Chapter 1

Krillin woke with a start. For a moment he simply sat there, panting, trying to remember where he was.

The only sound that penetrated the darkness all around him was a strange noise, like a growling, hissing beast out to get him. Krillin shivered and did his best to feel what ki this creature had.

Then it all came back to him. "Oh," he breathed and laid back down in his hospital bed.

Right.

It was the day the Saiyans had come to Earth. Or rather the night after that day.

He could sense Goku and Gohan in another room nearby, even though their ki was but faint in their sleep. And in the bed next to him, Yajirobe was snoring, producing sounds that didn't seem all that human.

Krillin suppressed a sigh. Of course, this night had to be rough. After everything that happened today, it was no surprise that he was plagued with nightmares.

And yet what he had dreamed about wasn't what he had expected.

He had not relived the moment Yamcha died a gruesome death. The way his insides were torn by a shock wave, but how he looked merely asleep outwardly. Or how guilty Krillin had felt at that moment because Yamcha had died in his stead. Even worse, how guilty he felt because he had been so relieved this wasn't him, that he had the chance to live another day, find love and happiness.

He hadn't dreamed about Chiaotsu tearing himself to shreds in a desperate attempt to save his friends either. Nor of Tien using his very life force until nothing was left.

Krillin swallowed and took a deep breath until he felt a bit better.

No, in his dreams he had seen the monster.

Krillin had faced terrifying opponents before. Had lost his life against a non-human creature sent to wipe out all martial artists. But it was still nothing like what had happened today.

The Saiyans had been brutal and merciless, out to slaughter instead of merely wanting to subjugate their opponents. No, with them there wasn't even the choice of surrender. Losing meant death, not only for them but for everyone on Earth. Men, women, and children - all would be wiped out.

But Goku had saved them, he reminded himself in an attempt to calm his heartbeat. Had fought on and on beyond the point when his own body gave in. But so had the Saiyan. Vegeta.

The alien was barely taller than Krillin himself and of slighter frame than Goku but he had shown strength and endurance beyond belief. A power that almost had been their undoing.

He could still vividly remember how it felt when Vegeta beat him, how his ki had sizzled with energy, and how he even got up again after he got hit squarely by a spirit bomb. Krillin had almost despaired, almost lost all hope for them, for Earth, for all their hopes and dreams.

And then when they finally made it, when Vegeta was defeated, at last, was crawling through the dirt, bleeding and groaning ... he let him go.

There was a sting in his eyes all of a sudden and he clenched them tightly.

How could he have done this? How could he let such a menace to all living beings get away? Yes, it had been Goku who asked him to stay his hand, but it was Krillin who made the choice. Krillin who didn't avenge their fallen comrades. Who had the chance to rid the universe of a great evil and didn't take it.

So maybe it was no surprise after all, that this was what he saw when he dreamed: Vegeta propped up against his spherical spaceship, falling when his glove, slick with blood, slipped off the edge he had clung to. And Krillin above him, holding Yajirobe's chipped sword. In his dream he saw the Saiyan stare up at him again, his black eyes narrowed and his bloodstained teeth bared into a snarl.

But this time there was no call from Goku. Nothing stopping him.

And just as he plunged his blade into Vegeta's throat he had jerked awake.

Krillin passed a bandaged hand over his eyes. Maybe this hadn't been a nightmare after all. Maybe he'd regret that it had been only a dream for the rest of his days.


AN: Thanks for reading, everyone. This story will follow the events of DBZ relatively closely at first but I plan on having more original scenes as soon as there are time skips in the source material. I might ignore filler stuff and as I'm not familiar with the Funi dub (I'm not a native speaker but I'm doing my best) I'm bound to phrase dialogues differently.

This story is something I wanted to read but because I couldn't find anything like it I had to write it myself. In case anyone else might enjoy it, I'm sharing it here and also cross-post it on AO3. If you like it I'd love to hear from you.