Chapter 10 – A New Home
If there was one thing Broly was glad to know about the incoming ship, it was that Cheelai was still far away. She didn't have to be involved in the coming battle. Freeza's unexpected arrival made Broly painfully aware of how much he would've loved to train and control his emotions at this moment.
Searching for the massive ship that would eventually enter the atmosphere, he cast a glance behind him at Lemo. He needed him to stay out of sight, as far away from Freeza as possible. Vegeta echoed the same sentiment from the look on his face when he addressed the people inside.
"Everyone to the shelter below and stay there," Vegeta ordered. One by one, they migrated below to the safe zone underneath the compound Bulma and her father had built some time ago.
Trunks, who had sensed Freeza's energy himself, flew to his father.
"Papa! It's Freeza, isn't it?" he asked.
"Take Bra and hide in the shelter with everyone else," Vegeta said, not taking his eyes from the skies above.
"Y-yeah, I'm on it!"
He dared not ask any questions or argued with his father. He remembered Freeza's face, one filled with malice staring at him. He dismissed the memory quickly.
"Kakarot should be here shortly," he said to Broly. Whether Goku will be here before the ship arrives mattered little to him. Freeza facing off against three of the most powerful Saiyans in the universe might be the biggest mistake he'd ever make, of that Vegeta was assured.
At least, that's what Vegeta wanted to believe. "Freeza must know what he's getting himself into and will fight dirty to gain the advantage."
Broly balled his hands tightly into fists. The anger swelled inside him, his power gradually rising.
"Broly, control your anger," Vegeta advised him, yet he could see the conflict on Broly's face. He lost the only planet he had called home since his father, King Vegeta, exiled him.
"He killed Ba. He killed my friend," Broly growled, which prompted a stern look from Vegeta.
"Broly! Don't lose your temper! Freeza will be expecting this."
Broly's face twitched, yet he was able to relax his hands. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. Focus."
Broly nodded. "I will try."
The two watched the skies, waiting. Vegeta felt more tension coming from Broly whenever he sensed a spike of energy. Much like Broly, Vegeta lamented the lack of time to train.
Seconds became minutes before a large ship finally passed through the clouds above, casting a shadow above Metro West.
"Their sensors picked up on our energy," Vegeta said, figuring this was the only reason Freeza would enter the atmosphere above Metro West rather than some random location elsewhere. Broly's face twitched as he saw the ship, a cautious reminder of when he stepped out with his father to engage Vegeta and Goku for the first time.
Broly looked ready to pounce.
"Broly!"
He glanced down at Vegeta, who shook his head in response. Broly scowled at him. His anticipation of fighting Freeza tore strips into his patience, piece by piece.
Freeza's ship touched down on a clearing along the outskirts of Metro West, claw-like talons emerging serving as the ship's landing gear. The hatch at the center of the top slid open, and hundreds of Freeza Force soldiers flew out in droves.
"Dammit, Kakarot, you could've used your instantaneous movement to get here rather than taking the scenic route!" Vegeta scoffed, then nodded to Broly. "We'll buy some time before he gets here. Let's go!"
The two launched themselves to the soldiers. The soldiers floated above, confident with smiles on their faces. The Saiyans were expecting Freeza himself to show.
Vegeta grinned back. "What's wrong? Is Freeza so scared of us now that he'll watch your slaughter from the comfort of his bridge?"
Their smiles ebbed, but one menacing look from Broly made them blue in the face.
"Ho? Maybe Freeza should save your hides after all, huh?"
"What are you idiots gawking at?! They're just monkeys! Kill them! For Lord Freeza!" shouted one of the soldiers. Vegeta recognized the amphibian-looking alien soldier as a member of a species fiercely loyal to Freeza. He remembered a simpleton by the name of Cui with similar features. Smirking, he raised his hand, pointing two fingers at the hapless soldier. He exploded from a burst of energy Vegeta emitted from his fingertips.
"Littering the planet with trash like you is in poor taste, but I commend your bravery! Short on brains, but big on courage!" Vegeta laughed at the other soldiers, frozen in terror.
They raised shaking arms, aiming their arm cannons at the Saiyans. Broly had managed to maintain some level of composure, yet Vegeta's smile disappeared.
"You're wasting your time throwing your lives away. Be good little dogs and fetch your master, will you?" he muttered. It drew the ire of one of the soldiers.
"That's it! Open fire!" the soldier ordered. Blaster fire erupted, and the Saiyans scattered, flying and dodging effortlessly. They flew circles around them, yet Broly was the first to start knocking them out of the sky, scattering them with a single energy blast that spread several clusters of soldiers apart, vaporizing a few.
"He's sending his small-fry out first to wear down Broly's patience so he could get angry easily," Vegeta noted to himself as he blocked blaster fire from several soldiers, deflecting them away. He redirected them back at other soldiers, hitting them to knock them down.
He pointed his open palm down at the ship itself.
"If you still want to leave this planet with your ship intact, Freeza, you'd better show your face, now!" Vegeta warned. The tyrant himself floated up in his hovercar, grinning and chuckling under his breath. The doors beneath him slid shut as he stared back at Vegeta with a bored look on his face.
Broly stopped when he saw Freeza. "Freeza…"
He had little interest in Freeza when he first met him after Lemo and Cheelai found him on Vampa. He knew little of the world outside of Vampa, his father the only outside source of information on life as a Saiyan, the history of their race, and the rumors of Planet Vegeta's destruction. Broly was more interested in poking around Freeza's ship than the tyrant himself after he and his father met him.
But seeing that disgusting face now set him off. Broly's rage was reaching a fever pitch as his face twitched, staring at him.
Freeza looked more amused at Broly's angered ticks. "At least he has enough self-awareness to remember my name."
"There're many things I've come to expect from you, Freeza, but foolish wasn't one of them. What do you want this time?"
"You know exactly what I want, Vegeta," Freeza's tone was as cold as his namesake. "I want him and his two little wish-stealing friends." Another spike of energy rose within Broly. Vegeta had to multi-task, keeping an eye on both Broly's rising anger and Freeza's malicious intent.
"If you're looking for his friends, they're not here," Vegeta told him, producing a chuckle.
"You never were a good liar, Vegeta," Freeza was still looking up at Broly. "However, if you hand over his companions, I might be merciful enough to leave with them in one piece."
Freeza's words kept goading Broly to attack. The brutish Saiyan let out a roar and charged at Freeza as he leaped from his hovercar, grinning back. He glanced behind him when another figure flew in from a distance and stopped behind him. Broly hit him with a forward punch that was blocked, forcing him back. Freeza grabbed Broly's arms and held him in place as he smirked behind him.
"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up, Goku. Making me stall for time like this is irksome," Freeza noted, amused at the grip he had on Broly.
Broly forced himself free. The two moved around above Goku and Vegeta. Broly attacked with heavy swings and closed in on Freeza with high-speed bursts. Freeza maintained his speed advantage as he followed several guarded movements with blasts from his hands that hit Broly in the back.
That seemed only to enrage him even more. His speed increased, and he began to catch up to Freeza, matching his movements. Freeza frowned as he blocked Broly's hits again.
"Don't think for a second you'll have the advantage over me! I won't make the same mistake twice!" Freeza shouted. He continued blocking, yet the punches were forcing him to put more effort.
"I wasn't sure whether you guys needed me to come or not, but I didn't wanna miss this for the world!" Goku shouted as he watched the fight.
Vegeta observed the remaining soldiers retreating into the ship. He locked eyes with Freeza's closest confidante, Berryblue, who stared back at him with that eerie grin of hers. Her confidence and wisdom always had a way of making Vegeta feel uncomfortable when he'd see her.
"Huh? Who's that?" Goku asked as he spotted her.
"One of Freeza's associates. Ignore her. We may need to step in at some point." Vegeta took his mind off the ship and focused on the battle between Broly and Freeza.
Broly's aggressiveness pushed Freeza to expend more of his power to the point he ceased to tolerate it. Freeza's body changed with a shout, colors shifting from white to gold, his face white to purple. As his power skyrocketed, his energy pushed Broly back.
Wide-eyed, Broly stared at Freeza. He responded with a roar as his eyes went from black to yellow. He moved with a burst of speed to re-engage Freeza, and their blows intensified.
Freeza's movements overwhelmed Broly as his precision attacks sent him flying back. When Broly crashed into the mountains, Freeza followed up with several energy blasts, consuming the area with an explosion. Goku and Vegeta flew to him, concerned that Broly was struggling.
"That's enough, Freeza," Goku said.
"Is that so?"
Goku frowned and transformed. Floating before him in his Super Saiyan Blue state, Freeza grinned. Vegeta transformed as well and stared back in silence with his arms crossed.
"You're outnumbered three to one, Freeza. You seem to forget how much trouble Kakarot and I had against Broly the last time you showed up. What makes you think-"
An explosion cut him off as Broly howled. Green energy spewed from around him as he burst from the mountains and made a bee-line directly towards Freeza. The tyrant growled at him and flew in for a counterpunch, which rocked Broly back, but only for a moment.
Broly's growls were only spurred on by Freeza's attempts to deal blow after blow. He created some distance between them to fire several thin beams of energy with his fingers, connecting against Broly's face and chest.
Goku and Vegeta raised their hands to aim an energy blast at Freeza.
"I'm saying that's enough, Freeza!" Goku shouted. Broly didn't wait for a response as he flew in to attack.
"Broly, stand down! We'll handle Freeza!"
"It's pointless to convince him! Let's just attack Freeza and force him to retreat!" Vegeta advised. Freeza scowled at him, then glanced at Broly with a sinister smirk on his face.
Far away, at Tights' resort, Cheelai lounged on a towel underneath a parasol. To her left was a small stool with a fruity beverage on top. She sat up to take a sip from the straw but stopped short of putting her lips around it. She wanted to take a sip, but something in the back of her mind held her back. She set the glass down and removed her sunglasses from her face. She felt her chest tighten, a hand instinctually pressed against it. It led to a queasy sensation in her stomach, yet she wasn't sure this was indigestion. Something felt wrong in the air.
Then it hit her.
"Broly…"
She had taken her mind off of Broly much longer than she had expected, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right now. She sprang to her feet and sprinted back to her room.
When she burst through the door, Bulma was typing on her laptop. She began to rummage through Bulma's bag.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Bulma asked, annoyed.
"Sorry! I need to borrow your aircraft!"
Raising an eyebrow, Bulma saved her work and closed the laptop. "Cheelai, slow down. What's wrong? Why do you need my aircraft so badly?"
"I can't explain it! I have to go back to your place immediately!"
"Go back? Now? We still have one more night," Bulma reminded her but couldn't ignore the grave look on Cheelai's face after she had been so cheerful most of today and yesterday.
"I know, but something doesn't feel right. It's weird, but I think Broly's in danger."
Bulma placed her hands on Cheelai's and eased them off her bag. She moved it to the bed, retrieving the case containing all her capsules. She took the one for the two-passenger aircraft, handing it to Cheelai. "Don't be in such a rush to go back."
Cheelai glanced back, confused.
"Because I'm coming with you."
She smiled and clutched the capsule in her hand. "Thank you, Bulma."
Back at the battle site, Goku and Vegeta didn't have enough time to process the malicious intent behind Freeza's smirk as he faced Broly.
"Wait! I know who killed your father!" Freeza shouted at Broly before he connected. Broly froze mid-flight, surprised, enough for his yellow eyes to change back.
"M-my father…!"
"I was there when it happened! I was there when I saw the blast that killed him!"
"Do you seriously believe we'll let you make up stories like this?!" Vegeta yelled, and Freeza aimed an energy blast in his direction.
"You two stay out of this!" He turned to Broly. "Broly! Don't you want the truth?"
"Don't listen to him, Broly! You can't trust anything he says!" Goku knew where Freeza was going with this, using Broly's emotions to set him off against them. The last thing he needed was a destructive battle along the outskirts of a vastly populated area.
"Who…who killed him?" Broly asked. His voice was a mix of fear and curiosity, on the cusp of giving in to rage again.
Freeza loved this. Excellent, he fell for it so quickly.
"How often has your father spoken of his vendetta against the King, Vegeta's father?" Freeza asked.
"He, it was all that he would talk about," Broly said, swallowing.
"While you pre-occupied yourself making friends with those traitors, your father often spoke to me of what King Vegeta put him through, exiling you to Planet Vampa when you were an infant because he feared your power. He considered you an insult to his pride as a Saiyan and wanted nothing to do with you, rather having the Prince over here be the true heir of the Legendary Super Saiyan myth I once thought was absurd."
He glanced at Vegeta. "If the Prince were in his father's shoes, he too would've exiled you. A bloodline of simpletons too proud of their own power they feared to lose it."
Vegeta scowled. He was about to rush in when Broly raised his hands. "Wait!"
"Oh, give me a break! Why do you believe any of this garbage?!" Vegeta spat. It was blatantly obvious to him that Freeza was playing with the memories of Broly's father to his advantage, and seeing Broly hunger for the truth was riling him up.
"I have to know! Tell me what happened!" Broly shouted at Freeza.
"You Saiyans pride yourselves on fighting so much it sickens me. Yet, it's your stubbornness that infuriates me even more." He floated around Broly, lowering his hands to fold them across his chest. "Your desire to fight that which is stronger than you. No one is more devoted to that purpose than Goku over there."
"Well, he's not wrong," Goku said, shrugging his shoulders. Vegeta rolled his eyes and clenched his fists.
"Broly, listen to me! Whatever Freeza assumes he knows of me is wrong! I am nothing like the King was! At least not now."
"I witnessed first hand at the Tournament of Power how reckless you behaved, Goku!" Freeza shouted at Goku, ignoring Vegeta. "'So many strong guys to fight! Surely this was the best thing that I could ever hope for!' was all you'd jabber on about when you freed me from that hellish prison."
He leered to Broly, leaning in closely. Broly glanced back from Freeza to Goku and turned around to face him when he sensed him moving out of his blind spot.
"Goku will never be satisfied so long as there is always someone stronger than he is. So what a coincidence that he would come across someone as powerful as you!"
Broly was still remarkably calm despite staring at him. Freeza smirked, ecstatic to see how easily Broly was taking the bait. He wanted to rub this small victory in their faces to spite them.
"Your fight was nothing short of exemplary! Yet, how unfortunate that while you were fighting Goku and Vegeta that one of their blasts ended up killing your father! It was such a tragedy, seeing your father done in by the very Saiyans who abandoned you and exiled you to a harsh planet to die alone and forgotten!"
"What?!"
Vegeta couldn't believe what he was hearing. Goku focused on Broly, who's face was left in shock.
"Broly."
Broly's face contorted in anger, far more than anything he had ever shown before. He roared, his power cascading in a massive burst that blew the three of them away. Freeza stopped before he lost control and both Goku and Vegeta corrected their movements before they flipped around uncontrollably.
Freeza cackled. "Yes! Show me your power once more, Broly!"
"Damn it all!" Vegeta shouted. Goku merely glared at Freeza and sighed.
"Vegeta, if it comes to it again, we might have to fuse!" he said as an aside to Vegeta before he took up a fighting stance against Broly. He wasn't sure what Broly would do now that he's lost himself to his anger once more. When this happened the first time, Broly was just keen on brawling with anyone in his line of sight rather than focus on any specific fighter.
His power burst in waves, distorting everything around him—colors inverted and reverted as he transformed into his Super Saiyan state. He doubled in size as his muscled bulged and bulked, his hair flaring wildly in a yellow-green color.
He attacked the first thing he saw with a sudden burst of speed, which, fortunately for Goku and Vegeta, was Freeza.
"H-hey!" Freeza shouted before Broly clocked him in the face with a blow from his right fist, sending Freeza flying through several consecutive mountains at once. Broly followed with another burst of power that rained energy blasts down at the planet, forcing Goku and Vegeta to dodge. Some connected with Metro West, destroying sections of city and land. Goku's eyes widened in worry as he nodded to Vegeta.
"We have to lead him as far away from the city as possible!"
Vegeta scoffed. The two took off to pursue Broly, who began to chase Freeza down. Freeza recovered from the impact and conjured a ball of energy above him that grew in size until it was so large that anyone could see it for miles.
He launched it at Broly, yet Goku was the first to catch it when he teleported in front of Broly. He then sent it soaring out of the planet's atmosphere. Vegeta focused on drawing Broly's attention with a warning blast. The Super Saiyan howled in response, chasing after him.
"See what you've done, Freeza?!" Goku shouted.
"You know better than anyone, Goku! I will harness that power for my own and reclaim my rightful place in the Universe!" Freeza shouted back.
"It's not worth it! You can't control that kind of power! It'll destroy you and your soldiers in the end!"
"Not unless I contain his power with a device the same way his father did," Freeza said with a sinister grin.
Broly flew in pursuit of Vegeta. What Vegeta needed in terms of a strategy was first to draw Broly away from civilization to lessen casualties, then wear out Broly's stamina so he'd be too tired to continue fighting in his Super Saiyan state. How he'd achieve the latter, he wasn't entirely sure about yet.
"Broly! This fight is pointless!" Vegeta shouted as he used his speed to dodge Broly's energy blasts. He deflected several to the sky above, redirecting some to the mountains below. One of the mountaintops was blown away by a stray blast, sending debris flying around.
Broly had regressed to cries of rage, directed at no one in particular. Vegeta did have some degree of sympathy for him, yet again this became another unavoidable fight. It's bad enough that I have to fight him as a Super Saiyan again, only this time he's stronger than he was before.
Vegeta heightened his energy to his evolved Blue form. He was confident it would slow him down. The increase in power would allow him to take a greater deal of punishment from Broly's strikes.
Freeza had a cautious eye on Goku as he watched Broly fight Vegeta. "Are you going to fight me or gawk at those two?"
"If I have to," Goku muttered, staring back at Freeza. He stayed in his Blue form, ready to engage Freeza should he attempt any underhanded tactics on Broly and Vegeta.
"I'm surprised you're not using that Ultra Instinct of yours on Broly to subdue him," Freeza noted. He had his arms crossed with a focused expression, while Goku's was more relaxed.
"If I could use Ultra Instinct, I would. But I don't remember a thing on how to get back into it. It's something I have to do a lot of training to achieve again."
Goku wasn't upset in the slightest about not being able to tap into that form; nothing shown before him presented itself as a dire enough situation where he wished he could.
Vegeta was able to dodge Broly's attacks more frequently, frustrating the larger Saiyan. Good, wear yourself out.
Broly followed up with several energy attacks that Vegeta deflected away, redirecting a few back at Broly. They struck him in the chest and face, causing him to shake it off and respond with another growl.
Vegeta continued to evade Broly's assault. He held Broly's arm and twisted it momentarily before he let go to swerve around and punch him in the back of the head, adding energy blasts to knock him forward.
"It's a good thing you're not as strong as that freak from the Pride Troopers was, Broly," Vegeta grunted as Broly spun back to fly up and engage him in another exchange of blows. Vegeta was better able to block those, yet Broly was still unrelenting in his attacks. He scoffed at Broly's adjustment in his fighting, gradually adapting to Vegeta's power and faster movements. Broly moved in for a kick, but Vegeta flipped over his leg, pushing himself off of him to move in rapid bursts around the large Saiyan to disorient him. He flew up and brought his hands to his side, one hand behind the other.
Goku spotted the familiar stance Vegeta took, and his eyes widened. "Vegeta…!"
Freeza chuckled under his breath, hand to his chin. "This should be interesting, wouldn't you agree?"
Vegeta fired the Galick Gun point-blank at Broly, who caught it with his hands. It pushed him back, which prompted him to roar in response, increasing his already exponential power. He grabbed the head of the energy beam and, with some effort, threw it up and flew to Vegeta.
Vegeta only had a fraction to respond with a block to Broly's punch as he came down swinging. The punch was hard enough to strike through Vegeta's defense and send him flying down. He flipped a few times before touching the ground with his feet. The shock of the punch was enough to make him shaky as he stood, trying to control his equilibrium.
"Only you could push the power of a God like this as a Super Saiyan, Broly," Vegeta said, grinning. "That is what makes us Saiyans stand above everyone else!"
He powered up and flew back to Broly, increasing his speed. Broly couldn't keep up and was struck hard in the face with a left from Vegeta, who followed with an assault of punches that became rapid energy blasts. He finished with another energy beam that struck, yet this only spurned his rage even more.
"You can't be serious!" Vegeta flew back to dodge more of Broly's punches as he moved back in to fight him. He continued his high-speed bursts to gain the speed advantage over Broly, but he started to be matched movement for movement, which astonished him.
"Woah, watching this feels like the first time all over again! This guy really is awesome!" Goku shouted, studying the fight with his usual excitement. Freeza ignored his enthusiasm but had other intentions in mind as he observed Broly's movements.
The aircraft that had Bulma and Cheelai raced across the sky, speeding directly to Metro West. Cheelai hastily threw a pair of shorts and a loose sleeveless shirt over her bikini as she ran out of the hotel to activate the capsule containing Bulma's aircraft. Off in the distance, they could see energy fluctuations and impacts that shook the area below.
"Oh no…" Cheelai muttered.
"We shouldn't fly too close to that unless you want us caught in the crossfire," Bulma said, observing the battle. She squinted to get in a better view of who was involved in the fighting. Her instincts told her that Vegeta was fighting Broly, much to her dismay. Yet when she spotted Freeza's ship on the ground further ahead, she halted the aircraft, lurching Cheelai forward slightly.
"Hey, why are you stopping! We have to get to Broly!" Cheelai whined, but Bulma only shot her a quick glance.
"We've got bigger things to worry about! Freeza's ship is over by that thicket of trees!" Bulma pointed it out to her. Color drained from Cheelai's face.
"Oh, God…he's here. Freeza's come for us. Lemo!" Cheelai realized how much danger both of their lives were now that Freeza was on the planet, and she turned to Bulma.
"I need to know if Lemo's still alive! We have to go back to your place!"
"On it," Bulma said. She fired up the thrusters again to shoot past the scene of battle directly to Capsule Corporation.
This caught Goku's attention as his senses picked up on the two women making their way to Metro West. This is a bad time for you to come back, Bulma. I hope Freeza didn't notice.
Goku wanted to switch out with Vegeta to fight Broly. The urge to fight him again in his Super Saiyan state to test his power once more was too exciting to ignore. Yet he couldn't take his eyes off Freeza for a moment, knowing that if left unchecked, Freeza could destroy the planet.
Two energy blurs: one green, one dark blue, circled and struck each other from where Goku and Freeza stood. Each impact created a burst of energy as the two moved around across the sky. Freeza looked the more entertained of the two, whereas Goku was more eager to jump in and fight Broly. The restraint he had to put himself through itched at him, pulling at his Saiyan nature, the instinct to fight and prove himself against a stronger opponent. He felt the two small energies touch down at Capsule Corporation.
Good, as long as you both stay there, you'll be safe.
Cheelai couldn't believe the amount of destruction that wrought parts of Metro West. It tore at her, knowing this must've been Broly's uncontrollable anger at work, and she glanced back to see the two energy blurs striking each other in the distance.
"Worry about the damage later, Cheelai! Let's get inside, quick!" Bulma shouted. She looked impatient, eager to get the hell inside to avoid the chaos out there. Cheelai sadly looked back once more before she followed Bulma.
The building was empty when they entered. Everyone had evacuated to the designated shelters on Vegeta's orders. Bulma's first instinct was to find Trunks and Bra to make sure they were with her parents and the Capsule Corporation staff.
She led Cheelai to the service elevator. It descended several floors before the doors slid open to let them out.
Friendly faces greeted the women as Bulma asked around to assess the situation. Everyone confirmed they were alright as Trunks ran up to her with Bra in his arms.
"Mom!" he yelled. Bulma breathed a sigh of relief as she embraced her children. Cheelai had her hands to her chest, looking around for Lemo. Both women hoped that those they loved and cared about were safe.
"Papa said Freeza was on his way and told everyone to evacuate," he said. Bulma nodded.
"Where's Lemo? Did he evacuate with everyone as well?" Cheelai piped in, hands clasped together to her bosom.
"The guy with the toque? Yeah, he's over that way with the kitchen staff," Trunks mentioned, and Cheelai darted past the family. She searched through faces, hoping to land on Lemo's as quickly as she can and she saw the back of his head in that familiar toque of his. She rushed to grab him from behind in a hug, causing him to scream in panic.
"Lemo! Thank goodness you're safe!" Cheelai exclaimed, clutching him tightly against her. Lemo's eyes widened, but upon hearing Cheelai's voice, settled in a vexed gaze peering down at her.
"Of course, I'm safe! Will you let me go, already?!" Lemo cried out, and Cheelai released her grip. When he spun around to face her, she hugged him again.
"Hey! Cut that out, will ya?! I'm not a hugger! Stop, I say!" Lemo pushed her away with his hands, yet she was more resilient than he realized before she finally broke free with a relieved smile on her face. As happy as she was to see Lemo, her smile disappeared quickly. She grabbed Lemo by the shoulders, her eyes full of panic.
"Broly's in danger! We have to get him to calm down, or he'll wreck the whole planet! He's already done quite a lot of damage to the city above!"
"Are you nuts? Go up there while Freeza's roaming around? Nuh-uh, I'm staying put!" Lemo didn't mince his apprehension about Freeza, and he stood firm with his arms crossed. Cheelai sighed loudly and pulled his arm to drag him with her.
"Hey! Let go! I'm not going up there! Freeza'll kill us if he sees us!"
"We're not going to see Freeza, you idiot! We need to talk to Broly!" Cheelai reminded him and pushed past everyone back to the service elevator. Bulma stood with Bra in her arms, one hand on Trunks's head.
"Are you sure you know what you're getting yourself into?" Bulma asked, stopping Cheelai before she pushed the button to open the elevator doors.
"I shouldn't have left his side when I did," Cheelai muttered. Her hand still had a firm grip on Lemo's arm, who tried to pry it off of him.
"But with all that stuff you were going through," Bulma reminded her, and Cheelai shook her head.
"I know, I know, it's been a bad week for all of us."
"Well, not for me; I had a great time teaching-" Lemo started before Cheelai kicked him in the shin to shut him up, giving him a cold stare.
"But Broly's up there, and he needs his friends more than ever. We'll reach him, even if it costs us our lives!"
"Our lives?!" Lemo exclaimed. It was his turn to have the color drain from his face. "Cheelai! I'm not ready to die yet!"
"They have those Dragonballs. Let's go," Cheelai said and pushed the button to open the elevator doors. She looked over to Bulma, who nodded back at her. Yanking Lemo inside, the doors slid shut behind them.
When he finally shook himself free of Cheelai's grasp, Lemo paced back and forth in the elevator. "I'd rather be back on Vampa than be up there right now."
"Well, deal with it," Cheelai said and leaned against the wall, waiting for the elevator to arrive at the main floor of the building. When the doors slid open, she grabbed Lemo's hand before he could protest, and the two ran as fast as they could to Bulma's aircraft. She climbed into the driver's side and stared down at Lemo.
"Quit giving me that look and get your ass in here!" she yelled, and Lemo sighed loudly, rolling his eyes.
"If I die, I'm telling Beerus he's missing out on the Perfect Chef of the Universe cooking for him," Lemo grumbled. He secured himself to the seat and folded his arms across his chest, staring ahead.
"Perfect…?" Cheelai raised an eyebrow but shook her head. Best not to ask any questions until later. She fired up the aircraft's thrusters and took off to speed back to the location of where Broly was fighting.
As the aircraft flew by, it drew the attention of Goku. His eyes widened when he saw where it was headed and scowled down at it.
"What are they doing?! They'll get killed!" Goku shouted. Freeza glanced behind him, then spotted the aircraft as well.
"Is that…?" he muttered, then wore a wider grin. He broke into a laugh.
"To think those two maggots would worm their way out of hiding to subdue the beast?!" Freeza raised a hand to aim an energy blast at the passing aircraft, yet Goku was there to grab his wrist before he could fire.
"Let them go."
Freeza jerked his hand away and crossed his arms, turning away from Goku. "Fine."
Cheelai landed the aircraft at the mountains' foot, directly below where Vegeta and Broly were fighting. She sprinted forward, running as fast as her legs could take her, up the mountain trail to try and get as close as possible to be within earshot of Broly. Lemo wasn't as agile as she was and was almost out of breath, keeping up with her.
"Cheelai…slow down…!" he shouted, but she was already quite the distance ahead.
"Please let me be close enough not to risk my own hide," she whispered, and when one of their blows stuck against one another, it shook the landscape below. It was strong enough to throw Cheelai off her feet, and she tumbled forward into a roll, scraping her knees on the gravel road. She winced and hissed at the stinging sensation but was able to get back onto her feet a moment later.
She shielded her face from the strong winds that emanated from each impact, the energies rocking each other and the area around them. Broly's screams of rage, fear, and brutality could be heard loud and clear from her as she put her hands together across her chest again, praying.
"Broly…"
Lemo caught up to her and collapsed forward. His breathing was labored as he made each gasp for air gather as much as he could to fill his lungs.
"Cheelai…I can't…run…that fast…!"
"You're still breathing, aren't you? Then use that breath to get Broly's attention! Let's call his name together!" Cheelai said as she hauled him back to his feet. Lemo glared at her for a moment, annoyed that she forced him to run far more than he had ever run before. He shook his head, dismissing her look of worry and impatience, and stared up at Broly.
They both nodded at each other before cupping their hands to their mouths.
"BROLY!"
They began waving their arms in the air, attempting to draw his attention. They continued shouting his name as Cheelai bounced on her feet, grimacing each time she had to land due to the pain from her fall a moment ago. But she didn't care about a minor scrape. Broly was on her mind, and the two needed to bring him back down to Earth.
"BROLY!" they shouted again. Another energy impact rocked the surface, and Cheelai lost her footing. The two were close to a steep incline along the mountain trail that led down to the forest below. Any fall would've been disastrous for someone climbing the mountain as it would've torn at them and broken a few of their bones by the time they hit the ground below.
Lemo grabbed Cheelai's hand, but her weight was drawing him in with her. Lemo planted his feet in the ground and made an effort to pull her back up, which succeeded. He helped her move back a few steps away from the edge, and Cheelai nodded with a hand on his shoulder.
They didn't give up, though, and continued to scream Broly's name at the top of their lungs.
After several connecting blows against each other, Vegeta locked hands with Broly in a test of strength.
"Dammit, Broly, will you calm down already?! I can't hold onto this form for too long!" Vegeta said, his new form still relatively untrained since he had only tapped into it not that long ago at the Tournament of Power. It was all he had going for him to keep up with Broly's ridiculous strength as a Super Saiyan, yet Broly was still growling and snarling back at him with fluctuations to his power climbing ever still.
How is this bastard still growing in power?! Vegeta thought to himself. His ears began to pick up voices from below, albeit faint. He glanced down a moment, and his eyes widened when he saw who they were.
"What the…?"
Broly released the grip and struck Vegeta with a right uppercut. He began building up energy from his open mouth, readying it to fire at Vegeta.
Below, Cheelai saw the brief pause in their clash. She saw that eerie green energy forming in Broly's mouth and panicked.
Clenching her fists tightly, she shut her eyes tightly and took in a deep breath.
"BRRROLLLYYYYYY!"
She wasn't sure whether that was loud enough to reach him, but up above, Vegeta was the first to notice that it paused Broly's energy acceleration. The energy in his mouth faded, and his face shook. The blow from Broly knocked him into the mountain, making Vegeta expend almost the remainder of his divine energy to lessen the impact. When he saw Broly stop, he glanced down at Lemo and Cheelai.
"Tell me that reached him," he muttered. He couldn't hold onto his divine power any longer and shifted back to his base form, nearly passing out. He held onto the impact crater he had caused when he hit the mountain, staring back at Broly with heavy breaths.
Broly went back and forth between grunts, looking around himself. He stared at Vegeta, then back down at the ground where he was sure the voices originated.
When he spotted Lemo and Cheelai, his grunting ceased. "Chee…lai…"
He descended towards them. Vegeta followed closely behind and watched Broly land before the two, his eyes still glazed over white with his spiked yellow-green hair flaring angrily like a lion's mane.
Lemo and Cheelai took a step back, eyeing him cautiously. They had never seen Broly's full Super Saiyan form up close like this before, a giant of a man filled with rage and ripped in his muscular structure from head to toe.
Cheelai studied Broly's face and saw the image of pain. She could see and trace each scar on his body but wanted to focus on his face above anything else. She could see the mixture of sadness, fear, loneliness, and fury all wrapped into one. She reached up with her hand to touch him, yet his grunt paused her mid-motion.
"Broly, there's so much pain on your face," she said. She wanted to cry. Seeing him suffer from something he had no control over must tear him apart inside. But she knew she needed to be the stronger of the two emotionally. She needed to show that she wasn't afraid of him, the berserker that hid behind the gentlest of faces.
He loomed over her like a giant, yet she persisted as she reached up with her hands to touch his head. Broly leaned forward and lowered himself enough for her to reach and take his head in her hands. She closed her eyes when she felt how coarse and rough his skin was, tempered from violence. She rested them long enough and brought his head down even lower so their brows could touch.
Lemo couldn't believe what he witnessed, nor could Vegeta. He stared wide-eyed at Broly as his body shrank back down to normal, the color in his hair fading to black.
"Thank goodness," Vegeta muttered before he landed. He held his left arm like an old war injury as he gave the three their space, breathing a sigh of relief. Lemo walked over and laid his hand on Broly's back, which made him shudder once, but he relaxed immediately.
"I missed you," Broly said, his voice scratchy from all the yelling and growling he had done from his fight. Cheelai wrapped her arms around him, keeping her eyes closed while smiling ear to ear. She ran her fingers through his hair as Broly sank to his knees and rested his hands around her small frame. Her scent filled his senses once more as he held on, unaware of the tears that were streaming down his face. Cheelai chuckled slightly when those tears dripped onto her shoulders. She glanced at Lemo and pulled him into the hug as well, despite his protest.
Goku looked relieved to see things were winding down. He faced Freeza, who waved a hand carelessly.
"I suppose you want me to pull my soldiers out and leave?" he asked. Goku grinned. "You know me too well, Freeza."
"Oh, very well. While I hoped to claim that Saiyan's power for my own, I doubt any attempt you two make to control that anger of his will work. Paragus was right to keep him on a leash for his own good. You're only delaying the inevitable."
"We'll take our chances," Goku said, which only made Freeza continue smiling back at him.
"Suit yourself. He's your pet monkey now."
Freeza flew back to the ship, powering back to his base. He climbed back into his hovercar and gave Goku one last sinister grin before the top hatch of his ship opened to allow him in. A few minutes passed before the landing gear retracted, and the massive ship lifted off the ground to fly out of orbit. Goku waited, keeping track of Freeza's energy before it was far out of range to be noticeable. He powered back to his base form and flew over to the group at the mountains.
When he landed near Broly, Lemo, and Cheelai, he waved at them. "Hey there! Glad to see you stopped going berserk on us!"
Vegeta scoffed. "Training his anger control is going to take months, if not years."
"I know, but we'll both help ya out as best we can, Broly," Goku said. Lemo frowned up at him and shook his head.
"I'm afraid that won't be a possibility."
"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked.
"I asked Whis if he knew of a planet untouched by Freeza we could re-locate to, yet the planet dwells in the center of dangerous cosmic activity that prevents any ship from entering or leaving. There are certain times where the activity weakens long enough for a single ship to pass through, yet according to him, it could take years before another window opens."
"So why is this a problem?" Vegeta asked, and Lemo sighed, taking his toque off to wipe his head with his hand.
"Because we only have fifteen days to reach that area before the storms strengthen again. We won't know when there'll be another chance after. Could be a year, could be fifty years, who knows?"
"Dammit…" Vegeta muttered. "Two weeks will barely scratch the surface of Broly's anger control.
"Well, if we need a lot of time, why don't we use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?" Goku suggested. Vegeta shook his head.
"I was barred from using it after I wrecked it."
"What? You got banned from using the Chamber?" Goku couldn't grasp how someone could be banned from using the particular room on the lookout.
"That one called Mister Popo banned me from using it," Vegeta said as he strolled by the group before taking off to return to Metro West. Goku crossed his arms, sighing.
"Aw geez, Vegeta. Why'd you have to be so reckless in your training like that?"
"Who, or what is a Mister Popo?" Lemo asked.
"And what the hell's a Time Chamber, or whatever you just said?" Cheelai added.
"I guess I'll have to bring Broly in with me to train him, then, won't I?" Goku noted, yet the two were still staring at him, waiting for an answer.
"Well? Are you going to answer our questions or not?" Cheelai shouted, catching Goku off-guard.
"Huh? Oh, sorry! It's a special room way up there on Kami's lookout where a whole year in there goes by in a day out here!"
Cheelai and Lemo paused, staring blank-faced at Goku.
"Run that by me again? A whole year in a day?"
"Yeah," Goku said. "A year goes by in there, while only a day goes by out here."
Cheelai freed herself from Broly for a moment to address Goku, leering up at him as she approached him. "Lemme clarify this if I can. You intend on taking Broly into some weird place where time goes all differently to 'train' him?"
"If you guys really need to get to that planet in two weeks, this is the best chance we got to help Broly control his anger," Goku said. Cheelai stood back at Broly's side and glanced up at him.
"You don't have to agree to anything this guy offers, right? Last time you did that, you got your shoulder almost bit off by a giant worm."
"I know. But I have to control my anger, so I don't end up hurting you and Lemo," Broly said, staring at Goku.
"Well, I'm not letting you go off alone this time. I'm going in that place with you," Cheelai said, also staring at Goku.
"I gotta warn ya, though. It's not a place anyone can spend too long inside."
"I won't leave Broly's side, no matter what," Cheelai assured him with a squeeze of Broly's arm.
"Right. What about you, Lemo?" Goku asked him. All eyes were on Lemo.
"Ugh, no thanks," Lemo said, glaring at him. "I'll gladly spend a day by myself while you three frolick around in your magic room."
Broly frowned. "But who will cook for us? Your food is delicious."
"I know my food is delicious," Lemo said, smirking up at him. "But spending a whole year cooped up in a room with this guy is not my idea of bonding."
Goku couldn't help but be aloof with a smile on his face, hands behind his head.
"Are you sure you can help Broly control his anger?" Cheelai asked in her most firm tone possible.
"That all depends on how badly Broly wants it," Goku replied, staring at him.
"I am thankful for your help, Kakarot," Broly said, bringing his hand up to form Cheelai's "OK" sign with his fingers.
Cheelai copied him. "Then it's settled. Guess we'll see you in a year, Lemo."
Lemo rolled his eyes. "You guys are nuts; that's all I gotta say to this."
Goku chuckled, but Cheelai extended her hand out for Lemo to shake it.
"We've been through quite a lot in such a short amount of time, Lemo. I couldn't have held it together as long as I did without you."
Lemo took her hand. Cheelai brought Broly's hand to lay it on top of their handshake, and she grinned at the two. "Good friends, sticking together."
"Good friends, sticking together," Lemo repeated. The two glanced up at Broly.
"Good friends. I am glad to have good friends, too," Broly said, and Cheelai gave his arm another loving caress before they walked down the mountain to their aircraft.
Goku kept with the group, hands behind his head. He gazed pensively up at the sky, occasionally looking back at Broly.
"Hey Broly, about what Freeza said earlier," he asked him. Broly stopped, and both Cheelai and Lemo glared at him.
"Don't set him off again! Geez, have you no tact?" Cheelai scolded him once more, but Broly didn't seem to be bothered by the question from what Goku could see.
"Sorry! I'm only curious," Goku said defensively. Cheelai pinched the bridge of her nose and glanced up at Broly, anticipating another blowup.
"You don't need to answer that, Broly. All he's doing is help you control your anger, got it?" she asked, directing that last statement to Goku.
Broly cast a downward gaze, aimed at no one in particular. He mostly looked at his hands and closed them into fists a couple of times.
"Freeza says a lot of bad things. I'm still angry for what he did to Vampa and for killing Ba."
Cheelai sighed, giving Goku a look before she gazed up at him. "As much as I hate to admit it, Goku might have a point. Freeza must've said something that set you off fierce if you went berserk like that."
Broly shook his head. "Too many things make me angry. I don't like it."
"It's okay. You can tell me," Cheelai said. She and Lemo nodded to each other. "We're all friends, Broly. We're with you no matter what."
"Freeza wanted me to be angry at Kakarot and Vegeta. He said they were the ones who killed my father. For a moment, I believed him."
"And do you still believe they did it?" Cheelai asked. Broly lifted his head and stared at Goku. Goku kept a watchful eye on Broly's mood, waiting to see if he would lose his temper once more, but all Broly did was shake his head.
"I was too angry to change my mind. It was too late to stop myself, and I lost control again."
Cheelai glanced back at Goku and narrowed her eyes. She studied his expression but relaxed her gaze.
"I don't think this idiot would go out of his way to kill your father in cold blood. I don't know about Vegeta, but what Freeza is claiming doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. He wouldn't have set you off if he didn't have a good reason to."
"Well, I think he did it to drive a wedge between you three Saiyans. It's obvious he'd want to unleash your power on Goku and Vegeta once more after the first time you guys fought each other."
Lemo's statement raised more questions. Cheelai had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She dreaded asking this but threw caution to the wind.
"Do you think Freeza might've killed him?" she pondered. Lemo's eyes widened. "Cheelai, don't throw that out so casually!"
The two looked up at Broly, then at Goku, wondering if they needed him to step in. They waited for the dam to burst again.
"I wouldn't put it past him to do something like that. He's got no love for Saiyans, that's for sure," Goku said, smiling up at Broly. Cheelai kept Broly grounded, studying his facial ticks whenever an uneasy question was asked or a situation presented itself that would easily trigger Broly's anger. But all Broly did was frown at the ground in front of him.
"Father taught me a lot about revenge. He said I should avenge what has been wronged. Saiyans fight because it's kill or be killed. I will make Freeza pay."
Cheelai laid a hand on his arm. "I know you do, big guy. We all want a piece of Freeza. But in a way, if it weren't for the Freeza Force sending Lemo and me out on a scouting mission, we wouldn't have met you."
"And I wouldn't have known there was another strong fighter out there!" Goku piped in, which got a dirty look from Cheelai. She rolled her eyes as Lemo chuckled under his breath.
"In any case, we'd better get ourselves back to Bulma's place and prepare for our trip to planet Bloss in a few days," he said.
"Planet Bloss?" Cheelai asked. She looked to Broly for some answer, but he scratched the side of his head.
"The planet I just said we needed to be there within fifteen days," Lemo said.
"But we have no way of getting there, though. Not without a ship. Unless Bulma just so happens to have one built, I doubt we're leaving this planet any time soon."
"You let me worry about that, Cheelai. Go do what you need to do with Broly and Goku. I only hope something good comes out of this."
"I hope so too," Cheelai said, wrapping her arms around Broly's beefy arm. She stayed by his side until they returned to the aircraft.
"Broly's too big to fit in this," she noted, comparing Broly's stature to the size of the aircraft.
"Isn't it customary for the gentleman to carry his woman home?" Lemo asked with a smirk, making Cheelai go red in the face. "Lemo!"
Lemo laughed and climbed into the driver's side of the aircraft. "You can still fly, I assume?"
Broly almost didn't hear the question and blinked. "Fly? Uh, yes, I can still fly."
"Good. Take the lady home with ya. I'll bring this back to Bulma."
Cheelai wrapped her arms around herself, looking even more embarrassed as Lemo ignited the aircraft's thrusters, lifting off the ground.
"Stop looking at me like that!" Cheelai shouted at the two Saiyans, which got Goku to laugh slightly and Broly to avert his eyes.
"I'm sorry if I'm making you angry, Cheelai."
"Ugh, forget it. You'll have to take me home unless Mr. Teleportation here wants to bring us back ahead of Lemo?"
She waited for a response from Goku, who pursed his lips, glancing to the side. "I probably should go back home. Chichi's mad I left so abruptly, and I'm missing out on lunch."
"Whatever," Cheelai responded and climbed up on Broly's back. He knelt to help her up, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"See you both tomorrow!" Goku shouted before he flew in the other direction. Cheelai breathed a heavy sigh and laid her head down against Broly's back.
"To be honest, I want to go back to that resort and finish my vacation. I've gone and built up my stress again."
"I can take you there," Broly offered. Cheelai's face lit up as she lifted her head. She couldn't resist fawning over what Broly had just told her and grinned. "Sure, you can pretty much fly anywhere around the planet if you want. Wanna go take a tour around to see what this Earth looks like from above?"
She could see that Broly was intrigued by this idea and held on tightly as he took to the skies. She laughed as the wind blew against her face, adjusting herself to observe the scenery below. She couldn't believe how beautiful Earth looked from where she was. Towns big and small, people all over going about their business, islands across the blue colored ocean, and farmland as far as the eye could see.
"This planet is amazing, Broly! I can't believe how much stuff is down there!" Cheelai exclaimed, her voice filled with wonder. Broly's grin wasn't as enthusiastic, but he did enjoy what he had seen below.
Broly continued flying around until Cheelai recognized Tights' resort island and pointed it out to him.
"There's the vacation spot I was at!"
Broly nodded and descended to land in a thicket of palm trees some distance away, keeping them out of sight to avoid arousing suspicion. Cheelai jumped off his back and adjusted her wind-struck hair to ruffle it back to normal.
"That was so much fun. Thanks for letting me fly up with you again," Cheelai said and took Broly's hand in hers. They walked along a dirt trail heading down to the resort.
When they could see more of it come into view, Cheelai stopped. She looked around and couldn't see anyone.
"Hey, how about we go somewhere more secluded? I don't think having people around right now is going to help me relax."
Through the trees, she led him to a small lake with a waterfall overlooking it from above. Her eyes lit up, staring in awe. "Wow."
She could see that they were alone and quite a distance away from the resort. Looking at Broly, she grinned maliciously, leading him towards the water. "Wanna go for a swim?"
Broly studied the lake. "I don't know what that is."
Cheelai shrugged. "It's not that hard. Besides, I can't see this water being that deep anyway."
Broly looked hesitant, however. "It's okay if you don't want to join me. But I'm going regardless."
Before Broly could say anything, Cheelai began to undress completely, even removing her bikini by untying the string that held it in place. Broly's eyes widened as his cheeks went red, watching her naked body descend into the water. He had never seen Cheelai in her natural state. She looked beautiful, unlike anything he had ever seen before. Her shapely and toned physique showed off all her assets, which left Broly speechless, not that he ever had much to say anyway.
She swam around and dove underneath, resurfacing. She shook the water out of her hair and waved.
"The water's perfect, Broly! C'mon, you're missing out!" Cheelai exclaimed. Broly knelt to get a closer look at the water as she swam up to him.
"No one is here but us," she stated. "You can get naked too and join me."
"I want to stay here," Broly muttered bashfully.
"Suit yourself." Cheelai swam around some more. She didn't care that Broly was watching her swim naked in the crystal clear water. She rather enjoyed it, so long as it was only Broly, though.
After a few minutes rolled by, she swam to the edge. She held herself afloat along the edge and grinned up at Broly.
"You don't have a problem with me being naked, do you?"
Broly twiddled his fingers together, playing with Ba's ear tied around his waist. "Right, I forgot. You've never seen a girl naked before, have you?" Cheelai asked. She chuckled at the thought, knowing that this was the first time he had ever seen a female period after being on Vampa his entire life.
"No, no, I haven't," Broly muttered. His cheeks felt hot as he looked anywhere except at Cheelai. She laid a hand on his leg.
"It's okay; you don't have to be shy around me, Broly. I want to get to know everything about you. I know you feel the same way, right?"
Broly nodded. "I like you, Cheelai. You're always nice to me."
She grinned, squeezing his leg. She climbed out of the water and stood beside Broly, water dripping off her. She sat down beside him, bringing her knees up to her chest. There was a moment of silence between the two before she spoke again.
"Turns out the guy I said was my first love wasn't dead after all. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life with me and decided to build himself a stupid harem of girls to parade around like his own personal collection. I can't believe how naïve I was, allowing myself to fall so easily for a guy like him."
She sighed, laying her chin on her knees. She glanced up at Broly.
"I don't know why I'm telling you this. Figured you'd like to know."
"What is a harem?" Broly asked. Cheelai chuckled in response, stroking his back.
"That, you don't need to know. Only idiots bother with things like that."
"Okay."
Cheelai let herself bask at the moment, taking in the scenery. Broly glanced a few times down at her and saw that she was still without clothing. He was reluctant at first but eventually untied Ba's ear from around his waist. He draped it around her, which caused her to let out a small squeal.
"W-what are you doing?"
"You'll get cold if you stay like that."
"Broly, don't. You should keep this on you," she said, taking it off to hand it back to him, but Broly kept it around her. "It's okay; I'll be fine."
Cheelai's eyes widened. For the first time since she met him, Broly was comfortable enough to separate himself from his pelt. She took it as a symbol of his trust and admiration for her. Her heart was racing, pounding against her chest as she swallowed. She moved closer and leaned her head against his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she felt safe. She knew this was a man she wanted in her life. Broly struck her as the kind of person she knew wouldn't abandon her and would stay loyal to her for as long as either drew breath.
She took in all of this and felt happy, the happiest she's been in a long time.