I do not own Dragonball Z
Chapter 03: Sacrifices
Caliwone knelt on the ground with his back to the center of the arena, his right hand resting on his knee as he waited for the signal. Fire was lit in cauldrons atop the seated stadium where hundreds of Saiyans sat silently, waiting for the demonstration to begin as one of their own was about to inducted into the rank of Super Elite. The night was young, and the nearly full moon painted light blue shadows around the otherwise red tinted arena.
Centered to one side of the square ring, King Vegeta and all of his royal guards sat, prepared to see if Caliwone was worthy enough to be granted such a prestige's title. The great king rubbed his beard slightly, eyeing the young Saiyan with interest. He had heard many things about this one in particular, many good, but some troubling. Tonight, he would see if those worries were justified.
"A ceremony?" a familiar voice said directly behind King Vegeta. "How exciting. I just love ceremonies."
Vegeta turned, not at all surprised to see Frieza behind him. For once, he was not in his hover chair but actually standing on his own two feet. He walked over to where King Vegeta sat and looked expectantly at him and then the throne he was sitting on. Gritting his teeth against the humility he had to endure, Vegeta stood and allowed Frieza to sit,
"Is this another demonstration or something more significant?" Frieza asked, glancing up at Vegeta then down to where Caliwone still knelt patiently.
"It is a ceremony to promote Caliwone into the rank of Super Elite," King Vegeta all but growled.
"Oh, Super Elite you say?" Frieza asked, his eyes widening in mock surprise. "How impressive." He leaned forward in his chair expectantly. "What do you say we get this little party started?"
Vegeta nodded curtly and raised a hand. One of his royal guards leaped down into the arena. "This is a test to judge the skills of Caliwone," Vegeta announced grandly. "His strength is legendary, his skill is world renown, and this ceremony will prove beyond question his elite standing." Next to him, Frieza gave a little cough. Vegeta paused, gritting his teeth again and he turned back to Frieza.
"If this is supposed to be a true test," Frieza said with an odd red glint to his alien eyes, "why do we not try something a little more challenging?"
"Yes, my lord," Vegeta said. "What did you have in mind?"
"Armani," Frieza said and a purple colored alien stepped forward and knelt down next to his master. "Why don't you have fun with our young friend?" Frieza said, a wicked grin across his face.
"Yes, my lord," Armani said and jumped down and replaced the royal guard on the arena floor. "I hope you do not plan on living past this encounter, Saiyan," Armani said with a wicked laugh.
Caliwone remained where he was, unmoved. His mind was working, trying hard to figure out how to handle this little dilemma. He had no doubt that he could defeat any of Frieza's man but to do so would force him to reveal more strength than he really wanted to in front of Frieza. But if he did not, this little grunt may end up killing him.
In the higher seats, Apale narrowed her eyes knowing what was going through Caliwone's mind. It was a tough spot but she hoped that Caliwone would not do something stupid and get himself killed over this. She bit her nail through her gloved hand idly, her attention shifting to Frieza and King Vegeta. Even from this height, she could see the anger almost visibly spilling off of him.
"What is he going to do?" Potrag asked from his seat to the right of her. He sounded more confused that concerned.
"I don't know," Apale said. "What I hope he does is dust this grunt and get it over with. But what he will do..."
"He will fight," Celinal said from her seat to the left of Apale. "And he will win."
"Is that why Onino decided he didn't want to show up?" Potrag asked. Celinal and Apale both sent a glare at the empty seat next to Potrag.
"Some best friend he is," Apale said shortly and went silent as King Vegeta raised a hand, readying to signal the start of the demonstration.
"Wait," Frieza said. "Allow me." Vegeta lowered his hand and allowed Frieza to do the honors. "BEGIN!"
Armani rushed forward, swinging one of his legs back to kick. He crossed the short distance separating the two and came to an abrupt halt. Caliwone remained as motionless as he was before, still kneeling on the ground with his back to the center of the ring, apparently unconcerned with Elite henchman that Frieza had sent down. Confused as to what he should do, Armani looked up questioningly at his lord.
"Uh, Caliwone," Frieza said into the reigning silence. "I gave you the start signal." Caliwone remained still, not acknowledging Frieza's command. "Fine then," Frieza snapped. "Armani, kill him if he doesn't want to fight back."
Armani grinned his alien grin. He rushed forward again, this time with no intent on stopping. The ground under Caliwone rumbled just noticeably and blue energy sparked between the stone pallets that made up the ring. With a suddenness like hitting a wall, Armani slammed into an energy barrier five feet from Caliwone and bounced back; the shield glimmering blue lightly before fading away.
On the throne, Frieza's fingers dug into the dark wood at this mockery but Vegeta intervened before he could speak. "Allow me." Turning back to the arena, Vegeta spoke up again. "BEGIN!"
Caliwone immediately stood and bowed to Vegeta, looking hard into the king's eyes. He got a slight nod in return and Caliwone grimaced only slightly. Fine, King Vegeta was willing to allow his performance to be seen, by all means he would do what had to be done.
Armani scrambled back up to his feet, trying to play off the whole event that had just taken place by brushing the dirt off of his Saiyan styled armor. Caliwone sneered and pulled off his armor. He could not stand wearing the same clothing as such a weakling; disgracing the Saiyan honor. With a crash, his armor hit the ground just outside of the ring and Caliwone settled himself into combat position.
Armani took in the Caliwone's apparent arrogance at discarding his armor with a simple smile. "Aren't you an arrogant one?" he said. "Your over confidence will be your downfall."
Caliwone didn't even bother with a response. With a push from his powerful right leg, Caliwone sped toward his opponent. Armani saw him coming and flew into the sky to avoid but Caliwone was right after him, barely dodging a blast of purple colored energy as he came within striking distance. With lightning efficiency, the two struck. Caliwone punched, blocked, countered, blocked, and countered again all in rapid fashion.
With a swift kick, Armani sent Caliwone flying back toward the ground where Caliwone came to a halt several inches above the ground and looked up at Armani with amusement and simply hovered in place as he saw Armani power up for what must be his most powerful attack. Caliwone let it come. At the last second, Caliwone planted his feet on the ground and caught the blast in his bare hands. The ground under his feet cracked as the force of the attack tried to force itself down. With a kick, Caliwone sent the attack back the way it had come. Using the blast to cover his movements, Caliwone vanished and appeared unseen behind Armani. With his two fists, Caliwone slammed Armani square in the back and into his own attack.
With a mighty explosion that lit up the entire stadium, the attack blew up, sending Armani's burnt body falling to the ground in a heap. Flipping forward, Caliwone landed on the ground lightly in the center of the ring. He wrinkled his nose at the sickening stench and bowed to King Vegeta once more.
Frieza's face displayed his displeasure and he removed his scouter from his face. His eyes glowed red and two beams of light lanced out from him. Caliwone tensed, prepared to dodge and attack Frieza if necessary but the attack landed on Armani, disintegrating him on the spot with little more than a scream as the last of his life left him.
"Very well done," Frieza said, replacing his scouter on his head. He turned his head and nodded at the last three of his henchmen who leaped from their position and landed on the arena floor.
Caliwone took a deep breath. Fighting one of Frieza's Elites was no big deal but three of Frieza's personal guard would make things a little more challenging. Luckily, Caliwone thrived on challenges. This time, Caliwone set his stance and allowed his energy to surge around him, lifting small chips of stone off the ground with his strength. His power washed over his opponents, forcing them back like a powerful wind.
Frieza watched this display with narrowed eyes as his scouter beeped and twittered as the power indicator continued to rise until with a beep, it came to a stop. His eye focused on the number. Thirteen thousand. With effort, he restrained his rage should he let his surprise slip. That was almost inconceivable for the Saiyan race. Vegeta's power level was just under fourteen thousand and he was supposed to be the strongest of the Saiyans. This was not good. Something had to be done about this less the Saiyans continue to grow in strength.
Next to him, Vegeta's scouter beeped as well, coming to the same reading. The surprise on his face flickered only for a moment before it was covered up again and he tried hard sneak a peek at Frieza. Pretending not to notice, Frieza returned his attention to Caliwone as the battle raged.
Deflecting the first attacker, Caliwone spun and slammed an elbow into the stomach of the second then shot his knee up to catch it under his chin. The third one grabbed Caliwone in a bear hug from behind. Caliwone lifted his elbows and slammed them back down hard into the opponent's stomach.
It gasped for air as the wind was knocked out of him and he dropped Caliwone to the ground. Caliwone ducked just as the first guy struck, catching his own friend across the face. Caliwone looked at the first man as he remained on the ground and faster than the man could move, Caliwone brought his left leg up in a vertical side kick that lifted the Elite off of the ground. Caliwone jumped and planted his foot squarely into the face of the second enemy and pushed off of him to jump higher and brought his other leg down in a powerful ax kick from above.
The alien crashed down in a heap of stone and a bloody mess. The third alien caught Caliwone across the face in a brutal strike but Caliwone rolled with it, tilting his head enough to allow the strike to glance off of his cheek and minimize the actual damage and turned the roll into a sweep. As he did, he fired a blast at the other alien, sending him rocketing out of the ring to blow up on the ring wall. With a final stomp, Caliwone brought his other foot around and smashed the final alien's head in to something resembling a pancake.
He took a deep breath and let it out, bowing to King Vegeta once more as the crowd of Saiyan's roared their approval. Even King Vegeta seemed to smile proudly down at him from his watch as he noted just how easily he had managed to dispatch his enemies.
Frieza was not as pleased. He stood, looking almost punitive in stature next to King Vegeta but threatening none the less. "I am indeed impressed," he said and the roaring crowd silenced itself almost instantly at the words. "To think that the Saiyan race would have such talented warriors. It must have managed to slip me by." His voice was as ever arrogant but there was a dangerous undertone to his words. "However, before I allow this ceremony to conclude, I must validate your commitment."
Frieza raised a hand and four guards appeared from the main tunnel entrance, directly opposite of Vegeta's box, dragging between them a single struggling Saiyan. Caliwone felt his heart drop and his blood cool as he knew instantly who it was they were dragging in and why.
"The Saiyan race is a savage one," Frieza said, caring none for whatever insults he might say. "A race of selfishness and doing what it takes to get ahead in life. For you to be recognized by myself as a Super Elite, you must prove that you are ready to make any sacrifice to achieve your goals. Do this and I will personally welcome you as my personal body guard and grant you the title of Super Elite."
The crowd murmured at this, wondering what exactly was going on. Caliwone understood. He had made a mistake, took out his henchmen too quickly; let his power rise too much and had Frieza scared. Making Caliwone his personal body guard like Dodoria and Zarbon would allow Frieza to keep a close eye on him and, if necessary, kill him without angering the Saiyan race. And if Caliwone refused, he would most likely be killed by Frieza himself for disobeying a direct order. It was a nice neat little bundle that ended either way with death.
Caliwone hesitated while the four henchmen forced Onino's arms wide and unable to defend himself; his bottom lip bleeding from when they had to subdue him along with the cut above his left eye.
In the stands, Celinal could feel Apale bristle and start to her feet, every bit prepared to leap down and grab Frieza by the throat or die trying. She grabbed Apale and forced her back into her seat and Potrag reached over to help keep her there through all of the kicking and struggling.
Caliwone met Frieza's gaze for a moment. He was smirking, past his rage now as he had thought up how to best handle this situation. Caliwone lowered his eyes and bowed. "I will not," he said, his voice carrying quite clearly throughout the stadium. "You are wrong about the Saiyan race. We are warriors, driven by our races well being above all else; our collective pride. Many Saiyans would do as you request and kill one another for personal glory but I will not attack my brother in such a way." He paused for only the barest of second, then added, "my Lord."
"A Saiyan with sentiments," Frieza said, his voice now fully amused. "I didn't think such a thing existed."
"Hopefully, I may illuminate this flaw of ours for you," Caliwone said, trying to sound as respectful as he could.
"Flaw," Frieza said, spitting the word out as if it had a bad taste. "The only flaw here is disobeying my orders. Now, I will tell you again. Kill that rotten Saiyan."
Caliwone closed his eyes. "I will not."
"DO IT!"
"I cannot."
"Caliwone," Vegeta said, his own eyes narrowing. "I am ordering it." The tone was full of authority and with it the undertone of pleading.
Caliwone hesitated, his natural response to obey struggling with his own mastery. After a few moments, Caliwone said, "I am sorry, my King. I cannot full fill such orders even from whose words I hold most sacred but I cannot kill Onino like some animal made for amusement. He is neither an enemy, nor has he challenged my strength and therefore, a kill in such circumstances betrays what we as warriors hold most sacred. It is what separates us as warriors from simple mercenaries. Give me a true enemy, and I will annihilate him for you're with the utmost enjoyment."
King Vegeta glanced down at Frieza. "I see," Frieza said quietly, something that fell just short of a snarl stretching across his face at the impunity of this wretched Saiyan insect. "Than you would rather choose death?"
Caliwone closed his eyes. "Yes, my Lord."
"Very well," Frieza said and removed his scouter. "I am in a generous mood today. This wish I feel I can grant for you." His eyes glowed red.
"Sire," Vegeta said, "Caliwone is one of our strongest warriors and we have many systems in need of conquering that his help would be valuable for."
"The Saiyans must be taught a lesson for his disobedience," Frieza said, the red glow from his eyes never wavering. "This whole planet must understand that there is the law of Frieza and none other."
"But you ask him to do what he perceives as impossible," Vegeta reasoned. "Something less severe, perhaps."
Frieza narrowed his eyes, the red light dimming slightly. "You had better learn your place, Vegeta," Frieza said, turning those red eyes on him. "What I say goes. Period."
"I understand, my Lord," Vegeta said, trying his best to hold his ground against the thought of death. "I merely feel his strength could help us along greatly."
Frieza returned his eyes to Caliwone, still standing still and bowing in their direction. With obvious reluctance, Frieza's red glare faded. "Fine," he said with a withering glare toward King Vegeta. "Refuse him the rank of Super Elite and reassign him to the front lines of Sullest. Perhaps there he will do us some good until I find a fitting punishment for him."
Vegeta bowed and Frieza took his leave. Vegeta stayed bowed for a few seconds before straightening and shooting Caliwone a fierce glare. He had risked his neck to save his life. At least he knew where Caliwone's loyalties truly lay. Knowing that, he had a fair idea how to best use this Saiyan.
"I heard what happened on planet Vegeta, my lord," Zarbon said as he followed Frieza up to the command bridge of his ship. "Honestly, I am surprised that you did not kill him where he stood.
"Patience, Zarbon," Frieza said, settling his hover pod in the observation deck of the command tower. "Soon, I think, this agreement we have with the Saiyan race will come to an end. And when that happens, the universe will know what my wrath is capable of."
To be continued...
I think we all see where this is going. As the end of the Saiyan race approaches, what steps will Caliwone and company take to avoid death and what plans does King Vegeta have to over throw Frieza and rescue Prince Vegeta?
Only two more chapters left in Origins and we will soon find out and find out what sequence of events lead to Caliwone's epic tales on Earth.
