Hello to all my followers! It's been awhile since I published my last fic, and this one in particular has been driving me nuts enough to try and figure out how it could work. After working it all out from the beginning of Dragonball all the way to the end of Z in my head and watching the series again, I had to put it in writting. And thus, my first Dragonball Z fanfic.

This is based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but this story is a retcon of that, with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had this previously unknown character still lived. How will the story of Dragonball go down, with Goku's mother, Gine, having somehow survived the destruction of the Saiyan race, and escaped to Earth with him?

Let's find out! And I hope you enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all own by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.

Please support the official release!

Also, read and review!

PROLOGUE: ESCAPE FROM PLANET VEGETA

The mess hall was extremely busy today. Gine chopped slab after slab of meat in the kitchen, trying to keep pace and not get too overheated in the cramped area. The main dining room was packed with Saiyan planetary purging crews. They were all either laughing, shouting, fighting, or drinking; creating a cacophony of sound that drowned out her own thoughts. The heat of so many sweaty bodies together in conjunction with the already thick hot air was making the mess hall more unbearable to be in by the minute.

Everyone had just returned from their offworld missions, on Frieza's orders for all Saiyans to return to planet Vegeta. No one knew why, and it was certainly the buzz in the air among everybody. Rumors ranging from one big job to be announced or a great reward for all they've done, but also complaints about how they've all been pulled from their conquests. There wasn't much that Saiyans hated aside from being denied a great fight or losing one, but they were not going to question Frieza's orders. No one in their right mind did.

Gine was in the middle of slicing another giant beast leg when someone shoved past her. She dropped the cleaver and it almost cut a finger off had it landed an inch or so closer. Angry, she wheeled around trying to see the head butcher rushing away and past the other kitchen staff. She didn't remember his name as this was her newest job out of many recently, but it had to be him.

"Hey, watch it!" Gine called out to him.

He turned to look back at her. "What's the matter, weakling? Did I push you too hard?" He said mockingly.

Now Gine was more than angry. She was used to that kind of slander against her strength as a Saiyan, but she wouldn't stand for being mistreated for following basic workplace safety.

"You almost made me lose a finger!" She yelled, holding up the cleaver and the digit it nearly severed.

Almost immediately she regretted speaking up when he rushed back toward her and stopped just in front of her face. "Oh yeah? Well what are you gonna do about it?" He said as intimidating as he can. The other kitchen staff stared at them awaiting her response.

Gine shrunk where she stood, willing herself not to show how humiliated she felt. She had experienced this kind of game far too often throughout her life. Being pushed around by other Saiyans for no other reason than being a particularly sorry excuse of a Saiyan. Being goaded into a fight that she would surely lose, be laughed at and forgotten about. Rinse and repeat.

She had it happen far too many times to count, but had never gotten fully numb to it either way. The butcher was no exception, as he reveled in causing her trouble for the fun of it. He had nothing better to do than run a kitchen, for like her he could never return to the front lines but she suspected he wanted to feel better about himself if someone was weaker than him as subordinates. That still didn't make it feel any more bearable, but where else could she get work?

The butcher smiled smugly. "Thought not, pathetic!" He said, before turning around and marching off as if nothing happened. The rest of the staff went back to work also pretending they didn't see anything, but she could see some of them snickering at her.

"Assholes." Gine cursed under her breath as she went back to chopping again. She briefly fantasized that the piece of meat she was slicing was the butcher's face, and drove the clever through it as hard as she could. That was never going to happen, but it was the only comforting thing she could think of.

"GINE!"

She stopped chopping and looked up, her foul mood immediately evaporated. Through the bombardment of sounds in the mess hall, Gine knew that voice anywhere. Her kind eyes, kinder than any Saiyan eyes should look, lit up in surprise and excitement when she saw who that voice belonged to.

Ecstatic for reprieve from working in this hellhole and seeing her partner, Gine placed the clever down and ran her way through the crowd. Weaving her way around burly and rude customers towards the only particular Saiyan who's hair resembled a palm tree. A dashing crisscrossed scar ran across his cheek.

"Hey!" She greeted Bardock with a smile, and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back too, which she thought was interesting since he was always somewhat distant even in their most intimate of moments. But she enjoyed it immensely, it's been months since she's seen him.

"I didn't think I'd see you for awhile, even with this recall that's going on." She said as they held each other.

When they parted Gine looked up at him, and her expression fell into one of concern. He just starred at her, and through her as if he didn't notice that she was talking to him. The look in his eyes made him seem haunted, and his gaze fell on her longingly and, if she could believe it, saddened. It was as if he had saw something horrible.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly, resting her hands on his bare shoulders reassuringly.

Bardock snapped out of his trance, and looked at her.

"How's-." He began to say, but the sound of glass shattering made him stop and jerk toward the sound on reflex. The commotion in the mess hall was going up a couple notches. The rowdy customers crowding the mess hall started bumping into them and cut off Bardock from speaking further.

Gine groaned from the noisy fumbling of drunken crews and decided to take their reunion outside. "Come with me!" Gine said as she took Bardock by the hand and forced their way through the crowd of the mess hall; out the entrance and into the open.

On the streets, the capital city of planet Vegeta was bustling with activity. It had been a very long time since the entire Saiyan population was back on the planet at once. Thousands of people were out and about; walking by and conversing with old long-lost comrades or picking fights with strangers, but out here at least Gine and Bardock could hear each other. The intense heat of the red giant that was planet Vegeta's parent star bore down on them in the late afternoon. Way up in the sky, faintly visible, was Frieza's command ship in orbit. While she and Bardock stood there out in the open, he looked up at Frieza's ship for a very long moment with a mixture of emotions she couldn't read on him.

"Bardock." She got his attention again, his behavior starting to really worry her.

"What's wrong?"

He looked at her more focused this time. "Uh...Gine, how is Kakarot?"

"Kakarot?" Gine asked in surprise.

Saiyan fathers rarely if ever asked their mates about the well being of their offspring after they were born, let alone second borns of low class warriors who were pathetically weak. As was the aformentioned child he was asking after. Much like herself, even as a firstborn she never knew who her father was.

Yet it seemed like something else was bothering Bardock.

"Uh, he's been doing great." Gine answered, confused by his question. "He's out of the incubator now and almost ready to be sent on his first infiltration mission if the recall is lifted."

"That's good." He answered. Then said, "Can I see him?"

"Huh?" Now Gine was really taken aback. This was very unsaiyan-like, for a father wanting to see his child.

Usually once Saiyans mate they went their seperate ways, but she and Bardock were something different. They were one of the few Saiyans to have actually formed an emotional bond through their physical coupling. But still, children were of no importance once they were concieved, especially weak ones, which were usually dissowned. But not her, for Gine was far too empathic to be like any average Saiyan mother. Sure it made her an outcast of their society to be so emotionally soft, but she loved her two boys regardless.

"Why do you want to see him?" She asked of him suspiciously, "Are you gonna tell me what's going on first?"

"Just let me see him, ok?" He asked impatiently, "I just need to. There is something I do need to tell you, but first, I need to see Kakarot. Can you take me to him?"

Gine was now REALLY worried. She knew Bardock was as nonchalant as a Saiyan could be, no matter how bad things could get. She had seen him in battle, and even if it seemed like they were going to be killed, he kept on going as if it were buisness as usual. He only showed an ounce of concern if he ever saw her hurt, which was touching if she could make someone as steely as Bardock open up somehow. Seeing him now almost begging her to see his son, and admitting he had something to tell her, made her feel more than uneasy.

"O-Okay, come with me then." She complied. Whether what he had to say was bad or not, it always made her happy to go see her son.

Hoping her coworkers and boss wouldn't mind her absence for a bit, she led him through the streets of the capital city. The crowds here were very combative. She had to dodge in between streetfights between just two warriors to all out brawls that were breaking out. With so many Saiyans in one place, fights were bound to happen out here, but they had no time to join in on the fun.

After threading their way through what would turn into a riot, Gine and Bardock reached the main medical complex. All the doctors and emergency personnel were out dealing with the violence breaking out on the streets. The populace was getting antsy.

Making their way through the maze of corridors to the nursery, Bardock was glad that there wasn't anybody around to see them.

"Here." Gine said as they reached the correct door. They could already hear who they came to see crying from inside.

Once the door opened, they saw Kakarot in his drained incubator, bawling his eyes out. He had quite a set of lungs, for his cry was almost ear-piercing which made Gine and Bardock wince. He even made the babies next to him start to cry too.

She felt bad for leaving him all alone in this place, even though the nursery had security systems and the robotic incubator could attend to his every need. But hearing him crying from being alone without her always tore Gine's heart open.

"Hey, you." Gine said lovingly to him.

When she approached him, Kakarot immediately started to calm down, his sobs turning to whimpers and finally thankful cooing when picked up by the loving hands of his mother. She too felt all her fear and worries disappear when she held the most precious thing to her safely in her embrace.

She was amazed Kakarot had been able to get a mission in the first place. He was born with a battle power of two, a power so low that he would not have made it past the incubation process alone. Being injected with vaccines for every known disease in the galaxy AND having programs to kill all intelligent life on whatever planet they landed on implanted in their brains, it really takes a toll on an infant. Raditz barely made it through his incubation after he was born, and he was far stronger than his younger brother.

Gine figured Kakarot must have inherited his curse of weakness from her. She never had the Saiyan fighting spirit and thus was never fit to be a warrior, let alone have the dignity of being called a Saiyan for being so weak physically and emotionally. She did what she could to support the Saiyans crews by working in meat processing, but she knew that everyone thought of her as a disgrace to their species. Even Bardock thought so out loud sometimes. But he saw something in her that went beyond what a scouter said, something that really felt like there was someone in this universe for her. She treasured that. And from it, they spawned two sons. But Bardock still felt that they had been cursed by her weakness, especially for his youngest.

Yet, here he was, wanting to see him. Maybe there was something special about her boy afterall.

"Well..." Gine turned towards Bardock with baby Kakarot in her arms. "Here he is." She said with joy in her voice as she held out Kakarot to him.

Bardock took hold of him and looked at him intently. He was already a few months old and growing fast, and he looked so much like him. He had his untamable hair, sharp nose and cheekbones. But much to his dismay, he had his mother's eyes. The face of a revoltingly gentle soul that resembled nothing like the thoroughbred warrior-to-be that his eldest son had. And yet, there was something very special about him that Bardock knew he had. Something that could change the world as they knew it, something he had seen in his visions. But he didn't know what...

Kakarot started to whimper from his father's rough touch. He tried to calm him down by holding him as gently as he could and sooth him as Gine did, but was too late as Kakarot started crying again.

Bardock sighed in defeat and handed him back to Gine.

"You're not too good with kids." She chuckled.

"Hn" was all Bardock said. He never took his gaze off of Kakarot, almost mesmorized, his thoughts turning the visions he had of someone who looked just like him.

"You know, I'm really glad you wanted to see him." Gine said. "Its not often a Saiyan father would ever want to see his children out of paternal feelings."

He looked back up at her, her words not what he was really thinking.

"Now," Gine said, her expression turning serious. "Are you finally going to tell me what's really going on with you?"

Bardock hesitated for a moment, he wasn't sure how she would react, but he had to say it.

"Right." He looked back out into the corridor to make sure there was no one around. They couldn't talk where they were as the nursery had monitoring devices. He couldn't take that chance.

He spotted an empty office around the corner. It would have to do.

He waved Gine inside while she still craddled baby Kakarot in her arms. Once he made sure they were alone, he locked the door. Bardock then suddenly proceeded to smash the computers and any other electronic devices he sees. They may not have been monitoring them, but he won't take that chance either.

Gine stepped back frightened from Bardock destroying the room. "What was that for?!" She demanded, covering Kakarot protectively.

Bardock didn't answer. Whatever he had to tell could not be good to make him do all this. Once he was done with the last monitor, he made one last look outside to make sure they were alone. They were.

Feeling they were safe enough, he straightened and looked her in the eye.

"Frieza is going to destroy our planet and kill us all."

"What?!" Gine exclaimed.

Bardock pressed an open hand to her mouth to shosh her. "Keep your damn voice down!" He hissed.

He looked at the door to sense if anyone was nearby listening in and circled back to Gine, letting go of her mouth.

"What do you mean Frieza is going to destroy us?!" She said quietly while still processing what he said in shock.

"Do you remember that injury I suffered on planet Kanassa?" Bardock asked.

Gine was confused by his tangent of a question. She did indeed remember that day, worried he was almost killed by one inhabitant still alive on that planet. He came out unscathed, but since then he was always distracted and complaining of headaches and nightmares. She didn't know what to make of it then.

"Yeah, I remember that." She said. "But what does that have to do with-"

"Something else happened to me on that day." Bardock cut her off, trying to explain.

"I know you may not believe me, but the last Kanassian that attacked me did something to me. Said it was some sort of curse he wished to inflict on the Saiyans as a whole for killing his people." He spat in disgust at that, then continued.

"I'm not entirely sure myself, but I think he gave me some sort of psychic ability to see the future."

"See the future?" Gine said, her eyes widening.

"That's whats been giving me all these headaches and nightmares recently. It's visions I keep seeing of planet Vegeta exploding. And in those visions, I saw Frieza do it, launching some sort of attack that will make our planet explode. And he was laughing the whole time." Bardock said with anger laced in his voice.

Gine was at a loss for words.

"I don't know if it's real or not, but the visions kept on getting more and more clear, seeing more details, and the pain of all of us dying felt so real. And finally seeing exactly how Frieza does it. I think it's going to happen soon, as the moment of that event gets closer I feel more and more like its becomeing true." He said to her.

"That's why he's recalled all of us back to planet Vegeta, and ordered no more launches from here. He intends to wipe us all out at once." He said with certainty.

Gine felt her legs go numb, she couldn't believe it.

"But...why?" Gine asked incredulously, trying not to yell. "Why would he do such a thing?! We've been his most loyal soldiers!"

Kakarot started crying, feeling the fear and anger rising from his parents. Gine tried to rock him but it did no good, too focused on Bardock and her gripping Kakarot too overprotectively tight.

"I don't know." He answered earnestly. "I've been asking myself that same question this whole time. But I do know that I have a gut feeling that something terrible is about to happen, and these visions seem to be confirming that."

Gine couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't.

But as distant and cold as Bardock could be, she trusted him with her life and the lives of her children. And to hear such a revelation come from him...

"I know you don't believe me..." He said, as if he were reading her mind. "But I swear to you it's the truth."

Gine felt as if the ground beneath her might give out. She almost wished it could.

"C-Can't we do anything about it? Warn others or something?" She tried to think of some solution. Something, anything.

Bardock looked genuinely surprised at her, "You believe me?"

"I believe you..." She said, trembling. "But I don't want to."

There was a flash of appreciation in his eyes before it was replaced with indifference again.

"I tried to tell everyone I could." He said, remembering her question a moment ago. "No one believes me. Not even the king. The king of all people!"

He sounded so incredulous and defeated. "And I think it may not help if anybody does believe me anyway. If Frieza learns that we know he's going to destroy us and we try to fight back or flee, he might kill us all now to prevent that."

Gine was speechless, he was right. None of those ideas would work. Frieza was far too powerful to take on, even if they hurled the might of the entire population of the planet against him. And his forces could shoot down any evacuation they tried.

"So it's true..." Her voice cracking.

In the span of a few minutes, her whole world came crashing down now knowing that they were all going to die very soon.

"This can't be happening..." She said, trembling in fear and despair, tears starting to form. She unconsciously clutched Kakarot closer to her chest. He started crying, sensing what she felt.

Kakarot. The very idea that her little baby boy was going to die, along with her, made her feel physically ill in a way she couldn't even put into words. She wanted all this to just be a bad dream, trying desperately to think that this wasn't happening and she would wake up at any moment. But it wasn't.

Bardock grabbed her shoulders.

"Gine, calm down, okay? We need to get Kakarot off this planet." Bardock said, breaking Gine from her despairing thoughts.

"Huh?" She asked, then remembered what he said. "H-How?"

"I have a plan." He said, trying to keep his voice down. "If we can steal an infiltration pod from the launch facility, and send it off from the far side of Vegeta, away from Frieza, then we might just be able to sneak him away from here before Frieza destroys the planet."

Gine thought of this, then doubts started coming to her. "But, wouldn't they detect him? Frieza placed a no-launch order on all purging flights. Including infiltration babies."

Bardock glanced down at his son, who was looking at at him and his mother in fear, as if he could sense them deciding his fate.

"I don't think they will. He has such a weak power level that I don't think it will register on their scouters unless they were actively searching for him."

He almost chuckled to himself. Before, he wanted nothing to do with his son, wondering what he had done to spawn such a waste of breath kid. But now, after knowing his kind will face extinction, his son's nonexistant power may be his saving grace.

"And...in a lot of the visions I had, I saw Kakarot too. I saw him all grown up."

Gine was momentarily taken aback, intrigued that her second born could have such an effect on his father.

"I don't know why, but something tells me that his survival is critical. That it may have something to do with this..." Bardock said, his thoughts drifting off as looked at his son in question. "...and if my visions are true, then Kakarot will survive. He must!"

"You sure that will work?" Gine asked, desperate.

Bardock looked up at her. He wasn't one-hundred percent sure himself, but they had no other options.

"It may be our only chance to save him." He said to her with such conviction.

Gine looked down at baby Kakarot in her embrace. She almost wanted to start crying. They were going to send him off so soon, to escape certain death out into the unknown, and it frightened her. She'll never get to see him again, or worse if they detect his pod, they will kill him.

They will kill him. Those words ringing in her mind. She couldn't stomach that, the precious life in her arms taken from this world not even a year old. She wanted to scream.

But, still, she trusted Bardock. Hell, she even loved him. And she trusted him to do what he knew was right. It may be risky, but if she wanted her baby to have any chance at life, and if he could see him in the future as he claimed...

"Okay." She said, braving her fears.

"Good." Bardock hugged her in relief. Through the overwhelming despair she was surprised by his show of affection. He seemed to have changed dramatically.

"Alright, we have no time to loose. Meet me tonight at the old ruins out in the wastelands. Sneak Kakarot out of here and I'll have an attack ball there by then."

He started for the door. Then Gine realized something.

"What about Raditz? Or us?" She called out to him.

Bardock stopped and turned to her. He thought for a long moment as if he was unsure.

"Let's focus on saving Kakarot first, then we'll see what we can do." He turned and left without saying another word.

Gine just stood where was for a long time, the weight of the situation sinking in. From just getting from work to there, her life had now changed forever. Or at least what little time would be left of it.

Kakarot started to flail in her arms, getting her attention. Then, she remembeered what she had to too.

"It's okay, sweetie." She soothed to him as she set him down. She then started the task of trying to smuggle her own son out this building.

No one may know what they were up to, but she couldn't let anyone see her take her son home without authorization. He was never meant to be sent home, just sent on his mission. So she had to be careful.

She rummaged through the room to get a cloth to cover him up in a bundle. Once she found something she could use to hide him, she ran out of the medical complex. Once outside, she weaved her way through the crowds to her home, not far from work. Kakarot was crying from all the commotion. Gine momentarily panicked thinking his crying would arouse the suspicion of bystanders.

Thankfully they didn't as everyone was too busy rioting, drowning out his crying. Gine finally reached her home. A small dwelling she shared with some coworkers who were still on duty. She set Kakarot down and went through all of her belongings and food storages to get all the supplies she would need to cross the wasteland to where they had to meet.

She pushed whatever lingering thoughts she had about her life and that of Bardock and Raditz. Right now, she had to stay calm and focus on the family in front of her she could save.

Later that night, Gine was flying just a few meters off the ground at high speed towards the other side of the world. She was slightly panicking since she took so long to get out of the capital. But she had to be stealthy if Frieza had any planet-side patrols to keep the Saiyans from wondering off or escaping.

It had been a long flight out into the wastelands. Even while flying as fast as she could, Vegeta was a large planet with alot of ground to cover. She brought Kakarot in a sling to carry him while flying with whatever food or water they would need to cross this inhospitable stretch of the globe.

In the distance, she spotted the sprawling ruins of the ancient villages that Saiyans used to inhabit so long ago, now long forgotten.

There! She spotted a lone spherical attack ball in the village center where Bardock was waiting for her.

She landed in front of him, out of breath from the exertion of ki and adrenaline of knowing these may be her homeworld's last moments.

"You're late." Bardock said urgently with a twinge of annoyance.

"I know." Gine said between gulps of breath. "Wasn't sure if I'd stumble across someone looking for us...Plus it's been awhile since I had to fly that fast."

"Right. Forgot you were still too weak to get anywhere in a hurry." He said.

She was slightly hurt that he still thought less of her due to how pathetic her strength was. But she pushed that aside, there were bigger things happening now.

"Well, is it ready for him?" She gestured towards the pod.

"Almost." He said, walking with her towards the open hatch on the front, a holographic screen hovered over the spacecraft's main seat.

"It was already programmed with a planet for Kakarot." He said, then typed in a few more commands, then the screen showed readouts and coordinates blurring.

"I did not want to send him there in case they went searching for his pod, if they go by this partular one leaving to it's preprogrammed coordinates." He tapped on the screen again, a map of certain star systems for infiltration being displayed.

"So I've been searching other parts of the galaxy to send him to. Somewhere Frieza's forces haven't conquered yet or have no interest in." He tapped the screen again, more sectors popping up but none of them were to Bardock's liking.

Gine looked at the starmaps. They all formed grids within the four quadrants of the spiral galaxy, most of them highlighted in the lower half that marked the extent of the Planet Trade Organization. The fringes of the highlighted areas and blank ones marked where Frieza's forces were focusing on in their conquest or have already taken. All of them were frontline worlds, and he would be found immediately so those were out of the equation. They had to search farther and farther, but there weren't that many to count on even as they zoomed out.

Even from the most isolated systems at very edge of the galaxy to the core were no good. They have been extensively mapped and were under consideration by the PTO and Frieza to see if they are worth taking in order to consolidate the imperial borders. If Kakarot was there, they will certainly detect him, and kill him if Frieza was that intent on wiping out all of the Saiyans.

Gine then noticed an area on the edge of the map, and pointed.

"Have you tried the Northern Quadrant?" Gine suggested.

"That's uncharted territory." Bardock pointed out.

"Yeah, but that's alot of empty space to look for a single Saiyan baby." She said, trying to sell her point.

That was true, but there was no telling what was out there. The other side of the galaxy was not very well explored, with frontier planets full of surprises that a Saiyan would not want to find themselves in. From dead rocks to poisonuous jungle planets that could devour anything, or maybe even a whole other empire hiding in the unknown region that could challenge Frieza. But, given the circumstances, it may be the best place to send Kakarot if they never want him to be found.

"Alright." Bardock said. He zoomed in on a random corner of the fringe of known systems bordering the dark regions that marked unknown space, and scrolled farther from there.

"No...no...no..." Gine sorted them out, looking for a suitable-

"That one!" She pointed to one planet in particular. Bardock clicked on it, a short file opened up.

Based on what little intel they had on it, the planet was a small terrestrial world that orbited a yellow star. It literally bordered the edge of scanned systems for there was nothing north of it added on the map. As far as they could tell it had no vast quantities of resources to exploit or capacity to aid Frieza's empire, so there should be no for him to want to acquire it. If anything the planet was nothing of interest at all, a perfect kind of place to disappear.

Most of the planet's surface was covered in oceans of salt water, and it's landmasses were a mixture of deserts, rainforests, jungles, mountains, and ice caps. It had very moderate temperatures so it should be rather pleasant. It had a substantial and diverse ecosystem of primitive lifeforms, plenty to feed Kakarot. Among a multitude of sentient species that evolved on it, only one seemed to be the dominant and somewhat intelligent kind there. A bipedal anthropomorphic type that seemed very similar to Saiyans. They called themselves 'humans'. And based on data that was collected almost two centuries prior, they had not yet developed space travel nor advanced weaponry. They were also extremely weak, save for a few individuals that barely made it to a hundred or more in terms of battle power. The planet even had a moon, which would make purging it much easier for Kakarot. Plus, it was a very pretty shade of blue.

"It's perfect." She said, after reading aloud all the info on it to Bardock. He had to admit, it was a rather pathetic backwater world in an unknown corner of the galaxy. Frieza would have no interest in tearing that region apart just to find him.

"Alright then, to there it is." He said as he selected the coordinates for that planet into the pod's navigation computer, and selected a landing site that would be far from any populated areas of these 'humans'.

"All set now." Bardock said as he got up.

"Where's Raditz?" Gine asked, her maternal instincts kicking in when she decided to bring up that her eldest child was still missing.

"I'm not sure." Bardock answered. "I sent a message to him letting him know about Kakarot's departure, but couldn't risk telling him everything if Frieza was listening in. But I haven't seen or heard from him in awhile anyways. Last I heard he was placed on Prince Vegeta's crew. He may be with him or somewhere else on the planet."

A cold pit opened in Gine's stomach. He couldn't find their other son while just about to launch their youngest?!

"Should we at least go look for him?!" Gine screamed at him. Panic and anger rising in her voice.

"We don't have time for that! Frieza could blow this planet up any minute now, and if we try to look for him, we'll all die. Let's at least save Kakarot first while we can!"

She tried to protest but knew he was right, no matter how powerful her motherly love for her other child was. The planet was far too big to search for him in such a short time, and if they die looking then they would have wasted a chance to save at least one of their children. For all they know, if Frieza was truly intent on killing all Saiyans, Raditz may be dead already.

It felt like Gine's heart might stop at that notion. But she couldn't ignore the reality that was happening right now. No matter how horrible this was.

No, as wrong as this was, they had no choice.

Slowly, sighing in crushing defeat, Gine held up Kakarot, taking a good long look at him.

"Well..." She started to say, but could barely finish what she was saying as her hands started shaking with Kakarot in them.

"...I guess this is goodbye, Kakarot." Her voice broke, choking on tears that threatened to fall. This may be the last time she would see any of her children alive.

Kakarot could sense his mother's sadness and started to cry as well.

"Gine, hurry up!" Bardock said impatiently, "We can't wait any longer."

Gine looked up at Bardock and back at her son. He was right, this had to be done. She collected herself and placed Kakarot inside the pod. Now he was really distressed, as if sensing he was about to be sent away from his parents for good into the darkness of space.

Seeing her son in that pod by himself so scared and knowing what was about to happen, something within her shattered. This all couldn't be happening. This wasn't fair!

"Calm down, Kakarot, you are going to be just fine." Bardock tried to reassure his son, but his words had no effect. He gruffed somewhat in disgust that he kept crying.

"Alright, close it." He commanded.

Gine's hand hovered over the button to shut the pod door. She tried to summon the will power to press it, but she couldn't do it.

"Are you sure we all can't just run away together?" Gine asked, hoping that Bardock may have overlooked some detail to not make her do this. She trusted him no matter what, even if he claimed to have precognition. But she still hoped against hope that he could be wrong somehow.

"It's too risky." Bardock said. "They would definitely detect my power on their scouters and shoot us down for sure. He'll have to go alone."

Gine looked down at Kakarot. His cries were now cries of terror. Even though he was just an infant, he knew what was going to happen. His parents were going to die, and he was going to be all alone forever. He was so frightened. Gine almost broke down in tears just standing there, seeing how scared her baby boy was. And she thought of the fate that would await him, something she and Bardock hadn't quite fully comprehended yet.

"Close the pod door!" Bardock shouted, but she wasn't listening.

Saiyan babies who were sent on infiltration missions were usually retrieved someday to be reconditioned, and to continue fighting for Frieza. She remebered when Raditz was sent on his first mission as a baby, he came back after a few years purging the planet he was sent to. She barely recognized him, and he didn't recognize her at all since he had been by himself on a killing spree for so long. He almost tried to kill her and anyone that came near him since he was so uncontrollable; but the doctors were able to sedate him and reprogram his mind to fit back into Saiyan society. He regained his sanity and became a proper warrior instead of some kill-crazy lunatic. The torment he must have gone through broke her heart, but she was so proud of him that he made it through it all and came out stronger.

But now, with Frieza out to kill all Saiyans, he might try to track Kakarot down. Even if he never did find him, Kakarot would have no one to report back to. Nor will he have someone to pick him up.

Kakarot would be stranded on that frontier planet once he's destroyed all native life on it. He won't have either of his parents or his brother to look after him, or even any humans to talk to or keep as pets. It's possible that he may adapt to that planet's culture and become one of them, but she doubted that would happen for the time he spent in his incubator made sure that he would fulfill his programming.

He would spend the rest of his life all alone on a ruined and forgotten planet, with only whatever wildlife he spared for food to keep him alive. He would know nothing but killing and surviving. Like a feral animal.

"I said, close it dammit!" Bardock angrily yelled. When Gine didn't react, he reached over to press the button himself.

No one deserved that kind of fate, least of all her own child.

In that moment she grabbed Bardock's hand and stopped him.

"Let me go with him."

Bardock paused for a moment, his anger at her stopping him was replaced with shock at what she said.

"What?"

"I said let me go with him." Gine looked at Bardock with determination.

"Gine, are you crazy? We don't have time for this!" Said Bardock, incredulously.

"Yes we do!" She said, putting herself between Bardock and the pod. "If Kakarot makes it to that planet and Frieza doesn't go after him, he'll be all alone for the rest of his days. If I go with him I could at least be around to look after him."

"Didn't you hear me?!" Bardock answered back hotly, "Frieza's men will detect you two if you launch together. It won't do him any good!"

"Maybe it will!" Gine said, this took Bardock aback. "Kakarot is extremely weak. You know this. I'm weak too. You said that yourself!" She pointed a finger at him, he wondered where she was going with this. The inspiration came to her as she explained her plan to Bardock. She was too caught up on going with Kakarot to know how, but now it made sense.

"So with both of us in there in the same pod, don't you think it wouldn't make much a difference if they detect two weak saiyans instead of just one?"

Bardock tried to speak, but stopped. It...kind of made sense. But-

"It won't work. They'll see you for sure and blow you out of the sky. It's too big of a chance."

"I know." Gine had to admit, that was true it was a very big chance. They didn't have a scouter to see what her power level was now, Bardock left his behind since he didn't want anyone to listen in on what they were doing. But last time she checked it may have been one-hundred-and-forty, before Kakarot was born. It was pathetic for a full-grown adult saiyan, but still detectable on any scouter. And if she got a power boost from childbirth, which could have put her up to five-hundred, they'll see them for sure.

"But we are already taking a chance as it is to save Kakarot. At least this way, two of us could be saved. And he will never have to spend the rest of his life all by himself on some godforsaken rock in the middle of nowhere."

Gine held Bardock's hand gently as she looked back towards Kakarot still crying in the open pod. "I would be there for him. To tell him about us, about you, Raditz, our race, Frieza, everything."

Gine looked back at Bardock, her eyes half-pleading and glistening with tears. "I will get to be his mother! He deserves that."

Bardock couldn't protest that. Gine may be so soft that she couldn't dare to call herself a Saiyan, but she was right. His son at least deserved a better life away from Frieza, and his mate could give him guidence. If this worked...

"Then what of the inhabitants of this planet. You intent to kill them all off with him or make them your pets? Should be weak enough even for you." He said.

Gine almost laughed, even near the end of the world he was still taking any potshot he can at her lack of strenght, but he was almost convinced.

"Maybe, but at least he won't have to be so alone." She just said. Gine honestly had no intentions to kill those poor creatures unless it was for her survival and for Kakarot's. But she wouldn't say that outloud, just enough to make Bardock happy.

He looked at her, then at Kakarot for a long, long moment. Time slowed for her as he decided her fate. Then, his shoulders sagged as he relented.

"Alright."

She lept at him before she or he knew it. Hot, fat tears of joy and sadness falling.

"Thank you." She said softly. Bardock held her by the waist and brought her back down.

"But you better get going now. We've wasted enough time as it is."

Gine agreed and collected herself. In a swift motion, she picked up Kakarot in her arms and took a seat inside the pod instead. Kakarot suddenly calmed down, so happy to be in his mother's embrace.

He'll be such a momma's boy, Bardock thought gravely.

"I will go face Frieza right after you launch, hopefully I can distract him enough to allow you two to escape."

Gine looked at Bardock with awe, how a low-class warrior like him would go on to challenge the galactic tyrant himself.

"Who knows, I may even beat him. Besides, we Saiyans will not go quietly." He said with an ounce of pride. She remembered then why she fell for him.

"If you do..." She said, "...You know where to find us. And find Raditz if you can." Sadness returning to her at the mention of her eldest. Oh she dearly wished she could have seen him one last time. If he was still alive...

"I will." He promised.

So many impossible promises being made already, Gine thought morbidly. But no matter what, in death or on a far flung world, they will all be reunited as a family again. Someday.

"Goodbye, Bardock" She said, her voice breaking again.

He nodded solemnly, "Goodbye, Gine" he then looked down at Kakarot, now looking up at him calmly. "And goodbye to you too, my son."

He pressed the button and the pod door closed. It locked with a hiss as she and Kakarot were sealed away from the outside world.

Gine pressed a hand against the glass window. She may never see him again, and took her last chance at what she had to say.

"I love you." She said, tears falling down her face.

He heard her through the glass, and Bardock simply nodded.

"I know."

He doesn't explicitly say he loved her back, but it was as close to it as a Saiyan could, and she'll take it.

A light began beeping on the pod's control panel, signalling it was ready for take off. She felt the engines hum to life as the pod lifted slowly off the ground, then stopped, floating in the air momentarily. She never broke eye contact with Bardock as he watched.

Then, without much warning to brace herself, the ground receded away with blinding speed. The sudden acceleration made Gine's vision tunnel for a moment. She never got a last glimpse of Bardock before he became too distant to see.

Her vision cleared when the pod's artifical gravity kicked in, nulling the acceleration on her body. Kakarot cried again, from the unpleasant takeoff. Already they were in space. Planet Vegeta was a brilliant magenta rock in front of her through the window. It was receding fast, far enough to see it in it's entirety after a minute into the flight.

Gine spotted Frieza's ship on the other side of the planet, hovering in it's place in high orbit. She wondered if they spotted them.

Then, she saw specks appearing around the ship, and they were moving. Her heart suddenly became a lead weight. They had been spotted. She had doomed herself and her son...

They didn't move after them though, they just stayed near Frieza's ship. Weren't they going to at least send attack squads or fire lasers at them?

Planet Vegeta got smaller and smaller as they get farther and farther. Still nothing has happened. They were still in one piece. Did they make it?

After a while, planet Vegeta became far enough away that it was a pinprick of light indiscernable from the stars that made up the infinite sea of outer space.

A high-pitched beep and rushing hiss of gas indicated that the pod's stasis mode was activated. Kakarot's crying ceased when he is induced into sleep for the long journey to their destination. Gine felt her mind slipping, trying to stay awake to keep an eye on-

Then, she saw a bright blinding light where planet Vegeta ought to be, as if it had become their star system's second sun.

Something deep within her heart broke, sensing Bardock's life force through their bond disappear. He had failed, and he, along with their entire race, and her home, was gone...

Those were her last coherent thoughts before she let herself fall into sweet oblivion.

A/N: Like with any alternate history story, a minor change may seem trivial now, but the consequences will become far more drastic as time goes on; and things have now been set in motion with Gine's survival.

I used Dragonball Minus as the starting point for the story as I wanted it to be different than MasakoX's start where Gine goes by accident in his version using the Bardock: Father of Goku special. That and since DB Minus is confirmed to be canon, it would make more sense to change the story here so this new timeline will be connected to the actual Dragonball universe.

I already have all the details of how this scenario would play out in its entirety, just that I still need to flesh out dialogue and scenes while trying to balance life responsibilities. So I hope you understand if this takes awhile.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this intro and be sure to give it a good and honest review!