Sona awoke to the sound of her name. Bardock was calling for her, through the scouter. She grabbed hers and attached it to her ear.
"Sona?" Bardock's voice was distressed, tired sounding. She could feel that something had happened.
"What's going on?" Sona asked, panicked. She knew Bardock should have stayed. She should have listened to Planthor, and kept him here. After Kanassa, he wasn't ready for another mission. The others were strong enough to handle Planet Meat on their own.
"They-they're dead," came Bardock's slow reply. His voice was hollow, filled with sadness. Sona's own heart caught in her throat, and she held Kakarot tighter.
"What?" she whispered. It couldn't be. Sona could faintly pick up a voice calling Bardock's name. It sounded like a man's voice.
"Tora?" Bardock replied. Sona prayed that Tora was still alive. If any of them were still alive it would be a miracle.
"Bardock," Tora said, faintly. Sona strained to hear the rest of their conversation. "It was an ambush," Tora continued. "We were ambushed by Dodoria and his men. We never saw it coming."
"Why would they do this?" Bardock asked, angrily.
"They're afraid of us," Tora said. "They're afraid we're too strong. Bardock, be careful," Tora said. His voice was getting fainter by the minute, and it sounded choked. "I'm sorry I can't hang around a little longer," he said, a smile in his weakened voice.
"Tora, don't you dare give up on me," Bardock said. "The idea that you can't pull through this is preposterous. I'm going to get you home, and you'll be just fine."
"Yeah," Tora agreed, unconvincingly. He laughed weakly. "Whatever you say, captain."
"Bardock, is he-" Sona began to ask, worry in her voice.
"No, he's not dead. Not yet. I have to get him back to-"
Sona heard abrupt voices in the background. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying. She was sure they were taunting her husband, which was a poor mistake on their part.
"You're right," she heard Bardock say. "I should have been there." Sona could hear a battle raging on, but she had no idea of the outcome. Kakarot began to grow restless in her arms. She rocked him gently back and forth, staring down at the child. He looked so like his father. She hoped Bardock would be back to see him again.
Just when it seemed the fight had come to a halt, another angry voice spoke. She couldn't hear what it was saying, but she could easily identify the owner; Dodoria. She heard Bardock growl quietly. Dodoria let out a cry of rage. She closed her eyes, willing her husband to survive. The seconds dragged by slowly. She heard an explosion. She waited several more seconds, and still there was no reply from Bardock.
"Bardock?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't know what she was going to do if he hadn't made it. Mentally, she was trying to prepare herself for the worst.
"Sona," came Bardock's haggard voice, "You need to get underground. Get all the Saiyans that will follow you and take them underground. If King Vegeta is there, do all you can to get him underground, too."
"What's happened?" Sona asked. She rose weakly from her bed, still aching and weak. Kakarot had fallen silent.
"After Kanassa, I could see things," Bardock said. "And Tora said that Frieza was becoming wary of the Saiyans. I keep seeing the destruction of a planet, and to be quite honest, I'm almost one hundred percent sure that it's Vegeta. If we're lucky, we can trick Frieza. He doesn't know about the tunnel system."
"You're coming home, right? You'll go underground too?" Sona asked, walking quickly through the hallways. She knew her husband too well. He was a brilliant man, but he was often brash. She didn't want him to do anything stupid, like try to attack Frieza alone and without a plan. He didn't reply for several seconds. "Bardock," she said, acutely. "You're coming home, right?
"Yes," he said quietly. "Yes, I'm coming back to Vegeta. I'll see you in a few hours." And then there was silence. Sona's feet patted quietly against the cool floor. She found her armor and quickly changed into it, leaving the hospital garb in a pile on the floor. She ran, looking for Planthor. After several minutes of searching, she found him. He was in the room where all the Saiyan babies were held before they were shipped off. Planthor looked up as she entered. He held up a Saiyan baby that was in his arms.
"Say hello to Broly," he said cheerfully. "He's Paragus' son, born the same day as yours. Funny, isn't it?"
"Planthor," Sona said, "You need to evacuate the facility. Get underground. Take anyone that you can. It seems we've run into some trouble with Frieza." Planthor's happy expression faded. Sona didn't wait to explain. There were plenty of other people she had to warn, and she knew exactly where she needed to go; the Tavern.
Sona ran, as quickly as she could. Her insides ached, and her energy was still very low. She held Kakarot as close to her body as possible, trying not to jostle him. He was finally sleeping peacefully, but she knew this probably wouldn't last once they entered the Tavern.
As always, the Tavern was bustling and full of people. There seemed to be more people gathered there than usual, which was extraordinarily fortunate. Sona wasn't sure how many of the Saiyans would listen to her, a low level. She hoped that, if it concerned their survival, they could put aside their pride just this once. She perched atop a table and took a deep breath.
"You need to listen to me, all of you," she said as loudly as possible. All of the conversations ended abruptly, and all eyes were on her. She was met with silence, save for the loud music playing in the background. "My husband was sent to Planet Meat by Frieza. He and his crew were ambushed-"
"Oh, so what?" a voice interrupted, angrily. The owner stepped forward and folded his arms smugly. Paragus. He had been Bardock's enemy from the moment they had laid eyes on each other. Sona had a particular distaste for him as well. "Just because Bardock got his tail whipped doesn't mean we should worry. He's a low level."
"Bardock was ambushed by Dodoria and his men on Frieza's orders," Sona said sharply. "That means that you should worry. Frieza doesn't trust us anymore."
"Maybe he was just cleaning house, doll face," Paragus said, laughing. "Frieza knows a worthless soldier when he sees one. Maybe we should tell him about your son, too. What was little Kakarot's power level again? Two?" Paragus' comments were backed up with laughter from many of the other Saiyans in the Tavern. Sona wished she could kill him. She wasn't in any sort of state for that at the moment. She knew it would be satisfaction enough to have Frieza kill him.
"If you want to live, you'll go underground. The tunnel system from the Tuffle war should still be intact. If we're lucky, Frieza will only attack the surface of Vegeta. If you don't believe me, then you deserve to die with the rest of the trash."
With that, she stepped down from her table top perch, and strode out of the Tavern. She didn't look behind her to see if any Saiyans listened to her advice. She was still too angry at Paragus.
She proceeded towards the Royal Grounds. If there was one Saiyan she had to save, it was King Vegeta. She was halted at the gate by one of the elite guards.
"You're not allowed in here, low level," he addressed her. She held her tongue as she replied.
"I have a message for his Majesty. It's urgent. It's from Frieza," she said. The guard stepped aside. She was glad her fabricated lie had worked. She didn't think that she could use brute force to get into the Grounds.
"His Majesty is in the orchards," the guard called after her. Sona ran into the Grounds. She found the orchard quite quickly, and began looking for King Vegeta. She found him, standing alone, under one of the tallest trees in the orchard. He appeared to be talking to himself, something particularly vexing on his mind.
"Sire," she called, running up to him. He turned sharply to face her. She had never spoken with King Vegeta in person, but all of the physical descriptions of him fell short. He was incredibly muscular, and of a decent height, with stern eyes, and a serious face. He had an aura about him that seemed to demand reverence. "We have to go underground," she said, almost breathless. "I have received intel that Frieza plans to attack Planet Vegeta."
"That's absurd," the King said, proudly. "We've given Frieza no reason to be angry at us. In fact, we've gone above and beyond what he has required of us."
"That's why he wants us destroyed," Sona said. "He's afraid we've gotten too strong. He has just ambushed my husband and his crew."
"I'm supposed to listen to you? You think I'm afraid of Frieza? Naturally, you would be, being a low level. But, my dear girl, I am a proud elite. We are not so easily stirred to fear. And I am certainly not afraid of some phony galactic overlord. If he plans to attack us, then we shall return that sentiment," King Vegeta said, calmly.
"Sire, please," Sona pleaded. "Attacking him now is not our best strategy. We have to wait until we know more about him and then attack when he least expects us to."
"Silence," Vegeta said sharply. "You're forgetting your place, low level."
"Sire, it is for your own good that you come with me underground. You have nothing to lose by just taking precautions. Please," she said, struggling to keep her tone respectful. King Vegeta's stubborn, prideful resistance was wearing her patience thin. She was mere seconds away from grabbing him by the arm and dragging him along with her.
King Vegeta studied her face; his stubborn look began to harden. At length he spoke.
"Fine," he conceded. "But if your counsel was incorrect and puts us at a disadvantage, you will regret it, low level."He walked quickly to the edge of the orchard, counting his steps. He reached a large boulder, rolled it aside, and revealed a large hole in the ground. Wordlessly, he jumped down the hole. Sona followed, holding Kakarot firmly in her arms.
Her feet touched soft soil. A smell she had long forgotten began to fill her nostrils. The Underground hadn't been used since the Tuffle War, but everything was still the same. She followed King Vegeta down their narrow tunnel.
Soon, their tunnel opened up into a big cavern. There were several other Saiyans already gathered underground, most of them being third classers, sitting outside tents. Hardly any of them paid King Vegeta any attention as he strode proudly to his large tent in the back. Sona looked around for her former tent. After several seconds of looking at similar tents, she found hers. It was nestled in a secluded corner. The black ribbon was still tied to the outside. Sona smiled slightly and walked inside. She sat on her old bed, rocking Kakarot gently back and forth, waiting.