Dragonball: RPG X
A/N: "The following is a fan-based work. Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Super, Dragon Ball Heroes, Super Dragon Ball Heroes, and Dragonball Xenoverse are all owned by Funimation, Toei Animation, Shueisha, Dimps, and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release."
Chapter 2: Sins of the Father
Combat has started!
Enemies:
Bardock - Lvl 14
24,000XP
Raditz - Lvl 9
6,000XP
Bardock's eyes widened as the rush of energy exploding from my body hit him. The dusty ground was blown away around us, filling the air with dust. Raditz wasn't anywhere close to my own Power Level but was definitely close enough to my mom's. Bardock, however, was stronger than I was, and had an entire lifetime of battles to feed his abilities. I was thankful I could increase my speed with my energy as my stats were abysmal.
"Kll...can we beat them?" My mother asks, her own energy pushing towards max. "You're better at sensing."
I don't take my eyes off of them but quickly whisper back. "It'll be close. We'll win, but not without killing them both...and probably taking some damage."
I'm sure as a seven-year-old, the energy I was putting out was intimidating. Regardless, it was clear that Raditz was itching for a fight, and Bardock had nothing to fear. My blood was pounding in my ears, adrenaline pouring into my system to feed an addiction I didn't remember having. The first fight for my life in five years was moments away.
"Codeword Unity, King's Orders 2A-1. Password Prince Legend Rise!" My mom suddenly yelled out.
Bardock's eyes widen for a moment before he puts a hand on Raditz's shoulder, and tapping on his own scouter.
"What the hell was that?" I ask, not breaking eye contact with the two Saiyans.
"I'm saving our lives." She whispers back.
"Prince Legend Rise," Bardock says, addressing his scouter.
A moment passes before several emotions cross his face, from surprise to anger, to acceptance. His eyes lock onto mine for a moment, before looking at my mother.
"Stand down Raditz," Bardock says, powering down as well.
"F-father? What? Why?" Raditz splutters. "What was all that rubbish?
"King's orders, son," Bardock answers, glancing slightly at us. "And as part of the King's orders, you two are to return to Planet Vegeta with us."
My mother nods, giving me a pointed glance. I consider the options for a moment, before lowering my power level as well. This was new, and I must admit to being curious. Not to mention there were two people heading for Planet Vegeta eventually that I was looking forward to seeing. I didn't want to take a backseat on this, but I was willing to play along.
"Do you have pods?" Bardock asks.
"We have one. Kll can sit in mine with me." My mother says.
"I'm not sure that is advisable. I'll make a call for another pod. It'll be here in...36 standard hours." Bardock says. "Until then, we'll just sit tight."
Six Hours Later
Not going to lie, it was mildly awkward spending time with people we were moments away from murdering. Thankfully we managed to bond over the one thing all Saiyans have in common, never-ending love of food. That didn't mean things were good, but it was at least less hostile. It was weird to know that in just a few hours we would be leaving our home for the past seven years.
"How did you get so strong?" Raditz asked me, having followed me outside, probably to keep an eye on me.
I had hoped to get some time to work on sensing Power Levels from a distance, raise my perception a bit, but of course, the Saiyan Soldiers couldn't leave us alone.
"I drink a lot of milk," I replied. "And eat plenty of vegetables."
A moment of silence passes before he speaks again. "Does this planet even have milk?"
"My mom did," I reply.
"Gross, kid," He splutters, almost gagging. "What the fuck?"
"You asked," I reply, before sitting in the thin grass.
"That's fair…" Raditz says, not moving from where he is standing. "What was up with the code phrase your mom gave?"
"No idea. I didn't know about it." I reply.
"Wait what? She didn't tell you ahead of time?" Raditz asks incredulously. "That code phrase saved your lives. What if we had found you without her there to give the code phrase?"
"Pffhahaha." I start laughing, before looking over my shoulder at him. "S-saved our lives? Haha! I was seconds away from turning you both into ash. Had I been more confident in my mom's ability to kill you, my mom wouldn't have bothered. She was worried because I said it would be close."
"Oh fuck off with the bravado kid. You're what, six?" Raditz laughs back. "My father is the strongest Saiyan in the empire."
"You can't sense energy, can you?" I ask, looking back up into the sky.
"What does that have to do with anything?" He asks.
I shake my head, ignoring the question.
'I wonder what happened to Bardock in my last life? By the time I made it to Planet Vegeta, he wasn't alive. Kakarot was the strongest at that point, and he wasn't as strong as Bardock is now.' I wonder.
Thirty Hours Later
I'm an idiot. I am an absolute idiot and I hate myself for it. Of course, I can't sense shit off the planet! My perception is trash right now. I was so used to having high stats that I'd completely forgotten what low stats did. Granted, I hadn't really realized that my perception was holding me back until I was considering Instant Transmission. I got a huge bump when I first unlocked the ability, and a small bump each time I used it.
'I hadn't used it this life at all!' I thought, concentrating on the back of Raditz.
A new pod was going to crash land here momentarily, and then I'd be stuck in space until we arrived on Planet Vegeta, where it was possible I could be trapped if I don't have access to the best move in the game. I locked onto his energy as we walked, slowly twisting my energy around until I felt it tug.
Bing! You've gained 30 points in perception for identifying the unique feeling of another's power!
With the smallest pop, I jumped forward about a foot, appearing right at his back. He glanced back at me as we made our way to the landing zone, frowning, but didn't say anything. At the same moment, the galaxy opened for me, my senses lighting up with the little motes of energy for light-years around us.
'Yes...That's what I'm talking about!' I thought, feeling all the energy signals.
I didn't recognize any of them, but the fact that I could tell the difference between them, planets away, meant I wasn't trapped anymore. However, we were also in a part of the galaxy that I didn't spend much time in during my first playthrough. A small worry lifted from my shoulders, I couldn't help but smile. Of course, my reverie was broken by a space pod slamming into the ground a dozen feet away, signaling the end of my childhood. Something awaited me on the other side of this trip, and whatever it was, I may find I don't like it.
"I'm going to lock both pods to my system. We'll land within minutes of each other. I'd suggest not leaving your pods till I come and collect you." Bardock says, entering information into his system.
All four pods opened at the same time, several beeps chiming from each. I walked to the nearest one, and plopped down, allowing the system to lock in. A few moments later the artificial gravity kicked in, and we were skyward.
Pod sleep is a weird experience. I didn't do very much of it in my last life since I could just pop off wherever I wanted or traveled by large ship. The pods, however, were slower, and it took time to get where you want to be. As we slowly made our way home, I couldn't help but think back to my past life. Vegeta's betrayal, the subsequent betrayal of his son...My brother now, I supposed.
'Would I be able to look these people in the eye and not hate them?' I thought, drifting in and out of consciousness. 'Can I blame them for the things that transpired in my past life, or should I only judge them on what they have done in this one?'
It was a tough question to ask, but an even harder question to answer. While the people here and now have yet to commit these horrible acts against me, they still did in the past. I could only hope that when I finally stood before them, I'd be able to control myself. I had yet to experience the rage that Broly had dealt with, but I also had not yet had reason to truly explode.
10 Minutes to Landing
Planet Vegeta
The space pods broke through the atmosphere, streaming through the air on course for the large landing pad at the capital. We had been awake for only a few minutes and would be landing in less than thirty seconds. With a loud thump, my pod slammed into the landing pad, the special polymer absorbing most of the kinetic energy. A moment later it came to a rest, the door hissing as the pressure inside is released. Gravity reasserts itself, my weight increasing several times over. I had to push a bit of energy into my limbs to get my going. I step out, seeing Bardock already speaking to one of the dock workers. Raditz climbs out of his own pod, my mother appearing from hers shortly after.
After Bardock finishes, he motions us all to follow him, and he begins to lead us off the landing pad. It was nice to return to Planet Vegeta after nearly a decade of being gone. I was hopeful that in this life I could keep the planet from being destroyed, perhaps stop Babadi before Majin Buu is released. We're led down a set of stairs, which leads to an underground tram station of sorts. I can't say I ever used it before, just flying everywhere I wanted to go before. My mother keeps looking back at me as we walk, tears in her eyes. I suspect that after a lifetime here, being back would mean even more to her than it did to me.
The tram trip was only a few minutes, zipping across the city before stopping at a spot that I was intimately familiar with. I had spent nights in the healing pods, hours in the throne room. Of course, after its relocation to Planet Saiyan, I spent a year in the throne room, doing my best to save the Saiyans. I felt my mom's eyes on me once more, confusion emanating from her at the look on my face. I shook my head in silence, as we were slowly led in. Guards lined the entryway as we entered, steely eyes all locked on my mother and me. The lights were low, but not dark. The throne room was slightly different from what I expected, a single throne instead of the dual thrones of my time.
Under normal circumstances, I would say that this is because Indivia is perhaps only ten years old at the moment, but it isn't Vegeta sitting upon the throne. As we enter, the energy I had been sensing finally makes sense to me.
"We have arrived, my King," Bardock says before he and Raditz stepped off to the side.
A set of beady eyes stare back at mine, before slowly turning to face my mother as well.
"Thank you, Captain," Nappa says, before he stands, his figure towering over all of us. "What an unexpected turn of events. The traitor, and the anomaly returning at last."
"Where is Vegeta, Nappa?" My mom asks.
"Vegeta? He was executed for allowing you to escape the planet with your freak child, once the truth was uncovered." Nappa says, laughing. "A king is king only while the population allows it. His hypocrisy did not stand well with the people."
"Ww-hat?" My mom exclaimed.
"Regardless, now I have to decide what to do with you," Nappa says, ignoring my mom. "I'm thinking public execution."
"If I may interrupt?" I ask, speaking up for the first time since we arrived.
"Oh, so he does speak," Nappa replies. "I was beginning to wonder if Vegeta's broken spawn was mute. Go ahead little guy, give us your last words while you have time."
"Right, yeah. Last words...It's sad actually that your last words will be 'What?'" I say offhandedly.
Nappa's eyes narrow, "What?"
The air around me cracks as I shove nearly a third of my power into the palm of my hand, the blast of energy engulfing Nappa before anyone in the room can react. At the same time, I'm already moving, my hand clamping down on my mother's wrist, my concentration on the only energy signal I could pick up at such a distance. With a sharp pop, we were gone, leaving tragedy and devastation in our wake.
A/N: Oh shit waddup? We're back at it again in your favorite story, and I'm already disappointing you with low word counts! I blame the chapter, personally. Escaping execution, killing the king? It's the perfect stopping point!
Vegeta is dead, Indivia's fate is unknown. While getting some instant gratification, Kll has also killed the King of the Saiyans, further cementing the fears his race has for his mutation. Will he overcome? Where has he escaped to?
Find out next time...on Dragonball! RPG X!
A/N 2: We're coming full circle. Exciting times to be had, as always. I probably won't be posting the next chapter for at least two weeks, so hey, do a bunch of reviewing in the meantime. I've got other stories, I've got a discord.