Disclaimer: Dragon Ball does not belong to me. The series and its characters are owned by Akira Toriyama.

The Legacy

Chapter VI

Changes

"Let go of me! I don't know what you're talking about!" Nappa might have fought to free himself from him, but he had drunk so much that he could not free himself from Bardock's hold.

"Speak now, or I'll behead you right here! Damn traitor! This was the king's order, right?" He slammed him against the wall. "The king is ashamed of Prince Tarble and ordered you to eliminate him, but the men you hired for the job failed, and instead of seriously injuring the weak bastard, they nearly killed the heir to the throne."

"You're crazy! What you want is to blame me for your ineptitude!" Then, finally, he managed to loosen up and get away from him a bit, but only because Bardock allowed him to. "You are afraid that the queen will not be able to protect you this time, and you want to find a way to free yourself from this! But no one will believe you such stupidity!"

"Stop lying!" He didn't hold back any longer and broke his nose in one fell swoop.

Had he been with all of his optimal senses, Nappa would have been able to dodge that punch, but there was too much alcohol in his blood to even think about it.

"This is going to cost you dearly! You will regret it! When the king finds out about the attributions you are taking, he will take care of you! And even more so when he finds out what you are accusing him of! "

"You are going to regret this, I assure you. You are forbidden to go near the queen and the princes. I have already ordered you not to leave your room here on the ship."

"Orders for what?! Who are you to give me orders?!" he wanted to stand up, but Bardock stopped him with his boot on his armor.

"Try to get out of here," he whispered threateningly. Immediately afterward, he left the ship for the queen's room. Although he still wouldn't tell her anything about the assassination attempt, he first needed to gather evidence that incriminated Nappa, especially the king. This was serious because it meant unmasking the monarch. In one way or another, he was sure that Koora would believe him despite having nothing to back it up, so he was not willing to risk the life of his former missionary companion.

(...)

Nappa had already been in his room for four days without going out, and with that behavior, he gave Bardock more reason to confirm his suspicions. But that didn't mean the big man hadn't tried to leave the ship; on two occasions, he tried, but the guards loyal to the queen obeyed Bardock's orders since she had left him in command, and the truth is that they liked the idea of threatening and insulting King Vegeta's petticoat. Hence, it was not difficult to follow directions. However, Nappa did not want to continue trying; he did not want to get into a bigger problem. The king's punishment when they returned to Vegetasei was enough. Because he was sure that the prince would not die since, in some self-centered way, he believed that every one of the boy's achievements was thanks to his guidance and protection. Therefore, it was impossible for a being as powerful as Prince Vegeta to have such an abrupt end.

After checking that Prince Tarble was in his room and didn't need anything, Bardock headed for the queen's room. He still did not communicate her suspicions, much less would he now, after the news that he had learned from one of the doctors of the queen's crew. Prince Vegeta would again undergo emergency surgery since, despite having spent a whole day without complications, an internal organ did not respond in the desired way, forcing the doctors to intervene again. He wanted to be the one to inform the queen; he knew that she would be ill, and it was not recommended that any soldier on this planet see her like that. The queen had a reputation to uphold.

As soon as he opened the door to her room, he knew they had come forward with the news. It was enough to see her eyes filled with tears and to feel pain in a couple of ribs from the desperate embrace of the woman that she did nothing to contain the crying. The warrior closed the door so that no one could see her. He answered the hug awkwardly. Over the years, he no longer felt bad when Gine exaggerated her displays of affection and forced him to hug her, but this was different; he had never seen Koora in this state, and despite years of meeting and sharing missions, she had never embraced him like that. They had indeed shared moments of intimacy, but it had permanently been reduced to something physical, nothing like what Gine managed to create with him, and the truth is that he did not know very well how to proceed.

"If Vegeta dies… I…" She was so desperate that she couldn't speak clearly.

"The prince will be fine, Koora. You have trained a mighty boy."

"There are already too many operations ... and he is frail..."

Bardock was surprised. He had never seen Koora this distraught and in such pain. Not even about to die at the hands of the enemy. But, in truth, women were affected by motherhood. He did not recognize the one he held in his arms.

The same thing happened to her. Koora could not recognize herself, these reactions were far from what she was like, but it was simply out of her reach —having her eldest son about to die altered every fiber of her being, leaving her unable to control her emotions. That's why she needed him; Bardock was the only one who, despite not understanding her behavior, would shut up and not judge her or expose her to the scrutiny that she might fall if someone else found her like that.

"Koora, if you calm down, we could..." He tried to pull her away a bit, but she stopped him.

"No, don't let go of me," she pleaded, feeling his warm chest free from the armor. Think I'm hers," she whispered.

He frowned unconsciously, not understanding what she was talking about. He looked at her trying to find an explanation, but she continued with her face pressed against her chest, wetting his shirt with her tears. Finally, he had no choice but to continue hugging her.

Feeling her hug, her body, and her warmth as if she were hugging Gine. That was how simple she requested that he blurted out without thinking, in a moment of weakness, but fortunately, thanks to the man's zero response, Koora was able to calm down a bit and finally separate from her.

"Don't listen to me." She wiped her face with his hands and looked at herself in the mirror to see that she didn't look bad. "I don't know what I'm saying anymore. Now come with me to the operating room."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I am. It is my duty to be by the prince's side. I have already spent a long time locked up here." Even though his embrace was being short, it had served to give her a second wind. There were still many questions in her head, but now she must be with her child.

Bardock opened the door for her to let her pass. He immediately followed her, always two steps behind her.

(...)

His whole body ached, and proof of that was that he couldn't even lift a finger from the mattress. Even thinking was complex without his bones and mind hurting like hell. In the few years of his life, he was sure that he had never experienced discomfort like this.

With much effort and difficulty, he was able to open his eyes and observe the place. He could not recognize where he was but guessed that what happened to him must have been bad enough, as there were internal wounds that had to heal first before he thought about putting someone in the recovery chamber. Otherwise, he was at risk of dying before the water with its chemicals and healing properties began to take effect.

The light from outside bothered him quite a bit. It was not the characteristic reddish light of his planet but a bright and strong one that made his eyes cry. He would have yelled for someone to close the curtain, but before he could make any noise, he should be able to open his mouth, and he still couldn't.

He heard the noise of a door opening, but no one entered. Quite the opposite, whoever he had intended to enter, had run to report that Prince Vegeta had finally awakened.

"Ten days?" He commented in astonishment in a low voice. It continued the same as fifteen minutes ago, the time that had elapsed when he heard the door open, and then people running towards him, all dressed in white, with lights and devices to examine him and check that he was okay. He would have ordered them to leave his presence, but his body did not respond.

The adults did not stop checking him, commenting aloud how amazed and pleased they were by the result, and when they left the room, peace did not return because he heard more footsteps running towards him, this time accompanied by familiar voices. Tarble and Koora.

"I knew you wouldn't die, Vegeta," said the youngest, happy to see his brother awake.

"It was all your fault… you distracted me."

Koora leaned closer to hear him better.

"Are you sure? Is that what happened?"

"I don't remember, but it's the safest thing to do. Tarble always bothers me when I train; why would it be different now?" You could tell he was feeling better now.

"That's not true; I wasn't even by your side."

"Tarble, it doesn't matter. When Vegeta is okay, we will talk about what happened."

"Where are we? Why aren't we in Vegetasei?"

"You were too injured to endure the return trip."

"But I'm fine now; let's get out of this horrible place. I don't like the way people here smell."

Koora was so happy that she chose not to say anything about the typical behavior of his son. She would have already hugged and kissed him, but everything had returned to normal, so she had to act like the queen that she was.

He must have left when a Saiyajin soldier informed him that the queen was waiting for her to talk, but Tarble continued by his side.

"What are you doing here? Go away; it's your fault he's like this."

"I'm going to stay to take care of you. Our mother asked me."

"Now you know about medicine?"

"I know more than you," he commented, smiling. Even for him, it was blissful to see him as unpleasant as ever, but he had the advantage that he couldn't scream or move, so he wouldn't take any hit for staying next to him.

"Has the king found out what happened?" Vegeta asked, ignoring that his brother did know more things than he did.

"I think so, but nobody says anything to me here, and Mom has been very worried about you these days." He sat at the foot of the bed to look at him better. He kept wagging his tail from side to side.

Vegeta grimaced, looking at the ceiling. He hoped they hadn't exaggerated the story, as he didn't want the king to think he was a useless wimp.

"You are useless. You can't even give me helpful information. Where is Nappa?" He didn't want to see him, but at least he could count on him to find out everything he wanted. So the big man did whatever it took to congratulate himself on him.

"That I do know. He is on the ship and does not have permission to leave. So I think he did something that upset Bardock."

"And who is this third class to order my soldier? Go to the ship and tell Nappa to come right away."

"But Nappa is grounded."

"Do you want to help me or not?"

"Of course!" He replied enthusiastically. His dream was to make his brother look at him with eyes other than those of contempt. Maybe if he did what he asked of him, he could earn his respect.

"Then go get Nappa, and don't ever come back without him."

"Yes!" He jumped off the bed. "Do you need anything else? Are you hungry?"

"Just go get Nappa!" His entire body suffered from shaking and raising his voice so much. Then, Tarble seeing him so angry, ran out of the room to not anger his brother further.

The queen of the planet Norboos was a young but very experienced woman who molded her to be the empress who ruled over twenty worlds intelligently and fairly. She was shrewd when planning defenses and cold when it came to attacking, almost like a Saiyajin, but what differentiated her from that race, like the rest of her people, was that they had a pluralistic vision of what it was to live. That is why when she was informed of the formal request for help from the queen of the Saiyajins, she did not hesitate to accept. Since it was a child's life and she had already lost a child for similar causes.

She had avoided appearing in the sector arranged for the Saiyajin soldiers and the queen with her children not to disturb. She was sure that when she saw those men, she would identify with each of them, all the murderers who massacred her people to take over the planets. She considered that this was not the time for that. That child's life came first, and it was necessary to put differences aside. But she did not mean that she was not aware of everything that was happening and everything discussed; that was what she was her men: to be her eyes.

Fortunately, the prince had healed, and since several days had passed since she spoke with the queen of the Saiyans, she considered that it was now appropriate to have an actual meeting.

"They informed me that your son is well."

"That's how it is. The prince is out of danger." Koora stood as straight as she could and spoke, forcing her to act as if she had a cold stone in her chest instead of a heart. She didn't understand what was happening to her, but naturally, she had to pretend to act like she always had. Now all she wanted was to hug this woman and thank her for saving her child, but for obvious reasons, she held back. She looked at the queen and noticed that they must be the same age, but she looked older or more mature, she didn't know what she was, but something in her posture showed more experience.

"That is wonderful news."

"Tomorrow, we will leave the planet, and as soon as I get to Vegetasei, I will personally take care of verifying that your planets are delivered."

"It is not my planets; my people concern me." She corrected her before adding, "I take your word for it, Koora. And as for your son, he can stay until it is necessary. It would be unfortunate if he compounded the journey just because of unnecessary haste."

"It is necessary, Alina. But, unfortunately, we cannot continue to extend our stay here. There are too many pending issues."

"I'm sure adults can put their differences aside for children's sake."

"We don't function that way," she answered, as severe and arrogant as the queen she was. Not because she had given her asylum and help, she could begin to teach her about life, but the other woman would ignore the gaze of the Saiyajin.

"Your expression on your face when you arrived with your dying child seemed to be that of any woman on any planet. I didn't recognize any Saiyajins in your eyes."

"We will leave the planet first thing in the morning." She didn't want to say anything more about it. She felt that everything had changed in her after this experience; that is why she did not want to continue talking with that woman. Now what she was hearing made sense, and that worried her. It was dangerous to continue talking. She had a lot to think about once she got home and was alone.

"I was pleased to meet your other son, Tarble. An adorable little boy. He is living proof that change is possible."

Koora bit her lip at this unknown fact. For the whole situation, she neglected her son, and now she should ask him what she talked about with the queen.

"As I mentioned. Tomorrow we will leave first thing in the morning, and your planets with their people will be returned to you peacefully." She did not wait for an answer and withdrew.

Queen Alina watched her until she lost sight of her as she thought how miraculous it would be if what happened could change Vegetasei's kings' minds. Her husband had always been a warlike man, but when he died and she took command, she devoted all her time to making the planets and the people who inhabited them a better place. She was hoping this could be the start of something new

Once calm and after returning to her son, Koora enjoyed the hot shower for the first time. She remained silent under the water, relaxing her muscles, happy that she was expelled from Vegeta's room by himself. That meant everything would be fine. She had confidence in the doctors who treated him and ensured that it was entirely safe for travel tomorrow.

When she felt better, she left the shower and put on new clothes along with her armor. She had to fix everything before she left: see to it that they liberated the promised planets, see that her men had not bothered anyone, and find out what had gone wrong so that the prince would end up like this. The royal guard had to die to save the prince, and instead, his eldest son had been the only one seriously injured.

She needed to speak to Bardock to catch up. Then, now that she was back with all her senses, she should behave like she was and take her place.

She was to keep her mind occupied and work to give the king a full report. She was a little worried about his reaction, but she was more concerned about feeling this growing change inside her. Something told her that it would be challenging for her to be the same again, especially on that planet. Almost losing her son made her see things differently.

Before leaving her room, she returned for her scouter to check it; since she got on the ship with her dying son of hers, she left it aside. She knew that the King should have tried to communicate with her as soon as he found out what had happened, but she could not talk to him; it would be worse if she did it when he was so wrong. Also, he was not present, so his opinion would be worth nothing; she was the one in charge of and would make the right decisions. And now that the worst was over, she didn't mind being reprimanded and yelled at; she would handle it, she always did. He knew this man, and if she failed to communicate with her through his scouter, he would not do so through the ship's communicator or his soldiers, so he must have been furious, not only for the prince but for having ignored him.

And so it was; he had two communication attempts from the King. Both were several days ago. Finally, she decided not to let any more time pass and called him, surprised to hear his voice next to her, who thought she would not answer her first calls.

"Koora."

"Vegeta." She didn't like the tone of his voice. She expected a yell and even an insult, but he sounded so calm that it made her nervous. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that Vegeta is out of danger, and if I did not take him back to Vegetasei, he would not resist the trip. I am willing to accept whatever punishment you want to impose on me, but let's talk about it when we get to the palace. The prince is much better, and tomorrow he will be ready to travel." She closed her mouth, waiting to hear his answer, but only listened to his breathing. She hated when he did that; that way, it was difficult to control him; he was closed to her. "Vegeta, I await your answer."

"We will talk when I arrive."

"When you arrive?" She didn't realize that she had raised her voice. She unconsciously knew what would happen with his arrival, but she couldn't say it aloud. "It's not necessary, Vegeta. Tomorrow we will leave, and if you prefer, we can do it right now; you don't have to come." She began to walk across the room, feeling her heart race.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there soon."

"Vegeta, no. Please, don't."

"We will talk when I arrive."

"You can't come."

"Excuse me?"

"You can not come. I promised them that there would be no problems, and I sent for the liberation of their conquered planets."

"I did hear about that, and the order has been canceled."

"But Vegeta, it was a deal; I told them that..."

"We'll talk when I get there. Try to keep the prince under guard; the attack will begin as soon as we arrive."

"Vegeta, you can't! They cared for our son! They saved his life!"

"We'll talk when I get there. Gather all your men to protect..."

"Vegeta listen to me; I gave my word to them. Our word!"

"That is a subject that I will not discuss with you, Koora."

"Do not be stupid!" She didn't mind keeping her composure anymore; she just couldn't. "You are going to endanger our children's lives on a pointless whim!"

"It has been decided, Koora, execute what I have told you. I'll be there very soon with an elite army. Then, depending on your upcoming behavior, I will decide about you and your punishment."

Finally, the call was cut.

"Damn!" She threw the scouter to pieces when it hit the wall. "Bardock!" She ran out of her room in search of the Saiyajin.

She needed to do something now to avoid the approaching massacre if Vegeta made it to the planet. She definitely couldn't warn the queen; she would be exposing her children if she did something like that. However, they were not many, and it would be straightforward to retain them with all the warriors who came to stand guard to maintain the tranquility of the palace.

Her son was alive thanks to the hospitality of these people, and trying to kill them, breaking the word given, was not correct. Perhaps she would have been first on the offensive line under other circumstances, but everything was different since she was about to lose her son.

She didn't want it all to end in an unnecessary bloodbath. She felt that blood was no longer a priority in her life, and she could not allow those who saved her son to meet death or a worse fate at the hands of the king.

She stopped running when he heard the sirens of the city. They were loudspeakers placed at strategic points so that when they were activated, all the people were alerted to the imminent danger. It was easy to recognize that sound. She many times was greeted with that excessive noise when she came to purge planets.

To be continued...