In Darkest Knight

\"Bardock!\" A female voice cried, and a woman his age pounded up. \"Bardock, you\'re a *mess*! What happened?!\"

\"Frieza\'s goons... got the drop on us...\" He said quietly, bowing his head.

\"... no... Toma and the others? Oh, Bardock...\" She slid her arms around him and held him, sharing the pain of the loss of his entire pack.

He allowed the contact, then drew away, eyes and ring burning like emerald flame. \"We don\'t have time for this. Frieza\'s ship will be here shortly, and I *must* see the Ou.\"

\"Bardock, you *know* my brother never listens when it comes to that lizard. We\'ll have o soo something ourselves...\" She bit her lip. \"But the Lantern code keeps you from interfering...\"

\"*DAMN* the code!\"

\"No! Listen to me. Find my nephew and bring him home. You can do that much; I\'ll see to Frieza.\"

\"Pinache, you *can\'t*. You don\'t have the power to deal with this monster.\"

\"I can, and I *do*. I have never displayed all of mwer wer in battle, for fear it would destroy me, but now I have no choice.\" She drew a short wand from her belt and closed her eyes, drawing a soft breath, then declared in a ringing voice, \"Vegeta Planet Power, MAKE-UP!\"

Scarlet energy howled around her athletic frame like a rampaging Oozaru, power lancing through her blood like lightening. The transformation was quick, leaving her sleek form clad in gorgeous armor of white, crimson, black, and gold, almost too pretty to be functional. The change had also wrought a dramatic surprise: her hair and tail-pelt were both pale, gleaming golden blond, her eyes blazing blue-green, shining with an other-worldly awareness. Power pulsed from her in visible waves, and Bardock\'s knees went weak. \"You\'re... you\'re a...\"

\"Yes. Now, you must hurry. Frieza\'s ship is nearly here.\" She reached out and firmly pressed the wand into his hand.

\"What--\"

\"If I\'m still alive when you return, you can give it back to me then. If not...\" She shrugged; as all warriors must, she had accepted that she might not make it through the battle. \"... make sure that my nephew\'s daughter gets it.\" Without waiting for his response, she took to the air, and vanished from the atmosphere.

He stared after her for several long moments, then shook himself and carried out his princess\'s orders.

***

/This... is *NOT* going well,/ she thought to herself as she ducked behind a meteor, letting ki blasts rocket past as she clutched her chest and sides. Every breath shifted the broken ribs, sending shooting pains through her torso. /If I succeed, I\'ll need many hours in the tank... that is, *if* I survive./

She shook her l blo blond mane and steeled herself. /Frieza\'s charging up. I *have* to get out there./ She checked the energy-umbilical she had formed, bringing her oxygen from the planet below for her prolonged battle, and nodded, satisfied that it was intact, before emerging from her hiding place, drawing in her power for one last attack. \"Frieza, you bitch!\" She screamed as she blazed toward the ship; the pallid creature seemed genuinely surprised at her headlong rush. Fortunately, the action had caught his soldiers entirely off-guard; she stopped a few hundred short meters before him, having avoided the Ginyu force completely.

\"So, *you* are the legendary Super Saiyan,\" came that cold, silky voice. \"I must admit that I\'m impressed that you\'ve survived as long as you have... not that it\'ll save you *or* your wretched little world.\"

\"I will stop you, Frieza. I will not let you destroy the planet I have protected for all of my life.\"

\"Brave words, little monkey, but futile. You see, I have battled your caste before, many times in thst, st, and I know exactly how to stop you.\" He smirked cruelly, and put forth his hand, palm outward and facing her. She let out a shriek of pain as she was wrapped in Frieza\'s dark, poisonous ki, agony glazing every nerve. Her writhing wrenched the bones of her broken ribs, tearing into lungs and muscle. He paused, confused, and repeated the scan, increasing the damage. \"Where is your wand, monkey?\"

She coughed violently, choking for a moment on a mouthful of blood, which she spat out. \"You didn\'t think I would be so foolish as to bring it with me, did you, senshi-killer?\" She forced out with a humorless smile, almost gasping with relief as the burning agony left her.

His eyes narrowed slightly. \"I see. Well, I\'ll just have to destroy you the old-fashioned way.\" He raised his hand, summoning his enormous power, forming it into an orb the color of a smoke-hazed sunset.

She glared up at him, and started drawing in her own power, severing the umbilical. /At thry lry least, I can deflect it with my own body, fling it harmlessly elsewhere.../ She swallowed hard, savoring one last breath of her rapidly-cooling air supply, then screamed as her aura exploded. Pain and light and a deep bone-shaking rumble consumed her awareness, but not before she caught sight of an approaching blaze of green in the corner of her eye...

***

\"How is she, Lantern?\"

Bardock\'s head snapped around, and he regarded PrinPrince carefully. \"The mediren\ren\'t sure if there\'s any brain activity, Oujisama. They\'ll know for certain in a couple of days.\"

The young Saiya-jin pursed his lips into a thoughtful expression, then nodded, accepting this. He oachoached and laid his hand on the glass of the tank, gazing in at the unconscious, gravely-wounded female. \"She\'s a hero... and so are you, Green Lantern.\" He turned frank black eyes up to Bardock.

\"I\'m not sure if your father or the Guardians will agree, Oujisama.\"

\"In the eyes of your Prince, you are. And mine are the only ones that matter.\"

Bardock smirked and allowed himself a chuckle. \"As you say, Oujisama.\"

Vegeta smirked and shrugged. \"I\'ll deal with my father. As for you, there is a matter that requires your attention.\"

Bardock listened, then grew pale. \"H-hai, Oujisama, I\'ll do what I can.\"

\"Thank you, Bardock. Now, I must go.\" With that, the boy turned and swept from the room.