Chapter One
On a typical blood-skied day in Age 737, King Vegeta was resting on his throne, having crowned himself the regent of the planet which took his very name. His hand was massaging his goatee as he contemplated the sustainability of his race's alliance with Lord Frieza. General Nappa had told him repeatedly that he liked the cut of Frieza's jib, but deep down the regent knew that the tyrant was even more brutal than he. More cunning, more manipulative and, put simply, more bloodthirsty.
How long will he maintain the alliance between us? Will he break it on a whim? If he does, what will happen to my newborn son? The king's thoughts then drifted to his newborn son, who was still in his nursery crib. He remembered being most pleased to discover that his youngest not only resembled his physical appearance, hence leading the king to christen him Vegeta, but was also extremely powerful, having been born with a power level of 5,000. That power was almost unheard of, even for a royal newborn – his eldest son, Tarble, had been born with half that power level and he was still considered very powerful.
Ah, Tarble, the king sadly mused. It is unfortunate that your temperament did not match your power. Hopefully you are safe on Namek, away from Frieza's possible influence. The king had selected that particular planet, not just because it was outside the tyrant's usual remit, but because its people were known for being peaceful and relatively welcoming towards outsiders. At the same time, the planet apparently contained some very potent warriors. Maybe they could bring out Tarble's inner warrior – heaven knows the king didn't have the time.
Before he drowned in his own thoughts, a bloodied warrior barged into the chamber. The warrior in question had a scarred face, a muscular build, a tanned complexion and hair so unkempt one marvelled at it actually standing up. The king's posture straightened as he observed the warrior closely. It was clear that he had survived a major battle; in fact, he looked as if he had endured a meat grinder.
I could swear that I know this warrior – but then why does his name elude me so? the king thought with vexation.
"State your business, commoner!" one of the royal guards sneered.
"I need to see…the king…Frieza", the warrior wheezed, tone betraying desparation.
Upon hearing the name Frieza, the king perked up; his interest having been piqued.
"Stand down, guard. Allow the man to speak", the king requested in his trademark gruff, commanding tone.
The warrior gave a pained smile of gratitude as he continued; every word sounding like it could be his last.
"My name is Bardock…Dodoria…ambushed my team on Planet Meat…all dead except me…Frieza…wants to destroy Planet Vegeta…afraid of Super Saiyan…rising up."
Upon hearing this, the guards gasped in shock. Bardock's sentence may have been inchoate, but his words rang perfectly clear in the king's mind, as his worst fears had been realised. Various feelings overcame him: fear, horror, panic but also vindication. His thoughts then turned to his newborn son.
I have to get Prince Vegeta off the planet, the king realised as he stood down from his throne. Upon doing so, he turned to his guards.
"Guards. Spread the message that Frieza plans to destroy the planet. That will hopefully allow some of us to evacuate. I will stop him myself."
One of the guards protested. "But sire, you have no chance of winning!"
King Vegeta fixed the guard with a stony glare. "But nothing, Zorn! I am the leader of our race and I shall behave accordingly!" The regent then looked at the ground with a sigh. "At any rate, even if I did flee Frieza would never stop hunting me down. I am the king, after all. He will definitely want my head on a platter, to prove his 'superiority' over us. Now go."
As the guards left, the royal turned to Bardock. "What do you plan to do, Bardock?"
"Help you stop him, your Majesty", Bardock noted with a smirk.
The king frowned. "I don't want your help."
"Sire", Bardock pleaded, "he murdered my entire crew. As their commander and as a proud Saiyan, avenging their deaths is the least that I can do. Surely you would do the same if you were in my position?"
The king paused at that question, but he was still not fully convinced. "I believe that you have two sons. Are you not concerned about what will happen to them?"
"They're off-world with General Nappa, on assignment for Frieza. Frieza trusts the two of them more than he does the other Saiyans because he's worked with them both so closely. Besides, he'll probably want to keep one or two Saiyans around to dominate whom they'll fight", Bardock snarled, spitting on the ground as he contemplated the brutality that the lizard tyrant was sure to inflict on the two tykes.
"And your wife?"
"I've already told her what I plan to do. Gine wanted me to stay and recuperate but I told her I didn't have time for that. She wasn't happy but…she knew there was no convincing me otherwise."
King Vegeta stared at Bardock for what seemed like an eternity, before finally giving him a momentary but firm nod. "Very well. You may accompany me."
The weary warrior turned back to the king and smiled in gratitude, but he had a potentially piercing question of his own.
"What about your newest son?"
As the pair proceeded to flee the chamber, the king replied. "I will send him to a faraway planet. One which has recently appeared on our radar. Its name is Earth and it's filled with nothing but weaklings. Frieza will likely view the planet as beneath any serious attention."
"Will you have your boy purge the planet?"
The king shot Bardock a look of unadulterated disgust. "What do you think? I've done enough of Frieza's dirty work for a lifetime. If he wants Earth purged, he can do it himself. Maybe get his reptilian hands dirty for once."
Bardock chuckled at the royal's crack as the pair entered the nursery. The king's usually granite-faced features notably softened as his fellow Saiyan picked up his newborn son, as Bardock looked on with a small smile.
My son. This may be the only time I can hold you in my arms. The regent wanted the moment to last forever, but he knew that it was not meant to be. Expression firming in resolve once again, he turned to the wounded warrior beside him.
"Bardock, alert my wife, Feruta, to what is happening. She should be in our private quarters as we speak. I will meet you in the landing bay. Go", the regal royal commanded. Bardock set tail, but not before respectfully bowing to the monarch.
The king then darted to the landing bay. As he expected, pandemonium reigned, with Saiyans literally tripping over one another to reach the escape pods. Frieza's staff were trying to stop them, but with slim success as they found themselves overwhelmed and crushed by the oncoming horde, where they were not first vaporised by the more aggressive Saiyans.
What a madhouse. Such an undignified display. Seeing no other option, he powered his way through the stampede, pushing and shoving as he went. Eventually, he reached the last unoccupied pod. As he did, the commotion behind him subsided, as the other Saiyans realised that none other than their ruler was standing before them. Realising this, the king turned around. Faced with a sea of star-struck Saiyans, the monarch decided that bluster would best serve the occasion.
Well? What are you all staring at? Go about your business! But give us due space! the king ordered, as the rush recommenced, with the other Saiyans keeping the king and his associates at arm's length.
King Vegeta briefly shook his head contemptuously before placing his infant son in the pod. He then managed to overwrite the pre-recorded message and instead recorded his own message using the pod's recording feature. If nothing else, my son should at least be able to hear what I sound like, even if he cannot put a face to the voice.
"My son, this is your father, King Vegeta. You have been named Vegeta, in my honour. You are the greatest hope of the Saiyan race. I say this because you come from a strong bloodline. Know that Planet Vegeta will most likely be destroyed by a tyrant named Lord Frieza, and that you are not to harm the inhabitants of your new planet unless you or your friends are endangered. Your new planet is your home. Cherish it, because you could well lose it to Frieza's scaly hands! Make your father proud…son."
Even the perpetually stoic King Vegeta barely held back a tear as he ended the recording. With a heavy heart, he closed the pod. The click of the pod was only barely audible, yet to the regent it felt more like the final clang of a closed prison door. However, the last thing the king saw his son do was curl his tail up in contentment. The monarch smiled at this gesture as the pod levitated and departed off the planet, apparently unmolested, for a place known only to the king, as he looked on longingly.
"Your highness!"
The king spun around, to find Bardock with his wife, Queen Feruta. As far as the king was concerned, Feruta was a picture of beauty, with long, flowing black hair, a curvaceous yet muscular figure, and intense dark eyes. However, that wasn't important. What was important, however, was that his wife left the planet.
"Feruta, you need to leave the planet immediately! Prince Vegeta has already gone."
Saiyans were rarely ones to show much emotion or sentiment, but Queen Feruta's eyes betrayed a smorgasbord of them. Anger, worry, sadness…
"But what about you?" she asked, voice on the verge of breaking.
"I will stop Frieza."
At this point, Feruta's emotional dam burst as she grabbed her husband before shaking him so hard that the king thought his eyes would fall out of their sockets.
"But you can't stop him! He's the most powerful being alive! He will murder you slowly and painfully!" she screeched.
The king sighed as he searched the sky. "I have no choice but to try. He will not stop hunting me until I am dead", Planet Vegeta's ruler sombrely noted. He then quickly turned to his wife and opened the last remaining pod.
"Get in", he commanded. His wife did, but not before looking at him one last time.
"I will love you forever."
"And I you."
Saiyans did not say such words to one another very often, which drove home how dire the situation was.
After she entered the pod, the royal couple gave each other a sad smile, before the pod took off and shot into the sky.
Take care of yourself, Feruta.
Unfortunately, it transpired that Queen Feruta would herself be taken care of, as a massive laser ripped through the blood-red sky and struck her pod before it entered orbit. The pod promptly turned to ash.
Feruta? NO! The invariably stoic king was about to fall to his knees in utter despair at his wife's murder – a feeling that was only intensified by the light show that followed, as laser after laser incinerated any other Saiyan pod that tried to escape.
For his part, Bardock screamed in despair at seeing members of his race unceremoniously exterminated before his eyes, as images of his crew's corpses came thick and fast into the traumatised warrior's mind.
Eventually, however, having examined the blackened sky, caused by Frieza's ongoing extermination of their race, the two composed themselves and gave the other a final, solemn nod. This was no longer a king leading his low-level soldier; no, now we had two equally powerful men standing brothers in arms.
However, Bardock and King Vegeta gave each other another nod because fly into space to meet Freeza. Now, they would be brothers…in death.
Said reptilian tyrant, meanwhile, was busy sipping wine and enjoying the light show in front of him, as his flagship busily zapped escaping Saiyan pods as if they were flies.
"Primitive monkeys. Didn't they realise that I would prepare for the possibility of them catching wind of my scheme and leaving pre-emptively?" the tyrant amusedly asked in his high-pitched yet ice cold voice. Indeed, his voice was icy enough to send a chill down the spine of the sturdiest soldier – such as the two soldiers who constantly guarded him. They were continually fearing that the next word their boss would speak would be the last they would ever hear. Nonetheless, one of them felt the need to affect some bravado in his response.
"Well, Lord Frieza, what else can your Lordship expect? They're only a bunch of monkeys. All they know how to do is stampede and kill things", the rotund pink alien, Dodoria, noted in his gravelly voice.
"Very astute observation, Dodoria. No doubt that they saw their comrades trying to flee the planet and thought they would do the same. You know what they say; monkey see, monkey do", Frieza sneered as his two subordinates laughed uneasily.
As they were doing so, the three suddenly witnessed explosions and ki trails eventuate before them. It was obvious that an individual, or individuals, were battling through the goons in order to reach Frieza.
To determine whom, Zarbon perused the big monitor above, to his left. One of the individuals was an individual with hair that shot up like a flame, dressed in red and white Saiyan armour, with the royal crest clearly visible on the man's left. The other had green and black armour, tight black trousers, unruly spiky hair and a scar on his left cheek that was visible even from a distance. Both were fighting with impressive élan, cutting through the hordes of soldiers like a knife through butter, although it would obviously be of no lasting consequence.
Nobody can even scratch Lord Frieza, much less defeat him, the effeminate warrior thought.
Upon viewing the two on the big screen, Frieza smiled sadistically.
"Ah, it looks like the king of the apes and the one whom you failed to kill have decided to put on a little show for us in their little zoo, Dodoria. Why don't I go and reward them for their little display?" Frieza mused, sadism and sarcasm veritably dripping with every syllable. It was obvious to all and sundry that the tyrant desired nothing more than to engage in a spot of murder.
"G-good idea, sir", Dodoria stuttered.
From her meat processing factory, Gine was assiduously cutting meat, but found herself drawn insensibly from her factory, as she ventured outside to see what was going on. The light-show took her breath away, but she wondered what it meant, until she remembered why Bardock didn't want to rest up earlier.
Bardock came into their family abode looking as if he had been to hell and back. Blood was pouring off the man from innumerable wounds. Even Gine felt that Bardock's handsome face now resembled that of a blood-stained, psychotic killer.
Although Saiyans are more stoic than humans, Gine was less stoic than most. She gasped in shock at Bardock's appearance.
"Bardock, what happened to you? You look like you fought off Dodoria's crew!"
"I did", snarked Bardock, feeling a surge of pride at how he avenged his comrades.
Gine's eyes widened. "Don't tell me that your group thought themselves stupid enough to take them on!"
Bardock closed his bleeding eye and spoke with all the enthusiasm of a condemned man. "They didn't. Frieza gave us an assignment on Planet Meat. Tora, Fasha, Borgos, Shugesh obviously dealt with the meaty natives well enough, so when I arrived on Planet Meat I was pleased."
Gine cringed slightly at this; she had never enjoyed having to kill others and as such disliked Bardock's obvious satisfaction at a grisly job well-done. However, her husband continued.
"Until I discovered that everybody's scouter was apparently offline, except Tora's. As I flew over, that's when I all saw them.
Fasha. Borgos. Shugesh. All were dead."
Gine sighed heavily. She had known all three of them from her time in Bardock's Planet Elite Force.
I was never really close to those guys because I was the weakest member of the group and I wasn't cut out for the group's demands. Still, I'm sorry they're gone. I can barely comprehend how Bardock must be feeling. Those guys were effectively his brothers and sisters.
At that moment, a light bulb went off in Gine's mind.
Fasha, Borgos, Shugesh…there was another member…wasn't there? Oh yes, Tora!
"Bardock", Gine asked, as delicately as possible, "what happened to Tora?"
Upon hearing Tora's name, Bardock gave a sigh that could have depressed the Muppets.
"Tora died in my arms. He told me that we had gotten too strong for Frieza, and that he now wants to wipe us out."
Gine gasped at this, but Bardock pressed on.
"Anyway, I dispatched Dodoria's goons, but the blob himself caught me off guard. So here I am, heavily injured. For all I know, Frieza already knows I'm here and is coming to destroy the planet."
I don't know how to feel about this. I'm absolutely scared, of course, but maybe working for a tyrant made an early death inevitable. I've been a disappointment as a Saiyan on many other times, but this time I will stare Frieza down as he kills us. Wait…maybe we don't have to just stand!
Standing up, Gine said to Bardock, "I'll spread the word around to get as many of our babies and kids off-world as possible before he comes."
"Not unless you can reprogram the message inside the pods. Do you know how to do that? I'm tired of the Saiyans doing Frieza's dirty work."
Features betraying grave defeat and disappointment, Gine shook her head with the utmost sadness.
"I thought so. But the king might be able to help us-"
"The king and you aren't exactly close, and you're losing a lot of blood and energy. Why don't you allow me to take you to a healing chamber? If you're going to die, it may as well be in relative bliss", Gine implored.
"NO GINE! There's no time for that! Frieza nearly killed me and my crew! If I have to die against that butcher, I will stand on my own two feet doing so! Death via a healing chamber is not a death befitting a warrior!"
"Very well, Bardock. I know the Saiyan code means a lot to you", Gine replied, head lowering in defeat, as Bardock came up to her.
"Gine, you must know that I will love you no matter what dimension we exist. But I need to confront Frieza, and I expect that the King will be receptive to the idea given what has happened."
He then hugged and kissed her, words being unable to convey how they felt about each other at this time. Both of them knew it would be their last; even the relatively close Gine and Bardock didn't hug and kiss much – so they cherished the excruciatingly ephemeral moment.
"Goodbye Gine."
"Goodbye Bardock", Gine replied, as he watched his staggering, blood-soaked form slowly retreat into the shadows.
With an indulgent smile, the horned horror drifted up in his carriage, as the king and the rogue warrior finally came into view.
"Frieza! We, the Saiyans, resign from the Frieza Force as of this very moment!" the king called out, his haughty tone belying the nervousness he felt at challenging the monster before him.
"Yeah, we quit! We're sick of playing 'Kill the Civilisation' for your lizard ass! But before we do, we'd like to give you a parting gift on behalf of the people we've murdered!" Bardock yelled.
Blah blah blah I'm going to be a hero blah blah blah I'm going to stop you blah blah blah I'm going to defeat you yadda yadda yadda. I swear these heroes make me want to kill myself just by saying the same – damn – things over and over again! Ah well, at least killing them afterwards always makes up for it, Frieza thought as he prepared to charge up a Supernova. But before I do, I'd better give them some false hope of defeating me first!
"Here's my gift!" Bardock crowed, as he began charging up a Riot Javelin.
"And mine!" King Vegeta roared, as he charged up a Super Galick Gun.
Bardock hurled his Riot Javelin in Frieza's direction as the king roared, "SUPER GALICK GUN FIRRRRRRRRRRRRE!"
And here's my cue! Frieza thought as he charged up his Supernova, laughing maniacally all the while. The attacks heading toward him would have obliterated almost any warrior, but Frieza's Supernova absorbed them as easily as a cloth does water.
"What? Impossible!" the two Saiyans roared as the ball engulfed them.
As King Vegeta's armour was slowly and painstakingly stripped away by the sheer force of the Supernova, his mind flashed to his two young sons.
My sons. I sorry I cannot be there to see either of you grow up. But no matter what happens, you will always be my sons. Remember that.
As he fell back into Planet Vegeta's atmosphere, the king heard Bardock utter the words, "Raditz. Kakarot. My sons. So proud…avenge me." His body then gave out for the last time, with Frieza's demented laughter ringing in his ears.
King Vegeta, the ruler of Planet Vegeta, knew no more.
Shortly after, while warriors were firing at the oncoming Supernova in vain, Gine watched as the monstrosity bore down upon her, almost as if it had designs for her specifically. She resolutely kept her eyes open as she shared a final thought with herself.
So…this is how it ends. My life, alongside my loving husband's, extinguished in a ball of fire from the wicked hand of a tyrant. Kakarot, Raditz, no matter what happens; Bardock and I will always be proud of you.
That was her final thought before the Supernova landed.
All life on the planet was extinguished.
Meanwhile, pearls of planets away, a single Saiyan pod was bearing down upon its designated planet – Earth. Within seconds, the pod would find itself crashing unceremoniously into Kami's Lookout, cracking and crunching many of the tiles underneath with the sheer force of the landing.
Hearing the commotion, both Kami and Mr. Popo rushed out to investigate. Kami quickly opened the pod, poetically thinking to himself as he did so:
The sheer impact of this pod's landing threatened to collapse the entire Lookout. It is I, though, who must open this pod. Is there not something within that warrants investigation? But for what reason would it be here?
The green guardian would get his answer soon enough as the pod opened. King Vegeta's message then played. After it finished, Kami cupped his hand to his chin in profound thought, before looking at the individual inside the pod. It was a picture of innocence, with a tail curled around its body as it sucked its thumb.
However, both Kami and his guardian, Mr. Popo knew better. They exchanged with each other very uneasy looks, as the power emanating from this child was unlike anything they had felt on this planet. Sure, it was obvious that it wasn't sent here for malicious reasons, but that didn't mean the child himself couldn't tear the planet asunder during a temper tantrum. This time, Mr. Popo spoke first.
"My old friend, I recommend we place this child inside the deactivated Pendulum Room, away from anything that could potentially harm it. I also recommend we study its tail; it could potentially be dangerous."
"Wise suggestions, Mr. Popo", Kami replied sagely. "I will make some enquiries in Otherworld. I wish to ask King Kai about the Saiyans, King Vegeta and this Lord Frieza character."
"Will you tell this child about any of that?"
"No, I won't. I believe that the child is not mentally or physically prepared to handle such information, and won't be until he reaches adulthood. The last thing we want is for him to try and fly into space and fight this Lord Frieza character."
"What should we do with this pod?"
"Disguise yourself and donate it to Capsule Corp – say that you found it in a field, that it is a unique artefact, and that you are willing to donate it to them for the benefit of science. I do not want the child flying off in it. I suspect that they know that trying to replicate such a pod would be impractical. I also do not believe that they would commercialise it or personally use it for space travel because it would be too unsafe, both legally and personally."
Mr. Popo nodded, magically changed his clothes to that of a regular human, with a black short-sleeve PRADA polo shirt matching with denim Levi's jeans. He then materialised a magic carpet and placed the pod on the carpet, as Kami picked up the sleeping infant and held him in his arms.
"What should we name him?" asked Mr. Popo.
"Vegeta shall suffice, I suppose."
Mr. Popo nodded, before sitting on the carpet and taking off.
Author's notes for Chapter One:
Well, I've decided to branch out into Dragonball Z after months of watching it again out of a nostalgia trip, and I've come up with this little story, which I feel has been underutilised in both written and visual fanfiction (Dragonball SAI had a good thing going but apparently stopped).
I've decided to make Vegeta, not Goku, the focus of this fic. Goku will appear, but not necessarily as you know him. While Vegeta has fared better in DB Super than he did in DBZ, he has never quite been the protagonist of the story and in DBZ he consistently failed to defeat a character that was at his level in terms of power. Plus, I love Vegeta.
I will do my best to integrate other characters into the story more effectively than Akira Toriyama was able to, but ultimately Vegeta will be the main protagonist, just as Goku is in canon. Of course, deuteragonists and tritagonists will vary from saga to saga, if not chapter to chapter, and will see plenty of action. We all know what Vegeta's pairing will be, of course – but who will initially be born out of it?
I had Vegeta crash-land at Kami's Lookout, rather than near Grandpa Gohan, just to mess with canon a little.