Disclaimer: Still don't own DBZ… but Shani, the Eternal Star and the Legionaries are mine.
Notes: Hehehe… Purge mission… oh the fun…
Shadows of the Past: Chapter 12
" Daddy… " Bra ventured after a moment of intense silence, making everyone jump just a little as she pulled them all from their thoughts.
" What? "
" If she was your friend, why were you mean to her when you knew you had to go so soon? "
Considering his words very carefully, Vegeta didn't answer immediately. " Princess, my entire life I had been told that caring was a weakness, something in others to take advantage of, and to be avoided at all cost. Some part of me believes it still… at least a little. I knew that Frieza had made an investment in me when he took me, and he had to know if there was going to be any profit in it if he continued to keep me. He gave me an easy mission for two reasons. One I was still only five; a mistake would still be possible, given my inexperience, and he didn't want to insult any of his older warriors by giving a top assignment to a brat that could still get hurt or killed… or worse, if I showed them up on my first outing… I never told her, but I was sorry I hurt her and I know she knew it. She understood me better than anyone else ever had or ever would, as close as friends as we were, there were things that we didn't talk about, and quite often that meant our feelings. "
" But why? Everybody has feelings, there's nothing wrong with it. "
" At that school you didn't want to have feelings, Princess. Remember, I was there for no other reason than to learn how to control my powers and kill for Frieza. All the brats at that school were members of warrior races. Some of them were even more powerful than the Saiyans by birth. That wasn't a pleasant concept, because some of those races had even less compassion for others than I did. "
" Yeah right… " Yamcha snorted, taking another drink of his beer. " So what now? Vegeta, are you going to tell us how Frieza personally made you off every living thing on the planet you were being sent to? "
" Yamcha… come on, honey… you've had too much to drink. I-I'm sorry, everyone. " His wife said nervously. " I think I'd better take him home. "
" Shut up Taylor. " Yamcha snapped. " I wann'a hear this. "
" Makes no difference to me. " Vegeta smirked. " But shut up before I blast you. "
" He does have a point, though, Dad. " Trunks said slowly. " How much are you going to tell us about… well, you know, what it was like, destroying that world? "
" How much detail can you handle? "
" Well… " Trunks
thought for a moment, glancing at his mother, her face was expressionless, as
she looked back and forth between her mate and her children. " I kind a wann'a
hear everything. Weren't you scared? "
" Scared of what? With full knowledge of my power and my status as one of Frieza's favorites, no one was going to be stupid enough to try intercepting me. The natives of that planet were only slightly stronger than average for this pathetic world we're on now. I told you, he couldn't have made things much easier than that if he had wanted to. The only thing that didn't go my way was he told them to expect me. "
" Why, I mean, didn't they try to run away? "
" Frieza ordered one of his ships to stay in the area to kill refugees. This was standard procedure, and the natives knew their best chance was to try to hide. If I didn't kill them in the initial purge, they would be allowed to live… as slaves, for the new masters of the planet when it was finally sold. Not all worlds were this lucky, sometimes we were ordered to infiltrate and destroy all likely hiding places, but these creatures were weak in mind and body, and even as I arrived some already wanted to surrender. "
" I take it, that you didn't let them? "
" No. "
" Why? " Yamcha growled.
" Shut up and I'll tell you, idiot. "
The pod landed with a jarring crash, then as the ships computers finished taking a few readings, the door opened with a hiss and Vegeta smirked as he stepped out. Wearing a scouter again for the first time in several months was taking a bit of getting used to, but he shrugged, pressing the button and getting an active reading.
Frieza's troops did have this planet well scouted; the nearest settlement was only 12 clicks away… exactly where they had suggested it would be if he landed where they advised. Vegeta didn't head for it immediately though. He contacted the ship above, making report of his initial landing and assessment of the nearby threat. He was given clearance to proceed and he snorted, as if he would've waited if they had ordered him not to. Flying through the open sky, he noted its rich blue color and the way it contrasted with the almost golden hues of the ground below.
The natives were supposed to be white or gray skinned humanoids with long heavy tails four arms and no body hair. Vegeta frowned when this reminded him of the cook and her daughter at Frieza's school. Was this Elda's home planet? She really was an outstanding cook, and honestly cared about the different children who she cooked for each day. Even though there were several hundred, she knew each one by name and treated them all as equals.
His first look at those he had been sent to kill made him conclude that these were not the same creatures. He was a little puzzled by his relief, but didn't have time to consider it further, as one of the leathery almost armored looking creatures fired a blast at him from some sort of a wrist mounted blaster. As the blast went up, an alarm was sounded, and these large creatures began to run, scattering in all directions.
Vegeta's tail lashed about in amused curiosity as he batted the blast aside and a cold smirk settled over his features. Even the young ones were twice his size and at least twice his weight, they knew that he was Frieza's chosen assassin, and refused to take him lightly. It took only seconds for the warriors to assemble and the females and their young to retreat and as he faced their warriors, he took another reading on the scouter and laughed. There were more than twenty assembled here, and more on the way, but they wouldn't arrive in time to save this city.
Vegeta's opening blast was more of a warning shot than a serious attack, as it leveled buildings and tore up the neatly bricked street for several blocks. Twin towers of smooth metal groaned as if in pain and shivered violently as another blast ripped through the city, finally they fell, bringing down all the lesser structures for miles with their impact and the devastating noise.
Terrified and leaderless, the city survivors threw themselves on the ground before him, and began to plead for mercy. Vegeta shrugged and pressed the button on his scouter, barking an order to notify the ship's captain that the city was asking to surrender. Moments later, the reply came back, but more soldiers had arrived to reinforce the city, and seeing the young Saiyan, wasted no words, condemning the city to death by attacking him.
He smirked, he didn't care one way of another, but the ground and the shattered buildings were littered with the bodies of the dead before the battle was over, while he hadn't received so much as a scratch. Moving quickly to another city, he used mostly ki attacks, wanting to test the limits of his power for the first time without the curious eyes of his trainers and Frieza's tech rats staring at him. Each blast was more powerful than the last, and he couldn't believe how simple it was to summon the ki forces that had raged inside of him since before he was born.
Even under the watchful eye of Master Gouken, Vegeta had never felt so in control of his powers. This was fun and as he saw a group of warriors creeping up on his flank, he laughed quietly, lashing his tail for a moment, before turning to smirk at them. Realizing they had been spotted, the warriors attempted to retreat, and Vegeta gave them a head start, and then began stalking them, one at a time. Naturally gifted in stealth, and with keen senses, the hunt was more like play than necessity, but these instincts couldn't be taught, or learned, only practiced and honed. Realizing he might not get such a chance again for a while, Vegeta toyed with them for a while longer, only killing each one after engaging them in hand to hand fighting. Unfortunately for them, these creatures were not as powerful as those he had first encountered, and were crushed too easily.
Disappointment soon gave way to anger, and by the time he reached the Capital City, Vegeta was wishing he could just destroy the entire chunk of rock and be done. To be truthful, by dark that first night, he was already impressively close, but he still just wanted to be done here. The young prince watched emotionlessly as the conquered leader of this planet came forward and knelt before him, pledging allegiance to Frieza. Battered and bloody, the king and his soldiers fell to their knees as they realized he knew he could keep going and they could not. Vegeta growled at the formality of the mission he was given, once more calling in their surrender. The survivors waited, their eyes staring at him accusingly wondering if Frieza had killers this brutal who were this young, what did Frieza want with them? Afraid to try again to fight back, and too tired to run, they resigned themselves to their fate, but glared openly at their captor.
Vegeta rolled his eyes at their anger and looked again at the destruction he had created. At the very edge of his vision, there was a long, low building that was a different style than the rest of their architecture. He arched one eyebrow at them, flying up to get a better look. When he raised a hand as if to blast it, they paled considerably, and some even started to beg and cry uncontrollably. He had already blasted the building where they had tried to hide their females and young… what could such a structure be?
" Prince Vegeta? " The scouter addressed him suddenly, breaking his train of thought.
" What is it? You're interrupting something. "
" I am sorry, but I have just received orders direct from Frieza. "
" Proceed then. " Vegeta hissed.
" Of course. Lord Frieza requests that you accept their surrender. Capture their king and bring him to us. There is something on this planet that our Lord wants. I am downloading their updated language file to your scouter now. If he will not reveal to us the location of the Temple of the Eternal Star, you will need to secure another for questioning."
" What does it look like? "
" It is a stylized building with hundreds of archways and columns and there should be a center dome with a long, slender tower and made of pure white marble. Have you seen such a building? "
" I see no tower, but there is a building that otherwise matches your description. My prisoners appear to be protecting the structure; do they know that Lord Frieza wants something from it? "
Silence followed, and Vegeta glanced at his prisoners, his expression one of amused cruelty. " Unfortunately yes, they are aware of his interest in the Eternal Star. Would you like assistance in investigating the temple? "
" No, but what of my prisoners? "
" Destroy them. " Vegeta wasted no words, blasting the huddled mass with a shrug and headed curiously for the large building that took up an entire block of the city.
It was bigger than it looked from the courtyard of the king's palace, and Vegeta couldn't help wondering what it was. It was immaculately well maintained, not a single blade of grass or flower bud was out of place as he landed in its garden, and the marble itself shimmered softly in the starlight. As he entered, there were no lights, but his eyes could see perfectly, reflections of light from the endless lines of columns and across the shinning floors created a startlingly beautiful scene in haunting shades of blue and silver. His ki senses were a little on edge, but there was nothing hostile about the temple itself he noted.
Finally he came to a massive white marble wall, and an open archway that led inside. The foyer was just as bright and beautiful as the covered walkway, and on each side, was another open room. He snorted no wonder they had tried to keep him from getting near it; there weren't any doors at all. They had surrendered the palace rather than give up this building… but why? There was nothing here. With a shrug, he continued his exploration, and he almost began to think he wasn't in control, each time he wondered where to go next, he felt a slight tug at the back of his mind and followed without question. Dismissing it as his imagination, Vegeta found himself in front of a stairway, at the top of which, was a balcony, covered by another covered walkway with these elegant columns, again illuminated solely by the stars, and reflections on the marble.
Vegeta touched the glossy marble railing and smirked. Frieza's palace was more intricate, but the beauty he saw here was incredible in its clean, sweeping lines and the clever way the builders used the natural light to set off the beauty of the stone and give color and texture to the otherwise snow white marble. This was what Shani had told him the ancient Elven buildings often looked like.
Thinking of her had him growling at feeling guilt for the things that he had said to her. But he shrugged, realizing that they would be expecting him to either return soon, or report, he started up the stairs. As if reading his thoughts, the communications officer on the ship addressed him sharply through a haze of static. Vegeta smirked, glad that the scouter didn't seem to like the confines of the elegant building. There was an oddly peaceful feeling in the air night, in the star filled sky that reflected in the shadowy interior of the white marble and made him reluctant to find what he was looking for, since he didn't want to leave. That was strange enough, but there was nothing here, not a single bench or other person.
As he reached the top of the stairs, he found himself in front of the large domed part of the temple. Like the rest, it was elegant, and grand in scale, lined with columns and archways, but twin statues in white marble adorned the only doorway. Although they were five times life sized, the statues were of a woman, she looked disturbingly like Shani, although the woman wore nothing but a bikini with a mantle of silk over her shoulders, and a skirt formed by two sheer silk scarves. Around their necks, there were large pendants, carved in the shape of a stylized sun or perhaps a star. Her expression was regal and brave, her beautiful face set in lines of concentration, and in the hand of each statue was a glowing purple crystal.
As he approached the statues, he was surprised to see that the stones were glittering diamonds, each one, was the size of his fist. He was no expert, but they were beautiful, and obviously valuable… who would leave such a treasure in the open, unguarded? Vegeta shrugged, though, this whole mission seemed pointless to him, kill the prisoners, including the king, over a temple he couldn't find anything in?? It was hard to say what Frieza thought he was doing here, but it just seemed stupid at the moment.
Still, he was feeling that mysterious pull again, directing him inside the round room. So he moved past the statues and found himself in another foyer, this time only one room connected to it. This room was large, elegant and a library. Not only was it filled with several sorts of books and scrolls and maps, but the floor, the walls and ceiling were richly tiled into a series of scenes and stories depicting battles and the woman in the statue casting spells of incredible power. It was so different from the rest of the temple he could only stare at it. Vegeta blinked in surprise, it was a beautiful room, but as he looked around he was still wondering what he was looking for.
Directly in the center of the room was a delicate white marble pedestal, and on it, was a softly glowing shaft of light, coming in from the ceiling as it reached the pedestal, the light took on a purple hue, until it was the same depth and brilliance as amethyst… or the diamonds in the hands of the statues outside. Arching one jet-black eyebrow at the peculiar light, he went closer. As he did, he saw something in the beam. If it was another trick of the light, it was another very clever one.
He was standing in front of the pedestal, looking into a diamond of unbelievable radiance and quality. It was huge as well. The gem was floating 15 feet off of the ground, turning slowly, and causing magnificent flecks of color and light to dance through its perfectly crafted facets. A diamond over a foot in diameter, richly faceted in the brilliant cut, and almost glowing with its own bottomless purple brilliance… Vegeta couldn't believe what he was seeing, it was too beautiful to be real but if it was real could this be what Frieza was looking for?
Determined to find out, Vegeta flew up to grab it, but before he could, there was a sound at his back. With a low snarl, he turned around to see a half dozen of Frieza's regulars talking and laughing about nothing as they entered the chamber. At their irreverent entrance, the light and the brilliant diamond disappeared.
" Hey, Prince Vegeta, you ok in here? "
" Of course I am you idiot, there is nothing in here but your stupidity to bother me. "
" Man, " One of the others chuckled to the first in a low voice. " The little Saiyan sure has attitude, doesn't he? "
" I said NO backup! " Vegeta snapped, interrupting their conversation with a ki blast at their feet. " What in the hell are you doing in here? "
" Uh, sorry, Prince Vegeta, but when we lost contact with you, Frieza ordered us sent in to make sure no one… err bothered you. "
Since these idiots didn't seem to have noticed the light as they had entered, Vegeta said nothing as he lead them back outside. Irritated that he would have to report finding nothing inside, he paused at the statues and gasped. The beautiful sculptures were barely recognizable one was missing its head, the other was smashed to pieces, all that remained were the legs and on the ground before her lay the shattered remains of the rest… indeed, turning back to face the room he had just been in, most of the decorative murals and tiles were gone, the books and scrolls lay in rotting piles and the ceiling where the light once came through a round hole, was now a gaping hole extending from the dome's center, to the topmost part of the wall, where a huge crack continued until it disappeared into the floor.
Startled and confused, Vegeta allowed them to escort him through the ruins of the temple. Toppled columns and chipped floors dimmed the unearthly glow of the well-designed lighting system, but it didn't diminish its incredible beauty. He shivered walking through the overgrown gardens and wondered how much of what he had seen was real.
It didn't take long in his pod, and he was back at school, but rather than return him to classes, Frieza summoned him directly. Vegeta growled, changing out of his mission gear and prepared to see the tyrant. Napa joined him at his chambers unexpectedly. " I am glad you are back, my prince. "
" Where were you? "
" Lord Frieza sent us on assignment, I am sorry if no one told you. I was promised you would be notified… "
" Not that you idiot! " Vegeta snapped impatiently. " During my training that day? "
" Oh, that… uh, I was summoned to Frieza's throne room… and… "
" Never mind… I figured that would happen. So Zarbon tells me there is another Saiyan serving Lord Frieza? "
" Uh, yes, My Prince, his name is Radditz. And he seems to have a lot of potential. He's only a third class, and he is undisciplined, but he could be useful. "
" For us, or for Frieza? " Vegeta growled quietly, as they approached to door to Frieza's chambers.
Well, I can't wait till I get to tell you more about the Eternal Star, the Temple and what the heck happened there, but first I wanna see what you guys think about all the random chaos that happened in this chapter!!!!!!!!!! This means PLEASE, please review!!!! This is my favorite story, and I'd kinda like to know whos' reading it besides the few wonderful people who read EVERYTHING I've written and tell me how much they like my hard work!! This particular chapter was an easy one, but if I don't get some more reviews, I'm afraid my ideas will slump again!!!
Speaking of those kind souls, thank you!!! I need the support much more than I can ever tell you!!! Sorry there weren't more fight scenes in here!! But that wasn't the real point of this chapter. We know from the Bardock Special and Frieza's interest in him that Vegeta was a fierce warrior and these missions were probably too easy for him, he got VERY careless on earth if you've seen the Saiyan Saga, you'll probably agree. Anywho, give me reviews, please????