Chapter 5: Odyssey
"MOVE!" Bardock bellowed as he pushed through the crowded hallway, sprinting with a limp Gine in his arms.
He had no idea how she was still alive and when she initially collapsed, Bardock froze in shock, a first for him. It wasn't until his body's instincts kicked in and he raced to Gine's unconscious body and touched her that he knew she was actually here.
Up ahead, the healing station's doors opened and Bardock ran harder to get Gine to the room for help. Once he charged through the entrance, he gently placed Gine on a table and glared at the shocked doctors.
"Help her. NOW!" He snapped and the doctors instantly moved towards Gine. As they were examining her, one doctor mumbled loud enough for Bardock to hear.
"She should be dead, how did she make it?"
"What-." Bardock asked but was soon interrupted by another doctor shouting, "She's flatlining, get him out of here!"
Hesitantly, one of the doctors shoved a resisting Bardock out of the room, forcing the fierce Saiyan to remain helpless. Standing outside, Bardock angrily punched the steel door out of frustration.
"Hey man, she's going to be fine, okay?" Tora whispered behind him and Bardock tuned to answer his friend but a face behind Tora caught his eye. Seething, Bardock moved past his friend and towards the crowd, grabbing the Saiyan he locked eyes with. Gripping his hand onto the soldier's neck and squeezing his throat hard, Bardock slammed the commander up against the wall and seethed, baring his teeth.
"You said she was dead. You fucking bastard!" Bardock tightened his hold as the warrior gasped underneath the pressure.
"I-I didn't k-know."
"BULLSHIT!" Bardock screamed as he saw red and he wanted nothing more than to snap this coward's neck. If it wasn't Tora and other Saiyan warriors separating the two, Bardock would have definitely murdered a fellow soldier, his anger was overwhelming.
Tora stood in front of Bardock and held him back while the commander now coughed on all fours on the tile and glared up at Bardock with a red face, "I was trying to tell you that I didn't know Gine was still alive. I took the word of one of my teammates who was with Gine. If you want answers, then you'll have to speak to them. Or Gine. If she survives." He finished with a smirk.
Growling, Bardock dashed forward but was blocked by Tora, who was pushing Bardock back with all his strength.
A deep chill flowed through her body as the darkness surrounded Gine. All she could focus on was the pain and cold as nightfall slowly set. She was gravely injured, left for dead by her teammates with no hope of getting off this planet. Loneliness also weighed heavily on her as she thought of home and of Bardock. She couldn't leave him, she wasn't ready to say goodbye. Gine wasn't done yet.
Sliding through the wet snow, she leaned on a rock and breathed heavily, trying to restore her strength so that she could find some shelter for the night. They were ambushed by combatants and while she did get injured, it was the blow from her teammate to the back that caused Gine the most pain. Sighing, Gine finally noticed something wet on her hands. Curiously, she followed the trail of blood in the white snow until she found the source. Next to her, a young girl with big unmoving eyes bore into Gine with blood trickling down her forehead.
Gine woke with a startle, panting as she sat up in bed. Sweat soaked her body as she breathed and locked onto her surroundings. She was safe and warm back on Planet Vegeta with Bardock sleeping soundly besides her.
Staring at his calm face for a moment, Gine smiled and quietly slipped out of the covers, her feet hitting the cold floor in silence. Carefully, Gine ducked out of the bedroom and walked to the small kitchen where she stood at the window to look out at the silent night in front of her. Gine never slept well before but after being home for two weeks, her sleep was plagued with nightmares. Against all odds, she made it home but not without damage.
After collapsing in front of everyone, Gine stayed in a healing tank for two days, her body severely dehydrated and weak. Once she was discharged, Gine finally was able to reunite with Bardock, and she never felt more happy to be in his arms again.
The first night she was back, Bardock couldn't stop looking at Gine, almost as if he was afraid that she was a dream. Gine felt similarly and decided that if she told him about what happened, her return would feel real for both of them. Gine explained everything from her teammate's betrayal to how she was able to get off that planet. Bardock was clearly upset that she went through such a traumatic event and he even vowed to hunt down the person who abandoned Gine but she knew that it wouldn't help in the end. According to her peer, she was too weak for their team so she had to go. If Bardock stood up for Gine, it wouldn't help. He didn't agree with it at first but eventually Bardock conceded.
When Gine asked Bardock what he was doing while she was missing, Bardock avoided the question and changed the subject. He refused to elaborate on anything until Gine wore him down one night and Bardock briefly told her. It was the first time that Gine heard Bardock's voice break. The hurt and grief behind his tone completely stunned Gine. During those vulnerable moments, it was then that Gine finally heard the three words she longed for Bardock to say.
"I can't lose you again...I'm not strong enough." He whispered with pain as his tortured eyes finally looked up from the ground and stared into Gine's. Carefully, she leaned forward and wrapped him in a gentle embrace, with Bardock holding Gine tightly against his strong body. It felt like he wouldn't let go and in a quiet voice, he stated with conviction, "I love you."
It's been a week since they shared that moment together and although Gine and Bardock were fine, Gine felt like she was still not completely home. Something was wrong. The prospect of going back on another mission filled Gine with a deep terror that she couldn't express to anyone, not even the man she loved. Although they were both anxious at the thought of being separated again. But there was nothing they either of them could do, they were Saiyans after all. Fighting was what they were meant to do even though Gine was becoming less convinced that being a warrior was her path.
Rolling over in bed, Bardock felt for Gine's body but was surprised to just feel the mattress next to him. Slowly blinking awake, he looked over to see her side empty. Sighing, Bardock flopped on his back and gazed up at the ceiling for a moment before sliding out of bed and stepping out of the bedroom quietly. Scanning the hallway and then his living room, Bardock finally found Gine in the kitchen, shadowed by the moonlight by the window. She stood still, holding herself tightly as Bardock slowly walked up behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against his bare chest, Gine seemed surprised for a second before settling into his arms. He bent down and whispered into her ear.
"Bad dream?"
She nodded and Bardock held her tighter hoping it would comfort Gine. Her nightmares have been a regular occurrence and Bardock did his best to be there for her but it was hard. While she was home, she wasn't fully here and Bardock knew something was going on but he figured that Gine would open up when she was ready. As it was, she was usually much more forthcoming with her feelings than he was, so he couldn't be upset if she wanted to keep things to herself for now, although being shut out by Gine was a first and Bardock didn't particularly enjoy it.
"Let's get back to bed." He muttered and she shook her head in response, "I'm too wide awake now."
Smirking, Bardock lightly kissed her neck, "Well in that case." Slowly, he crouched down on his knees and lifted Gine's nightgown. Gine giggled for a moment before she gasped and braced herself on the window for balance while Bardock gripped her hips.
"We've been through this. If you keep lowering your guard then you're going to get into trouble." Bardock grumbled with frustration as Gine breathed below him on the mat. He flipped her again and Gine was already over this training session. She had no motivation or energy to keep going but Bardock insisted that she had to get stronger.
Reaching out his hand, Gine grabbed it and was lifted back on her feet as Bardock nodded and continued, "Come on, you can do better. I've seen it."
"I'm just tired." Even though they were together and not on the same team, Bardock had his moments where his commander tone still came through to Gine and right now, she was not enjoying it.
Bardock tried to keep his cool as he responded, "That's not an excuse and you know it, Gine."
Gine glared at him before snapping back, "I understand that but there's no point to training anymore. I'm still going to be weak."
"You didn't think that when we first started training." Bardock bit back and Gine rolled her eyes. "That was different."
"It's not. Again."
Gine threw her head back in a groan before slipping into her battle stance lazily which added to Bardock's growing anger. Rushing forward, Bardock ducked and dodged Gine's punches before Bardock saw another opening and in a quick motion, he had Gine in a headlock. For a moment she struggled but then her body went rigid and Bardock paused.
"Gine?" He asked below him and she didn't respond.
Around her, Gine's hearing was muffled as went back to relive the horrible day. She'd been wandering the now desolate planet for days trying to find any help only to find that her team left and she was trapped. After trudging through the snow for another few days, Gine finally came upon a village her team destroyed. She was able to pick through abandonment homes for food and shelter and haphazardly fixed her wound. Gine's next plan of action was finding a ship. That's when she saw a survivor, a young girl fiddling around with by some miracle a Saiyan pod. Gine resolved to watch the girl tinker with the pod for a few more days and then she'd go in and steal the ship without any conflict. A few days later when the pod appeared fixed, Gine slipped into the small garage of this young girl and went to turn on the pod before she was attacked. Refusing to engage with the girl, Gine struggled and thrashed against, trying to tell her that she meant no harm but that she just wanted to use the ship. However, unaware of her strength compared to the girl's, Gine threw her from her back and the young alien flew hard into a rock, instantly going limp. Gine killed her and this scene was the one of many scenes that still haunted Gine.
"Gine?" Bardock called again and Gine pushed him off.
"No! I'm done." Gine hissed at Bardock and turned to grab her things on the bench.
"What? What do you mean you're done?" Bardock questioned with a raised voice.
"I'm done with this. Fighting. I-I can't do this anymore."
Bardock was confused and frustrated and stood silently for a moment thinking before Gine brushed past him and he gently grabbed her elbow, "Gine-."
"You're a warrior and I'm not. So I might as well stop pretending I am before I kill anyone else."
"What? Wait-."
Gine stormed off, leaving Bardock alone in the training room.
A few days later, things were frosty between the couple. Gine didn't want to talk anymore about fighting and quit her squad the day after her scene at the training squad. Bardock was angry that Gine was backing down so easily, he didn't understand. That night as they were getting ready for bed, Gine carefully slid under the covers while Bardock was already in bed, rolled on his side with his back facing Gine.
Flicking the lights off, Gine settled in as silence filled the room. Finally, Gine sighed and muttered as she laid on her back, "I got a job at the butchers shop."
Her statement was met with a grunt from Bardock before he shifted on his side.
Gine rolled her eyes and continued, "I can't believe you're mad at me for quitting."
"Did I say I was mad?" Bardock snapped and Gine scoffed, "No, but you've barely said more than a few words to me."
Bardock abruptly sat up and turned to Gine with fierceness in his eyes, "I'm not angry, it's your life. I just don't get why you gave up so easily. That's not like you."
"I'm not giving up. I've been trying to make this work for so long and after the last mission it just doesn't make sense for me to be miserable anymore. The only time I was ever happy these last few months was when I was with you. And when we were separated or when I was on a mission, I hated it. I couldn't do it anymore."
Hearing the pain and weariness in her voice, Bardock began to soften a little. He didn't know Gine hated fighting so much but he just didn't understand. "But, won't you miss it?"
"No. I've never liked war like you do, Bardock. I only joined a squad because I thought that's what I had to do and that's what would make me happy. And being on the same team as you did make me happy for sometime, but I never enjoyed it. I only trained and fought to protect my teammates and loved ones, not to test my strength. I hate killing."
Bardock knew that and he knew first hand how killing took a toll on Gine. Sighing, Bardock looked over at Gine and said, "I wished you told me about all this sooner. You've been so closed off lately and I knew something was bothering you but I didn't know how to help. But if this is going to make you happy then...I'll try to understand it. I guess that you not fighting anymore will take some of the worry off of me too. I don't know what I would have done if you went on another mission so soon after the last one. I probably would have lost my shit."
Gine giggled and slid closer to Bardock with a smile, "So, are we okay?"
Bardock nodded and pulled her in for a quick kiss before pulling away and bluntly saying, "Yes. But I know you're still holding something back. I need to know, Gine. You're usually not the one who's hiding their feelings."
Grimacing, Gine exhaled and agreed, slowly detailing every moment of the last mission including the young girl. It was hard to relive those memories and feel so vulnerable but she figured that if anyone should know all of her fears and what kept her up at night, it should be Bardock.
Bardock beamed with excitement as he always did before a mission as Gine and him walked to the hanger. They were stronger than ever after they both were open and honest and Gine was much happier which made Bardock feel better knowing that she was in a better spot. Another plus was that he wouldn't have to worry about Gine as much now that she'd be safe on Planet Vegeta instead of some distance planet. It brought him peace of mind and now Bardock could fully give his attention to his missions.
Stopping at the entrance since Gine wasn't allowed inside anymore, the young couple wrapped each other in a tight embrace for a moment before Bardock bent down to give Gine a deep, passionate kiss. After her return and Bardock's worried reaction, most people gathered that they were together and although they were given some looks and disapproving stares, Gine was happy that she didn't have to hide her feelings in public towards Bardock anymore. Especially now, where she can give him a proper goodbye.
Once they broke apart, Gine pushed Bardock's wild bangs out of his face and smiled.
Unwilling to be the first one to say goodbye, Gine let Bardock be the one to pull away and he gave her a quick wink before telling her as he stepped backwards.
"Wait for me."
