I should note that updates will be slow (what else is new?) at least for a while. My ability to actually upload new chapters is severely limited at the moment.
If you're new here I'd recommend going back and reading the series from the start. There are a lot of OCs and a lot of changes to canon, things wont make as much sense if you've not read the previous stories. If you've been with me since the beginning, holy crap, you're awesome. Thank-you. And with that, let us begin...
Part One: Something Wicked This Way Comes
Chapter One - Arrival
July 22nd
There were maybe a dozen people standing in the field, working under the blazing light of the sun high above. The other two stars that lit their world were currently beyond the horizons to those working in the field, tending to the plants. Out of sight beyond the yellowish hazes of an ending sunset and impending sunrise. They, of course, had no use for what they were growing since they didn't require food. Water and sunlight was sufficient for them. But the galaxy at large had developed a taste for the berries that grew on these particular bushes and the Nameks were more than happy to cultivate and sell them.
After so long trying to remain hidden from the rest of the galaxy, to avoid the scrutiny of the Cold Family, it was nice to be involved again. And the income from the berries could help to buy and build the means to maintain that involvement. Communications equipment and the facilities to house them. New space craft or new technologies to repair or upgrade their old and run down ships. There were more Nameks off world now than in the last five hundred years combined. And while the berries couldn't pay for all of it, they contributed.
One of the workers had stopped for a moment to take a drink. He'd tipped the canteen up to his mouth, tilting his head back to get a good gulp, when he saw it. A spark of light up in the sky. He didn't think much of it at first, just a vague curiosity at what it might be. As it quickly grew larger and brighter, however, his vague curiosity developed into genuine interest, and then concern as he realized it was a massive fireball descending almost directly at him. He was too shocked to move, to speak, to call out a warning, and so the first anyone else knew of the object's approach was when it slammed into the ground no more than two hundred feet from where they were working.
The shockwave from the impact knocked them all over, startling them, and they were slow to recover. They all turned to look toward the impact point and stared in shock and wonder at what they saw. It was a large silver and white metallic... thing... that was about three hundred feet wide at its base, and maybe two hundred feet tall. It was shaped like a five sided pyramid, though the corners were rounded, and instead of coming to a point at the top the tip was perfectly flat, and about five feet across. Along the surface of the five sides were several rows of what rather looked like green glass oval shaped domes.
"What... is it?" one of them wondered. Before anyone could respond, however, everything suddenly went dark. Knowing that the shadow that had engulfed them was far too dark to be mere clouds they turned their gazes skyward. They stared up at what they saw in a mix of confusion and apprehension. A massive ship filed the sky, blotting out the light. It was unlike anything they'd ever seen before, looking vaguely like a giant metal bird. It continued flying overhead, moving passed them and heading toward the nearby village.
"Are we being invaded?" another asked, clearly worried. They watched as the ship moved over the village and then settled to a stop overhead. Then, suddenly, a series of openings appeared along the underside of the ship and streams of men in battle armors began to pour out.
XXX
Planet Tanaria
She closed her eyes, groaned, leaned forward, and put her head in her arms. It was at times like this that she hated her sister. Well, no, maybe hate was a little strong. More like 'was severely annoyed with.' Still, if she hadn't gone off and married the heir to the Sai-jin throne, and abdicated her position on Tanaria in order to instead rule the Sai-jins, Akemi wouldn't have been stuck here at this rehearsal right now. Until five years ago she wasn't the one destined to be Queen of Tanaria, Sakura was.
/Then the time comes for Sakura to start preparing for her coronation and she goes and runs off to Planet Vegeta!/ Akemi thought sourly. Not that it had been easy for Sakura to convince their mother to let her abdicate and move to Planet Vegeta. Tradition and heritage and all that. And, when Akemi wasn't so frustrated and bored, she remembered that she was actually the one to get their mother to agree to it. Not because she wanted to be Queen but because Trunks and her sister were destiny.
Everyone knew about the Trunks and Sakura of the future being together, but that wasn't why Akemi considered it destiny. It was destiny because she had seen it. A glimpse of the future she'd had the night after Sakura declared her desire to abdicate and move to Planet Vegeta. It wasn't the future that had actually transpired, in her vision Hotaru had not yielded. The end result had been... less than ideal. The two had eventually abandoned their thrones leaving both races in a state of chaos.
She wasn't sure of the full details, but she knew that her father had gone looking for them, and that he must have found them. Because the vision had ended with Trunks and Sakura laying on the ground, holding hands, staring into each other's eyes, and Yamcha laying near-by staring up at the sky, but none of them seeing anything because they were all dead. How and why this happened Akemi had never learned. As soon as she'd had the vision she'd gone to her mother and her father and told them that not letting Sakura abdicate would be a disaster. Her mother had, reluctantly, relented and that future she had witnessed never happened.
"Akemi, could you please pay attention?" her mother asked, and the girl could practically feel her frowning.
"It's mind numbing." Akemi mumbled into her arms. "I just turned nineteen four days ago, is this really necessary right now? It's almost a full year until the coronation!"
Hotaru sighed. "I understand how you feel, but this is important. We have to make sure everything goes just right at your coronation."
"You crammed everything into a few weeks." Akemi reminded, bringing her head back up. "Ran off to fight Zarbon and Frieza and almost didn't even make it back in time for coronation. You certainly didn't care about it being 'just right' then."
Hotaru sighed. "Things were different then." she said. "My coronation was watched by maybe a hundred thousand people. All of them Tanarian. No one else cared, or even knew we still existed, back then. But the galaxy has changed since I was crowned. Your coronation is going to be broadcast across the entire galaxy. Trillions of people will be watching it. We're a galactic power now, a major force in the Sennari."
"I know. I know." Akemi said. "I understand the importance and everything, it just... feels like too much show and not enough substance. I get why the suggestions were made to change the ceremony, to try and appeal to other races and to show that we stand for the entire galaxy, not just Tanaria. I just think it's overboard. It feels forced, fake."
Her mother frowned, and then sighed. She'd actually been thinking the same things, she just wasn't sure what to do about it. She agreed with her advisors that they needed to do something to update the coronation to reflect their galactic standing. They wanted to present themselves as a part of the galaxy, not just a people unto themselves. But she also agreed with her daughter that this... wasn't the way to do it. Problem was, she didn't have any better ideas of her own.
"Unless you have something better, this is what we've got." she said. "Maybe if we work on it enough it'll seem more natural."
Akemi laughed a little and shook her head. "You have read the speech they wrote for me, right?" she asked.
Her mother shrugged and smiled a little. "I did say maybe." She sighed as she straightened up again. "Alright. You win. This really isn't going to work, and we both know it. There's no point trying to force it. I'll go back and tell them to... I don't know, fix it somehow. In the meantime... have you seen anything else?"
Akemi frowned and crossed her arms as she shook her head no. In the fourteen years since the Demon War she'd had quite a few visions of the future, some fairly mundane and others (such as the one about her sister and Trunks) that were more pressing. She'd also learned ways of guiding them, even if only slightly, while they were happening as well as calling them to happen at will. Though having one at will was still hit or miss, sometimes she could try for hours and get nothing and other times she barely even had to focus and it would happen.
This progress seemed to have its drawbacks, however. It wasn't long after she had her first vision at will, the result of several hours of meditation, that she'd had her first spontaneous waking vision. She'd just been sitting in her room watching the news, watching a story that had been airing, and then BAM. She was suddenly six weeks in the future witnessing how the manhunt being discussed on TV was going to end. It was like having willed the earlier vision had opened up some kind of channel between her conscious and subconscious minds that she couldn't control. When it wanted to open and let a vision through, it did.
This had proven to be an issue more than once in the last six years. She'd broken an arm one day because she'd been flying about five hundred feet above the ground when she'd slipped into a vision. Once in the vision she'd lost all control over her body and fell to the ground below, the pain of her arm breaking had snapped her out of the vision not long after it had started. Another time she'd been taking a bath when a vision had hit. The loss of bodily control had caused her to slip under the water and nearly drown. Fortunately, the lack of oxygen had caused the vision to break before she'd passed out, or died, from it.
There had been a few other such incidents over the years, and most recently she'd been sitting in on a diplomatic meeting when a vision had struck. Luckily she'd already been sitting down at the time, but she'd still managed to tip out of her chair and smack her head on the corner of the table. That had been about six months ago and was the vision her mother was referencing now. She'd seen... something. The trouble was, she wasn't sure what. The vision had been... odd, to say the least.
Normally, her visions were clear. As though she was standing right there as events were happening. She might only get snippets a few seconds long, from several different points in time, but everything was as clear and solid as reality. This vision had been different. Everything had been muddled, blurry, and the sounds distorted so much she'd been unable to distinguish one from another.
It was kind of like someone had set up a series of cameras and recorded hundreds of different locations, then overlapped all the videos and played it all back at once. There was no sense of time, of place, just a big jumbled mess that all ran together. She'd willed more visions to come since then, and had several more spontaneous ones in her sleep, but all were the same. Blurred, distorted, and unhelpful.
"No." she said at last. "Every vision for the last six months has been the same. And no matter how many times I have it I can't make out any useful details. It's like I'm getting multiple overlapping visions, like time is rushing in and shoving who knows how much of the future into my face all at once." Akemi sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I... I'm worried that if I can't figure it out in time something really bad is going to happen."
"Hey," Hotaru began gently. "If something happens then we'll deal with it when it comes, alright? We all got along just fine for quite a while without your visions. It's not all up to you, ok?"
Akemi sighed and nodded. "Yeah. I know. But it feels like I have a bigger share of the responsibility because of my gift. I can see things before they happen, I can help everyone else to do their part better. But if I can't do that, then..."
Hotaru walked over to where her daughter sat and rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's not the end of the world." she said. "You have more to contribute to the galaxy than just your visions. Now, go on. Get out of here. I'll send all this stuff back to the staff and have them try again, maybe make something that isn't so..."
"Awkward? Absurd? Comical?" Akemi offered, and her mother nodded half smiling and half sighing.
"Yeah."
XXX
Planet Namek
Elder Moray stood in the center of his village, the two strongest warriors on the planet standing at his side, watching the ship above disgorge a small army. There were only broad similarities to their physical appearances, they were clearly not all members of the same race, but their attire was all of similar design. Battle armors, like those still issued by the Sennari to its forces, though these were clearly not Sennari soldiers.
"Elder, you should really move inside." said Torg, one of the two Nameks with him.
"No." Morray replied. "Hiding will not help. I will meet these men and see what it is they want." Though, he was worried he already knew what these invaders were after. There wasn't much on their world worth invading for, certainly not in these numbers. "Has the Sennari been contacted yet?"
"Our communications are being blocked." replied Shale, the other Namek standing at Morray's side. "We can't transmit anything off world."
"So, on our own." Morray said, clasping his hands behind his back as the descending army began to land in the village. The Elder moved his eyes across the soldiers as they arrived, taking in their appearances and demeanors. They all wore battle armors, though the designs varied. Some had shoulder fins, some straps. Some wore body suits, some didn't. And the colors were even more varied. He also thought he noticed an emblem of some sort on each of their chest plates, some kind of circle.
Looking past the outfits he took in their features more and felt a small sense of relief as he saw their eyes, their faces. He saw no cruelty, no bloodlust, only hard determination and purpose. These people, whoever they were, were willing to do whatever was needed to achieve their goals but they were not malicious by nature. They would not harm his people without cause.
Morray turned his gaze from the army that now filled and surrounded his village to the sky above as light suddenly returned. The ship that had just discharged these men was leaving, heading back up into the sky. He wasn't sure what to make of that, why the ship was leaving with the men still here. His focus was drawn back down again when one of the soldiers spoke.
"We do not wish violence." the soldier said, moving forward from the others and taking a few steps toward Morray. Morray thought he might be Sai-jin, or maybe Human, but he could have easily been some other similar race. Same pale skin color, dark hair, dark eyes, similar build and height. He didn't have a tail, and while his hair was a little wild looking it was also dark blue instead of black, but that really didn't tell him anything one way or the other.
As the man drew closer Morray got a better look at the emblem on his left breast plate. It wasn't just a circle, it looked like... like a golden dragon looped around and biting its own tail. Inside the circle created by the dragon was another shape, what looked like an orange letter V, outlined in black. He wasn't sure what any of it meant, though. He'd never seen an emblem like it before.
"Once we have accomplished our mission we will leave." the man continued.
"And just what is your mission?"
The man sighed and shrugged. "I think you have an idea." he said. "You can either cooperate, and make this easier on everyone, or we can do it the hard way."
"We wont let you just take what you want!" Torg said, green aura flaring up around him. There was a burst of wind as he surged in at the armored man, Shale following just behind him, but the man just sighed again and frowned.
"Hard way it is, I suppose." he said. He nimbly slipped around Torg's punch and then brought his elbow down into the back of the Namek's neck driving him face first into the ground and knocking him out. Turning, he then caught Shale's kick, stepped in, and head butted him. The green man slumped to the ground unconscious. "I'd hoped to keep this civilized. Well, I guess it can't be helped, then. We're on a schedule, after all. Men, get the Dragonballs!"
"Sir!" they all cried before suddenly blasting off in different directions. As they left the man turned his gaze back to Morray and crossed his arms.
"And now, we wait." he said.
XXX
Planet Vegeta
Two streaks surged across the open field. One was red, the other gold. Both were racing head long toward the other. When they made contact a moment later there was a rapid series of echoing cracks and bangs as the two individuals clashed once again. A few dozen yards away a small crowd had formed to watch what had begun as a simple spar. Technically, it was still a spar, but the boys were fiercely competitive by nature and so, of course, things had quickly escalated from powered down sparing to high level fighting.
"Kais, I swear these two are just as bad as their fathers." Vadora said, shaking her head as she watched the pair.
Beside her, Mango laughed. "They do seem to have the same habit of turning every training session into a contest to see who can take the most bruises and still remain conscious, don't they?"
Out over the field the two fighters had broken apart again and the one with the golden aura had turned, cupped his hands at his side, and then thrust his arms out as his voice called. "Kamehameha!" The wave of blue energy surged forward, directly at the other fighter, but the red aura remained where it was as the person within thrust their arms out to catch the attack. Just before the beam slammed into his hands that fighter's voice sounded as well.
"Kaio ken times five!" The individual's power suddenly leapt up and then the attack slammed into his hands and stopped dead. He gave a quick, effortless, shove and deflected the beam away from him and off into space.
"Hey!" the other called, ending his attack as his aura faded away and then vanished. His formerly tall and spiky blonde hair fell down into tangled black mess that reached down to just below his shoulder blades. It looked a lot like Raditz's hair would have if half had been cut off, and then he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. "That's no fair going up higher, we agreed we'd keep it even!"
The other sighed and let his aura fade as well. "Sorry, Torrak." he said. "I just reacted on instinct."
"Doesn't matter anyway, boys, it's time to head back!" Mango called up as the small crowd started to disperse.
"Aw, but mom!" Torrak cried, turning to face his mother. "We're not finished yet!"
"Yeah." the other said. "It's only four more years until the next Galactic Games. We've got to train hard if we want to make it in this time!"
"Sorry, Zukkino, but Mango's right." Vadora said. She understood their drive, though. Both boys had tried to make it into the second Galactic Games, held three years ago, but neither had made it into the main tournament. Mango and Raditz's son, Torrak, had had the bad fortune to be in the same entry block as Tien. Her Mate had shown, fourteen years ago, that simply being a Super Sai-jin didn't mean you could beat him, plus Torrak wasn't as powerful as Trunks had been back then. The boy hadn't had a chance.
Meanwhile, her and Tien's second child, Zukkino, had landed in the same entry block as his sister. Zukkino had proven early on that he was quite skilled, though not as much as Cheri. Plus, she had eight years of experience and training on him, so he hadn't stood a chance. But then, these days, there weren't very many people left in the galaxy who did stand a chance at beating Cheri. She had clearly demonstrated that three years ago when she'd beaten Prince Trunks in the quarter-finals, despite his revealing to the galaxy during that match that he'd ascended to the second level of Super Sai-jin.
There were only a handful of people who could compete with Cheri's power anymore. The girl drove herself harder than anyone else Vadora had ever seen. She had her father's zen approach to training, the drive to see how far she could push herself and see just what she could accomplish, and a burning love of battle from her Sai-jin blood. After defeating Trunks in the quarter-finals she'd faced Bardock in the semis, and even with him at Super Sai-jin the two had been almost evenly matched, and she'd almost won. Would have, had the elder Sai-jin not jumped to the second level.
And yet, despite how hard she trained, she still had not become a Super Sai-jin herself. Vadora continued to find it an odd thing to be surprised about, when just fifteen years ago being a Super Sai-jin was the surprising thing. These days, though, it seemed the opposite was true. Of course, with so many Super Sai-jins around now it was kind of understandable. Like Goten and Trunks before them several of the new generation of Sai-jins had been born able to transform. Torrak and his sister Zara, Gohan and Videl's daughter Pan, the Princess Bra, all born Super Sai-jins. The latter two even having access to the second level from birth. Between them and their families there were currently thirteen living Super Sai-jins.
But Vadora thought she understood why her daughter hadn't yet ascended. She didn't have that need that she'd heard was required. The last fourteen years had been peaceful. They hadn't seen a new Super Sai-jin, outside of births, since Raditz's transformation a few months after the Cell Games. There simply wasn't a need. Cheri didn't feel pressed to reach the level like Videl had during her training for the Cell Games, and she hadn't been backed into a corner like the others had. And because of those reasons, Vadora kind of hoped her daughter never did transform, because it would mean her daughter's life had never been threatened.
"Planet Vegeta to mom!" Zukkino said, waving a hand in front of Vadora's face. The Sai-jin started and then shook her head to clear it. She'd gotten so lost in her thoughts on the flight back to the palace that she'd completely spaced out and not heard her son.
"What is it, Zukkino?"
"I was asking if we could take a shuttle to Earth tomorrow." said the bald boy. He wasn't naturally bald, but when he was six he'd asked if he could shave his head like his father. Considering he was half Human, and thus his hair wasn't as easily controlled as a full Sai-jin's (sure, their hair was wild, but it never grew or changed) they'd agreed to let him. He'd been making monthly appointments to have it shaved ever since. "Torrak and I want to go to the concert and the premiere."
Vadora didn't have to ask what concert or premiere he meant. There was only one major concert tour happening right now that the two boys cared about in the slightest, and only one premiere that could be called related. "Didn't you go to the concert in Saiya City last month?" she asked. "I seem to remember you spending nearly eight hundred Zenni on snacks."
"Yeah, but the tickets and backstage passes Mijima gave us are for the entire tour." Zukkino said. "She told us we could come to any concert we wanted. Plus, Cheri and Pan are going to the premiere, and then to the concert on Earth the day after."
Torrak nodded. "We thought it would be even more fun with more friends." he said. "And how often is someone we know in a movie? Even just as a voice?"
"I don't like the idea of you boys going all the way to Earth by yourselves." Mango said, frowning.
"Oh, come on mom!" Torrak cried. "It's not like we'd be in any danger."
"And we're thirteen now. We're not little kids anymore."
"And what about Zara?" asked Mango.
"What about her?" the boys said in unison.
"Who would watch her on this trip?"
"I dunno. You or dad, I guess?" Torrak said, clearly not getting his mother's implication.
"Look, we'll talk about it later." Vadora said as she started her descent to land at the palace. "They're not for another week yet, you don't have to leave right this minute."
"But..."
"No." Mango cut in. "Vadora's right. We'll talk about it later. You boys go get cleaned up for supper. We don't need you dripping blood all over the dinning hall again."
"Fine." they said, taking off down one of the halls, heading for their quarters in the palace. As the two boys raced off the women made their way toward the dinning hall. They weren't covered in blood and sweat, no reason to delay their meal. When they arrived they found the large room already filled nearly to bursting with palace staff. Though they quickly noticed it didn't seem as boisterous as usual.
The pair scanned the crowds and soon spotted their mates sitting at one of the tables, as well as Vadora's daughter Zara, and worked their way over to them. Toma and Tangerie were also with them, as well as the pair's twelve year old son Taro. The two kids sat apart from the their parents having what was probably the most spirited conversation in the room. As the women drew closer Mango noted that Raditz wasn't even eating, just using his fork to roll a boiled egg back and forth on his plate, which was still piled with food.
"What's up?" she asked, taking a seat beside him.
"You two haven't heard, yet?" Tien asked. Raditz kept his eyes on his plate and the egg he was playing with, looking glum, as one of the servers arrived and placed plates down for Vadora and Mango.
"Heard what?" asked Vadora.
"It's Senator Vegeta." Raditz said. "They... made the announcement about an hour ago."
"Announcement? What announcement?" asked Mango.
"He's stepping down from the Senate." said Tien. "Effective immediately. His Quickening has started."
Vadora blinked a few times, then looked around the room again seeing the quieter and more sober crowd in a new light. Unlike other races, such as the Humans and Tanarians, which declined gradually pretty much as soon as they reached their peaks, Sai-jins stayed in peak condition until they simply couldn't anymore. It put a lot of strain on their bodies for them to stay in their prime for so long. Sai-jin power, and their prolonged state of physical power and youth, was a double edged sword.
Because once the body reached its limit the Quickening began. It started with a stagnation of power. No matter how much they trained they would be unable to get stronger. Not too long after that their power would begin to decline, despite any efforts to maintain or increase it. It wouldn't be long after that that the Sai-jin's health would begin to rapidly deteriorate, their body to fail. The aging process that took Humans decades to complete would occur over mere months. It usually began sometime in a Sai-jin's seventies, occasionally late sixties, and the rate of decline depended largely on the amount of power a Sai-jin had, and for how long. No Sai-jin was known to have ever lived beyond eighty-two.
Senator Vegeta was getting old, he was in his early seventies now. Everyone had known, somewhere in their minds they'd all known his time was coming, but... Somehow it was still unexpected. They'd all lived under his rule for so long. Their people had flourished under his leadership, rising up from just a few worlds to galactic influence. Most of them couldn't even remember a time when the former King wasn't in power, either on Planet Vegeta or within the Senate.
Vadora glanced down at her plate and stared at her food and realized her appetite had nearly gone, even as Mango lowered her fork back down to her own plate with the piece of steak she'd been about to eat still on the end. A moment ago they'd been starving, ready to stuff their faces with a few dozen pounds of whatever was set before them. Now their food had lost most of its appeal. The Senator couldn't be Quickening already. Sure, he was old enough, but... he'd just seemed like such a permanent fixture among their people.
Though Raditz wasn't thinking about just the Senator. His mind was also on his parents. If they hadn't spent seven years dead they'd have likely had their Quickening already. As it was, they were both likely to be close. If he'd done his math right his father was physically sixty-eight. His mother seventy-two. Just a year younger than the senator. Her lower birth power likely meant a later onset and longer period to her Quickening, though that wasn't a guarantee. Especially since she'd pushed so far beyond what she'd ever been expected to reach. Even so, he figured both would Quicken within the next five years and it... was an unsettling thought.
Almost twenty minutes later when Zukkino and Torrak arrived in the dinner hall and joined them at their table Raditz was still rolling his egg back and forth on his plate, Vadora was just staring at hers, and Mango was tapping her fork against the edge of hers. Not one of them had taken so much as a single bite. Only Tien's plate was missing food, but even his was only half empty. He may not have been a Sai-jin but he'd lived on their world, with them, for long enough that even he felt some sense of loss over the news.
It was only a few moments later that a sudden ripple of activity spread through the room, catching their attentions. The adults turned to gaze across the room, toward the originating area of the noise, and saw that the royal family had entered the room. They were all taking seats at the large table reserved for them and their VIP guests. Today there were no guests, just the seven royals.
The first to enter had been the Elder Vegeta, looking no different to the probing eyes of the Sai-jins in the room than he had before, despite their new knowledge. Next had been his son, the younger Vegeta and still current King of the Sai-jin people. After that had come Queen Bulma, only fifty-five but still looking a few years older than the former King and Senator. After her came her youngest child, the eleven year old Princess Bra, her hair dyed the same green her mother had once used. Next had been her older brother, the next King of the Sai-jin race, Trunks. Following him had been his Mate, and the future Queen of the Sai-jins, the former Tanarian royal, Sakura.
And holding on to Sakura's hand, trailing along behind his mother, the two year old Prince Hadagi. The new Prince displayed an interesting mix of his heritage. He had his father's blue eyes, his mother's silver hair color, but his Grandfather and Great Grandfather's hair style, standing straight up into a single point. It also had the Sai-jin trait of not changing, it had remained exactly the same without any help for the last year and a half. As the first half Human, quarter Tanarian, quarter Sai-jin no one was quite sure what to expect from the young Prince. Though so far he hadn't displayed any ability to transform, either into a Super Sai-jin or Super Tanarian.
While most of the family took their seats at the table the ex-senator stepped around to stand between the table and the crowd in the room. As he did the volume quickly dropped below even a whisper. Even the kids quieted, though it took them a moment longer than the rest. They weren't quite sure what was going on, those that had heard the news hadn't been impacted quite the same way as their parents.
"No doubt," the elder Vegeta began. "You have all heard by now of my... retirement. The doctor's tell me I have two, maybe three more months, so don't go looking like you're at a funeral already. I'm not in the ground yet." There were a few weak laughs from around the room as the man pressed on. "I have been blessed more than any Sai-jin before me, to have witnessed our people rise to such heights. Even I never dreamed we could go so far in my life time."
Suddenly he snorted and glanced back at those behind him. "Or that I would actually be King for so long. I had started to worry you weren't sure what to do, and that the line would die with you, Vegeta. It's nice to see my grandson is better with the ladies, and not so slow at producing an heir!" This time the laughter was bright and strong, almost as bright and strong as the red glow that had suddenly colored Trunks's face.
His mate, however, was not quite so self-conscious. "You're welcome!" Sakura called, causing the laughter to increase in volume.
Vegeta turned his focus back toward the rest of those in the room. "I am proud of every single one of you, and honored to have served you for so long. And if you have any respect for me, I ask you to honor my last request." He paused for a moment, then smirked as he spoke, voice as loud and strong and commanding as ever. "Stop being so damned gloomy while I'm still sucking air, it's depressing!"
There was another round of laughter, and then someone raised their mug and called a toast. "To the best damn King we've ever had! Vegeta the Great!"
"Vegeta the Great!" the crowd responded, raising their mugs as well. And suddenly, just like that, the mood in the room became almost like normal. Boisterous conversations, the occasional handful of food flying through the air, and plate after empty plate piling up at the ends of tables. But the tone was still a few decibels lower, the food thrown with a little less enthusiasm, and the plates a little slower to pile up.
XXX
Planet Namek
Morray knelt next to the two downed Nameks unsure of what to do. Neither was badly injured, they'd recover just fine before long, but they were clearly no match for these invaders. And his worries when he'd seen them had proven to be well founded, whoever they were they were after the Dragonballs. Planet Namek was certainly an easier target than Earth. He was concerned what wishes they intended, his only solace the knowledge that they could make no wishes without knowing the Namekian language.
And so the two of them had waited, Morray keeping watch over the two warriors, and the armored man standing as still as a statue. The Elder had watched him for the last several minutes and realized he was half focused on the village around him and half focused on the ear piece he wore, likely receiving updates from his men in their pursuit of the Dragonballs. He'd wondered if he could use that to his advantage somehow, make a move while the man was distracted, but if Torg and Shale had lacked the power to stop him he wouldn't have a chance either.
"Who are you people?" Morray asked after a while. "You wear armor like that issued by the Sennari, but you're clearly not with the Sennari."
"You're right, we're not." the man said. "Hmm, I suppose it is rude not to introduce myself, isn't it? I am Prince Daiz, former heir to the Throne of Kernall, before my brother decided that if he couldn't have the throne, no one could."
"What do you mean?" Morray asked.
"When his insurrection failed he unleashed a super disease on the entire population. If Queen Raven's people hadn't chanced across us when they did my entire world would have perished. Their medicines saved my people, what was left of them."
"Is... that why you're here?" Morray asked, thinking maybe he understood what these men wanted Porunga for. "To restore your people?"
Daiz smiled a little and shrugged. "Perhaps." he said. "But not quite how you think. There is nothing your Dragon can do for my people. They are beyond his reach."
/Beyond his reach?/ Morray thought, confused. As far as he was aware there was nothing beyond the reach of Porunga. And if he wasn't planning to use his wishes to restore his people then what... His thoughts trailed off as he noticed Daiz turn and look behind him. Following the man's gaze he saw numerous sparks of light rapidly approaching and as they drew closer he saw that two of the men carried Dragonballs. He worried what these men may have done to claim them, the village elders who watched over the Dragonballs wouldn't have simply handed them over.
A moment later nearly three dozen men landed, two of them laying the three star and seven star Dragonballs and Daiz's feet. The other men then stepped back, standing some distance away from the group. Morray looked them all over once more, trying to see what he could learn from them. Of the thirty four individuals he could see only nine of them resembled Daiz enough to be of the same race, some of the survivors he'd mentioned. The others had differences that set them apart. Red skin or horns or different body shapes.
Looking them over he figured there were maybe eight races present. Who knew how many races made up the entire force. He wondered if perhaps they shared similar stories, if this Daiz had gathered them all together for... Whatever wish he intended to make. Something that would help to restore his people, and perhaps theirs as well?
His focus was drawn to his left an instant later as he caught a flash of light from the corner of his eye. Another group of men had arrived and another Dragonball was set on the ground. The two star ball. These men were gathering the Dragonballs incredibly fast. Too fast to be simply chance. They couldn't have scouted them in advance, either. The Dragonballs were moved from village to village every few months for security purposes. They had to have some means of tracking them, some kind of device like the one the Earthlings had invented.
It took maybe forty minutes for the rest of the men to return, each group bringing back a Dragonball. Less than an hour after these men had arrived they'd already gathered all seven Dragonballs. Morray stared at them laying on the ground, gathered together for the first time in fourteen years. As the last was laid with the rest and they began to faintly glow and pulse he turned his attention to Daiz.
"I wont help you." he said. "Whatever your wish, whatever your reasons, this is not the way."
"Sadly, it's the only way." Daiz said. "Because my wishes, my reasons, would never be accepted."
"And we have no need of your help." a new voice intoned. It was deep and gruff and belonged to someone new who had just landed beside Daiz. He was considerably different than any of the others he'd seen. Morray had only a few seconds to take in his appearance, and the third eye, and then the creature was rippling, its features shifting, and a second later Morray was staring wide-eyed... at himself. It wasn't a perfect copy, it still had the helmet-like green bone covering the top of his head, the large black horns, and the third eye. But otherwise, it was him.
"General Ozotto." Daiz said, bowing to the creature as it turned from Morray to face the Dragonballs.
"Have your men move back, Daiz." General Ozotto said, revealing that his voice was another thing that had not changed. "We need more space."
Daiz nodded and motioned to his men. They all quickly moved back another hundred feet, giving Ozotto and the Dragonballs more room. Daiz did not join them, however, but moved to stand beside Morray. He did not wish to knock the man out if he did not have to, but he had to make sure that he did not disrupt the wishes. Either by dismissing Porunga or making his own. Once the area was clear Ozotto raised his arms and smiled.
"Arise, Porunga!" he called, speaking, to Morray's shock and dismay, in perfect Namekian, and the balls flashed as the sky darkened. An instant later energy surged out of them, shooting toward the darkened sky above. The men gathered around gasped in surprise and awe, many of them unconsciously taking steps backward, away from the emerging Dragon. A few seconds later the energy reached its apex and solidified. A moment later Porunga's thundering voice sounded over the lands.
"I shall grant any three wishes within my power. Speak them now and they shall be done."
Ozotto's smile grew as he stared up at the creature above him. "Porunga!" he called up. "For my first wish..."
XXX
A/N: Because of the number of new kids introduced in this chapter I feel I should add a quick reference guide here to help everyone keep them straight. So, here you go:
Taro - The 12 year old son of Toma and Tangerie.
Torrak - The 13 year old son of Raditz and Mango. Born a Super Sai-jin.
Zara - The 11 year old daughter of Raditz and Mango. Born a Super Sai-jin.
Zukkino - The 13 year old son of Tien and Vadora.
Hadagi - The 2 year old son of Trunks and Sakura.
Also, as a side note, I've changed the birth dates and ages of Pan and Bra. Due to the altered flow of history they've both been born sooner than in the original series, and were born only a few days apart from each other, making them both 11. They were also both born with access to Super Sai-jin 2.