Goku had been thrilled, to say the least. I kind of felt bad for Gohan after him being hug-crushed so many times at this point, particularly since his father had been the most enthusiastic about it by far.
I felt, perhaps, slightly out of place within the family celebration, but as always the Sons treated me like I was family. Goku had asked his eldest the same question about staying, but Gohan asserted his decision like before.
Somebody had finally managed to find the time – early, but too late to bother going back to bed (or for me to prevent the stiffness settling in along my back and shoulders). A bit of preemptive anxiousness was already kicking in as well, since SE-3 wasn't more than a day or two away now, so the four of us remained awake until the ship's imitation of daylight activated.
The Sons made bets over whether the baby would be a boy or girl, whether Gohan wanted a boy or girl – to which he said he was happy to have either – and if he and Videl had suggested names at any point. (They hadn't yet.)
"Damn," Goten said. "I just realized... We have half-Saiyans, but we've never had half of that before. A Quarter-Saiyan? A Mostly-Human?"
He was right. It had probably never happened before. Half-bloods were already rare, for obvious reasons, between any two species. Saiyans had only been space-bound for a few hundred years and didn't hold the highest opinions of half-bloods in general, so the likelihood of finding others like us was already pretty slim. And even if some existed that we didn't know about, the chances that they would have children were also small.
"Not only am I gonna be a grandpa, I'm gonna be a grandpa to the first baby of its kind. It makes me feel so old," Goku said.
"Dad, by the time you look like a grandpa, this kid's gonna be older than Gohan is now," Goten said. (He was right about that too – for a Saiyan, middle age rested around eighty Earth years. Bardock was probably nearing that, making him not far from Dr. Briefs, but still looked more like a human in his late thirties, so he couldn't have reached that point quite yet.)
"Poor Chi-Chi," Goku replied. "If I feel old, she's gonna feel, like, double-old. She found one grey hair the other day and got pretty upset 'cause I don't have any and even Bulma doesn't. But Chi's gonna be so happy when she hears about the baby!"
"'Even Bulma,' huh?" I muttered.
"Yeah! She's like fifty, still fiery and she lived with Vegeta who's the same way, but her hair's still blue. It's amazing."
"Dad," Gohan groaned as Goten chuckled and I sighed loudly.
"Alright," Bardock said, "so we all need to be in agreement about how we're going to proceed with this."
We were mere hours away from entering the atmosphere of SE-3, the planet already within sight through the control room window. It had been a few days since Gohan had heard the news and we'd been trying to figure out how we wanted to go ahead upon reaching our destination since then. Now, the seven of us stood in discussion.
I was already prepared – while I'd foregone armour, no longer posing as an ordinary soldier and not wanting to draw attention by wearing the set Mom had given me, I wasn't going anywhere without my sword. It rested sheathed with my hands over the pommel and the end on the floor. (Holding something also helped prevent me from getting too antsy, I supposed.)
"Along with the possibility of information on the Namekian, my visions have led me to believe there are other Saiyans being held here on this planet. However, considering the situation, I don't think the locals will take too kindly to more landing on their doorstep. We don't want to be on the Colds' radar just yet, and I'm sure Frieza is looking for me," Bardock continued.
"Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious, but, uh, excluding Trunks we all look pretty Saiyan. Especially if all of us are together," Goten said.
"A big group will be conspicuous, but if we separate into twos or threes we may be able to pass relatively unnoticed. There are other humanoid species out there, so we only need to conceal just enough to not mark any of us as immediately Saiyan," Bardock advised. "Of course, that's assuming you two are able to not draw attention to yourselves," he finished a bit sardonically in the direction of Daikon and Korravi.
The former of the two was leaning on his companion the way someone would lean against a wall, arms folded and one leg crossed over the other.
"We're not stupid, old man. And we don't take orders. You'll have to ask nicely," he replied.
"Listen. Your tattoos might throw people off, but she's unmistakable. You either cooperate or you don't – I don't care whether you respect me, the Prince of Saiyans, or anyone on board, but if you're going to hinder rather than help, I can think of somewhere else for you to go. Like out the airlock."
"Tch. Ravi and me might be outnumbered, but I'd watch what threats you make. Besides, you're the one who wanted us to come along with you 'cause of fucking destiny or some shit."
"Believe me, I would've left you behind otherwise -"
Before another word was said, I raised my sword and then struck the point of the scabbard against the floor, metallic thud echoing throughout the room. Six sets of brown eyes were locked on me.
"He's right about one thing: I don't give a damn what you think about anyone here. But in case you forgot, we're trying to save the Saiyan race, which we're all part of in some capacity. Our home planet is gone and none of us have any choice but to learn to rely on one another, no matter how you look at it," I said.
Daikon turned his face away so that only the side with sprawling tattoos was visible, tail swishing behind him. "I've never been to Planet Vegeta and Ravi's the only Saiyan I've ever known until now. So far, I'm not impressed with you or that sword you keep showing off. Compensating much?"
I breathed in slowly through my nose and out through my mouth, perhaps gripping the pommel a little tighter than I needed to before taking the sword and setting it aside, resting it against the wall. "This isn't about me. I'm not ordering you to do anything. I'm asking. I don't know much about you. But if all you can do is talk to make up for your own inadequacies, then maybe you should stay behind and we'll get your bodyguard to help instead."
Daikon glared back at me as he uncrossed his arms and started to straighten up. "You -"
Before he could finish, Korravi reached her free hand over and placed it gently on his head. Pausing in place, his fire seemed to go out like a candle and craned his head to meet her eyes.
Something unspoken went between them and Daikon huffed, returning to his previous spot resting against her side. She dropped her hand and directed her attention to the rest of us.
"I've gone in disguise before. But that's not the question. If we find more Saiyans, do you really expect they'll still be alive? I've been to SE-3 and even then the PTO was all over it. There's no reason to expect any Saiyans that were here were allowed to keep their heads. And even if there are survivors, we would have to steal more ships to accommodate their escape," she said.
"... She's right. We also have nowhere to send them, since we don't yet know where the safe haven is," Gohan added.
They were both correct. The only safe planet I knew of right now was Earth, but not only was Earth far away and disconnected from the rest of the galaxy, we didn't know how many Saiyans had survived. Capsule Corp was large enough to harbour a few hundred people, but a few hundred angry Saiyans weren't safe for humans. And to top it off, Mom knew nothing of what was going on, although I was certain she'd want to help...
Maybe if we need it as a last resort, I thought, keeping the idea to myself.
"We'll have to play it by ear," Goten suggested.
There was a brief pause as Bardock folded his arms.
"So that just leaves how we're going to stay in contact with one another," he thought aloud. "Which leads me to ask – you said you four can sense each other's energy?"
We were descending into the atmosphere when things went wrong.
Bardock, Goten, Gohan and I were in the control room, the others elsewhere in the ship still preparing their 'disguises.' Although I'd never quite enjoyed looking so different from normal Saiyans, at least it was now an advantage for me not having to conceal my features.
Goten had put on a hoodie and toque to cover his hair, while Gohan had something that looked like a full-cover motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm (paired with his prosthetic, he could pass as some kind of cyborg in the eyes of someone who'd never been to Earth). Bardock had donned a cloak and scarf, which he currently had pulled away from his face as he stood looking at the ship's dashboard.
Clouds had begun to pass by our window, green-tinted sky peeking through as the craft moved. Since there were four of us who could sense ki and three who couldn't, we'd agreed to pair up on that basis with one person travelling alone – whom we'd all agreed would be Goku, due to his ability to teleport. Naturally, a certain someone had voiced his complaints loudly, despite us drawing lots at random; of course I doubted anyone would choose him willingly.
Thankfully, I hadn't gotten paired with him. That honour unfortunately went to Goten, although at least my friend got respite while Daikon was absent from the room. Gohan had gotten Bardock, leaving me with the one person left.
Now, as we waited, Gohan had just moved to say something to me when Korravi returned in through the door.
She wore a cloak like Bardock did, but also some kind of silver armour on her arms and chest I'd never seen before and what looked like a wooden half-mask, presently up away from her face. She said nothing and her eyes darted around the room.
"What is it?" Bardock asked, looking back – then he froze in place.
"Fuck," he said abruptly. "He's gonna -"
I was suddenly thrown off my feet with everyone else when the ship jerked back and to the side as if something had tugged it. Goten and I managed to half catch each other before we hit the wall, while Bardock grabbed Gohan and Korravi hung onto the doorframe.
An alarm was already blaring as the ship slowly began to right itself and we regained our footing in confusion.
"What in the shit was that?" Goten exclaimed as we looked at each other, then back at the others.
"He jumped out!" Bardock growled. "That bastard blew the door open and jumped out!"
I knew we had a second emergency door that would cover the opening if something like this were to happen, but the temporary surge of breaking the air compression had no doubt been what threw us.
"You couldn't have sensed what he was going to do five minutes earlier, or I don't know, foresaw it?!" Goten cried.
"That's not how it works!"
"Hey! Are you guys okay? What happened?" Goku's voice interrupted from behind Korravi before he moved in past her.
"We have a problem! Daikon jumped out," Gohan relayed.
"What? What for?" Goku said.
"Ask her," Bardock accused, glaring at the woman in question from across the room.
Confusion laced her features while her gaze flickered from person to person.
"Do you know anything about this?" Gohan directed at her as everyone stared.
She stared back, at a loss for words. I let go of Goten and while keeping my ears keen for an explanation, looked around to see where my sword had been flung to. I'd left it leaning against the wall, so logically it should have –
But the more space I covered the more I noticed its pointed absence from the room. Had I taken it back to my bedroom? No, no I hadn't. It'd been there, right there, not far from the door –
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," I growled. "He took it. He took my sword!"