The sounds of laughter and shouting filled the air around the pub like a thick fog. Bitter smells from the drinks that only Saiyajins could handle wafted into the street and over the cobbled roads built so long ago from a civilisation long gone. Bardock moved towards the place for the first time with a feeling of dread. Blood dripped from wounds all over his body, the pain seemed to be the only thing that kept him from lapsing into unconsciousness.
Badock burst through the door. "Mina! Listen!" No one turned a head. He smashed a table into the wall. "LISTEN!!" He yelled. "Freeza plans to destroy Vegeta-sei!"
There was a few seconds of murmured silence. The warriors measured him
up. Drunks weren't uncommon, and besides, everyone knew Freeza would never
do a thing against them. "It's true! I…" Badock was cut off by their laughter.
"KUSOTARE-TACHI!!" He yelled. He raised a hand, then stopped himself.
"Can you believe this loonie?!"
"Too much to drink for sure."
"Probably got hit on the head of something."
"Yeah, in his state, probably fell down a cliff."
He'd expected this. His hand moved to the blood-red headband and clenched around it. He uttered a Saiyajin curse under his breath. He knew he would face Freeza alone...
Retazu watched from the back of the pub. She hurridly placed down the tray of drinks, and headed unnoticed for the door. Bardock never joked, not like that, as his sister, she knew that more than anyone. His wounds alone were more than enough to convince her that his story was correct. She was hit by a wave of shame, knowing that Bardock would face Freeza alone, but continued. A weak fighter herself, she had only left Wakusei-Vegeta once before, and this time she felt she would be leaving it for good.
* * *
Retazu's craft slowed to a stop. Vegeta-sei was now just a small grey-green ball. The other twenty pods stopped too.
-'What do you expect us to do now?! Sit and wait for your 'Bardock' to come and pull us back in?'-Karuntto's voice came in over her scouter.
"Just wait." She replied. Karruntto was a good friend of hers, one of the small group she had persuaded to go with her.
They couldn't just go back. The punishment for stealing a pod would be…unthinkable. She shifted in her seat and wrapped her tail around her waist. The pods were so small, sitting in them for a few days would be hard to stand.
A huge flash filled the window. Retazu's craft shook violently in the shock wave. When she looked up Vegeta-sei was gone.
Home was gone. Everything was gone.
'Bardock! He was still there...!' She thought. Her hands clasped over her mouth as her mind raced.
-'Retazu are you all right?'-
"Y…Yes." She replied shakily.
-'So we're the last…'-
* * *
Around 50 years later...
* * *
"But why do I have to study?" Risa whined pushing her computer away, "I don't want to study! I wanna learn how to fight!" She folded her arms.
"Risa!" shouted her mother.
"I don't need to. How would stupid maths help someone stuck on Nijiku-sei. And if Freeza were to…"
"Risa, calm down. You have to study whether you like it or not. Intelligence is an important battle tactic. As for Freeza…if he were alive he probably would have attacked by now…"
"I still think we should be ready." Her tail lashed .
"Risa it's been forty years. Forget it."
A young Namekian kid poked his head around the door. "Hey, Zukina, come see. There's a comet!"
Risa's mother stood up and walked outside, Risa scampered out after her.
"Wow…it's preeeetty." Risa gazed at it.
"Hmm." Risa's mother looked confused. "That's strange…it's…turning."
"Huh?"
"In…orbit? Comets don't orbit…that's not a comet." Zukina's voice wavered uncertainly.
"Then what?" Asked the Namekian kid.
"It's a ship."
Risa looked excited. "Really? Great this'll be fun!"
Zukina grabbed her scouter and pressed a button hopefully. She gasped in horror, then started pressing buttons frantically. "Let's get out of here." She grabbed Risa by the tail, skooping the protesting little Saiyajin up in her arms.
"But…"
The Namekian kid was running too. The ‘comet’ was definitely getting
closer…so close that the ground was starting to shake.
Zukina threw herself onto the ground as the ship hit. Risa shrieked
as her mother pushed her down on the ground beside her..
"Stay here." Zukina commanded, and knowing Risa’s insatisafiable curiosity she added, "or I'll cut your tail off."
Risa gave a whimpered, submissive reply.
She watched desperately as her mother flew off into the distance. "Okaasan," she uttered, shrinking behind a rock. "It's not fair, I wanna fight too." She felt a strong hand on her shoulder. "Otousan?"
Her father picked her up and flew away from the battle that was starting on the horison. Through the smoke she managed to make out the shape of those attacking them. Risa shrunk back into her fathers arms.
Eventually her father landed. He put Risa down outside a space pod. "Get in."
"But I want to help!" Risa knew it wasn't much use arguing. Her father shoved her into a pod.
"Don't land until this is over." He said, slamming down the lid. "Sayonara."
Risa looked at him crossly. "That's not fair." But it was hard to hide the fear in her voice. The look on her father's face worried her.
* * *
Risa sat in the tiny ship. She was still waiting in orbit. Flashes of light could be seen on the surface. Risa took off her bag. She'd managed to grab some stuff on her way out and now searched for something to do.
"These pods are sooo boring. I wanna be down there fighting."
Risa grabbed her computer. It didn't seem to have an entry on those thing she'd just seen. Even with most of the knowledge of the Saiyajin race. But, of course, people frequently forgot to add to entries. She fidgeted with her necklace and sighed. Seven gold beads. She especially liked the middle one. The one with four stars.
Risa didn't feel scared anymore, just annoyed. She'd been training for so long and so hard. Nijiku-sei came into view again, the flashes now seemed brighter than ever. The planet went out of view again.
Suddenly her craft shook violently and a loud rumble was heard. A chunk of rock hit her pod, sending her off corse.
"Nani? Naniyo?!" Risa stared fearfully out of her window, shaking with fear at what she might see. Nijiku-sei was gone.
Risa grabbed her scouter. "Otousan! Can you hear me?! Okaasan?" She panicked. "No! Please, no!" She curled up into a ball. Tears ran down her cheeks.
* * *
Risa shook herself together. She wiped tears from her eyes. A strange idea formed in her head. She reached for her computer and typed in [latest entries, missions]. A short list loaded onto the screen. "Only four?" Said Risa disappointedly. She clicked on the one entitled [Raditz]
"Oooo he's uuugly. And…oh yeah…a relation." She clicked on Nappa. "Forget
this guy, his power level's stupid and just as ugly as Raditz." Next Vegita.
"No way…he survived? (Kusotare). I'm not going there (namaiki yaro)." Then
Kakarotto. She stared at the picture. "He looks… like Bardock…only a lot
younger of course. A relation as well. Might as well see if he's still
around." Risa set in a course and turned on the cryostasis device.