Chapter 1. World of Absolution

Faster...faster...I don't have much time…

Everything hurt. He was bleeding out at a dangerous rate. If he he didn't get medical attention soon, he would meet his end.

No...not yet...I have to warn them… The Saiyan forced his eyes open and allowed a small smirk to creep onto his features as the red planet entered his field of vision. He was almost there. He could warn King Vegeta about Freeza's plans, and the saiyans could rise together against the tyrant. Surely, if they all attacked at once they'd have a chance to take that monster down once and for all. Just...a little further…

As his spacepod entered Planet Vegeta's atmosphere, he closed his eyes in preparation for what was sure to be a hard landing. The pod collided with the rocky ground, the momentum from its descent causing it to slide across the ground for several feet after impact. The low class warrior was tossed around inside of the spaceship, growling in pain. Once the ship finally stopped, he pressed a button to open the hatch and lifted himself out of it.

"K-King...Vegeta!" he shouted as loudly as he could.

He saw some Saiyans who had noticed his arrival run toward him, but he couldn't make out who. His vision was beginning to blur, and his legs were no longer able to support his weight. His world went black as he hit the ground.

"You…ruthless...heartless...bastard..."

Bardock opened his eyes the moment he heard the voice.

Kakarot? he wondered as he stared at the teenager in front of him. His hair was identical to Bardock's own, and he seemed to be seething in rage. Yes...that's him. This...is this a vision?

At his son's feet was a person, one whom Bardock couldn't identify. It wasn't just that they were unfamiliar, he couldn't even process the details of their body structure. It was as if they were blurred from his mind, although he knew that whoever it was it had to be someone whom Kakarot found dear.

"Heh...heh...heh…" a slimy voice chuckled from behind Bardock. The low class warrior turned to see where the voice was coming from, and came face to face with the being that he despised above all others...

Freeza.

He looked different somehow. Much like the person from before, the tyrant's figure was blurred so that Bardock couldn't see his features. However, that voice...he would know that sick, sadistic, venomous laugh was the bastard responsible for ordering his team's death.

Borgos...Shugesh...Fasha...Tora...I swear, you will be avenged...wait...if Freeza's here, than my plan failed, didn't it? No...I can change the future, I have to! These are visions of the future that I still have a chance to prevent.

"I will…make you...suffer…" Kakarot growled.

For a moment, Bardock swore he saw Kakarot's hair flash yellow, his eyes shifting to a shade of teal. However, with a blink of his eyes, all of the changes that he'd seen in Kakarot disappeared. Bardock was slowly becoming aware of the world around him, and it was certainly no planet that he was familiar with. The black sky was slowly being blotted out by gathering clouds clouds as a thunderstorm brewed across the grassy landscape. As he observed the environment, Bardock concluded it was a city of some sort.

Or rather, it was a city.

All around him, buildings had collapsed entirely, leaving nothing but rubble. In the distance, Bardock noticed what he presumed were the remnants of a tower, the pile of rubble being far larger than the ones around it. Surrounding the now barren wasteland were...creatures of some sort. It looked as though they were made of pure malice, with jet black fur, bone-like plates covering their bodies, and burning red eyes filled with hatred. Any people left in the area were being attacked and cut down mercilessly by the creatures, but for whatever reason they were ignoring Kakarot and Freeza...as if they didn't dare disturb them.

"Oh yes, monkey, do prattle on," Freeza chuckled loudly. "Continue to issue empty threats, I'm in far too good a mood to mind! Finally, I shall bring the Saiyan race to extinction!"

"You won't...get away with this!" Kakarot screamed at the top of his lungs. "You've taken so many innocent lives! I...I will NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"

As the saiyan spoke, his head jerked upwards repeatedly, and with each time his hair returned to that odd blonde shade once more. Freeza's sadistic laughter faltered as he he viewed the spectacle taking place before him with confusion. Beneath their feet, tremors began to shake the ground, pieces of rock being ripped straight from the earth due to the pressure of Kakarot's power. Even Bardock could feel it, and he wasn't truly there.

"What...what's going on here…?" the tyrant questioned nervously. "Saiyans transform into giant apes...not golden haired creatures! What...what are you doing?!"

Kakarot responded with a low growl, his eyes fixated on that unrecognizable figure lying before him. "All these people...I've fought so hard to protect! And now...now they're GONE! I won't let you...take anyone else...Freeza...FREEEEEEEZZZZAAAAAAAAAA!" the Saiyan shouted in fury, his hair spiking upward and taking on a burning golden hue, his eyes shifting to that teal shade once more. However, before Bardock could get a good look at his son, he heard another familiar voice.

"BARDOCK!"

His eyes snapped open, ending the vision abruptly. Within a few seconds he became aware of his surroundings. For a moment, he was confused as to why his vision was tinted green. However, he quickly concluded that the Saiyans who found him must have dragged him into a healing pod. His eyes darted back and forth, attempting to locate the source of that voice. Eventually, they came to rest on a woman sitting only a few feet from his pod. She seemed to be shocked and fearful originally, but as soon as he locked eyes with her, her expression softened and a sigh of relief escaped her. "You're okay…" she confirmed with glee as a warm smile reached her lips. "You opened your eyes a while ago, but you've just been staring blankly at the wall. I thought...I thought that you'd died…you arrived in such a terrible condition...I-I just..."

Bardock attempted to flash a smirk her way before realizing that the effort was futile due to the oxygen mask covering his mouth. Instead, he simply nodded to confirm that he was alright.

The woman's smile grew brighter. "Are your wounds healed?"

Bardock nodded again.

"Good," the woman stated as she rose to her feet and walked to the control panel of his pod, initiating the release sequence. As the healing liquid drained from the pod, his skin tensed at the prickling sensation of the chilling air hitting his skin. Finally, the hatch opened and released him from the healing tank. Taking off the oxygen mask, he stepped outside and immediately stretched. His wounds were fully healed, but his muscles felt sore from the time they'd been unused.

"Aren't you going to say hello?" the woman chuckled softly, her tense emotions seeming to ease.

"It's good to see you, Gine," the Saiyan warrior greeted with a small smile. "I take it you were the one who put me in the pod?"

Gine nodded, returning Bardock's smile. "I wasn't the only one, of course. Although, I was entrusted with most of the procedures because...well...your wounds were deep," she informed him, her eyes moving downward with each word. A light blush filled her face alongside a loving smile.

"I see," Bardock chuckled. "Well, even though you're probably enjoying the view, I presume you have another set of armor for me?"

"Of course," she nodded, turning heel and grabbing a neat pile of brand new Saiyan armor that had been placed beside her seat." It was the first thing I did after putting you in the healing chamber. The rest of your armor was damaged beyond repair, so I just tossed it. I did keep the rag that was around your head, though..." Her voice suddenly became soft. "...the rest of your team didn't come back with you, Bardock. The only reason someone would have a blood soaked rag like this is...did...did they…?"

Slowly, Bardock nodded to confirm his mate's suspicions. "There was nothing I could do...I arrived on the planet late, only to be greeted with their corpses..."

"Do...do you know who killed them?" she asked hesitantly.

Bardock sighed. "Freeza."

Gine's sorrow suddenly transformed into abject shock. "F-Freeza?! What?! Why would he…?!"

"It wasn't exactly Freeza," Bardock explained, grabbing the rag and wrapping it around his head like a bandanna. "He's too high and mighty to get his hands dirty on some 'low-class Saiyans', so he sent Dodoria to kill them. I'm lucky that brute is a lazy bastard, otherwise I wouldn't even be here to tell you this."

"Oh...my…" The Saiyaness was taken aback. "I can't...why?"

"Honestly? I have no idea." Bardock turned away from his mate and faced the wall, so as to avoid Gine witnessing his features clouded with rage. "What I do know is that it won't stop there. I didn't get a chance to talk to you after my last mission, but something strange happened while I was on Planet Kanassa. A native caught me off guard and injured me, after which I passed out. When I woke up, I had a vision...I saw Planet Vegeta exploding, and Freeza was the one who destroyed it."

"You...you what?" Gine blinked.

"The Kanassans are psychics, Gine. I think, somehow, that native passed his gift on to me," Bardock sighed. "I need an audience with King Vegetaso I can warn him about Freeza."

"Can you be sure that he'll even believe you?" Gine wondered. "I can tell that you're speaking the truth...or at least you believe that you're speaking the truth, I know from our bond. Even still, I'm having trouble believing what you're telling me..."

"I don't have a choice. Either he believes me..." Bardock growled as he began to put on his armor. "Or we're all going to die."

"King Vegeta, my lord! I have a message for you!"

"What is it, Kohlara? Make haste, I have little time to spare."

The Saiyan King sat on his throne, wearing an impatient frown as he stared at his subject kneeling before him. Kohlara refused to face his king, instead fixing his gaze at the floor. Saiyan cultural etiquette dictated that nobody was to lock eyes with the King unless given permission. It was an act that implied an equal status, and nobody was equal to the King.

"The low-class warrior named Bardock seeks an audience with you, my lord." Kohlara explained. "He says it is of utmost importance."

"Wasn't he the Saiyan that arrived here in critical condition a few hours ago?" the king recalled. "Hmm, this could be interesting. Send him in."

"Yes, sire!" The messenger nodded, rising hastily and exiting the throne room. Bardock entered a few moments later, kneeling to the King out of respect. For most, kneeling to royalty was simply part of Saiyan culture. However, for Bardock, he couldn't care less about the King's title. The respect Vegeta had gained from him was due to his incredible power.

"King Vegeta, I have grave news," Bardock began to explain. "As you may be aware, my team and I were sent to Kanassa on our previous mission. We completed our task, but one of the natives ambushed me and was able to knock me unconscious. I awoke on one of Freeza's many planets in his empire, and discovered I had developed a new ability. I could see the future. As you know, the Kanassans were a race of psychics. It seems that somehow, their special ability was passed on to me."

The monarch raised an eyebrow. He was skeptical, but still intrigued. After all, this was far from the strangest thing that he'd ever seen. "Hmm...this is an interesting development. I assume that you've prophesied something which requires my attention?"

"Yes, sire" Bardock confirmed with a nod. "While I was out of commision, my team was sent off on another job without me. By the time I arrived, I found that one of Freeza's goons, Dodoria, had slaughtered them all. He then attempted to do the same to me. That is not the main reason I've asked for an audience with you, though. My first vision after gaining this psychic ability...it showed our planet's dark future. I watched as Freeza destroyed our planet, wiping us from existence."

"Freeza?!" the king scoffed in surprise. "What reason would he have to do such a thing?"

"I couldn't tell you, sire." Bardock sighed. "All I know is that if we don't try and stop him, our planet is doomed. If I may, I would suggest that we gather all of our forces and charge after him! Surely, despite his massive power, he couldn't possibly be able to defeat us if we all attacked at once. He would be overwhel-"

"Are you insane?!" King Vegeta shouted. "If such a thing was possible, I would have given the order long ago! You're a damned fool if you believe otherwise!"

Bardock blinked. He'd considered the possibility of Vegeta dismissing him outright at the first mention of his psychic abilities, that wouldn't have been a surprise. However, he never imagined that Vegeta would believe him, yet still choose to do nothing about it. The fact that his King would simply allow Freeza to destroy their race without putting up a fight enraged him. "Hmph," he growled, standing up and locking eyes with the King. "I never would have suspected the great King Vegeta to be such a coward-"

"Silence!" the king shouted, his eyes narrowing sharply. Never before had he been treated with such blatant disrespect. Who did this imbecile think he was? He was nothing but a low-class warrior, a tiny minnow in a vast ocean. How dare he speak to royalty in that manner, especially his king?

As the King had demanded, silence reigned over the tense atmosphere. Two pairs of eyes met in a fiery battle of wills, each man unwavering and enraged. However, before things could escalate, Bardock was grabbed from behind by the Royal Guard.

"Remove him from my presence!" Vegeta shouted. Bardock was dragged away, kicking and screaming, before being thrown out of the room unceremoniously. As soon as that was over with, the king sighed and turned to one of his aides.

"Make arrangements for my son to be sent off the planet, and a spacepod for myself. I wish to have a discussion with Lord Freeza..."

"So...I take it things didn't go well?" Gine wondered, staring sadly at her mate. As he walked toward her, she could tell that he was incredibly troubled and enraged. Even if she hadn't been able to feel it with their bond, his eyes clearly reflected his emotions.

"The king is frightened," Bardock growled. "He believed me about everything, but he won't dare try to rebel against that bastard Freeza. He's going to let us all die without a fight!"

"Is that really it?" Gine considered, shaking her head. "...or did you disrespect him in some way?"

The low-class warrior sighed. "I called him a coward, but only after he proved it to me. To think, the mighty Saiyan king trembling in fear of a single man."

"Bardock…" Gine sighed back. "You can't blame him. Freeza's power is practically immeasurable to us…"

"But if we all came togeth-" he tried to argue before being interrupted by his mate.

"Do you honestly think that the King could get the entire Saiyan race to work together?! I may be an exception to the rule, but most of us are battle hungry warriors! We can barely work with small groups, much less the entire race all at once!" Gine's expression shifted from sadness to annoyance. "Even without that, none of us have ever seen the true extent of Freeza's power! It's very possible that even if we banded together, he'd still kill us all with ease!"

Bardock didn't respond, instead simply staring at the floor. He closed his eyes, and spoke softly. "So you're saying there's no hope then?"

Gine's determined expression faltered as she stared at her mate in shock.. He wore an expression that she'd never seen from him before. He was clearly seething with rage, and yet he looked so helpless. Bardock wasn't supposed to look like that...he was a strong, courageous, prideful Saiyan warrior, with a hidden soft side reserved only for her. That was the man she fell in love with...not whoever this was. So, Gine did something she never would have even considered in any other situation.

She slapped Bardock across the face.

"No, Bardock. Stop that," she spoke sternly. "Even if there is nothing we can do to stop this, we'll face our planet's destruction with pride. I may not have the same fighting spirit as most of our kind, but I do have our pride and determination! I refuse to let you sit here and wallow in sadness as we await our demise. I'm going to face it with honor, and so will you."

Bardock blinked, still rubbing his cheek from Gine's her words registered in his mind, the helpless expression he'd worn previously shifted to a determined smirk."You're right, Gine. It was ridiculous of me to act like that, even for a moment," his smirk faded into a frown. "Vegeta might not be willing to fight back, but I refuse to stand here and wait for my demise. If Freeza wants to destroy our home...he's gonna have to go through me."

"Y-you're...what?" Gine questioned, clearly surprised. "You're going to try and fight him?!"

"I'm dying either way, right?" Bardock explained."If that's the case, I might as well go down fighting. I'd love to try and get some shots in on Freeza, that bastard..."

"Yeah...I guess that makes sense," Gine nodded. "I can't believe it though...that our entire race is just fated to perish…"

Suddenly, Bardock's vision from before re-entered his mind.

That hair...those eyes...could...could it be…?

"I don't think our entire race is doomed..." Bardock blurted out.

"Huh?" Gine wondered. "What are you talking about, Bardock?"

"Our sons, Gine. Specifically, our second son," the low class warrior explained. "I had another vision while I was in the healing pod. Kakarot...he fights Freeza...and I think he becomes a Super Saiyan..."

"A Super Saiyan?" she wondered. "Isn't that just a legend?"

"I thought it was…" Bardock nodded. "That is, untill I saw Kakarot transform in my vision. That was a Super Saiyan, no doubt about it. His hair spiked up and turned golden, his eyes flashed a burning teal. It was definitely a transformation, but that was no Oozaru...so it has to be a Super Saiyan, right?"

"I...wow…" the female Saiyan blinked. "So...what do we do now?"

"Raditz is already off on that mission for winning his class in Battle Academy tournament. If we want Kakarot to be safe, we need to send him off planet as well."

"Well...where would we send him?" Gine replied, trying to put the pieces of Bardock's plan together. "We can't possibly just fly him off to another planet in Freeza's empire…"

"I think I know the perfect place," Bardock interjected. "There's a planet, thriving with life in one of the few spots Freeza hasn't taken over yet. Kakarot will be safe there."

"What's the planet's name, Bardock?" she asked.

"If I remember correctly, the native name for it is Earth."

A small Saiyan toddler sat in an incubation pod, sleeping peacefully. Other than the moments directly following his birth, all three years of his life had been spent inside this pod. He had seen his parents before, but he hardly recognized them. Saiyans were not raised by their parents, the adults were far too busy with missions to deal with their offspring. Instead, babies were kept inside incubation pods, where they were fed all of the nutrients required to supplement their growth until their power level was above a certain threshold. After that, they were sent off to other planets, tasked with wiping them clean of life so that they could be added to Freeza's empire.

This particular child was born with a miniscule power level of two. However, over the past three years it had grown considerably, albeit not enough for him to have been sent out on a mission yet. Of course, young Kakarot was blissfully unaware of this. His destiny was a mystery to him, but it wasn't as though he was even capable of caring at this point in his development. Instead, he simply continued to sleep.

As he rested in his pod, Bardock and Gine opened the doors to the incubation chambers. Entering the room quietly, so as not to disturb the other children, they fixed their gazes on the pod that held Kakarot. While Gine was much more sensitive, Bardock had never really cared for children. They were simply a means to continue his legacy as a Saiyan warrior. Now though...he knew that the child in front of him…his second son...would become the last hope of the Saiyan race. He wondered, had this fact never occurred to him, would he even care at all what happened to Kakarot? It was hard to tell, but Bardock quickly pushed those thoughts out of his mind, choosing not to dwell on what-ifs. The only thing he could do now was prepare for what he knew was going to happen. Maybe he could change the future, perhaps he'd be able to take out Freeza all by himself, but that sounded unlikely. He had to prepare for failure, and that started with this.

"Oh, Kakarot…" Gine smiled sadly, staring at the baby she had produced. She wasn't like most Saiyans, she was kind hearted and hated to fight. If she had the choice, Raditz and Kakarot would have been raised in her caring arms, instead of by a piece of machinery.

"We don't have much time, Gine," Bardock warned. "There was nothing in my vision that specified when Freeza will act, but I have a bad feeling that it'll be soon..."

"Right," the Saiyaness nodded, taking a few more moments to watch Kakarot with longing eyes. He was her son, and she'd likely never see him again. "Did you contact Raditz?"

"I tried." the low class warrior explained. "The communication wouldn't go through, though. All I got in response was static."

"Oh no…" Gine sighed. "Did...did Freeza get him too?"

"I...I'm not sure, Gine," Bardock answered with clenched fists."...but if he did...he's going to have hell to pay."

The two mates shared a loving gaze for a moment, before the Saiyaness pushed a button to open Kakarot's pod. Slowly but surely, the child's eyes fluttered open and he began to take in his surroundings.

In front of him stood two people...were those his parents? After staring at them for a few moments, his three year old mind came to the conclusion that they might have been, but they also might not have been. One of them, a woman in armor like his own, reached into the pod and picked him up. She smiled at him with loving eyes and cradled him in her arms, while the man next to her merely smirked. Confused about what was happening, Kakarot decided to close his eyes and try to go back to sleep.

"He looks so peaceful…" Gine spoke softly. "It's such a shame...he'll never even get to know us."

"It's a sacrifice we'll have to make," Bardock muttered, moving to exit the room with Gine close behind. "He has to live. He has to survive."

Gine nodded, and they continued to walk in silence until they reached the spacepod docking station. It was here that Saiyan children were sent off planet, when they were ready. Kakarot wasn't quite ready to be sent off to any planet, not even a relatively weak one like Earth, but they didn't have a choice.

When they finally reached their destination, Gine was hesitant to let go of the toddler. "Just...just a few more moments, please."

Bardock nodded and smiled, waiting patiently. He may have never cared too much for his children, but he knew that Gine loved Raditz and Kakarot with all of her heart. If this truly was the last time that she'd see her youngest son, then she could spend all the time she needed with him. He didn't like to admit it, but he cared about his mate...no, his wife. Her safety and well being mattered to him, and with the bond they shared he'd always know how she felt in the back of his mind.

Both figuratively and literally.

"Alright…" Gine spoke softly. "I...I'm ready."

In that moment, they wordlessly agreed that Bardock would be the one to set up the ship. He found the remote for his desired pod and pressed the button to open it. Gently, Gine laid Kakarot inside, and simply stared. "Goodbye…" she muttered, as Bardock pressed the same button on the controller once more to close it.

"Pod locked." the robotic computer from the spaceship spoke. "Type in the coordinates for your desired destination."

Bardock sighed, as he began to enter the location of Earth.

"W-wait…" Gine stopped her mate before he could finish inputting the numbers. "I…um…"

"What is it?" the scar faced warrior raised an eyebrow, staring at the woman.

"I...I want to record a message." she explained. "so that he knows who we are...who he is. why he's there. I just want him to know."

Bardock grinned. "Alright then...fine. Go ahead."

A few hours later, younger Kakarot found himself flying through space. As his pod broke through the atmosphere, he became aware of the shaking and rumbling and opened his eyes in confusion. What greeted him was a sight that his three year old mind couldn't entirely process. However, if he could formulate words, he would have one in particular to describe it.

Magnificent.

He saw stars, they were everywhere. Kakarot had never seen a night sky before, much less the beauty of space itself. His little hands pushed up against the glass, attempting to reach closer to those pretty lights with which he was so fascinated. However, upon discovering that his efforts were futile, he pouted and leaned back into his seat. For now, simply staring in wonder would have to be enough.

He was unsure of how he'd gotten here. It must have happened while he was asleep. Kakarot had heard those two people talking, but didn't understand much. It wasn't important enough to be of concern now though, he was becoming tired due to all of the thinking he was doing.

Try as he might, though, the toddler couldn't bring himself to fall asleep just yet. Instead, he continued to absorb the details of the black void outside of his pod. It seemed as though the only sounds which he could hear were ones that he himself produced. Was he the only thing in this place that could make sounds? That wouldn't be very fun at all.

Suddenly, one light shone brighter than all the rest, and it immediately garnered his attention. Kakarot pushed himself against the glass and turned his eyes towards the source. It was a giant explosion, bigger than his mind could even comprehend. In the distance, not far from the explosion, he saw a weird man with horns in some floating chair, and he seemed to be laughing. Even though he was unable to comprehend the full extent of what had just occurred, he felt an odd sensation in his stomach. Something bad had just happened, but what?

"Lord Cooler!" Salza, leader of Cooler's Armored Squadron, shouted. He had urgent news.

"What is it…?" the purple reptilian creature growled as he floated toward the blue skinned fighter. Today had not exactly been the greatest, and he was absolutely sick of receiving bad news. "Salza, if this isn't something I want to hear…"

"It, er...seems that your brother is destroying Planet Vegeta!" Salza panicked, pushing a few buttons on the computer in front of him. An image appeared on the monitor, showing a familiar red planet combusting, along with Freeza floating above his spaceship, laughing maniacally.

"Very impressive, brother," he drawled. "Killing off a bunch of monkeys? Pathetic," the tyrant concluded with an arrogant scoff.

"Hm?" Salza took another look at the monitor and noticed something out of the ordinary. It was faint, but a Saiyan space pod was clearly flying away from Planet Vegeta's combustion. "It seems that your brother has missed one ship! We are within range to intercept, if you desire, Lord Cooler."

Cooler had noticed the spaceship as well, and stared at it with curiosity. The tyrant considered simply letting the ship go. If Freeza wasn't able to clean up his own messes, then he deserved whatever consequences came about due to his carelessness. However, another thought came to him soon after. That pod was a Saiyan pod...and Saiyan warriors had a frightening potential. Of course, at the moment they were nothing compared to his family. If one were to be left to their own devices, though...

That chance was not one he would be willing to take, since the repercussions could affect more than just Freeza.

"I'm going outside the ship," Cooler announced. "I will deal with this issue myself."

Salza merely nodded, taking note of the tyrant's foul mood. He wasn't a fool, there was no way that he'd even think to argue against someone of Lord Cooler's power. He simply stared as the Frost Demon floated off into the distance.

At a leisurely pace, he floated to the center of the spaceship where the airlock was located. If he was going to take out a monkey, he was going to do it personally. The tyrant ordered that the hatch be opened, and his soldiers complied without hesitation. The familiar chill of empty space greeted him as the oxygen dissipated, and he rose into the vacuum. Once the purple creature had fully exited the ship, the hatch closed, and he laid his feet on the roof. Glancing lazily at the still exploding Planet Vegeta, he searched for the space pod that he'd seen on the monitor.

Once he'd found it, a chuckle escaped his lips. His worries about the pod's occupant being a full grown Saiyan warrior were assuaged, as he realized that there was only a toddler inside. Still, though, it was a Saiyan toddler, and that meant it would have to die.

The tyrant pointed a finger at the pod and smirked. "Farewell, young monkey," he scoffed before firing a pink beam of energy from his fingertip. As the blast hit, a small explosion occurred near the pod. When the smoke cleared, the pod wasn't gone, but it was heavily damaged. Cooler smiled, he had intentionally held back his strength. If he so desired, he could have incinerated the Saiyan child with ease. However, he decided that it would be better to simply damage the ship and knock it off course. The monkey would sit in the pod as it roamed aimlessly, and would eventually starve to death.

It was the only way a monkey deserved to die.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Cooler stomped on the roof of his ship, signaling for his soldiers to open the hatch once more.

Of course, the tyrant hadn't even considered the possibility of that pod landing on another lively planet outside of Freeza's empire...

Night had fallen on Remnant, and the bright lights of Menagerie were a sight to behold. The small continent had been given to the Faunus after the Great War, but the reasoning for it was shrouded in doubt. Whether or not the humans had given them Menagerie out of good intentions was debatable, but such thoughts weren't the concern of most people living there.

No one knew when or why it happened, but one side of Remnant's moon was shattered into pieces. Somehow, the shattered pieces continued to float around the rest of the moon at a constant pace. As such, a completely full moon was a rare sight on Remnant, and it was always worth a small celebration when it occurred.

And the Belladonna family was doing just that.

"I told you it would be fun. You've been so focused on work...we could all use a day to ourselves," Kali smiled, her black hair waving back and forth with each step.

"It was enjoyable," Ghira nodded with a light smile, looking down at the little girl that was holding his and Kali's hands.

"Good to hear." the black haired woman laughed, glancing down at the little girl as well. "Did you have fun, Blake?"

"Uh-huh!" The raven haired child nodded, her cat ears wiggling slightly. The two parents couldn't help but smile when they saw their little girl as happy as she was. Blake wasn't quite as excitable as most children her age, but the rare instances where that wasn't the case brought immeasurable joy to Ghira and Kali.

After much convincing from his wife, Ghira had finally let up and decided that the three of them would simply spend the night in town as a family. Unfortunately, this had come at the cost of them all staying up incredibly late, far past little Blake's bed time. While the child was smiling brightly, the bags under her eyes made it clear that the late hour was getting to her.

"Alright now, let's take you home," Kalli chuckled. "I think we're all ready for some sleep."

Sleepily, Blake nodded back. The group shared a small laugh for a moment as they continued down the road toward their house.

Well...it wasn't so much a house as it was a mansion...

As they were walking, something in the night sky caught Blake's attention. "Look, Mommy, Daddy!" she shouted. "A shooting star!"

"Oh, really?" Ghira smiled at the girl, before looking up at the night sky to confirm his daughter's inquiry. To his surprise, she seemed to be correct. There was indeed what appeared to be a star, shooting across the sky. It looked to be passing over the mountains just behind their home. If they had been any earlier or any later, they would have just missed it.

For a moment, he simply stared at the star, smiling.

...and then the star crashed.

"What the…" Kalli wondered aloud, shocked and confused at what she had seen.

"The star hit the ground, Mommy!" Blake noted, matter-of-factly.

"I'm going over there," Ghira practically growled, letting go of his daughter's hand and stomping ahead of them. "Don't wait for me. Go home."

"Wait, Ghira!" Kalli called out, but was seemingly ignored as the panther Faunus continued to stomp away. He was hard to sway when his mind was made up, so Kalli simply sighed and decided to let him go.

"Where is Daddy going, Mommy?" Blake asked.

"He's...going to look at the 'star', honey," the mother explained with a sigh. "Come on, let's go home. You'll see him in the morning."

It took Ghira about an hour to locate where the falling star had landed, climbing up the small mountain behind their estate to reach it.. It probably would have been smarter to wait and acquire some form of transportation, but Ghira was set on investigating as fast as possible. In his mind, trying to get a small airship would have taken more time than simply climbing as he had.

However, once he finally reached the falling star, he was more than a little surprised.

It was...well, he wasn't exactly sure what it was.. At first sight, it appeared to be a white pod with a red tinted window, which revealed a far more surprising discovery. There was a spiky haired boy inside, clearly no older than three years old, with a clearly visible monkey tail wrapped around his waist and a very strange suit of armor on. He was lying upside down inside of the pod, a confused expression on his face.

A monkey Faunus? Ghira questioned, but shook his head. This child certainly looked like a faunus, but the more pressing concern was the fact that this pod had fallen from the sky. Where could it have come from? Atlas had been working on space travel as a side project for years, but they had never come close to actually performing it. Not to mention, this odd ship looked nothing like an Atlas product. It certainly wasn't an airship though, so...

If it wasn't that...what was it?

Sighing, Ghira saw what appeared to be a door on the ship and tried to pull it open. When it didn't budge, the panther Faunus dug both hands into it and pulled as hard as he could, managing to rip the door off of its hinges. He threw it to the side, as the strange monkey boy fell out of the small ship with a plop. Ghira quickly scooped up the child and began to examine the metal pod's insides.

The controls were simultaneously more and less complex than Ghira expected. It looked relatively simple for anyone who knew what the device could do, but it was completely alien to him. Perhaps he should send it over to Atlas, they could study it and find out exactly what it really was.

Suddenly, a robotic voice came out of the machine. "Pod has been opened," it announced. "Playing audio message."

It was accompanied with a loud static noise. Evidently, the ship hadn't landed in the best condition. The crater it was in made that clear. Eventually, though, Ghira was able to make out a few words in the static.

"Survive...Vegeta...Freeza…"

Those last two seemed like names, but they certainly weren't anything Ghira had ever heard of. The Faunus was about to hoist the remains of the pod over his shoulder, when it suddenly shouted out another word. One that he didn't recognize, but the child in his arm did.

"K...Kakarot…" it sputtered out, before the static faded away and the message concluded. While Ghira just stared at the pod in confusion, the boy had a different reaction. He lifted his head from the Faunus' hairy arm (of which he was rubbing around curiously), and stared at the pod in surprise.

While Ghira mostly ignored the small child's awkward rubbing, he took notice of his reaction to the name. Kakarot…? He wondered. ...is that his name? It's certainly no name I've ever heard of, but nothing about this situation has been normal so far.

"Hm…" Ghira held the child properly and stared at it. He noticed the innocent grin of the boy, and for whatever reason, despite having never seen the child before this point...he couldn't help but smile back. "Well then...is your name Kakarot?"

The boy's eyes widened once more, before he broke out in laughter.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Ghira chuckled back. Glancing back at the pod for a moment, he sighed to himself. It's not going anywhere. He reasoned, as he began to walk off with the monkey boy in hand. When Ghira looked back at the smiling monkey child, he noticed a small bruise on his forehead, clearly from a head injury of some sort. "Come now child, let's go see if we can help treat that bruise of yours."

Blake opened her eyes, drowsily. The cat Faunus had passed out before she'd even hit the bed the previous night. Clearly, despite her attempts to stay awake, she was half asleep near the end of the day since she could barely remember what had happened. She rose from her bed, and tried to remember the events of yesterday.

Her father had run after the one star...that hit the ground? That didn't make any sense, but she presumed that was what made her father take off all of a sudden anyway. It sounded absurd, so of course he had to figure out what it really was.

After that, her mom took her back home, and put her to bed. Yeah, that was the weird stuff from yesterday. Her father should be back by now, so maybe she could ask him what he had found. She jumped off of her bed and stretched slightly, walking out of the room while still in her pajamas. She smiled as she wandered around the house, looking for her parents. However, as she navigated her way through the corridors, she noticed something out of place.

Crying? The cat Faunus considered. Where is that coming from?

She began to follow the sound of the tantrum, eventually leading her to the living room of the house. Curiously, Blake peeked into the room and was happy to find her mother and father, as well as someone she was unfamiliar with. A small spiky haired monkey Faunus in her mother's arms, crying softly as Kalli cradled him with a bright smile.

"Oh, Blake!" the eldest cat Faunus turned her head towards Blake with a grin, before holding up the child in her hands. "Little Kakarot, meet your big sister, Blake!"

Sister? Blake blinked. ...what?

Kakarot ceased his crying instantly when he saw the four year old, and began to laugh happily. "Blike!" he greeted, butchering her name in the attempt.

Despite her confusion, Blake couldn't help but smile back. She didn't know where the boy had come from, or why he was apparently her brother now, but those were things she'd have to ask a little later on. "Nice to meet you!"

NEW STORY TIME! Sorry the Power Within V-Day chapter didn't come out today, Moose got swamped with school stuff, but it's likely gonna come out sometime this month, don't worry.

Anyway, this story is an idea I've had for awhile now. You know all those OC stories in this section, with an original saiyan landing on Remnant? I thought "let's do that, but with a canon character!" Obviously that fell to Goku, and I started imagining that people would think he's a faunus. THEN I decided "Why not have him be Blake's brother?", and the idea went from there. There wasn't a lot of crossover this chapter, mostly just my version of Goku...er...Kakarot's backstory. I decided to combine Bardock: Father of Goku and Dragon Ball Minus because I like Gine.

This was more of a pilot, but I've got a lot of stuff planned so if you liked what you saw here be sure to give me your thoughts! Next chapter will have some sibling bonding as Blake and Kakarot grow up alongside each other.

Oh, and what do people think of Kakarot's costume in the cover? I think it kinda works, considering who he was raised alongside.

Til next chapter, guys! Dunno when it'll come out, but I'll try and make it relatively soon.