Galactic Proportions.
Hi everyone! This is the sequel to AtSA that was asked for! Someone also asked for these one-shots to be bunched together into one multi-chapter story, which makes sense as it might be easier for you all! So, from now on, any new stories will go into the gathered story (though I'll leave the ones already written still up as well).
Anyway, we've come to the Broly Saga! There will be more notes about this at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!
Nappa stares into the crystal sky while fragile blossoms dance past him into the horizon.
It's a beautiful day, a break from training for the androids that makes Nappa uneasy, despite the calm.
Mirai Trunks, the future son of Vegeta, sits nearby with the baby version of himself (and isn't that a weird sight?) in his arms, having returned to lend his aid to the fighters in the coming battle. Vegeta hasn't been exactly welcoming and it makes the bald Saiyan grit his teeth so hard, they start grinding.
While Vegeta stayed on Earth instead of leaving to train like he'd originally planned, he's obviously learned little from their recent clash.
The atmosphere between them is worse than ever.
A laugh issues from his left and his mouth stops frowning at the image of Raditz leaning into his little Bonded, Jeice.
Namek's certainly had an effect on them all, some more than others. Raditz and Jeice have barely left each other since surviving that difficult chapter. It's still so hard to believe Frieza is dead and gone. They're finally able to become better and stronger, though Nappa's blood misses the rush of planet purging, to his ever growing shame. Being on Earth has shown him what other parts of his life he'd lost out on.
Burter glances over as Jeice giggles again, a smooth, bubbly sound, and the two roll their eyes in good humour.
Their friends are happier than they've ever seen them – and Nappa knows Burter and the other Ginyus feel the same gladness he does. He also knows that they all don't know what to do with those feelings, so they stay largely quiet.
Jeice fought hard for the Ginyu Force to be restored, winning over kinder members of the group with pleas of family.
Raditz has never been able to refuse Jeice anyway.
The pandemonium of the revival and shock of revelations has been grudgingly placed aside so far with words of promised peace. While he's very certain that members like Ginyu and Guldo would pledge allegiance to Frieza or his kind if they showed up again somehow, they're also oddly taken by the idea of being a Force for heroism. Ginyu himself is in the middle of coming up with new poses with Recoome and Guldo, the giant more at ease with some of them than the green alien.
It will take time for people like Tien to get used to the restored four, however. The Brenchin is the only one to have been fully accepted at this point, due to his warm, friendly personality and fierce devotion to Raditz. It's hard to deny such love. He's also helped soothe the strife between Raditz, his little brother and nephew too – a bonus in Nappa's book.
When did he start caring so much?
He asks himself often and still has no answer. Maybe caring has always been something Saiyans could do – maybe they are more than their bloodthirsty reputation.
A horrible sound splits the air and those with Saiyan blood in the vicinity wince in horror – Krillin's trying to sing again. Ginyu makes it worse by cheering for him.
Nappa's heard more in tune notes from a dying walrus.
The breeze picks up into a wind and people start looking up as the sound of a space craft landing catches in their hearing range. Unfamiliar kis are being picked up and Nappa sees Jeice looking nervously at Raditz out of the corner of his eye – not a good sign considering that the Brenchin is remarkably sensitive in ki sensing.
Many of the Z-Fighters stand warily, tensing in preparation for battle. Bulma shields baby Trunks with her free hand and, to the bewilderment of Yamcha, Krillin CONTINUES to sing.
Clearly he's past the point of caring about unusual occurrences.
Typically, Goku isn't here, having attended an opening day with Chi Chi at a potential high school for Gohan. Good to see SOME people taking an interest in their child's education.
The craft stops humming as it lands heavily on the grass, extending out its metal feet like a spider feeling across the tendrils of its web. Nobody moves, even when the ramp descends for a tanned man and a few soldiers to climb down.
"Nappa!"
Raditz's voice echoes in the link between them and the bald giant turns his head slightly.
"He has a tail; he's a Saiyan!"
Black eyes zero in on said tail and Nappa grunts in surprise.
"My Lord Vegeta!" the strange Saiyan exclaims and he kneels before the royal Prince respectfully.
If that doesn't swell Vegeta's head even more, Nappa doesn't know what will.
For some reason, this Saiyan is familiar to him…
"We have come for your assistance to reinstate New Planet Vegeta, your Highness," the Saiyan continues and he stands under Vegeta's bright gaze.
Bulma scoffs at this.
"My name is Paragus, my Lord, and we've been working to make New Planet Vegeta into a base to start spreading our rule!"
Vegeta is silent, appraising Paragus as the other enthuses about Saiyan rule. This smells of lies and backstabbing and Nappa's pretty sure that everyone knows it. Krillin's mercifully stopped wailing and he's staring with an open mouth. Raditz and Jeice's eyes are narrowed in suspicion and Mrs Briefs murmurs something to her husband, who nods sagely. Mirai Trunks' face screams exasperation.
His father isn't that dull, is he?
Vegeta appears to be thinking along the same lines as them, for he cuts the scarred Saiyan off with a sneer and a puff of air, moving to leave.
"Sire, we've also found proof of the Legendary Super Saiyan!" Paragus blurts out desperately and the smaller Saiyan stops.
Crap, if there's anything that could possibly fan his pride, it's this.
"He would be a threat to not only your rule, Sire, but to the Universe as well!" Paragus exclaims, clenching his fist. "Only you can stop him, I know it!"
The soldiers behind him start cheering and chanting Vegeta's name. Nappa sees the spark of allure in the Prince's dark depths and he knows they've lost any chance of convincing him this is a terrible idea.
"Fine, lead the way," Vegeta says shortly and Trunks' blue eyes widen while Jeice smacks a gloved hand against his forehead.
Bulma is sputtering, trying to remind Vegeta about his baby son.
"Father, what are you doing?!" Trunks cries, trying to prevent his father from doing something stupid.
Like that's ever worked.
Nappa sighs, makes eye contact with a grumbling Raditz and starts to move up to the ship. His duty lies protecting the little Prince still. He pauses and turns to Bulma, placing massive hand on the baby's head. Baby Trunks yawns and giggles.
"I'll bring him back," he promises seriously and the fiery heiress grins.
"Go get 'em, tiger," she encourages and steps back.
Master Roshi is drunkenly trying to get on as well, Oolong straining to hold him back, and Tien rolls his three eyes. He reaches out, taking Roshi by the back of the shirt and depositing him next to Guldo, who inches away a little as the old man lets out a burp.
"We can't all go," Captain Ginyu is explaining quietly to Gohan, who's clearly demanding why. "This place would be done for if some strong fighter showed up,"
Of course – he's probably just trying to find a way to get credit for the Ginyu Force in the absence of Frieza.
The boy considers this; then slumps in embarrassment.
"Sorry, sir,"
"Eh, don't sweat it!" the purple leader laughs.
Raditz and Jeice are involved in a heated discussion.
"Jeice, please-!"
"NO! I ain't leavin' ya again, 'Ditz, we've been over this!"
Raditz sighs and folds his arms as the Brenchin clenches his fists.
"I'm not doubting your fighting ability…just thought you would wanna stay with the Force," he replies grumpily.
"Well," Jeice huffs, leaning upwards to kiss his cheek. "Ya thought wrong!"
"Whoever's going needs to hurry up!" Yamcha calls, watching Vegeta disappear up the ramp with a scowl. It appears that both Yamcha and Tien are staying behind to watch over the four Ginyu members – a smart move.
Krillin runs to catch up with Gohan and Nappa feels displeased with this turn of events.
This isn't going to go well.
Goku fidgets with his tie as the line for Orange Star High School moves down a tad. He wants Gohan to get into this good school as much as Chi Chi does, but….this is so BORING!
Plus, he's starting to get hungry.
The warrior pouts as his stomach growls a little and Chi Chi glares up at him.
"Goku-sa…"
"Sorry, I'm just hungry!" he whines back, rubbing his hand behind the back of his neck.
His hot-tempered wife has already yelled at him once in front of everyone, and while that HAD sent a small thrill up his spine (only she can give him that feeling), it would be best if he didn't make her mad again.
So he buries his head in the crook of her shoulder and moans sadly instead.
"Awww," Chi Chi teases, kissing his messy hair. "You're so cute sometimes! Lucky I bought these chocolate bars earlier, right?"
Her voice sounds rightfully smug and his head shoots upright. Chocolate?!
He LOVES chocolate!
He tries not to snatch them out of her hand and she chuckles as he gratefully chews on them. If anyone is looking at the young parents in their Sunday best, he doesn't care.
Eventually, after what seems like an eternity of Chi Chi's frantic coaching and bland walls, Goku and Chi Chi are ushered into the interviewing room.
"So, Mr and Mrs Son!" says one of the panel brightly. "We've got a lot of information about your son and I must say his credentials look amazing! You've obviously home-schooled him to the best of your abilities!"
Chi Chi beams with pride and Goku laughs bashfully.
"How about you tell us something about yourselves and young Gohan?"
Chi Chi starts off, her chocolate eyes shining earnestly.
Goku struggles to pay attention.
"Goku!"
He sits up a little straighter.
"King Kai?"
"We have a situation!"
The Earth-raised Saiyan's gaze darts to the other occupants of the room, seeing that they're all still chatting quite amicably.
"What's the matter?"
"I felt a massive amount of energy in the South quadrant of the galaxy! Thousands of people were wiped out!" The Kai sounds shocked and disturbed, making Goku's heart race faster in anticipation.
"King Kai, that sounds pretty awful…but Chi Chi and I are at a school for Gohan. I'm not sure - !"
The Kai butts in - irritated that Goku doesn't seem to understand the true horror of the problem.
"If that thing gets to us, the Earth is in danger!"
"Goku-sa?"
Chi Chi's voice has a bite to it and Goku realises with a start that they're all watching him now.
Oh, whoops, what is he supposed to say again?
"Uh, sorry, guess I'm a little tired!" he answers apologetically and one woman smiles. "My, er, hobbies are…reading and sports!"
Chi Chi is a little placated and the interviewers are slightly confused but interested.
"Goku!"
Dammit.
"Chi Chi, something's come up," he bursts out, standing up suddenly. "I'm really sorry about this."
He bows to the panel in apology as his wife sputters, then puts his two fingers to his forehead and vanishes right in front of the startled interviewers, leaving Chi Chi to yell his name in frustration.
The planet is a barren wasteland.
"THIS is New Planet Vegeta?" Trunks asks incredulously, unable to be impressed and Paragus smiles thinly.
"It's a work in progress."
A few people (suspiciously few in Nappa's mind) bustle around with boxes and crates, feet crackling over loose gravel. Grey rubble lies strewn here and there, and the surrounding forests stand as a silent hunter-green vigil over the proceedings. Barely any of the buildings are whole or even upright and there is a depressing mugginess blanketing the atmosphere.
A sorry state of affairs indeed.
Nappa is trying to remember where he's seen Paragus before; it's starting to bug him.
"Prince Vegeta, my son Broly will assist you on your search," the tanned Saiyan says, waving a leaner, quieter young man over. "We have our best people working to get a precise lock on the Legend in the meantime."
This guy really doesn't want to waste time.
Broly appears to be about Goku's height, but there's a strange aura about him. He's too quiet, not to mention that he lacks the correct bodyweight for a Saiyan at a glance.
"I am yours to command," he speaks, his voice soft, almost as if he is afraid to raise it.
Those eyes are unfathomably tired and sad.
Nappa finds himself looking away.
"I like what he's wearin'!" Jeice whispers to his Bonded brightly, seemingly oblivious to the awkward proceedings. Knowing him, he probably is.
Raditz stares down in seriousness, catching Nappa's eye for a moment.
"There's something weird about him,"
Vegeta barely spares the boy a glance.
"Hm, he'll do. Come on, Broly!"
The other follows obediently, gaze downcast.
"Father, this is crazy! We have no proof that this "Legendary Super Saiyan" exists!"
"Prince Trunks," Paragus laughs, all charm. "I understand your concern! You are welcome to look around!"
So they do just that.
Nappa heads off with the younger Prince, Krillin and Gohan, knowing Vegeta would not take kindly to any interference from him right now. Raditz and Jeice head off in another direction, holding hands. Nappa doubts that they'll be looking at the scenery very much.
What they find on this backwater planet is problematic and strange to say the least.
They've been taken as slaves from their own planet and Nappa finds himself surrounded by the tiny creatures as they thank him and the others profusely for saving them from unwanted cruelty; remarkably different to what he's used to, but he'll go with the flow. However, it's not the slavery that is strange to Nappa – he's seen that countless times in the Planet Trade Organisation and even on Planet Vegeta. It's the fact that there was very little work being done and the lack of resistance when they intervened.
It's almost a half-hearted effort.
Before they can ponder upon this any further, Goku's ki approaches and the motley crew speed off to greet him, the little aliens in tow. Paragus offers Goku food and rest when he hears about Goku's quest to find the Legendary Super Saiyan (what a coincidence) and the hero of Earth happily takes it, gesturing the others forward as he practically skips through the doorway. Then again, food is enough to make every Saiyan alive happy.
Broly doesn't seem particularly happy himself, but Nappa thinks little of it, considering that it's apparently his default face.
He regrets not noticing properly later on that night when Broly smashes through the wall of the bedroom they're sharing and proceeds to viciously try beating the ever-loving hell out of Goku. Raditz speeds with Gohan and Jeice to his brother's aid, but they're buffeted back as though they don't exist. Jeice goes through a stone wall and doesn't reappear and Gohan is caught by Krillin.
"What's made him so mad at Kakarrot?!" Raditz cries as he rights himself next to Nappa. "I know he's annoying and loud, but by the Gods, this is a bit much!"
Nappa doesn't comment on the richness of that statement and continues to observe the younger Saiyans as they duke it out. Vegeta is probably still fruitlessly searching for the Legendary Super Saiyan -,
Wait.
That ki.
Shit, that ki level is unbelievable!
Broly's angry yelling is becoming more pronounced and Nappa realises that he's been in a restrained version of Super Saiyan for the entire battle. Now he's clearly trying to go further, but something is stopping him. He's so glad that something is preventing him.
Because, judging by the same glowing realisation on Goku's face and the monstrous ki coming from Broly, he's pretty sure they've just found the Legendary Super Saiyan.
Vegeta wants to leave and Paragus is oddly desperate to stop him.
Well, it's not so odd, now that the wheels in Nappa's mind are turning.
"Sire, we've finally found the Legendary Super Saiyan! It'll take two more days to get a firm lock on his location at the most!" the Saiyan begs and Vegeta's upper lip curls in distaste.
Said Legendary Super Saiyan is twitching and on edge and Paragus turns to him in order to sharply tell him to keep it together. He knows as well as they do who he's dealing with and the bald Saiyan is angry at the deceit (though wearily unsurprised). Goku's voice echoing for Vegeta isn't helping either – after all, Broly clearly has a grudge against him, for unknown reasons.
"Vegeta, you don't need to look for the Legendary Super Saiyan anymore. He's right there," Goku remarks seriously once he's reached those gathered and he points directly at Broly, who's shaking.
Paragus attempts to laugh it off, even going as far as to call his own son weak and pathetic. But once Trunks and Gohan interfere with the freed slaves, he finally gives in and confesses his half-baked plan of vengeance against the Royal Line of Vegeta.
And Nappa suddenly has an epiphany; he knows where he's seen Paragus before.
He used to work in the King's court. And through the grapevine, Nappa heard an interesting, sad tale about a baby boy who was sentenced to death by the King. His only crime was being strong at birth. His father had apparently put up a heck of a fight to try and save his life.
Oh no.
He wants to warn everyone, to move, do SOMETHING, but it's too late by then.
Broly's screaming and the sky is falling around them. Goku shields his son and Trunks, staring at the transformation with huge eyes, his hair standing on end due to all of the static in the air. Vegeta's falling to his knees, finally absorbing the gravity of the situation, and Raditz huddles over Jeice, the other healing from cracked ribs and a concussion from the night before. Paragus is trying to bring him back under control with a strange looking device in his hand and the pain it causes Broly only urges him onwards, laughing maniacally the entire way.
It is quite possible that they could die at this point.
Lightning flashes down from the dark clouds, hitting the ground around them at various intervals and a few of them have to close their eyes when it gets too much. The pressure builds and builds until Nappa swears his eardrums are going to pop and spurt blood. What's worse is that Broly looks to be bursting out of his own skin and into a huger, monstrous form that will only bring suffering and a futile battle ahead.
Abruptly, Paragus is thrown backwards and the crown around Broly's head shatters into tiny golden pieces that are lost in the burning aura around the Legend. That must have been the device holding back the beast and keeping countless people from being ripped apart.
This is it then.
It's going to be a battle royale and Nappa can't even turn Super Saiyan. He's not going to abandon Vegeta though, not when he still has the promise to keep; the oath sworn to King Vegeta.
And then it all ends with Broly shrieking in utter agony as everything suddenly starts swirling backwards into him, as though they were stuck in a time vortex. His muscles and skin ripple with the maggots of power ravaging his veins. The shining, overpowering golden aura that had been so present a few seconds ago flickers wildly, fighting the black hole it's being sucked into, before puttering out altogether, turning Broly's hair back to ebony. The boy screeches like he's being stabbed with thousands of knives.
Until he isn't.
The Saiyan slides to the floor, curls into a tiny ball, and lies there, shuddering and gasping.
It's so brutal and quick that nobody moves an inch, letting their lungs refill with oxygen and feeling as though they've been punch in the stomach.
Eventually, it's Trunks who makes the first move, creeping out from under Goku's arm and cautiously inching his way over to Broly, who hasn't stopped shivering.
"Broly? Are…you back with us?"
He crouches slowly and Broly flinches back timidly. Trunks extends a hand anyway and rubs a finger on his bare arm.
"He's freezing, could someone get him a blanket or something?"
Nappa wonders at the way Gohan immediately responds, despite the frantic protests of the aliens who claim that it was Broly who went on a rampage on their planet in the first place.
Broly continues to remain unresponsive throughout the rest of the proceedings; through the shouting and cruel dismissiveness of his own father, through the moment where Goku walks calmly up to Paragus and proceeds to punch him solidly in the face, through the organisation and evacuation of the planet to escape the comet, through the safe delivery of the tiny creatures back to their own planet, and through the final ride back to Earth.
His eyes are blank and broken and none of them have any idea where to start.
Mrs Briefs is a life saver.
She's so gentle with him, kneeling in front of where he's sitting on the seat in the ship and inch by inch, coaxing the frightened, exhausted young Saiyan out into the sun.
Nappa isn't even sure if they should be kind to the volatile Legendary Super Saiyan who has most likely massacred many in the last few days.
For their own safety, however, it seems as though they have little choice. When the crown broke, Broly broke with it.
And in the wrong hands, he could spell the end of them all.
Well, that's the Broly Saga over with. I apologise for the lack of fighting, but this was a "what if" scenario I had in mind for a while, wondering what else could have happened when Broly's crown broke, hence, his power and ki becoming locked and "damaged". I like Broly a lot for the potential he had and what could have been. I don't think he's more powerful than anyone else in the universe (someone like Beerus and probably Buu could have crushed him), but he was still very much a force to be reckoned with. Plus…I kind of felt a bit sorry for him, so yeah. I apologise if this is a direction you don't like very much.
Also, I forgot to do this before:
"line" - ordinary speech
"line" - telepathic communication
"line" - different language
Thank you for reading and hopefully see you in the next fic!
Love Lily. X