I am free.
Laughter spills from me, fills this little Earth valley and flows against these Namek fools around me, causes them to recoil. Then it bounces back at me from trees and hills at the far end of the clearing, treating even me to that harbinger of death. Like a child's cry before I strike, like the city sirens blaring before I raid, like the cracks from your Earth's core before I end it...music to my ears.
Yet before I indulge, I breathe in deeply, bask in the sun, take in the scent of life —of flowers and the wind around me, and calm my mirth. Let it never be said that I am ungrateful for this second chance, that I do not appreciate this unprecedented mistake. Reclining under a tree, I drink in being alive—Alive, yet free! There is nothing; nothing that can stand against me now. My supreme rule over this planet and the entire galaxy is not an option. No, it is a certainty. My bloody reign will span far and wide. Yes; this is my calm before I storm.
Then I break up once more, unable to hold in the laughter. Am I the only one who gets the enormity of the joke? "You Nameks messed up your wish!"
Ah, those shocked, innocent faces; what a treat! The silly creatures cannot even comprehend their own stupidity. They got their wish, but not what they wanted. Serves those stupid green slugs right. And you too, Human!
What? You thought you could simply undo the damage done? Wash away the blood with a simple wish on your Dragon Balls? You're all fools, if you do. The Namek village I killed won't be coming back, but instead you have me. Oh, how it must sting: to wish for those you have lost only to get the one who took their lives instead. The one you hate instead of those you love… Sweet irony never tasted better.
"That's right." I smirk, then bask in their reactions: shock, anger, and of course fear. Even as the surrounding wildlife returns to its soft hum, the cluster of Nameks keep their focus on me. A wise decision, and I cannot help but rub it in. "Be careful what you wish for."
As for my wish, human? Well, I missed my chance. Got cheated out of it. Murdered out of it. Still, it's fine. This is better. Way better. Do you wonder why, human? Well, I am not sure I can explain in terms you can understand. I guess you could say I escaped the game. Or, maybe this is a new game, but this time I shall control the rules. Heh. Maybe I won't even kill you all. Maybe I'll have you little humans dance for me like puppets, weak and mindless fools that you are. Let you dance on strings of fear, and cut all other ties till there is nothing else left. No, I didn't think you'd understand.
Frieza is dead. Kakarot is dead. Anything and everything that would stand against me is gone. I am not just the last Saiyan, I am the last Elite. I have no duties, no debts. No master to keep me in check, no useless third-class left to drag me down, nor a traitorous idiot at my back... I am completely free to do as I please!
Yet before I can choose the most satisfactory course of action, you creatures again prove I've overestimated your intelligence —Impossible as it may have seemed! Incredulously, two up-start children walk up to me; one little bald Namekian, one near-human, and challenge me. "Vegeta! Have a little respect!" the dark-haired boy stamps his foot at me. "These people just lost their families, their Elder, their planet, and you..." He shields the other child —his Namek friend— with his body, untamed mane swirling with ki. Then he advances a step and stutters some weak cusses at me, the most stinging of which is so far is 'rude', thrown at me in a high-pitched wail.
How amusing. Well, if anything the boy has guts, yes? This one is half Saiyan, half human; did you know? Something I would not have guessed possible little over a year ago. A crossbreed, and a healthy one at that. A creature one could nearly mistake for Saiyan, though with your genes mixed in I suppose it makes sense he has a double dose of stupid. Even if his eloquence fails him, his bravery does impress me, as did his strength did back on Namek.
The boy might be of use to me yet. So, I simply meet his disrespect with another mad cackle. When I finally collect myself I simply lean back against my tree, and offer the child a chance to join the winning side. "Ho, please! What have any of these green freaks done to earn my respect, except for dying pathetically?"
I smirk as the Namek adults close around the children, joining up into a large flock. The children both mumble about healing me, about resurrecting me. But I only listen to their body language, as the boy allows the Nameks to pool around him. So, he chooses these pathetic walking plants over his Prince by blood? Very well; it's not as if I needed him.
The Earth-born Namek fighter also joins in, inching between me and the boy. One arm stretches out to shield the children as he glowers down at me with menace. Well fuck, I thought I'd already killed this one before, but fine. You want to unite and stand against me, like you did the first time I came to Earth? What a joke. You all are a pathetic joke to me, human. You and the Nameks are weak. Without Kakarot to take up your slack, you'll have no chance at all!
So be it. You've all sealed your fate. But don't worry, I shall be a merciful executioner. Most of you will never even know what hit you. Well, this lot will of course, I am going to make them suffer. They've earned it.
Tension rises to new heights as this ragtag team of misfits drop down in defensive stances, aware that battle is imminent. I just smirk up at them, still reclined under my tree. Yes, there's a lot of them; must be around a hundred altogether. Yet I'm not worried. I've faced worse odds; taken more lives than all these so-called warriors put together. For them to defeat me would be like ants taking down a lion.
A ridiculous concept, until you have felt a swarm of killer ants come for you. Did you know, human, that there are worlds where thousands upon thousands of workers will throw themselves at an enemy to save their queen? Being swarmed again and again for hours on end is... not a pleasant memory. And these human fighters, there's a reason I ganged up with them on Namek. They are tenacious... No, I will not back down!
"Right, right!" a high voice calls. The owner's silhouette steps between us as she claps her hands. "Let's ease up on the testosterone, boys!"
It's her again. Blue hair and a tattered yellow-black jumpsuit; she puts her hands on her hips with an air of authority as she turns to face me. You know her; that woman that nearly had a heart attack when I cornered her on Namek. Yetnow, she gives me a radiating smile. "I bet we'll all get along better after a meal and a hot bath."
"Tch." She is of no consequence; not a warrior. Her fearlessness compared to how she acted on Namek still has me wrong-footed, but I dare say her lack of respect will come to bite her in the tail-end soon enough. I turn my nose up at her and return my focus back to the child.
Yet he too has been distracted. The newly appointed Namek Elder stands between us, his back to me and both his green-clawed hands rest on the half-breed's shoulders. "Please do not seek a quarrel for us, Gohan our roots are all connected; thus, fighting for us will only hurt us in the end."
I try to keep my relaxed posture, torn between the need to unleash the buildup of adrenaline and the more tactical part of my brain warning me to bide my time. The half-breed child talks softly, but I can make out the elder's answer. "—and yet severing this one would hardly bring them back…"
Fuck. The audacity! The very idea has me to my feet, shaking with rage. I'm just about to begin my journey towards galactic subjection, and this talking plant thinks to show me mercy? Like I am a common criminal? Like I've committed some crime?
Well, fuck them. I'm worth more; So much more that their death at my whim was my right. My gift, to those villagers; my mercy. I'll prove it, too. Prove my strength; unleash the boiling lava in my veins. The half-breed might well be the closest thing to a challenge Earth has left. Next, we'll pit the last of the Saiyans against the last of the Nameks and see who wins. My survival will prove me right, make my word law.
And this pathetic Elder gets to go first. I'll shoot him right through his stupid back, because he just relinquished his rights to a honorable death. Fucking weak windbag thinks he's better than me? Well, I've got a surprise for you right here. Gathering my ki in one hand, I step forward.
Or, at least I try. The ki pulls like heavy syrup, drips through my fingers almost as fast as I can accumulate it. When I step forward, I stumble and almost fall to my knees. I freeze, move back to lean back against my tree once more, and surreptitiously check if anyone noticed. It doesn't seem so; all attention is on the Elder right now. So I turn my attention inwards and try to discern what is wrong.
As soon as I do my stomach groans at me in angry, empty resentment. Food. What was the last time I ate? I cannot even remember. I'm spent; at the end of my reserves. Beneath the euphoria; the thrill of finally bringing about the tyrant Frieza's end and coming out the winner, there's nothing left but a bone-weary ache. Death has not cured my exhaustion, has not sated my hunger. Suddenly the woman's offer is enticingly seductive; the promise of a meal ahead is the last thing keeping me standing.
No, fighting right now is hardly to my advantage. I should at least wait until I am replenished. After all, this time my hubris could cost me more than just my tail. Yes, I think I'll just stand here as the woman joins in the useless discussion on roots. It foolishly distracts them and overcomes any self-preservation instincts, but I think they just mentioned food, "and water and air. These we call first tier needs," I hear the elder lecture.
"Feh." Tilting my face up to the sun, I relax just slightly and let the humans and Nameks chatter around me. When considered objectively, my streak of luck is inconceivable. The two greatest warriors in the galaxy have ended each other, leaving me as the new undisputed number one. Somehow I've been transported to this lush green world, whole, alive, and…
The Super Saiyan may have gone down with planet Namek, but: "you can easily fix this with your magic", I explain with a half-raised hand, confused that none see what's in front of them. As for me, I wouldn't mind fighting that oaf of a Saiyan again. It was great fun. An honest fight; refreshing. There is a poetic justice in someone so simple ending one as twisted and deceitful as Frieza. Odd, perhaps, that he could succeed where I failed. Yet there is little reason to fear that third-class. I beat him once, I can do it again.
"You really are smart!" The blue haired woman that praises me, odd thing she is. I cock open a lazy eye as she flutters my way, and I resolve to blast her head off if she adds 'for a monkey' to her words. But I am left waiting for it. Perhaps she really does think I'm clever.
She's right. though. I am smart. Smart enough to know I got lucky by not getting my wish. Lucky to have Frieza lose his patience and kill me; lucky to have been resurrected and moved to a planet with no possible way of getting tracked here. I've effectively faked my own death, fulfilled my life's goals, cleared my debts and gone straight to a paradise that's just begging to be taken.
All I need to do is recuperate, bide my time and,..
I did not get my wish, but I got what I wanted.
I am free.
Special thanks to my betas over8000 and meganechan720