Hello again! :) Glad to see I've been able to keep at this story on a regular enough basis to publish these chapters despite how long they are! (They are bricks, I know, but I feel like this is the best way to tell this kind of story with Gine's POV and emotional/mental journey.)
Also, thank you all so much for your feedback in your reviews. I take each piece of constructive criticism seriously and will make whatever changes I feel is appropriate to make the story more coherent with consistent details and grammar. So again, thank you all.
On a more serious note, with the COVID-19 pandemic going on right now, I have had some more time to write this but also be aware that with the nature of the job I work at, I could be at a higher risk of contracting the virus so if I don't post for sometime, I may be too busy or too sick, so please be patient with me. Also, please practice safe distancing, self-quarantining if you are sick, and good hygienics so we can all get through this together!
So without further delay, now we are at a chapter I have been rather eager to get to.
Now that Gine has agreed to train Kami with her son, she has some rather pressing things she wants to ask the Guardian of the Earth first. How will this conversation go down? And could it have dramatic effects for this timeline?
Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 17: PAINFUL QUESTIONS
"The dragon balls?" Kami repeated.
Gine nodded. "Yes. Korin said you created them, and I was curious about just what they really are and what they could actually do."
Kakarot looked at his mom, then at Kami with wide eyes.
"YOU created the dragon balls, Kami?" He asked incredulously.
"Yes, that is true." Kami answered. "I created the Eternal Dragon Shenron with the ability to grant wishes."
"WHOA! No way!" Kakarot looked at the Guardian with new eyes.
Gine looked at her son. "You didn't know?"
"No, I didn't!" Kakarot said.
"Huh." Gine replied. No one asked, she figured.
She then turned back to Kami, thinking of her first query. "So, why did you create them?"
Kami took his time answering, looking somewhat forlorn.
"When I first created the dragon balls, I did so in order to encourage acts of bravery and give the people of Earth a sense of hope. But soon I learned that the hearts of men are easily corrupted. With the prospect of having their greatest desires come true now at their fingertips, people from individuals to entire governments began killing each other in order to obtain the dragon balls. Their greed and lust for power turned my noble, pure endeavor into one of evil and in turn brought out the worst in humanity."
Gine felt bad for him, not realizing this was an immense source of pain the Namekian held. She imagined if she created something that she wanted to be used for good only brought destruction, it would've been a guilt Gine couldn't bear.
But Kami turned hopeful. "However, with you and your son's efforts to stop those who sought evil wishes and used it for saving the lives of fallen friends and strangers, you both changed my mind. I was beginning to believe that all people were greedy and dishonorable but, you've shown me that there are people that have kind and untainted minds and hearts."
She smiled warmly at the sentiment. Gine felt so proud that her son had brought joy and hope to the people of Earth in some degree. Such a thing would have been unheard of on Vegeta, but she was glad of it.
But she pressed on with her questions. "So, is it true that they can grant any wish your heart desires? Or..." She didn't finish, partially out of fear of making what she would say become truth.
But Kami answered. "Not entirely, Gine. For the Eternal Dragon's power is limited by my own strength in my magical abilities as well as rules set in place so as to make sure that the dragonballs are not abused."
"Like what kind of limits?" She asked hesitantly.
"Well, aside from having to turn to stone for a year after one wish is granted, there are some feats that Shenron cannot do such as logical paradoxes, like creating something he cannot move or a cube made of sleep, or things of the like."
Gine nodded, kind of already figuring something like that would be impossible. But it raised some theological questions that she pushed aside for the moment.
"But, he could bring back anyone from the dead, correct?" Gine said.
"Yes, he can. To a degree."
Gine raised a worried eyebrow. "To a degree?"
"Yes. There are three main stipulations of resurrecting the deceased by Shenron. First, is that they can only be resurrected once, and if they were to die yet again, they will stay dead. Second, is that they cannot be resurrected if they died of natural causes, such as old age or disease. If they died of unnatural or untimely means such as murder or by accident, then they would be eligible."
Gine and Kakarot listened intently, Gine nervous about the final clause.
"And lastly, the deceased persons you wish to resurrect must not have been dead for more than three-hundred-and-sixty-five Earth days, for beyond that, their deaths are to remain permanent."
Gine's heart felt like it turned into an iron weight. She somehow knew her questions would yield an answer she didn't want to hear, but it still hurt.
She was too late. Fifteen years too late.
"Why do you ask, anyway?" said Kami.
Gine shrugged her shoulders absent-mindedly. "No one ever told me what the dragon balls could or couldn't do."
"Huh, come to think of it, that never came up in any of my travels either I guess." Kakarot thought out loud.
Gine nodded at Kakarot's addition to their discussion, impressed by his insight as well. It would have been a staggering coincidence if that never happened, but life had strange things happen.
Her starring at Kakarot turned mournful, as she thought of his older brother. If he were still alive, he'd be twenty-one now...
"You have someone you wish to bring back to life, don't you?" Kami said more as a gentle observation than a question.
Gine nodded slowly, trying not to let those long-buried emotions resurface too quickly. "Yes. Another Saiyan by the name of Bardock, who was my partner and the father of Kakarot... and of my firstborn son too."
Kakarot turned to her. "You mean Raditz?" He asked, expectantly. As long as he had known his mother, she told him of his father plenty of times. But she rarely spoke of his long lost brother. Now, putting two and two together with what she was asking of the dragon balls, he had a feeling that something dramatic and life changing was about to happen.
"That's right sweetie." Gine smiled sadly, "Your older brother, Raditz."
Kami looked at her with sympathy in his eyes, for this surely was a more delicate subject to discuss than he thought. "If I may ask, how did they die?"
Gine opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she felt a lump form in her throat and her vision flood with tears. Kami looked like he was mentally kicking himself for asking.
"I apologize if my question was too straightfor-"
"NO! No, it's okay." She stopped him, trying to reassure the Guardian of the Earth while she wiped her tears away with her sleeve.
"It's just...it's been over a decade since I spoke of this to anyone." Gine said, trying to force the words out.
Kakarot wordlessly walked over to his mother and hugged her. "It's okay, Mom. You don't have to if you don't want to."
Gine's resolve not to cry almost cracked at the heartwarming display of comfort that her son was trying to give her, and remembering how he had learned to accept her wanting to make her own decisions about training. Now he was extending it to her own emotional well-being with things she had long locked away in her heart. He always surprised her one way or another.
With how short he was as he came up to her hip, he was only able wrap his arms around her waist. But he made her feel that nothing could harm her.
"Thank you so much, sweetheart." Gine said gratefully as she ruffled her son's wild hair with her free hand, a smile appearing on her face.
"But I feel like I must, or I never will..." She said quietly. The barrier that kept her from saying what she needed to faded. But only so.
She looked back at Kami and willed herself to talk. "They died when our home planet was blown up by a galactic tyrant whom we Saiyans had long served."
Both Kami and Mr. Popo, god and demigod alike that know all the strangest secrets of the Earth below, were shocked.
"Your entire planet was obliterated by this one ruler that you served?" Kami asked, wrapping his head around that concept.
Gine nodded, "Yes. His name was Frieza, supreme ruler of the known galaxy and Lord of the Planet Trade Organization."
"Frieza..." Kami said the name that Gine had grown to loathe over the years.
"...I think I might have heard that name once."
That got Gine's attention. "Really? How?"
"From Otherworld I believe it was." Kami answered. "For my ultimate superior above me, King Yemma, has grumbled once or twice about an evil dictator with that name was sending entire worlds-full of souls into his office to process and cluttering up his work. I always assumed it was some nickname for an ice-age type calamity on some other world, but never gave it much thought as Earth was my only jurisdiction." Kami answered.
Gine felt like she had more questions than answers now. There were higher gods above Kami's stature? Frieza was still out there conquering planets? And what was Otherworld?
She didn't feel entirely comfortable asking more about those things. Maybe she thought it was some primitive corner in her Saiyan mind for the fear of the unknown, or that she did not want to open up another "can of worms" as Gohan would say. So she decided to stay on topic.
"That's the one. He was a ruthless emperor that has conquered a great portion of the galaxy, capturing tens of thousands of worlds to rule over or sell by using their resources to further expand his empire. He would either enslave the peoples of those worlds, or just slaughter them all... and we in the Saiyan race served him as his most loyal and elite warriors that carried out his bidding like that."
Gine then halted before recounting the next bit. "Then one day, I'm still not sure why but he turned against us. Bardock had somehow found out about his intentions to kill all Saiyans, and had warned me to get Kakarot away from our planet. At the last moment, I decided to come with Kakarot to protect him while his father went to confront Frieza himself..."
All was quiet until she continued. "The last thing I saw as our spacecraft left our star system was our planet exploding... and I could no longer feel the life forces of either Bardock or Raditz..." She stopped, letting tears fall freely down her cheeks.
"Frieza had destroyed our home planet and everyone on it before my very eyes. And as far as I know... me and my youngest son here are the only survivors." She said, anger laced in her croaking voice.
She had only told the full story to Gohan and nobody else. The rest of the gang was from Kakarot, but she never had to tell it again since the day Gohan found them. She didn't realize that even after almost fifteen years later, and no matter how many times she recounted and relived it in her mind, it still hurt to even say it aloud.
Kami however was almost agape in shock. The idea that there existed beings powerful and evil enough to commit atrocities on such a scale that made the quarrels of Earth seem tame was unfathomable to him. As much as he kept an eye on these two since they fell from outer space, he was still unprepared for the reality of extraterrestrial life. But something as horrific as Frieza was utterly terrifying to him.
"This Frieza... if he was truly intent on eradicating your species, he hasn't tried to come looking for you hasn't he?" Kami asked, out of grave concern for his planet that he may have invited it's destroyers afterall.
Gine shook her head. "No, as far as I know he is unaware that we are here. For I chose this planet during our escape since it was in a remote and uncharted part of the galaxy according to the Planet Trade Organization. And I hope it stays that way." She said, worried that she might have frightened Kami beyond his wits.
In truth it frightened her too, as it was a foregone conclusion that Frieza was very likely still out there. And there was a chance he could still be looking to kill them all.
"Right." Kami said, trying to not think of the sickening implications of the genocidal galactic overlord and tried to keep with the topic at hand.
"So my guess is that you wish to resurrect your long lost lover and your eldest son. Correct?"
Gine nodded, a tiny sliver of hope in her heart but she also tried to prepare herself for the answer that she knew would come.
Kami sighed. "I'm so very sorry about everything you had experienced with the loss of your world and family, Gine. But I'm afraid that what you are asking cannot be done."
Gine lowered her head, unable to look at him or Kakarot.
"In accordance with the third stipulation of the Shenron's power, they had been dead for well over one year." Kami re-iterated, which Gine found too redundant. But then Kami added, "And even if Shenron could bring them back..."
Gine's head shot up to him at that mention of mere-possibility.
Kami continued. "Even if they could be resurrected, it must be known that those who are resuscitated by Shenron are returned to the physical location where their souls left their mortal shells into the next realm. So if you were to call upon Shenron and wish them back to life, your partner and eldest son would be brought back to life where they died. In this case, most likely where your home planet once was."
Gine looked at Kami with her lower lip trembling. She knew what he meant.
If she brought them back with the dragonballs, Bardock and Raditz would reappear in the vacuum of space amongst the debris field of what was once planet Vegeta. Only to die a second time anyway. Cold, alone, confused, and frightened. Gasping for non-existent air in the darkness of space until their lungs burst, on the other side of the galaxy from her.
What kind of cruel fate would that even be for her to bestow upon them, to be brought back and just killed again? She couldn't stomach that thought.
Gine's legs buckled, and she slowly fell to her knees. Her face fell into her hands, crying hard and choking between sobs.
"Mom!" Kakarot yelled as he held his mother gently while she wept. Kami felt her pain and couldn't stand to look at her fallen form.
They were gone. Truly gone for good without a doubt or chance to be brought back.
She wasn't just sad though, she was angry. Angry at having to basically grieve for her family all over again. Angry at herself for failing them, angry at the dragonballs for having limits, angry at Frieza for killing them in the first place. Damn him! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!
"There is another way to bring them back, though." Kami suddenly said.
Gine didn't register his words at first, but her sobbing slowed quickly and she looked up at him with tear-streaked eyes.
"What?!" She asked incredulously, not daring to believe in the hope she heard.
"My powers as Guardian and the creator of Shenron can not bring the ones you love back to the world of the living, I'm afraid." Kami elaborated. "But I could see if their souls could be arranged to visit the world of the living for but a short amount of time."
This was even more for the grief-stricken Gine to take in.
"Wait, their souls?" She asked.
"Yes. For the souls of the dead reside in Otherworld once their physical bodies die. And Otherworld is a place that houses the souls of all beings who had ever lived, so I'm sure your partner and son would be there to. And if I could persuade the right people, I could maybe bring them to you."
Gine was agape in shock this time. So this Otherworld was a sort of afterlife? That there was something beyond death afterall? That Kami could have access to this realm and make her wish to visit the dead come true?
Kakarot looked confused. "Wait a sec, if you created Shenron then how come you can't bring people back to life like he can?"
Gine looked at her son angrily, not liking his distracting tangent of a question. But she had to admit it was a good one.
Kami answered regardless. "I myself, do not have the power to resurrect the dead and the only being with that power is Shenron, the Eternal Dragon. That is correct, Kakarot. He has the magic that I was able to bestow upon him when I first created him. But it was a process that nearly costed not only my life but my own soul. For bringing people back to life is a magical act that violates the laws of nature. Although magic can allow you to do great things, it can only be used carefully for if it does too much, there could be dire consequences for the fabric of reality itself. So that is why if the dragon has the ability of resurrection, it must have limits."
"Huh..." Kakarot said, not entirely sure if he comprehended the Namekian's answer. But to Gine, she got back on track.
"So, you can bring their souls back, but not their bodies? How does that work?" She asked Kami.
"One of my duties as Guardian of the Earth is to ferry souls to Otherworld when people die. In some very special circumstances, it could be arranged to bring someone from Otherworld back to Earth to visit for one day, but for one day only."
Gine didn't know what to make of that. Only one day? To see her eldest son and Bardock?
"Why only one day?" She asked Kami.
"It's part of the rules of how this world and Otherworld can interact with one another. If the souls of visitors remain for too long, their essences would dissipate and become wondering spirits that will never be able to rest in peace again. So they can only visit the physical world for twenty-four hours."
"That isn't much..." She said quietly.
Kami nodded. "It is more for the living than the dead, to say what needs to be said. I'm sorry Gine, but those are the rules."
Gine didn't like that answer. But, she quickly let her anger dissipate. He was offering her a chance to see her lost family, which would have been nothing more than a fantasy had the dragon balls not existed. So she felt like she couldn't complain too much.
"I understand." She nodded solemnly. This was too bittersweet for her. She wanted to see them again, but she wanted them back. But, with however impossible this whole situation was, she would have to be content to just see them again...
"So how do we go about doing that?" She asked. Already in her mind she was thinking of the thousands of things she wanted to say, to ask. But most of all, to tell them that she and Kakarot were fine...and she loved them.
Kami thought for a moment. "Well, to see if we can do that, we'd have to talk to Fortuneteller Baba."
"You rang?" Came a voice behind Gine.
She nearly jumped out of her skin at the shock, whipping around and ready to strike whoever snuck up behind her.
The tiny old woman with a pointy hat recoiled from Gine almost swiping her off the floating glass orb.
"Don't be so jumpy! I'm not here to hurt you." Said the old lady. Gine tried to slow her heart down at realizing she wasn't a threat.
"Baba! What are you doing here?" Asked Kakarot.
Gine eyed her son. He knew who this was?
The old lady eyed the boy and Gine. "Heard my name being mentioned in trying to ferry someone from Otherworld, is this not true?"
"Yes it is true, Baba." Said Kami. Gine eyed him and then back to 'Baba'.
"And whom do I owe the pleasure to bring back to the world of the living?" Baba asked them all.
Gine cleared her throat to speak. The floating old woman turned to her, threading her hands together and looked at Gine studiously. She found Baba's gaze unsettling and soul piercing, but she went on with her request.
"I- uh... Fortuneteller Baba, right?" Gine asked.
"Last I checked, that was me." Baba said deadpan.
Gine didn't care for her wits, and got to the point. "Kami said that you were the person to talk to if I wanted to bring someone back from the dead for one day."
"That's right." Baba nodded. "And I understand that you wish to bring back your eldest child and the father of your children?"
Gine was shocked. "Wait, how did you know that already?"
Baba looked at her seriously, "I'm a fortuneteller, dummy. I have the power of divination, which means I can see all events that are happening in this world and others, and events that have happened, and will happen."
Oh. Gine thought. From gods to Namekians, talking cats and now clairvoyants, this day kept getting weirder and weirder. But she faintly remembered Bardock for a moment, and how he told he could see the future...and how their world would end...
"And I foresaw this moment where you wanted to ask me on guidance from Kami on how to bring your deceased loved ones back to life."
Gine nodded desperately. "Yeah, that's right. Bardock and Raditz."
Baba looked at Gine for a long moment, then breathed a heavy sigh.
"Sadly, I'm sorry to tell you this as well, but even a temporary visit would be impossible."
Kakarot slumped his shoulders at hearing that. He was as saddened as his mother was that they were somehow destined to never have the chance to meet his extended family afterall. But he eyed Gine, as her tail frayed upright. And that made him curiously uneasy as he knew that usually happened when his mother was angry.
"Why can't you bring their souls back?" Gine asked hoarsely. She was feeling the grief and angry overtaking her again, but there was something in that anger that felt far more threatening.
"Because their souls were lost in limbo." Baba stated matter-of-factly.
"Huh? What's limbo?" Kakarot asked, taking momentary glances between Baba and his mother.
"Limbo is a place where souls of the dead who were not ferried to Otherworld by a Guardian go to. Once they are there for a long enough time, they vanish into the ether and no force in existence can undo that." Baba explained.
"But why would Bardock and Raditz be lost in there?! How do you lose a soul?!" Gine asked louder than she realized, tears falling freely.
Kakarot's gaze to her looked concerned, and even Kami noticed. Baba seemed unfazed however, and calmly answered.
"For the Guardian of your home world, Vegeta, was most likely killed when this 'Frieza' destroyed your planet. And as Kami has explained to you his duties for ferrying souls once people died on Earth, this Guardian had the same job. And if that Guardian was killed, then all who perished on your world would be sent into a cold oblivion for eternity."
Gine didn't know what to think or feel now, only a tidal wave of weeping washed over her. Her family, everything she had ever known and cared about from her old live save Kakarot, was taken from her a third time! How could fate even do this to her?! It felt like the pain in her chest was so unbearable, that her heart would implode on itself.
She felt her throat clench hard, as she began to sob uncontrollably in hiccups. She held her face in her hands which she balled into fists.
But slowly, her grief turned to rage. She had wasted almost fifteen years of her life not knowing what those stupid little orange balls could do, and she never had the curiosity to just ask what they were ever since she first set her eyes on the Gohan had from day one. Why didn't she go looking for them sooner? How could she fail her partner and son?! And how could these useless idiots dare to even give her false hope that they could've brought them back only to rip her heart out like tearing open an old wound?! Even after she just helped save their damn planet for them?!
"I'm so sorry, Gine. But your eldest son and partner are truly gone forever." Baba said, trying not too hard to sound gentle.
Something inside Gine felt boiling hot, that the rage from all her grief and false hopes had been simmering and threatened to overflow. But Baba's shallow condolences somehow made it spill over.
She eyed the fortuneteller with fire in her eyes.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!" Gine yelled, the energy from her own screaming forced Baba back.
A faint aura of ki emanated from Gine as she shouted at poor Baba, and shook the tiles of where she stood. Kakarot jumped back in surprise. He had never seen his mother this angry. And it frightened him.
"How dare you say sorry after dangling the idea you could even bring them back and then tell me you couldn't! Like I need to be reminded that I lost my family all over again?! DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW IT FEELS TO BE TOLD YOUR CHILD IS DEAD A SECOND TIME?! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!"
"Gine, calm down!" Kami said, half commanding and half urgently as Popo stood protectively by his master's side. She didn't even hear him.
Baba glared at Gine defensively, "Hey, don't get angry at me! I don't make the rules, alright?!"
Gine gritted her teeth hard, her balled fists twitching. She wanted to punch this stupid old prune into the tiles with all her might for breaking her heart like this and waving those goddamned rules like an excuse. How dare they take a small hope she had and dashed it to ribbons like it was some cruel joke. How could they even-
"MOM, PLEASE!" Kakarot yelled, stepping between her and Baba. "It's not her fault!"
Gine eyed her son with fire too, enraged that her own surviving son dared to side with this Baba. And she for a moment wanted to stomp him to death too.
Kakarot raised his hands to defend himself, his eyes pleading but fearful.
She gasped in horror, the aura and energy fading. Her lip trembled and her eyes shrunk on the face of her frightened son. She saw how he looked at her, afraid that she would even hurt him out of anger. And she realized she had actually considered doing just that to her own son out of blind rage, the only thing she had in the universe that she fought and struggled for. And to top it all off, he was right. Her anger was unwarranted, that she couldn't do anything about Bardock or Raditz if these simple Earthling deities had no power to do anything about.
All that rage suddenly turned towards herself. For acting so horribly, for even daring to consider harming her only son, for failing her family, and Frieza for putting her through this in the first place. Again.
Damn it all to hell.
She fell to her knees and screamed at the sky with all the force her lungs would allow at this altitude in a loud and agonizing wail of despair that could be heard for miles in all directions. Accompanied by a powerful wave of wind and energy that was released from her screaming that shook the entire Lookout. Then she slammed her fists into the white tiled floor, shattering them like glass.
Gine lay on her knees with her fists and face buried in the rubble of the square tiles, sobbing even harder than before. The pain felt so powerful and overwhelming that she wished she could just fade away. Anything to make it go away and make her at peace again.
In the next moment, Gine got her wish as she rolled limply onto her side and everything in Gine's vision was blotted out by darkness as exhaustion finally drained the last bit of her consciousness. And slipped into merciful fainting.
"What in the world was that?!" She heard through the fog in her mind.
Where was she again? She couldn't remember. But she vague recalled...what, again?
Her mind reached out to any details that floated around in the grey haze that was her consciousness, desperate to get it's bearings.
"I've never seen such raw power before..." Said another voice. It sounded different to her than the last one she heard, but didn't know why.
"She's passed out." Came another. Gine still didn't know what those voices were.
"Oh, Baba! Why'd you have to make my Mom cry like that?!" Came his voice. A voice she felt like she ought to recognize.
Wait, her name was Gine, wasn't it?
"Oh, Mom, I'm so sorry." Came his voice again.
"Let's get her inside, shall we?" Said another, but she was focused on his voice only. Even as she felt other sensations like being lifted, all that mattered was that she knew it was his voice. Her son's voice.
Kakarot's voice.
That yes, she was Gine. But...where was she?
Her mind decided to give up on answering that question and she was swallowed by the darkness yet again.
...
Gine woke slowly, her eyes twitching open and adjusting to the dark blue color of the concave ceiling she was looking up at.
She felt comfortably cool wherever she was laying... and her eyes opened wide when she realized the ceiling she was starring at wasn't part of her room back at Mount Paozu. Or the hotel back at the tournament, or the spare room at Roshi's house...
"Mom, you're awake!" Came Kakarot's familiar voice. She sat up to see him and Kami standing at the foot of the bed she was in. Mr. Popo stood behind them at the entrance to whatever this room was.
Gine looked around, confused. "Where am I?"
"You are in a guest quarters for the Lookout." Kami answered. "You've been out for an entire day."
"I slept for an entire day?!" Gine said in shock.
"Yep. You were very tired." Kakarot answered, still looking concerned.
Gine digested that information while she took in the room she was in, or more accurately it was an open pillared cupola not unlike Korin's far down below. The adjacent gold-onion domed temple being the main building of the Lookout. She admired the beautiful carvings on the ground and the comfortable single bed she lay in with another just like it off to one side. The sheets were cold and the lighting was dimmer on her eyes compared to the white glare of the tiled grounds. She also saw it was fast approaching evening outside.
Her throat was parched, but on her beside was a large glass of water which she drank with great thanks in a single gulp.
Despite being told that she was asleep for over a day, she still felt so tired and a dull ache held her entire body in stiffness... and a numb emptiness filled her spirit.
"Do you remember what happened?" Kami asked cautiously.
Her expression turned to that of regret and sorrow as her memory came back to her. How that Bardock and Raditz are lost for good, how she snapped at Baba, and her son...
She looked up at Kakarot looking at her with his caring eyes. But she remembered how he looked at her yesterday.
"I'm so sorry." She said, her voice choking. Her eyes stung as they were too red and dry for shedding tears anymore, but the pain was all the same.
"No, No! Mom, it's okay!" Kakarot said worryingly, rushing to his mothers side by the bed and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No, it's not okay." Gine said, shaking her head while not looking at anything in particular. "I was so upset that I got angry, and nearly did something terrible!"
"That's all you were though, upset. I know you meant no harm, you just weren't thinking clearly." Kakarot said soothingly.
That didn't take away the immense guilt Gine felt, if not made it worse for the fact that she almost did mean him harm, even if by accident. But her son's kind words still helped ease her numbness. At least to her, he was okay.
"Your son is right, Gine. What you went through was far more than any grieving mother should ever have to endure. It's understandable if you snapped slightly."
Gine looked at the Guardian, briefly smiling at how he absurdly described her emotional breakdown as "slight". But he understood the pain she was going though, then quickly soured again when she remembered what she did.
"I-I'm sorry that I was so disrespectful to you or..." She tried to say, getting the name past the lump in her throat. "Baba."
She continued. "And for causing damage to the Lookout."
Kami looked away, slightly annoyed at how that yes indeed this holy ground was desiccated and damaged.
Gine's face fell further. "I understand if you want me to leave if what I did was unforgiveable."
Kami shook his head vigorously. "Absolutely not, Gine. You may have smashed a few tiles, but those are replaceable...mostly." He said, eying Popo apologetically before turning back to Gine.
"But no harm was done to anyone. And you can stay here if you still wish to train with your son."
Gine looked up at Kami. "Really?"
"Absolutely, I see no reason why not. In fact I would highly recommend it as you have quite a power within you."
"I do?" She said incredulously.
Kami nodded. "I'm not sure if you remember from being as upset as you were, but you released more energy than any living being than I had ever seen. But I could sense it was too powerful for you to control and caused you to black out."
"Yeah, I saw it too!" Kakarot chimed in. "You were so strong it was almost scary!"
He had a big excited smile on his face despite the terror he must have felt during that episode. But Gine figured he saw past that and saw what lay within her.
Gine turned back to the Guardian in amazement.
She still didn't think she had power that would amount to anything more than low-class back on Vegeta, and that these Earthlings had never seen anything of the like to begin with. But... a part of her remembered what Korin said not too long ago far back down at his tower. That after a lifetime of psychological abuse that she may have more than she realized. As much of a new concept as that was to her, she wanted to believe it. Even if it just meant she wasn't the lowest of the low.
Could this be proof that was indeed true? That she had actual power that she never knew she had?
"If you stay, we could teach you how to get stronger with it, and to control it with facing your fears and inner demons. I know it may seem arduous, but you have the potential to become so much more. And it may be of help to ease your heart on these things that have plagued you for so long."
Gine thought long and hard, hearing that word 'potential' again. She's heard it so much now. From Gohan, from Roshi, from Korin, and now from Kami and her own son...
Was it really true? Did she really have some untold power within?
She then turned to Kakarot. He looked back at her hopefully.
"You still wanna do this, Mom?"
Although she was numb through and through from the emotional ordeal that just happened, she still smiled slightly.
"Sure, count me in."
Kakarot smiled too. He didn't jump ecstatically like he used too, but he was as happy as ever that his mother would train with him afterall.
"I can't wait!" Was all he said, and all he needed to say.
"Then let your mother rest first, Kakarot." Kami ordered gently, then looked at Gine.
"Rest for as long as you need to, Gine. I understand that yesterday has been a trying day for you, so we can start whenever you feel ready."
Gine nodded in deep gratitude. "Thank you."
"Very well then, I'll leave you be." Kami said as he turned and left the room with Popo following behind.
Gine sat there with her hands in her lap, trying to process everything that had just happened. She heard Kakarot yawn as he climbed into the other cot beside hers.
"Hey, Mom?" He spoke.
Gine looked over to her son, who sat cross-legged on the mattress and looking at her with sadness in his eyes.
"I'm sorry about father and Raditz..." He said mournfully. "I really wanted to meet them too."
Gine felt her lips tighten and her heart ping in pain. How could she forget that her son felt the loss as much as she did, even if he handled it far better than she did. Only she cynically told herself that he never knew them, but his kind-heart ached to learn about his birthright too.
"I know, sweetie." She said softly as she reached over to him and ran her fingers though his hair. Even though she felt too tired to cry, she suddenly felt the guilt just as strong and let out her words more freely.
"And I'm sorry I almost hurt you."
Her son was far too kind, and just shrugged it off. "It's okay, I know you never mean too."
Gine shook her head. "No, Kakarot, that's the thing. I meant to. I was so angry when you got in the way, that I wanted to hurt you. Oh gods, sweetie, I'm so sorry!" She said as she extended both arms and hugged her son tightly which he obligately returned.
"I love you so much sweetheart. You are all I have left in the universe now, and I would never forgive myself if I hurt you out of anger. I'd rather die." She choked out, her eyes somehow finding the moisture to shed tears again after long since running dry.
"I know, I know, Mom." Kakarot said, patting her back out of worry that his mother might be losing her sanity.
"And I think Kami might be able to help you with that." He said, trying to lift her hopes up.
"How?" She asked plainly through the pain.
"Hm." Kakarot contemplated as she let him go from her embrace and looked at him.
"I'm not exactly sure. I mean, you know all that meditating stuff was something I always had trouble with, but I'm willing to give it a try. And if it means I could get strong enough to beat Popo and Kami like they said I could, then maybe it could help you too somehow!"
Gine smiled at Kakarot. She wondered how he could come up with such ideas on how to cheer her up, and it warmed her up a little through the numbness. But she still had doubts, some of which she had just realized.
"But what if it doesn't work? What if I try the training to control my power and I accidentally get upset again and try to hurt you?" She asked her son, now more frightened than ever at that possibility.
To that, Kakarot simply starred at her for a few extra moments, thinking. He really didn't expect to try and help his own mother through a crisis before, and it made him feel slightly uncomfortable not to mention slightly annoyed as he felt tired from such a long day or two of keeping an eye on his mother.
He always looked up to her for guidance even though he always knew her to be melancholic most of his life, but now it was the other way around this time. He wasn't sure how to go about this different kind of challenge, but like all other obstacles, he never backed down from trying to overcome it. So his fifteen year old Saiyan mind did the best it could to find a solution, and remembered what Grandpa Gohan always told him: Everyone has the potential to be great if they set their minds to it.
That was the greatest truth he held near and dear to his heart, and he just saw that his mother was far stronger than he imagined. It was now an extremely exciting prospect to see how he could become as strong as her once he surpassed Popo and Kami. And as much potential she had in strength, she had the potential to control it. Kakarot wasn't sure how, but if he could somehow convince his mother that if she set her mind to calming her anger with Kami's help if he was as at the meditation stuff as Mr. Popo said he was, then she could harness her power correctly. He didn't know how, but it must be worth a try. Afterall, Roshi's techniques on how to keep a calm mind did help him improve his fighting a bit, so maybe it could be applicable to her, only on a different scale.
He waved a hand. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. You'll have me here, and Kami and Mr. Popo to help you. And like Grandpa used to say: If you put your mind to it, you can do anything." He said with a hopeful smile.
Gine smiled back sadly, as it wasn't as assuring as she would've liked. But who was she to ask her own son for advice? It was the same stuff Gohan drilled into them since they met, but somehow she found that advice comforting even if she wasn't sure if she had a chance in Hell to put that to work on controlling her emotions.
Maybe, she could at least try doing that this time. If Kami was as good as he said he was, then who knows. And Kakarot was right, that she had her son and good people here to be here for her.
"Okay..." Was all she could say.
Kakarot looked happy. "Good."
"Thank you, Kakarot." She said sincerely to him, and reached to hold him for a long moment that Kakarot let her do if it made her feel better.
He yawned again, much deeper and harder to dampen this time. "Lets get some shut eye, shall we? It's been quite a long day." He said sleepily.
Gine thought he was right, even though she slept for a day already, she just wanted to rest some more. For it had been a VERY long two days. Hunting the dragonballs, saving a village and then the entire world, coming here, and the emotional roller coaster of everything in between this morning and now. It felt like she had lived a life in of itself in the past forty-eight hours, and she felt the tiredness in her soul as much as in her bones.
"You're right." She said before she slid back under the blankets.
"Goodnight, Mom." Kakarot said to her as he got comfortable in his cot and slid his blanket over himself with his tail. But Gine didn't have time to answer back for as soon as her head hit the pillow again, sweet darkness took her away and slept harder than she ever had in her life.
Meanwhile, out on the tiles grounds of the Lookout, night had fallen. The sky was crystal clear with the thinner air and lack of clouds this high up, making the stars shine in a diamond-like band from horizon to horizon. But Fortuneteller Baba paid no head to the sky and watched the Guardian of the Earth exit the peripheral dome of the temple that served as the guest quarters.
"Is she alright?" Fortuneteller Baba asked as Kami approached her.
"Gine's fine." He said. "She's resting now, hopefully she will feel better enough soon to train with her son."
"Good, good." Baba replied, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly. A silence feel between them.
"Well then." Baba said suddenly, clearing her old throat. "I suppose I'm no longer needed here so I'll just take my leave."
She turned to float away when Kami called out, "Wait, Baba. I'd like to speak with you further still."
The old witch groaned uncomfortably, then turned back to the Namekian reluctantly.
"Yes? What is it?" She asked hesitantly.
Kami gave her a look she couldn't discern.
"I've known you for quite a long time, Baba. You can be quite shrewd and unsavory with communicating in person at times, more so than your brother."
Baba raised an eyebrow, "Uh, thank you?" She asked sarcastically.
Kami's expression changed slightly however. As blank and calm as he was as Guardian, Baba knew that look of judgement on his face. "But I have never known of you, a fortuneteller of all people, to bear false witness before. Especially in my presence."
"What?" Baba acted surprised, "What do you mean? Are you saying that I lied to you?"
"Don't play games with me Baba, I know you were lying. Not just to me now... but to Gine back there." He said, motioning his head towards the dome that housed the Saiyan mother in question.
"Lying? To her?" She said, still playing innocent. "Why would I-"
"You know something. Something that you don't want her to know, isn't it?"
Baba looked at him nervously, "Uh, no! No, not at all! I mean- I didn't tell her everythi-" She said, before she caught herself at what she said.
He looked at her accusingly, knowing that she had called herself out.
Baba let out a defeated sigh, and grumbled under her breath. Kami heard it with his hypersensitive hearing and didn't appreciate the fact that she could just swear in front of him. Then she looked up at him warily.
"Before I say anything, can we talk somewhere a little more private than here, please?" She asked quietly.
Now it was Kami's turn to be incredulous. "We are here at the Lookout, by far the most private place on this planet as there is! And what right do you think you have to ask me of conversing of withholding information from Gine when she's here?"
"Sh! Keep your voice down!" Baba hissed through clenched teeth, looking over Kami's shoulder towards where Gine and Kakarot were sleeping.
"Look, you're right. There is something I have...failed to mention earlier." She said carefully. "But, I'd rather talk about it somewhere else, if there are some people here who should not be made privy to that information just yet."
Kami raised an eyebrow, or a brow as there lacked any hair there for a Namekian. "Just yet? Why would they-"
"Just, just..." Baba said frantically, trying to keep quiet. Then tried to ask politely.
"Could we just go somewhere at least somewhat private that isn't here? I understand what I'm doing may seem wrong to you. But it's really important that I do. And I'll be glad to explain it to you if you do this for me."
Kami looked at the fortuneteller for a couple seconds, then closed his eyes in utter disbelief.
"Alright, hang on." He said, using his senses to feel around briefly to be sure Mr. Popo did not know what was happening and could attend to his duties of caring for the Lookout.
Once he was satisfied that Popo was indeed inside the temple fixing the broken tiles and that it would be safe in his brief absence, Kami placed a hand on Baba's crystal ball.
In the next moment, they were both instantaneously transported to somewhere that was far colder than it was atop the Lookout. The white tiles of the ground were replaced with white snow that Kami's slippers sank deep into. The sky full of stars were replaced with a dark overcast of clouds and the horizon surrounded with tall icy peaks.
"There, better?" Kami asked, unaffected by the cold.
Fortuneteller Baba looked around, surveying the land and at once recognizing it as the mountainous arctic region. She shivered slightly from the cold wind that brushed past them, wishing Kami could've taken them someplace warmer. But here at least, they were miles and miles away from anyone who cared to hear them.
"Yeah, this is fine." She said, sneezing already.
"Good then, now..." Kami's face turned serious. "What information is so important that you felt you had to without from me and Gine back there?"
Baba shivered some more and, after a slight flicker of her hand, she whipped out a thick wool coat out of thin air to wrap herself up in. Once she liked how it fit and made her warm like a ball of fuzz, she answered his question.
"Right then, well, you remember how I explained to her that I could not grant passage for her deceased lover and other child?"
Kami nodded that he did.
Baba went on, "Well, the truth is that while her lover, Bardock, is indeed dead but not only in Hell instead of limbo, that her other child, Raditz, is not. He is in fact, alive and well."
Kami looked very surprised. "Her other son is alive?!"
Baba simply nodded. "He is. I saw him in my crystal ball after I had a vision of the encounter up on the Lookout from earlier today. He is indeed alive and still serving under the galactic emperor Gine told you about, Frieza."
"You saw him?" The Guardian of the Earth asked.
"I did. In fact, here! Come see for yourself!" Baba said as she hopped off her crystal ball, floating next to it. She waved her hands over the smooth orb, chanting and willing it to show her what she wanted to see.
Kami stepped closer to look as the crystal ball came to life.
The fog inside the glass cleared to show a very tall young man with a look not unlike that of Gine and Kakarot, the look of a Saiyan. But this Saiyan had very long spiky hair that was as black as night, and it ran all the way down to the back of his legs like a hedgehog. He wore a strange black and bronze suit of armor, flared shoulder and leg guards that shielded his bare limbs save for the heavy boots and gauntlets.
His face was obscured slightly by a strange green-lensed apparatus covering one eye, but they could see the anger, fear, and desperation etched into his skin like an iron mask.
The view of the orb zoomed out to show him frantically dodging energy blasts fired at him from the laser cannons of some tentacled alien warriors that Kami did not recognize, as they in were a sort of pill-box carved out the red soil of whatever planet this was, guarding the entrance to a sort of fortress city. And this Raditz dived into a crater to find protection, and fired a volley of purple energy beams from both open palms blindly over the rim of the shelled ground he used as cover. Baba and Kami saw two more Saiyan men dressed similarly like him, one shorter and the other enormously larger than Raditz, charge directly ahead of him seemingly unafraid of the danger while he cowered in the dirt.
"By the Kais." Kami said in horrific awe at the sheer size of the struggle he was witnessing. Although they couldn't hear what they were seeing, it was a gigantic battle unlike anything he had seen, and he could almost feel the pain from it. From the beings these Saiyans were slaughtering in their conquest, and from this Raditz.
Wherever he was, he was fighting for his life on some destroyed battlefield on a distant planet at that very moment. And as hardened as he looked, they could see how afraid he was.
Kami recognized that look all to well, on the faces of countless soldiers that had fought and died in every conflict that happened on Earth during his charge as Guardian. The faces of pure terror, of horror, pain, and sorrow from their last moments in their mortal shells before sudden death claimed them and him ferrying their souls to Otherworld. Their cries of despair and salvation from such fate made Kami weep sometimes at how they met their fate in such a cruel way. And more so at how he sometimes felt so powerless to stop it due to his duty to not interfere with the mortal world.
Kami stepped away from the crystal ball, unable to bear watching more of what was happening. But also to address another question that had been pressing him.
"Wait a moment, you said you had a vision of the encounter on the Lookout? As in your foresaw that specific conversation we were going to have about the dragon balls?" Kami asked Baba, who also looked away from the ball to face him.
"Yes. It was an unusually powerful vision for such a trivial event to take place. But I saw that it would have dire consequences to the Earth depending on what happened during that time. And what she would do with the dragon balls if she knew the truth of her family's fate."
Kami had to ask, "And, what would have happened if you divulged to her that her son was indeed alive?"
"She would have used the dragonballs to wish him to here." Baba stated. "But that cannot be allowed to happen. Not yet."
"Not yet?" Kami exclaimed, aghast. "Why in Heavens not? Don't you think it would have been worth it bring happiness to her and her children? Sure, her partner in Hell may be a lost cause unless King Yemma decided anyone from Hell could have passage, but look at that!" He said pointing toward the carnage in the ball and Raditz caught in the middle of it.
"What reason could there even be to not end this kind of suffering?! You saw her, how much pain she was in for missing her lost child. And what about that poor fellow, fighting for his life in a battle where so much blood has already been spilt?"
Baba held both hands out to Kami in a cool off gesture. "I know, I know this seems like a cruel thing to do, Kami. But I assure you that I would never do something like preventing a rightly-deserved reunion with her long lost son unless it was to prevent an even greater danger."
That caught Kami's attention. "What kind of greater danger?"
Baba explained forebodingly, "I had foreseen a terrible chain of events that would follow if she was granted her wish, which would ultimately end with the destruction of this planet and an unstoppable terror that would reign about countless other worlds beyond Earth."
Kami was stunned. "What?!"
Baba nodded gravely. "That's right. In my visions of what could have come to pass, that if Gine had called upon Shenron to wish her son here to Earth, that she and her family would indeed be happy that they are finally reunited once more. But that act would ultimately doom planet Earth. For whoever this Raditz serves, the imperial minions of Frieza, would certainly come looking for him. Or failing that, would eventually stumble across this planet and find him, and would kill him for desertion, then they would either capture or his mother and Kakarot, and finally destroy this whole planet for their evil purposes. Which would in turn would spell a dark future for not just to other worlds across the galaxy... but possibly the entire universe."
Kami stood there in disbelief and horror, how could this even be possible? He wondered.
Baba saw this and looked at him apologetically.
"Believe me when I say that I had meditated long and hard on this, searching my crystal ball for any other possible solutions and timelines for this dilemma. But as much as it pains me to see her grieve in a way no ever should, she must not know the true fate of her son just yet. For this is the only way to guarantee Earth's safety."
Kami let his head fall. This truly was a sad and utterly terrifying situation. And he wished he had the power to not make it so.
"But she will learn of his survival one day when he arrives on Earth in due time." Baba added.
Kami's head shot back up. "Raditz will come here?"
"Yes, in approximately eight years from now." Baba said. "Based on the outcome of that conversation from my vision of her not knowing, he will most likely make his way to Earth by himself. And he will find his brother, and mother. After that, I feel there seems to be a better chance to protect the Earth from what happens next."
"And what will happen next?" Kami asked, almost afraid to do so.
"I'm not certain, for the future beyond his arrival at that point is clouded and in constant motion." Baba admitted. "That will depend on how they prepare."
"Prepare?" Kami asked. Baba went on.
"Yes. If Raditz were to arrive now, they would stand no chance to defend Earth against the might of Frieza's forces if they come looking for him. But with a few years of time and the right circumstances to be triggered, they could train for it."
Kami shook his head in confusion. "Why would training just Gine and Kakarot now be the best course of action instead of all three of them."
Baba shrugged. "I'm not sure of that either, but I do know that the three of them united now would mean certain destruction of the Earth if we do so. But the future for the next few years rests entirely on Gine and Kakarot's strength for the time being."
Kami was perplexed. "Their strength?"
"Yes. Kakarot is by far the greatest warrior on this planet, he could be trained to be stronger and faster than ever before to make him it's protector. And you saw the hidden power Gine had. If she could be trained to harness it, she has the potential to be as strong if not stronger than her son. With both of them together, I feel events will follow after that in a way that would safeguard the Earth's future. But with Raditz in the picture now, it could distract them from getting stronger for when those who serve Frieza come to get him. And you know that we can't directly tell them that if Raditz is brought here, for that would surely be a violation of your duties."
Kami tried to think of an excuse or flaw in Baba's plan.
"And what's to stop me from just going back to the Lookout to wake her up and tell her that her son is alive?"
Baba looked at him sheepishly. "Nothing, I can't make you do that. But I am asking as nicely as I can to not do that."
Kami didn't like that. "But that's a lie, Baba. You know that as a god, I cannot lie. Let alone intervene in the lives of mortals even I had invited them to the Lookout."
"And you aren't, you are just not telling her if she doesn't ask." Baba tried to sell her point. "Call it: divine non-intervention. I mean, it IS your job basically."
"A lie by omission is still a lie, Baba." Kami shot back, and then got even more serious with the fortuneteller. "Also, consider this: If we wait for him to come to Earth in the next few years, she will find out that we lied to her. And you saw back up there what she could do when she got angry." He said, leaving that last part open. He did not want to imagine what Gine could be capable of if she had a hidden power that was unleashed on him if she found out she had been lied to over her greatest source of pain.
Baba slumped, and spoke to him gently. "Look, I know it's a lot to ask, and there definitely is a lot at stake here. But please consider it for the people of Earth, for your duty as Guardian is to safeguard this world. Even if you are nothing more than just a supervisor..."
For some reason, Kami didn't like that comparison.
"This is the greatest threat Earth will ever face, and I am trying to help you. It may seem like a tall order to commit a sin and prolong one person's suffering... and risk getting curb stomped by a very angry mother, but I swear to you that this is the best chance at survival for billions of lives on this world and many others that could be in danger."
Kami just stood there, weighing those choices that could determine the fate of his planet. None of them sounded entirely good, but as much as he hated to admit it, Baba was right.
She may be a rude and arrogant witch, but he trusted her power of foresight and her help in doing the right thing. For she had told them of Gine and Kakarot's arrival on Earth all those years ago, and how it sent ripples of dramatic change throughout the future, and thus warned him about it to keep an eye on them if their presence would come into play later. And now it was that 'later'.
As much as it hurt him to see Gine in so much pain and of the risk of her wrath, he had to think of the greater good.
Kami thought long and hard at Baba's words. While he was thinking, he glanced back at the crystal ball with it's view still on Raditz. The battle was over, the fortress taken over with all resistance eliminated. The long-haired Saiyan that was Gine's eldest had crawled out of the crater he was hiding in. The other two Saiyans he saw from before were there with him too, supposedly his comrades. The larger one was a hulk of a man with black and gold armor, his head bald and eyes glaring with anger, which eclipsed whatever wits this Saiyan had. The shorter one however, who wore a blue bodysuit under his white and gold armor, had eyes that shot nothing but malice at the affrighted Raditz. He sported hair that stood like black flames, and wore a similar optical device with a red lens. By the way the larger Saiyan and Raditz regarded him, as well as the pure arrogance the shorter Saiyan exuded, he must have been their superior.
He stepped forward and gut-punched Raditz, making him double over and clutching his stomach in pain. The shorter Saiyan proceeded to stomp on the back of Raditz's head which drove his face deeper into the dirt. Kami couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could tell the shorter Saiyan was out to punish Raditz for his act of cowardice somehow. And the sickening smile on the shorter Saiyan's face told that he was enjoying it, all the while the larger one laughed.
"Please, will you do this? For the Earth?" Baba pleaded as Kami still watched the crystal ball.
When the shorter Saiyan was finished with Raditz, he barked an order at his larger companion took off to probably lay waste to the rest of the undefended planet while Raditz lay motionless on the ground, in horrible pain and wishing he was somewhere else.
And here this poor soul was, living in what Kami could accurately compare to was Hell. And Baba did not want to have him wished out of this danger to save his own planet. But this one act of letting this one Saiyan stay where he was and suffer whatever happens to him unimpeded for the near future, could determine the fate of so many. Billions, perhaps even trillions on many other worlds, could depend on him not telling Gine.
Kami took a deep breath and closed his eyes in shame.
"Forgive me, Gine." He said quietly to himself, and was certain that he was going to say those words again in the future. He wasn't sure if Gine by then would have the self control to not kill him if does what he is going to do, but part of him felt like he will deserve it either way.
A/N: And done! That was a doozy to write, as I knew this one had the potential to open up ALOT of cans of worms with potholes, inconsistencies, and other things that I'm sure someone would point out to me. Is it lazy? Is it brilliant? Is it consistent with the rules of the Dragonball Universe? And does it address some things satisfactorily that Akira Toriyama didn't when Dragon Ball was first made? Let me know!
See you next time, and remember to wash your hands!