What If Fasha Turned Good, Part 1

PRE-'Z' ERA
     For kicking-off this What-If, only a very minor divergence from the movie's events is needed. After the invasion/purge of planet Kanaas, Bardock and Fasha simply sit in different parts of that same crater we see them chatting in near the beginning of the movie. In particular, they trade seats, with Fasha being the one to lie down, and Bardock ending up sitting where Fasha sat in the movie. That’s it; a change in that seating arrangement is all that is needed in order for this what-if to happen.

     The crew has the same chat they had in the original, and when that surviving Kanaas Warrior emerges from the rubble to attack the saiyans, it would be Fasha he strikes and gives his psychic powers too, since she is the one closest to him instead of Bardock. She then passes out and is taken for recovery on planet Vegeta, just like Bardock in the original.

     Just like Bardock, her squadmates end up leaving her behind to take on their newest mission. As she is in the recovery tank she gets the 'Visions' of planet Vegeta's destruction and fragments of her squadmates getting killed on Mead, panics in her sleep, and is promptly released from the tank by Planthor, same as the movie for Bardock.

     Unlike Bardock, when Planthor tells her that her buddies left to take on that new assignment from Lord Freiza, she does not go after them; she knows she is not the strongest in her group, and if Bardock went with them (which he did), all the killing would be done by the time she got there, so logically she sits the mission out. She stays for a quick medical exam and then leaves.

     Bored, and waiting for her friends to return, she decides to kill time and pay baby Kakarot a visit, since Bardock probably didn't and won't(I feel this is in-character for her since she is the first one to bring up the topic Kakarot in the crater on Kanaas, meaning she obviously cares, even if only a little). Being a woman, she runs an affectionate hand through his hair and even picks him up and holds him in her arms for a while. However, holding baby Kakarot triggers visions of his future in her mind. She sees the same visions Bardock would have seen in the healing tank and on planet Mead; of Kakarot being a peaceful person on Earth, being a noble warrior, training at Kami's lookout, fighting an adult Prince Vegeta, and so on. Freaked out, she drops baby Kakarot and leaves the room in a hurry.

     Being a saiyan, she's hungry now, so she decides to give a local pub a visit. This would be the same place that Bardock stumbles into to warn the saiyans before he runs to the rooftop and flies off to confront Freiza, in the movie. Fasha is still eating when the battered, bleeding, panicked Bardock actually does stumble into the place, even more abused than in the original. Given the tactical battle prowess we see from him in the movie, he is the only survivor of the ambush on planet Mead, but only barely. He only has enough strength left to pass on his warning. When he collapses, a shocked Fasha catches him and listens to his last words, about how Freiza had Dodoria ambush their crew on Mead, and how Freiza is coming to destroy all the Saiyans because they are getting too strong. These words fill her with horror and rage, and especially rage once Bardock dies in her arms (judging by how many times Bardock mentions Fasha's name when musing/raging about his dead crew, it can be implied that they were good friends).

     What Bardock says all makes so much sense when compared to her own visions that she decides to believe it, especially since Bardock has never been wrong before during their missions. Knowing that she is no match for Freiza, she doesn't try to stop or prevent the planet's destruction since knows she isn't strong enough, and she doesn't waste her time trying to convince the other saiyans either. She runs to where the saiyan pods are and lies about having an assignment on a  hazardous low-priority far-away backwater planet. This lie allows her to leave the planet immediately (maybe she hastily picked the planet's name out of the assignment pool at random, she didn't have time to be picky). As she escapes orbit, a giant flash of light from behind her ensures her that she made the right moves.

     Several years later, that same harsh backwater planet local populace has a popular local legend about a mighty female warrior with a hairy tail that slays unlucky travelers and mighty mega-beasts in the wilderness and eats great amounts of meat, always growing stronger. That warrior is Fasha, who has grown her hair out a bit and is a bit more tanned, scarred, and muscular from non-stop training, surviving, and killing under the hot sun of the unforgiving planet. Occasionally she gets visions of fighting other saiyans on her planet, and even gets this one vision of Kakarot beating up Freiza on a strange blue-green colored planet. She hasn't exterminated the local populace yet because in her mind, she has no reason to; she doesn't work for Freiza anymore. All she wants to do is get stronger in secret so that she can one day avenge her friends. To do that, she must remain stealthy.

     Unfortunately for her, the local legend about her spreads to other worlds and eventually comes to the Freiza Corps' attention. Teen Vegeta is sent with Nappa and teen Raditz to go and investigate before cleansing the planet of life. Teen Raditz is the first to find her, and when she refuses to join them, he tries to use force. She trounces him, since she has taught herself how to conceal her power level to fool scouters or remain hidden if needed. The noise of the 'battle' brings Nappa and Teen Vegeta around, and she kills off all of teen Vegeta and Nappa's saibamen handily. She then holds her own against Nappa for a good while before tiring out. Impressed by her strength, Teen Vegeta offers her a last chance to rejoin the saiyan race and the Freiza Empire, and when she explains her reluctance because of what Freiza did to their people, he shares with her that he already knows of Freiza's betrayal and that he has a long-term plan to deal with him. This is enough to persuade Fasha to join them, and she helps them purge the planet before re-integrating with the Frieza Corps. When Teen Vegeta introduces his newest squadmate, neither Freiza nor Dordoria recognize her, and with her power level suppressed she does not raise suspicion ("just a lonely saiyan woman who took a bad assignment a few years back and got stranded, is all"). Her very worn-out attire (same clothes we saw her wear in the movie) are soon replaced with a new pink full bodysuit, new scouter, and a new set of armor.

     More years pass, enough for Teen Vegeta and Teen Raditz to become adults. Much has happened during those years:
     Fasha has neither forgiven nor forgotten, frequently being tormented by more nightmares and visions of horrible things that will happen in the future. It eats away at her sanity a bit, making her paranoid and bitter. The only one who notices is Raditz, who is quite empathetic for a Saiyan (as you have often commented on), so she confides in him about her visions and whatnot. Unlike her other teammates, he believes her, which takes some pressure off her. This is the start of their friendship.

      Over these years she trains obsessively to ensure not only survival, but vengeance once Vegeta is finally ready to make his move on Freiza. Sparring constantly with Nappa and Vegeta, to the point of repeatedly letting very dangerous ki blasts and critical blows hit her in order to maximize the amount of zenkai boosts she receives, allows her to surpass Nappa in those few short years and become only second to Vegeta in strength (it also gives her a reputation for being a little crazy, even by saiyan standards). As they take on more assignments over the years, she also learns how to better interpret her visions of the future, to the point that she repeatedly helps Raditz avoid some very dangerous ambushes and opponents, saving his life on several occasions. Through experience, the visions she gets become a useful 'Clarivoyance' ability of sorts.

     More years pass. The topic of Kakarot has finally come to the crew's attention, bringing us solidly into 'canon' territory. When Raditz is sent to Earth, Fasha (being curious about Kakarot's fate and power level), goes with him, both as a friend and teammate. They land on Earth, and move towards Piccolo immediately, under Fasha's leadership. That farmer in ep 1 is spared. After meeting Piccolo, they go to Kame House together.


SAIYANS SAGA
     When Raditz comes to Kame House, Fasha is there with him. They introduce themselves as his Brother and 'Auntie' respectively. Fasha is gratified that Kakarot/Son Goku looks exactly like what she remembers from her visions of him nearly 20 years ago, and tells Goku that she considers him a 'nephew' of sorts because she's actually known about him for a long time, was good friends with his Father, knew his mother (Fasha and Gine used to be squadmates in Bardock's crew before Gine quit), and even held him as a baby. Goku and the others are shocked by all this. Fasha and Raditz use their familial familiarity to try and talk Goku into leaving the planet with them, with Fasha actually making some headway by telling Goku about the evil tyrant Freiza and how Goku must stand with the few remaining members of his race to help defeat him. However, there are still too many unknowns before he is able to agree to anything. Bulma then suggests that they simply use the all-powerful Dragon Balls to kill Freiza.

     Vegeta and Nappa listen to this conversation over the comms and Vegeta gets very interested in these 'Dragon Balls'; he's coming to Earth himself alongside Nappa, and tells Fasha and Raditz that they should get to the bottom of this 'Dragon Ball' business before he arrives. As for Kakarot, either finish recruiting him or kill him: Getting more Saiyan warriors is no longer a necessity if he can wish for immortality.

     Fasha, who believes implicitly in her visions, knows that Vegeta does not gain immortality with the use of these 'Dragon Balls', and that Kakarot is still somehow essential towards defeating Freiza, so she has other plans. She changes her tune slightly, reluctantly 'admitting' to those gathered at Kame House that she and Raditz are really here because their Prince Vegeta and his bodyguard Nappa are coming to exterminate the people of Earth and steal their Dragon Balls, and that she and Raditz are defectors from Freiza's army that wish to help Kakarot become strong enough to save Earth first, and then save the universe from Freiza's clutches. Goku, being the trusting sort that he is, believes this completely, and when Kami confirms that two more Saiyan pods are indeed coming towards Earth at full speed, the matter is settled; the Z-Fighters will indeed train with Fasha and Raditz until the assailants arrive.

     Raditz is very upset that Fasha is making her go up against Vegeta and Nappa due to the obvious risks, but has learned to trust her, so he stays loyal to her and resolves to help as much as he can.

     Obviously, Goku never dies. Fasha goes with Goku to train under King Kai. Raditz is curious about the abilities of his half-saiyan nephew, and takes Gohan under his wing, while also sparring constantly with Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, etc. He also spends some time training in the hyperbolic time chamber with Piccolo.

     The year passes, and with the help of the two additional Saiyan teammates, the Z-fighters as a whole fare much better than they do in canon. There are a lot of cool possibilities with this fight, especially since Fasha, Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, and Gohan all still have their tails, but I'll leave all the cool details to you. Raditz should die protecting Piccolo from Nappa's blast (same as he did in 'Raditz Turned Good'), but I can see Fasha and Goku both surviving the fight against Nappa and Vegeta, if only barely. Fasha would ideally keep her tail and scooter, as well.