Since 1993, audiences across the world have experienced the story of Broly, the Legendary Super Saiyan, a warrior of seemingly infinite power and rage whose threats against the Dragon Ball universe imperiled the warriors of Earth and challenged them to fight beyond their limits.

However, while the tale has been captivating, many fans of Dragon Ball Z have asked a plethora of legitimate questions regarding the overall logic of numerous events that occur in the Broly Trilogy, and especially with regards to their consistency with the canon series and their general compatibility with it.

The first of Broly's movies, the eighth in the series: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, is the foundation of Broly's story, and therefore must be examined if the others are to ever truly acquire adaptations of greater excellence. Movie 8 is the cornerstone to Broly's entire existence in the Dragon Ball franchise, and especially because it does not quite fit within the DBZ timeline, the legitimacy of Broly's very status as a character integral to the DBZ universe has always been a matter of debate, to the detriment of the contributions Broly's character adds to the overall DBZ mythos.

In the interest of improving the overall logic and quality of the Dragon Ball universe, and to enable Broly's first movie to be at the levels of logic, quality, and canon-compatibility that are emblematic of the true soul of Dragon Ball Z, Genescritor and American Vigor teamed up to create the definitive canon-compatible, logic-compatible, and continuity-compatible version of the original Movie 8 story!

Genescritor is the chief writer for this modified tale, and American Vigor is its chief editor. This augmented and improved version of Movie 8 was originally conceived as a special for the Honor Trip series, a fanfiction in which alternate circumstances compel Cell to become one of Earth's greatest heroes, staffed by American Vigor (chief writer, creator) and Genescritor (contributing editor/writer). As such, this three-part special serves not only as a prologue to Honor Trip, but much more importantly, as a canon-compatible version of the original Movie 8, FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH THE EVENTS OF THE ORIGINAL CANON SERIES.

And now, after many months of work with the goal of enabling you to experience Broly's story in the way it was always meant to be, Genescritor and American Vigor are proud to introduce:

Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan

- a Prologue Special Edition to a Dragon Ball Z FanFiction -

Part 1: Invitation

Special Written by: Genescritor

Disclaimer: Neither American Vigor nor I own, in any way, any official property related Dragon Ball, such as the anime, its characters, related movies, and so on. However, both of us hope to supplement that glorious work of art with our fanfictions, such as this one.

With that said, we hope you enjoy the story.

Earth, Guardian's Lookout, May 23rd, Age 767, three days before the Cell Games…

Several kilometers above Earth, a structure shaped like the lower half of a sphere floated in the sky. Over the centuries, the place had been the residence of the guardians of Planet Earth, all of whom had withstood varied trials and tribulations.

One of the planet's former guardians was standing at the edge of the structure, gazing upon the planet below. A part of him had been Earth's guardian for more than 300 years, but two halves had fused together. The role of guardian had been transferred to someone else only a few days ago.

Although he had guarded this planet in the past, he felt as though there was nothing he could do to protect it from the monstrosity that currently held it in a grip of terror: the android Cell.

There had been a time when he would have been able to win if not for the android's deviousness and sneakiness, but now, thanks to a set of unfortunate events – and to the huge ego of a certain Saiyan – the android had reached his perfect form. His capacity to destroy not just Earth, but the universe itself, seemed unparalleled.

But in the end, out of some mysteriously sprouted thought, Cell had decided to at least give the warriors of Earth a chance to defend the planet.

If they were able to defeat Cell in a tournament that the android had organized himself, then the Earth would be saved. However, if they lost, the whole world would be eliminated.

Piccolo wasn't a fool. He knew Cell was completely sure of winning, and that he was only organizing this whole tournament gimmick to give them false hope and to terrify the people Earth even more before killing them all.

The Namek snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a distinctive set of footsteps approaching. His energy-sensing abilities enabled him to recognize who it was. At any other time, he would have detected his approach long before, but even he at times could get lost enough in his thoughts so as to not sense people coming close to him.

"What's up, kid?" Piccolo asked Gohan, whose golden hair was spiked upward, moving only slightly with the breeze.

Gohan raised his hand slightly, as though he was going to ask a question. But even before he opened his mouth, he lowered his hand again and looked away.

"Nothing, Mr. Piccolo," he said, while turning his blue eyes away from him.

It still seemed weird for Piccolo to see the kid adorning the Super Saiyan form in a long-lasting fashion, when technically less than two weeks before he'd been unable to transform into a Super Saiyan at all.

Piccolo knew Gohan too well to believe what the kid had just said. Gohan wouldn't just come up to him like that if there was 'nothing' important on Gohan's mind.

"Really?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan alternated between looking up at him and looking away, obviously still unsure of whether he should speak or not.

"It's Cell," Gohan finally said while looking down, in the direction of Cell's energy..

"What about him?" Piccolo asked.

"Well… he's the most powerful being any of us have ever had to face, and for all we know, we all may die three days from now," Gohan said. "I don't get how dad can be so calm, or how he can tell me that we don't need another year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. How can he?"

Piccolo didn't know what to say. He sometimes forgot that although Gohan was strong, he was still a kid, and still had some tendencies related to kids, like looking up to his elders for reassurance.

"Well, kid, I don't know," Piccolo said. "It's true that Cell is more powerful than anyone we have ever faced, and in all honesty, I am just as surprised that your father can take this as calmly as he is."

Gohan gulped. Obviously, Piccolo's speech wasn't being reassuring for him.

"Nevertheless, the truth is that we all thought the same about the Saiyans and about Frieza, and your father still ended up defeating them," Piccolo said. "To be quite candid with you, Gohan, while I think your father may be in denial, it's possible that he honestly believes we can defeat Cell. And if one thing's for sure, your father comes up with miracles better than anyone else I've ever known."

Piccolo gave a strange mix of a smirk and scoff before continuing his comments.

"In all honesty, I sometimes wonder whether Goku wins just because he doesn't know that he can't."

For a long period, Gohan didn't say anything, obviously uncertain of what his reaction should be to his first master's words.

"Thank you, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan ended up saying. It was the only thing he thought was proper to say, given the situation.

Piccolo nodded, but then, a third person approached, entering the conversation abruptly.

"Instead of standing around here babbling like a moron you should be using your second day in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, brat," Vegeta said, right before he spat to the floor. "You and your low-level father should both be taking advantage of the time you still have to prepare. But no, Kakarot just brought the Dragon Balls, and then went back home to stuff himself with food until the Cell Games."

Vegeta made a point of shaking his head in a fashion that indicated intense disapproval.

"Pathetic," the Saiyan Prince said. "Well, at least if the lot of you get killed at the Cell Games, there will be no one to blame for that but yourselves."

Gohan glared at Vegeta, obviously having a hard time withstanding Vegeta's insults. Piccolo simply turned around, but inwardly, he was also perturbed by what Vegeta had said. Although those remarks weren't directed toward him, Piccolo didn't think Vegeta should have any grounds on which to criticize Gohan and Goku for not training, when this whole predicament was largely Vegeta's fault. If Vegeta had just killed Cell before the android reached his perfect form, then …

Piccolo snapped out of those thoughts when he felt a very powerful energy slamming into his senses, right from above.

The sudden burst of energy had been quite unexpected, although Piccolo recognized that if what he was feeling was truly reflective of the actual power levels of the beings who possessed them, defeating them would be without much trouble. The overwhelming majority of the dozens of them seemed to be at around the level that Raditz or the Saibamen had been. One person whose energy stood out among them seemed to be much stronger.

"What's going on with those powers I'm sensing?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know, kid," Piccolo replied. "But whatever they are, we should stay on our guard."

Trunks walked up to them.

"I agree," he said. "These guys could be yet more enemies that want to do harm to our planet. Like Piccolo said, we should be ready for the worst."

"Weaklings," Vegeta scoffed. "Getting yourselves all worked up over such puny power levels! Even baldy would be able to kill them all without breaking a sweat."

"Thanks for the compliment, Vegeta," Krillin said, with sarcasm apparent in his voice.

Vegeta gave another disdainful look at the others, but he didn't say anything else. None of them did. Instead, they just stared up at the direction of the power levels' collective source, trying their best to guess when whomever possessed those energy signatures would arrive.

Far away, at Mount Paozu, Goku looked up from his meal, right when he was about to shove the very last piece of food into his mouth.

"What is it Goku?" his wife asked him. She wasn't capable of sensing power levels, but she knew him well enough to know when he was nervous.

"Nothing …," Goku said in a decidedly non-convincing tone. "Nothing at all … I just sensed this strong power level – power levels, to be exact – heading straight for the Earth."

Chi Chi immediately stiffened.

"Strong power levels?" she asked.

"Not that strong," Goku said, with quick reassurance. "Most of them seem to only be around the power level Raditz had when I fought him. There's one stronger than the others, but even that one is only twice as strong as Captain Ginyu was. Even if I wasn't in my Super Saiyan form, I would be able to defeat them all."

Chi Chi gave her husband a displeased look.

"We wouldn't really know that, would we?" she asked. "After all, now you are a Super Saiyan all the time."

Goku scratched his head in embarrassment. Indeed, ever since he had come out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he had remained a Super Saiyan, simply because he had mastered the form to the point of feeling like it was natural.

"Oh well, all the more reason for us to not be afraid of these guys," he said, trying to convey the same carefree airy mood he had been exhibiting even more often lately, to see if some of that attitude would pass on to Chi Chi.

It didn't.

Instead, Chi Chi narrowed her eyes at him.

"But even though you don't think these guys are much of a threat, you're still going to take a closer look at them, right?"

'Caught in the act,' Goku thought.

"I'm sorry, Chi Chi," he said as apologetically as he could. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if he should say something else, but he ended up deciding not to. He wanted to wait for Chi Chi to react.

"Alright, Goku," Chi Chi eventually said, with a tired sigh. "Go there. Just be careful. And if Gohan goes with you, tell him to be careful as well, and try to make sure he gets as far away from danger as possible."

"I will, Chi Chi," Goku replied wholeheartedly, although he realistically knew that Gohan was so strong by now that it was highly unlikely these power levels would be a threat to him, even if they all attacked him at the same time. "Don't worry. Now, I've got to go."

Chi Chi still looked far from pleased at having him leaving like that, but fortunately, she didn't protest.

She had, after all, agreed to let Gohan participate in the tournament against Cell in a few days, so disallowing her son from helping out against enemies that were much weaker would have seemed quite inconsistent.

Chi Chi hoped that whatever Goku and Gohan were getting themselves into, they would at the very least be careful.

When the renegade energy signatures had first become readily detectable, the bio-android Cell had looked up at the sky, snapping out of his dormancy for the first time since whatever fool who ruled Earth in this timeline had sent that pathetic army to try to kill him.

In the end, that effort had only managed to make Cell enjoy himself as he had watched the pure horror on the soldiers' faces after their missiles and bullets had failed. He had also enjoyed hearing the panic in their screams as they tried to flee before Cell had vaporized them. All in all, there had been many good moments of amusement.

And, judging from the power levels he sensed heading toward Earth, maybe he would soon have additional fun before the tournament.

If Cell's data on what had happened almost every time aliens had visited Earth was anything to go by, these beings had come to conquer the planet.

Unfortunately for them, however, the right to control the Earth's destiny and to do whatever he wanted with the planet was already his.

He would be the one to destroy Earth, and anyone who tried to rob him of that pleasure would be vanquished.

But maybe Cell wouldn't have to be the one going through the trouble of doing so. Undoubtedly, Goku and the others also had sensed these new powers, and they would certainly want to see what was going on themselves.

Truth be told, all of these power levels were pathetic. The weaker ones were ridiculously weak, and even the strongest of them would only be about a third stronger than Vegeta would have been if he had used the Great Ape form to its fullest potential when he had first arrived on Earth.

There was one surprising thing about the strongest power among them, though. Unless Cell's energy-sensing skills were fooling him, the entity who possessed that power level seemed to almost certainly be a Saiyan. [Writer's note: There is a moment in uncut DBZ episode 172, "A New Guardian," when Goku states that he can locate Planet New Namek by finding a planet with an energy signature similar to Piccolo's. From this statement, it is logical to assume that the race of an individual can be determined by the energy said individual releases.]

However, according to the data Cell had, the only Saiyans that were conclusively known to have survived Planet Vegeta's destruction were Goku, Vegeta, Raditz, and Nappa.

There had been another alien who had visited Earth and whom Dr. Gero's analyses had indicated might be a Saiyan, although according to Cell's data, Dr. Gero hadn't been fully sure.

Regardless of whether that being had indeed been a Saiyan, the particular power level Cell was sensing now seemed as though it was almost assuredly of Saiyan origin. If so, then what was yet another survivor doing here?

Whomever it was, Cell had no way of finding out without alerting Goku and the others. Whatever he did would be detected by them, and therefore they would automatically handle the matter in a different manner.

Maybe it was better to wait for now, and to see what would happen. And once Cell had a clearer idea of the situation at hand, he would decide how best to respond to the events.

About a minute after he had convinced Chi Chi to let him take a closer look at the power levels he had felt, Goku appeared on Kami's Lookout, via Instant Transmission, and wearing his usual fighting clothes, into which he had changed before coming.

"Hello, Goku," Trunks said.

"Are you here because you have sensed these new power levels as well, Dad?" Gohan asked.

"Yes son," Goku replied, right before looking up at the sky. "It's weird. I could swear the strongest power level feels like a Saiyan – but any full-blooded Saiyan besides me and Vegeta should be dead by now, right?"

"Save your breath, Kakarot," Vegeta scolded. "Your question is one that we all have, and none of us knows the answer. So just shut up and wait for the owners of all those power levels to arrive, because I'm not in the mood to listen to your babbling."

"Always the same," Goku remarked after Vegeta's rather expected burst of bad temper.

But that was all he said with regards to Vegeta's comment. After all, if not even Vegeta knew what another full-blooded Saiyan was doing here so long after Frieza had destroyed Planet Vegeta, there was most likely no one else alive who did, other than the Saiyan who was heading toward them.

Goku hoped that this Saiyan, whomever he (or she) was, wouldn't have malicious intentions. But even if that was the case, this Saiyan would be easy to deal with.

"We'd better go meet them when they land," Goku said. "That way, we can see what they want sooner, and hopefully stop them before they do anything drastic, if that's what they're planning."

"Before we go, you'd better pick up Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu," Piccolo said. "I can sense that they are on the move – they probably they felt these powers as well."

"Good idea," Goku said. "I'll be right back."

Goku instant transmitted away from the Lookout – and about twenty seconds later, he returned with Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu.

"Thanks for the ride, Goku," Yamcha said, patting his friend's back. "It was really thoughtful of you to save us the effort."

"Don't thank me," Goku replied. "Thank Piccolo for the suggestion."

"Alright then," Tien said. "Going straight to business, who are the people responsible for the energy signatures we're feeling? The most powerful one among them feels like a Saiyan, but weren't …"

He was interrupted by a growl from Vegeta, who had a vein protruding on his forehead. Obviously, he was sick of this whole matter.

"Yes, triclops, every Saiyan other than me, Kakarot, and our offspring is meant to be dead by now. I don't know what this particular one is doing here, and frankly there's no need to make such a racket because of it! Even the dwarf clown over there could wipe that Saiyan and every one of the minions with him in one strike without coming close to breaking a sweat," Vegeta said, pointing to Chiaotzu when he was referenced. "That means there's no need for you fools to make that much noise because of it. So, keep your traps shut, or I will be the one shutting them for good!"

Tien, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu flinched. Goku, however, was reasonably confident that Vegeta wouldn't do such a thing. Although he still couldn't be described as 'tame' or 'peaceful,' he had come a long way from the barbarian he had been when he had first come to Earth. His recent comment had probably come out of his annoyance at having been expected to know everything – and perhaps from not knowing something he truly wanted to know.

But his annoyance was understandable. After all, not even Vegeta could be expected to know everything about his largely-dead race. Vegeta had been right when he had said that even Chiaotzu wouldn't have any problem with killing them all if violence ensued. But still, Goku hoped they wouldn't have to resort to that. After all, slaughter was a tactic that Goku had always strived to avoid.

A few minutes later, a huge acorn-shaped spaceship had completed its descent from above, and it had landed on the desert floor of a barren wasteland.

Goku, Gohan, Krillin, Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu had been waiting for it, as they had appeared in the vicinity a few minutes before the ship had landed, thanks to Instant Transmission.

Fortunately, the ship had landed here as opposed to a significantly populated area, helping the warriors of Earth avoid what otherwise could have been extensive collateral damage during a fight in an urban area.

The warriors of Earth soon noticed that what appeared to be the spaceship's main door vertically opened up, and a ramp extended outwards, enabling the entities inside the ship to emerge.

About 200 soldiers ran out of the ship, almost like an army getting ready for action. They all looked pretty much alike, as they all appeared to be wearing blue jumpsuits, purple gloves and boots, and equally purple helmets with red visors.

All the Earth's fighters in the vicinity entered into fighting stances, except for Vegeta, who simply stood with his arms crossed. He could destroy all of these fools with a mere swipe of his hand if he so chose, and if they revealed any aggressive tendencies, he would seriously consider doing it.

The soldiers looked around for a moment as though orienting themselves, and then ran toward them.

All the others leapt backwards, but Vegeta maintained his position. He had nothing to fear from these fools. Individually, each of them was so weak that even Raditz would have had a chance at defeating them. And although there were about 200 of them, and there was one power as strong as all the weaker ones put together, each one of the Earth's defenders alone was strong enough to defeat all of them so easily that it almost wouldn't be worth the effort.

Strangely, as soon as the soldiers in the front got to within a meter of Vegeta, they dropped to one knee in front of him.

"Your majesty," all of them said in nearly perfect unison.

"Majesty?" Vegeta heard Kakarot ask from behind him.

For once, Vegeta did not scold the clown. Indeed, he shared the buffoon's puzzlement. While he was undeniably the Prince of all Saiyans, he had never had the opportunity to be crowned as king, and in the end, he had practically no one to rule over, something that bothered him much more than he let on to his … allies, as Vegeta wouldn't bring himself to call any of the clowns on Earth his friends.

Either way, these mysterious arrivals obviously weren't Saiyans, judging from the patches of green skin that could be seen in the unprotected part between the helmet and the top of the jumpsuits.

"Who are you?" Vegeta asked.

None of them spoke, but another figure – the source of the stronger energy they had felt – walked through the spaces between the soldiers, advancing toward Vegeta. Besides having a higher power level, his appearance distinguished him from all the others.

This man was tall, with a tanned skin, spiky and rather short black hair, a thick moustache, and bushy sideburns. He was covered in scars, but the most impressive of them was the one on the left side of his face, running through an eyelid that was screwed shut due to the missing eye. Although most of his right side was covered by a white cape, Vegeta could see that this man was wearing armor similar to those worn in Frieza's forces, with black shoulder pads, green tight guards, a red chest area, and purple gloves and boots. His right hand and wrist were encased by what appeared to be some sort of device, which was golden in color.

Most striking of all, however, was the brown tail that Vegeta could see wrapped around the man's waist. Although his energy signature had suggested that the man was a Saiyan, Vegeta felt quite pleased at knowing that there was at least one Saiyan who still had the trademark of their people.

The Saiyan halted right in front of Vegeta, then dropped to one knee.

"Your majesty," the Saiyan said, repeating the genuflection of his soldiers.

"Greetings, Saiyan," Vegeta said, deciding that a member of his race who had the intelligence and decency to recognize and properly greet a member of the royal family deserved more than his usual scowls. "Who are you, and what is your business here?"

"My name is Paragus, your majesty," the Saiyan said, while still kneeling on the ground. "I came here to ask you to be our new king."

"Our new king?" Vegeta asked, while raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, your majesty," Paragus said, standing up again. "Over the past many years, I have been preparing a New Planet Vegeta, fit for you to rule. It is more than time for the Saiyan race to rise from its ashes, to show the Universe the supremacy of the ultimate warriors."

Vegeta simply looked disdainfully at the Saiyan. Part of what Paragus said had its appeal – but it didn't sound adequately logical, at least not at this point in history.

"Right," Vegeta scoffed.

"Your majesty, I swear I'm telling you the truth," Paragus said. "I would not dare to bother you with trivial matters, or to tell you any lie."

The way how Paragus had said it almost made Vegeta believe him – indeed, with the power level Paragus had, he would have to be a fool to get on Vegeta's wrong side. But still, why would he go through so much work to restore the Saiyan Empire?

Before Vegeta could ask that, however, Kakarot interrupted him.

"Hey there, sorry to interrupt, but well, there really aren't a lot of Saiyans left to rule over," he shouted. "And isn't there not much of a point in building a Saiyan Empire with only three Saiyans and two half-Saiyans left?"

Paragus didn't answer, but Vegeta glared at Kakarot, furious at the imbecile's behavior. Why the clown had to have poorer manners than a peasant was beyond him.

But he also had a point. After all, besides himself and Kakarot, the only other pure-blooded Saiyan worth considering appeared to be Paragus.

Tarble didn't count, as far as Vegeta was concerned. Vegeta wasn't sure of whether his foolish brother was alive or not, to begin with, and even if he was, he was on some remote planet that Vegeta didn't remember, and any information regarding his whereabouts had been lost a long time ago. Last, but certainly not least, the imbecile wasn't a proper Saiyan warrior. Even if, after all this time, he had somehow acquired the power level of an elite Saiyan, he would always be the black sheep of the family because of his passiveness and lack of desire to fight. [Writer's note: A reference to Tarble is included here because the 2008 special, "Dragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!", seems to occur at a point in the Dragon Ball universe timeline in which it could realistically occur with no major plot holes, especially since the lack of references to Tarble's existence in the main canon DBZ series can be explained by Vegeta's utter disregard of his brother, which very much seems to have been the case. Tarble is mentioned here as having the power level of an elite Saiyan because, while Vegeta says that Tarble can't fight in the 2008 special, that conflicts with Eighteen saying she senses a strong power level approaching. Therefore, it's more likely Tarble is 'unable to fight' because he is soft-hearted, which is supported by the way he is presented in the movie.]

"The idiot is right," Vegeta said, referring to Kakarot. "There are only a handful of Saiyans to rule over, so rebuilding the empire seems somewhat fruitless at this point. That is, unless you know of something I don't know."

Paragus thought for a moment.

"Well, your Majesty, as far as I know, the last Saiyans alive are myself, you, Kakarot, Raditz, Nappa..."

"Those two are dead," Vegeta said. "Raditz was killed in battle, and I killed Nappa after his usefulness had ended."

Vegeta then spat in a forceful manner, if only to hide the fact that he now, at least somewhat, regretted killing the man.

Paragus paused.

"Oh… in that case, I believe the only full-blooded Saiyans alive are myself, you, Kakarot, and my son."

"You have a son?" Vegeta asked. "Where is this son of yours, then?"

"He is on New Planet Vegeta, waiting for us." Paragus stated. "I left him there to keep an eye on things, and to make sure that everything is ready for you when you get there."

Vegeta nodded at Paragus' statement, not saying anything else. But inwardly, he was starting to lean toward accepting this idea of ruling the new Saiyan Empire. More than he had before, at least. He was a member of royalty, and he had used to dream about a whole empire kneeling in front of him.

But now was not exactly the best time to pursue this dream.

The Cell Games were three days away, and Vegeta had to be here to pluck that overgrown cockroach apart, limb-by-limb. To leave Earth now and begin pursuing the foundation of a new Saiyan Empire seemed as though it would be more than difficult, at best.

As though he had sensed Vegeta's thoughts, Paragus spoke again.

"Your majesty, even if you do not accept my offer at ruling a new Saiyan Empire, please, come with us. We need your help to defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan!"

That sentence was all it took for Paragus to get everyone's full attention again. However, the one who expressed it in the most outward manner was, surprisingly, Vegeta.

"Legendary Super Saiyan?" Vegeta asked, turning around in a flash. "What do you mean?"

Paragus looked at Vegeta straight in the eyes – even though Paragus himself only had one eye.

"I mean that there is one Saiyan survivor I didn't tell you about initially, because he cannot be included in the Saiyan subjects who will be under your rule," Paragus said. "That Saiyan is the Legendary Super Saiyan, the terrible warrior of legend, the one who appears once every 1000 years, and who surpasses limits that are unreachable even by the fiercest warriors of our race, other than himself. He has been on a wild rampage all over the galaxy, and has come perilously close to the vicinity of New Planet Vegeta. If we don't do anything, he will end up destroying it. We have to defeat him, and we need your …"

He momentarily paused, while glancing behind Vegeta.

"…Actually, we would most likely need the help of you and all your comrades to defeat him."

If Vegeta had believed even part of Paragus's speech, it was hard to tell, as no one could know for sure what he was thinking.

However, Paragus's request had a few loopholes, and there was one Vegeta had spotted right away.

"That Legendary Super Saiyan thing is crap," Vegeta said. "Five years ago, I would have bought it, but now, both Kakarot and myself can turn into Super Saiyans. Not only that, but my son and Kakarot's, who are only half-Saiyans, can turn into Super Saiyans. And besides, Kakarot's brat is a child. In case you have any doubts about this, you can see for yourself that Kakarot and his brat are transformed right now. My son and I gain a similar appearance when we transform. The four of us are all Legendary Super Saiyans."

Paragus turned his single eye toward Kakarot and his son, but, for some reason, he didn't seem surprised. Instead, he just started speaking again.

"Your majesty, I am fully aware of what you said about you and Kakarot turning into Super Saiyans," Paragus said. "And I might not have recognized Kakarot and his son if I hadn't been aware that these are not their normal appearances. However, forgive me for saying this, you are not Legendary Super Saiyans. You are Super Saiyans only."

In a different context, Paragus' declaration of Vegeta being a 'mere' Super Saiyan would have been an insult. But now, Vegeta was too confused about Paragus' statement to actually care about that. And apparently, the eight clowns behind him thought the same.

"Be specific," Vegeta ordered.

Paragus took a deep breath.

"Your majesty, the Legendary Super Saiyan is, like the legend says, a Saiyan who is born once every 1,000 years. His natural power at birth is huge, and as he grows older, his power increases exponentially without him ever having to train. From the intelligence I've been able to gather, it appears as though he has been able turn into a Super Saiyan naturally since a very young age, while you, Kakarot, and anyone else who turns into Super Saiyan had to train very hard to get to the required level, and eventually needed a trigger to unlock the transformation. That is why I say he is the Legendary Super Saiyan."

Vegeta nodded. In a way, Paragus was right. After all, there were many definitions for 'legendary' and one of them was to be extraordinary by nature. Paragus was right when he said that he, Kakarot, and all the others had needed to train to reach their current strength.

"I get what you mean," Vegeta said. "But is killing this Legendary Super Saiyan really necessary?"

Vegeta had asked that question for two reasons. One, he didn't want to depart from Earth and risk not returning before the start of the Cell Games. And two, this Legendary Super Saiyan still was one of the last surviving Saiyans. Vegeta had already made a mistake of the same sort by killing Nappa, and he didn't want to make that mistake again.

Paragus locked his single eye on Vegeta, with deadly seriousness radiating from it.

"The Legendary Super Saiyan's bloodthirsty reputation is exactly as the legends about him say. He lives for the thrill of the slaughter, and he knows nothing but to destroy."

"I see…," Vegeta said, meaning it.

Indeed, everything known about the Legendary Super Saiyan did support the fact he was a being consumed by the wish to destroy. After all, that was the reason why Vegeta had, at first, believed one had to be malicious to become a Super Saiyan. Now he knew that wasn't true, but he still didn't know that much about this new Legendary Super Saiyan.

Maybe it was better to check this whole thing out, after all.

Vegeta opened his mouth to ask how long the trip from Earth to New Planet Vegeta was meant to be, but before he did, Kakarot interrupted him again.

"Look, I'm sorry to interrupt, but why do you need us all to defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan?" he asked. "How strong is he exactly?"

"Stronger than you can ever imagine, Kakarot," Paragus replied. "I mean, Goku," he said, correcting himself.

"You know my Earth name?" Kakarot asked, with surprise.

"Yes, I know the name you've acquired," Paragus replied. "After all, you are the Saiyan who defeated Frieza on Planet Namek, and that's the only name Frieza ever used for you."

"How do you know about what happened on Planet Namek?" Piccolo asked. "You weren't even there!"

"That is a long story," was all that Paragus said.

"We have time," Piccolo insisted, not wavering. "And I'm also curious to know how you knew Vegeta was on Earth."

Not even acknowledging Piccolo's statement, Paragus looked at Vegeta, as though to ask him for permission.

"Spill it," Vegeta said right away. After all, he was also curious as to how Paragus could have known about what Kakarot had done on Planet Namek, and even more curious about how exactly Paragus had known to come to Earth.

Nodding at Vegeta, Paragus started speaking.

"When Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, all those years ago, my son and I were lucky enough to have been in the midst of leaving the planet on a mission," Paragus said. "A matter of seconds after we left, I saw Frieza's attack, and then I saw it coming down for Planet Vegeta. In all honesty, I was horrified beyond words. I wish I could have done something to stop Frieza, but I was just … too weak."

Paragus lowered his head, obviously ashamed of himself for such a thought. But Vegeta merely scowled. If even he had taken a lot of healings after being beaten to near-death to be on par with Frieza's first form, he didn't honestly expect that any other Saiyan, especially all those years ago, could have stopped one of Frieza's attacks. However, Vegeta wouldn't admit this out loud.

"As soon as I regained coherent thought, I started focusing my every effort on making Frieza pay for what had happened. Among those efforts, I had spies inside Frieza's forces. One of them was in the group of soldiers that Frieza took to Planet Namek, and another was in the group that Frieza and his father brought here to Earth when they came here."

"Really?" Vegeta asked. "And how did your spy on Namek escape the planet's explosion? Or how did the one among Frieza and King Cold's soldiers escape being killed?"

Paragus smiled smugly, as though he was proud of his excellent choice in spies.

"Fortunately for me, Frieza and his family never had lower-level soldiers counted to the number, probably because they never cared enough about them to do so. And the spies I employed had the ability to suppress their energies. My spy on Namek watched all of the fight against Frieza until that despicable bastard threw down the attack that catalyzed the planet's explosion. By that point, he left the planet, on a Space Pod that had belonged to one of the members of the Ginyu Force. And in the case of my operative who was with Frieza on Earth, well,… it's possible that my spy is still somewhere on this planet, although it's spy had been watching events from inside Cold's spaceship and had transmitted information to me in real-time, and I lost contact with him around the time that Cold's spaceship was apparently destroyed, presumably by that boy over there, who, must be your son, based on the fact you said that your son and Kakarot's son can become Super Saiyans, and my spy reported that this boy became a Super Saiyan in his fight with Frieza."

"That 'boy,' you referred to is my son Trunks," Vegeta stated crisply. "Therefore, you are meant to refer to him and address him as 'Prince Trunks,' understood?"

Paragus, for many reasons, was still having a hard time accepting the notion that Vegeta indeed had a son, and upon further contemplating the implications of this, his smug grin had replaced by an extremely confused look. At first, Vegeta was somewhat puzzled over such a reaction, but then, he realized there were things to be puzzled about. To begin with, the fact that Vegeta, at 35 years old, had a son who indeed was 20 years old, but who hadn't been born 20 years ago, could be seen as somewhat shocking, as in Saiyan culture, Saiyans usually weren't parents at such a young age. Also, Trunks was not a typical Saiyan name. [Writer's note: There is no canon reference to what is the usual age for a Saiyan to have a child, but it is logical to assume that, just as is the case with most cultures that have been observed in real life at the social and technological levels of development of the Saiyans by the time Planet Vegeta was destroyed, it is unusual for Saiyans to be parents at such a young age, especially if we consider that they are meant to live longer than humans.]

After a moment, however, Paragus' confused air disappeared, and he bowed respectfully at them.

"Of course, your majesty. Forgive me for my mistake."

Turning to Trunks, he added, "And it is an honor to meet you, Prince Trunks."

Trunks looked somewhat taken aback by Paragus' greeting. Seeing the boy's reaction, Vegeta couldn't help but to think that such an Earthling manner of education had been detrimental for his son from the future. However, Paragus didn't press the matter for long, and instead returned to the previous topic of conversation.

"Either way, your majesty, I learned through those spies that you were still alive, and as such, the Saiyan Empire could still carry on. I've spent the last many years making meticulous preparations for it. Now that everything is almost ready, I have come to make this offer to you."

Paragus bowed deeply at the waist as he finished his statement.

Vegeta couldn't help but to be mildly impressed. Obviously, Paragus was a firm believer in Saiyan supremacy, not to mention that he seemed to know what he was doing, to have managed to spy inconspicuously on Frieza's forces for so long. Under those considerations, ruling the new Saiyan Empire that Paragus had set the foundations for sounded ever more appealing.

But if Vegeta was mildly impressed, the others didn't seem to be that way. Piccolo, however, seemed particularly suspicious about something. And he wasted no time voicing it.

"Wait," Piccolo demanded. "If you have spied on the fight against Frieza on Planet Namek, then you certainly know of what Frieza did to Vegeta there. And if that's the case, how come you aren't surprised that Vegeta is still alive, and instead actually expected to find him here?"

Sounding as though Piccolo had deeply insulted him, Paragus stated, "Why, because I was sure you'd resurrect him with the Dragon Balls, of course!"

That statement immediately made everyone wary.

"You know of the Dragon Balls?" Trunks asked.

For a moment, Paragus looked like he was about to snap at Trunks, but instead, he calmed down at the last moment, he said, "Of course, my prince. I know of the Dragon Balls from the old Planet Namek, and I also heard that there was another set on Earth. Even if the old Planet Namek was destroyed – quite probably taking the Namekian Dragon Balls with it – I knew that the Dragon Balls on Earth would be usable."

Vegeta noticed the inaccurate part about Paragus' explanation, which was his statement that the Namekian Dragon Balls had been destroyed with Planet Namek. But if Paragus' spy had left Planet Namek right after Frieza had catalyzed its destruction, then Paragus couldn't have known of what had taken place on Planet Namek after that. And Vegeta didn't have the patience to correct his subject.

"If you know of the Dragon Balls, how come you never used them to wish for that new Saiyan Empire of yours?" Krillin asked.

Then, as if he'd wanted to be polite for some reason, he added, "I mean, no one has ever known of a Saiyan other than Goku who is aware of the Dragon Balls' existence and never wanted to use them for some sort of selfish purpose."

Paragus glared at Krillin with his single eye. "An empire built through a giant lizard's witchcraft would not be an empire worthy of any Saiyan."

Paragus said that with such vehemence and disgust that it had left an impression. And although he didn't say it, Vegeta immediately considered Paragus even more of a true Saiyan as a result of this statement. Indeed, there was no honor in having some overgrown scaly worm complete a Saiyan's task in his place.

But even if the others seemed reassured, Kakarot still seemed adamant at insisting on a certain point.

"I'm sorry, but I sort of have to insist on my previous question," Goku said. "Just how strong is this Legendary Super Saiyan? How come we can't sense him from here? Because, as you might have figured out, we can all sense power levels. And we are scheduled to face a very powerful being, Cell, in three days. Cell is so powerful that even without him using his full power, his energy can be sensed as far away as New Namek, a planet extremely far away from here. If this Legendary Super Saiyan can't be sensed from here, he just may not be that strong, after all."

Without the slightest hesitation, as though he had been expecting that question, Paragus said, "The Legendary Super Saiyan's reputation moves across space far quicker than the Legendary Super Saiyan himself. At this exact moment, he is even farther away from New Planet Vegeta than New Planet Vegeta is from the Earth. But he is in a completely opposite direction. And the combined distance is simply too big for even his power to be felt all the way from his different location to Earth."

Kakarot appeared to back down somewhat, as though he had no argument against that. Still, it didn't seem to be really enough, as he said something else.

"But you know, even if this Legendary Super Saiyan is that strong, well, we're sort of busy at the moment, and we can't really leave Earth right now," Goku said. "If we're not at Cell's arena in three days, he will just destroy the whole planet. I'm not sure how long the journey to New Planet Vegeta takes, but it will certainly be too long in the end."

Although he wasn't exactly fond of agreeing with anything that came out of that imbecile's mouth, Vegeta nodded. Indeed, Cell was his primary matter to take care of, rather than this newfound business with the revived Saiyan Empire.

"The clown has a point," Vegeta said. "The Legendary Super Saiyan and the new Saiyan Empire are not my first priority. Cell, however, is someone I have a score to settle with – and I'm going to be here to tear him apart with my bare hands when the time for his wretched tournament comes."

"Prince Vegeta, three days is more than enough for you to travel to New Planet Vegeta and then return to Earth," Paragus stated. "My ship can go there in eight hours only."

"This ship is that fast?" Vegeta asked, with surprise.

"Yes," Paragus said. "Ever since I thought of starting our new empire, my minions and I all have worked hard to take Saiyan technology to whole new levels, so that like our bodies after a fight, our race will rise stronger than it has ever been before."

For a long moment, Vegeta stood where he was, considering the situations at hand. While he wanted more than almost everything to be here to destroy the conceited overgrown cockroach that Cell was, the idea of ruling over a new Saiyan Empire had its appeal. And if he would be able to come back before the Cell Games started, briefly visiting New Planet Vegeta and helping Paragus seemed to be a viable option.

"Very well then," Vegeta said. "Let's see that Legendary Super Saiyan. Or at least, I will. Probably the clowns will want to stay here."

"I have to talk to Chi Chi," Goku said. "I'm not sure if she will let either me or Gohan go to such a place on such short notice – and besides, I don't want to make this sort of journey without telling her."

"Well, if mom lets us, I'm going." Gohan said.

Vegeta scoffed in the most audible way he could muster. Pathetic low-class fighters who needed to ask permission from a woman! A proper Saiyan warrior would never lower himself to do such a thing.

But the truth was that he, inwardly, couldn't help but think that, if he did follow through with this new idea of ruling over New Planet Vegeta, sooner or later he'd have to confront Bulma about it. He could already guess she wasn't going to be pleased about the idea – and for some reason, picturing her reaction made him a tad bit… uneasy, for lack of a better word.

Oh well, that was a concern for when he actually followed through with ruling the new Saiyan Empire. As for now, he was merely going to see how much truth there was to Paragus' stories, and how much potential the new Saiyan Empire could have.

"I'm also going," Trunks said.

Vegeta couldn't help but feel relieved at the fact that the boy hadn't mentioned asking his mother for permission – although why he hadn't done so was a bit of a mystery to Vegeta.

"So am I," Piccolo stated, without giving any special reason to do so.

"In that case, I guess we're also going," Krillin said, referring to himself and the other humans. "Right guys?"

Vegeta saw that all of the baldy's human friends nodded.

"Sure," Tien said.

"I'm on it," Yamcha added.

"I'll go too," Chiaotzu piped in.

Chiaotzu's declaration was met with worried looks from most of his friends. However, none of them was as worried as Tien.

"I would prefer if you stayed here, Chiaotzu," Tien said. "This Legendary Super Saiyan sounds as though he could be a big threat."

"I will find some way to help," Chiaotzu insisted. "And I am not going to stay alone on Earth while all of you go who-knows-where in outer space."

"Fair enough," Tien said, and then turned toward Goku and the others. "In that case, we are all going."

"Then just wait a little bit," Goku said. "I just have to talk to Chi-Chi about this, and I'll be right back."

With that, Goku raised two fingers to his forehead, and he vanished.

While Vegeta and the others waited for Goku to come back from his conversation with his wife, Cell, standing in the middle of his ring, tried his best to use his energy-sensing skills to know what was going on at the place where those beings he had felt arriving had landed.

If they had been much closer, even within five kilometers, he might have been able to hear them thanks to Dr. Gero's enhancements of the superior Namekian hearing powers that had been incorporated into his design.

If Goku and his friends had been off-guard, he would have gone there and actually tried to eavesdrop, but for them to let their guard down enough for Cell to approach unnoticed, they had to be fighting. And so far, they weren't fighting.

From what Cell could tell, Goku's friends and the mysterious beings that had arrived were simply standing there, as though they were waiting for something. Most likely, they were presently waiting for Goku, as Cell could sense that he was away from the others, back at his home. Either way, it was obvious that there had been neither fighting, nor anything that indicated aggressiveness. In fact, no one besides Goku had even left the spot where the beings' spaceship – at least, Cell assumed they had come on a spaceship – had landed. This meant that Cell couldn't go and eavesdrop without the possibility of being noticed. Even if he tried to move there after suppressing his power level, the warriors of Earth would almost assuredly sense his power level disappearing, and their guard would be up, which would mean that they would be especially careful regarding information that could slip out to eavesdroppers.

Because of this, Cell decided to remain at his place in the center of the arena.

For the briefest of moments, Cell wondered if these mysterious beings – whomever they were – were some sort of reinforcements that Goku and his friends had summoned to help them at the Cell Games, three days from now.

But he dismissed the possibility as soon as he thought about it. Although there were a lot of those weaker beings, they were ridiculously weak even when put together. Even the strongest of those beings – who, if Cell wasn't wrong, was indeed a Saiyan – had a laughable power level. And although it was possible that he possessed the skill to turn into a Great Ape, his power level would be pathetic anyway – compared to his own, at least. Besides, it was obvious for the bio-android that none of these strange beings were suppressing their power levels. Cell was skilled at sensing power levels, and even from a distance, he could tell if a being was suppressing his power or not, although he couldn't always tell by how much. The only exceptions to that rule were with beings who could transform, like Saiyans – although even then, if he knew the standard multiplier of the being's transformation, he would be able to make a reasoned guess regarding its full power.

Whatever was going on there, it was clearly not worth his time. It was only an incidental break from the boring routine of standing like a statue in the middle of his ring.

Of course, there would be plenty of time to make up for his boredom. After the destruction of the Earth's defenders, and then the planet's own decimation, these victories would taste all that sweeter because of the time he had spent waiting to achieve these goals.

After 15 minutes of waiting, Goku finally came back to the place where the space ship had landed, finding a swarm of impatient faces as he materialized on the spot.

Not that he blamed them. After all, Chi Chi's lectures could be quite long, although Goku had grown somewhat used to them.

"Well then, dad? What did mom say?" he asked.

"We're going, son," Goku said.

Gohan looked neither hopeful nor dismayed at the information. He simply accepted it, as though it made no difference for him.

"Now that we're all accounted for, if you will please follow me," Paragus said with a wave of his right hand, beckoning the others to come toward the ship.

Without anything else that needed to be discussed, the Z-Fighters, as well as Paragus' soldiers, started to walk toward the open hatch.

Standing on the tiled floor of Kami's Lookout, Dende used his energy sensing skills to follow the space ship's route as it left the Earth's atmosphere.

As he sensed the Z-Fighters departing, a deep frown became etched on his face.

It was bad enough that the terrible monster Cell was close to starting his reign of terror unless he was stopped, but to have yet another threat to deal with was not a good sign.

And to top it all, that threat was meant to be a Legendary Super Saiyan, or so Dende had heard when he had overseen his friends' conversation with Paragus, thanks to his useful but still rudimentary Guardian powers.

Everything about this matter made him uneasy.

And the fact Goku and the others had left the Earth unprotected with that fiend Cell still on it didn't help him in any way. Although Dende knew they could return instantly at any time, thanks to that technique Goku possessed, he still didn't particularly like the idea of them leaving the planet, even if it was to take care of another threat.

'I only hope that nothing bad happens while they are away,' the young guardian thought, with his eyes still locked on the sky.

A little more than eight hours after it had left the Earth, the colossal acorn-shaped spaceship had landed on New Planet Vegeta, after finishing its journey across space.

Paragus' minions had gone ahead on foot, but Vegeta, Paragus, and the other passengers had stayed behind at first to wait for transportation.

After a few minutes, they all were on vehicles reminiscent of Yajirobe's car, except for the fact they worked on an auto-pilot mode. Those vehicles were hovering over a pathway built on top of a ridge, as they took the occupiers to a castle seen on the end of the pathway – which wasn't all that far away from the end of the ridge. Even from the distance, Vegeta could tell it was impressive, much bigger than his father's former palace back on Planet Vegeta.

The planet also appeared to be better than the former Planet Vegeta, as it appeared to be full of lush vegetation and large lakes of clear water. On the limit of eye-reach, high buildings that undoubtedly belonged to a big city could be seen. [Writer's note: The closest canon sources regarding the quality of the original Planet Vegeta's landscape are uncut DBZ episode 20, "Goku's Ancestors," and the TV Special "Bardock – The Father of Goku." In both of those, Planet Vegeta seems to have a poor landscape. While certain anime flashbacks present Planet Vegeta differently, episode 20 and the Bardock special should be regarded as much more canonical due to their greater breadths of depicting the planet.]

All in all, Vegeta had to admit that, although nothing could replace his old home, no matter how barren it may have been, this New Planet Vegeta was definitely a very good place from which to begin his rule.

"As I said on our way here, my biggest wish has always been to establish a new Planet Vegeta, after Frieza destroyed our old planet 30 years ago," Paragus said to Vegeta in the front car. "I knew it was the only way of continuing the rule of King Vegeta, your father, who was eliminated by Frieza in terrible, humiliating circumstances. Now that I have found you and convinced you to follow me, I know that my dream will come true."

Vegeta grunted in response. It would be beneath a Saiyan king to show any other sort of feeling to Paragus' speech. And besides, Paragus had insulted him deeply by daring to insinuate that they would need Kakarot and all the other morons to defeat this Legendary Super Saiyan. Paragus had even wanted to wait for Kakarot to convince his harpy to let him and his spawn go to New Planet Vegeta – all because Paragus had said they would need the help of both Kakarot and the brat to defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan, not to mention the help of all the others.

The mere thought still made Vegeta feel deeply insulted. Vegeta considered himself to be able to lay waste to any Super Saiyan – Legendary or not – without help, and he would demonstrate this as soon as he got half the chance.

But other than his tremendous insult, Paragus was turning out to be impressive so far, at least if the spaceship he had prepared and the planet he had cultivated were anything to go by. Considering that New Planet Vegeta was about as far from the Earth as the old Planet Namek had been from Earth – albeit in an opposite direction – and that this acorn-shaped spaceship had made the way in eight hours when an old standard Space Pod would have taken at least a month, it was obvious that Paragus had significantly invested resources toward technological development. And the planet had an excellent environment, judging from the forests and the lakes. If everything else Paragus had invested in had been improved in the same proportions, the new Saiyan Empire was off to an excellent start. Although it would be beneath him to outwardly show this feeling, Vegeta was thrilled at the idea of ruling it. [Writer's note: Regarding the distances described in the paragraph above, the following shall be established: 1 – The spaceship Goku used to travel to the original Planet Namek had the same speed as an old Saiyan Space Pod. 2 – Paragus' spaceship is much faster than an old Saiyan Space Pod. 3 – Planet New Vegeta is much farther from the Earth than New Namek. This reasoning has been made so that Cell could not sense the energies of any of the warriors on Planet New Vegeta. Had Planet New Vegeta been much closer, Cell would have sensed Goku's and Gohan's energies, and in turn, he would already know how strong they were by the time he fought them, which would create an inconsistency with the canon series' plot and which was a potential plot hole of the original Movie 8. Also, had Cell been able to sense Broly's energy, the overall dialogue flow of the canon Cell Games would have been very different, especially since Cell would have been aware of Broly's power.]

Behind the vehicle that was carrying Vegeta and Paragus, the others rode in a vehicle that looked more like a pick-up truck, and which didn't have seats. Comfort, after all, wasn't much of a concern for them. Goku, however, was keeping his left hand on his forehead, as if he was suffering from a headache.

"Is everything alright, dad?" Gohan asked, worriedly.

"Yes, son," he said. "Don't worry. I'll be alright."

"Then why do you look so sick?" Chiaotzu asked him.

"Nothing special, Chiaotzu. It's just that my ears are still buzzing after the tongue-lashing Chi Chi gave me when I told her where I was going. I honestly don't know how I managed to convince her of that one."

Trunks looked puzzled, as though he couldn't believe Chi Chi's lectures could have such an effect that someone could still be affected by them eight hours after they had taken place. The others, however, merely nodded in understanding.

"Oh man, I so get what you mean," Yamcha said. "Even without living with Chi Chi, I know enough about her to imagine how she would have reacted to such a request."

Piccolo gave Goku a stern look.

"Goku, this is not a moment for jokes," The Namek pointed out.

"I don't think Goku's making a joke, Piccolo," Krillin remarked. "And you should know better than anyone. To begin with, you spent the whole period in which we trained for the fight against the Androids with Goku's family. And besides, didn't you learn how to drive only because Chi Chi also lectured you on the matter?"

Piccolo glared at Krillin, but obviously, the memory of the event was still fresh in his mind, because he didn't reply.

Tien moved away from the wall of the cargo area he had been leaning against.

"Piccolo is right," he said. "This is not the time for jokes. In fact, we should all be concerned."

"What do you mean, Tien?" Gohan asked.

"For starters, this whole matter with the Legendary Super Saiyan. If the Legendary Super Saiyan is as strong as Paragus says, then why have none of us ever sensed him? Besides, the fact Paragus needs all of us to defeat him is suspicious. What if this is just a plan for him to get his henchmen on the Earth, so that they can conquer it while it is unprotected? And besides, even if this isn't some plan of Paragus, surely Cell sensed us leaving, just like he must have sensed Paragus and his soldiers. Who's to say Cell won't start destroying the planet a few days ahead of time?"

Tien said all of that in a single tirade. And indeed, his words seemed as though they had made all the others consider the same points, judging from the concerned way they were looking at Goku, as though they had feared some huge oversight. Goku, however, simply gave them one of his usual relaxed smiles, before he gave a calm reply.

"If that happens, we will know," Goku said.

His answer was met with general puzzlement. Only Piccolo didn't seem amazed – but that was most likely because Piccolo was of the stoic type.

"How can we know, Goku?" Trunks asked.

"Well, on our way here, I made sure to talk to King Kai through telepathy. I explained the situation to him, and asked him to keep an eye on Earth, and let me know if any of Paragus' minions go there while we're here. And as he will be keeping an eye on Earth, he'll also be keeping an eye on Cell. If Cell tries anything, King Kai will tell me, and I can transmit us all back there. I remember our route through space, so I just have to search for Dende's and Mr. Popo's energies in that direction, and then we'll all be back on Earth." [Writer's note: There are several instances in which Goku reveals that he can speak to King Kai telepathically out of his own initiative. Those instances are in uncut DBZ episode 36, "Picking Up The Pieces," and in uncut DBZ episode 101, "The Last Wish". It is also made clear on various occasions that telepathic conversations between King Kai and someone else, or between one person who talks through King Kai and someone else, are, as a general rule, heard only by those that King Kai wants to listen to them. Also, it is logical that Goku would have talked to King Kai through telepathy, because he didn't know how skilled Paragus and his minions were at sensing energy, and he didn't want them to ask any questions in case they sensed he had gone someplace that wasn't his house.]

By the end of his speech, everyone on the vehicle was staring at him, some with their mouths agape, as though they hadn't expected Goku to be capable of making that sort of planning ahead of time. Only Piccolo still seemed unfazed by the reveal, which probably meant he was capable of eavesdropping on telepathic conversations.

"Well, it looks like you got everything covered them," Tien said. The others gave him nods of agreement.

A moment after Tien spoke, their attentions were caught by something else.

A group of possibly thousands of soldiers similar to the ones that had been with them on Paragus' space ship – in fact, a few of them were bound to be the same that had been on the ship – were standing in front of the castle, waiting for them.

When the passengers jumped out of their cars, the soldiers seemed indifferent to the presence of most of them, but as soon as they saw Vegeta, all of them started cheering for him, and shouting, "All hail King Vegeta! All hail King Vegeta!"

'Wow, Vegeta's probably loving this!' Goku thought, as the soldiers all made way for Vegeta and Paragus to approach the castle.

"Your majesty, I have gathered these subjects from all over the galaxy to have them at your service," Paragus pointed out rather unnecessarily, as he and Vegeta walked into the palace, followed by the others.

Standing at the castle's entrance was a tall, muscular, shirtless man with black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing baggy white trousers with a strange red piece of fabric tied over them, and both of those garments were held up by a belt made of golden metal with a green stone in its center. The boots and wrist bracers he was wearing appeared to be made of the same metal, and each also had a green stone, as was the case with the large boomerang-shaped pendant he was wearing and the strange headband he had around his forehead. To finish the set, he had a tight metal band around his neck, others around each of his upper arms, and a pair of golden earrings.

All in all, he looked quite fond of jewelry.

"This is my son," Paragus explained to Vegeta. "He also is at your service."

"My name is Broly," the man said in a strangely quiet, almost mechanical voice that made Goku frown in suspicion.

"You are indeed a Saiyan?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes," Broly replied.

"Where's your tail, then?"

"I lost it." [Writer's note: In the original Movie 8, it is never positively confirmed whether Broly has a tail or not. Toriyama's design sheets depict him with a tail, but he is never clearly seen with a tail in the original movie. It's valid to assume that he has it wrapped around his waist like Saiyans typically do, however, seeing as he doesn't have a tail visible in any way, it is also quite possible, and in fact quite logical, that Paragus cut off Broly's tail and cauterized the tail's basis so that it wouldn't grow back. Kami does a similar thing to Goku through his magic, but it's valid to assume that surgical cauterization would also work. Paragus would very likely have done so because Broly as a Great Ape would just be too dangerous and too out of control, and he couldn't take that chance.]

Again, there was no emotion in Broly's voice. He neither seemed bothered by the fact he had lost his tail, nor did he seem to miss it – it was just as if he was stating a comment, nothing else. It seemed as if he was devoid of feelings.

"An unfortunate accident," Paragus quickly said. "He lost his tail when he was young, and unfortunately, it hasn't grown back yet. But I assure you, my son's loyalty to you is unquestionable."

It seemed, from Vegeta's perspective at least, that Paragus was trying to make sure Broly wouldn't be less valuable only because he didn't have a tail. There had been a time when Vegeta would have given the matter importance, but now, as Vegeta knew that it had been a long time since he had possessed a tail himself, he felt as though he lacked the nerve to criticize any Saiyan on that regard.

"Well, seeing as you are all so serious to serve me, then let's get down to business," Vegeta said, addressing Paragus. "Where is this Legendary Super Saiyan?"

"Your majesty, the exact whereabouts of the Legendary Super Saiyan are uncertain as of now," Paragus said. "Like you and your comrades, he can lower his power level when he is not fighting, which means we only have a sure way of sensing him when he is in action."

Vegeta glared at Paragus, supremely displeased by that sort of answer.

Paragus immediately noticed this.

"However, I have information on the planets that the Legendary Super Saiyan has attacked recently," Paragus said. "Maybe with this information, I can discover a pattern in his attacks, and find where he's going next, so that we can catch him there."

"You could have done it before arriving on Earth and asking me to come here," Vegeta pointed out.

"Of course, your majesty," Paragus said, kneeling in front of Vegeta. "Please forgive me for my tactical mistake."

"Talk less and work more," Vegeta commanded.

Paragus jumped to his feet.

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, as he began to enter the castle.

"Hey!" Goku called up to Paragus and Vegeta. "What about us?"

In his haste to obey Vegeta's order, Paragus didn't even stop. However, Vegeta turned around to address those who had traveled to this planet with him.

"The lot of you may go for a walk or do whatever the hell you want, just as long as you stay out of my way," Vegeta said. "And above all, don't think about interfering in my efforts to personally defeat the Legendary Super Saiyan. Got it?"

Without waiting for their answer, Vegeta walked into the castle to get a better view of what his residence would be when he ruled his yet to be born empire.

As soon as Vegeta entered the castle, he noticed that Paragus appeared to be looking at some sort of monitor that had been mounted on the wall to the left of the entrance hallway.

"Paragus, I meant to ask you earlier, how many Saiyans, exactly, do you know of who are still alive besides the Legendary Super Saiyan, Kakarot, ourselves and our sons?"

Paragus appeared to be somewhat startled by the sudden question, although he then turned to face Vegeta.

"Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find anyone else," Paragus said with a sigh, as he began to slightly pace across the entrance hallway. "But the empire will be glorious even so. And at the very least, my king, your assertion of the might of our race through the reborn Saiyan Empire will signify to all the galaxy our race's ultimate triumph over Frieza."

Vegeta pondered these words, and their implications made him grin.

[Writer's note: One of the differences made to Broly's character in order to make him more realistic is the fact that he doesn't have a particular hatred for "Kakarot," unlike his movie incarnation, who behaves like a psychotic zombie at the sight of "Kakarot." Such a change was made because, from a realistic point of view, the way how Broly keeps such a crazy and obsessive hatred for Goku during all of his life simply because Goku's constant crying got on his nerves when they were babies is highly illogical. Rest assured, he will still be wild, out of control, and extremely dangerous, but his psychological motivations are going to be different.]

"Man…," Goku said as he watched Vegeta walking away. "This new planet sure has Vegeta's spirits up."

"Indeed," Piccolo nodded, his eyes boring holes into the retreating Saiyan Prince's back.

"He must be the only one," Gohan said. "I don't know about you, but this whole thing just gives me the creeps."

"I completely agree, Gohan," Trunks replied. "I don't know why my father is so fascinated by all this when we should all be back on Earth getting ready to fight Cell. As long as we're here, though, we might as well make the most of this time."

Only Goku and Piccolo remained quiet, although it wasn't because they didn't agree that the situation was something to be worried about. But letting their feelings of worry overcome them would do them no good. What they had to do was deal with their problems. Like getting Vegeta to snap out of this foolish thought of being the king of New Planet Vegeta.

And perhaps, they could help Vegeta by enabling him to understand more about a certain Saiyan who was behaving very strangely.

Goku's eyes locked onto Paragus' son, who was still standing where he had been, still like a statue. Besides him and his friends, he was the only one still there, as all of Paragus' minions had flown off to somewhere around the planet after Paragus and Vegeta had gone into the castle.

Broly… there was something weird about him. Not only was his voice the blankest Goku had ever heard, but his energy was the most subdued and static Goku had ever felt before. It was undeniably strong – as strong as Captain Ginyu's, in fact – but it was also blank and empty. Usually, it was possible to be aware of someone's state of mind, or even basic personality, through feeling out his energy. However, Broly didn't convey any emotion at all with his energy, as if he was a machine instead of a being made of flesh and bone. To put it in straight terms, Broly didn't think, and instead, he just was.

At least, it was the impression that Goku's senses were giving him. In fact if Goku hadn't known that mechanical beings do not often have detectable energy signatures, he would have bet his head on the fact that Broly was some sort of drone.

However, Broly was clearly a living being – but the most unresponsive living being Goku had ever seen. Goku felt that it might be worth it to get Broly to respond to some sort of action.

Walking airily toward Broly, Goku started speaking to him.

"Hey, Broly, while your father's busy trying to help Vegeta with finding the Legendary Super Saiyan, how about you give us a tour of this planet?" Goku asked. "After all, my son and I are Saiyans as well, just like Trunks over there. So I guess this means we're going to get to see each other much more often from now on, with Vegeta ruling our new planet and such."

'Well, that looked natural,' Goku thought.

It had, but it also went against every bit of his nature. Goku had never truly cared about being a Saiyan, and he certainly didn't want to play along with Vegeta's deluded dream of restarting the Saiyan Empire. Goku loathed every single thing about the stereotypes of his race – eagerness of destruction and willfulness of oppression among them. The only thing Goku was grateful about regarding his Saiyan ancestry was the level of power that the fact of being a Saiyan had allowed him to reach, and even that was only because it had allowed him to defeat countless villains who had wanted to oppress others and spread destruction on Earth and throughout the galaxy. However, he had to play a convincing role if he was to get to know more about this strange Saiyan. Hopefully, Broly would buy it.

Goku didn't know for sure if Broly had believed the act, but it seemed as though Gohan, Picollo and the others had, considering their shocked expressions.

"Goku!" Piccolo shouted. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Calm down, Piccolo," Goku replied. "I only want our good friend here to give us a guided tour of this planet. After all, it looks like it will be the new home of some of us."

The shock in the others' faces increased.

'Just play along, okay?' he said to his friends telepathically. 'I'm trying to figure out more about this guy, and if you start acting like that, it will be hard to do it.' [Writer's note: Goku has been shown in canon to have the capacity to communicate telepathically, and has used this ability on several occasions. He uses it in uncut DBZ episode 34, "Krillin's Offensive," to talk to Gohan, in uncut DBZ episode 35, "Mercy," to talk to Great Ape Gohan and to Krillin, and in uncut DBZ episode 240, "Revival," to talk to Dende.]

Looks of understanding dawned onto his son's and friends' faces, and Goku recognized that they had also likely sensed something strange regarding Broly's energy. After that, the others' expressions became more natural, and they simply stood aside, silently watching Goku's attempt at figuring things out. Hopefully, their shocked looks and Piccolo's exclamation hadn't ruined Goku's plan to figure out more about Broly.

But in the end, it turned out that Goku's speech seemingly hadn't had any effect on Broly whatsoever. While Broly did move his head toward Goku when he was addressed, the taller Saiyan didn't seem to have reacted at all emotionally. Indeed, there weren't the slightest of fluctuations in his energy, which would have been potentially indicative of any changes in his state of mind. It was as if his movement had been mechanical.

Goku decided to try a different approach.

"Alright then, you don't want to show us around. In that case, why don't we spar?" he asked, while entering a fighting stance.

Yet again, Broly did not react at all. That by itself was strange, as after all, Broly was a Saiyan, and therefore, it was expected that he would at least have some sort of eagerness at the prospect of a fight. Confused that not even the mention of a spar seemed to get Broly out of his catatonic state, Goku decided to behave like a complete moron, much like most people seemed to give him credit for.

"Come on Broly, you know what it means to spar, don't you?" Goku asked. "Doesn't the idea of the two of us powering up to our fullest, brawling around, punching each other like uncivilized fools, and trashing the place as much as we can during the process appeal to you even a tiny bit?"

Not waiting for Broly to answer, Goku jumped out at him like a petulant kid and punched his cheek. Broly immediately soared about five meters backwards, falling flat on his back.

"Dad!" Gohan called out in a tone that was decidedly disapproving.

Piccolo shot Gohan a critical look. He had already realized what Goku was trying to do, and while he didn't think that wanting to engage in a brawl with Paragus' son like a moron was exactly the best of choices, it was without a doubt something that was likely to bring about at least some sort of response out of Broly.

Goku turned back at his son for a moment.

"Don't worry, Gohan. I'm just testing his emotional state," Goku said to his son through telepathy. "I want to be certain he's more than some sort of machine. And he's a Saiyan, so provoking him into a fight is the surest way to get a response from him."

Sensing Broly's energy spiking up, Goku turned around and focused his eyes on the taller Saiyan. Broly was getting back on his feet, rubbing his cheek. A figurative fire of rage was burning within his eyes as he growled at Goku. Goku couldn't help but to feel a certain sense of accomplishment at having managed to get Broly out of his torpor.

Broly's overall power was increasing rapidly. In an instant, it had gone from Captain Ginyu's level to the around the level Frieza had possessed when he had been in his most repressed form.

Satisfied that he had gotten a reaction out of Broly, Goku decided to move on to another step. It was time to check out how strong Broly truly was.

As soon as he was standing straight, a white aura of energy flared around Broly, and his power level started skyrocketing. In mere moments, it went from being comparable to Frieza's power level in his most repressed form to roughly 50 percent of the maximum power level of Frieza's true form, the one he had been in when Goku had fought him on Planet Namek.

And Broly's overall power kept increasing from there, with his aura radiating ever more outwardly as time passed. Tiny cracks started appearing on the floor beneath him, and a sudden wind picked up, blowing outwards from his aura. Even the tiny jewel in the middle of the headband he had around his forehead was glowing.

'Whoa,' Goku thought. 'Who would have known he could suppress his power level?'

It had not been apparent to any of the warriors from Earth that Broly was capable of that skill. Because of this, none of them had known he could become comparatively so strong. And his power level was still increasing, to the point where it had become comparatively superior to Frieza's at full power when Goku had fought him on Namek. For a moment, Goku had the impression that Broly's pupils were starting to change color. However, right then, a voice caught his attention.

"Broly! What do you think you're doing?" Paragus asked, while approaching the area in a hurried fashion.

Almost immediately after Paragus had yelled, Broly's aura dissipated, and his energy level dropped to a point at which it had been before – at about the level of Captain Ginyu.

A few moments later, Paragus was within one meter of Broly, and he had adorned a decidedly angry look on his face.

But what was he doing here? When had he come?

"I have specifically told you time after time: do not mingle with our visitors when they arrive!" Paragus shouted at his son.

It seemed strange, from Goku's perspective, to see Paragus scolding a man who was no less than 30 years old as though he was a little boy.

"We are meant to serve our new King Vegeta, not to socialize and brawl like we have nothing better to do," Paragus shouted. "So don't just engage in a brawl with Kakarot as though you were an idiot. Get it?"

"Hey!" Goku shouted at him. "Who do you think you are to scold him like that? He's an adult, and he can make whatever decisions he wants without having to ask for your approval."

Paragus turned his only eye on him.

"He has always been undisciplined," Paragus stated simply. "If I'm not around to keep him in check, he may do something dangerous. So be warned, Kakarot; from now on, stay away from my son, and do not try to interact with him. After all, you already did enough damage to him when you were a baby."

That statement made Goku scratch his head – curiously enough, exactly on the same spot where his head had been hit as a child, and which had resulted in his personality dramatically shifting.

"Pardon me?" Goku asked in total puzzlement.

Growling in disdain, Paragus explained himself.

"You and Broly were born on the same day, were placed in adjacent cribs, and you were always crying to the top of your lungs. And because of that, Broly could never have a moment of peace."

Unable to think of anything else to do at the moment, Goku shrugged apologetically.

"I didn't know," he said. "But hey, I was a baby; I couldn't help myself then."

Before Paragus could reply, Goku heard another voice.

"Instead of being burdened with having to listen to any more about Kakarot's childhood, I demand to know what's going on here!"

Everyone turned toward the voice.

"Vegeta!" Tien let out in surprise.

"What are you doing here, father?" Trunks asked.

"You fool. What else would I be doing here? I sensed Broly's energy level increasing!"

Turning to Broly and Paragus, Vegeta shouted.

"And I demand explanations as to why that happened!"

Broly didn't react. Again, his energy seemed to have returned to its static, dull state. However, Paragus replied hastily, looking quite nervous.

"Nothing special happened, your majesty," Paragus said. "My son simply reacted in too extreme a manner when Kakarot provoked him. Why Kakarot would do such a thing, I'm not sure."

"I just wanted to challenge him to a spar," Goku said. "There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Vegeta turned toward Goku, with a disgusted sneer on his lips.

"You're pathetic, Kakarot," Vegeta said. "On your first day as a subject of the reborn Saiyan Empire, instead of acting like a true Saiyan warrior, you're further cementing your overall status as a moron. You're the biggest shame of our race!"

Goku stood where he was without answering. He didn't want to explain himself to Vegeta in front of Paragus, even through telepathy. Any attempt at explaining would make Vegeta show some outward signs, and Paragus could find it suspicious.

Vegeta then turned toward Paragus to address him.

"As for you, Paragus, while it is certainly a relief to know you are capable of disciplining your son, I thought you had some more important things to do, like discovering the whereabouts of the Legendary Super Saiyan."

"Right away, your majesty," Paragus said, before running off to wherever he had his data on the Legendary Super Saiyan's actions.

Vegeta turned to Broly.

"As for you, I don't care what you do, but right now, just get out of my sight!"

Broly walked away – but again, there had been no fluctuation in his energy that suggested any emotion. His movement had been nearly mechanical. However, Vegeta didn't seem to notice – or mind – that.

"At least someone around here knows authority when he sees it," Vegeta said, while grinning at Goku and his friends, before he walked away.

Even out of the corner of his eye, Goku could see Trunks shaking his head in what seemed to be a strange mix of shame and hopelessness.

Turning fully to his son and friends, Goku said, "Well, since it seems we have nothing to do at the moment, what do you guys think about giving this planet a bit of a closer look?"

None of them had anything against that idea.

Far away, inside the palace, Paragus seethed and fumed in silence, doing his best to not to let any variation in his energy level become apparent to Kakarot or the others. From the information he had gathered on them, they were very skilled in sensing power levels. But over time, he too had become a master at sensing power levels and at suppressing his own.

He couldn't let them have the suspicion that anything was wrong. At least, not any suspicion that they could call out, or act upon.

They had to believe everything was alright – at least, until it was too late for them to do anything about their fears.

And when that time came, he would have the best time of his life, seeing all of them going up in ashes.

It didn't take a very long flight – by their standards at least – for Goku and his friends to know that there was much more going on with New Planet Vegeta than what Paragus had led them to believe.

While around the castle there were lush forests and crystalline lakes as far as the eye could see, that was the limit of the planet's lush terrain. Beyond it, the only thing that could be seen was a wasteland of bare rock. And the supposed city that could be seen from the palace was actually nothing more than ruins, looking as though they had been abandoned for quite some time.

There were large holes in some areas of the desert ground, and things that looked like huge metal pipes were coming out of them, apparently for the purpose of extracting something from underground. Many of Paragus' henchmen appeared to be working around them.

"What do you guys think all those soldiers are doing?" Tien asked as they looked down at the pipes.

"If I was to make any guess, I'd say they're extracting some kind of energy from underground," Yamcha replied.

"I agree," Trunks said. "And from the looks of those pipes, that energy seems to go to the castle and the area around it."

"But why would they be doing such a thing?" Krillin asked.

"Maybe it has something to do with all the vegetation and lakes around the castle." Gohan suggested. "After all, that seems to be the only lush area in a radius of tens of kilometers."

"Well, there's nothing like asking questions to find out," Goku said.

Before anyone had time to say anything in opposition, Goku flew down to an isolated group of Paragus' henchmen. Not knowing of what else could be done at the moment, the others followed him.

The eight of them landed by the side of one of the metal pipes. Almost immediately, all of the henchmen that were working near this particular pipe stopped and turned to face them.

Although the typical red visors covered their faces, Goku had a feeling that they weren't too pleased at what they were seeing.

The fact that all the soldiers had entered fighting stances reinforced Goku's perception.

"Hello there," Goku greeted in the most polite way he could muster. "We're sorry that we had to interrupt your work, but we are new on this planet, and we're rather curious as to what you are doing."

None of the henchmen answered, but Goku could sense from the overall state of their energies that all of them were quite nervous, but also ready to start a fight.

However, he didn't want to give them the impression that he knew of that, and so, he just followed on with his airy, naïve speech.

"I know you seem to be busy, but there are so many of you, I'm sure that one of you could spare us a moment and explain to me what you are doing there," Goku said.

Again, none of them replied. In fact, Goku had the feeling they weren't even listening to him. Instead, they just appeared to be deciding when they should attack, although obviously, none of them had the nerve to do so.

But one of them, who appeared a little bit braver than his companions, rushed forward, making a beeline for Chiaotzu, who, in the henchman's mind, must have been the easiest target.

However, Chiaotzu simply leaned forward when the henchmen came at the proper distance, and head-butted the soldier's chest. The unfortunate alien was flung into one of the metal pipes. When the henchman reached the pipe, the force of the impact broke through it as if it was a slab of paper, breaking the metallic tube in half. Then, the henchman soared for an even greater distance, before he crashed against another metal pipe. This time, the only thing he did was get imbedded into it, which opened a crack on its side. Something that looked like hot air started emanating out of the damaged pipes.

"We did that because you tried to attack us," Goku shouted as though all the henchmen had suddenly attacked them. "We were only trying to ask you questions, and there's no need for such a violent response."

For the first time, one of the henchmen answered him.

"You speak as though you have a lot of moral to talk about violence, Super Saiyan!"

At first, Goku's eyes widened, surprised that the man had just addressed him as a Super Saiyan. But he quickly got over his amazement. After all, Paragus had known what a Super Saiyan looked like, so it wasn't entirely impossible that his minions also knew such a thing.

The same henchman continued, "Well, here's a piece of news for you: neither you nor that Super Saiyan midget over there…," he said, while pointing to Gohan, "…have any moral to talk about violence. So get the hell out of here, and take all of your friends with you, before we start to show you the type of violence we're capable of!"

However, a few of the henchmen rushed forward and attacked anyway, whether out of misguided arrogance, fury, wanting to prove their worth, or some of other factor. Many others soon followed suit, further demonstrating that the soldiers as a whole weren't entirely committed to maintaining order.

Goku and the others decided to take a stand, enabling a fight to ensue.

Far away, in the palace, Vegeta's senses picked up something occurring a great distance away on the planet. He could sense that Kakarot and all the other imbeciles were fighting against what most likely were more of those faceless aliens that ran all over the place. Why they were doing so was a mystery, but in the end, it didn't matter to Vegeta.

What mattered was that it looked like he was going to have to start his rule by disciplining a few unruly subjects.

As his senses registered the fight that was taking place near the energy mines, Paragus clenched his teeth and growled. He knew he should have taken some sort of measure to prevent Kakarot and his friends from wandering around the planet. Now, because he hadn't done so, his minions had picked quite the wrong fight, according to what his senses were telling him.

Realistically, however, Paragus knew that there was nothing he could do to keep Kakarot and all the others inside the castle, without this looking suspicious. So, he had decided to let them act upon their own impulses, and he had hoped they wouldn't actually start to investigate. Things hadn't gone as Paragus had hoped, but in the end, Vegeta was the only one who really had to be convinced by the overarching lie until it was too late.

And speaking of Vegeta, Paragus also could sense that the Saiyan Prince was on the move. Undoubtedly he had also realized what was going on at the mines and was on his way there to see what was going on. Paragus would have to find him before he did something brash. If Vegeta saw anything of what was going on at the mines, he could start making considerations that could foil the grand plan. And if he did, the plan would fail.

Too much relied on this plan working right for Paragus to let that happen.

Even before he got to the castle's entrance, Vegeta was already flying a few feet above the ground, in the midst of traveling toward the place where the battle was occurring.

But right before he did so, he heard a voice.

"Your majesty!"

Surprised by the call, Vegeta did not fly off. Instead, he landed and looked toward the voice. Paragus was there, running toward him at a surprising speed, with Broly right behind him.

"What is it, Paragus?" Vegeta asked.

"With all due respect sire, where are you going?" Paragus asked.

"There's a skirmish happening elsewhere on the planet," Vegeta said. "I want to put an end to it. Those ignoble fools who came with me from Earth are fighting some of the soldiers. I don't care how it started or why they're fighting; all I care about is for both sides to show me respect by refraining from fighting each other and ruining a section of my new planet."

"Please my king, let my son and I go in your place so that you don't have to bother with this," Paragus said, with a slight bow.

"The time you spend there would be of better use finding the Legendary Super Saiyan," Vegeta said, with a tone of greater harshness.

"But your majesty, with all due great respect, don't you think that the task of stopping trivial skirmishes is too mundane for royalty?" Paragus insisted.

Paragus did have a point. Stopping skirmishes was not the job of a Saiyan king, and Vegeta knew it well. Although he had been a child when the old Planet Vegeta had been destroyed, he still remembered how a large majority of things had worked there. And as far as Vegeta recalled, his father had never bothered to go out of his way to stop mere skirmishes.

"I don't mean to tell you how to rule, but I sincerely believe that you, our new king, should be thinking about something that involves the whole empire," Paragus said. "I assure you, though, that my son and I will settle this matter quickly."

Vegeta snarled, as he was sick of Paragus' kissing up and of hearing him boasting about his and his son's inferior skills.

"You and Broly have ten minutes to finish this. If you don't manage to do it, you will be very sorry!" Vegeta yelled.

After sending Paragus one last glare to make sure he got the point, Vegeta turned around and walked back inside the palace.

Two more of Paragus' faceless minions launched the strongest energy blasts they could muster at Goku. Effortlessly, Goku manipulated his energy to create a force field around himself that was just strong enough to cancel both blasts out. [Writer's note: There are several instances in canon in which various characters have been shown to use force fields. Goku, in particular, has been shown to have the skill on at least two occasions, namely in uncut DBZ episode 29, "Lesson Number One," when Goku uses a force field to cancel out Nappa's Bomber DX, and in uncut DBZ episode 86, "The End of Vegeta," when Goku manipulates his force field technique to open a grave for Vegeta.]

Right after he disengaged the force field, however, two blasts hit him on the side of his head, and three more hit his back.

Goku didn't feel either of them, and none managed to leave as much as a burn mark on his clothes. All the same, things were starting to get complicated. Even more minions were starting to appear to fight them, and all of them appeared absolutely determined to battle.

While Goku felt that he and his friends were not in any serious danger from the minions, several of the minions had already died.

This had happened even though Goku and his allies had purposely avoided killing any of them. There were many minions who had hit some of their own comrades by accident.

Because all of the minions were shooting to kill, it wasn't so unexpected that a few stray minions were ending up dead.

Goku would have to settle this before even more of them lost their lives.

Goku shouted, and his Super Saiyan aura erupted around him. Although he had been fighting as a Super Saiyan already, thanks to being within the Full-Power Super Saiyan state, Goku had hardly powered up until now.

Almost immediately, all of the approaching henchmen stopped, and his friends looked up from their task of knocking out the henchmen to look at him.

Satisfied that he had gotten everyone to stop, Goku shouted again, and his aura started firing golden wisps that looked like fragments of his aura, each of them moving toward one of the henchmen. Each henchman that was hit was knocked down instantly, and had Goku been trying to kill them, they would have all been dead. However, Goku took care in making sure that each of the energy flares he shot was only strong enough to knock the henchmen down and leave them that way for some time, rather than to kill them.

However, not everyone was that willing to be cautious.

All of a sudden, a green energy wave came into Goku's field of vision, cutting through the ground like a hot knife through a piece of butter. Several dozen of the henchmen were reduced to ashes as they were hit by the blast. A few more of the metal pipes were also cut through, and more hot air started emanating from them.

Looking in the direction that the energy blast had come from, Goku saw Paragus and Broly floating a few hundred meters away. Ordinarily, Goku would have sensed their arrival easily, but this time he had been too focused in knocking out the henchmen without hurting them to have sensed their approach.

Broly was just standing by impassively, but Paragus had both of his arms extended. Obviously, he had been the one who had fired the energy blast. In fact, there appeared to be a tiny green speck that looked like a parcel of energy in the palm of his right hand, as though he was about to gather energy for another blast.

But before he did so, Broly shouted, and, just like earlier in the fight against Goku, his aura burst around him, and he started powering up at an amazing speed, like it had shortly before during his almost-conflict with Goku.

Goku couldn't help but to wonder how far Broly would actually go this time.

After Broly's power had reached a level similar to the one Frieza had possessed at half of his full power when Goku had fought him on Namek, Broly clenched his right hand. Goku sensed some energy being gathered there, and he saw green light peeking through Broly's fingers. Then, Broly swung his arm forward, and a hailstorm of green energy balls rained down on all of them.

Individually, each of the blasts was ridiculously weak for someone of the strength Broly was currently releasing. Even Vegeta at the power he had possessed when he had first arrived on Earth would have been able to deflect one of them with little effort. But still, these blasts would be enough to wipe out at least hundreds of the henchmen.

Immediately, Goku shot his hand forward and launched a force field at the middle of the storm of blasts, hoping to cancel them all out before they got too widespread. However, while he did negate a good majority of the blasts, some of them kept on going, straight toward Goku and his friends. However, Goku and the others managed to deflect most of them away into space, and only one or two managed to get through them.

With most of the blasts either cancelled out or deflected, Goku and the others settled into fighting stances, ready for any other attempt at a strike that Broly could offer. But strangely enough, after Broly fired that first storm of energy blasts, his power level dropped like a stone again. His aura disappeared, as his energy decreased back to Captain Ginyu's level and went back to its dull state.

"What did you think you were doing, Broly?" Goku shouted at him. "Do you know how many people you would have killed if all those blasts had gotten through me and my friends?"

A sudden thought coming over him, Goku cast a glance behind himself, to see if any unfortunate henchmen had actually died. And indeed, while most of the blasts had been deflected or negated, and while most of the blasts that had gotten through had merely opened craters on the ground or destroyed some more metal pipes, there were still a few burned, shattered bodies laying in the area that hadn't been there before the blasts.

Goku looked back at Broly, to see what the answer would be, but the taller Saiyan didn't reply. In fact, judging from the non-existent fluctuations in his energy, and the way how his face kept the blank expression from before, Goku doubted that the Saiyan had as much as heard him. Paragus, however, had.

"That was the overall idea of it, Kakarot," Paragus said. "My son was going to discipline those idiots who got out of their work to attack you – and to make the lesson more effective, he was going to execute a few of them as an example for the others."

"A few?" Goku replied. "He threw hundreds of those energy blasts, if not thousands! Just what exactly was he thinking?"

"It is the way the Saiyan Empire has always worked, Kakarot," Paragus stated simply.

Then, as though he had just decided Goku wasn't worth anymore of his attention, Paragus turned to all the henchmen that were still alive.

"As for the lot of you, just fix the damage you've made, and get back to work!" he snapped.

All of the henchmen immediately nodded, as though they were too terrified to speak, and went back to work.

After one last disdainful grunt, Paragus turned around, beckoning Broly to follow him. In his usual mechanical, dull mood, Broly flew after his father, as the two of them began their return trip to the castle.

Goku and the others were left there to stand alone, as the henchmen, who were working with a mad fervor, didn't pay the slightest attention to them.

"I don't know about you guys, but I guess that maybe we should also go back to the castle," Yamcha said. "After all, it doesn't look like we have anything else to do here, and it's pretty obvious that these guys won't give us any answer."

That was all it took for the others to return to the castle. However, Goku couldn't help but to keep thinking about what had happened.

Many strange things had taken place. To begin with, the fact that Paragus was so ready to kill a hundred henchmen just like that. If he'd gone under so much trouble to gather them, why kill so many of them just as an object lesson? Was he just that cruel? Or did he have so many henchmen at his disposal that losing a hundred of them didn't hurt in Paragus' eyes?

Goku didn't think so. He could sense all the henchmen on the planet, and indeed, there were probably more than ten thousand of them scattered all over the planet. Some might have been at more of the energy mines. But Goku had a guess that they were still just the number required to keep everything running in a smooth manner. At least, that was what he assumed from the few observations he had made before he and his friends had gone to interrupt the henchmen. Even if Paragus was cruel, he shouldn't be foolish enough to run this New Planet Vegeta amok. There should be some third option that Goku wasn't considering. And unfortunately, he had no idea of what it could be.

But something that had been even weirder than Paragus' seemingly thoughtless slaughter was Broly's behavior, back at the energy mine. In one instant, his energy-level had been skyrocketing, and he had been ready to kill hundreds of his father's henchmen – maybe even to completely destroy that particular energy mine. However, there had definitely been something about his energy that had seemed forced, as though he was not powering up entirely out of his free will. And then, his power level had dropped rapidly and his energy had returned to his subdued state. Due to the fact that Broly released energy, Goku knew for sure that Paragus' son was a living being, but he certainly was more mechanical than any other he person had ever met. In fact, there were times when it even seemed that Broly had an on/off button.

Just what was going on here?

Goku didn't know, but he knew one thing for sure. He liked this whole ordeal with the New Planet Vegeta less and less as time passed. And, unless the feeling in his gut was wrong, this was just the beginning of how bad things were going to get.

By dinner time – at least, dinner time on that planet – things hadn't exactly gotten much better. However, there were other events to keep them busy, as everyone had been invited for what Paragus called 'the royal banquet,' and as of now they were sitting at a table that was graced with all the sorts of alien, but tasty-looking food. It had obviously been prepared counting on Saiyan appetites, judging from the amount of food on it. And truth being told, most of them were looking forward to dinner, as they hadn't had anything to eat since before they had left Earth.

The only exception was Piccolo, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, as he usually did during events such as group meals. He didn't need to eat, and he had brought water from Earth.

"Prince Vegeta, I hope that the food is to your liking," Paragus said, bowing so much to Vegeta that his torso was almost parallel to the floor.

Vegeta snatched a piece of some weird meat off a dish and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing twice before swallowing. He clearly stuffed himself as much as Goku – but at least, he looked neater while doing so.

"It's passable," he grunted. "However, that is not what I'm most interested in."

Giving a pointed look at Paragus, Vegeta added, "What I want to do is to finish off that Legendary Super Saiyan you spoke so much about back on Earth. And if I recall it right, I ordered you to find him."

"I will resume that task at once, Prince Vegeta," Paragus said. "And I deeply regret that I haven't yet managed to achieve that goal. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your meal."

"You have until tomorrow to find him," Vegeta said simply.

"Yes, your majesty."

Paragus walked toward the door, but before he exited, he stopped and turned around to look at the rest of them.

"As for you, feel free to eat as much as you want," he said, before he walked away. "There's much more where that came from."

"Aren't you and Broly going to join us?" Goku asked Paragus.

"I have no business eating until I fulfill the duty Prince Vegeta ordered from me," Paragus replied simply. "And even if I had, I prefer quiet meals. As for Broly, he isn't fond of social gatherings."

With no further explanation than that, Paragus walked out of the room.

Everyone sitting at the table immediately started attacking the food voraciously, stuffing as much into their mouths as they could.

Piccolo, however, simply grabbed a canteen from inside his cape and started drinking from it.

Water was all he needed, and to be honest with himself, he was grateful it was like that, because any person who actually needed to eat would have lost his appetite after watching how the Saiyans stuffed themselves. In fact, the humans seemed to be moving toward that state.

But Piccolo was more worried about something else. And surprisingly enough, it wasn't even about Cell, or about the possibility of some of Paragus' henchmen being on Earth to conquer the planet while its defenders were away. After all, as they hadn't gotten any message from King Kai, it was obvious both that Cell hadn't tried anything since they had left the Earth and that none of Paragus' henchmen were there.

Piccolo was more worried about this Legendary Super Saiyan. All this conversation about an extremely powerful Saiyan was upsetting, to say the least. Piccolo had known Saiyans for years, and in fact, the way how they bounced back from death many times stronger was spectacular, to say the least.

How strong could a member of their kind, one who was considered legendary when compared to Goku, Vegeta, or any of the other Saiyans alive, be? And how would they defeat him if they were to find him?

Piccolo had no idea, but he sure wanted to have an answer.

The Namek looked out of the window at the night sky. There were several stars twinkling there, much like they did when looking at the sky back on the Earth. But one of those stars seemed much larger than all the others, appearing at least three times larger than the Moon when seen from the Earth. In fact, unless Piccolo's eyes were fooling him, it had grown in size since he had last spotted it. And it wasn't this planet's moon, as Piccolo hadn't seen anything orbiting around New Planet Vegeta when they had landed.

It was something else.

But what?

After he had exited the dining room, and at a point where the others couldn't see him, Paragus stopped and turned around, giving a malevolent smirk toward the direction of the pathetic fools that were stuffing themselves with food.

Paragus snickered at the thought. If he had actually gone forward with his plan of placing 'additional condiments' on the food, the imbeciles wouldn't have been around for any other meal. However, such a practice was hard with the Namek around. Nameks didn't eat, and while Paragus could offer him water, there was no guarantee that he would accept.

Besides, if any sort of poison started circulating around on this planet, there was too much of a chance of any of his henchmen getting his hands on it and finding some way to make Paragus ingest it.

No, it was much better to do things in a more symbolically appropriate way – and have the idiots go out with a bang in the process.

And after these fools were dealt with, he would go to the Earth, get rid of Cell and any other obstacles in his path, and then he would get his hands on the Dragon Balls. When he did so, he would at long last be capable of asking his wish – a wish that would ensure his dream of mastery over the universe would be fulfilled.

In fact, Paragus would have wished for immortality in the first place, but that had not been a realistic option. Finding the Earth's Dragon Balls would have been nearly impossible without a radar, and he knew through the spying he had done over the past many years that stealing the radar the Earthlings owned was not a viable option, as they kept quite a tight watch on it. Besides, it would be nearly impossible to make his wish without causing some conflict with the Earthlings, which would damage the Earth. And Paragus had his reasons for not damaging the planet, one of them being that, if the Dragon Balls were scattered throughout the Earth, he could end up destroying one of them by accident during a violent conflict, and his plans would be ruined. While Paragus already knew he would have to eventually cause some damage to the Earth, he wanted to keep it to a minimum.

Paragus also knew that the Nameks had their own set of Dragon Balls, and that they had taken that set with them after leaving the Earth, but he did not know where the Nameks' new residence was located, as although his spies had given him plentiful information about Vegeta and the others, they had never been capable of figuring that particular detail out. Therefore, Paragus had been forced to carry out the first part of his plan while he and his son were still mortal.

But soon, the time for his triumph would come.

'Eat, you fools,' he thought. 'Eat as much as you want. And enjoy it. Because in the end, the most delicious of all things will be mine.'

Yes. The best taste would be his. The taste of revenge. A dish best served cold – but a dish that he was certain would taste like divine nectar in the end.

Thanks so much for reading the first part of Honor Trip's Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan Special, the definitive canon-compatible, logic-compatible, and continuity-compatible version of the original Movie 8 story!

Up next in Part Two of the Special: The battle against the Legendary Super Saiyan begins! Will the heroes of Earth be able to stand against this colossal foe of the universe? Stay tuned!

Hoping you enjoyed the chapter,

Genescritor

Broly Special Part 1: Completed September 15, 2011

Edit Credit: American Vigor

Writer's musical note:

As it is the case with Honor Trip Seasons, a symbolic theme song was chosen for this special. The symbolic theme song chosen for Honor Trip's Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan Special is "The Rage to Overcome" by Machine Head. You can listen to this song by typing "The Rage to Overcome" and "Machine Head" into the search feature of a standard Internet browser and finding the related music video.

"The Rage to Overcome," while a quite good song, (and hence why it was chosen as the symbolic theme song for this special), was written by Machine Head and is the band's property. Please keep in mind to support the song's official release.

Hoping you enjoyed the chapter,

Genescritor

Writer's explanatory note on the capabilities and characteristics of Legendary Super Saiyans:

For the sake of greater clarity, an explanation about how the Legendary Super Saiyan concept is viewed as it appears in this canon-compatible, logic-compatible, and continuity-compatible special is included here.

Please keep in mind that, although some elements of this concept are based on information presented by the manga, the anime, and the original Movie 8, this is only the concept as viewed for this version of the special, and it is not to be taken as official.

- On average, about once every 1,000 years, one Legendary Super Saiyan is born. The exact circumstances of this birth are based upon a genetic mutation that, due to probability factors, occurs about once every 1,000 years. However, due to improbability, the frequency of births of Legendary Super Saiyans could in fact occur at an interval of much lesser duration than 1,000 years, although by the time of Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta, King Vegeta was unaware of any instances of this ever occurring.

- The Legendary Super Saiyan, at the time of birth, has a level of energy that exceeds the norm for adult Saiyans. Even without training and active combat, a Legendary Super Saiyan's raw power in his normal state will continue to increase as he becomes older. The rates and extents of increase throughout the life of the Legendary Super Saiyan are not necessarily uniform, meaning there may be one stage of the Saiyan's life in which the rate of his power increase is greater than at another.

- The Legendary Super Saiyan can unlock his basic Super Saiyan transformation once he reaches a certain power level, without needing an emotional trigger to help unlock the transformation, as is normally the case for non-legendary Saiyans who achieve the basic Super Saiyan transformation.

- After the Legendary Super Saiyan achieves the basic Super Saiyan transformation, the Saiyan can ascend to a special transformation attainable only by Legendary Super Saiyans. This particular transformation is itself called the "Legendary Super Saiyan" transformation. It serves as a replacement transformation for "Super Saiyan 2," although the attainment of the "Legendary Super Saiyan" transformation does not restrict the Saiyan from also achieving the "Super Saiyan 2" transformation. The Saiyan cannot transition directly from Super Saiyan 2 to Legendary Super Saiyan and vice versa; the Saiyan can only transition between these transformations by first digressing to basic Super Saiyan and then transforming to the other desired transformation. This intermediate step is needed because the Super Saiyan 2 and Legendary Super Saiyan transformations are each part of a separate "chain" of Super Saiyan transformations, as is also the case with the "Ascended Super Saiyan" state.

- In the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation, the Saiyan becomes about 50 percent taller, the Saiyan's muscles become much larger, the Saiyan's strength increases by a factor of about 10 times from his basic Super Saiyan form, and his muscle mass, although much bulkier, does not cause a significant reduction in speed the way the Ultra Super Saiyan state would.

- The Legendary Super Saiyan transformation provides its wielder with comparatively more endurance and stamina than is the case with the Super Saiyan 2 transformation, although the Super Saiyan 2 transformation provides its wielder with comparatively more speed and agility than is the case with the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation.

- It is technically possible for a female Saiyan to be a Legendary Super Saiyan, although by the time of Frieza's destruction of Planet Vegeta, King Vegeta was unaware of any instances of this ever occurring.

- Legendary Super Saiyans are not necessarily compelled by their genetics to be overly violent or aggressive, but their upbringing can lead to them being such, and most Legendary Super Saiyans are known for their aggressiveness.

Thank you for reading this note,

Genescritor