Dragon Ball: Governed
Chapter 50 - Unlikely Alliance
King Vegeta remembered all the talks that he and his father before him had. Many times growing up, Vegeta IV was told that he would be the one to restore glory to the Saiyan people. He would be the one to dethrone Freeza with the legendary power of the Super Saiyan. Such was his destiny. For damn near forty years Vegeta had been waiting for this moment. His son was just a couple years shy of twenty now. Despite the King's many campaigns and his strive for absolute power, surpassing the natural limitations of any full-blooded Saiyan, he still never achieved the single most self-gratifying goal: becoming a Super Saiyan. Though that hurt his pride, coming to see that the strength his own son possessed was more than likely the power required to ascend lessened the blow to his ego. Vegeta realized that his son had to be it.
Prince Vegeta's power was the key. And every breath he drew was just a second less that Freeza had to live.
As the King sat on his throne, Kuni and Nion both approached him, All the Saiyans lowered their heads in subtle respect, except for the King. Over the years, many of the mid-class Saiyans had either died of old age or in battle. Most of the new squadron that resided with King Vegeta in his palace only consisted of those such as Bardock, old grey-beared Nappa, Taro, Elery, Choy, and Taro's mother. Only six current mid-class Saiyans when there used to be an average of ten. Standards were risen and for great reason.
"Whatever business you wish to discuss better either regard my son or Freeza himself," Vegeta said dryly.
"Lord Freeza has finally requested an audience," Nion informed Vegeta.
"He will be coming here," Kuni assured.
"The perfect time to dispose of him," Nion finished.
Vegeta smiled. So the time was finally coming. Aware of the fact that Freeza wasn't going to be arriving any time soon, he would at least hope his son would be able to accomplish his mission on Planet Vampa and be home shortly just in time. Though having an all-out fight with Freeza on Planet Vegeta came with its risks, the king didn't see any other suitable setting. This was perfect - poetry at its finest.
"Good. I want all non-combatant warriors sent off the planet - a world unknown to Freeza - Planet Tech Tech - effective immediately. Once gone, we will plan on how we take care of Freeza."
"Why form a plan when we have the prince?" Nion inquired. Of course, that was the key: the prince. He was the only one who's grown up on Planet Vegeta with more than enough power to take care of Freeza. As much as King Vegeta wanted to play a major part in the fall of Freeza by having his men contribute and even getting his own hands dirty, it did not take away from the very simple fact that he had all his eggs in one basket - his son being the basket.
"I didn't expect Freeza wishing to have an audience so soon. There's no telling when the boy will be back in time anyhow."
"Oh, he most definitely will," Nion said.
"Mhm." Vegeta stood up from his throne and began to walk down the steps. Signaling for the mid-class warriors to follow him, they all gathered around Vegeta just a few inches behind. "Still, make sure all non-combatant Saiyans are sent to Planet Tech Tech." He continued to walk.
"As you wish."
"But you should come, too!"
"I can't do that, Gure." Just at the launching site near the Saiyan palace, there were a multitude of Saiyans being shipped off. Gure, not being a Saiyan, much less a combatant, was not able to be on Planet Vegeta either. "As much as I want to, this is my home to defend as well. I may not go out fighting like almost everyone else does, but my strength means I have a responsibility to my people." There was a great look of worry in Gure's eyes. She had a real bad feeling, but of course, Tarble wouldn't bother listening to her intuition. Comforting her, he placed his hand on her cheek. "Once this is all over, you'll be back in no time. I promise."
"How long will it be, dad?"
Tarble's daughter approached Tarble from behind, holding a bag over her shoulder. Though a grown woman, she is often times mistaken as a child due to her height that rivaled her father's. And despite the fact that she was a a mix of two entirely different species, she appeared to be all Saiyan - having her father's features and all, save for the extremely spiky long hair that stopped at her waist.
"Could be a while," Tarble told her.
"And I can't stay and fight? Last time I checked, I was a sold-"
"Vegeta has you exempt for his own reasons," Tarble cut her off sternly. "What you will do as Princess of your people, Ginger, is lead everyone once you land on your designated planet. With you leading them, you shouldn't have any problems making sure to keep everyone safe - the natives of Tech-Tech included."
Ginger clenched her jaw, knowing better than to give her father backtalk. "Fine, she acquiesced."
Tarble, looking hard at her, took a step closer toward his daughter. "Remember, you take your role. Royal blood runs through your veins, Ginger. Think of leading everyone to safety as you usually do on a conquest...but...without all the fighting."
Ginger matched her father's hard glare for a few seconds. Though it appeared tense, she wrapped her arms around Tarble's neck, calming him down. Over the years, Vegeta's brother had gotten a bit rough around the edges, though deep down he was still a good man - at least compared to any other Saiyan - if that meant anything.
Just moments earlier, Bardock had been following the king around as he checked up on all departments on the Planet, making sure that every soldier had enough food supply and all other necessities for them to make it through until however long it took for Freeza to arrive. After they did their little check-ins, Bardock diverged from the group with the King's permission in order to make sure Gine was okay.
Over the years, age seemed to finally being catching up to Gine. Being dead for a while seemed to do her well as there were only some grey hairs here and there, but it was definitely noticeable on Bardock. The Saiyan had a full grey five o'clock shadow and his hair was just as if, not a more solid grey color. There were some wrinkles here and there but the one thing that didn't seem to age in the slightest was that damn battle-scar on his cheek.
"I can only imagine that this is extremely important if we all really have to leave," Gine said. Turning around after packing some personal belongings, she had a face of worry. "Do you really think that nobody is going to notice me? I mean - I know I've been able to stay under the radar for all these years, but all it takes is just one person. One person to recognize who I am and alarm bells will be set off."
As much as Bardock wanted to tell Gine that the big fight was finally coming, the seasoned warrior didn't want to worry her even more. Staying on topic, Bardock briefly contemplated her words. Though it didn't seem like much of a risk now to send her off with the rest of the non-combatants, she did have a valid reason to concern herself with the matter. And though it was just a slight chance she would be caught, even he didn't want to take it. He'd rather be safe than sorry under current circumstances.
"I've already thought about that," Bardock said. Backing up to lean against the wall, he spoke his mind. "And while I juggled the decision here and there, weighing the pros and cons, I came to the decision that you won't be going with everyone else."
Confused, she asked, "Then where?"
"A while back I met this Saiyan who went AWOL - name's Onio. He liked to conquer planets with his wife and make them his vacation homes, hmpf. One of my comrades directed him to this Planet called Earth to make it his next one. From what I can recall, the Earthlings are - well - were a race of weaklings. They had all the resources for survival but in every other aspect thinkable, they're inferior to us. If he were still here, he'd be considered one of the top Saiyan soldiers so I'm sure he handled that planet no problem. All you have to do is go there. If you happen to run into him, all you have to do is tell him how you know me and he won't have a problem with you at all."
Gine smiled. "You really are a genius, Bardock." The man was surprised with an unexpected hug, but he didn't dare push back. He rubbed her back and their tails intertwined.
Shockwaves. The ground rumbling, constant rocks being disintegrated. All were signs of a big battle taking place.
This was occurring on Planet Vampa. Thing is, it wasn't a big battle. It was a mere sparring session.
Broly and Zima were going at it back and forth, continuing their aerial assault. These two prodigal Saiyans had been training with one another for years now. Zima, having more battle experience than Broly as a kid, managed to teach him very well - even more than Paragus as Zima was able to teach Broly a lot through playing together, too.
Zima was the absolute spinning image of his father, Zorn, but the Saiyan warrior still had burns and marks all over his body that had been casted upon him subsequent to his unfair exile from Planet Vegeta. He, like Paragus, wished he could get revenge on Vegeta. But being stranded there, he learned to let it go and adjusted to life on Planet Vampa.
"Watch for your side, Broly!" Paragus yelled below.
Listening to his father, Broly did just that and ducked under a swipe, retaliating with an upward kick for Zima's chin. Executing successfully, he followed up with a solid punch to the chest that damn near knocked the wind out of Zima. As he soared, Broly fired off a barrage of energy attacks.
Seeing Broly spar was nothing short of a miracle. Whenever Paragus tried, all Broly did was get angry and lose control of all rational thought. But with Zima, he not only learned skill in battle, but gained a higher tolerance of his own temper, thus causing him to learn and progress much faster as a warrior.
Zima erased all of Broly's energy balls by countering them with a wave of ki. Subsequent to having his attack deflected, the two Saiyans rushed in for another once more and began to trade blows with one another.
Paragus knew that this one was going to last a while. At this point, Broly nor Zima were taking one another seriously so they were just going to play rock paper scissors in the form of throwing fists at one another, giving each other free shots until one of them decided to give in. In essence, they were still kids. Paragus hated to entertain their training when they fought like this but as far as he was concerned, any training for Broly was better than no training. He tried, but Paragus was far too weak. With Zima constantly growing stronger due to his countless bouts with Broly, he was able to hold on own - until Broly got serious, that is.
Out of the corner of his eye, Paragus spotted an unidentified flying object. It descended not that far from him. After getting a closer look, his eyes widened in absolute shock. Notcing the shape of the ship, it more than likely belonged to the Freeza first. His first instinct was to run over to it, but he calmed himself.
"Broly! Zima!" he called the two. The Saiyans halted their sparring session and placed their attention over to Paragus. Smiling, the old man spoke. "We have visitors."
The gravitational pull of the Planet was nothing to laugh at, though it still didn't have anything to compare to back home. Prince Vegeta looked around, eyeing everything. It smelled horrible and the sun was damn near unbearable. He started to wonder if any Saiyan, no matter how strong, would even manage to survive in a world so desolate and repugnant.
But the beeping from his scouter certainly caught his attention. One of the readings had a power-level of 5,000 yet the other two...they were on levels that he could never expect. "Three…? I thought there were supposed to be two readings…" The Prince immediately grew suspicious. Was he tricked? Did they pull information from him to catch him by surprise? Just what kind of test was this truly?
It didn't take much long for them all to touch down, coming face to face with Vegeta. The Saiyan Prince still wore his cape and royal medallion indicating that he was of Saiyan royalty.
"Greetings," Vegeta said, breaking the ice. Before anyone could say anything, he continued. "I am Prince Vegeta the fifth. And here I have orders directly from Lord Freeza to come here and battle the supposed Legendary Super Saiyan...the one by the name of Broly."
Paragus and everyone else was silent for a moment. It took a while for it to register with Zima, who clenched his fist. As for Paragus, the man started shaking with rage, not even able to make a word. Zima notices this but isn't able to bring it to Broly's attention as he takes a few steps forward. "Why me? What is a Super Saiyan?"
"These are orders from Lord Freeza. Hate to have to hurt you, but master's orders are master's orders."
"I don't want to fight you," Broly tells Vegeta.
Getting into a battle-stance, Vegeta says, "Neither do I."
"Then let me get a crack at him!" Zima chimes in, cracking his knuckles. With a wicked smile on his face, Zima didn't see any other opportunity to correct the wrongs of the former King than now. His naked Saiyan tail wagged around uncontrollably. Oh, he enjoyed his battles with Broly, but this was a new Saiyan - and not just any Saiyan - but Prince Vegeta. Even if he was just the grandson of the man who exiled him and Broly, he saw this personally.
"Oh, no…" Paragus pulled Zima back by the tail. Zima growled, but didn't dare putting a hand on the elder Saiyan with his disrespectful gesture. "By all means, Broly, do fight him. This is the grandson of the man who had sent us away all those years ago. Once you kill him and get it over with, we can go and get our revenge on his father for holding the past King's sins."
Caught off-guard by the statement, Vegeta stands upright with a furrowed brow. "Revenge?"
"You're damn right - revenge! Your tool of a grandfather exiled my son because he had more potential than your spoiled father! He did so unfairly! I didn't even care that he was stronger than your king when he was just a baby; Broly would have made for a fine warrior at his side. He could have kept the stupid title for all I cared!" Paragus then smiled. "Oh, I promise you that your family will fall and the Saiyan race will be ruled by the one and only strongest Saiyan blood-line."
"Ah…" Prince Vegeta chuckled. His soft chuckles turned into that of laughter, confusing all three of them. "Revenge, huh!? Hahahahaahahaaha!" Feeling as if he was being mocked, Paragus' eye twitched. Vegeta's laughter was distinct, yet reminded him of the former king's voice. Every second his eyes were fixated on the prince was a second more that Paragus felt himself getting triggered.
"You dare mock me!?"
"Hahahaha, oh no, hahahaha! This - this is perfect! This is actually an unexpected turn of events. Though revenge has never been on my agenda, we actually happen to fall under similar goals." Paragus remained with an intense stare but allowed the prince to speak. Grabbing his scouter and crushing it with his bare hands, Vegeta continued on about his own agenda. "See, all my life my father has viewed me as the perfect weapon to raise into dethroning Lord Freeza. For some time now my father has been planning to revolt against Freeza by using me so that he can free the Saiyans from the Freeza Force."
"Then your father's more of a fool than his father was!" Paragus spat.
"Hahaha, indubitably! See, my allegiance lies solely with Lord Freeza. My father is an idiot who doesn't know a good thing when it smacks him right in the face. Indoctrinated by his preceding king, my father grew to think that he could actually take over Freeza one day and lead our people to glory. Lord Freeza recently requested an audience with my father and it all will be going down back home on Planet Vegeta. My father will think he has me for his big day...but it's actually him who will be getting sent to hell. There is nobody more powerful than Lord Freeza and he was there to show me such as a little boy. Of all the great things he has done for my people, father wants to turn his back on him. I'll say...natural selection shall run its course."
Paragus began to laugh in the very same manner as Vegeta was just earlier. He couldn't believe the words that were coming from the prince's mouth. He could tell that he wasn't lying, though. He didn't know if it was all coincidence or what, but he was for it. Walking toward Prince Vegeta, he reached out his hand. Even if this wasn't true. Even if all of this was a set-up, it was still a fine opportunity for Paragus himself. No matter the results, at the end of the day, he would make sure that none of Vegeta's blood-line lived by the end of the big battle.
"Never did I think I'd ever find myself shaking hands with one of your bloodline ever again," Paragus said as Vegeta reached back out. The two Saiyans shook on it, faces full of mischief. "But I can make an exception for you, young man."
"I'm glad to hear it."
Paragus just grinned like any Saiyan about to enter a battle-zone. He may have been old, but he was as calculating as ever; subsequent to crash landing on Planet Vampa with a Saiyan by the name of Beets in hopes of finding his son, Paragus didn't hesitate to sacrifice the lower-class Saiyan in order to save more rations for himself and his son. If anyone was a potential means to an end to help serve him and his son's survival and revenge, then so be it.
He didn't see Prince Vegeta any different than he saw Beets all those years ago.
