Dragon Ball Kai
Chapter 17
Alone
Gine flies through the bright blue skies of Earth with a big sense of worry.
It has already been three weeks since she last saw her youngest son and - while she decided to do as Bardock said and give Goku some space - she needed to see him herself. She needed to talk to him and tell him that she was also worried about Mara but that going to Planet Vegeta was way too risky.
Maybe it was a long shot, but they could try to find Mara after she was exiled, that way they would not cross Planet Vegeta and end up fighting thousands of Saiyans.
Gine looks down to see Capsule Corp, its giant yellow building being very hard to miss, but before she can land on the front entrance as usual, she notices a big circular machine out back. It resembles their Saiyan Pods a lot so she decided to land next to it instead.
At first she expected to see Bulma working on it, but instead she's met by Dr. Brief, Bulma's father who she's only met a couple of times.
"Oh Gine, you're here at just the right time. I was just about to contact you," he says in his usual casual tone. "The ship's all ready."
"I see..." she nods and looks around but finds no sign of Goku, or Bulma for that matter. "Sorry, but I need to talk to Goku."
Dr. Brief raises an eyebrow in surprise, "Goku? He and Bulma already left for space around two weeks ago. I thought you already knew that."
"What?!"
"Yup, they some some of their friends too. I asked her to bring me anything interesting from the planet they're visiting. I think they called it Planet...Vegetable! That's it!" He chuckles and shakes his head, "They're quite adventurous."
Gine stands there, paralyzed, unable to even breathe until her body reminds her. "They left two weeks ago..." she repeats to herself as horror spreads across her face.
"That's right," Dr. Brief nods, oblivious to what Gine was feeling. "Bulma designed the ship and we built it in under a week. Since we were short on time we couldn't make it run much faster, but I got to do that on the one she asked me to prepare just in case you and your family wanted to use it."
"And you said it was ready?"
He smiles in response, "All done. I was adding a killer sound system just now, figured it would make the training room better if it could play music."
Gine is barely listening and is already floating in the air before she speaks, "Okay. I'll be right back."
With that said she shoots to the sky and flies as fast as she can.
Her youngest son is on his way to Planet Vegeta.
Just the thought filled her with fear. Goku is strong, yes, but he wouldn't be able to stand up to so many Saiyans at the same time, even with his friends offering support. She knows that he's stronger than a lot of Saiyans, but the Royal Guard is said to be made up of the strongest Saiyans in the planet. It wasn't until a few years ago that Bardock was offered the title - though he declined since he didn't want to be stuck around the palace all the time - which means that Bardock was not even strong enough to join them until a few years ago.
Gine bites her lip and presses a button on her scouter. At first there's no response and when she's about to press again, she hears Bardock's voice at the other end of the line.
"What is it?"
"Goku is on his way to Planet Vegeta!"
"What? There's no way, he doesn't have a ship."
She shakes her head even though he can't see her. "He got help from Bulma and she built a ship. I don't know how they got the coordinates but they're on their way now."
"When did they leave?" Bardock asks, his voice a lot more serious.
"Two weeks ago."
"Dammit! We'll be there too late if we leave now."
"Bulma's father prepared a ship for us and said it was faster than the one Goku's using."
There was a brief pause before he answers, "Fine, I'll go see it and if it really is faster then we'll use it."
"Okay, I'm on my way now to get a few things and then I'll take you to Capsule Corp."
"Alright," Bardock responds and, hearing the worry in her voice, adds in a firm voice, "We'll get him back safe Gine. I promise."
The mother nods as a couple of worried tears roll down her face.
Mara never did like getting out of Saiyan Pods.
Not because of how cramped they were – though that certainly didn't help – but because it was always the moment in which all of the pressure to excel would hit her the hardest. There were a couple of times when she didn't do that well in a mission that her father had been furious and threatened to banish her. Even with all that weight constantly on her shoulders she always thought that one day it would go away, one day when she finally made her family proud.
That day is not today however.
Mara can hardly breath as the uncomfortable weight of Planet Vegeta's gravity hits her the second she emerges from her pod. Her heart beats rapidly against her chest and she can't even make sense of what her brother is saying to Turles and Cumber, but sees that they fly off the landing platform.
"Move your feet," Vegeta snarls as he grabs her wrist tightly, drags her a couple of steps, and then forces her to match his speed as he flies off.
Mara doesn't say anything, knowing better than to provoke her brother and because she can't muster the strength to speak.
Planet Vegeta was supposed to be her home, but everything from the red sky to the rugged rocky terrain felt cold and unwelcoming. Even the city in the distance with its many buildings tinted in the red of the sky felt odd to her. She didn't remember ever thinking like this before – though that didn't mean that she thought of the planet as a home – but now she realizes that she never felt safe in her home planet at all.
It wasn't nice, and bright, and peaceful; but the opposite of all those things.
Mara can feel tears forming in her eyes but she closes them quickly to stop them from falling, and desperately wishes that the sky would be blue when she opened her eyes again.
The palace, along with buildings near it, were quite grand when compared to the rest in the city.
Vegeta led Mara through a grand corridor that led into the palace, numerous tall and thick pillars surrounded it and gave a view of the distant wasteland. Since Saiyans were not ones to break tradition, the palace was pretty bare except for the things they did have use for.
Mara turned her gaze away from the surroundings and instead looked down, wordlessly letting her brother lead her through the palace with a tight grip on her wrist. She felt like she was about to faint, nothing could ever prepare her for the meeting she was about to have with her father. At this rate she can't even think about how she'll be able to live through talking with her father.
It's only when Vegeta abruptly stops – still on the corridor to the palace – that Mara looks up in confusion and wishes she hadn't done so almost immediately.
Standing at the grand doors into the palace was her mother dressed in her usual attire, the royal battle armor with a blue and white cape, a black undersuit, and white gloves and boots.
"Hello Mother, my task was a success," Vegeta says with a small smirk.
The Queen nods and then looks to Mara. "You may leave us Vegeta, I have to talk to her."
Vegeta nods and finally drops his hold on her wrist which is already turning purple. Mara rubs it carefully, keeping her eyes away from her mother in a desperate attempt not to talk to her.
"Your father has told me all about what you've done," the Queen said in a disapproving tone. "I don't know where you went wrong, but I cannot defend you this time."
Mara fells shocked at first, but then it turns into bitterness as what her mother said sinks in.
This time.
As if implying that she had ever tried to help in any way. Her father might be the one to put the most pressure on her, as well as the most vocal about his discontentment with her, at least he was direct. Mara could never tell what her mother was thinking, she was cold and distant, truly only ever there for Vegeta.
She would never forget the time she accidentally overheard one of her mother's off-hand remarks about how disappointed she was that they had 'another bad one,' when she and her father were discussing one of her missions.
"Mara," the Queen says in a firm and loud voice, snapping Mara out of her thoughts. "What have I told you before? You are to look me in the eyes when I'm talking to you." She frowns and shakes her head, "By not meeting someone's eyes, it shows how weak you are. You're being submissive, like a low-class. Though I suppose it's to be expected after you've been surrounded by those lowbrow traitors for the past few months."
"...don't..."
Hearing her daughter talk for the first time, the Queen steps a bit closer, "What was that?"
Mara grits her teeth, "Don't..."
"Speak clearly," the Queen scolds, "Stop acting like those-"
"Don't talk about them like that!" Mara snaps, her face flushed in anger. "They're not traitors! They're my friends and I won't let anyone talk about them like that!"
The Queen takes an involuntary step back, shocked by her daughter's sudden outburst, but she sobers up quickly and slapped her across the face, causing her to fall to her knees from the blow.
"That is no way to talk to your mother," she scolds and motions for the two guards at the gates, "Take her to the King."
"At once, Queen Kale" the two reply with a bow of their heads.
Mara doesn't try to resist as they grab her by the arms and lead her into the palace. At least now she has one less thing to worry about, not that facing her father made her feel any better.
The doors to the throne room where big and – like the walls and floors around her – a very dark color. She remembered wondering why the palace was so dark before, but now that was the least of her thoughts when she noticed that her brother was waiting by the door with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.
He said nothing as the doors opened and she could see her father sitting on the throne with a scowl on his face.
She stood there, frozen, as the room spun around her and she swallowed a lump in her throat. It wasn't until someone lightly pushed her forward that she realized that they were waiting for her to move. So, through shaky steps, she entered the throne room and stood before her father with her gaze on the floor.
Exile or death, she knew that either of these were the punishments for what she did.
Death was pretty self-explanatory but exile was a lot more complex. They didn't just give you a ship and ask you to leave, they drugged you and left you to wake up all alone in some unknown planet. Of course, whether she was lucky enough to be left in a planet that was capable of space travel was mostly due to luck. Even if she was that lucky, there was no way for her to make it back to Earth.
Saiyan space pods were given its coordinates by whoever the Saiyan in charge of the mission was, and she – like a fool – did not even think to ask Bardock. Even if she somehow got her hands on a ship, it would be almost impossible to find her way back to Earth without the coordinates. In other words, she would never go back.
Mara bites her lip and almost flinches when she feels the immense pressure of her father's eyes on her.
"I have been too lenient with you in the past, but no longer," King Vegeta said, his deep voice showing no hint of emotion. "Betraying your own race is an unforgivable act, and if you so wish to stay away, then you will be branded a traitor and exiled from this planet."
"In one week, you will be removed from our planet," the King finished and turned to his royal guards, "Take her to a holding cell."
It takes all of her strength to keep her knees from giving our under her. She's even relieved when the guards grab her arms and take her away.
Finally alone, laying on the uncomfortable bed of her cell, Mara looks at the ceiling through murky eyes.
It was something she expected, something she prepared herself for, but it did nothing to soften the blow. Her family didn't care that she was being banished, they were okay with never seeing her again, and that hurt. It really hurt.
She hugs herself and lays on her side, facing the wall to cover the tears rolling down her cheeks.
Not for the first time today, she wishes she was back on Earth. Goku had been annoying at first, but now she wishes she could be with him because she really can't handle this all on her own.
A cold breeze washes over her as she drifts off to sleep all alone in a planet where she has no one.
