Gine stares at the clusters of stars in wonderment. It seems like she can hear them calling her name as they twinkle in the night sky. The starlight makes her feel like she's soaring through space. She never knew how peaceful it could be until this very moment. This must have been what everyone means when they say "silent ecstasy".

The thought crosses her mind if it wasn't too late to make a wish. After all, it's not everyday that you get to see the night skies so clearly. Gine smiles at her idea. But what would she wish for? What do people even think about when they wish? If someone else were here, they might ask themselves the same question. But then again, Gine doesn't have anyone else to ask. It's just her and all her friends are asleep and so is everypony else.

Maybe she could wish herself to be confident like Bardock? No, that wouldn't do. There's no room for two Bardocks. Or she could be strong and brave like Fasha? That couldn't work either. Not when she needs something more than strength to carry her through the day. Maybe there are some other things she could wish for besides confidence.

Suddenly, she caught something in the corner of her eye, catching her attention immediately. From afar in the canyon below, she sees an orange glow coming from deep within the valley itself. A glow that quickly grows brighter with each passing second.

She squinted her eyes to get a better look at it; the light got more intense by the second and suddenly, a flash of bright red light lit up the entire area below. In the blink of an eye, it disappears from sight completely, but still continues to glow faintly against the dark, empty landscape. Gine jumps off the rock, slowly flying toward the glowing orb in the distance. She lands silently at the edge of the crater, her eyes scanning its contents.

Electricity crackles and pops around the crater, casting eerie shadows across the rocks. In the center of the crater laid a figure in green armor, lying motionless on the ground.

'My gosh.' Gine thinks to herself. 'They looked hurt. I should go down there and see if they're alright.'

Gine's heart pounds in anticipation as she begins descending into the pit, careful not to hit her head on any projections or loose rocks. Once in the pit, she trots over to the fallen figure.

Their faces covered with a helmet made of metal she had never seen before, their chest encased in green armor. Even from this close, she can barely see their eye's through the visor. Gauntlets cover their hands, and they lie limp at their sides. Wrapped around their waist was a utility belt filled to the brim with items and grenades and wore thick boots.

Gine gasped in shock when her eyes landed on the stranger's rear: a long black, thick tail laid limp on the ground.

N-no way, Gine thought, a Saiyan?!

Reaching to their side, Gine gently places her hand on the stranger's shoulder. The mysterious Saiyan didn't grace her with a response. She tries to shake them, hoping they will at least twitch slightly in response. As expected, nothing happens.

"Hey… Are you alright?" Gine asked softly. Still, the person didn't move. Their chest remained unmoved.

Gine leans close by placing two fingers near their neck, checking for a pulse. After a few seconds she found an unmistakable beat of blood pulsing through the stranger's body. They are alive.

Gine carefully raises the stranger's arm up and rests it around her shoulder. Slowly she lifts the stranger off of the ground and carries them while climbing out of the crater. She reached the top and jumped off into the air.

With the added weight now on her shoulder, Gine felt her arms ache from carrying the unconscious stranger. Thankfully, her arms still worked quite well, so she didn't really need to use them much. Unnoticed by her, the armored stranger murmurs under their breath incoherently. Gine can barely make out their mumbles through the helmet.

Though they were a low class team, they were part of Bardock's planet elite force. They all sat together in a crater, chuckling to each other as the sun began to rise over the horizon and bathe the ground below them in orange light. It was beautiful and peaceful, as always on another day of dominating another planet.

"That was a heck of a party, wasn't it." Torah commented from his place on the other side next to Bardock.

"If you say so, I don't remember any of it." Fasha replied with an equally amused chuckle. Torah smirked at her.

"You're a typical ape, Fasha." He said with a shake of his head. Fasha rolled her eyes.

"Aaah, shut up! I don't see how you guys remember, anyway! It's elephants that aren't supposed to forget, not apes!" she grumbled, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she pouted and stared off into the distance.

"I'm with you, Fasha. To me it's like waking up from a dream. You kind of remember it all but then it just slips away." Borgos added in, taking a bite out of a small chunk of meat he had taken from one of his kills.

"I don't remember much either, but I remember the crusty, little devil that gave me this." Shugesh stated, rubbing his new cheek scar with his thumb. It had been a nasty little scrape, but it had healed well now.

Fasha grinned. "Bardock says he remembers everything." She turned to look over at him. Torah chuckled at her.

"Right, don't make me laugh Fasha! Bardock might remember every second of every battle but he remembers nothing of his personal life." Torah retorted, turning to look at Fasha then back to Bardock. "Allow me to demonstrate... Bardock, do you remember what day your son was born?"

Bardock shrugged on the ground. "No, but that was a long time ago." He said. Fasha's grin slightly grew.

"It was not, you lazy bum. Yesterday? Come on! You need to go see the little tike! You have enough time to stop in before our next assignment." Fasha insisted. Bardock clicked his tongue, sitting up from where he had laid down to rest.

"Visit him, huh? How nice. Father-son bonding." Bardock spits the thin stick away. "Why should I? They'll just send him away! What's the use? Tell me that!"

Fasha turned away from Bardock. "Hmmm... Bardock!" She was unamused by his attitude. "You're too much."

Shugesh chuckled as a thought came to mind. "Hey, guys... why did we fight for this dump anyway, huh? Is Frieza out of his tiny little mind or something?"

Bardock shrugged. "Yeah... but not in this case. I think this planet has special energy, so I heard." Torah nodded, agreeing with him.

"Yeah, I heard the same thing! You're supposed to be able to develop psychic powers if you live here. Like being able to read minds and see the future and stuff like that." Torah added in.

"Frieza is such a paranoid freak. He'd jump at the chance to be able to read minds!" Bardock spat, looking offended by the idea.

Borgos nodded in agreement. "That's a scary thought, Frieza reading minds. I..."

"I wish you baboons could read minds, so you could have heard the thoughts of my troops as you slaughtered them!"

Everyone got up and turned to look at the new speaker. Rising out of the rocks behind them, a Kanassan warrior stood bloodied and bruised from their encounter. He charged towards Bardock then instantly vanished, reappearing right behind Bardock's back. Bardock yelped when the Kanassan warrior struck the nape of his neck. Before anyone knew what was happening, Bardock went limp, falling to the ground with a thud.

Shugesh launched towards the Kanassan with a kick, knocking the alien to the ground. Torah followed up quickly, raising his right hand and a ball of energy flew from it, slamming into the Kanassan's chest, and engulfed him into white flames.

Bardock got up from the ground, recovering from his shock. Staring at the engulfed Kanassan. "Huh? What in the heck is going on?" He asked, confused.

"I have transmuted your destructive force into a more tolerable energy! Soon, you will all die!" The Kanassan warrior declared, standing to face Bardock. "At least that's what I wish I could say."

Bardock raised his hand at him. "Yeah? We'll see about that... goodbye!"

"Wait! You have come here seeking psychic power. Well, I have given it to you, Bardock." The Kanassan stated calmly as Bardock took a step forward.

"He reads minds?" Bardock muttered under his breath in disbelief.

"You can now too, Bardock! You have the power now, too!"

"Me? What are you talking about?" Bardock questioned.

"The one who seeks the power, Frieza, will never have it! But I have given it to you as a gift, Bardock! So that you could see!"

"See what?"

The Kanassan paused, considering. "See the horror in the future. I don't have much time left so I will leave you off with a prophecy that me and my people have foretold many generations before."

Bardock tilted his head.

"Our great elder said to us the time of change will come. A man in green armor will soon arrive. Said that the warrior with a tail would be the one to eradicate all darkness in the galaxy and avenge the fallen. Together…he…will…"

The Kanassan breathed his last breath and fell limp against the ground, the life force dissipating from his body until there was only ash and smoke. Bardock stared at the ashes, shocked. His teammates moved closer to him cautiously.

Shugesh grinned.

"Instant bar-b-que! You never know what you're going to find under a rock these days! Pretty freaky creature, aye?" Shugesh turned to Bardock. "Hey! Yo! Hello?"

Bardock's body remained as immovable as stone, his eyes flickered, his vision began to blur and he promptly fell to the ground, unconscious. . .

Garuka blinked, finding water around him. His vision was blurry for a moment. His nostrils drug in clean air. He looked cross-eyed down the bridge of his nose to see a breathing apparatus stuck to his face.

He turned his attention to everything around him, and saw he was in a tank of some sort. Outside its glass was a room with rounded white walls, and several pieces of machinery, ranging from monitors to what looked like large computer consoles of some kind.

Machine.

It was the first words Garuka could think of. His body wasn't in as much pain as it had been when he was last conscious. He couldn't recall the last time he had been in one, but it brought back some long forgotten nostalgia.

Looking around the room, he saw a single woman working on some of the computers near the pod he was being kept in. Garuka could tell he was healed, and he felt stronger than ever. His last battle with the demon lord Davoth had boosted his strength. The woman stopped what she was doing to look over at Garuka. She smiled softly when she saw he was awake.

She stepped close to the pod, placing her hand onto the glass and leaning in to smile gently.

"I'm glad you're up," she said, her voice light.

She was of average height and slender build. Her skin was a lighter-pale complexion, onyx eyes, shaggy black hair reaching her shoulders, and her bangs traced down her forehead. She wore what looked to be a sleeveless black bodysuit and dark green combat armor highlighted with bronze and outlined by white, in addition to purple armbands and white boots. Her armor also had a thigh-length hoop. She also possesses a tail, which sways freely behind her.

"Hold on, let me empty the container." The woman turned back to one of the computers. Punching a few buttons, Garuka watched as the liquid drained out of the container. The hatch popped open just as the woman stood before him.

"Thank goodness, you're all better," the woman said. "You were in pretty bad shape when I found you. I was afraid you might not make it."

Without thinking, Garuka pulled the apparatus off his face. Slowly he stood up using the side of the tank and then stumbled towards the woman. She quickly reached out an arm to catch him before he fell on his face. She smiled when he steadied himself on the edge of the tank.

"How are you feeling?" The woman asked. When Garuka didn't grace her with an answer she frowned. "Are your wounds healing okay?" She prompted again. "They should have healed by now right?"

Garuka gently shoved her arms away and moved to stand on his own. He straightened his back out and glanced at her.

"I'm… fine," Garuka replied.

His voice sounded deep and rough, with an undercurrent that seemed more like a guttural growl that Garuka used than a language. The woman stared at him, concern evident in her features. When their eyes met his face slightly softened.

The woman's eyes…they reminded him of someone he knew from somewhere…but Garuka couldn't place it. A sense of purity seemed to envelope her like a warm ray of sunlight. It almost made Garuka uncomfortable.

Garuka averted his gaze down to the floor. His hands slowly uncurled his fists, flexing his fingers. Then he lifted his head and looked the woman in the eye when she spoke.

"Heh heh, sorry. I should probably introduce myself," the woman said, stepping close to Garuka while gesturing her hand to herself and at him. "My name is Gine. What's your name?"

Garuka folded his arms and glanced at the floor.

"Garuka," he replied.

"Garuka?" She repeated, placing both hands on her hips. Garuka looked back at her and nodded.

Garuka looked around.

"Where am I?" Garuka asked, scanning the room they were in.

"You're in my home," Gine replied. "You probably don't remember but I found you badly wounded at the canyons. I couldn't just leave you there so I took you in and put you in this medical machine that nursed you back to health."

Garuka looked over his shoulder at the medical machine behind him. That explains why he was no longer in pain. He turned back to Gine when she continued.

"Now that you're healed, you should be strong enough to walk on your own and handle yourself. At least I hope you can." Gine chuckled lightly and waved a hand dismissively. "Anyway I plan on cooking some afternoon meals, do you want some?"

Garuka's stomach growled just as Gine mentioned food. Which prompts Garuka to look sheepishly down at said stomach, and the woman to giggle. Garuka tried to ignore the way her laugh warmed his heart.

He can still feel his overwhelming rage suppressing any response he would normally give, instead deciding to just nod. Garuka followed Gine down a small hall until they entered a room with one empty table where his helmet laid surrounded by chairs. A large black blanket covered the top of what looked to be an incubator.

Gine points at the table. "Take a seat. I'll go get some food started."

Garuka started towards the table and sat down. He glared down at the empty table before him. How…how long has it been? Months? Years? Maybe even decades? Garuka was no longer sure of how long he'd been inside his sarcophagus. It feels so distant. So far away from everything he knew.

Garuka closed his eyes and breathed heavily. He forced his mind to wander elsewhere until his nose was assaulted by a strong aroma of something spicy, and savory. Garuka opened his eyes and shifted his gaze to Gine entering the room, holding two grilled legs of some unknown animal. She places said leg close to him and the other on her own plate. She takes her chair across from him and looks at him expectantly.

Garuka stared at the leg, trying to decipher if this was going to be a meal or a treat. But, the smell seemed to be enticing, and he was starving. Something he hadn't felt in eons since his dormant life in hell. Garuka grabbed the leg and took a large and eager bite. He chewed thoughtfully and swallowed carefully.

"Good?" Gine asked eagerly. Garuka swallowed the meat in his mouth before nodding.

The two ate silently until there was nothing left but bones. Gine clears the dishes and goes about cleaning up the mess in the kitchen as Garuka still sits on his chair, watching Gine clean. Gine returned to the table, where Garuka was still sitting and sat down beside him.

"Now, If I'm right. You're probably wondering where you are right now," Gine starts conversationally, looking at Garuka. Garuka nodded. "Well, you're on a planet inhabited by the Saiyan race which you and I are part of, of course," she continues. "This planet is called Planet Vegeta, ruled by our ruler King Vegeta. Right now you're currently in my house, where you're more than welcome to stay if you want." She pauses for a moment before adding, "In fact, I can show you around the place."

Garuka nodded, listening carefully to what Gine said.

"I'm glad that I was one who found you first," Gine went on to say, smiling slightly. "I can't bear the thought of what Lord Frieza would do to you if you were caught by him or the Frieza force."

Garuka raised a brow at Gine.

Who the hell is Frieza? Garuka thought.

Garuka slowly felt his anger begin to subside somewhat. But it was still there. Hot and boiling, threatening to explode at any given moment. Yet Garuka remained calm. For now he needed to remain cool headed.

"But if we're going out there, then you might want to wear this," Gine said, picking up from under the table a black hooded cape. Her fingers ran along the length of the collar. "This used to be my mates' but he would only wear it on his solo missions. I haven't seen him wear it in years. And the cape is big enough for you," she added while tucking a loose strand of black hair behind her ear. "But you'll manage to get it adjusted. You have a bit of muscle on you so maybe that will help out."

Gine handed the cape to Garuka, who pulled it around his shoulders before adjusting the cowl. When it settled over his head he was surprised to find the material was very comfortable. He reached up and ran his hands over the thick wool fabric. The cape was both soft and warm.

"It's yours now. Think of it as a welcome gift," Gine told him, smiling. She stood and walked over to the door, turning back to Garuka motioning her head towards the doorway. "Come on, I want to show you around the village."

Garuka grabbed his helmet from the table. Pulling it over his head, the HUD flickers to life, as a cushioned rubber ring slowly tightens and compresses around his neck, creating an artificial environment. As his armor calibrates itself, he trails after Gine towards the doorway.

Garuka was put to the side for now.

The Doom Slayer had awoken yet again.

A/N: And that's the chapter, my little shimmerings! I originally wanted Bardock's team to be the first to discover the Slayers sarcophagus, but decided to create a wholesome scene between Gine and Gakura/Doom Slayer. Next chapter will feature the Slayer meeting some of Bardock's teammates, saving Planet Vegeta from its destruction, and more. I'll be going now, have a good day or night wherever you are. See you in the next chapter, my little shimmerings!