BUTCHER ARC PART I

No one on Foxtrot Force saw Broly for two whole years. Goku was now fifteen, and occasionally he would reflect on the boy they hadn't seen hide nor hair of. The mystery of his outburst still lingered.

He thought of the planet earth. Would the world tournament be now or in a year? He couldn't remember. Inwardly, he regretted leaving before his first tournament. However, he could still go on. Fighting for sport was more common than ever.

Most of the galaxy had been colonized, whatever that meant. Goku only understood that they sent people away to fight. Cooler had declared that as long as the saiyans remained loyal in times of need, they would remain paid.

Goku and his team had long advanced to the top of their class, and he grew bored without the challenge. He heard a ringing, so he rolled over on his bed.

The teenager grasped the scouter, fitting it to his ear. He pressed the red button on the side. "Hello? This is Goku."

"It's Niuno." the confident voice announced.

"What's going on?" he cheered, sitting up.

The boy with the sideburns smirked on the other end. "Remember Quash?"

"How could I not?" the teenager breathed, flexing his hand.

"I was just out with Tarble. We heard someone mention how his dad lived in this abandoned apartment complex. Wanna come check it out?" Niuno excitedly offered. "Even if there are no answers, it'll be cool. It's really creepy here."

Goku stood up, putting his gauntlets on. "I'm on my way."

"Grab Ruco on the way over, by the way. Can't reach her by scouter." Niuno advised.

"What about Sargomel?"

The boy with the sideburns shrugged on the other end. "Isn't she on a trip with her parents somewhere?"

Goku recalled that she was an orphan, raised by Old Jinjer.

The connection abruptly ended, and Goku exited his house. The setting sun cast a warmer red light over the buildings of Saiya City. He took to the skies, blasting off towards the residence of his final friend.

Shortly, he arrived at the average sized dwelling. Goku knocked on the door, and before long it was answered. Ruco's father unsurely looked at him.

"Hey, Goku. What's up?" he asked.

Goku lopsidedly smiled. "Is Ruco home?"

The man nodded, turning around. "Ruco!" he shouted. "Goku's here."

She came down the stairs in her oversized sleeping clothes. "What's up?" she smiled.

"The others got a lead on Quash. We were going to check it out. You in?" Goku queried.

She looked expectantly at her father. "Go ahead." he nodded.

Ruco rushed up her stairs once more, emerging shortly in her pink undersuit and Foxtrot armor. They exited into the darkening outside.

"Where is this place?" Ruco panted, tail lashing behind her.

Goku took the the air, answering her. "Some building downtown. Just follow me."

So they flew off toward their friend's power level. Goku himself sat at an even eight hundred. Sargomel was about fifty above him. Tarble was only two hundred ten. The boy who had called them was a modest six hundred.

And the girl accompanying Goku's power level was around four hundred sixty. Of course, these were their rounded up maximums.

The youngest boy had 'discovered' that he could raise and lower his energy almost at will. Goku was confused, as he never even realized he was doing it. The other's had theorized it was something from earth.

Foxtrot Force vowed to help Goku go back at least once. Stories of a green and blue planet rich in unique organisms intrigued everyone he told them about.

Never once did it occur to him that such an act may somehow affect the wellbeing of his old home.

However, the wish granting properties of the Dragon Balls were kept secret by him. That had occurred to him, that telling was dangerous.

Shortly, they arrived at the dilapidated gathering of old buildings. Standing around and ogling them were the remainder of their squad.

Niuno noticed them first. He waved as the pair came down, smirking. "Hey guys."

Ruco got straight to the point. She absentmindedly massaged her neck. "Uh, what's this lead?"

"Niuno heard that Broly and his dad lived here." their prince explained. "It was abandoned a year ago when they built those new apartments near the factory."

Goku stared at the crumbling building. It certainly looked like it had been abandoned decades ago, not a single year. Then again, apartments aren't for the wealthiest saiyans, even he knew that.

"This place gives me the creeps." Goku noted. He had goosebumps, and his arm hairs stood up on end,

"So, which apartment did they live in?" the girl queried, folding her arms in the cold.

The boy with the sideburns blushed, looking down. "Well, you see…"

"Up there." Tarble interrupted, pointing behind him to the fifth floor of the newest building. "I did my research and checked the records,"

"Glad you thought ahead." Goku smiled, trying to calm his nerves. The place just gave him a sense of being watched.

The boy unsurely took the lead. Slowly, they entered the building. Goku had to pry the door off in order to get in, as there was no power.

It was very dark, so each team member summoned a small flame from their reserves as a light.

Goku looked around. It didn't look as old on the inside. Only a few things were out of place, and stains on the floor clearly outlining where furniture had once been. The occasional ceiling tile lay on the floor, exposed wire.

As they went up the stairwell, the group remained silent. They had been utterly baffled when Broly had just disappeared.

Sargomel merely placed a transfer request for him, yet he never showed up to another squad. Almost as if he had disappeared.

Reaching the fifth floor, Goku spoke up. "Which door is it?"

Tarble racked his mind. "It's… 523."

Ruco's anxiety flared. She pointed to a sign. "It says it's this way. Five twenty to five forty."

Goku immediately spotted the correct door. He smelled something odd. A foul scent that only intensified as they approached the grey door.

The boy closed his eyes. "No one's inside."

"Thanks, I was on the edge of my seat." Niuno chuckled.

"No, I don't blame him. This place doesn't smell right. Literally and figuratively." their prince assessed of the situation.

Ruco frowned at the eerie atmosphere. "I really don't like this."

Goku supposed it was now or never, and he kicked the door down. Immediately, the strong smell worsened. Although it wasn't inherently bad, the scent overwhelmed their saiyan senses.

Ruco bucked up and took the lead over from the boy. "What are we even looking for?"

"I dunno." Niuno shrugged, plugging his nose. "Anything that gives us an idea of where he went."

"And find out what that gross smell is." Goku added. "It's disgusting."

Ruco took one look into the bathroom and she shrieked. "Gah!"

All of them peeked their heads into the small room. There was a very rotted corpse slumped against the wall. It was very fresh, as most of the face was decayed away. A puddle of reddish brown liquid stretched over the floor. Leaving, of course, the half melted skeletal corpse face to frighten them.

"Woah." Niuno breathed, holding his nose.

Goku walked forward with knitted brows into the puddle. He poked the body, and it sank down and fell apart. "This isn't a saiyan." he deduced.

Ruco gagged. "That's disgusting."

Tarble frowned in disgust at the horrendous sight. To find a body in this apartment? "How do you think he got there?"

"Did Broly do this?" the boy nearest the body asked.

"T-there's no way of knowing." Ruco sighed. "Let's look around then report this."

Tarble was more than happy to move away. He left into the empty living room. Actually, there appeared to be an overturned bookshelf in the middle of the kitchen.

In one of the rooms was a circle of rocks and burnt pile of ashes in the center. A rucksack of some sort was in the corner.

"Hey, I found something." He shouted to those in the bathroom ogling the dead body. "It looks like a really old holo card."

"I've seen a reader for one of those at Old Jinjer's." Ruco returned, resuming looking at the corpse. Morbid curiosity kept them from looking away.

Goku scrutinized the body.

"Hey…" Niuno trailed off.

The younger boy turned around to look at those in the doorway. "His arms are gone."

Tarble opened the final door, fear spiking through him. He was too shocked to even scream. However, he nearly threw up.

Goku followed, and even he was surprised by the sight. At least seven bodies comprising of only bones and flesh barely clinging to them littered the reddened floor.

However, the most disturbing part of this room was in the corner. A clearly saiyan girl with her legs cut off from above the knees panted in the corner. A thick sheen of sweat covered her skin. It was concerning, as she was unclothed. Goku recognized her as Sargomel.

Ignoring what was most likely a makeshift graveyard, Goku approached her. He couldn't help assisting those in need, and she clearly needed their help.

"Are you okay?" he asked calmly, trying to keep a cool head.

Niuno and the others followed. "What did you f- woah! What the?! Sargomel, what the hell happened?!"

The girl in the pink undersuit blew her bangs out of her face, rushing to the amputee girl. "What happened?!"

Niuno frowned in disgust. This 'bone room' was just too much. His tough guy facade dropped. "I'm seriously freaked out. Grab her and let's get out of here. We gotta go now."

The girl on the floor weakly pointed up. Goku's stomach dropped, as in a hole through the ceiling he spotted someone staring at them. They all stared down silently with the figure in the dark.

"Hey!" Goku shouted. "Did you do this?!"

"Goku!" Ruco hissed.

"Yes." the figure rasped in a whispery voice.

Goku's anger manifested itself. He frowned angrily. "Why the heck would you kill all of these people?! And almost Sargomel?"

They saw the silhouette cock it's head in confusion. "I was hungry."

Ruco felt her stomach lurch. "So you ate her legs?!"

"Yeah."

"W-why?" Tarble demanded.

The figure shrugged. "I used to eat people all the time on missions." he rasped. "I realized the only meat I hadn't tried was saiyan. You kids want some?"

Goku scowled, dropping into a stance. "Why'd you kill so many people then?"

The man in the ceiling laughed. "Because if you wanna try something, you gotta go all out. There's a man, a woman, a boy… No two samples were the same. "

Niuno grit his teeth. "You're a sick freak!"

"No I'm not." the silhouette defended. "We used eat other races all the time on missions! How is this different?"

All but Goku had difficulty justifying their positions. The boy leapt forward. "They're people! I won't forgive you for hurting our friend!"

The mysterious cannibal dogged, speedily charging out the window of the sixth floor room. Goku trudged through the broken glass, looking out into Saiya City. There was no sign of him, and he somehow couldn't sense him.

Deciding there were more important things, he hopped down onto the fifth floor, crunching a bone under his boot. Goku looked to Sargomel, and he just felt even more enraged.

Why hadn't they noticed she was gone? How long had she been here? Questions for later. "Niuno, help me pick her up."

The boy nodded, and they carefully lifted the battered Sargomel, supporting her by her arms and what was left of her legs. Ruco was on the verge of tears, and Tarble struggled to not grind his teeth to dust.

"W-what happened?" the girl blubbered, looking down to her friend.

She received no answer, only shaky blinking. Goku, frowning, gave an order to the girl. "Hey, Ruco. Go ahead to the medcenter or something."

Composing herself, she nodded, taking a deep breath.

Tarble followed suit, but the smell of rotting corpses was too much. He paused to throw up.

Goku and Niuno tried to get out as quickly as they could. In the streetlight, Sargomel looked even worse.

It seemed as if the guy had bandaged up what was left of her legs to keep her alive. Goku wondered why someone would ever eat another person. But, it was normal to that man.

He was disgusted.

oXo

oXo

Goku and the others sat in the waiting room outside of Sargomel's room. After the the Foxtrot Force had gotten their captain to the hospital, she was immediately rushed to recovery.

Goku's anger had only built up as the time went by. Now, one of his best friends was legless in the room behind him, being doted on by medics.

The boy was the first to notice the green light above the door go on. Being familiar with hospitals due to his intense training and being prone to accidents, he knew that the light signified that it was okay to go in.

He stood up, entering before anyone even knew it. The physicians were just leaving as he entered.

Sargomel's eyes were dilated and glassy. A sure sign that she was on strong saiyan painkillers.

He cringed. "You okay?"

Her words were spoken faster than she could think, and were heavily slurred. "Yup. How are you?"

Goku could only guess she didn't remember. "I'm fine."

"That's good. How are you?" she queried again.

Yeah, she was definitely out of it. Without a word, he left her and went outside.

Tarble looked up expectantly. "How is she?"

The boy shrugged. "She's out of it."

Niuno shook his head, looking at his hands. "I'm disgusted."

"I know how you feel. I think we all do." Ruco said somberly. "I don't think I want to sleep or be alone ever again."

The prince stood up. "I have to get back to the palace and clean my mind. Please, keep me posted. Believe me, I don't want to leave."

"Yeah." Niuno nodded. "Your brother will be mad. We understand."

Goku sat back into the uncomfortable chair next to Ruco. "Why do bad things happen to good people? What did Sargomel do to deserve this?"

The girl leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. "He's still out there."

Niuno put his hands in his head, inhaling carefully. "Did anyone tell their parents we're here?"

"Jinjer is coming." the boy with the messiest hair recited. "And I called my mom. You better go call yours."

As they left, he heard rapidly tapping boots approaching him, Goku looked to see his mother being trailed by the surprisingly spry Old Jinjer. The old woman went in the door, leaving the boy and Gine.

"What happened?" she calmly asked, clearly concerned.

Goku merely shook his head, very traumatized. "I- I just don't want to talk about it."

Gine regarded her son cautiously. That is, until she heard the shriek from the old woman in the room behind her. Very unnerved, she entered the room as well.

Goku followed.

The old lady wept over her granddaughter. Sargomel was too high to even comprehend her surroundings. She just smiled and looked ahead.

Gine was mortified. Her child had gotten into a situation where his friend lost her legs? She wasn't sure how to proceed with limitations right now.

"It's time to go home, Kakarot." She calmly said.

Goku didn't even attempt to correct her. He shook his head. "I have to stay."

"Bless you." Jinjer sighed at him.

The unsure mother sighed, in defeat. "Fine. Let's go outside, and you can tell me what happened."

oXo

oXo

The boy fell asleep after reciting the story to his mother. Gine, could not sleep at all after such a tale. It surprised her, that her son could sleep after experiencing such a horror, and she could not.

However, a scream from the room behind her woke Goku. He shot awake, entering Sargomel's hospital room.

She sweated profusely, scanning the room frantically. "Goku." Sargomel breathed.

He nodded, coming to her side. "I'm here."

Tears formed in her eyes. "I…"

Goku shot her a sympathetic look as if to say 'I know'.

"Thanks for giving me a leg up." Sargomel joked. After, she laughed hard before it turned into loud sobbing.

The boy could only look on as she cried. Sargomel had never cried before now. Could he even comfort her? He'd never lost limbs to a cannibal before.

"I'm sorry." he quietly said.

She sniffled. "You dummy." she chuckled. "This isn't your foot." she punned.

Goku smiled awkwardly. "Give me a break. And… toe-give me."

Sargomel narrowed her sunken eyes in confusion. "You can do better. Give it a thigh."

The boy shook his head, refocusing. "Are you okay? What… happened, you know?"

"I heard about that lead from Niuno a week ago." she began. "I went without you guys. That guy was there." Tears welled again. "He made me eat my own legs."

He didn't know what to say. "Did… they taste good?" he jokingly asked.

Sargomel couldn't help but chuckle at the dark joke. "No. I had athlete's foot." She knew he didn't mean any harm. The girl wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm going to have nightmares forever."

"Yeah…" Goku agreed. "All of us will." Pausing, he pursed his lips. "So what did they tell you?"

"About my condition?" Goku nodded. "Malnourished and amputated legs. My tail, too. I don't remember him taking that. And… I don't want to talk about it."

"I'm glad." he stated. "That you don't remember." he clarified.

"I know what you meant." Sargomel assured. She sighed. "I either get mechanical legs or go legless."

Goku frowned. "I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with that. Robot legs?"

"Yeah. Only problem is, I can't afford them. My gram definitely can't. Looks like you're the captain now." she smiled weakly.

The door opened, and the broad figure of Bardock filled the doorway. "I can afford it."

"I couldn't ask you to do that for free!" she hissed.

"It won't be." Bardock threateningly said.

"Alright then." Sargomel sighed. "What's the catch?"

He scowled. "Tell me about this cannibal. I swear, I'll find him and eat his legs for you."

The girl glared. "Don't do that. Put him in a dark hole where he can grow old and never get out."

Bardock smirked. "That can be arranged. So, the guy?"

Goku frowned. Despite his crimes, he didn't believe it was right to take an eye for an eye. How is one better than an offender if they carry out a crime in revenge?

She closed her eyes. "He had really sharp teeth." Sargomel shuddered. "But, he had a kind face. When I went to the apartment, he convinced me that he was a janitor. I trusted him…"

"Hey, don't force yourself to tell us what happened if you aren't ready." Goku assured kindly. "Just about him."

Sargomel wiped a tear from her eye, nodding. "His hair wasn't spiky. It was… limp? Like an alien. That's how he tricked me. I was convinced he wasn't a saiyan, so how could he be a janitor?"

Bardock scowled. "Did you notice anything else?"

"Wait…" Goku said cautiously. "Why did he let us get away with you?"

"You're probably not safe here." the man scowled. "I'll have one of my crew members guard you. I've gotta catch this guy. I checked the apartment. There's a fine line between murder and planet trading."

Goku wasn't so sure.

The door behind them opened. A doctor with soft brown hair and a mask obscuring his features entered. Goku saw his eyes widen, and before long he left almost as soon as he entered.

"Something about that guy was familiar." Goku noted.

Sargomel laugh cried. "He treated you when Niuno broke your leg."

"Well," Barodock interrupted. "I'm going to do some investigation. Got a scent on the rucksack he left in there." he rubbed the back of his head. "There were a bunch of tails in there. Including yours."

Sargomel closed her eyes, sinking down. Taking tails as trophies hadn't happened since the saiyan feudal age, if she recalled correctly. It only made her feel worse.

So, his father took his leave. That left them alone. Sargomel almost immediately went to the verge of tears.

"Hug me." she shakily demanded. Goku complied, embracing her from the side. The girl burst into ugly tears.

"I'm sorry." he breathed. Goku was shocked. Anxiety pricked at his heart. Absolutely, he didn't know what to say. The girl only sobbed harder at his silence. Sargomel never cried.

It certainly surprised him. The boy hadn't even considered this kind of thing. He didn't even think that kind of thing happened, as the saiyan crime rate was nonexistent on Vegeta.

"I- I don't know what to say. I don't know how to comfort you." he honestly admitted.

He really wished this was a problem he could punch.

"Just hold me." she begged. "And listen."

"Of course." Goku breathed.

"W-when I went there… He convinced me he was a janitor or something. Then he knocked me out… and I woke up naked in the bathtub." she sniffled, sobbing shakily. "And he ate my left leg while I was still awake. Then I was in the other room, and… and…"

He just squeezed tighter, embracing her as if his life depended on it. "I'm sorry." he repeated, unsure of how to respond.

"I can never trust anyone again." she croaked. Goku had never seen her so low.

He smiled limply. "Well, you trust me, don't you?"

"That's different." she weakly chuckled. "You wouldn't hurt a fly unless you wanted to fight it."

They sat, embracing each other for a while.

There was a polite knock, and then their prince entered. Tarble smiled unsurely. "You okay?"

Sargomel shrugged. Goku moved away, standing at her bedside. "What's up?"

"Well, I checked that data chip." he gulped.

Goku's mind suddenly drew dark conclusions. "...What was on it?"

"Recordings. Of…" Tarble paused, tugging at his collar. "Cooking, other things. I'm sorry, Sargomel."

The girl croaked, leaning back and covering her eyes with her hands.

"Anything that could help us catch this guy?" the boy interrupted.

The prince frowned. "He refers to himself as a 'Chef'. But, actually, what I came to talk about was the other things on it."

Sargomel rolled over the best she could. "Don't."

"Well, no. The card belonged to Paragus and Broly originally. There's a couple of logs on it." Tarble revealed.

Sargomel uncovered her eyes, looking at him. "Really? Anything interesting?"

The prince nodded. "Apparently, my father had them executed fifteen years ago. Supposedly."

"What?" Goku asked. "Why would he do that?"

"He was born with a power level of ten thousand." he revealed in amazement.

The girl widened her eyes. "That can't be true." she scoffed. "Why would he be on our squad then?"

Tarble frowned. "Remember his jewelry? Paragus made it to control Broly's power. We were all tricked."

"So… why did they leave? Where did they go?" Goku queried, looking down.

"That's the weirdest part…" the boy said ominously. "They left because of you. I don't know why, but there was a list of words that made him lose control. Kakarot was on that."

"Why though?" Sargomel weakly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, I don't know. The logs just said what I told you. Broly was like a ticking time bomb." Tarble remarked.

Ruco and Niuno entered shortly later, sympathetic looks on their faces. "Did you tell them?" the boy with the sideburns queried.

Tarble turned around, nodding.

Goku frowned. "Could that have been Paragus?" he whispered.

The prince looked at him. "I don't think so. I think we just stumbled onto something else."

Ruco stepped forward. "Alright, boys. Get out, it's girl time."

Goku and the others complied, he was still a tad shaken up.

Hopefully, his father would find the perpetrator quickly.

He really hoped so. For the first time since it happened, he felt sick.