filled in crater. The water inside the crater was frozen over now, as he knew it would be, but the outline of an old and broken down shuttle, much like the one he had come to Earth in, was still visible at the bottom. That ship, the one that his father had arrived on this planet in, had been the start of this long, horrific journey back to Earth that had started with a boy's wish to meet his father...
...FLASHBACK...
A young Berge, hardly out of his teens, bustled about quickly gathering supplies and loading them into a small, spherical ship, the spare that was kept in the cargo area of his father's own. Standing off to the side were a small group of figures, mostly consisting of three smaller children, but also a tall, strapping young man of no more than thirty. This man had rather short hair despite the normally long hair worn by most people in the north, but it was the same deep black color that seemed to run rampant in the families of this region.
Next to the man and just in front of the children was a small, frail looking young woman who was about the same age as the man behind her, though her hair was very long and light brown. Her green eyes stared out from under her bangs at the teenage boy before her, tears running down her face as the other three children played carelessly about her feet. Berge could not bring himself to look at the woman, keeping his own green eyes lowered to the ground in shame as he got the last of his things loaded into the small shuttle and sealed up the cargo hold.
"I really wish you would just stay here with us, Berge," the woman sniffled, "You have had a father figure in your life since you were still in diapers, not to mention three little siblings who love you very much. Why must you go on this pointless search of yours?"
"Because I have to see him, I have to at least know what my father is like before I can be at peace," Berge responded, keeping his eyes lowered, "Yoshi has been good to me and a good father to my siblings, but he is not MY father!"
"The boy is right Lily, you must let him make his own decisions on this," the man, Yoshi, spoke softly, "I am not Berge's father, regardless of the efforts I have made with him, and he deserves to know the truth about his heritage."
"His father is dead, I saw it happen years ago!" Lily screamed, tears literally pouring out of her eyes, "Those three boys, the ones with the golden hair like Berge can do, they killed him! Brolly is not alive, and nothing you can do will bring him back to you Berge!"
"Maybe, but I have to at least try," Berge sighed, looking up one last time, quite sadly, at his mother, "And if I don't find the answers I'm looking for, then I promise that one day I will return to you all. You can count on that."
Lily didn't speak another word as her son waved good-bye to her and his siblings with tears in his eyes, not to mention his step-father, before setting foot into the small alien vessel. The woman turned and walked away from the ship, not wanting to watch as her first born left them all for what might be forever, and rushed on her small feet back to the family's small home on the hillside. Berge couldn't help but feel guilty about leaving her like this, but it was for the best this way, or so he thought as his ship took off in a blast of blue energy into the stars...
...END FLASHBACK...
The wind felt oddly colder as Berge gazed down into the ice-filled crater, his face filling once more with tears as he fondly recalled the day he had left this place, going on a search that turned out to be in vain. When he met up with Diive and the others in space, he had heard the stories of his father, the Legendary Super Saiya-jin, and how cruel and unjust his actions against other species had been. It was the embodiment of the old Saiya-jin way, the way they were after Frieza took over, and it had personally disgusted Diive and his men.
Over time, Berge too grew to despise even the memory of his father, but found what he had been searching for in Diive, the kind-hearted warrior teaching him all he knew about space and his own powers. It had been very hard to lose him once the Dark Lord's came searching for them a few years ago, especially seeing as they had all been forced to watch in horror as the leader ripped Diive limb from limb while he was alive. The screams of his mentor would forever haunt Berge's dreams, not to mention the others, and he could feel more tears threatening to break free as he looked up at the stars.
"My search was successful after all, I did find a father," Berge smiled sadly, his eyes fixated on the star he knew he had met Diive on, "I just wish that you had survived to see how we all turned out. I know that you'd be proud..."
"I heard from the elders that they had seen you return, but I didn't think that it could be true," a soft, feminine voice called out from behind, "And yet here you are, after so many years, you have returned...just like you promised..."
Berge, quite startled to hear another voice out here, turned around quickly to see who had spoken to him, his eyes widening with shock once he laid eyes on the person standing a few feet from him. It was a young woman, no more than twenty if she was a day, with the same flowing brown hair that his mother possessed in her youth, the eyes a sparkling blue color that he recognized as his step-father's. She was dressed in the warm, fur-lined outfits that the villager's around here often wore, not to mention a very thick, goat-fur coat that had once belonged to Berge's mother before he left.
The Saiya-jin felt weak in the knees as he started moving towards the young woman, dropping out of Super Saiya-jin due to the situation, his brown hair waving crazily in the harsh winds. The woman's face broke out in a soft smile, her blue eyes sparkling even more as though she were about to cry herself, but she did not do so and instead held out a coat of the same warm fur to Berge. The bitter winds finally getting to him, Berge graciously accepted the fur coat and flung it over his shoulders, his skin instantly going back to normal as he stared at the woman before him.
"You look so much like I remember her, minus the eyes," Berge smiled, wiping his face clear again, "I just can't believe it...it's been such a long time Lisa..."
"And look at you big brother, you must've gotten all that height from mother because our brother is certainly not that tall!" Lisa giggled, "And yeah, I get that a lot that I look like mom did. Tao looks like mom with black hair, she got her eyes ya know, and Ryu looks just like dad when he was younger..."
"Are they still around here?" Berge smiled, his eyes sparkling with happiness, "And what about mom and Yoshi? I'd really like to see everyone again...just in case I don't get the chance again.
"Mom and Yoshi are living in a larger hut now, ever since Yoshi became the village chief a few years ago," Lisa nodded, starting to walk down the hill, "The other two are with them now, so if you hurry up we can see them before they go to their own homes for the night..."
Berge didn't have to be told twice as he took off down the hill after his little sister, his heart nearly skipping a beat as he strode back through the village that had been his playground as a child. It was almost exactly how he remembered it, the hut that he had called home for so many years still perched precariously on the top of the hill, looking down over the rest of the village like a silent observer. He knew that if his step-father was the village elder now then they lived in the middle of the village, but he still longed to fly up that hill and take a peek inside his childhood home again.
He resisted the urge, however, and followed his sister down to the village square, where he could hear the many hushed whispers of other villagers mumbling his name as he walked past. Berge distinctly remembered that he hadn't been well liked as a child, seeing as he was born out of wed-lock and had a rather destructive nature, but he still felt too good to let other's opinions get to him as they approached the village square. The hut of the chief looked the same as he remembered it as well, the only real changes being the smoke stack at the top of the hut that was currently billowing gray clouds into the air.
Nervousness crept into the Saiya-jin's heart as he walked up the stairs with his sister leading him by the hand, seeing as he had been nearly paralyzed by the sight of this hut to move. The door was already open, a fairly tall young man with black hair standing in the doorframe with a shocked look on his face, yet the dark-haired woman behind him was smiling like a schoolgirl when she laid eyes on Berge. It felt good to see Tao and Ryu again as well, though the joy at seeing them was nothing compared to what he was about to see waiting for him across the room.
Yoshi was standing silently in the doorway to the kitchen area, his face broken out in a broad smile over his now long and gray beard, but it was not him who caught Berge's eye. It was rather the woman standing beside him, the only signs of her diminished youth being a few wrinkles around the mouth and some gray hair, but Berge would have recognized those green eyes anywhere as he stood in the center of the room. The woman moved in towards him slowly, her eyes widened in stunned surprise as she moved, and her hands shaking as she ran one over the young Saiya-jin's chiseled face.
"All these years I've waited, thinking you wouldn't come back," the woman said shakily, tears in her eyes, "Oh my boy, is it really you?"
"Yes, it's me Mom," Berge nodded, kneeling to look his mother in the eyes, "Your little boy has finally come home."
"Oh Berge!" Lily cried, tears streaming out of her eyes as she wrapped her arms tightly around her son's neck, "I thought we'd never see you again! Oh my son, it's so good to have you back again..."
"I'm with your mother on this one, it's good to see you again," Yoshi smiled, sitting next to the tall Saiya-jin, "You really had us worried for a while there. Find what you were looking for, Berge?"
"Yeah, even though I never did meet my father, I found what I was looking for Yoshi," Berge nodded, "And now, what I want is to catch up on what my brother and sisters have been up to all this time!"
"Well, plenty of time for that later, but first we need to get some food into you," Lily smiled, letting go hesitantly and running for he kitchen, "You must be famished after such a long trip up here!"
"You read my mind Mom!" Berge beamed, following his mother into the adjacent kitchen, "It feels so good to be home..."
Author's Notes: I don't care what anyone says, I thought this chapter was touching and that it works well with the story. I never did say who Berge's mother was, nor where he came from in this story, but now you all know! And to make things even better, he has three siblings who are all fully human, which will play an important role later on as DB:AS progresses. What that role is I can't tell anyone as of yet, seeing as it would spoil the surprise, but just know that you'll be seeing plenty of Berge's family again soon!
The next chapter will feature the first bit of action that we'll have seen for a while, with a quick spar between Pan and Yamcha's son, Roshi, the first time they'll have met since the Budokai. How will Pan react to seeing someone that she stood up for so bravely to Destroyer, and how will Roshi react to seeing her after such a display? You'll have to read on to find out, but for now it's time to recognize the reviewers!
WeirdDutchGuy: Yeah, this completely different from the original DB:AS, but that was my intention when I started this one. I didn't want to be focused entirely on the Z fighter's numbers increasing to dramatic heights, which it did in the original, and not being able to use all those characters. This way, the character list is smaller and will thus be easier to work with and be assured, everyone will have either their own chapter or even their own saga! I personally have a whole saga planned out that is dedicated to Ice, so stay tuned for that and thanks for reviewing!
kate: Sure, I'll support that! Sign me up!
Chaos: Actually yes, Brolly will show up as a main force in this story, but not until the next installment that focuses around Goten and his journey to find his father in the Other World. As for Bra and Ubuu, yes they will still be a couple, but the way in which they hook up will be completely different from what it was in the original. It'll be somewhere along the lines of Trunks not being there to stop them and the two being all alone, so stay tuned to see...