Chapter 1: The Cleansing of the Monkeys
The crimson glow of Planet Vegeta bled into the viewport, a stark and familiar canvas against the vast tapestry of space. Bardock, draped in the grime and sweat of a recent engagement, stirred from a fitful sleep in his pod. The reek of ozone and alien blood still clung to him, a constant companion.
"Bardock, we're almost there!" Leek's voice, chirpy and annoyingly optimistic, crackled through the comms. "Just a few minutes to the atmosphere!"
Bardock grunted, pushing himself upright. "Don't sound so happy about it, Leek. This whole thing stinks." He pulled his battle-scarred hand from his face, revealing eyes that held the weary wisdom of a hundred skirmishes.
"Stinks? But Lord Frieza calling us all back... maybe he's got a big new assignment for us! A planet so rich in resources, or so heavily fortified, it needs every Saiyan warrior to conquer it!" Leek's monitor flickered to life on Bardock's console, showing his squad mate's eager face.
Bardock scowled. "Turn off your scouter, Leek. Now." His voice was low, laced with an urgency that wiped the smile from Leek's face. "Someone might be listening." He flicked off his own, the high-pitched whine ceasing instantly. "Frieza's not sending us home to give us a gold star. We're grunts, nothing more. He wants to talk, he sends a wireless communiqué. He wants to give us a new toy, he deploys it on the field. Bringing everyone back? It's too much. Too… final."
Through the cockpit window, the enormous, gleaming disc of Frieza's personal spaceship, the Supernova, hung like a malevolent moon in orbit above Planet Vegeta. Dozens of Saiyan attack pods, Bardock's among them, streaked towards the planet's surface, a swarm of metallic insects drawn to a hidden trap.
"He always saw us as a useful tool," Bardock mused aloud, his gaze fixed on Frieza's ship, a knot tightening in his gut. "But what if he's decided he doesn't need his tools anymore? What if he's worried the tools might turn on him?"
Leek, now sobered, looked around nervously. "You think... you think Frieza-?"
"I don't think, Leek. I feel it. In my bones. Like the taste of betrayal on the wind."
Their pod sliced through the turbulent atmosphere, fire streaming behind it. They landed with a thud in the familiar dirt of Bardock's village, a chaotic symphony of roaring engines and shouting Saiyans. The air was thick with the smell of scorched earth, engine oil, and the raw meat from Gine's butcher shop. Carts laden with empty space pods rumbled past, heading towards the launch pads – more pods being stored, waiting for their next mission.
"See, Commander?" Leek said, gesturing to the activity. "Everyone's just excited to be home, a little break before the next big conquest!"
Bardock snorted. "You're a fool, Leek. A useful fool, but a fool nonetheless." He disembarked, his heavy boots crunching on the gravel. The bustling energy of the village felt jarringly artificial, a thinly veiled facade over a deep disquiet.
"Bardock! You're back!" A burly Saiyan, Taro, with a distinctive scar across his brow, clapped him roughly on the shoulder. "Heard you cleared out that sector like a beast! What do you think this is all about, huh? Frieza's got a juicy one lined up for us, I bet! A whole new system to purge, and this time he needs everyone!"
Leek's face brightened. "Just what I said, Taro! A grand conquest!"
Bardock merely grunted, his eyes scanning the faces in the crowd, seeing the false bravado, the forced cheer. "Maybe," he said, though his tone suggested otherwise.
Taro lowered his voice, leaning in conspiratorially. "Though, I did hear some whispers... Frieza's been asking around. Showing an unusual interest in our old legends. Specifically, the 'Super Saiyan' and the 'Super Saiyan God' business."
Bardock's eyes narrowed, a cold dread washing over him. The knot in his stomach tightened into a fist. That's it.
---
High above, in the opulent command center of the Supernova, Kikono, a small, reptilian alien, nervously adjusted a holographic display. "My Lord Frieza, with all due respect, these 'legends' of the Super Saiyan and the Super Saiyan God are merely ancient myths. Fables told to frighten Saiyan children, nothing more."
Frieza, lounging on his hover-throne, a cruel smile playing on his lips, chuckled. It was a sound that could curdle blood. "Perhaps, Kikono. Perhaps. But I find myself in a rather... cautious mood today. And one can never be too cautious, can one?" He toyed with a energy sphere between his fingers, its purple light reflecting in his reptilian eyes. "Besides, these overgrown apes are becoming rather tiresome. Their power levels are soaring, their pride is insufferable. They're a nuisance, Kikono. A festering ulcer that will eventually burst. They are after all, a race made up entirely of warriors."
"But, My Lord," Kikono stammered, "they are a formidable fighting force! Our military might would be reduced by nearly half without them!"
Frieza merely waved a dismissive hand. "A temporary inconvenience. They would turn on me the first chance they got, I assure you. No, this... gathering... is simply too perfect an opportunity to pass up. The entire infestation, gathered in one convenient location. It saves so much trouble." His smile widened, revealing pointed teeth. "It's time, Kikono. Time for a little pest control."
Bardock pushed open the flap of his dwelling, the heavy animal hide curtain falling back into place behind him. The familiar scent of freshly butchered meat and his wife's earthy perfume filled his nostrils.
---
"Bardock! You're back!" Gine's voice was warm, a rare comfort in his brutal life. She emerged from the back of her shop, wiping her blood-stained hands on her apron, her tail swishing with a quiet happiness. Her dark hair, cut short, framed a face that was softer than most Saiyan women, but still held a warrior's resolve.
He allowed himself a small, genuine smile. "Just for a moment, Gine. Frieza called everyone in." He embraced her, the tough armor of his personality softening for a precious instant. "Raditz… he's still away with Prince Vegeta?"
"Yes," she confirmed, pulling back slightly. "Been gone for weeks, mapping out new territories. He'll be thrilled when he gets home and hears about the mass gathering."
"He won't be thrilled," Bardock muttered, the smile fading. "And Kakarot?" He nodded towards the inner chamber. "Still in his nursing capsule?"
Gine's eyes softened further. "Almost time for him to come out, actually. He's been in there a little longer than most, bless his tiny heart. Want to see him?"
Bardock nodded, his expression grave. He followed her into the dimly lit room. There, suspended in a bubbling, nutrient-rich liquid within a clear, cylindrical capsule, floated their youngest son. Kakarot. He was indeed small, his tiny fists clenched, a shock of untamed black hair already spiky and familiar.
"He's still so little," Bardock observed, a flicker of something akin to tenderness in his usually hardened gaze.
Gine chuckled softly. "He's a late bloomer, but he's a strong one. And he looks just like you, Bardock. Especially that hair. Always sticking up."
Bardock's jaw tightened. He gave his second son a long and studying look. He placed a hand on the cool glass. "Gine. As soon as night falls... we need to steal a pod. And send Kakarot away."
Gine gasped, her joy instantly replaced by shock. "What? Bardock, no! What are you talking about? Send him where?"
He turned to her, his eyes blazing with a fierce, desperate conviction. "Listen to me, Gine. Frieza is up to something. He's been asking about the Super Saiyan."
Gine froze. "The old legends, why would he be asking about that?"
"I am not sure, the truth is we've never liked each other. We've been working together but it's never been a stable alliance. Thing is, I think he's going to kill us. All of us. He's scared. He's bringing us here to wipe us out."
Her protests died in her throat, replaced by a dawning horror. "But... but Kakarot is so small! His power level is barely anything! He'll be defenseless."
"That's precisely why we can send him," Bardock argued, his voice low and urgent. "His potential is low. He would have been sent off-world eventually anyway, to conquer some insignificant rock. This way, we send him before Frieza makes his move. It's the only chance he has. The only chance any of us have to save anything. To Raditz."
The truth of his words hung heavy in the air, a chilling premonition. Gine's resolve, usually so unyielding, crumbled under the weight of his certainty. Tears welled in her eyes. "But... why Raditz? He's so far away. And a warrior's life, even for a child, is so harsh."
"Raditz is Kakarot's brother," Bardock said, his voice softer, but no less firm. "He'll be with family, or at least in their orbit. He'll learn, he'll grow. I will programme the pod to intercept Raditz's last known patrol sector. It will broadcast a coded beacon, one only Raditz's scouter or Prince Vegeta's ship will pick up. He'll be found. It's a risk, but it's the only one we can take. Far enough to escape Frieza's blast, but close enough to family. Raditz will protect him."
As the indigo twilight swallowed the last vestiges of daylight, casting long, fractured shadows across the village, Bardock, his face a mask of grim determination, carried the stolen space pod. Kakarot, now fully clothed in a tiny Saiyan battle suit, lay inside, a small, bundled form. Gine followed, her quiet sobs the only sound breaking the tense silence. They left the bustling village behind, venturing into the desolate badlands, a landscape of jagged rock formations and whistling winds.
"We could all go," Gine whispered, her voice raw. "We could all try to escape, Bardock! We could steal more pods…"
"No!" Bardock cut her off, his voice sharp with finality. "Every other pod is accounted for. Every scouter would pick us up. We'd be shot down before we cleared the atmosphere. This is the only way, Gine. Kakarot is the only one we can save."
He set the pod down gently on the barren ground. Kakarot, disturbed by the sudden motion and the cold, began to cry, his wails echoing faintly in the stillness.
Bardock knelt, his face inches from the pod's viewport. "If I'm wrong about Frieza," he said, his voice catching slightly, "we... we can always find Raditz later. Bring them both home." He knew it was a lie, a desperate comfort, but it was all he had.
Gine knelt beside him, pressing her hand against the glass, her tears flowing freely now. "My son... my little Kakarot..."
Bardock reached out, his calloused fingers touching the curved glass. Inside, Kakarot, as if sensing their presence, stopped crying for a moment. His tiny hand, surprisingly strong, pressed against the glass from within, mirroring his father's touch.
"Survive, Kakarot," Bardock whispered, his voice thick with unshed emotion. "No matter what. Survive."
With a heavy heart, Bardock activated the launch sequence. The pod hummed to life, a low rumble beneath them. A rush of air, a blinding flash of light, and then Kakarot's tiny vessel ascended, a silver tear streaking towards the stars.
"Kakarot!" Gine screamed, her voice tearing, "Don't forget us! Don't ever forget us!" She collapsed into Bardock's arms, wracked by uncontrolled sobs as they watched their youngest son become a rapidly diminishing star, hurtling towards the unknown, towards his brother.
---
On Frieza's ship, Kikono made one last, desperate plea. "My Lord, are you certain? Destroying the Saiyan race will nearly halve our forces! Think of the strategic disadvantage!"
Frieza, now standing, a sinister aura radiating from him, merely grinned. "Think of the glorious advantage, Kikono, of having no one to stab you in the back. The Saiyans would turn on me the first chance they got. Their loyalty is a joke. No, their time has come."
With a flick of his wrist, Frieza gave the order. A massive hatch on the belly of the Supernova yawned open, revealing the terrifying, swirling energy of a nascent supernova, a ball of pure, destructive power. Frieza floated out on his hover-throne, his eyes gleaming with sadistic delight, and unleashed the attack towards Planet Vegeta.
Below, on the doomed planet, the sky began to turn crimson, then a furious, incandescent red. Gine, still weeping in Bardock's arms back in their village, looked up, her eyes widening in dawning horror. Leek, standing outside his own dwelling, stared in frozen shock as the colossal, purple-white sphere of energy grew larger and larger, filling the sky.
Bardock, his armor now heavily damaged and scorched from his last desperate fight against a squadron of Frieza's elite, stood alone on a desolate plateau, a tiny figure against the oncoming apocalypse. He knew it was futile. But he would not go quietly. He gathered every last ounce of his remaining strength, every spark of his Saiyan spirit, and unleashed a defiant scream.
"Frieza!" he roared, his voice ringing with hatred and despair, "This is for Planet Vegeta! For the Saiyan race! For Kakarot!"
With a final, explosive cry of "Final Spirit Cannon!", he launched a potent sphere of ki, a desperate, glowing blue orb, directly at the approaching supernova. For a fleeting instant, the two forces met, a monumental clash of wills. But Bardock's heroic effort was a mere spark against a raging inferno. Frieza's attack, vast and overwhelming, swallowed his energy, then Bardock himself. His armor burned away, his defiance extinguished as the planet beneath him began to tear itself apart.
A blinding flash, a universe-shattering explosion, and then nothing. Planet Vegeta was gone.
Frieza, his face alight with blissful satisfaction, watched the destruction. "Oh, what a thoroughly delightful feeling," he purred, gazing at his scouter. The myriad of life signs on the screen dwindled rapidly, one by one, until finally, only a chilling zero remained. "I feel as though a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders."
---
Far out in the cold expanse of space, the Attack Ball carrying Prince Vegeta, Raditz, Nappa, and two other adult Saiyan warriors, continued its patrol. They were deep within an assigned sector, far from the cataclysm.
"Prince Vegeta, report coming in," one of the adult Saiyans announced, tapping his scouter. His face was pale. "It's... it's about Planet Vegeta."
Raditz, a scowl perpetually etched on his face, leaned in. "What is it, Kado? Another border skirmish?"
"No, sir. It says... Planet Vegeta has been destroyed. By a... a meteor." Kado's voice was barely a whisper.
A stunned silence fell over the small ship. Vegeta's eyes, usually gleaming with arrogance, widened in disbelief. Nappa's mouth hung open.
"Destroyed?" Raditz's voice was hoarse. "That's preposterous! A meteor couldn't…"
"We were lucky, Raditz," Vegeta said, his voice strangely flat. "Lucky to be out on a mission. Lucky to be spared." His gaze drifted to the star-dusted void outside. "I... I will never be King Vegeta now."
Nappa, recovering from his shock, looked at the prince. "Prince Vegeta... your brother. Tarble. What about him?"
Vegeta merely scoffed. "Tarble? Who cares about that weakling? He was banished years ago."
Kado, one of the other Saiyan, cleared his throat hesitantly. "Raditz... I recall seeing a message, from your mother, Gine, just earlier. She said... she said Kakarot had been sent off-world, earlier than scheduled."
Raditz waved a dismissive hand. "Kakarot? That runt? He's a weakling, not even worth talking about. Barely a power level of two at birth. A liability, if anything." But even as he said the words, a faint, almost imperceptible ping registered on his scouter. A strange, coded distress signal, too faint to be an enemy beacon, too specific to be random noise. It was moving, on an intercept course.
Prince Vegeta, ignoring them all, looked towards the distant, shimmering stars. A slow, chilling smile spread across his face. He let out a chilling, triumphant laugh that echoed in the cramped confines of the ship.
Somewhere out in the boundless void, a small, silver space pod, a silent testament to a desperate act of parental love, sped through the darkness. Inside, Kakarot slept, oblivious, as his trajectory curved, precisely, towards the faint, coded beacon emanating from Raditz's patrol sector. He was heading for his brother.
Raditz frowned, adjusting his scouter. The faint ping, which he'd momentarily dismissed as system static, was persistent now, even growing slightly stronger. It was indeed coded, incredibly specific, and seemed to be broadcasting on a frequency only a Saiyan scouter could properly interpret. It wasn't a standard distress beacon, nor a recognizable Frieza Force signal. It felt… personal, somehow.
"What's that infernal buzzing?" Nappa grumbled, rubbing his bald head. "My ears are ringing."
"It's not buzzing, Nappa," Raditz snapped, his brow furrowed in thought. "It's a signal. A very weak one. It's coming from... just outside our current patrol quadrant." He tapped his scouter again, trying to enhance the signal. "It's encrypted. A Saiyan encryption, even."
Vegeta, still reveling in his cold triumph, merely waved a dismissive hand. "Ignore it. It's probably some derelict scout pod. Our priority is to assess our new standing with Frieza, now that the King is gone."
But Raditz couldn't ignore it. The signal was closing fast. And then, his scouter suddenly registered a new, clearer data burst. An identification code. His eyes widened, a flicker of something akin to shock and dawning comprehension crossing his face.
"No way," he muttered, his voice barely audible. "It can't be."
"What is it, Raditz?" Kado asked, leaning forward, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
Before Raditz could answer, a small, silver Attack Ball, no larger than a human sedan, zipped into their sensory range, a tiny speck against the vast canvas of stars. Its trajectory was undeniably set to intersect with their patrol path, emanating the very signal Raditz was now tracking.
"A Saiyan Attack Ball!" Nappa exclaimed, momentarily forgetting his previous discomfort. "But whose? They should all be destroyed."
Raditz stared at his scouter, which was now displaying the pod's unique signature, cross-referencing it with the encrypted message. The pieces clicked into place, chillingly. "It's Kakarot's!" he finally blurted out, the name tasting foreign on his tongue. "My mother... she must have sent him. Early. That message Kado or Okura mentioned... it wasn't a lie."
A heavy silence descended once more, thicker than before. Vegeta's triumphant smile faltered, replaced by a scowl. "Kakarot? That useless runt? Why would anyone waste a pod on him?"
"My mother must have known," Raditz whispered, a strange mixture of anger and a nascent, unfamiliar grief stirring within him. "She knew the meteor was coming. She saved him." The distress signal, he realized, wasn't from the pod itself, but an embedded homing beacon, activated only once the full extent of the planet's destruction was confirmed. A final, desperate act of a mother's foresight.
The small Attack Ball slowed, its propulsion system humming softly as it matched the speed of their larger vessel, now visible to the naked eye through the viewport. Inside, Kakarot remained asleep, his small chest rising and falling rhythmically, completely oblivious to the cosmic drama unfolding around him, or the fate that had just befallen his entire race.
Vegeta watched the tiny pod, his scowl deepening. He considered the implications. A low-class warrior, a baby, whose power level was negligible. A liability, as Raditz had always said. But also... a Saiyan. One of the last.
"Well," Vegeta said, his voice flat, his earlier glee completely evaporated, "it seems there's one more loose end. A very weak one." He looked at Raditz. "What do you propose we do with it, Raditz? It's your brother, after all." There was a cold, challenging glint in Vegeta's eyes. The universe was vast, unforgiving, and now, even emptier. And the weight of being one of the last of a warrior race, even if he despised most of them, was beginning to settle.