**sorry for the long wait, hope you enjoy!
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Warmth.
Warmth is what Xylias feels as Kakarot lays upon her during the explosion.
Almost too warm, his body is radiating heat and is slick with sweat. She can feel his pounding heartbeat against her own, and she's mildly aware of his head against the crook of her neck, his warm breath making her skin slightly damp.
Channeling energy into this Spirit Bomb took a lot out of her, her body was vibrating from the aftershocks of her power up, and it was seemingly the same for Kakarot, she could feel him breathing heavily in exhaustion.
Her ears are ringing from the loud explosion, she stares into the sky in a daze as the planet rumbles, watching dirt and rocks fly above them.
The last couple of days were a lot to process for the Woman, the people she had met, the ceilings she had shattered within herself, her sudden freedom, and her participation in the fall of Frieza.
And now, for the first time ever, a Saiyan man is on top of her— selflessly shielding her from the blast and debris of Planet Namek.
The gesture was... unexpected to say the least. Xylias couldn't remember the last time someone tried to protect her like this, not that she needed it, but the act itself spoke a lot and gave her hope that Kakarot and his people would eventually come to accept her, and maybe even befriend her.
Friends protect one another.
Finally after a few moments, silence cascades over the area, and instantly she feels a vibration against her neck.
Kakarot is laughing, "Whew! That was enough to blow someone's socks off!" He exclaims while pulling his head up, their cheeks brush briefly. A beaming grin is plastered across his face as he looks down upon her.
The moment their eyes meet, that strange sick feeling from before hits Xylias like a ton of bricks. His radiant smile churns something deep within her, and she is so lost in the feeling trying to figure out what exactly is happening to her, that she doesn't realize she is staring directly into his eyes. Nor did she realize he is still hovering over her body, the explosion long since gone.
The silence is suddenly loud as the realization hits, coming down from an emotional power surge. His pure scent invades her nostrils and she's unable to think straight, slowly feeling a burning sensation spreading over her face.
'What the hell is this?!' She couldn't help but yell to herself. Her breathing starts to quicken again, she had to do something fast before these feelings overwhelmed her completely.
"O-off. Get off!" She finds her senses at last and with one hand shoves Kakarot off of her body while she sits back up with her other hand.
Kakarot, who had been deep in thought and filled with a strange intense emotion, also realizes the need to move and create distance between himself and the now slightly panicked Saiyan. He stands up quickly, offering one of his hands to help her up.
"Sorry about that, are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"I- I'm fine." She stutters, looking to the ground and hoisting her body up, ignoring Kakarot's helpful hand.
She stands up and starts to dust herself off, keeping her eyes trained on where her hands are. The distance between them calms her, and that strange feeling starts to goes away. The physical and emotional buzz from earlier fizzling out, she feels her face start to relax— her mask sliding back into it's place.
Leaning up, she takes a couple of steps towards the enormous crater that had formed from the power orb, crossing her arms and looking out at it, unconsciously using what was left of her power to feel for any signs of the Emperor, just to be sure.
"That move of yours was quite interesting." She says casually, her low resonant voice steady again.
Kakarot giggles in delight, "It's a great move that King Kai taught me in Otherworld! It came in pretty handy, didn't it?" he beams a closed-eye smile, satisfied with himself.
She glances back at the jubilant Saiyan, "Don't get your hopes up, he could still be out there... Frieza is... Very resilient." she mutters as she searches, but there are no signs of him.
"Well this move is very special you see, only certain people can do it, and it's fueled by all living things that surrender their energy for it's use. It's energy is pure, and if he did so happen to survive... Well I'd bet he wouldn't try to do any of this again, now that he knows we'll be around to stop him!" His voice was thick with conviction, she turns to him, her mouth agape.
She hadn't met someone capable of mercy in a long time, it made her feel slightly guilty, like it was wrong of her to feel like Frieza needed to be dead. She never saw the Emperor as a person, as a living being, just as a symbol of evil. But now that his existence is questionable, she wonders if it was right of her to kill him.
She thinks back to her life with her Mother, how she would always look after the weak, and never hurt anyone unless they really deserved it.
She shakes her head, clearing these thoughts from her mind and focusing on the task at hand, "So, now what?" She says, turning back to see Kakarot, who was now frowning, "Do we go find Bulma and the others? They'll want to know what happened, and— "
"Hold on, I need to ask you something first!" He says quickly, grabbing her wrist.
"Um, okay?" She replies with a confused expression.
He pulls her behind a large boulder, away from the rest of the world. He looks at her and reaches up, briefly touching a small cut on her cheek with his finger tips. She flinches slightly, the burning sensation returning to her cheeks.
"I... I wanted to ask you something..." He says unsurely.
"Okay?" She asks, still confused.
He releases his grip on her wrist , turning away from her, his face turning serious, "Xylias, would you... Would you like to join us? You can come back to Earth with us, if you like."
Her heart skips a beat, she knew that this moment might come, but hearing the words spoken aloud was still a surprise.
She takes an unsteady step back, her body stiffening. As hopeful as she was earlier, her sudden fear of the unknown and rejection told her to run from the Saiyans and Earthlings. that they would never trust her, never consider her a friend. But why does she feel such a pull towards Kakarot?
"Why would I do that?" She asks quietly, so unsure of everything.
"Because I'm asking you to. Because I need someone with your strength to help me and the others keep our home planet, Earth, safe."
Her eyes widen, her eyebrows furrowing together. She looks around the area, taking note of the large crater, the scattered rocks, the smoke rising from the destruction left behind.
His planet needs her? She who has caused more planetary destruction in her life instead of trying to prevent Frieza from going this far? The guilt that had buried itself into her core during the years of service under him made her nauseous, remembering how easy it was for her.
'I... am not good enough...' her subconscious tears at her
"I don't know if I can do that..." She whispers softly, looking slightly down.
Kakarot can't help but chuckle lightly, "You're a strange one, aren't you?" He says, rubbing the back of his head.
She lifts her head up to meet his gaze, "What's so funny?" She asks, her tone harsh and cold.
"Your reaction is funny... different, I guess." He chuckles again, "But I'm serious when I say that I need to have someone like you to help me keep our planet safe. There's always something out there..." He gestures to the crater, the planet, and the debris.
"Frieza is just the beginning." He utters, looking her in the eye.
She considers her options, and realizes that for the first time in her life, she has nowhere to go. The thought was frightening, her future was bleak if she didn't make a plan. Her lonely reality was starting to peak it's head above water, she shudders and quickly decides to take his offer for now, until she figures out her next move. "Alright... If you need my help, then I will. But I won't let you take me to Earth until I make sure Frieza is truly dead." She states sternly.
He draws back, and she can see how conflicted he is. He's fighting to protect his people, but he's also struggling to decide if he should go against his nature, to let someone be killed.
After a while he takes a deep breath and exhales, "Alright. I understand." He says
"Thank you." She sighs heavily, leaning back against the rock behind her. For some reason, she felt relief. She understood his struggle, but she could not leave this place without confirming that Frieza is gone.
His lips twitch up into a grin, "Hey, you know... Even if Frieza isn't dead, I still want to take you to Earth anyway."
Xylias stares at him blankly, "Why?" She asks with a touch of curiosity
"Well, I would love to see you fight again." He replies, "...to see your form. You have a unique ability that I've never seen before, and it's very intriguing..."
His smile grows wider, his eyes scanning over her. He chuckles lowly, "We could even spar... I'd enjoy that!"
Her face heats up again, thinking about this odd Saiyan's fascination with her. It made her uncomfortable in a strange way, but she could also sense a genuine interest in her ability, and her Saiyan instincts couldn't turn him down.
"Really?" She asks, a small smirk playing across her lips, "You would let me fight you?"
"Yes." He replies without hesitation, his eyes shining with glee.
***
With the defeat of Frieza and his army, the Saiyans march toward the crater, spotting Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan who were carrying an unconscious Vegeta in the distance, coming to meet them. Piccolo was the first to speak,
"Did you kill him?!" Piccolo demands when they finally met in the middle.
"We're not sure, he seems to be gone now though." Goku answers calmly.
"Then what happened?" Piccolo grunts, his eyes narrowing in anger, "Where is he?"
"He could be dead, but if he survived that blast... he's wounded badly, but the death of his ego will make him never hurt any of us again." Goku says confidently
The Namekian looks over at the Saiyan Prince who was slumped over against a rock, a makeshift blanket made from Piccolo's torn cape wrapped around his body.
Piccolo's rage subsides, looking at the unconscious Saiyan. He touches his forehead in an unspoken gesture of respect, "Well, you did good. You guys kept your promise."
Goku smiles, happy to hear this.
"Vegeta hasn't given up yet." Xylias states, coming to stand beside them, "He's still alive it seems." She nods in approval to the Earthlings
"I can't believe he managed to survive that blast, it was hard to cover him during it..." Krillin says sheepishly, looking down at his feet.
"It's alright, you did a great job with what you could." Xylias assures him.
"Thanks..." Krillin huffs, "We were lucky to have you guys here."
"We'll stay here for now and guard the crater while we make a plan. Make sure nothing else comes here, Goku can I speak with you?" Piccolo says, walking back to the edge of the crater.
Goku starts to follow him, "Shouldn't we be going back to Bulma and the ship?" Krillin asks, "We could leave Frieza here and go back to Earth?"
"No, I made a promise. We need to find out if Frieza is dead or not... If he is, we'll go back to Earth. " Goku says solemnly, looking at Xylias then the Prince, Krillin nods in response.
Nobody said anything about the Dragonballs , which for the Earthlings were the whole reason why they came here, they had turned into balls of stone after Lord Guru (the creator of the Dragonballs) passed away from the heartbreak of losing his children, the Namekians, rendering them utterly useless. Xylias had no clue, but the orbs hadn't crossed her mind in a long time.
"Can you help me lay him down?" Krillin asks, pointing at Vegeta.
"Yeah," Xylias replies, bending down and using her hands to stabilize his head and arms while Krillin does the same with his legs so they can lay him down flat as softly as they can.
"By the way, Piccolo looked at his arm not too long after you went down here, his arm was out of socket not broken— it should be alright now." Krillin said, giving her a thumbs up before walking towards Piccolo and Kakarot, who seems to be having an intense conversation.
She squats beside and looks down at the Prince, his features were less hardened now by the deep slumber of unconsciousness, the scowl gone. He looks younger, she could tell he was still breathing by the slight movement of his chest, "He looks so peaceful. " she thinks to herself
Without thinking she reaches down and gingerly grazes his jawline with the tips of her fingers, his skin is surprisingly smooth.
And in an instant she feels the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a chill running down her spine.
It all seems to happen so quickly yet in slow motion, she jerks her body around, as her body turns she begins to catch a glimpse of a black figure high in the sky but it's already too late.
She feels something hot pierce her shoulder, then the side of her left thigh, knocking all the wind out of her and throwing her back a few feet.
As she's flying back she looks up at the glimmering green sky, seeing a trail of her blood flying in the air.
Xylias hits the ground and tumbles, her body limp like a rag doll, she stops on her back, her mind and body in a daze from the sudden trauma.
As she struggles to regain her senses she sees another familiar bald figure make his way up into the sky near the first, before promptly exploding.
As his blood and flesh rains down upon the ground around the Woman, her world goes dark.